V I D E O • A G E 12 NO V E M B E R/ DE C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 T H E A F M D I A R Y broadcast, “big titles” or A-movies do poorly on free over-the-air television. This problem is less often associated with the B-movies that are so popular at the AFM. Other AFM characteristics are its presale agreements that filmmakers take to the banks as guarantees to secure production money. In addition, the bad state of the world economy is proving a boon for DVD rentals. Blockbuster has already recorded an increase in rentals and it has projected further gains in the coming months. It was this DVD sales news that brought a number of companies to the AFM for the first time. Said Andrew Schreiber of U.K.’s Power: “We’re here for the first time to expand our presence in the DVD market.” Another first-timer was Jill Keenleyside of Canada’s CCI, who reported brisk sales for Alice Upside Down, with an all-rights deal concluded in the U.K., and with negotiations conducted with Germany, Latin America and the Middle East. Italy’s RAI Trade, back at the AFM after a year’s sabbatical, announced several sales for two movies, Giovanna’s Father and Bad Girls, into such territories as Japan, Spain, Germany, Mexico and Scandinavia. Nonetheless, the close proximity of the powerful Cannes-based MIPCOM with the Santa Monica event continues to have a negative effect on sales at the AFM. But more than the poor economy, president-elect Obama and AFM machinations, on the mind of many sellers was the problem of too many movies chasing too few dollars. The glut of completed movies seemed to be the real economy at the AFM even though some disagreed. “Each territory has its own preference,” commented one distributor. For the AFM, the annual Santa Monica, California film market that this year began the day after an historic event in America — the election of the first AfricanAmerican U.S. president — Barack Obama was low on the list of interests of market exhibitors and buyers. At the opening day press conference, the newly elected Obama came into the picture only towards the end, when Jean Prewitt, CEO of IFTA, which organizes the AFM, briefly acknowledged the “historical day” and noted that IFTA favored Obama for his “position on net neutrality and broad diversity in the media.” Net neutrality concerns Internet sales, even though, as Prewitt explained, “We don’t yet know how to make money with digital rights.” Indeed, as also reported by U.S. studio executives, even though downloading will continue to grow, it still represents only a tiny piece of their business. Lloyd Kaufman, IFTA chairman, pointed out that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the association that represents the U.S. studios, “is against net neutrality.” While recognizing that the IFTA has “not been successful with the net neutrality issue,” Kaufman said that this is an issue that should concern not just the U.S., but also the world. About Obama’s election, Prewitt concluded: “Today we’re very hopeful for our members and for the economy. And the film industry creates jobs.” Perhaps it was purely coincidence, but it could be Obama’s victory that resulted in the elimination of the security checks at the entrance of the Loews Hotel — the AFM’s market center — an annoying (and useless) feature that had been in place for the past seven years. The MPAA came into the picture a few more times, like when Kaufman, who is also the president of production and distribution company Troma Entertainment, mentioned that IFTA “wants to be part of the regulatory process with opinion makers and politicians. They don’t have to get their info from the MPAA. Now they can get information from us at the IFTA.” Prewitt added that the MPAA business model is completely different from that of IFTA members and that legislators now recognize that there are two different views. Jonathan Wolf, IFTA’s evp and general manager of AFM, explained that, in general, the U.S business model is to get up to 70 percent financing from international sales, while in many other countries, investments are recouped domestically. Preempting the usual questions about empty corridors at the Loews Hotel, where suites were turned into sales offices, Wolf said: “I’m worried when I see crowded halls because it indicates that [buyers] are not at the screening places.” Wolf also explained that one of AFM’s greatest features is the high number of world premieres (102 films) since “buyers are always looking for new product.” In the opinion of several exhibitors, however, the AFM is primarily a DVD market, and a few buyers, such as Mario Pimentel of Portugal’s MPA, actually skipped MIPCOM this year for that reason. Masafumi Odawara of Japan’s Asterisk Corp. commented that because of the high cost of dubbing, Japanese companies are only interested in studio films, which are not found at the AFM. On the other hand, because of much exploitation prior to a film’s TV More Of The Usual Problems, But with Hope and Excitement Lloyd Kaufman, Jean Prewitt and Jonathan Wolf at the AFM opening day press briefing ACI’s George Shamieh and Chevonne O’Shaughnessy Pictured above (L. to r.): EuroVideo’s Grant Raynham, Claus Czaika, RHI’s John Alexander, EuroVideo’s Michael Mullner and MPA’s Mario Pimentel Pictured below: Image Entertainment and Brainstorm Media’s annual AFM dinner at the Marix Tex Mex Restaurant in Santa Monica (Continued on Page 14)
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