New Yorker

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

... but I still do not have a region free player and my point is the disadvantage the R1 market still exists in regarding this title and other NYer properties.)

Jean-Luc, I'm not being impertinent but wouldn't it be a simple matter to go region-free?

It's just that, with New Yorker gone, your best chance of seeing Rivette, Bresson, etc on DVD rests more with Artificial Eye and MK2 in Europe. You might be an old man before Criterion get round to them.

I'm still looking for a good region free player. I thought I had one but there was no PAL>NTSC conversion. I might have the problem fixed soon because a friend is setting me up with an old laptop and I believe its DVD player is all region. (It better be because the BFI Celine and Julie has been unopened for three months.) Believe me, I was at DVD Beaver the other day and I ask myself the question every time - especially in regards to my top faves Bresson and Tarkovsky.

[Perkins Cobb]

That's a big relief that Project X is forging ahead, and I wish Oliver the best of luck getting the rest of Watkins' stuff out.

Same for Milestone -- I can't wait for The Exiles (and Dennis, I was sad to hear that you weren't able to do anything with The Summer Children, if my info is accurate).

Maybe those three companies should get their own threads (or bump them if they exist) with the relevant posts diverted from the stinking corpse of New Yorker?

[Matt]

Maybe those three companies should get their own threads (or bump them if they exist) with the relevant posts diverted from the stinking corpse of New Yorker?

Milestone has had its own general thread for a long time, as well as individual threads for some major releases (Dragon Painter, Killer of Sheep) and for Milliarium Zero.

Project X's Peter Watkins releases are mostly discussed in threads for the individual films, in the MoC threads for their releases of the films, or in this thread. I'll look around a little more to see if a Project X thread can be cobbled together from existing posts.

[fiddlesticks]

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like, in a couple of recent entries in his blog, Andrew Grant is hinting that Benten Films is trying to pick up some (or, somehow, even all?) of the New Yorker titles.

Well, the big news on everybody's lips this week is about the sudden, unexpected shuttering of New Yorker Films. It is indeed a great loss, but the bigger concern is the future status of the archive. There's 40 years of curation there, and the thought of having it broken up is nothing short of tragic.

The blogosphere is buzzing with articles, most of them full of speculation, half-truths, and idealized outcomes. I don't have much to contribute at this point other than to say -- remember the story of David and Goliath?

followed by

Remember Felix Farmer, the manic director played to perfection by Richard Mulligan in Blake Edwards' S.O.B.? If so, then you'll have a perfect image of how my life has been over the past few weeks, for like Farmer, I'm frantically trying to pull something together that is as inconceivable (and perhaps as daft) as Julie Andrews doing a nude scene. I honestly don't believe I've ever been this stressed out. But a good stress, of sorts.

As the post title indicates, things are indeed afoot, mostly related to Benten Films. Some are confirmed, and you'll be hearing a few announcements in the next week or two. Then there's another thing....and oh what an other it is....but I can't reveal details at this time. However, regardless of the outcome, there will be an incredible story to tell. Though I'm doing my best to remain optimistic, the theme song from a 1980s movie sung by Phil Collins keeps running through my head...

(I'm no authority on Phil Collins, so that last clue means nothing to me.)

[Cash Flagg]

(I'm no authority on Phil Collins, so that last clue means nothing to me.)

"Against All Odds"?

[dadaistnun]

From Dave Kehr's blog:

Here’s hoping that a responsible someone will step up to the plate. (Courtesy of Sasha Berman)

"On March 12, 2009, Technicolor, Inc. and certain of its affiliates will be conducting a secured party auction sale of certain of the assets of New Yorker Films. The winning bidder(s) at the auction will purchase some or all of the available assets but not assume any of New Yorker Films’ liabilities. If you are interested in participating in the auction as a potential purchaser, please contact Mark Doyle of Technicolor - New York at 110 Leroy Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10014, telephone number 212-886-5250; email: mark.doyle[at]technicolor.com.

It is New Yorker Films’ sincere hope that the purchaser of our assets will be a well qualified distributor with the intention and ability to manage and distribute the fine films we have had the privilege of distributing in a manner consistent with New Yorker Film’s 43 year history in the independent film world."

[Jeff]

Cryptic account of the action (or lack thereof) at today's auction.

[kaujot]

Very cryptic. So Technicolor still owns NYorker?

[Matt]

Unrelated to the auction of the library, Zeitgeist picked up Carlos Saura's Fados and Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Three Monkeys from New Yorker (who had purchased but not yet distributed them [well, outside of NYC in the case of Fados]).

[Antoine Doinel]

Very cryptic. So Technicolor still owns NYorker?

I'm guessing they still own it for now until the paperwork/credit check/etc clears for whoever (seemingly) bought the entire library.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Cryptic is the right word. I think that the blogger's note "a great story that will wait for later" just about sums it up. Thanks to Matt, we all learned something useful at least. (Well, useful if you're a Saura fan.)

[AisleSeat]

It appears no one bid the minimum that Technicolor had set, so matters evidently stand pretty much where there were previously. If this is indeed what happened, the actual, street-value worth of the NYer library will have to reevaluated, with perhaps another auction in the not too distant future.

As this is only a hunch from what I read from the above linked blog entry and the comments therein, please don't read too much into it.

[Nothing]

It's like I've been saying to MichaelB about the arthouse sector all last year, it's now a buyers market, although, oddly, it seems Technicolor failed to grasp this... Round 1, indeed.

[fiddlesticks]

I'm hoping Isis Litigation will step up and acquire the New Yorker library... :-"

[cinemaguild]

Maybe those three companies should get their own threads (or bump them if they exist) with the relevant posts diverted from the stinking corpse of New Yorker?

Cinema Guild recently started its own thread. You can find it here: http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/vie ... php?t=9445.

[Antoine Doinel]

An interview with head honcho Dan Talbot that is kind of galling in his complete indifference in doing the kinds of things that would've prevented the label from shuttering in the first place.

The article starts with this:

never cared about the film marketplace ... How I managed to survive all these years with zero interest in the business end of things always puzzled me.

[tartarlamb]

Every time I read an interview or quote by Dan Talbot, it becomes more clear why his company was so terrible and why it failed. What an ass.

[brendanjc]

I got curious after I spent some time tonight reading critics' "best-of" lists from decades ago and seeing L'Atalante crop up on many of them - it appears to be one of the few early films New Yorker owned. Has there been any more recent news (or rumors) about where New Yorker's library is going? I couldn't find much.

[tavernier]

Press release today:

New Yorker Films is back in business!

(February 9, 2010) Aladdin Distribution LLC, a Marina del Rey, CA-based company, has announced the acquisition of New Yorker Films’ library, which has amassed over 400 film titles.

Veteran film executives David Raphel, a former President of Twentieth Century Fox International, Christopher Harbonville, a producer formerly associated with the Cambridge Film Group; and Hani Musleh, a former investment banker, founded Aladdin Distribution LLC in late 2009, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aladdin Films Corporation, which is an international motion picture development, financing and production company.

New Yorker Films was founded by Dan Talbot in 1965, and became one of the most influential distributors of foreign language and independent films in the US. The principals of Aladdin Distribution LLC announced that Jose Lopez, formerly Dan Talbot’s business partner and Vice-President of New Yorker Films, will remain with the company and has been named President. Peter Marai has been hired as Acquisitions Consultant.

The company will operate out of New York City starting March 8, 2010, a year after New Yorker was forced to close its doors, the pioneer distributor of foreign language and independent films is back in business.

New Yorker Films is committed to continue releasing quality art and independent films from around the world. The company plans to acquire 6 to 8 titles each year for theatrical release. The Non-Theatrical and Home Video departments, both integral parts of the company, will continue acquiring and releasing numerous films.

New Yorker Films has a legendary legacy, boasting a long-standing track record in foreign film distribution, bringing a staggering number of international auteurs to American movie theaters for more than four decades. The company’s crucial role in establishing a lasting film culture in this country cannot be underestimated. An illustrious roster of directors whose films were released by New Yorker Films includes: Akerman, Alea, Bertolucci, Bresson, Chabrol, Fassbinder, Fellini, Godard, Herzog, Kieslowski, Kurosawa, Kusturica, Lanzmann, Malle, Ozu, Rivette, Rohmer, Rossellini, Sembene, Straub-Huillet, Tanner, Wenders, Errol Morris, Wayne Wang, and many others.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Excellent news!! =D> I guess this means they've retained their back catalogue. Suppose the usual quality of their DVDs will remain the same?

[Awesome Welles]

Fantastic! Let's hope the newly invigorated New Yorker will have the backing and talent to start issuing great DVDs in 2010. Starting with Eustache!

[perkizitore]

Hopefully they will release Watkins' work on blu-ray.

[domino harvey]

Awesome, because distributing films theatrically worked out real well for Tartan!

[kekid]

I am very happy to read this news, but am somewhat cautious in my expectations. In my brief contact with him, I found Jose Lopez to be utterly resistent to change. Many years ago, when Laserdisc was the best available medium, New Yorker continued to produce VHS versions exclusively, and sell them at exhorbitant prices. I called Jose to suggest that they start releasing some of their wonderful films on Laserdisc, and he was surprised I was unhappy with the quality of the VHS. To my knowledge they never released anything on Laserdisc, and switched to DVD's only when it became apparent that the VHS was a dead format. I would have liked to see a complete change in upper management. Having said that, I hope Jose has learnt from his experience, and is going to be more attentive to quality going forward.

[Matt]

I just got an e-mail announcing the "new" New Yorker Films. While I'm happy that the whole staff is returning to their previous positions, I hope they have been chastened somewhat and don't just return to business as usual. Let's see a robust DVD/Blu-ray program and some streaming on Netflix and Hulu, and if we can't get that, a good licensing relationship with someone who can provide it.