Video release of ‘Trespass’ comes too soon for Cage
Theater debut is same day as home viewing
Nicolas Cage may be happy he got to work with Nicole Kidman and reunite with director Joel Schumacher on his new thriller “Trespass.”
Yet Cage isn’t thrilled that viewers will be able to watch the movie at home the same day it opens in a handful of theaters.
The story of a family terrorized by home intruders, “Trespass” debuts today for a limited theatrical run in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and seven other major markets. It will be available at the same time for home viewing through video on demand.
The DVD and Blu-ray releases follow barely two weeks later on Nov. 1, compared with a typical window of about four months between the time most Hollywood films open in theaters and debut on home video.
It’s a business decision that will help “Trespass” distributor Millennium Entertainment, an independent outfit that does not have the big marketing bucks of a Hollywood studio, make the most of its advertising dollars.
Cage understands that, but he wishes the movie could have a separate life on the big-screen before it goes to smaller television and computer screens – or even tiny cell-phone screens.
“I like movies to be seen the way the director wanted them to be seen, which is on the big screen, with an audience, with their popcorn,” Cage said at September’s Toronto International Film Festival, where “Trespass” premiered.
“I want movies to be an event. I want people to get excited about it and go out for the night with their wife or their date, whatever it may be, and have it be an event. I don’t want it to get smaller and smaller and wind up on a cell phone.”
Smaller distributors such as Magnolia Pictures and IFC Films often release films to theaters and video on demand around the same time. Some films can be watched at home ahead of their theatrical release, such as Kirsten Dunst’s “Melancholia,” already available to rent through video services a month before it debuts in U.S. cinemas.
With Academy Award winners Cage and Kidman, along with director Schumacher (“Batman Forever,” “A Time to Kill”), “Trespass” arguably is the biggest test yet for simultaneous big-screen and home releases.
Cage stars as a diamond dealer taken hostage with his wife (Kidman) and daughter by masked thugs looking for jewels and cash.
“Trespass” will be available to rent for as little as $6.99 through such sites and services as Amazon.com, Blockbuster and DirecTV.
“In this day and age, independents are pretty much consolidating some of the windows on theatrical and home releases,” said David Sobieraj, president of strategic planning and television at Millennium Entertainment. “It maximizes the marketing dollars across the board.”