Buying the rights to disappearing films.

[theedinburghbteam]

Hello all!


Something often seen on this website is the despair felt by many at films only having been released on VHS, and worse, disappearing into rare obscurity. And there are SO many films which hundreds of film geeks like us want to get our hands on: Terrorvision, Exterminator 2...to name two.

So. I was thinking, does anybody know how someone would go about buying the DVD distribution rights? And/or theatrical rights?

badmovies.org distribution company would be bad ass :P and I know many of you would be happy to stick in £20 quid if it'd see the films get a DVD release.

[Rev. Powell]

Hello all!


Something often seen on this website is the despair felt by many at films only having been released on VHS, and worse, disappearing into rare obscurity. And there are SO many films which hundreds of film geeks like us want to get our hands on: Terrorvision, Exterminator 2...to name two.

So. I was thinking, does anybody know how someone would go about buying the DVD distribution rights? And/or theatrical rights?

badmovies.org distribution company would be bad ass :P and I know many of you would be happy to stick in £20 quid if it'd see the films get a DVD release.

Step 1: Locate (all) the copyright holders.  Easier said than done.  To be 100% sure and professional, you'll have to hire an intellectual property lawyer. 
Step 2: Negotiate.  More lawyers fees.  95% chance you will have to pay them money up front.

You'll have to put up quite a bit of money up front without a sure chance of success at even getting the rights.  If you are successful, there's an excellent chance of losing money on the deal.     

It's also very time intensive.  I've considered seriously going into film acquisition and distribution, but it would be a full time job and require serious start-up capital, with a very low chance of success. 

[akiratubo]

It's also very time intensive.  I've considered seriously going into film acquisition and distribution, but it would be a full time job and require serious start-up capital, with a very low chance of success.

Bingo.

About ten years ago, I had a plan worked out to start an acquisition/distribution company but it never got off the ground, for exactly those reasons.

[theedinburghbteam]

Oh well.

Guess that explains why films take so damned long to come out on dvd.

[Trevor]

Oh well. Guess that explains why films take so damned long to come out on dvd.

I get a lot of nonsense / aggro from clients enquiring about South African films from the 1960s and 1970s which have never come out on DVD or even VHS and which we hold the filmmasters for ~ my answer is that there are rights issues and if one person credited as a rights holder objects to the film being released, then it cannot be, like in the case of the 1970 film Shangani Patrol. It is actually a bit sad to have to tell them this because I would also like to see these films released.

[peter johnson]

More difficult than you can imagine -

Jeff Mandel - the esrstwhile director for "ROBOCHIC" - has offered me full distribution rights, but I cannot find who still has the actual Final Print -

. . . and life goes slowly by in the provinces . . .

peter