http://www.glasseyepix.com/html/PiratesOfTheCaribbean.html
Above is a link to the statement made by Ti West pleading with fans not to pirate his new film The Innkeepers. Now, I'm not going to be a hypocrite and act like I haven't watched a pirated movie before, but I am proud to say that I buy the majority of movies I watch, whether it be in cinemas or on a physical format. The only movies I've ever pirated are the ones that have never had a physical release, or are so rare it's impossible to find one. I don't enjoy doing it but sometimes it's the only option in order to see certain films. But Ti West's new feature, like many other independent films, will be released and I for one will pay for it.
Ti West's plea really touched me. Honestly my heart goes out to the guy because it seems piracy has really affected him. He talks about how he never made a dime off House of the Devil, which really is a shame considering the huge success of the film. Being a fan of Ti West and other indie filmmakers, I don't mind paying a mere £10 to watch a film if it's going to help them put food on the table. I also don't mind paying it because, like Ti said, if we show support for these movies then it means that studios will put more faith in interesting movies, instead of the run-of-the-mill, predictable movies we see these days, whether it be remakes or just standard movies we've seen over and over again before. When it comes to studios it's financial gain they focus on, which is understandable as at the end of the day it's a business. But if we showed more financial support towards guys like Ti West then perhaps we'd see a new era of original and interesting horror films, as well as other genres because studios would have the faith to fully back them with better budgets.
As soon as The Innkeepers is in theaters I'll be going to see it. If it doesn't make theaters then I'll be buying the DVD asap. I don't have VOD here in Scotland so it looks like I have to wait a month or 2. As tempting as it would be to pirate it (because I really want to see it more than anything), I'm going to resist and wait until it's released here in the UK. I hope West's plea catches on and affects others because it would be strong for the future of genre cinema. It broke my heart that Roger Avary's script for a Phantasm sequel was rejected because the cost was too high and the studios didn't have faith in it. Maybe with more financial support then we'd get to see these types of films without studios needing much convincing. We know there's a market for them, but unfortunately we live in a world where money talks and movies are no different.
I'm not trying to preach or anything, just giving my thoughts on the matter.
I like Ti West and he worded this statement in a very lovely way but I, personally, don't see any major impact being made either way. Piracy has, and will, always been a part of the industry but the gold still gets panhandled to the top IMO. IF Ti hasn't made a penny off of House Of The Devil then he's been screwed by the distributors and not the consumers. Do you know ONE avid horror fan who didn't love it and buy it. I haven't bought it YET but I liked it enough to pick it up at some point when I saw it at a friends house on movie night. It also just sucks that people still go along with this fractured global movie release schedule. Look at the delays in movies ranging from The Muppets to Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (which was online and gathering great word of mouth for a LONG time before I saw it at Dead By Dawn last year). I think proper movie, and horror, fans tend to do the right thing, overall. Distributors and large corporations on the other hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . well, we all know what they can be like.
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I have to agree with you. The majority of horror fans do pick stuff up on DVD at least anyway. From Ti's point of view though, it seems he's been affected by piracy, but he may just have been screwed over by distributors. I never actually thought of the corporations here. That actually makes more sense. I know movie fans tend to support films by attending cinemas, festivals and purchasing DVD's to see them. I know a lot of people who just download movies though and burn them to a blank disc. Perhaps there's more of them than the fans who support films. Kevin Smith had the right idea with 'Red State.' If more indie films took that approach then perhaps the filmmakers would make more money, and in turn, investors would see the dividends and give them budgets to work with in future like Ti is asking for. Personally, I think low budget films suit Ti West and he doesn't need a huge budget to make a great film, but if he thinks he can do better with more money then I trust him.
ReplyDeleteHey, I even liked Cabin Fever 2 and I really liked Ti West introducing it at festivals by saying that it wasn't what he envisioned but he wasn't shirking the responsibility for it either. You'll always get people who have a huge collection of burnt discs, I can't even imagine a world without my shiny discs in nice packaging and full of extra features :-)
ReplyDeleteCabin Fever 2 is a great movie. I don't understand all of the hate towards it. It's a fun movie. Yeah I need my packaged discs with features and cover art to sit in my collection. I love my collection.
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