September
10
Wang's Princess Nebraska to Stream Free on YouTube
Two companies are leading the way in experimenting with new distribution models: IFC and Magnolia. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has been at the forefront as well, with Bubble and now, Che, which IFC is releasing for a week at year's end as one four-hour movie with an intermission and in January as two separate releases in theaters and on VOD.
Joining the club pushing into the new digital world is Wayne Wang, who is world-premiering his film The Princess of Nebraska on YouTube on Friday, October 17, 2008. The free release at the YouTube screening room is part of Magnolia's unique distribution plan for Wang's two films.
The first film, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, opens conventionally on September 19 in theaters. The Princess of Nebraska is the second film in a series of films adapted from a collection of short stories from author Yiyun Li. Like many of Wang's films, it explores the bonds of family and Chinese identity in the modern world.
A year after his film debuted at the Toronto Fest (here's Cinematical's review), Wang pushed the YouTube release plan, even though there's still no business model in terms of revenue. For Magnolia, it's an experiment. They'll make money the conventional way on Thousand Prayers and stir up attention for both films via Princess of Nebraska. They'll see how it works and figure out an ad-based model later. To get 250,000 people to click in is worth it, said Magnolia Pictures' Ray Price. "Why not go off into uncharted lands and try something new?"
For Wang, Magnolia's pioneering distribution plan ties in with the Princess of Nebraska's theme: in the film, a young Chinese woman "tries to locate her identity through different kinds of new media," said the filmmaker, who shot the film "with various kinds of easily accessible digital sources. I am very excited that the distribution will be consistent with the way the piece was conceived and produced."
"The internet's ability to provide free streaming video is going to radically redefine independent film's access and availability to its audience," said Price, who coordinated this strategy with Wang, Cinetic Rights Management and YouTube. "It provides a new platform which can free us from the 'Top Ten' mentality in the same way that FM radio did for the music business."
Many people have been waiting for a name auteur is put his film online for free, points out Matt Dentler of Cinetic Rights Management. "That time is now."
Here's the Thousand Years of Good Prayers trailer:
And the Princess of Nebraska trailer:
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It's hard to get excited about this given the small size and poor quality of YouTube video. Honestly, is this the future of exhibition? Hard to argue that cinema isn't dead or dying if so.
And another question: How are these new digital streams going to create any substantial money for filmmakers? Or will all we have to look forward to be no-budget, mini-DV movies shot on the weekends? Will foreign cinema, where state support actually backs up filmmaking as a true art form, be the only source of quality filmmaking? What about in the US?
Posted by: Joe Braxton | September 12, 2008 at 08:54 AM
To respond to the previous comment, big budget Hollywood films already stream on YouTube. It's just that the studios aren't the ones posting them. I think the studios want the revenue generated, and will probably start streaming their own films without needing middlemen like YouTube or iTunes.
As for the quality, it's improving, with HQ streaming being rolled out by YouTube. In a couple of years it should be near-DVD quality for all uploads.
The theater has been dead for decades, time for filmmakers to adapt.
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