ShoWest Wrapup
Interview
ShoWest 2003
March 4, 2003
February 25, 2003
February 18, 2003
February 11, 2003
February 4, 2003
January 28, 2003
January 21, 2003
January 14, 2003
January 8, 2003
January 1, 2003


..News
..Oscar Race Charts
..15 Weeks to Oscar
..The Top 10 Chart
..The Top 20
..The Critics List



..Gary Dretzka
..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Ray Pride
..Patricia Vidal

March 11, 2003

LAS VEGAS - When it comes to video, the tail appears to have begun to wag the studios' dog. The hard part, right now, is figuring out which end of the critter is which.

Last year, total box-office receipts climbed to $9.5 billion, up 13.2 percent over 2001. Meanwhile, sales and rentals of video products in 2002 hit $20.6 billion, nearly $12 billion of which could be attributed to DVDs.

Hollywood, of course, delivers the fuel that powers both machines. It's anyone's guess as to when it might try to find a more energy-efficient engine.

Last week, at his annual ShoWest press briefing, Jack Valenti said he was surprised by newly released statistics showing that studio-marketing costs unexpectedly dropped 1.2 percent in 2002, to an average $30.6 million per picture. These savings were exhausted by production costs, which had ballooned 23.3 percent, to $58.8 million.

Movie making being an inexact science at best, Valenti was at a loss to explain what the figures meant exactly. They could have been aberrations, or trends.

Costs, he was certain, were too high. Period.

Halfway through the press briefing, Valenti was asked by the Hollywood Reporter's Gregg Kilday how he felt about MPAA-member studios spending as much money on some DVD launches as they did on theatrical releases. He also wondered what the feisty octogenarian made of the fact that an increasing number of pictures are enjoying bigger opening weeks in video than they had at box offices.

The only DVDs Valenti was interested in discussing last week, though, were those being sold illegally by pirates near and far away.

When asked his opinions on a new Sony television product that allows HDTV signals to be recorded directly onto DVDs -- and the plethora of digital recording appliances on display at the recent Consumer Electronics Show -- Valenti also reserved comment. He wasn't briefed on the "blue-laser" technology and, thus, didn't want to condemn Sony for possibly profiting from sales of the same tools used by the pirates he abhors.

In fact, it's virtually impossible for anyone who isn't a trade reporter or stock analyst to keep track of advances in the constantly evolving digital marketplace.

In 2002, Valenti also noted, MPAA companies released 225 films into theaters, an increase of 29 from the previous year. All other distributors released 242 films, 45 fewer than in 2001.

Uncounted were the many films that went straight-to-video. Hardly new, the trend has accelerated to the point where these DVD originals, as they're now called, have their own sales charts, trade magazines, awards show and full-blown marketing campaigns.

Most DVD originals, of course, are movies that were intended to have a theatrical release, but couldn't find a distributor willing to invest several million dollars into P&A. Rather than let them gather any more dust on the shelf, the ones with marquee names attached to them are wrapped in an attractive package and pushed into video stores, where they look like any other Hollywood product.

Most, too, are mediocre.

In ever-increasing numbers, though, some aren't bad at all.

I asked NATO president John Fithian if he was unhappy that Disney had decided to bypass theaters with its G-rated sequels to Beauty and the Beast, Inspector Gadget, 101 Dalmatians, Peter Pan and Aladdin, among other titles. Without going into much detail, he acknowledged as much.

While most of the movies that went straight-to-video weren't worthy of a theatrical release, he said, some of his members were concerned that their loyalty to Disney wasn't been returned in kind. This prompted Fithian to discuss the issue with some studio executives, but he wouldn't reveal how the conversations went.

Fact is, however, Disney and other prominent producers of family films have fully embraced the DVD-original genre, and won't soon change their minds. Their shareholders wouldn't let them.

In addition to eliminating the cost of prints, the brand identification that comes attached to certain "franchise" titles helps keep advertising costs manageable. Most feature-length animated DVD originals are produced by the studio's B-team, but the production values are getting better with every new success in the genre.

(It should be noted that the critically lauded and very popular Toy Story II originally was intended to go straight-to-video. After seeing the finished product, Disney/Pixar wisely decided it would be missing a sure bet if it bypassed theaters.)

Nothing much can be done today to ease the hurt felt by exhibitors. When a critical mass is reached in the number of digital theaters extant, however, it's easy to imagine a solution that would be acceptable to everyone.

Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical Ball and Inspector Gadget II are among several DVD originals recently released by Disney's home-entertainment division. What exhibitor would pass on the opportunity to take a shot at finding an audience for either title, if only during matinee showings?

When digital cinema comes on line, select G-rated DVD originals can be released into theaters day-and-date with their video street date. Parents probably would be happy to find another family option in the local multiplex, and, then, might jump at the chance to go out and buy the video version, if only for its bonus features (which can be advertised on the big screen).

Without bulky reels to contend with, the manager of a digitally enhanced theater could later revert to teen and adult fare in the same auditorium, without missing a beat. The movies could arrive simultaneously, in theaters around the world, by mail in disc form, or be downloaded unto a server via fiber optics, direct-broadcast satellite or the Internet.

That's a win-win scenario if I ever heard one.

When theater owners reach an agreement with distributors on a business model - now that the 2K-projection system looks like an acceptable option -- I hope that exhibitors will consider making their screens available to college film classes.

Using DVDs, instructors could show films - in whole or in part - to students in the size and aspect intended by the directors. They also could exploit commentary tracks and other bonus features as teaching aids.

This might not be as lucrative an option as using a theater's installed fiber-optic or streaming-video systems for corporate sales meetings and interactive seminars, but would be a heck of a public service. This would be in addition to the many pay-per-view events that could be digitally delivered, as well.

For any of this to happen, though, representatives of the MPAA and NATO have to start brainstorming with video distributors and manufacturers of digital- electronics appliances. Theatrical applications could succeed where digital television, so far, has failed.

And, more to the point, everyone in the food chain could share bushel baskets full of money.

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