Money for marketing is more important than a higher sale price.
LOS ANGELES — The acquisition market at the Sundance Film Festival is showing signs of life again, but both buyers and sellers say the game has changed — and likely for the better for the future of independent cinema.
Out are all-night bidding wars and the kind of adrenaline-fueled purchases that led to mediocre titles selling for sky-high prices. Slow and steady is now everyone’s catchphrase. Buyers are seeking more input from their marketing and publicity teams before opening their wallets.
“We see lots of movies that we like, but the bar for what will work theatrically keeps getting raised,” said Steve Gilula, a president of Fox Searchlight. “Our measure has to be how many people can we get into the theater.”
Although they may have little choice in the matter, sales agents are also preaching calm. Sundance veterans like Micah Green of Creative Artists Agency said their strategy this year had been to let well-received films dangle in the marketplace to increase their allure.
[From Buying Begins at Sundance, Gingerly - NYTimes.com]
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