LC:FC Opening: Over/Under 100 Screens?

[jhunter1163]

I'm taking the under. I seriously doubt that he'll get much distribution at all from Revolver. Maybe a few arthouse screenings, campuses, and the like. His film isn't even finished, for cripes sake. Three months before release and he's still editing. How do you sell something like that?

Dylan: I'd like you to show my movie in your theater.

Theater Owner: Can I see it?

Dylan: No. It's, ummmm, not finished yet.

Theater Owner: Get out of my office.

Thoughts?

[Unsecured Coins]

other than that's how that conversation would go verbatum... nope.

[Gravy]

From a radio interview (http://www.revolutionradiolive.com/05-10-07-Hour2.mp3) this month:

Bermas: Anything can happen. I mean, this thing could have a huge release, it could end up having a small underground release where we're going to have to have more of a grassroots kind of activism. But we're really hoping for a big theater release, make it the number one movie in America, or it becomes the number one issue in America, where we can finally get something done.

Avery: Basically, we might have to start small, but I feel at some point it's gonna be big. They plan to premiere it at the Toronto film Festival, which is Sept 7-11 or so. Avery apparently just sent a rough cut to Festival. Suppose it's accepted. Doesn't he then have to screen that version? If I lived in Toronto, I'd be up in arms: "You call this a final cut?" :rolleyes:

[Brainster]

Dylan won't be dealing with the theater owners; he'll have somebody doing the distribution. My guess is that he'll get typical distro for a low-budget documentary, which means that he'll mostly be shown in art-houses and the like, which means substantially fewer than 100 screens, maybe 20-30 or so in major cities and college towns.

[ConspiRaider]

Dylan won't be dealing with the theater owners; he'll have somebody doing the distribution. My guess is that he'll get typical distro for a low-budget documentary, which means that he'll mostly be shown in art-houses and the like, which means substantially fewer than 100 screens, maybe 20-30 or so in major cities and college towns.
If they get charlie sheen to do the voiceover they might show it in prisons too...

[Alt+F4]

From a radio interview (http://www.revolutionradiolive.com/05-10-07-Hour2.mp3) this month:

They plan to premiere it at the Toronto film Festival, which is Sept 7-11 or so. Avery apparently just sent a rough cut to Festival. Suppose it's accepted. Doesn't he then have to screen that version? If I lived in Toronto, I'd be up in arms: "You call this a final cut?" :rolleyes:

The deadline is June 8. They have 12 days to finish the entire thing.

[Hourglassmemory]

Something that disturbs me is that if he convinces the judges of the Toronto Film Festival and because of their sense of duty, they'll show the movie?
Although there's 1% chance it'll happen, I'll only rest my shoulders until they tell which movies are being presented.
I really doubt the film will make its way to BIG BIG screens. They'll probably be presented in those where there are no more than 50 seats and th epeople there are there to kiss.
I really hope they don't get their movie accepted. First, it'll be like a punch of Reality in their stomach and second, they'll feel like the world is crumbling and they'll surely create a theory for the unnaceptance of their piece, obvisouly due to men in black threats.

[jhunter1163]

From a radio interview (http://www.revolutionradiolive.com/05-10-07-Hour2.mp3) this month:

They plan to premiere it at the Toronto film Festival, which is Sept 7-11 or so. Avery apparently just sent a rough cut to Festival. Suppose it's accepted. Doesn't he then have to screen that version? If I lived in Toronto, I'd be up in arms: "You call this a final cut?" :rolleyes:

I believe that you're right: you do have to screen what you first submit (to prevent sandbagging the judges/audience). So either he goes with the quarter-assed version, or submits the fully half-assed version. Either way, I seriously doubt he'll get in. Dylan doesn't seem to understand that film festivals aren't obligated to show every piece of crap that some wannabe shoves over their transom.

[StoneWT]

If they get charlie sheen to do the voiceover they might show it in prisons too...

Whorehouses? :confused:

[jhunter1163]

Crackhouses? :confused:

[LashL]

From a radio interview (http://www.revolutionradiolive.com/05-10-07-Hour2.mp3) this month:

They plan to premiere it at the Toronto film Festival, which is Sept 7-11 or so. Avery apparently just sent a rough cut to Festival. Suppose it's accepted. Doesn't he then have to screen that version? If I lived in Toronto, I'd be up in arms: "You call this a final cut?" :rolleyes:

It's September 6-15 this year, and I am patiently waiting to hear whether or not Avery's fourth attempt at "teh troof" is accepted. The TIFF will notify them by August 11 if they accept it, so there's a date to mark in my calendar.

If it is, I will certainly make efforts to attend if it does not conflict with
(a) a lengthy trial presently scheduled with a potential start date in early September; and
(b) in the absence of (a), visiting NYC to pay my respects on Sept. 11/07.

[Alt+F4]

Let's assume that LC:FC opens in a few theatres in September. The day after it's premiere I guarantee it will be available for viewing on YouTube and Google Video. Folks on the LC board have admitted they will post it online and burn thousands of CDs to give out for free.

Why would anyone pay $10 to see a re-make of a movie that they have already seen and is available for free on the Internet?

Domestic gross for LC:FC will be about $1000.

[jhunter1163]

Let's assume that LC:FC opens in a few theatres in September. The day after it's premiere I guarantee it will be available for viewing on YouTube and Google Video. Folks on the LC board have admitted they will post it online and burn thousands of CDs to give out for free.

Why would anyone pay $10 to see a re-make of a movie that they have already seen and is available for free on the Internet?

Domestic gross for LC:FC will be about $1000.

You think there are 100 people that dumb in the world?

Actually, on second thought, I'm sure there are.

[brodski]

If they get charlie sheen to do the voiceover they might show it in prisons too...

Wouldn't that violate the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution ?

[rymdman]

If it was the original original restored full length version of von Stroheims 'Greed', I'd pay more than 10$ to see it. Since it's not, i'll probably wont have the time to watch th eonline 4free version.

[Comsat Angel]

Remember, if you will, that a few months ago Dylan was boasting about getting seen on 3,000 screens. Mind you, that was when he had the backing of Levy & Tepper (before Cuban), when the budget was $20 million, when he was going to Cannes and LC:FC was going to be shown at Sundance. That's quite beside the jaunt to California to secure funding and distribution, etc., etc.

He also promised that there would be a showing in NYC on 9/11/07. Which, in Dylan-speak, means it will never be shown in New York, ever.

[rymdman]

3000 screens. hehehe. That's almost as many as Shrek (and similar) opens on.

[StoneWT]

I think Dylan is realizing that the $1,000,000 payoff he hoped for will never materialize. He's stuck with showing it in artsy theaters like the ones in Austin that might draw 100 people. He will drag out the troof and stick to milking the rubes for $1,000's at gatherings instead of the $1,000,000's he dreamed of.

[gumboot]

He would be better off getting a professional run of DVDs done and sending it out to video rental chains and DVD stores.

A cinema only plays a limited number of films a year, and the cost of producing a 35mm theatre exhibition print is enormous.

DVD rental/retail stores, in contrast, have thousands of titles. It costs them nothing to have the film on their shelves, so they might be more willing to carry it.

A lot of fairly big budget studio productions go straight to DVD.

On another note, for what it's worth, having films still being worked on just before release isn't that unusual. I believe final rendering of the title sequence for Fight Club was only finished a couple of weeks before it opened.

Of course when you're a multi million dollar film by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, you can secure cinema release without having a finished product.

Not so for an obscure and silly documentary by a nobody.

-Gumboot

[jhunter1163]

Of course when you're a multi million dollar film by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, you can secure cinema release without having a finished product.

Not so for an obscure and silly documentary by a nobody.

-Gumboot

This was my point, although Gumboot said it better. There are only so many screens in the world, and plenty of big-budget movies to play on them. It's possible that Revolver may get LC:FC some limited play in the UK, but if they don't have something to prescreen for the theater chains, they won't even get in the door. So, direct to Google Video, where it may outperform the Pentacon video.

Has Pentacon cracked 30K views yet?

[8den]

A lot of fairly big budget studio productions go straight to DVD.

On another note, for what it's worth, having films still being worked on just before release isn't that unusual. I believe final rendering of the title sequence for Fight Club was only finished a couple of weeks before it opened.

Of course when you're a multi million dollar film by David Fincher, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, you can secure cinema release without having a finished product.

Not so for an obscure and silly documentary by a nobody.

-Gumboot

The general rule of thumb is picture needs to be locked (no more actual editing) before it can be submitted. Sound Mixing, visual effects, picture grading etc can be done afterwards. So you can send in your ****** compressed, one lighted, playout from computer, have it accepted, and then show your 35mm shiny print on the day.

But Gumboot is spot on (curse this time difference) a 35mm print run is enoromusly expensive, and only documentaries with a wide, mass break out appeal get widespread distribution. Hell even most oscar winning bes documentaries, print runs in europe, run to maybe 25 prints, which then do a traveling roadshow, around arthouse cinemas.

I've seen more than one in Dublin, with a by now, pretty mangled print after it's done the rounds in the UK circuit.

[T.A.M.]

If (A big, less than 0.1% if) TIFF accepts his film for screening, then he better hope they decide to show it on or before 9/11, or he will not be able to do so himself. You cannot publicly display your film (unless it is a FREE screening) prior to its debut at TIFF. Also, TIFF usually requires your film have its World Premiere there, or at a minimum, its North American Premiere.

TAM:)

[Mr.D]

If (A big, less than 0.1% if) TIFF accepts his film for screening, then he better hope they decide to show it on or before 9/11, or he will not be able to do so himself. You cannot publicly display your film (unless it is a FREE screening) prior to its debut at TIFF. Also, TIFF usually requires your film have its World Premiere there, or at a minimum, its North American Premiere.


Gosh, you'd think a big filmmaker up-n-comer like Avery would know things like that. I'd think that's the kind of thing you'd pick up in your first semester of film school or something.

Oh, right.

:rolleyes:

[LashL]

If (A big, less than 0.1% if) TIFF accepts his film for screening, then he better hope they decide to show it on or before 9/11, or he will not be able to do so himself. You cannot publicly display your film (unless it is a FREE screening) prior to its debut at TIFF. Also, TIFF usually requires your film have its World Premiere there, or at a minimum, its North American Premiere.

TAM:)

And then Dylan would have to "pull it"... ;)

Oh, wait.

[qarnos]

If LC:FC does make it into any theaters, 15% of the seats will be filled by truthers and 85% will be empty.

[T.A.M.]

The biggest trouble wrt LC:FC opening in theatres is the FALSE sense of legitimacy that will be lent to the film as a result. Many people will assume what is in the film MUST be true, because....well because it is in the theatres, and it is a "DOCUMENTARY", so it must be true...right?

Sad really...

TAM:)

[DarkMagician]

You think there are 100 people that dumb in the world?

Actually, on second thought, I'm sure there are.

I'm required to quote this:
Cartman: Oh, really? Well, did you know that over one-fourth of people in America think that 9/11 was a conspiracy? Are you saying that one-fourth of Americans are retards?
Kyle: Yes, I'm saying one-fourth of Americans are retards.
Stan: Yeah, at least one-fourth