File this under brilliant - The Cinema Falls Theater in Sioux Falls, SD had been thriving pre-Covid, doing just about everything right and building a solid audience and membership, and like everyone else, was hit hard by the pandemic. But the founder, Julie Anderson Friesen (who is a reader and sent me this), is damned smart and she developed a partnership with a local "bigger" cinema in a Mall - the West Mall 7, to bring an arthouse film she curates and promotes to her members, to the local cineplex once a week. It's at a regular time slot - 4:30pm which is not coincidental - it's 30 minutes after local laws allow for the West Mall to sell alcohol, and a good time for a "happy hour matinee," but this regularity also lets audiences remember when to show up for her curated programming.
This strikes me as a very smart collaboration - she brings an audience, they both get revenues, the audience starts to gain trust in going to the movies again, people get curated content, and so much more. But what really makes it work - I think - is that Julie is contacting her patrons directly and letting them know about their Covid-19 protocols and is making sure that everyone is not only acting safely, but feels safe - a huge deal in a State that is not mandating masks and has been a bit soft on this stuff all around (and where cases are exploding). As I said in another newsletter - I think most people are not worried about the theaters, but about their neighbor. But when you have a personal connection, and it's made known, people feel safer they know the programming will be worth the risk, and they'll take it - and it benefits two different venues. Who doesn't love a win-win-win situation?! Check out the local press for more info (and such stories are huge in small towns), and I hope to report more on this project's success in the future.
I've been arguing for more collaboration since the start of this virus, and this is a great example of how collaboration can work. I also see it in the recent NightStream Film Fest, or in how the New York Film Fest collaborated with Rooftop Films to bring the fest to a wider audience through drive-ins in Queens and Brooklyn. There are plenty of other examples, and in every instance I know about - it's worked. That's saying something, because pre-virus, I experienced many collaborations that failed, especially in the film and nonprofit arts worlds. Usually one partner benefits more, or people aren't aligned and things fall apart. But the virus is too big for any of us to overcome on our own, and it helps narrow our focus and more easily realize true win-win situations. I hope to see more of these examples soon - because we're in for a long winter, and we won't overcome it without a lot more collaboration.
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Film
Other Theaters are still Struggling, but some good on the horizon - Variety reports on the situation for theaters - mainly what you'd expect - the big chains have access to investments that can keep them open until customers and films come back. Smaller ones are in debt and barely holding on, with many expected to close and others going into bankruptcy to get out of that debt (and maybe be reborn, or maybe close). But there were a few good things - AMC's stock rose when we learned about the new vaccines doing well in tests and being pretty effective. And others continue to get entrepreneurial, (per above) to try to hold on. Nothing unexpected here, but a good article on the state of things.
Cinemark Makes Windows Deal with Universal - Cinemark make a new deal with Universal on windows, Variety reports. And their deal terms are slightly different than those at AMC, but will now apply to both companies - "Cinemark has agreed to slightly different conditions. Under their terms, any movie that earns more than $50 million in opening weekend ticket sales has to stay in theaters for at least 31 days, or five weekends. All other titles can be made available to rent on digital platforms after just 17 days." That's most blockbusters, so man will hang around for a month, and something between 17-30 feels about right.
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Branded Content
Late Reminder, but I am Hosting a Panel on Brand Funding for the Future of Film Conference this Thursday, Nov 19th: Want to know more about brand funding of films and the future of this sector? Join me, along with three panelists who are doing some cutting edge work in this space - Angela Matusik of HP, Everett Katigbak of Stripe and Colin McRae of Shopify Studios as we talk about what's happening now, and what might happen next, with brand funded films. Get tickets here.
The Promise Of Brand Funded Film: Muse by Clio interviews Marcus Peterzell of PassionPoint Collective about his take on brand funded films - how they are different from branded entertainment, why a brand would fund a film that isn't completely brand focused, and how it works. Marcus is a friend of mine (and it's a bit of a pitch video, and he mentions some of my clients - full disclosure), who I met at the great BrandStorytelling events, but I think I can be unbiased in saying that it's a good intro to the space. If you are a brand thinking about funding films and why - check it out. What I particularly like is his checklist (second half of the video) of the key points to keep in mind if you're moving into this space. Great advice.
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Miscellany:
Protecting Your Data Online - Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the internet - has a new project called Solid, which helps guard your privacy online. Business Insider reports (h/t to Unsupervised Learning) on the project. It essentially let's you keep your data secure in a kind of "pod" and then give access to certain parts of it to different parties of your own choosing. Giving you more control of how your data is used. Pretty cool.
What Will Trump Do Next & What Should Biden do? Original Thinkers - a really cool conference in normal times - did a video interview with Ron Suskind, the political writer and thinker who recently wrote the NYT piece The Day After Election Day, which scared the heck out of many people, and spoke with him about what we can expect from Trump and his base next. It's also pretty scary, but filled with great info - including that Biden needs to start telling a much bigger/better story, and soon. Spoiler alert - he predicts Trump v. Harris in 2024. The interview is about 35min long, and I watched the entire thing.
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