Here is a good article on a new service from Salon tying in Revolution Money. Check this out.
Daily Archives: August 13, 2008
In With the Youth Movement
The Washington Mystics made a big trade. The team needs to get recast around young players and we need to keep getting picks, prospects and young players who were drafted high – in quantity - to improve.
We have been a middling team for far too long. It is time for us to articulate our plan; have a strategy; and build from within. We want to win a championship and we want to have a good, consistent team for the long term here in DC.
Scary Math – Round Numbers
OK, let’s say that a great documentary does $500k in box office sales over a three month run in theaters. That means that about 50k people saw the film. We would all rejoice. That would be a hit!
Now in round numbers, more than half of those box office receipts will stay with the theater owners; let’s say $300k of the $500k. That leaves $200k in revenues for the distributor. The distributor needs to take their fee off of that $200k. Let’s say they are nice and they take 25 percent, $50k for all of their work. That sure won’t pay for a lot of rent and payroll for the distributor. And it certainly wouldn’t motivate the distributor to pay up front fees.
Now that leaves $150k for prints, advertising, PR, agency fees, expenses for film festivals, etc. etc. Let us say to reach $500k in box office the film went into 20 theaters in 10 cities. That means to break even the budgets can only be $15k per city and we know print ads, PR and ad agency fees, posters and associated expenses are much higher. The film loses money as a “hit” in theaters.
Let us all hope it will be bought by TV and do well in DVD format.
Hence a good documentary at the box office will generate a miniscule audience and no real cash for the filmmaker.
I just went to YouTube. The number two video today is called “Joey Chestnut Wins Bikinis French Fry Contest.” It has already 141,000 plus views. Nice production values, huh?
This is exactly what drives me crazy: Great films that people don’t see and the filmmakers don’t get any monies and the film industry infrastructure all wet their beak while junk videos get wide distribution on YouTube.
This pain point is at the heart of why I created SnagFilms. We just want to help. We just want to stop the madness. 
Red Again
Do you buy this one?
I certainly don’t. I will when we win in an overtime playoff game while the other team is shorthanded. Don’t bulls like to charge against the color red?
Is It Just Me?
Do some of these big events – like women’s gymnastics - seem to have a lack of enthusiasm and passion around them?
Maybe it is because when an event is live here at 9:00 pm it is only 9:00 am in China and the arenas aren’t surprisingly filled with people? Or maybe it is because the Chinese folks aren’t as partisan as people from other host nations. They are too polite? In a nation of more than 1 billion people, why are there so many empty seats? I don’t get it. Why are the venues so quiet?
Wouldn’t You Rather be a Professional Hockey Player?
Can you name one industry anywhere in the economy that sees its payroll increase like this? Could you name a happier group of employees than this as it relates to getting a fair share of payroll dollars? In a world of financial meltdown, it pays to be an NHL player. Quibble if you must with the methodology here but it is boom times for NHL players compared to the overall economy in general.
MLSnet on Kicking It
Here is a very nice write-up on “Kicking It” and The Homeless World Cup. The folks at DC United and MLS have been a joy to work with. They are very connected to their communities and understand the power of sports to transform lives.
ESPN will start showing “Kicking It” in September. I will update you on the programming times once they are available. I hope those of you who didn’t see the film at a festival or in a theater will watch it for free on TV.