Bubble Burst? Soderbergh's movie gettin no love

Luis Caffesse

Luis Caffesse

Admin
Interesting article about 'Bubble'


Here's a snipet:
If you live in New Jersey, Virginia or Nevada and want to see the new Steven Soderbergh film Bubble in a theater, pack your bags. It won't be showing in those or more than a dozen other states.
The country's largest theater chains are snubbing the film because they object to it being sold on DVD and shown on cable TV the same day it debuts in a handful of theaters owned by the same company that produced the movie.

 
I'm not sure I dig his idea for cross distribution... Don't think it will stop pirates... Just give them DVD quality the first day
 
I think you're right about that - but it may help slow a bit of the fever that people get about bootlegged copies of stuff.

The problem now is that you can get your hands on pirated DVD copies of movies while the movie is still in theaters. And that's only a big deal because it's not 'officially' out on DVD yet.

Maybe by shotgunning movies out there on every media at once it will take out the segment of the piraters who just like having stuff 'first.' Just a thought.

Also, from a marketing standpoint it could save a lot of money - no need to market a movie 3 times (once for theatrical, once for DVD, and once for cable)

Then again, what the hell am I talking about?
I haven't got sh*&t to market.

:)
 
Luis Caffesse said:
Maybe by shotgunning movies out there on every media at once it will take out the segment of the piraters who just like having stuff 'first.' Just a thought.
:)
Click to expand...

I agree, Luis. I know a lot of people who seem to like to have a bootlegs just to say they can watch the newest release on their own tv before anyone else. It's not even about DVD quality, it's about owning a forbidden release.
 
I know a lot of people who seem to like to have a bootlegs just to say they can watch the newest release on their own tv before anyone else. It's not even about DVD quality, it's about owning a forbidden release.
_____________

With this number of people spending their hard earned $ for a crappy bootlegged copy; I often wonder does the quality of image (or the ever elusive filmlook) really matter that much to the public.
I mean, while we try to get the perfect settings in camera to make the image as filmic as possible, are our efforts in vain when we find out that people will buy a subpar copy of a film that isn't even that good storywise (check out some of the crap currently playing in multiplex's now) to begin with.
 
Just goes to show that the theatrical-distribution world is changing. People will always got to movies, but the winds of change are a blowin'.

I'm a filmmaker and I don't even go to the movies anymore, which I love, because the experience is just not the same anymore. Now, I can stay home watch a movie in my own theater and not have to deal with rude people and cell phones. Sad, but true.

As costs continue to drop and the average person can have a home theater the numbers will drop as well.

I think there are a lot of clues to the future in ploys like cross distribution and even in the market for pirated DVD's.
 
This is a super easy film to snub too as it sounds godawful. If it were Ocean's 13 he'd have a lot less resistance.
 
Reviews are mixed, it gets about 65% on the Rotten Tomatoes meter. Then again Underworld Evolution gets 19% so go figure. Still it's got a very odd plot and non-actors. They could have picked a far more appealing movie to test the simulataneous release waters.

It's a good concept for distribution I think and doesn't harm the theaters any more than they've harmed themselves with too high ticket prices and a crappy environment. Why would I want to sit in a sticky seat with people yammering on their cell phone during the movie when I can watch at home on my projector with couch? It takes a seriously cool sounding movie to drag me into the theater these days.
 
I love the idea of the cross distro.

Options. Give me as many options as possible. I don't care why, or if it works. I just like being given the choice.

Plus a lot of the time I just can't afford to go to the theatre. So expensive. If I could rent I world.

-rook
 
DVD sales account for 50% of a films income, maybe even more now. Theaters struggle as it is. Not sure why when popcorn is $6 and the ticket is $12 but they find it hard. If this was the norm, theaters would have to jack the ticket price even more or die. This would snowball into even less attendance and ultimately the death of movie theaters.

Movies becoming a direct to DVD future is not appealing to me...

Just my humble opinion....
 
The agreeement includes a percentage of DVD sales going to the theaters that carried the movie - so they could actually stand to make MORE money than they would have anyhow.

I think it's a good idea.
 
Here's my solution. Lower ticket prices! If theatres would lower the price of a ticket to 6 or 7 dollars and they publicized it I think you'd see a huge spike in attendance. They can keep the popcorn at $12, but lower the initial ticket price!
 
Movie theatres have become quite the big ticket item over the years; but in all categories is still relatively inexpensive compared to other forms of entertainment:

Concerts, Ballgames, Theatre, etc.

My thing is that I'd rather watch them in my home (Home theatre) than sit next to some idiot yapping the whole movie. I'd gladly pay Theatre prices if I could get a digital feed and had the sweet set-up (My dream theatre)
 
I guess we're quite lucky here - prices range from like 1.5 to 7 bucks. Lowest being the discounted stuff, student prices or early morning screenings and highest - the 9pm ones on weekends. Then there are also VIP-halls or even whole theatres where tickets cost all the way up to $35, but you sit in a La-Z-Boy recliner type seat and you can call a waitress by pushing a button on the table by your side.
 
xl70e3 said:
you sit in a La-Z-Boy recliner type seat and you can call a waitress by pushing a button on the table by your side.
Click to expand...

That's how a theater experience should be!!! :grin:
 
Luis Caffesse said:
The agreeement includes a percentage of DVD sales going to the theaters that carried the movie - so they could actually stand to make MORE money than they would have anyhow.
Click to expand...

Did not know that - Seems ok

I still don't think it should be aired on TV at the same time though....
 
Well- it's not like it's going to be playing HBO.
As far as I know the idea is to hit pay-per-view type channels (like Direct TV) at the same time as DVD and theatrical.

I figure if you're willing to go for DVD at the same time as theatrical - then what's the problem with Direct TV? It's pretty much the same as renting.
 
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