Would You Pay for This 'Girlfriend' Early?
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Magnolia, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing, Images, Cinematical Indie, Posters
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Have you been secretly sneak previewing films before they open in theaters? I'm not talking about illegally downloading a big Hollywood flick like X-Men Origins: Wolverine or buying cheap pirate DVDs on the street. Indie distributors IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures have been pioneers in making their releases available via video on demand (VOD) systems, as reported by Anne Thompson at Variety last summer. IFC releases some titles direct to VOD, bypassing theaters entirely, while others are released to theaters and VOD at the same time.
Magnolia first experimented with the so-called "day-and-date" model in 2005, with Steven Soderbergh's Bubble, and has since made a few titles available several weeks in advance of a theatrical release as "sneak previews." (That's how I was able to see James Gray's Two Lovers two weeks before it opened locally.) Soderbergh's latest film, The Girlfriend Experience, will be available via VOD on April 30 before hitting theaters in New York and Los Angeles on May 22. James Rocchi caught the "work in progress" secret screening at Sundance and described it as "an intimate and yet honest movie about honesty and intimacy." Set in the days leading up to the 2008 Presidential election, porn star Sasha Grey plays a high-end Manhattan call girl meeting the challenges of her boyfriend (Chris Santos), her clients, and her work. You can check out the fabulous, alluring poster in the gallery below.
Gallery: The Girlfriend Experience
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Have you sneak previewed films via VOD? Is it worth the expense so you can see a film in advance of its theatrical release? Or is it just more convenient? Would you consider doing so on a title-by-title basis? Would you pay to see this Girlfriend early?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-02-2009 @ 9:23PM
xenothaulus said...
I would pay on a title-by-title basis, and I'd be willing to pay 9.99 per movie to do it. I hate theaters, and would much rather watch movies at home, comfortable and with a handy pause button etc. Right now, no legal way exists to watch Just Released movies, so I download them. Anti-piracy people will say "Well you'd just illegally download them anyway," and that is true, some people would. I would still do so for movies I wasn't sure about, but a movie I pretty much Know I'm going to like, I'll pay the money, but I balk at paying 12 dollars to sit in an uncomfortable seat for 2 hours surrounded by people I don't know, most of whom will Not shut the fuck up, and have to deal with sound that is set to 11, and a washed-out projection.
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4-03-2009 @ 10:05AM
juwan808 said...
I love the theater and the theater experience. I love seeing a film the way it was meant to be viewed. I've never had the urge to view a first run film VOD, but i wouldn't cross it out. I think it would be rather effective for smaller films that don't matter so much if it's viewed at home vs the theater. But I think the racier titles, NC-17 and hard R stuff, that's where it would create the most impact. Most people would rather view that stuff in the privacy of their own homes.
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5-25-2009 @ 1:54PM
charles lim said...
Watch an interview I did with Freedom Tickler, the two member band in the Girlfriend Experience at my blog: http://greatincantations.wordpress.com/. Hope you enjoy it!