David Poland has made some strong points about the Redbox "Revolution" going on. I agree in particular with the idea that this whole controversy has been promoted by and for the benefit of Redbox itself. This issue is not as simple as "rentals for a buck," because Redbox also resells their used discs from the same machines. If Redbox had their way, they would eliminate retail outlets and mail-order rentals from the equation entirely and act as the single provider of discs to the masses. They're demanding price-fixing and disguising it as consumer demand. They're disguising a Putsch they started as a grassroots movement.
The thing I'm sure no one goose-stepping with the Redbox fascists cares about is the fate of movies that aren't the Eloi* Top Ten Pick in terms of home video distribution. Prices will go up on documentaries, indies, and arthouse movies, and consumers will be more and more resistant to VOD pricing. They can go down to McDonald's and grab a 60-piece McHolesterol and White Chicks 2 for a total of five bucks! What a deal!
Whereas I had no hesitation in paying $9.99 to watch Bobcat Goldthwait's wonderful World's Greatest Dad (review forthcoming) in HD on my TV, I know people will resist that in a Redbox-dominated world. Indies will not be able to compete in a world that prices non-megaplex movies out of the market entirely.
In my mind, ten bucks costs less than paying for two tickets at the cinema when (or if) a local theater gets the movie I'm after. To Redbox Brownshirts, $10 is an outrage when they can rent The Pink Panther 2 down at the grocery store for $1. Even $5.99 or $2.99 will seem miserly for something "weird" and "arty" like The Cove or Ong Bak 2.
If Redbox wants to rent everything for a buck, then I want them to diversify selection first. Buy up a few million copies of some indies and docs. If you want to really change the industry, there's a great opportunity. Any time I've walked by one of their "boxes" it's filled with shit I don't really care about, like 12 Rounds, with faint sprinklings of things like Coraline that I do like.
It's also my understanding that the guys who founded the company are righties. If they do take over most of the rental continent, don't expect to find movies they might find "objectionable" like Michael Moore movies or documentaries with any kind of ideological bent. I should clarify that I'd have the same issue with this if they were lefties. Limited space equals limited choices and thereby the Redbox platform puts what I can see and how in the hands of some rich guy.
I'm all for lowering prices on home video sales and rentals (Blu-ray particularly), but this is nothing more than a manipulative attempt by one company to corner an entire industry. For once, I'm siding with the multinational corporations (for the moment).
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* I'm using my editor's shorthand for the knuckle-dragging masses with no taste out of convenience, not in an endorsement of everything he writes using that term.