The concept: every month, 1 film selected from submissions all over the world, under one minute, and a grand champion announced at the end of the year. Check out SWEEPER, the winner for March. "Astonishing" is a good word for it. You've got a minute to spare to see something astonishing, don't you?

Renderyard 1 minute Film Festival

The announcement of a new pay-TV/ VOD/ Web 2.0/ Super-futuristic-total-entertainment-experience service from Viacom, Lionsgate, MGM, and Paramount is big news, but what’s giving industry analysts pause is the idea that the lifespan of a Hollywood movie is going to get a whole lot more compressed.  Channels like Showtime and HBO aren’t make the money they used to off TV premieres--they argue that new movies aren’t worth much anymore on TV, so they don’t want to pay the high licensing fees. So studios are taking back control over the twilight years of their films (before they become catalogue titles), as well as their delivery windows.  The fact is, nobody cares about the HBO premiere of a six month old movie.  Why not put the film on TV in two months?

So what does this mean for indies?  Well, for one thing, Showtime, HBO, STARZ, and their ilk are going to be looking for content.  That’s one opportunity. But another might be with the studios themselves.  If studios get the idea that the TV roll-out is part of their overall marketing campaign (the same way that a theatrical release becomes a loss leader), studios might become a lot more flexible in their ideas about how a film can reach an audience.  More stops on the studio tour mean more places for indies to get on.  Times are changing.

We did a series of posts about Cinetic Media and its reputation as an ‘unseen hand’ at the Sundance Film Festival...well, well, well: we learn today that Cinetic has made a stunning strategic move, tempting South by Soutwest Film Festival director Matt Dentler away from sunny Austin to the cool blue-gray towers of NYC.  Clearly, this consolidates Cinetic’s position as a premiere player in the American Independent film scene.

But that’s just the beginning.

According to this IndieWire article, Dentler is joining Cinetic as part of the Cinetic Rights Management (CRM) unit, a new team dedicated to navigating the brave new digital world of distribution.  Is this the dawn of a legitimate alternative distribution network for indies, or is Cinetic poised to become the next CAA?  Very exciting times.

From IW:

“Reflecting on the tough market at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, [Cinetic founder] John Sloss cited a, “recession of revenue streams from traditional media,” while adding that the, “corresponding revenue streams of digital have not filled in the hole, but they are going to...”

“It’s a changing landscape,” prefaced Cinetic partner Rob Nathan on the iW call, with Sloss adding, “As pay TV deals recede and as the DVD revenues plateau these are the [areas] that are going to rise.”

A 'sell sheet' (also called a 'one sheet') is a film/video licensing industry term for summary publicity. 'Sell Sheet Sampler' is a continuing feature on our blog where we showcase fascinating clips, which, while part of a digital sell sheet, are of interest to a large audience.

The greatest minds in the world have thrown in their two cents on the topics, now it’s time for the kids to chime in.

In this remarkably funny and heartwarming clip from the NFB, we get to hear what children have to say about the great beyond.


Click here for the Sell Sheet for
'Kids Talking About Death' - Distributed by The National Film Board of Canada

The situation between longtime frenemies the Geeks and Hollywood heat up in 2008.  Never before has a Hollywood slate catered so vigorously to the tastes of filmgoers of the comic con, fantasy, and sci-fi set. Sure, the geeks are bad on downloading movies (they’re downloading some right now) but they are also an audience: a real live film audience that goes to the theaters and will pay money just to see how badly Hollywood has screwed up their favourite franchise.  Even better, their extracurricular hobbies, such as blogging like mad about films that interest them, have basically acted as a template for how Hollywood has come to understand online marketing.

So here’s to you geeks and here’s to Hollywood.

Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming big geek films with breakdowns, ratings, and embedded trailers!

Continue reading
"‘Geek Films’ Dominate Hollywood Slate in 2008: But Will Any of Them Be Any Good?"