Speaking at the San Sebastian Festival, 2ndCreative Investors’ Conference, Jeb Brody, Amblin Partners president of production, weighed in on the challenges faced today by film producers aiming for theatrical releases.
“You’re no longer just in competition with whatever else is coming out that weekend, you’re in competition with the fact that the entire history of cinema is in [our pockets] right now,” he said. First and foremost on the panelists minds on Tuesday was the probable writers’ strike deal in the U.S., confirmed the same evening, that will lead to a return of film and television production.
But Brody warned:“The tension between streaming and theatrical remains, the larger studios working with their own streamers and trying to function well and make sure that that’s all making sense, remains.”
“I think a lot of the issues that led to the strikes is still with us. And it’s going to be a couple of years until that gets really figured out,” he added.
Sarah Colvin, director of acquisitions at Neon, pointed out that while their development slate was impacted, Neon’s status as an indie allowed for interim agreements and subsequently, for its actors to promote their films. “The waivers were a great way to show support for the actors and for SAG because it’s a way to show that the studios and the streamers aren’t the only options, that there are great opportunities in independent cinema.”
While Kiska Higgs, president, production & acquisitions at Focus Features, declined to comment given that her company forms part of Universal Studios, Tendo Nagenda, producer at 10 by Ten and a former Netflix exec, concurred: “I do think that the strikes were probably a response to where we are in terms of the realities of streaming and a declining linear environment in the U.S.”
The panel also contemplated the merits of a theatrical release in today’s streamer-dominated ecosystem, on whether it serves mainly as a marketing, promotional tool or if it still reigned overall.
Said Colvin: “We’re kind of seeing an amazing return, post pandemic, in the box office. We released “Old Boy” 20 years after its initial release and it made almost twice its original gross.”
“There are avid cinephiles trying to go out and see films in the cinemas, it’s just a supply question,” she added.
“For me, personally, the theatrical business isn’t dying,” said Brody who nevertheless admitted that he didn’t go as often as he did to the cinema. “However, for filmmakers, for audiences and for actors, more often than not, a theatrical release is just a much more satisfying experience.”
He related what a streaming platform executive told him of a focus group findings: “The difference between film and television on their streamer is that audiences give television more of an opportunity to work for them. They’ll watch two, three episodes before they decide whether or not they like the show and want to watch more. But if you call it a movie, they’ll watch about 20 minutes and if they’re not satisfied, they turn it off.”
“If you call it a movie, people are less interested or less able to give it more freedom to live and breathe. But if you call it a television show, they’re all in,” he concluded.
The San Sebastian Festival’s 2nd Creative Investors’ Conference (CIC), co-organized with CAA Media Finance, ran Sept. 26-27.
