Michæl Curtin - Distribution Revolution : Conversations about the Digital Future of Film and Television

Edited by

MICHAEL CURTIN, JENNIFER HOLT, AND KEVIN SANSON

With a Foreword by Kurt Sutter

University Of California Press

University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.

University of California Press

Oakland, California

2014 by The Regents of the University of California

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Distribution revolution : conversations about the digital future of film and television / edited by Michael Curtin, Jennifer Holt, and Kevin Sanson ; foreword by Kurt Sutter.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-520-28324-4 (hardback)

ISBN 978-0-520-28325-1 (paperback)

eISBN 9780520959088

1. Motion picturesMarketing 2. Motion picturesDistribution. 3. Television programsMarketing. 4. Television broadcasting. 5. Digital mediaInfluence. 6. Chief executive officersUnited StatesInterviews. 7. Motion picture producers and directorsUnited StatesInterviews. 8. Television producers and directorsUnited StatesInterviews. I. Curtin, Michael, editor of compilation. II. Holt, Jennifer, 1968editor of compilation. III. Sanson, Kevin, editor of compilation.

PN1995.9.M29D58 2014

384.84dc23

2014003241

Manufactured in the United States of America

23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures Natural, a fiber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 ( R 1997) (Permanence of Paper).

Contents

Michael Curtin, Jennifer Holt, and Kevin Sanson

Foreword

	kurt sutter @sutterink Digital delivery of film and television, like most hasty births, has been clumsy, painful, and at times bloody.
	kurt sutter @sutterink But once the schmutz is wiped off, the cord cut, and the babys mouth wrapped around a teat, one can appreciate and marvel at the new life.
	kurt sutter @sutterink I know being a male and a failed gentile, I have no right using childbirth as a metaphor or the word schmutz in a sentence.
	kurt sutter @sutterink But curbing impulsesnot necessarily my strong suit. Like the digital new age, I can be entertaining, unpredictable, and a bit scary.
	kurt sutter @sutterink I believe DD is the future of film/TV. In the not-too-distant yet-to-come, there wont be programming, just content & distribution. And porn.
	kurt sutter @sutterink And like all things that change an industry, with great power comes the need for thoughtful reflection, fiscal and ethical responsibility.
	kurt sutter @sutterink But this is Hollywood, so with great power usually just comes a better table at Toscana. Responsibility and ethics are for the S&P folks.
	kurt sutter @sutterink Perhaps thats a bit jaded. But the truth is, fear is always the first response to change. No one knows how DD will look in 2, 5, 10 years.
	kurt sutter @sutterink We speculate, create, react, adjust. Thats the equation at play now: forecasts + $$$ = startups + consumer whims + regulation = confusion.
	kurt sutter @sutterink Distribution Revolution helps make sense of the mayhem. All we can do is keep the discussion going. Thats what these professionals do.
	kurt sutter @sutterink From the studio to the lab, this book takes a thorough look at the incestuous and inevitable relationship between tech and entertainment.
	kurt sutter @sutterink So, buy the book and read it, bitches.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, we thank the Carsey-Wolf Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara for the institutional support that helped make the interviews in this book possible. A number of individuals deserve special recognition, most notably Constance Penley, Ronald E. Rice, Richard Hutton, and Nicole Klanfer. Members of the Carsey-Wolf Center Advisory Board facilitated introductions and access. We are grateful for the enthusiasm they all have demonstrated for the interview initiative and our other research endeavors at the Media Industries Project (MIP).

Joshua Green provided keen leadership in this projects earliest stages. Ethan Tussey and John Vanderhoef aided us with indispensable research assistance. Likewise, we thank Rebecca Epstein and Erin Lennon for their copyediting skills and Lorena Thompkins for her transcription services. Isabelle Carasso deserves credit for the initial concept behind our cover design.