HC Newsletter - September 21, 2008

Friends,

Danny, Darren, and I have been on the road for the past week, promoting the film in several of the markets where it will open on Friday. We have been conducting television, radio, print and web interviews, participating in Q&As at word-of-mouth preview screenings, and generally pounding the pavement handing out posters, postcards, and customized match boxes to anyone with at least one hand. [See the Directors' Blog for more details.] Independent film fans all over Austin, Seattle, and Portland are now (hopefully) well aware of HUMBOLDT COUNTY’s forthcoming release. Next stop: The Bay Area, where we’ll be promoting for the rest of the week in anticipation of opening night, which is THIS FRIDAY.

We also received some breaking news yesterday: we finally have confirmation about our New York opening. HUMBOLDT COUNTY will have its Big Apple premiere on October 3rd, 2008 at the Sunshine Cinema (143 East Houston). This is arguably the finest indie film house in New York, and we are ecstatic that it’s hosting our first East Coast release.

No word yet on the timing and venue for Los Angeles, Chicago, and other cities, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear.

This weekend is the Olympic Finals for HUMBOLDT COUNTY -- we only get one shot at a significant opening. Remember: there won’t be any television commercials or massive ad campaigns for this film; our marketing is heavily dependent on word-of-mouth, so please make sure everyone you know in the cities it's opening are aware of its release.

Best,

Jason

HC Newsletter - August 26, 2008

Friends,

Mark your calendars and spread the news: one month from today, "Humboldt County" finally will open in theaters.To help increase awareness, we have been hard at work creating a wealth of marketing materials:

• The magnificent new "Humboldt County" Trailer is now available. In fact, it is so compelling the folks at Apple asked for exclusive rights to it for a week on the Apple Trailers site. Take a couple minutes to check it out. The team that worked on it was phenomenal, and the results are stunning.
  
  
• We shot a Promotional Video for the film last month that features a number of our cast members. We are told it's entertaining, but you should judge for yourself.
  
  
• The "Humboldt County" Website has been updated. It is now faster and more scalable. Over the next few weeks the amount of content will grow notably, as articles, reviews, and maybe a Sudoku puzzle or two are posted there.

It cannot be stressed enough how critical your help will be in raising awareness of this motion picture. Many of you have been supporting us for over two years now, and this film's success is -- for better or worse -- almost entirely dependent upon the number of tickets sold during the first weekend in theaters.

So please forward the trailer, promotional video and website to anyone you think might be interested. And for those of you in one of the cities where the film will open in theaters (September 26th in Arcata, Austin, Berkeley, Eugene, Eureka, Garberville, Portland, San Francisco Seattle; early-mid October in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and possibly others), go ahead and treat yourself to a ticket. Or five.

Best,

Jason

HC Newsletter - August 8, 2008

Friends,

It has been a busy and exciting few weeks for the "Humboldt County" team, as the film's public launch is imminent. The current release schedule is as follows:

• Friday, September 26: AUSTIN, BERKELEY, PORTLAND, SAN FRANCISCO, SEATTLE, and of course HUMBOLDT (Eureka, Arcata and Garberville)
  
  
• Friday, October ??: CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, and ELSEWHERE
  [The date(s) and locations will be determined over the next month or two and are dependent on how well the film plays in its first week. And apologies, Chicagoans, for previously misleading you about the timing.]

For those of you who might not live in one of our release markets or who would rather see the film in the comfort of your own screening room (and/or not have to spring for a babysitter), the film will also be available on Video On Demand (on most every cable and dish network) starting Monday, September 1st.

In anticipation of these impending dates, we have been scrambling to finalize a number of associated elements, including:

- Our Release Poster: The Motion Picture Association of America, the governing body that assigns ratings to films (as expected, ours got an "R"), also closely monitors movie websites, trailers, posters, and other marketing areas. They took issue with the image of our protagonist standing on an oversized, lit "marijuana cigarette" -- even ablaze tobacco cigarettes go against their regulations -- so we had to make some delicate adjustments, which include a new tagline.


- Our Official Trailer: The MPAA rejected our trailer for, among other offenses, instances of explicit drug use. We had to create a new trailer, which was harder than we thought, as it is challenging to convey the tone and themes of a film when you are forbidden from showing or discussing the profession/lifestyle of several of the principal characters (i.e., pot farming). In the end, we are pleased with the new trailer and hope you will agree next week when it is released on our website.

- Our New Website: Not surprisingly, the MPAA did not approve of our website either. We are updating it, but that may take several weeks. The new one will have much of the same design as our existing one, but it will be faster and much, much sweeter.

- Video Promotions: We shot and edited a promotional short film, which will soon be distributed on the internet as well as the Video On Demand networks, and should serve to increase awareness of the film.

We are also working to produce a soundtrack for the film, as well as any other merchandise that might be in demand (t-shirts, anyone?).

In addition, Danny & Darren will be taking their Dog & Pony show on the road. During the two weeks prior to the theatrical release, we are planning a "Barnstorming Tour" involving publicity events, screenings of the film, and other grass roots marketing efforts* in each of the markets where "Humboldt County" will open. We are also holding our premier in Humboldt County itself on Wednesday, August 27th at the WildRivers 101 Film Festival.

More news to come in the next several weeks, including a detailed itinerary of the Barnstorming Tour.

Best,

Jason

*No matter where you live, if you are interested in volunteering to help us with the film's campaign in your areas, please email us at info@humboldtcountymovie.com and we'll make you an official part of the team.

HC Newsletter - July 15, 2008

As the release date for HUMBOLDT COUNTY approaches, the excitement and intensity is mounting. Take, for example, last week, when Danny & Darren sat on a panel with Peter Bogdanovich and Mark Cuban for the Television Critics Association annual event. It was a treat for us to reconnect with Mr. Bogdanovich, and hearing Mark Cuban (who owns -- among many other entities -- Magnolia Pictures) repeatedly extol the virtues of our film to dozens of reporters was spectacular. And a bit surreal. Details and pictures can be found on the Directors' Blog.

For the last several weeks, we have been preparing the marketing campaign for the film's public debut. We shot a promotional video (which ended up being a short film) that included cameos from several of our more recognizable cast members. We also began the process of recutting our trailer and redesigning our poster, both of which are necessary if we want an MPAA rating. In addition, we are converting the film to video, compiling our DVD extras, and finalizing innumerable other details, including a roadshow of pre-release screenings around the country to increase awareness of the film.

Now for the news for which many of you have been waiting: it appears that the theatrical release date for HUMBOLDT COUNTY will be Friday, September 26th, 2008. Mark your calendars, tell your friends, and save up your allowance because we expect to see all of you there.More to come as that date inches towards us.

Best,

Jason

HC Newsletter - June 5, 2008

Friends,

Apologies for the radio silence for the past, wow, nearly eight weeks. Rest assured, however, that we have been cooking up something special for you...

We are pleased -- no, make that ecstatic -- to officially announce that MAGNOLIA PICTURES has picked up HUMBOLDT COUNTY for distribution in the U.S.

What does this mean? It means that any of you who have not yet seen the film (and those of you who want to see it again) will soon have the chance to do so. Possibly on a Big Screen near you. And if not, then on Video On Demand, DVD, your favorite cable station, iTunes, an airplane, cruise ship, etc.

The current plan is to release the film in theaters in five cities late this summer, likely in September. Those cities will be:
- Austin
- Chicago
- Portland
- San Francisco
- Seattle

We will roll out to at least five additional cities in the following weeks. At the same time the film is playing in theaters, it will also be available on Video On Demand for those of you who may not live where the film will be playing theatrically. Several months thereafter, the film will be released on DVD and other mediums for your rental or purchase. Obviously as the details are finalized, they will be made widely public.

Magnolia is a brilliant and highly respected company, and we are thrilled to be in business with them. The marketing campaign we are collective planning with them is going to be heavily grassroots. So, though the film's public debut is still a few months away, we are soon going to need your help (yes, that means YOU) to spread the word about the film's release, especially in those cities where it will be playing in theaters. We need the attendance during the first weekend in those five markets to be monstrous if we want it to play in as many cities across the county as we believe it should.

Keep your eye on our website and the Directors' Blog for updates.

We are grateful for your continued support.

Best,

Jason

Also, For those of you who live in Humboldt County itself, listen up: We are hoping to screen the film at the WildRivers 101 Film Festival in August. We appreciate how eager you all are to see the film, but please be patient just a tad longer, so we can nail down the specifics. Stay tuned.

HC Newsletter - April 11, 2008

A quick note to let you know that there is a mention (albeit small) of HUMBOLDT COUNTY in this week's Entertainment Weekly. Our first piece of national print exposure. Kind of exciting.

We're mentioned in an article called "Going to Pot," which illuminates the recent uptick of films where marijuana plays a role. It starts on page 38.

More to come,

Jason

HC Newsletter - March 14, 2008

Friends,

The SXSW Film Festival has nearly come to a close, and everyone from the "Humboldt County" team who was involved considers our experience to have been nothing short of spectacular.

As I mentioned in the last update, the premiere was incredible. We figured that night would be the highlight of the festival for us. But there were other moments that turned out to be even more memorable.

The word-of-mouth around Austin about the film was so strong that for our second screening, we had hundreds more people waiting in line than could fit into the theater. So, rather than turn away a multitude of eager film-goers, the festival decided -- at the urging of our resourceful sales rep -- to take-over an adjacent theater and show the film on two screens simultaneously. We proceeded to sell out the second theater as well and had to turn away scores of others still in line.

For our third screening, which was in the middle of the day after most of the festival attendees had left town or had their fill of movies, we tempered our expectations. But again we sold out our assigned theater and had to project in a second one to accommodate the crowd. (And many were still turned away.)

If all of that wasn't enough reward for the last 4-5 years of work, the response from the audiences and the critics who have written about the film thus far has been overwhelming. While we try not to pay too much attention to reviews, it is gratifying to know that your efforts to make a compelling film are appreciated, even by those who are inclined to be a bit jaded. Though we are awaiting more, I will include a sampling of the press we received (thanks in large part to our amazing publicity team) below, in case you are interested.

For our next trick, we will try to secure a distributor for the film, so those of you who couldn't make it to Austin, or were unable to attend a screening, can see it in the comfort of your local theater or home.

Best,

Jason

NB: As always, you can find a more colorful play-by-play of our experiences at the Directors' Blog.


REVIEWS

• "...a pitch perfect directing debut"
  The Austin Chronicle
  


• "Good things ahead, no doubt, for both the film and its creators."
  Twitch
  
  
• "Humboldt County is just the type of small film that, if given a chance to be seen by audiences, could become somewhat of a hit for grownups ala Sideways or The Squid and the Whale."
  FilmThreat
  
  
• "...a singularly enjoyable coming-of-age story"
  IndieWire
  
  
• "...the film is genial and pleasant"
  IFC
  
  
• "...it's nice to see a film were you can actually see a character grow and change throughout a movie."
  Newsvine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS

• The Hollywood Reporter


• IFC TV (video)


• MSNBC


• Wired


• Huffington Post
  
• Twitch