CBS Films

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Jessica Breslow

By Jessica Breslow

Courtesy of CBS Films [a]

CBS Films
11800 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 575-7000
www.cbsfilms.com

Brief History

CBS Films, operating as a subsidiary of CBS Corporations, was founded only 7 years ago in 2007. Despite being new on the block in a tough industry, CBS Films has successfully made noise in several markets with releases like, “Las Vegas,” “The Woman in Black,” and “The Back Up Plan.” They plan to continue making noise by releasing approximately 4-6 films a year by self-distributing in the US while their partners oversee global distribution. CBS Film’s commitment to managing the development, financing, production, and marketing of low budget, experimental, and quality motion pictures of various genres is what makes them unique as a middle ground in the industry. [1] [2] [3]

Key Executives

Wolfgang Hammer (Co-President) [b]

Terry Press (Co-President) [c]

Steven Friedlander
(Executive Vice President, Theatrical Distribution) [d]

Reid Sullivan
(Chief Financial Officer) [e]

Rik Toulon
(Executive Vice President & General Counsel) [f]

Maria Faillace
(Executive Vice President, Production) [g]

For more information about the Key Executives, click here [1].

Financials

CBS Films is not a publicly traded company; therefore, there is no financial information available. However, according to Box Office Mojo, one can understand that CBS Films has the potential to be competitive among the major film companies in the future if it continues its current pattern.

CBS Films – Rankings
Courtesy of Box Office Mojo [h]

The studio got off to a rough start with its first project, “Extraordinary Measures.” The film had a production budget of $31 million dollars, and unfortunately led the company to a major loss since the film’s worldwide total gross was only $15,134,293. Fortunately, the studio’s second film “The Back Up Plan,” was a huge success, and produced a worldwide total gross of $77,477,007. With a $35 million dollar production budget, “The Back Up Plan,” was not only able to recoup the film’s production budget, but also was able to recoup “Extraordinary Measures” major loss all while still making the company roughly $26 million in profit.

“Las Vegas” Total Lifetime Grosses
Courtesy of Box Office Mojo [i]

To date, every film that CBS Films has distributed has made some profit besides “Extraordinary Measures.” In fact, the company’s most successful film to date “Las Vegas” proves that CBS Films is moving forward. “Las Vegas” had a production budget of $28 million dollars, and earned a worldwide total gross of $134,402,450 (see photo right). These observations allow one to assume that the company is comfortable financially. [4] [5] [6]

News

Clif Prowse (R), Derek Lee (L)
Courtesy of www.images.moviepilot-cdn.com [j]

CBS Film’s “Afflicted,” which was released on April 4, 2014, is currently playing in limited theaters and is available on demand at iTunes, Amazon, VUDU, Google Play, Time Warner, and XBOX in addition to other Video On Demand services. As of April 11, 2014, “Afflicted” is being shown in 34 theaters, which is down ten theaters from its original release date. According to Box Office Mojo, as of April 13, 2014, the film has earned a domestic total of $121,179. The Canadian Film Lottery and the hundred thousand dollars Co-Directors Derek Lee and Cliff Prowse devoted their time to raising funded “Afflicted.” To save on production costs further, the Co-Directors starred as themselves in the movie out of necessity, and they complied their friends, families, and relatives to be the actors as a pay-free route to ensure their budget was kept low.

Derek Lee (L), Clif Prowse (R)
Courtesy of www.laimyours.com [k]

Remarkably, Derek and Cliff have been friends since they were 15 and pimpled-faced. They started this found-footage horror film project in 2011 after working on 4 shorts together. The idea for the film was the result of what they thought would best display their skillsets. Originally, they envisioned creating an action film; however, they lacked the funding to do so with quality. As a plan B, the duo created what evolved into the vampire point of view documentary in theaters today. With only four filmmakers and a small crew of ten, scenes were shot guerilla style in Paris, Italy, and Spain using a Cannon 5D Mark II and a Go Pro. The Director of Photography was equipped with only a single lighting pack due to budget; therefore, natural lighting was forcibly essential. Budget, however, did allow for Visual Effects Company Imagine Engine to be brought on as a producer to ensure the scenes requiring special effects were brought to life. These scenes demanded an abundance of patience and luck to achieve a realistic effect since the scenes lacked certain resources that typically would have been needed.

Derek Lee as Derek Lee
Courtesy of www.images.moviepilot-cdn.com [l]

After years of hard work and obstacles, “Afflicted” was screened to distributors. A low seven figures and additional money for improving production later, CBS Films attained a deal with the duo to polish and complete the film. With CBS Film’s support, the film became commercial and competitive after a month of reshooting. “Afflicted” started to gain real momentum after being well received at the Toronto International Film Festival and Austin’s Fantastic Fest. In Toronto, “Afflicted” was awarded “Best Canadian First Feature Film,” and in Austin, the movie was awarded “Best Picture (Horror),” “Best Screenplay (Horror)”, and “Best Director (Horror).” In addition, according to IndieWire, “Afflicted” is on the Top 10 indies to watch On Demand for April. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Derek Lee as Derek Lee
Courtesy of CBS Films [m]

Brief Synopsis: Derek and Cliff, two best friends, set out to travel the world for a year, but to their surprise the trip goes terribly wrong after Derek spends a night with a beautiful woman. After Derek’s encounter with this woman, his body goes though inhuman and uncontrollable changes. Cliff was originally documenting the entire trip for his travel blog, but the footage ends up capturing how the trip takes a dark turn instead. [12]

Watch Afflicted Trailer [n] (YouTube)

CBS Films is keeping an eye on the films that receive major buzz from festivals; there is talk that CBS Films might have plans to continue pursuing deals like this in the future if it “Afflicted” proves to be a beneficial investment. The power of this buzz serves as free advertising and generates a strong word of mouth presence that is typically not the easiest achieve. [8]

Coming Soon

“The F Word” recently retitled “What If” will hit US theaters in August 2014. In September, “What If” made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Two and a half million dollars later, CBS Films attained the US rights for this project. “What If” will be released on August 1^st in NY and LA theaters, and will be accompanied by Disney’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy” and James Brown’s “Get Up On It.” CBS Films plans to expand markets for “What If” following the first weekend. [13]

Zoe Kazan (L), Daniel Radcliffe (R)
Courtesy of CBS Films [o]

Director:
Michael Dowse

Writer:
Elan Mastai

Stars:
Daniel Radcliffe
Zoe Kazan
Adam Driver
Mackenzie Davis
Megan Park
Oona Chaplin

Producers:
David Gross
Jesse Shapira
Jeff Arkuss
Macdara Kelleher
Andre Rouleau

[14]

Sources:

[1] CBS Films – About, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[2] Company Overview – Bloomberg Businessweek, investing.businessweek.com, RT: 4/13/14

[3] LA Times – Prime time for CBS movie bet?, articles.latimes.com, Claudia Eller & Amy Kaufman,1/11/10, RT: 4/13/14

[4] Box Office Mojo – “Extraordinary Measures”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[5] Box Office Mojo – “The Back Up Plan”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[6] Box Office Mojo – “Las Vegas”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[7] The Horror: Afflicted LA Premiere At Hollywood Horrorfest, laimyours.com, Jonatha Bilski, 3/31/14, RT: 4/13/14

[8] Fantastic Fest: CBS Films May Have a Sleeper Hit in Low-Budget Horror Movie ‘Afflicted’, thewrap.com, Jeff Sneider, 9/20/13, RT: 4/13/14

[9] The Hollywood Reporter – Afflicted: Film Review, hollywoodreporter.com, Frank Scheck, 4/3/2014, RT: 4/13/14

[10] The 10 Indies to Watch on VOD This April: ‘Joe,’ ‘Blue Ruin,’ ‘Filth’ and More, indiewire.com, 4/2/14, RT: 4/13/14

[11] IMDb Page for Film “Afflicted”, IMDb.com, RT: 4/13/14

[12] CBS Films – Afflicted, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[13] Daniel Radcliffe’s ‘The F Word’ Re-titled ‘What If,’ Set for Aug. 1 Release, variety.com, Dave McNary, 3/14/14, RT: 4/13/14

[14] CBS Films – What If, cbsfims.com, RT: 4/13/14

Multimedia Sources:

[a] CBS Film’s Logo, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[b] Photo of Wolfgang Hammer, 5dinstitute.org, RT: 4/13/14

[c] Photo of Terry Press, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 4/13/14

[d] Photo of Steven Friedlander, pokerpages.com, RT: 4/13/14

[e] Photo of Reid Sullivan, cbsexpress.com, RT: 4/13/14

[f] Photo of Rik Toulon, cbsexpress.com, RT: 4/13/14

[g] Photo of Maria Faillace, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 4/13/14

[h] CBS Films – Rankings, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[i] “Las Vegas” Total Lifetime Grosses, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[j] Photo 1 of Co-Directors, images.moviepilot-cdn.com, RT: 4/13/14

[k] Photo 2 of Co-Directors, laimyours.com, RT: 4/13/14

[l] Photo 1 of Derek Lee, images.moviepilot-cdn.com, RT: 4/13/14

[m] Photo 2 of Derek Lee, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[n] Afflicted Trailer, youtube.com, RT: 4/13/14

[o] Photo of Zoe and Daniel, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

Netflix

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Will Roth

By Will Roth

Netflix logo – courtesy digitaltrends.com

Corporate Headquarters

100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, CA 95032

(408) 540-3700

www.netflix.com

History

Netflix was founded in 1997 by software executives Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. Two years later, the company offered its subscription service of unlimited DVD rentals for a monthly fee. Since its inception, Netflix has grown exponentially in terms of consumer popularity and financial revenue. Today, over 40 million subscribers consume roughly 1 billion hours of content per month through the company. [1]

Key Executive

Reed Hastings Courtesy of Netflix

Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 and has served as its Chairman, CEO, and President since. Prior to this, he founded Pure Software, which he then sold to Rational Software. Following a stint in the Peace Corps during college wherein he taught high school math in Swaziland, he has served as the president of the California State Board of Education and remains a member of the California Teachers’ Association. [2] [3]

Financials

Netflix made its initial public offering on May 22, 2002 with 5,500,000 shares at $15.00 each. [4] As of November 15, 2013 one share sat at $349.78. The company’s all-time high was $389.16. However, it hasn’t always been a steadily increasing stock market commodity. On November 30, 2011 its price fell to $62.37. This came after the company’s decision to separate its DVD rental and streaming services. After watching the stock fall, company executives decided to abort the plan. Its stock recovered quickly and has climbed even higher than it was before the proposed change. [5]

Innovation

Netflix is a company that always seems to be ahead of the curve. After amassing 6.3 million members as a strictly DVD rental service, it launched its online streaming service in 2007. [4] After hovering around $20 per stock for years, this development started the company skyrocketing, topping out at roughly $290. This promptly fell after the announcement of Qwikster, which was the proposed streaming-only branch of Netflix. While this was a failure, it was innovative nonetheless.

Click here to watch a BloombergTV feature on Qwikster.

Netflix has rebuilt its popularity and image largely through original content.

latintimes.com

House of Cards was the first heavily advertised piece of original content from Netflix. “A Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him. [6]” The entire 13 episode first season was released at once so that viewers could “binge watch” it. Many analysts questioned whether this was a good business decision, theorizing that viewers wouldn’t remain hooked long enough for Netflix to prosper financially. [7] The numbers proved those doubters wrong. In the financial quarter following the show’s debut, Netflix gained 3 million new subscribers. In that quarter alone, the company made back its money on the program in which it had invested $100 million. [8] The show received 9 Emmy nominations and won for Outstanding Casting, Directing, and Cinematography in a Drama Series. [9]

pcmag.com

Netflix also found success in its debut of the fourth season of the cult hit Arrested Development. Executives attributed the bump of 630,000 new subscribers in the second quarter of 2013 to the show’s dedicated fan base. [10] The season earned three Emmy nominations. [11]

In addition to original content, Netflix has been innovative in customizing the user experience. In 2006, the company announced the “Netflix Prize,” which would award $1 million to the person or team who came up with the best algorithm to accurately give entertainment recommendations based on personal preference. Three years later, they had received submissions from more than 40,000 teams from 186 countries. [4] The prize was awarded in 2009, but the company never implemented the algorithm. According to Netflix, the “additional accuracy gains that we measured did not seem to justify the engineering effort needed to bring them into a production environment. [12]“

Also in the vein of user experience, Netflix recently added the option of multiple profiles to its streaming service. Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt acknowledged that most accounts are shared, usually within one household. In an effort to tailor recommendations to each user specifically, customers can now specify who is watching. The service is free of charge and will also help Netflix in collected more accurate user data. [13]

Competition

One might assume that Netflix is a competitor with cable providers. CEO Reed Hastings has a different view. In a letter to investors, he outlined his company’s main areas of focus moving forward, breaking down its competition into two categories. The first is “competitors-for-time,” meaning entertainment options that do not bid against Netflix. While markets may not overlap between Netflix and video game providers, sports networks, and piracy, all of those options eat up consumer time that could be spent watching Netflix. The other category is “competitors-for-content.” The largest competitor here is HBO. Hastings discloses that the companies have bid against each other for movie licensing and original content in the past, and that they seem to be pushing each other to be better consumer-oriented services. Hastings also lists Amazon, Hulu and others as competitors-for-content. At the same time, he believes that there will be enough room for everyone. “Many consumers will subscribe to multiple services if they each have unique compelling content. [14]

On The Horizon

Netflix plans to build upon its success with original content. It has renewed each of its original shows for second seasons, and has expressed desire to make another season of Arrested Development as well. “[We would] be delighted to produce a fifth season of Arrested Development, if possible, given fan reaction.” The company also plans to produce its own full-length documentaries and comedy specials and stream them exclusively. [15]

There is also speculation that Netflix is pushing for day-and-date movie releases, meaning that it could begin streaming a film the same day it premieres in theaters. Though Netflix has not confirmed this, theater owners are wary that the development could put them out of business. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, accused theaters of refusing to adapt, saying “not only are they going to kill theaters — they might kill movies.” Currently, theaters have a 90 day exclusivity deal, wherein films cannot be shown anywhere else for three months. But recent studies state that theaters make 96% of total revenue from a film’s first six weeks. At the very least, we can expect Netflix to cut the amount of time between theatrical releases to streaming down to between 30-45 days. This would spell greater profits for both Netflix and movie studios while only trimming 4% of theaters’ revenue. [16] At the very least, we can expect an innovator like Netflix to be on the forefront of the entertainment business in the years to come.

Sources

[1] About Netflix

[2] About Reed Hastings

[3] Reed Hastings Profile – Bloomberg Businessweek

[4] Netflix Company Timeline

[5] Nasdaq

[6] House of Cards imdb

[7] Variety Binge Watching

[8] The Atlantic Wire

[9] Emmys – House of Cards

[10] Huffington Post Tech

[11] Emmys – Arrested Development