March 10, 2006 -- For those who want instant gratification,
EZTakes is now offering The Tenement as a movie download.
March 6, 2006 -- Well, it's no surprise that Darrin Ramage from
Brain Damage Films/Maxim Media would call me right away after having his
inbox get flooded with emails. It was good to finally have a heart to heart
with him and vent some of my frustrations over the distribution issue.
He made a lot of sense. A lot of the problem in distributing indie movies,
especially low budget horror movies, is that while the fans may want it, you
have a tough time selling it to the conglomerates like Best Buy and Wal-Mart. He confessed that single and double pack releases are difficult to sell
to the big retail outlets. They are looking specifically for the budget box
sets. Why offer more content when they can offer more movies in a set at a
reduced price and make a buck selling in volume?
I really want to thank everyone for showing their support for Fear of the
Dark. By no means was my petition meant to slam Brain Damage Films in any
way. We accomplished what we set out to do - to show Brain Damage that we do
have a fan base and that people do care about the content. It certainly did
not fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately the problem still rests with the retail
outlets. I encourage all of you to start your own petitions and emails to
the chain stores requesting more indie movies be put on their shelves.
That's the first step - getting indie titles more exposure.
Please, if you haven't seen a Brain Damage movie, pick one up. Supporting
other producers like myself will only help pave the way for more product
exposure and hopefully with increased exposure will come the ability to get
product out there the way it was meant to be - with all of its content
intact.
Darrin shares my frustrations but ultimately it does come down to business.
So at this point, we are exploring options for the release, most likely a
limited special edition release, of Fear of the Dark. It still may go into a
box set as a movie only title as well. I'm not giving up hope yet.
Thank you all again for your support.
March 5, 2006 -- Fear of the Dark's
"Church man" is going to play the devil on a VH-1 promo for Mega-Metal
month! Congratulations to Kirk and to Jude Pucillo who just wrapped on
the successful play Over the River and Through the Woods.
Great news! The petition to support
the Fear of the Dark special edition is going well so far.
Thanks to everyone for their support! Please keep in mind that this
petition is not to bash Brain Damage Films/Maxim Media. It is a rally
cry to the public to vocalize their frustrations over the studios and
distributors release of bare bones DVDs. Audiences are intelligent and
want more.
March 4, 2006 -- Many of you have been my strongest supporters.
Whether you liked my movies or not, we all share one thing in common - our
love and support of independent cinema. I just received some bad news
folks. I got a call recently that the planned 2 pack with The Tenement and
the Fear of the Dark Special Edition that was planned for release in June
isn't going to happen. The business arrangement for upcoming titles between
Brain Damage Films and Razor Digital Entertainment has ended. Brain
Damage/Maxim Media is currently exploring releasing my 2 movies as part of a
6 pack bare bones collection in the spring/summer. I'm not happy about
this. I think Fear of the Dark, which previously never had distribution, is
a pretty fun movie by itself but I have always prided myself on my extras.
If this planned release takes place then you guys will never get to hear the
running commentary or see the hour plus extras which include a newly
remastered award winning short, The Family Tree. I've been told in the past by the
distributor that viewers don't care about the extras. I have learned a lot
by watching the extras on DVDs. Anyway, an option was discussed about a
very limited release as a DVD-R but that's not my vision for this movie nor
was it what I was told would happen with it. I labored over the new edition
because I believed I would see a wide release for it. I shed blood, sweat
and tears making this movie. Is it going to win an Academy Award? No, but
it is a testament to the determination of a struggling filmmaker to overcome
the odds and get a movie out there for an audience to enjoy. Part of the
enjoyment of watching this movie is hearing about and seeing what we went
through to make it happen. Needless to say, yours truly is not happy. I'm
determined to get Fear of the Dark out there the way it was intended to be
seen come hell or high water. In the meantime, you can all help by signing
my petition to save the Fear of the Dark Special Edition and have it in wide
release as a real DVD. Please show your support and help an independent
filmmaker. Prove that audiences want more than just a movie thrown
into a collection and fill out our email petition.
