Bernard takes the Oath of... I Forget (Photo: High Times)

As you know from reading The Reeler's trenchant commentary on the subject, the subject of collapsing theatrical windows is one of the young century's defining cultural issues. A lot of ink and bandwidth have gone into debating the idea's pros and cons, but I sense the discussion may be winding down with Sony Classics boss Tom Bernard's recent leap into the opponents' vanguard.

According to Multichannel News (via Movie City Indie):

In a wrap on what others think of Mark Cuban's 2929 plan to '86 theatrical distribution windows ... the terse quote of the day comes from Sony Pictures Classics president Tom Bernard, "noting that indie product needs time to build... 'Collapsed windows are the worst thing that ever happened to specialized films. Polluting the theatrical window is doom.' "

When I was done laughing, I thought, "Jesus Christ, is this guy high?"

And then, of course, I thought, "Oh, wait."