But in an era when the dominance of studio marketing had threatened to marginalize quality films, Netflix has become a key element in the democratization of the medium. "It's like MySpace without the dirty words," says ThinkFilm's theatrical chief Mark Urman. "Before they were around, my company could get great reviews for a film, but it couldn't open on 3,000 screens or be on the shelf at every Blockbuster. With Netflix, not only is our movie completely available, but the consumer gets this wonderful curatorial assistance. They're told — 'If you like that, you're really going to like this.' That builds the best kind of word of mouth, from people you trust."
