How has the Internet affected the film industry?

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May 15, 2000
Web posted at: 10:45 a.m. EDT (1445 GMT)

by Polly Sprenger

(IDG) -- Every year, Variety, the trade bible of Hollywood, quizzes film industry execs on their forecast for the Cannes Film Festival. The questions focus on the usual insider trivia: "What's your favorite dealmaking spot at Cannes?" or "What is your advice on keeping cool in a bidding war?"

But this year, there's a new query in the mix: "How has the Internet affected the industry?"

For once, it's a question worth trying to answer. After several years of servicing the film industry with information sites, film-specific software and online marketing proposals, the Web contingent is bringing its own bankroll to Cannes. Suddenly, the much-disdained dot-coms are the center of attention, snagging rights to distribute films online and stocking earnest panel discussions like "Movies on the Web" and "The Internet as a Production Tool."

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"Up to this point, the attitude of the film industry toward the Net has been one of skepticism and, to an extent, envy," says Michael Comish, managing director for AtomFilms Europe, which broadcasts short films online. But not this year, Comish says. "We have had an unbelievable number of people who've come to us to request meetings to discuss new projects. It is a bit of a coming of age."

Cannes -- officially the Festival International du Film de Cannes -- is popularly known for its awards, the dressed-down "I'm not at the Oscars" stars, and the lingering cachet of art-house cinema.

But film industry insiders have a different Cannes in mind. From May 10 to May 21, almost 1,400 films will be screened for 4,000 journalists and 5,000 industry professionals, creating an atmosphere of frantic, intense and fickle seduction. In this Cannes, what matters are the behind-the-scenes moves, played out among the sunny strip of beach-front hotels and cafes on the Cannes Croisette, facing the yacht-dotted Cote d'Azur. Between cafe au laits, croissants and the next screening, Cannes is all about the deals.

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The big-top in this 12-day circus is the Palais du Festival, a salmon-colored construction that more closely resembles a Phoenix convention center than a French palace. All entrances are closely guarded, with attendees flashing coveted blue badges snaking past crowds craning for a glimpse of a famous face.

The Net's coming of age

Though hardly A-list, two such celebrities are bringing a touch of the Internet to Cannes this year. Comedian John Cleese and moody actor Stephen Dorff star in Quantum Project, the first feature film made available for a full -- and legal -- download at the SightSound.com site. Since it's also scheduled for a screening at Cannes, the movie is a seminal example of convergence -- at least in theory. The online release can be seen as more of a grand gesture than a technical innovation because it takes about six hours to download on a 56Kbps modem. With ineffable panache, one Cannes attendee asks: "Who the fuck is going to do that?"

Produced by Metafilmics, Quantum Project bridges the old world of Cannes -- where the wheeling and dealing traditionally has been controlled by big-budget studios -- and this year's Internet-influenced festival.

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From online to the big screen
(The Industry Standard)
Web movies change real time view
(PC World)
Broadband media goes deep
(PC World)
Tons of short movies online
(PC World)
You'll never be Kubrick, but...
(MacWorld)
Filmmaking sites ready for their close-up
(The Industry Standard)
The indie film scene is really happenin' online
(The Industry Standard)
So you wanna make a movie?
(PC World)

Variety
AtomFilms

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