This could be potentially devastating news for film fans.
Since it’s inception in 2001, ThinkFilm has been at the top of their game. The once Canadian distributor made a name for themselves by picking up and distributing interesting films. In the six years they’ve been in business, the group has garnered seven Academy Award nominations and two wins, not a bad track record for a little company. Even more telling than that is a look at their list of distributed films which includes everything from Oscar winning and interesting documentaries (Taxi to the Dark Side and Murderball) to overlooked gems (The King). But it looks like the company could be in trouble.
Over the weekend Devin over at C.H.U.D. picked up on news that David O. Russell’s new film Nailed was shut down on Friday after SAG stepped in, saying that the production didn’t have enough money deposited with the guild. The news are seemingly unrelated until you note that the folks behind Nailed, Capitol Films, own ThinkFilm.
Production on Nailed has restarted but another recent Variety report suggests that the problems continue to mount. Turns out that more problems emerged Thursday when ThinkFilm executives suddenly discovered there was no money for Friday newspaper ads for Then She Found Me (our review). I’m not quite sure how something like this happens; you “suddenly” realize there’s no money in the bank? Isn’t that why companies have accountants and wouldn’t those accountants know if you were running out of money?
Regardless of how you cut it, this is not good news for little ThinkFilm, a company who I’ve come to trust as bringers of good film. I’m also curious to see how this works its way into the Canadian distribution world since ThinkFilm has a deal with Entertainment One.
The big question now is what will happen if Capitol Films goes under? Does ThinkFilm get shipped off to someone else? Or perhaps someone will step in and solve the financial problems. Or maybe this is just a temporary glitch in the system and Capitol really isn’t in that much trouble. I don’t know, I’m no Hollywood insider but I do want to know how this works out so I’ll be sure to keep you posted on new developments.
In the meantime, I’m curious to know what others think of ThinkFilm. Am I alone in my love for the little distributor or is there general agreement that these guys have a knack for finding good film?
Movie laboratories are one of my favorite things ever. Metropolis,...
Gerry
Bus 174
Primer
5×2
Half Nelson
Lake of Fire
impeccable taste, I’m like you Marina, ThinkFilm is credentials for quality.
No big loss. Small indies like this fold all the time. Their slates are all acquisitions anyway and will now just get bought by someone else. (How long does ‘Then She Found Me’ or ‘Taxi To The Dark Side’ play fests without getting picked up?)
New Line going down? Now that’s a major calamity that will adversely effect everyone who reads this site and all cinephiles the world over. RIP NLC.
@Marina Was Thinkfilm the candian distributor, that after being bought out by american interests forced the start of Mongrel Media?
No. Mongrel has been around for much longer than that but the expansion of Mongrel from the DVD market to also include theatrical distribution may have had something to do with ThinkFilm’s move to the US.
I like both Mongrel and Thinkfilm. Sad that the niche business doesn’t seem to have much of a place in the theatre any more. Seems like it’s DVD or direct download for most of these…outside of festivals that is. There is a reason for the growth of festivals over the past few years. Increasingly it is the best place to see niche stuff and as a bonus, usually cast/crew do a Q&A or discussion afterwards.
Note that Warner Independent Pictures (Good Night And Good Luck, Funny Games US, A Scanner Darkly) and Picture House (Pan’s Labyrinth, King of Kong, La Vie en Rose) were both shuttered by Warner Brothers earlier.
A bad time for Indie Distribs (and the Print Critics that champion this type of niche film to the masses) for sure.
More problems for ThinkFilm
The problem with the indie distributors is they buy films ‘they’ like rather than what ‘the public’ likes.
They need to hire people who have the ‘populist touch’.
It’s that simple.
I’m not sure about that Movie Fan, mostly because I tend to like what ThinkFilm distributes *because* it’s stuff I’d likely not get to see or even hear about otherwise. I think there’s a place for indie distributors alongside the big studios because they’re 1) distributing different films and 2) catering to a different audience.
If we want the “populist touch”, just look at WB or Paramount or any of the other major distributors.
I am reasonably sure that their operation will indeed be shutting down unfortunately and I expect with a whole lot of filmmakers/producers NOT getting paid. Indie biz is a tough one indeed, even when one is “at the top of their game”.