For months now there has been quite a discussion brewing amongst the April Showers camp regarding online/digital versus traditional. If you’ve been a active follower of this site I’m sure you know which side of the discussion I fall on, however my willingness to try new things has caused others to scratch their head in wonder. Truth be told, my views on the future of Hollywood turning digital isn’t entirely new nor wholly original, for many people, people far smarter than I, have been saying the same thing for years. It’s not a matter of how it’s a matter of when and the when is now.

I was reading an article on The Huffington Post (syndicated from The New York Times) this morning with the title “A-List Stars Flailing at the Box Office,” written by NY Times writer Brooks Barnes. Now, on the surface that title seemingly has little to do with the advancement, or encroachment, of digital in Hollywood, yet as I read I found that was precisely what the article was about. The article began by addressing the issue of dwindling star power in Hollywood, citing that some of the most star studded films of 2009 have largely been box office failures (though I’m sure will make a mint on downloads and DVD) and that the three most successful films of this year have been headlined by solid actors but no one near the status of a Julia Roberts or Brad Pitt, mainly Shia LaBoeuf, Ed Asner and Daniel Radcliffe. A few industry insiders went on to suggest that dwindling star power and dwindling box office receipts are directly related to audiences not wanting to leave their living rooms or computer screens and social network sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

The social networks, Twitter in particular, were blamed because it’s become increasingly hard to over come early reviews or word of mouth, even in a weekend because audiences can and do Twitter from their cell phones while in the movie saying “don’t waste your time.” It used to be a studio would spend months touting a film with glowing reviews and/or slick advertisements coaxing audiences into theaters to see the next “it” movie only to have them walk out at the end of the show and wish for two hours of their life back. Still, before Twitter and Facebook, that negative word of mouth took time to catch on and a film could expect to at least eek out a good weekend if not two, however now the reaction is near instantaneous as a film’s gross can literally plummet in one weekend. However, the opposite has to hold true as well, if a film is good Twitter and Facebook are remarkably effective tools to mobilize new audiences to seeing a film they otherwise would’ve skipped. At the end of the day, it all comes down to making a good product, which judging by some of the so-called Hollywood insiders quoted in the NY Times article, studios are reluctant to want to do.

The second factor for the downturn of star power was equated to sites like Hulu and YouTube, for more and more consumers are staying home and streaming content to their home televisions or computer screens instead of venturing to their local Cineplex. Well duh, Hulu and YouTube are free and other services like Netflix and iTunes, while not free, are cheap compared to the theatrical alternatives. Furthermore, with so many people owning HDTV’s and home theaters these days the true cost of going to a theater goes beyond ticket and concession prices. More and more big ticket movies are finding their way onto DVD, iTunes, Netflix etc. at alarming rates, some in as little as 60-90 days from the initial theatrical release. Many consumers are willing to wait and frankly I don’t blame them, for the cost of an iTunes download in HD is, on average, less than two adult tickets at your local theater. Minus the monetary savings consumers are also looking at the simplicity of staying home on a Friday night versus fighting crowds, chair kicking teens, cell phones, dirty theaters and downright raunchy bathrooms. It makes sense and while Hollywood is still reluctant to admit it, they seem to be warming up to the idea and possibilities.  Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger’s new film “The Burning Plain” is premiering on DirectTV’s Video On Demand service in both SD and HD before releasing in theaters. Bill Pullman’s latest film “Surveillance” released in a similar fashion though it debuted on Amazon.com and AmazonVOD before its limited theatrical release. For more proof that change is coming, Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM have decided to cash in on the Internet and their massive film library by launching their own online movie channel called Epix. Epix is currently in beta testing but promises to offer first run, blockbuster and classic films from the three studios’ vast libraries online.

However, movies aren’t the only ones seeing a shift among viewers, television has also seen a boom in online viewing. Forbes recently wrote an article showcasing a growing trend among budget conscious and tech savvy consumers where by customers are abandoning their cable or satellite services in favor of the Internet and sites like Hulu. In today’s slowly rebounding economy $35-$100 a month in cable/satellite television expenses is extreme when the same content can often be found online via Hulu and the like mere hours after its original broadcast. Speaking from personal experience I have downgraded my television service three times in the past year because I found it was cheaper to purchase season passes via iTunes to my favorite TV shows versus pay for three or four different channel packages in order to obtain the three networks I actually wanted to watch. For a one time fee, usually between $15-$30 dollars per pass, I get the entire season, commercial free, downloaded to my AppleTV. Once the episode is downloaded I can store it on my hard drive or burn the episodes to disc for a later date or even transfer them to my iPhone to watch on the go. If I’m unwilling to buy a season pass or a season pass isn’t offered there’s always Hulu, which is wonderful for shows like The Daily Show with John Stewart and clips of Saturday Night Live.

The reason all of this online/download viewing is a problem for the studios is they haven’t figured out a way to monetize it just yet. Well, they haven’t figured out a way to turn it into a windfall of cash the way they like. Truth is, the Internet and downloads aren’t going to create a windfall scenario for that’s the nature of the beast. Consumers are turning to alternative sources for content to save money and time and the second they feel something is become to corporate, controlled or over priced they move on. Internet viewing and downloads isn’t about weekend box office and one day grosses, it’s about quantity; reaching as many viewers as possible over a longer period of time at price or through a service that is advantageous to them not the studios. Studios can do this better than any of us indie folk for they have vast libraries of content which they can leverage and attract new audiences only they’re reluctant in some cases because they’re worried by doing so they’ll somehow devalue the property.  However, with studios slashing production budgets the initial up front cost of making a film is going to be drastically lower moving forward, hopefully resulting in more and more of the big boys wanting to take risks in bringing said films to market in new and interesting ways that benefit you and I.

So while we continue to explore new and exciting ways to bring April Showers to you via more traditional means, in stores, television etc. we continue to pioneer and look ahead to non-traditional means with which to bring you our film.

We weren’t the first, nor will we be the last. Change isn’t coming. It’s already here.

That’s it for now; I thank you all for your continued support and wish you all a great weekend. Until next time, take care and stay tuned…

Keywords: Coming Soon to a Living Room or Computer Screen Near You, April Showers, Apple, iTunes, Amazon, Online Movies, Download Movies, DVD, Netflix, iPhone, New York Times, Huffingtonpost, Charlize Theron, Hulu, Shia LaBoeuf, Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount, Daniel Radcliffe, 

1. danmcclure Says:
   August 21st, 2009 at 8:52 pm

   It’s interesting that you bring up the subject of cable television. I actually recently contacted the local cable television to ream them out about the fact they keep raising their rates while we find fewer interesting things to view. I also reminded them that originally they sold us the idea of cable by saying there would be no advertising. Now that’s practically all that’s on television. What a racket getting us to pay unreasonably high rates to view commercials. Well anyway you once again seem to hit the technological nail on the head. It all makes perfect sense. The only two things I find difficult in this new home entertainment business is the original cost to get set up and once you do it all changes again. That, however, is not going to change. So move over big movie studio conglomerates make room for the indie film makers.

   Dan

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