We've been working on this one for a while, and I'm thrilled to finally share the news. We're teaming with Magnolia and YouTube for a unique distribution plan:

MAGNOLIA PICTURES ANNOUNCES YOUTUBE PREMIERE FOR WAYNE WANG'S "THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA"

Los Angeles, CA - Magnolia Pictures announced today acclaimed filmmaker Wayne Wang’s new film THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA will make its world premiere on YouTube on Friday, October 17, 2008. The free release on YouTube's recently launched YouTube Screening Room (http://www.youtube.com/ytscreeningroom), a channel dedicated to premium film content, is part of a larger distribution plan, which will launch with Magnolia Pictures' theatrical release on Friday, September 19 of Wang's companion film A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS. Magnolia, Cinetic Rights Management and YouTube worked together to plan the parallel distribution strategy.

Magnolia Pictures' Ray Price stated, “The internet's ability to provide free streaming video is going to radically redefine independent film's access and availability to its audience. It provides a new platform, which can free us from the 'Top Ten' mentality in the same way that FM radio did for the music business."

Filmmaker Wayne Wang added, "THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA is about a young woman from China who tries to locate her identity through different kinds of new media. The piece was shot with this kind of mentality with various kinds of easily accessible digital sources. I am very excited that the distribution will be consistent with the way the piece was conceived and produced!"

"For years, filmmakers have asked me when a veteran icon would release a new work for free, online," said Matt Dentler of Cinetic Rights Management. "That time is now, and we're thrilled to be part of this exciting distribution strategy."

THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA and A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS are both adapted from a collection of short stories by Granta prize winning author Yiyun Li. They mark the seventh and eighth of Wang’s Asian-themed films that explore the bonds of family and Chinese identity in the modern world, making up one of the largest bodies of introspective work in independent film over the last 25 years.

In THE PRINCESS OF NEBRASKA, Sasha (Ling Li) is a foreign exchange student who finds herself pregnant. She’s the new generation of China, unmoored to traditions and history. As she says, “In America I learned a new phrase, ‘moving on.’ Tomorrow I can start a new page.” She travels from Nebraska to San Francisco to get an abortion, but in her exploration of the city in the next 24 hours she learns that turning a new page doesn’t necessarily mean turning your back on the past.

Too bad YouTube video quality is so crappy. And, how is all this stuff supposed to create a revenue model that actually allows filmmakers to fund new films with a serious budget?

YouTube's video quality is getting better and better, especially The Screening Room. And, don't forget that many people watch YouTube long form via the comfort of their living rooms, thanks to Apple TV. In terms of revenue, no film should seek revenue from only one outlet. And that's part of what we do at Cinetic Rights Management as a service to avoid such limitations.