"Sex Addict" Pulled From Landmark Theater; Indie Filmmaker (and IFC Films) Caught in Mark Cuban/Comcast Battle by Eugene Hernandez (April 5, 2006)
A scene from Caveh Zahedi's "I Am A Sex Addict". Photo provided by IFC Films
The director of “I Am A Sex Addict,” winner of the IFP Gotham Award last year for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, has been caught in the crossfire of a day-and-date distribution battle between Mark Cuban, the film’s distributor IFC Films, and cable system Comcast. Filmmaker Caveh Zahedi wrote yesterday on his indieWIRE-hosted blog that Mark Cuban had ordered his Landmark Theaters circuit (the country’s largest for arthouse and independent films) to cancel this Friday’s debut booking of the film in Berkeley, CA. Cuban has decided to block IFC Films from booking movies that are part of its new IFC First Take theatrical/cable VOD day-and-date initiative into Landmark Theaters in a Comcast market because Comcast will not carry Cubans two cable networks (HDNet and HDNet Movies). “Landmark is the most accepting of day and date,” Mark Cuban told indieWIRE today, “But we aren’t going to subsidize what amounts to our competition.” Likening the situation to being held hostage and caught in a turf war, Zahedi told indieWIRE today that he is quite disappointed by the situation, particularly given the amount of work that had already been put into the opening at a Landmark theater in Berkeley. The indie film, an autobiographical comedy about the life of a man who becomes addicted to prostitutes and sex, will still debut at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco tomorrow (Wednesday, April 4th) and a replacement booking at the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley will replace the Landmark showing starting Friday. Zahedi has been documenting the ups and downs leading up to the theatrical release on his increasingly popular weblog. “It is too bad that Mark Cuban is taking such a narrow view of it,” Caveh Zahedi told indieWIRE in a conversation today. “It is misguided…but I understand it. It seems like he is trying to make public his fight with Comcast. I am sympathetic to his attempt, it seems like there must be some solution.” On his blog, Zahedi appealed to Mark Cuban to reverse the cancellation, after Cuban asked Zahedi to tell IFC Films to drop the Comcast part of their distribution plans for the film. Reached by email today, Mark Cuban told indieWIRE that he realizes such a request might be difficult and added that neither Landmark nor IFC stand to make much money from the theatrical release but, “Comcast gets to promote that they have movies in their VOD program that are currently in theaters. While I don’t think it takes away from attendance, I do think it creates financial value for both IFC and Comcast.”
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I find it interesting that Mr. Cuban is now claiming IFC of copying his idea to release theatrically and in home forms simultaneously.
Didn’t Film Movement start this concept in 2002? They open films in theatres and their subscribers get DVDs at the same time.
http://www.indiewire.com/people/people_021219meistrich.html
Could someone please explain to me how any of this benefits—in any way—the operators of independent specialized theatres that have been and continue to be the primary support for independent film-makers and distributors? Will we be left to show 20 minutes of abhorent pre-show commercial material to pay the light bill, while those who control product find new ways to supplant the venues entirely? I apparently missed that step in this process.
—Roger Paulson, Paulson Theatre Services, Portland, OR.
Even though it is so unfair to the filmmaker - it is interesting additional publicity that might help spark more audiences… Controversy never hurts - especially being positioned as a valuble commodity all the companies are fighting for (like 2 year olds but still…)