February 13, 2003

Dear Harvey,

I'm writing to inquire as to why your company handles Asian films in the way that it does. Perhaps there are sound business reasons for your tactics, but as a member of the core audience for these movies, I'd just like to point out that you seem to have alienated many fans to the point of fanatical hatred.

But first off, let me just say that I'm sorry I didn't approach you about this matter at that wedding on Martha's Vineyard that we both attended some time back. Though this approach may only have resulted in my quick and untimely end, I truly regret not inquiring about it at that point. But you seemed to be having such a good time that I really didn't want to interrupt your hobnobbing with a whole bunch of boring shoptalk. However, I think the time has now come for us to discuss exactly what is going on with your company when it comes to the manner in which you treat films from the East.

Now I'm no starry-eyed dreamer when it comes to the realities of the film business; I fully acknowledge the commercial dimension that accompanies the creation of most movie art. So unlike many other Asian film fans that want instantly to call for your head on a stick, I'm willing to give you some benefit of the doubt when it comes to the need for you to generate a profit on your investments. Though my taste undoubtedly runs far away from the mainstream, I'm not unsympathetic to the idea that your job requires you to keep an eye cocked towards the bottom line in every choice that you make. I can't confess that this total enslavement towards commerce doesn't sometimes disappoint me, but I'm at least willing to concede that there are in fact many commercial pipers to need to be paid here. That's just life in the real world, and I know that profit generation is a necessary part of your job.

At the same time, though, I'm unsure if some of the strategies that you're pursuing are really doing much but alienating the core audience that you already have for these movies domestically. Though we all know that Internet petitions are pretty much worth the paper they aren't printed on, the fact that over 10,000 people have bothered to put their names to the Appeal to Disney For Respectful Treatment of Asian Films should at least give some pause. This petition is an evocation of how strongly this vibrant and dedicated set of fans feels about the way in which your company tends to slice films up to somehow make them more palatable to Western audiences. There are objections to the dubbing, to the elimination of scenes of Buddhist significance, to the endless delays and the seeming ignoring of a fandom that could instead actually be an incredible asset for you. Today, many of the people who raise these issues spend their free time penning screeds decrying the perceived abuse of their favorite films or pay good money to get their hands on imported versions that haven't suffered from your oversight. Wouldn't it be better to harness the benefits of this dedicated audience rather than irk them so badly that they turn their back on your product? I'm not sure that you realize the amazing amount of free publicity and goodwill that's available to you out here if you would simply listen to some of the concerns voiced among this group.

Maybe better business acumen than I have dictates choosing to ignore the vocal concerns of this large group of people who love Asian films as they are brought to audiences overseas. For the life of me I can't imagine what great marketing advantages lie in making the people who most desire to see these films so pissed off that they see red and look to spend their money elsewhere, but since I'm just a lowly museum worker perhaps I don't fully grasp the finer points of the marketplace. Possibly there is good bottom line justification for buying up the rights to movies such as Tears of a Black Tiger, Zu Warriors, Shaolin Soccer and Hero and then jacking around endlessly with the release dates as the people who want to see these works foam at the mouth. But speaking as a single data point, you'll probably never see a cent from this patron with regards to any of the above films - the first two I've already given up on you ever releasing, the third has been butchered to the point that I'd never buy a ticket and the last you've decided to put off so far in the future that I simply can't wait for you to get it to market.

So I'd like to ask this question: how exactly does this strategy benefit the films in question? Do you really imagine that by chopping up a Hong Kong soccer comedy and endlessly pushing back its release to theaters that it will somehow suddenly become the rage of middle America? Why push the release of the first real internationally targeted Chinese blockbuster (aka Hero) so far into the future that many will do an end around and pick up the film in other formats prior to its debut in the proper medium? Do the films taking up space in your voluminous vaults actually have much value when there are fans out here in North America who would gladly pay you the coin of the realm to see them in all their original glory? Are the rights actually worth so much that they will eventually allow you to turn a profit even if you leave some of these excellent films far away from North American eyes for years on end?

I've read the articles where you claim that you're driven by your love of films, that you were ahead of your time because you wanted to bring Asian films here a decade before Crouching Tiger broke through as a hit. But you know, Harv, I really must doubt your veracity on this matter. Now if you were to admit flat out that all you cared about was making cash off these movies, then I could at least appreciate your honesty. But when you want to try to pass yourself off as a great supporter and discoverer of films from the Orient, and act as if you're some great benefactor that both the people who made these movies and those who love to watch them should be thankful for, then I'm a lot less sanguine about the quality of your words. People who love films don't have them cut to pieces before allowing people to see them; people who love films don't let them rot away in darkened, refrigerated rooms for brutally long periods of time.

But I don't really want to close this letter on a negative note; the fact is that I do think your company often brings quality films to domestic audiences and likely does more good than harm on the art house circuit. But in the arena of the Asian film, I believe that for the most part you're mishandling the movies for which you've acquired the rights. Now there are some indications that this issue may be changing somewhat, as the recent announcements about the Miyazaki films finally being brought stateside are extremely encouraging. Perhaps this indicates that you've begun at least to listen some to the vocal community of people who love this stuff, and you're hoping to bring some of them over to your side. As these people represent an asset that I believe you have utterly squandered to this point, I can only encourage you to continue cultivating these fans instead of alienating them. Because you see, Harvey, if these people are with you they'll knock themselves out trying to get people to the theater when you quickly debut the newest uncut Asian masterpiece. They'll drag their friends along, they'll skip importing the DVD since they can see the celluloid, they'll spend their time writing up gushy paeans to the films to post on the web. If you get them to champion your films, rather than spending their hours in bitter excoriation of your methods they'll instead crank up a free publicity machine for you. In short, my friend, all these people are looking for is a Hero. If you can just give us that much, there's no telling what we might do together.

Yours truly,

--Chris Hyde

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