COMING OUT ON DVD GAY, LESBIAN FILMS THRIVING.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Don Roos' latest film, ``Happy Endings,'' hits selected theaters today after a sold-out screening this week at Outfest 2005, the annual Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

But the ending for all but a few of the other 72 gay and lesbian-themed feature films screened at Outfest won't be as happy. Once the 12-day festival closes Monday, most of the films will never see the inside of another movie theater.

``We're sort of at the bottom of the food chain,'' said Roos. ``Before you find out (the movies) exist, they are gone. All of us depend on DVDs for a long life.''

A growing group of DVD distributors and retailers are helping to make gay and lesbian titles flourish on home video with such past Outfest favorites as ``Latter Days,'' ``Touch of Pink'' and ``9 Dead Gay Guys'' all being big sellers.

``We're still in an era where distributors are figuring out how to reach crossover audiences with theatrical distribution,'' said Outfest Executive Director Steven Gutwillig. ``It is home video and cable that have become the profit centers in queer film distribution.''

One of the most popular films at last year's Outfest, ``Eating Out,'' is debuting on DVD July 26 after earning solid film festival credentials and having a modestly successful theatrical run in 25 cities.

``It will be the biggest title in the history of my company, with pre- sales in the tens of thousands,'' said Michael J. Shoel, president of Ariztical Entertainment Group, which produced and is releasing ``Eating Out.''

The current DVD boom for gay and lesbian titles can be directly credited to the Internet, where major online retailer Amazon.com now offers a plethora of easily accessible content, as does online rental service Netflix.

Additionally, such niche companies as tlavideo.com, Strand Releasing, Picture This! Home Video, and Wolfe DVD & Video are selling a large stock of new and older titles. The ability to order any of these movies online and have them shipped to your home in two to three days has made all the difference.

``There are certainly a lot more options for us than there were in the past,'' said Jon Gerrans, co-president of Los Angeles-based Strand Releasing. ``The awareness for the gay and lesbian audience is at a level that it has never been before and that is something we are benefiting from.''

Strand has more than 100 gay and lesbian titles available, with their two most recent top sellers being ``Yossi & Jagger'' and ``Testosterone,'' which both played at last year's Outfest. Each film went on to play in more than 50 cities across the U.S.

Last week, Strand's sexy French comedy ``Cote D'Azur'' opened Outfest and hits theaters in September. But Gerrans and others acknowledge that independently released titles like these have far fewer options since each major studio has its own art-house theatrical division that competes for screens.

``People in the industry have a tendency tend to think we have a lot of control over whether a film goes out theatrically,'' said Kirkland Tibbels, president of Funny Boy Films. ``The truth is, the theater owners have everything to say about that. The theater owners have to accept the film.''

With Funny Boy's ``Latter Days,'' Tibbels enjoyed such great success in getting theatrical bookings that the Outfest favorite from two years ago grossed nearly $1 million at the box office and has been a top-selling DVD. On Thursday, it ranked third on Amazon.com's list of best-selling gay and lesbian titles behind ``Will & Grace: Season Four'' and ``The L Word: Season 2.''

The film was one of the first productions of Funny Boy Films, which also produced ``Adam & Steve,'' a centerpiece film of this year's festival that screened Wednesday night.

``Winning 14 (film festival) audience awards going into theatrical helped a lot,'' Tibbels said. ``Most films have a tough time getting their money out of the theatrical. A lot of times you end up taking a loss from your theatrical release into your DVD and other ancillary markets so that really (theatrical) is your marketing loss leader.''

But even a brief theatrical run can give a movie the kind of exposure and word-of-mouth that can lead to major DVD success.

``It increases people's respect for the film a lot more if you play it theatrically,'' Shoal said. ``Overall, it seems to bring a lot more credibility to the film and retailers take more note when it's a theatrical release.''

In recent years, more and more major brick-and-mortar retailers are adding gay and lesbian content to their shelves including Blockbuster, the nation's largest video rental chain, as well as Best Buy, Tower Records and Video, and Virgin Megastores.

``It has in the past been an uphill battle but over the years, the audience has been proven,'' Shoal said. ``In different states and territories and stores there are various different levels of being comfortable and uncomfortable with gay and lesbian product, but the real question is, 'Am I going to make money?'''

A turning point for reluctant retailers in recent years came when the Showtime series ``Queer as Folk'' was released as a boxed set and sales went through the roof. That helped to change the perception of gay content, according to various executives.

``People assumed it was porn 10 years ago,'' Shoal said. ``Now they understand it can be a gay film and not a porno film. People are more educated and more aware.''

Here! Films, the company behind the recent theatrical releases ``Sex, Politics and Cocktails,'' ``Callas Forever'' and ``Beautiful Boxer,'' has not been as dependent on theatrical exposure because it can also debut films on its own pay cable channel available in 45 million homes across the U.S.

``It's a movie theater with 45 million seats and we collect the money at that moment,'' said CEO and co-founder Paul Colichman. ``We spend more money marketing a typical here! release than the independents spend marketing a gay movie theatrically. And people who like it on the network are more likely to buy it on DVD.''

Among the gay classics here! has released through various distribution companies (``We go to the highest bidder,'' Colichman said) are ``Gods and Monsters'' and ``Sordid Lives.''

``Sordid,'' which has an all-star cast that includes Delta Burke, Bonnie Bedelia, Olivia Newton-John, Beau Bridges and Leslie Jordan, is a cult classic with a fervently loyal following.

``A lot of times these gay films, we want to discover them,'' Jordan said. ``There's a wonderful word-of-mouth sort of thing that happens within the gay community like with 'Sordid Lives.' I think it's a shame that it didn't do better theatrically. We didn't get our kudos until it went to video really and then it started jumping off of the shelves.''

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Joseph Gordon-Levitt, left, and Steve Sandross star in ``Latter Days,'' a 2003 release that on Thursday ranked third on Amazon.com's list of best-selling gay and lesbian titles.

Funny Boy Films

(2 -- 4 -- color) no caption (DVD covers)