Mar 28, 2024
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If Sean Parker has his way, opening night for movies will be in your living room

A gathering this week of Hollywood stars, studio bosses and cinema owners will climax with “big screen achievement awards”, but the focus will probably not be on achievements or awards – or even the big screen.

Most of the attention at CinemaCon, an annual film industry jamboree, will instead be on a controversial plan to enhance the small screen by beaming new film releases into homes on the same day they open in cinemas.

The gathering’s setting – Las Vegas – is apt because the proposal represents a high-stakes bet by Sean Parker, the Napster founder, plus Hollywood luminaries such as Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson who have decided to back his venture, called Screening Room.

“There is no doubt Screening Room is going to be the talk of the town at CinemaCon,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles-based firm which tracks the film industry. “This could be a massive game-changer.”

Parker, a mercurial Silicon Valley force, and Prem Akkaraju, a former SFX Entertainment executive, have teamed up to create a startup which could upend film distribution and eviscerate the multiplex.

The service would let customers view new films at home for $50 on the same day they hit cinemas, undermining one of the main reasons people line up at multiplexes.

“With the film industry in so much flux right now, is this type of seismic uplift the right move for Hollywood at the present time? We’re about to find out,” said Bock.

Parker and Akkaraju, who did not respond to an interview request, are expected to pitch Screening Room to industry players in private meetings on the sidelines of CinemaCon, a five-day convention which starts Monday at Caesar’s Palace.

In addition to Spielberg and Jackson, they have in recent weeks lined up powerful advocates such as Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Brian Grazer and, reportedly, JJ Abrams.

Their logic: viewing habits are changing – cinema attendance is stagnating while Netflix and handheld devices command ever more eyeballs – so the film industry must adapt.

Screening Room works through a $150 set-top box which for an additional $50 beams a film into a home for 48 hours. Invite family and friends to watch, goes the argument, and it works out cheaper than everyone paying for a cinema ticket, not to mention for transport, parking and overpriced nibbles from concession stands.

Jackson, the Lord of the Rings director, used to defend the “theatrical window” separating cinema release dates from home video debuts but he has embraced Parker’s venture, saying it will attract new punters, not cannibalise existing ones.

“Screening Room will expand the audience for a movie – not shift it from cinema to living room. It does not play off studio against theatre owner. Instead, it respects both and is structured to support the long-term health of both exhibitors and distributors – resulting in greater sustainability for the wider film industry itself.”

However, other film-makers – including Christopher Nolan, James Cameron and M Night Shyamalan – have assailed the sofa-led model as an affront to the essence of cinema: a communal, sensory experience on a big screen.

“Both Jim (Cameron) and I remain committed to the sanctity of the in-theater experience,” Jon Landau, who collaborated with Cameron on Titanic and Avatar, said in a statement. “We don’t understand why the industry would want to provide audiences an incentive to skip the best form to experience the art that we work so hard to create.”

Such disagreements will play out during CinemaCon, which will trail upcoming films and honor actors like Susan Sarandon and Keanu Reeves.

Studios and cinema chains will determine Screening Room’s fate in the short run. Disney has reportedly rejected Screening Room, but according to Variety, Universal, Fox and Sony are showing “serious interest”.

Cinema chains will be a tougher sell since they potentially have more to lose. Parker and Akkaraju have wooed them by offering a slice of the pie – $20 of the $50 fee. They also plan to offer couch-potato customers two free tickets to the cinema to encourage treks to the multiplex – and splurges on snacks and soft drinks – at later dates.

The National Association of Theatre Owners said its members would decide individually whether to back Screening Room. The association made its own hostility plain: “The exclusive theatrical release window makes new movies events. Success there establishes brand value and bolsters revenue in downstream markets.” Cinema chains and studios did not need a “third party” to come up with any new distribution model, it added.

According to Variety, however, Screening Room is “close to a deal” with the chain AMC, which would splinter multiplex resistance.

Bock, the analyst, suspected other cinema chains would balk. If studios sign up, there will be a “tug-of-war”. An additional concern, he said, was piracy, because hackers will surely try to hijack such high-value content. “It would essentially be like gift-wrapping the films for those individuals that wish to exploit them on the virtual superhighways of the internet.”

An industry up in arms and piracy concerns: it may seem like Parker, 36, has turned full circle. In the 1990s artists and music labels denounced him as a thief and wrecker for allowing free downloads on Napster. After the file-sharing service was shut down, Parker helped Mark Zuckerberg steer Facebook to global dominance, burnishing his wunderkind reputation.

With Screening Room, however, Parker and Akkaraju are courting the industry they propose to disrupt, a courtship boosted by fears of stagnation and red ink unless the industry adapts.

In contrast to auteurs who exalt the “sanctity” of the theatre experience, some film critics welcome the prospect of watching new releases at home as an escape from the raucous, odorous reality of some multiplexes.

“I’m talking about the low-born apes who munch smelly junk food – cheese nachos, red licorice, hot dogs covered with mustard and jalapeños – check their cell phones during screenings, take their smelly sneakers off, talk back to the screen, etc,” said Jeffrey Wells, a blogger.

“I never go to see new movies on Friday and Saturday because of these people. I always go during afternoons or on weeknights. This is why I’d like to see Screening Room become an option … IF they drop that $50 price.”

Source: Guardian

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Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Front Page, Headline, Industry News, Technology News

If Sean Parker has his way, opening night for movies will be in your living room

A gathering this week of Hollywood stars, studio bosses and cinema owners will climax with “big screen achievement awards”, but the focus will probably not be on achievements or awards – or even the big screen.

Most of the attention at CinemaCon, an annual film industry jamboree, will instead be on a controversial plan to enhance the small screen by beaming new film releases into homes on the same day they open in cinemas.

The gathering’s setting – Las Vegas – is apt because the proposal represents a high-stakes bet by Sean Parker, the Napster founder, plus Hollywood luminaries such as Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson who have decided to back his venture, called Screening Room.

“There is no doubt Screening Room is going to be the talk of the town at CinemaCon,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles-based firm which tracks the film industry. “This could be a massive game-changer.”

Parker, a mercurial Silicon Valley force, and Prem Akkaraju, a former SFX Entertainment executive, have teamed up to create a startup which could upend film distribution and eviscerate the multiplex.

The service would let customers view new films at home for $50 on the same day they hit cinemas, undermining one of the main reasons people line up at multiplexes.

“With the film industry in so much flux right now, is this type of seismic uplift the right move for Hollywood at the present time? We’re about to find out,” said Bock.

Parker and Akkaraju, who did not respond to an interview request, are expected to pitch Screening Room to industry players in private meetings on the sidelines of CinemaCon, a five-day convention which starts Monday at Caesar’s Palace.

In addition to Spielberg and Jackson, they have in recent weeks lined up powerful advocates such as Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Brian Grazer and, reportedly, JJ Abrams.

Their logic: viewing habits are changing – cinema attendance is stagnating while Netflix and handheld devices command ever more eyeballs – so the film industry must adapt.

Screening Room works through a $150 set-top box which for an additional $50 beams a film into a home for 48 hours. Invite family and friends to watch, goes the argument, and it works out cheaper than everyone paying for a cinema ticket, not to mention for transport, parking and overpriced nibbles from concession stands.

Jackson, the Lord of the Rings director, used to defend the “theatrical window” separating cinema release dates from home video debuts but he has embraced Parker’s venture, saying it will attract new punters, not cannibalise existing ones.

“Screening Room will expand the audience for a movie – not shift it from cinema to living room. It does not play off studio against theatre owner. Instead, it respects both and is structured to support the long-term health of both exhibitors and distributors – resulting in greater sustainability for the wider film industry itself.”

However, other film-makers – including Christopher Nolan, James Cameron and M Night Shyamalan – have assailed the sofa-led model as an affront to the essence of cinema: a communal, sensory experience on a big screen.

“Both Jim (Cameron) and I remain committed to the sanctity of the in-theater experience,” Jon Landau, who collaborated with Cameron on Titanic and Avatar, said in a statement. “We don’t understand why the industry would want to provide audiences an incentive to skip the best form to experience the art that we work so hard to create.”

Such disagreements will play out during CinemaCon, which will trail upcoming films and honor actors like Susan Sarandon and Keanu Reeves.

Studios and cinema chains will determine Screening Room’s fate in the short run. Disney has reportedly rejected Screening Room, but according to Variety, Universal, Fox and Sony are showing “serious interest”.

Cinema chains will be a tougher sell since they potentially have more to lose. Parker and Akkaraju have wooed them by offering a slice of the pie – $20 of the $50 fee. They also plan to offer couch-potato customers two free tickets to the cinema to encourage treks to the multiplex – and splurges on snacks and soft drinks – at later dates.

The National Association of Theatre Owners said its members would decide individually whether to back Screening Room. The association made its own hostility plain: “The exclusive theatrical release window makes new movies events. Success there establishes brand value and bolsters revenue in downstream markets.” Cinema chains and studios did not need a “third party” to come up with any new distribution model, it added.

According to Variety, however, Screening Room is “close to a deal” with the chain AMC, which would splinter multiplex resistance.

Bock, the analyst, suspected other cinema chains would balk. If studios sign up, there will be a “tug-of-war”. An additional concern, he said, was piracy, because hackers will surely try to hijack such high-value content. “It would essentially be like gift-wrapping the films for those individuals that wish to exploit them on the virtual superhighways of the internet.”

An industry up in arms and piracy concerns: it may seem like Parker, 36, has turned full circle. In the 1990s artists and music labels denounced him as a thief and wrecker for allowing free downloads on Napster. After the file-sharing service was shut down, Parker helped Mark Zuckerberg steer Facebook to global dominance, burnishing his wunderkind reputation.

With Screening Room, however, Parker and Akkaraju are courting the industry they propose to disrupt, a courtship boosted by fears of stagnation and red ink unless the industry adapts.

In contrast to auteurs who exalt the “sanctity” of the theatre experience, some film critics welcome the prospect of watching new releases at home as an escape from the raucous, odorous reality of some multiplexes.

“I’m talking about the low-born apes who munch smelly junk food – cheese nachos, red licorice, hot dogs covered with mustard and jalapeños – check their cell phones during screenings, take their smelly sneakers off, talk back to the screen, etc,” said Jeffrey Wells, a blogger.

“I never go to see new movies on Friday and Saturday because of these people. I always go during afternoons or on weeknights. This is why I’d like to see Screening Room become an option … IF they drop that $50 price.”

Source: Guardian

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Front Page, Headline, Industry News, Technology News

If Sean Parker has his way, opening night for movies will be in your living room

A gathering this week of Hollywood stars, studio bosses and cinema owners will climax with “big screen achievement awards”, but the focus will probably not be on achievements or awards – or even the big screen.

Most of the attention at CinemaCon, an annual film industry jamboree, will instead be on a controversial plan to enhance the small screen by beaming new film releases into homes on the same day they open in cinemas.

The gathering’s setting – Las Vegas – is apt because the proposal represents a high-stakes bet by Sean Parker, the Napster founder, plus Hollywood luminaries such as Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson who have decided to back his venture, called Screening Room.

“There is no doubt Screening Room is going to be the talk of the town at CinemaCon,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles-based firm which tracks the film industry. “This could be a massive game-changer.”

Parker, a mercurial Silicon Valley force, and Prem Akkaraju, a former SFX Entertainment executive, have teamed up to create a startup which could upend film distribution and eviscerate the multiplex.

The service would let customers view new films at home for $50 on the same day they hit cinemas, undermining one of the main reasons people line up at multiplexes.

“With the film industry in so much flux right now, is this type of seismic uplift the right move for Hollywood at the present time? We’re about to find out,” said Bock.

Parker and Akkaraju, who did not respond to an interview request, are expected to pitch Screening Room to industry players in private meetings on the sidelines of CinemaCon, a five-day convention which starts Monday at Caesar’s Palace.

In addition to Spielberg and Jackson, they have in recent weeks lined up powerful advocates such as Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Brian Grazer and, reportedly, JJ Abrams.

Their logic: viewing habits are changing – cinema attendance is stagnating while Netflix and handheld devices command ever more eyeballs – so the film industry must adapt.

Screening Room works through a $150 set-top box which for an additional $50 beams a film into a home for 48 hours. Invite family and friends to watch, goes the argument, and it works out cheaper than everyone paying for a cinema ticket, not to mention for transport, parking and overpriced nibbles from concession stands.

Jackson, the Lord of the Rings director, used to defend the “theatrical window” separating cinema release dates from home video debuts but he has embraced Parker’s venture, saying it will attract new punters, not cannibalise existing ones.

“Screening Room will expand the audience for a movie – not shift it from cinema to living room. It does not play off studio against theatre owner. Instead, it respects both and is structured to support the long-term health of both exhibitors and distributors – resulting in greater sustainability for the wider film industry itself.”

However, other film-makers – including Christopher Nolan, James Cameron and M Night Shyamalan – have assailed the sofa-led model as an affront to the essence of cinema: a communal, sensory experience on a big screen.

“Both Jim (Cameron) and I remain committed to the sanctity of the in-theater experience,” Jon Landau, who collaborated with Cameron on Titanic and Avatar, said in a statement. “We don’t understand why the industry would want to provide audiences an incentive to skip the best form to experience the art that we work so hard to create.”

Such disagreements will play out during CinemaCon, which will trail upcoming films and honor actors like Susan Sarandon and Keanu Reeves.

Studios and cinema chains will determine Screening Room’s fate in the short run. Disney has reportedly rejected Screening Room, but according to Variety, Universal, Fox and Sony are showing “serious interest”.

Cinema chains will be a tougher sell since they potentially have more to lose. Parker and Akkaraju have wooed them by offering a slice of the pie – $20 of the $50 fee. They also plan to offer couch-potato customers two free tickets to the cinema to encourage treks to the multiplex – and splurges on snacks and soft drinks – at later dates.

The National Association of Theatre Owners said its members would decide individually whether to back Screening Room. The association made its own hostility plain: “The exclusive theatrical release window makes new movies events. Success there establishes brand value and bolsters revenue in downstream markets.” Cinema chains and studios did not need a “third party” to come up with any new distribution model, it added.

According to Variety, however, Screening Room is “close to a deal” with the chain AMC, which would splinter multiplex resistance.

Bock, the analyst, suspected other cinema chains would balk. If studios sign up, there will be a “tug-of-war”. An additional concern, he said, was piracy, because hackers will surely try to hijack such high-value content. “It would essentially be like gift-wrapping the films for those individuals that wish to exploit them on the virtual superhighways of the internet.”

An industry up in arms and piracy concerns: it may seem like Parker, 36, has turned full circle. In the 1990s artists and music labels denounced him as a thief and wrecker for allowing free downloads on Napster. After the file-sharing service was shut down, Parker helped Mark Zuckerberg steer Facebook to global dominance, burnishing his wunderkind reputation.

With Screening Room, however, Parker and Akkaraju are courting the industry they propose to disrupt, a courtship boosted by fears of stagnation and red ink unless the industry adapts.

In contrast to auteurs who exalt the “sanctity” of the theatre experience, some film critics welcome the prospect of watching new releases at home as an escape from the raucous, odorous reality of some multiplexes.

“I’m talking about the low-born apes who munch smelly junk food – cheese nachos, red licorice, hot dogs covered with mustard and jalapeños – check their cell phones during screenings, take their smelly sneakers off, talk back to the screen, etc,” said Jeffrey Wells, a blogger.

“I never go to see new movies on Friday and Saturday because of these people. I always go during afternoons or on weeknights. This is why I’d like to see Screening Room become an option … IF they drop that $50 price.”

Source: Guardian

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Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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