Well we're FINALLY back from le grand trip to Cannes (and London and NY)! NY turned out to be a fantastic last leg, and the turn out at Barnes & Noble in Tribeca for my free distribution clinic and book signing was awesome. Thanks again to all who came out and welcome to all the newcomers to the newsletter. By the way, there are still several signed copies of my book "The Insiders Guide To Independent Film Distribution" available at Barnes & Noble, so if you're in the NY area and you missed the signing - go get a signed copy while they last!

Back to business here in LA....it's June already and I just looked at my calendar and realized the Home Media Expo is upon us! For all of you who don't know, HME is what was formerly called VSDA and is the largest home entertainment trade show in the world, held annually in Las Vegas. And I'm here to tell you that DVD ain't dead yet!

Some things to consider...

• U.S theatrical distribs picked up record low numbers of films at Cannes this year, and the ones they did pick up, they paid record low prices for. It's becoming more and more apparent with every major festival this year that U.S theatrical distributors are being increasingly cautious with theatrical pick-ups - and still relying on DVD releases for their main profit center

• I read in the NY Times this Sunday that Tyra Banks is co-producing a movie with Warner Brothers called "The Clique" which they are keen to go straight-to-DVD with, and skip the costs and risks of theatrical distribution. Straight-to-DVD is back in style again!

• Digital distribution may be the great white hope of the future, but for the moment, DVD sales remain the biggest potential revenue source for filmmakers AND studios alike

Fortunately, HYBRID approaches allow for a combination of traditional retail-based distribution and self-distribution to co-exist. Please keep in mind however that the absolute KEYS to having a successful Hybrid distribution strategy are:

1. you must have a very distinct target audience to market your film to, and 2. you need to know how and where to reach this market effectively

With that said, check out this video tutorial I did on HOW TO STRUCTURE YOUR HYBRID DVD STRATEGY. Remember, you want to pay close attention to this because the Hybrid strategy I'm outlining benefits you by allowing you, the filmmaker, to CONTROL your distribution. Now doesn't that sound appealing? You're darn right it does! Now check out it out right here:

http://www.filmspecific.com/members/664.cfm

And included with the tutorial are some discounts on DVD replication with Breakthrough Distribution to get you started. In fact, you can save up to $500 with them so if you're in the market for DVD replication, it will benefit you to check out this tutorial page for that reason alone :)

One more thing - since I was on the road and unable to give you a 24 hour warning about our GUIDE TO NAVIGATING INTERNATIONAL FILM MARKETS promo ending, I'm extending another 24 hours for you --- so grab your copy of this substantial resource while it's available for free to Premium Members (existing Premium Members, be sure to download your copy if you haven't already in the next 24 hours). Go ahead and download your copy right here: http://www.filmspecific.com/public/639.cfm

Alright gang...I hope you have a great week and I'll speak to you soon! (if you're wondering why you're getting emails from me at weird hours...it's the jet lag!)

Stacey*