'There's going to be no rules': Hollywood tests new ways of releasing movies in a pandemic
LOS ANGELES - Since the advent of the blockbuster, Hollywood followed a rigid rule book for how to release movies to the public - put the film in as many theaters as possible, and give theaters full exclusivity before people can see it at home. But amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the old practices have given way to a free-for-all of experimentation.
No one knows that better than Bob Berney, the indie film veteran who runs Los Angeles-based production and distribution firm Picturehouse. He'd planned to give the faith-based drama "Fatima" a theatrical release buoyed by support from churches, but with the pandemic still raging, the company switched gears. Instead, Picturehouse put the movie out as a $20 video-on-demand release Friday, the same day it was to be on about 215 cinema screens.
"The film has an older audience," Berney said. "If they can't go to church, it's difficult for church leaders to recommend they go
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