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VOD and the future of movie releasing

post #1 of 8
1/31/12 at 6:14pm
Thread Starter 

Didn't know where else to put this.

 

Mel Gibson is making headlines again by planning to release his latest film GET THE GRINGO exclusively on demand via direct TV, with a bluray release later in the year.

 

http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/mel-gibson-get-the-gringo-directtv-vod-fox-video-on-demand-release/

 

With ticket prices sky high and showing no signs of stopping the ascent, and the country (and world) continuing to spiral into economic oblivion, along with the surging popularity of low priced, but high tech home theater systems (you can get a setup to rival any movie house for under 5 grand), the studios are giving VOD every reason to diminish the theatrical experience.

 

Regardless of your opinion of Gibson, you gottta give the guy credit...he's a shrewd artist and puts his money where his mouth is, financing his own films and finding a way to make them successful.  I like his strategy...the smaller films VOD, the bigger films (like his future Viking flick and Jewish epic) going theatrical.  There's simply no stopping this massive digital paradigm that's headed our way.

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post #2 of 8
1/31/12 at 6:29pm

I don't know if this is Gibson being shrewd, as much as its a case of no studio willing to put up the money to distribute this movie the traditional way. He's just not in a position right now to open a wide-release theatrical film.

 

Not thrilled that this is going to be exclusive to DirecTV at first, but I hope it's a success because with the DVD market drying up VOD is gonna be the only way for smaller movies to be seen by the general public.

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post #3 of 8
1/31/12 at 6:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti View Post

I don't know if this is Gibson being shrewd, as much as its a case of no studio willing to put up the money to distribute this movie the traditional way. He's just not in a position right now to open a wide-release theatrical film.



The reason The Beaver didn't do any business is because the studio virtually buried it.  They call him crazy and a box office dud and then set about to self fulfill the prophecy by controlling the fate of his films.  Gibson still has the juice, he's just getting fucked by studios. 

 

 

 

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post #4 of 8
1/31/12 at 7:01pm

This movie was filmed way before the whole phone rant deal. No way Gibson made it with the intention of going VOD. If a studio thought they could make money putting this in theaters they would, but right now he's a tough sell.

 

THE BEAVER was (tee-hee) double-screwed because you had all of Gibson's personal stuff added to the fact that the movie wasn't a typical crowd-pleaser or at least bloodbath. He could have made that immediately after BRAVEHEART and it still would have likely bombed.

 

Even EDGE OF DARKNESS which was pre-rant didn't do very well. Right now his name is damaged goods. Hope it doesn't stay that way for long because I dig the guy. GRINGO appears to be a return to a more zany action vehicle for him so I'll be all over it as soon as it's available for Dish.

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post #5 of 8
1/31/12 at 7:11pm
Thread Starter 

I didn't say he meant to go VOD from the beginning.

 

Gibson is having some career issues, but nothing any crazier than what Cruise is going through....Gibson is simply going from $25 million per movie A-list mega phenom to modest movie star, and he's certainly not box office poison.  A shit ton of people still like him and will watch his films (if given the fucking chance).  Hell, even Tom Hanks is no longer headlining his own films and has become more of a supporting player as he gets older.  The only movie star that has been virtually unscathed in the last 10 or 15 years is Will Smith.

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post #6 of 8
1/31/12 at 11:23pm

I think the WB had the rights to this, shared with Gibson's Icon company, and while they are releasing it overseas, they probably worked out a deal to shed the domestic rights back to Icon.

 

Gibson has been at a point for awhile that, even if he wasn't necessarily A-List, his movies were kind of a Major Moment when they got released. This looks like more of a lark - action comedy, no other names, first time director. Kinda weird coming at this point in his career, though Gibson shot it awhile ago, and probably thought that he would still be a leading man in 2011/2012 who could get away with a cheap genre quickie. Though I do think they could have pulled it off if they marketed this off the whole "Mel's Off His Rocker!" + "This Is The Old Crazy Mel" = "Mel Has Always Been Crazy!" angle.

 

I think the "Gringo on VOD" thing is a desperation move, and this isn't going to be the movie that gives the format legitimacy. We're not there yet... there's still an active entertainment-consuming demographic that doesn't even know what Hulu is, who don't know the difference between standard and Blu-Ray. VOD's time isn't here yet.

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post #7 of 8
2/1/12 at 7:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambler View Post

I didn't say he meant to go VOD from the beginning.

 

Gibson is having some career issues, but nothing any crazier than what Cruise is going through....Gibson is simply going from $25 million per movie A-list mega phenom to modest movie star, and he's certainly not box office poison.  A shit ton of people still like him and will watch his films (if given the fucking chance).  Hell, even Tom Hanks is no longer headlining his own films and has become more of a supporting player as he gets older.  The only movie star that has been virtually unscathed in the last 10 or 15 years is Will Smith.



Nothing any crazier than what Cruise is going through?  I can't see Cruise getting hammered and slagging off Jews, or ranting about Niggers and getting blown.  Yes, the latter incident was taped without his knowledge but the point is it was leaked.  

 

Even Cruise's supposed bombs like VALKRYIE and KNIGHT & DAY did ok business worldwide.

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post #8 of 8
2/1/12 at 8:52am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluelouboyle View Post



Nothing any crazier than what Cruise is going through?  I can't see Cruise getting hammered and slagging off Jews, or ranting about Niggers and getting blown.  Yes, the latter incident was taped without his knowledge but the point is it was leaked.  

 

Even Cruise's supposed bombs like VALKRYIE and KNIGHT & DAY did ok business worldwide.


Cruise at his worse was seen as batshit cult leader who jumps on couches (scientology).  People were out for blood with that guy during the peak of his troubles, scared of him.  Gibson's problems were nearly of the same intensity, and he's always been seen as batshit anyway.

 

One of the biggest reasons Gibson fell off as an actor is that he hadn't starred in a major movie since like Signs in 2002...after that he turned to directing and producing mostly, it wasn't because he was box office poison, he just literally wasn't acting.  But coming back from an acting hiatus like that, combined with his law troubles made it hard.

 

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