When Doubts Set In - Self Distribution is Sales.

(Day T-5 Count Down to Worldwide Theatrical Premiere on April 23!)

More people have told me they plan to come to the screening than have purchased tickets. We still have over 100 tickets to sell. I'm a creator, not a sales person, and this movie needs some favor.

Judi and I have plastered the town, within our budget. We've displayed the movie in about 60 establishments, some broad appeal, some more targeted to the movie. If each leads to 3 sales, we're golden, but they haven't yet. 

The mainstream news hasn't caught the buzz yet. Where else can I promote? I stopped at an art show and talked to the PBS news station that had a tent, so I'll pitch them tomorrow. There's so much to do, with an army of two, and gum on my shoe. Can I boost my confidence with Dr Seuss rhymes? Where's my copy of "Oh the Places You'll go?"

So, what do you all do when doubts set in? When you've poured hundreds of hours into a speculation and you have no idea if it will pay off, but you stubbornly believe in it. And it's next Tuesday!

People are starting to believe in it.

Yesterday, I got our first official Rotten Tomatoes review. Martin Carr believes in Vengeance Trail.

Tonight, I was interviewed by Karla Lewis for half an hour on her "Couch Convo with Coach Karla" on SPV TV Show. I've never done that. Thirty minutes is a long time to not scratch my nose, not clear my dry throat rudely, not get too tangled up in um's and uh's. Karla believes in Vengeance Trail.

It's easy to let a herculean effort like this become my source of significance. Don't let anything become an idol. I believe I'm doing the right thing, even if it's only to try make the investors some more return. I believe I am called to make movies, and movies are expensive to make, so this artist must learn how to feed himself and many others.

And I'm not doing this alone. But it is a walk of faith.

Ian Max

What I Learned From a Movie Premiere Last Night.

(Day T-8 Count Down to Worldwide Theatrical Premiere on April 23!)

Last night I attended a Memphis born and raised (by On Location: Memphis) short film "5th Step." The 5th Step refers to the Confession Step in the 12 Step Alcoholics Anonymous Program. Without giving it away, Angela Green created a lot of mystery and twists with the theme of confession. And it had solid acting and production value. For a micro-budget with strategic plans of growing Memphis as a film production hub, and a sold out attendance, I continue to enjoy transplanting to Memphis and seek to help the city succeed!

Angela graciously sold me promo space before the movie, which you can see here. I was especially excited for the audience enthusiasm for Vengeance Trail.

VIP EXPERIENCE

The premiere for "5th Step" had two tiers of tickets, General Admission was $20 but included a popcorn and fountain drink and the Q&A after the screening. For $45, VIPs got photographs on the red carpet, wine and cheese with a violinist, and a private mingle with the stars and filmmakers in the theater before the doors opened for General Admission. There was certainly enthusiasm from locals to sell out this VIP experience.

However, another premiere screening I went to, for the movie CRAPS, everyone got to mingle together inside the theater. I think there was a VIP experience, but I don't know the particulars. 

For Vengeance Trail's worldwide theatrical premiere next week, I'm treating everyone the same, but they have to purchase their own food and drink from concessions. We will have the red carpet experience, a cellist creating mood music, t-shirts for sale, Q&A with two actors and two producers. And prizes for best Wild West costume!

The primary goal for the screening in 8 days is to create a full house, enthusiastic environment to capture the energy of the crowd and their responses to the movie for marketing. So much to do, and so many tickets to sell.

MEMPHIS MEMPHIS MEMPHIS 

At last night's premier, I also got to interact with Linn Sitler and Sharon Fox O-Guin of the Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission. I asked them for advice about getting the press to come to my screening. They asked me a very important question; "Was it shot in Memphis?" Ahh, I get it! Memphis is fiercely loyal and they support their own. What makes my movie premiere interesting, outside the friends I've made here and Westerns fans? Well, I live here now, so that makes me a Memphian. It's also the reason I'm hosting the first theatrical exhibition here. 

Wait a minute! I've neglected the most interesting detail for local Memphians: the premiere is a first, and I chose Memphis, so let's celebrate! Next Tuesday, April 23 will be the...

WORLDWIDE THEATRICAL PREMIERE of Vengeance Trail, in MEMPHIS!

I'm adjusting all the materials, writing a press release with this important detail, and resubmitting the new story to all the press that ignored it first round. Excited and energized, and a little frazzled!

Ian Max

How to Officially Get on Rotten Tomatoes! 

(Day 12 Counting Down to Memphis Premiere on April 23!)

It's a scary thing, going public. One thing I've learned about self-distribution is to make sure your movie is discoverable online. It's been on IMDb for a minute, lol. Where else do you expect to see movies?

Rotten Tomatoes requires 5 approved critics to review your movie!

Outside of cast and crew, family and a few neighbors, no one that I know has seen the movie. People have been impressed by the trailer, but that's putting the best foot forward. Now that I'm going all-in on a public screening, I don't want to disappoint. That day is fast approaching, on April 23.

Maybe that's why it's so important to do table reads with a screenplay, to start interacting with an audience. 

So, I went through the movie one last time, to fix some audio and color issues I've noticed. And I've just paid two critics to review Vengeance Trail, the best version I am able to release. Can't wait to share their reviews, and find 3 more critics.

To do:

• Continue plastering the town with posters. I'll be driving 100+ miles today.
• Figure out a Press Release on a budget.
• Iron out last minute details for the big event.

Ian Max

19 Days of Vengeance Trail - Countdown to Memphis Premiere on April 23!

I picked up 100 posters to place around town. I'm very pleased with the quality and turnaround time from 901 Print Shop. 

Nearby, was an RV dealer that I had frequented for a while when caring for my father-in-law's camper. I thought about the foot traffic they would get from affluent types who might like Westerns. I wrote a note on the back offering one free ticket if they would publicly display the poster. Inside, they were friendly and interested, but had to ask corporate for permission. Either way, they said they'd share it among the employees.

This got me thinking. I need to ask mom-and-pop stores to display the poster. And, if I give away a ticket for each poster, that's potentially $2000. I will save that as a backup plan and see how many store owners will display the poster for free, willingly, and how many are ruthless entrepreneurs. 

Also, if each poster leads to one ticket sale, and I post all 100, I'll quickly and hopefully need to book a second  screening time. What a good challenge that would be -- first-world-problems!

So, now to brainstorm about 90 strategic places to ask for the poster to be displayed. On the way home, I saw this Western clothing store billboard:

So, I'm brainstorming a list:

• Western and boot clothing stores.
• Restaurants.
• Theater troops.
• Stores within a mile of the theater.
• Veterinary and animal feed stores.
• Equestrian stables.
• Motorcycle dealers, for those steel steed riders.

Then (NOSTALGIA ALERT) I'll plot a large loop around the county, like I used to do in Los Angeles in the 90s with a stack of headshot Lithographs, a copy of the Shoot Sheet from the Stephen J Cannel Building in Hollywood, and a Thomas Guide Street Directory. 200 miles later I would have snuck onto 5 sets and met one stunt coordinator. And the ratio of getting hired that way was one in a hundred, ish.

Ah, memory lane!

Ian Max

21 Days of Vengeance Trail - Countdown to Memphis Premiere on April 23!

Today, I reached out to all the Memphis news sources I could find with the search "submit story to Memphis news":

• ABC-24 
• ActionNews-5
• WREG
• We Are Memphis
• Fox-13 News - responded
• Memphis Metro News
• Happening Next: Memphis - paid $5 for story placement

Now, I'm working on some movie notes for one more pass on my edit, mostly lip sync issues that I missed, so I can submit Vengeance Trail for review to Film Threat. They have rates from Zero to $500. I'm going with the $100 option.

The nice thing about Film Threat is they are approved by Rotten Tomatoes, which requires 5 approved reviews before they post your movie. Here's the list of critics approved by Rotten Tomatoes.

Anyone have any suggestions on movie critics that love scrappy indies?

Tomorrow: I've got to get posters printed and into a few select stores around town. I'm thinking of giving a free ticket or pair of tickets for each storefront that lets me place a poster for a couple weeks. Thoughts? I'll be posting my results so we can all learn.

Then, I'd like to start posting bios of the cast and crew. Stay tuned!

Ian Max

29 Days of Vengeance Trail - Countdown to Memphis Premiere on April 23!

Each day, I'm going to post a little behind the scenes on: The Making of Vengeance Trail, or The Remaking of the Movie using Artificial Intelligence. As well as an update on progress planning the theatrical premiere on April 23 and sharing connections local to Memphis, TN.

You probably didn't get a chance to see Vengeance Trail the first time around. Who remembers Blockbuster? Blockbuster and Walmart is as far as Vengeance Trail got distributed, so I'd love to meet someone who saw it on the shelf and rented or purchased it.

If you like period-accurate Westerns, you're going to love this classic tale of good vs. evil! Nominated for the 2006 Golden Boot Awards "Best of the West." Al Frisch of Hollywood Guns and Props has all the props, costumes, screenplays, and even some horses and standing sets, to make many new Westerns. 

Tomorrow, I'll tell of how a film professor persuaded a historian and collector that Western movies can't lose and that he and his students could make a $10K feature with the resources of two Western buffs and their friends. Lot's of dreams were on the line!

Today's challenges:

• Start the process of building relationships with Memphis influencers by polishing and updating the EPK (electronic press kit).
• Then, I can approach media and bloggers for guest articles.
• Create the art for the t-shirt from the poster art, and send for a test print.

Which t-shirt design do you prefer? 

Today's Successes:

• A Memphis podcaster wants to interview me, stay tuned.
• I submitted the premiere screening event to HappeningNext for $5. 
• I negotiated with The Auteur Club for them to show my promo April 14, in return for showing their promo before Vengeance Trail on April 23.
• I booked a talk show with Anfra Boyd: April 21, 7pm Central on YAMS TALK RADIO.
• I also booked Anfra to live-stream the Premiere. She will bring so much energy!!!

Time to enjoy my family and get to bed on time!

Thanks for your support!

Ian Max

30 Days of Vengeance Trail - Countdown to Memphis Premiere on April 23!

Over 20 years in the works, Vengeance Trail is going to receive its first theatrical exhibition. I'm so excited to see and hear it on the big screen!

If you haven't followed the journey so far, Vengeance Trail started out as a student film, then grew. But, as you can imagine with a bunch of first time filmmakers, me included, plenty of mistakes were made. After several years, the movie was released in Blockbuster and Walmart, but it only made a fraction of its budget in return. I was always bummed that the investors were never made whole and the movie didn't find a large audience. When artificial intelligence tools became available, I started to wonder if the movie could be rescued and improved. And now, this epic-feeling Western, shot on a prosumer miniDV camera, receives the royal treatment at a theater in Memphis!

Now that the movie has been digitally enhanced, follow along on its self-distribution journey. For various reasons, traditional distribution isn't the best option for the movie. The first theatrical screening of Vengeance Trail happens 29 days from today. This daily blog series for 30 days will chronicle the journey to throw a memorable event.

What we have:

• A bonafide, feature-length movie! See the trailer at VengeanceTrail.com.
• Venue, a 165 seat theater at Malco Cordova Cinema Grill, on April 23, 2024 at 7pm. 
• Food and drink available at the event.
• Movie poster from which we will have t-shirts made.
• Stars of Vengeance Trail attending.
• Invites to be a guest on a podcast and a movie review website.
• Local advisors who have hosted theatrical premieres.
• Potential talent to live-broadcast the event.
• Potential musicians to entertain before and after the movie.
• Sound system for Q&A - the theater provides a house microphone.
• Camera and lights for the red carpet.

Needed:

• Update the EPK (electronic press kit).
• Printer for banners, posters, t-shirts. Lead time and quantity decisions. 
• Design completion for banners, posters, t-shirts.
• Possible DVDs, BluRays and 
• Decisions on a website for collecting ticket sales and emails for the future; Eventive vs. Kinema.
• Lock in musician and hosting talent for the event.
• Write a first draft of a guest post article for the movie review website to give notes.
• Decide how many posters to print, based on price-break and budget for inventory.

Today's successes:

• Two Memphis filmmakers, LaDell Beaman and Rex Oatis, have recommended sources for a red carpet backdrop for guest photos. Stickers & Banners drop ships within 24 business hours, and an 8'x8' vinyl banner is $98 plus S&H. I can borrow stands to hold the banner up. Another option is Central Imaging & Printing, which excites me because I really want to hire and spend locally, so I'll compare their quote when I get it. 
• I met Memphis Wrestler, K Toomer aka Fatjitsu, for the second time on Saturday. He and I were invited by LaDell to present our careers (stunts and professional wrestling) at a Heel the Hood Foundation Memphis event, and he prints the t-shirts for Memphis Wrestling at such an affordable price that there's actually still room to make a profit. So, I'm going to have him print a sample shirt with the following image as a test. 

Hope you like learning filmmaking with me!

Ian Max