LESHER TO CARR ON FALL RELEASES: "IT'S A BLOOD BATH OUT THERE RIGHT NOW" (NYT)
By Nancy Vialatte
With a slew of movies set to bow, the New York Times� David Carr asks today, �Did somebody blow a whistle and decide that mid-October should be some kind of ad hoc, free-floating film fest?�
The answer, he says, is not really. It�s more a case of movie-business dynamics and some long-held superstitions.
Abundant private equity is bankrolling new players in the highbrow movie business, while the seductive charms of the film world have lured businessmen who struck it rich in other businesses (like Sidney Kimmel of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, and Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner of Magnolia Pictures and assorted other moviemaking entities). And studio specialty divisions like Sony Pictures Classics, Miramax, Fox Searchlight and Paramount Vantage are in full stride this time of year, having used the bounce of film festivals in Toronto and New York to begin positioning their films for the Oscars.
Once upon a time, independent films, which used to open small in New York and Los Angeles, built word of mouth and critical love in order to gain wider traction. But now, those films are in danger of getting beaten not only by big-studio films but also by the competitive clutter created by other small films with big ambitions.
�It is a blood bath out there right now,� John Lesher, president of Paramount Vantage, told the NYT. �If you have a quality film and market it correctly, you have a chance, but the margin of error is much smaller.�
Bingham Ray, who oversees domestic marketing and distribution for Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, the company behind �Lars and the Real Girl,� likes his movie�s chances. But, he said, no one can afford to get cocky.
�I am not unmindful of the competition this Friday,� he said. �We have a movie that is a little bigger in terms of awareness, but there is very little middle ground like there used to be.�
In NY, this week alone sees the debuts of �Lars,� �Control,� Cate Blanchett-starrer �Elizabeth: The Golden Age,� Kenneth Branagh�s �Sleuth� and James Gray�s �We Own the Night� along with 10 other new movies.
Next week the onslaught continues. Ben Affleck�s �Gone Baby Gone� will open along with �Rendition,� �Reservation Road,� �Things We Lost in the Fire� and �Wristcutters: A Love Story.�
The films are all must-sees for dedicated consumers of specialty film, says the NYT. And that�s not even including smaller but still notable projects that will have been released in little more than a week, like �Out of the Blue,� �Terror�s Advocate,� �Black White + Gray� and �King Corn.�
The glut of films is rapidly becoming nearly a year-round state of affairs. Throughout this summer independents and the studios� specialty labels counterprogrammed more adult fare than ever against the studio blockbusters (to mixed box-office response). But that does not appear to have made the fall any less crowded.
Despite the best-picture Oscar for �Crash,� a movie that was released in May 2005, there is a belief that a fall or early-winter opening remains a necessary component of a legitimate Oscar campaign. �All of the people who don�t know much about marketing and development of film, which is most people in the industry, think you have to come out in the fall to have an impact on the awards,� said Mark Gill, a former top executive at Miramax who is now chief executive of the Film Department, a new independent company.
But it is gold of another sort, notes Carr, that is sending so many carefully wrought movies out into very busy traffic.
�Hey, if you�ve made all of your money in corn futures and manage a hedge fund, why not gamble a bit in the movie business?� Sony Pictures Classics� Tom Bernard told the Times. �I�d say that there is real money to be made by being the guy that collects and holds all of this money, the theater owner, but I don�t see a bunch of Wall Street money heading into that. Nobody wants to show movies; they want to make them.�
Nancy Utley, chief operating officer of Fox Searchlight � which has Wes Anderson�s �Darjeeling Limited� playing in select theaters, with a much broader release set for the end of the month � said many of the films flooding theaters today would not have been made just a few years ago. The result, she said, is that �it is much more difficult to let a film breathe for a few weeks.� Even in film-friendly New York, said Mark Urman, president of ThinkFilm, �they invite you in and then, two weeks later, give you your walking papers.�
A math problem that seems insoluble � more movies pouring onto a finite number of screens � would seem to be a boon to consumers. �The choices that are there for sophisticated moviegoers are awesome,� said Chris McGurk, chief executive of Overture Films, a new studio backed by Liberty Media. Then again, the paradox of choice may leave movie goers less enriched over all.
�I very much doubt this environment would have given people a chance to see �My Dinner With Andre,�� said Ray. Mused Carr, �If someone is contemplating a sequel in today�s climate, it will probably need to be called �Eat and Run.��
Related Links
Not Just Some Movies: This Is a Glut of Cinema (NYT)
Smith, Mann reteam for 'Empire' (VAR)
'Indy 4' is most anticipated film (REU)
Scripts ordered for 'Bionic,' 'Chuck,' 'Cane' (VAR)
Philbin is 'Million Dollar Password' (VAR)
Green gets 'Grey's' arc (THR)
Caron reups with CBS Par til '09 (VAR)
Rodriguez gets 180 days in jail (AP)
Is SJP's new assistant making $200K? (GAW)
Lohan friend sues Perez (AP)
Witherspoon, Phillippe divorce is final (AP)
'TRL' co-host on J. Lo: "She walked around like a pregnant woman, sat like a pregnant woman, stood like a pregnant woman" (US)
FT on NBC sale rumors
Madonna in $120M deal with Live Nation (AP)
Jamba, Fox Mobile chief resigns (THR)
NYT's Washington bureau keeping an eye on new competition (NYO)
CHART: Perez vs. TMZ (GAW)
