Quad Opens Doors to DIY Filmmakers

According to IndieWIRE, Quad Cinemas in Manhattan has a new program that opens their doors to self theatrical releases from DIY filmmakers. This is great for those of us planning future limited theatrical runs. What makes this program special is the additional assistance filmmakers who four wall theaters often need - local press, and DVD sale opportunites. Cool huh? Read more about it below:



Filmmakers taking the DIY approach to distribution, particularly those hoping to launch a movie with a theatrical run, have a new ally in New York City. The program, with promotional benefits, gives filmmakers a run in the city for a flat fee.

Leading Manhattan art house, the Quad Cinema, has developed a new division called “Quad Cinema 4-Wall Select,” a program it styles as an opportunity for indie filmmakers to theatrically open a self-distributed movie in New York. The theater plans to “carefully select” films for the program to insure that titles participating in the new initiative “meet the Quad’s standards.”

Under the program, selected DIY features will receive a one-week theatrical run at the theater just off Manhattan’s Union Square. The program includes a pair of morning press screenings and a suite of marketing and PR services for the movie. Organizers are offering visibility in the Quad’s ads in the Friday edition of the New York Times and the weekly Village Voice. Additionally, 4-Wall Select includes a DVD sales program and an online digital outlet in cooperation with Amazon, enabling a film to be streamed and downloaded.

Read the rest of this article HERE.

John Paul Rice Discusses Self Distribution

Producer John Paul Rice (One Hour Fantasy Girl, The Magic Stone) sits down with Karen Worden outside the Film Courage Studio to share more valuable insights.

For more on Film Courage, please visit

www.filmcourage.com
www.twitter.com/filmcourage



You can also hear the full radio show HERE where the subject is discussed at length.

www.onehourfantasygirl.com

How 'Bout a Free Beatnicks DVD?

Free The Beatnicks DVD Giveaway


TCWREVIEWS.com will be hosting a very special giveaway for their readers, in gratitude for your countless support and contributions over the years. To celebrate the release of The Beatnicks DVD, on April 6, they are holding a giveaway courtesy of www.thebeatnicks.com. The giveaway includes one copy of the soundtrack along with a copy of the DVD signed by The Beatnicks’ star, actor Norman Reedus.

Aside from the press release and giveaway details listed on the site, take a minute to check out the official trailer and the IMDB website for the film’s details by going HERE.

Jon Reiss Talks DIY Distribution and More...

Jon Reiss (authur of "Think Outside the Box Office") talked with The Film Panel Notetaker blog about several things involving DIY distribution vs. the old model. One of the things that stuck out to us in particular dealt with filmmakers who have films that are absolutely designed/suitable for a limited, DIY theatrical release. He suggests utilizing your festival premiere to kick it off, instead of waiting until much later. This also works perfectly if your premiere is in one of your target theatrical markets. As we gear up to utilize this strategy with our upcoming slate of features, it really is a helpful, inspiring interview. Check it out after the jump:



Perhaps it was inevitable that Jon Reiss would be the one to write a book on self-distribution. Reiss (pronounced “Reese”) began his career with Target Video in the 1980s, a group that taped performances of important punk bands of the time, and toured them across the world. Later, he directed music videos for the likes of Nine Inch Nails. The producer of his 1999 documentary, Better Living Through Circuitry negotiated a split theatrical/DVD release. When the initial attempts to distribute Bomb It didn’t pan out, Reiss decided to take it upon himself.

Reiss’ adventures in self-distributing Bomb It are detailed in his new book, Think Outside The Box Office. Think is now available at Amazon.com, and will soon be available at a number of other online retailers as well. However, if you are looking to get the free chapter updates (which Reiss hopes to start later this month), as well as some bonus materials, purchase the book from his website, thinkoutsidetheboxoffice.com.

Erin: You debuted Bomb It at Tribeca in 2007. You did everything you were expected to do in order to secure distribution: you saved your premiere for a major festival with a history of acquisitions, a sales agent, and a publicist. You managed to pack the theatres, but nobody came calling.

Jon: 'We actually had a number of lowball offers, but no offers that made financial sense. Offers such as $10,000 for all rights for 20 years, which we declined.'

Erin: 'When you realized the distributors were not interested, did you think, “Gee, I did all this for nothing?"

Jon: 'Every filmmaker who was unable to make a sale had that. Hopefully, filmmakers are a little more understanding now that the market isn’t there anymore. You shouldn’t take it upon yourself.'

Erin: After your initial disappointment, why did you decide to persist? Was Bomb It’s DVD offer encouraging in that regard?

Jon: 'Yes. I was really happy to be working with them (New Video/Docurama). I’d met the New Video people a number of times over the years, and I’d heard good things about them. I’d talked to other filmmakers who’ve worked with them before–I’d heard that they actually pay people! I’d met Liz Ogilvie, who at that time was running New Video. It seemed like a good finish-up. At the time, I was disappointed that there had been no theatrical component to it–that’s what I was in search of. Someone had agreed to do theatrical distribution, but ended up not doing it. When they didn’t do it, I decided to take it upon myself.'

Read the full interview HERE.

Acting 101 by Jeffrey Tambor

Here is the recent update from SXSW's Acting 101 Workshop, via IndieWIRE - after the jump:



Acting 101: Ten Tips From Jeffrey Tambor’s SXSW Workshop
by Peter Knegt

You should be president,” someone in the audience said at the end of Jeffrey Tambor’s acting workshop in Austin, Texas yesterday. “I have never felt so inspired… And I don’t even work in the film industry.”

While presidency may be a stretch, it was hard to argue against the inspiration that was Tambor’s 90 minute workshop. Met on stage at the Austin Convention Center by the stars of Bryan Poyser’s “Lovers of Hate” - Chris Doubek and Heather Kafka - Tambor continued an annual tradition at SXSW, by taking two actors from a film at the festival and getting them to reenact a scene from the film. What resulted was a partly hilarious, and at times surprisingly affecting experience for the audience, and for Doubek and Kafka.

“I think there’s one side of you that’s Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farms, and the other part is - can you forgive me, it’s gonna get you a little bit - a little cynical,” Tambor said to Kafka at one point - which actually resulted in Kafka breaking down in tears. “I usually find that cynical people have the biggest hearts and they get in trouble with their big hearts.”

Tambor also gave a wide variety of tips on the acting profession, that could honestly be applied to any part of life in most instances. Here’s some highlights:

Try doing it badly.

“Henry Miller said that his teacher said ‘I know how it is when you do it right… when you try to be good. Now try to do it badly.’ And Henry Miller said that’s when he found his voice.”

Learn to love destruction.

“You have to shatter the work to get it. And then pick it up. You have be willing to destroy it. I have four kids at home. I have two five month old twins. I have a three year old and a five year old. That’s why I look this way. And they are willing to build but they are also willing to destroy. They love destruction. And we lose that. We just go ‘Is this good? Is this right? Do they like it?’ Let’s fuck it up first.”

Read the rest of this list HERE.

Read it Before They Ruin It

Tom's Corner:



And now, a new feature I'd like to debut, that I call "Read it Before They Ruin It."

Barry Lyga writes books for young adults. This may turn a few of you off. If that's the case, you are a literature snob. Mr. Lyga's first book, “The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl,” may just become a film. This is a wonderful novel about growing up geeky, and then meeting someone who brings you out of your shell. Whether you are a film, comic or any other kind of geek, you can relate. Please please please read this novel before the movie comes out and is inevitably inferior. If you enjoy it, read Lyga's other novels and drop me a line.



- Tom Trombley

Our Feature at Neo Black Cinema

We were contacted by Neo Black Cinema for a feature on our company. Thanks to Toni Belafonte! Here is some of it below:



Company: One Way or Another Productions, LLC

Name: Cassandra Riddick, Crystal Glass, Monica Trombley, J. Lynn Menzel – (company co-owners – we are majority black/women owned)

Founders: CEO Princeton Holt

Mission: To continue to produce slates of feature films and documentaries that tell honest, critically acclaimed stories about real, everyday human beings from all walks of life.

Films/Projects: A slate of feature films with varying genres and budgets, and a high profile documentary on the TSU sports legacy.

Acclaim: Official Selections from film festivals all over the world, Honorable Mention Award for Uptown at the Twin Rivers Media Festival, two films voted favorite films of 2009 by Sonic Cinema, countless great reviews from film writers and critics in all genres.

See the full feature HERE.