California is golden again --- 50 projects approved for production perks

Well .. this is good news and I hope this is not just a band-aid.
--Jean-Luc


Touting the state's new production incentives, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed Monday that 36 film and TV productions are set to shoot in Hollywood's home state during the current quarter as a direct result of the program.

The governor said Monday 50 projects have been approved for the program to date. The projects have a combined budget of at least $467 million.

"Productions that were slated to film outside the state have shifted gears and are now shooting in California because of our film and television incentive," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "This is not only great news for our production workers but for the thousands of small businesses that support film and television production in California and our state's economy as a whole."

The announcement noted that Sony Pictures Television's new drama for FX, "Lawman," will begin production shortly in Santa Clarita -- even though the show's set in Kentucky and the pilot episode was lensed in Pennsylvania.

Other incentive-backed projects slated to begin production this quarter include Screen Gems' "Burlesque," Sony's "Social Network," DreamWorks' "Dinner for Schmucks" plus indies "Beginners," "The Raise," "Answers to Nothing" and "Max Rose," starring Jerry Lewis.

The California Film Commission, which administers the program, said 50% of the approved projects are indie features, 22% are studio features, 8% are direct-to-DVD films, 14% are telepics and 6% are TV series. Fourteen projects have already begun lensing, and 22 more will begin shooting before the end of the year while the remainder will begin filming early next year.

The state's five-year, $500 million tax credit program covers 20% of below-the-line expenses for productions of up to $75 million. It can be sweetened to 25% of expenses for indie feature productions of up to $10 million -- and for all existing TV shows that relocate to California.

The state Legislature approved the production incentive program in February as part of a massive package of $12 billion in tax hikes.

New AFM buyers swarm, sellers drop off - More acquisitions execs to sift through less product

Hello all,

Personally I have always felt that there was/is to much sub-standard product in the market which drives the market value down for all products. Change is happening and we are all trying to keep up with that change.

Have a great week

Jean-Luc Martin

Line-Producer / UPM



The upcoming American Film Market could see a surprising spike in buyers, while sales stands and the number of films screening are on a downward trend.

In the run-up to the market, AFM managing director Jonathan Wolf reports that the number of accreditation requests for new buyer companies has doubled. "More than 80 new companies in the last three months have asked to come to the AFM for the first time," he reports. "We've never had that many companies asking to be accredited as new buyers. And it's from all over -- from more than 30 countries."

Normally, AFM sees about 40 new buying companies. (Last year, individual buyers reached 1,527 from about 671 companies.)

Wolf suspects that many of these acquisitions execs will be seeking product for TV and homevid platforms. "It's less likely for people to pop up on the scene for theatrical than homevideo."

AFM puts buyers through a strict vetting process before they're granted access to the mart. "If a company wants to get accredited as a buyer, it has to name IFTA member companies that it's done business with," the market topper ensures. "Then we confirm that."

Wolf also didn't expect the number of films screening to be as high as it is this year -- 445. "Next year, I think we'll see that number at 410 or 420," he predicts. When the market's supply and demand was in sync, Wolf says, AFM unspooled about 400 films.

On the sales side, AFM has seen a reduction of about 29 companies as of Oct. 20. That's a drop of 7% over last year. The dip was anticipated, says Wolf. "There was a bubble in filmmaking, and we're now contracting back to equilibrium.

"We were not excited about the AFM growth," Wolf admits, noting that it meant pricing went soft. "We are not going to build a business model around a bigger AFM. It was like a life raft -- someone had to be pushed out."

So this year, it means that the sales-floor creep into Le Merigot hotel will subside a tad. Market stands will be spread across Le Merigot's first floor and half of the second, in addition to the main AFM space at the Loews hotel. At the height of the boom years, in 2004, the Loews filled up and three full floors of Le Merigot were needed for sales stands.

"We're still above those levels of five to six years ago," Wolf adds. "The thing about the AFM is that we've never had huge tectonic shifts in one year. It's always been gradual."

Pros pick best places for filmmaking --- Industry insiders choose world's greatest locations

Hello Friends!

I was actually part of this survey and for the US & I chose California (Los Angeles) as #1 and  Louisiana (New Orleans) as #2. Texas (Austin) did not make the list but that was my third choice.

Work hard and follow through!

Jean-Luc Martin
Line-Producer / UPM


Variety recently conducted an online poll among several hundred location managers, unit production managers, cinematographers, directors and assistant directors asking them to rate their favorite locations according to visual appeal, incentives, film-office support, production resources, and ability to substitute for another location.

The top five North American locations and the top five international locations, ranked here by overall excellence, are regions or cities that scored high on most or all of the criteria. Following these top 10 locations is a list of places cited by the polled pros for excelling in specific categories.


TOP 5 NORTH AMERICAN LOCATIONS


#1 California

Los Angeles and environs, San Diego, San Francisco and spots throughout the state

While California reels from the double whammy of a lousy economy and continued runaway production, it's easy to forget just how much the state has to offer. It still has the deepest talent pool -- both in front of and behind the camera -- and the largest and most technologically advanced production infrastructure and equipment in the world.

Plus, the state offers varied outdoor locations, including snow-capped mountains, sandy beaches, rolling vineyards and misty forests -- not to mention the hilly streets of San Francisco and palm-fringed urban landscape of L.A. The state's coast has hosted such films as "Sideways" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 3," its arid stretches have doubled for Iraq and Afghanistan, and at the center of the action is Hollywood, the longtime center of the global entertainment industry, with its backlots and studios.

Now, for the first time, California has taken steps to stem runaway production. The state enacted a 20%-25% tax credit -- in a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made his name in Hollywood -- that went into effect July 1.


#2 New York

Manhattan, the rest of New York City plus upstate locations

Filmmakers have flocked to the Big Apple since the early days of cinema, drawn by its restless energy, its world-famous skyscrapers and backdrops that range from the mansions of Fifth Avenue to the gritty back alleys of Hell's Kitchen. There's no more authentic place to capture a New York street scene, as Oliver Stone is currently doing in "Wall Street 2," or to create a mythical New York, as Woody Allen has done.

The city boasts an abundance of skilled crews and major studios like Silvercup, Kaufman-Astoria and Steiner -- plus the facilities of the TV networks headquartered there.

Outside the city, filmmakers have long explored locations ranging from Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Catskills and other picturesque regions. Helping the state attract productions: a 30%-35% refundable state tax credit on qualified expenses.

#3 New Mexico

Albuquerque, other cities and remote areas

Known for scenery that ranges from white desert sands to forested mountains, New Mexico also offers a 25% tax rebate on all production costs and local labor payments. This aggressive incentive has spurred a heavy production slate, promoting growth in studio and stage space. This year alone has seen 15 major feature film productions as well as various TV series. The newest facility is the giant Albuquerque Studios complex, joining Albuquerque-based Rio Grande Studios. But while Albuquerque remains the center of gravity, production is also moving to remoter areas like Deming ("Indiana Jones 4"), Clovis ("Believe in Me") and Las Cruces ("Transformers"). The state claims the largest crew base outside the coasts -- more than 3,000. A new studio complex is being built in Santa Fe.


#4 Chicago

Prototypical urban America

With its iconic downtown skyline, mix of traditional and radical architecture, historic neighborhoods and modern city life -- all fronted by Lake Michigan -- the Windy City exerts a powerful pull over filmmakers. Add in the 30% transferable tax credit and it's clear why the Illinois Film Office has been successful. Since the late '80s, more than 800 feature films and television projects have made use of local soundstages (the Chicago Production Center, Chicago Studio Center, NBC Studio) and the city's cinematic locations, including "Public Enemies," "Traitor," frequent visitor "ER" and "The Dark Knight." Chicago, a center of advertising and TV commercial production, also boasts a deep crew base, high-end post facilities and multiple equipment-rental houses.


#5 Louisiana  (Jean-Luc's side note: If you need any help with brokering your incentives please go  to http://ransackfilms.com/ and email them.)


New Orleans, other cities and parishes

Louisiana isn't just the boisterous Big Easy, soggy bayous and graceful old plantations draped with Spanish moss. The northeast has pine forests, rolling hills and small towns that can double for many other places. But the state's main attraction may be its 25% transferable tax credit coupled with large studio and stage facilities. These include Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, StageWorks in Shreveport and Louisiana Film Studios in Elmwood. Shreveport also boasts the Louisiana Wave Studio, with a 750,000-gallon tank originally built for Disney's "The Guardian." New Orleans has bounced back post-Katrina; Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer got the ball rolling by shooting "Deja Vu" there soon after the disaster. Shreveport has positioned itself as a production center ("Mad Money," "True Blood," "Premonition"), and local locations doubled for Washington, D.C., in Oliver Stone's "W."

TOP 5 INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS

#1 Morocco

Cities and landscapes

A short list of filmmakers who've shot in Morocco reads like a Who's Who of Old Hollywood: Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Henry Hathaway and David Lean. More recently, Morocco was the location for Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "Kundun"; Oliver Stone's "Alexander"; and Ridley Scott's "Gladiator," "Black Hawk Down," "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Body of Lies." Other high-profile productions include "Babel," "Troy," "The Mummy" franchise and "Prince of Persia," currently filming. The country's locations range from Mediterranean coastline to mountains and desert, and uniquely Moroccan skylines in Casablanca, Tangiers, Marrakech, Fez and Rabat.

The country boasts a solid cinema infrastructure. Thanks to their long experience, Morocco's film companies have developed a full gamut of production services, including location scouting, equipment and office rental, crew hiring, shooting permits, transportation, catering and accommodations. Local crews are often bilingual and accustomed to working with foreign productions, and location fees are low. Film companies also coordinate the use of the Moroccan military for the use of tanks, helicopters and aircraft in battle scenes -- assets that might be prohibitively expensive elsewhere.

#2 France

Paris, Provence and the Dordogne region

For an atmosphere of romance, fine cuisine and visual splendors, it's hard to beat France. The iconic cityscapes of Paris -- the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, the Seine -- have long provided backdrops for films about love and food ("Julie & Julia" being the latest) as well as actioners ("Rush Hour 3"). And in the south and west, Provence and the Dordogne region offer filmmakers a different kind of beauty, with lavender fields, sleepy villages, ruined castles and the spectacular cliff-hugging roads of the Riviera where James Bond raced his Aston Martin.

France has a network of 40 film commissions, experienced crews, deep infrastructure and a long history of filmmaking expertise and foreign production ("G.I. Joe," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Da Vinci Code," "Ocean's 12" to name just a few recent examples). The nation's new tax rebate, which the French Parliament enacted last December, created a credit for foreign productions shot in France.

#3 Prague

Center of Central European filmmaking

Prague's long, rich tradition of filmmaking didn't begin with Milos Forman and Saul Zaentz's "Amadeus," but that production helped put the visually beautiful and culturally rich capital of the Czech Republic back on the international stage. Since then, such high-profile films as "Mission: Impossible," "Casino Royale" and "Hannibal Rising" have taken advantage of the city's locations and film-friendly atmosphere. Prague also boasts some of the largest stages in Europe in the Barrandov complex; recent productions include a Disney "Narnia" sequel and "The Illusionist." The latter also used local post/vfx house Universal Production Partners (UPP) for all the effects. Since its establishment in 1994, UPP has worked on shots for Tom Tykwer's "Perfume" and Ron Underwood's "The Year Without Santa Claus," among others.

#4 Spain

Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands

An extensive coastline, desert scenery, high mountains and a culturally rich and diverse architecture have long helped Spain's cinematic development. The country has doubled for the American West (Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"), the Muslim Middle East and many other world locations. Helped by Spain's fledgling incentives, Madrid and Barcelona have attracted filmmakers such as Woody Allen and have also grown into major production centers, supported by homegrown talent including Pedro Almodovar. The cities of Zaragoza and Aragon formed the backdrop to Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth," Malaga is busy with features and commercials, and Alicante now boasts the Ciudad de la Luz studio complex. Spain's Canary Islands offer the rugged, volcanic locations seen in Stanley Kubrick's "2001."


#5 U.K.

London, Edinburgh and elsewhere

The U.K. has a deep pool of acting talent, extensive infrastructure and great crews and facilities -- including the Ealing and Pinewood studios -- that can handle all levels of production, from the biggest sets of the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises to the smallest indie pics. The U.K. also offers an aggressive rebate program. For films budgeted at less than £20 million ($31.8 million), filmmakers can earn up to a 25% tax credit. Add in the natural beauty of the countryside, a widely spoken world language and the architectural appeal of cultural hot spots such as Bath and Edinburgh -- and the advantages become apparent. Contributing to the industry's health today: a plethora of productions from overseas and the solidly booked post and vfx industry in London's Soho


HONORABLE MENTIONS, PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Best Visual Appeal

Croatia, Hawaii, Panama

Croatia boasts World Heritage sites (Dubrovnik's Old City, Split's Palace of Diocletian), the stunning Dalmatian coastline and Plitvice Lakes National Park with waterfalls and 16 azure lakes. Hawaii is U.S. soil and offers good infrastructure, plus jungle, rain forest, towering cliffs, waterfalls, beaches and sunsets -- and beautiful weather. With its relative proximity to the U.S. and more than 30,000 square miles of terrain, Panama presents filmmakers with a variety of locations, including tropical rain forest, Caribbean beaches, volcanic areas, islands and a cosmopolitan skyline.

Best Incentives

Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina

Michigan grabbed the tax-break spotlight with its pumped-up package of a refundable, assignable credit that ranges from 30% to a whopping 42% of a production's eligible expenses. And the required minimum in-state spend is only $50,000. Georgia offers a transferable tax credit of 20%, with a possible further 10% if a state promo logo is included in the finished production. Minimum spend is $500,000. North Carolina recently upped its incentive to the level of a 25% tax credit on a minimum $250,000 in-state spend.

Best Film-Office Support

Connecticut, Utah, Vancouver

Connecticut's film office offers an online production guide, location gallery and information on local crews, casting and infrastructure. It also serves as a clearinghouse for tax-break information and production services. Vancouver long ago earned the title "Hollywood North," and the British Columbia Film Commission recently celebrated its 30th anniversary of helping productions such as "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Watchmen" find locations, crews and post facilities. The Utah Film Commission helps filmmakers deal with permitting, local government agencies and locations that range from "John Ford country" backdrops to alpine meadows and woodlands.

Best Production Resources

Sydney, Montreal, Toronto

Sydney's Fox Studios Australia is a major world destination for film and TV production, and the city has experienced crews and deep infrastructure. Montreal offers expert vfx work, spurred by tax breaks. High-profile films including "The Golden Compass" and "Indiana Jones 4" might shoot elsewhere but still use Montreal's talent pool for effects. Toronto, long home to a strong film and TV production community, is known for facilities, crews and a range of post, animation and vfx services. The first phase of its ambitious FilmPort studio complex opened last year.

Best Doubles for Other Locations

Buenos Aires, Iceland, Arizona

With its handsome, Eurocentric architecture and ambiance, Buenos Aires has long been known as "The Paris of South America" and can also double for London, Berlin, Rome -- even Mumbai (taxis and the train station are virtually identical). Iceland is home to spectacular, almost otherworldly locations that are surprisingly versatile, which is why Clint Eastwood used it to double for the South Pacific's Iwo Jima in "Flags of Our Fathers." It's not just Arizona's famous canyons, deserts and lakes that can twin for foreign lands: Although set in the Middle East, Universal's "The Kingdom" was primarily filmed in the Phoenix area.

Some studios stop abiding by the laws, and are better for it (Indie Produced Films)

With this weekend seeing the “Paranormal Activity” train roll on and “Law Abiding Citizen” overperforming for Overture, a curious mini-trend is taking hold: studios are going into the finished-film rough and coming out with gems.

Or, put another way, studios are creating hits by doing exactly the opposite of what their machinery is designed to do: develop from within.

Both Paramount and Overture, the respective distributors behind those two weekend winners, acquired rights to their  films after the pics were pretty much through production by their indie producers (at a fraction of the price than it would have cost to make them). With “District 9,” the in-production diamond Sony unearthed last year and turned into $100+ million in boxoffice bling, that means three of the biggest sleepers of the year were all developed outside the studio system and only released within it.

That may not seem like a tectonic shift. But with every passing weekend at the box-office — a bargain acquisition breaks out here, a studio-developed pic flops there — the balance of power moves slightly away from the development world and toward acquisitions and marketing.

That balance will never move too far in the other direction; studios still have plenty of investment in and infrastructure for development. But with this hat trick, it’s now fair to ask if there’s at least a new model creeping in to rival the old one, a model in which development and production are, in essence, outsourced.

The move to acquire in-production and finished pics, after all, dovetails nicely with a few other studio trends. The biggies around town are already cutting back on development, as they slash budgets, producer deals, blind writer deals, etc.

There is, at the same time, a sudden abundance of available commercial pics, thanks to a shift on the independent financing side. Over the past year there have been a number of financiers willing to fund low-budget genre movies instead of what they once happily financed — star-driven dramatic ones.

In other words, there’s a lot more out there that might interest the studios than there was even a year ago.

Maybe most importantly, at a time when penny-pinching studios are trying, for better or worse, to stamp the risk out of the business (see under: The Remake Craze), the opportunity to watch a film before one decides to invest in it may be most appealing of all. And if that pic is a star-less one with a good concept — meaning it’s marketable but can be bought at a price — all the better.

There’s no guarantee that any of the other titles studios have bought or will buy will break out similarly; “Paranormal Activity,” with a low budget even by low-budget standards, is certainly an anomaly.

But if nothing else, the weekend shows that it may be the right time to start handicapping other prospects, whether it’s the dark superhero high-school tale “Kick-Ass” (acquired for a few million by Lionsgate several months ago, after it was finished), the deluded superhero tale “Defendor” (acquired by Sony, “District 9″ style, for a similarly low price out of Toronto), or the high-concept underwater adventure “Sanctum” (which Relativity and Universal teamed to buy for just above $10m, and which as a 3D pic with Jim Cameron’s imprimatur, has many of the right earmarks).

One consequence of all this is that the upcoming American Film Market, where Sony of course picked up “District 9″ last year, may have a different feel. The Santa Monica gathering usually conjures as much excitement as a trip to a used-car dealership. This year may up the intrigue level.

More broadly, with all the other changes creasing the movie business, you can add this wrinkle. Indies are now making commercial movies, and the commercial world is following an indie approach. Things truly are paranormal.

The upside of a DVD and VOD day-and-date release Strategy worked for 'Twilight,' more titles to follow

The upside of a DVD and VOD day-and-date release
Strategy worked for 'Twilight,' more titles to follow

Is "Twilight" the dawning of a new era for video-on-demand?

When Summit Entertainment released the vampire hit simultaneously on DVD and video-on-demand, it broke the oldest taboo in home entertainment: No other studio had released a pic grossing more than $100 million at the domestic B.O. that way, fearing VOD transactions would cannibalize disc sales.

As the entertainment biz inevitably moves toward a day when discs will give way to product delivered directly to TVs and computers, the business is poised somewhat uneasily on a tightrope. Summit and some majors like the day and date VOD and DVD release strategy; others are worried it will cut into DVD sales.

But that didn’t happen with "Twilight": The March release became -- and still is -- the year’s top home entertainment title. Almost 8.5 million copies have been sold on disc or via download on sites such as iTunes, while rentals have exceeded 14 million transactions on all formats, with VOD accounting for a healthy portion of that.

Summit Home Entertainment prexy Steve Nickerson is convinced the release strategy paid off in greater overall coin.

"We’re pleased with the approach of offering consumers different ways to watch movies," Nickerson says. "We were able to create a broader market and take advantage of marketing synergies."

Indie suppliers such as IFC use the even more radical strategy of releasing mostly foreign and arthouse pics simultaneously on VOD and in theaters, but some majors are reluctant to condense the DVD window further. The stakes are higher for the majors, which is why --"Twilight" and some other titles notwithstanding -- they are still hesitating to launch their biggest hits simultaneously on VOD and DVD during the all-important fourth quarter.

The day-and-date "Twilight" release fit Summit’s home entertainment strategy -- make it simple for consumers to watch movies however they want -- and served as a real eye-opener for rivals. Even Warner Bros., the most bullish studio proponent of simultaneous DVD and VOD releases, hadn’t tried it on a movie grossing more than $100 million before "Twilight."

But in the wake of Summit’s success, the majors have begun stepping up their relationship with VOD. Warners released "Gran Torino"; the June release edged out "Twilight" as the top cable VOD title for the year. The studio will release "Four Christmases" and "Terminator: Salvation" simultaneously on both formats this fourth quarter.

Sony will release "Angels and Demons" that way Nov. 24 as part of a four-title test that also includes "Julie and Julia" and "The Ugly Truth."

Universal, which began releasing smaller pics simultaneously in January, will bow "Bruno" on both platforms Nov. 17; Warners will also release "Orphan" simultaneously Oct. 27. The DVD-VOD windows of other major holiday titles range from one week to one month.

"Definitely, there are more studios experimenting with day-and-date releases than in the past," says Kristie Fortner, VP of syndication for Rentrak’s Advanced Media & Info division, which tracks cable and telco VOD transactions.

According to Rentrak, in 2007, 10 movies were released day-and-date on DVD and VOD, a figure that more than tripled in 2008. That number already has been exceeded this year, with months to go. The average VOD window between DVD release and VOD availability is 21 days and dropping. That’s a considerable decline from the 45-day windows of the past.

There’s a good reason for the compression: Studios are trying to maximize coin at a time when the home entertainment biz has grown more fragmented. DVD sales are on the decline, Blu-ray has yet to take off, and Internet downloads are still tiny.

Studios don’t want to hurt DVD sales, but they also recognize that VOD fits into the trend toward consumers renting rather than buying. Studios vastly prefer VOD to disc rentals because they get a bigger cut of each transaction.

Studios also would much rather consumers watch movies on VOD than pay $1 for a Redbox rental, for example. Part of the reason several studios tried to impose revenue-sharing deals with the kiosk company was to ensure they got a bigger piece of each transaction.

Another reason to pump up the VOD: to harness marketing across distribution platforms. In the past six months, cable companies have begun to step up their VOD marketing in a bid for Blockbuster’s business, and to take advantage of new cable boxes installed during the digital TV conversion.

According to Rentrak, cable and telco VOD transactions are up 14% year over year. The research org has begun to track the much smaller Internet biz but does not release that data yet.

"If you consolidate that spending in all those markets, now it’s only up to consumers to decide how they want to purchase it, or if they want to rent instead of buying," a studio exec points out.

To test how much this marketing might affect disc purchases, Warners recently tested pre-DVD releases of "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "Observe and Report" with Comcast in Atlanta last month, and is considering another "try before you buy" VOD test with "Four Christmases" next month.

Warner will release "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" on VOD Dec. 15, one week after its DVD debut, and "The Hangover" will go VOD Dec. 22, one week after its bow on disc.

Fox, which released "Bride Wars" simultaneously in April, will launch "Night at the Museum 2" on VOD 10 days after its early December DVD bow. The Mouse House maintained a 15-day window for "The Proposal." And Paramount slotted "Transformers 2" and "Star Trek" on VOD a month after their disc debuts.

However, companies like Summit question whether this old-fashioned window between DVD and VOD release does more harm than good in this fragmented media landscape, confusing consumers who want to see movies in myriad ways. Nickerson says his company believes in true content ubiquity.

This is why the studio continues to sell discs to Redbox and Netflix, and plans to stick with its day-and-date strategy -- happily pocketing growing VOD coin in return.

Paranormal movie succeeds with abnormal online marketing

Hello,
I am sure everyone has heard about the marketing behind Paranormal ...  Every project needs to find its strategy. 
Jean-Luc Martin



Cnet
I once asked a happy couple I knew why they loved horror movies. "It's exciting to be scared," the wife explained. So I suggested three large henchmen would be arriving shortly with all sorts of farming implements in order to slice them both into small, but even pieces. They didn't seem to find that exciting at all.

Still, people seem so able to divorce their fantasies from their realities that one should not be agog that "Paranormal Activity," a movie whose sole purpose seems to be to part your nervous system from the solar system, is a success.

However, one might offer a little agogness to the socially networked marketing methods that helped it along its way.



You see, the makers of this movie, which CNN reports cost around $11,000 to produce, didn't bother making something you might describe as a conventional trailer. Instead, they made a little clip largely about how defibrillators were inadequate during test screenings in college towns.

The initial victims seem to have enjoyed leaping out of their vintage Levi's so much that they began to Twitter about the experience. And that gave the movie studio some online marketing ideas.

Originally, the movie fell into the lap of Dreamworks (part of Paramount Pictures) after its success at the 2008 Slamdance Festival (which is, I believe, an event where a lot of people get drunk and frighten each other with fire extinguishers).

After seeing the startling amount of word-of-mouth buzz the movie was getting, it seems that Paramount's first inclination was to pat writer/director Oren Peli on his head and bottom and reshoot it with, you know, famous and expensive people. However, Steven Spielberg suggested this might not be necessary since the movie was already resonating with early viewers. Hence, after a little editing and the addition of a new and, guess what, scarier ending, they organized some midnight college town screenings.

Once the college town tweeters began to champion its cause, Paramount launched ParanormalMovie.com, a cheery little site that encouraged thrill-seekers to threaten their local movie theater owners with phantasms, limb severance, and immolation if they did not agree to screen "Paranormal Activity".

OK, I might be slightly exaggerating about the limb severance and immolation. But, with the same kind of dexterity employed by British Prime Minster Tony Blair when, upon the death of Princess Diana, he described her as "the People's Princess," this lovely little film became the People's Movie.

ParanormalMovie.com claims that it received more than 1 million demands from moviegoers, which is why "Paranormal Activity" is, according to the site, "the first-ever movie release demanded by you." (This is obvious nonsense as I and several of my friends and former amorous consorts demanded another idiotic Nicolas Cage "searching for treasure" movie and it appeared almost before we had finished speaking.)

Still, CNN reported that the online buzz created such a haunting atmosphere that "Paranormal Activity" frightened $7.1 million out of the public's pockets last weekend, while only gracing some 200 theaters.

So a movie that enjoys innovations such as inviting you to tweet your scream appears set to swamp your screens with its happy happenings. The Paranormal folks are equal opportunity social networkers, of course. You can also express your screams on Facebook at Facebook.com/paranormalacitivity.

Paramount's Josh Greenstein offered CNN some fun marketing speak to describe the online groundswell that was, well, very cheap: "When people saw the movie, they loved it so much and there is such a slow build of terror that you have to sit through to experience the full effect of the movie, so we changed the marketing techniques in advertising and online to make it more experiential."

Should you choose to partake of this slow build of terror, please be warned of the effect it might have on you. As Facebook screamer Phil Osher declared: "had to crawl into bed with my friend."

If the potential of this behavior doesn't put you off, please let me know how it was. As I would rather remove my body hair with a chisel than watch this no doubt highly enjoyable movie.

'Paranormal Activity' has not-so-normal rollout -- Studio is expanding horror pic while 'Saw VI' hits theaters

Hollywood Reporter
Paramount appears committed to an abnormally aggressive expansion of its suddenly hot "Paranormal Activity."

Betting heavily on fan fervor for the microbudgeted ghost story, the studio is expected to send "Paranormal Activity" into a boxoffice buzz saw on Oct. 23. That's when Lionsgate will release its horror sequel "Saw VI," and Par will broaden "Paranormal Activity" to 2,000 playdates.

Promoted largely via viral marketing, "Paranormal Activity" posted an otherworldly $7.9 million from 160 playdates last weekend. The inexpensive Slamdance film fest acquisition totes a $9.1 million cume including prior midnight-only engagements.

Par will expand the film to roughly 800 engagements on Friday and appears on track for the teen millions this weekend. But the distributor hopes to get "Paranormal Activity" more than 2,000 runs this month, and the early word has Par feverishly seeking exhib commitments for a week from Friday.

The situation has some recalling the out-of-nowhere theatrical surge of another Little Horror Pic That Could -- 1999's "The Blair Witch Project."

Whether Par can mimic Artisan Entertainment's $140 million-plus domestic success with "Blair Witch" remains to be seen. But as with that film, there is a wide array of opinion on the ideal distribution strategy for "Paranormal Activity."

Par is playing its cards close to the vest. But the studio appears to be splitting the baby by avoiding an immediate expansion into wide release, while committing to as wide an expansion as possible in two weeks.

An immediate wide release might have prevented the inevitable backlash from critics and others, though to date reviews have been largely positive. It also would avoid an overlap with the "Saw" sequel, whose prerelease tracking suggests the Lionsgate pic will bow as big as its franchise predecessors.

But even the coming weekend features an unfortunate audience overlap with Sony Screen Gems' horror thriller "The Stepfather," though "Paranormal Activity" carries an R rating and "Stepfather" is rated PG-13. The session will likely be topped by Warner Bros.' PG-rated fantasy "Where the Wild Things Are," and Overture also will unspool Jamie Foxx starrer "Law Abiding Citizen" in wide release.

"Everybody has an opinion on what they should be doing," a distribution exec at a rival studio said Tuesday. "But there's no question that it's a nice problem to have for Paramount."

The Brazilian city, host of the 2016 Olympics, is courting film productions to gain jobs and polish its image as a tourist destination. Hoping to be a star

Hello All,

A friend who is from Brazil and a partner with an insurance firm here in the US and Brazil has always asked why I have not considered shooting there (If you need international insurance let me know and I will make the introduction). Well here may be a reason as per a recent article in the LA Times.

Have a great week!

Jean-Luc Martin

Producer / Line-Producer / UPM

Rio de Janeiro woos Woody Allen movie project 

The Brazilian city, host of the 2016 Olympics, is courting film productions to gain jobs and polish its image as a tourist destination. Hoping to be a star

Rio de Janeiro will host the Olympics in 2016 and part of the World Cup in 2014, but many businesses -- including film production services -- have fled the city in recent years because of its crime rate.


The Brazilian city has formed a new film commission, hired a longtime movie industry pro to head it and set an ambitious first goal: landing the next Woody Allen flick.

Taking a cue from Barcelona, the Spanish city that was the principal setting for Allen's last film, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," Rio is dangling $2 million in subsidies to attract the director's as-yet-untitled next movie.

This month, Rio was named the site for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, and city fathers hope it's on a roll. It will also be one of several Brazilian cities hosting the 2014 World Cup soccer match.

Although nothing is signed, Allen's production company sent two top producers -- Stephen Tenenbaum and the director's sister Letty Aronson -- to Rio this month to scout locations. They made stops at landmarks including Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Botanical Garden and a park near the hilltop Christ the Redeemer statue.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and Rio de Janeiro state governor Sergio Cabral agreed last month to merge the city and state film commissions. The new Rio Film Commission has been given a $45-million three-year budget that includes promotion and incentives.

The political allies see movies as a way of boosting tourism, creating jobs and polishing the city's image, which has been besmirched in recent years by rampant crime.

Steve Solot, the longtime Latin America chief for the Motion Picture Assn., was named to head the new commission. Although Solot said Rio is competing with "all the film commissions of the world" to attract Allen, he expressed confidence that the New York-based director's next movie would happen in Rio.

"It will be a postcard for the city and state and a step toward making Rio a real destination not just for filming but for tourists leading up to the World Cup and Olympics," Solot said.

Despite its exotic scenery and festive spirit, Rio's major film productions have been few and far between. They include Alfred Hitchcock's "Notorious" (1946); a James Bond film, "Moonraker" (1979); "Blame It on Rio" (1984), starring Michael Caine; "Moon Over Parador" (1988), with Richard Dreyfuss; and "The Expendables," a Sylvester Stallone vehicle slated to open next year.

Many businesses, including film production services, have fled Rio in recent years because of the crime rate. Although the city dominates in the production of soap operas, most commercial films and videos are shot in Sao Paulo, the country's business hub, said Bruno Barreto, an Oscar-nominated director and son of Brazilian producer Luiz Carlos Barreto.

Bruno Barreto said his native city had not been a "production-friendly town" and had done little to promote itself in recent years. That may be changing with the new political leadership and the increase in royalties that the city and state are receiving from offshore oil production.

Solot said Rio has adequate film production services to accommodate Allen and other filmmakers. One of the Rio-based production houses negotiating with Allen to help produce his next film is Conspiracy Productions.

In the U.S., most states decided long ago that hosting movie productions was good business. Forty-three states now offer subsidies covering up to 40% of a film's costs, with Michigan, New Mexico and Louisiana among the most generous.

Solot said studies have established that a typical U.S. film production pumps $200,000 a day into a local economy through spending on hotels, restaurants and technical and other services.

Spain gave Allen $2 million, or 10% of his budget, to attract "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." The movie's positive effect on tourism in Barcelona and Oviedo, the two primary cities used as locations, caught the attention of other cities in Europe and Latin America, Solot said.

"My job is to put the city and state of Rio on the map of the world of audiovisual communications," he said. "That includes film but is much, much more, from reality shows and video games to pay-per-view and video on demand. . . . Rio has been on the map for a few important films historically, but it's not on the map of the production community presently."

Kraul is a special correspondent.

Los Angeles takes baby steps to keep Hollywood at home

Is Los Angeles finally trying to become a film friendly city?

Don't hold your breath. But the city council this morning unanimously approved a series of modest recommendations aimed at slowing the disturbing migration rate of TV and film production to other cities and states.
The 17 recommendations include having the city evaluate a business tax credit for building owners that make their properties available for filming at "reasonable rate," and a sales tax refund for purchases made for filming when at least 75 percent of the shooting is done within the city. The council also agreed to offer city parking lots for free to film crews that shoot after hours or on weekends to increase the availability of power nodes downtown that film production companies could use in lieu of generators.

The steps come amid mounting evidence that LA is losing jobs in film and TV to other cheaper locales. More than 40 states offer tax credits and rebates. The city's wake-up came last year when ABC moved its sitcom "Ugly Betty" from LA to New York, to take advantage of tax credits there. Earlier this year, California adopted its first ever film tax credits, which have helped keep some productions from leaving but are considered too narrow in scope to compete with what other states offer.

Local sales tax credits for filmmakers could help make LA more competitive, but it's unclear whether and how much the city is willing to subsidize the local entertainment industry given the city's severe budget crunch.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who chaired the jobs and business development committee that crafted the recommendations, said the steps are long overdue.

"We are in competition with locations throughout the country as well as Canada and if we do not fight to keep filming in LA it could have a devastating effect on our economy,'' he said. "Some argue that it already has. It's critical that we recognized filming as significant part of our economy and that we need to grow and protect it."

The future of focus group testing ----- Biometric feedback measures viewers' physical reactions to TV shows

Hello all ... this is focus groups on steroids!

Jean-Luc Martin

Traditional methods of evaluating a pilot or movie trailer have relied on focus groups expressing opinions by chatting, filling out questionnaires, pushing buttons or adjusting dials. But that’s all so 20th century.

Today, the options include a few of the space-age variety, like determining not just what people say they think, but how they subconsciously feel.

Innerscope Research was birthed just three years ago, but the company has already found various entertainment and advertising clients for its biometric research, which employs eye-tracking technology as well as EKG monitors to gauge subconscious response along four key criteria: heart rate, breathing, moisture levels (or sweat) and movement.

"It’s very hard for people to accurately reflect their internal world," says Innerscope CEO Carl Marci, noting that 75% of brain processing "is below conscious awareness."

A neuroscientist by training, Marci co-founded the Boston-based company with Brian Levine in 2006. Yet in that short time they have notched a number of entertainment clients looking to augment traditional research, including Fox, NBC and Discovery, along with a growing number of advertisers.

According to Marci, self-reporting is limited -- good at measuring extremes, but not so great in the middle. Biometrics thus provides a diagnostic tool, able to pinpoint physical reactions to specific moments that the viewer might not even realize.

Eager to see how this worked, I squeezed into the very slimming test vest at the Warner Bros. Media Lab, a state-of-the-art facility that the studio launched in 2008. The process included connecting three EKG nodes to my bare torso and a device to my hand to identify sweat levels. (The aforementioned nodes are good for testing, by the way, but bad for chest hair.)

As I watched programming on a computer screen, the researchers could monitor my reactions -- including eye movement -- in real time from an adjoining room. Moreover, this approach lets them test not just TV but online, print and radio, which is part of a multiplatform study that Innerscope is currently mounting.

The readout looked like a lot of squiggly lines to me, but Marci could see spikes that came at specific moments within the ads and programming snippets (including the "Dexter" trailer) viewed. Over the course of a longer screening -- say, a pilot -- the vest would also capture whether the test subject became fidgety, or when their gaze wandered.

Inasmuch as producers are still leery about the idea of bored tourists in Las Vegas deciding the fate of their pilots, Warner Bros. stressed that they were analyzing areas such as product integration and advertising interaction within programs, not specific beats in the shows themselves. Marci, however, noted that others have employed Innerscope’s testing to gather such data, which depending on the genre can provide "very specific examples and directions on how to change it."

"It’s a fine line you walk when you start to bring new technologies and new methods into the creative process," says Bruce K. Rosenblum, Warner Bros.’ exec VP of media research. "The purpose of what we’re trying to do is create a toolbox."

Innerscope’s findings have included the revelation that people exhibit emotional responses as they fast-forward through commercial pods, meaning that ads are still registering to those viewing via TiVo or another digital video recorder. The company can also pinpoint whether a movie trailer, say, is generating the sort of "emotional engagement" that marketers hope to achieve.

As "Total Recall"-ish as this might sound, the explosion of new avenues for consuming media has placed the need for accurate ratings -- and a more granular grasp of audience responses -- among the more pressing issues facing the industry. Those rapidly shifting dynamics require that research explore more elaborate (and potentially more intrusive) approaches in an effort to keep pace.

"This allows our clients to see what their audience is seeing and feeling, not what they say they’re seeing and feeling," Marci explains.

Marci did note that my biometric chart didn’t reveal the kind of wide fluctuations seen in some test subjects, suggesting a possible numbing based on the amount of programming that I regularly view.

Even so, after all these years of trying to externalize and articulate feelings about watching television, it’s nice to know that something -- hell, anything -- can still rock my "internal world."

Reality TV: Too much of a good thing? Supersized shows have big impact on schedules

Hello All,

I am not a reality producer but have been circling around this type of programing because I have a well developed project that we are pitching the cable networks. So therefor when ever their is a reality buzz of info I am right there... or try to be. I thought this article would be of interest to others.

All the best and a great week to everyone!

Jean-Luc martin

Producer, Line-Producer, UPM

Here’s what network execs were crowing about after one week of the new TV season: The big opens for rookies like "Modern Family" and returnees such as "NCIS."

Here’s what they weren’t rushing to talk about: The big drops felt by reality skeins such as "Dancing with the Stars."

Despite strong ratings for new scripted fare this fall, overall numbers are down for the nets. And part of that is because primetime’s reality show pack is aging, and just about all of them are well past their peak.

If a lion’s share of scripted series are down as well, why is reality getting more than its fair share of the blame?

Part of it has to do with the tremendous footprint shows like these reality franchises have on the primetime sked.

When a scripted show starts to weaken, it reps just one hour in need of a little TLC. But when a reality series begins to crack, it’s a much bigger problem.

The networks have filled their primetime skeds with extended hours of their top reality franchises -- and when a franchise begins to fade, that might rep as many as three hours a week in need of fixing.

It’s not a new phenomenon -- ABC learned it the hard way earlier this decade, when "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" collapsed, turning the Alphabet’s schedule into a Swiss cheese-like mess.

But this time around, every network (save CBS) has at least one franchise that takes up multiple hours.

During fall-TV’s premiere week, ABC was riding high thanks to the boffo launches of "Modern Family," "Cougar Town" and "FlashForward." Yet the net was still down from last year -- and much of that could be blamed on "Dancing with the Stars," which repped a full 23% of its sked.

"One half-hour of ‘Modern Family’ isn’t going to help you if five hours of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ is starting to drop," one rival says.

Fox is serving three hours of "So You Think You Can Dance" starting this month -- and "American Idol" will once again gobble up a big chunk of the network sked come January.

Over at the Peacock, while most of the attention is focused on NBC’s over-reliance on "Jay Leno," the net has long aired two-hour editions of "The Biggest Loser," and has another two-hour "Celebrity Apprentice" set to return later this season.

Only CBS has bucked the trend, preferring to saturate its schedule with like-minded procedurals instead of like-minded reality. "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" are still just one hour each.

For the first time in years, auds seem more interested in a host of new comedies and dramas, as new series like "Glee," "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "Modern Family" give industry execs something to get excited about.

It’s foolish to sound the death knell for the genre: When the dust settles this season, it will once again be reality TV that dictates the network scorecard. And more so than other genres, reality TV, because it’s a diverse genre, has proven to be incredibly resilient over the course of this decade.

But the ratings are providing a wakeup call to network execs.

Of the top 20 programs in adults 18-49 during premiere week, only one -- ABC’s "Dancing With the Stars" -- was a reality skein.

In truth, reality TV is mostly an afterthought for network execs at the start of the season. Fall has never been a breeding ground for new reality hits; rather, it’s the place where shows that launched big in the midseason or summer graduate to once their hit status is cemented.

Only one franchise is entering the fall for the first time, Fox’s "So You Think You Can Dance," but that show can hardly be considered "new."

It’s long been held true that network sales teams would prefer to see mostly scripted fare on the fall skeds, as they still fetch a premium over unscripted wares (save the big vets like "Survivor"). And most network execs -- and nearly everybody involved in the biz -- would rather see more comedies, because of added income from syndication and other benefits.

But when a reality show is a smash, the upside is enormous. "Idol" has made Fox a dominant demo player for much of the decade, even in years when its scripted stable was slumping. And it has fueled the News Corp. bottom line via albums, online music sales and concert tours.

As a result, the nets can’t resist doubling down on their veteran reality titles. For one thing, the second hour of a reality show will do better than almost anything else you might put behind that show’s first hour. Economically, it’s also much cheaper to extend one hour into two, rather than pay for a fully different show that would likely fail anyway.

Critics aren’t fans of reality series that milk every last drop. Usually they’re stuffed with moments of minutia, or those extra hours have morphed into ultra-padded variety shows (i.e., the "Stars" and "Idol" results shows). In this age of DVRs, viewers may gripe, but they’re also more willing to fast-forward through a two-hour episode in order to get to the good stuff.

For the nets, it’s mission accomplished. Until it’s not.

"When you devote a lot of hours to one asset, much depends on the performance of that asset," one network reality exec says. "You get more of a cratering effect if the show declines… These shows take up more space than a normal show. When it drops, it has an impact not only on its own rating, but on everything around it."

In setting aside mega blocks of time for vet reality shows, the nets also depend on those unscripted series to not only be self-starters, but springboards for the rest of their schedule. But when these shows start to decline, those benefits are lessened.

"There’s a real dependency on these things," an exec says. "Reality shows are always utilized to boost everything up, to make those numbers higher and hope to launch a new series behind it."

The CW hoped "America’s Next Top Model" would boost the opening of frosh drama "The Beautiful Life: TBL" -- but with "Top Model" eroding, fewer eyeballs were around to stay tuned and sample the new show. "TBL" was yanked after two weeks.

Part of the ratings erosion might be the fact that, critics argue, reality shows are all starting to look alike, whether it’s the tremendous number of studio-based talent contests with three judges or the elimination competitions that promise the "most shocking (blank) ever!"

"I do think people need to challenge themselves on what the next show should look like," another alternative exec says. "Viewers will watch five different cop shows, yet they won’t watch five different dance shows."

"Hell’s Kitchen" exec producer Arthur Smith says he’s anxious to see the networks start to take more chances on new concepts.

"If there’s a sameness to a concept or format it’s not going to break out," says Smith, CEO of A. Smith and Co. "What the industry needs is the networks to take more risks, and producers need to take more chances. But that’s easy for me to say. It’s difficult to do on both sides."

For now, despite their declines, shows like "Dancing with the Stars," "The Bachelor," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" still work, and continue to fill the slots that would otherwise go to new reality entries. Plus, as "The Bachelor" proved last year, these shows have a better shot at bouncing back to life – be it through new twists or better casting – than their scripted counterparts.

Execs and producers alike bemoan the fact that there hasn’t been a breakout reality hit in several years (although they’ve come close, with "Wipeout" and, briefly, "Moment of Truth," among others). Most of reality’s more recent hits have started out strong, but burned out quickly (see "Deal or No Deal").

But reality execs don’t buy the rationale that aging hits are blocking newcomers from coming in, noting that the same argument could be applied to dramas and comedies.

" ‘CSI’ is down, ‘Desperate Housewives’ is down," one exec says. "Every show on TV is down, barring ‘NCIS’ and ‘Big Bang Theory.’ There’s been no real breakout hit on network TV in any genre over the last five years. There have been just as many successful new reality shows at the same level as anything else. NBC would be off the map without ‘Biggest Loser’ right now. These are staples of network TV. Without them, network TV would be dead."

Indies still looking for Internet equation - Filmmakers consider sites like Netflix, iTunes

Hello Producers,

I am working on several projects that require specific marketing strategies and I have been keeping track of all the usual trends and updates of which I try to share with others. Of course some are proprietary but others are common knowledge and require hours of work if not days and months to implement. BUT .. distribution is the reason for everything because that means money back to the producers and/or eyeballs. I found this article which is quite honestly common knowledge but still good information .. take a read and have a wonderful weekend.

Jean-Luc Martin

Producer, Line Producer, UPM

If only more indie filmmakers could sell as many Internet downloads as "Helvetica," the future of indie distribution might look more promising. Gary Hustwit's documentary about the ubiquitous font has taken in a six-figure sum from its showing on iTunes at $9.99 per download.

But while more success stories are starting to be seen, the indie download business is still having problems gaining traction. The power of the Internet was supposed to level the playing field on which independent filmmakers and studios compete for audiences. So what happened?

A decade after the dot-com boom, when the Web promised to make any piece of content globally accessible to any interested viewer, a dominant online destination for indie film has failed to emerge -- though many have tried.

Earlier this year, San Francisco-based Caachi quietly shut down, and world cinema purveyor Jaman let go most of its staff. Two of the first sites to try to connect cinephiles with streaming and downloadable indie films, GreenCine and Intertainer, have since exited that business.

And while Hulu.com, a site geared to mainstream TV and movie content, is reaching more than six million unique visitors a month, SnagFilms, a site dedicated to independent documentaries like "The Future of Food," is barely reaching 100,000, according to the Internet traffic-monitoring service Compete.com.

One thing the Internet has clearly changed, observes distribution consultant Adam Chapnick, is access to an audience. "But having easy access to the global audience doesn't get anyone to see your movie," he says. A solid marketing strategy, whether traditional or digital, is still essential.

But distributor Freyr Thor, of Vanguard Cinema says, "Just because these specialty indie platforms haven't succeeded, that doesn't mean one cannot succeed. There's a patience factor and a money factor that have been missing."

One of the newest contenders is the Auteurs, a Palo Alto-based site featuring films by Luis Bunuel, Roman Polanski, and Wong Kar-wai, launched in late 2008.

Other indie film sites that haven't succeeded "were not social enough," says Efe Cakarel, Auteurs CEO. "Our members not only can watch films online, but also discuss the latest films with their friends on Facebook and Twitter and meet others who share their taste in film."

But distributors, producers and indie directors today say that most of their Internet revenues comes from two places: the DVD rental service Netflix, which offers an online streaming service to its members, and Apple's iTunes. A few mention YouTube, Amazon.com and Massachusetts-based EZTakes as other online outlets with good revenue potential -- with the emphasis on "potential."

Brooklyn-based helmer Hustwit says that iTunes has generated the lion's share of digital income for his 2007 doc "Helvetica," which has been on iTunes' top-10 list of most popular docs for more than a year. Eric Lemasters, senior vice president of digital at E1Entertainment (formerly Koch Entertainment), says that tech-oriented docs like "Welcome to Macintosh" have done well on iTunes, but that iTunes and Netflix are close competitors. Vanguard, which handles digital distribution of titles like "Factory Girl" and "Raising Daylight," generates more money on a per-title basis from Netflix than from iTunes, Thor says.

Filmmakers complain that independent films can be difficult to find on iTunes. "Their navigation is just bad," helmer Joe Swanberg says. And Thor says that Apple has rejected all of the subtitled foreign films he has submitted for inclusion. (The service currently carries fewer than 30 foreign films.)

But while Apple offers a fairly straightforward 70/30 revenue split with most rights-holders (Apple keeps 30% of rentals and sales), Netflix's streaming terms are different. The site pays a flat annual fee to make a film available on its "Watch Instantly" streaming service, whether five people or five thousand choose to view it over that period.

Distributors say the annual fee for online streaming varies, depending on how popular Netflix predicts a title will be; part of that calculus is based on how many of Netflix's 10 million members have added the title to the list of DVDs they plan to rent. But the annual license fee, says Thor, has in general been rising over the three years his company has been working with Netflix.

Swanberg, director of the 2009 microbudget drama "Alexander the Last," says that San Francisco distributor Heretic Films had been offering some of his earlier films to Caachi -- but both the distributor and Caachi went out of business.

Swanberg says that although his own films aren't yet available on Netflix's streaming service, it's his preferred method of watching movies at home. He uses a set-top box from Roku to watch the digitally delivered content on his television.

YouTube is considering adding paid movie rentals to its ad-supported site, but documentary filmmaker Hunter Weeks says that wasn't offered to him as an option when "10 Yards," his 2008 doc about fantasy football leagues, started streaming on the site in its entirety last month. He expects to make "a couple grand" from YouTube's "partner program," which shares some advertising revenue with content creators. Weeks' doc quickly racked up 100,000 views after it was featured on YouTube's homepage.

Producer Ted Hope ("Adventureland," "The Savages") anticipates independent filmmakers who are willing to tinker with traditional release windows "absolutely could gain an advantage" in the online world. "I think we'll start to see more folks coming out of Sundance and other festivals trying new models, to make their films available in different digital formats when they're at the height of their media attention, rather than nine or 10 months later," he says.

Director Cory McAbee, who is showing his sci-fi Western "Stingray Sam" at festivals and limited-run engagements, says he hasn't felt resistance from festivals or other venues, despite the fact he is simultaneously selling the film in digital form on his website.

Vanguard's Thor is hopeful that "a true independent digital cinematheque" will emerge at some point. But "you need three things to make it happen: a long-term vision, an easy-to-use interface, and money," he says.

And those three stars have not yet aligned.

Internet influences film audiences - Study breaks down filmgoing habits

Hello All,

Below you will find a must read! Enjoy!

Jean-Luc


If marketing mavens want to reach younger moviegoers when promoting their films, they need to embrace social networks or risk being ignored.

That was the overall message of Moviegoers 2010, the first report on moviegoing habits produced by Stradella Road, the entertainment marketing firm founded by former New Line Web guru Gordon Paddison that hopes to assist film marketers in determining how to reach consumers over the next decade.

The study found that teens and twentysomethings are especially focused on being able to customize entertainment and are quick to share their opinions with others digitally -- especially as usage of the Internet, mobile devices and DVRs has become more widespread. An estimated 94% of all moviegoers are now online.

The younger demo is especially key in spreading word of mouth, with 73% of moviegoers surveyed having profiles on social networking sites.

It's a point that's been made a number of times as sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have grown in popularity. But the study is one of the few to break down specific age groups and how they consume movies and the marketing messages leading up to their releases.

    * Teens (age 13-17) are "all about sharing information and group thinking," the report said, with social networking a critical communication tool. They go to movies in large groups and are heavily influenced by their friends' opinions. They also prefer texting over having phone conversations. More than 70% also surf the Web and text while watching TV, and 67% of them socialize with friends online.

    * Twentysomethings (age 18-29) "are digital natives that have grown up with technology" and are more likely to go online for movie info and to share what they think about movies via social networks (58% socialize with friends online). They use the Internet to find any kind of information and place a high value on online consumer reviews and sites that aggregate reviews.

    * Auds in their 30s are time-constrained, with parenthood dominating their decisions. They split their moviegoing trips between their children and their spouses. They "spend the highest number of hours online and rep the highest use of technology (Internet, broadband access, DVR ownership and cell phone)." They also view the most recorded TV and skip the most ads via their DVRs.

    * Those in their 40s embrace traditional media like magazines and newspapers, with moviegoing dominated by special family occasions and influenced by teens.

    * And fiftysomethings avoid crowds, prefer matinees and "skip ads because they think there are too many commercials on TV."

Given the increased influence of websites on which consumers buy movie tickets, AOL, Facebook, Fandango, Google, Microsoft, MovieTickets.com and Yahoo were enlisted to supply data for the study.

Study was conducted by surveying 1,547 moderate-to-heavy moviegoers over eight days in July, with an additional 2,305 questioned by phone or online during July. Nielsen NRG managed the research fieldwork.

Although many moviegoers are going online to get info on upcoming releases, TV still dominates as the leading tool to generate awareness for films, with 73% of those surveyed saying they first heard about a movie by watching a 30-second spot. In-theater trailers were close behind with 70%, followed by word of mouth (46%) and the Internet (44%).

Most films are now considered critic-proof, especially among the younger set, with 84% of moviegoers saying, "When they make up their mind to see a movie, it doesn't matter what the critics say about it."

It may depend on who's giving them the thumbs up or down, however.

Of those surveyed, 75% said they trust a friend's opinion more than a movie critic; 80% said they were more likely to see a movie after hearing a positive review from other moviegoers, while only 67% said a thumbs up from a professional critic had the same weight.

Yet only 40% said negative reviews from their peers would dissuade them from seeing a movie, while an even lower 28% would be kept from theaters because of a critic's opinion, meaning that at the end of the day, negative word of mouth doesn't have as much influence.

While 62% now get their reviews online, only auds over 50 rely on newspaper reviews.

The results hardly give Hollywood anything to worry about. The box office is so far up this year and looks like it will be strong for years to come despite the current recession, the study said.

That is mainly because 79% of those questioned said, "Going to the movies is a good escape from everyday life."