My dear friend Thomas and I wrote this for my NYU Independent Producing class.

“Don’t go where the puck’s been, be where the puck’s going to be”

Independent distribution - theatrical and otherwise - in the digital age.

By: Sam Sandak and Thomas Boguszewski

At Sundance 2011, Kevin Smith screened his film Red State.  Previously, he had announced that he would be holding an auction for the distribution rights to the movie; However, when the time came to do so, Smith stood at the podium and presented a fiscal argument in favor of truly independent distribution, as opposed the studio practice of spending over 100% of the film’s budget on advertising.  After revealing that “it took 7 years for Clerks to go into profit", he concluded that “selling a movie is akin to having a baby and then giving it to somebody else to raise.”

He then called producer John Gordon to the stage to initiate the “auction” that he had promised. He opened up the bidding, at which point Smith bid 20 dollars, ending the auction.

With this bold move, Kevin Smith sent film distribution hurtling headlong into the future:

In his Sundance soliloquy, Smith declared...,

“True independence is schlepping that shit to the people yourself, and that’s what I intend to do,” “kind of the way they used to do with the movies, Gone With The Wind would go play somewhere a week, a month, pack up, go someplace else, play it there as well, pack up, leave, that kind of thing: roadshow.” “Indie film isn’t dead, it just grew up.  It’s indie film 2.0 now.  And in indie film 2.0 we don’t let them sell our movie, we sell our movie ourselves.”

Smith asserted that we’ve already proven that anybody can make a film, now we need to prove that anybody can distribute one.  Rather than selling a film into studio distribution, filmmakers take their movies directly to exhibitors - movie theatre owners, video on-demand services, etc.. So, he created his own distribution company called Smodcast pictures. Described to me by Smith as "the island of misfit toys", he encourages young fillmmakers to submit their movies- of the 12 films distributed by him per year, 4 get to go on tour.

Kevin Smith’s model is not only a good idea, but it represents the inevitable future of film distribution, both theatrically and digitally.  It is, in fact, the only logical path.

The Two Antlers of the Majestic Electric Moose that is Film Distribution in the Digital Age:

Digital:

Now let’s go back in time for a moment...; Consider the videotape.

*Sam pulls out a VHS tape*

A rather innocuous rectangular prism of entertainment, isn’t it?...;

I got this one from the Ghost of George Stoney.  But that’s a tale for another day.

Anyway, the noble Video Cassette and Recorder weren't always beloved...; no, not by all....; not by a long shot.

In the late 1970’s, when the VCR was first introduced to consumers, there was panic in Hollywood.  Industry insiders believed that if people were allowed to record programs and movies for themselves off of broadcast television, then an entire “bootleg industry” would result.

“We are going to bleed and bleed and hemorrhage, unless this Congress at least protects one industry that is able to retrieve a surplus balance of trade and whose total future depends on its protection from the savagery and the ravages of this machine. ... I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.”

—Jack Valenti, head of the MPAA, April 1982

But the next 20 years came and went, and the industry was NOT Boston Strangled.  On the contrary, the industry flourished like a cactus. And while, of course, a bootleg market did arise, within five years, the attitude towards VHS had turned on its axis.

"Home video is an exciting new area of opportunity for adventuresome publishers willing to produce new programs. Today's limitations within the video marketplace may be gone tomorrow. More people are finding innovative ways to create visually stimulating entertainment and information for the video tape player"

—Publishers Marketing Association, 1987

Today, everybody has 3 VCRs collecting dust in their garage, for the new devil is the

Internet.  

Modern technologies such as video on-demand, web streaming, and even torrenting allow individuals to download and stream high definition feature films to their computers and then project them onto their walls. Whether this content is "paid", "ad supported", or "pirated," it represents a new paradigm of media delivery. A filmmaker can stream his film, sell digital copies of it, sell DVDs, promote screenings and events, sell merchandise, blog about interesting news, and host a community of members.  ALL WITH ONE WEBSITE.

Theatrical:

In the future, home theatres will become commonplace.  As such, they will generate favorable competition for public theatres.  

Think about it.  If you had the choice between seeing Transformers 5 in the shopping mall megaplex amidst texting teenagers, sticky floors, loud strangers, sticky teenage strangers, Fred Willard, Paul Reubens, James Holmes, and other distractions - or on a comparable home screen with your trusted friends, which would you choose? If you chose the way of Paul Reubens, please exit the classroom in an orderly fashion.

Remember; Anything goes in the home theater.....; Anything. I should know...; I created my own for under $300.

If the standard cinema experience - eat food, sit in seats, watch big movie - can be cheaply replicated at home, then movie theatres will need to adapt in order to survive - they will need to use their space more creatively, and emphasize the types of experiences that are unique to the theater.

For example, in his Sundance speech, Kevin Smith described the way that the moviegoer’s experience will be different in his new “roadshow” model.  Filmmakers would be able to offer exhibitors a larger cut on ticket sales in the first week than the studios, while also avoiding unfavorable "package ‘deals’".  Moviegoers, meanwhile, could be paying several times more money to see the film on tour than they would pay to see it in a multiplex, but be getting a better, more theatrical experience - Q&As with the directors, musical performances, and other special interactive components.

In fact, many types of films are just meant to be seen in theatres:

• When you see The Rocky Horror Picture Show at a revival house on a Saturday night, it's very interactive...; ideally, with other members of the audience. One must always allow oneself no less than 4 empty chairs of clearance- always be prepared.  One is liable to get sprayed with water, handcuffed to things, or have their clothes taken from them. But, most importantly, it is a mythic rite of passage.

• The Tingler is a 1959 Bill Castle horror flick starring Vincent Price.  Bill Castle was known for his audience gimmicks and The Tingler was no exception.  Midway through the film, the screen goes black and Vincent Price’s voice announces to the audience that the Tingler - a lobster-like monster that feeds on fear - “IS LOOSE!  LOOSE IN THIS VERY THEATRE!” and that if anybody feels a tingle, they should “SCREAM!  SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES!”  To seal the deal, electric buzzers were installed under some seats to provoke viewers.  To get an authentic experience of The Tingler, one must see it in a theatre.

• silent movies with live accompaniment

• If you’re in California, anything at The Arclight.

The public movie theater is here to stay. But still, it’s up to this generation of exhibitors to understand what they are doing, and make the essential changes to ensure their survival.  Similarly, it’s up to this generation of filmmakers to take distribution into its own hands, think outside the box, and recognize this new era as a gift, not a curse.

So remember, comrades; the squares are always wrong. Thats what makes em squares. In the 50s, television was the "end of theatrical"; in the late 70s, video was the "end of theatrical"; now digital is the "end of theatrical".  But historically, if we know anything of these supposed “ends,” in short while, they all prove to be new beginnings.