Well I def agree about Net Neutrality, Comcast is one of the worst offenders of that right now.

I do feel there will be a market for Blu-Ray, just like there is (and always will be) a market for actual CDs (and not just downloads from iTunes).

I, and people I know, still enjoy the feeling of “owning” the physical copy of a movie or CD, looking at the art work and linear notes, etc… People said that we have no need for physical books a few years back, but that will never happen becuase people like reading a book and actually touching the pages…

We will see how the market share increases for Blu-Ray compared to DVD, but we wont see any real improvements until 09 most likely when Paramount and Uni go back to Blu, I think once there is onyl 1 format consumers will bite.

Studios were worried that consumers would just trade and copy VHS tapes at one point too. And they though home video would kill movie theaters. Neither happened, and if anything, the underground video trade made movies more popular and ubiquitous in the culture.

Listen, unless the movie studios begin to lean on broadband providers like Comcast et al to filter downloads from suspect sites, downloading movies is the future, the near future, as in it’s already happening on a global scale with millions of people clearly satisfied with this means of distribution. People are always going to trade movies, and I agree, the Internet makes piracy easier than ever. Thing is, Hollywood needs to work with this technological change, b/c they can’t stop it or dictate how it works. This brings up issues like Net Neutrality et al.

As for Blu-Ray, I don’t think consumers will bite. They see the new horizon and it’s not DVDs. Clutter is out. It’s depressing seeing Hollywood push this format, no matter how optimum it looks. It will be a huge magic trick if they pull it off.

The studios will not be behind that 100% for some time, becuase that means 1 person could pay and then any number of people could view it. Also, there is only about 50% of the population of the USA with broadband access, I think only 75% or so have internet access at all in the USA.

It will be a long before Blu-Ray will “eat it” due to those connectivity issues.The “new thing” is HD movies for download via Apple but it is only 720p which is being capped by apple becuase having full 1080p movies available would kill networks, cost too much in bandwidth and studios fear if the DRM is cracked then there will be HD copies of their movies available for free on the web. I am with it, and am all for innovative technology but downloading will not be ready for prime-time use for sometime.

@Orange

It may be slow, but it is still being released at more in more theaters each week, it has not hit is peek yet.

Though, I agree 100% about Jesse James, it was a huge marketing f’ up, but TWBB is not so as (and has the potential to increase tremendously). I agree that its is just now hitting more of the larger chains, but it will keep spreading out and hitting more areas, which it seems to be doing.

Also, I am 99% sure Blood was not released on any screens before the late December release (I think the 27th). It was screened in a few places, but that was all, so I do not think that is valid argument (if I am wrong please show something that states this, and I will gladly retract this statement).

I do agree with some of your points, but do feel that Paramount Vantage knows what they have here with this film and will not neglect it like WB did for James, they are behind many critically acclaimed films this year (both domestic and internationally). I am certain it will get there to smaller markets, I could be quicker, but it is ultimately up to them to choose the pace at which it is released.

we gotta agree to disagree here. TWBB was released very limited (less than 20) in sept 07, then more limited in dec 07, and finially made it to 3 or 4 theaters in berkeley and SF in late dec or early jan (im not sure of the specific date, but i was checking on a weekly basis). it has just now in the past week (!) made it to the larger chain theaters (regal, century etc). for a lot of people, a trip to berkeley and SF will not be worth it to see a movie - we are the exceptions because of our passion for film - but my point was that this film should have been easier for the mass public to see, in one format or another. sept to the end of jan is too long of a time IMO for one of our best films to be widely released. i’m not quite sure how you don’t see that. in the end: the awards + wide release will = only a fraction of what this film could’ve/should’ve earned. TWBB & Jesse James are the years biggest marketing f-ups, IMO. (and no, money does not mean everything, but it does show that people are exposed to the film, which is THE goal.)

I think that OC has a fantastic point about TWBB. Its roll out is incredibly slow (I think it’s actually hurting the film’s potential box office, which is $15 mill and counting - imagine what that would be if everyone around the world could pay $5 US to stream it), but there are so,so,so many people who are dying to see it and are fed up with listening to film critics say things like “well, it won’t play in the Red States.” It’s almost a culture war IMO.

There is no reason why everyone in America who wants to see this film can not see it already given the technology. Theaters hold a tremendous amount of power, sure, and I love seeing movies in a theater (especially TWBB, which I feel demands and warrants it), but the fact remains that if Hollywood doesn’t move its arse, people will download TWBB in a matter of days/weeks when it hits the Net (and it will, and it has, but only CAM versions).

Corporations do not have the power to delay innovation (especially for this long), and the market simply demands that all movies be available for download via the Net. So, more and more, all movies are; but like the music industry, Hollywood is blowing it. Instead, we get X-Box Live and stuff like that. Not to sound harsh, but Pullleeeze. Get with it. People are smarter than corporations: give the people what they want, that is a very smart mantra and always has been. Blue Ray can (and will) eat it.

UncleBoogie:
Just curious, what major city do you live in? I am interested to know what large markets this film has not reached yet.

For me, nothing beats seeing a movie in a theater. I have a pretty nice setup (1080p 50 inch Plasma, with Blu-Ray, etc) at home, but seeing a movie in a theater with the huge screen, loud sound system (yes sometimes too loud, but load nonetheless) and the great popcorn, it well worth the price of admission to see a movie. Seeing movies is still an event for me. I think I see a pretty decent amount of films in the theater each year (~40-50). I do share you sentiment with the seats in some theaters (being 6 foot 6 myself, no back problems however) but nothing beats that experience for me. That is even when I account for the a’holes on the phone or who talk during the movie. I feel the $12 for the ticket alone is worth the price to see how the movie was meant to be viewed by the director.

I mainly see movies in the 4 or 5 large stadium theaters in North NJ, NYC, and Long Island so they are clean, have comfy seats, and almost all movies are available becuase it is the largest market in the US.

In regards to downloading, if anything the smaller films that are not in wide-release are the ones that should be seen in theaters if possible becuase it will help other smaller movies get released by both large and small studios. Those studios will see an interest in those types of films if they make money (maybe not all, but enough to warrant a similar film). I know DVD sales are king for studios, but have a respectable box office total cannot hurt.

Glad to see Jesse James mentioned as it highlights another big bloody stupid problem. I live in a major city. Yet I can’t go and see “There Will Be Blood”, the movie I’m most eager to see right now, as it’s not playing anywhere. Unlike most movies, I’d pay to see that at the theater as I would expect it to bring in a more sensible, mature audience, and not the cellphone abusing, yammering backward ass yokels a mainstream flick would. I’d suffer the pain of the seats to see that film.

Movies like “Cloverfield” (just to pick a current film) I’ll gladly download instead. If I work in transit costs to GET to the theatre, the ticket etc… It’s cheaper to wait for the DVD. I have a very limited budget due to disability (aforementioned back problem), so I like to check a movie out BEFORE throwing my dollars at it. If, say, “Cloverfield” rocks, then I’ll buy the DVD. My DVD collection (300 or so disks), I’d estimate a quarter are movies I would never have bought had torrents not enabled me to check them out first. (The list is far too long to go into here.)

If you go and buy a loaf of bread and cut it open and find dead weevils in it, mold or whatever, you take it back to the store. If you buy a stereo that sounds like crap, or a TV where the picture is fuzzy, you take it back to the store. You pay to see a movie which is truly awful (and god knows I have, and I’m sure you all have too) you’re boned and out that money for a horrible experience, and when you don’t have much money and a very limited entertainment budget, with the amount of utter garbage that comes out to bilk folk out of money, it’s a minefield.

Tim: I’m assuming you mean the “Year Zero” multitracks? I wish Trent would release more of them. All we can get is those, and two tracks off “With Teeth”. What I wouldn’t give for “The Downward Spiral” multitracks…

Cool comments. This is a topic where the studios and filmmakers are definitely checking out what you say here. We’ll have another post on this topic shortly.

Regarding Jesse James, the wording was supposed to communicate the gap between The Assassination of Jesse James’s snail-like domestic release in September 2007 up until its DVD release on February 2008. A correction has been made. Thanks for pointing this out.

Take into consideration that TAOJJBTCRF will not be seen by many eyes around the world for a great deal longer after February. There are aspiring filmmakers in every country, and the Internet has provided us with a way to finally connect them to many of the best films that they could never see otherwise. Hollywood should take advantage. We all should.

The DVD (and Blu-Ray) for Jesse James will be out on Feb 5th… 15 days from now, which is actually 1 week before Gone Baby Gone…

My best examples currently would have to be Gone Baby Gone and the aforementioned The Assassination of Jesse James… I downloaded the dvd screener torrents of both of these films, and was absolutely enthralled by both. While AoJJ won’t be out for awhile, I’ll most certainly be purchasing a DVD copy of Gone Baby Gone–simply for posterity’s sake. The quality of the screener isn’t worth burning to DVD and watching on a regular television. So, I watch these films on my computer, and if they’re great, I usually go out and buy the DVD when it’s released.

The only film I’ve ever willingly traveled more than 30 minutes to see was There Will be Blood, and I drove 2.5 hours to see it. Was worth every minute of the drive, too.

(j/k I think’s he very talented).

So people can wait less than 2 weeks to see the best film of the year.

There should be more encouragement for an alternative or to embrace torrent sites. The important part for a film is finding the right audience…Evil Dead, Donnie Darko, Blade Runner for example. Films get tossed around and become a major buzz with audiences years later and generate money through word of mouth.

For torrent sites, if used to just see films and not what August calls stiffing “The Man” than it could be an important factor to how a film does on home video and rental release.