Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - (Page 9) SXSW www.homemediamagazine.com The Wrestler Edited by Billy Gil SPECIAL SECTION SXSW Links Filmmakers With Distributors By Billy Gil he 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin will feature panels with both film distributors and filmmakers, connecting the two in what panelists call a warm and intimate environment. “The festival does a good job of connecting people, whether it’s through panels, Q&As or parties,” said David Fenkel, co-founder and partner of Oscilloscope Laboratories, a New York-based distribution company co-founded by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. “People like myself can go to a barbecue and talk to filmmakers in a very relaxed environment and have fun.” Fenkel will appear on the panel “The State of Distribution: What You Need to Know,” (March 14, Room 16AB, 11 a.m. to noon). It will cover what buyers are looking to acquire and how movies are distributed, from release windows and timing to rights and updated distribution philosophies. It’s just one of several panels that will cater directly to both filmmakers and distributors. Also appearing on that panel will be Michael Barker, president of Sony Pictures Classics. “Austin is a unique town, and it’s a celebration, not just of film but of music as well, and so the crowds are very lively and energetic and volatile, which is great,” Barker said. Indeed, Barker pointed out such highlights as the historic Paramount Theatre in Austin, which will screen the Sony Pictures Classics film Moon, an off-kilter sci-fi film starring T Independent Spirit Award Winners on DVD and BD By Billy Gil he Oscars weren’t the only award show to take place recently: The Independent Spirit Awards were handed out Feb. 21, with several winners available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The Wrestler took top honors, winning for best feature, best cinematography and best male lead (Mickey Rourke, who lost the best actor Oscar to Sean Penn). The Wrestler has yet to be announced on DVD, releasing from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; however, Amazon.com is accepting preorders for the DVD and Blu-ray Disc, listed at $29.98 on DVD. Synecdoche, New York won best first feature (writer-turned-director Charlie Kaufman) and will be available March 10 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on DVD ($28.96) and Bluray Disc ($39.95). Milk won for best supporting actor (James Franco) and T best first screenplay (Dustin Lance Black, who also won the best original screenplay Oscar) and streets March 10 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment on DVD ($29.98) and Bluray Disc ($39.98). Best director winner Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor is available on DVD ($29.98) from Anchor Bay Entertainment; best screenplay (Woody Allen) and supporting actress (Penelope Cruz) winner Vicky Cristina Barcelona is available from Genius Products on DVD ($28.95) and Blu-ray ($34.99); best female lead (Melissa Leo) winner Frozen River is available from Sony Pictures on DVD ($28.96) and Bluray ($39.95); and best documentary winner Man on Wire is available from Magnolia Home Entertainment on DVD ($26.98). Best foreign film winner The Class She plays a butt-kicking mom in ‘Exit Speed’ hasn’t yet been announced on DVD; it will be released by Sony Pictures. By Billy Gil hose accustomed to seeing Lea Thompson as mousey Lorraine McFly in Back to the Future or BRIEFS city girl Caroline in “Caroline in the City” may be surprised by her latest role as a butt-kicking mom who is I SXSW FILMS GO VOD WITH IFC TALENT part of a group hunted by violent nomads in TALK Exit Speed, due on DVD March 3 from Peace The South By Southwest Film Conference, in partnership with IFC Films, is sending five Arch Entertainment. Thompson spoke with Home Meof its movies to homes through the IFC Festival Direct on-demand package. Each film dia Magazine about Exit Speed and other movies from will be available for 90 days at about $7. her lengthy career in TV and film. The package will be offered through Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox and Time Sam Rockwell, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. He said SXSW, with its theaters that serve alcohol and its music venues, provides the ideal opportunity to screen such a film. March 14 and 16 will feature distributor panels dubbed “Mentors: Distributors,” giving filmmakers face time with the people who could eventually disseminate their films. Joe Amodei, president and founder of Virgil Films and Entertainment (who appears March 14; Room 18A, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.), said he loves mentoring, typically with six to 12 filmmakers, sharing his experiences in the industry and giving tips. “A lot of the filmmakers I’ve done this with, I’ve actually kept up relationships and helped them out in the future with getting their films placed,” Amodei said. “The business is like a corn maze, trying to figure out what to do with your film once you’ve made it, and that doesn’t seem to be what is taught in schools across the country.” Also of interest is the panel “The Future of the DVD and Digital Distribution” (March 16, Room 12AB, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.), which will cover the lifespan of DVD and Bluray Disc, selling films through iTunes and other digital outlets, digital revenue and peer-to-peer networks. The panel will consist of filmmakers, tech folk and distributors, and is being moderated by Scott Kirsner, editor of CinemaTech. “Whether its Netflix streaming, iTunes [or other means], I think this is the year we’ll really see some momentum on the digital side,” Kirsner said. Lea Thompson Gets Tough from Peace Arch Entertainment T Warner, starting March 14. Offerings will include the drama Alexander the Last, Bulgarian Oscar submission Zift, dark comedy Three Blind Mice, and 2008 festival favorites Medicine for Melancholy and Paper Covers Rock. I HM: Exit Speed was a different role and film for you. What was it like playing this sort of tough mom in an action-adventure film? Thompson in Exit Speed I PAST SXSW FILMS HIT DVD A few anticipated films that screened at previous years’ South by Southwest Film Festivals are hitting DVD. Austin360.com (presented by the Austin American-Statesman) reported that The Whole Shootin’ Match, Eagle Pennell’s 1978 directorial debut and a film legend that has never been released on DVD, finally was released Feb. 24, from Watchmaker Films, at $29.98. The comedy, about two Texans who try and fail at a number of business ventures, was one of the films to screen at the 1978 Utah/U.S. Film Festival, where Robert Redford was a board member, helping inspire him to form the Sundance Institute three years later, as reported in The New York Times. The film screened at the 2007 SXSW Film Festival. Also hitting DVD Feb. 24 was former SXSW entry Jam (Arts Alliance, $19.95), a documentary on former 1970s roller derby stars who want to make a comeback; and Dear Zachary: A Letter to His Son About His Father (Oscilloscope, $29.99), a documentary that screened at the 2008 fest about a pregnant woman who murdered the father of her child and then fought the man’s – Billy Gil parents for custody. Thompson: It was fun! It was kind of a brutal experience was a kids’ movie and put it on and left the room. Lo and behold, there are condoms and love scenes with making the movie. I was pleasantly surprised. I HM: Are you excited to have the “Back to the Future” trilogy back erect feathers. It was a very bizarre movie; it was a very bizarre comic. I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect movie, but I out on DVD? They were just re-released. Thompson: I’m constantly touched by how loved that think it appeals to iconoclasts, people who don’t like to movie is. My daughter — who’s 14 — and her friends be told what is good and what is not good. all know the movie. I have to remind them, you were I HM: What are you working on now? negative 10 when that movie came out. It’s so awesome Thompson: I have a movie called Splinterheads coming that they love it and it still speaks to them. out at the South by Southwest Film Festival. I’m workI HM: You’ve had a lot of material come to DVD recently. Another ing on a movie to direct called The Swinging Sounds of film you were in, Howard the Duck, streets on DVD March 10 (Univer- Jack Amsterdam. sal, $14.98). How do you feel about that film and its cult following? Thompson: I did do some interviews for it. The interviews are really interesting because it is such a cult film. Even the studio doesn’t realize it, which is the most bizarre thing in the world that they don’t realize how many people are fans of the movie. It’s funny, I think a lot of kids liked it because a lot of parents thought it Splinterheads screens March 14 at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Ritz 1, March 17 at 1:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre and March 19 at noon at the Alamo Lamar 1. For the complete story, log on to www.homemediamagazine.com March 2–8, 2009 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.Amazon.com http://www.Austin360.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 Contents News TV DVD SXSW Reviews Research Top 20 Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 (Page Cover4) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Contents (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - TV DVD (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - SXSW (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Reviews (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Reviews (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Top 20 Sellers (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Top 20 Sellers (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 22)
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