About Mark Lipsky

Uniquely qualified to address today’s increasingly chaotic independent film and digital media landscapes, Mark Lipsky’s career has spanned across the intoxicating 80s to the go-go 90s through the calamitous ‘oughts’ straight to 2010.

Mark Lipsky

Lipsky’s career took flight in a time when films made outside of the Hollywood system were consistently profound, thrilling and genuinely independent. At the legendary Cinema 5, Lipsky had a hand in the release of some of the most celebrated European and American independent titles of the day. Perhaps more importantly, he was exposed to the company’s enigmatic and inspired President, Don Rugoff, the first and last impresario of the Independent film movement. Rugoff, through his chain of unrivaled Manhattan movie houses and a steady stream of elite content, was the first to market and exhibit off-Hollywood cinema on par with commercial blockbusters.

Dan Talbot’s New Yorker Films presented the first opportunity for Lipsky to work together with his brother Jeff, whose own film career began under the tutelage of original DIY filmmaker John Cassavetes, While Cinema 5 mainly focused on works by internationally renowned directors, New Yorker introduced Americans to inspired upstarts from across the globe including Bertolucci, Fassbinder, Sembene,  Godard, Ozu, Rohmer, Wenders and Almodovar along with Americans Errol Morris, Wayne Wang, John Sayles and many others.

After a brief side trip off the reservation with Paramount Pictures, Lipsky returned to the fold when he accepted a position at a quirky and anonymous company called Miramax Films. It was here where Lipsky cemented his reputation as a passionate and innovative marketer and where his efforts were acknowledged as the primary catalyst that transitioned the company from industry oddity to industry leader.

Lipsky’s first Miramax release, an obscure Danish film entitled “Twist & Shout,” would gross more than double any previous Miramax effort. It also firmly establish the career of filmmaker Bille August whose next film would go on to win an Academy Award. Lipsky’s second release, Lizzie Borden’s “Working Girls,” would perform even better, grossing over $2 million dollars. The success of these two films made it possible for the company to raise its first capital investment and to begin acquiring films much more aggressively.

In 1989, Lipsky launched the first-ever DIY consulting company, Silverlight Entertainment. Silverlight provided distribution and marketing services to Wayne Wang on behalf of his controversial film, “Life is Cheap…But Toilet Paper is Expensive.” One of a growing number of independent titles unfairly branded with an ‘X’ rating, “Life is Cheap” became a rallying cry for Lipsky. He singlehandedly took on the MPAA in a campaign to force the creation of an ‘A’ rating to replace the ‘X’, an oppressive designation that had long ago been co-opted by the porn industry. Lipsky’s epochal ‘Open Letter to the MPAA’ attracted the support and signatures of virtually every Hollywood and independent filmmaker of note. Although the resulting ‘NC-17’ was a poor substitution, the ‘X’ was permanently expunged and Wang’s film was released under a self-imposed ‘A’ rating.

In 1991, the Weinsteins asked Lipsky to launch a new division of Miramax called Prestige where he released over a dozen titles. Among them were Jennie Livingston’s celebrated “Paris is Burning,” Barbara Koppel’s Oscar-winning “American Dream” as well as films by such internationally acclaimed directors as Claude Berri, Carlos Saura, Lars von Trier and Peter Greenaway.

Over the next several years, Lipsky served as an independent marketing and PR consultant to Miramax and others. He also enthusiastically indulged his growing fascination with the fast-emerging internet and associated new technologies. At the time, the cable TV industry was the driving force behind a new concept known as ‘broadband’ and it was there that Lipsky next set his sights.

In 1997, Lipsky was hired by Cablevision to establish a consumer marketing department for two of its networks, Bravo and The Independent Film Channel. In late 1999, Lipsky devoted himself entirely to his passion for technology when he became head of marketing and strategic relations for a Seattle-based start-up, Singingfish.com. Singingfish was developing the first multimedia search engine and within a year, Lipsky had initiated discussions with Thomson Multimedia, owner of the RCA brand. Thomson acquired Singingfish at the end of 2000 and then subsequently resold the company to AOL where it resides today.

Following the Thomson acquisition, Lipsky returned to his roots and joined his brothers Jeff and Scott at their recently formed Lot 47 Films. Prior to the company’s post-9/11 closure, Lipsky developed and launched Club 47, a cutting-edge social networking site for avid filmgoers that attracted an active user base of over 20,000 New Yorkers. In his marketing of Club 47 and the company’s film releases, Lipsky became the first movie executive to employ the New York Times and other local newspaper web sites in film-specific advertising. The entire entertainment industry eventually followed his lead.

By now a certified geek, Lipsky developed a broadband-based IPTV network in 2004 and launched its inaugural series; a live, nightly and fully interactive news program called NewzViewz. In 2006, he co-developed and launched a highly-rated free, video email application that attracted users from around the globe.

Most recently, Lipsky served as President of Gigantic Releasing, an independent film distribution company. Lipsky’s primary ambition for Gigantic, to lead the analog-to-digital transformation of independent film distribution and exhibition, was achieved in the development and February ’09 launch of Gigantic Digital. Designed to fully deliver on the promise of online consumption of first-run independent cinema, Gigantic Digital stood alone in its vision, utility and flexibility. Its geographically-targeted, ad-free platform enables first-run films to open day-and-date with bricks and mortar theatrical engagements, without competing with or cannibalizing those engagements. Gigantic Digital also delivered the best possible presentation to consumers based on the their available bandwidth and hardware.

In December 2009, Lipsky launched Insight Cinema where he advises on digital media strategies and audience development among other issues.