Sharing independent film producer Ted Hope's (The Wedding Banquet 1993, Safe 1995, 21 Grams 2003... Cassandro 2023) article today:
For my first twenty years in the business, there were hundreds of scenarios of how a film could be financed; now there are very few. There used to be hundreds of ways for a film to be distributed, but now it is very limited. [...]
In 2012, I first made the hard decision that due to the lack of a level playing field for independent producers, I was not going to be able to do what I most loved and excelled at – producing movies – for my living. [...] I ultimately was hired to launch Amazon’s movie development, production, and acquisition program. [...] I was at Amazon for five and a half years, that saw the subscribers and program grow significantly. What became clear was that decision-making was shifting away from traditional notions of taste and cultural impact toward data models designed to maximize subscriber acquisition and retention. Films were no longer evaluated primarily on artistic merit or long-term cultural value, but on their projected ability to reach massive global audiences immediately.[...]
When I left, [...] the new head of movies explained to me that the kind of movies I did – typically called “prestige films”, or films for grown-ups – were no longer viable there because of the high number of subscribers each film was now expected to connect with.
The abandonment of the “prestige” sector and mature and sophisticated themes by the American system is well documented. It flourished when there was a market for physical media but not in the era of global streaming. Films that depend on word-of-mouth do not work well without media support or in opposition to saturation marketing tactics.
The consolidation of the major studios and their pivot toward global franchise economics have also eliminated the mid-budget film — historically the backbone of the American film business. These films, typically budgeted between $15 and $50 million, sustained producers, developed directors, and provided studios with steady returns. With the disappearance of this sector, the industry has effectively eliminated the sector where independent producers such as me built our careers.
Equally significant has been the disappearance of the independent distribution layer that once existed between filmmakers and the major studios. For decades companies like Miramax, Fine Line, October Films, Newmarket, ThinkFilm, and others created a competitive marketplace for independent cinema. As media companies consolidated and streaming replaced physical media revenue, most of these distributors disappeared or were absorbed into larger conglomerates. The result is far fewer buyers and far fewer paths for films to reach audiences.
Streaming fundamentally altered the economics of filmmaking by replacing long-tail revenue streams with a single license fee. In the past, producers like myself could build careers through profit participation and successive windows of distribution — theatrical, home video, cable, international sales, and television licensing. Streaming collapsed these revenue streams into a single transaction, eliminating the possibility of long-term participation and dramatically reducing the upside for filmmakers.
And here’s my story of how and why we all must BLOCK THE MERGER.
