Corrado Part II

Yes, but, now that the movie is being considered by buyers, criticism in this forum becomes useless for Adam. If the movie makes back its budget, that's the first step. For most of us, and I can speak for most of us -- LOL -- just getting back the investment means success.

If Corrado, however, goes out theatrical and does some impressive numbers, all criticism goes out the window -- as far as the filmmaker is concerned. Ok, let's say that it becomes moot.
 
[Another long post...my apologies in advance...]

If you want to read a story of where this entire trajectory can go, in a case similar in many ways to "Corrado", but with a shockingly dismal outcome, read the DVXuser thread(s) on "Sarah Landon And The Paranormal Hour" from last year. The film was made on HVXs and M2/Nikons and production-blogged here very much like Corrado has been (although not as extensively). It obtained a wide theatrical release by a reputable releasing company, opening in over 1100 theaters in the US! Woohoo!!! Right?

No...

It received near-unanimous critical pans (0% on the rottentomatoes.com "tomatometer") was gone from over half the theaters a week later, and all of them in two weeks, probably having lost a fortune, one would surmise almost entirely on P&A.

I saw the film in a large theatre here in NYC, being curious as it was the first major all-HVX film ever released. I was one of only two people there, and the other guy left halfway through. I stayed for the duration. As the critics had warned, it was indeed pretty much a train wreck, as I reluctantly wrote in my own review here at the time, trying to say so as gently as I could, but nonetheless drawing the (quite understandable) ire of one of the principals involved (one of the camera crew as I recall). The bottom line for me could perhaps be best summed up as the film simply 'not being ready for prime time'. If it had been entered in festivals rather than released, and received its critical due there (if accepted in the first place, which I believe it might not have been in many cases), a great deal could have been learned by the filmmakers, and the embarrassment of being on many critics' "worst film of the year" lists could have been spared.

In fairness to Adam, "Sarah Landon" had many, many built-in problems that "Corrado" does not:

-No "name" actors
-Very weak acting otherwise (much of the cast were family members and/or had zero acting experience)
-A weak script/story
-Bad lighting
-Horrible technical issues, particularly with the M2: inch deep DOF/focus problems, noise, horrendous edge-softness problems, etc.

Even though Corrado is yet to be seen by the public, I think it's a safe bet that almost none of the above will apply, and certainly not in anything like the magnitude in "Landon".

Yet where the "criticism from friends" issue is concerned, plenty of us here heaped praise on "Landon" as the blog went on, just as we have for many other of our fellow DVXusers' films. How it got past the distributors' better judgement and into 1100+ theaters however, remains something of a mystery. But it's at the very least a cautionary tale about "reviews" here from rooters and friends. I'm sure lots and lots of well-intentioned raves were heaped on it by people simply unwilling to be honestly critical.

I want to add again that I don't expect this outcome for "Corrado", or for that matter "A Lonely Place For Dying", "No Greater Love", "Heart Of Now", "Drawing With Chalk", "Deuce Of Spades" and any others I'm sure I'm forgetting.

But it could happen...

And it's made much more likely if criticisms are filtered out to include only 'positive' remarks for the filmmakers' consumption. The public and press, as "Landon" proved so disastrously, won't give a rat's ass who made the film, what camera it was made on, or what the filmmakers friends think of it. Unless....they *like* it. A *lot*. Then many of them will actually care about *all* of those things. Like with "Blair Witch Project" for example.

But first they will insist on being well entertained for their ten bucks and two hours of their precious spare time. You can absolutely, positively, bet the farm on that.

Down off the soapbox again, which I fear I may be wearing out...
 
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In fairness to Adam, "Sarah Landon" had many, many built-in problems that "Corrado" does not:

-No "name" actors
-Very weak acting otherwise (much of the cast were family members and/or had zero acting experience)
-A weak script/story
-Bad lighting
-Horrible technical issues, particularly with the M2: inch deep DOF/focus problems, noise, horrendous edge-softness problems, etc.
Click to expand...

So, in your opinion, Ted, what happened? Was the marketing poor? Did they release the movie in the wrong theaters, time of year?

Was it digitally screened or were they film prints?

Was there a market test for the movie? Sneak preview?

Did the movie maker insist or personally finance the theatrical release out of pride?
 
Ted Spencer said:
Down off the soapbox again, which I fear I may be wearing out...
Click to expand...

No, by all means stay up there. You raise good points.

I don't know if the Sarah Landon thing was before my time or not, I don't remember reading that thread. What a horrible outcome!

I do recall the film, however even if I did not see it.

Besides all the things you mentioned, I'll tell you how Corrado is different than that:

Corrado was designed as a "b" movie. It is a direct to DVD product. It was never designed to be a blair witch or some anomalous money making machine. It was designed as a film that would recoup it's budget and make a profit. I do not share the same goals as other filmmakers in that regard. Call it pragmatism or whatever. I've never had illusions as to the fact that Corrado would garner critical acclaim or an oscar....

What has changed however, is that Corrado has pretty much exceeded it's expectations. Distributors have commented on the fact that it shows distinctively better acting, lighting, dialog, and cinematography than movies of this type.

We're looking at a small theatrical release (nothing like Sarah Landon, more like one print making a road show through several cities) and that is a little frightening because even though Corrado is much better than films in it's target arena, it was never supposed to be in a theater, so I'm not sure how people will react to it.

This is why we're trying to keep the p&a very low so that we can basically say it was in a theater and then use that to generate more money on the DVD sale.

I don't know for sure if that's the way we will go, but it's one of the scenarios.

One thing I've noticed with film is to not try and overreach your target audience.

You can't harbor illusions about trying to win an Oscar with Die Hard. It may sound ridiculous but I have seen films that try to inject profundity or tear jerking where it clearly doesn't belong, and it winds up being dumb. If you're going to do a good shoot em up then just leave it at that. People will appreciate it more!
 
An addendum to my "On Criticism" post from a couple of days ago, if I may be forgiven for even more verbiage on the subject:

While I stand by my position that "only honest criticism will serve your art" (all caps off this time), I should have added how vital it is to couch the "honesty" in at least *some* positivity, which I hasten to add, must also be honest.

In my work in music recording, perhaps the most FAQ I get from my clients is "what do you think?" (of their music/performance). This is, as you can imagine, a tricky question for a "give 'em the truth" evangelist like me. But the solution is actually pretty simple:

Even if the work is quite substandard (in my opinion), there's always - I repeat, *always* - *something* good about it that can be found to cite honestly. Start with that, as in this hypothetical critique of a 'bad' movie:

"There's some really cool shots you've got here, some of the music cues work really well, and that lead actress is totally hot looking. I loved the scene with the dog."

...before you move on to what's *not* working for you...

There's invariably *some* positive things like this you can mention. Discuss those first. It will give the person you're about to criticize a nice dose of "feelgood" before you start in with the real medicine. Then, gently, kindly, constructively express your critical reservations about the film.

The result? A completely honest critique, with care taken to include what's good, that (hopefully) will neither mislead, hype, nor totally bum out the recipient. Which leads me to the main point of this post:

Feedback that is *all* negative (which is sadly all too commonly found in real situations like recording sessions and film sets) can all too easily deflate and disempower the artist (not to mention piss them off). The good news is that it doesn't take much positivity to counterbalance it - I think because most artists really do want people to like their work, and will take it quite well if they also get at least a little acknowledgement (and praise) for what they've done well.

In almost all cases when I offer this sort of thing, people take it pretty much in stride (even if somewhat grudgingly at times, just as I do when *I'm* the recipient), and more often than not it results in the person's gaining useful insights into their work, and then *using* that to make real improvements.

I call that a win/win...

...jumping off the sop box now, before it collapses...oops...too late : )
 
filmman said:
So, in your opinion, Ted, what happened? Was the marketing poor? Did they release the movie in the wrong theaters, time of year?

Was it digitally screened or were they film prints?

Was there a market test for the movie? Sneak preview?

Did the movie maker insist or personally finance the theatrical release out of pride?
Click to expand...

I can't answer any of the above except the first, and as I said, I think the key error was not putting it through festivals first, which could have alerted them to the potential for theatrical failure.

If you do a search of the DVXuser site on the word "landon" you'll find numerous threads on it which may provide answers to some of your other questions. Unfortunately I don't think there's one individual thread (or as in Corrado's case, two) that contains all or most of the relevant stuff.

Here's a couple:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=110334&highlight=landon

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=113257&highlight=landon

I feel a bit sorry for bringing the whole sad story to attention again, but I do think some of the lessons it teaches are worth reading about...
 
Thanks Adam for posting the Hollywood Reporter article with the foreign sales numbers. Its very useful for planning a budget and distribution strategy.
 
Well, according to your own comment, the movie made over $500,000 theatrical.

So if the movie was done for less than $50,000 (I assume since it had no name actors), that was a huge success, no?
 
taormina said:
Corrado was designed as a "b" movie. It is a direct to DVD product. It was never designed to be a blair witch or some anomalous money making machine. It was designed as a film that would recoup it's budget and make a profit. I do not share the same goals as other filmmakers in that regard. Call it pragmatism or whatever. I've never had illusions as to the fact that Corrado would garner critical acclaim or an oscar....
Click to expand...

I can build on this by saying know who your audience is. I know I make DTV (I guess DTD would be more appropriate today) movies. But I want to make the best DTV film I can. But I never think "this will go theatrical". I think "Did that scene look good." or "Should that martial art scene be shorter or longer." (My kind of film is sold on good fight scenes and acting that is decent enough to get you to the next scene). While I got two really good actors for the leads there was still some questionable talent and time constraints don't help.

When I was done with "Wages of Sin" I was pretty proud. It was so much better than my first film. The action was better, we had better lighting and a pretty basic but good story. I only sent out three review copies. I got two decent reviews. Not glowing but both reviewers said they like the film and wanted to see more and expect great things from me. Both reviewer went have said they wonder what my films would be like with more money (something I've heard said before) but people usually suspect my budgets are more than they are once seeing my films. All this is good.

BUT when I sent my film to the main reviewer I thought would love the film (a kung-fu movie review sight) they ripped it to shreds. I was going for a modern day "blackploitation" but with some "American Ninja" B movies style. But some people don't get it. While it was fun to make and some people really like it, others simply do not. With the religious overtones it's makes it a winner in some circles. But truth is you never know. I mean no one attempts to make bad films but you can easily end up thinking you're making the hot stuff and be making crap. But when you find your audience they will love what you do. I have some devotees here in Chicago. Not tons but some who pop up from time to time to say "I love your stuff." I'm starting to ramp up "Wages" again as well as prepare for my next film. But finding you're audience is extremely important today.

-Nate
 
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Great posts, Ted Spencer. You can remain on the soapbox as long as you keep bringing insightful thoughts like that!
 
The newest trailer is up on the site now.

http://www.taorminafilms.com/trailer/

There are only two changes, a corporate logo bug in the beginning, and a little tiny vingette of Johnny at the end. Also, it's slightly higher quality. Still don't know why Vimeo is butchering it so.....the only thing I can think of is that Vimeo does not like SD video. Either way, this is the last trailer I make for Corrado - the distributors will take it from here.....
 
well.

Its not really my thing but kudos for being a hustler and getting **** done. You rule.

What I do like.... you got some big name talent, you are a pitbull negotiator

What I aint feeling... the overall look of the film, very video-ish, very "straight to DVD" feeling, kinda cheesy...

this is my very first time seeing any of the footage or trailers.

advice for the next one.... (brutal and to the point) get a better DP
 
oh and I must warn....

I havent read this entire thread... sorry if my comments come across as brutal and harsh, thats truly not my intention.

Just trying to help you make the next one even better man. You have the resources now, the agent, the talent, the money... I'm sure you could make some super killer Mann/Heat type sh*t dude.
 
i was actually surprised by the look. Direct to DVD it may look, but it definitely doesn't look made on sub-million-dollar budget. i'm sure we've all seen the "b-movie" trailers when we watch a DVD (especially lionsgate) where we go "oh, i didn't know he was in that film, i should check that out" and then add it to our netflix queue. this is VERY easily one of those films. and - i think - that is what adam was going for. ???
 
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