DIY Distribution Year 2006 post mention at DV Guru

Check it out here.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Hope you have a wonderful or at least pretty cool Thanksgiving Day!

- Sujewa

Reid Rosefelt interview on WDF blog

I just published my interview with Reid Rosefelt, the indie film publicity consultant and former publicist (he worked on Stranger Than Paradise's publicity & on dozens of other landmark art/indie/foreign/specialty movies). Check out the long interview here, at The Wild Diner Films Blog.

indie features gets a video sharing site

I know there's been talk about indie features having a centralized place to view our work, so earlier tonight I setup a ning video sharing site.



Ning is a cool service that's all about enabling community. The site will take vids from Google, youTube and most other vid hosts that allow you to embed the vid somewhere else. What's cool is it will also take mov, .mpg, .avi, .3gp and .wmv formats. AND you can upload vid from your phone to the page if you ever want to provide some "on location" coverage.

Placing vid on the site requires a simple registration and then you can add vids etc. Plus it's ad free!

http://indiefeaturesvids.ning.com

Just click on "Add Videos" and then you'll be asked to register. Then you can upload or embed your trailers, epk's, docs etc.

Lastly, I'm working on a free DIY resource called the Workbook Project that will launch later this year. I'm working on a DIY project lisiting section . If you'd like to have your project added please send the following to work@workbookproject.com

1. project title
2. links to sites (official site, blogs, social networking sites etc.)
3. trailer link
4. synopsis
5. two photos that are less than 300k in size

Thanks,
Lance

Doug Block adds to the 51 Birch Street/Truly Indie interview

Doug Block, the director of 51 Birch Street (now in its 5th week in theaters), adds a few more thoughts to our discussion re: working with Truly Indie (post has link to original interview from DIY Filmmaker Sujewa/The Wild Diner Films Blog):
http://dbblock.typepad.com/around_the_block_doug_blo/2006/11/more_truly_indi.html

- Sujewa

IF06 will live on as Indie Features

Because this blog has been useful: in finding out about relevant things that I would not have heard about otherwise, in building a little community of indie filmmakers & as a place for me to post non-Date Number One stuff when my main blog is busy promoting DNO. So we'll just drop the 06 (as it was suggested by a couple of people way back when this blog was started, in early 06) and continue to welcome indie filmmakers with films in distro to post stuff about their work, into 2007 & beyond.

- Sujewa

No Indie Features 07

My plan for the new year is to spend less time blogging & on blog related matters & to spend more time making movies & getting them out. So, I will not be doing an '07 version of this blog. This blog rocks, glad I got to do it with my fellow awesome indie filmmakers this year. And I think this blog will be more special, in a way, if it is just a one time thing, a special thing only for 2006 :) But, it would also be cool to see other filmmakers taking this idea: a group blog for filmmakers, & using it.

On the bright side, about a month & a half more of Indie Features 06 goodness to come.

Talk to you soon.

- Sujewa

Creating an effective online press kit

Since I handle my own promotion, I'm often asked what's the best way to land press. Knowing your audience and how to identify your press hooks is a good starting point. Once you've got that down it's time to build an effective press kit. It's never too early to have a press kit for your project and always make sure to take a ton of photos - not just behind the scenes shots BUT staged moments.

Over at the workbook project site I give a brief overview on how to build a solid kit. And I open up the online press kit that I used for HEAD TRAUMA, so you can see first hand what I'm using.

So far the kit has been an amazing tool that has saved me a ton of time. It's helped when I was on the road and someone was on deadline and needed hi-res art or photos.

When the first edition of the DIY workbook is released later this year, I'll go into detail about all phases of press and promotion. If there is anything thing that you think I should add please let me know. Thanks.

Is fame, wealth & hot fans keeping you from being creatively productive? Perhaps you need The Artists Way

Yeah, yeah, I know what some of you are thinking: most self-help books are worthless. However, Julia Cameron's book The Artists Way has consistently helped me stay creative. My typical obstacles to creativity are not fame, wealth or hot fans - at least not yet :) - it usually is having a ton of day job work to do (so that bills can get paid), friends & family obligations, consuming art & entertainment instead of making art & entertainment, & the resulting stress from all of the above that keeps me away from the camera or the script in progress or the Final Cut file that needs my attention.

But after a healthy period of slacking I pick up The Artists Way book to get me ready for the next period of art work. The end of the year period that we are in now is a good time to plan & reflect & prepare for the next year. If you have not checked out The Artists Way yet, pick it up at your local bookstore or library & see if it might be useful to you. It has been very useful to me over the years.

- Sujewa

Doug Block interview re: working with Truly Indie

I just posted an interview with Doug Block where he talks about working with Truly Indie in getting 51 Birch Street out theatrically. Check it out here. Could be useful to filmmakers contemplating the many distribution options available right now.

- Sujewa

DIY workbook project & a Best Buy promotion

As the release for HEAD TRAUMA rolls along I wanted to make two announcements.

I NEED YOUR HELP
Our Best Buy promo has been doing very well. It ends in three days. If we can close out strongly, it will send a positive message that smaller films deserve shelf space. And most importantly that they can support national promotions.

The performance of the HEAD TRAUMA / LAST BROADCAST promotion could go a long way to helping smaller films make it into Best Buy. Getting into retail outlets as big as Best Buy is very difficult but this promotion is proving that with the proper in-store promotion "truly independent" films can compete and even out perform certain studio titles.

So please help us to spread the word - cause in the end it could help all of us. Tell people to make their way to Best Buy or they can order online by clicking here.

A FREE DIY RESOURCE
I've been working on a DIY book and I've decided to make it a free online resource. The concept is part of a "social opensource info experiment" called the workbook project. It's a simple concept, the workbook is meant to be spread and edited. Meaning that content creators can add their own info, war stories, advice etc. Since the workbook is a wiki that can be saved to the desktop and edited, we're hoping that it can become a resource that is always growing.

I've included extensive info about:

• Putting together a 17 city theatrical release
• Building a fan base and creating buzz
• Clearance and Delivery issues
• A look at actual contracts
  
• Getting your work into retail and rental outlets
• Making a TV deal
• How to deal with world sales
• and much much more

The workbook will launch later this year but if you're interested and want to get an advance copy sign up at http://workbookproject.com

Here's a brief example of one section that details how I bootstrapped a 17 city theatrical release.

DIY THEATRICAL - part 1 of 12

The thing I find most interesting after having gone through the first couple windows of release is how broken the system is. Now I know you're probably saying no shit but I think we're at a very interesting crossroads. When something is damaged it provides new opportunities but the difficult part is identifying them. Often it seems that going in a totally different direction is an answer OR you can work the current system to your advantage. For example a theatrical release with no cash, no distributor, no booker and no publicist seems insane - and it is in the sense that it's an insane amount of work BUT it is possible.

I took on a hybrid model with the release of my newest film HEAD TRAUMA. Had a world premiere at the LA Film Fest and used it as a springboard to a platform release for HT. In other words used it to announce the project and a few weeks after was in theaters across the country. The biggest driving force for a compressed release was to maximize my limited resources and push all the press and word of mouth towards monetizing the movie. I hit 17 screens across the country by doing a bootstrapped release.

I called a number of bookers / service companies to help me with my theatrical release. I quickly discovered that there was NO way that I could afford it. So I decided to create my own model that would require little to no seed money. Here's how I released my newest feature HEAD TRAUMA http://headtraumamovie.com on 17 screens across the country.

Here's the breakdown:

Travel, lodging and some food was offset with speaking engagements at various universities and film societies. This also provided free transportation and free meals. I ended up making about $4,500 in speaking fees.

I took $1,200 from a pre-theatrical speaking engagement and applied it towards making 27 x 40 posters. I knew from past experience that posters provide a great profit margin. I got them made for a $1.40 each and then sold them for 10 to 15 dollars. To date I've sold about 300 posters and pulled in about $3,500

When it came to the screenings I found sponsors for a number of weekly city paper ads for the cities that I felt need some extra promotion. And the rest of the promotion was done via social networking sites and my mailing list / fan base from my first film. I targeted independent theaters and cold called BUT I had a pitch ready - one that explained who my audience was and how I intended to reach them. I struck a favored nations deal with all the theaters - a 50/50 split because I didn't have the cash to four wall. And I did all my own press for the release.

The main goal for the theatrical was to help with DVD sales into retail and rental outlets. My hope was to use the theatrical release as hook for a national story, to get reviews and to prevent HT from being ghettoized as a straight to video release.

Well I got a ton of press, a lot of reviews and I ended up grossing close to 15,000 dollars. I took about half of my cut of the box office and put it into online advertising for the DVD release. I also worked out deals for a number of print ads in horror publications like Rue Morgue and Fangoria.

And so far so good - the DVD just hit retail and rental outlets nationwide. In fact this coming weekend Best Buy will be doing a special national promotion. The movie can be found at Barns & Noble, Borders, Circuit City in addition to other retail outlets. Its on Netfilx and in certain Hollywood Video and Blockbuster locations. It is also in independent video stores and can be found on various online outlets such as Amazon etc.

So for me theatrical made sense, I actually made some money AND I still own the rights to my work.

Tough Enough?

This is a follow up to my recent post about sellling my film "Killing Down"...

Everything about the film business is tough. Everything.

Writing a script is tough. Finding money to make a movie is tough. Making the movie is tough. Selling the movie (if it actually got made) is tough. And even once you do sell it... yep you guessed it, it's still tough. Why is it tough even when you sell the film?

One word: DELIVERABLES

You may not be familiar with this term if you haven't sold a film or been involved with the sale of a film. It's not an everyday word, but if you're a filmmaker and have a hope to sell your film please take note of this frustrating word.

Basically it means what it says... "You deliver the movie". But, what the actually "deliverables" are is where it gets complicated and VERY expensive.

Here are the items I'm dealing with right now since we sold the foreign rights to "Killing Down"...

Final D5-HD master, only requires “access to”
Audio stems, only requires “access to”
Production Audio, only requires “access to”
DAT of film score and songs
HD footage of deletions, etc., only requires “access to”
HD title materials of all credits, only requires “access to”
NTSC DigiBeta 4x3 full frame with M&E
NTSC DigiBeta 16x9 letterbox with M&E
PAL DigiBeta 4x3 full frame with M&E
PAL DigiBeta 16x9 letterbox with M&E
NTSC DA88 of feature with M&E
PAL DA88 of feature with M&E
NTSC DA88 of 5.1 mix
PAL DA88 of 5.1 mix
“TV Version” of stereo mix
NTSC DigiBeta of TV Version
PAL DigiBeta of TV Version
TEXTLESS MATERIAL – attach to NTSC and PAL version of film, both theatrical and TV, one-minute after finish
QC report of NTSC DigiBeta Master
QC report of D5-HD Master
NTSC DigiBeta of original trailer
NTSC DA88 of trailer
(1) Dialogue/Action Continuity & Spotting List
All Production Notes/Papers from SAG, Camera Reports, etc.
100 Color Production Stills
Key Artwork
Presskit
Cast/Crew Interview footage and behind-the-scenes footage
(2) Copies of the Music Cue Sheet
(2) Copies of Composer Agreement
(10) Copies of Certificate of Origin
(10) Copies of Certificate of Authorship from each credited writer
(1) Copyright Certificate
Credit Obligations
Thomson Title Research Report
Thomson Copyright Search Report
(1) Copy of Screenplay
E&O Insurance Certificate
Characteristics of Picture
Chain of Title

As you can see this is A LOT of stuff, and as I said... A LOT OF EXPENDITURES to actually deliver the movie. I figure a rough estimate here is around $15K-$18K to get all this done. Maybe more. Not sure yet. And, we have to have all this delivered by December 1st. That's just over three weeks from now. Did I mention this is going to be tough?

For non-filmmakers reading this I'm sure many of the terms in the delivery list above do not ring a bell. A lot of it is film jargon and/or technical stuff. But, suffice it to say it is all very important and required to sell the movie and to GET PAID. That's right. We do not get paid untill we delivery all this. The next three weeks will be very, very busy for me.

So, filmmakers selling your movie... just be prepared for these costs when or if you get to this point. Like me, I'm sure most of you will be completely out of money and having to beg, borrow and steal to get the deliverables delivered.

I do find it quite ironic when you actually sell your film you still have to go into more debt. But nothing in life - especially the film business - is easy... as a matter of fact it's all really pretty tough. :)

-Blake

AMERICAN MESSIAH at the Virginia Film Festival

In case you're interested, here is the report on the screening of THE PROPER CARE & FEEDING OF AN AMERICAN MESSIAH at the recent Virginia Film Festival:


Blogging the Virginia Film Festival: Day 1

And here are my reports on the subsequent screenings I attended:

Day 2

Day 3

jumping off bridges - NEW YORK THIS WEEKEND

New York, 11/3 and 11/4
Friday and Saturday, November 3rd and 4th
7:00pm
Pioneer Theater - East 3rd St (Between Avenue A & B)
Tickets are $9.00
Filmmakers in Attendance
Advanced Tickets available: http://www.twoboots.com/pioneer/
For more information: http://www.jumpingoffbridges.com
Tickets are already selling!

Los Angeles, 11/12
Sunday, November 12th
12:30pm
Fine Arts Theater - 8556 Wilshire Blvd
Tickets are $7.00
Filmmakers in Attendance
Advanced Tickets available: https://www.readyticket.net/webticket/webticket2.asp?WCI=BuyTicket&WCE=JUMPING+OFF+BRIDGES,111220061230,1,36277,
Tickets are already selling!

Washington DC, 11/15
Wednesday, November 15th
7:00pm
AFI Silver - 8633 Colesville Road
Tickets are FREE
Filmmakers in Attendance



"Truly wonderful work"
--Filmmaker Magazine

"Touching, funny and sobering ... jumping off bridges should launch Candler into the big time"
--Filmthreat

"The performances Candler elicits from a mostly teen, mostly local cast are knockouts!"
--Albuquerque Tribune

"Sensitively handled and refreshingly naturalistic"
--The Florida Times Union

"Candler demonstrated a deep understanding of teen anxiety, angst and alienation. An emotional, smart movie."
--Moving Pictures Magazine

"Understated 'Bridges' perfectly captures teens' lives."
--The Tallahassee Democrat

"As realistic a narrative portrait of love, death, and human debris as anything you're ever likely to see onscreen."
--The Austin Chronicle

"Kat Candler's moving Austin-made teen drama has enjoyed sold-out crowds and raves."
--Austin American-Statesman

"Don't be swayed by famous (or even semi-famous) names during the (SXSW) film festival. I had better luck with Austin Director Kat Candler's moving jumping off bridge."
--American Way Magazine

"Candler's ability to take some of the darkest and most jagged truths about fear, regret, sadness, loss, suffering and pain and break them open for her audience to experience in ways that are both optimistic and honest makes her one of the most important and promising young filmmakers on the cinematic landscape."
--Filethirteen,com

"Candler is very much in touch with a particular sort of teenaged sensibility. She knows the difference between sadness and the petulance it is often mistaken for, and she treats her sullen girls and boys with the sort of patience and understanding their parents (and, perhaps, some audience members) can never quite muster."
--Ain't It Cool News.com

"jumping off bridges is a wonderfully delicate, authentic portrayal of teenagers and their families."
--Cinematical.com

“Deserving of art-house play. Unconventional and risky and aching for your patience, but will reward your perseverance.”
--Dallas Observer

Excellent document: Scott Kirsner's "Getting Paid: Sites that Help Video Producers Make Money"

Scott Kirsner of the CinemaTech blog has compiled a list of sites that allow filmmakers to sell their work on-line, mostly through streaming & downloads, & a few cases of DVD "on demand" burning services, plus links & descriptions of several relevant up & coming services. Here is the introduction to the document:

" New revenue opportunities are emerging with the recent boom in video viewing on the Web. On this chart, I've tried to list all of the Web sites that enable video producers to make money from their work. I've ranked the sites subjectively, based on how much traffic and buzz they've been attracting, and also how likely it seems that a video producer would actually manage to earn a significant return by posting a video to them. The majority of these sites are geared shorter-form content, but a few, like Brightcove, EZTakes, and GreenCine, make it possible for producers of hour-long or feature-length projects to generate revenue."

Check out the page here.

Thanks a lot Scott!

- Sujewa

HEAD TRAUMA - at digimart

I'm still buzzing from my experience at digimart this past week. I was invited to speak about the making and distribution of HT. It was an amazing gathering of people from all over the world discussing three things I love - filmmaking, tech and new business models. There was quite a bit of speculation regarding the future of digital content distribution during the three day conference. Variety was on hand to cover the event.

I brought the newest prototype of the IndEx media server with me. On Monday night digimart held a special screening of HT. IndEx is a low cost exhibition solution that will be released later this year. It is meant to be simple and it is. I've been using it for a lot of my digital runs. For the digimart screening we used IndEx with a 2k projector. The result was a true HD screening with full 6 channel surround. It looked and sounded amazing.

Sold Foreign Rights for "Killing Down"

Really good news for my film "Killing Down"... we made a deal early last week and sold our foreign rights. We sent out 75 screeners and got five offers within a week. Companies were rounding out their slate of titles to rep at AFM in Santa Monica the first week in November, so the deal happened very fast.

I held on to the domestic side of things and we have two offers pending right now, but I'm in no real hurry there. I want to play the field some and see what opportunities arise.

I'm not really at liberty to discuss the financial aspects of the deal, but we did very well. My investors are happy and in fact are already willing to put money into my next project!

The film will be released this coming spring virtually all over the world. It will very possibly do a theatrical run in several European territories and maybe Latin America. In the US and Canada (this is under negotiation) it will show up in most major DVD outlets, likely pay-per-view, and we're looking at a cable TV premiere.

BTW, I'm writing this from Hawaii right now. The earthquake yesterday was very wild and quite scary to be honest. I'm from Texas. We have tornados occasionally, but nothing like this. Luckily I'm in Maui, so we only felt a 4.5 magnitude quake. Yeah, only 4.5. I'm actually still shaking. :)

-Blake

DV Guru interview re: Date Number One & self distribution

It's a long interview, but should be interesting, specially to self-distribution inclined filmmakers. Here is the link:
http://www.dvguru.com/2006/10/16/diy-filmmaking-an-interview-with-director-sujewa-ekanayake/

Here is a segment from the interview:

" How did you get into filmmaking, and what is the draw to DIY-style filmmaking in particular?

... In 1999 I made a feature flick called Wild Diner on 16mm, submitted it to Miramax, was rejected. Around the same time Dogme 95 broke - with The Celebration in '98/'99, and I have always been a fan of DC punk rock - which is a very DIY thing - they've been DIY since the early 80's (see the new doc American Hardcore for more on that scene). So, the availability of digital video as an affordable production medium and with having DC punk as a model for DIY distribution, I slowly formulated my DIY approach to film production and distribution in the early 00's. If I had used DV for Wild Diner, it would have been a better film due to having the ability to do more takes, and self-financing it would have been possible if it was shot on DV, so all around, there were very good reasons for going DV and DIY on the next feature, which was Date Number One, a comedy about several first dates."

Thanks.

- Sujewa

MESSIAH update

Well, I haven't posted much lately either. Just been busy and haven't been making the time. But October has been a busy month for THE PROPER CARE & FEEDING OF AN AMERICAN MESSIAH. We screened this week in L.A., at Mann's Chinese Theater, in the FAIF Int'l Film Festival.

Next up is a Friday screening in Oak Ridge, TN at the Secret City Film Festival, and then Saturday at Indie Memphis.

Then, at the end of the month, it'll screen on the opening night of the Virginia Film Festival. Morgan Freeman, Liev Schrieber, and Robert Duvall are all confirmed guests at the festival, so I'm looking forward to this one...

Hey guys. Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. When I first signed on I thought we were only a few weeks away from our premiere but there were delays for a variety of reasons. I'm sure most of you all know how it is having to beg, borrow and sell your soul to keep going. (In my case I had even less to bargain with because I sold my soul years ago at a pawnshop for a buck fifty. The next week it went out of business. I still have the claim ticket.) We will be premiering Elizabeth Gunness next week in Charlotte, NC at the Cackalacky Film Festival. We'll also be showing it a few weeks later at the Asheville Film Festival in Asheville, NC.

jumping off bridges in Nashville, Houston and Memphis

NASHVILLE, 10/14
Saturday, October 14th
2:30pm
Belcourt Theater (2102 Belcourt Avenue)
Tickets are $8.00 general admission, $6.00 Students
Nashville NAMI Representative and actress, Savannah Welch in Attendance
For more information: http://www.jumpingoffbridges.com

HOUSTON, 10/14
Saturday, October 14th
7:00pm
Rice Media Center (Corner of University Blvd and Stockton, entrance #8 on the Rice University Campus)
Tickets are $6.00 general admission
Co-sponsored by the Houston SPC and Southwest Alternative Media Project
A panel discussion will follow with John Sargent (Baylor College of Medicine and Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry), Sharon Derrick (Harris County Medical Examiner's Office), Patricia Weger, (Houston Independent School District), and Molly Wilkins, (Harris County Hospital District).

MEMPHIS, 10/15
Sunday, October 15th
4:45pm
Muvico Peabody Place 22 Theater
Tickets are $6.00
Actress, Savannah Welch in Attendance
For more information: http://www.indiememphis.com/film.htm.

HEAD TRAUMA hits Netflix and Best Buy

HEAD TRAUMA is now available on netflix for rent. Over the next few weeks HT will be rolling out to more stores and rental outlets.

Starting Oct. 29th through Nov. 11th, Best Buy will be offering an exclusive promotion. Customers who purchase both HEAD TRAUMA and my first feature THE LAST BROADCAST will receive $5 off the final purchase price.

With brick and mortar retail stores forced to limit the amount of indie DVDs they can carry, this promotion shows a confidence in the films by a major chain. If sales of The Last Broadcast and Head Trauma live up to expectations, they could pave the way to more DVDs from independent filmmakers sharing shelf-space with leading studio releases.

Hi from Alyson (AS) with Eve of Understanding

So I just accidentally posted a post from the film's blog, www.openplanproductions.blogspot.com onto this blog. I deleted it quickly, after cursing at myself a few times and posted it on the right blog. Insert sigh of relief here. But it made me realize that I really need to post on this blog.

I think I was waiting to post, hoping I'd have some super stupendous news to share, i.e. we sold the movie!!! Not yet. But I realized - we have other news to share.

We have a screening this coming Tuesday, October 10th, at 5pm at the Mann's Chinese 6 in Hollywood, CA as a part of the FAIF Film Festival. I'll be there, and so will many of the cast and crew members, so it should be fun!

Also, we've been doing pretty well on the festival circuit, Rebecca Lowman, our lead actress won Best Actress awards at the Breckenridge Film Festival and the Boston Film Festival - congrats to her! And we've been screening around the country, you can see more details on our website, www.EveOfUnderstanding.com

We've also been getting some great reviews, check out a review and interview with me on www.IndependentCritics.com and in Variety! Hooray!

So good things have been happening, and I realize writing this blog entry that it's really easy to get distracted by the big brass ring - distribution and paying people - and forget about all the small victories along with way, which really are quite a large victory in themselves. Though I'm stating the obvious, it's true, it's easy to get distracted. I'm attempting to get less distracted and focus on what is good, cause there's a bunch of it!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Date Number One screens in Kensington, Maryland tomorrow (Thu 10/5, 7:30 PM)

Read all about it here. Thanks!

- Sujewa

DVD pre-book and street dates

Last Tuesday HEAD TRAUMA hit stores and rental outlets. What is interesting is how the normal pre-book and street dates of DVDs are changing for Indie films. Basically if buyers purchase prior or by the pre-book date then they're guaranteed to have the DVD by street date, if not the DVD will arrive after.

This means that smaller indie films will rollout over time making the list of available retail locations and rental outlets change from week to week. This can be a challenge when it comes to telling people where they can find the movie. The way I've been dealing with the supply and demand issue is by setting up my own store and then also giving links to various online and offline outlets as they come on board. Even though this new trend of not hitting street can be a bit confusing for fans, it does effectively let the title live past the street date, which makes it seem fresh to new retail and rental outlets.

Getting into retail and rental can be a challenge and requires a number of steps and careful planning. At some point when I have more time I'll outline them here. For now if you're interested in picking up HEAD TRAUMA or my first flick THE LAST BROADCAST you can find it in the following places. More outlets coming this week.

HEAD TRAUMA DVDs are available NOW.

The DVD is loaded with over two hours of bonus features.
* Audio commentary by director Lance Weiler
* Six featurettes:
- Cast interviews
- Blowing up a car on a tight budget
- Shooting in the house (working in a haunted condemned structure)
- Johnny Magdic and his Amazing Flying
- Comics veteran Stephen R. Bissette discusses the art of HEAD
- Behind the music of HEAD TRAUMA
* A special collector's edition eight-page booklet with original art
Bissette and liner notes by GRUDGE screenwriter Stephen Susco
* Trailers HEAD TRAUMA and Weiler/Stefan Avalos' THE LAST BROADCAST
* An Easter egg or two

The following sites are currently taking orders

weiler's online store - click here

diabolik dvd - click here 14.99

amazon.com - click here 17.99

barns & noble - click here 15.98

bestbuy.com - click here 14.99

buy.com - click here 16.75

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT "HEAD TRAUMA"

"Any number of big-deal filmmakers - M. Night Shyamalan, for one -would be well-served by a viewing of the low-budget Head Trauma....this simple and effective psycho-thriller creates a mood of dreadand dissociation, and sustains it, without resorting to elaborate special effects, or a colorful crowd of actors, or other worldly mystical hooey." 3 out of 4 stars
- PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

"I'm giving this film my first ever 10 and have to say the hopes and dreams of the great American horror are now on Weiler's shoulders."
- CINEPHELIA.COM

"With his second outing, Weiler proves himself a seriously skilled director. His tone has much in common with the recent spate of Japanese horror films. There's the emphasis on atmosphere, the sad, restless ghosts of the past, the jittery camerawork. It's a wonderHollywood hasn't snapped him up to helm one of the countless J-horror remakes taking place stateside (The Ring, The Grudge, Pulse). It's almost depressing to think what Weiler could have done with the recentrevision of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2001 chiller Pulse."
- THE ALIBI

"HEAD TRAUMA will leave you scratching yours in the midst of a fantastic, scary ride that leaves no unanswered questions and does its job with the utmost competence and sheer unalloyed glee." 4 stars
- FILM THREAT

"Works its way under the skin, raising neck hairs while teasing usto pry open its psychological puzzle box."
- LA WEEKLY

"The growling, hooded figure which dogs George through the story is an absolutely terrifying apparition, perhaps the simplest and most haunting monster to grace a movie screen since the debut of Freddy Krueger in the original "A Nightmare On Elm Street."
- BLOODY DISGUSTING

"One of this year's touchstones... Demonstrating once again that ingenuity and invention are more important than millions of dollars in budget, Weiler most effectively works within the confines of the dark house. As more and more unsettling things start to happen, it's almost as though the house were growing into a full-fledged, recently awakened character that is not sure what it wants to do when it sees that it's under attack... Head Trauma creeped me out."
- TWITCHFILM.NET

"A slick, original, attention-grabbing feature... pushes the medium to the edge of its artistic bounds."
- ALBUQUERQUE WEEKLY

"Horror outing that revives the under appreciated monster of the id to great effect."
- MOVIE CITY NEWS

"You know the ones: Jacob's Ladder, 12 Monkeys, even Lost Highway. Head Trauma is a solid induction into these halls of creepy mindfucks."
- THE PORTLAND MERCURY

"Elicits effective creeps. A well executed haunted house exercisethat treads the psychological vs. supernatural line."
- AIN'T IT COOL NEWS

"Incredibly creepy... good re-creation of 70's horror."
-TUCSON WEEKLY

"Fright classic... surprisingly effective chiller."
- THE OREGONIAN

"HEAD TRAUMA is completely pro. From packaging to film quality to the movie's website, it seems like there was big money behind this film."
- LOCAL IQ

Upcoming Screenings of jumping off bridges

For a full list of screenings, visit www.jumpingoffbridges.com.




San Antonio, TX – 9/30
Saturday, September 30th
7:00pm
Historic Guadalupe Theater (1301 Guadalupe Street @ South Brazos)
Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at the door.
Co-sponsored by the Bexar SPC
Panel discussion will follow the screening featuring.

Austin, TX – 10/3
Tuesday, October 3rd
7:00pm
Alamo Drafthouse South (1120 South Lamar)
Tickets are $10.00 general admission
Advanced Tickets available at: http://www.originalalamo.com/lamar/frames.asp
Co-sponsored by the Travis County SPC
Panel discussion will follow the screening with filmmakers and actors in attendance.

New Haven, CT – 10/5
Thursday, October 5th
7:00pm
Critereon Theater (86 Temple St)
Tickets are $9.00 (Advanced Tickets Available)

Tuscaloosa, AL – 10/5
Thursday, October 5th
7:00pm
Ferguson Center Theater (University of Alabama
Free – Open to the Public

Tallahassee, FL – 10/6 – 10/7
Friday and Saturday, October 6th and 7th
5:45pm and 7:30pm each night
All Saints Cinema
Tickets are $6.00 general admission

Bethel, CT – 10/7
Saturday, October 7th
7:00pm
Bethel Cinema (269 Greenwood Avenue)
Tickets are $9.00 (Advanced Tickets Available)

American Film Market

Haven't written here in a while, so I thought I'd give a quick update...

AFM is right around the corner (first week in November) and I've been feverishly readying my film "Killing Down" for the event. We just got new key artwork done (for the third time) and we're pretty sure everyone (me, producer's rep, graphic designers, etc.) are happy.

Funny thing is we've somewhat fallen into that cliched trap of the "artist" versus the "suits" with comments and questions like...

1. We don't like the title...
2. Have you considered changing the title?
3. "Killing" does not test well with women
4. What about changing the title?
5. Are you sure you like orange?
6. Not sure about the movie title

Fun stuff, but you'll notice that the title is still the same! :)

We're getting our one-sheets (sell sheets really) printed tomorrow and sending out 100 DVD screeners to various foriegn sales agents, distributors, etc. We unfortunately don't have time to set up an industry screening before the market. Although, depending on what rights we sell, we might have one afterwards (I'm thinking we'll hold on to our North American rights unless we get a really good offer).

Biggest problem is all the distribution companies generally want their films at least 30 days before a market. This leaves us very little time. We hope to make a deal in the next 10 days or so - but we don't want to jump into something we'll regret later. It's a tough situation. If we wait and don't attend AFM, the next market is Berlin and they don't really cater to action/thriller type films. Then after that is Cannes, which is in May - that's too long to wait. So, it's really important that we make something happen in the next two weeks.

It's an exciting time and we hope that all our hard work will pay off soon. Please wish us luck!

BTW, I do realize my film is probably the most "commercial" film on this blog, but just because it's more commercial definitely doesn't mean it's not independent. Believe me, it is, in just about every aspect you can imagine. Heck, my step-dad even did craft service. :)

-Blake

Awesome! An Indie Theaters Database (w/ contact info) Is Born at US DIY FILM Yahoo Group!

Many of us have talked about doing this - starting a database that DIY/self-distributing filmmakers can use, w/ info. on indie theaters that book/work w/ filmmakers directly to set up screenings, w/ contact info. & other important info, AND FINALLY someone has done it: Lance "Head Trauma" Weiler got the d-base going tonight at US DIY Film yahoo group. Join the yahoo group & explore the indie theater database, add info, make your screenings happen, help yourself & others.

I am going to add a few records to it this weekend.

- Sujewa

Back in Scranton

The promotion is going very well. I've been working the press like crazy. Over the last two days I've done close to 20 interviews - print, web, radio and TV for national and local outlets. People are really responding to the movie in a great way.

HT gets its first cover story

On the radio with Bone from 97.9x

Hard to believe that when HT hits DVD on the 26th, it'll almost be 3 years to the day that we started shooting. I'm currently in Scranton, Pa to promote the run that opens later tonight. We shot about 50% of HT in Scranton and surrounding areas. It's great to come full circle with the project and Scranton has given us an amazing homecoming of sorts. The movie has a two week run at the Endless Mountains Theatre, which is an excellent independent 8 screen multiplex. The movie will be playing 4 or 5 times a day for two weeks!

The movie also opens tonight in East Stroudsburg, PA at the Grand Cinema and in Brattleboro, VT at the Latchis theatre. I'll be traveling to both locations to promote the runs over the next week. In Brattleboro Steve Bissette will be joining me to do an intro and Q&A surrounding the film. As I've mentioned before Steve and his son Danny created the "Nothing But Grief" comic used within the movie. It will be great to see Steve again.

Earlier tonight I spoke to a large gathering of students at the Scranton Penn State satellite campus. In each of the tour stops I'm speaking at various schools or film societies. It's an excellent way to offset travel expenses. In most cases they pay a speaking fee, provide lodging and take you out for food and drinks! What it also does is help to promote the screenings and upcoming DVD release to my core audience.

To be continued

Messiah on IFC

The trailer for THE PROPER CARE & FEEDING OF AN AMERICAN MESSIAH was selected off of IFC's Media Lab website for screening on IFC, as part of the Media Lab Uploaded series.

Now all I have to do is actually create the hi-res version! We made a standard def version and did a low-res version for web playback, and now we can't find the project file to import the hi-res clips! Yikes -- got some work to do...