iTunes v. Amazon v. Netflix v. Hulu from an Indie Filmmaker Perspective

I have had my films Take Me Home, Not Since You and The Diary of Preston Plummer on each of the following platforms: iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and Hulu. And I thought I would talk about the pros and cons of each of these high profile Video on Demand sites. Bottomline, I love them all for different reasons. Definitely try to get your films on all four - only stagger the launch dates. I'll explain why.

iTunes

iTunes should be part of your initial launch on Video on Demand. Pros: iTunes gets a lot of traffic and being on iTunes gives your film status. People are impressed when they hear a film is on iTunes. Impressed people seek out your work. And on iTunes, your audience must pay for each download and rental, which will help your bottomline. You can also get your trailer placed on their trailer site too, which immensely helps with the visibility of your title. Cons: It costs about $1500 to get your film placed on iTunes and you have to go through an aggregator so it's not the easiest or most affordable platform. And once your deal with your aggregator is over, your title will be removed from iTunes and you will have to figure out how to get it back on iTunes or leave it off. But definitely aim to get your film placed on this platform when you launch online.

Amazon

Amazon is a great platform to include on your initial release on Video on Demand. Pros: It's a popular, trusted site for your audience. You will get a lot of traffic and I found most of my titles performed the best on this platform. Your audience has to pay for each download or rental, which is nice. And you can easily upload your film yourself to Amazon, for free! Bonus! And you can use their CreateSpace site to offer DVDs-on-Demand to your audience. We do that with our title The Diary of Preston Plummer. It's a great way to offer a DVD without having to make a bunch of DVDs and store them in your closet. Cons: I don't really have a con about Amazon other than Amazon takes a nice chunk of change for their cut but it's a popular site so that's to be expected.

Netflix

Netflix is awesome once your title has been available online for a few months. I say this because as soon as your title is on Netflix, everyone will go there to watch it. So unless you get a hefty licensing offer from Netflix out of the gate, I suggest waiting to put your film on that platform until VOD sales start dropping off (maybe like 6 months after your initial VOD launch). When that happens, a presence on Netflix rejuvenates your title with audiences and you can secure a nice licensing fee (hopefully) to help boost your revenues for the next year or two. Pros: Netflix is extremely popular so you will be opening your film up to a huge audience. It's prestigious to get your film on Netflix. Prestige is great for your film! Since Netflix is subscription-based, more people will take a chance on watching your film since it's included in their monthly subscription, which means more people are checking out your work. Netflix has a wonderful review section for its members. You can rack up a long list of reviews of your film that you can use on social media to promote your movie. Their license fees are a nice addition to your revenue. Cons: As soon as your film is on Netflix, everyone will go there to see it. You will notice a steep drop in VOD sales/rentals on other platforms. For this reason, I suggest staggering a Netflix sale to later in the process. You will need a sales agent to get your film on Netflix. I haven't heard of anyone directly selling their film to Netflix - I'm not saying it's impossible but it's not the norm.

Hulu

Hulu is a terrific follow up to your Netflix sale. Based on my experience, releasing a film on Hulu is probably best a few months into your Netflix deal so you can promote both properly. Sometimes it can get hard to be pushing your audience to multiple platforms at the same time. But this is an individual choice to be made with your sales agent. Each film's strategy may be a little different. Pros: On basic Hulu (not Hulu Plus), your film is available for free to your audience - which is a pro and a con since you earn from the commercials they play during the film but your film is chopped up with commercials. If a film is free then you will entice an audience who likes getting things for free. Hulu is a well known platform so people are impressed when you say your film is on Hulu. Again, impressed people will speak well of your film and seek it out to watch. Cons: Hulu places commercials throughout your film. This is not a filmmaker's dream. We don't like it when our audience is taken out of our story to watch an ad, but we do love the wider audience Hulu can bring so it works out. 

If you want to check out my films on some of these platforms, here are the links: 

Not Since You DVD on Amazon

Not Since You on Hulu

Not Since You is available as a DVD through Netflix!

Take Me Home on Netflix

Take Me Home on iTunes

Take Me Home will be back on Amazon soon!

The Diary of Preston Plummer on Amazon

The Diary of Preston Plummer on CreateSpace

The Diary of Preston Plummer on Hulu

I even have some titles on Vimeo, IndieReign and VHX and hopefully soon on IndieFlix. I'm always looking to try new platforms but what I've found is that most of the revenue my titles have earned has been on the larger platforms, even with their hefty fees.

The above insights are based on my personal experiences with my own films. I am not endorsing distribution strategies or platforms. Each film is different and so is every distribution strategy. Good luck figuring out yours!

Happy Mother's Day: 40% Off The Diary of Preston Plummer on IndieReign Outside North America

Watch The Diary of Preston Plummer outside of North America for 40% off on IndieReign through May 30th: 

indiereign.com/v/66047 . 

Code: WELOVEMOMS

Happy Mother's Day!

https://www.

Attention Foreign Friends: Our Film The Diary of Preston Plummer Is Now Available Outside the U.S. via IndieReign.com

Poster for The Diary of Preston Plummer

Finding a means for distributing your film to the foreign markets outside of the United States is never easy, especially for small dramatic films.

Trevor Morgan as Preston Plummer

Foreign sales agents want films that have actors who already have worldwide fans. This usually means films with actors who have starred in huge tentpole films like Batman, Spiderman, Transformers, X-Men, Harry Potter, etc etc. I don't make these kind of films so it stands to reason that the films I do make would need a different delivery method - one that allows us to reach our audience direct.

Rumer Willis as Kate

So how do independent filmmakers get their small, dramatic films to a foreign audience? To date, we have had to find foreign sales agents willing to take a chance on our film and then we have watched as our revenue was eaten up by their expenses. This is a practice that doesn't work. We need a better way to get our films to our foreign audience.

Christopher Cousins as Walter & Erin Dilly as Emily

In the end, you may have sold your small indie title worldwide, but did you see substantial income from it or any at all? We as filmmakers have to remind ourselves that we are in a business and it's bad business to not see revenue from your product. End of story. We need to become smart about our business and create a sustainable method of getting our films to our audience.

On set with Rumer and Trevor and director Sean Ackerman

Too often, filmmakers feel like they have no other choice but to sigh and say, well at least it has reached a wider audience as they watch all of the earnings for their hard work go to everyone else but them.

Robert Loggia as John

THIS MUST STOP! We need to take control of our titles and work together to build viable distribution platforms for our titles whereby content creators are earning the lion's share of the revenue.

With this intention in mind, we have decided to work with IndieReign.com in launching our film The Diary of Preston Plummer into most foreign territories. If you live outside of the United States and Canada and you are not in the Benelux region (as we sold the film in that region to a different distributor), you can watch The Diary of Preston Plummer on IndieReign.

Rumer Willis as Kate & Trevor Morgan as Preston Plummer

I really hope you do watch it. This was a film that was the result of a lot of hard work by independent filmmakers and talent who believed in its creation. We had an awesome creative team and great actors: Trevor Morgan, Rumer Willis and Robert Loggia and a wonderful director Sean Ackerman. This film deserves to be seen and we hope you agree.

Sean Ackerman, director

On set with Rumer Willis, Me (producer), Trevor Morgan

Please help us make this film a success and establish a viable means for sharing our small indie films with a foreign audience. Thanks everyone!

Watch The Diary of Preston Plummer on IndieReign here:

Our Other Film Not Since You Is Now on Hulu!

What a week! Both of our films The Diary of Preston Plummer and Not Since You are now on Hulu!

This has been a long time coming. It always takes longer to launch films than you expect. But they're both up now and we're excited that these films will reach an even larger audience. We hope you check them out!

You can watch Not Since You here:

 


And watch The Diary of Preston Plummer here:

 

Busy, Busy Filmmaking Month!

This past month has been a busy one for me. I went to Shanghai to continue working on a film project with documentary filmmaker Leslie Iwerks and DP Suki Medencevic. It was soooo hot. We found out that we filmed outside on two of the hottest days on record in Shanghai. We were huddled under flags and umbrellas and had lots of Gatorade and water on hand. Definitely not recommended to shoot in such heat but you do what you have to do to get the job done. We had a lot of fun - Leslie and Suki are awesome to work with - it's great to be friends and coworkers. And being surrounded by such talent is very inspiring.

The 5-day shoot went well and we made it back to the States without a problem, except the intense jetlag. Shanghai is 15 hours ahead of us. They say it takes one day per every hour of time difference for your body clock to return to normal. So I had 15 days of recovery. Fun times!

On top of filming in Shanghai, we got great news that Netflix wanted to renew our title Not Since You and post our new title The Diary of Preston Plummer. The renewal was easy. Delivering Diary however was a little harder. I had to get our master tape to Deluxe so they could create the electronic file for Netflix. Luckily, Deluxe delivers files to Netflix all the time so they handled the entire delivery of the file. It was a little pricey but necessary. The film is available on Netflix now so please check it out here!

The trickier part was all the artwork they needed in photoshop layers. Our wonderful poster designer Hillary Gronvold stepped up and handled it for us. Thanks Hillary! (Here's some of Hillary's work (we love her): http://cargocollective.com/minidesignco). If you ever need any graphic design, we definitely recommend Hillary.

Next, we planned a final shoot for our new Web series Honest Andy, for our Web channel So Natural TV. We had a great shooting day - our cast and crew have become a well-oiled machine. We can't wait to launch the series and we're hoping to secure funding for our next Web series so we can keep the awesome momentum going. It feels great. I have really wanted to get involved in creating content for the Web and I'm really happy with the material we're creating. My producing partner and writer/director Leena Pendharkar is so talented and we get along amazingly well - loving our partnership.

Additionally, we are nearing a final version of our new short film Plain Clothes, written and directed by - and starring - Sam Jaeger! I am a huge fan of Sam and his work. What a wonderful person and talented filmmaker. Super excited for this short. Can't wait to figure out its launch and our next feature we will be making together.

Brandon Trenz and I completed our feature script romantic comedy titled The Fixer. This one is near and dear to my heart as it's set in the world of publishing - my home for almost ten years prior to film. And I also finished a first draft of a chick lit novella I am writing. My brother Kevin Kelly and I are nearing a first draft of our new comedy and my cowriter Kristin Goodman and I are packaging our project The Virgin.

Last but not least, I am also packaging two wonderful features - Ashland by the awesome husband/wife team Lindy and Kris Boustedt and Pitching Tents by Rob Fox and Jayme Petrille. Really proud of these projects.

So that was my month - whew! I'm busy but loving every second!! Feeling good about the future and definitely figuring out who I want to be as a filmmaker. And working with some amazing people. Very blessed. These are good times.

Casting an Indie Film: Our Journey Casting Trevor Morgan, Rumer Willis and Robert Loggia in The Diary of Preston Plummer

My recent film The Diary of Preston Plummer stars Trevor Morgan, Rumer Willis and Robert Loggia. Director Sean Ackerman and I pinch ourselves to this day that these incredible actors were willing to star in our little film. We will be forever grateful. So I wanted to take some time here and talk about our experience casting them.

Trevor Morgan as Preston Plummer

Rumer Willis as Kate

Robert Loggia as John

First, I think independent films have a very different atmosphere than studio films. Independent films really are an all-hands-on-deck scenario. And actors who sign on to an independent film typically know the resources are going to be limited. And they're walking into an unknown situation. At least with a studio film, they have the comfort of knowing the crew is experienced and they will likely have a decent pay day. Not so much on indie films. Anything can happen on an indie film.

As an independent filmmaker, I need to create a comfortable work environment for everyone, both physically and mentally. That's not always easy when you can't throw money around. But what makes my job easier is a cast and crew that understands the kind of project they have signed up for and really come together as a team and by the end become a family. Indie films have a sort of camp quality to them. And when camp is well organized and fun, then a good time is typically had by all.

My job is to help convince managers and agents that I have a quality project that they will feel comfortable presenting to their clients. Agents and managers tend to have a love/hate relationship with indie films. They love them for their meaty roles and hate them for their low pay. So the best thing I can do is come to them with a great script and great roles that they want to help cast with their clients.

The Diary of Preston Plummer was the first script I ever signed on to produce. This was over a decade ago. I was working as an assistant coordinator in NYC on feature films and the writer/director was a PA. He and I would drive an hour to and from work (Brooklyn to Yonkers) each day as we worked on a new Todd Solondz movie. By the end, we were like brother and sister and still are to this day. Nothing like road trips every day to create a bond - ha!

Cut to a decade later and many ups and downs on the project and a new resolve and a little cash to finally make this movie.

Sean and I began casting The Diary of Preston Plummer by researching every young actor in their early 20s. There are a ton of them! So we had our work cut out for us. We decided to have a casting call as well. Casting calls are amazing for being introduced to up-and-coming actors whom you may not have thought of or known about. And that's when we met Trevor Morgan for the first time.

I had known of Trevor's work and honestly wasn't sure if he would be interested in our tiny movie. He has been acting since he was a kid (remember the kid in Jurassic Park III? Yep that's Trevor. He even had a role in The Sixth Sense and The Patriot). He laughs knowing most people remember him from Jurassic Park III, when he has gone on to make such great indie films like Mean Creek and Off the Black.

When Sean and I first met Trevor Morgan, we thought wow, this guy is such an amazing actor. Sean and I knew Trevor would bring such a gravitas to the role of Preston Plummer - a very internal character. We knew we wanted him as our lead immediately, but would he want us?

I called Trevor's agent and asked if Trevor would meet with us one more time - at a bar this time. We sat down with Trevor and over a few beers, we poured out our vision for the film and by the end, Trevor was committed. We hugged and heaved a sigh of relief that our decade-long search for our Preston Plummer had finally come to an end. Trevor was perfect. He has both a sensitive and yet earthy way about him. The exact attributes needed for Preston.

Next up, casting Kate... The character of Kate is an enigma. She's beautiful and ethereal, yet has a deeply damaged soul. We knew the actor playing Kate would need to be able to portray someone with a lot of layers to their personality. I spoke to a few managers to get an idea of an actor who may be right and Rumer Willis came to the forefront.

Neither Sean nor I were all that familiar with Rumer's work. But what we did know seemed to mesh with our vision of Kate. So Sean had a skype session with Rumer and they hit it off. Rumer definitely "got" Kate and we jumped at the chance to work with her.

The great thing about Rumer is that she's so open for new adventures. And she's incredibly smart and supportive - a real team player. She gives of herself immensely both on and off screen. Often, she and Trevor were the glue that held everyone together. They helped make my job easier. I love them both dearly for that. Neither complained about the sacrifices we all made to get this film in the can. Trevor worked as a grip, even on his days off. Rumer and Trevor both cooked for the entire cast and crew. By the end, we were more than just a team. We were definitely family.

And the patriarch of it all? The one and only, the master Robert Loggia. Oh my God, I love Bob and his wife Audrey! These are two of the most generous, loving and kind people. I cannot say enough wonderful things about them. When we submitted the script for Robert's consideration (which was Trevor's idea by the way - thank you Trevor), we didn't think we had a snowball's chance in hell of getting him for this film. We were the tiniest film with no money. Who did we think we were asking an Oscar-nominated actor to play a part in this movie?

Well, according to Audrey, they both read the script and Bob said, I have to do it. The character of John is very rich. And it appealed to Robert's soul as an actor. He wanted to take on this part. Not for a payday but for the opportunity to be John.

And honestly, I think that's how The Diary of Preston Plummer was for all of us. It's this little story, set on this beautiful, enigmatic island, with a group of characters we want to know more about. Writer/director Sean Ackerman wrote this script from his heart. You can tell. We all could tell and who doesn't want to be part of a story created from such heartfelt passion? And to top it off, the script was great. It was truly Sean's writing and vision that got us this cast.

Rumer was asked why she took on the part of Kate and her response: Sean's passion. She could see how much this story meant to Sean and she wanted to help make his passion come alive. We all did. Thanks Trevor, Rumer and Robert! You made The Diary of Preston Plummer truly come alive!

Our take away: Passion, hard work and the neverending commitment to quality goes a long way to realizing dreams.

If you want to see The Diary of Preston Plummer, you can watch it on iTunes here or Amazon here. It's also available on most other digital download sites and Video-on-Demand. Just check your local On Demand listings.

Here's the trailer:

Do-It-Yourself Theatrical for Your Film

For our latest film The Diary of Preston Plummer, we knew we had no money to hire people who actually know how to helm a theatrical run of a movie. And I'm sure that's the case for a large number of indie films made each year. I think we can all agree on that, right?

Knowing we had no money, we knew that if our film was going to have any sort of theatrical, it would have to be homegrown. And even if we had money, I'm not sure a traditional theatrical would have made sense. Diary is a small drama, which is notoriously difficult to market theatrically.

But, we knew some sort of theatrical would help the exposure of the film and we also knew that there were certain regions in which we could drive an audience to the theater. Additionally, our digital distributor Warner Bros. wanted us to play 10 cities. So we had to make it happen.

I have never helmed a theatrical distribution. All of my titles to date have gone straight to video or the internet. This was a whole new world to me. Learning new arenas in filmmaking doesn't surprise or rattle me anymore. I feel like I am constantly overseeing new projects for which I have no experience.

Trial by fire is my mantra in filmmaking. Fake til you make it, as my business partner used to say! That mantra has worked in the past for me so why not when planning a theatrical?

I approached this guerrilla theatrical with common sense. No major chain is going to want my film. If its small nature didn't drive them away then the fact that we were launching on the internet on the same day of the theatrical would. And I was right about that.

I focused on small, arthouse venues and called or emailed them direct. I made my pitch and of the over 150 theaters I approached in less than a month, I got less than 10 percent to commit to play the film. It's not the odds I was hoping for but it was something.

So we planned the screenings and shipped the screeners and approached local press for reviews. I asked each theater for contacts to local press and they all typically provided them.

What I found is that the screenings in towns where the film was made or the director lived did the best, naturally. And the screenings in towns where the film had no personal ties to the community did the worst. Some were downright dismal despite getting mentions on the radio and on the internet etc.

But, and this is a big but, our theatrical was a success! Why is that? We made money. Yes, we did! It was not a loss leader. Instead it proved to be a nice chunk of money that paid off some of our bills. And we got some nice exposure to boot! Even sold out a showing and had to turn people away.

Long story short, if you're planning a theatrical for an indie film:

1) it helps to have money so you can hire a publicist or even a team to run your theatrical, pay for advertising, fly your cast and director to screenings for Q&As, and 4 wall theaters if you have to;

2) don't let lack of funds stop you - I was surprised that we had a successful theatrical with Diary and we had no money;

3) use common sense - if you feel it will be hard to get an audience to attend your film somewhere because you have no money for advertising and you have no connections in that area, it probably will be hard and may not be worth the effort or the aggravation for yourself and the theater owner;

4) focus on cities in which you have personal connections - I really cannot stress the importance of this factor enough. Make the screenings in those regions a huge success rather than spreading yourself too thin over regions where your film will die on the vine.

5) don't be upset if theater owners rebuff you - they're in the business to make money from you and if they don't think they will see a profit, it's likely they're right;

6) do as much press, publicity and marketing in each city as you can every day leading up to your film - there's never too much pushing you can do;

7) ask for theaters to do a box office split (rather than you paying to rent the theater) - all they can do is say no!

8) try to plan Q&As or after parties at some screenings - people like attending events

9) screen on blu-ray - they are the most economical screeners to make and are easy to ship and most theaters can accommodate them

10) have fun with it! You're getting your film shown on the big screen by a paying audience. How cool is that?

Here's our trailer for Diary - the film that had a successful theatrical! (It's available to watch on iTunes and Amazon and your local On Demand - check it out if you can - thanks!)

LA Premiere of The Diary of Preston Plummer Tonight!

If you are LA-based, we would love for you to join us for our LA premiere of our new film The Diary of Preston Plummer TONIGHT (July 6).

Diary is the opening night film of the Downtown Film Festival. A gala will follow at the new downtown LA eatery Towne.

Screening begins at 8p and the gala immediately follows. I will be there to do a Q&A. We made this film for less than $100k so we have lots of great production stories to tell!

We are super excited to have our LA premiere downtown!

Plus the film is really beautiful. Hope to see you there. Tix are still available here.

Here is the trailer:

The Diary of Preston Plummer Released This Friday April 20th!

Our new film The Diary of Preston Plummer will be released on Video on Demand - check your cable On Demand and online sites for downloads and rentals - and in 5 cities theatrically this weekend. See below for the cities and showtimes.

But first, here's the synopsis: On the day of his college graduation, Preston Plummer cannot think of a single thing he really loves. Adrift, Preston follows a beautiful but troubled young woman, Kate Cather, to a small island town where he begins to fall for her. Their relationship is soon threatened when he uncovers her family's dark past.

Starring Trevor Morgan, Rumer Willis, Robert Loggia, Christopher Cousins and Erin Dilly

Please come out and see The Diary of Preston Plummer at the following locations and times - thank you!:

Wilmette Theatre, Wilmette, IL:
4/20 - 4/25
Fri: 5:00, 7:00
Sat: 2:30, 5:00, 7:00
Sun: 7:00
Mon-Tues: 2:30
Wed: 4:00

Arena Grand, Columbus, OH:
4/20 - 4/26
7:05p each evening

Merrill's Roxy Cinema, Burlington, VT:
4/20 - 4/26
4p & 7:15p each evening

Market Street Cinema, Little Rock, AR
Opens 4/20
Showtimes TBD

Carmike Amelia Island 7, Fernandina Beach, FL
April 21st Only
7:30p

Cameo Cinema, St. Helena, Napa, CA
May 2nd Only
8p
Baldacci Winery, whose wine is featured in the film, will be pouring

And here's the trailer: 

 

Our World Premiere of The Diary of Preston Plummer

Wow! Life has a way to sucking you in. I had hoped to keep blogging but then got sucked into the vortex of work. I am producing two new documentaries and have been bicoastal this past month.

I wanted to mention that we recently had our World Premiere of The Diary of Preston Plummer at the Miami International Film Festival. It was a magical evening with our cast Trevor Morgan, Rumer Willis and Robert Loggia. Sean Ackerman (the writer/director) and I and our coproducer Jade DeCosta were also there. Thanks to everyone, including the Miami International Film Festival, for all of your help in putting on an amazing event.

We had a great time and will always remember the evening, especially after a decade of developing the film.

Here are some pictures from the event (photography by Henry Perez):

Currently, I am planning a one-week theatrical for The Diary of Preston Plummer and other special screenings. It has not been easy because we are planning to screen day and date with our Video on Demand and digital distribution starting April 20th.

Understandably, the theaters are not in love with screening a film that will be available on demand and on the internet. But I believe that we will actually do better theatrically if the world sees it online at the same time. The power of seeing a film in other media can actually drive theatergoers to the theater, in my opinion. And for an indie film, having it online may actually be more powerful to its performance than if it weren't being plugged on the internet.

We have some cities planned, including Wilmette Theater in Wilmette, Illinois - where the director grew up, The Roxy in Burlington, Vermont - where the director currently lives, and Market Street Cinema in Little Rock, Arkansas. We are also planning a run on Amelia Island where the film was shot and working with a theater in Napa and finalizing deals in other cities as well. Exciting stuff!

Right now we are in the final hours of our IndieGoGo fundraising campaign in order to afford our delivery to our distributor. We are in the home stretch of delivery but we still need all the help we can get to afford these costly deliverables. If you are interested in donating, we would be so grateful. Please find the link to our IndieGoGo Campaign here: http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Diary-of-Preston-Plummer-1?a=6178

If we are playing in your area, please come out and see the film or check it out online starting April April 20th! This film is the culmination of many years of love and passion. We hope you enjoy it. Thanks to all! Cheers!

Help an Indie Film Get Distributed!

Hi Friends! We are mid-fundraising campaign on our new film The Diary of Preston Plummer. We actually have a major studio wanting to distribute our film but we have to raise about $13k in finishing funds that we have to spend this month. I would be so grateful if you could spread the word about this fundraiser. A little goes such a long way! $10 by 700 people would get us there (we already have $600 raised)! You would be supporting the arts and a bunch of scrappy filmmakers who are working to keep independent film alive! Thanks everyone! http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Diary-of-Preston-Plummer-1?a=6178

For more information on the film, please check out our Web site here: www.thediaryofprestonplummer.com.   

If you are in the Miami area, we'd love for you to come to our World Premiere. It will be held on March 5th at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts at 7p. Red carpet will be at 6:30p. There will be a tribute to Robert Loggia to kick off the event. The screening of the film will follow the tribute. 

Here is a link to purchase the tickets to the Miami premiere: http://miami.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/thediaryofprestonplummer_seanackerman_miami2012

Thanks everyone!

Getting Distributed: The Diary of Preston Plummer

We are super excited about the future for our new film The Diary of Preston Plummer. Our World Premiere will be held at the Miami International Film Festival on March 5th. The festival is planning a red carpet event to begin at 6:30p. At 7p, we will hold a tribute to our star Robert Loggia by showing some clips from his past films and bring him on stage for a few words. The film will then start right after.

The Miami film festival and its staff have been incredible. They have a wonderful publicity group and really work hard for your film. We have had mentions in The Hollywood Reporter and IndieWire already.

The Diary of Preston Plummer has also been picked up by Warner Bros. for digital distribution and VOD. We are aiming for an April launch date so we can begin promoting the film to the world shortly after its world premiere. Demand It! in your city by clicking the icon at the top of this blog!

At the same time, we are planning a 10-city theatrical! This is going to be a challenge because we want it to be day and date with our VOD. I am finding that theaters really do not like this. But I think for smaller indie films, it will actually help drive the theatrical as it will mean more publicity for the title.

PerezHilton posted an exclusive clip from the film and we are inching toward 20,000 hits in 48 hours. That's awesome! Check out the clip here.

Along with all this great activity comes a lot of high costs! We have to deliver the film to Warner Bros. with closed captioning in various aspect ratios and already quality controlled. This will cost us over $10k and this is $10k we don't have - yikes! So we have started an IndieGoGo campaign for the film here.

I'd love any support you may provide. If you like my blog, I would love it if you would support this little film - any amount helps! Cheers!

The Diary of Preston Plummer Set to World Premiere at Miami International Film Festival

Our film (written and directed by Sean Ackerman and produced by moi) The Diary of Preston Plummer, starring Trevor Morgan, Rumer Willis, Robert Loggia, Erin Dilly and Christopher Cousins, will have its World Premiere at the Miami International Film Festival on March 5, 2012! It will be held at the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts. This theater seats 1500 so come one, come all!

Just prior to the screening there will be a tribute to Robert Loggia (one of our stars of Diary). Red carpet begins at 6:30p and the tribute will start at 7p with the screening right after. It should be a really fun night! Cast and filmmakers will be in attendance.

Who doesn't want to go to Florida in March?

If you want to see it in your city, Demand It here!

Here is the trailer and the behind-the-scenes for The Dairy of Preston Plummer: