Wow, the spirit of this site is truly dead.
PLAYSTATION.
It makes sense now.
This places the FORUM and GARAGE reviews in the program:
To help users track down movies to watch, a team of “experts” will editorialise the catalogue of titles, which will include Oscar and Palme D’Or winners, along with “exclusive online premieres”.
A MUBI “community of film loving fans” will further be fostered to pass on recommendations of new and older titles to watch.
A couple of thoughts….
The web has been harvesting communities for awhile now. The content is freely provided (created) and free to the users, but monetized by others. There is a great benefit to this model – think wikipedia.
The free content can be a portal to other content to be monetized by the content provider (creator) – this is how smart creators of content use the “free” web model.
if only I were smarter….
Everytime they say Dragon change it to MUBI
I think I would have accepted the whole name change thing easier if they had just come out and said ‘We have a big deal in the pipeline with streaming films on the PS3 and Sony want a catchier name than ’The Auteurs’’ May as well admit its for monetary purposes than make up these lame excuses about people from some countries not being able to say ‘auteurs’ or whatever.
bow down 2 SONY :O(
can playstation users comment on films with control pads :O)
@Jon: Thanks for the article. Apparently journalism isn’t dead, after all.
Well, I just argued with a bunch that felt that video games are more “cinematic” than films so there you go.
this news doesn’t bother me as i’m not even too sure what a ps3 actually is. people can access the internet on it? i thought it was just for shooting people.
dp
Well, this makes more sense now.
Wow. Great news for PS3 owners. Very cool.
High quality movies and PS3? Someone better get King Hu’s representative’s on the phone ’cause it sounds like we have a natural match! (That and I really want to see more Hu films myself…)
I guess this deal is the icing on the cake. There’s no way they’re going to go back on the name change now. Basically, the message is the users here and what they think don’t matter. Oh well. The only small consolation is that this does not sound like a viable money making operation at all. I’m sure there are millions of people out there who are dying to watch Agnes Varda films while taking a break from playing Resident Evil 5.
“I’m sure there are millions of people out there who are dying to watch Agnes Varda films while taking a break from playing Resident Evil 5.”
Maybe not, but if it gives people an introduction to world cinema with Oldboy, City of God, Run Lola Run, then its a good start. Then they can decide whether they want to get deeper into the auteurs archives or not.
Sorry, MUBI* archives
I mean MUBI PS3 is basically a different thing altogether from this site, there won’t be a sudden influx of Sony fanboys on these boards I would think. This forum is still ‘ours’, right?
Yeah, maybe they can merge The Director’s Cup with the new FIFA World Cup 2010 game. I didn’t realize that the goal of this site is to bring City of God and Run Lola Run to the masses.
No surprise. I expected this….with many companies jumping on the digital streaming bandwagon and profits showing positive for Netflix, especially for advertising with hulu, I expected the folks behind TheAuteurs…err Mubi.com to take full advantage of opportunity.
Nevertheless, for those who are reluctant to buy the physical product anymore, US has netflix for their PS3 and XBOX 360, Europeans have MUBI.
Mubi Mods – Is there an official press release for this announcement?*
I don’t like the name change name either, but too many are acting like the seagulls in Finding Nemo about this site
“I didn’t realize that the goal of this site is to bring City of God and Run Lola Run to the masses.”
Haha, yeah, but people don’t generally go from Iron Man to Satantango overnight. Maybe City Lights or Seven Samurai or The Third Man would have been better examples. Genuinely great films that can be appreciated by most people if they actually watch them.
I think Efe/MUBI management have decided to change the mission of the site from ‘Commited cinephiles discussing the art’ to ‘bring good films to the masses’, which is a worthy cause, but not what most of us actually want from ‘our’ MUBI.
Here is the official press release:
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe [SCEE] has announced a partnership with leading online film library MUBI, to bring to PlayStation®3 (PS3™) a new service that will break open the world of independent, international and classic cinema, and introduce PS3 owners to movies outside the mainstream. MUBI will be a free, downloadable application that gives PS3 owners the key to the ever-expanding film library of MUBI – an incredible online ‘cinemateque’ for movie lovers, packed to the rafters with acclaimed independent, foreign and classic films to stream on demand.
This autumn, PS3 users will have access to a treasure trove of celluloid curated by experts – so that even non-experts can enjoy what might otherwise take a lifetime to discover. MUBI will offer more than 300 films at launch from directors from Audiard to Zeferelli; and they’re all going to be available to stream directly to your PS3. You’ll get to discover movies you never dreamed about, watch your choice of films whenever you like, and talk about the ones you love with your friends.
So how will it all work? First, you download the free MUBI application from PlayStation®Store. Then, you open it up and start watching – it’s really that easy. Next, you look around in amazement. You find festival gems, classics, famous independent releases and art-house flicks. You discover the work of world-famous directors like the Coen Brothers and Tarantino alongside Latin American directors and restored shorts from the most obscure of archives. You’ll spot free-to-watch movies alongside pay-per-view movies that you can rent for a week – and you’ll be tempted by the thought of an all-you-can-watch monthly subscription. You find exclusive online premieres, Oscar-winners, Palme D’Or winners, collaborations with international film festivals, and so many other choices you might not know where to start. But MUBI offers a whole community of film loving fans so that help is always at hand
Joining SCEE President Andrew House in Cannes at the unveiling of the new service, MUBI founder Efe Çakarel said: “MUBI is the fastest growing online destination for lovers of independent, foreign and classic film – and it is amazing how many people that covers.
Our partnership with PlayStation® brings online cinema to TV screens in homes around the world giving PlayStation owners a whole new world of entertainment to explore. And discovery couldn’t be more fun – from finding out about the films behind the latest buzz at Cannes, to taking the film recommendation of MUBI members like Martin Scorsese.”
Andrew House welcomed MUBI to PlayStation adding: “PlayStation is about great entertainment, from games to content, delivered straight to the living room or enjoyed on the go. Today this ranges from VidZone, the free on demand service music service, through to PlayTV where you can watch, record and rewind live TV at your leisure. MUBI offers the perfect independent counterpoise to our box-office blockbuster, hi-def, video delivery service, catering for the tastes of an ever broader customer base. Add in PS3’s DVD and Blu-ray disc player and we have the perfect ticket for film lovers.”
This is cinema for cinema lovers – a movie service that takes you beyond the mainstream and deep into thousands of views of our world through different lenses – all streamed straight to your PS3 to turn your living room into your own private cinema. MUBI for PS3 will be launched this autumn initially in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Iberia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Nordic countries, Australia and New Zealand. Prepare to dim your lights and enjoy the main feature.
Find out more at www.eu.playstation.com/mubi
ENDS
About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PlayStation®3, PlayStation®2, PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) and PlayStation®Network software and hardware in 99 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories. Since the launch of PlayStation 3 in November 2006, over 35.7 million units have been sold globally and continue to be sold at a record level. Maintaining its position as one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history, PlayStation 2 has sold over 144.5 million systems worldwide. Since its launch at the end of 2004, over 61.5 million PSPs have been sold globally, highlighting the importance of the portable entertainment market. With the huge increase in interest and accessibility of network applications and network gaming, over 47 million accounts have registered to PlayStation Network, the free-to-access interactive environment, and over 980 million items have been downloaded.
More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.playstation.com
PlayStation, the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PS3 and PSP are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
About MUBI
MUBI is the fastest growing online destination for lovers of independent, foreign and classic film; an online cinema, anytime, anywhere. MUBI will give you the latest buzz from the Cannes Film Festival or a restored masterpiece personally chosen by Martin Scorsese (he’s a member, too!). A social network that can let you find a visual gem that will definitely not be released in the local multiplex, and allows you to find a girl in Tokyo who loves Kubrick (she actually exists, her name is Yuko and she’s into Wong Kar-Wai too…). MUBI invites you to watch, discover and discuss visionary films from all over the world. Founded in 2007 by Efe Cakarel, MUBI is backed by Celluloid Dreams, The Criterion Collection and Costa Films and is the exclusive partner of The World Cinema Foundation. MUBI is based in Palo Alto, New York, Paris, London and anywhere around the world where there’s a movie lover.
Now that their business model is clearer, it’s also more evident why they kept all of this a secret. And this is why film societies are run as a non-profit. There’s no money to be made in esoteric film. Efe doesn’t actually think he’s going to bring Apichatpong Weerasethakul or Béla Tarr to the masses. But he’s attempting to commodify an entity that can’t be easily commodified, This site has no future.
^ That’s ridiculous. Go to Garage to see the future happening right now.
I dont care for garage, just the forums.
As long as those are not too effected no reason to leave
I think we should do something at least
Den, curious about your disinterest in Garage activity?
I just like discussing films; that is all I will say on the matter(:
What’s ridiculous, Josh? Theauteurs had a future. Mubi has none.
Jon K
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a220482/mubi-indie-film-service-coming-to-ps3.html
I’m guessing this is the reason for the name change? Probably a big money maker for the site, and giving access to Koreeda, Weerasethakul etc to the PS3 crowd. Good one.