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From the "People" Archives: Buyer Profile: Marcus Hu, Strand Releasing
Marcus Hu BACKGROUND: Got into the business during college internship. Past jobs were at Orion Pictures, Columbia Pictures, New World Pictures, Island Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn Co., Vestron Pictures, and Carolco Pictures. Went to San Francisco State University, never graduated. 40 years old. MOST IMPORTANT FILM FESTIVALS: Sundance Film Festival is the most important American festival, and Cannes is the most important for new European product and for international product, then Berlin and Rotterdam. The most laid-back, comfortable, and user-friendly, though, is Toronto, which premieres a lot of films and where you can catch up on a lot! FAVORITE FILMS OF THE LAST THREE YEARS: "Far From Heaven," "The Ice Storm," "Jackass," "The Exorcist" (the new version). RECENT FILMS INVOLVED WITH ACQUIRING: "Party Monster," "So Close," "Yossi & Jagger," A Thousand Clouds of Peace" TYPES OF FILMS COMPANY LOOKS FOR: Foreign, independent, gay & lesbian, and re-issues. HOW TO GET THE ATTENTION OF BUYERS: Filmmakers should think ahead, to demonstrate to us who their market is for their films. WRONG WAY TO GET ATTENTION: Being pushy, having pushy sales agents represent them and their films. GENERAL THOUGHTS: Films right now have a short shelf life theatrically. This applies to both the majors and minis. Our culture seems to have a short attention span. Nowadays, if the film doesn't gross in the first week, it's out before it has a chance to find its audience and to cultivate box office potential. But the lifespan of a film now continues on the DVD marketplace, particularly for niche films. Filmmakers who don't find a theatrical life for their films shouldn't shy away from the cable sale that could actually represent more money for cable exclusives as well as going out to a broader audience. As technologies like broadband and pay-per-view increase in the marketplace, there will be more revenue streams for indie films. | |
