Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Cowboy Pictures

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Posted by Bob Peticolas (Member # 328) on 10-17-2003, 10:38 PM:

Does anyone have any information on Cowboy Pictures of NYC? We have been trying to contact them for a week, their phones go unanswered. Our print of "Beauty and the Beast" didn't arrive - fortunately we got a VHS copy and the show went on.

Any words? [Confused]

Posted by Philip Wittlief (Member # 1724) on 10-18-2003, 02:03 PM:

We didn't get our print of Gigantic last week from them either.

Posted by Alex Rolfe (Member # 1648) on 10-19-2003, 02:55 PM:

We had a print of "Hidden Fortress" from them last week and I don't recall any problems contacting them. I have their contact info as:

Cowboy Pictures
13 Laight St, 6th Floor
New York, NY, 10013
phone: 212-925-7800
fax: 212-965-5655

Posted by Tao Yue (Member # 836) on 10-19-2003, 04:22 PM:

They answer their email quickly if you're having trouble getting them on the phone. info@cowboypictures.com

Posted by Bob Peticolas (Member # 328) on 10-19-2003, 06:06 PM:

Thanks for the tips. That 212 number is the one we have been calling - no answer all week.

I've sent them a nice e-mail, we'll see if they answer and what they have to say about the missing print.

Since we have paid the advance and have a contract, we rented the VHS from Blockbuster and haven't missed any shows. Since this is a 1946 film, the tape is 3:4, complete with blotches and scratches (nothing major, but you know it's and old film) and good sound. Attendance has been just what we expected from a sub-titled "classic" film.

Posted by Mitch Davis (Member # 474) on 10-19-2003, 06:11 PM:

It's a downright tragedy that you had to screen a VHS cassette in place of Cowboy's meticulously restored new 35mm print. I saw that print last year and I'm telling you, it's absolutely breathtaking. Further, not only is the VHS an old transfer that barely resembles the actual film, it's also missing the much-talked-about original credit sequence. Just out of curiosity, had you advertised your screenings as being the new restoration print? [Eek!]

Mitch

Posted by Bob Peticolas (Member # 328) on 10-19-2003, 06:38 PM:

No, we didn't have any information about the type of print. I don't know anything about the original credit roll, either. We bill the classics as just that: "classics". I'm not in promotion for our group, so I have very little say in what the billing is. Hey, we're lucky to get 2-sheets on some of these films (which we didn't on this one - my wife took xeroxes of a flyer to get something for the showcase).

I would rather have 35mm first, DVD second, and VHS as a back of the pack last. The only good thing about DVD/VHS is the sound. Until we get digital for the Brenkert, electronic media beats optical hands down.

Posted by Edward Jurich (Member # 1787) on 10-19-2003, 10:40 PM:

-------------------------------------------
I would rather have 35mm first, DVD second, and VHS as a back of the pack last. The only good thing about DVD/VHS is the sound. Until we get digital for the Brenkert, electronic media beats optical hands down.
-------------------------------------------

Depends on your optical system, I've heard optical systems that sound really good. I've also heard digital systems skip or chop.

Posted by Bob Peticolas (Member # 328) on 10-21-2003, 03:34 PM:

I just word from our booker that Cowboy Pictures is dead. If they have any front money, it's gone. Lot 47 was trying to help them out, but now they are sworn to silence.

Well, we will get our money back from the house, no percentages to send them. Oh well.

They did have some nice films.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 10-22-2003, 10:57 AM:

From Variety

Arthouse distrib Cowboy shutters

Co. hangs up spurs, files for Chapter 7

By DAVID ROONEY

After an acrimonious split of a short-lived partnership between Lot 47 chief Greg Williams and Cowboy Pictures co-founder John Vanco, the latter specialty distribution unit has shuttered operations and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

"We've had a great run and I'm extremely proud of the wonderful films we've brought to audiences across North America," said Vanco in a statement. "Cowboy could have never grown into a full-fledged company without the efforts of many talented people, and I wish to take this opportunity to salute my former partner Noah Cowan and the talented and passionate employees who worked with us, especially Julie Fontaine, Emily Gannett and Sarah Finklea."

Vanco expects to announce new plans in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the commercial fate of titles on Cowboy's upcoming release slate including recent pickups like Elliot Greenebaum's "Assisted Living" and Jonathan Kesselman's "The Hebrew Hammer" remains uncertain, as does distribution of the company's back catalog.

Having been under financial distress for some time, Cowboy sought a solution by partnering in May with Williams, who retained his Lot 47 releasing label even though that banner had been largely inactive since 2002.

While neither partner was willing to supply details due to legal restrictions, the collaboration between Vanco and Williams is understood to have turned sour soon after it was formed. Cowboy sent staff home and closed its office Oct. 10 and filed for bankruptcy in New York on Friday.

Lot of surprise

"All I can say is that Lot 47 continues in full operation and that's been uninterrupted," Williams told Daily Variety. "I was informed much to my surprise that lawyers for Cowboy have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and that the Cowboy offices have been empty for a week."

Founded in 1997 by Vanco and Cowan, Cowboy has handled more than 40 theatrical releases, finding success with docu features such as "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition," "Down From the Mountain" and "Promises."

The company released David Gordon Green's debut, "George Washington"; Catherine Breillat's "Fat Girl"; Shohei Imamura's "Warm Water Under a Red Bridge"; and Lynne Ramsay's "Morvern Callar" as well as handling theatrical reissues including Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" and Jean Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast."

"It's a sad day because we feel strongly that Cowboy had great taste and integrity and they were always wonderful to work with," said Mike Maggiore, programmer and publicist at New York's Film Forum, which played a number of Cowboy releases including docu "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg," one of the venue's biggest hits of recent years. "We hope we'll see the principals of Cowboy resurface in the industry and bring more great films to American audiences."

Group effort

Vanco and Cowan built Cowboy to become part of a network of like-minded distribution boutiques including Zeitgeist, New Yorker, Strand Releasing and Kino Intl. that developed a reputation for passionate commitment to specialty films and for working within the same niche market as colleagues rather than competitors.

In addition to its theatrical releases, Cowboy curated and toured retrospective programs in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art, the Film Foundation and various major studios. The company accumulated a library of almost 400 titles including the majority of key films from Kurosawa, D.A. Pennebaker and Ingmar Bergman.

Cowan withdrew from the company in an amicable separation in 2002.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 10-22-2003, 05:05 PM:

If I recall correctly, Cowboy Pictures (nee Cowboy Booking International) released one or two Miramax titles that the Weinstein brothers got cold feet on.

The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is definitely worth a viewing any time of year. It would have gotten a wider release had it gone out through a distributor that was more financially solid. As it was the Regal (now NA) Town Center Plaza in East Windsor NJ picked up that documentary as a 1-week programmer in 2000 (there's a large Jewish community close by).

For a while Cowboy also booked The Screening Room, a 2-screen arthouse off Canal Street in lower Manhattan. That didn't work out and the theater is now a subrun arthouse.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 10-22-2003, 05:05 PM:

Deleted -- duplicate post due to computer glitch.

[ 10-24-2003, 08:03 AM: Message edited by: Charles Everett ]

Posted by Bob Peticolas (Member # 328) on 10-24-2003, 01:34 PM:

Steve,

Thanks for the Variety posting, it explained everything for my Board.

Bob