Hybrid Distribution

There are now more avenues than ever for independent filmmakers to distribute their product.

This article lists some of the ways indie filmmakers are finding alternate distribution channels to show their work.

Welcome, Upstate Film Society Members

If you've found your way over here from the Upstate Film Society notice that went out today, welcome to the Starbox Pictures blog.

On this site, we chronicle our pre-production efforts, fundraising, and general progress on our film "Dark Matter" (formerly "Suicide Squad").

You can learn more about our movie here.

To get a feel for who we are, what we stand for, and our general "anti-Big Hollywood" stance, please peruse the posts here.

We have a pretty cool mix of regular film fans who frequently post over here. Otherwise, it's just myself and my business partner, Adam Hatley, rambling about film.

Thanks again for stopping by.

If you have any questions about investing or making a donation to our project, please e-mail invest@boxofstars.com, or you can e-mail me directly at glenn@boxofstars.com.

Warm regards,
Glenn Hopper

Tribeca Line-up

I have a hard time determining Tribeca's identity.

They mostly rerun stuff from other festivals.

Lots of documentaries, too.

What are they looking for? What is this festivals' identity?

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Tribeca's Rocking This Year

New Beginning

So ... we've spent the better part of the past year assembling a cast and crew marketing a film project we knew was under a working title.

We figured we'd push full speed ahead under the title in case nothing better came along. Now, on draft 8 of the script, something better has come along.

As we near final revision of the script and production dates near, the whole project is really starting to gel. We're starting to pick up more and more press coverage, the story is crystal clear, our final fundraising push is near complete, cast and crew contracts are being prepared and signed.

We are nothing if not flexible at Starbox ...

So it is with excitement that we offer a sneak preview of our new title to all 7 readers of this blog.

Over the next month we will transition our branding of our film from "Suicide Squad" to the new title ...

(See below)

Dark Matter

The visible universe is but a light froth on the dark ocean of existence; its true essence unseen and undetected.

It is the glue that binds galaxies together.

Aristotle called it the unmoved mover.

Theologians call it, the Hand of God.

Physicists call it ...

Dark Matter

New Cast Member

Starbox is pleased to welcome Ralph Hatley as Sheriff Parker. Parker's role has expanded significantly over the past several re-writes of the script to a more menacing and pivotal character to the overall movie plot.

As the character expanded, we knew we had to call in the big guns.

This was a job for

The mighty Ralph Hatley.

Memphis Buzz Article

Thank you Memphis Buzz for mentioning our little dog and pony show!

Memphis Buzz Article

Also, thank you Old School Pictures for linking us from your site.

Easier Rider

I present -- the final nail in Abbie Hoffman's coffin:

Not exactly a counter culture move.

Indie Film

With the advent of digital and HD technology, the tools required to make quality films are more in the reach of independent filmmakers -- leading to an explosion of independent, privately financed films in recent years.

But the tools are only part of the equation. Low cost HD cameras and digital editing software may provide the means to inexpensively put a finished product on the screen, but they alone do not justify the reason for doing so. It doesn't matter how sharp the video, how crisp the sound, or how well edited a picture is if it doesn't have the requisite quality to begin with. All the software and equipment in the world won't make up for a lack of quality. Whether you spend $10,000 or $100 million on a film, without quality writing and performances, the film will fall flat.

Hollywood studios can and do often counter shoddy scripts with million dollar ad campaigns, explosive CGI, and big name actors. Small, independent film production companies don't have this luxury. And thankfully so! In order to compete with the Hollywood machine, low budget filmmakers have to create exceptional products that create their own buzz -- without relying on extensive marketing, product placement, and name recognition of big stars.

The general definition of independent film is a film that is produced without financing or distribution from a major movie studio. However, this definition has grown a bit too broad, as many independent films receive millions of dollars from Hollywood names (e.g. Singleton's $3.5 million "Hustle and Flow"), and while they are not financed by a major studio, they have a significant leg-up over Joe Film School's production.

The dream for most ultra-low budget filmmakers is to create a product that is unique enough to get accepted into the big film festivals, create a buzz in the industry, and land a distribution deal, following the Blair Witch model to international acclaim. The beauty of these films, if properly done, is that they are not crippled by teams of writers who try to force the picture into a neat and orderly Hollywood mold. Independent filmmakers take risks that the big studios are scared to touch. Hollywood executives seldom greenlight a risky picture because with typical Hollywood budgets, a single flop means a studio loses millions of dollars and the executive who approved it is out on the street.

Rather than comfortably remaking and rehashing old scripts (King Kong, The Longest Yard, etc.), independent filmmakers take on controversial subject matter, questionable heroes, and risky situations. When done well (Pi, American History X, Trainspotting, just to name a few) it is a thing of beauty. There is no published list of poorly done ultra low budget films -- those films are never heard of or scene.

Quality starts with a stellar script. If the script falls flat, nothing else matters. Beyond the script, all components of the film must look absolutely professional. Whether shot on film or video, the photography must be perfect. Blair Witch may have gotten away with amateur camera work and a faux documentary feel, but that was the exception, not the rule. Likewise, lighting and sound must be impeccable as well.

Seasoned improv actors may be able to pull off unscripted "Curb Your Enthusiasm" performances, but this is a big risk for filmmakers, and hardly one worth betting the farm on. Better to have a locked script with rehearsed actors who know their characters and lines inside and out before the camera starts to roll. While ultra-low budget filmmakers can't rely on big names to draw in ticket buyers, this is not an excuse to accept amateur acting. While Kevin Smith may have pulled this off with his films, in most cases, the audience won't be as forgiving. Even unpaid actors should be capable and knowledgeable of the craft.

Most ultra-low budget films have little or no money budgeted for advertising or distribution. They must stand on their merits alone. Time and time again, we see that indie films can go toe-to-toe with major Hollywood productions, but not just because they are "independent" or different.

Jenny Got Her Gun

Starbox Pictures has purchased our first asset.


Ain't she pretty.

$60 on eBay buys you a nice blank-firing .357.

Which gives me a new fund raising idea ...

Cute Li'l Guys ...

Beyond the Multiplex

The nominees for best foreign language film and best documentary feature are ... a quirky mixed bag. And we handicap them all for you here.

By Andrew O'Hehir
Salon

Mar. 02, 2006 | This year's foreign-language Oscar category is dominated, at least in terms of media coverage, by a late-blooming controversy over a film most Academy members undoubtedly haven't seen. Meanwhile, the documentary feature category is widely seen as a foregone conclusion, given the immense popularity of a film about flightless Antarctic waterfowl that was proclaimed as an example of Christian family values by someone who probably hadn't seen it.

Anybody who thinks these events are extraordinary hasn't been paying attention. The Hollywood establishment's efforts to honor documentaries and foreign films, while undeniably well-meaning, have developed an increasingly buffoonish character over the years. For one thing, there's a kind of taxonomic confusion involved: It's a little like asking a Major League Baseball umpire to officiate a championship chess match, or asking those two sheepherdin' cowpokes from "Brokeback Mountain" to collect botanical specimens.

It's easy to make fun of Academy voters as geriatric, aesthetically unadventurous and susceptible to a certain variety of "message movie." But beneath that partially accurate stereotype lies the fact that America's mainstream film industry is permanently and totally committed to a certain vision of what movies are: large-scale entertainments, whether didactic or romantic or comic or some combination thereof, designed to seduce and manipulate a broad popular audience. There's still a lingering awareness that other possible models exist, but when awards time rolls around, all those possibilities get rolled into two qualities: pretty and earnest.

Full Article