no-see-’em movies

The trend in indies is:here today, gone tomorrow.

“The window is definitely shrinking,” the vice president and general manager of New York’s IFC Center, John Vanco, said. “Art house films that, in the past, would play for 40 or 50 or 70 weeks, [such as] ‘La Cage Aux Folles’ and ‘El Topo,’ are, if not a thing of the past, then at least an exceedingly rare phenomenon these days. The theatrical engagement is, by necessity, more of a pit stop for most films now on their way to ancillaries than it was back when theatrical was primary and unchallenged by so many other movie-viewing options.”

Today, Mr. Vanco said, films are zipping through New York screens at faster and faster speeds. In part, the congestion is due to a growing mountain of titles — many shot digitally with shorter production schedules — all vying for big-screen debuts.

The notorious “some observers” blame documentaries, of all things [e.a.]:

Some observers say the problem stems from theaters becoming saturated by movies, often low-budget documentaries, that have no business showing in a theater environment. “Quite simply, there are way too many documentaries being released in theaters for anybody’s good,” said Mark Urman, the head of theatrical at THINKFilm, noting that a considerable number of New York screens on a weekly basis are being occupied by nonfiction films. “The vast majority [of these films] don’t warrant it, and what’s happening is that documentaries that would be much better served by a premiere on cable are flooding and clogging the theaters and guaranteeing that those who deserve the space are getting crowded out. It results in every title getting mediocre business.”

There’s light at the end of the (long) tunnel, though:

Mr. Urman’s frustration, though, is tempered with a sense of confidence that we are already witnessing the opening, turbulent chapter of a major “market correction.” That is, many distributors and filmmakers are beginning to realize that there is more money to be made — and attention to be found — in pursuing alternative avenues of distribution.

Yep. And not just in the movie business but in all media businesses. People who have been used to raking it in are going to have to put on their thinking caps and then get to work.

I was talking to a wise and well-known figure in the old-media world the other day, and he made a really smart observation.

The future of book publishing (as just one example), he said, is glorious. It’s only the present that’s a disaster.

We should all live long enough to enjoy a little bit of that future. In the meantime, the people in the movie business should make better goddamn movies. And the folks picking them up from Sundance should acquire a better nose for hits.

Throughout last year, Sundance’s most prominent titles suffered cruel fates in a crowded marketplace. “Grace Is Gone” was purchased for $4 million and went on to earn just $37,000 in America. The documentary “My Kid Could Paint That,” bought for $1 million, brought in $230,000 domestically.