Happy Monday!
Yesterday was the Oscars! I’m writing this prior so maybe these predictions will come true?
One Battle After Another wins best picture
Jessie Buckley wins best actress
Michael B Jordan wins best actor
Joachim Trier wins best director
Train Dreams wins best cinematography
Amy Madigan wins best supporting actress
Stellan Skarsgård wins best supporting actor
Sentimental Value wins best original screenplay
I’ll see if I’m a fool when this comes out.
In the spirit of excellent filmmaking comes the other half of the battle: making sure people actually see your movie.
We’re currently in the midst of marketing our own short film, Anthony’s Balls, as you already know. We’ve never done anything like this before with our other films, so putting on an Anthony-only film screening is outside of our normal day-to-day festivities.
But unconventional marketing has a long history in film.
The Blair Witch Project famously convinced audiences its story might be real by releasing missing-person posters for the actors and building a website that treated the events like a real investigation. The film was made for around $60,000 and eventually earned nearly $250 million worldwide.
When The Dark Knight was released, the campaign created a giant real-world puzzle that fans could solve together online. Players decoded hidden messages, hunted for clues in cities across the world, and eventually unlocked exclusive footage from the film. It turned promotion into an interactive experience long before the movie ever hit theaters.
More recently, Timothee Chalamet's Marty Supreme marketing run was anywhere and everywhere. “Marty Supreme Christmas Day” made it’s rounds around the internet with his wild merchandise that the top athletes of the world wore in public, the orange ping pong ball (that had little to no relevance in the actual film), and of course, standing on top of the Las Vegas Sphere. Did it work out for Timmy? Well I probably will know the answer when this comes out.
All of these campaigns share the same core idea: the marketing becomes part of the entertainment. Which brings us back to Anthony’s Balls.
Instead of a traditional screening, we’re hosting a premiere where only people named Anthony are allowed in the room. It’s weird and probably cuts out a massive chunk of people who want to be part of this. But it’s absurd, strange, and an insane use of free-will.
Because at the end of the day, filmmaking doesn’t stop when the movie is finished. Sometimes the story keeps going long after the credits roll, and sometimes it starts before the audience even sits down in the theatre.
Stay tuned for more news and this journey with Anthony’s Balls.
Pat and the Marquet Films Team
MOVIE OF THE WEEK:
Pat Recommends: American Made (2017)
Adrien Recommends: Submarine (2010)