June 29th @ 7:06 pm | No Comments » | Scooped by
- This week, Kevin finally revealed what sounds like a plan that’s been in the works for quite some time. After months of hints, regarding a second chance to see “Red State” inside smaller, “Mom and Pop” style independent theaters, whisperings that Labor Day would be a big chance to see “Red State” for fans, and other rumors and speculation, we now have clear details.
Starting Labor Day weekend (September 2nd through September 5th, 2011), the awesome distributor Lionsgate will bring “Red State” to the Video-On-Demand (VOD) circuit for a limited run. We’re not positive on the debut date yet, but we’ll speculate either September 1st or 2nd for right now. Targeted price is $10 though this may vary, depending on your cable or satellite provider’s setup. If you’re in any doubt, give your local cable company a call to see if they’ve got “Red State” on their VOD schedule for September. If they don’t, demand it! As soon as we get details on what services will offer the flick, we’ll let you know. Yes, this will be the full, uncut film in all its beautiful digital picture and sound quality, so plan on setting up a “Red State” premiere party with your friends and family for the weekend. Make it a part of your Labor Day.
Then, in October, on a yet-to-be-announced date (likely a Monday night, though), theaters across the country will host a digitally syndicated one-night-only chance to see “Red State” with a simulcast introduction and Q&A, LIVE, by Kevin Smith himself, followed by an exclusive live episode of the great “Hollywood Babble On”. Kevin’s inviting the large chains to jump on board with this, as well, and we’re hoping they do — So make sure you talk to your local theater’s manager, big or small, and let them know you’d be down for a night of “Red State” this October. As Kevin wisely says, fans will not only pack seats on a night that theaters are traditionally empty, but spend a ton of cash on concessions to boot. Our plan is to promote the heck of of any theater hosting the show, so once you find out your theater is hosting, let us know so we can add it to a master list that we’ll be putting together. The $20 ticket price is a total no-brainer. We’re there.
All this, along with a ton of fantastic back story and detail, from Kevin’s latest Red Statements blog. Some highlights from this are ahead — This is Kevin at his finest, one of the best blog entries we’ve ever read from the man, as it not only covers his thoughts on the “Red State” distribution model, but the new world for independent film:
“…Saying what I said at Sundance didn’t shut doors, like homey suggested it would. Instead, it got me invited onto many more lawns. What he saw as an implosion was really a simple reinvention: almost a commercial for Kevin Smith, 2.0. And that commercial worked: in the last six months, I’ve inked deals for a book and two television pilots, started an online radio station, lost 70 pounds, renewed myself as an artist and revitalized my career just in time for me to opt out of the movie biz altogether after Hit Somebody – my next (and last) film.”
“…We made close to one million bucks from 15 screenings, including $160,000 from the Radio City Music Hall show (which gave us the tenth best per-theater average of all-time). Add that million to the nearly $5 million in foreign sales to date (including Canada – which never feels foreign to me), VOD and Home Video deal, and streaming. Guess where that puts our four million dollar film? IN THE BLACK!”
“…In the last decade, specialized film marketing has become as costly as studio movie marketing: there is no difference. It’s not like Fox will give an indie flick a cheaper commercial rate during American Idol. If you see a commercial for a movie on TV, that means huge chunks of money are already being spent on that film’s behalf, in an effort to hip the world the movie’s coming. Grand idea, but cost-prohibitive to those of us unwilling to spend another wasted nickel reaching out to an audience that just wants to stay home and see the flick at their convenience. I know my audience and I don’t have to spend money to reach them.”
“…From this day forward, every buck that Red State makes is a buck of profit. And we were able to do that without spending money on marketing. People know only one way to release movies anymore: with commercials, billboards, paid ads. But I’m committed to doing Red State pure: I never want to spend money to make money when I don’t have to. All I’ve gotta do is use my special effect and bring the movie with me when I Q&A.”
And here’s the actual announcement on what the show in October is all about:
“…Like let’s say Red State is showing at your local multiplex. But then right after the movie ends, a live, interactive Q&A with the filmmaker starts, beamed into the theater via satellite. Even if you’re not there in the room, you’re Tweeting questions from your theater and getting responses from the guy on the big screen. And then, after three hours of movie and interactive Q&A? Boom: LIVE PODCAST! That’s four hours of once-in-a-lifetime entertainment for less than $20: a movie, a show, then another show. And y’know how we’ll market it? Via Twitter and my podcasts and in-theater trailers. So it’s not gonna cost us much but time and effort, which makes for lots more profit (the key motivator for all patrons of the business of show).
So that’ll be fun for me and the audience and might actually get people into the theater for something new and different without simply buying their interest via pricey commercials or billboards. But what if it’s not playing in a theater near you?
Don’t worry: I’ve got you covered there, too.”
And then, on to the VOD news:
“…Lionsgate was where we were always hoping Red State would wind up, before we decided to release the flick theatrically ourselves. Even their modest theatrical marketing costs (the lowest amongst the boldface name studios) were still gonna be too much for our $4million dollar art film. But we were gonna need a partner for Video-On-Demand and Home Video, so we reached out to Lionsgate after Sundance and begged them to be our VOD/DVD/BluRay partner. We didn’t have to sell very hard: mind you, this is the company that released Dogma in 1999. This is also the only company brave enough to theatrically distribute Vulgar (back when such things were still possible). They’ve got a history of nutting-up with weird material.
So starting Labor Day weekend, you can see Red State in your house for like $10. If you gather up ten friends and watch it together, then it’s like a buck a pop. I used to feel like any release that didn’t include TV spots and newspaper ads was somehow a failure, until I remembered that I don’t make the Avatar or Hangover II type of flicks that demand a theatrical experience in the first place. In Red State, I made a hardcore, mid-90?s indie flick: it’s raw, it’s nasty, it’s funny, it’s strange, and it’d be doomed at the box office if it had to run the traditional gauntlet. But once you realize the game is rigged, you can change the game. If you can’t win at rugby, change it into football. Make up your own rules.”
There’s a lot to love about this posting and news. Let’s count the ways…
1. “Red State” has already made enough profit to be totally in the black. That means, before a national release anywhere, investors and actors are all paid, and the costs are fully covered. Amazing.
2. Kevin had the opportunity to make exactly the movie he wanted, the cuts he wanted (after basically inviting the audience to a nationwide concert-like tour that also allowed him to determine a few trims at the Sundance debut).
3. “Red State” will remain totally uncut, and the way exactly the director intended.
4. The theory that a film needs to have massive ad campaigns and distribution plans to make serious money has been blown out of the water.
5. Fans across the country will get the chance to simultaneously participate in what has to be the largest audience ever for a one-night film and live event with Kevin and co.
6. Instead of asking the audience to come to the movie, Kevin’s bringing the movie directly to the audiences who want it.
7. WE GET “RED STATE” AT HOME THIS SEPTEMBER!!!
Our take: Even though some may speculate this is a change in direction, Kevin’s doing exactly what he wanted, just like he did when he bought the film at Sundance. We’ve been hearing hints from Kevin about this whole “mom and pop” theater idea, and September debut for a long time now, and he’s been careful to not let the details slip — Though now that they have, looking back, you can see that this was the plan all along. Kevin’s changed up the entire system for distributing a movie, and he’s MADE MONEY doing it. Not only profit, but given birth to an amazing, unique, pure film unlike anything he’s ever done before. Tune up your TV sets, folks, as “Red State” will be hitting VOD this Labor Day. You can bet we’ll be hosting a huge screening here for all our pals to enjoy the flick on VOD, and also on hand at our favorite local theater here in the Central PA area for the October event. Stay tuned, it’s gonna be an exciting couple of months for “Red State”…And then, on to “Hit Somebody”!
June 29th @ 4:33 am | No Comments » | Scooped by
- It’s late here on the east coast, so we’ll be chatting about this a great deal tomorrow/later today, but we just wanted to get something out there fast for the fans. Kevin has confirmed that fans will be able to enjoy “Red State” IN THEIR HOMES via Video-on-Demand starting LABOR DAY WEEKEND with the awesome Lionsgate handling the distribution. Price is expected to be around $10.
Then, in October, for ONE NIGHT ONLY, you’ll be able to enjoy the film digitally in a theater near you, complete with a live, nationwide interactive Q&A session and live podcast following the screening. Tickets for these yet to be announced venues will be just $20.
More details and commentary on this fantastic news, and Kevin’s amazing blog post, soon — For now, read it for yourself at the official Red Statements site.
