Surviving Sundance Notification Time

Short newsletter this week due to the US Holiday. It's that time of year again – when filmmakers and their colleagues pretend to enjoy Turkey over Thanksgiving while waiting for the notification from Sundance on whether they are accepted or rejected. Literally every film person I know is waiting to hear. Some heard already - mainly no's but a few yes's, but most people tend to hear over Thanksgiving weekend if they were accepted, and just after if not. 

This year, I am somehow attached to about ten projects stuck in this limbo - from a mix of clients to personal projects, both indie films and branded content, and let me tell you - the wait sucks. There's no getting around it. Even filmmakers who won't truly have a good cut until February, 2020 (after Sundance) or later usually submitted anyway just in case (I don't like this strategy, but it's common). And while they've called everyone they know and tried to position their films with sales agents or whoever, it basically comes down to the taste of a small group of programmers, and you don't have much control over that process.

So once again, for all of you waiting – try to relax, and don't worry if you don't get in. Remember, there are other festivals. The programers make mistakes...a lot of them. Nearly every year, I know of at least ten films that didn't get in that are better than ten other films I see at the festival. But even when they are "right" in rejecting your film, there are other paths to an audience, and sometimes those other festivals and strategies can be better for your particular film. You can't worry too much about something so out of your control. 

That said - this system sucks. We need a better one. Last year, over 14,000 films submitted for about 120 feature slots and maybe another 60 short slots. That number will surely go up this year. And that's just for Sundance, not all the other festivals (estimates are as high as 60,000 unique titles submit to festivals via Film Freeway and similar services annually). We all know this system doesn't work, but we keep on doing it. Of course, I don't have a solution either, so here we are, pretending to use a system that doesn't work well, to determine what gets seen. I say pretending, because a large number of the accepted slots are not programmed out of the general entries, even at Sundance.

But yet - it's the best system we have now, if you think of it as just a sampling of what films are on offer for 2020. Sundance does a better job than most at curating a decent selection of what's coming out, and that's why we all follow it and copy it, and obsess over it. So, for those of you who do get the good news this weekend - kudos! I can't wait to see your films in Park City, and hope at least one of the projects I know about gets in too!

Stuff I'm Reading

Film 4 ways the consent decree decision could impact the movies - Polygon takes a look at four plausible scenarios. Bottom line - this decision could limit choice, stifle indie voices and enrich monopolies. Most of the summaries of the impact of this decision have focused on the majors, but its the rest of us that will be impacted. One would think there's a service org to fight this? Is AFM A Waste of Time and Money? - Evan Littman gives the low down on how AFM works and how it doesn’t. Short version: don’t go  unless you already know the people you want to meet. Can a movie bring about major corporate change? -  The Guardian looks at whether Dark Waters might help or hurt Dupont, and the verdict is mixed at best. Their stock price has already been hit, but then again, Wall Street analysts feel it will get the problems out of the way. Can any film make a difference? Yes, and they give a few good examples.

What does the first official Netflix cinema mean for Hollywood? - Netflix saved the Paris Theater - what does that mean for Hollywood, asks the Guardian? Well, they have a home for The Irishman after it finishes at the Belasco. Wow, the possibility of streaming sure is killing those ticket sales (not). I'm glad Netflix is renting its way to the Oscars, because they are saving some awesome theaters along the way.

Streaming Netflix, Apple+, Disney+ and Amazon Prime - winners - all the others - Quibi, Hulu, HBO, Peacock, etc. losers - that's the word from Scott Galloway, not me, but I agree (though for different reasons at times). While quite a d-ck, Galloway is one of the smartest folks out there on business and marketing. I agree with most of what he says, but think Netflix will stumble more than he thinks along the way. It's content is merely an afterthought for me these days. But regardless, this is worth reading, as is his newsletter - if you aren't already a subscriber, you should be. HBO Max wants to be the next cable bundle - as opposed to HBO. Says John Stankey in a Recode interview: they are unbundling to rebundle.  “At some point there will be platforms that re-aggregate and rebuild. ... We’d like [HBO Max] ultimately to be a place where re-aggregation occurs,” The Mandalorian has already dethroned Stranger Things for most streams - according to Business Insider and Parrot analytics. And the numbers are pretty stellar: ""The Mandalorian" had over 100 million demand expressions during the week of November 17 to November 23, according to Parrot Analytics, while "Stranger Things" had 81 million."

Branded Content   Native Advertising has a trust issue, but the problem isn’t the format -  So, here’s the big question. "How can we use Native advertising to its full advantage, without being seen to deceive the very people we’re trying to sell to?" The writer thinks yes, if you are transparent, focus on the audience and have a good strategy. Me, I'm not so sure. I always hate stumbling into native content, and would always prefer a partnership that shows me good content, not just a longer ad, disguised as content. VR/AR/Gaming Vader Immortal is what a ‘theme park film’ actually looks like, and it’s great - If were looking for something just for fun "Vader Immortal uses its limited interactivity to build a compelling illusion of physically engaging with Star Wars’ fantasy world. And ultimately, that’s the point of a theme park — not just the spectacle and the inevitability, but the sense that you’re actually in the middle of it all." Social Media How removing ‘likes’ from Instagram could affect our mental health - "But, Instagram is making this change, even if it hurts business." CEO Adam Mosseri, explained recently at the Wired25 Summit that anxiety and social pressures that come from the app “are becoming more acute, particularly with young people, particularly in a mobile-first world. The idea is to depressurize Instagram,” Instagram’s Mosseri said. “We’re trying to reduce anxiety, we’re trying to reduce social comparisons.” Miscellany  What does the future hold for LGBT+ media? -While the present may be looking bleak with certain publications being shut down, LGBT+ will be on the uprise with new Revenue Streams and Brand Partnerships. Expect the latter to be key... kinda like all media. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Posted: 27th Nov 2019

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