Get Distribution to Blockbuster and/or Netflix?

shadejohnny

shadejohnny

Member
So after reading many an article, and having just recently completed a feature film myself www.animmortaltalethemovie.com, what would be the process to self distribute your own film to Blockbuster Video and/or Netflix?

I would seem the whole distribution to these companies is this blanketed secret? Perhaps I'm a bit nieve or ignorant since I'm a filmmaker and just getting introduced to the marketing/promoting of one's films, but how could it be done? What does a distribution company require to deal directly with the blockbuster video venues?

Very curious....

Thank you,
 

Attachments

  • An Immortal Tale Poster.jpg
    An Immortal Tale Poster.jpg
    371.1 KB · Views: 0
Netfilx and Blockbuster only buy from major video distributors like Video Products Distributors in Folsom, Calif. They don't want to deal with thousands of little one-pony filmmakers. VPD doesn't want to deal with you either. They will only deal with well know distributors such as Vangard Film, Lion's Gate, etc. So it comes right back to getting a distribution deal to get into Netflix or Blockbuster. And even if your movie is not so great, a distributor may try to package it with a better movie, thereby forcing Blockbuster to take it.... But getting the distribution deal (and not getting ripped off) is the subject of many a thread and books.
 
Thanks Frank.

So aside from being dependent and lucky in the festival circuit, escpecially since the larger markets are over saturated with product, what is a good approach to getting your film seen so a distribution deal is more likely? Was thinking of hiring a marketing agent, but was wondering what books are best recommended so maybe this could be done inhouse.

So for instance, where to get someone to review your film (The local market isn't very responsive), which distributors to contact and what is the etiquette (Simply mail a screener to a list of distributors and hope you hear back?)

Many other questions....

Thanks again.
 
Wow... You're right. It is like asking, "Do you have an all-inclusive book on quantum physics that's about 30 pages?" Indeed, I have about 30 books on distribution and the bazillion ways you'll get screwed. However, there are lots and lots of resources on the web. Research the threads right here on DVXUser. Another good site for distribution threads is Stacy Park's www.filmspecific.com/ There are many great posters (people who post messages) on these sites, with great advice and discussion. I know I've learned a lot.
Maybe I should post my reading list !!
 
Check out my book "Action Filmmaking", it on Amazon and talks about distribution. I did get into Netflix and Blockbuster but like they've already said I had a major minor distributor and I made no money.

-Nate
 
Buy the book, Hollywood Distribution Directory. It'll set you back about $50-60. It will give you the contact numbers of distributors you're going to need.

Write a great query letter detailing your product. And you better be thinking of it as a product because you are trying to sell it. With luck, they'll ask to see a screener. Have plenty of screeners ready just in case...

Be prepared to enlist the aid of an entertainment attorney. It is also a great idea to try to get a sales agent for your movie.

I'm sure you've made a great movie...we all have, right? :happy: Take a hard, realistic look at what you've got. What's your target audience? (It's a question you should have answered before you started shooting.) How are you going to answer the questions, WHO's in it? WHO directed it? The distributors want something they're going to be able to sell. Even if you do find a distributor, they may not be able to find a home for it. Be prepared for a LONG HARD ROAD.

Make sure you have all your deliverables ready. These are things like your movie with just an M&E track for foreign distribution and all the signed releases from your cast and crew and copyright of your movie...not to mention being able to show ownership of the screenplay. You may be asked for E&O insurance, or at least the ability to show there is nothing in your movie that is going to put the distributor at risk from third parties. i.e. did you Greek out product labels or get permission to show them?

If you don't have any recognizable actors or a director with a track record, you're going to need one hell of a compelling story and good looking movie to get a distributor interested in it. The days of flipping out a movie to a distributor for instant cash are pretty much gone. As a noob (not meant to be offensive in this instance) you'll be incredibly lucky to get anything up front (this is where an agent or entertainment attorney might be able to help you) which would probably be all you would ever see from it anyway.

I'm not trying to be negative here, you may just have made the next great American movie and you'll find yourself in the middle of a bidding war, but the odds are against it. But that's no reason not to try. Self distribution should NOT be counted out as an option.

If you decide to go the festival route, be sure to get a copy of Chris Gore's Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide. It will helpful in determining what fests you'll want to send your film to. Get a free Withoutabox account. This will be a great aid in actually entering the festivals. Be prepared for a lot of rejections. Use the search function and find Zak Foreman's thread about entering film festivals. Here it is. Above all, if you decide to go the festival route, develop a strategy. There are a lot of festivals that will waste your time even if you do get into them. Again, Zak has a lot of information on this.

Best of luck with your distribution.
 
That's some awesome advice Blaine. Every single book on indie filmmaking should start with that post, because I think a lot of us start out with stars in our eyes, only to come to the same hard-won conclusions.

Self-distribution is starting to look better and better to me as well. I just hear so many horror stories of people who jump through a million hoops to get distribution and then don't get one dime back for their investors. Which then makes it that much more difficult to make a second film. It seems like with some marketing ingenuity, some great clips, and an easy way to buy online, at least you'll see SOMETHING for all your hard work. If you sell 100 copies, that's $1,000-$2,000 more than most of the people I know have seen after getting a 'legitimate' distributor.
 
And don't forget... "The Digital Download Revolution" is just around the corner (maybe 3 years)... and the Distribution World will drastically change as we know it.... all to the better for the Indy filmmaker.
 
FrankC said:
And don't forget... "The Digital Download Revolution" is just around the corner (maybe 3 years)... and the Distribution World will drastically change as we know it.... all to the better for the Indy filmmaker.
Click to expand...

Depends.... IMO I think it'll be worse. Right now even if an indie sells for say $20K and that's it, at least money was made, the movie's in blockbuster and depending on the cover it may be seen by a few people.

In the real world, I don't see how Internet/Mail Movies help indies. I personally got out of "Blockbuster Online" because when I ordered movies by mail I was much more picky about what I picked up, since I had to wait 3 to 4 days to get it. I wouldn't take a chance on a interesting poster as quickly. With "Blockbuster All-access $30 rent as much as you want" I find myself renting anything that's mildly entertaining because I can go in the store, pick it up, read the box, see what else is available, and say "what they hey."

Even think about websites that list movies, they generally list the most popular first, i.e. the ones with great marketing campaigns. So I can see lots of indies that are in order by popularity even under the indie section where the average Sub $200K movie is on page 10 where nobody ever goes.

Then with online movies they'll probably have reviews below the movie. Before if your first two movies stank and you finally learned on movie 3 you were good. With direct internet/mail systems the review will follow you and may hurt your money in the long run. In the current system, you may have a chance at selling, even if it's low and just learn from your mistakes.

I "think" (Think is the key word here) that if indie's don't get it together in the next 3 to 5 years the window for this type of filmmaking will be about done. And you'll have to have a lot of bare chested women in your movie to pull yourself from page 10 to page 2. LOL :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
I totally agree. But I think it goes further than that and I know the bare chested women comment was in jest, but I do think that we need to focus a lot more on just being entertaining/interesting. The navel-gazing stuff is getting indies and festivals nowhere when it comes to distribution. That's why I think genre-specific festivals are the healthiest place to get recognition going forward, whether it's horror, sci-fi, or comedy. If you get a couple of those under your belt and they just entertain some regular folks, then they might be more willing to go with you when you make a dramatic film that's a little more difficult for an audience.

We have the tools and kind of need to get over the beauty of the images. I've watched plenty of crap looking movies that just told a good story. Regular people just don't care... they want to be entertained or for you to at least hold their interest. I often feel like the only people watching a lot of indies these days is other filmmakers.

But I also think that with the rise of digital distribution will come the rise of some new outlets to promote your film. The only thing that I'm thinking now is, as I start to promote my own indie film, that on the next one, I'm spending way too much time on the internet and not enough time on story. It's becoming a requirement to run a blog, twitter, myspace, a youtube channel, etc., AND hold down a job AND try to meet as many people as you can. It's like, at what point does the law of diminishing returns take over?
 
Andrew McCarrick said:
BlockBuster: http://www.blockbuster.com/corporate/supplierGuide

NetFlix: http://www.netflix.com/ContactUs (Under Content Acquisition)
Click to expand...

Awesome Andrew! Thanks!

Frank Perrotto said:
The navel-gazing stuff is getting indies and festivals nowhere when it comes to distribution. That's why I think genre-specific festivals are the healthiest place to get recognition going forward, whether it's horror, sci-fi, or comedy. If you get a couple of those under your belt and they just entertain some regular folks, then they might be more willing to go with you when you make a dramatic film that's a little more difficult for an audience.

We have the tools and kind of need to get over the beauty of the images. I've watched plenty of crap looking movies that just told a good story. Regular people just don't care... they want to be entertained or for you to at least hold their interest. I often feel like the only people watching a lot of indies these days is other filmmakers.
Click to expand...

This is what I have been yelling at indies for the last 15 months! LOL
 
jls4 said:
I find myself renting anything that's mildly entertaining because I can go in the store, pick it up, read the box, see what else is available, and say "what they hey."
Click to expand...

I think you just made my point! The Indie Download Distribution Plan will follow the I-Tunes model where we will find the price point where people say "What the hey... there are no stars... could be garbage... but at that cheap price...What the hey?" The good news is you don't split it 90/10 with some unscrupulous distributor (and you may not even see the 10% without lawyers doing an audit). When the Download Revolution comes, you keep it all, minus your web overhead. Do the math. Many Many sales, even at a cheap price point, may be way more than a mere $20K one would be "willing to settle for". Now say you have a number of movies out there that find their genre audience... the returns could be interesting!!
I've been making movies for years and I don't do it for "the experience" anymore and I won't accept "well I didn't make any money, but hey, I got it out there". No, no... I want to make some money with my movies. I can't trade festival awards for groceries. I will find a way.... and I'm willing to share the info when I do.
 
FrankC said:
I think you just made my point! ... Do the math. Many Many sales, even at a cheap price point, may be way more than a mere $20K one would be "willing to settle for". Now say you have a number of movies out there that find their genre audience... the returns could be interesting!!
I've been making movies for years and I don't do it for "the experience" anymore and I won't accept "well I didn't make any money, but hey, I got it out there". No, no... I want to make some money with my movies. I can't trade festival awards for groceries. I will find a way.... and I'm willing to share the info when I do.
Click to expand...

We'll have to see. I'm about where you are. I've done a few "let me get my name out there" projects. I'm ready to push the full envelope. Movies can be a living, not just a hobby. But I think it's good for the beginners to get some quick cash in their pockets. Those who are on their first or second feature.

As for paying for downloads, only time will tell. I hope I really hope you're right and I'm wrong. I'm so finicky and I'm not the model citizen when it comes to consumerizm. I mean I know people who go to see movies "just because" or they buy a new CD as soon as it comes out. On movies, if the trailer isn't perfect, they won't get my $20 and on CDs I never buy them in the first month! LOL For me, I wouldn't buy a bad movie for even $1. Maybe if it was 50 cents and even then I can see myself getting burned out quickly. The only way I see this happening is if I either knew the person, knew of the person, or saw a good advertisement online.

Maybe if they set it up like a cable plan, I'd be more apt to download. Especially if they made a solution like Paypal where an indie movie production company simply signs up with a company and the company hosts and tracks the movie like youtube or vimeo. Then if you are a member, you see content automatically and the host company drops twenty cents into the bucket of the movie prod company. If it was like that, I'd probably do it. But if I had to watch each penny leave my pocket, I probably wouldn't.

But as many movie business people talk about, the main purchase power is the Tweens and Teens. Ages 10-25. These are the people with lots of extra cash, nothing to spend it on, little to no responsibility so they don't watch their dollars as closely as someone that is 30 with 2 kids and a wife. I can't even get my bro-in-law (wife and 3 kids) to sign up for the Blockbuster or Netflix all you can rent deal, because in his mind he doesn't want even a month to go buy that he's not fully utilized every dime of the plan. So he'd rather rent at $4.25 a pop or just purchase (especially for the kids).
 
zeroblank said:
I believe netflx will deal with you.... There is a section on their site about submitting a film

http://www.netflix.com/SubmitFilm?lnkctr=cu_tr&role=1
Click to expand...

Yes, netflix is actually pretty good about working with indies. They have a lot of really wonderful Docs up that wouldn't get seen otherwise. In fact, a lot of their indie films are available streaming - which is a great way to reach a larger audience.

Red Envelope is the parent company for Netflix. If you google them, you can easily find the acquisitions heads. Drop them a line, and be sure to follow the guidelines on that link!
 
From a distributor:

From a distributor:

Just thought I'd pipe up a bit on this thread. I got into distribution in 1991 after getting ripped off by my foreign distributor, Green Entertainment. All I had left was domestic and the only offer I had on the table was for $10k, which wasn't much back in they hayday of video, so I started my own company. It took awhile, but soon I was able to get into Blockbuster, Hollywood etc. The downside was I haven't had time to make another film since then. Many filmmakers have made quite a bit working through my company and many haven't seen a dime. A distributor can't force BB to buy a film, especially a small one. I've never seen it tougher than it is today. Then there's streaming. Netflix offered $100 for each film in my library, payable over 2 years. Pass on that. I still think distribution has some value despite the rush to diy, though the future is tough to parse. We have a new film by an indie filmmaker that stars C.Thomas Howell and some other names, but it tends towards comic/drama, which is a hard sale. It's in Netflix, but not sure yet if BB or others will buy it. Check it out at http://bit.ly/deadletters


I'm trying to create a newtwork of filmmakers and buffs who will queue others indie films to drive up the Netflix buy, which has been pretty paltry as of late. Any thoughts?

Steve Lustgarten
LEO FILMS
 
Then how did this horrible movie get into Netflix?!

Alone in a Haunted House http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Alone_in_a_Haunted_House/70014703

I watched it and was going to review it, when I realized that 100's of people had reviewed it as crap! I found this thread when searching for "how to get your film into netflix" thinking that anyone must be able to if this pile got on there!

However the Netflix page above says that your film must be at least 60 minutes long, yet this is only 25 minutes. Please don't tell me that this guy has distribution!

Any ideas or suggestions?
 
There's tons of crap movies out there that have made it to Netflix and even Blockbuster, and many more that haven't. It may have been part of a package of films. Hard to say.

Steve Lustgarten
leofilms.com
"Seeking films for distribution."
 
Hi shadejohnny,
I haven't read all of the posts on here, but I'm pretty sure you can get your film onto Netflix with, or without a distributor. I haven't tried putting one of my films on there yet, but I think that you should definitely check this out. First log into your account, then click on the "Your Account and Help" link at the top of the page. Once you are directed to "Your Account..." page, scroll down to the bottom, and you'll find a link called "Contact Us." Click on this link, and once on the "Contact Us" page, once you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you'll see a section titled "Content Acquisition." Under the "Content" heading you'll see two options that you can click on "Submit my film," which says "I am self-distributing my film and would like to make my film available for rent on DVD at Netflix," or the "Distributor" link that says "I am a distributor and I am interested in becoming a vendor of Netflix." Just click on which ever link suits you best now. Again, I haven't tried this so I don't know what all you'll need to provide, or if they'll accept you or not, but there's no harm in trying. I'm sorry for being so precise in my response. I just wanted to make sure you found everything okay. Best of luck.
LMA
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top