Indie film Calvin Marshall On Demand

I doubt this is my final word on this movie but I promise that day is coming soon.  Calvin Marshall is now officially on pay-per-view.  This little indie comedy I've been sporadically writing about for the past year and a half was shot on 35mm and is finally available to watch in the comfort of your own homes.

CM's a funny and bittersweet look at childhood dreams trying to survive the merciless hierarchy of sports.  It's a narrative that is mostly about some good people in a small town -- but it does feature some exciting junior college baseball, volleyball, softball, little league, air-hockey, billiards, street basketball, darts, skee-ball and amateur bowling.  You can get the movie on most platforms so check your local cable provider.

WATCH ON AMAZON VOD

GET ON iTUNES

Our cast includes: 

Alex Frost (Elephant, Drillbit Taylor)

Michelle Lombardo (Entourage, Californication)

Steve Zahn (Rescue Dawn, Saving Silverman)

Diedrich Bader (Office Space)

Darwin Barney (Chicago Cubs!)

Jane Adams (Eternal Sunshine, Hung)

Andrew Wilson (Bottle Rocket)

Abraham Benrubi (ER)

Cynthia Watros (Lost)

Josh Fadem (30 Rock, Reno 911)

Catherine E. Coulson (Eraserhead, Twin Peaks)

Rosie Thomas  (Sub Pop Records!)

Jeremy Sumpter (Peter Pan, Friday Night Lights)

The street date for our DVD and BLU-RAY is September 21st.  It has tons of extras and can be purchased directly from the filmmakers.

BUY THE BLU-RAY FROM PRODUCERS

This NEW YORKER REVIEW  beautifully summarizes my intent all along, even when it was a screenplay we pitched to reluctant, potential producers and financiers.  You can imagine how gratifying it is to see this review in one of America's best and most resilient magazines.

Thanks for reading and for your support.  

Calvin Marshall opens in Grants Pass, Oregon

Tomorrow at Southgate Cinemas.  Stadium Seating.  Fri (5/21): (2:15, 4:40) 7:05, 9:30  Sat (5/22): (11:50, 2:15, 4:40) 7:05, 9:30  Sun (5/23): (11:50, 2:15, 4:40) 7:05, 9:30  Mon (5/24): (4:40) 7:05, 9:30  Tue (5/25): (4:40) 7:05, 9:30  Wed (5/26): (4:40) 7:05, 9:30

Official Trailer on Apple.com

Calvin Marshall has been held over by Coming Attractions and will play another week at the Varsity Theater.  See it this week on the big screen if you're in the Rogue Valley.  More dates to be announced soon.

OFFICIAL TRAILER NOW ON APPLE.COM

Hybrid Distribution

It's a much better description for what's happening now in Independent film.

When you consider all the people you must collaborate with to release a film? Multiple companies and pros need to be in your corner and doing what they do best.  "DIY" just isn't accurate in most cases.

It's an exciting time to produce and release an independent film. There are so many tools in this evolving landscape that a producer can actually keep control of a property from script through release. For the first time, producers can split up the rights to their films and make multiple non-exclusive deals with major distribution companies.

The most exciting part?  More films will get exposure and make profits without turning the reigns over completely to major studios.   This means more and more film investors will see returns on their investments.

I expect private equity to flow into independent film again over the next few years simply because there will be enough filmmakers out there taking advantage of this extraordinary time.  And you can bet the producers left standing will build distribution expenses into future production budgets.

I don't want to come off overly optimistic here, but I do think this is an exciting time and there will be a lot of success stories.

Our producers have been consulting with Peter Broderick on the Calvin Marshall release -- who is quoted in this recent NY Times article.

The Coming Revolution in Indie Distribution

1000 True Fans

Apparently that's all it takes. As we move towards our Calvin Marshall world premiere, Malcolm Gladwell, Facebook and all the DIY tools have practically forced their way into our game plan. We never even asked for it.

It's easy for me to be cynical about this. At what point will there be backlash for this kind of self-promotion? Look at how fast myspace jumped the shark? At what point will people abandon Facebook because they don't want to be bothered with another movie or cause that's fighting for their attention?

I have to admit, though, it's unbelievably cool to do some of these things, so we're embracing it. At least most of it. And, over the next year we'll be looking for even more innovative ways to stand out and make people aware of our movie.

A lot of things are in the works, but for now, if you'd like to support our cause and stay up to date, please become a Calvin fan on Facebook by clicking the link on the upper right.

You can also spread the word about the initial teaser we just posted and rate it on Youtube

One of things I wanted to do in this blog was demystify the filmmaking process. I hoped it would be a place where both fans of Calvin and aspiring filmmakers could peak behind the curtain. With that goal in mind, we'll be posting some cool behind the scenes footage in the coming weeks.

Thanks for the support everyone.

Everything Takes Longer Than You Expect

We discovered this when our original 2005 start date pushed indefinitely. (Filming didn't begin until late 2007)

We learned this in post-production when locking picture took more than a year. (Not 6 months)

And now we're learning these lessons again in the ever-changing landscape of distribution.

We were anticipating premiering and releasing "Calvin Marshall" in 2009 during spring-training. (now)

The reason we're not is because we've been focussed on two critical goals since the very beginning.

1. Maximum exposure for the finished film.

2. Profit to our investors.

Every decision we make is executed with these two things in mind.

We want our world premiere to occur no more than two months before our theatrical release. This way, publicity dollars spent on the premiere will have an impact on our theatrical campaign.

Using the same logic, when the film is pulled from theaters, the DVD, VOD, CABLE and DIGITAL releases will follow quickly and with some momentum.

Keep in mind, all of this must be orchestrated months and months ahead of time.

With all that said, we will have some firm things to announce in the near future. We're looking forward to releasing the trailer and announcing the details around our world premiere.