Spielberg reveals Lincoln struggled to get cinema distribution, says filmmaking "heading for implosion"

[Bruno]

Cheaper actors would help.

 

Cheaper actors would help keeping a lower budget, unfortunately it wouldn't help selling the films, big name actors are more of a guaranteed return than a risky investment, studios would rather pay them loads of money than not having them in the movies.

 

http://screenrant.com/robert-downey-jr-avengers-salary-50-million-niall-172173/

[moebius22]

Big name actors are no longer the safe investment they once were. How many flops did Hollywood produce for those few success?

[Shane Essary]

Cheaper actors would help.

I've yet to pay any actors.  The film permits, on the other hand...

[Cineman1]

     From what I have been reading, the reason many of the small theaters are closing is because with the rapid switch from film to digital projection, the theaters need to purchase expensive new projectors to keep up and the studios don't seem to be helping them.  I read about at least two small town theaters that were appealing to the local population to chip in to help purchase the $100,000 machinery needed to keep their doors open.  So let's not immediately assume that the theater closings we're seeing are due to low audience turnout...although that is likely a factor as well.

 

      I'm currently in production on a micro budget feature entitled False Colors that I'm producing myself, and am learning as much as possible about distribution avenues as I will soon be in the same position as the big dogs...trying to get my movie in front of audiences.  I'm forced to be very economical as I produce what hopefully looks like a much bigger budget movie than it actually is.  I know that when I see big, expensive movies these days I often find myself checking out mentally during the extended, mind numbing chase scenes or action sequences.  I also check out when presented with characters that aren't grounded enough in reality.  That's my biggest problem with the continuing string of superhero movies.  I thought Iron Man 1 was watcheable but the sequel just lost me completely as two superheroes fought each other with no apparent real world rules applying.  Anything could happen and frankly, I didn't care if it did.  So when Iron Man 3 came out I opted to stay home.  So that sums it up for me....I place a premium on acting and story over special effects and lens flares.  Give me good story, great acting, decent cinematography and  I'm there.  Give me all these but great cinematography and I may even see it again.  

 

     And about DVD's being the lifeblood of the industry.... studios survived before VHS or Beta.  Once home video / DVD became a revenue stream they clearly got greedier and greedier or just had worse management until they had placed themselves in a position where they were largely dependent on DVD for survival.    The studios need to pull back and find better stories and tell them more economically.   Then they can still spend their $50 million advertising budget per picture colonizing our collective unconscious until we flock like lemmings to see the brilliance they have created.  

 

     If you're interested in taking a peek, here's the facebook page for my film: https://www.facebook.com/FalseColors

And I would be interested in hearing from you.  Does this look like  a film you would want to see?  

[FilmMan]

@Cineman1, right on.  Looks good.  A lot of work goes into producing a flick.  I look forward to seeing your end product.   All the best.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2819446/videosites

[Bruno]

And about DVD's being the lifeblood of the industry.... studios survived before VHS or Beta.  Once home video / DVD became a revenue stream they clearly got greedier and greedier or just had worse management until they had placed themselves in a position where they were largely dependent on DVD for survival. 

 

Keep in mind that before home video Cinema didn't have much competition, there was no internet, TV couldn't even come close, etc.

Nowadays it's completely different, there's so much competition to film in general, the space in people's lives that film had to itself back then is now occupied by TV, facebook and internet in general, Video Games, and all sorts of internet video (series, shorts, features). Basically back then you either went to the theater or did nothing, nowadays there's plenty of competition, and not only that, you have ways to see the same films they're showing in the theater in other mediums, which you didn't back then.

 

Basically, it's not like they can just go back to how they worked before, but obviously, focusing only on super hero movies and huge blockbusters is not a solution either, but it seems like they'll have to realize that the hard way.

[JohnBarlow]

I thought the fundamental idea behind the digital cinema revolution was that it enabled Cinema managers to download and screen what they believed to be suitable/profitable for the 'local' cinema-goers from the giant hard disc in the sky.

 

The old model for distribution must change to suit this century surely?

[Bruno]

Digital projection was supposed to favor independent cinema, saving millions in film duplication and distribution costs, however, most of the theaters installed their first digital projector on their biggest screens, and there's no way they would have an indie film showing in their biggest screen and a blockbuster showing on a smaller one, so that kind of doomed indies straight away.

 

I think smaller films need to start looking for places to screen by themselves, forget the conventional distribution standards, an indie director should take his film and go on tour with it, book as many places as he can, and do that while also using online platforms to sell the movie, just like a band, releasing an album and then promoting it by playing live, trying to make enough for the next one.

 

I'm sure it's great to make a successful film and not have to work again in your life, but those days are gone, and this ain't the only industry changing. The problem is not the change, it's the resistance to change that causes these breaking moments.