A few days ago I blogged about how Chateau Montelena's sale represented a bet by the Barrett family that "Bottle Shock" -- a film about the winery's historic win in the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting -- was not going to be a big hit.
Yesterday, I learned something from a New York Times story that the buyer and seller must already have known: despite positive audience reactions at the Sundance Film Festival, the movie failed to find a U.S. distributor, and is being self-distributed in just 12 cities by the director.
While it may be theoretically possible for a self-distributed film to be a hit, it seems about as likely as turning water into wine. None of the other self-distributed films cited in the Times story were hits. "Wicked Lake," a horror film, is a typical example. The film made its West Coast Premiere in San Francisco in June. It played exactly two showings -- not two nights, just two showings -- at the decrepit Roxie Cinema. The film has a myspace page that hasn't been updated in a while. Apparently there are no upcoming showings. And this is one of only 5 other self-distributed films cited in the story.
I'll reiterate my previous argument that the buyer and seller of Chateau Montelena had to take into account the imminent release of a Hollywood film that makes the winery look heroic. When you consider the likelihood that the film's audience won't be much greater than the readership of this blog, it makes the Barretts look pretty darn smart for selling now. If the new French owners of the winery want to capitalize on the film, they probably need to get into the movie theater business.
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2 comments:
We saw "Bottle Shock" this evening at a Landmark Theatre in San Francisco. It appears that it has run for more than two showings...in a well known theater. It was very entertaining.
Just watched Bottle Shock and it was great- what a great story and it was true!! It just goes to show that miracles and dreams still come to be in the USA where we have lost a lot of hope in the last years. It is an amazing story and it is real! Perhaps one must love wine to appreciate the amazing story of a US wine going to the top. This gives hope to all our pursuits if an American wine can top a french venue. I cheer Chateau Monelena!!!!!!!
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