Trucker Movie Release Coordinated with Possible Strike
Filed under: Documentary, Independent, Distribution, Politics, Cinematical Indie
Hearing about connections between churches and movie studios never sits well with me, whether it's in reference to Evan Almighty or Lars and the Real Girl, but I completely understand why a studio would go for it. From a marketing standpoint, it makes sense -- go to the audience keg you want to tap, and do what you can to make that happen. Now there's a new distribution twist in the world of moviemaking, and while I understand it, I can't quite believe it.Variety reports that Big Rig, Doug Pray's documentary about truckers, will be released on June 3. Why is that significant? It's not just a nice, almost-summer day. Variety says that it "will be released just as drivers fed up with rising fuel prices and job cuts are contemplating an industry-wide strike." One, I guess that truckers won't be shipping this movie to its selected theaters. Two, is this the new craze? Will movies be made to tap into political unrest, or a potential market that will have some free time on their hands?
Robert Baruc, of Screen Media Films, says: "It's hard for any film to survive in today's marketplace and it's especially hard for documentaries. You have to be creative. We didn't want it dying after a two-city run so we are taking a radical approach to get it out to the masses." Eh, why not?
However, all of these innovative and reality-tied marketing moves make me wonder: Will people start planning biopics around people's deaths? We've already got an Internet full of death pools. Ugh, can you imagine?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-05-2008 @ 3:53PM
Philip said...
Prepare to see what a real strike looks like.
This will make the writer's strike seem like an extended vacation by comparison. And the byproduct will not be simply reruns or reality tv programming.
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4-05-2008 @ 4:43PM
tozmervo said...
Sounds like its time to buy stock in CSX
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4-05-2008 @ 8:57PM
JackieZ said...
What you gonna buy stock in CSX. After it comes in it will sit there with no truck to deliver it. If you bought it, a truck brought it. So if you want to go to the CSX terminal and get your stuff, go ahead.
4-05-2008 @ 9:03PM
tozmervo said...
Wow, harsh much? We could get into the semantics of transporting cargo half-way across the country versus transporting it across town if you'd like. I'd rather not, since this is Cinematical. So for now I'll just casually dismiss you as a truck union cheerleader.
4-05-2008 @ 10:26PM
Philip said...
Like it or not, the truckers are infinitely more important to the economy than screenwriters. Sorry if that truth is too "harsh" for you. In case you haven't noticed, the economy isn't in a shape to absorb the stoppage of interstate transport.
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5-02-2008 @ 1:16PM
Kelland Bailey said...
It should be noted the even the big four "Class 1" railroads in the US (UP, BNSF, CSX and NS) combined do not and will not have an infrastructure to capacitate America's demand for freight. I would imagine that there'd be a lot of moldy produce on the stands if we were to rely solely upon rail transport. I found that the article itself was controversial as well. The qoute Robert Baruc regarding the uniqueness of the film's debut, if researched, actually refers to the fact that the movie will debut as a nationwide tour at truckstops, which is rather unorthodox if you ask me.
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