CinemaBUZZ Weekly Report - 26 April 2013

How About A Movie and a Root Canal?

Just watch the movie !

A new medical technique whereby patients are encouraged to watch a movie and given only local anaesthetics while having major surgery is coming into vogue.  Pioneering the technique is Peterborough City Hospital in England and several U.S. hospitals are studying the procedure.

The idea is to keep the patient relaxed while their medical procedure is carried out. For example, for certain orthopedic operations only a spinal block is administered while the movie is viewed and the patients seem fine with it. The most often requested films are The Sound of Music and Dirty Dancing - go figure.

This sounds crazy but it is a win/win. The hospital saves on sedation costs, the patient is calmed by watching their favorite movie while avoiding the risks associated with general anaesthetic, and it's great for the cinema industry. As far as I can see the only drawback is that the 'wrong' DVD is slipped into the player - which could reek havoc in the OR. It would probably not be advisable to watch the likes of: The Coma, Sweeney Todd, the Bride of Frankenstein, or Sin City.  Other good/bad suggestions?


Going Through The Backdoor

Expanding the VOD circle

Universal Pictures (subsidiary of Comcast Communications) continues to push the envelope on day-and-date movie distribution of first-run movies and eliminate the cinema's exclusive release window.  At last week's annual CinemaCon convention, Adam Fogelson, Chairman of Universal, told convention attendees that "the studios must partner with theatres to experiment with premium video on demand revenue sharing."

The idea is to give a share of the VOD revenue received by cable and satellite companies on same day first-run movie releases to cinemas.  But as, David Passman, head of Carmike Cinemas stated when asked if  he would be open to an experiment if studios gave cinemas a cut of premium VOD revenue, "I would hope the answer isn't a sharing of revenues while we have empty theatres".

Comcast, has a lot at stake. As the largest TV cable company in the U.S. having distribution rights to first-run movies has to potential to bring in billions of new found revenue - which it needs as more and more consumers move to the internet to satisfy their entertainment needs.  This scheme is a back-door maneuver as is the recent alliance Comcast/Universal made with Prima Cinema, whereby Universal first-run films are made available for at-home viewing on their release date to cinemas.

Best & Happy Movie Going!
Jim