If “you’ve ever sat around and wondered why you can’t make your living writing sex columns, or looked in the mirror and sworn you were Samantha Jones’ long lost twin,” then chances are you scare me to death. But good news––you’re eligible for a contest!
The Angelika, once a bastion of New York indie filmgoing***, now a collection of poorly laid-out screening rooms (most of them contain not a single seat with a decent view of the screen if the house is full) perched on top of a subway station (yay, rumbling!) is inexplicably pushing a Sex and the Citypromotional contest. The details after the jump!!!
I’m so happy to introduce one of the coolest elements of our Butterknife promotional blitz: over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be introducing a series of short videos made by Butterknife cast members–who are all, of course, talented filmmakers in their own right–that are inspired by/formulated to spread the word about the web series. Our first video comes from Mr. Michael Tully, director of Cocaine Angeland Silver Jew. It’s embedded above.
We’ll be posting all Butterknife stuff here at SpoutBlog, but you can also subscribe to our YouTube channel, if subscribing to YouTube channels is a thing that you’re into. Oh, and on oft chance these video inspire you to make your own Butterknife-themed clip, upload it to YouTube and leave a link in the comments to this post.
And now, for a bit of shameless self-promotion: behold the above widget, which will allow you to syndicate SpoutBlog headlines on your Facebook, MySpace, or on the sidebar of your own blog. You can grab the widget for yourself here. Do it, and show the world exactly how you feel about us.
Another interesting perspective from our film studies friend Dodd, known as “moviedodd” on Spout.
Friday means different things for different people, from getting out of town to hitting the bars for a long stretch of “unwinding.” For movie-lovers, it’s the ripe time to hit Rotten Tomatoes and check for reviews on the latest weekend releases. Usually everything seems in order, as most of the major releases have been branded positive or negative. However, there is sometimes one major release with nothing next to it. Despite the heavy promotion for weeks–sometimes months–on end, not one major critic has given his or her two cents. Have you ever noticed this?
I’m sure that by now most moviegoers are familiar with the films that are not screened for critics. Sometimes these are flicks that have been shelved for years. Other times they are fresh off the studio lot. It was recently announced that the long-delayed Ghost Rider will not be screened for critics. The action film features Nicholas Cage as a rough-around-the-edges biker with a CGI flaming skull for a head. Not screened for critics? Imagine that.
It seems quite clear why critics are forbidden to see these films. If a release has “disaster” written all over it, then it would be poor publicity to release it upon the masses with stamps of disapproval from the nation’s trusted film experts. However, people are beginning to get what’s behind non-exhibition for the critics. Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper even bestowed The Wagging Finger of Shame upon these films to indicate the foul smell they emanate.
While some may immediately recognize a dud, the tactic is certainly not flawed. Epic Movie recently debuted in the number one spot despite not being screened for critics and blatantly presenting itself in previews as one of the most awful things to hit screens this year. However, the unscreened comedy Let\’s Go to Prison was a monster flop in 2006 (this goes without mentioning possible box office competition).
As a self-proclaimed movie aficionado, I see this restriction as a kiss of death. On rare occasions, some titles are worth the blind venture into the multiplex. You better believe that a critical ban did not stop me from checking out Internet phenomenon Snakes on a Plane. However, it is easy to recognize when a movie studio is so ashamed of a picture that they keep it hidden from the press.
What is your take on the black sheep of the box office? Do you decide to go see if there’s potential in a film not screened for critics, or do you see a toe tag that might as well be marked “Dead on Arrival?”
Great films don’t have to be promoted by Hollywood. We now live in a world where one passionate person can pick up a camera and make a film. In the same sort of way, now one passionate advocate can promote a film to the people it was meant to reach. It’s a different world than Citizen Kane was made in. We believe it’s a world where every film has the chance to connect to its largest possible audience.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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If “you’ve ever sat around and wondered why you can’t make your living writing sex columns, or looked in the mirror and sworn you were Samantha Jones’ long lost twin,” then chances are you scare me to death. But good news––you’re eligible for a contest! 
