Deliver Movies At Once For All Media or Keep Windows Open

Mark Cuban states: "Studios have to change how they deliver movies." He believes that Hollywood's distribution system requires radical change. "He wants to do away with artificial windows so that consumers can buy a movie 'how they want it, when they want it, where they want it.' He argues that movies should be made available simultaneously on cable television, DVD, and in movie theaters, letting consumers decide whether they prefer to see it at home (even if it means paying a premium for a new release) or in the theater. This is not mere theory." Cuban is one of two owners of movie production company (HDNet Films), a distributor (Magnolia Pictures), an art-house chain (Landmark Theatres), a television and video library (Rysher Entertainment), and a high-definition television network (HDNet). Slate 10/24/05 http://www.slate.com/id/2128631/ *Director Night Shyamalan Urges Movie Industry To Keep Its Windows Open. Talk about delivering what theater owners want -- writer-director M. Night Shyamalan delivered a speech to the ShowEast convention Thursday that articulated the owners' sentiments concisely. Taking aim at proposals to eliminate the window between the time a movie is released in theaters and the time it is released on DVD, Shyamalan warned that such plans could result in the demise of movie theaters. "If this thing happens, you know the majority of your theaters are closing. It's going to crush you guys," he said. For filmmakers like himself, he suggested, the result would be equally devastating. "When I sit down next to you in a movie theater ... we become part of a collective soul," he said. "That's the magic in the movies." He added: "We have been seduced by the DVD and what will sell the DVD. It has been the worst year in cinema for quality." Later, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Shyamalan remarked, "If I can't make movies for theaters, I don't want to make movies. ... I hope this [simultaneous release of movies in theaters and home video] is a very bad idea that goes away."http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,17676,00.html http://www.showbizdata.com/contacts/picknews.cfm/39869/ DIRECTOR_URGES_MOVIE_INDUSTRY_TO_KEEP_ITS_WINDOWS_OPEN http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-night28oct28,0,3 449220.story?coll=la-story-footer&track=morenews http://cinematech.blogspot.com/2005/10/shyamalan-speaks- about-windows-at.html John Silver agrees with Shyamalan, emphasising on the business aspects that present evidence for the domestic theatrical release creating the brand, the value, cooped in by the home-video window thereafter.
2005-11-03 00:58:55