B-Side Closes It's Doors - A Tribute To B-Side

When you're an indie filmmaker, just a struggling artist trying to get noticed and make your way in the industry, you tend to see the entertainment world from that perspective. You against all those gatekeepers. However, you need to remember that some of those gatekeepers are struggling, too. In fact, the whole industry is filled with people are struggling. From small studios, to distributors, to festivals and everything in between. The truth is, the power and influence in this industry is held by so few, while the overwhelming majority of people in the industry are longing to move up that industry ladder. With that, I'd like to mourn the passing of indie film distributor, B-Side, who just announced that they'll be shutting their doors on March 1st.

B-Side was founded in 2005 and just had their best year ever, in 2009. That's why it was such a surprise to see them close their doors. They were an indie distribution company, based on leveraging the audiences and the festivals. They powered a lot of the festivals websites and connected audiences and gathered feedback on films. They had over 220 film festival partners, including Sundance, AFI and Fantastic Fest. Their platform created direct connections to audiences and used on-demand technology. They were a full service distribution company and they even provided research and marketing services to filmmakers and other distributors. I watched them closely and, personally, thought that their model could represent a bright future for indie film. So, what happened?

Here's some snippets from their release on the webpage... "On behalf of the entire B-Side team, I (Chris Hyams - B-Side Founder & CEO) am sad to announce that after 5 years in business B-Side is closing its doors on March 1." "In the face of the lingering economic crisis and ongoing upheaval in the film business, our investors decided to stop funding the company. Under extreme time pressure, we were unable to secure alternate financing, and are left with no choice other than to shut down." "I am sad to have reached the end of this chapter, but am incredibly proud of what we've achieved. I am confident that our efforts will have a lasting impact on this business. I am also confident that the B-Side team will bring their expectations to new ventures that will pick up where B-Side is leaving off."

What's the lesson here? Well, I'd like to talk with Chris Hyams and see what he has to say, but... I'd say the lesson is, this is a tough business. It's a tough business to turn a profit in and it's a tough business to try something new in. Also, when you're dealing with smaller, indie companies, you need to remember that they're in the same boat as you. There's a fight going on here and it's not filmmakers versus distributors... it's the indie world versus the studio world and everyone in the indie world, from the filmmakers to the festivals to the distributors, need to help and support each other. Otherwise, we'll be seeing more companies like B-Side close their doors.

It's definitely sad to see them go and if you'd like to check out the B-Side site and read the full release, you can click HERE.

The Recession is Eating Art Films

I've talked about how the 'art film', or what Hollywood refers to as 'indie' film is disappearing... and it's funny, as some of the most notable films of the year were art films. "Slumdog Millionaire", "The Reader" and "The Wrestler" were all what Hollywood would consider to be art films. "Slumdog" made a pile of money, but I don't think any of the other films really made anything notable. Quite frankly, I don't know. Check out this article on Forbes.com called "The Recession That Ate The Art Films", that's what prompted this post.

The first part of the article describes a legal battle between Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company over some shit movie called, "Push: Based On The Novel By Sapphire". Now, I don't say it's shit because I've seen it, I'm just reiterating what others have said... like, how it's "nightmarish" (and it's not a horror) or how it's "grim to a level that many film executives say they have rarely seen on film". So, what's it about? Oh, it's light-hearted... it's about an illiterate African-American high school girl who is pregnant with her second child by her father. Definitely the feel good movie of the year. So, why are Lionsgate and The Weinstein's in a fight over it? Because it won the jury prize and the audience prize for best drama at Sundance and only two other films in history have done that... so, it MUST be a guaranteed winner. I know I'll be rushing out to see it in the theaters. Don't kid yourself... I wouldn't waste the bandwidth to pirate it.

Herein lays the problem... I understand that festivals like Sundance, Cannes, and the like, mean a lot to the industry. They trust what comes out of there, they're a big deal for the industry and they can give films a great marketing push. Sort of like the 'Oscar bump' on a minor scale... but here's the thing, remember who's attending and judging these films. Is it Joe Filmgoer? No, it's generally movie snobs and film intellectuals. You know, like the prof you had in film school who felt he could tell you what was good or bad, but never actually made shit in his entire life? Yeah, those guys. Remember, those who can't do... teach. And those who can't teach, criticize. Those who can't criticize, write indie horror blogs that no one reads. Anyhow, the system currently works like this: art film does well at festivals, creates buzz with film snobs. Studios hear buzz from film snobs, get interested in said art film. Studio buys rights to said art film and dumps a huge marketing budget into it. Releases film and film grosses less than what they paid to market it. Industry says indie film is dying.

Meanwhile... Joe Filmgoer is playing more video games, getting more content online, is starting to think that theatrical released movies aren't relevant anymore and he has less disposable income, to boot.

Look, people ARE still going to the theaters, that's not really the problem. I don't think the theater experience will ever die completely... however, people are just going to the big movies or, God forbid, the good movies. Look at the biggest GROSSING movies of 2008, they're ALL franchise movies with an existing fanbase. However, "Gran Torino" came in at 17, "Slumdog Millionaire" at 29, then it's a HUGE step down for the next 'art film'... keeping in mind that some 300 'art films' came out. So, it's really all about "Iron Man", "The Dark Knight", "Indiana Jones" and Disney films... Now, it's time for Hollywood to adapt. Don't try to cram a round peg in a square hole, guys. Take a step back and look at what Joe Filmgoer is doing and rethink your strategy.

This is where I think a lot of TRUE indie filmmakers get it. It's just unfortunate that the money's not there... yet. You see, when times are good, bad business can seem okay. However, this recession is making bad business look REALLY bad. So, where Hollywood was skipping along a few years ago, losing money here, making money there, there were still able to fund films and pay salaries. However, things are about to change and I think you're going to see Hollywood start doing things like what the TRUE indie guys are doing now. The future is about niche festivals, run and attended by fans... not snobs. The future is about non-theatrical distribution. The future is about reeling in budgets and making sure that the film is GOOD and acceptable to its specific audience. Find out what the people want, then give it to them. It's not that hard. It's what a lot of the TRUE indie guys have been doing, but no one's noticed... and, hopefully, when the industry finally turns that big boat around, we should be in a good place and people WILL notice.

Linkapalooza - April 14, 2008

Blockbuster bids for Circuit City - link to Variety.com. This news was all over the place this morning, but from our perspective, what's really interesting is what you can ensinuate from this... and that is that Blockbuster believes that the future of entertainment is in how content is delivered, not in the content itself. Even an arm chair film fan could tell you that the DVD/video rental business has been sucking hind tit lately and Blockbuster's current CEO, who came from 7-11, believes that the key to Blockbuster surviving is to turn them into more of a retail outlet. That would mean that Blockbuster would offer the whole movie experience, which would include things like DVD players, TV's, whatever... thus trying to take over Circuit City. My take on this is that they simply don't believe that DVD's will be around much longer AND Blu-Ray will not be 'the next thing', like a lot of people think. They must think it's all going digital - downloading and streaming is where it's going to be at and if that's the case, sell (or rent) the vessel and make money on the players. Further, if Blockbuster figures out a business model that allows them to make money through renting or distributing content digitally, the idea of shelf space will be gone. The fundemental result? Infinite shelf space and low, low costs on stocking as many films as they want. Long and short, as an indie filmmaker, there will be absolutely no reason why your movie won't be available in every Blockbuster, everywhere... and that means revenue for you... not to mention a worldwide audience.

johnaugust.com - link to site. I came across this fantastic blog, written by award winning screenwriter John August, whose credits include "Go", "Big Fish", "Titan A.E.", "Charlie's Angels", "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle", "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Corpse Bride" and "The Nines". Self-titled as a ton of useful information about screenwriting, he basically answers questions from aspiring and up-and-coming screenwriters. If screenwriting's your deal ... or your weakness, it's definitely worth reading.

"Prom Night" takes the weekend in a big, fat, smelly way and "The Ruins" just smells... link to boxofficemojo.com. Okay, so "The Ruins", which is not a remake and is based on a novel of the same name, is actually a decent film that a lot of horror fans are giving good reviews to. Now, "Prom Night", which is a PG-13 remake, is getting shat on by all the horror fans. Result? "Prom Night" does over $20Million on its opening weekend, "The Ruins" has done just over $13Million in 2 weeks. So, what's going on here? A couple things... one, horror fans aren't going to the theaters anymore, they're getting their fix from DVD's. Two, the people who are going to see "Prom Night" aren't really horror fans. So, if you're the type of person that bitches and complains about how they keep remaking movies and bringing them out as PG-13 junk, don't blame the studios. They're just doing what the numbers tell them to.

Now, juxtapose what's going on in that last paragraph with what I'm going to say about "Inside", in this paragraph - link to trailers, summary on Shocktillyoudrop. "Inside" is the english bastardized title to the French film, "A L'interieue", which is a brutal horror film that's a complete attack on the senses that will leave you emotionally drained and just f'ed up. Reviews include phrases like: "the most stomach-churning movie I've ever seen", "the most powerful and disturbing films to come along in a long, long time", a "mutilated finger pressed firmly to the pulse of horror". Let's just say that "Inside" isn't getting a theatrical release over here, but it'll make money on it's DVD release. So, my questions is, why aren't we making movies like this over here? They're what horror audiences want, they're not that hard to make and, when done on a low-budget, they can turn a profit fairly easily... what am I missing?