This is still developing, and no one – myself included – has their heads wrapped around what happens next, but I don’t know how not to start this newsletter with a coronavirus update – it’s all anyone can talk about. And it’s impact is big for everyone, so I am not trying to minimize the bigger picture by focusing on how it’s gonna change the film industry.
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I have to interrupt the normal newsletter flow for some self-promotion this week. I’m super proud to announce that a film I produced (along with Frank Hall Green and Joseph Stephans) – The Outside Story, directed by Casimir Nozkowski – premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. This one is a true indie, with no brands involved, and I can’t wait for my friends and colleagues to see the premiere. The cast – partially listed on the graphic above – is amazing, especially Brian Tyree Henry. Stay tuned on our FB page for updates, but here’s the synopsis:
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With Coronavirus in the news and hitting the stock market, I’ve received many newsletters and updates on how it might impact the film business. Here’s a straightforward and pretty decent one from the Arthouse Convergence about how to stay prepared as a theater owner, for example, and here’s Variety reporting on how Netflix (and similar companies) might benefit from people staying home and watching television. But I’ll make a bigger bet – if we see a serious quarantine from the coronavirus pandemic, we might see an irreversible impact on film windowing practices, as film companies see the benefits of marketing directly for home viewing and don’t turn back.
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Quick Lessons from Hair Love – the brand funded film at the Oscars
Everyone in the branded content world has been going gaga over a brand-funded film winning at the Oscars – where Hair Love, by Matthew Cherry won for Animated Short film, after a successful Kickstarter campaign and financial and marketing support from Dove, a unit of Unilever (full disclosure, a client, but not for this). While the film was not traditional branded content, it still marks a milestone, and has a few lessons for those of us working in this space (or wanting to work in it).