You’ve had a pretty interesting journey in Hollywood. You’ve spent much of the past 10 years marketing some of the decade’s biggest hits—from Being John Malkovich to Wedding Crashers, which gives you a bit of an advantage in the indie film marketplace, as the one place where many of these smaller films seem to die is with a poorly thought out marketing campaign. What’s the most important lesson you learned about how to successfully market an indie film?

I could write a whole book on that! It helps to have great films with a supportive studio. This enables you to allow the film to find its audience. For small films, it’s not about the opening weekend grosses. It’s more about the reviews and good word of mouth. All of this requires a delicate sensibility. Every good marketer needs a good relationship with distribution, to help pick a good release strategy. Too many great independent films get lost in the Fall Awards Season Onslaught. Adults attend movies all year round, so marketers/studios shouldn’t be fooled. Ultimately you need to think like a filmmaker: be original. Be a leader, not a follower.

How have you taken those lessons with you into your own forays into moviemaking? Time and Tide has great elements of comedy, drama and romance—so makes it one of those great niche indie films that seems difficult to categorize as one thing. What has been your approach to getting audiences interested in the film?

It helps to understand marketing before you even start production. The chief lesson for me was don’t underestimate the mass appeal of a personal film. I didn’t want to chase after an audience, making something I thought people wanted to see. It’s important to speak from the heart, and paradoxically more people will relate to it. That’s lead to the biggest compliment for me: viewers – male and female – see themselves up on screen. Knowing this helps embolden my marketing efforts to a wider audience.

You’ve spent a lot of up-close and personal time with some truly legendary moviemakers—Robert Altman, Mike Leigh, Terrence Malick, David Cronenberg, the Coen Brothers and Steven Soderbergh among them. Who among them has influenced you the most in pursuing your own directorial career?

I’d also add Wong Kar-Wai to that group. It goes back to what I’ve said above: be original and speak from the heart. All of the directors I’ve worked with exemplify that aesthetic, along with making films with strong acting and beautiful images. Those are the kinds of films I want to make – not effects-driven sequels. Of all of them, Robert Altman stands out. His relationship with actors was legendary, and he maintained his feisty independent spirit into his late ‘70s. I can still picture him hanging out with Keith Richards – always the last two guys to leave any party.

Having worked in both the creative and business sides of moviemaking, do you think that one side has it easier than the other? Why or why not? Or do you think that far too many separate the process into two sides when really it’s just one?

No, it’s definitely two sides – often at war with each other. The artist versus the grocery clerk. The studio side has it much easier because they can measure their success quantitatively. Whereas the filmmaker never truly knows, and has to go through this long process. He might not know for months if what he’s working on will be successful. The studio will have many projects, and moves on to the next one after opening weekend. The good filmmaker approaches each film like it’s his last.

What’s up next for you?

I am currently in pre-production on a new romantic relationship movie, which will be filmed entirely on a Greek Island later this year.

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