A Bit of Shameless Self-Promotion

Forgive the momentary indulgence towards all things Filmbrain, but what follows is a list of recent changes, events, and developments in this blogger's life that may be of interest to some:

• To begin, Filmbrain has been invited to be a member of the Cinemarati Web Alliance for Film Commentary. Groucho's quote aside, it is an honor to be able to rub shoulders with such a talented group of fellow travelers. Be sure to check out Filmbrain's debut post on Armond White and smugness.
• Secondly, on the 16th of December, the Apple Store in SoHo is hosting a "Meet the Film Bloggers" panel, presented by indieWIRE. Filmbrain, along with Karina Longworth (Cinematical), Scott Macaulay (Filmmaker Magazine Blog), Alison Willmore (IFC News), Aaron Dobbs (Out of Focus), and S.T. VanAirsdale (The Reeler) will be on hand to discuss whatever  moderator (and indieWIRE Editor in Chief) Eugene Hernandez sees fit. Now, if Filmbrain can only overcome his fear of speaking in front of an audience, he might just show up. (Pre-panel cocktails will be a necessity.)
• Last -- and certainly most -- Filmbrain has decided to throw his hat into the ring and try his hand at DVD distribution.  Benten Films (named after Benzaiten, a Buddhist  goddess of the arts) is going to focus primarily on Asian cinema, with an emphasis on Korean films. We are in the process of negotiating our first few titles, and more will be revealed as soon as possible. Naturally, Filmbrain is thrilled beyond words.

Comments

[Chris]

Wow! The dvd company sounds quite daunting, but if you ever need a lowly assistant to help out, please let me know.
While I try to get work in NYC's post production field, I keep wanting to learn about the process, from mastering, authoring, hell even the aquisition of extras.

I look forward to your upcoming releases.

[Sal C.]

While I haven't been able to read your post yet (I get a strange error message when I click on the link), I will say that I actually had to stop reading White's latest diatribe before I finished. While I rarely agree with him I usually find his ideas interesting and his style engrossing. He has, however, "jumped the shark" with his latest lament on the lack of morals in contemporary film culture. I now feel free to just consider him a sad old crank and stop reading him week in and week out. It feels nice.

[girish]

Hearty congratulations, Filmbrain, on all counts.

[la_depressionada]

i am so delighted! also if you need legal advice let me know. you can come visit me in my new office high atop rock center. it's swellagent. pro bono of course.

[phyrephox]

I wish you all the best of luck with Benten FB, thow some cold water in the of Tartan's Asian Extreme series!

[Aaron Hillis]

Go, 'Brain, go!

In honor of your recent successes, Cinephiliac's free MP3 this week is dedicated to you:
(Anna Karina singing "Ma ligne de chance" from Pierrot le fou).

[Peter Nellhaus]

Who needs Tony Rayns? We got Filmbrain!

[dvd]

Man...I can't wait to see what titles you get hold of. Your demonstrative passion for Korean film is just about the most solid pre-sale guarantee I can imagine for whatever titles you acquire for you canon...

[CMason]

Man, Filmbrain, if you can deliver American DVDs of Hong Sang-Soo films (my region 2 French DVDs sans English subtitles are okay, but still...) or find a release for Jealousy is My Middle Name (which sounds fantastic), I will be a very happy man.

[Sleeper]

It ain't Korean, and this is putting the cart several miles before the horse, but Akihiko Shiota's HARMFUL INSECT seems deserving of some kinda US release, don't you think? If only some budding distributor were to come to its rescue...

[Warrington Minge]

Right on, Sleeper dude.

[Adam]

With the imminent collapse of the DVD market in South Korea, I await with baited breath the Korean films you snag. I'd hate to have this cinema lost to those of us who don't download and can only go to so many festivals during the year.

[alex]

The DVD co sounds great.
I'd sign up for a membership.
a

[Sean]

Sounds like this exciting DVD endeavor is still in its development stages, but is there any chance this would be in cahoots with Netflix? I must say I rent a lot more than I buy and this line of DVDs is something that my queue is very interested in.

[Todd]

Congratulations on everything. It would be foolish of me not to go to the film-blog thing, even though the thought of going into the Apple store during high Holiday shopping season turns me into agoraphobic jello.

[X]

I wouldn't worry too much about the Korean DVD market, at least for what concerns Korean films. Sure, the Film2.0 features were a big wake up call for a lot of people, but it's not like they're gonna stop producing DVDs all of a sudden. They just have to work harder for their buck. DVD production in Korea is low cost compared to most countries, even great DVDs like the Arahan one cost only 20/30 Million Won to produce (plus cost of pressing/printing).

Most of the big companies have started running bargain sales, and also putting rental DVDs first, then the normal sell-through version (the rental versions are apparently doing pretty well, with some films selling 80% of the entire first pressing).

What we're likely to see is less crazy packaging and more focus on content itself, which at the end is even better for us collectors and Korean film fans. The companies giving up on releases are mostly Hollywood ones (Cinderella was dropped, some other releases will come up with 1 Disc) -- which is hardly a problem, at least in my book. There's too many straight-to-video Hollywood BS released in the Korean DVD market --, and even if smaller companies will have a hard time (KD Media might be in a tough spot, but they're releasing a dozen DVDs just this December, one of them being Welcome To Dongmakgol, which has 10 times the usual budget, or somewhere around 200,000 bucks), Korean films will always have a spot.

Potential problem is for indie releases, not the Hong Sang-Soo and Kim Ki-Duk's of the world, but stuff like 'Five is Too Many' or 'Camellia' will have to find their own way to promote the DVD release. Cine21 published an article recently about alternative DVD release promotion, like pressing less titles and selling them at Film Festivals and similar venues.

Even if this 'collapse' comes in a couple of years, it'll just mean we'll see less big '4 Disc Special Edition + Tapestry of the stars' nonsense. I saw a lot of hope coming through those Film2.0 articles, most people said they're not going to give up, even if that means slapping a film on DVD with no extras.