This is a question posed by the LA Times in a recent article.

‘Unthinkable‘ is ranking in the top 5 hottest films on IMDB and on its message boards, has a lively and intellectual discussion on the subject matter of the film. You would think that the producer, Cotty Chubb, would be delighted at the attention, however, this film did not get a general release and the DVD only became available in the US today.

All the people discussing this film on the forums have watched it for free, by downloading from illegal torrent websites. So how did a film that has so much public interest end up as a ‘straight to dvd’ film?

Back in 2006, an agent gave Chubb the original script. Fascinated by the script’s compelling storyline, Chubb got the movie set up at Sidney Kimmel’s production company, where it attracted a director, Tarsem Singh, and a star, Forest Whitaker. But Kimmel ended up getting out of the business, and by the time Chubb had a new draft of the script, Singh and Whitaker had moved on.

Chubb finally secured financing from Senator Films, which believed the film could attract strong interest overseas, especially when Jackson agreed to play the leading role, supported by Michael Sheen and Carrie Anne Moss. The film ended up being directed by Gregor Jordan. Jordan shot the picture in fall 2008 with a budget of roughly $11 million. But Senator collapsed before the film could be released. With the foreign rights already sold and Sony already on board to release the film on home video, Chubb was unable to attract a domestic distributor who’d put up the kind of marketing money needed to support a theatrical release.

But either because of the subject matter or the money needed to mount a campaign, Chubb couldn’t find a distributor, so he resigned himself to a direct-to-video release. But even that release is now under a cloud after the film found its way onto the ‘Net. Chubb says he has no idea how the film leaked out. “There are no fingerprints on it. It certainly didn’t come from the editing room, since we’d already been shut down. So your guess is as good as mine.”

Meanwhile, Chubb has engaged the people who’ve been buzzing about the movie by steering the discussion to a vital economic issue, or at least a vital one for anyone who thinks there has to be a new economic model for film releases. Here’s a condensed version of what he wrote on the IMDB message board:

“I’ve heard a lot of reasons why streaming or downloading movies is a good idea, why everyone concerned should be happy with the attention (and in fact I am grateful for it), and how it’s the new real world, but I haven’t heard how the folks that paid for the picture are supposed to make their money back. So here’s one question, expressed a couple of different ways: Is there a fair price, fair in YOUR eyes, that you would pay for a download? ‘Hey, take a chance, it’s only a buck?’ ‘People tell me it’s great, I’ll drop two bucks?’ ‘Here’s three bucks, I can afford it and it’s only fair?’ What number seems right to you? ‘Or is it zero, screw it I don’t care?’ “

While all this excited discussion proves one thing – that the film is one people would have gone to the cinema to see – it has highlighted the fact that movie companies need to change the old fashioned model of a theatrical release, and then a home release months later.

If, like me, you have not seen the movie and would like to – as mentioned earlier – it is out on DVD in the US today and on 27th September in the UK.  Please visit the Project’s page for all product links.

You may be interested in these related posts:

1. Screencaps for Unthinkable up in the Gallery
2. Unthinkable – US dvd release date plus UK release date change
3. Theatrical trailer for “Unthinkable” now up in Video Gallery
4. Unthinkable picture added to the Gallery
5. Unthinkable – Straight to DVD