Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Special licensing options for movie clubs, special member events?

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Posted by Nils Hoover (Member # 6636) on 06-13-2012, 11:48 AM:

My theater is looking into starting a movie club, and also possibly private screenings for members, things along those lines. Are there any licensing options to get around the single ~$250 rental fee for more private screenings like these?

I read about the MPLC somewhere on this forum and made an inquiry, but they can't license to theaters. The rep suggested I try criterion or swank, but they all say they are for non-theatrical uses on their website.

Is there any hope for screenings like these, or are the flat fee for single showings the only way to do it?

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-13-2012, 01:36 PM:

That's the only way I know of. And you're stuck for that ridiculous price even if you show a DVD or Blu-Ray.

We'd do a "classic" movie every week if the prices were more reasonable, but alas, there aren't enough old-movies-on-the-big-screen fans here to make it pay, so no dice. Some classics are $400 or more. It's crazy, especially considering with a BD the distributors have zero cost.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 06-13-2012, 01:36 PM:

To the best of my knowledge, a private group is able to watch content from a DVD/BluRay without any licensing fee as long as it is a private thing and no admission is charged.

If you're wanting to use a DCP, then you have to pay whatever fee they charge in order to get the content and key.

Posted by Nils Hoover (Member # 6636) on 06-13-2012, 01:56 PM:

quote: Justin Hamaker
a private group is able to watch content from a DVD/BluRay without any licensing fee as long as it is a private thing and no admission is charged.

I have heard this before, but it is never clear where the line is drawn. In any of these cases that we are interested in we would be making money indirectly from the films, and I would assume this still falls under commercial use.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 06-13-2012, 04:18 PM:

Sorry, Justin is wrong, trust me. You pay for the Exhibition Rights. It has nothing to do with charging admission. Hell, they usually charge you more if you don't charge admission.

Now, can you get away with showing a bluray/dvd to crowd without paying, sure, as long as you don't publicize it, lots of places do it. But if you get caught, the distribs can cut you off.

If you are forming a movie club, you can just charge dues. And if they happen to be due every time you show a movie, well, that's how it goes. Or you can have season dues.

Posted by Melanie Loggins (Member # 6454) on 06-13-2012, 04:56 PM:

I've been fighting this too. I would like to have a classic/indie/rep/foreign series but at, minimum, $250 + 35% for each movie - that I would only show once - I'm having a hard time figuring out how to not lose money on it.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 06-13-2012, 06:44 PM:

Martin: Just to be clear, I'm not talking about any kind of a theatre sponsored event. I'm talking about when a private group rents a theatre and we are showing their content exclusively for their group. If I'm wrong about the licensing issue in this situation, it's good to know.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 06-13-2012, 09:09 PM:

Justin: you can get away with it pretty easily, but the disturbs consider it public exhibition if it takes place in your theatre. Once a DVD intended for home use leaves the home, the FBI warning kicks in.

Needless to say, this is violated by plenty of places that aren't theatres, which is why we occasionally hear about Disney going after a daycare center. Bars get nailed every now and then, too.

Posted by Jim Henk (Member # 3628) on 06-14-2012, 03:48 AM:

Geez, how do they expect to make money if prices for a showing their product is out of reach? Is this just their form of book burning or something? Something beats nothing, after all.

And I hope they're not going to say that adding another check to their deposit costs them so much money. Oh, please. We need a Fair Use Doctrine for this stuff.

Day Care Centers? I thought Scrooge was a *fictional* character.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-14-2012, 10:59 AM:

As a guy who remembers when you could book a matinee for $25, I think these fees are antiquated. I think they were originally meant just to cover the bookkeeping, cost of entering the booking into the system, stuff like that. I think they're way out of line these days, but given the way they waste money at studios, maybe they're not.

Posted by Nils Hoover (Member # 6636) on 06-14-2012, 11:25 AM:

All the more reason that something like the MLPC should exist for theaters, If the fee's are just so they don't have to deal with the bookkeeping. If I wasn't interested in other things, I might try to start a business and lobby with the studios for a win win situation like this.

Especially when ticket prices are more than a subscription to netflix, and hulu, there is no way that people are going to spend full ticket prices to watch something they can see at home. If prices could be cheaper, then it is just another revenue stream for the studios.

But I guess this speculation is pointless.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-14-2012, 12:08 PM:

Unless the studios are willing to compromise, which they rarely are.

I remember a few years ago when Disney decided to stop booking its older movies for matinee showings. Their misguided logic was that the older movies would cannibalize their newer ones. (Never mind the idea of nurturing the moviegoing habit among the young kids without breaking the family budget.) A lot of letter-writing and other negotiations happened, but they were unmovable.

Posted by Mike Frese (Member # 4361) on 06-14-2012, 06:21 PM:

I would suggest contacting Swank http://www.swank.com/

I have spoken to them and they have a pretty reasonable system that you could use IF you are not charging admission. My idea was to run free children's movies at our Family Entertainment Center. We would pay about $100 or less to run a movie off of Blu-Ray with a min of 40 titles per year.

Now there are some that I believe are pushing the line http://www.easthamptonpopcorn.com/ IMHO, there is no way that are legit.