Distribution leads and links

Donna Wheeler shares some great links if you're looking to distribute content. The first one to bookmark is a distributor rating site called Distripedia. Now, if you are interested in one of the distributors listed in the links below, you can find out what kind of reputation they have before contacting them.

The first link is to The Film Collaborative, the folks who run distripedia.

There's a site called Film Tiki that is currently offering a free tool for 2010 that I think they plan to charge for in the future that is supposed to help filmmakers plan and promote their films.  Post a comment if you try it out and let us know what your experience was.

Finally there's a site called GoScreening that lets you submit privately to distributors who list what they are looking for.

Barbara Cole's One-Woman Show

Up Chick CreekWe gave a shout out to Barbara Cole, who starred in this year's winning No Budget Film, Casualties, whose one-woman show, Surviving Chrysalis, played at the Hollywood Fringe festival and will have one more encore performance in Santa Monica this Friday.  Theater is an alternate route for people who want to get their work out there and seen.  But theater ain't easy. Here's what Barbara has to say about self-producing.

WHAT an experience that was!  So many emotions and lessons - some good, some... bad. Can we tawk?   Self producing is HARD with no budget - lots of highs and lows, but performing this show in LA  was something I just  had to do, despite advice to the contrary.  Five years in development - and damn it  I f#@!ing did IT!.  I have SO much respect for producers.  And I'm glad its over... until I land a series regular and can do it with a real budget - or find a kick ass producer.

I felt lucky actually, because my small theatre was half full -- and with 175 other fringe shows going on in the same 10 day period, that was a pretty decent count...and the audiences were SO frickin' awesome!  The show went pretty awesome too with one great review on the fringe website.

She is performing it again Friday night with two other women in a show called Up Chick Creek.  It's at the Santa Monica Playhouse at 8 pm and is part of the Save the Playhouse campaign. Check it out if you can.

You Tube VidCon Partners Meeting

Donna Wheeler and I went to the LA Partner Meeting hosted by YouTube as part of the VidCon events happening in LA this weekend, and, oh my, did we learn A LOT.  Mainly, the presentations and panels gave the Partners teriffic insights on how to build an audience and make a living with video content.  But the biggest message is that you can't just put up a video or even a series of videos and expect to succeed.  Everybody who succeeds works long hours and participates in the online video community.  If you don't and are looking for a magic way to suddenly become a YouTube star,  your energy would be better spent where your heart really is.
 
That's not to say that you might not come up with some new way to use video content on the web to reach your goals.  I'm thinking of the guys who shot the mock movie trailer, "The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon" and used its success to leverage a movie deal.  But if you want to make your living from your videos on the web, you have to make it your job and treat is at least somewhat professionally. 

Nuts and Bolts Are Not the Machine

One of the things I do after the festival is follow up on my offer to talk to those who did not get in about their work. Some of what I talk to them about is stuff that all of us who create need to keep in mind. This is especially true in comedy where our favorite funny bits are more often the problem than the beloved centerpieces we imagine them to be. But they're soooo funny!!!!!

That's when I came up with the image of nuts and bolts. They are the essential connectors for building just about any machine: a romantic comedy vehicle; an action comedy rocket ship; a satire guillotine. It is essential, however, to keep the machine you are building in mind and resist adding more and more nuts and bolts just because you have them. Put them in your catch-all drawer - you know, the one in the kitchen with the batteries and the twist ties and the button you know belongs to something... You will be glad you have that particular comic bit of business one day when it turns out to be the ONLY way to get your machine off the ground. At that point you have my blessing to put it in. But for now, if taking it out doesn't hurt the machine, then it doesn't belong in this movie. Funny though it may be... Take. It. Out.

And the Winners Are...

...All of the Broads and the Broad-Minded who had a great weekend at the festival.    Laughter.  Community.  Inspiration. 

The films were super and the screenplays a blast.  The actors deserve kudos for their performances in the screenlab.  The Broads Brunch proposed web series is going to fly, with several attendees coming up to tell me they already have their idea. 

And the awards went to...

2010 Broad Humor Film Festival Awards

Best Feature
Trippin' by Devi Snively

Best Short
Thank You for Washing by Camille Brown

Best Short Short
Career Virgin by Angela Comer

Audience Award
Action! by Hillary J. Walker

Best No-Budget Film
Casualties by Julianna Eggold

Best Romantic Comedy Screenlplay
Frenching by Marie Rose

Best Character Comedy Screenlplay
Albert Carp by Robyn Jackson

Best Action Comedy
Spy Stuff by Kay Weibel

Best Ensemble Comedy Screenplay
Ratacholo by Teri Carson

Best Comic FantasyScreenplay
Faith's Healing by Valerie Scott

Best Short Screenlplay
Happly Ever After by Kimberly Smith

Best Teleplay
White Trash by Kelly Sarber

A One-Broad Show

Broad actress, Barbara Cole, (Broadsides screenlab and Casualties actress, '10 Best No Budget) performs her one woman show, Surviving Chrysalis, this Wednesday and Thursday night (6/23 & 24) in the 1st Hollywood Fringe Festival.  Surviving Chrysalis is semi- autobiographical:   soulful, funny, and steamy.  We expect nothing less from a Broad. And Barb is always a pleasure to watch. For details and tickets visit: http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/project/view/256

Awards Arrived

The awards have come in from the designer and they look FABULOUS.  I am so happy to have them and can't wait to give them away on June 13.