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Demystifying The Indie Film Journey
This is Truly Independent, a show that demystifies the indie film journey by documenting the process of releasing independent films in theaters. Each week, Garrett Batty and I, Darren Smith, will update you on our journey, bringing guests to share their insights into the process and answer your questions. On today's episode, we recap how the premiere of Faith of Angels went last week and how we're gearing up for opening weekend this week. We also give you a little update on the carpenters, so stay tuned. This is episode 16 of Truly Independent.
Daren:Well, hello, Garrett.
Garrett:Welcome. We started at the same time. Perfect. We're so excited to be back doing this. How are you?
Daren:Oh, man. I'm so so good. 2 nights ago now, we had the premiere of Faith of Angels here in Utah, and I'm still riding on cloud 9, man. It was such an amazing night. I wanna dive right into it and just talk about it more.
Garrett:Yes. And we will. We will get to it once we get the housekeeping out of the way, but it was. It was so neat to finally have that kickoff to what we've been leading up to for so long, so long.
Daren:Yeah. It's been it it feels crazy to think that we started this podcast 16 weeks ago in, what, June or July, and now it's here already. Like, we were It's interesting to watch through and go, oh, yeah. We're a month out or over 6 weeks out or whatever. And it's like, it came so fast.
Daren:So Yeah. Yeah. If if you ever do this yourselves, listener, make sure you give yourself plenty of time because it you never have enough.
Garrett:Yeah. Yeah. 100%. Okay. What we are let's see.
Garrett:We're recording this September, Wednesday, 11th. And so we do have a weekend box office a couple weekend box offices to look at Yeah. Because we haven't done that for a little bit. This last weekend was, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opening weekend. Is that right?
Daren:Yeah. Coming out the gate hot, $111,000,000 on 4,500 screens. I believe I read somewhere that it was it was, like, the largest really separate, like, 4,500 screens. 4575 is how many theaters screen Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. And that is insane.
Daren:Like, that's every theater, basically.
Garrett:Congrats to them. They had a 24 $1,000 per screen average.
Daren:Yeah.
Garrett:On on that many screens, you're gonna get that number, a 111,000,000.
Daren:Yep. Pretty amazing.
Garrett:Just scanning that box office, another shout out to Reagan in their 4th weekend now. They were number 3. So that film has some legs. They're still on 27 100 screens. They did another almost 5,000,000 that weekend to bring their total 18,000,000.
Garrett:A little bit farther down the list is The Forge, starring Cameron Arnett.
Daren:Yeah. Our friend Cameron and our friend BJ was in the movie. I didn't know. That was a nice surprise. So Cameron and BJ are married in real life, and they play a married couple in the movie.
Daren:But, oh my gosh, they did so, so good with that movie. That counts as my, quote unquote indie film that I saw. I mean, they did release on, like, 2,000 plus theaters. So it's it's not following our strategy, but they definitely made a great movie and it's doing really well in the box office. And we just are so happy to see the success of that because part of our strategy I don't know that we talked about too much about the trailers for Faith of Angels coming out, but maybe we can talk about that for just a second.
Daren:Like, our big goal was to, a, get the trailer done and ready. Like, we had to get music. We had to get everything buttoned up so that we were ready to go. And then it's getting the theater out there and, like, what what films should it play in front of? And so we pushed really hard to get in front of the forge because, a, it's faith based and inspiring story, and, b, you know, Cameron Arnett's the number 1 or 2 actor in that movie, and he's number 2 in our movie.
Daren:And it just made sense to promote to the audience who already paid to see him in theaters. So I think it's, we haven't seen yet because we haven't gotten to opening weekend, but we're hoping that that strategy plays out for
Garrett:us. Yeah. Kevin Arnett, I mean, he just does such a fantastic job in both films. Yeah. And it's no there there's no question as to why he's being cast in these films.
Garrett:He has such a strong presence and is a a great, recognizable name for the faith based audience. And yes, so when we trailer on that on the forge that is in you know 1700 screens across the country. Last weekend, it was over 2,000 screens. You know, and it's doing very well. It's in its 3rd weekend still in the top 10 movies in the country, and we are trailering on that and it's a good way to create awareness.
Garrett:We're also trailering on Reagan, which is again the number 3. And the tie in there is that John Michael Findlay who's in Faith of Angels was, his last movie was with Dennis Quaid. Mhmm. I can only imagine. And so there's talk about like we've talked on our podcast about building an audience and creating awareness.
Garrett:And we say okay, The audience for Reagan, a large percentage of them most likely will have seen John Michael Finley's work before. So there's already this audience and awareness. Yeah. And that's a key decision as to why we chose those trailer those films to trailer on.
Daren:1, really, you gotta consider those almost tender mercies. Right? Because we we couldn't plan a year ago, you know, that the forge would come out. I didn't know about the forge when we were filming with Cameron. I didn't know about Reagan when we were filming with John.
Daren:That wasn't part of our strategy, so that's just like, wow. This is amazing that these two things are happening, and we're able to go in front of those movies because, you know, we're not gonna we're not gonna trailer on Alien, Romulus or Deadpool and Wolverine. Like, that's not our audience for this movie. And so the fact that we've got 2 movies that are kind of in the same demographic is really, really beneficial. So I'm hoping that that plays out well for us this week.
Daren:Yeah.
Garrett:Yeah. Yeah. We'll see. And and we should clarify also, Darren, for our audience. It's not like we get to decide, hey, we are on Reagan and the forge.
Garrett:It's like no. The theaters build their build their show run, their pre show, but we, Purdy distribution or distributor sends out requests and says, here's Faith of Angels. We would request that you would consider it for these movies. And and because and then they just to support that, they say, here's the tie in. Cameron Arnett is in both films or John Michael Findlay has an audience built, who's gonna be seeing Reagan.
Garrett:So yes, we're very grateful that theater owners and bookers are saying, yeah, that makes sense. Let's do it. Darren, before before we be leave the top ten box office or that thing, I I just wanted to point out, and this is kinda something that's very interesting. We've got the front room at number 10, which opened on 2,000 screens. That's an a 24 release, and it did 1,600,000.
Garrett:So that's beyond our model. We we we're not gonna do 2,000 screens, but it broke into the top 10. Just below that, we have trap, which moved up is 1,300,000 on, 341 screens.
Daren:Yeah.
Garrett:Which is really kind of interesting. They had a good per screen average at almost 4,000 per screen. That's few screens to be that high, the 1,300,000. I mean, on some weekends, that would be well in the top 10.
Daren:Yeah. Well and that the 4,000 per screen average is on their 6th week of release. That's what is shocking to me. Like, there's it's the 2nd highest per screen average out of everything in the top 10 except for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Garrett:So I'm really curious because they they lost 391 screens. I'm just wondering if this is a reporting error or what that is and maybe I'll need to look into that. But they're up 72%, they they're playing on 341 screens. They've moved up from number 7 excuse me, from number 16 to number 11. Where it caught my attention is faith of angels right now, we're currently booked for our September 27th release on about a 160 screens, and we're adding screens every day.
Garrett:Yeah. There you know, is there an opportunity to see a similar pattern where we say, okay, we're gonna open in Utah for the first 2 weeks of open. We'll be floating in that top 20 area. And then, do we add those, you know, 200 plus screens and bump, up to that kind of top 15, maybe top 10. I don't know.
Garrett:It'll be very interesting.
Daren:Yeah. It really depends on per screen average, I think. And so what it looks like they did was I don't know if it was strategic or not or if it was a function of the the theaters just saying we're we're taking this off, but their, yeah, their percentage went up 72%, and, their per screen average more than near it tripled. More than almost quadrupled. If you look at just August 30th to September 1st, so not including Labor Day.
Garrett:Right.
Daren:The 3 day weekend, that's $1,000 per screen, August 30th through September 1st. And this week, it went to almost 4,000. So it's pretty close to a 4 x per screen average, and they they made nearly double, so plus 72%, more this week than last week. Last weekend, they made $778,000. This weekend, they made up $1,300,000.
Daren:So I think what happened there is it strung word-of-mouth. Like, it's a decent movie and people are talking about it. And I've seen I've seen a lot of social shares around the interviews and around, the director, and it's it's getting good buzz. And so I think I think that's how you do it. Right?
Daren:Like, if you're granted they opened on 3,000 screens, dropped to 25100, dropped to 1600, they're they're dropping screens pretty rapidly, but they're holding really strong for the last 3 weeks.
Garrett:It's really interesting to be to watch that.
Daren:Yeah. Because I've seen you know, if you look at any movie, it's pretty typical to drop, you know, 30 to 60% week over week as far as your box office take, independent of how many theaters and stuff are carrying it. So to go up in week 6, that's exciting. Like, who knows what happens with our movie because there could be more demand after week 3 or after week 5 when more and more reviews come in and more and more word-of-mouth is happening and
Garrett:Yeah.
Daren:A lot of that's out of our hands. Right?
Garrett:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Garrett:For sure. And I didn't mean to get off into the weeds in that. It was something I noticed and thought, okay. Is there a model there or clerical error or what's going on? But it but it does kinda relate to what we're doing.
Garrett:Okay. So
Speaker 3:Hey, indie filmmakers and movie lovers. This show is sponsored by Purdy Distribution. Since 2011, they've been bringing incredible independent films to theaters like Garrett Batty's The Saratov Approach, T. C. Christensen's Love Kennedy, and McClain Nelson's Once I Was A Beehive.
Speaker 3:They've worked with top notch directors like Mitch Davis and Mark Goodman specializing in family, faith based and funny films. This year alone, they've released hits with JK Studios like Go West and Villains Inc, and have even branched out internationally with films shot in South Africa and Japan. Purdy distribution works closely with indie filmmakers designing personalized distribution plans whether it's a theatrical release or straight to streaming on platforms like Amazon, Itunes, Google, and more. If you have a PG or PG 13 film ready for the world, think about reaching out to Purdy Distribution. They're approachable and knowledgeable, ready to help you visualize your film's distribution.
Speaker 3:Even if your film isn't fully polished, they can offer valuable guidance. Plus, if you need that crucial distribution piece for investor packages, Purdy Distribution can provide a letter of intent to distribute, helping you secure funding without locking you into a contract. Mark your calendars for Purdy Distribution's upcoming releases, Tokyo Cowboy on August 30th, the digital release of Thabo and the Rhino Case on September 1st, Faith of Angels in theaters on September 12th, Villains Inc on Amazon and Itunes on October 1st, and The Carpenter on November 1st. To stay updated on these releases and more, sign up for their newsletter at purdiedistribution.com. That's purdiedistribution.com.
Speaker 3:Now, back to the show.
Garrett:We've had our premiere. We're gonna talk about, what went right at the premiere, what areas we could improve, and, just the general overall takeaways.
Daren:Yeah. Gosh. I mean, if you see any of our posts online, you can see the smiles on our face. We were living it up. It was a dream come true to be a producer on a movie that premiered, legitimately, like, in the theater with, and it was a big theater with a big screen.
Daren:We had 561 seats in that theater. We sold it out. So I think we did a lot right, starting with the fact that we hired Michelle Moore and her PR team to run the premiere for us. Like, I didn't do a lot when it came to the logistics of the premiere. I showed up.
Daren:I looked pretty. I held a microphone for a few minutes, and I watched the movie. Like, I didn't have to do a lot. So I think that's key. A key thing that I think we did right was to hire someone to do it, because the last thing I want to be doing on premiere night when my family's there and my friends are there is, oh, sorry.
Daren:I gotta go check on something, or, oh, I gotta go move this table and the red carpet and these stanchions over here while the movie's playing. No. I wanna be in there enjoying it with everybody else. So that was tip for me, that's, like, number one top thing that we did right.
Garrett:Yeah. And I think that there was a lot of prep on that as well, like sitting with Michelle describing very clearly, you know, just just like a producer would do, like we would do with a crew member and say, here's our expectations, are you able to pull this off? And knowing Michelle, she'd certainly pulled it off, with with spades and just, completely delivered. But I think she had a very clear understanding of what we wanted and what we expected and and, what we needed. And she was also very helpful on saying, hey, here's some ideas that have worked in past premieres.
Garrett:You know, our our premiere was Monday night, and I think Thursday, the week prior, we sat with Michelle and did a full kind of a show run through and say, look, movie starts at 7 o'clock. Great. What happens in that 6 to 7 hour? And even to the point where we said, where who are our cast that are going to be attending? And how can we, maximize their presence there.
Garrett:So, yes, there's a red carpet, but each one had kind of a time to be interviewed by some social media cameras, some theater, you know, exhibitor cameras, are still photographer, and then they move on and do a meet and greet with people. And so walking through step by step and building that somewhat extensive, calendar helped schedule or event agenda helped that event go smoothly.
Daren:Yeah. That was really nice to just know. Okay. I gotta be there at 6. I gotta be at this time and place at 7.
Daren:I gotta do this after the movie. And I just knew where I needed to be, And I didn't have to be reminded. I didn't need to be dragged. I didn't need to remember. I was just like, I was there.
Daren:It was really, really, really smooth. The other thing that I think we we could have missed this, and so maybe it goes into both categories of something we did wrong, something we ended up doing right, was, you know, we were we were thinking about what everyone else is doing to make the premiere a success, and we were definitely promoting the Eventbrite tickets for the premiere, you know, heavily on social media and our email lists. We were talking about the movie every day on online. But the thing that you and I didn't realize until last week was like, man, I I haven't reached out to, like, my, quote, unquote, influencer friends yet Yeah. Because we have people for that.
Daren:Right? Like, in my mind, I was like, oh, Michelle and Kurt, and we have people that are doing that for us. It's like, wait a minute. Well, why wouldn't I invite my friends from Neon Trees and Imagine Dragons? Well, Imagine Dragons on tour.
Daren:I didn't invite any of that. But, like, I have actor friends and musician friends and business friends here in the community that I'm like, I haven't told any of them directly. I I've just hoped that they would find that online. So going through and putting down a list of 50, 60 people and then texting them a direct invite from me led to, a, a lot of tickets and a lot of people coming, but also a lot of great exposure for the movie because they're there with their significant others and their family, and they're taking photos, and they're promoting the movie for us. So we almost missed that one, Garrett.
Garrett:Yeah. I I agree. That was sitting there with you on Thursday going, hey. Why aren't we you know, where's so and so on this list? Where's so and so on this list?
Garrett:And thinking, oh, those are our personal contacts, and I I had the same experience. And I would even encourage, and I was reminded, you know, the thought was I have a lot of friends that I know won't be able to make it, but still, like, reaching out to them, you know, saying, hey. Love for you to attend the premiere. It's, you know, this week, and inviting them. You know, I've got, I found some surprises, like, some actually did come.
Garrett:I reached out to, you know, Bart Johnson, from High School Musical, and he was in Saratoga approach. He lives in LA. I reached out to him, and his brother Adam Johnson, said, hey, we'd love to have you guys at the premiere. We've got, you know, let me know. We've got some tickets for you.
Garrett:They happen to be in town and they happen to come to the premiere. Now we've got some great footage of Bart Johnson, inviting, you know, and promoting the movie. Yeah. And then I I got a friend who's an executive at Warner Brothers, a former executive of Warner Brothers. Reached out to him.
Garrett:He lives in LA. Same thing. He said, hey. Love to have you at the premiere. You know, it's this night, and we're very excited about it.
Garrett:Responded, obviously, saying, hey. Thanks for the invite. I'm out of town, but I've got a contact, here, that might wanna know about the movie. And so just that personal invite led to, you know, potential PR stories even though he wasn't able to attend.
Daren:Yeah. Super smart. So, yeah, if you're following along with us all the time, yes, use your team, but also make sure you're maximizing what you can do. That is key. I think we probably ended up with an extra 50 or 60 people that came because of our your and my and our distributors direct outreach to, quote, unquote, influencers, people that have audiences, people that it's cool to go to a premiere and see, quote, unquote, famous people.
Daren:Right? You wanna be like, oh, this is special. This is different. This is unique. I feel really cool that I'm here, and that was really the atmosphere we had.
Daren:And, gosh, was it fun because, you know, I I've loved Kirby forever. I worked on, single Second Ward. I've I, you know, I watched Singles Ward when I was at college. So, like, he's been part of my adult life, like, my whole adult life. And so to work with Kirby was a dream, but then to be able to, as a producer and a friend of Kirby, say, hey.
Daren:Can you come over here real quick? I just wanna introduce you to my bishop or my friend from, you know, 20 years ago who's liked you for a long time. Like, I was able to do that, which made it special for me, special for my friends and family, and, like, just the fact that that's part of the experience was so fun that it's not just Kirby's here. It's like, oh, we know the guy that knows Kirby, and that's so cool because now we're cool too.
Garrett:Well yeah. I mean, that yeah. That's it it is fun to see those actors, Kirby and John Michael Finley and Jason Wade and Charlotte Hemmings and so these actors who have done this so many times before, really that's part of their skill set. Like they know how to I hate the term work a crowd, but they know how to I mean genuinely meet people and engage in conversation and pose with the pictures and navigate, you know, who needs who they need to talk to. And, that's part of their skill set and to be able to watch them do that is I'm in awe of what they can do.
Daren:Yeah. I I would quickly put that into a into the category of what we did well was we casted really great people. Not just talented actors, but really genuinely nice, friendly, humble, grateful people. And we we never once I haven't heard about anything at least, like, had any issues or had anybody go, well, I need special treatment, or I need this certain kind of water or green M and M's in the green room. Like, they were all just there to support the movie, and we all got to celebrate it together.
Daren:It was so so cool to have such a great group there.
Garrett:Yeah. I agree. Darren, so for the event then, so as a filmmaker, we say, okay, I got a premiere and I booked the theater. Okay. Now I'm going through the, you know, for for taking notes and doing, you know, learning from what we've learned.
Garrett:And I'll say this preemptively because we've got a number of different events coming up in October for the Carpenter, which opens in theaters across the country November 1st. So now, I mean, we're almost like ready to, like, now focus and turn all of our efforts onto the carpenter, but it is going to benefit from what we've learned here. So in addition to going over the show notes and say, hey, it's 6 movie starts at 7, What what did we do or what did Michelle arrange that worked? You know, like, once that movie started and then after, how we're maximizing this event of 500 people gather to see a movie.
Daren:Yeah. For run of shows specifically, Michelle had a team of, like, 6 people that were helping move things around while we were watching the film. So we started in one area of the theater right by the entrance, and that's where kind of our red carpet camera interview setup was really for the actors and, to get interviews, to get all of those sound bites and pictures there. And then the movie started, and their whole team moved everything from the front to just outside the theater. And part of it is just her understanding Just
Garrett:outside the auditorium.
Daren:Yeah. The auditorium. Sorry. You're good. Part of it's her understanding of the people that work there because she's done events there before, understanding the flow, understanding, like, what's right and wrong to do or to expect so that we're not taking over the whole theater and causing an issue for everyone that's there to see other movies.
Daren:It was really, really well done. So they moved everything over, and then we had this great long line of it felt like everybody who was at the theater went through the picture line to take pictures with the actors and get signed posters. So assuming a team, key.
Garrett:Yeah. And I think that just the just the logistics of managing that crowd, we knew that, look, there is going to be at the end of a premiere, you've got 500 people there. A number of those audience members are going to want to stay to meet the people that meet meet the cast. That's why they show up. And so Michelle and her team logistically figured that out and said, look.
Garrett:We'll have the photo wall. We'll have the 2 or 3 leads from the film at the photo wall. Well and then the additional cast was seated at tables. She had about 8 places set, and they were signing posters. Now, if I'm an audience member, I want everybody's signature Mhmm.
Garrett:On that poster. And so the 2 that were on the photo wall, she had when they arrived early, they pre signed the posters so that, the, you know, whoever's going through that line to have their poster signed already had a poster with the 2 leads, signatures. And it's just like little details like that. Another thing that, I think we learned and was wise is and I I don't wanna sit here and pat ourselves on the back because these have been, you know, these are learned things. And, with the premier, you've seen the the step and repeat that they have.
Garrett:And so in every photo, you get like the studio logo or the name of the film behind whatever it is and it's usually this 16 foot or 24 foot step and repeat. We're an independent film, so our step and repeat was, 10 feet, which still acted as a great backdrop, but we also said, look, we we need the movie to be, promoted in every photo. So our step and repeat rather than just studio logos, we essentially did did a billboard and made it a 8 by 10, 8 foot by 10 foot billboard. So every photo has some sort of, like, recognizable imagery from the film in it. And it just so happened that high up, you know, about 6 to 7 feet up on that step and repeat, that billboard step and repeat it says, based on a miraculous true story.
Garrett:And so you're getting all of the social media photos or a professional we had a a professional photographer there taking, and they might be standing in front of, you know, the main body of the photograph, but you always get some sort of branding for the movie and it's been fun to see that on social media.
Daren:Yeah. It's got in theaters now, Miraculous True Story. You've got John and Cameron Big Head right behind the people. Like, whatever angle people were taking the photos at, it worked really well. And I I think that was the right call because, yeah, if it had Purdy Distribution and Capa Studios and Heartstrings, like, we love those, companies and the people we get to work with on this movie.
Daren:That doesn't mean anything necessarily for a social media audience. So, yes, I think that was a really smart decision on your part to say, this isn't a step and repeat. It's a billboard. Treat it like that. And then they redesigned it perfectly.
Garrett:Well and that was kind of a group a group decision. But, what's nice is that when we left, guess what's still there is our step and repeat. But it's acting as a billboard now and it's right next to, like, the Deadpool, big cardboard cutouts. There's our faith of angels 10 foot, billboard sitting in the lobby of the theater.
Daren:Yeah. Makes it feel like a much bigger movie, because it's a bigger poster than Deadpool and Wolverine, and people are gonna go, what? What's this movie? Okay, I got to check that out. Yeah, it all works in our benefit.
Daren:I think another smart thing is to realize that, like, there was there were points along the way that we said, hey, do we want to add other theaters? Do we want to sell more tickets? Do we want to add extra theaters? And I go back to what I've talked about on this podcast before of, like, you want to be oversubscribed. It would have been really sad if we had a full theater of 560 people and then a second theater with 30 people out of Yeah.
Daren:A room that holds 200 or something. That wouldn't have been a great experience for them. They wouldn't have been in the same room as the cast and crew and the people who this story was about. So I think it was really important to limit and say, no. We're going to be all in the same room.
Daren:It's a big theater. We're going to have a lot of people there. We're not going to oversell this thing because that's not the right experience. That's not the experience we want people to have. And I've definitely been to premieres where they had 2, 3 theaters going at the same time.
Daren:And Yeah. If you're not in the cool room, then you feel, like, left out, and that's not a great experience at a at a premiere. So I think we did that right as well.
Garrett:Yeah. Yeah. That's a good that's a good note. I've seen that work in in some cases where, yes, you've got 2, 3 theaters. And there is usually the main theater that's kinda the kickoff and you got everybody in there.
Garrett:And it's worked when they've staggered that. So we say, look, you know, this theater starts at 7 and everybody gets seated and then there's that 10 minute intro which which I wanna get into what that is. And then after you give the intro to the film, you know, movie starts and then those that were giving that intro move to the next auditorium and they start at 7:15. So it's a little bit of a staggered thing and it works because, you know, auditorium b still gets that invite and that and that presence. You do have to make sure that there's still some, I don't wanna say status, but influencer or celebrity in auditorium b and whatever it is c, to make sure that if I'm just a regular moviegoer and I bought a ticket to the premier that I still get to feel like I'm not missing out.
Garrett:But but yeah. I mean, we didn't we we opted to just go one big theater and I think it worked out. Kurt, our social media influencer, reached out to me after the premier and suggested that. He said, now that I've seen kind of this cycle, he goes, I wonder if our social media influencer screening should have been in conjunction with the night of the premiere and just in a second auditorium. Because because of the like atmosphere that comes with a red carpet and things like that, that will make for good social media promotions.
Garrett:Yeah. And I thought that was an interesting, observation on Kurt.
Daren:Yeah. I mean, you and I have 50 or a 100 people that we know, and half of them responded and half of those said, yes. I'll be there and came. Right? So out of a 150 people we messaged, maybe 30 to 50 showed up.
Daren:If we are a influencer marketing agency and we can reach 5,000 influencers in Utah, then, yeah, sure. Have multiple screenings and do all that stuff. But, again, it just goes back to the importance of having an audience. Like, the reality of this is we we sold out the last tickets the day of the premiere, which was awesome to be able to say we sold it out. But it's not like they sold out the day we announced it because you and I Yeah.
Daren:Don't have the kind of audience where we can say we have 500 tickets, and there's so much demand that we could sell it out in 24 hours or 5 minutes. That's what we wanna get to. Yeah. But that's not this movie. Right?
Daren:I think Carpenter is gonna have a different plan because it's not a Utah based movie. We didn't film it here. It's not starring anyone in Utah. And so trying to replicate the exact same strategy in at Megaplex in Thanksgiving Point Lehi, Utah, I don't think you're gonna have the same amount of people show up because they go, well, I I don't have any connection to this movie except for Darren
Garrett:and Darren.
Daren:So every movie is different, and like you always say, no one's ever released this movie. So you kinda have to do it based on your best guess and your hunch and what feels right. But I I do think we did a lot right, and I hope that that's helpful for people to kinda hear how we did it. And, obviously, if you're listening to this and you go, well, I wanna know more about this, just send us an email and we'll answer it in another episode.
Garrett:Go to go to, what is it? 3 coin pro slash podcast.
Daren:Yeah. 3 coin pro.com/ podcast.
Garrett:Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 3 coin pro.com. So the link's in the bio or whatever.
Garrett:Yeah. Whatever they say. Okay. Then there's the 10 minutes of, you know, hey, it's 7 o'clock. We're ready to start the show.
Garrett:Everybody's in the auditorium. The audience has been seated. And what what do we do there? What are the kinda housekeeping or how does that work
Daren:from here? Well, I'd seen this done in another premiere or screening, and I really liked it because it was natural and it felt, felt really easy, but it got a huge outcome for the movie I saw. So I was thank you because I I got to kind of emcee the night, and that was a really cool experience for me to be able to hold the microphone and welcome everybody and say thank you for being here. We got to recognize like, you came down and we got to recognize some of the key people that helped us get the movie made, the family, the executive producer, the distributors. But a big part that I think paid off because I'm seeing it still today.
Daren:It's 2 days later. I'm still seeing new posts pop up. But one of the things was you had a graphic created that was on screen for the 10 minutes before the movie, 30 minutes before the movie, and during the Q and A after the movie that had a QR code and it had a call to action and it was the movie poster essentially. So we had everybody stand up and turn around and take a selfie with them, who they're here with, and the the movie, the screen in the background. And all of a sudden, we've got, you know, some percentage of the 500 and something people that were there posted on Facebook, Instagram, wherever, and that's free marketing.
Daren:And if you got influencers there, that's tens of 1,000, maybe 100 of 1,000 of people that are seeing our movie. And so it was a very strategic, we're going to ask you to take a photo and post it online. And we said, we're an indie movie. We need all the help we can get, and we appreciate you being here. And this is an opportunity for you to kinda show off how good you look and the fact that you got invited, and that's cool for you.
Daren:And those are things that people like sharing online. And so it was mutually beneficial, and it really, I think, served the movie well to say it's okay to take a photo and post it online. We actually really want you to do that.
Garrett:So with that and, yeah, I think that that background is important. It's not and it's more than just a movie poster. It has those social tags on it, a little bit of a call to action. And then additionally, we have a QR code on that as well. So as people are taking a picture, they can scan the QR code.
Garrett:It takes them to the website. Or as they're posting it, boom, there pops up that QR code and people can continue to scan that. You did a great job, Darren. It's important, I think, at a premiere to they're there for the movie. They're there to see the celebrities.
Garrett:It's important to remember that our status or our presence is very minimal. Nobody cares about the producer or the director. And, so you took on the role as an emcee and to do the housekeeping. You know, hey. Thank you for being here.
Garrett:Turn off your phones, after you take a picture, and you did that in a very, entertain you know, is it you have a great emcee presence. And then you invited me to talk about just some of the key individuals, you know, per pertaining to the film. Recognize the cast and the crew and the, real life, people on whom the story is based. And then the executive producer, Wayne Ball, and others who were influential in making the film. We try to keep that very brief and, you know, not make a big ordeal out of it and then get to the film.
Garrett:Yeah. After that is a q and a. Same thing, Darren. The q and a, you came down, you emceed. You had prepared 2 or 3 questions and then open it up to the audience for 2 or 3 questions.
Garrett:But again, it's about, you know, it's it's awkward because it's a captive audience. It's not awkward, but you have to be sensitive. You've got a captive audience of 500 people. There's this desire to tell all the stories, you know, and talk about what a great experience. It wasn't like that.
Garrett:A lot of those people, they just wanna get the poster and they wanna feel the movie and experience the movie, but they wanna be stuck sitting down. So you you did a great job of a few questions afterwards and reminding them, take your photos and please come out to the lobby. And then you can ask all sorts of questions and talk and get your pictures and posters and, it made it a really, I think, streamlined, event.
Daren:Yeah. I think it worked out really well. We owe a lot to Michelle because she was the one who kinda gave us the run of show and said, this is how much time you have, and this is where people need to go, and this is how you're gonna do it. And, one thing that I I did wanna call out because, a, I'm really proud that this happened, but I'm also, it just goes to show the kind of movie we made and the kind of audience that this is for. Like, at the end of the movie, we did get a standing ovation, which was very, very cool.
Daren:We were we had the home team advantage. You know? We're playing in Lehi, Utah where our audience is. We had the cast and crew there, so we kind of expected or hoped that that would happen. But the thing that had not happened before at prior screenings was people turned and found John Skinner in the audience and applauded him.
Garrett:It that that I will always remember forever remember that moment and how powerful that was. Credits rolled, lights came up. Grateful for that applause. That's wonderful. And then it was you're right, Darren.
Garrett:It was this collective turn of, like, thank you movie. That's cute. And then boom, it was like there's John Skinner. John and Christine, his wife Yes. Were standing there weeping like tears in their eyes and that applause went on for at length.
Garrett:Yeah. It was it was powerful, it was potent and it was really as a filmmaker why we do this. Like that's why we want this movie in theaters. Nobody's gonna be doing that in their living room. And John John and Josh and the Dennis family, the Skinners earned every second of that lengthy applause.
Garrett:It was awesome.
Daren:Yeah. I got a a text from Christine this morning, and she said it it was overwhelming in the best way possible, and they'll they'll never forget it as well. Like, I love that because John is such a humble guy and and wanted no spotlight or any credit ever, and yet he deserves it. And so I'm really glad that it's happening in this beautiful way where it's not forced. We're not asking people to applaud John.
Daren:It's just so so beautiful. I actually didn't know that's what was happening until someone told me after the fact because I was kind of down in the corner getting ready to go down and start the q and a. I was filming it, and so I was watching it on my little 7 inch screen with a bunch of little dots that are clapping. Right? I didn't realize that's what was going on.
Daren:But to hear that was like, oh my gosh. That's the coolest. I think that's my favorite memory of the whole night was maybe second to having my family there and being able to celebrate a 15 year journey to get to the point where I'm a producer on a movie that's in theaters. But that is definitely number 1 or number 2 as far as most memorable moments from the night.
Garrett:I, I would concur, though. It was powerful to see that recognition. For me, I think positive memories, certainly being there and seeing that take place. Being there with Michael, my son, and seeing him, handle the q and a and the attention and, you know, it's his first movie where he is, lead and, just to share that experience with him was very powerful and memorable. I'm thrilled that Michelle's team, brought in a professional photographer.
Garrett:The photos from the premiere are so great, and it's not just the filmmaker running around taking pictures on on their iPhone, but it's like legitimate stills that will be used for promoting the movie. Now, I mean, the the fallout is that Purdy distribution, the next day is answering, you know, email after email of theater bookers that are saying, cool photos or what, you know, it looked like a cool event. Let's book. Yeah. And so we've gone from on Monday before the premiere, where were we at?
Garrett:Like, about 70 theaters. Yeah. And now the list is to 150, so we're doubled, 161. So it's just like Yeah. Yeah.
Garrett:Make a make a splash. Low down on my memory list and that this might be a mistake is going to, taking the family because we didn't eat anything.
Daren:Oh.
Garrett:And so we're 11:30 at night sitting in the drive through at In N Out. I'm still kinda recovering from that.
Daren:Oh, man. Wasn't it, Paul Giamatti that did that after the Oscars 1 year? Like
Garrett:He inspired us. We were all, like, dressed in our suits
Daren:Just your tuxes. And wife.
Garrett:In N Out. My wife's in her dress and
Daren:Oh, man.
Garrett:We're in the drive through at In N Out. And the guy goes, what are you guys dressed up for? I said, there's a movie coming out, Faith of Angels, and we got the star in the back of the, car with us.
Daren:We kidnapped him.
Garrett:Oh, okay. That's What do you want?
Daren:That's awesome, though. I'm glad I'm glad you did. Part of me was like, oh, man. We should get the cast and everybody and go get ice cream or something afterwards. But by the time I was driving out of there at 10 or 10:30, whenever it was, I was like, I'm so tired.
Daren:I need to go and nap.
Garrett:So for Carpenter Yeah. Okay. So that wraps up that premiere. I mean, just way to go and now we're now it's, for the next 4 days we've been just pushing the social media and we open as of this recording, we open tomorrow night Yeah. In theaters.
Garrett:For this episode, because we're talking about premieres, what to do. Carpenter, we have scheduled 5 or 6 premieres across the country in 6 different, cities. Yeah. And we're doing those those will actually be kinda red carpet gala premiers not not just, sneak peek screenings where we're bringing, the cast out and, you know, in key cities like Atlanta and Dallas and Salt Lake and Burbank and, you know, one back East, and, Arizona, the, Phoenix. We'll be doing these red carpet events.
Garrett:I think we're gonna take everything that we've learned from here and apply it now to these cities. So hopefully rinse and repeat so that on November 1st instead of saying, hey, we're excited about opening 200, 300 screens. We're saying, okay. We're now 600, 800, maybe a 1000 screens.
Daren:Yeah. So because I haven't been involved in these, decisions on Carpenter, I've been really focused on Faith of Angels. So is are those all happening on one night? Are they staggered throughout the week or the 2 weeks beforehand? Like, what's the strategy there?
Daren:And then also, are you hiring a company to do that? Are they going to do every single one, or are they gonna, like, come up with the play and then send it to someone local to run it, you know, boots on the ground?
Garrett:Yes. They are. So they are happening on Wednesday nights starting October 3rd. Oh, wow. And in fact, if you're listening to this podcast and we'll start promoting them very soon, and I could tell you I I'll tell you a cool promotional experience.
Garrett:But we'll promote these podcasts, or excuse me, the premiers are happening every Wednesday night in October starting October 3rd. Wow. In a different city. So go to the carpenter.com, carpentermovie.com and you can find out information about these premiers. And these will be ones that if you're anywhere across the country, you know, if it's coming to your city, you wanna book a ticket and and go.
Garrett:And you'll meet the cast, and, I'll be there, and, it it'll be a red carpet event. And then, yes, we are using the same we're gonna use Michelle. We'll hire Michelle. I don't say use. We're we're gonna hire Michelle, to do the premiere.
Garrett:She she she knows what has to happen. And so, you know, where she's in Salt Lake, she'll handle the Salt Lake 1, the Phoenix 1, but she will then oversee either send somebody or oversee whoever is the point person in the key city that we're premiering at.
Daren:That's awesome. I'm, I'm excited for Michelle. I think that's an awesome opportunity. I don't know how many kind of outside of Utah releases she's done. She's the queen of it here, but that's awesome to be able to expand her influence and her reach and her experience that way.
Daren:But, yeah, it's really cool to say, you know, it's that that movie, we need to be clear, like, it has a different strategy and a different, budget for the distribution of The Carpenter than we do for Faith of Angels. So there are going to be some things that are different, and one of those is you've got more lead up time. Like, you can afford a longer lead up to the movie, whereas ours has really been kind of, like, maybe doubling every week the last 3 weeks or so. Like, we couldn't start 3 months out because if we started spending on ads and doing promos and stuff like that, it there wouldn't be enough to last us for 3 months of marketing. So we kinda had to condense it all into 2 weeks, whereas the Carpenter can benefit from a 6 week run up because there's Yeah.
Daren:More kind of gunpowder in there. Right? So that's gonna be exciting to see as well. We certainly don't have the budget of Beetlejuice or any of these big studio releases, but that's okay. We can still have a hyperscreen average and make the top 10, and that's pretty great as an indie.
Garrett:Yeah. I think, Kenny and Cam, those are the executive producers, the the Krebs family are are certainly aware of that and and you're right. Well, while the budget is not Beetlejuice, they they they are they they know that it is going to cost to be bigger than, a regular indie release. You know, we are releasing on 600 plus screens. That's been the goal.
Garrett:The goal is to 600 plus screens, break into the top 10. In order to do that, we have to make a lot of noise, you know, leading up into that. Yeah. One of the things I will say real quick, is that we just found out that, they are partnering or I I I don't know yet legally how am I how I'm supposed to phrase it, but, you'll see key ads and key, support from UFC, which, again, is a great tie in. They're going, okay.
Garrett:This is a fight movie, and it takes place in Nazareth. It's Christian faith based stuff, but it's one of its primary audiences is this this, you know, kind of macho fight, type audience, a UFC audience, MMA. And so they reached out, their our publicist through Film Frog reached out to UFC, say, hey, showed them the movie. They were very intrigued because Carpenter the movie itself has a really intriguing premise. And, they said, okay, we've never seen anything like this before Yeah.
Garrett:Which is the reaction we always get. Yes, we wanna be a part of this. How can we, you know, let's make something happen. And so October 4th, we're gonna be at an MMA fight like, ringside.
Speaker 3:Oh my god. And then
Garrett:and then, you'll start to see on pay per views for anybody that pay per views, UFC fights in October, they they'll see the carpenter being promoted.
Daren:So you're gonna get Cam in costume from the movie at the UFC fight? Is that
Garrett:Well, whatever whatever gets the eyeballs.
Daren:No one will no one will, recognize it because it's not a Deadpool or a comic character, but that's okay. Well and I let's back up a second too and say, well, that's something we have been doing right on Faith of Angels because we partnered with, NASAR, the National Association of Search and Rescue, with our pay it forward, our help them see gifting program, which we set up on our own, which is another thing we could probably do a whole episode on. But, like, this idea of if you've just watched the movie, you can scan a QR code, go to a page, and gift a ticket to someone else to go see the movie who maybe couldn't afford it or wouldn't have an opportunity otherwise. So these these kind of strategic partnerships, that's tens of thousands of people that we can reach through Nasar, all these different search and rescue organizations that they're connected to. It didn't cost us anything.
Daren:Right? And so it's this great opportunity to expand our reach and, have a greater impact without it affecting our marketing budget. And so being able to partner with someone like UFC, which has a massive reach, you're talking tens of millions of people who are familiar with the brand, who watch their programming, who will see their marketing. That's massive. I mean, that alone probably puts you in the top 10 in the opening weekend.
Daren:Congrats.
Garrett:It's, this it's about coming up with creative ideas and and, then being able to execute that. And I think FilmFrog is an ideal partner to do that with.
Daren:Yeah. Awesome. I've been so happy with that team. They the fact that they can spit out, like, any idea that we have the same day, I probably shouldn't promote that because they're gonna be like, stop telling people we do same day stuff. But, like, their turnaround and the quality of the work that they do and this their confidence in the plan that they're running, it makes me makes me so I can sleep well at night.
Daren:I'm not thinking what more should we be doing because I know that they've got it. So having a team helps for sure.
Garrett:Darren, what a great great podcast, great information. What what what's our wrap up? I know we're, according to Alan, we're not supposed to say in conclusion.
Daren:Well, as we end today, you know, it's I've said this 2 or 3 times in the last few days of because everybody's like, you must be tired. You must be worn out. You must be exhausted. I'm like, yeah. I'm I'm getting there.
Daren:I do make sure that I sleep every night because I want to be available to work the next day. If I stayed up till 2 in the morning every night, I'd burn out. But, at some point
Garrett:I feel attacked right there.
Daren:I know. Sorry. At some point, whether it's this weekend or 2 weeks from now when it's, you know, got the wider release, it's kind of in God's hands. It's kind of out of our hands, and it becomes the audience. What are what's their response to it?
Daren:Do they want to help promote it? Do they want to, you know, take that little extra step and tell somebody or post it online or leave a thumbs up on a review or whatever it is, because we're going to run out of marketing budget and the movie's going to be in as many theaters as it will ever be in. And at that point, it's really out of our hands. We can't manufacture more box office or more reach or more people seeing it from our computers in Utah. And so I'm I'm not sad about that, but like, I want to do as much as I can right now so that that's as successful as it possibly can be.
Daren:But it's this weird kind of floaty feeling of like, it's out of my control at some point. I can't do anything else, so I hope it works.
Garrett:Yeah. That's cool. That's an interesting sentiment and accurate. And I for me, it feels like this roller coaster that we are you know, you you get on a roller coaster and it's that ascension, and it's that slow kinda tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick. And we are now at once you get to the top of that crest, there's just that little delay and I feel like the premier is you you're you're at the top of the crest.
Garrett:Mhmm. And you see what's coming. There's really kinda nothing you can do about it now. It's gonna be a crazy and wild ride and you know that it'll be over in in, you know, before you know it.
Daren:Yeah.
Garrett:And that's kinda what it feels like right now that, okay, just raise your hands up and and enjoy the ride. There's a lot to do. And then then on that kind of on on the spiritual side of things or on a faith based because it's a faith based film, I like where you say, yes, it is in God's hands now and as I reflect back and you think, you know, 2, 2a half, 3 years ago, this story came into my life and I became a somewhat of a steward of it. I think when I optioned to the story, I was now the steward of this story. And will I be able to look back 2 months from now and go, wait, in a way or I guess next week, when it is out of my hands and delivered to the next steward, which is the audience, did I do how did I handle that?
Garrett:Did I do it okay? Did I listen? I pay attention? Did I burn bridges along the way? Hopefully, I can have a a clear conscience and a good accounting for my time in which I stewarded this story.
Garrett:And I say my meaning, you know, we all we all participate in it. But you're right, at some point now we are handing it off, it's like a like a kid leaving the nest, and, you just hope that it it it has a a safe landing or you hope, honestly, that it does better than than you could even imagine.
Daren:Yeah. I'll I'll share one last thought, which I think is, important for you and I to hear because we're constantly second guessing, could I have done more? Could I have worked harder? Could I have done something else? But the number of people who have directly or indirectly mentioned the efforts of you and I going out and getting, you know, boots on the ground and manually checking theaters and posting every day and showing up on different media things.
Daren:Like, all the work that we're doing is not going unnoticed. And I think for you, from me, like, the the movie, the story couldn't be in better hands because I know that there's no one else out that I've ever met that works harder than you do at at this job of getting stories out into the world for people to be changed and be made better for having seen them. So I hope that you can at least celebrate some of the hard work that you're doing. I know it always feels like it's never enough. But, I mean, I you and I both seen the number of people that keep commenting similarly about that.
Daren:It's like, okay. If if people are recognizing we're doing at least something right here.
Garrett:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We're making memories along the way for sure.
Daren:Mhmm.
Garrett:Yep. K. Well, thank you. That that's a good in summary. Thank you for that and that yeah.
Garrett:We want, I I the movie is going to do what it needs to do, and I it's almost out of our hands. And, yeah, we'll finish strong.
Daren:Yeah. So if you're listening to this and you have not yet gone to see Faith of Angels opening weekend, it will be in theaters near you soon if you're in the United States. And my goodness, please share the podcast, share the movie, tell all your friends, please go and support the movie. We need every everyone to go and and see this movie, not just for our sakes, but for your own. It's an it's a really, really good movie, and you will like it.
Daren:So please go see the movie. Tell your friends. Thanks for listening. Garrett, another good episode. Good chatting with you, man.
Daren:I'll I'll probably chat with you in 10 minutes.
Garrett:Yeah. Thanks, Darren. Alright. Take care.
Daren:See you. Thank you for listening to this episode of Truly Independent. To join us on the journey, be notified of new episodes and screenings, and ask us questions about today's episode, head over to 3 coinpro.com/podcast,
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Daren:listening, and we'll see you next week. Our intro and outro music is Election Time by Kjartan Abele.