Next to Russia, CANADA is the single largest source of CAM Copies of our films. I can't get into how they know this, but they do. Maybe Freeman can speak to this, but theatres are really only good at selling tickets and popcorn. There are a lot of young employees at these chains across America. They struggle with just keeping the popcorn going. Years ago they tried to sell Movie Posters and other Film Related product. TOTAL BUST. They can't do it. Don't have the space in the lobby, don't have the expertise to merchandise, etc... Same thing would be true for DVDs. That being said, the time will come when the release windows will collapse and you will see DVD's or On Demand Viewing of a film on the same day. Just expect to pay a huge premium for that benefit. And expect the Theatre Owners to fight it every way they can. (You can ask Mark Cuban or read his blog, he has tried it on his films) Ira
________________________________ From: MoPo List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bob Brooks Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 11:57 AM To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Subject: [MOPO] A note from Dan... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ STUDIOS PULLING OUT OF SCREENING FILMS IN CANADA Dear Movie Fans Warner Brothers will no longer be "previewing" films in Canada. They have cancelled screenings of Ocean's 13 , Harry Potter and the new Nancy Drew film. WB is fed up with the laws of piracy in Canada which (at this time) say that it's not illegal to videotape a movie in a Canadian cinema. In fact all the theatre owner can do is ask the person to leave the theatre. The only way charges can be laid is if it can be proven that the person making the tape plans on marketing the film commercially, which we all know is impossible to prove. They estimate that 25% of all camcorder movies sold around the world were shot in Canadian cinemas (what they don' t tell you is the ethnic groups responsible for that but that would be racist). 20th Century Fox has come on board saying that they are thinking of releasing films in Canada a few weeks after they come out in the U.S. due to this very problem. So I say .... why not release the DVD's in theatres the same day as the films are released theatrically? Cut out Blockbuster and Rogers and Wall Mart and distribute the films through the exhibitors (theatre chains). This way if you go see a film at the theatre and really like it you can buy it on the way out. You would also be permitted to buy the movie poster which would also be available for sale there (give those people behind the popcorn stand something to do when they are not selling popcorn and Coke's for $15). This way the studios would only have to spend advertising costs once and not twice (once when the film comes out and once when it comes on DVD). You'll always get the people who want to see the film on the big screen and for those of us who want to watch it in our home, we can buy the movie at the theatre for say $15.00 on the Monday after opening weekend. This way the studios can get their big weekend grosses and recoup their budgets. Then a few months later the studios can milk the release of the special edition with bonus features and new endings and sell us the Beatles White album all over again. This would solve the problem of piracy and we can go back to having screenings which I have been fortunate enough to watch for over 30 years until now. Dan Rickard The artist formally known as Dan of MoviePosterAuthentication www.movieposterauthentication.com <http://www.movieposterauthentication.com/> Authenticating Movie Posters 1970-2000 PS-I'm clearing out my office at home next weekend and if you want any movie material drop me a line at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
