Having an “Oblivio Accebit” spiral poster would mean countless things to me. How can I obtain one, boss? I’ll do anything.
– @josephsaid
We only printed one. It’s either discarded or in a storage locker somewhere.
But if you’d like to print your own, here’s a link to the original Photoshop file. Warning: It’s big (6.9MB).
If a main part of a plot is that two characters look identical (but are not related…think the movie “Dave”), where/how in the script do I say they should be played by the same actor?
– Jeremy Kerr
As a general screenwriting rule, if it would be obvious to the viewer, make it obvious to the reader. Immediately after introducing the second character, include a hard-to-miss note explaining that the two characters are played by one actor.
PROFESSOR DONALD SCOTT isn’t your classic tweedy bookworm. With a short temper and a strong right hook, he’s more likely to settle arguments in back alleys than lecture halls.
[NOTE: Donald Scott and Thom Penn aren't twins, but are played by the same actor -- for reasons that will soon become clear.]
In the case of The Nines, a huge conceit was that the nine principal roles were played by three actors. I added a note just after the title page, so there was no chance a reader would miss it:
Sony and Netflix announced today that starting next month, you’ll be able to use Netflix’s “watch instantly” feature through the PlayStation 3. After spending its life banished to the garage office, this change might finally get my PS3 a place in the main house.
Netflix streaming is already available on XBox (Gold), Roku, and a few other devices. I’ve read interviews with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings talking about his goal of making it ubiquitous, and this seems like part of that plan.
The Nines has been streaming for a few months now through Netflix. While I don’t get viewer numbers, a scan of Twitter shows that a lot of people are watching it this way. It’s legal, legit, and actually lets filmmakers get paid.
I did a 30-minute internet radio interview this afternoon with Sam Heer, in which we talked about Go, The Nines, the Burton movies and screenwriting in general.
If you’ve heard other interviews with me, there will probably be nothing revelatory. But it’s amusing to hear how fast we both manage to speak. It really sounds like we’ve been artificially sped-up, but it’s just a lot of caffeine.
I’ll be hosting a panel with Film Independent in October focusing on the distribution challenges facing indie films, a topic I’ve written about in the wake of The Nines.
A new article by Peter Broderick articulates a lot of the points I’ll try to make. Broderick calls it hybrid distribution, and while he offers ten points, I’d boil it down to three:
As Broderick says:
Today many filmmakers are as determined to retain “distribution control” as they are to maintain “creative control.” Distribution control is the power to determine the overall structure and sequence of distribution, select distribution partners, and divide up distribution rights.
Splitting distribution rights used to seem like a Bad Thing: “They only want the movie for DVD.” The truth is that many movies would be better off letting specialized companies handle specialized jobs.
Sony wanted The Nines for domestic home video, and brought in Newmarket to handle theatrical. If I’d really understood that at the start, I might have pushed our sales reps to draw up narrower contracts. As it is, I have no idea when the movie will show up on domestic cable, because it’s part of a much larger package of movies Sony represents.
Grant each distribution partner only the specific rights they can handle well. For example, if a company is strong in retail DVD and digital, give them these rights, but do not also give them VOD if they have no experience with VOD.
Broderick doesn’t completely discount the Old Way.
If you have a movie that Fox Searchlight knows how to market, you’re in a much stronger position. When it works, traditional distributors have reach and power that can’t be matched, not only theatrically but far down the chain. Yes, you’ll have less control over certain aspects, and may not be able to sell DVDs from your website. But you’ll be able to sell them at Target, which may be the better home for them.
The best distributors have resources, relationships, and expertise, which can be essential to a wide theatrical release. They may also have advantageous deals in place for VOD, DVD, and digital rights. If filmmakers do due diligence (by speaking with other filmmakers involved with the distributor they are considering) and are able to negotiate a fair deal, their best choice may be an all-rights deal. Higher budget, more mainstream features are better suited for an Old World approach.
If you’re thinking about making an indie, Broderick’s article is worth a read.
The Nines will be airing on Britain’s SciFi channel several times this month — not to be confused with the U.S. SyFy channel, or the other international outlets with similar names.
AMC has the basic cable rights to The Nines for the U.S., but (as far as I know) hasn’t yet aired it. Ryan Reynolds has become a bigger star in the past year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it works its way into rotation at some point.
A few months ago, I had to oversee a special TV-safe cut of the movie, which replaced the most egregious swearing and excised about three seconds of masturbation. I don’t know which version will be showing in the U.K.
