Hacking NetFlix

Film Distribution Workshop in NYC on May 17th

Allen Chou, President of Passion River Films, and film distribution consultant Josh Levin will be hosting a film distribution workshop in NYC on May 17th.

Allen and Josh will also teach topics that include: “The top 10 mistakes to avoid when making a film distribution deal”, “How to develop a profitable film distribution plan”; as well as “DVD Self-distribution and Non-traditional film distribution models”. Join them as they share the secrets behind the real world of film distribution and marketing in this unique and valuable seminar. At the end of the lectures, they’ll also workshop your titles.

More information about the workshop is available online at MarketMyMovie.com.

SAG Strike Deadline Extended

paidContent reports that the Screen Actor's Guild has extended the strike deadline.

No specific reason was given, but LAT reports that SAG’s dropped its proposal to double residuals from DVD sales, which had been a key stumbling block. SAG is now asking for what would effectively be a 15 percent hike in DVD pay.

The current contract expires June 30th. Among the points of contention, still, are the length of time film and TV shows can be streamed online before residuals can be paid to actors for their work, and what kind of programs created for the Internet should be covered under the union’s contract.

Roger Ebert is Blogging

The Yoda of movie reviews is blogging at http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/.

Every year I keep meaning to include "Joe vs. the Volcano" in Ebertfest, and every year something else squeezes it out, some film more urgently requiring our immediate attention, you see. The 1990 John Patrick Shanley film, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, was about a wage slave in a factory where dark clouds lower o'er the sky; he is told he has a Brain Cloud, with only five months to live. How this leaves him to become a candidate for human sacrifice in the South Seas follows a long and winding road, in a film that was a failure in every possible way except that I loved it.

via Kottke.

Another Reason to Hate DRM: Microsoft Abandons MSN Music Customers

Ars technica reports that MSN Music customers that purchased music from the defunct service MSN Music service will have trouble transferring the music to other computers.

MSN Entertainment and Video Services general manager Rob Bennett sent out an e-mail this afternoon to customers, advising them to make any and all authorizations or deauthorizations before August 31. "As of August 31, 2008, we will no longer be able to support the retrieval of license keys for the songs you purchased from MSN Music or the authorization of additional computers," reads the e-mail seen by Ars. "You will need to obtain a license key for each of your songs downloaded from MSN Music on any new computer, and you must do so before August 31, 2008. If you attempt to transfer your songs to additional computers after August 31, 2008, those songs will not successfully play."

via Engadget.

Study Shows that Consumers Will Pay More for Early-Release HD VOD

A new industry study revealed some interesting VOD information, Consumers Will Pay $7-9 for Earlier-Release, High-Definition Video-on-Demand and Internet Rental Movies, Creating Billions of Dollars in Industry Growth, Oliver Wyman Study Finds.

A study of 2,000 U.S. consumers conducted by Oliver Wyman, an international management consulting firm, found that a price point between $7 and $9 is optimal for the next generation of video-on-demand (VOD) and Internet movie rentals: high-definition (HD) movies released on the same day as DVDs. This premium over today’s $4 price for standard DVD or VOD movie rental would create substantial market growth by 2010.

Rollout of HD VOD and Internet movies on day-and-date of DVD release is a growth opportunity not only because consumers value them and will pay more, but also because this expanded availability will increase overall movie viewership. The Oliver Wyman study found that that these enhanced offers would lead U.S. consumers to watch and pay for an average of three more movies per year than they do today, creating a net annual increase in domestic consumer movie spending of more than $5 billion, from the current base of $50 billion.

Microsoft Announces DRM for Silverlight: Watch Instantly for the Mac?

Macworld reports that Microsoft announced at NAB a DRM solution for Silverlight, the cross-platform and cross-browser video streaming technology.

On Monday, Microsoft also unveiled details of a new DRM technology for streaming live content called Silverlight DRM. The technology is based on Microsoft’s PlayReady technology and is expected to be available later this year when Microsoft releases Silverlight 2.

Microsoft said Tuesday that Silverlight DRM will be compatible with Windows Media DRM 10 content and is aimed at protecting content that is streamed live or on-demand. The company is giving NAB 2008 attendees demonstrations of Silverlight DRM in its booth at the conference.

Since Apple won't license Fairplay, Netflix needs another studio-approved video streaming solution. Last May Netflix demonstrated a version of Watch Instantly running under Silverlight, but Netflix needs DRM to make Watch Instantly available for other browsers or the Macintosh.

Thanks to Luke for sending this in.

Foundation Capital Raises $750,000

Reuters reports that Foundation Captial, an early investor in Netflix, has raised another round of funding.

Foundation Capital, which bet on Netflix when the DVD renter was a fledgling company, said on Monday that it had raised its seventh and largest fund at $750 million as investors remain enthusiastic about venture-backed startups amid an economic meltdown.

The latest fund brings the total amount raised by the venture capital firm to around $2.5 billion, said general partner Adam Grosser.

Charlton Heston: Dead at 84

Cinematical reports that actor Charlton Heston has died at the age of 84.

There aren't many true "Hollywood legends" still with us, and now another one is gone, as Charlton Heston died Saturday at his Beverly Hills home after a six-year battle with Alzheimer's. CNN reports that his wife, Lydia -- to whom he had been married for an astonishing 64 years -- was at his side.

Netflix has a page listing all of the Charlton Heston movies available for rental.

Flixster Gets $5 Million in Second Round Funding

Private Equity HUB reports that the popular movie social networking site Flixster has secured an additional $5 million in funding.

via paidContent.

Video Store Rentals to Drop to 44% by 2010

Video Business cites a report about the future of DVD rental business, "The Battle for the American Couch Potato: New Challenges and Opportunities in the Content Market.:"

Researchers predict in-store rental revenue will account for 44% of movie/TV rentals in 2010, with mail rentals from Netflix and others accounting for 37%. Rentals through kiosks will make up 11% of all rental revenue, and online rentals will account for 7%.

That’s a dramatic shift from 2007, when 71% of rental revenue came from in-store rentals, 25% from mail rentals, 4% from kiosks and 1% from online.