Jaman Gets Paramount Content
Is Jaman selling out by signing with Paramount? That’s the first question that came to mind as I read the release announcing their new deal. Jaman, which is known for being an online home to the indie and art house set, will now carry typical Hollywood fare like Cloverfield, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Mean Girls.
During a phone interview, Jaman founder and CEO Guarav Dhillon defended the company’s expansion into new territory. “We’re bringing on bigger films,” said Dhillon, “the combination and cross-pollination works both ways.” Dhillon cited Cloverfield and The Host as good examples. A fan of Cloverfield would probably like the similar monster mash of The Host and vice versa.
The site is certainly getting quality films as part of the deal (Sweeney Todd and There Will Be Blood), but hooking up with big Hollywood makes Jaman a little less… special. It becomes just another of the many sites to rent movies online (Amazon, iTunes, CinemaNow, etc.)
Following AtomFilms’ departure from independent shorts to comedy, it makes me wonder if there’s truly a business in independent film online. Jaman was tight-lipped about unique or registered users and would only speak in high-level generalities about how people spend time on the site (streaming is more popular than download, currently).
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[...] Jaman managed to keep making news even as it laid off and lost staff, bringing it down to five employees today from what used to be more than 30, according to sources. Since the first round of layoffs in October, Jaman signed content from indie distributor E1 and 60Frames, got distribution on TiVo, and opened an office in the UK (which has apparently since closed). Earlier in 2008, the company had seemed to swivel from its original indie focus by signing Paramount content. [...]
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