I wish this photo was available in larger resolution, but SnagFilms founders Ted Leonsis and Rick Allen's portrayal of the documentary film market is worth a squint:

The submission, acceptance and purchase numbers are for Sundance (of course), but it's especially interesting for the pyramid that lies beneath it. Those are some tiny-ass figures that are somehow responsible for 1 billion people's internet delivery.

At the recent International Film Festival Summit in Las Vegas, Allen told the audience that festivals "are now more important than ever," which is something you'd figure he'd have to say ("In a time when most of us feel heightened senses of both fear and hope, storytelling is critical to inform, engage, challenge and touch" -- glurgh). However, he also pointed out that as the entertainment industry becomes both consolidated and fragile, metrics rule and gatekeepers become more risk averse. And for festivals, he suggests that means preserving their ability to make artistic choices:

I suggested to the festivals represented at IFFS that they focus on the basics, and move aggressively in one new direction. Blocking and tackling in this environment means making whatever cuts are necessary to ensure survival; analyzing where they have defensible uniqueness; and considering joint activities with other festivals (such as to back-of-the-house functions) or even combinations. But the biggest opportunity comes from extending their business model with a smart web strategy that amplifies a festival's impact beyond a few days and the limitations of bricks-&-mortar to a wider audience and a persistent presence year-round.

In other words, it's the same story everywhere: Cut back and get what's left online. [IndieWire]

As you might have noticed, the world is not going too well of late. Industries dying, evil men making off (really, could he have been better named?) with billions and, well, industries dying. In fact, so many are doing so badly that they have fallen prey to everyone's favorite hobgoblin of little minds: The shamelessly hoary cliche. Ryan Tate writes:

Oh God SHUT UP: Your company/industry/economy did not fail because of a "perfect storm," a chance, disastrous combination of outside events. It failed because you sucked!

It turns out the term "perfect storm" is barely 10 years old and is actually derived from the book of the same name, later made into a movie. In the short interim period the "perfect storm" has become the perfect bleat for whiny businessmen everywhere.

Among those who have taken shelter in "the perfect storm" are Sam Zell, GM CEO Rick Wagoner, Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo and countless "analysts" on cable news shows that should know better. And, um, this paper.

Of course, as cute as Sebastian Junger may be, there's no way that the title of his slim, albeit best-selling, nonfiction book would be vying for most annoying catchphrase of the 21st century if it weren't for the evil Hollywood henchmen -- in this case, Warner Bros., Wolfgang Petersen and those twin horsemen of the apocalypse, George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, who turned it into a would-be "Jaws," with the Atlantic Ocean standing in for Bruce and, you know, a not-so-happy ending.

Hear that? THEY ALL DROWNED. No one survived the perfect storm. So will everyone please stop trying to draw comparisons? It's almost like you're asking for it and really, we need all the help we can get.

Those were two more cliches. The difference is in this case, they're true. [Gawker]

As you might have heard, the music industry is in a spot of trouble. Damian Reece does a fine job of delineating how that's working out for EMI, which recently lost $1.1 billion and owes Citigroup about $3.9 billion. So now EMI's owned by private equity firm Terra Firma and run by the improbably named Guy Hands, who has been sorting out bands "who we think can bring the business forward and who won't" (i.e., firing). So how's that going? Verve manager Jazz Summers suggests not so well:

"I think what he's done in the past is he's gone in and said, 'Here are whatever pubs he's bought, this is how we're going to turn them round.'

"And here's a load of service stations in Germany and we've sorted out the toilets and now everything is working right, and it was really badly run before.

"And he started to do that in the music industry but what it did was it de-motivated everybody you would ever want to meet, because none of them knew whether they were going to get a job.

"And then he went out, unfortunately for him, and said artists were taking big advances and not working very hard and that got under all our skins."

Gee, it's enough to make you glad that we spent all that time for nothing. [BBC]

Not the way to start anyone's day, but the long-rumored Viacom layoffs have begun. It's 850 people, or about 7% of the global workforce, and many of those people will be informed today.

I've got two of the (no doubt) many official emails that will be going out to today across Viacom, the first from Viacom presidemt/CEO Philippe Dauman and senior executive VP/CAO Tom Dooley, the second from Paramount chairman/CEO Brad Grey. If you have others, please email me.

Bottom line: The cutbacks will hit everyone. Writes Dauman/Dooley:

Today, we are announcing a company-wide restructuring plan that includes staffing reductions in all divisions. This will result in a reduction of our worldwide workforce of approximately 7 percent, or about 850 positions. We are also suspending salary increases for the Company's senior level management in 2009. In addition, after a comprehensive review of our operations, we will write down certain programming and other assets.

And Grey:

These reductions are across the studio: accounting, business/legal affairs, corporate and government affairs, home entertainment, human resources, information technology, production, studio lot operations and Vantage.

Full emails after the jump.

UPDATE: Now with the text from the MTV Networks email from CEO Judy McGrath, per Gawker.

RELATED:

• 500 layoffs at NBC Universal [Variety]
• And here's the Universal memo from Shmuger/Linde [DHD]

" 'It's a car that you have to experience in almost telepathic terms,' said Roger Becker, head of vehicle engineering for Lotus, without a trace of irony," Dan Strumpf reports. I almost short-listed this item, but couldn't deprive anyone of the breathtaking hubris apparently on display at the LA Auto Show, along with Rolls-Royce Phantoms, Maseratis and the Lotus Evora which, in addition to its telepathic features, apparently "goes beyond the sense of touch." Hey, they're tasty, too!

"You're dealing with the ultra rich who, even if they take a hit, a car purchase for them is a very, very fractional piece of their net worth," says auto analyst Erich Merkle with consultancy Crowe Horwath. "Whether they're paying $50,000 for a car or $200,000 or $300,000 for a car, it really makes no difference in their net worth."

Sales at many cream-of-the-crop carmakers are bearing that out, and are either flat or down modestly. Some, like Rolls-Royce, have actually increased.

That said, Lamborghini sales are down 15 percent; Bentley, 30 percent. Maybe that will help bolster the case for the big three automakers in Washington next month. [AP]

Comic strip "The Pitchers," by Joe Berger. Funny only if you like transcriptions. [Guardian]

Click for larger resolution

The auto industry is begging like James Brown to please, please, PLEASE give them $25 billion for a bailout.

So far, Congress has been less than sympathetic; the public, it would seem, even more so. As Nicholas Carlson points out, YouTube viewers this video two stars out of five, with more than 181,000 views -- and the top referrer is a GM-owned site. [SAI]

This is how bad it's gotten: the Sundance Film Festival, an event that (fairly or not) has become synonymous with sponsorship, is looking to the state of Utah for financial aid because corporate purses are drawn tight. According to NPR, "Organizers recently met with state officials and said the film festival is good for the state's economy. An official with the Governor's Office of Economic Development responded that everyone is having a tough time right now." And the timing for this potential handout is, shall we say, awful. There's already talk of a Sundance boycott in the face of the passage of Prop. 8, the logic being that Mormon hotbed Utah is a "hate state." Among the strong arguments against such a protest is that Park City, while in Utah, is not of Utah. If the festival were to receive state funding, would that logic still hold?

The specter of Viacom layoff rumors have risen once more. For those who got upset last time I pointed to Gawker as a source of said rumors, prepare to hate on me again. However, this time Gawker's Hamilton Nolan backs up the trash talking with a memo from MTV Networks International president Bob Bakish that says things like "we need to dramatically reduce our spending," that managers are "identifying savings opportunities" and "It is only with this type of response that we can ensure our Brands will continue to prosper." As corporate memos go it's pretty straightforward, but any extra points were immediately dissolved by treating "brands" as a proper noun. It's Not. Full release after the jump.

Hollywood's hard times have hit Patina Restaurant Group, with Joachim Splichal closing his latest restaurant, the not-quite-year-old Paperfish on Maple Drive; the adjacent Market Cafe will follow suit November 14. It would be unfair to point entirely to the economy for its demise --  Paperfish was socked by a half-star review from the Los Angeles Times and the restaurant changed chefs shortly thereafter -- but consider this: PRG oversees 34 restaurants on both coasts but hasn't overseen a closing since its St. Helena, Calif. outpost, Pinot Blanc, folded in 2006.

That's the question posed by Daniel B. Wood and Gloria Goodale in, of all places, Christian Science Monitor. But they make a good case for the apocalypse: "The upward march of ticket prices may halt. The growth of premium movie houses – with their reserve seating and gourmet food – could slow. There may be fewer new movies, and each one may stay for a shorter time in theaters before moving to DVD, cable, and satellite." Big movies don't get made without big loans and there's going to be fewer of those. Movies suffered so much after the last crash that by 1932, theaters were offering cutlery and china to get people inside. On the other hand, movies do well in recessions. And necessity is the mother of invention: 1932 also saw the invention on another theatrical bribe, the double feature! Happy Tuesday, all. [Christian Science Monitor]