August 31, 2006
private screening for bloggers? film geek dinner?
[UPDATE: The date for this HAS STILL NOT BEEN CONFIRMED. Buggered by re-shoots and editing schedules etc. As soon as I have news, I’ll post it, thanks.]
David Mackenzie, the film’s director, starts writing in the Hallam Foe blog:
I am beginning to get very excited about all this because it does seem that we are throwing ideas around. It may seem strange but as a director I have very rarely been asked to be involved too much in the marketing of my films. I rather disagreed with the marketing angle on my last film but my thoughts were basically ignored. So I am especially happy to be involved at this comparatively early and proactive stage in the process.
We have a big meeting on Wednesday with the film’s UK distributors (Hugh and Colin will both be attending) so I am very keen to find out how this all fits in with their ideas of how to promote the film. They have all seen the rough cut and have some expertise in the field, so they are bound to bring some interesting stuff to the table.
David, Colin and I were all in this big meeting yesteray with some Buena Vista folk, talking about how to possibly engage the blogosphere.
I am delighted to report, they were very warm to the idea of perhaps hosting a private screening in London for UK bloggers, followed by some sort of geek dinner afterwards. Stormhoek would sponsor the wine, of course.
This would not be your typical “Here’s some free tickets, now go write about our damn movie” idea. For one thing, the film would only be shown in rough cut, as the final cut is not due for a couple of months yet. The way I see it, it would be more of a “This is what we’re doing, what do you think” sort of evening. Dave, Colin and some of the production team would turn up, meet some of the bloggers, and hopefully come away understanding the blogosphere a bit better. Yeah, it wouldn’t be a huge event. But I always prefer starting small, anyway.
One thing I took away from the meeting that utterly delighted me was the common concensus that if we are going to engage with the blogosphere, it has to be on the blogosphere’s terms, the studio does not get to set the agenda. i.e. As bloggers, this is our gig, not Buena Vista’s gig.
As a professional marketing blogger, I’m very excited by the possibilities here. I believe the blogopsphere is a great place to start a conversation with potential movie goers, especially if your film, like this one, is not a high-concept, high-budget blockbuster, but something much smaller and more personal. I also believe there’s a lot of life after the whole “Snakes On A Plane” episode [whose title came up a lot in the meeting]. I think we’ve only just begun scratching the surface.
The other thing that came out of the meeting was we’re going to start upping the ante on the Hallam Foe blog. Much more writing, videos, “content” etc.
One more thing: These days, the buzzword I seem to be overusing the most is “complicty”. i.e. If you want people talking favorably about your product to their friends, at some basic level they’ve got to want to see you succeed. As I said a few days ago:
Remember, Word Of Mouth is not created, Word of Mouth is co-created. People will only spread your virus if there’s something in it for them. They have to be complicit in your success.
Which means, of course, you have to be complicit in their success as well.
This is something Apple understands very well, better than anyone else I can think of. In the meeting yesterday, I found it very edifying to be talking about this stuff in a real-word, offline context, and people understanding it and agreeing with it, not just me and other bloggers ranting on about it, with nobody listening etc.
We live in interesting times.
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A suit free zone? Sounds promising.
New Vs. tried (and used-to-be) true… Wow! I’ll check out the Hallam Foe Blog over the next few weeks for those added bits of flavor (vclips, background stories et al). As they say in the movie biz, “Break a Leg”.
And what a way to start the conversation! — get all the bloggers pissed on Stormhoek wine..To really leverage on the sponsorship bloggers should have to post just before they leave the dinner.
Sounds like a great idea. A SOAP style approach would not work for a film like Hallam Foe (from what I know). But this seems much more adventurous. Its similar to the early screenings for the big critics that used to happen in the 1950s — but more democratic / bloggy.
I’ve been trying out similar ideas for my new film. An event like this would benefit me. So its that same basic idea you talk about often Hugh — we both need to get something out if it!
That sounds cool. It’d be much more interesting from the writing perspective to get a feel for the work in progress and how the film is pinning together.
And the Stormhoek wouldn’t hurt either.
Would the audience your typical film goer? If so then you’ve just disintermediated Hollywood media. I like that idea — a lot.
I went to a couple of screenings in the past for stuff I never saw on general release.… and then got off the invite list — must have been something I didn’t say. Let me know if you want to do a Cambridge showing…
What happened to the Geek Dinner website? It hasn’t been updated in a while, or has it? Trying to organize a Geek Dinner Louisville — maybe we should have it co-incide with the Kentucky Derby. Geek Derby Dinner.
Any news on the screening/dinner, Hugh?
Any updates? Sounds very interesting..
Alas, I’ll be back in the USA by then. I’m currently on holiday in the UK for three weeks and at the moment am typing this on my laptop in the Caledonian Hotel of Hallam Foe fame in Edinburgh. Sounds like a great idea, though!
Just wanted to wish you the very best of luck with your project