Comcast & Time Warner, Amazon & Zappos, Cats & Dogs... all living together.

I'm not sure if you follow what the cable companies and major distributors get up to, business-wise, but there were a couple of big announcements over the last week or so. One was that Comcast is teaming up with Time Warner to beef up its "TV Anywhere Model" and the other was that Amazon bought up Zappos. I just wanted to take a quick look at both deals and give some thoughts on what they may, or may not, mean to indie film.

I know that a lot of people hate Comcast, but I really like what they're doing here. Here's a link to the press release on the Comcast / Time Warner deal, by the way. The cool thing is it means that Comcast is admitting that there's this thing called the Internet, that a lot of people are using this Internet thing to watch content and that Comcast now wants to be in that space. The other thing that's cool about it is the fact that it's really a new take on the whole online TV viewing experience. I mean, up until now, the most popular online sites for viewing content were free (Hulu, Fancast, YouTube...) Now, they're adding it as part of their package and I'm assuming that they'd offer it up as it's own thing down the road. In any case, I think it's good for makers of indie content, as we all know there's more room for success in online distribution. Further, if this model works, maybe they'll have exclusive online channels that distribute indie and alternative content... who knows? What I do know is that we should like experiments like this... especially if they work.

Here's a link to the open letter that the CEO of Zappos put out, where he announces the sale of Zappos to Amazon. I know what you're thinking, why the F do I care about Zappos, an online clothing retailer? Well, quite frankly, I don't. I've never bought anything off Zappos. However, I've bought lots of shit off Amazon. It's interesting because Amazon has a wicked long-term view of who they are and who they're going to become and they're a key player in the indie-film world, as they sell a LOT of indie film. In fact, they may sell more indie DVD's than anyone and that's not to mention that they own a LOT of the sites that you use, such as imdb, withoutabox and createspace... so, I found the Zappos deal interesting because of what it means for Amazon... and that's a bigger footprint. I know it sounds counter intuitive and strange to root for a big corporate company like Amazon to take over a big online clothing retailer, when we're little indie filmmakers, but sometimes what's good for the goose is good for the gander and I think this is one of those cases. What if you're a Zappos shopper that's never used Amazon? What if you're a Zappos shopper that's never used Amazon and likes indie film? Amazon is widening their reach with this, which means that, technically, there's more potential buyers for the indie film that you're selling on Amazon, right? That's what we all want, isn't it? More reach, more potential buyers and a bigger audience. Am I wrong?

Linkapalooza - July 30, 2008... FearNet's getting serious.

I don't know if you've noticed or not, but we've been posting a couple times a day lately. If you're wondering why, it's because we've got piles of interviews and case studies backed up and we'd really like to get them all out there. So, even though we're posting all those interviews and case studies, we can't neglect Linkapalooza... it just wouldn't be right.

VH1 scares up 'Queens' team on THR.com: I don't know why I find this that interesting or telling, but I do. James Gunn, who came out of the world of Troma to write the new "Dawn of the Dead" and write and direct the kick-ass "Slither", along with actress Shawnee Smith from the "Saw" series, "Repo! The Genetic Opera", among others, and an acting coach, John Homa are going to judge a 'Scream Queens' reality competition on VH1 where the winner will get a shot at winning a "major role" in a Lionsgate film. I guess it's interesting because it seems very mainstream for horror... I mean, horror has its ups and downs - late 80's were a low, late 90's were a high - and I don't mean that from a fans perspective, I mean that from a studio perspective. (Personally, I love the late 80's for horror) Anyhow, seeing something like this could mean horror's headed for a new high, after having a bit of a down period. "Fear Itself" has managed to stay on network TV, which I didn't think would happen. What's next? Anyhow, like I said, it's just kinda interesting.

Time Warner Cable Is FearNet's Latest Haunt on Multichannel.com: To continue where I left off from my last comments on that last article, horror seems to be slowly lurking into new corners. Sort of like a disease... or, maybe more like Brad after a long night/morning of drinking. Anyhow, FearNet inked a VOD distribution deal with Time Warner, which will take its online lineup to 29 million digital cable homes. If they can make a few more strategic moves, they could end up having FearNet become, essentially, its own network. Also, and looking at the big picture, this means that there's a demand for horror, it's just not at the theaters. Something I've been saying for a while.

Alas, the decline of the age of celebrity on Medialifemagazine.com: This article talks about how the public may finally be getting sick of celebrities. May be? I think it's official... sure, there's still a bunch of people out there who love following celebrities, but here's the thing. There's no mystic to them anymore. With the internet, media, blogs, gossip sites, etc... we know everything. We know that they beat their wives/girlfriends/mothers, we know that they get wasted a lot, we know they bang a lot of people. Basically, we know they're idiots. So, when their films come out, we don't care... because we take them personally. So, coming soon, star power won't be worth what it was. People are getting into franchises and brands. That's why they love films like "Transformers" and "Batman" and other projects that don't need stars necessarily, but can still sell merchandise and things besides tickets... that's why I'm always telling filmmakers, think like a brand, not like an individual film.

Horror Movies & Stuff - I haven't had much of a chance to clock many hours on this site, but I hear they have a fairly active forums section. They contacted me and wanted to exchange links, so I said I'd do more than that and mention them in a post. So, there you go... go check them out and let me know what you think.