Originally Posted by cbearnm

I really admire the thoughts of the original poster, but the best advice I have heard is from Bruce Williams. Don't even think about getting into a business as an owner unless you have worked in the industry.

Your motivation to bring smaller releases is something that I would love to see succeed, but the problems mentioned above are only the tip of the iceberg. I realize the advice above sounds negative, but it is generally valid. You can't begin to understand how complex other jobs are until you have to depend on it for a living.

After all, how much does it cost to make a pizza, especially when you are using the economies of scale. And then you sell it for $12-$20. That's all pure profit, right?

When a caller asks Bruce (on his radio show) about starting a company that (insert idea here), the first question he asks is, "How much experience do you have in the field ?". If the reply is "None", he tells them to take a job for at least 6-12 months to learn what is involved, even at an entry level. The usual reply here is "But I can't afford to do that". "Well then, what makes you think you can afford to carry the whole thing?"

Even getting Small Business loans requires a major investment from the principal participants to secure. They will ask the exact same questions pertaining to your liquidity and qualifications. If you aren't willing to invest in yourself, why would anyone else?

Again, I think the OP's idea is great. There are so many films that will never see the light of day on DVD. This is a loss of part of our culture. It's possible that electronic distribution will bring some of these out, but many will still only be memories.

It will take the work of a Ted Turner (who will probably colorize them ) or a Steven Spielberg to be a little charitable to get this working. Bet even then, it will have to be at least a break even proposition to get going. This may be the best place to spend energy (as an individual) as compared to trying to start up in an already over-crowded field.

Maybe even a company like Criterion would be interested in a value line of films. They would name it something other than Criterion and not do the wonderful job of remastering that we are used to, but it would be better than what we see from public domain releases.

Again, I don't want to be a Negative Nancy, but it really is an uphill battle. Getting in contact with people already in the industry and getting even one person excited is probably the best route. I love the concept and wish you well if you choose to pursue it.

Originally Posted by Norm de Plume

Those are very valid points, and I don't think I have the business sense, ruthlessness, or psychological stamina to stick with it at the present. I thought the idea would be something with which I could experiment a little, sort of as a hobby at first, but it's obviously much more involved from a planning, financial, and legal standpoint.

Thanks to all for your input and advice.

Originally Posted by Carcosa

Geeez....do you guys think all these people like ELITE, or SYNAPSE, or RETROMEDIA or ANY of them started with MILLIONS? You gotta be kidding me.

All these post here have told you is WHY its NOT possible. Its crap, quite frankly. If its your dream to do it, give it your best shot. Start small, start with ONE thing and see where it goes. If it doesn't pan out, try path B. The mechanics of getting a disc pressed and packaged is not much. Rights negotiations don't have to involve money up front. People are not neccesarily lining up to purchase the rights to release alot of this stuff. In the digital age, lots can be done independent of expensive, professional video production services.

Take a look at what the guys at HPLHS have managed to do with a little film they MADE called CALL OF CTHUHLU. Or the guys at LURKER FILMS with their slate of discs. They started SMALL, trust me. And they did it and succeeded and they started where you are now....