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.
Latest VOD News
I skipped a week because I was neck-deep in Tribeca Film Festival coverage, but now that my reviews are all done I’m back with the latest VOD news…
I guess it’s a sign that I’m getting older when “historical” documentaries are being made about events I remember from my own youth. Case in point, the documentary Downloaded, which is about the rise and fall of Napster and is directed by Alex Winter (yes, that Alex Winter). According to Deadline, the documentary will first get a theatrical release followed by a release on Aol.com, as well as a traditional VOD release later this year. As more and more companies and filmmakers give new methods of distribution a shot, it makes initial predictions that VOD type distribution was a waste of time even more laughable.
In acquisitions news, Well Go has acquired And While We Were Here for an August 13 VOD release and September 13 theatrical release. The feature tells the story of a writer (Kate Bosworth) accompanying her husband to a small island off the coast of Italy and striking up a romance with a local younger man.
Deadline also exclusively reported that Oscilloscope Laboratories acquired the rights to Breakup at a Wedding, the debut feature from Victor Quinaz, a longtime writer/director of shorts. The movie is about a bride who has cold feet before her wedding but convinces her husband to go through with a faked ceremony because, well, why disappoint everyone? The film hits VOD on June 18 and will be preceded by “select event screenings and a college tour leading up to the release.”
The skateboarding documentary The Motivation, which premiered last week at the Tribeca Film Festival, actually had its VOD rights bought before the festival started by GoDigital. It’s penciled in for an August release.
Are you interested in more VOD 3D films? Gravitas Ventures have set a June 13 VOD release for the Mischa Barton-starring thriller Apartment 1303 in both 2D and 3D. A 20 screen theatrical release in July will mostly be in 3D. I’m very curious to see how this 3D VOD releases do considering 3D televisions still haven’t become widely used yet.
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 online retailers:
Fresh Meat (Review: 3.4/10)
Room 237 (Review: 8.5/10)
Gimme the Loot (Review: 8.5/10)
Hunky Dory (Review: 3.5/10)
The Frankenstein Theory (Review: 2/10)
The ABCs of Death (Review: ?/10)
Upcoming VOD Releases
May 3
Aroused
A documentary that interviews female porn stars about their lives during an intimate photo shoot. There’s definitely an audience for this, of course!
May 4
Caroline and Jackie
Also getting a limited theatrical release on the same day, this drama about two sisters that was written and directed by newcomer Adam Christian Clark features some animosity during a surprise birthday party.
May 7
Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean
With the exception of perhaps only Marilyn Monroe, James Dean is the most mythologized actor who died young. With his first full-length feature, director Matthew Mishory looks at James Dean’s life before he became famous.
May 10
Sightseers
Definitely for those with British humor, this travelogue comedy from executive producer Edgar Wright is about a man (Steve Oram) showing a woman (Alice Lowe) his favorite spots in the English countryside and goes downhill when nothing goes according to plan.
May 13
Java Heat
Let’s keep in mind that Mickey Rourke is doing low-budget, under-the-radar action movies like this instead of The Expendables sequels. Of course, that isn’t fair to Java Heat, which looks like a good shot at a terrorist thriller set in Indonesia. It gets aMay 10 theatrical release in New York City and Los Angeles.
Have news about an upcoming VOD movie? Want to have Movie Buzzers check out your upcoming VOD release? Contact me on Twitter @ChrisMcKit or via e-mail at chris@moviebuzzers.com!
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