VOD Overdose is Movie Buzzers’ coverage of video-on-demand developments and upcoming films premiering on video-on-demand. With an increasing number of studios embracing VOD as a way to premiere and distribute films, this column covers movies that might be worth a look even though they aren’t playing at your local multiplex.
After Dark Action Will Explode on VOD
Dark Castle Home Entertainment and After Dark Films have decided to capitalize on the recent interest in classic action films by teaming up on an awesome group of films under the After Dark Action banner. The films star action icons like Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren (both in the upcoming Expendables 2) along with other favorites like Christian Slater and Jim Caviezel. The films will have limited theatrical releases, will tour the genre film festival circuit and will hit VOD starting May 11. The After Dark Action slate includes:
- Transit – Starring Jim Caviezel, James Frain, Elizabeth Rohm, Harold Perrineau and Sterling Knight; and directed by Antonio Negret and written by Michael Gilvary
- Dragon Eyes – Starring Jean Claude Van Damme, Cung Le and Peter Weller; and directed by John Hyams and written by Tim Tori
- Philly Kid – Starring Neal McDonough, Devon Sawa and Wes Chatham; and directed by Jason Connery and written by Adam Mervis
- Stash House – Starring Dolph Lundgren, Sean Faris, Briana Evigan and Jon Huertas; and directed by Eduardo Rodriguez and written by Gary Spinelli
- El Gringo – Starring Christian Slater, Scott Adkins and Yvette Yates, directed by Eduardo Rodriguez and written by Jonathan W. Stokes
There’s some major names there, so if you’re into balls-to-the-walls action check out more info on the series here!
Cinemit Partners with Prescreen.com to Offer Advance VOD Screenings
Cinemit — the website that brings early screening passes to the masses and also features my fellow Movie Buzzers Melissa in her own Dial M For Melissa column — has partnered up with Prescreen to host FREE advance VOD screenings. Prescreen also has a number of independent films available for rent on its website, so make sure to check it out!
IndieWire Reveals Reasons Why We Don’t Get VOD Sales Numbers
One of my initial goals for this column was to give any sales information for VOD releases in order to help promote VOD as a viable release platform for the filmmaking community. Unfortunately, I bit off way more than I can chew since I soon discovered that VOD companies don’t give out sales figures like studios give out box office figures. Though Gravitas Ventures stepped up to the plate and used its sales figures in a presentation at SXSW (which I wrote about here), IndieWire’s Anthony Kaufman wrote a great article explaining just why studios, both big and small, aren’t very forthcoming with VOD sales figures. You can read it here, along with an equally fascinating follow-up piece here. Again, worth a look if you’re interested in the VOD platform as a release model — and while there aren’t concrete numbers, all signs point to it as being a successful method of releasing films, especially those that aren’t geared for a major theatrical release.
Other VOD News
Speaking of IndieWire, there’s an interesting story on that site about The Canyons, a movie about the seedy side of Hollywood (as if there are any other sides…) which already has a teaser poster but hasn’t been cast or shot yet. Still, the production involves director Paul Schrader, who wrote some of Scorsese’s best films, and Bret Easton Ellis, who wrote the novels American Psycho and The Informers, so when this movie finally makes its scheduled VOD release it’s going to be worth a look.
Yahoo has released an image of a very roughed-up Ryan Gosling in Only God Forgives, the film reteaming Gosling and his Drive director Nicholas Refn Winding. The movie still is set for a VOD release though I doubt it will stay that way. I’ll keep reporting on it in this space until that changes, though!
Hick, a coming-of-age movie starring Blake Lively, Chloe Moretz and Eddie Redmayne that got ugly reviews from festivals (in particular, this one is pretty awful) has been set for a May 8 VOD release, with a May 11 limited theatrical release following.
Now on VOD… And We Reviewed It!
Here’s a sampling of recent VOD movies that Movie Buzzers has viewed and reviewed. Check your cable provider or the below online retailers:
God Bless America (Review 7.5/10), available on Amazon.
ATM (Review 2/10), available on iTunes and Amazon.
A Lonely Place to Die (Review: 8/10), available on iTunes and Amazon.
Loosies (Reviews: 4/10, 5/10), available on iTunes and Amazon.
Roadie (Review: 4/10), available on Amazon.
Upcoming VOD Releases
(For films premiering on VOD platforms, or hitting VOD after limited theatrical runs.)
[D2V] denotes movie that is also being released direct to DVD and/or Blu-ray on the same day.
Not a whole lot of VOD releases in April, though there are many scheduled for May, which I’ll get to in next column…
April 19:
The Big Fix
If you never got your fill of stories about the BP oil spill, this documentary covers the human side of the problem. While it’s unfortunate that countless wildlife was killed by the spill, what about the people who are still there?
April 20:
Marley
This documentary on the legendary reggae musician Bob Marley will have a day-and-date VOD release alongside a small theatrical run. A reggae movie coming out on 4/20? Well, Magnolia knows its target audience…
April 27:
Citizen Gangster
Brett has a full review of this IFC gangster movie about Canadian gangster Edwin Boyd coming soon, so I’ll have that for you next week!
May 1:
Get The Gringo
Mel Gibson’s next attempt at a comeback, which looks like a lot of fun if you aren’t the type who has sworn off Gibson. Alex posted the latest trailer here.
Have news about an upcoming VOD movie? Want to have Movie Buzzers check out your upcoming VOD release? Contact me here!
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