One Sales Agent Has 40 Completed Films, Hoping to Drive Up

TheGrill 2020: “I think if this extends out — and it will — then you have to assume that if you have quality content, you will be in a good position,” Cinetic Media’s John Sloss says

Longtime indie movie gross sales agent John Sloss is taking a bet that studios and streamers will probably be so starved for high quality content material given the pandemic-fueled shutdown of movie manufacturing that he may have the higher hand in gross sales negotiations with a bunch of accomplished movies which might be able to fill the distribution pipeline.

“I’ve got about 40 films that we have not taken to the market, and it was very intentional, and basically we did the mathematical or logical calculation that if Netflix has a content budget in 2020 of $19 billion and there are five or six platforms chasing them and then production seizes for a year, something would have to give,” Sloss instructed TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman on Wednesday at TheGrill media convention throughout a producers roundtable, introduced by NFP and Lifetime.

“It’s sad that the theatrical distributors are going through a hard time but if you put that aside and think about the content suppliers and the platforms, you would think that the leverage would shift and become a sellers market,” he defined on his technique to present filmmakers (and their brokers) further leverage in negotiations with distributors.

So far, although, his technique hasn’t paid off. “In our experience, that hasn’t happened yet,” Sloss stated.
“I think if this extends out — and it will — because production as it begins is still a fraction off what it was, then you have to assume that if you have quality content, you will be in a good position.”

Sloss’ Cinetic Media is a expertise administration, content material gross sales and strategic advisory firm within the media and leisure industries. The firm’s credit embrace “Green Book,” “Moonlight,” “Boyhood, “Knock Down the House,” “A Private War,” “Miss Americana” and “Parasite,” amongst many extra. 

But even when corporations can head again into manufacturing, Sloss stated, the true situation might shift to the exhibition facet if there’s a stockpile of accomplished movies and theaters proceed to remain closed or stay at restricted capability.

“This is finally going to accelerate the collapse of the windows,” he stated, suggesting the the pandemic might speed up the transfer to shrink the time between when films open in theaters and premiere on digital or streaming platforms. “If theaters are going to come back — and hopefully they will and hopefully we will band together to get them back — I think the quid pro quo will be the idea of films to be flexible and to shift quickly to platforms.”

For over a decade, TheWrap’s Grill occasion sequence has led conversations on the convergence between leisure, media and expertise, bringing collectively newsmakers to debate the challenges and alternatives dealing with content material within the digital age.

TheWrap has created a digital-first expertise for TheGrill 2020. This yr’s occasion will concentrate on the way forward for theatrical, streaming revolution, constructing inclusion from inside and the expansion in podcasting and gaming.  Attendees may have entry to keynotes, panel conversations, roundtable discussions and digital networking.