Sig-Alert: Indies Are Getting Mad.

Los Angeles seems to be the best place for the entertainment industry to vent frustration and the L.A. Screenings may be the perfect venue. The latest skirmish is between 45 of the 80 independent production and distribution companies camping out at the Century Plaza (and other hotels) and the studios. In total, these L.A. Screenings recorded 120 companies (versus 118 of last year). Many of these distributors have nearby offices but, in order not to inconvenience the buyers, they'd like to set up shop at the hotels where the bulk of the buyers are staying.

Now however, they are giving a sig-alert (Hollywood parlance for reporting a road block) to the studios.

Some 30 distributors of the 45 early-arrivals, left town in a flurry and upset about the monopolizing strength of the studios. "Because of the studios' hold on the buyers, I'm only staying three days," protested Silvia Curutchet of Argentina's Azul TV. In addition, executives from Protele, Coral Pictures and Chile's TVN checked out of their suites even before the official start of the Screenings on May 22.

Sandy Frank, president of Sandy Frank Entertainment, reported: "A client from Hong Kong told me, 'I know you have what I want, but I can't schedule a meeting. I'm already so booked I've had to cancel appointments that I had already made.'" Continued Frank: "[The indies] are in a tough position. The studios take up so much of the buyers' time that it s extremely difficult to get appointments." Since the studios have screenings over two weeks, Frank proposed that "they could set aside two days--one at the end of each week-- as "Independent's Day."

Even Memorial Day (Monday May 29), was retaken this year by Warner Bros. and Columbia. Until recently, Memorial Day was considered a "studio-free day."

According to Scott Hanock, president of Unapix International, "There are some solutions -- [such as] a special event where the independents band together. They'd be able to sponsor a full day of nothing but independent screenings. [But] because [the L.A. Screenings] are an unorganized event, it's very difficult to get a grasp on It.

Randy Naft, president of Liberty International Entertainment, claimed that "the smaller independents are falling by the wayside. According to Naft, "there's not too much [indies can do to confront the studios]. What I can do is offer the buyers reasonable rates. For the stations that can't get the prime material, we can offer quality programming that can compete in that market."

Similarly, Josh Braun, independent producer and acquisition and sales consultant for Fremantle, commented that "it's always been this way. The independents have to be aggressive -- by trying to set appointments as early as possible and selling programming to fit the buyers' needs. The buyers' attention has always been directed at the studios."

To Scott Hanock, who this year opted to screen at his office in Encino rather than rent a suite in the nearby hotels, an independent can't confront the studios at the L.A. Screenings. "What we do is creatively sell around it. We utilize the time around the studios' schedules -- as a follow up to MIP-TV."

For his part, Mel Giniger, president of Mel Giniger & Associates, doesn't "look at the majors as competition. As an independent, I fill a niche the majors are not focusing on. The majors concentrate on primetime programming; I have programming for all other dayparts."

According to Juan Pablo Carpenter of the Miami-based Television Film Distribution (who spearheaded the indie's early arrival): "The action is not against the studios, but in favor of the clients who don't mind spending one or two extra days in Los Angeles in order to meet with the independents." Next year, he added, "we'll talk to the studios and become better organized."

Porchlight's Stephanie Slack observed that the early-starters "received positive feedback from the TV stations. They appreciated our effort."

As indicated by early-screener Rafael Manrique of Sony Wonder, "We didn't get too many appointments, but those few [that we did get] were profitable."

In the view of a Warner Bros. studio executive, "the independents depend on the majors to draw the crowd and then hope some of it spills over to them."

Fox's Marion Edwards wanted to dispell any notion that the studios openly monopolized the buyers' time: "The time ends up being allocated based on how much programming they have to see. We're not trying to get clients to stay here when we're not screening."

According to Edwards, the studios have attempted to coordinate screenings schedules in the past, but ultimately it's the buyers who set up screening appointments, so this initiative has never worked out.

The fact that the independents are not being represented in any form is also an issue. Said Mel Giniger: "There isn't an association per se. The fact is that we are now trying to get a jump on the major studios [by screening early].... In that regard, there's been some sort of [independent] gathering, but no association.

This year AFMA, the international film-TV association, is drawing several of its members under its umbrella at the Century Plaza. Todd Leavitt, an independent producer who chairs the association's TV committee, reported that AFMA plans on being a fixture for future Screenings: "The concept is by aggregating all of this product in one location, there is the ability to make efficient use of the buyers' time."

Concluded Frank: "The indies are trying to shoehorn themselves in an event that's not their event."

This year, the L.A. Screenings attracted a record number of buyers, that, according to Video Age numbered 610 (versus 500 from last year).