FEATURE: Immigration Tango

Okay, REMEMBER FRIDAY FEB. 18th!!!

It looks like they didn't get any DALLAS screens after all. 30 Screens though in 5 cities.

Check it out if you can.

Thanks,

Martin

PHOENIX MARKET – 7 THEATRES
Gateway Pavillions 18
Avondale
AZ
Mesa Grande 24
Mesa
AZ
Arizona Center 24
Phoenix
AZ
Christown 14
Phoenix
AZ
Deer Valley 30
Phoenix
AZ
Harkins North Valley 16
Phoenix
AZ
Arizona Mills 24 Theatre
Tempe
AZ
LOS ANGELES MARKET – 2 THEATRES
Block 30 @ Orange
Orange
CA
Monica 4 Plex
Santa Monica
CA



MIAMI- FT. LAUDERDALE MARKET – 6 THEATRES
Aventura Mall 24 Theatres
Aventura
FL
Cocowalk 12 Theatres
Coconut Grove
FL
Cypress Creek Station 16
Ft. Lauderdale
FL
Mall of the Americas 14
Miami
FL
South Beach 18
Miami Beach
FL
Sunset Place 24 Theatres
South Miami
FL



NEW YORK MARKET – 10 THEATRES
AMC Jersey Gardens 20
Elizabeth
NJ

New Brunswick 18
New Brunswick
NJ
Ridgefield Park 12
Ridgefield Park
NJ
Kerasotes ShowPlace 14
Secaucus
NJ
Farmingdale Stadium 10
Farmingdale
NY
Coliseum Theatre
New York
NY
E-Walk 13
New York
NY
Village Theatre 7
New York
NY
Palisades Center 21
West Nyack
NY
Showcase Cinemas Bridgeport 12
Bridgeport
CT



HOUSTON MARKET – 5 THEATRES
Gulf Pointe 30 Theatres Houston Studio 30 Theatres - Houston
Houston
TX
Willowbrook 24 Theatres
Houston
TX
Deerbrook 24 Theatres
Humble
TX
Tinseltown Hollywood USA 20
Pasadena
TX
 
We'll be there. They actually had the poster for the film on display in the walkway at AMC Willowbrook last week (We went to see Just Go With It - not that horrible). I'll try to remember to take a camera phone pic of it on Fri.
 
mentatDUKE said:
We'll be there. They actually had the poster for the film on display in the walkway at AMC Willowbrook last week (We went to see Just Go With It - not that horrible). I'll try to remember to take a camera phone pic of it on Fri.
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Awesome! Thanks!

-Martin
 
Well with bad reviews and not much press and nearly zero advertising from Roadside Attractions...it underwhelmed at No. 36
http://www.the-numbers.com/charts/weekly/2011/20110218.php

I'm still pleased to have a film in theaters though. However, I must say that it certainly isn't the script I wrote (re-written by another then the director too) but I'm taking credit for at least having written a film that gained a real theatrical release.

-M
 
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Ted Spencer said:
Any way you slice it, it's quite an accomplishment, Martin. Congratulations!

And more power to you on the next one!
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Thanks. Definitely digging this feather in my cap for the moment. My friend in NYC shot a pic from the Marquee in Times Square where it was playing and also a screenshot of my credit. Very cool stuff.

The trick is to keep it all rolling forward.

Next Step...STEP OFF...on March 15th!

-M
 
tango2.jpgtango1.jpg

Saw it on Sunday. They moved your poster outside. The film looked really great. A lot better than Skyline which was also shot on Red. Tango looked about as good as Just Go With It. Sex comedies are hard to pull off, but we enjoyed a lot of the situations in the film especially the visit to the parent's house.

A film in the theater. You should be proud. Local boy made good! :)
 
mentatDUKE said:
View attachment 30383View attachment 30384

Saw it on Sunday. They moved your poster outside. The film looked really great. A lot better than Skyline which was also shot on Red. Tango looked about as good as Just Go With It. Sex comedies are hard to pull off, but we enjoyed a lot of the situations in the film especially the visit to the parent's house.

A film in the theater. You should be proud. Local boy made good! :)
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mentatDUKE,

Just want to thank you so much for going out to see it. That's really stepping up to support your fellow filmmaker. I can't thank you enough for doing it.

Thanks for the pics too!

I got to see it a couple days before the release...and I was dissappointed in it myself but that's because I'm the original writer and it got changed dramatically...I don't begrudge them that right because they bought the script and that's how it goes. I just read some reviews that I know wouldn't have had the same issues if they'd shot the original script (long story and pointless really at this stage) but I'm grateful as hell to the producer and hope to as well as plan to work with them on future projects.

I'm definitely proud.

And again, sincerely...thanks,

Martin
 
Martin - you've read WC Martell's article on Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood" right?

Talk about changes to the script... : (
 
Ted Spencer said:
Martin - you've read WC Martell's article on Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood" right?

Talk about changes to the script... : (
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Yes, I know that article well.

It's funny but my script had a similar path as that one in terms of completely changing the main character and lots of changes to dynamics in the original story.

I'm anxious to have this experience help all the aspiring screenwriters that I work with at the Atlanta Screenwriters Group learn to let it all slide off of them and keep a positive attitude. Many of them know the original script and they will be shocked at what happened in translation but as long as I keep my attitude positive hopefully it'll help them with their journeys and with their attachment issues that some writers have to their "precious" scripts :)

I'll try to lead by example.

-Martin
 
It's a near-perfect definition of "occupational hazard"...at least the kind where life and limb aren't at risk. I think it's one of the reasons why the better writer/directors' works (Coens, Nolan, Cameron, Woody Allen, etc.) are often among the most consistently solid writing-wise. Consistently great filmmakers who for the most part don't write (Hitchcock, Scorsese, Spielberg) also appear to have unusually high respect for their writers.

Or at least that's how it appears *to me*... : )
 
I agree. If you like the script so much, why re-write it to death? I would be so discouraged if that were to happen to me. Part of why I want to direct is to protect the script/story. Can you imagine a director or producer fiddling with a composer's score? The game is so crazy sometimes...
 
Scripts can be rewritten by the producers who purchase them for a variety of reasons. Some examples could include the desire for a shorter overall running time, a decision to emphasize one character over another, a budgetary decision, but most of the time these decisions are made because of one word; profits. Scripts are often changed around to try to make the film more "commercial" but in reality often end up turning a great script into an average one and essentially crush any chance the film had at success. Also, some people are just controlling and feel the need to put their stamp on it, rationalizing in their mind how their "fixing" the script (newsflash guy, if you couldn't write a script this good on your own, you don't what the he11 your doing when you start rewriting parts of it). I'm not a fan of selling scripts mainly because of the very reasons that Martin has stated.

This is why producing and directing your own material is the way to go. Total control and a huge slice of the profits.
 
The funny thing is this only happens to the writers. Do the producers start sewing outfits to "fix" what the costume designer did? Do they push the conductor off the stage and score the film themselves? Do they start moving lights?

It's just strange how writers are the least respected people on set.
 
Again, occupational hazard. Anyone who can read and write (or even just talk!) can change the words all but instantly. It's just too damn easy to do so, so it happens - that's the basic problem. Even if it's not 'rewritten' formally, actors are often given huge leeway to 'personalize' their lines, parts of or entire scenes are surrendered to improvised dialog, etc., etc., etc. The problem in these cases IMO (and improved non-comedic scenes are a major pet peeve of mine in general), is that the people taking liberties to 'rewrite' *are almost never accomplished screenwriters themselves*. Which means the script is being rewritten by people who:

-Are not in fact writers
-Do not know they aren't
-Do not understand the value of an expertly, precisely crafted script
-Frequently have way too much fun 'taking liberty' (which is often very selfishly motivated)

And so on...

A great director, even one who isn't a writer, will know how to police this and keep the value of a good writer's work on the screen. But it's *way* too easy to impulsively toss it aside and wreck everything...
 
One more thought, if I may go a bit tangential for a moment here:

Since there were no college programs in music recording when I graduated from high school (there are now), I majored in my second love - graphic design. I got into a program that eventually interspersed semesters of classes with semester-length real-world job experiences they helped us arrange (mine were at Sears' Design department in Chicago and an independent design firm here in NYC). This eventually resulted in my decision to *quit college before graduation* and get a job in a recording studio (a career I've sustained ever since). Why? Because every darn thing I did in any design I made (logos, product design, etc.) was *right there on the page*, all too easily changeable by any knuckleheaded client. Don't like that shape/color/size/font/what-have-you, Mr. Client? No problem - we'll do it *your* way. Until there was nothing left that *I* did. Oy...

I realized right then that music recording, being far more arcane to that client, would almost never be as much 'fair game', or even close to it. There would *always* be a very substantial part of what went into the work that was the product of *my hard-earned skills*.

Screenwriting carries the exact same risk as that graphics career I left behind all those years ago.

-------------

Ok now...back to our schedually regulared program...
 
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