Adventures in Self-Releasing: Preparing for Launch

by Jeffrey Goodman | Published March 27, 2009

Things are heating up. The adventure is getting… well adventurous. May 1 (our theatrical launch) is creeping up oh so quickly. I keep saying to myself, “There’s 45 days in March, right? So we’re still eight weeks out?”

Time to catch everyone up. How’s it going out there? What are we doing to prepare for that all-important weekend of May 1, May 2 and May 3?

The answer is a lot.

First off, I continue to do a good number of speaking engagements: Universities, rotary clubs, breakfast groups, high schools, etc. But like anything else, getting the engagement is not enough. It’s what you do with the opportunity that’s key. For these talks, I give about a five-minute introduction, followed by a seven-minute
behind-the-scenes clip from the movie. Then I spend the remainder of the time taking questions. The key thing though that I’m doing as I go from engagement to engagement is getting people to sign up for the “Lullaby family,” our monthly e-mail update list. I also am giving them take-away cards that they can put on their refrigerators, detailing all of the upcoming Lullaby events. Lastly (and this is usually a big hit), I bring copies of our current poster to give away and sign. I have found that this is the ultimate gesture of goodwill. Aside from the speaking engagements, we are doing social events every couple of weeks for people to gather and just eat, drink and talk Lullaby.

I’m trying to introduce a new element at each one of these events. For instance, soon we’ll have a trailer (finally!), T-shirts for sale, etc. And, I’m hoping that each event will be the first time for introducing these new elements. In addition to the social events and speaking engagements, we’re also doing a big local media push—print, TV and radio. I once heard that it takes people hearing about something from three different sources before they’ll take any action. So, we’re trying to give people the Lullaby nudge from as many different angles as we can.

Okay, so that is all that’s happening in preparation for the May 1 launch in the Shreveport-Bossier City area, but that’s not all. Lullaby also continues to travel. We recently returned from a great couple of screenings in San Jose as part of the Cinequest Film Festival. And in April we have five more festivals. So why continue going to festivals, you ask?

As I mentioned early on, for our self-release, I only want to go to places for one of two reasons:

1. Because someone from the movie is from there.

2. Because we have already been to that city and had a successful festival. So I’m still trying to figure out where to take Lullaby after our Shreveport-Bossier launch and a week run in Iowa. Will it be Atlanta, Memphis, St. Louis, Dallas, San Jose, Little Rock, Madison or somewhere else altogether? Someone asked me yesterday at the South Shreveport Rotary Club, “So, Jeffrey, let’s say you sell your goal of 3,000 tickets opening weekend in Shreveport-Bossier, and you end up with the highest per-screen-average of any independent movie in the country, then what?”

Honestly, I know the first couple of moves, but I’m not sure what will happen after Lullaby’s successful launch and its week in Iowa. What I do know is I want to continue to be financially self-sustaining. And it’d be really great if I got a phone call in six weeks from a theater in someplace we’ve never been, saying, “We’d really love for to bring Lullaby here.”

If that were to happen, I would smile, ask a few questions and feel like we’re doing okay.

After living in Los Angeles for seven years, Jeffrey Goodman returned to his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana to direct The Last Lullaby. Co-written by the creator of Road to Perdition, and starring Tom Sizemore and Sasha Alexander, The Last Lullaby was filmed entirely in and around Shreveport and financed by 48 local investors.

COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT

Comment by Tony Comstock on 3/27/09 at 9:51 am

Wow! Just wow!

You know what my first though is when I read what you’re doing to launch LULLABY?

If that’s what it takes to be an successful indie filmmaker, then I want to be a dentist.

I am just so impressed I nearly want to get on a plane and come down their for opening weekend.

Good for you, Jeff!

At to the rest of us, this is the game. The rest is bullshit. THIS IS THE GAME!

Comment by Timothy West on 3/27/09 at 2:21 pm

It’s a shame you haven’t had a trailer to show with all of your social engagements. Isn’t that ultimately what creates interest in a film? If they get a taste of the style and story and then feel compelled to see it?

You seem to have a lot of people going in blind to your film just going in on your word and your personal story, but not because of your movie itself necessarily...which is what needs to be selling itself...via a trailer or reviews.

If you want any hope of national distribution beyond your hometown and where you shot the film (which is a place with an atypical investment in the film), then you have to let the film speak for itself.

It kind of sounds like you’re just forcing it on people that might not otherwise see it. If you have a successful opening, it seems like it’s not going to be because the movie was necessarily good, but because you managed to talk a lot of people into going. And what happens if some of those people you talk into going don’t like the film?

And to repeat that with every city you visit seems like a lot of work without the right payoff.

Comment by Tony Comstock on 3/27/09 at 2:40 pm

You seem to have a lot of people going in blind to your film just going in on your word and your personal story, but not because of your movie itself necessarily...which is what needs to be selling itself...via a trailer or reviews.

Yes, because chasing reviews has worked so well for everyone else. And don’t forget festival laurel leaves!

Time to grow up. Movies don’t sell themselves. For every three dollars Hollywood spend on production they spent two dollars selling their wares. That’s hardly movies “selling themselves.”

It kind of sounds like you’re just forcing it on people that might not otherwise see it. If you have a successful opening, it seems like it’s not going to be because the movie was necessarily good, but because you managed to talk a lot of people into going.

Get used to this kind of thing, Jeff. You’re going to hear a lot more of it. For a certain link of person, your success will never be about your willingness to work hard. It will always be a cheat, a con, a niche; anything but making a film you believe in and then showing how much you believe it by going out and selling it.

Comment by Jim Whales on 3/27/09 at 2:53 pm

Nevertheless, this is an unscalable and almost unsustainable model. By that I mean, once a trailer is made, there is no more cost associated with it. It can play for free and spread virally on the internet and take on a life of its own. That’s how millions become aware of a small project like this. With a trailer, the return on your “investment” actually increases with time, the more people talk about it, forward it to each other, etc. It snowballs.

On the other hand, continuing to manually pitch your film to small towns, while seemingly illogically staying away from the big markets where the type of person who would see this film is more common—that’s not sustainable and the returns most likely will be the same or will diminish. It’s a good thing the trailer is almost done, though. When the premiere weekend has come and gone, you’ll wish you had made that trailer sooner.

And what that other guy said is sort of true—any success that is had based on the filmmaker’s personal story, and not the merits of the film itself, is in no way an indicator of the future or national success of the film. The film needs to stand on its own feet.

Comment by Tony Comstock on 3/27/09 at 3:23 pm

Like I said, get used to hearing this kind of thing. They only thing they hate more than someone going their own way is someone going their own way and making it work!  ;-)

Comment by Russ Skains on 3/27/09 at 3:37 pm

Timothy, you are correct in that he should have had the trailer out sooner but he has admitted that in a previous blog.

Many of the people who attend Lullaby’s event just sort of fall into it and it is becuz Jeffrey has done an outstanding job of developing an audience.  This will bode well for the movies by him to follow.

So...people aren’t being lead down the road to destruction by the Pied Piper.

Lullaby is building momentum with the film festivals and events. He can’t show the film for free to everyone as you seem to be suggesting. No one is being forced to do anything.

It is the momentum that gives hope to a national audience. The reviews on this movie have been great...I have read them and they are very complementary. This is why the strategy makes sense… to go from one’s own strength.

I admire what this movie has done. I have seen it 4 times and consider it a great movie. The movie will sell itself if given a chance to.

Jeffrey wants the movie to have a chance and he is rolling the dice...who can blame him for fulfilling his dream?

Comment by Timothy West on 3/27/09 at 4:08 pm

I think indie film is ultimately about story and that’s what comes first. It’s about making art. The money is an unfortunate side effect in order for making the art to be practical.

If you’re selling it to anybody and everybody out of desperation to make your money back in a way aren’t you taking away from the point of making the film in the first place? As an artist I would only want people to view my work out of interest, not out of pity. I think there’s a delicate balance to making an art film and not just selling it but selling it in a way that doesn’t sacrifice the integrity of the project.

If we’re ultimately talking about the integrity of this film, and it’s ability to move audiences and have an effect on people, shouldn’t the quality of the film be part of the discussion? As far as I can tell Jefferey is the only who has seen any footage from the film much less the film itself. Which is my point. How do any of know that we want to see Lullaby. Every indie filmmaker has a similar story to Jeffrey’s. That alone doesn’t really sell me on it.

It’s hard to stand behind a film you haven’t experienced or even have any motivation to see. This is the point of trailers. The fact that Comstock so blindly stands behind this film is naive, to say the least. Sure it’s noble to have an appreciation for a self-motivated person, but that’s beside the point. None of us are disgruntled that Jeffrey is trying to sell his movie. I wish him the best, but I personally have trouble believing his method will work. I will be happy if/when he proves me wrong. I don’t want him to fail. That’s why I’m bothering to post.

We’re trying to help. A person with only positive feedback is useless in trying to improve something.

Comment by Jim Whales on 3/27/09 at 4:16 pm

Yes Jeff, please disregard Tony’s conspiracy theories. For my part, at least, I posted out of concern that your film (which, yes, I saw in Dallas), will fail out of mismanagement, and not out of a lack of merit.

Comment by Jim Whales on 3/27/09 at 4:22 pm

Especially, by the way, when Tony clearly has a vested interest. You’ll notice that he has a URL in his profile, so for every comment he makes, he’s theoretically getting more exposure for his films.  He has a history of this practice, as is obvious here:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=EjJ&q=tony+comstock+comments&btnG=Search

It’s prudent to look a gift horse in the mouth, even when the “gift” takes the form of praise.

Comment by Tony Comstock on 3/27/09 at 4:28 pm

Oh darn! Jim Whales is on to me. And I got a whole seven visitors last month from this blog—some of the most valuable exposure my films have ever received!

Let that be a lesson to you Mr. Whales. You should link to your film’s website and a year from now you might have as many as 100 visitors from MovieMaker.com!

Comment by Hypocrisy Watcher on 3/28/09 at 10:07 am

“Yes, because chasing reviews has worked so well for everyone else. And don’t forget festival laurel leaves!”

Tony - you mean like the laurels & reviews that you proudly put on the front of your DVD boxes and all over your site?

Comment by Tony Comstock on 3/28/09 at 11:42 am

You’d almost think I planned it, wouldn’t you? Right when you start talking about the sweat and shoe leather, the decidedly unglamorous and hard part of being indie for real, right on cue, the anonymous haters show up.

I suppose I could mention that MATT AND KHYM grossed something like $200K before it was in it’s first film festival. I suppose I could tell them to check the cover on Amazon to see that doesn’t have any laurel leaves. (We’ll add them on the next pressing.)

But what’s the point? If you fail, they’ll drool while saying “I told you so.” And no matter how much success your film has, they’ll find some reason to dismiss your accomplishment “He didn’t sell his film, he sold himself.” or “He only did well in cities no one’s ever heard of” and on and on and on.

Stay strong Jeffrey!

Comment by Cynthia Ambres on 3/28/09 at 9:02 pm

GOOD LUCK JEFF!!
ONLY POSITIVE THOUGHTS COMING YOUR WAY.

Forget about anything you could have done in the past....it is in the past.

There is only the future, and yours looks bright.

Cynthia

Comment by Jeffrey Goodman on 3/29/09 at 2:11 pm

Hi Timothy,

Thank you for your comments. 

I must say though that you make it sound like I have been hiding behind the film.  Afraid for people to see it.  But, you must know that I have been showing the film on the festival circuit for the last year now.  We have been in eleven festivals so far and have five more in April (Wisconsin, Atlanta, Memphis, Salem, and Cedar Rapids) before our May 1st launch.  And I have been in attendance at every one of these festivals, introducing the film before each screening and answering questions after each screening.

As for reviews on the movie, there have been plenty.  But unfortunately I can’t post links on this blog.  If you want to read some of the reviews, I encourage to visit the “Press” section of our website or click on the official TLL blog link on our website’s home page.

And I have openly admitted (I think), if not I will now, that I wish we had made a trailer during our original edit.  If we had, I would have thrown it online immediately.  But, unfortunately, we used our time in the editing bay up until the very last second, just working on the picture edit of the film.  Next time around, I will learn from this mistake and carve out some extra time to produce a trailer. 

You have to understand, too, that this is my first feature-length movie.  I feel that I have been very honest in these posts and very clear that I’m not saying my path is the answer.  However, I do feel that my path, given the current state in the independent movie industry, has as much of a chance at success as any other model I have seen put forth.  It seems that you take issue with my approach and so I’m just curious what you would do, in terms of distribution, if you were in my shoes? 

Lastly, I am fairly confident there will be people, even in my hometown, who do not like the movie.  But, that’s inevitable with every movie, isn’t it?

I do appreciate your comments.  And hope you will continue to read along.

All the best,

Jeffrey

Comment by Jeffrey Goodman on 3/29/09 at 2:14 pm

Hi Jim,

I completely agree with you about the trailer and openly admit that I wish I had made it sooner.  But, at the same time, I think I have done pretty damn well navigating the distribution process, considering how much things have changed in the last few years, the fact that this is my first feature, and just how daunting this process is to begin with.

It’s my feeling that no matter what movie it is, the distribution process, or what you do from the time you finish your movie to the time that you ultimately sign distribution deals, every moviemaker wishes they had done some things differently.  At this point, if my biggest mistake was not having a trailer then I feel pretty good about my work so far. 

I appreciate the rest of your comments, too, and hope that you will continue to read along.

All the best,

Jeffrey

Comment by Jeffrey Goodman on 3/29/09 at 2:17 pm

Hi Timothy,

First off, I just want to start by saying I think LULLABY is artistic.  However, I do not consider it an “art film”.  Just so we’re all on the same page there. 

I raised all the money for the movie myself and certainly never set out to lose everyone’s money.  I wanted to make a movie that was thoughtful and smart but also accessible and entertaining.  And I think I have done just that.  Unfortunately, the marketplace is such right now that good movies don’t automatically (without some sort of selling and some real work on either the part of the moviemaker, the distributor, or both) find their audiences.  And so that’s what I’m trying to do. 

I made a movie that I believe in, that I believe audiences will like, and I want to do everything I can to give the movie the best shot at getting out into the world.  At the same time, I want to take care of the people who believed in me and enabled this movie to happen.  Are these two goals at cross-purposes?  I don’t think so.  And personally I don’t feel that I’m being forced to compromise my integrity.

I’m not sure if you’re an active moviemaker or not, Timothy.  But, I can tell you in my own experience, unfortunately selling yourself and your movie are major components of the process.  I’ve yet to meet a successful moviemaker in the current landscape who has been able to escape this reality. 

I look forward to more dialogue and truly appreciate your interest.

All the best,

Jeffrey

Comment by Jeffrey Goodman on 3/29/09 at 2:18 pm

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your e-mail.  I’ll ask you the same question I asked Timothy.  I’m curious since you clearly believe that I have mishandled LULLABY, what would you have done, in terms of distribution, if you were in my shoes?

I appreciate your interest and your taking the time to dialogue.

All the best,

Jeffrey

Comment by Jeffrey Goodman on 3/29/09 at 2:20 pm

Hi Tony,

Thank you for your support.  I’m sorry that some of the attention is being turned negatively onto you.  I don’t feel that you are blindly supporting my movie.  But merely recognizing my path as an honest attempt at trying to make the independent movie landscape work in this day and age. 

I appreciate all of your interest and time.

All the best,

Jeffrey

Comment by Jeffrey Goodman on 3/29/09 at 2:22 pm

Hi Cynthia,

Thank you so much for your very kind words.  I truly appreciate your support.

All the best,

Jeffrey

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