June 28, 1999

[The following is an excerpt from The Industry Standard, written by Mark London Williams. It is copyright © 1999 The Industry Standard and is available for reading online.]

Here's how Reel.com COO Dave Rochlin explains his Emeryville, Calif.-based company's recent decision to partner with indieWIRE: "The way we'll succeed against Amazon.com is to be more movielike than they are." The partnership will help Reel expand its "Off Hollywood" section, as well as its coverage of film festivals and nonstudio movies.

Established as an online Daily Variety for indie auteurs, indieWIRE's end of the Reel partnership brings more visitors from such insider film industry gatherings as Toronto; Cannes, France; and Telluride, Colo. Reel also supplies an ostensibly mainstream outlet for reviews and news.

But this isn't simply a push to wrap content around the sales of lesser-known video and DVD titles. "Part of our long-term charter," Rochlin asserts, "is to get to be the primary interface for video-on-demand."

That particular grail – an alternate means of distribution – has long been dear to the hearts of indie filmmakers everywhere. The partnership with indieWIRE puts Reel.com in position to create numerous relationships in the world of low-overhead moviemaking, as it readies itself for the film world's version of MP3.