Anne Thompson at Variety has written an interesting article on how companies like B-Side, IFC, Withoutabox, Cinequest, iTunes, Amazon and Netflix are experimenting with new models for distribution. Ira Deutchman from Emerging Pictures is quoted saying:

“We’re in the transitional post-major studio pre-Internet era. Models will be clear in the future. We’re still heading toward Web 2.0.”

Thompson’s article is a useful survey of some of the alternatives being explored as we navigate through this transitional period - please leave comments if you have other examples to share.

UPDATE: Scott Macauley makes a good point on the Filmmaker blog that many of the films that seem to be achieving some success online are  political docs, genre films, and sports docs. He argues that the typical Sundance indie dramas still require “marketplace definition” and “need to be formally introduced to the more general movie-loving consumer or to have their identities created and enhanced by critical support.” These films do not lend themselves so easily to the niche, long-tail marketing approach that can work for other kinds of films and they are not getting much of a chance in the crowded theatrical marketplace either so what is their fate?

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 at 10:33 am and is filed under distribution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.