I consider myself a Kevin Smith fan. I've seen most of his films. I've seen the spoken word DVDs. I listened to the early sModcasts. I check in intermittently with what's going on in the Askewniverse. And although I haven't enjoyed all of his output, I am glad he is still generating it with the same spirit and humor with which he made Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, etc. The world of indie filmmaking needs somebody like Kevin Smith. This was never more apparent to me than when I saw the video of Smith's speech at the Sundance Film Festival this year. In the speech, he presented a new film distribution model which he said he was going to use to market his most recent movie, Red State. He pointed out the single most glaring obstruction in the way independent movies are currently distributed--you scrounge up enough money to make the film for $500,000 or whatever the cost may be, get it in the can, and still have to surmount the marketing barrier that keeps your film from being seen by an audience. And in exchange for safe passage over this formidable wall, traditionally, you had to throw money at it. Smith challenged this notion and sent reverberations throughout the indie and Hollywood circuits. One unfortunate "journalist" went so far as to characterize Smith's speech as a nervous breakdown, a career-ending "implosion." Other commentators said he basically burned every bridge he had left.
Did they listen to the same speech I did? Dude essentially drew a line (with Wayne Gretsky's hockey stick in hand) between the traditional film distribution model which was heavily reliant on old media (ie. No tv ads and no print ads = no audience for your movie) and a new model based on self-distribution through social media and added value screenings. It is very similar to what independent and established musicians are doing now that the record industry is dying a slow death. I thought it was a bold and inspirational declaration. He announced a tour of his film throughout the U.S., with each screening to be followed by a Q&A, which would make back the money his investors had put in the movie. And according to a recent "Red Statement," it did.
After seeing that video of Smith's speech, I have been thinking about what this paradigm shift will mean for current and future filmmakers. I haven't been able to draw any clear conclusions yet except that in order for Smith's type of business model to work, filmmakers will have to initiate and maintain a direct line of communication with their audience (typically through social media these days), and they will have to form relationships with exhibitors (ie. theaters) which will enable them to present their films in ways that will translate into new and exciting experiences for audiences. How these new distribution models (and I suspect there will be many more new and diverse ones) will affect the types of movies that we buy tickets to see however, is a fascinating mystery. At this point, the frontiers are wide open.
Read about Kevin Smith's self-distribution venture here from the man himself.
Video of Smith's Sundance 2011 speech below.
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