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Topic: Late show being adult movie

Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-03-2019 09:32 PM

As another Mike, I agree with Mike here. If I had 2 screens I would definitely put a grownup-skewing movie on the other screen if I was playing a family/kids film.

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Karl Belter
Film Handler

Posts: 21
From: Chillicothe, IL, USA
Registered: Mar 2019

posted 04-04-2019 08:35 AM

Mike Blakesley - your last comment about getting their permission, while your probably currently right, just sounds so wrong to me. As much as lawyers love a fight, I can't believe that some group has not filed something. So a bunch of studios, who are by definition competitors, are openly colluding to set terms and prices to other businesses who buy from them, and applying penalties if you even think about working with someone who is not part of their group.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-04-2019 11:59 AM

Well they're not colluding. Every studio has its own practices and they differ. When you play a movie your booker signs a contract on your behalf and you have to abide by the terms of the contract or risk the consequences. It's nothing "wrong," it's just stupid that they're so closed-minded about sharing a screen.

The whole issue stems from them not being willing to work with small accounts on a one-by-one basis, I think.

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Barry Floyd
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1079
From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-04-2019 01:21 PM

quote:
I suppose dropping a "3rd screen" from the ceiling and draping off part of one of the rooms doesn't qualify? [Wink] Don't know how we'd do that at the drive-in, though I've often had the thought if there was ever a much smaller, cheaper projector available, a person could try some sort of "outdoor seated movie garden" as a move-over screen.

Dave Bird... Check out the Goochland Drive-In in Virginia. They have exactly what you proposed called "The Grove". It's a no cars, lawn chairs and blankets only type of seating, and it's worked very well for them so far.

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Justin Hamaker
Film God

Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 04-04-2019 02:30 PM

One bit of logic I've never understood is why studios would rather lose a screen completely rather than split. This might have made some sense with film where the print could go to a theatre that would play it clean. But it makes zero sense with digital. There are numerous titles we could have played for another week or two on a reduced schedule, but had to drop because the studio insisted on a clean screen. Disney and Paramount seem to be the worst about this.

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Mike Croaro
Master Film Handler

Posts: 394
From: Millbrae, CA
Registered: Apr 2005

posted 04-05-2019 10:56 AM

I forgot to mention something in my previous post. When I first saw the title of this thread, I automatically thought the OP was taking about XXX movies ! [sex]

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Karl Belter
Film Handler

Posts: 21
From: Chillicothe, IL, USA
Registered: Mar 2019

posted 04-05-2019 12:12 PM

Yeah after a few replies, I realized it had two interpretations. Thankful that everyone had their head out of the gutter.

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 04-05-2019 05:17 PM

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. You're standing on my head! [Wink]

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Marcel Birgelen
Film God

Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012

posted 04-06-2019 01:20 AM

quote: Mike Blakesley
The whole issue stems from them not being willing to work with small accounts on a one-by-one basis, I think.

That's why there are bookers who do most of the legwork for them already. In practice, they hardly need to deal with individual exhibitors in their daily operations. Even the distribution part is outsourced.

quote: Mike Blakesley
There must be SOMEBODY at each studio that we could write to, to explain this idea to them, but nobody seems to know who makes those decisions or sets those policies. And we never get told a good reason WHY they won't do it, outside of the unspoken implication that we really don't matter enough to change a policy for.

Over the years, I've had to deal with the media industry at large in many different ways now. But every time it got down to stuff like distribution rights, they started by closing the door. Unreasonable terms and conditions are their starting point and often they simply won't budge an inch.

Once you try to tell them what you think is good for them, they act like you want to put your hands into their cookie jar, even though your intention is to clearly benefit both from it equally.

I think this is due to the fact that they think they actually create additional value by limiting the amount of access they grant others to their content. It's the rather old trick of creating demand by fabricating scarcity. Unfortunately, in a digital world, where content is easily duplicated and piracy is rather rampant, this idea is now largely moot. This, combined with a form of almost narcissistic arrogance that only they know what's best for their content.

As for writing the studio executives, I think it's a good starting point. But in order to do so, I think some of those smaller exhibitors need to organize themselves. You at least need some critical mass to be heard. Maybe a forum like this one can be used as a good starting point. Many smaller exhibitors are on here and many of them will be able to reach others.

Writing letters to the studio execs alone probably won't be sufficient though. There probably needs to be more pressure from other directions, before they'll start to change their policies.

Logical next steps would be to try to make it a political issue. Try to find people inside relevant branches of government that are in your favor. That should also raise public interest in those issues.

There's one very powerful aspect, almost straight out of Hollywood, that should be managed with great care. The smaller exhibitors should make sure they're recognized as the underdog, fighting against the mighty studios. The public generally tends to side with the underdog.

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Brent Barnhart
Film Handler

Posts: 12
From: Terre Haute, IN USA
Registered: Jan 2018

posted 04-06-2019 11:58 AM

In regards to alternative content at a late show time, take this into consideration.
If a 9:15 Saturday night is part of your “normal” schedule, ie you play it weekly, then that’s going to belong to the studio. If it’s not, and you usually play up to 7:00, then it exists “outside of your normal schedule”, in which case (I would believe) that’s yours to do with as you wish.
But, again, I would clarify that with your film booker. Even if something is “allowed” in one region, that doesn’t mean it’s allowed in yours.
Silly? Sure.
Complicated? Yes.
Hey. That’s Hollywood!

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Dave Bird
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 777
From: Perth, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 04-07-2019 08:29 AM

That sounds nifty Barry, I'll have to check it out. If we were still film, and all this stuff lying around, I'd have cobbled one together by now...hey I'll be darned, there's the "Grove" playing a move-over 2nd week of a studio some of us might worry about! Do you know if they simply park cars in the "general population" of the screen 1 field or do they park elsewhere? I suppose the only problem you could have is if Screen 1 sold out.

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