It’s the very near future, and you’ve read about a new gay movie on AfterElton.com that you really want to see. The opening weekend has finally arrived, but how to watch it? You could go to the movie theater, at least if you live in a major media market. Or if you prefer, you could also watch it on your home entertainment center, on a cable television network or on a DVD rented from Blockbuster or Netflix. Or why not stream it on your computer or download it directly onto your iPod?

This is in sharp contrast to the way movies have been released up until now, which usually starts with a theatrical release in as many theaters as possible, followed by a DVD release two to six months after that and a paid cable television premiere, then a commercial television premiere months or years later.

“We’re very close [to that future],” says Paul Colichman, CEO of here! Networks and president of Regent Releasing, the largest distributor of independent gay cinema; they’re currently releasing the well-received gay film Shelter (2007) on a bold, near-simultaneous release schedule, in theaters (starting last month), on the here! Television network (premiering on April 18) and on DVD (on May 27, 2008). The film will also be available for download from the here! website.

When will the future of a simultaneous release schedule actually arrive? “You’ll probably see us there in six months,” he says.

John Waters, Paul Colichman

In short, as a result of massive changes in technology and consumer expectation, we’re in the midst of a revolution that will radically transform the way we see all movies, but especially gay ones.

A Glut of Crappy Gay Movies

There are two kinds of gay movies: those produced within the Hollywood studio system of six major film studios, and those produced independently of that system. Studio films have massively higher production costs, with an average budget that is currently more than $60 million. The very, very few gay films that are produced within the studio system, movies like In & Out (1997) and The Birdcage (1996), must be made to appeal to a mass audience, and are generally broader in tone and more modest in sexuality.

“There are gay characters in major films,” says Greg Hernandez, author of Out in Hollywood and a longtime entertainment industry reporter. “But they’re supporting characters. A gay-themed story, where it’s the centerpiece of the movie, that’s the toughest sell.”

Independent movies, meanwhile, have much lower budgets, generally anywhere from a few hundred thousand dollars to a few million. The introduction of high definition video technology in the early 1990s dramatically lowered movie production costs and, as a result, was supposed to usher in a bold new era of gay cinema — films that were explicitly and openly gay, and spoke directly to gay viewers.

The break-out success of Brokeback Mountain (2005) was the culmination of all that optimism. The 2005 “gay cowboy” movie, made for $14 million by Focus Features, grossed $175 million worldwide. The conventional wisdom was that it was going to change gay cinema dramatically, both inside and outside the studio system.

Next page! Why didn't Brokeback Mountain change anything? (Hint: it's not just homophobia!)