All these wonderful things

Not You David Ansen, Not You! Newsweek's Critic Par Excellance Join the Doc Depression Bandwagon

One of favorite film writers and critics, David Ansen of Newsweek, has an article up declaring "THE END OF THE DOCUMENTARY FILM MARKET".  Lord-eye-lou, really?  Isn't that soooo 2007?

"(After the success of docs in 2003-2005), (d)istributors gobbled up docs at prices no one was used to paying. The market was flooded with product: some of it superb and laden with critical praise; some of it urgent and timely; some of it aimed at niche markets that would presumably rush out to see a movie about their favorite subjects: crossword puzzles, wine, women's high-school basketball; some of it merely mediocre but so cheap to make in the new era of over-the-counter digital filmmaking that investors figured they had nothing to lose.

Then everybody got burned. Unless documentaries were made by Michael Moore, or featured Al Gore talking about inconvenient truths, the theatrical market for these films collapsed. Huge expectations ran into a wall of audience indifference: CRAZY LOVE was supposed to go through the roof yet it made a measly $301,000. TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE won the best-documentary Oscar—and its grosses, paltry to begin with, went down! Alex Gibney, the director of this tough movie about the torture of terror suspects by Americans, is suing THINKFilm, its distributor, for what he says was an inadequate release. With all due respect to Gibney, he's kidding himself if he thinks tons of marketing money could have made a difference. Even Errol Morris's high-profile film on Abu Ghraib, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, flopped—$209,000."         

In truth, the actual information in Ansen's piece is a far cry from the debacle that John Horn foisted on the readers of the LA Times two weeks ago (Ansen actually mentions the success of EXPELLED and U23D!), but it continues to feed on a basic incorrect notion - that nonfiction film is still in the doldrums of last year - a point that I've refuted time and again.  This year has seen, in case it needs reminding, the best start for docs since 2003. 

What we haven't had - and this seems to be the underlying hypothesis of Ansen's article - is a smash hit ala FAHRENHEIT 9/11 or MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, or a $20 million plus success like SICKO or AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (or, truth be told, a $10 million breakout like WINGED MIGRATION or SUPER SIZE ME).  But both EXPELLED and U23D have bested SPELLBOUND, which Ansen references as a reminder of the "good ole days", and SHINE A LIGHT trails it by just a few hundred thousand.

Would CRAZY LOVE, even if it had worked, been a $10 million dollar success?  Hard to see it, considering that CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS topped out just north of 3.  And sure, FOG OF WAR and ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM both made $4 million plus, but neither of those film is about torture, to say nothing about the change in the mood of the country.

The irony is that what made 2003-2005 such a great time for docs was that there were a lot of doubles and triples, not just a single home run followed by a bunch of foul balls.  Fact is, a single big success does not do a lot of good for the general perception of documentary fitness for theatrical release.  Witness 2006, wherein the first doom-and-gloomers foresaw a nonfiction downturn - despite the super success of that Al Gore film.  Ditto 2007, universally declared a doc depression even with Michael Moore's health care treatise.  This year there are three films with more than $5 million in box office - and at least one (Bill Maher's RELIGULOUS) that seems like it could duplicate that feat (who knows what will happen with Sundance faves AMERICAN TEEN and MAN ON WIRE).  Meanwhile, we've got another movie that's bound for $4 million - YOUNG@HEART (a big success despite what the delusional Horn thinks). 

Bottom line - We're likely to end the year with 4-7 nonfictions grossing more than $4 million.  The record?  4 films did it in 2005.  It's hard to argue that equaling or surpassing that success denotes a industry-wide downturn for docs, yet it's apparent that even our favorite film writers might not yet have received the memo.

Strong Debut for TRUMBO as ENCOUNTERS Begins to Expand

Peter Askin's TRUMBO, which premiered at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival and was the opening night film at this year's Full Frame, was the top documentary debut this week, taking in nearly $10K per three theatres, including New York's Sunshine and LA's The Landmark.  The film, which is based on a play by Christopher Trumbo, son of the blacklisted screenwriter Dalton, has well-known actors (including Joan Allen and David Straitharn) reading Trumbo's letters.

Werner Herzog's ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD expanded beyond the friendly confines of New York's Film Forum this weekend and found continued success in its first expansion, averaging more than $6K in eight theaters.  THINKFilm's Michael Tuckman, perhaps trying to change the prevailing perception that the company is struggling, gave an enthusiastic deposition outlining THINK's due diligence to indieWIRE:

"The success of ENCOUNTERS has been the fruit of a very carefully planned release of the film, dating back to the moment we acquired it in late 2007," said Michael Tuckman, vice president, theatrical sales, ThinkFilm. "Each theater that has launched the film was handpicked and locked up months in advance to ensure the best possible venue in which to present the film in each market. Along with that went hand-in-hand publicity and marketing efforts with each theater to get the word out on this truly remarkable film that continues Herzog's renaissance. This past weekend - the film's third at the Film Forum and first week off its calendar - was its strongest yet with continued sold-out shows over the course of the weekend."

ENCOUNTERS is poised to potentially enter the top 15 box office docs of 2008 next weekend.  But for now, here are the top films in the 2008 Nonfiction Box Office through this past weekend:

1.    U23D (National Geographic)                                           $  8,631,306

2.    EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED (Rocky)    $  7,614,754

3.    SHINE A LIGHT (Paramount Vantage)                           $  5,355,376

4.    YOUNG@HEART (Fox Searchlight)                               $  3,606,430

5.    UP THE YANGTZE (Zeitgeist/Kino)                             ~ $    769,000

6.    VINCE VAUGHN'S WILD WEST... (Picturehouse)           $    603,894

7.    WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA... (Weinstein)         $    384,955

8.    TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (THINKFilm)                         $    274,661

9.    PLANET B-BOY (Elephant Eye)                                     $    273,870

10.   STEEP (SPC)                                                              $    260,586

11.  THE SINGING REVOLUTION (Abramorama)                   $    247,134

12.  BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER* (Magnolia)                   $    246,145

13.  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SPC)               $    216,012

14.  SURFWISE (Magnolia)                                                   $    208,932

15.  CHICAGO 10 (Roadside Attractions)                               $    175,797

LAFF 2008: LOOT Takes Los Angeles

Festival coverage sponsored by Indiepix.

Darius Marder's LOOT, a study at parallel searches for buried treasure and the healing of past wounds, took the top Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival Saturday, along with the $50K prize sponsored by Target.  The film was a world premiere at LAFF.  Marder was an editor on the Oscar winning short, FREEHELD.

A special jury commendation was given to PRESSURE COOKER, which was described to me during the fest as "a cross between MAD HOT BALLROOM and Hell's Kitchen (the TV show starring sometimes abusive chef Gordon Ramsay), directed by Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker.

Best Documentary Short went to Eva Weber's CITY OF CRANES, which previously took top prize at Full Frame.

The documentary audience award went to ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL, while MAN ON WIRE took the international audience prize (neither film was in the documentary competition).

Michael Lerman wrote about LOOT for indieWIRE while covering this year's doc crop:

"(T)he surprisingly hilarious story of two WWII veterans who go in search of buried treasure that they hid in an attic during the war, along with the aide of the world's most serious, yet unprofessional treasure hunter, Lance Larison. The humor and humanity of the film sneaks up on you when you least expect it, as Larison's deadpan interview delivery has you questioning whether Marder scripted it for comical effect. This, however, works in the films favor, as Marder takes the classic fly-on-the-wall approach and let's the audience decide the tone for themselves, building out of the reality of the situation."

Why Does the LA Times Hate America? (Or: How to Use Selected Box Office Numbers to Validate Last Year's Theories)

My travel from the past week has prevented me from weighing on John Horn's piece in the LA Times last week.  Titled "Documentaries lose box office muscle", it was yet another of those "nonfiction sky is falling" pieces that conveniently ignores the current success that documentaries are having at the box office in an effort to paint the genre as truly hurting:

"Critically acclaimed films about provocative subjects struggle to make money all the time, but rarely have so many lauded documentaries consistently failed to connect at the box office. The recent nonfiction returns have been so bleak that several distributors are growing wary about taking on such highbrow works, an alarming development in a pop culture universe already dominated by "American Idol," James Frey and US Weekly."

I've often quarreled with the LA Times' coverage of documentaries, but Horn's piece is truly something for the archives.  For one, he posits the curious conclusion that YOUNG@HEART - a film that is well on its way to grossing 3.5 million - is yet another black eye on nonfiction box office performance.  It's a stretch, it is, but one that Horn continues to ride into a column yesterday, in which he exclaims that YOUNG@HEART was "dead on arrival".

Although Horn gets Steve Gilula, the COO of Fox Searchlight, to go on record saying that the distributor was disappointed given the acquisition deal (which Horn pegs at 1.5 million) and marketing costs, he closes with much seriousness on a capper from Gilula that is laughable to anyone who knows the history of Fox Searchlight's dabbling in doc features:

"I believe," says Gilula, "that we will be very cautious in considering future documentaries."

Yes, that's right kids, the company that hadn't bought a doc in more than a decade (Horn erroneously calls YOUNG@HEART Searchlight's first doc pickup) is officially now "very cautious" about acquiring nonfiction.  Someone alert the media.  (To his credit, at least Horn gets one fact right - YOUNG@HEART sold at LAFF last year, not Sundance, which the Times screwed up in an article earlier this year.)

Guess who else is skittish about documentaries? Why none other than Sony Pictures Classics' Michael Barker:

"'It's unlike anything I've seen before," says Michael Barker, whose Sony Pictures Classics has released the documentary duds STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, JIMMY CARTER MAN FROM PLAINS and MY KID COULD PAINT THAT, none of which grossed more than $250,000 theatrically. "Unless you have movie stars like Michael Moore or Al Gore associated with your film, you can't sell tickets.'"

Not mentioned by Horn is the fact that SPC picked up not one but two nonfiction titles at Cannes - James Toback's TYSON biopic (a star certainly, but not an Al Gore kinda star) and the critically acclaimed animated film WALTZ WITH BASHIR.

In short, there's lots of issues to ponder in nonfiction - what happens if we lose THINKFilm?  why are political docs underperforming?  are there better avenues for release than the classic multi-tiered theatrical/dvd/cable model? - while still acknowledging that docs overall are having a much better than average year (In keeping with his meme, Horn fails to mention EXPELLED, U23D or SHINE A LIGHT in his piece).  And even a newspaper in the shadow of the mighty studio system - where $50 million can be a massive bomb - should know better than to call YOUNG@HEART DOA.

Celebrating Zeitgeist

With all the posting that we've done lately covering the difficulties at THINKFilm, it's high time that we throw a little love around for another distributor that is celebrating an anniversary this weekend.

Zeitgeist Films, which is one of the top distributors of documentaries in North America, is being feted with a 20th Anniversary retrospective at MOMA this month.  Last year, Zeitgeist was second only to THINK in total nominations by distributor at the Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking, garnering multiple nods for INTO GREAT SILENCE and MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES.

This year, Zeitgeist has had success with UP THE YANGTZE and CHRIS & DON: A LOVE STORY. and will soon bring festival favorites TROUBLE THE WATER and STRANDED: I'VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS to theatres.

So congrats to co-presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo (indieWIRE has a very nice interview with them) and to the entire team at Zeitgeist and thanks for your continued support of nonfiction filmmaking.

One Week Later, Mostly Sadness Over Gibney v. THINK

With the firing of the starter's pistol in the case of Alex Gibney, et al v. THINKFilm (and the subsequent war of words between Gibney and THINKFilm topper Mark Urman), the past few days have mainly been a chance for a variety of folks to weigh in on the situation, and the response, not entirely suprisingly, is mostly sadness all around.

indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez kicked things off earlier this week with a detailed piece on Gibney's lawsuit and a further response from Urman:

"'We believed in Alex's film, we invested and incurred debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, so that he could win an Oscar. He did not thank us on Oscar night and he certainly shows no gratitude today," Urman said this weekend. "His film was resoundingly uncommercial and yet we supported it and got it into the history books. How sad that victory was not enough for Mr. Gibney.'"

David Poland weighed in on Monday, acknowledging that his Movie City News is owed money by think - "All of us...know that the bills are not being paid." - and concurring that Gibney's lawsuit is likely an effort to get the rights back to TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE:

"Alex can blame THINK for not spending enough money promoting the film after the win. He can argue that there was a bigger theatrical life for his film and that THINK blew it. But it would be a real feat to prove actionable negligence, unless he has some specific inside info that has not yet become public.

I would assume that this whole thing is simply a play by the very, very smart Mr. Gibney to get back the rights to his Oscar winning movie from a company he is disappointed with and who he fears, reasonably, might soon sell off his property to someone else. And I would assume that Mark Urman, who has been pushed hard by Gibney and is under enormous pressure in a community that he has been a respected and hard-working member of for a long time, is slapping back at Gibney because he has just had it.

(....)

So in closing… Gibney’s claim is goofy, yet the effort is understandable and, I am pretty sure, honorable. Urman’s smackback is goofy, yet the reaction is understandable, and I am pretty sure, honorable. Gibney would not be the first person to scream, “Cut me loose of this nightmare,” before an anticipated ax falls. But his actions do make it harder for others to trust Think as the company tries to move into the future. And if producers won’t get into bed with the company, the company can’t stop itself from dropping out of business in time."

Later, Cinematical's Kim Voynar described herself as "very torn" between "one of my favorite documentary filmmakers" and "one of the most prolific distributors of indie film in recent years".  The title of her post wondered if we all shouldn't start cutting THINK a break:

"I hope very much that the folks at THINKfilm are able to straighten things out at their end, reach agreements with all the filmmakers and advertising firms with whom they have disputes, and come out with their heads above water, in a position to continue championing films. With the folding of Picturehouse and Warner Independent, the world of indie filmmaking is feeling a massive crunch right now, and the last thing indie filmmakers need is to lose THINKfilm, whose president, Mark Urman, is a pretty brilliant guy and a real champion of independent filmmaking."

Early yesterday, the NY Times covered the story in an article from Charles Lyons.  There wasn't a great deal of new information in the piece, which ties the "feud" between Gibney and Urman to a larger set of woes in the indie film world (and a much blogged about speech by former Warner Independent head Mark Gill at the LA Film Festival last weekend).  The bottom line for those of us in the documentary game should come as surprise to no one:

"While never a major player in independent dramatic films, THINKFilm has quietly made its niche a cache of smart documentaries. A reduced THINKFilm would make it even tougher for independent documentary filmmakers to find a distributor, and a reduction seems likely."

Variety's Anne Thompson followed up with a posting this afternoon that fleshes out some of the financial troubles within the THINK/Capco family:

"By all accounts, while library-builder Bergstein has long held a reputation for poorly managing “distressed” enterprises, ThinkFilm was “funky,” as one employee put it, ever since its formation seven years ago. When Bergstein bought it in October 2006 for $18 million plus $5 million in debt, the specialty distrib only got fudgier. When the Toronto office was shut down recently, four years of unpaid minimum guarantees on several straight-to-video films were revealed.

Bergstein has too many fingers in too many pies. He has plowed tens of millions of dollars that could have been used to pay ThinkFilm’s bills into such pictures as The Wendell Baker Story, which flopped, the Jennifer Lopez film Bordertown, which went straight to video, the genre film Bad Meat, Taylor Hackford’s Love Ranch, and David O. Russell’s Nailed, the film production from hell, which has been shut down four times for not meeting its payroll. “Millions of dollars go into the bank from The Devil Knows You’re Dead,” says one ThinkFilm exec. “Then it evaporates and we can’t pay our bills. All our money went to David O. Russell. The walls keep moving, the writing changing. We owe so many people so much money.'"

Meanwhile, films that once were slated for a release via THINK - including Sundance hit MOMMA'S MAN - are quietly being shifted to other distributors.  There've been reports of difficulty surrounding the supposed-to-be-imminent theatrical release of ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED.

Sadness all around.

LAFF 2008: Nightlife Pictures

Festival coverage sponsored by Indiepix.

My brief return to Los Angeles from Silver Spring (and before I return to Missouri for reasons I will soon elucidate) has allowed me a few evenings in Westwood for some gatherings at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival.  I regret that I've only been able to socialize with my friends and colleagues as LAFF is one of my favorite festivals and I always end up seeing films that rank amongst my most loved of the year.  But it's not to be this year, regrets all around.  Here, however, is a sneak peak at some of what's been happening over the past several nights:

Documentary jury member Esther B. Robinson (helmer of A WALK INTO THE SEA: DANNY WILLIAMS AND THE WARHOL FACTORY), LA Fest Director of Programming Rachel Rosen and Film Independent's Zoe Reiniger.

LA Fest programmer Doug Jones, SpoutBlog's Karina Longworth and Britta Erickson from the Denver Film Society at the Target Red Room.

Barry Jenkins, director of the narrative feature MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY, recently acquired by IFC, and newly minted SXSW Film Fest Producer Janet Pierson.

Director Sascha Paladino (whose THROW DOWN YOUR HEART just took the music documentary prize - and a sweet guitar - at Silverdocs) with Variety's Mike Jones and indieWIRE's Eugene Hernandez at the party for Cinemocracy, a film festival that will run in Denver during the Democratic National Convention, presented by the Denver Film Society.

As Wednesday night's IFC Party started to wind down, Michael Lerman, co-director of the narrative feature NATURAL CAUSES - and programmer at Woodstock, called out for everyone to join in on an "indie film mass spooning" on the floor of an adjacent room.  Someone realized that I might have a camera and history was therefore made.

Silverdocs 2008: Scenes from the Photo Booth

Festival coverage sponsored by Indiepix.

Tried out a little experiment this year in Silver Spring, which I may or may not try to replicate in the future.  Instead of walking around with my digital camera, I dragged my MacBook into the Silverdocs Filmmaker Lounge and asked some folks to take pictures via the Photo Booth application.  Here's a sneak of what may be the future or a questionable idea gone horribly awry:

SEAVIEW Co-Director Paul Rowley and CORRIDOR #8 Director Boris Despodov.

Indiepix's Danielle DiGiacomo and Simon Kilmurry from P.O.V.

The Rabbi Report's Mark Rabinowitz and BI THE WAY producer Martha Shane

Director Eva Crane and Producer Samantha Zarzosa from the short film CITY OF CRANES, which took the Grand Jury prize at Full Frame.

My co-juror on the shorts jury, Ryan Harrington from the Tribeca Gucci Fund and MY MOTHER'S GARDEN director Cynthia Lester.

ENCOUNTERS Does the Unthinkable - Actually Builds Audience

Werner Herzog's ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD did something completely unexpected last weekend - and almost unheard of these days - when it actually increased its box office take in its second weekend at the Film Forum in New York.  It was another piece of welcome good news for THINKFilm.

Second week totals were also strong for Guy Maddin's MY WINNIPEG and Guido Santi & Tina Mascara's CHRIS AND DON: A LOVE STORY. 

Here's the 2008 Nonfiction Box Office through this past weekend:

1.    U23D (National Geographic)                                           $  8,531,070

2.    EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED (Rocky)    $  7,614,754

3.    SHINE A LIGHT (Paramount Vantage)                           $  5,355,376

4.    YOUNG@HEART (Fox Searchlight)                               $  3,311,611

5.    UP THE YANGTZE (Zeitgeist/Kino)                             ~ $    706,000

6.    VINCE VAUGHN'S WILD WEST... (Picturehouse)           $    603,894

7.    WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA... (Weinstein)         $    384,955

8.    TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (THINKFilm)                         $    274,661

9.    PLANET B-BOY (Elephant Eye)                                     $    273,870

10.   STEEP (SPC)                                                              $    260,586

11.  THE SINGING REVOLUTION (Abramorama)                   $    238,040

12.  BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER* (Magnolia)                   $    216,748

13.  STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SPC)               $    208,834

14.  SURFWISE (Magnolia)                                                   $    177,980

15.  CHICAGO 10 (Roadside Attractions)                               $    174,624

"All these wonderful things indeed" - Jeffrey Ressner Responds

We wrote yesterday about the curious article by Jeffrey Ressner at Politico.  Seems Mr. Ressner didn't care for us questioning his journalistic bona fides.  Grab yourself a Hendricks and tonic and get ready for some grade A-minus outrage directed at yours truly:

"I'm reminded of that scene from Annie Hall, in which Woody Allen pulls Marshall McLuhan out from behind a movie theater standee to answer some dolt in line who is going on and on about McLuhan's theories.

To quote a line from that scene -- you know nothing of my work.

I usually don't waste my time answering hacks, but your entry today was so boneheaded and wrong and false that I have no choice but to address it.  I guess blogs are like assholes -- everybody's got one.

I was particularly struck by your statement: "Ressner never admits in the piece that he invited the hand-picked crew."

I never "admitted" it because it's not true. I didn't "invite" anyone to the movie. There was no "hand-picked crew."  The only thing that is even remotely accurate about this sentence is the spelling of my name (thanks, by the way, for that.)

The people quoted in my piece were not "my guests."  I came alone to the screening -- none of the people quoted in the piece were "brought" by me. As far as I know, they all purchased their tickets with their own money.  My "absolutely nonsensical piece of criticism" does not exist -- I interviewed the conservatives and the movie's director, then quoted a trade review and another comment about the film made by blogger Jeff Wells.

There are so many inaccuracies and falsehoods in your dumb blog posting that it would take me another half hour to go over them all, and life is too short.

My number is listed in the phone book. If you were any sort of honest writer or decent reporter, you could have called me up to ask me anything at all about my story and I would have been happy to answer your questions. You could have also emailed me, because I read the emails that are sent to me at my Politico email address linked in the story.

All these wonderful things indeed.  "What the hell is up with Jeffrey Ressner's article at Politico" you wrote. You could have asked me, but instead you decided to make things up and write an article based on your own imagination and zero facts.  Even your fucking headline is wrong, you ignorant tool."

I should stipulate that Mr. Ressner is correct on at least one point.  My sources (yes, I have them) agree that the Republican operatives in question had their tickets in hand as they waited outside the screening.  However, more than one person told me that the GOP'ers greeted Ressner when he arrived, he entered the screening with the group and they all sat together during the film.  All coincidental, I have no doubt.