Neon announced a plan to release the new Apichatpong Weerasethakul film in one city, one theater and one week at a time. We should be happy about who benefits.
I’m always conflicted about things like this or even the more “traditional” art house release model. On the one hand, as a strong advocate of the theatrical experience, I do want movies to get that kind of distribution and attention. On the other hand, as someone who has lived most of his life in small and medium sized towns where art house theaters simply don’t exist or are impracticably far away, there can be a sense of FOMO and wanting to engage in a conversation that, by the time you get to participate in it, has either ended or muted. I don’t propose I have an answer, and I agree it isn’t day and date, but I don’t love how more non mainstream works can get separated out as something that only city dwellers can engage in:
This has not always been the case! As I wrote in our open discussion on the farthest we've travelled to see a movie, I would often take hour-plus-long road trips to see arthouse movies in Atlanta or Ann Arbor. And again, this notion of a movie being available to everybody everywhere all the time is new. And there are serious problems with that idea.
There is a pretty big difference between "everywhere" and "one single theater", especially when the option exists to make it more widely available. And for the record, since all these articles seem to be painting one side as content hungry vultures who just want to consume things on their couches and the other as arbiters of true culture, I would very much like to see this in a theater. I value the experience of seeing a movie on the big screen. I just know the chances of that happening for me with this particular film are very slim.
I've never lived in a market with an arthouse theater, but I've also never supported day and date. The idea that not releasing a film to the widest possible audience immediately is denying it to any portion of the audience is kind of ridiculous in the era of home video, and now streaming. I grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania. The long tail of a platform release is the only reason I ever heard of many movies that I would eventually rent at a video store. Now, when a film is made immediately available to everyone, it goes through exactly one press cycle (now shorter than ever), and then slips into the void. If it's elitist to wish for as many parties as possible (arthouse theaters, multiplexes, physical media distributors, streaming platforms) to benefit from a film's release, rather than one giant corporation like Netflix of Disney, then call me an elitist.
I don't think those have been announced yet, other than the news it's starting in NYC in December. My friend at Wexner Center in Columbus tells me they're making inquiries now, so I imagine dates are still in flux. It's a long time until December.
I was so, so lucky to see Blissfully Yours at a festival. It was the first film I saw of his, and it may still be my favorite opening credits ever in a movie.
I'm curious what you all think of the Alamo Drafthouse model. They seem to dip their feet in the indie/arthouse world, while still catering to the Marvel crowd (all with tasty food, comfy seats and reservations). I view it as a nice happy medium, but I know they're probably not going to be the type of theater that is showing Joe's new movie, or anything that's not A24. I almost feel like the "true" art house theaters need to be subsidized (like a library) in some way, whereas other theaters need to go the Alamo route.
Well, Neon is under the Alamo/Tim League umbrella, so I'd say the chances of it playing at a Drafthouse is pretty solid. It seems like the chain arthouses have had to open themselves up to mainstream fare, presumably to make ends meet. I don't love it, but the one Drafthouse I've been to, in Austin, ranks as one of the best moviegoing experiences I've had. I sat in the balcony during a sold-out show of the original Black Christmas, watching a beat-up Tarantino 35mm print of it and eating a cheeseburger. That's cinema, folks.
Oh cool, I might be able to see it then! I've only seen Uncle Boonmee and I think it's still one of the most baffling movies I've ever seen (in a good way)
I travelled to an arthouse in Cleveland (Cedar Lee Theater--great place for those in the area) to see The Card Counter a few weeks back and noticed that that they were also showing Shang-Chi. I was dismayed initially, but if some kids from the high school across the street see the latest Marvel thing there and return to check out specialty fare, maybe it's not so bad.
Wow. Concerns about equitable access to art are *tiresome*? I support the overall argument — independent cinemas are great, and do need support — but that's a blithe and uncaring dismissal of real concerns from real movie fans.
Yeah, I suppose I'm more tired of some of the arguments than then concern itself. Of course it's ideal for folks to be able to see all the films they can, whether they live in New York City or in the middle of Montana. But there's been a remarkably quick shift toward the idea that films must be available *right now*, when in fact there are benefits to slower rollouts and theatrical exhibition for some films.
Top ten most-watched TV broadcasts of 2020, according to Neilsen, were Oscars and eight football games. Sports is one thing people still watch on television in large numbers because sporting event still feel like *event*. Me not know if this movie strategy will work or not, but making movie feel like event certainly seem like worthwhile thing to try.
Me know that me personally have plans to see No Time to Die and Velvet Underground, but for latter, me have release date marked in calendar and specific plans to see it at Film Forum, whereas Bond, me can see anywhere at any time, so it not something me have to plan around.
Funny enough, movies that feel like events end up being on both ends of spectrum — arthouse films me have to see at specific time and place, and Avenger or Star War that kids want to see earliest possible showing of because they not want to be last of their friends to see it. (Bagel Monster still traumatized by classmate spoiling ending of Force Awakens)
I'm somewhat biased living in a coastal city (though Seattle is usually 2nd or 3rd tier on any sort of platform release and I grew up in a town of <2,000 people where the nearest city was Spokane), but I liken this more like trying to see a band on tour. I wouldn't balk at arranging a weekend trip or doing a couple hour drive to go see a band I really loved play for...probably actually less than the length of Joe's film! Sure, I might be able to watch some crappy iPhone videos from the crowd and get a sense of what the band is like live, but that's not how they intend you to experience it.
Appreciate the article but still can’t find this release model anything but frustrating. Frankly I find limited releases in general to be frustrating and elitist and this just seems like the pinnacle of that. I want to support theaters as much as possible and don’t think releasing things immediately on streaming is a good idea at all, but I don’t think critics and people in major cities realize how annoying it is to read all of their best-of-the-year lists and see recommendations all the time for films we won’t get to see for half a year or more. Now this will just be one I maybe don’t get to see for years.
This is actually the one positive feature of A24 getting such an annoying rabid fanbase. Stuff they out out is somehow making it into theaters all over the place. Like any other year (and maybe it’s due to Covid) I really doubt I would have gotten The Green Knight like I did
No. Really. Neon needs to put the schedule on their website or I'll miss it, like I've missed so many other things. I can drive to Houston, Austin or Dallas, but I don't subscribe to newspapers in those cities and I won't know about it unless it winds up on the website. Some of these companies are pretty bad about putting updated info on their websites. I can't tell you how many films I've missed because I didn't know about a blink-or-you-miss it engagement in one of those cities.
I'm skeptical of the assertion Memoria will never get a VOD or disc release. I understand why Neon might say the film will only ever live on the big screen; it is the crux of the outrage and intrigue. But once the tour reaches its terminal screen and some time has passed, I have to imagine Neon (a business after all) will try to squeeze every last dollar out of the movie. Maybe I'm reading too much into it...
I am looking forward to seeing the film Monday at a fest so I can applaud the rollout strategy without being personally inconvenienced!
Many of my fondest movie memories (and memories in general) have come at the Brattle Theatre in Boston and the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, and the thought of a world without cinemas like these is really sad to me. It's a great idea to "tour" this movie around, and I have some sliver of hope somewhere that business models like this may catch on in some small way. The success of Venom 2 at the box office last weekend buoys this hope further. The argument that cinemas are dying / people don't want to go out to see a movie anymore is a covertly classist one anyway, as the assumption there seems to be that everyone has home theater setups that are at least approaching comparable to the "Cinema Experience." I dunno, lots of disjointed thoughts. I'm also a huge fan of Joe's films and am really excited to catch this one in theaters (the first one of his I'll have seen outside my home!).
I HAVE BEEN WAITING to see Memoria 3 years now. Exactly what is your criterion for choosing which theater it goes to? I know that the Friday night International series at Eckerd College would LOVE to show Memoria as It's programmer, Nathan Anderson is a big "joe" fan". While your intentions may have been in the right place, I think I would have had a better chance to see Memoria in one of our regular theatres which occasionally show something slightly to the left or right of "Batman."
I’m always conflicted about things like this or even the more “traditional” art house release model. On the one hand, as a strong advocate of the theatrical experience, I do want movies to get that kind of distribution and attention. On the other hand, as someone who has lived most of his life in small and medium sized towns where art house theaters simply don’t exist or are impracticably far away, there can be a sense of FOMO and wanting to engage in a conversation that, by the time you get to participate in it, has either ended or muted. I don’t propose I have an answer, and I agree it isn’t day and date, but I don’t love how more non mainstream works can get separated out as something that only city dwellers can engage in:
Scott doesn't give a shit about people who don't live in large cities because he lives in a large city.
This has not always been the case! As I wrote in our open discussion on the farthest we've travelled to see a movie, I would often take hour-plus-long road trips to see arthouse movies in Atlanta or Ann Arbor. And again, this notion of a movie being available to everybody everywhere all the time is new. And there are serious problems with that idea.
There is a pretty big difference between "everywhere" and "one single theater", especially when the option exists to make it more widely available. And for the record, since all these articles seem to be painting one side as content hungry vultures who just want to consume things on their couches and the other as arbiters of true culture, I would very much like to see this in a theater. I value the experience of seeing a movie on the big screen. I just know the chances of that happening for me with this particular film are very slim.
I've never lived in a market with an arthouse theater, but I've also never supported day and date. The idea that not releasing a film to the widest possible audience immediately is denying it to any portion of the audience is kind of ridiculous in the era of home video, and now streaming. I grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania. The long tail of a platform release is the only reason I ever heard of many movies that I would eventually rent at a video store. Now, when a film is made immediately available to everyone, it goes through exactly one press cycle (now shorter than ever), and then slips into the void. If it's elitist to wish for as many parties as possible (arthouse theaters, multiplexes, physical media distributors, streaming platforms) to benefit from a film's release, rather than one giant corporation like Netflix of Disney, then call me an elitist.
Hear hear.
To be fair, probably gonna be easier to see this when it comes around than it is to see Blissfully Yours period.
(Also anywhere to see the actual “tour dates”? I didn’t see that in the Indiewire article but maybe those aren’t announced yet)
I don't think those have been announced yet, other than the news it's starting in NYC in December. My friend at Wexner Center in Columbus tells me they're making inquiries now, so I imagine dates are still in flux. It's a long time until December.
I was so, so lucky to see Blissfully Yours at a festival. It was the first film I saw of his, and it may still be my favorite opening credits ever in a movie.
I'm curious what you all think of the Alamo Drafthouse model. They seem to dip their feet in the indie/arthouse world, while still catering to the Marvel crowd (all with tasty food, comfy seats and reservations). I view it as a nice happy medium, but I know they're probably not going to be the type of theater that is showing Joe's new movie, or anything that's not A24. I almost feel like the "true" art house theaters need to be subsidized (like a library) in some way, whereas other theaters need to go the Alamo route.
Well, Neon is under the Alamo/Tim League umbrella, so I'd say the chances of it playing at a Drafthouse is pretty solid. It seems like the chain arthouses have had to open themselves up to mainstream fare, presumably to make ends meet. I don't love it, but the one Drafthouse I've been to, in Austin, ranks as one of the best moviegoing experiences I've had. I sat in the balcony during a sold-out show of the original Black Christmas, watching a beat-up Tarantino 35mm print of it and eating a cheeseburger. That's cinema, folks.
Oh cool, I might be able to see it then! I've only seen Uncle Boonmee and I think it's still one of the most baffling movies I've ever seen (in a good way)
I travelled to an arthouse in Cleveland (Cedar Lee Theater--great place for those in the area) to see The Card Counter a few weeks back and noticed that that they were also showing Shang-Chi. I was dismayed initially, but if some kids from the high school across the street see the latest Marvel thing there and return to check out specialty fare, maybe it's not so bad.
Preach!
Wow. Concerns about equitable access to art are *tiresome*? I support the overall argument — independent cinemas are great, and do need support — but that's a blithe and uncaring dismissal of real concerns from real movie fans.
Yeah, I suppose I'm more tired of some of the arguments than then concern itself. Of course it's ideal for folks to be able to see all the films they can, whether they live in New York City or in the middle of Montana. But there's been a remarkably quick shift toward the idea that films must be available *right now*, when in fact there are benefits to slower rollouts and theatrical exhibition for some films.
Top ten most-watched TV broadcasts of 2020, according to Neilsen, were Oscars and eight football games. Sports is one thing people still watch on television in large numbers because sporting event still feel like *event*. Me not know if this movie strategy will work or not, but making movie feel like event certainly seem like worthwhile thing to try.
Me know that me personally have plans to see No Time to Die and Velvet Underground, but for latter, me have release date marked in calendar and specific plans to see it at Film Forum, whereas Bond, me can see anywhere at any time, so it not something me have to plan around.
Funny enough, movies that feel like events end up being on both ends of spectrum — arthouse films me have to see at specific time and place, and Avenger or Star War that kids want to see earliest possible showing of because they not want to be last of their friends to see it. (Bagel Monster still traumatized by classmate spoiling ending of Force Awakens)
I'm somewhat biased living in a coastal city (though Seattle is usually 2nd or 3rd tier on any sort of platform release and I grew up in a town of <2,000 people where the nearest city was Spokane), but I liken this more like trying to see a band on tour. I wouldn't balk at arranging a weekend trip or doing a couple hour drive to go see a band I really loved play for...probably actually less than the length of Joe's film! Sure, I might be able to watch some crappy iPhone videos from the crowd and get a sense of what the band is like live, but that's not how they intend you to experience it.
Appreciate the article but still can’t find this release model anything but frustrating. Frankly I find limited releases in general to be frustrating and elitist and this just seems like the pinnacle of that. I want to support theaters as much as possible and don’t think releasing things immediately on streaming is a good idea at all, but I don’t think critics and people in major cities realize how annoying it is to read all of their best-of-the-year lists and see recommendations all the time for films we won’t get to see for half a year or more. Now this will just be one I maybe don’t get to see for years.
This is actually the one positive feature of A24 getting such an annoying rabid fanbase. Stuff they out out is somehow making it into theaters all over the place. Like any other year (and maybe it’s due to Covid) I really doubt I would have gotten The Green Knight like I did
Fine, so where do I sign up for an email alert telling me this film is coming to one of the major cities either 125, 150, or 300 miles from me?
That’s the spirit!
No. Really. Neon needs to put the schedule on their website or I'll miss it, like I've missed so many other things. I can drive to Houston, Austin or Dallas, but I don't subscribe to newspapers in those cities and I won't know about it unless it winds up on the website. Some of these companies are pretty bad about putting updated info on their websites. I can't tell you how many films I've missed because I didn't know about a blink-or-you-miss it engagement in one of those cities.
I'm skeptical of the assertion Memoria will never get a VOD or disc release. I understand why Neon might say the film will only ever live on the big screen; it is the crux of the outrage and intrigue. But once the tour reaches its terminal screen and some time has passed, I have to imagine Neon (a business after all) will try to squeeze every last dollar out of the movie. Maybe I'm reading too much into it...
I am looking forward to seeing the film Monday at a fest so I can applaud the rollout strategy without being personally inconvenienced!
It will 100% get a VOD or disc release. But it serves Neon's purposes, for now, to withhold such plans in order to encourage attendance.
Many of my fondest movie memories (and memories in general) have come at the Brattle Theatre in Boston and the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, and the thought of a world without cinemas like these is really sad to me. It's a great idea to "tour" this movie around, and I have some sliver of hope somewhere that business models like this may catch on in some small way. The success of Venom 2 at the box office last weekend buoys this hope further. The argument that cinemas are dying / people don't want to go out to see a movie anymore is a covertly classist one anyway, as the assumption there seems to be that everyone has home theater setups that are at least approaching comparable to the "Cinema Experience." I dunno, lots of disjointed thoughts. I'm also a huge fan of Joe's films and am really excited to catch this one in theaters (the first one of his I'll have seen outside my home!).
I HAVE BEEN WAITING to see Memoria 3 years now. Exactly what is your criterion for choosing which theater it goes to? I know that the Friday night International series at Eckerd College would LOVE to show Memoria as It's programmer, Nathan Anderson is a big "joe" fan". While your intentions may have been in the right place, I think I would have had a better chance to see Memoria in one of our regular theatres which occasionally show something slightly to the left or right of "Batman."