quote: Wall Street Journal

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On television, Veronica Mars was a gritty teenage private investigator who wasn't afraid to break down doors. Now a movie version of the show is about to do the same thing.

"Veronica Mars" will be released by Time Warner Inc. TWX -0.38% 's Warner Bros. in about 270 theaters on March 14, the same day that it is available to buy or rent online. It will mark the first time one of Hollywood's six major studios has distributed a movie in theaters and for home viewing at the same time in the U.S.

For decades, a sacrosanct "theatrical window" protected big-screen releases from the competition of DVD sales, rentals or other distribution platforms. Under intense pressure from the largest cinema chains, which argue that such competition would take business away from them, studios usually put at least three months between theatrical and DVD or video-on-demand releases.

In the past few years, independent studios and theaters have begun to chip away at the theatrical window with simultaneous releases—but only for low-profile movies and usually on a small number of screens.

Introducing WSJD, the Journal's new home for tech news, analysis and product reviews.

For "Veronica Mars," which originated with a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, Warner Bros. has found an unusual workaround. The studio is paying AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., AMC +1.64% the nation's second-largest chain, to rent 260 screens across the country (the other 10 playing the film are independently owned).

Because Warner is renting the theaters, AMC doesn't consider it to be a violation of its standard 90-day window policy. Typically theater operators and studios split revenue from ticket sales. For "Veronica Mars," AMC will sell the tickets as usual, but Warner will pocket the box office sales.

"On projects like this where we know we have a partner with the resources to promote the film and an easily targetable audience, we will rent theaters out," said Nikkole Denson-Randolph, AMC's vice president of special and alternative content. The duration of the rentals will depend on how well the movie initially does, she said.

AMC has never rented out so many theaters for a single movie before, Ms. Denson-Randolph said. The most successful simultaneous releases in the past, such as "Arbitrage" starring Richard Gere, played primarily in independently owned theaters. Those theaters don't always adhere to traditional release windows and typically have smaller audiences.

AMC's major competitors, including Regal Entertainment Group RGC -0.53% and Cinemark Holdings Inc., CNK -0.24% don't rent out theaters to movies that will be released at home within fewer than 90 days, said people in the industry.

It usually costs between $5,000 and $20,000 a week to "four wall" a single screen, as renting one out is known in the movie business, according to a knowledgeable person. Executives at AMC and Warner declined to discuss financial details of their agreement.

For Warner Bros., which is known for bigger budget event films like "The Lego Movie" and "Man of Steel," "Veronica Mars" represents an experiment, not a harbinger of broader changes to its business.

Although the "Veronica Mars" series was canceled by the CW Network—co-owned by Warner and CBS Corp. CBS +0.23% —in 2007 because it drew only about 2.8 million viewers a week, its fan base has remained loyal and long demanded resolutions to plotlines left dangling. Show creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell pushed the movie idea last year and convinced Warner, which produced the show, to release it if they met a Kickstarter goal of $2 million.

The effort ended up raising $5.7 million from more than 91,000 people. Actors from the TV series including Percy Daggs II, Jason Dohring and Enrico Colantoni agreed to appear.

"The existence of Kickstarter and the emergence of the social Internet make something like this possible," said Thomas Gewecke, Warner's chief digital officer. "The economics work."

Because the passions for "Veronica Mars" run deep, executives at Warner and AMC said they are confident fans will go to theaters with friends and buy or rent a copy to watch again at home. Home pricing is set by cable and satellite providers, but on-demand rentals generally cost about $5 and digital purchases are between $15 and $20.

Some funds from the Kickstarter fundraising are being used for T-shirts, posters and other rewards promised to fans who donated money. The studio funded the rest of the movie, which ended up costing a little over $6 million in total.

Advertising is being done entirely online and in AMC theaters, with no traditional television spots or billboards. Given the movie's modest budget, Warner says it is counting only on the existing "Veronica Mars" fan base to attend.

"They can make it successful for us," said Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president of distribution for Warner. "If we extend beyond that, it'll be gravy."

Mr. Gewecke said Warner has looked at other properties from its television and film library to see if they could qualify for the same treatment of a low-budget movie that can be released simultaneously in theaters and online. "The passion of the fan base and the very strong connection to Rob and Kristen online are the essential ingredients," said Mr. Gewecke.

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tldr; Time Warner renting AMC auditoriums to play the movie instead of normal bookings. Available to stream and buy on day 1.

What are your opinions on this controversial subject?
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-22-2014, 09:59 PM:
 
This is nothing more than the first step to industry destruction...and there we are with AMC leading the way letting it happen, being unable to see the bigger picture and favoring "money now".
 

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Posted by Terry Lynn-Stevens (Member # 7349) on 02-22-2014, 10:59 PM:
 
This is not really breaking any molds. Veronica Mars will be released in 270 theatres, they think that the fan base of 2.8 million viewers will either buy, rent or go to the AMC, I highly doubt this venture will be successful. If it were 3500 theatres, then maybe it is a story.

quote:

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It usually costs between $5,000 and $20,000 a week to "four wall" a single screen, as renting one out is known in the movie business, according to a knowledgeable person.

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quote: Wall Street Journal

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It will mark the first time one of Hollywood's six major studios has distributed a movie in theaters and for home viewing at the same time in the U.S.

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quote: Home Video, February 1983

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LINDA RONSTADT SAILS THE HIGH Cs

by Ben Fong-Torres

Pirates of Penzance, starring Linda Ronstadt, will be the first major motion picture to have its premiere directly in American homes. In a tale that parallels the swashbuckling duels of Pirates, Universal Pictures has parried theater owners' claims to first-run exclusivity.

On February 18, 1983, film and television history, millions of dollars, and several enemies will be made with the release of the film Pirates of Penzance. Universal Pictures will present the movie in exclusive runs in selected markets. That's nothing new. But on that same evening, the film will be shown, through pay-per-view television, in upwards of 2 million households at $10 a pop. That's where the history, the millions, and the enemies come in.

Pirates of Penzance follows in the recent tradition of Broadway plays brought to film (e.g., Grease, Annie, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas). But as the $12 million production was being edited, Universal began thinking of Pirates as something more than just another movie adaptation of a Broadway play.

"Pay-per-view television is something that the film industry has talked about for a long time now," said Jerry Hartman, vice president and marketing director at Universal Pay Television. "People were talking about it two years ago. It was something that was coming, and it had to happen sooner or later. We decided- early last year­ that we wanted to do it, and in looking at our lineup of pictures, we decided that Pirates of Penzance had the best chance of succeeding. It was a picture that, while being for the whole family, had an adult orientation- without being pornographic. It had had enormous exposure. It had a very successful Broadway run, went off Broadway all over the country and was successful. We'd have the same cast that was on Broadway. Broadway on pay TV has been a big thing; Showtime started it years ago. We decided it had all the earmarks of our best movie."

From the beginning, this production of Pirates has broken new ground. When Joseph Papp, founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival, decided to put on the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera in Central Park during the summer of 1980, his intention was, in fact, a put-on, a send-up of the century-old musical. The idea, says Papp, was "to bring this classic into a more popular arena, and bring in certain performers who would attract people who would not ordinarily go to Gilbert and Sullivan."

So, in the midst of a stageful of veteran British actors, there were two pop singers, Rex Smith (being seen these days as co-host of Solid Gold) and Linda Ronstadt.

Ronstadt does not ordinarily go to Broadway plays- the only one she ever saw before Pirates was Equus- yet her presence guaranteed the show massive media coverage. Her performance, along with those of the rest of the cast, combined smoothly with director Wilford Leach's loose and wacky, yet faithful version of Pirates. The show was a smash, and shortly after the summer run, it hit Broadway, where it won, among other honors, three Tony Awards (along with a nomination for Ronstadt as Best Actress).

Ronstadt scared no working actress with the reading of her lines; in fact, her acting chores were kept to a minimum. "I have six lines," Ronstadt said. "Two that I speak and four that I sing, that were supposed to have been spoken. Changing them made it easier. As soon as I sang it I knew what it was supposed to say." But she made substantial contributions, including the addition of a song from another Gilbert and Sullivan work. The idea was to get Ronstadt an additional solo.

"I suggested 'Sorry Her Lot' [from H. M. S. Pinafore] because I knew it from when I was about six. My sister did Pinafore in junior high and I always liked that song."

After meeting Joseph Papp at a party and, subsequently, getting hired to play Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, Ronstadt found another connection with Gilbert and Sullivan. "I took my score and my album to London- I was doing The Muppets Show, and my parents were with me, and we were staying at the Savoy Hotel. My father spotted this statue of Arthur Sullivan, and so he learned all about the Savoy Theatre. So I actually learned all those tunes completely not knowing that the Savoy Theatre was right there in the hotel until my father told me. But it was great. I was pleased that I had the ghost of Arthur Sullivan around me."

Atter Pirates' original-cast Broadway run, Papp began work on the movie version, shooting just outside London from late November 1981 through February 1982. This was Ronstadt's first film (aside from a cameo appearance in the long-forgotten FM, but, like a seasoned motion picture actor, she was bored goofy between takes. In full Victorian getup, she could be spotted strumming idly at an acoustic guitar, arguing amiably with Rex Smith about their comparative abilities at raising dogs, or, most often, reading various works by Henry James and thinking about home.

Less than a year before, Ronstadt could not have predicted that she'd be in this- or any other- movie. She was still getting used to being on Broadway.

"Acting is a funny thing," she said. "It's not anything I ever wanted to do, and it's still not anything I want to do particularly, but it's interesting." She laughed. "Boy, the music is amazing." Ronstadt earned rave reviews for her easy handling of coloratura, a light, agile, soprano voice. "A year ago I didn't know what that meant," she said, laughing again. "But yeah, I am one. That is my range."

After the filming of Pirates of Penzance, Ronstadt toured Japan and discovered that her voice had had losses as well as gains. On her rock tunes, she said, "I couldn't belt as hard." But on a successful U.S. tour late last year, she seemed to have regained all of her voice, and at the tour's conclusion she went into the studio to finish an album of pop standards. In January, she was scheduled for a promo tour in Europe and there is talk of another stage role in New York. She still finds time, she says, for dance and exercise classes. "But mostly, I'm working. And the way the economy is going we're all willing to work six times as hard for twenty times less money."

Ronstadt was kidding of course and yet it's been reported that the five lead players in Pirates decided to help Papp launch his film by taking an equal, small salary. As things turned out, getting the film made was the easy part. After that, Universal had the real problem: figuring out how to plunge into pay-per-view while keeping the theater owners of America from becoming the studio's enemies.

Initially, Universal hinted that it would offer the film to pay-per-view operators one day before its theatrical release. In July, the company changed its mind: It would be a same-day release. By that time, a small but loud storm had built, with most of the noise coming from theater owners.

The idea was simple enough. Like the boxing matches, the Rolling Stones concert, and the showing of Star Wars (last September, five years after its original theatrical release) that preceded it, Pirates would be shown by STV and cable operators with pay-per-view capacities to an audience of as many as 2 million households, depending on the installation of necessary equipment and Universal's success in selling the film to pay-TV outlets. Universal was suggesting a minimum charge of $10 a subscriber, with $6 or 60 percent of the charge, whichever was greater, going to Universal.

MCA, the parent corporation of Universal studios and its pay-TV subsidiary, could conceivably recoup its $12 million outlay in one night by achieving a pay-per-view sellout. Given the recent history of pay-per-view TV events, however, that's not likely. Boxing matches have attracted as high as a 50 percent sign-up rate; the Stones scored about 25 percent; Star Wars managed over 30 percent; and, just last November, a live telecast of the Broadway show Sophisticated Ladies sputtered out at a little over 10 percent.

Still, by mid-November, Universal was already announcing that it had licensed enough operators to account for some two-thirds of its possible pay-per­view audience. Among the major commitments was one from Oak Communications, which owns ON TV systems in seven cities with a potential audience of more than 600,000. Oak, which produced the pay-per-view showing of Sophisticated Ladies, is an adventurous company. Art Reynolds, marketing vice-president, shrugged off its financial failure- "Someone had to try it," he said- and explained Oak's interest in Pirates succinctly: "It's a landmark. We're doing it just to see how it works."

Whatever business Pirates does, it's at the expense of the movie theater owners. At least that's what Richard O'Rear, former president of the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO), claimed.

O'Rear, owner of theaters in the Kansas City area, said his and other theaters were being reduced to "second-run status." MCA's move, he said, "threatens the continued viability of theaters as the primary market for motion pictures by subverting traditional time­tested and highly successful distribution methods. ... Each exhibitor will have to determine for himself how to respond to this threat."

While O'Rear was merely hinting at theaters refusing to show Pirates, Henry Plitt, chairman of the board for Plitt Theatres, said his houses would not darken for Pirates. "If the exhibition industry wants to absorb the cost of a film that can't be financed by pay TV, then they're financing their own funeral," he said.

"Well," sniffed Bill Soady, an executive vice-president at Universal, "he owns a few theaters, and he doesn't have a monopoly on all the good ones." But Vice-President Tom Wertheimer said most theater owners were calming down. As Soady put it, "The theater owners I've talked to are saying 'Show me the picture.' And that's not unusual."

In an effort to pacify the owners, Universal is doing much more than showing Pirates on TV and in theaters. "We want this event [the TV showing of Pirates] to go over so it'll help theater sales," Jerry Hartman said.

"All kinds of research shows that there are two different audiences for a theatrical event. The movie audience is eighteen to twenty-five. Older people go, but most of them have to be told by everybody they know that 'You'd better see this movie or you're gonna die.' It's very hard to get them out to a theater.

"The way we're presenting the event, we've got a half-hour TV show before the movie, with live coverage from New York, and a rundown of Gilbert and Sullivan, and what people are about to see, and why it's so special, etc. etc. Then, after the event, there'll be a wrap-up. Additionally, we're providing every subscriber with a libretto, with the story and all the words to the songs. We're doing everything we can to enhance the viewing experience, so that those who see it enjoy it, and the next day talk to their friends, and hopefully encourage people to the theaters. We spent a lot of money to do this." The marketing campaign budget for Pirates is nearly $1 million, in addition to the $2 million for theatrical promotion.

During the production of Pirates, director Leach waxed romantic about the philosophy behind the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. "It's goodwill and optimism and generosity of the spirit," he said. "It's the way things should be." But off the set and off the screen, it's another world, where all that matters is the bottom line, the protection of one's turf against piracy, real or imagined. The theater owners continue to talk tough; Universal is trying to talk peace. And everyone- chief among them MCA, Joseph Papp and company, and the cable operators- is crossing their fingers. All of them are waiting for February 18, 1983 to be history.

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TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR AUDITORIUM RENTAL AND OTHER SERVICES FOR EXHIBITIONS OF VERONICA MARS
The following terms and conditions apply to the agreement (“Agreement”) that you, the “Exhibitor”, have made to rent to Warner Bros. Pictures Domestic, a division of Warner Bros. Distributing Inc. (“Warner”), the necessary auditoriums for you to screen Veronica Mars on behalf of Warner for one week commencing April 4, 2014 (such period may be extended by mutual agreement between yourself and Warner) at the theatre(s) that have been agreed-upon between yourself and Warner and to supply the following services to Warner:
(a) handle all of the ticketing for Warner, the tickets to be sold at the applicable theatre’s current established box office prices;
(b) display a Veronica Mars one-sheet in the above-named theatres;
(c) run the Veronica Mars trailer as to be agreed-upon with Warner;
(d) promote the screenings of Veronica Mars on your website;
(e) project the film in the auditorium(s) rented herein;
(f) clean the auditorium(s) rented herein between the screenings;
(g) resolve any patron issues regarding any of the screenings on behalf of Warner;
(h) report all admissions to Warner in the same manner would be required with respect to a Warner license;
(i) be solely responsible for collecting, reporting, and remitting all sales and use tax, admission tax, or any other tax that may be due to any taxing authorities in connection with the sale of the tickets;
(j) remit to Warner 35% of the admissions gross net of any applicable tax for which Exhibitor is responsible pursuant to (i) above within twenty-eight (28) days after the rental period.

As payment for the above screen rental and services, Exhibitor shall retain 65% of the admissions gross net of any applicable tax for which Exhibitor is responsible pursuant to (i) above. Warner shall have no right or interest in any proceeds from Exhibitor’s concession sales or advertising income that may be related to the screenings. If Exhibitor charges any upcharges in connection with any admission, however, such upcharges shall be part of the gross receipts hereunder.

Exhibitor shall maintain full, complete and accurate books and records concerning this agreement and permit audit by Warner, both in the same manner as require by Warner’s Standard Terms and Conditions applicable to its license agreements.

Exhibitor shall have no legal title to or interest of any nature in any of the materials provided by Warner to Exhibitor pursuant to the Agreement, including any copy of Veronica Mars, nor in the portion of the gross receipts required to be remitted to Warner hereunder, and shall not permit any lien, charge, pledge, mortgage or other encumbrance to attach to such materials or such gross receipts.
The Agreement is deemed made in California and shall be construed under the laws of the State of California applicable to contracts entered into and fully performed in California. If any provision of the Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, it shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. Waiver by either party of any breach or default by the other shall not be construed as a waiver of any other breach or default by such other party.

Should there be a breach of the Agreement, if either party prevails in a lawsuit or other legal proceeding based solely upon a breach of this Agreement, such party shall be entitled, in addition to any and all other remedies, to recover its necessary costs, expenses, and counsel fees, whether incurred during or prior to such lawsuit or other legal proceeding, but only to the extent such costs, expenses, and counsel fees relate to such breach, together with interest on any sums owed pursuant to the Agreement at the rate of One and One-Half Percent (1 1/2%) per month or the maximum rate provided by law (whichever is lower), to be computed from the original due date of each sum.

Exhibitor’s screening of a copy of Veronica Mars shall be deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions.

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quote:

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[T]here is a difference in concept, although from a practical point of view, your general procedures will be the same. On other pictures, we grant you a license to exhibit our motion picture. This is a special offering which we are presenting ourselves, hiring your auditorium and services to make it happen – classically referred to as a 4 wall. Instead of the gross being yours, out of which you pay us a film rental fee, the gross is ours out of which you retain a fee for the rental and services you provide. Our normal method of doing business is by licensing to exhibitors, and that will remain our regular approach to our releases. This particular arrangement is very much the exception, not the rule, and Warner has only sought to 4 wall this picture with few exhibitors, of which you are one. We look forward to mutual success with your screening of the motion picture.

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the gross is ours out of which you retain a fee for the rental and services you provide

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quote: Terry Lynn-Stevens

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they’d only be able to stream the movie, not download it.

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A new Microsoft patent will allow the company to remotely surveil, and effectively count American citizens as they order online or cable pay-per-view from the comfort of their own homes.

From the patent:

A content presentation system and method allowing content providers to regulate the presentation of content on a per-user-view basis ... Consumers are presented with a content selection and a choice of licenses allowing consumption of the content. The users consuming the content on a display device are monitored so that if the number of user-views licensed is exceeded, remedial action may be taken.

The patent, submitted on April 26, 2011, and passed on Nov. 1, 2012, essentially allows the company to remotely turn on any cameras, be they mobile or from something like the XBox Kinect, and count the number of 'consumers' watching licensed content.

What Microsoft dubs 'complex algorithms' will not only count how many people are consuming that Mixed Martial Arts Championships, but also for how long they consumed the content, paving the way for charging users for half or even quarter uses of content.

From the patent:

In the case of the mobile display device, the display 105 is generally designed for use by one person but it is possible that more than one person may be able to view content on the display 105. As such the consumer detector uses data from the camera or capture device 102 to determine the number of consumers. In one example, camera 102 is an RGB imaging camera and the consumer detector analyzes one or successive images from the camera to ensure that the licensed number of users per view is enforced.

"Enforced" means the patent also gives licensers using Microsoft's surveillance 'product' the right to 'shut off' content if an unauthorized amount of users start to watch.

So you may want to tell the folks you invite over for the next fight to shut off their cell phones and remove the batteries prior to beginning the show.

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quote:

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The patent, submitted on April 26, 2011, and passed on Nov. 1, 2012, essentially allows the company to remotely turn on any cameras, be they mobile or from something like the XBox Kinect, and count the number of 'consumers' watching licensed content.

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That will never fly, as Joe likes to watch his movies in the nude.

Seriously though, it would be a blatant invasion of privacy.
 

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Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 04-09-2014, 05:44 PM:
 
I imagine that the powers-that-be could just add it to their terms of service and be in the clear, legally.

The masking tape bypass can easily be dealt with by disabling playback until the camera can see what's going on. More elaborate hacks like a panoramic photograph (or a test pattern as shown in in episode 1 of It Takes a Thief) might be possible, though obviously more difficult to implement and get right.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-09-2014, 06:18 PM:
 

quote: Brad Miller

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That will never fly, as Joe likes to watch his movies in the nude.

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