25Mar
When you’re little, being a disruptor will get you put in the corner; today, it gets you in the corner office. That was the theme of The New Disruptors: Content, Devices & Distribution at the 7th annual Steed Symposium, held March 22 at CAA and sponsored by LMU School of Film and Television. Moderated by producer Paula Wagner, the panel consisted of DVD godfather Warren Lieberfarb, former president of Warner Home Video; Ross Levinsohn, VP of the Americas region for Yahoo!; Michael Fuchs, former chairman and CEO of HBO; Rick Allen, CEO of SnagFilms (Indiewire’s parent company); Sarah Pollack, YouTube’s senior marketing manager and former production executive at Big Beach; and transmedia pioneer Lance Weiler. Encouraging disruptors sounds a little like rewarding misbehavior — but what better sign that Hollywood may finally understand the value of technology? Here’s four ways that Hollywood can practice getting unruly. 1. Learn How to…
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In 15 years of covering film festivals, SXSW 2012 is the first one where, frankly, I’m more interested in what’s going to happen to these films on VOD than what they may do in theaters. Not because SXSW premieres won’t get theatrical releases; theatrical distributors are here in force. No one wants to miss another “Undefeated,” which won the Oscar for best documentary, or “Weekend,” which was slotted opposite 2011 festival opener “Source Code.” This year’s SXSW breakouts have yet to reveal themselves, although early response is good for films such as Amy Seimetz’s noir drama “Sun Don’t Shine,” found-footage drama “King Kelly” from “Darkon” co-director Andrew Neel and atmospheric New Orleans doc “Tchoupitoulas.” However, if and when the SXSW deals go down, odds are it’s VOD where these films will have the chance to make their biggest impression. …
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If you’re a film person on the SXSW Interactive trade show floor, it’s easy to leave with a complex. Film, to put it mildly, is not a priority for tech people — and these people, easily identified by the orange lanyards attached to the all-important badges, are everywhere. (As one said when meeting a film attendee, “What’s the blue one for?”) And among the endless rows of companies hawking the latest and greatest way to share, tweet, sell, upload, download and otherwise ensure you’re connected within an inch of your life, there were just a handful of entrepreneurs interested in solving problems in the film space. To be fair, the relative absence of filmcentric products among the overwhelming preponderance of geek booths doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t being developed. As tech icon Robert Scoble told me, “SXSW is a terrible place to launch a product. This is spring break for Silicon Valley. It’s more a reward for having…
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