Marvel lays out Phase 5

Heh, "we're going to cut back on film and TV production" would have more punch if it wasn't said during a writer and actor strike that is forcing Disney to cut back on film and TV production.

I did like that he talked about sublicensing, though. I know some things that have been prevented from being shown on other platforms (Batgirl movie, Snowpiercer season 4) were squelched for tax purposes before being shown and can never be licensed to other platforms. But even though there are some tax implications, things like this could easily be put up for other streamers to obtain:

https://variety.com/2023/digital/new...ng-1235631877/

I know they can do this because one of the titles mentioned in the article, Dollface, is currently available to me on Crave, a Canadian streaming service, after being removed from Canadian Disney+. There would have to be economic reasons to do this, like licensing fees at least covering the one-time tax charge and the ongoing residual payments, and perhaps that would prevent a number of titles from ever being resurrected. But the ideological objection - "we don't want to provide our competition with content" - is gone, and I feel like that's been the largest problem.

I hate the whole idea of pulling things off streaming for tax purposes, some shit was barely up a month. And I bet the execs still cry about the stuff being on Pirate Bay even though they have surrendered their claim to make money on it at least from the public perception.

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Originally Posted by Delores Mulva

the ideological objection - "we don't want to provide our competition with content" - is gone, and I feel like that's been the largest problem.

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It wasn't an ideological objection, it was a business decision. Legacy entertainment companies were trying to build their own versions of Netflix from scratch quickly, so to accelerate the timeline they not only spent ungodly amounts on new stuff, but also held tightly onto their existing stuff so they could have larger libraries of unique offerings. Why should someone subscribe to Disney+ if they can get all the Disney movies on Netflix?

What's happening now is that these guys have decided that becoming the next Netflix is not achievable or at least not worth it -- Netflix had first mover advantages that can't be replicated these days -- so Big Entertainment is back to looking at the good ol' licensing fee model.

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Originally Posted by PPatty

It wasn't an ideological objection, it was a business decision.

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Consider the context here. If you feel you can't make any money on an asset, but could by moving it to someone else, not moving the asset is ideological, not business.

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Originally Posted by Delores Mulva

Consider the context here. If you feel you can't make any money on an asset, but could by moving it to someone else, not moving the asset is ideological, not business.

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Yes, but you're ignoring the larger context Big Entertainment had in mind a few years ago: Yes, they could make money licensing something, but they thought they could make more money by selling subscriptions to a library of unique content.

What they failed to realize is that the environment had changed: Before the mid-to-late 2010s, Netflix was the only ship in the water, so it didn't need much unique content to stand out, and didn't have to pay much, relatively speaking, for that unique content, and could take more time to create it. But by the time Amazon/Disney/Paramount/Comcast set sail on the streaming sea, Netflix was already a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, making life more difficult for everyone else.

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Originally Posted by PPatty

Yes, they could make money licensing something, but they thought they could make more money by selling subscriptions to a library of unique content.

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You can have a library of unique content and still sell your dogs. Nobody is telling Disney+ to sell off the shows that drive people to subscribe to Disney+.

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Originally Posted by PPatty

But by the time Amazon/Disney/Paramount/Comcast set sail on the streaming sea, Netflix was already a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, making life more difficult for everyone else.

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Honestly, the only area where Netflix has a real advantage is in licensing overseas content (anime, Bollywood productions, etc.). Any original content advantage they once had is long gone, and with most of the studios holding onto their own content for their own streaming services they have no real legacy content advantage.

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Originally Posted by Delores Mulva

You can have a library of unique content and still sell your dogs.

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They've always been doing that -- even after Disney+ launched, you could catch some Disney-affiliated stuff on cable reruns, and even on other streaming apps such as Starz. The only difference now is how they're defining dogs.

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Originally Posted by Delores

The only area where Netflix has a real advantage is in licensing overseas content (anime, Bollywood productions, etc.). Any original content advantage they once had is long gone

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That's now, but Netflix had a huge, established audience by the time significant rivals appeared, so it didn't need a clear advantage anymore, it just needed to not be worse. If I already have plenty of things to watch on Netflix, why should I bother signing up for, say, Disney+? Only have so much time in a day. And in fact, Netflix has kept growing this year while Disney+ has been shrinking.

Marvel Studios’ Loki Season 2 | Official Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dug56u8NN7g

Saw GoG 3 last night on streaming. I liked it, but it's darker than what I've come to expect from the franchise. The tone feels more like Gunn's Suicide Squad than the other GoG movies.

I caught up on a bunch of Marvel stuff in preparation for season 2 of Loki. Most of it was "okay", but Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was great. Kind of hard to watch, but great.

I'm also pretty happy with the first episode of Loki now that it has started.

Oh, and it's apparently two months old but I've only just now seen it, so here is the trailer for The Marvels. I'm optimistic. Is this still phase 5? We don't have a phase 6 thread yet do we?

https://youtu.be/wS_qbDztgVY?si=r8NKJAWUHslETEpG

Phase 5 goes until 2025. The Marvels, Deadpool 3, the new Captain America, Thunderbolts, and Blade are the films tentatively remaining in P5.

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Originally Posted by Wool

I'm also pretty happy with the first episode of Loki now that it has started.

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It's been entertaining through the first two weeks of Season 2. The show floats on the chemistry between the actors, and that's more than enough to keep me humming along as a viewer.

Jonathan Majors’ Accuser Arrested for Misdemeanor Assault and Criminal Mischief, DA Has No Plans to Press Charges

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Grace Jabbari, the woman who has accused Jonathan Majors of attacking her on March 25, has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Jabbari was arrested at the 10th precinct in Manhattan on Wednesday. She was released on a desk appearance. The DA has said they will not prosecute her on any charges related to the incident.

Majors faces misdemeanor charges of harassment and assault after being arrested following the alleged domestic violence incident on March 25. Police responded to a 911 call and a 30-year-old woman reported being assaulted by Majors, with police noting that she had sustained minor injuries. Majors was released from police custody later that day.

In June, the Loki actor filed a cross-complaint against Jabbari, alleging that she attacked him that night. His attorney, Priya Chaudhry, has denied all wrongdoing on behalf of her client.

In court documents filed in relations to Majors’ case, prosecutors told police that they will not prosecute Jabbari, citing the belated nature of the allegations for the decision on any charges related to the incident and saying it comes as part of the routine process of evaluating cross complaints in domestic violence cases. Jabbari and her attorney were informed of this decision on Sept. 21.

An investigatory card, or I-Card, which is not an arrest warrant, but is an NYPD document alerting officers that there is probable cause for an arrest, was also issued for Jabbari in late June, the documents state. Prosecutors asked the NYPD to issue Jabbari a desk appearance ticket, which requires her to return to court at a specified date, rather than waiting in custody for an arraignment.

The prosecution had planned to provide travel and lodging to the U.S. for Jabbari, who is a British citizen, in order for her to testify at Majors’ trial, according to the documents.

A trial date of Nov. 29 was set Wednesday for Majors, who virtually attended his hearing in New York Criminal Court. New York Judge Michael Gaffey also denied defense’s motion to dismiss the case.

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Jonathan Majors’ bodybuilding movie pulled from Disney release schedule ahead of actor’s assault trial

It'll be interesting to see what Marvel does now with its multi-year plans since it looks like The Marvels is going to bomb harder than the Flash this weekend.

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Originally Posted by Philo

It'll be interesting to see what Marvel does now with its multi-year plans since it looks like The Marvels is going to bomb harder than the Flash this weekend.

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I don't know if this is the right thing to do financially, but purely from a narrative POV, Marvel would be better off focusing its energies on high quality programming for Disney+ and releasing just one movie a year, maybe even every two years, so it always feels like a big event. Otherwise the studio ends up with too many flicks like Dr. Strange 2 that don't stand well on their own, and people sitting in the theater wondering why they paid movie ticket prices for an extended episode of a streaming show.

Buddy got our tickets for The Marvels today. 7:30 pm Friday, only theatre in our part of town (200,000 population middle class+ area), and so far we're the only ones in the theatre.

A few days ago my brother went to see that FNAF movie. He said there were only 3 other people in the theater.

Whoa, that Loki ending was awesome to watch after taking an edible

I just watched the Loki finale. I don't get it. What did Loki do?