Dangerous Writing

The film is done! Such a relief. It's been such a long journey filled with expectation and distraction and four long years of life in general that it's difficult to feel a sense of accomplishment just yet. It's creeping in here and there. Per usual I have a lot of other stuff going on as well right now, so that's part of not feeling finished. And, quite honestly, it isn't finished. Just like finishing a script and wrapping principal photography are but stepping stones, getting to this stage just begins the process of helping the film find an audience. And frankly the idea of making people care is more daunting than the previous steps. Especially since along the way I often said we were making a film that no one cares about.
Until now, if I can manage a successful promotion campaign. I've actually been in the process of redirecting my career toward marketing communications. While that may seem like a slam dunk, it actually seems very daunting to me. Writing nice things about a brand or a non-profit is one thing - selling my won artistic vision from four years ago is quite another. Deep breaths. Making the film was a process. Promoting it will be as well.
We're doing the footwork to build a website. We submitted it to the Bend Film Fest where we're hoping it will premiere. I've made a list of other potential festivals, including the NW Film and Video Festival. I've sent queries to a few people about sending them screeners. Mixed results so far.
One idea I've been thinking about is creating 100 Fans of Dangerous Writing and then trying for a 1,000 and so on. If I can get 100 people to like the film and help spread the word, that will help keep the promotion focused. It's so much easier to think about 100 people than the world at large. Just writing these finite numbers gives me ideas!

What's the Matter With Kansas?

I'm reading this book by Thomas Frank about how conservatives successfully convinced the Middle-American working class to support the interests of big business. By conflating the outcomes of the culture wars and business regulation, Middle-Americans are now under the impression that they're voting Republican to get even with Wall Street. As a result many have lost their jobs and have raised picket signs not in response to the rich getting richer, but to denounce abortion and same-sex marriage. It's a sickening story that we have seen play out with increasing momentum over the past twenty-five years.
Frank does a great job of keeping things moving while articulating the depressing facts of the devolution of our culture. He's even pretty funny at times, "... leadership had taken long pulls from the bubbling bong of New Economy theory."