Showing The Movie: Showest 2009 - Part II

After 3D made its splash at Showest in the first 24 hours, more 2D and conventional film was highlighted. But even as the material was shown, the question in the back of everyone's mind was still the digital and the newly proven blockbuster business of 3D with "Monsters Vs. Aliens". The question is that for the small exhibs (unlike the AMCs and Regals) was of the balance of compromise which would have to be made to move this business further.Sony Pictures Presentation Brief but to the point, Sony Pictures' presentation covered simply the films hitting theaters in the next few months. The head of worldwide distribution did make allusions in his opening remarks that both "Men In Black" and "Ghostbusters" have new franchise films that are in development. No date was given for release. A reel for the Summer material was then presented. First was a ultra extended trailer of "Angels & Demons" which basically showed the progression of entire whole movie. This seems to have some more scale than "The DaVinci Code" in terms of the shots that Ron Howard is selecting. Ewan McGregor takes on the role of a priest that holds the keys to a wrath that might rain down on Rome (supposedly). Tom Hanks looks slimmed down from his last Langdon outing but none more so then when he comes out of a pool. Next, "The Ugly Truth" stars Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl as TV people supposedly who have different ideas about how to catch a mate. When she wants to snag a new doctor she is interested in, she enlists his help. In this extended trailer, there is a scene with vibrating panties that is absolutely hilarious. If this film gets the word out, it could be a definite cross gender hit. "The Year One" has been seen around as the new Jack Black/Michael Cera movie about the first road trip. It looks like they go from Israel to Egypt to Rome to Gomorrah. Jack is in full mode and having a great time while Cera is playing to his shtick. McLovin and David Cross also have small parts that seem to shine out from the trailer.The next piece contained footage that hasn't been seen from the new Peter Jackson produced "District 9" which is about aliens that take up residence over the Earth in Johannesberg, South Africa. The film has a Cloverfield-style feel to it with massive special effects placed into the background as well as aliens. This one seemed to come out of nowhere and WETA is still working on the effects. Jackson made the footage available specifically for Showest. It looks like mostly unknowns in the cast. The last trailer shown was for Tony Scott's remake of "The Taking Of Pelham 123" starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Even though the action is good, the acting despite its showiness doesn't seem to jump off the screen. There is also the pedigree of James Gandolfini and John Turturro within the film. The actual movie will prove itself depending on the style Tony Scott intends to bring to the picture.Exhibitor Self Financing Panel & Luncheon After hauling back to jump some tweets out, GDC, NEC and Strong Digital Systems held an exhibitor lunch and the discussion got to the heat of the second of the two discussions prevailing at Showest this year: how will exhibitors for the small chains upgrade to digital without help from the studios? The key with what is being talked about involves a little word called "VPF" (Virtual Print Fees) which is determined in the use of a digital print and its delivery. The thing is that it could become a totally new way of exhibitor agreements or it can be simple. The through line does not seem to have been decided yet. Julian Levin, EVP of Digital Distribution at 20th Century Fox, brought in focus his thoughts first. He says in a global marketplace they have concluded deals through third party dealers with a worldwide commitment of over 60,000 screens. It is at this point, he believes, that financing occurs en masse for the full conversion to digital. He said that they don't believe it is practical for one exhibitor to invest in the cost of a projection system if you have only one major distributor on board. If a distributor wants to add on and integrate (into the initial agreement) a 3D clause, they would assure the exhibitor that they would get a rental fee. The thing is that when the day is done, according to Levin, the VPF will be paid. With a direct deployment agreement, he believes in the assistance of the financing of digital equipment. By comparison on the exhibition side, George Solomon, the CEO of Southern Theaters (based out of Mississippi), remarked that he has not been a big proponent of 2K or 3rd party integrators. He wants to negotiate the VPFs directly with the studios because he doesn't believe in giving part of their profit to a third party. To this the audience of exhibitors applauded. This has always been the dark/light side of the coin of the exhibitors' relationship to the distribution companies.Solomon's suggestion is that they move into 3D with 2K projectors (and not 4K - due to the cost). He says to collect that premium and fully pay off the 2K 3D system first. Then you work with other consortiums to forge ahead. The middle ground was taken by Bill Campbell, managing director of the Cinema Buying Group [who becomes the island of the 3rd party integrator] saying that it helps that a distributor like a Paramount gives exhibitors (who they will work with in digital) a form to go to banks with to show what a VPF will be to ensure a loan for the expensive new equipment. Financing, he believes, for most people is going to happen with the integrators but they need that critical mass of studios to make it go forward. Levin then responds to this statement by saying that the exhibitors will probably run more into trouble as times goes by in waiting to get these new projection systems online. He says that both sides want these systems to work but someone has to keep track of what the systems cost. In terms of his company dealing with exhibitors to implement, they are in talks with 13-20 domestic and 13-20 international exhibs in terms of these new deals right now. What they added in terms of the deal to the mix is 3D which is an ignition point and a one page letter. The thing is that adding the 3D within one system ensures that you will be paid retroactively.Solomon, however, backs the conversation up again focusing on the inherent financial difficulty from already cash strapped theater owners. Assuming that they are going to 2K, 35mm he believes is still a better investment. They make more money and the film studios make money. If the studios want them to show the movies this new way, he believes the studios should give them money for the projectors so everything can keep moving. The problem to me is that the studios are trying to cut the costs too. No one wants to foot the bill so it is creating this political/financial impass while the technology is still moving ahead at warp speed. Levin continues to speak of the advantages of this fully digital platform. He thinks that it has great benefits which includes ancillary content (advertising, theater extras, live events). And they want to make sure that exhibitors get some of these benefits for helping share these costs. But for him, the key is if you are not an early adopter, you still have to engage and get involved or you will be left behind. He says will not be there to integrate the VPF fees for that which seems to be a major position to make the exhibs convert. Solomon however responds with a solid point which reveals the true crux of the relationship between exhibitor and distributor. He says that it all come down to, using an example from next year's big movie, in how many times on a Saturday night are you going to show "Avatar"? His quote: "Our theaters are y'alls". For him, alternative content is not a impasse option if you want to show movies. Even for 2K, they need to have those VPFs on a consistent level. 3D is a different because you can charge a premium price for admission but you can't do one without the other. He says in terms of how to accomplish this, they have to find some other way. But as of right now, it seems nobody has the answer.Disney 2D Presentation & The Proposal Following Disney's groundbreaking 3D presentation [see Part I] the day before, the studio returned with two very different products. Before screening the almost completed rom com "The Proposal" from Touchstone starring Ryan Reynolds, the head of worldwide distribution showed some test and very early completed footage for Disney's foray back into 2D animation: "The Princess & The Frog". John Lasseter, the major creative force behind Pixar, took over the Disney Animation Department a little less than two years and wanted to bring back 2D animation to the studio that pioneered it because today's animation wouldn't exist without the hand drawn elements that came before it. The scene that was shown was of the moment when the princess wishes and the frog is sitting there. The comedy is quick and it is great to see the hand drawn style of Disney again. However the clip may not be representative of the film as a whole but with Lasseter behind it (who also helped usher the new "Tron" back into play), there is definitely good reasoning.By comparison, "The Proposal" is a return to "While You Were Sleeping" territory for Touchstone and Bullock and its first more adult film comedy in a while. Sandra Bullock plays a closed off head editor in a book firm who learns that she is going to be deported if she doesn't find a solution to her visa problem. Her character is a Canadian (which is funny ground breaking Ryan is in real life). She comes up with the idea to marry her assistant (played by Reynolds). He goes along with it because it will further his career. The thing is that the immigration officer thinks they are full of it which leads to a weekend back with his family in Alaska who he hasn't seen in three years. Hijinks ensue. The thing is that Ryan is a perfect foil for Sandra who still has a bit of her magic even though she is aging. However she is finding a balance to it that perhaps she didn't have in "Two Weeks Notice" in terms of hitting that right chord. The reason it works here in many ways is because of Reynolds. The reasoning is that he is playing it more broad which is necessitated by the material. In the superior but not as commercial "Definitely Maybe" the subtlety of the plot worked extremely well. The angle is here that the formula has to work in a way so the story needs to serve that. It does feel too quickly created and resolved at the end but what sells it is a great final moment between Ryan and Sandra where she lets her guard down and makes the picture work. Granted there is still tweaking as the film doesn't come out until summer but it is definitely a crowd pleaser and should do decent business.XpanD Reception & Battle For Terra This new 3D integration system creator hosted another ballroom soiree sets up more like networking than the actual sit down dinners of the past. You can see the shift for sure from a  couple years ago when the studios would do these massive dinners with all A-List Talent. Warner and Paramount did two earlier in the decade that were unbelievable. That time, especially with the state of the economy has past. The fact that the delivery systems are changing also plays a role. Certain companies like XpanD are trying to get a piece of the 3D pie even though Real D seems to have the current inside track. The company created the glasses element for "Battle Of Terra". In comparison, the Real D system is easier to use but still has some headache issues whereas this one did not for the most part.However "Battle For Terra" apparently was made overseas and acquired by Lionsgate. In the space material the 3D is definitely highlighted and the scale it shows is neat. It is a different kind of visual acuity than "Monsters Vs. Aliens" which just opened big but "Terra" doesn't have the mass appeal. It reminds me of detached A.E." or some of the cool experimental high budget films that sometimes come through the pipe but don't quite connect. The voice cast works well. And after a bunch of April Fool's jokes including one where the audience was psyched into thinking Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock were there, it was nice to see Dennis Quaid, one of the stars of "Terra", come out and introduce it. The thing is that having the two stars of a new movie show up a couple years ago to talk to exhibs would not even have been a discussion. They would have been there...and I was surprised that the studios didn't key that in as much since it has always been what exhibs respond to. The convention had a different feeling in that regard but it is hard to say what that signals.Showest this year was all about 3D especially with the success of "Monsters Vs. Aliens" fresh on everyone's mind. The key is that even with all this new content, there seems a lack of balance. The rush by the distributors is to do as many 3D elements as possible while letting 2D go by the wayside. There is a bit of a disconnect between the discussions that are occurring which is none more prevalent than in the panel above. It was also spoken to me by many exhibitors who discussed this with me. A compromise in how to integrate these systems and business models in will have to be reached before the technology jumps forward again. Some say that the 3D is a fad but the technology wasn't there before in terms of its ability to truly capture the format correctly. There are stages beyond this. The key is how to make money without being too greedy that it hurts the business. That's the rub.