March 15th, 2002 Press Kits/Prepping For Showing

Hahahahahahahaha! Plans! They're so great. 

I mean, for laughs later.

March 15th, 2002

    Press kits. Harris needs about 25-30 screeners and press kits.

    I don’t know what a press kit is. I ask Harris to send me some samples if he’s got them, which he does.

    After perusing them, I figure out that what I’m missing from my press kits is anything related to the press at all. We had no time to get reporters out to the sets when we were shooting. Then I dove head-first into editing. No time there.

    Now we need some press.

    I call our local movie theater representative and asked him how much it would cost to four-wall my movie.

    Okay, so maybe that’s not what I said. I think I gave him the impression that we were having some investor presentation and “might” need the video projector. He quoted me prices ranging from $800-$1750 plus $500 for the projector.

    Which won’t be a problem if I make the tickets like $30 apiece. Except that you can’t sell tickets to this, because that’s against their contract.

    Fuck that. There’s no way I can put out that kind of money. Time for a plan.

    I call the guy back and tell him I’ve got my own equipment. Scratch the $500 projector. You see, my buddy who works at this theater tells me he can smuggle the projector out for free. Sweet.

    I book the cheapest time, which is Saturday morning. I’m going to sell tickets at my store, so the theater doesn’t know anything about it. When I do the pre-interviews, I won’t specify how to get tickets. I’ll say they won’t be available at the theater and to call my number for information on getting tickets.

    That way I’m not publicly saying I’m charging for the tickets.

    If all goes well, I’ll have seats available for the press, who will come and write up some nice “Local Filmmaker Does Good” with a few pleasant critiques of the movie. I’ll make a sweet press kit, get thirty copies made, send the whole shebang to Harris, and in three months will have checks rolling in.

    That’s the plan, anyway.