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Since you asked...

Posted by: KalElFan (a.k.a del_TOM_KalElFan) on Jan 14, 19:59 in response to Moviesnob's post well, I will apologize if my attitude offended. I dont...

From my perpective, when it comes to contentious discussions my golden rule is proportionate response and then I just start fresh next time. Apologies aren't really necessary and starting fresh next time is always better (again, from my perspective). but thanks for the offer.

In this case, the discussion started with Antibody's Focus World vs. Focus Features post on this specific movie with the poster. The one thing we all have in common here is the HSX game, and those who follow the game know the effect these kinds of posts (many variations of them) have. A poster will never open a movie to a $7M opening weekend, neither will some obscure trailer online, neither will some obscure web site announcing something, neither will some obscure actor casting and so on. But off to the races these stocks often go.

So I became interested in why "Focus World" would be the distributor or name on this, instead of the more well known Focus Features that's at least had many movies and a few with Decent box office. Focus World had nothing I could recognize. I checked the Focus site, and I checked Wiki, and I also checked Deadline and did this very quickly so I knew or had been reminded of a fair bit before I made the first post.

Then you responded in a post that started with "Since Focus isn't Focus anymore...". Clearly, Focus Features and Focus World within that have web sites and have been longtime property of NBCU. So it puzzled me why you'd be making what, on the face of it, was a patently false statement. But I didn't post "False" as Roto might do, and you did agree on Focus World seemingly to imply Not Box Office Material in the past. So I instead tried to politely establish with my follow-up question that Focus (both of them, Features and World) were indeed still Focus.

But then you followed up with "Only in name...". From my perspective, this was where you really started to get obtuse. Names were precisely what we were talking about! In particular Features vs. Focus. That they would never have released picture A or B was irrelevant opinion, especially when the FilmDistrict Goes to NBCU shakeup has taken place, and there was the other "exception" for Focus I cited for Antibody. And regardless, in this specific case with, they WERE, factually, using "Focus World" for this WOSHM movie.

So I followed up, again politely, with an attempt to bring it back to the "Focus" duo by first eliminating the possibility that FilmDistrict might still be used. The fact the Company (or partnership, joint venture, or whatever it was) named FilmDistrict exists or doesn't existnow is irrelevant to that question. NBCU may have bought the rights and planned to keep using it, or even just possibly thought they *might* want to keep using it and some point. The head guy they'd hired (he was part of a triumvirate who started FilmDistrict apparently, and I get that you may know some of these people) might have had an affinity for bringing rights to the name over with him. TriStar is making a comeback after many years. In this and other industries, it's routine to buy brands. It was a reasonable question, and it wasn't getting answered, and I was supecting it was probably because you just couldn't say "I don't know" or "I'm not sure" or "I don't think so because...". Hence the non-answers instead.

"But why would anyone want to buy something called FilmDistrict?" some might ask. Effectively, NBCU did! NBCU bought the folks who run it. They were taking on its 2014 movies. FilmDistrict had had a good 2013 - more than twice as good as Focus! So why not? It's a reasonable question. More to the point, why would anyone want to use "Focus World" instead? Anyone reading it might think it was a camera store chain, ask if they have 4K cameras yet and if so how much do they cost. :-) In fact I'll recommend right here, if the trademark is available, that NBCU immediately "reimagine" (ha!) Focus World as the Walmart of Camera stores and try that instead. :-)

Again, it seemed reasonable just to ASK -- so as to rule it out if nothing else -- whether there'd been a clear indication one way or another whether an oath in blood had been signed by all parties never to utter or write the word "FilmDistrict" again, or whether possibly they might use it, or whether the answer is "I don't know".

You didn't speak to that issue, again from my perspective and there had already been two rounds of it. You parsed what I said in the same way someone might if Company A had bought Brand X, and I'd asked if they planned to continue to make and sell Brand X, and you said "but they can't continue - they never owned it!" It's a nitpick that avoids the obvious meaning. You were doing worse than what Roto does sometimes.

I STILL didn't roll out the Obtuse label. Instead I politely clarified for you what I thought was obvious, saying "Yes I know. By "still releasing" I meant..."

So now we're into round 4 of your obtuseness (again from my point of view) and you escalate to "You can't release through a company or name you don't own" followed by the Marvel quip. Yes, the smiley was there, but of course ANY IDIOT would know that -- to CORRECT your point -- NBCU would have to have the rights to the name. Producers routinely release through a company or name they don't own if they have a contract with the company who does for example.

You STILL haven't provided any evidence that you know. From all the evidence including that I gave you with those links, it suggests NBCU could have or could easily have acquired the rights if they wanted to, and again I'd personally choose FilmDistrict over frickin' Focus World. In 2013, FilmDistrict distributed a couple of decent hits and they were #10 on boxofficemojo. Focus flubbed badly enough from NBCU's point of view, apparently, that they cleaned house. They'd presumably like to distribute London Has Fallen and the sequel to that other horror movie and more of those please.

Anyway, no hard feelings and a fresh start from my point of view. You seem to be reliving the nightmarish time you had with Man of Steel. :-) I'm fine with it! Obviously I think you're mischaracterizing it completely, but I routinely get people who lose arguments and in a few cases they never get over it. If they get in a group and they convince themselves they're right and keep reliving it, I call them my entourage. :-)

Y: The poster for Walk of Shame [WOSHM] has Focus World, rather than Focus Features. Trailer tomorrow. Antibody Jan 14, 12:56

nice catch, although i dont know if that means the same thing it used to mean {nm} Moviesnob Jan 14, 12:58

The other FilmDistrict holdover AWODT got Focus Features. {nm} Antibody Jan 14, 13:02

i wonder if they regret selling off OCULU now {nm} Moviesnob Jan 14, 13:07

Good poster, but Focus Features has a few mid-range box office movies and per Wiki is still NBC Universal. Focus World... (more) KalElFan Jan 14, 13:43

Since Focus isnt Focus anymore, it might be something more than that, but yes, I was referring to Focus World being digital releases {nm} Moviesnob Jan 14, 13:49

It's still Focus Features, right? NBC Universal just folded FilmDistrict and some of its execs into it. {nm} KalElFan Jan 14, 14:05

Only in name. The old Focus would never release AWODT or WOSHM. {nm} Antibody Jan 14, 14:06

and 95% of the focus employees were let go {nm} Moviesnob Jan 14, 14:09

Is NBCUniversal still releasing under the FilmDistrict label? If not, then it would seem Focus Features is more than twice as big now. {nm} KalElFan Jan 14, 14:14

Film District is gone and was never a part of NBC Uni {nm} Moviesnob Jan 14, 14:17

Yes I know. By "still releasing" I meant do they still see value in releasing under the name versus just using Focus Features. {nm} KalElFan Jan 14, 14:20