Scary Theatrics



I dislocated my left pinkie finger last night playing basketball, so my post today is going to be brief. It was one of those heinous-looking injuries where your finger goes instantly numb and when you look down, it's pointed in an unnatural direction. I wasn't in any pain, but no one would pop it back in for me, so I did it myself and taped it to my ring finger. After playing for another hour, I went to the emergency room for x-rays and a splint. Nothing is broken, but now my dominant hand is bound up rendering me a Sleestak, according to my wife.

Something else I found scary today was Lance Weiler's current post at The Workbook Project. He speaks of how a DIY theatrical run for indie films is a "dangerous proposition." He had a 17 city tour for his latest film, Head Trauma, and while he did make money (mostly from other sources), only drew in an average 25 to 30 people per screening.

That is an especially humbling number when you consider how amazing Lance is at generating grassroots interest. Even with all of his savvy, getting people out to a theater to watch your movie is an uphill battle. This is something I wanted to try, but I think Lance has convinced me otherwise. Be sure to check out his very informative post for the entire scoop.

For me, I think I'll stick to my current idea of creating a good movie for little money, releasing it free on the web, and selling DVDs to those who like it. It has it's own dangers, but I can wrap my head around it, and foresee it as a yearly undertaking to replace my day job. The makers of The Corporation are already using this exact method.