..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

There was a story Tuesday morning on Variety’s website that confirmed what a lot of DVD buyers have known for a long time about the movie industry. No crime there, fans are often the first to spot trends that reporters only consider to be news after they’ve affixed their bylines to it, or a study is released.

The Hollywood Reporter’s site offered another golden oldie. But, because it’s about Australia, all discussion of it has been relegated to the Down Under of this column.

The lead story on Variety.com reported that exhibitors are concerned “the gap between theatrical and DVD releases has hit three months, and the pressures are great to close it even further.” No shock there, exhibitors have been fretting over window shrinkage for the last 20 years, at least. The “pressures” on studios come largely from Wall Street, which expects all businesses -- even the fantasy factories -- to meet unrealistic profit projections, or risk a much-dreaded “downgrade.”

Paranoia over disappointing Wall Street analysts has forced studio brass to think quarter-to-quarter and sequel-to-sequel, instead of year-to-year and Oscar-to-Oscar … just like every other Chicken Little executive in corporate America.

Studios with a sizable inventory of vintage films in their library are in the enviable position of owning a goldmine loaded with easily convertible assets. Need a quick fix? Release a bunch of classic pictures that have been sitting on a shelf awaiting restoration, ready or not; build a “collector’s edition” around a long-ago blockbuster or cult favorite; or send out new, even more “special” editions of proven DVDs hits.

How many versions of The Godfather saga, Apocalypse Now and Dawn of the Dead can possibly be introduced, before the producers run out of deleted scenes? A few, at least. Will the addition of an IMAX incarnation of Apollo 13 to Apollo 13: 10th Anniversary Edition make it any more appealing than the very decent 2002 re-launch of Ron Howard’s
thriller? Who knows? Could a re-release of Miss Congeniality -- complete with a free ticket for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous -- drive sales for both? Apparently, not.

Still, putting new treads on old tires has become so inexpensive that even small fixes can help boost the bottom line, and mask other studio blowouts. DVD is the tail that’s wagging the studios’ dog. The shrinking of DVD release windows is less a gee-whiz trend than a mandate, and no one who‘s been paying attention over the last two years should be surprised by that fact..

But the studios have other tricks to separate the rubes from their money. They include holding back the release of a wide-screen or 5.1 audio version of a title, so they can be added to later editions and labeled “special“; following Peter Jackson’s lead, by sending out a director’s-cut version of a hit title, only a few months behind the bare-bones theatrical-cut, thus capturing the same audience twice; and, of course, re-releasing collector’s editions and gift packs of titles about to be sequel-ized in theaters. As worthy as the titles in the Criterion Collection are, it’s begs credulity to think that The Rock, Armageddon, Chasing Amy and This Is Spinal Tap warrant such pampering upon re-release.

Thank goodness, then, DVDs were created to boost the sell-through market, and, so, the price point started low -- compared to VHS and Beta titles, which went for $90 to $120 -- and they can be purchased in gas stations, as well as video stores for $5.

Regrettably, next year, consumers also will be asked to invest in new high-def DVD playback units, at about $1,000 per, which will necessitate the purchase of their favorite movies in yet another format. Unless manufacturers and studios agree on a single HD format, the consumers are likely to get soaked, once again. What other business can get away with feeding this kind of addiction?

Exhibitors concerned over window-shrinkage rightly suspect that it’s only matter of time before the gap between the theatrical and DVD release ceases to exist. Someday, they’ll be right … even a broken clock gives the correct time twice a day.

Distributors will, indeed, adopt an Internet-delivery strategy that actually makes dollars and sense to them -- and them alone -- and the movie-going experience for adults will be further degraded, even as theaters are getting better. Teens and young adults will continue to flock to the multiplexes to see action pictures and epic adventures on the big screen, and art houses will continue to attract cineastes. Less fussy types will simply be able to download new releases on impulse, or purchase it on disc in a day-and-date launch campaign.

Perhaps, the reason the drive for digital-projection is moving at a snail’s pace is because distributors have decided it isn’t worth bailing out cash-poor exhibitors, by sharing the costs or financing outright the renovation of projection rooms. If a new economic paradigm is right around the corner, why bother? The same studios that have stopped laying out the red carpet for their old pals and business partners at ShoWest, likely have a pretty good idea of when they’ll have to begin pulling the rug out from under the exhibition business … and they don’t want be around to wipe up the red ink.

Cynical, perhaps. But, it took less than two months for a bomb like Surviving Christmas -- the recipient of a hugely expensive media blitz -- to make the leap from theatrical release to DVD. Michael Moore rushed his potential long-runner, Fahrenheit 9/11, into pay-per-view and DVD windows, simply to influence the presidential campaign. Noel, starring Penelope Cruz and Susan Sarandon, was only two weeks old before it was available on Flexplay limited-use DVD and cable television.

Any number of film-festival favorites bypass a theatrical release altogether, and go straight to DVD and cable (where, remarkably, one can effectively be used to tease the other). John Malkovich’s excellent Ripley’s Game was an extreme example of this phenomenon -- a battle over ownership put its status in limbo -- but, clearly, “direct-to” titles no longer are limited to those starring C- and D-list talent.

Indeed, many exhibitors would kill for the chance to run sequels to such Disney franchise titles as Aladdin, The Lion King and Mulan, which made a killing in the straight-to-DVD market. At a time when marketing costs for the average MPAA-member-studio’s product is $34.4 million, any dollars saved by eliminating prints are dollars added to the bottom line.

Until recently, the ShoWest banquets were reserved for the major studios, their product reels and more stars than there are in the heavens. Now, tech companies have been left to pick up the tab, with only an occasional star in evidence and one or two product reels on display. This pretty squares with the reality that studio products now enjoy a life span of about two weeks in the thousands of competing mega-plexes in which they’re booked. Still, hope springs eternal that a My Big Fat Greek Wedding will be left at the entrance to their theater by a mysterious stranger -- who looks suspiciously like Bob Berney -- and it will still be selling tickets after the latest blockbuster has been relegated to the remainder bin at Wal-Mart.

Thus, one of the most highly attended nights of ShoWest belongs to the distributors of independent films. Typically, attendees are able to see two of the five movies being showcased on the eve of the convention’s formal opening, while also enjoying free popcorn, pop and a buffet during intermission. This year’s offerings were My Summer of Love, from Focus Features; Dust To Glory, from IFC Films; House of D, from Lions Gate Films; The Chumscrubber, from Newmarket Films; Mad Hot Ballroom, Paramount Classics; and Layer Cake, from Sony Pictures Classics. Even if the exhibitors had no intention of booking an indie or documentary into their houses, they welcomed the opportunity to see a movie that doesn’t make their walls rattle.

Exhibitors certainly enjoy selling popcorn to fans of blockbusters, but what they really love to do is book a surprise long-running hit, like Bowling for Columbine, The Passion of the Christ and Greek Wedding, which made its ShoWest debute in 2002, on Indie Night. These films sold plenty of tickets and popcorn, and they took their own sweet time going into DVD. Studios maintain boutique operations for just such art-house surprises.

It’s always a surprise to find big-names actors in low-budget pictures. This year’s offerings on Indie Night highlighted performances by such stars as David Duchovny, Tea Leoni, Robin Williams, Erykah Badu, Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Carrie-Anne Moss, Rita Wilson, Josh Bell and Colm Meaney. The names of most of the other actors, however, were unknown to everyone, except immediate family … but, then, so was Nia Vardalos, three years ago.

And this brings us to Australia. On Tuesday, the Hollywood Reporter reported that many ex-patriot Aussie actors, who’ve made it big in L.A., New York and London, are returning home to lend their star-status to local indie productions. Any habitual DVD renter could tell you this is hardly a new phenomenon, as such frequent-flying stars as Geoffrey Rush, Rachael Griffiths, Portia de Rossi, Heath Ledger, Sam Neill, Anthony LaPaglia and Judy Davis have been making the commute for years in support of worthy projects. Increasingly, too, actors from other English-speaking countries are returning the favor of box-office loyalty Down Under.

Movies from Australia show up frequently at festivals and the sorts of indie events staged at ShoWest. The kooky romantic comedy Danny Deckchair, which was filmed in Sydney and Clarence, was shown at ShoWest last year, after debuting at Cannes and Toronto. People liked it, but it found more traction in DVD than at the box-office here.

When showcased correctly, Americans tend to respond favorably to Aussie products. Among the dozens of titles that have sold a few tickets here, over the last 35 years, are “Walkabout,” Crocodile Dundee, Dead Calm, Mad Max, My Brilliant Career, Muriel’s Wedding, Strictly Ballroom, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Last Wave, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Lantana. The sexy period comedy, Sirens, is shown almost as often on cable TV as reruns of Sex and the City.

Nevertheless, it’s the rare Aussie independent film that is blessed with the kind of marketing support -- in the U.S. and U.K., anyway -- necessary to spawn the kind of blockbuster success needed to fill the constantly depleted coffers of the Australian Film Financing Corp. Despite the depth of its talent pool, there simply aren’t enough butts to fill the seats in Australian theaters, and foreign distribution is essential.

According to the article, “During the past 18 months, such marquee names as Laura Linney, Cate Blanchett, Susan Sarandon and Ray Winstone have signed up for local independent projects with producers who hope the high-profile talent deals will be their passport to the lucrative North American market and significant worldwide presales.”

They’re accepting a fraction of their usual paycheck to appear in movies whose budgets typically top out at around $8 million. But, then, I suspect the same was true when Meryl Streep agreed to star in A Cry in the Dark, Richard Chamberlain did Last Wave, Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet did Holy Smoke, Barbara Hershey did Lantana and Terence Stamp did Priscilla. I also doubt that Geoffrey Rush, Rachel Griffiths, Sam Neill and Judy Davis worked for scale on Children of the Revolution, Nicole Kidman on Flirting, Heath Ledger on Ned Kelly, Naomi Watts on The Outsider, Anthony LaPaglia on Lantana and Guy Pearce and Griffiths on The Hard Word. So, hardly breaking news.

The Australian Film Financing Corp. hopes that the continued presence of marquee names will reinvigorate its industry, which tends to need a jumpstart every six or seven years. The international marketplace demands such widely recognized talent, whether the picture is expected to debut at Sundance, Cannes or Timbuktu.

Making this happen, though, requires what some would consider to be extraordinary acts of generosity and kindness on the part of the talent. And, even the presence of a Nicole Kidman or Cate Blanchett doesn’t automatically mean that a realistic marketing budget will be attached to the project. And, without that, only a handful of low-budget indies even get a shot in theaters.

As someone who sees a lot of movies in screening rooms, and even more on DVD, it’s possible to appreciate the enormity of this problem. Every package from Miramax seems to hold two or more titles that played only at a festival, years back, and weren’t quickly forgotten. The same can be said for any number of DVDs from Lion’s Gate, Facets, Home Vision, Koch and a dozen other distributors. Many of the titles have obvious drawbacks, and, indeed, wouldn’t warrant even a $5-million advertising campaign. But, also included in the mailings, are some very enjoyable “direct-to” movies, many of which are ignored by mainstream reviewers of DVDs … just as they would have been in a theatrical release.

In as toxic an economic climate as exists today, solutions are few. The marketplace giveth and the marketplace taketh away. The British lottery’s support system sounded like a great idea, but it had severe limitations. In any case, no one wants to give Congress the kind of power held by financiers in Hollywood.

Wouldn’t it be great, though, if free-spending MPAA-member studios would be forced to operate under the same restraints as owners of Major League baseball and other professional teams. Jack Valenti was famous for chastising his bosses in Hollywood for allowing budgets to balloon, way out of proportion to box-office returns. Costs were down in 2004, but not by much.

The new MPAA boss, Dan Glickman, might take some time away from his anti-piracy campaign to lobby for a “luxury tax” or “cap” on studio expenditures. Any title that came in over the cap would be forced to contribute to a kitty set up to finance the marketing and promotion of American indie products and/or venues for their exhibition. Likewise, theater chains might be forced to dedicate one screen out of every 10 in a newly constructed mega-plex to low-budget fare.

This isn’t too much of a stretch, really. Many developers are required to add a piece of “public art” to every project over a certain size.

Yeah, such an entity would add yet another bureaucracy to an already bloated government, and it likely would be unmanageable … if not illegal. But, something’s got to give, sooner or later. Otherwise, the cooptation of film festivals -- like Sundance and Toronto -- by the media and studio marketers will continue apace, and American indies will be one more art form created digitally, distributed over the Internet, advertised on teeny-weeny banners, and preserved for eternity on disc or servers … rarely or never seen on a screener larger than a Mini-Cooper.

- by Gary Dretzka

March 31, 2005