A Hollywood story is being turned into…a Hollywood story. The tale behind Cass Warner's book and documentary The Brothers Warner is being turned into a feature film, called The Brothers. The film was announced during Cannes. It's slated as a big-budget family drama based on the life story of Harry and Jack Warner, their youth, the creation of Warner Bros. and the brothers' struggle for power. The Brothers Warner DVD--and tons of other information--is available at http://www.warnersisters.com
Want to make an essay documentary like An Inconvenient Truth, Encounters at the End of the World or Religulous? It's easy! Ok, it's not, but SF360.org has laid out steps on how to do just that with a thorough and informative piece on their Indie Toolkit blog. Now grab a camera and go make something great. (via SF360.org)
Beginning in July 2009, The Sidney Hillman Foundation will inaugurate The Sidney, a new monthly award for an outstanding piece of socially-conscious journalism from a newspaper, magazine, web site, photojournalism essay, or any broadcast outlet. Nominations for the award can be submitted at http://hillmanfoundation.org/thesidneys and can be sent in by anyone, including the author of the work. Winners will receive $500 and a bottle of union-made wine. The deadline for submissions will be the last business day of the month. Past honorees of Hillman prizes include Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar for Made in L.A. (via The Sidney Hillman Foundation)
Tom Hanks has enlisted to exec produce a World War II documentary. Beyond All Boundaries will be screened daily in the National WWII Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana, beginning Nov. 9. (via The Hollywood Reporter)
Robert Greenwald, Brave New Studios and a former senior military interrogator have a little something to say about Dick Cheney's policies on torture. See the video below and read up here. (via Brave New Foundation)
by Peter Knegt
On March 18th, Matt Tyrnauer's doc Valentino: The Last Emperor--which follows the closing act of fashion icon Valentino's celebrated career--opened in New York's Film Forum to incredible numbers. By the end of it's first weekend the film has grossed $39,106, including $21,784 for the three-day weekend, making it one of the theater’s top-grossing premieres in over three decades. The film also broke Film Forum's single-screen midweek opening day record with $5,963.
Cut to 10 weeks later. Valentino--without ever going over 38 screens--has grossed more than $1 million and still is routinely finding weekend per-theater-averages above $2,000. What's more, it's opening today at the Angelika Film Center in New York, one of the city's premier destinations for specialty films. To have a film run for that long and then open at the Angelika is a rarity, and a testament to Valentino's remarkable staying power.
"We've been powered by word of mouth and community," Tyrnauer told indieWIRE yesterday, "and I’ve never seen that in a way as profound as at Film Forum. We would sell out matinees on a Tuesday. That [word of mouth and community] has been kept alive in New York City for more than 10 weeks. Especially downtown, which is a crossroads of sophistication, of fashion, of gay culture, of indie film culture… It's ground zero for us, so it’s really welcome and appropriate to go back on a major screen."
The unique way the film was released makes Valentino's success story all the more interesting. Back in February, after successful screenings at the fall festivals in Venice, Toronto and then the Hamptons, it was announced that the Tyrnauer and his producers would opt out of traditional distribution offers that had been put on the table, instead releasing the film independently through Truly Indie - a company that helps filmmakers act as their own distributors by providing access to all the services of a professional theatrical release.
"After deliberating and looking at the offers we had coming out of the festivals," Tyrnauer noted, "we decided that we would like to be very involved in the release and made an alliance with Truly Indie and did a platform release with them. That allowed us to have our hands on the levers, basically, rather that kicking the baby goodbye and crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. We were deeply involved in marketing strategies and patterns of release and press strategies."
After the film broke records at Film Forum, a collaborative partnership, orchestrated by Submarine's Josh Braun, was announced between Truly Indie, Vitagraph Films and the filmmakers--Tyrnauer, executive producers Carter Burden III and Adam Leff, producer Matt Kapp, and co-producer Frederic Tcheng. The film would expand to 14 additional markets. The partnership obviously proved successful. The film has opened virtually nationwide since, and, as noted, broke $1,000,000 and is still going strong.
Beyond the obvious though, there were many details within this elaborate do-it-yourself situation that helped Valentino find its audience. The films stars - Valentino and his business partner and lover of 50 years, Giancarlo Giammetti--helped the film considerably by doing a lot of press.
"The relationship I have with them is very unique," Tyrnauer said of Valentino and Giammetti. "And I'm not saying it was all smooth… They didn't like the movie at first. But, after a lot of sparks flying, they came around and embraced the film. And I know this wouldn’t have worked as well with a traditional distributor."
Tyrnauer and his team partnered with publicity firm 42 West to leverage the availability of Valentino and Giammetti, and the strategy really paid off. Oprah Winfrey got a hold of the film, and without being pitched anything, decided to do a show on the film and its "stars."
"We used that as a big game changer," Tyrnauer said. "We had great hopes but we thought, 'this just doesn’t happen to most movies.' That made me even more glad we kept everything in house. We realized we were about to climb aboard a wave."
They carefully plotted the next cities while Valentino toured promoting the film, on Oprah, on Charlie Rose, on the View even on Ryan Seacrest.
"That really put up us in the zeitgeist," Tyrnauer recalled. "People really connected to the film, and we've been being really careful to select markets that would respond. What I've noticed is there are what we call "the first responders"--usually educated woman of a certain age who have some relationship with fashion, as a fan or participant. And from there, if we get those "first responders," they multiply in enormous numbers. People go see it two or three times. It's a word of mouth movie, which was really the key to everything after we got that launch."
Another key for Tyrnauer was Q&As, which he participated in aggressively across the film's expansion. Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki (Capturing The Friedmans) told Tyrnauer this was "a must."
"He said, 'you go, and you keep going, and when you get sick of doing it, do it more,'" Tyrnauer laughed. "It's viral marketing at its most basic. If they can connect with the filmmaker in 2nd or 3rd tier cities it means a lot and word spreads… And seeing the audiences and seeing who shows up is the most invaluable market research you can do."
The experience has given Tyrnauer--and, I'm sure, many aspiring filmmakers who have watched the film's success - hope that "there still is community and word of mouth and a desire for quality." "To see a movie that is in two foreign languages and English with wall to wall subtitles take off in communities where most distributors would probably accept that this movie would not work is so gratifying," he said.
Tyrnauer's gratification isn't likely to end anytime soon. In addition to opening at the Angelika today, Tyrnauer and company have dozens of markets planned in the coming weeks--including many that most truly independent documentaries rarely set foot in--Fort Collins, Colorado; Norfolk, Virginia; Shreveport, Louisiana; Wilmington, Delaware; Concord, New Hampshire… It's likely this do-it-yourself success story has yet to see it's final chapter.
This news item is brought to you by a special partnership between the IDA and indieWIRE and Snagfilms.
Here are the docs that are coming to theaters starting June 3.
Opening: June 3
Venue: Film Forum/New York City
Film: Unmistaken Child
Dir./Prod.: Nati Baratz; Prods.: Ilil Alexander, Arik Bernstein
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
http://www.oscilloscope.net/unmistakenchild/
The Buddhist concept of reincarnation, while both mysterious and enchanting, is hard for most westerners to grasp. Unmistaken Child follows the four-year search for the reincarnation of Lama Konchog, a world-renowned Tibetan master who passed away in 2001 at age 84. The Dalai Lama charges the deceased monk's devoted disciple, Tenzin Zopa (who had been in his service since the age of seven), to search for his master's reincarnation.
Tenzin sets off on this unforgettable quest on foot, mule and even helicopter, through breathtaking landscapes and remote traditional Tibetan villages. Along the way Tenzin listens to stories about young children with special characteristics, and performs rarely seen ritualistic tests designed to determine the likelihood of reincarnation. He eventually presents the child he believes to be his reincarnated master to the Dalai Lama so that he can make the final decision.
Stunningly shot, Unmistaken Child is a beguiling, surprising, touching, even humorous experience.
Opening: June 5
Venue: IFC Center/New York City
Film: 24 City
Dir.: Jia Zhang-Ke
Distributor: The Cinema Guild
http://www.cinemaguild.com/24city /
Blending fiction and documentary, Jia Zhang-ke puts a human face on the consequences of rapid industrial and economic growth in China. Shot in Chengdu, in the Sichuan province, the film documents the
development of state-owned Factory 420 from the 1950s to the present. Once booming, it was demolished in 2007 to make room for an upscale apartment complex. Grounded by interviews from former factory workers and three of the country's most important actors (Joan Chen, Lu Liping, Zhao Tao), the film
premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, just four days after a massive earthquake devastated parts of Chengdu.
Opening: June 5
Venue: Cinema Village/New York City
Film: Herb and Dorothy
Dir./Prod.: Megumi Sasaki
Distributor: Arthouse Films
http://www.herbanddorothy.com/
Herb & Dorothy tells the extraordinary story of Herbert Vogel, a postal clerk, and Dorothy
Vogel, a librarian, who managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history with very modest means. In the early 1960s, when very little attention was paid to Minimalist and Conceptual Art, the Vogels quietly began purchasing the works of unknown artists. Devoting all of Herb's salary to purchasing art they liked, and living on Dorothy's paycheck alone, they continued collecting artworks guided by two rules: the piece had to be affordable, and it had to be small enough to fit in their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment. Within these limitations, they proved themselves curatorial visionaries; most of those they supported and befriended went on to become world-renowned artists. Their circle includes Sol LeWitt, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Richard Tuttle, Chuck Close, Robert Mangold, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Lynda Benglis, Pat Steir, Robert Barry, Lucio Pozzi, and Lawrence Weiner.
Opening: June 5
Film: Kassim the Dream
Dir.: Kief Davidson
Distributor: IFC Films
http://www.kassimthedream.com/
This is the story of world champion boxer Kassim "The Dream" Ouma--born in Uganda,
kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6. When the rebels took over the government, Kassim became an army soldier who was forced to commit many horrific atrocities, making him both a victim and perpetrator. He soon discovered the army's boxing team and realized the sport was his ticket to freedom. After 12 years of warfare, Kassim defected from Africa and arrived in the United States. Homeless and culture-shocked, he quickly rose through the boxing ranks and became World Junior Middleweight Champion.
Kassim, now age 29, seems to have obtained the American Dream with his jovial nature, fame and hip-hop lifestyle. As Kassim trains for his next world title fight against Jermain Taylor in Little Rock Arkansas, keeping his demons out of the ring becomes increasingly difficult. His desires to reunite with family in Uganda intensify when Kassim's only hope for a safe return is a military pardon from the president and government responsible for his abduction.
Director Kief Davidson received unprecedented access to Kassim Ouma during a pivotal time in the boxer's career. Filmed in cinema vérité style, the documentary blends current events with brutal revelations of a stolen childhood. The parallels reveal a complex and haunted fighter surviving against incredible odds.
Opening: June 11
Venue: IFC Center/New York City
Film: Blast!
Dir./Prod.: Paul Devlin; Prod.: Claire Missanelli
http://blastthemovie.com/
Filmmaker Paul Devlin follows the story of his brother, Mark Devlin PhD, as he leads a tenacious team of scientists hoping to figure out how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary new telescope under a NASA high-altitude balloon.
Their adventure takes them from Arctic Sweden to Inuit polar bear country in Canada, where catastrophic failure forces the team to try all over again on the desolate ice in Antarctica. No less than the understanding of the evolution and origins of our Universe is at stake on this exciting escapade that seeks to answer humankind's most basic question, How did we get here?
BLAST! is about the crazy life of scientists. Their professional obsessions, personal and
family sacrifices, and philosophical and religious questioning all give emotional resonance to a spectacular and suspenseful story of space exploration.
Opening: June 12
Film: Food Inc.
Dir./Prod.: Robert Kenner
Distributor: Participant Media/Magnolia Pictures
http://www.foodincmovie.com/
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli-the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma; In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward-thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising-and often shocking truths-about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.
Opening: June 12
Venue: Quad Cinema/New York City
Film: Sex Positive
Distributor: Regent Releasing
Dir.: Daryl Wein
http://www.sexpositive-themovie.com/
Sex Positive explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M- hustler-turned-AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited. Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic as a community leader, demanding a solution to the problem before anyone else would pay attention. However, it was not Berkowitz' voice alone that sparked contention.
Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, a controversial virologist and AIDS doctor, postulated that AIDS was more complicated than just a new virus. With Sonnabend's theory in tow, Berkowitz fought, alongside beloved activist and musician Michael Callen, for safer sex practices without giving up on sex altogether.
Sex Positive explores the explicit bravery of this unrecognized triumvirate, and their dire quest to save lives in the midst of unwavering dissent. Now destitute and alone, Berkowitz
tells his story to a world who never wanted to listen.
Through the eyes of Berkowitz, the audience is made witness to a graphic testimony of sex, death and betrayal, while placing the invention of "safe sex" in a fresh and compelling context.
Opening: June 12
Venue: IFC Center/New York City
Film: Youssou NDour: I Bring What I Love
Dir./Prod.: Elizabeth Chai Vasahelyi
Distributor: Shadow Distribution
http://www.ibringwhatilove.com/
The bestselling African pop musician of all time, Youssou N'Dour was named one of Time's 100 most influential people and called "the rare rock star whose music matters." In 2005, he produced his most personal album, Egypt, which presented his Islamic faith as peaceable and tolerant. But while the record won international acclaim, it was also denounced as blasphemous. Filmed over three years and featuring original music by N'Dour, this intimate portrait follows the artist on tour abroad and at home in Senegal as he wins back his public.
Opening: June 19
Venue: Cinema Village/New York City
Film: The End of the Line
Dir.: Rupert Murray
Prods.: Claire Lewis, George Duffield
Distributor: Shadow Distribution
http://endoftheline.com/
Fresh from its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, The End of the Line is the first major documentary about the imminent peril facing the world's oceans.
Narrated by Ted Danson and based on the book by Charles Clover, The End Of The Line explores the devastating effect that overfishing is having on fish stocks and the health of our oceans. Scientists predict that if we continue fishing at the current rate, the planet will completely run out of fish by
2048.
Endorsed by and with major marketing support from National Geographic, Greenpeace, and the Natural
Resources Defense Fund (NRDC), The End Of The Line is the definitive film of 2009 for those who care about the environment, the safety of our food supply, and the preservation of endangered
species.
More than just a doomsday warning, The End Of The Line offers real, practical solutions that are simple and doable, including advocating for controlled fishing of engendered species, protecting networks of marine reserves off-limits to fishing, and educating consumers that they have a choice by purchasing fish from sustainable fisheries.
Opening: June 19
Venue: IFC Center/New York City
Film: Under Our Skin
Dir./Prod.: Andy Abraham Wilson
Distributor: Shadow Distribution
http://www.underourskin.com/
Under Our Skin investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic with staggering ramifications. Each year thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, told that their symptoms are "all in their head." Following the stories of patients and physicians fighting the disease, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of our health care system and its inability to cope with a silent and growing terror, and of a medical establishment all too willing to put profits ahead of patients.
Opening: June 26
Venue: Cinema Village/New York City
Film: Afghan Star
Dir.: Havana Marking
Distributor: Zeitgeist Films
http://www.afghanstardocumentary.com/
After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, pop Idol has come to Afghanistan. Millions are watching the TV series ‘Afghan Star' and voting for their favorite singers by mobile phone. For many this is their first encounter with democracy. This timely film follows the dramatic stories of four contestants as they risk all to become the nation's favorite singer. But will they attain the freedom they hope for in this vulnerable and traditional nation?
After offering a live stream of President Barack Obama's inauguration last January, Hulu is taking the next logical step and streaming a...Dave Mathews Band concert. The site will showcase a live-on-the-Web concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York from 9:00 p.m. To 11:30 p.m. EST on June 1. The concert is a benefit concert for DMB's own Bama Works Fund. Ramping up to the event, the site will offering various Dave Matthews Band videos on May 28, as well as the documentary Scenes from Big Whiskey which chronicles the making of the band's new album. (via the DMB website)
SnagFilms is making the information-heavy IMDb (that's the Internet Movie Database) a whole lot more fun by integrating its docs into the site. The deal means that IMDb's 57 million monthly visitors will be able to access a significant part of SnagFilms' library from IMDb for free. It's all about working to increase the viewership of documentary films--something we couldn't be more into. (via SnagFilms)
Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel discuss their doc New World Order, a behind the scenes look at the underground anti-globalist movement. Oh, and the film opens today on at the Cinema Village in New York City (via indieWIRE)
IndieGoGo, a film-funding site that launched in January 2008, just passed $100,000 in member contributions. It operates under a unique concept: Filmmakers can directly interact with their fans, raise the profiles of their projects and ultimately turn to their future audiences to raise money. Read about that news and more on IndieGoGo's press area. Then, check out IndieGoGo in our feature about film fund raising here. (via The Wrap)by Peter Knegt
Overture Films and Paramount Vantage have announced that Michael Moore's new documentary feature will be released domestically on October 2, 2009. The as-yet-untitled film will explore the root causes of the global economic meltdown and take a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what Moore has described as "the biggest robbery in the history of this country"--the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions.
"The wealthy, at some point, decided they didn’t have enough wealth," Moore said in a statement. "They wanted more--a lot more. So they systematically set about to fleece the American people out of their hard-earned money. Now, why would they do this? That is what I seek to discover in this movie."
Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett, Overture's CEO and COO respectively, previously worked with Moore when they oversaw the release of Bowling for Columbine at MGM/United Artists.
"Everyone can relate to this subject matter and all have been affected," said McGurk and Rosett in a statement. "We think there should be plenty of people interested in hearing Michael's take on how exactly we got here and what we can do to move forward."
Moore's new documentary, his first since 2007's Sicko, was first announced by Overture and Paramount Vantage International in May 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival and production began shortly afterward.
John Lesher, President of Paramount Film Group, added: "Michael is a master at capturing the most timely and critical issues shaping our world today. His unique, thought-provoking method of filmmaking is sure to bring dynamic insights into the state of the global economy that will have mass appeal to audiences worldwide." The release date is a year and a day after the United States Senate voted to hand Wall Street a $700 billion bailout.
This news item is brought to you by a special partnership between the IDA and indieWIRE and Snagfilms.
Keep up with Michael Moore at his website www.michaelmoore.com
Related Links:
See filmmaker Michael Moore talk about a plan to get more documentaries into movie theaters at the IDA's DocuDay 2008 event.
SnagFilms Founding CEO Rick Allen wrote about the project on The Huffington Post.
Sadly, just as Christmas and Hanukkah for far too many have become associated with nothing so much as shopping and parties, Memorial Day for some has been bleached of meaning, merely the first of summer's three long weekends, kicked off by the Indy 500. When that checkered flag drops at the Brickyard, the season of Hollywood blockbusters will have already commenced, with Avatars battling Monsters vs. Aliens for box office supremacy. But it is up to each of us to engage in the bigger battle, for mindshare and individual action -- and Memorial Day is a great first beachhead...
...That's why SnagFilms is presenting a slate of films this Memorial Day weekend that enable us all to honor the fallen, and to reflect on our own duties of remembrance and conduct. As always, the non-fiction films we offer are free to view online, and you can easily "snag" any widget from the SnagFilms site to create a "virtual movie theater" on your own website, blog, or page on Facebook, MySpace or other social network...
You can see all of the Memorial Day-focused films, grab the widget for your own site and more on SnagFilms.
Also, read about our special alliance with SnagFilms here.
In honor of the release, indieWIRE re-posted a first person account by Ostergaard (originally from the UK newspaper The Guardian) about his journey creating the movie.
He writes:
Burma VJ was supposed to be a modest little film: a half-hour, low-key yet intimate portrait of Joshua, a 26-year-old Burmese video journalist, or VJ. Joshua had decided to do his bit for a better Burma by taking his video camera, usually concealed, on to the streets of Rangoon to document what he could of everyday life. When we started work on the project, in early 2007, the footage Joshua was able to show us was, frankly, totally uneventful: little reports on street kids, life in his village, the miserable state of the railways...
...I felt his charismatic commentary, coupled with this footage, would open a tiny peephole on to this isolated, almost forgotten country...Instead, we ended up crashing right through the main gate.
Read the full account on INDIEwire here.
Check out the trailer on our site and get more information about the movie on the official Burma VJ website.
Twitter is the most powerful, bang-for-the-buck tool available to filmmakers, period. In fact it’s the most powerful tool for marketing anything that I’ve seen in years. If you’re not using it to promote your film and your career, you are leaving money, power and fame on the table! No joke.
If you still don’t quite “get” Twitter, and think it’s a silly fad, or that it’s just for telling strangers that you’re thirsty, prepare to be converted!
What You Used To Have To Do
In the recent past, to gain access to your interested audience, you had to get them to “opt in” to your mailing list somehow. To do that, you’d need to pay a web designer, pay a web developer, pay monthly for web hosting, pay monthly for an email management software… and spend god-knows-how-long in design meetings and calls, writing copy for all the web pages, proofing, and then writing compelling newsletters every week.
That process takes as long to get through as that run-on sentence. Now, along comes Twitter, and suddenly you can create a list of hundreds or thousands of “opt-in” followers whom you can access 24 hrs a day. You can reach them with nimble and timely messaging, and you can create warm, trusting 2-way relationships with them.
Before you know it, your target audience actually becomes your marketing department!
For free!
But What IS It?
Twitter is a tool that lets people follow the “tweets” of others, and lets others follow your tweets. A tweet is anything you write that is under 140 characters; like a question, a remark about something you’re seeing, or a link to an interesting article.
When you follow someone, every time they tweet, it appears on your page. Once you’re following dozens or hundreds of people, your page is continuously updating with interesting thoughts, quotes and links.
How To Start?
It’s easy to get started in the Twittersphere!
1. People relate to people, not titles
2. This exercise’s goal is to enhance your whole career, not just the fortunes of one film
3. If you sell the film, there could be rights issues with using the title
Congratulations, you now have your Twitter account. That wasn’t so hard, was it?
Now, if you wish, Twitter will search your email contacts to see if anyone you know has a Twitter account so you can follow them. I recommend doing it. It’s not specifically relevant to finding niche audience for your current film, but it is relevant to connecting with people who are fans of YOU.
You can then follow instructions to set up your mobile phone. In Parts II and III, I’ll share how I use an iPhone app to use Twitter via my phone.
You! Who?
Now click on “Settings” on the menu bar at the top, and fill in ALL your info. Statistics show that people with a picture get many more followers, as do people with a bio, as do those who include their website. The more specific information you include about you, the more successful you will be on Twitter!
For your bio, you only get 160 characters (that includes spaces!) so you’ve gotta be pithy. Remember the goal of this enterprise: to find and connect with people who will be attracted to your film and to you.
So, with that in mind, describe at least a couple of different facets of you that cut across the professional and personal. For example, my bio reads: “Empowerer of independent filmmakers. Eternal learner. Chocolate: yes. Chili powder: no.”
Get it? If your film is a documentary about endangered tigers, but you also are an expert knitter, mention it! Sharing people’s contradictions is part of what makes relating enjoyable. Overcome your fear that you’ll seem weird, and flaunt it! If you can add a conversation starter, even better!
Now, Tweet!
Go ahead - you can always delete. But what to tweet? Remember, you’re trying to be interesting to your target audience (fans of your film and of you). So using that as your guide, I recommend Guy Kawasaki’s advice: Always Be Linking. Find a favorite blog that relates to your film, or to filmmaking in general, and post a link to it.
Search For Fun And Profit
Now, for the meat: accumulating followers in your niche audience. Do this with the Search function (in the box at the right). Search for terms that relate to the theme of your film. You’ll find all the instances that people are mentioning those terms in their tweets. Guess what? There’s a good chance they’re interested in your film’s core themes!
Follow them. In the culture of Twitter, most people will follow you back. Many people feel that it’s just rude not to. Before you know it, you’ll be following and followed by hundreds of people in your target market.
Learn And Do
Spend some time with all the functionalities of Twitter. Read others’ tweets. Get the hang of it. Learn. And you’ll grow into a pro. Of course, follow me, too! I look forward to getting to know you.
Soon I’ll elaborate on this discussion, with 3rd party apps, communication, and strategies for building your follower list.
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamchapnick.
This article was originally posted by Adam Chapnick on blog.diydistribution.com.
"We found the people driving along the roads, going into bars, going into different locations," explains Lynch of the experience that had a loose plan and just allowed the subjects to tell their story.
New episodes will premiere every three days over one year. You can sign up on the site for a reminder. You know, we're gonna.
Lynch hopes viewers take the following away from the Interview Project: "[It's] a chance to meet these people. It's something that's human and you can't stay away from it."
News tidbits from the doc world this week:
Reviews and press have been glowing for the extremely personal doc, Farrah's Story, which airs on Friday, May 15 from 9-11 PM ET on NBC. The doc examines the Charlie's Angels star's battle with cancer and was filmed with her own home video recorder. But an ugly lawsuit has just popped up by a producer claiming rights to the project. (via Yahoo! News)
Good Hair, a look at African American hair culture staring Chris Rock, has been picked up by Roadside Attractions and Liddell Entertainment after winning the Special Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary during its Sundance premiere this year. (via indieWIRE)
Shadow Distribution has acquired North American distribution rights for I Bring What I Love: Youssou Ndour, a doc which follows the highest selling African musical artist of all time Youssou Ndour as he releases a deeply personal and religious album called Egypt. (via indieWIRE)
Terry Gilliam is getting back on that horse. Nine years after the disastrous events of trying to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote led to the tough-to-see doc Lost in La Mancha, he's teamed with Oscar-winning British producer Jeremy Thomas for another go. Yeah, good luck with that. (via The Hollywood Reporter)
In the wake of wildly popular Planet Earth, Discovery Channel is planning another high-def documentary nature series that is sure to put your Blu-Ray player to good use. First up is the seven-part Wild Planet: North America (working title). (via The Hollywood Reporter)