Karthik Subbaraj Quotes

Having come up in the era where movies are only movies if they're released in the theater... I don't know if that holds true anymore. I've been involved in some movies that have gone 'direct-to-video,' and that used to not be a good thing, but now it's different.

The stigma of the straight-to-DVD thing is over.

We released 'The Interview' through a variety of platforms, and we continue to look for other distribution options. Throughout this whole process, we never stopped - not for a single moment - trying to secure a broad release. Our studio takes great pride in continuing to grow the release of this movie and making it a success.

It's so cheap to just release a movie. You can do it by yourself if you have to. Put in on the Internet if you have to.

When I started in the late 1950s, every film I made - no matter how low the budget - got a theatrical release. Today, less that 20-percent of our films get a theatrical release.

When DVD disappeared but before digital distribution came on strong, there were a few years where a movie that didn't get theatrical would just be gone.

There has been a stigma around letting movies be seen on home screens on the same day as theatrical screens. Universal said they were going to do it with 'Tower Heist,' but they backed off when challenged by the theater owners. I understand where the theater owners are coming from on big studio movies.

'Brothers McMullen' would not be picked up for theatrical distribution now.

The movies have a way of seeping out there over time. We don't put them in 2,000 theaters. It wouldn't work that way.

Movie distribution may very well have migrated fully to digital form by then, making a huge dent in the need to print film and physically distribute content.

My theory is, I don't know how long it's going to be, five or ten years, there will be only two ways to see a movie, and that will either be on your computer through your TV screen or in the cinema, end of story. There will be no DVD; that's it - simple.

Now, DVD can represent more income than the box office-and typically does.

It's easy to get a theatrical release that shows in one theater for a week. But there's no advertising, and no one sees the movie. It's hard to get a real theatrical release. The distribution of independent films is, to me, extraordinarily frustrating.

I remember when I made 'A Scanner Darkly,' going, 'I hope people see it in theater - but I think it's going to be seen in someone's room at two in the morning.' It's that kind of movie. And I would have loved if it had been available on multiple formats at the moment it opened.

Due to internal problems, 'Bluff Master' had a very limited theatrical release. However, the film was a big hit on digital platforms like YouTube and Amazon.

I think, it's important to understand how to release a film.

It is always wonderful to have a theatrical release; lot of filmmakers desire that.

There will be more chances for films to be released through streaming services, such as Netflix.

Movie theaters still exist in spite of all of the alternatives that are available, video and video-on-demand and DVD and streaming video and all of these things.

While more great films are being made every year, it is increasingly difficult to get indies into theaters or on TV.

Let's face it; people are doing everything online these days. So if they are going to watch my movies, I'm happy as long as it's being bought legally and being exhibited legally, as long as they are paying even a small fee for it. I'm just anti-piracy. If it's a legitimate way of watching film online, then I'm very happy.

The current distribution model for movies, in the U.S. particularly, but also around the world, is pretty antiquated relative to the on-demand generation that we're trying to serve.

To have a film in America means precisely nothing if you don't have a distributor who stands behind it.

I just try to make the best film possible, and once the movie's done, we deal with the DVD.

Ironically, it's easier to raise the money to make the film than it is to have the film find wide distribution.