roberts321
Active member
With this thread I will keep you posted with the self-distribution strategies for my documentary "America the Beautiful." I've figured out a way where we're actually making money in theatres. I'm going to post the last comments that I made from another thread. I will keep you posted!
Hey Chip,
How do you start a new thread? I've been reading the site for 2 years, but don't know how to do the fun stuff. I'll start a new thread. You will be amazed at how inept these studios are.
My core team were most of the editing and producing principals from "Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine and Supersize Me." After hearing tons of distribution stories from them I swore I wasn't going to let a distrib ruin my film. I would try to get one, but if it didn't look kosher, I'd bail and do it myself.
My first foree (is that how you spell it?) with a producers rep and distributor was and I quote - "There's no market for your film because you're Black. Blacks don't go to see documentaries and Whites won't go because you're Black.....Hmmmmmm!
Needless to say that my first film festival which was AFI Dallas, sold out 4 shows and 99% of the audience was white. We won Best Director in the Documentary Competition at the Chicago International Film Festival. Steve James the director of Hoop Dreams was the head of the jury and all 3 screenings were sold out. 98% attendance by Whites. This was my first hint that the Hollywood guys were clueless and it's been substantiated. My audience for the film nationwide is 95% White and we screened in Vienne, Austria 3 weeks ago and the audience was 100% White.
I was told the film had 0% foreign potential and guess what, early next year we're screening in Switzerland, Italy and Germany. I just picked up a foreign sales rep that's launching the film at Berlin this year and he thinks we're going to have massive pre-sales.
I had a MAJOR hollywood publicist tell me that the press won't interview directors anymore. They went on to tell me how recently they repped Jonathan Demme and Neil LaBute and they couldn't get any press. I said really?
Well in the 30 days following that statement, I was on The Today Show, CNN News and Good Morning America along with 75 other TV and radio interviews across the country:
See here -
Today Show:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...66129#25966129
CNN News:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/liv...ef=videosearch
Roger Ebert article:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/...OPLE/840428890
PBS Chicago – “Chicago Tonight”
http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,8,...2n/051508d.flv
ABC Los Angeles News:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/media?id=6338789
Good Morning America Now:
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5530052
Recently the Oprah Show, Ellen Degeneres, Dr. Phil and the Tyra Banks Show have called to say they've heard about the film and let's see if we can work you into the show.
Bottom line - The industry's way of thinking is very old. You have to believe in yourself and put it down. My belief and I really believe this is if you make a good movie that people want to see and if you devise a strategy to let them know about it. They will come.
I've even been offered a major deal from a publisher to write a book about the making of this movie.
Not to mention the call I got from Fox Television about possibly doing a 13 week show.
In my opinion, all of this is a product of my hybrid marketing/ distribution model. It's kind of hardcore, but it's working for me.
One of the distributors on my film used to be the president of distribution for a major studio. I can tell you point blank that if you have the moxy to make a movie, then with the right techniques, you are uniquely qualified to market and sell you movie.
Case in point. I had a friend of mine that made a movie called "All about You." Every distributor turned him down and told him his movie had no potential. I saw the movie and told him nonsense. I challenged him to put up $12,000 and release his film in Chicago. (I lived there and it would be easier for me to spend the time on it). Long story short, he released the film at the Museum of Science and Industry and left Chicago 2 weeks later with $50,000.
The moral to the story is the independent movement is up to us and I think we're ready for the challenge.
Once again, please forgive my disjointed writing. I write how I think, which probably isn't good, but it would take me a while to reformat this and make it rocking reading.
Hey Chip,
How do you start a new thread? I've been reading the site for 2 years, but don't know how to do the fun stuff. I'll start a new thread. You will be amazed at how inept these studios are.
My core team were most of the editing and producing principals from "Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine and Supersize Me." After hearing tons of distribution stories from them I swore I wasn't going to let a distrib ruin my film. I would try to get one, but if it didn't look kosher, I'd bail and do it myself.
My first foree (is that how you spell it?) with a producers rep and distributor was and I quote - "There's no market for your film because you're Black. Blacks don't go to see documentaries and Whites won't go because you're Black.....Hmmmmmm!
Needless to say that my first film festival which was AFI Dallas, sold out 4 shows and 99% of the audience was white. We won Best Director in the Documentary Competition at the Chicago International Film Festival. Steve James the director of Hoop Dreams was the head of the jury and all 3 screenings were sold out. 98% attendance by Whites. This was my first hint that the Hollywood guys were clueless and it's been substantiated. My audience for the film nationwide is 95% White and we screened in Vienne, Austria 3 weeks ago and the audience was 100% White.
I was told the film had 0% foreign potential and guess what, early next year we're screening in Switzerland, Italy and Germany. I just picked up a foreign sales rep that's launching the film at Berlin this year and he thinks we're going to have massive pre-sales.
I had a MAJOR hollywood publicist tell me that the press won't interview directors anymore. They went on to tell me how recently they repped Jonathan Demme and Neil LaBute and they couldn't get any press. I said really?
Well in the 30 days following that statement, I was on The Today Show, CNN News and Good Morning America along with 75 other TV and radio interviews across the country:
See here -
Today Show:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...66129#25966129
CNN News:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/liv...ef=videosearch
Roger Ebert article:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/...OPLE/840428890
PBS Chicago – “Chicago Tonight”
http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,8,...2n/051508d.flv
ABC Los Angeles News:
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/media?id=6338789
Good Morning America Now:
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5530052
Recently the Oprah Show, Ellen Degeneres, Dr. Phil and the Tyra Banks Show have called to say they've heard about the film and let's see if we can work you into the show.
Bottom line - The industry's way of thinking is very old. You have to believe in yourself and put it down. My belief and I really believe this is if you make a good movie that people want to see and if you devise a strategy to let them know about it. They will come.
I've even been offered a major deal from a publisher to write a book about the making of this movie.
Not to mention the call I got from Fox Television about possibly doing a 13 week show.
In my opinion, all of this is a product of my hybrid marketing/ distribution model. It's kind of hardcore, but it's working for me.
One of the distributors on my film used to be the president of distribution for a major studio. I can tell you point blank that if you have the moxy to make a movie, then with the right techniques, you are uniquely qualified to market and sell you movie.
Case in point. I had a friend of mine that made a movie called "All about You." Every distributor turned him down and told him his movie had no potential. I saw the movie and told him nonsense. I challenged him to put up $12,000 and release his film in Chicago. (I lived there and it would be easier for me to spend the time on it). Long story short, he released the film at the Museum of Science and Industry and left Chicago 2 weeks later with $50,000.
The moral to the story is the independent movement is up to us and I think we're ready for the challenge.
Once again, please forgive my disjointed writing. I write how I think, which probably isn't good, but it would take me a while to reformat this and make it rocking reading.
