Filmmaker Discusses Creative Marketing, Freeing Up Movies, Embracing New Business Models
from the sounds-cool dept
Nathan Smith alerts us to an interesting interview with filmmaker Sally Potter, discussing her new movie Rage, which has a variety of unique and interesting facets to it. The movie -- which has a bunch of famous actors, including Jude Law, Judi Dench, Steve Buscemi, Diane Wiest, John Leguizamo and others -- is being released first on mobile phones, with a different part of it released each day for a week (I believe this past week). The film is supposed to be from the view of a cameraphone, so that makes sense. But, Potter has also worked hard to cultivate a strong fanbase through a variety of online methods. And, of course, she's all about embracing "free," embracing what the technology enables, and thinks the rest of Hollywood is a bit silly to live in fear and try to lock everything down:FNB: It's true, everyone is talking about this, what is the economic model? Is there one?Indeed. We've been pointing out for the better part of a decade that going to the movies is a social experience, and the best way to do that is to make that experience better. Many theaters have started to catch on to this (finally).
SP: Not yet. The music industry is slightly ahead of us and had to go through the same thing already and it's shock, horror, terror, everyone's going to go bankrupt because everyone can have everything for free. Lots of resistance, I'm talking about filmmaking now, legislating against copyright and everything is watermarked, anxious, anxious, and all that. And I think my attitude is, go the other way. Open the gates, say "okay have it." It's free, it's yours and then if you want me to go on and make other things, you're going to have to complete the circle by going out and buying the DVD. Maybe in the future it will be some sort of subscription model but I always wanted to do that with this one.
FNB: There was a recent article we read that said the next generation of digital consumers still wants to pay to go to theaters. It's not mutually exclusive, which is calming to know that just because one is succeeding doesn't mean the other is going to disappear.
SP: Its not either/or, it's AND. It might make cinema owners and distributors sit up a little bit, and make it a more pleasant and thrilling experience to go to the theater, make the quality of the projection better, the seats more comfortable, make it back to the real beginnings of what joining together in a big group is all about. Similar people can have their own access to watch it home on Blu-ray, its one of the things that I do. I have a good screen and I watch things together with a group of friends. Comfortably lying about. And that feel just as true of a cinema experience as going to some wonderful cinema.
Filed Under: business models, economics, free, movies, sally potter
