“I called it the heart of Soho,” Ms. Shabtai, 52, said during an interview in her well-appointed (and well-heated) office. “I remember a broker calling me and saying, ‘That’s more like the colon of Soho.’”

That any doubts persisted so recently about the viability of that block attests to the dizzyingly fast rate of change in New York real estate. The interaction also attests to Ms. Shabtai’s prescience and her quick mastery of the steep learning curve in commercial real estate, a field she entered just eight years ago.

Lori Shabtai (Credit: Sophie Mathewson)

Although Ms. Shabtai didn’t land at Winick until 2005, her retail roots run deep. Her father, Mel Weitz, presided over the MelMarkets (a k a Foodtown) supermarket chain on Long Island. “The supermarket industry works on 1 percent profit margins,” Ms. Shabtai said. “So from a very young age, I learned the importance of making money in every square foot.”

Her father’s work ethic put a slight damper on certain childhood rites of passage. “When most kids went to Florida on vacation, they went to Disney World or the beach,” Ms. Shabtai said. “We looked at Publix stores.”

Still, Ms. Shabtai joined the retail ranks on her own as early as she could. As a 14-year-old, she worked after school at Lonny’s, the equivalent of Scoop or Calypso on 1970s Long Island. From there, Ms. Shabtai matriculated at New York University, where she majored in government and minored in philosophy.

After graduating, Ms. Shabtai worked at Riding High, a cutting-edge boutique on the Upper East Side. “It was really the first store to sell designers like Azzedine Alaia, Thierry Mugler and Karl Lagerfeld,” Ms. Shabtai said. “At that time, Bergdorf catered to your grandmother and Barney’s was downtown on 17th Street selling suits to chubby men.”

Ms. Shabtai’s retail background extends to jewelry, where she worked in wholesale, retail and as a diamond dealer. She also moved up from receptionist to vice president of Big Apple Connection in her first week at the small jeans label. Ms. Shabtai launched Di Modolo, a fine jewelry company, on September 18, 2001, “possibly the worst time in the world’s history to launch anything, let alone a luxury brand on Madison Avenue.”

Through it all, real estate never crossed her mind. In 2005, the uptown furrier and designer Dennis Basso told her she might consider joining the industry. “I didn’t take it very seriously,” Ms. Shabtai said. “Then I took the licensing course at Marymount and my teacher said to me that he thought I had ‘it.’ And that’s what really got my brain set on following through with this.”

After receiving her license, Ms. Shabtai was offered a position at a luxury brand she preferred not to name. “I’d known Jeff Winick, and I came in to the office to talk to him about the offer. He said, ‘Come work with me.’”

Since starting at Winick, Ms. Shabtai’s noteworthy transactions have included bringing the outdoor apparel maker R.E.I. to a 39,000-square-foot space in Soho’s Puck Building in 2010 and populating the 350,000-square-foot Upper West Side retail development Columbus Square with tenants including Verizon Wireless, Starbucks, Sephora, Whole Foods and T.J. Maxx.

The Puck Building at 295 Lafayette Street posed particular challenges. Owned by Kushner Companies, the parent company of The Commercial Observer, the property, which straddles the Houston Street gateway to Soho, had famously housed the subversive humor magazine Spy before becoming a downtown event space. There had not been a retail tenant in over a century.

“We were dealing with so many barriers and history,” Ms. Shabtai said. “And it was the tenant’s first New York store. But we had willing and committed parties on both sides.”

“It was like parenting,” said Ms. Shabtai, a mother of three. “You have to listen to different needs and make things happen.”

Given her professional history in retail and a life spent in and around New York, Ms. Shabtai is pleased to report that the state of retail real estate in Manhattan—and, increasingly, the outer boroughs—is strong. Upscale tenants, having weathered the downturn, continue to flock to the city.

“Most of the luxury brands that we know of are here,” Ms. Shabtai said. “The future outlook depends on acquisitions and also on geographic shifts that may occur when leases come due. Right now you’re really looking at 60th Street through 72nd Street as the prime luxury area. But will that change?”

The answer is likely yes. Last summer, Ms. Shabtai brokered a deal that brought the Israeli designer Yigal Azrouël from West 14th Street in the Meatpacking District to 1,800 square feet at 1011 Madison Avenue. It was the latest in a series of retail transfers that suggested a blurring line between staid uptown and funky downtown boutiques.

“At this point, everyone that’s downtown is also uptown,” Ms. Shabtai said. “And everyone that’s uptown would eventually like to be downtown. They’re still two different markets. But the crossover appeal speaks to what a powerhouse all of Manhattan has become.”

East Harlem is less tested commercial real estate terrain. But last week, Ms. Shabtai, along with her Winick team member Monica Kass and Jeremy Schwartz, announced an assignment marketing 4,000 square feet of rehabilitated retail space at 1636-1642 Lexington Avenue (at 104th Street). The landlords United Management and Certes Partners are touching up the buildings now, and five stores will move in once work is complete.

“This is a neighborhood with really deep roots,” Ms. Shabtai said. “There’s a lot of pride and community here. And as much as East Harlem is stable and deeply rooted, it has got long arms to grow. We’d like to be a part of that.”

News of the makeover and retail tenant outreach led some East Harlem locals to lament that the local business Justo Botanica—a Santeria outlet—had been forced out in the name of development. As a broker who has witnessed her fair share of change in neighborhoods from Soho to Williamsburg to the Upper West Side, Ms. Shabtai strives to find a pragmatic balance between generic development and preserving the city in amber.

“Change is a part of who we are,” she said. “But you have to be respectful and get to know the people in an area. As a broker and a human being, I try to find that lovely spot between giving both the community and landlord what they want and need.”

Ms. Shabtai is not involved in the conversion of Long Island City’s 5Pointz from an internationally known graffiti mecca to a residential and retail magnet, another project that has given some people pause. But that transformation affirms her argument that “artists have always created the next hip community. If you want to know where to invest, follow the artists.” Ms. Shabtai’s son, David, 22, is an aerosol artist who was tagging the family name “all over the subway” before 5Pointz provided an alternative, sanctioned open-air workspace.

Raising her three children “pretty much as a single parent for the better part of 18 years” is the “most important” accomplishment of Ms. Shabtai’s life. (She had her children with the Raymond Weil watch mogul Benny Shabtai.) She also has a record in community service, having volunteered at an after-school program in the South Bronx and been an AIDS activist with the organization Mothers’ Voices in the early ‘90s.

“I was threatened and harassed on public school property for teaching AIDS awareness programs, which now are part of public school curriculum,” Ms. Shabtai said.

Ms. Shabtai likened her eclectic past to a “tapestry,” and given her varied experience, it’s unsurprising that commercial real estate may not be her final destination. “I’m not sure it’s the last career I’m going to have,” she said. “I have a list of things I’d like to do.”

However, there are no plans for early retirement. And until that day comes, Ms. Shabtai is dead set on finding a location for Landmark Theaters that will complement the cinema chain’s art house on the Lower East Side. “We’ve been looking for a space for five or six years,” Ms. Shabtai said. “I might take my last breath while doing a Landmark theater deal, but I’m committed to it.”

Getting back to her to-do list, when asked what her post-real estate life might look like Ms. Shabtai was ebullient as always.

“I definitely would love to be in the restaurant business,” Ms. Shabtai said. “And I’d like to go back and teach. I find that powerful. Teaching young people is the most powerful learning experience you can possibly have. And of course I want to be a professional basketball player. Is that too much to ask?”

IN THE CARDS: THAT’S THE TICKET
Whether you munch on popcorn or candy
going to the movies is always so dandy.
Though the multiplex can be a busy scene
it’s great to see movies on a really wide screen.
So just pick your favorite film and choose a date
for a special night out sure to be first rate.

Places To Buy Movie Gift Cards
www.amctheaters.com
www.cinemark.com
www.fandango.com
www.landmarktheaters.com

The Lincoln Theater, courtesy of Mr. T in DC

This is a wonderful idea. Financially-struggling Lincoln Theater will be screening its first movie in quite some time: Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, starting yesterday.

The Lincoln has Landmark Theatres to thank for these screenings (who doesn’t love E Street?). Screenings are at 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 18. There will also be 11 p.m. showtimes on Friday and Wednesday nights.

I’m excited to see a movie in the Lincoln, and hope that this is something they will do on a regular basis.

Earlier today, news surfaced that a 1995 interview of Steve Jobs has been discovered and will be shown in theaters across the country. The interview was done by Robert Cringely, a technology enthusiast and writer who at one point worked for Steve Jobs, and interviewed him for his PBS special, Triumph of the Nerds. The special only featured about 10 minutes of Jobs’ interview, which is considered his best interview ever recorded. The remaining 60 minutes of the interview were never shown and upon being recently discovered in London, will be shown in select theaters on November 16^th and 17^th. Landmark theaters will host the viewings in various cities across the country, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Berkeley. Most of the show times will be at 7:15PM and 9PM. The film is not rated. If you’re interested in getting to know better one of the most innovative and revolutionary inventors and geniuses of our time, I’d definitely head out and catch this 70-minute film. For more information on the film you can check out landmarktheaters.com.

- Jose Vera

The Clay is a historic San Francisco theater that opened in 1910, today patrons enjoy regular showings of the Rock Horror Picture Show. Photo Credit: Gerry Brague from Flickr.

The fate of the Clay theater on Fillmore Street seemed dim when negotiations between the landlord and the San Francisco Film Society were not progressing. But Landmark Theaters stepped in to keep the 100-year-old, single screen movie theater open and operating for a short period of time, hopefully until a new solution is reached.

The Clay is living the modern-day plight of small and historical theaters all over the country; the fight to stay alive.

Competition for small theaters vs large multiplexes is undeniably favored in the side the large money-making multiplexes. People are not interested in seeing an old or artsy film in a small intimate setting, they want to see the latest blockbuster at the crowded theater with  buttered popcorn.

I’m the girl who loves old, odd and foreign films. I love the idea of going to the Clay and seeing the film currently being shown, Mademoiselle Chambon, a 2009 French film about a melancholy love triangle.

But the truth is I am a guilty multiplexer. I was upset when I heard that the Clay would be closing, yet I’ve never even been there before. Like the majority of America, when I go out to see a movie I see the latest blockbuster at the local multiplex. If I want to see an old classic or indy film I put it on my Netflix queue and enjoy it in the comfort of my own home.

In the end, my love for the kind of films that show in small theaters is not enough to keep me from being a part of the reason that they are shutting down.

This realization of my own hypocrisy leaves me with the uncomfortable feeling of cognitive dissonance. I am lucky enough to live in a city with several theaters of a dying breed and few people (myself included) take advantage of it.

If this doesn’t change then the small theaters that have thus far managed to stay open like the Clay will soon be extinct.

So I heard about this particular piece of media in the most random situation. I was on my way to school, on the 7, approaching Westwood and Pico when all of a sudden I heard this voice saying, “Didn’t this mall catch on fire?” I turned around and started to chat with the guy that been singing the songs that he was listening to in his earphones, to find out more about this situation. He told me that he had heard that there were a lot of firetrucks outside and what not, and I just thought this was interesting. This is one fairly popular mall, one of my favorites, and to hear about something like a fire had broke out inside, sparked my interest.

I’m really happy that there wasn’t any major damage and that it is still open for business. This mall is one of my favorites really. Not only because I’ve had so many good memories with friends, but because it’s just beautifully built. It also has some of the best stores around inside. There’s something for everyone on all 3 levels. Also, not to mention on the other side of the mall there is Landmark Theaters. I personally had the best moviegoer experience when I went to go see Zack and Miri  make  a Porno. The seating is amazing, you get to pick your own seats when you buy you tickets. For this particular movie there was couches inside the theater which was very comfortable (I almost fell asleep during the movie!). The staff there is also very nice, they gave my friends and I discounts on our tickets ,even though it wasn’t discount day.

Anyway,  I’m so happy the mall is okay. It’s one of the best around, I’d hate to lose it.

The two theaters above are The Guild 45th, in Wallingford.

Above is the Egyptian theater, it shows older films on Friday and Saturday night at midnight.

Anyone seen any good films recently? My finals end on Monday so I’ll have loads of free time for weeks!

*click images for full view

Neil Stiles, Variety
WSJ estimated YouTube earned $250mm on $1B in storage costs/year, puzzled by this, just don’t get it.  Hulu is trading analog dollars for digital pennies, CPMs gravitating to zero, when it gets to 5000 channels, everyone is a producer.  Every blogger is 9 years old, throw it up quick without regard to accuracy, leaving it to the wisdom of the crowd to clear mistakes. Web revenue will never be as attractive as print, if you spend money creating TV film content someone has to pay, consumers will pay for engagement, for what they can do with the content.  New models of content as a service, pay once, use in whatever form you want.

Orly Adelson, Dick Clark Productions
Our brand is our award shows, putting embeddable preshow online to drive interest onair.   There are an infinite number of eyeballs to attract so why not put it everywhere. Social media is a great filter, fans see something they like, they pass it around. With the Country Music Awards, there is a 200% spike in music sales the day after CMAs because viewers tell friends to check out the songs featured.  Would love to put  So You Think You Can Dance online but too expensive because of music rights.  Make great content and they will come…Paranormal was made for $11,000, now in 160 theatres, at that cost there is no risk, my kids said it was scary, when a film evokes a strong reaction like that you’re going to have a big draw.  Many are watch shows online because they don’t know when it’s on air, it’s easier to find them online.

Peter Guber, Mandalay Entertainment
Technology was not born 4 years ago, it was born thousands of years ago.  One of the largest owners of baseball teams and stadiums in the US.  Teaches class at UCLA.  Today you need to be a renaissance person, cant just be movies, or just be music. Started out in 1968 at Columbia Pictures when there was an elitism, tv didn’t speak to film or music, today is the greatest opportunity that ever existed to bring audience directly to the artist.  Can no longer think of yourself as a movie guy, landscape is changing too rapidly, the rate of change is 3D omnipresent, no longer linear, how do you stay present, its the beginning of the beginning.  Now things are being pulled by you, by interest, we’re in a sea change, can’t have linear philosophy.  We are no longer talking to one monolithic audience of a million, rather we are talking to an audience of one, a million times over. Will watch dailies on iPhone but not Forest Gump.  Regarding interactivity, may not be interested in changing the outcome of the story but might want to buy that thing on the show, so there will be an integrated benefit.  The opportunity to talk back and intersect with the host, the immediate audience reaction changes the outcome, similar to what happens when your onstage and you make a bad joke, you move on.  The medium will dictate.  Can’t be without a phone.  When producing a product you go after a niche.  Paranormal, the new Blair Witch, was made for $15,000, Avatar epic is closer to half a billion sitting in theatres side by side, does it make sense to charge the same ticket price?

Carson Daly, Last Call with Carson Daly @carsonjdaly
Launched TRL in 1998 in response to how bad music videos were on MTV, wanted to empower viewers to choose, in a way it was the beginning of social media on TV when we turned the programming reigns over to the viewers.  If only Viacom would have bought MySpace would have been able to get a deeper connection with the kids.  Now at NBC and at the end of the day it comes down to money, NBC is owned by GE, we need to get paid.  We still don’t see lonelygrl15 driving around in a Porsche. Last Call with Carson Daly breaks bands. Artists are fueled by ego.  Many older musicians don’t have much of a digital footprint, they want to know what’s the play, is it worth their time, takes a lot of time to post (Miley Cyrus, eh), make more money elsewhere, they want to know where is Twitter’s value? Post 20x/day to 38,000+ Twitter followers for #militarymondays, like the idea of microblogging but not that into it personally.  Would post a picture of my mom but never of my kid.  In 2006, got Kevin Reilly’s backing to take a fresh spin on AFV with IYS, It’s Your Show.  Went to the web for talent, lots of tastemakers online, recruited those with big followings, one was Brookers, the most viewed female on YouTube.  But the NBC.com people never met the programming people and it didn’t go anywhere.  At the end of the day, the bills have to be paid. As for integrations, used to hate the Coke on Idol as a blatant sell out but now I get it.  The DVR has killed the 30 second spot, so now selling integrations, pitch Chevy on Mary J. Blige getting out of a Chevy truck at MSG.  As long as you’re selling stuff that relates to my wheelhouse, that’s relevant to me – golf, girls, guacamole, guns, beer – no problem.  As far as cost, content creators need to start factoring into production the way content is being consumed.  Why spend to shoot in panoramic, why not tv ratio.  25y ago you could spend $40,000 to create a show for a guy and hope he watches but now that guy is not just watching tv, he’s gaming, he’s tweeting, he’s elsewhere.  Richard has invited me out to Hanger 8 but have an exclusive with NBC, so can’t, but if I was out of work would be at Hanger 8 filming, why not.  Fox has done things for $15,000 as well as $.5B successfully.  There is a cyclical nature to film that circles round CGI and Arthouse…I want to feel a movie again.  In some ways I miss the days of the movie star, as SNL’s Seth Myers puts it, today celebrity just means mammal.  Balloon Boy is a celebrity.  Go to Starbucks everyone is talking to each other but no mouths are moving, noone is looking at each other.  The good news is the value of the live social experience is on the up.  (More from CD at #w2s, here onstage with Mark Cuban)

Richard Rosenblatt, Demand Media, @demandrichard
Serial entrepreneur built over $1.4B in internet media companies, credits include MySpace and Demand Media.  In the old days they’d pay 400x profit for future platforms but it was early.  This is a great time now, we are finally at the point where digital and hollywood come together.   This is the first time ever the audience is telling you – who is that guy and what he wants.  In 2004, MySpace profiles weren’t real for fear of who was reading it, now on FB everything is real, pictures of kids, family, there is so much personal information on FB profiles. (Carson – it’s a big mistake, trusting too much) But you can now find 100,000 people interested in bocce ball, culling for niches has never been easier.  Even Yahoo is going open and shared.  When you know what people want, you can connect them to the stuff they need.  That’s why I bought eHow.  There are 100,000/month looking to make homemade detergent.  1mm articles, 200,000 videos on long tail topics with Digg features, etc.  Demand’s Livestrong.com has 6mm visitors/month allows Lance to bypass media, at the Tour de France he was tweeting from his bike.  Wife Brooke has Modern Mom show.  See Comcast/NBC as a good move, Comcast is very progressive.  Follow trends, to see where we’re heading you must immerse yourself in the technology first, FB, Twitter, try different things but make the right choices where to focus time, you can’t follow every company TechCrunch, PaidContent, Variety writes about, pick game changing trends, if a lot of people are doing it, there’s something to it.  Twitter works great for celebrities and marketers, great way to send links and filter information.  A great example is the movie Couples Retreat, critics hated it but friends were recommending it and caused a spike despite bad reviews.  Follow 5-6 people you trust, see what they say, with 70mm on the mobile web and 100mm tweets a day, a good search engine can filter valuable information like what’s skiing like on Mammoth today.  Twitter search is better than Google.  Sun Valley Media Conference chatter – 31% of retail companies are using FB connect.  People buy in their network, what to see what friends are shopping for.  As soon as advertisers can figure out ROI, the whole market will open up.  Regarding Chris Anderson’s Free, there’s always someone paying whether its the user or the advertiser.  If time is a scarce resource would its good to have the choice to pay then spend time watching commercials.

Stuart Levine, Variety
A lot of great shows this season:  Modern Family, Glee, Biggest Loser, Sons of Anarchy.  More watching NCIS than going to Transformers.  There is an enthusiasm for TV.  Personally have 37 season passes on AppleTV, watch 7 days later, some great shows cancelled due to bad time slots.  Mark Cherry has been talking about Desperate Housewives – when is it going to end (Lost similar), some shows have a limited life, want to go out with a bang. / What was a 22 episode season, we are now seeing more 10-12-13 episode mid-seasons. / The broadcast 18-49, 25-54 demo is antiquated, Viacom has it as 18-24, 18-34, everyone calls it something else as they sell to different niches.

Marc Graboff, NBCU
TV has a 90% failure rate, but the networks need to get out of the way and provide a platform for creatives vision.  People don’t realize networks don’t get paid for shows that are TiVo’d.  The numbers are off  full rating points because the DVR causes a 4 week delay.  DVR usage hurts more than streaming.  Networks don’t get compensated for time-shifting.  25% The Office and 30% of Heroes are time-shifted.  Being worked on by CIMM, the Council for Innovative Media Measurement, comprised of 14 advertisers, agencies and TV companies, who are developing cross-platform metrics intended to measure total audience consumption on any platform anytime. / At NBC mid-season orders not happening, difficult to accumulate enough stuff to sell in backend, 13 episodes is not enough. USA, TBS, TNT largest 3 cable networks take couple of hundred episode order, 5 22-episode seasons.  That said, with windows collapsing, perhaps 13 episodes can be monetized instantaneously.  Why delay syndication pot of gold for four years, why not take little bags of gold along the way.  / Audience is so fragmented, hits no longer pay for losers. Have to retool because of a change in consumption.  / Glad we’re equity owners of Hulu, remember Hulu was an antipiracy move, if it wasn’t on Hulu 24 hours after it was on air it would be pirated.  Hulu as a destination site for quality fully produced masters of the show.  Just wish we weren’t training viewers to watch programming online with so little ad viewing.  FOD windows, pay to watch earlier.  NBC.com is a superfan site, place to go when show is not on to interact with characters, creators, stars, chat, blog.  Then there is the blogosphere, twitterverse where viral word of mouth spreads fast, its a phenomenon.  Bruno had huge numbers Friday night, word of mouth was bad and numbers fell off on Saturday. / Regarding Leno it’s too early to tell, doing better than projected, will evaluate in 52 weeks, not affecting House at 8 or Law & Order at 9.  It’s a transitional year for NBC, Jay happened last December, didn’t want to lose Jay or Conan, wanted comedy to counter the crime/dramas on the other networks, this was the solution.  Impact on local news, everyone is down in the 11pm slot:  CBS 10%, ABC 11%, NBC 12%. / Higher CPMs with more targeted audiences, still need to aggregate eyeballs.  / Cable model is robust, subscriber base is there, free TV syndication not, cash license fees on barter, 30 Rock syndication all barter whereas The Office years ago was all cash.  / We’ve been guilty of derivative reality shows like everyone else.  Looking for next big tent pole watercooler reality show, not drama, comedy or next ABT, Biggest Loser.  Something fresh.  (Marc Graboff, NBCU also delivered EPPS Keynote later in the conference:  http://www.mobilizedtv.com/nbc-entertainments-marc-graboff-keynotes-at-digital-hollywood) Advertising scatter market strong sell in the last minute, % held back from summer upfronts.  For many years we were #1, not fun being #4, great projects in development with Bruckheimer, Abrams.  On the right path creatively.  ABC was #4 for awhile now ahead with Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey, CBS Survivor, CSI, Fox has Idol.  NBC wants a big fat reality shows that drives 20mm+ viewers an episode into the network.  NBC has its brand of comedies 30Rock, The Office.  Want a quality drama in the aftermarket.  A million great ideas, it’s in the execution.  Partnering with experienced  showrunners who can deliver 22 episodes of quality TV year after year.  / Branded entertainment – Bud Golden Wheat sponsored entire SNL episode and there were 9 minutes less commercials as a result.  Harkens back to Texaco Star Theater.  Product integration can’t compensate for loss of 30 second spots.  12-15% decline in upfronts will never recover.  Biggest shift in ad spending is from TV to cable.  Don’t know if it will ever come back.  Luckily NBC is in both.  TV is still the best way for big reach, mass audience – Olympics, Superbowl, 25mm weekly watercooler show.  Making shows available online has been additive, not cannibalizing.  Most avid viewers only watch half the episode.  Online gives a chance to catch up. And a chance to sample to other shows like Dexter.  The Office came alive on iTunes and made it a hit.  ABC.com, NBC.com, Fox.com stream online first before there was a Hulu, Hulu was the answer to piracy.  Safe legal environment to stream shows, not bootlegged rough cuts.  Hulu 4th most trafficked site.  Now its bolstering its economics. TV windows are collapsing, not watching Mash by default anymore because there is nothing else on.  No middle class anymore, hit tv drives revenue. Hits like Seinfeld will survive collapsing of windows.  Twitter and the blogs great place for instantaneous feedback, can’t control messaging, word of thumb.  Twitter killed Bruno, made Paranormal.  Glee @ Fox hit show because of tweeters, released pilot early.  Some tweeters are from the networks, plenty of that goes on.  Rebecca Marks at NBC culls social media on NBCU execs and shows.  Have to treat bloggers as journalists.

Mark Koops, Reveille
The Office the first season didn’t have the biggest ratings, but it did well for the network and they supported Greg Daniels with press, promotion, marketing, not telling him how to write a script. / Would have loved to have had Millionaire, the first $B failure continues to live on in syndication as a $B franchise.  / Talking about the cycle model, Biggest Loser took 2 cycles to increase ratings, now attracting marketing partners and advertisers on a more consistent basis, high-end sponsors:  Subway, General Mills integrations.. The only one showing up to watch Project Runway in the beginning was Laura Zalaznick.  / People turn up and watch The Biggest Loser and The Office because they know when its on, when you move the time slot the message to the audience is forget it.  / Mercy great scripted show on NBC, well cast, well written series, hope they stick with it.  / When you watch 24, you know you’re getting 24 original episodes, no more 3 originals with a repeat a week, with Biggest Loser (Tu 8) you know you’re getting 32 weeks of original programming.  / House business model works, control cost of it, powerful storytelling.

John Landgraf, FX Networks
Don’t have a huge slate, 11 scripted series, still read every script, watch every rough cut.  Creative stuff is fragile, need to baby it and nurture it in its infancy til its grows to be a robust adult.  / Damages viewing is up 80% from DVR but don’t get paid for it.  Nielsen needs to be revamped, follow viewers where they are, FOD cable partners cant track it and sell it, as viewing experience changes, measurement needs to chance too.  Now viewing over weeks and months, not over 3 days.  / Knowing when show has reached its potential, this is the last season of The Shield (Th 9)/ Seinfeld was an acquired taste, an unusual show leading 25mm into it./Now when we market to live-only viewer, make it an event for the viewer.  They know FX will repeat it or can catch up on iTunes or VOD but they’ll never get back to it, a decision delayed is never made, need to eventize and market the show. / Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Th 10) is a hit show after 5 years, up 70% in ratings.  FX is not a network known for comedy, model is about less expensive shows perhaps taking a loss on the first run, but having patience to to grow it 5 years and turn it into a compelling product.  FX owns Sunny, and took it off of Hulu to make it available for DVDs and syndication.  Damages value to leave it up forever.  But Hulu helps with discovery of previously obscureshow, wasn’t originally in heralded group of comedies, Hulu elevated it.  At first made all 50 episodes available to find audience.  The Hulu ecosystem even with a hybrid of ads and subs can’t replace linear airing to DVD to syndication, need to protect ability to create hits or don’t have a business. / FX caters to a yunger generation, but no one really knows who is watching, multiscreen challenge of tracking elsewhere, STB data not accurate. /Audience is not as attached to big ticket, The Shield and Sons of Anarchy have proved you can stick to your overall budget.  If changed production value on 24 audiences would notice, needs to be the same storytelling, intimacy of characters in the bedroom, less car chases, explosions. / Every network needs a healthy balance, look what Idol did for House/ Look How I Met Your Mother, a single camera sitcom with no middle, no buzz, is going strong thanks to Neil Patrick Harris as the breakout star. / Want 100 episodes, when you get to 80, you’re in good shape.

Dana Walden, 20th Century Fox Television
Can’t have a mid-level hit get to 4 seasons anymore, need to have a property people want to watch again for a viable DVD, syndication, international, EST and digital platform business.  Depressing when you get a bad time slot.  Joruneymen – highest testing pilot since 24, plum time period after Heroes, no longer enough, see it with Lie to Me, got best time period, best audience, audience found clicker and its premeired poorly.  Arrested Development was ahead of its time, sure Fox would love it on air now.  FBC didn’t have right fit for it, it was a bit narrow. / Big hit in the ratings:  Sons of Anarchy, successful 13 episode oder international and home entertainment, big eventized shows on lesser orders/  Its not one size fits all, need to be facile, business changing quickly, don’t want to burn out new revenue streams / X Files released favorite episodes in one million different ways, consumers will pay for cult shows/ Talking end of life – Ideally you want a show that is highly serialized but not episodic like Law & Order with an outstanding cast. For a show like Prison Break, how many prisons can they break from, if you try to stretch beyond its limits you creatively hurt the show long term, that incredibly bad ending memory of an asset in its afterlife of syndication, etc.. Prison Break is hugely lucrative DVD, International people want to collect it, own it. / DVRs make it hard to monetize videos. / We have two great shows:  Glee and Modern Family, and the luck of them being scheduled against each other.  Miss one, watch the other the next day on Hulu. We support Hulu and are part of NewsCorp which has an equity interest in Hulu but it’s personally challenging to have shows available so quick after airing.  The priority is to watch on air, then watch completed master in living room via Hulu, better than bootleg.  / Meanwhile in the past 2 years cost of production has escalated out of whack.  Need to make changes.

Mike Farah, Funny or Die
Specializing in celebrity content (Will Ferrell, Chris Henchy, Neil Patrick Harris, Mandy Moore, Christopher Lloyd, Renee Romjin..).  No celebrities are compensated for FOD, can’t pay for content but video producers can insert their own pre-rolls, FOD has ads on the site, brands buy into the entire slate, higher end productions that get seen, free publicity, cheap effective celebrity content shot on short notice, not much to crack the code, look for quality and quantity for good diversions from work, training ground for UCB groundlings, hands-on uber-control, cost effective,

Mike Polk, Break.com
Known for nutcake videos, skateboard stunts, rodeo donkey, whatever is entertaining for millennial men, try not to turn off advertisers.  Site has series and one-offs. Branded content for Cheetos, Mountain Dew.  Produced hilarious video:  Cleveland, II.

Josh Spector,Comedy.com
4mm monthly uniques, now a guide to what’s funny right now.

Maria Kermath, ATT Interactive
Rebranding Yellow Pages for those born after 1977: Have to Eat, Drink, Snack, Pee.

David Zucker, Secret Secret Service, Airplane, Scary Movie..
Brand is zany comedy laugh-out-loud spoof.  Movies are in Oscar-free zone, get joke onscreen.  Shooting in HD – makeup has to be better.  Like to make people laugh, target audience is 4-11y, slapstick humor.  Classic 70s film aesthetic embracing new tools, with pre-vis make movie before you get to the set so you can show cast and crew what you are thinking of before they perform it.  Remaking Kentucky Fried Movie. Airplane didn’t lend itself to being a franchise but Paramount wanted a franchise. Naked Gun by contrast lent itself to unlimited adventures.  Uncomfortable doing R films, for brand of slapstick want to take it down to PG.  Mentors – Frank Wells, USC Film School, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ted Turner, Weinsteins.

Brett Ratner, Beverly Hills Cop IV, X-Men
Billion dollar director known for Rush Hour Trilogy grossed $800mm worldwide. Brand is action thriller but tastes are eclectic.  Would like to make a ronatic fantasy film too.  Old school, stuck on film, not embracing digital yet.   Likes Canon better than Red.  Spielberg said Dreamworks sends list of top 50 YouTube videos a month.  Hollywood is looking or fourth quadrant – fun, family-oriented films.   Paranormal Activity  incredible film – huge box office like Blair Witch, it’s all anyone is talking about.  Also use pre-vis to show actors and crew how to move Golden Gate Bridge in Xmen, all action sequences were animated.  Mentors:  NYU professor, Dino de Laurentiis, Bob Evans “The Kid Stays in the Picture.”

Bob Osher, Columbia Pictures
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs just hit $100mm mark.  Brand is good stories with good characters well told. Character driven even when its for kids.  New kids every 7 years.  Don’t want to have a studio style, want it to feel fresh and original.  Animated films rely on A-list talent voices for marketing.  Pixar uses shorts program to develop young directorial talent.  Sony too.  Sony Imageworks 3D pre-vis tools allows for real-time re-rendering so we only animate what we’re going to use.  Even show pre-vis to marketing team.  Proprietary right now but soon enough will be a tool on Apple for 9y to use.

Ondi Timoner, We Live in Public, Dig! (Sundance winners)
Big Brother is not one man, rather Big Brother is our collective consciouness.  Internet is so insidious, technology is alienating, humans have a desire not to be alone, to go off the grid and have live experiences.  When born, the cord is cut, and we spend the rest of our lives reconnecting.  Secured all music rights in perpetuity for We Live In Public including track from Spoon, all music is on DVD. Oscar-qualified – abiding by windows – scheduled invitation-only screenings online.

Josh Harris, Wired City
Serial entrepreneur that proved early has little to do with sustained success.  Fan of Truman Show, edges between real and virtual, in 5 years it will all be on. Founder of Jupiter Communications, created chat for Prodigy, worth $80mm, blew it all on excesses of next ventures, escaped to Ethiopia during dot com bomb, festival circuit resurrected him, now living in pool house of Jason Calacanis, Mahalo.com, repped by WME, pitching Wired City, a competitive celeb-reality multiplatform game show.  In LA to learn how to do reality at scale with partners like Endemol, Reveille, Fremantle.  Maybe he’s got the next Intervention for Rob Sharenow, A&E.  We Live in Public Show in the 90s had an engaged online community of 1,000 – small even for niche.

Jeffrey Gordon, Writers Boot Camp
Email, texting, listmaking is writing.  5 story components:  main character, dynamic character, third party opponent, adventure, genre.  Beat out beginning middle end.  Write first draft quickly.  Need progressive dredge material.  Don’t quit day job to write.  Can do it PT, 10hr/wk, 6 months.  Too much free time not good for writers, writers need experience to make it more lyrical.  Plot needs to be character driven to care.  Talked about Ylse.com, high production value not easily monetizable.  See portals as marketing vehicles, companion websites to define and extend brand.    Don’t have to write a tentpole  franchise to be successful.  High concept romantic comedy is hot, action adventure fantasy and supernatural thrillers.  Seek sponsors, sell $100 ads/month to 10 people, or create content for other brands.

Kevin Yen, YouTube
Topped 10B video streams in April.  For $5-10/day buy search keywords to rise above the din on YouTube, allows you to put your video right in front of the person searching for it.  Not interested in being a gatekeeper, it’s becoming harder to tell the difference between UGC and premium.  Rightsholder should max rev from consumption of content.

Russ Schafer, Yahoo! Connected TV
Right now SDK is invite-only.  Public post CES, 1Q10.  Just had web/mobile/tv developers conference in NYC.  Everyone in household has their own personalized dock.  NBC widget allows for relevant personal ads, only serve stuff relevant to you, profile makes it a more personal experience.  In time, allow different economic models – pick shows a la carte or by subscription, all models can coexist.

Jared Tobman, Reveille
Reveille making money with branded entertainment, activate people around an idea, not a shill or product placement.  Promotion is the metric that drives success. Guarantee distributions when ad-supported with paid promotion.  CPA ads.  What percent of digital copies can be monetized depends on convenience, quality, immediacy – people will pay different amounts.  Better ways online than the 30 second spot you can TiVo passed.  Leverage talent across distribution channels, bring known quality online.  YouTube will build a model for reach and frequency, get redistributed in viral marketplaces and make viral video monetizable.  TV Everywhere is walled garden.

Keith Quinn, Paramount Pictures
Product strategy – hybrid of transactional and ad-supported.  Dr. Horrible was available for free on Hulu and paid on iTunes at same time, and people bought it.  Choice for consumers is good.  Windows breaking down in distribution.  A brand cuts above clutter.  Top 3 iPhone apps are brands.  Social networks are a great place to launch, mass opinion, curation from friends.  Add in microtransactions, FB will be pretty powerful.  $30-40mm made on Paranormal.  5-6 of iTunes Top 100 are cover tunes or mashups from Glee.  Journey is in the Top 100 because of Glee.

Jessica Schell, NBCU
Social media is incredibly important now, viral marketing complements reduced budgets, need it to get bigger audiences, making it portable to enable fans to share with networks, talent on shows engage fans and viewers, have that direct connection, bringing community onto NBC sites.  Go to NBC.com, USAnetwork.com for the network brand, go to Bravo, Sy Fy, USA for the show brand.  Loves FB Connect!  Port identity around web with you, warm welcome, when want a deeper experience with the show, notion of portable community, you can see your friends from FB when you show up on NBC sites, shows up on feed, lowers barriers to entry, no need to reenter information and create new profile.  Seek great tech partners via Peacock Equity Fund like EveryZing voice to text SEO product makes live TV searchable, provides transcript.  Moving beyond metadata to real-time data, valuable for an unscripted show like CNBC where you don’t know what they’ll talk about ahead of time, huge library of clips.    You don’t see a lot of cable content on Hulu, more braodcast content, TV Everywhere will have to figure out how to protect dual revenue streams for content producers.  Still early days, need to be a business model to support premium content without watching 5x the ads.  Kindle opens new revenue streams for content producers.

Kenneth Hertz, Goldring Hertz & Lichtenstein LLP
FB connect powerful platform, increased Jib Jab’s transaction flow.  Web levels playing field to get content to market but its the tyranny of transparency, content still has to be great: U2/BB didn’t move the needle on record sales.  Paramount’s Pranormal #3 watershed, went direct to consumers.  FB 80mm US, 266mm WW in 2 years.  Can’t launch new content widely in walled garden.  Gatekeepers were all about shelf space, challenge now is discoverability, how to get marketing and promotion to rise above the din.  How does good content find audience to be monetized.  Hulu earned $120mm, no profit.  Market is $100B in US.

Felicia Day, The Guild
Loves sponsors and are transparent with fans whereas McFlurry on 30 Rock seemed very sneaky, not sure whether it was paid product placement or not.  Become sensitized to it.  Prefer pre-roll, more honest.

John Fasano, Woke Up Dead
Have no problem with integration only wish Kodak wouldn’t have taken cameras back.

Michael Oates Palmer, West Wing
Mad Men genius at making product placement feel organic to story.

Eric Berger, Sony Pictures Television
Go where customers are, set up branded environments, embed video player on YouTube, provide DRM, control the user experience, incubating shows online.  Angel of Death went on to SpikeTV, DVD, put through pilot program online.  Crackle has 150 movies, classics, dip in dip out strips, take advantage of windows where content wasn’t monetized before, minisodes keep the story arc beginning, middle, end but super condensed, using the web to unlock library value.  Started partnership with What the Buck, has 25y under young female audience.  Doing well with $4-5/movie rentals on Sprint.  PPV does millions.  In mobile there is a willingness to pay, ringtone wallpaper, subscription movie service.

Neil Tiles, G4
G4 is owned by Comcast, 5-6y old.  Not highest rated in network space, niche.  Different programming tv to web.  Need to protect cable source of revenue.  From a scripted standpoint, web enhanced tv experience, partner with Stickam to bring in viewers, live to itneract with guests, talents.  Why does Discovery have Cash Cab? Has little to do with the brand.  Dynamic ad insertion tool help advertisers find the people amidst theis fragmented media.  Difficult time to plan because we don’t know what platform is next.  Can’t pull full shows online.   Rights issue.  Np presence in full episodes based on deal structure.  Force Hulu to put some free content behind paywall.  Comcast cable ops win writing checks to G4.  Bud TV sucked, BK doing it right.  Microtransaction is so key.  iPhone is conditioning people to do it.  Dialing 411 was a microtransaction.

Sab Kanaujia, NBCU
Solution is to aggregate eyeballs on the backend in order for the content to go everywhere. Seamless to the audience.  Valuable analytics to advertisers.  Get more uniques with distributed widgets, than on destination website.  Top Chef or Heroes widgets, deliver ads against them.  Mobile is different than web or tv, need to create content from scratch.  Value of compelling storytelling not going away, reaggregation is a huge issue in industry now.  Mass media has been dead for years except tentpoles like the Superbowl.  Need to reach out to one individual at a time.  85% sold out on video network, the rest sold through remnant ad network, other through bundled ad buys.  User authentication via TV Everywhere will lead to higher CPMs.  People will pay for gret content, microtransactions let you pay where you consume.  Watch FB, people will pay for what they like.   (Average cable home watches 15 channels, brands are comfortable knowing what they’re going on which is why soap opera model worked for so long, brands haven’t really migrated yet.)

Albie Hecht, Worldwide Biggies
Kids & Family animations, winner of two Oscars, launch, iterate, find audience, leverage to new media, 30% are kids under 3y.  30% of iPhones are sold to kids under 17y.  Going from web to inanimate objects, connected toy biz will be huge.  Manipulate action figure watch it onscreen.  Toys are a new medium.  Youth oriented virtual worlds interaction with real world action figure.  Future is interoperability of avatars, take monkey to another world with wallet and status.  Hybrid models:  media sponsorship, subscriptions, per use, micropayments, distributed hosted economies, gifts, apps, casual mmo, VW, if the digital wallet is easy to use, people will pay more.

Greg Goodfried, EQAL
Lawyer by background, partner is doctor, financed start of EQAL.  TMZ started online as a totally different production.  Need to treat mediums different in content creation business.  New platform:  UMBRELLA low cost monthly subscription, currently in beta, enables content producers to publish to website and simultaneously post it everywhere.  Arrington is the voice of TechCrunch so there is a huge added benefit to go back to the site.  Hub + Spoke approach.  Content can go everywhere with ads baked in. Paula Deen established broad style guide, brand look, rules across properties.  Umbrella will allow a blogger with a Flip who gets millions of views to make money with ads served.

Danae Ringelman, IndieGoGo, @gogodanae
Helps artists do it with others, provides free online audience-building tools.  Offer DIWO Live every Friday at Noon, a free conference call to ask questions.  Internet gives filmmakers direct access to fans, 1B WW, finance with crowdfunding, use the festival circuit as launchpad (bring DVDs, merchandise, take advantage of publicity), be everywhere your customers are, savvy sm outreach, Ted Hope’s power of $1, provides market validation, increases chance of pick up.  Participatory culture-offer value and incentives, know the basics: audience sizing, ID comps, production vs P&A, start now, production is the new promotion, capture emails, identify assets, VIP perks, post web presence, create pitch clip, determine trailer strategy, cross-platform engagement with audience, have a dialogue – ask questions, run a poll.  Engage audience via website, blog/rss, email, reaching out to bloggers, influencers, orgs, FB, MySpace, Twitter, Stumble, Digg, widgets, house parties, festivals, ask fans to request screenings.  Theatrical distribution:  Festivals, Fathom.  DVD/VOD – CreateSpace, NeoFlix, DiscMakers.  Online Aggregators – New Video, Cinetic, Indieflix, Film baby. Josh Kornbluth (Haiku Tunnel) using IndieGoGo to raise $15,000 for Love & Taxes.  Video sharing sites: YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, Metacafe, Revver.., Analytics:  TubeMogul, YouTube Insight Tracking Tool, FB, MySpace, Bebo, hi5, Twitter, Digg, Yahoo Buzz!  Email:  Vertical Response, Constant Contact, iContact.  Influencer search tools:  Technorati, Blogger.  Use Google alerts to track buzz.  Press: HelpaReporterOut.com.  Daily reads:  www.indiegogo.com/blog, www.workbookproject.com, cinematech.blogspot.com, www.peterbroderick.com, www.indiewire.com, www.kk.org/thetechnium.  Lance Weiler’s $8000 film grossed over $4mm.

Matt Tyrnauer, Valentino
Clips posted on IDA, www.documentary.org.  Couldn’t have been made with film. Needed a small unobstructive camera for small friend to stand with under desk with boom to allow for intimate conversations.  Has done $1.7-2mm theatrically in NA over a 6m run.  Got a seven figure guarantee at TIFF.  Platform release in 4 cities DIY classic model, #1 grossing film for three frames for 3w in a room.  $1.2mm production + legal fees, flying crew from NYC to Italy, dress code, glamour crew, spent on helicopter to get a beauty shot of yacht.  Expected ancillaries to be everything – intl audience, DVD.  Don’t cut too deeply, spend if you think it will help you.  Niche: nationwide sewing groups, marauding hoards of midwestern ladies.  Valentino has 6 pugs, another niche film appealed to.

Courtney Sexton, Participant Productions
Food, Inc., The Soloist, The Informant.  Have social action teams to promote film.  Deal with Magnolia.  Often use filmmaker as celebrity.  Need a powerful sizzle reel.  Twitter was a huge part of Food,Inc.

Rebecca Yeldham, Anvil
LAFF director.  Shooting on video was a revelation.  Amazing what you can catch when you’re not thinknig ca-ching!  Not obsessed accumulating hundreds of hours of footage.  Forged connection with Digital Domains to find audience for film.  When Anvil presented at Sundance in 2008 docs were declared dead.  All art houses had folded.  Now market is alive again.  Had to convince people it wasn’t about heavy metal, but about friendship, not letting others define you, and never giving up on a dream.  Devastated after Sundance, had Lips and Robb Reiner as assets and wonderful director Sahca Gervasi.  Had to wait 8m til TIFF.  Became festival sluts because team was dying, incredible experience at LAFF, gave DVDs away to tweeting talent, generated enormous buzz.  VH1 executive saw it in Prague, fell in love with it, got sizable six figures, film was self-financed.  Screened for specialty divisions, spent a week at Angelika.  42 West excellent publicity.  Every attendee became a walking ad.  Reviews reverbed.  Fertile year cultivating word of mouth.  150 cities, still screening. Anvil was on Conan 2weeks ago, opened for AC/DC at Giants Stadium.  Doing a 40 city tour in January where the band does 3 songs at the end of the film, eventizing the screening, calling it the Anvil Experience.  Keep production costs as low as possible without compromising aesthetic, $300-400,000 doc budget for a 90min feature.  Epic quality not inexpensive.  But the lower it goes the better chance for upside.

Marina Zenovich, Polanski:  Wanted and Desired
Emmy-nominated.  Every film has its sotry, took 5y tomake, sold to HBO and Think at Sundance, Weinstein for international.  Think is now defunct.  HBO did a great job.  Conscious decision not to go theatrical.  Needed to pay back investors.  Had a small theatrical just to expeience it on the big screen.  Tragic brilliant historic figure, a holocaust survivor, called a malignanttwited dwarf, perfect villian, made big money, famous, controversial, legacy of wife’s murder behind him.  Must have interesting characters or its boring.  Not all films are meant to be theatrical.  Gets as much content as money.  When the topic is controversial, not many want to take the risk.

Scott Hamilton Kennedy, The Garden
Oscar-nominated, always retain rights to sell DVDs, have them at first screening, $25. Need strong story every step of the way.

David Gale, MTV
Not a golden age of anything, we’re at the dawn of the digital media revolution.  Last piece in the puzzle is distribution.  Amazed at the pitchfest, everyone had something worthwhile, democratization of media, for the longest time the hollywood gates were shut, now allowing people with true talent to get in.  Seeing new talent hadn’t seen before, more willing to take a chance, it’s not the same level risk at issue, question now is how to create a sustainable business.

David Tochterman, Versatility Media
Fuuny or Die just sold a show to HBO commercial cable.  Kold Kast, Warner 2.0, 15 gigs, Babelgum.  Longer episodes with mainstream extensions.  Guild, Dr. Horrible, Secret Girlfriend.  Revision 3 is now on Roku.  Funding, Audience, Metrics, Revenue.  Katalyst HQ and NBCU’s Community debuted on FB to large audiences.

George Ruiz, ICM
Atom, Crackle, Paramount, Revision3, Next New Networks, Microsoft are all paying for content. Big fan of Roku, interesting way to get content into the living room.  Seek talent with significant online followings.  The Guild was a great script targeted to a large online audience of gamers.  Also represent  Amber Mac, Girls Go Geek on Xbox LIVE, and Hoodlum, won Emmy for ABC Lost companion.

Justine Bateman, fm78.tv
20 scripts in development and were in talks with many brands including P&G and IBM, distribution partners including Hulu and blip.tv, but not CBS TV.com yet. Spend little, don’t incur overhead, don’t pay salary, completely mobile, do own PR.   Started studio during the writers strike when traditional distribution bottomed out as a workaround.  Creating something magical, know many directors, actors, formed many partnerships to monetize online web series.  Present sponsors with an ROI spreadsheet showing them the economic value of celebrity, ability to draw traditional press vs. how much that would cost as a half-page ad in People, a cover is priceless, you can’t buy the cover, what’s the reach 56mm people, a 15 minute spot on Letterman vs. how much a TV spot costs, $.64mm value for example, what the sponsor gets for their money, how they can reach their targeted demographic.  On finding sponsors:  Got in a room with Digitas, they liked what we were doing, met P&G and IBM on a panel.  When Nestle at the doorstep said I’m not carrying you over the threshold, we went to Candy Convention and met brand managers for Mars.  Had good luck with cold-calling CMOs and CEOs, chatting them up.   A TV show without promotion doesn’t work.  People won’t mistakenly stumble upon your hub url.  It’s a joke that the basis for the industry’s currency, the Nielsen ratings are determined by a poll.

Kim Evey, The Guild
The Guild owns IP, Microsoft has exclusive window, using New Video for other windows as well as Amazon, YouTube.   Microsoft profited day one from The Guild.  When Felicia goes on Jimmy Fallon she always thanks her sponsors MS, AMazon, Sprint.  They find it very thoughtful of her, that she values the business relationship.   Date My Avatar made it to #1 both on iTunes and Amazon with George and Kim on Twitter egging on 1.5mm fans – we’re at #2 let’s get it to #1, and a Josh Whedon blog post helped too.  When needed a retail store to line up in front of for a shoot, the natural choice was Game Stop, approached them and said what’s it worth to yo and they paid a fee for the integration and let them shoot in a shop.   Thanked them by showing it at Comic-Con in front of tweeting passionate eyeballs.

Paul Kotonis, For Your Imagination
Aggregators are the only ones that make money from CPM, not producers.  Not all views are created equal, a view from The Guild is not counted the same as a Rev3 view or YouTube view.  When does it count, 15 sec into it, 100% viewed, what about auto-play.  Have no idea what rate of completion is on YouTube.  Views don’t equal people.   (Edelman – Use media buys to drive views and engagement back to online, success metrics are is consumer making connection to brand.  ManiaTV – Need 1000 shows online to get critical mass online, need a quantity of programming)

Amber J Lawson, Babelgum
Where frat boy comedy ends, and evolved hipster comedy begins, political, timely, topical, female, sci-fi, celebrity, animation.  Looking to acquire content with brilliant concepts from producers with proven track record of building loyal audiences.

Kate Neligan, Lionsgate
Mobile messaging movies, can pre-order for TV.  Factor in budget for niche title to market home video, go to Ning, Fear.net for reach.  When it goes FOD (free video on demand) the advertising is entertainment.  Connected TV provides more on demand orders.  Stuff virally via Comcast VOD, push iTunes, Xbox in digital space, MOD focuses on the customer instead of blockbuster, not just push title but include platform.  FiOS widgets – what’s hot on demand, DirecTV apps.  From a PR perspective, have to drop content in and let fans use it the way they want to. Don’t know what the next best thing is.  It’s about listening, and putting stuff out there.  Try to influence and immerse, let them move it for you.

Gary G-Wiz, Public Enemy
Raised over $50,000 from fans for new album with the fan funding engine, www.SellABand.com. Aiming for $250,000 by end of year.  Artist direct to fan platform.  Like to see advances in media like ringtone consumption, IMAX – can’t be pirated, have to go to the theater to experience it.

Julie Supan, Ning
Ellentv.com, TwilightSaga.com is on Ning.    180,000 organize fan movements on Ning.  Incorporating game mechanics into platform, connect more emotionally in publicity campaigns, watch for virtual gifting, looking at Nokia feature phones, iPhone is only 10% of the market and on the high end.

Thomas Hughes, MGM
42000 little movies, 10000 hours of television.  Bullish on the space.  Aggressively distributing libraries in FOD, mobile, EST, can experiment more with deeper library titles.  Also heads up clip and still licensing.  Had a great summer with FOD.  Fall is tougher because new episodes are back.   Don’t oversee DVDs.  Stargate saw very little erosion in EST (iTunes) when added FOD (Hulu). People that want to own still download.  FOD is a supportive platform of EST.

Adam Powers, Rovi
Young guys 18-34y have a sense of adventure to play around with the technology which is why they tend to be early adopters.  (90% doing 5% of clickthroughs per emarketer). Current navigation by time and channel is clunky.  Rovi, formerly Macrovision which owns TV Guide, throws away the grid for global search based on name of show.  Total Guide will allow for better STB measurement of online and cable/broadcast content.  $3B investment.

Eric Gould Bear, Monkey Media
Seamless contraction, expansion technology, reduces amount of material needed on DVD for versioning.  1991 Apple shipped QT, 1993 NCSA shipped Mosaic, 1997 Toshiba shipped first DVD player in US, MS acquires WebTV, 1999 TiVo shipped first DVR, Matrix first DVD got people to buy DVD players, 2001 TiVo announced telescopic advertising, 2006 Samsung shipped Blu-Ray, 2008 Tru-Two Way, Comcast TiVo DVRs.  Build affinity within the context of the program.  Interactive advertising will drive functionality of the boxes.  (Right now it’s so clunky that by the time you buy the sweater the show is over, UK has the red button for interactivity.)

Geoff Katz, ATAS Interactive Emmy Winners
(metric of FB fun, $4 value of one fan)
- Stephen Andrade, NBC, SNL, Jimmy Fallon, The Office, 30 Rock
- Lisa Hsia, Bravo Digital Media, Top Chef
- Michael Benson, ABC, Lost (Flash Forward FB app)
(Alison Moore, HBO Voyeur)

Josh Weltman, Mad Men
Ad consultant that sits in writers room to make sure agency work is accurate, products integrated into story, some exist, some are made up.  Don’t know which are actual deals, not told, church/state, brands have no approval on how portrayed in storyline, everything is beholdent to the story, second season seeing more flexible brands.  Knows what brands want and how to integrate them to maintain integrity of brand and story.

Mark Ely, Sonic Solutions/CinemaNow
Understanding platform payment pain threshold.  Windows digital distribution EST, VOD, rethinking how to merchandise content, 10,000 sme free, portability is key, android app, iPhone app in development, not on PS3, Xbox or US Wii but on Wii in Japan.

Jason Rubenstein, Redbox
Movies are only 1% of video consumed on internet.  Windows collapsing won’t happen overnight.  Millions opt-in for email/zip code, double digit open rate, $1 a day DVDs, can reserve DVDs, return to any box, working on 30 second digital download on SD card.  Goes anywhere, don’t have to return it.  won’t always be a kiosk play,

Doug Sylvester, Avail-TVN
Fear of piracy causing the collapsing of international windows, used to be 6m or 1y, now same as domestic, but still need to pony up larger guarantee for earlier window. (60% watch 10-15 channels)

Ted Mundorff, Landmark Theaters
Some festivals are markets.  Game has changed, no one wants to make a film deal first time seen at festival.  Filmmaker needs to be patient.  Can always get someone to release it but can’t always get someone to market it.

Laura Kim, I Wake Up Screening
Theatrical marketing for NatGeo.  Was at Warner Independent, spent 18 years at Sundance, TIFF, Cannes, EFM, Telluride (since 1992-3).  Sundance is not hte best for business, 99% come back with no distribution.  Love LAFF, buyers, filmmakers well treated.  Slumdog world premiered at Telluride, great word of mouth festival, curatorial process makes it prestigious but little business is done. Sundance can be very expensive.  LAFF body of films are a joy.  World premieres balanced with audience satisfaction.  Want to show film with engaging filmmaker who will win you over.  Sometimes with the festivals its better to be highlighted than spotlighted.  Be generous with screeners, make it as easy as possible for buyers.  They buy because of critics not buzz, too risky otherwise.

Amy McGee, Sundance Institute
Most filmmakers feel they have made it if they show at Sundance.  Mission is to support the artist beyond the 10 days throughout the year with distribution opportunities.

Rebecca Yeldham, LAFF
Anvil was the centerpiece of LAFF last year.  Premiered, played teh Ford Amphitheatre, connective tissue betwen the industry, filmmakers and audience.  Hone identity of festival – balance blockbusters with experimental.  LAFF is LA’s secret treasure, largest festival in LA to a different level of prominence.  Sundance is a rapturous experience, programming from the heart.  Was at Sundance, doesn’t bow to industry.  Days of 7 figure offers are gone.  With 5000 submissions, surely you miss stuff.   In LA, the festival experience has to be compelling enough to get everyone off the sofa.  Not a destination like Sundance.  They live and work in this town.

Sharon Swart, Variety
Covers the markets – Cannes, EFM (market/fests), AFM (killed Mifed)  LA is a company town, Cannes is arty, less pictures.  TIFF is a defacto market for press, oversees buyers and sellers.  There used to be a stigma 5-6y ago direct to VOD but no longer.

Rooftop Comedy, MGM, Fox…
http://www.mobilizedtv.com/marketing-hollywood-cross-platform-branding
http://www.mobilizedtv.com/digital-holllywood-discussing-broadband-content

International Academy of Web Television
In addition to all that was going on at Digital Hollywood there was also the inaugural meeting of the IAWTV.  Festively gathered were Felicia Day of The Guild, Ned Cantu of NYTVF, Tim Street of French Maid TV, George Ruiz of ICM, Dina Kaplan, of blip.tv, Drew Baldwin of Tubefilter, Jim Louderback of Revision 3 (releasing first scripted comedy series, Web Zeroes), Justine Bateman and Dominik Rausch of Easy to Assemble and many others.  The IAWTV is putting a call out to grow its 100+ membership to better process Streamys submissions, 100,000+ were submitted for 2009.  Dues are free through 2008, $90 for 2010, benefits include peer groups, voting, tickets, directory listing, industry events discounts, job listings, newsletter..  2010 Streamys tentatively set for April 11, venue TBA.  (1300 attended the first at the Wadsworth Theater.)  Next meeting is at NATPE in Vegas.  For membership details, email membership@iawtv.org or visit www.iawtv.org. Here’s video from the follow-on Hollywood Web Television Meetup: www.stickam.com/tubefilter.

Alec Baldwin answers audience questions after a screening of his latest film, Lymelife, April 18 at Landmark Theater, Los Angeles.

The Emmy-winning (NBC’s 30 Rock,) and Oscar-nominated actor (The Cooler) shared anecdotes about his stage and film career, character motivation, and the likely effects of digital media. A sample:

Q: Will the ruthless, motivational sales method your character (Blake) used in Glengarry Glen Ross ever be widely copied by corporate America?

A: (Laughs) It was difficult to show up and do my scene after the ensemble had already coalesced.

James Foley, the director, says to me, ‘You know that scene in Patton where George C. Scott slaps the soldier in the tent? ‘You call yourself a soldier? How dare you disgrace all these other men who were wounded in battle!‘ This is what we’re gonna call, ‘You call yourself a salesman? You see, these guys are men…these salesmen (imitating Scott as Patton).”

I’m sitting there going, “Yeah. I got it. I got it. I’m gonna kick their ass.” He had to give me his (Blake’s) motivation. Why are we doing this? What does this mean to him? He thinks it’s positive, and good, and right. So you go in and do the scene (opposite Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon.) It’s not fun.

I did Streetcar on Broadway. It took about four weeks. I had a friend of mine say to me “Boy, that must be great doing this play. Getting that all that out of your system.” I said, Let me tell you something.  I don’t have that much in my system to get out.” Four weeks in the show, I’m sitting there with this pro, Jessica Lange, and all I want to do is turn to her and go “Blanche, why don’t we sit down and have a drink together. We can be friends. We can be friends!” Use all that conflict and all that nastiness you really get tired of it. But you, nonetheless, have a job to do.

Like in this movie (Lymelife, as cheating, loutish husband Mickey Bartlett), the scene with Jill (Hennessey, as wife Brenda), you realize you’re gonna lose your family, lose your kids, lose your house. It hurts.

Baldwin with movie critic Pete Hammond (left) and Lymelife director/writer Derick Martini

Q:  (Lady in pink, towards the back) I actually don’t have a question; I want to say I love you in everything.

A: Thank you. By the way, thank you all for coming because you know we can all sit here and think for a second that it seems it’s not that far away when watching this kind of programming, watching this kind of stuff is gonna make me a distant memory for a lot of people. Consuming film product the way it was meant to be seen, 40 across, 20 high, in a motion picture theater is becoming a vanishing experience for a lot of people. And I just think that we go nowhere, we do nothing, we don’t exist unless people wanna buy tickets and come to the movies. So, thank you all for coming. I really appreciate it.

Modern lobby card, Landmark Theater

Rory and Kieran Culkin (above) play fictional brothers in Lymelife. Their relationship to their dad, (Baldwin,) is a driving force in the plot.

Here is the trailer,

I have to say this was a great movie, and I am not alone in thinking that, as it won the People’s Choice Award at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.  As I have attended TIFF twice, I do have this caveat to make about that award, it was shown three times (most movies only have two screenings) and twice at Ryerson Theater which has a larger capacity than many of the screens.  So more people would have seen this movie at the fest than most of the other movies.

SPOILERS BELOW

Basically the story is about Malik who is is one question away from wining the big prize on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, which happens to be 20 million rupees.  Now a movie about a game show would just be painful.  But that just sets up the framework for the story.  See Jamal Malik grew up in the slums with his brother after being orphaned due to religious violence.  After the violent attack on his community, they connect with Latika who is his love interest throughout the movie.

Jamal gets arrested by the police because the host of the game show can’t believe that this kid from the slums, this slumdog, could know the answer to all these questions.  The allows the movie to use the flashback storytelling device to explain how he knew the answers to the questions he successfully answered on the game show (I will stop with the plot here).  The movie tells of Jamal’s story in three different time periods, and so the main characters, Jamal, Latika, and his brother Salim are portrayed by three different actors.  As with the Kite Runner and City of God, the children actors are quite good.

Since the US version of the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? came out I have hated it.  So much time wasted, so much fake drama and suspense.  The nice thing about this movie, is that the flashbacks really do provide the suspense and despite the similar production values for the Indian version of the game, it isn’t annoying at all.

As I said to the person getting quotes after the movie, “the people in Toronto got it right.” This was a very good movie, and if you go see it you won’t be disappointed.

-Josh

So this week Dallas’ Inwood Theater installed its new Living Room™ Auditorium to its downstairs theater — transforming it from the antiquated form it has been languishing in for quite some time in exchange for a luscious setup akin to a living room. Bravo! While the sanitary repercussions have yet to bear out, I’m sure that you will agree that this is a welcome addition to this beloved Dallas theater. Oh yeah, and I almost forgot to mention the bar, right there in the auditorium. Sweet. Now if they can only find a way to get plumbing routed to those love seats … More pictures after the jump. [via Unfair Park.]

I liked the movie a lot. It had the old boys network element with the glass ceiling Demi’s character faced in the 1960s. Issues of class, corporate secrets, insurance, and employment at the will of the employer were covered.

I would recommend it as a movie, either in the theater (opening at the Uptown tomorrow) or as a rental.

Thanks to Landmark Theaters for the free preview offers. The theater wasn’t even full, which was better than last week when Sleepwalker was at capacity and I just missed getting in.

These are the free previews that I have seen since last Labor Day,

• My Kid Could Paint That
• Jane Austen Book Club
• Lars and the Real Girl
• The Kite Runner, with the actor who played Baba doing post screening Q&A
• Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

-Josh

After attending a showing of Music and Lyrics at a local Landmark Theater in Seattle (Metro) – I came to the conclusion that the theater business has really missed something.  Films are clearly one area of our culture that we share in common and like to talk about – look at the incredible rise in Flixster from nothing to millions of users over the last year.  Like books – people like to talk, debate and share their movie experiences.  And going to the movies is definitely one of those experiences.  That is why even as home theaters have grown in their sophistication – people still and will always go to the theaters – there is something special about watching a film with hundreds of other fans.

Looking at a similar business – what was one of the reasons that Barnes and Noble took over the book retail business?  They latched onto the experience of browsing, sharing and reading books.  They but into cafes, couches, expert staff and community areas and wouldn’t you know people started wanting to go to the book store to spend a lot of time and the more time they spent the more books they bought.  You could find other book lovers at Barnes and Noble, you could talk about books, you could share your passions.  And even better once that concept took off Barnes and Noble had something all companies want – viral marketing.  Even today – I think to go to Barnes and Noble before the library for a lot of the reasons listed above.

And this is where theaters and especially Landmark completely drop the ball.  Landmark is unique in that it is a chain of historical theaters that were built before the rash of the big box cineplexes in the 80 and 90′s.  Every theater is unique and offers its own experience.  (Ed. note: Landmark isn’t alone – their are even independents like Paul Allen’s massive one-screen Cinerama here in Seattle the absolutely best place to see summer blockbuster movies with perhaps the largest screen in the U.S. and seating capacity – a few thousand seats).  But as a sat in the lobby of that Landmark Theater looking at a half-ass cafe and a few scattered tables and more importantly a TON of empty, under-utilized space it hit me. 

Why aren’t theaters as natural a place to go to talk about and socialize over movies?  Why isn’t there a cafe (a real cafe or coffee shop not the excuse for one at the Metro)?  Why aren’t there tables so a friend and I can chat about the movie we saw last week or want to see tonight?  Why isn’t there a DVD store?  A movie memorabilia store (seriously movie posters would be a natural)?  Why aren’t there small group movie areas where I can meet with some other buffs and watch and critique a film real time? 

Why do I have to just go to this theater once a year when they just happen to show a movie I want to see – why isn’t there a reason for me to just drop in when I have some time to kill?  Imagine a theater that invited you back for all the ancillary reasons that you like about movies?  Now that would be a great business.  Here’s where Landmark can excel – it’s theaters aren’t cookie cutter.  They are inviting, they are in cultural centers in cities, they show interesting films, but they could be so much more. 

Someone is going to likely put two and two together – movies are social and the places that show them are destinations.  Figuring out how to put the together seems as natural as chocolate and peanut butter. 

It had been too long since my wife Krista and I got out on a date alone, so we decided to kickoff the weekend at Ted’s Montana Grill followed by a movie at the Landmark Theaters. I always enjoy Ted’s, but this post is about our new experience at the Landmark Theaters. I assure you we will be going back soon. Landmark Theaters is part of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, a vertically integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. I now know that Mark Cuban can do more than just build a NBA Championship team and be a lightning rod for the NBA!

Landmark Theaters executes one strategy flawlessly: Provide value and excellent consumer experience to the point that price becomes irrelevant. I am currently reading Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki. Let’s look at how the Landmark achieves enchantment (and this one video illustrates all the points described below):

1. Ambiance - As soon as you walk into the theater, you realize there is something different going on! All of the furnishings are upgraded over what you see in standard movie theaters, there is a fully stocked bar, you can see easily accessible concessions on the back wall, and you can look up at huge TV screens to take one last peek at the football score before going to see that romantic comedy with your lady love (or handsome guy, ladies).
2. “Freebies” - You just paid a premium for your tickets, but now you get presented with the freebies like buttered popcorn and soft drinks in a well-appointed self-service area. Honestly, I tend to skip the concessions at movie theaters because I always feel like I’ve been robbed, but now I get them “for free” because I paid that premium ticket price. It’s all in the perception, my friends, because I paid more than I normally would…and I felt like I got away with something!
3. Amenities - We set foot in the theater and noticed the blue lighting in the aisles. It’s a small thing, but it was different enough from other theaters and seemed to bring more of an elegance. We then got comfortable in our larger-than-normal leatherette seating.



4. Superior Quality - In addition to the superior quality of the seating, it is still expected that the movie itself would be the best digital quality available. Landmark did not disappoint.
5. VIP Treatment - From the optional Valet parking out front, to a section of VIP seats in the auditorium, Landmark knows how to enchant the consumer. VIP seats can be purchased in advance, and even though they are yet another $3/more per ticket…they generally sell out. The seating takes up the two “prime rows” in the theater, provides plenty of extra elbow room, and the staff will bring you concessions and fill your drink/food requests from the bar right up to showtime.
6. Location, Location, Location - The Landmark Theaters are conveniently located right off of I-25 between Belleview and Orchard in the Denver Tech Center. They are also part of an overall Landmark experience (Village Shops at the Landmark as well as the Landmark and Meridian Towers for luxury high-rise living). Those 1-bedroom to penthouse apartments range from $300k – $1M! Uh, we think we will stick with the occasional movie and night out at a nice restaurant, but I do find this “community” captivating and well-designed for consumption and appreciation.

I feel the Landmark experience enchanted my wife and I as consumers to the point we forgot that we paid $2 more/ticket than for a normal movie theater. Sure, $12/ticket is a lot more than when I paid $1.00/ticket after walking uphill in the snow both ways to the movie theater when I was a kid (actually there wasn’t snow because I lived in South Texas)! But for that $2/ticket premium from normal movie rates my wife and I felt spoiled. And yes, they have matinee pricing!

When is the last time a retailer, restaurant or entertainment venue enchanted you?

One of the Blind Boys groups (courtesy Magnolia Pictures)

A staple of the documentary genre is cutting between archival and interview footage.  This film does that.  It tells an interesting, surprising and entertaining story, omitting any dogma that you might expect.  It runs down the time-line of the genre and its innovations, some typical, others “unholy.”

It shows at the Edina Cinema for a week starting on July 8.  This documentary provides a who’s who of the indelible and most potent Gospel artists, also dredging up memories of folks who time might have forgotten.  “Rejoice and Shout” makes clear that as long as the music is understood as honoring God, then it should please Him and in-turn his followers.

It tells about Gospel music’s pivotal personalities, trends and game-changing innovations, it tells about clashing sensibilities of faith and styles of music.  At the heart of some innovations  is a question:  isn’t it unholy marry rap with gospel, or blues with gospel, or any popular music with that pious one?

Mavis Staples (courtesy Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

This story tells us how Thomas A. Dorsey, while ultimately revered, caught hell for having mixed the blues with Gospel, making what some considered heretical.  (Ray Charles had similar clashes when he took those chances.)  It tells us how Rosetta Tharpe, who may be less known than Mavis Staples, inspired the latter to take up the guitar; before Ms. Tharpe did it, Ms. Staples hadn’t known that it was possible.  And without the Dixie Hummingbirds, The Temptations might not’ve been.

Many documentaries are more creative, with editing, location and other choices, and take chances with their storytelling.  “Rejoice and Shout” is a strong, competent film.

We wrote about MoviePass earlier this week, as it announced grand plans for an all-you-can-eat movie-going package priced at $50 a month. It was planning to introduce a San Francisco-based beta test of the service starting this weekend, with plans to gradually expand to other parts of the country over the summer and launch nationally later this year.

Apparently, MoviePass had planned its beta as a proof-of-concept to show that there was demand for the service before it got exhibitors on board. But those plans have been shelved after exhibitors like AMC Theaters (AEN), Landmark Theaters and Camera Cinema announced that they wouldn’t honor tickets acquired through the service.

As a result, a MoviePass spokesperson told us by email that the service is on temporary hiatus, and issued the following statement:

“MoviePass is 100% focused on encouraging people to see movies in theaters. With the drop in movie attendance over the last few years, we thought that exhibitors would be our biggest allies. We absolutely want to work with the exhibitors directly. But we thought we needed a proof of concept before they would take a brand new company seriously. San Francisco is a private beta -– we wanted to test the product –- as well as develop a good case study. MoviePass is not in the discount business. Nor are we setting ticket prices. In fact, we are paying full price for the tickets. Our MoviePass subscribers will benefit if they attend frequently…and so will the theaters when they purchase popcorn, soda and candy. We love movies and believe that MoviePass will be good for the movie business.”

The most surprising thing about this turn of events may be the exhibitors’ reaction to the service. Movie theaters make most of their money through popcorn and soda sales at the concessions, so any service that gets more viewers in the seats should be a welcome addition to their businesses. Not just that, but MoviePass was willing to take on most of the risk of the venture, at least initially — it was planning to book and pay full price for tickets through online ticket services until it could prove its worth and start negotiating with theater owners directly.

Finally, at $50 a month, MoviePass seemed to be targeting a niche audience of rabid film fans, not the casual moviegoer. In fact, our concern about the model as it was first proposed was not that it wouldn’t click with exhibitors, but that there wouldn’t be enough consumers willing to commit that much money each month to feed their film addiction. Apparently the theaters were afraid of just the opposite — that the service would be too successful, thus cannibalizing their own ticket sales and ability to set ticket prices.

In Mr. Spurlock’s routine, nearly inimitable style, “The Best Movie Ever Sold” starts with him just now considering how well his crazy idea will fly with the American Nasdaq-type brands, whose concern about brand management and protective public relations flirts with paranoia.

(courtesy Sony Classics)

Landmark Theatre’s Uptown Theater plays this for a week starting on April 29th.

A bunch of mid-level brands stakes their claims to Mr. Spurlock’s viewers: POM Wonderful, a healthy pomegranate drink, Sheets (a gas station & eatery), Ban, Mini-Cooper, Hyatt hotels, Jet Blue and Mane & Tail among mid-length list of others.  That last one beats it all; it’s a shampoo for the horse and human markets, both!  Wow.

It must’ve been awkward and embarrassing when Morgan asks the Ban Roll-on  folks what words or phrases describe or typify their product: the marketing execs were struck dumb!  Hmm, no need to wonder why they called their company a small, scrappy company that could.

This is an amusing, witty exposé of brand placement or brand integrated movies.  Mr. Spurlock includes a few ads within the movie, sweetening the pot for his highest paying sponsors.  That’s an irony for those viewers who resent the Generation-Y norm of seeing TV commercials slapped onto a 70-foot screen, before or among the trailers.

All Spurlock family, Morgan and son, praise to Jet Blue? (courtesy Sony Classics)

Mr. Spurlock’s bottom-line is one that often lays on the track between money and art.   The question of artistic independence is big for the filmmaker.  That question: how much to sell-out?  One of the many artistic and financial questions: how much artistic control does he cede to his sponsors; how much of a whore is he willing to become?

A score?  See it.  Enjoy it.  Consider the meat inside the loony package.

This is an era that damns the men, even the kingdom and dooms her.  Marie (Mélanie Thierry) is torn between two men, two cousins’ love (unrelated to her).  One she wants, Henri de Guise (Gaspard Ulliel).  The other, who she doesn’t, Prince de Montpensier, (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) but her father does – for politics and property.  He coerces her into marrying the prince, but the prince is too young and too immature to be a good match for his newly arranged wife.

poster (courtesy Flickr/Creative Commons)

This will be showing at Landmark Theatres’ Edina Theater for a week from Aprill 22nd.

This princess’ life and the story become more fraught when we see that all the men who spend a lot of time around the princess are enchanted by her, succombing to her assets.  The prince’s mentor and tutor, the Comte de Chabannes (Lambert Wilson) a gentleman, warrior and scholar – a rarity.  And the prince’s commander, Duc d’Anjou (Raphael Personnaz), also vies for Marie.  While the Comte is deliberate about this, showing his maturity, the Duc is younger, impulsive and urgent (or just lusty) about it.

This is one of those “if only” stories, where you notice that, if not for one road taken, there’d be none of this trouble – but also this intricate story, this romantic and political tumult and suspense wouldn’t interest us.

An exchange tells a lot about the princess’ and the prince’s bond: on their way into his castle…

He asks “When will you love me?”

She says, “When you order me to?”

–If only she didn’t cave in to her dad.

–If only women hadn’t been considered chattel and beasts of burden then.  And head-strong women were such oddities as to be thought mad.

The most interesting subplot belongs to the best-drawn supporting character, the Comte de Chabannes; he’s a warrior turned pacifist.  He laid down his long sword after having killed a very vulnerable woman by accident, but in the heat of a fight.

The romantic and political intrigues are complex to a Shakespearian level.  More than a few shades of truths and lies push Marie, her husband, her tutor and the Comte away from one another – but mostly her.

The beautiful colors used in the costumes and photography overall draw our attention, but the plot, the performances and the plotting over love and lust command that attention.  Those scenic colors are incidental to the great characters and the ways in which their stories clash with one anothers’.

See this film!

The big problem: the more than two hour sitting might make you antsy, even though the story’s great.  Also, if you want sword fights, serious ones from this, you might find the few in this to be pale and shallow.