A Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, SXSW selected mainstream accessible comedy by an acclaimed indie director opens in ONLY 1 THEATER...(WTF!???)
According to a little known & rarely active indie film blogger named Matt Dentler, Greg Araki's stoner comedy SMILEY FACE was selected by Sundance (that's THE SUNDANCE f*ing FILM FESTIVAL - "#1" in America), Cannes (that's THE CANNES INT'L f*ing FILM FESTIVAL - "#1" in the world), Toronto & SXSW film festivals (all together that's four of the most important film festivals in the western world & Austin!!!) YET the film is only being released in 1 theater!!!!!!
The mind boggles.
It is actually still boggling.
OK, boggling over, let me list other ticket sales friendly qualities of this movie (granted, i have not seen it, but, given these ingredients, i am sure TONS of kids will want to see this movie):
- directed by Greg Araki; yes, not a household name across America, but, a well respected indie director with a solid following. Didn't his last "properly released" film (MYSTERIOUS SKIN) earn several million dollars?
- starring Anna Farris; an actress who is no doubt at least a little familiar to the tons of people who've seen or heard about the SCARY MOVIE movies.
- also, for us Office nerds, featuring John Krasinski from The Office. Now would be a good time to give the synopsis & the cast info (from the listing at NuArt -THE ONLY THEATER THAT THIS MOVIE IS SCHEDULED TO PLAY AT THE MOMENT as far as I (and Matt Dentler, judging by this post) knows):
"SMILEY FACE
Jane (Anna Faris, who plays Cindy in the Scary Movie series) is an unsuccessful slacker actress who's having a bad day. And it's getting more outrageous and comically surreal by the minute. Her misadventures begin when she ignores the warning of her psycho roommate (Danny Masterson, That '70s Show) and treats herself to a batch of cupcakes made with marijuana. Soon, she is on a pot-fuelled Los Angeles odyssey, trying to repay an unforgiving drug dealer (Adam Brody, The O.C.), attend an audition, and somehow replace the precious cupcakes. Co-starring John Krasinski (The Office). Directed by Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin, The Doom Generation).
Director:
Gregg Araki
Cast:
Anna Faris, John Krasinski, Adam Brody, Danny Masterson, John Cho, Matthew J. Evans, David Goldman, Michael Hitchcock, Rick Hoffman, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Chad Mountain, Marion Ross, Danny Trejo, Michael Shamus Wiles, Natashia Williams"
Now I was never a full on believer in the "get your film into a major film festival & you are all set for the future" path, but it is sad to see a film that screened at 4 incredibly well known festivals being released in only 1 theater.
Specially since the movie sounds like a mainstream accessible comedy, and since it features a relatively well known lead.
Now, there are important things to get upset about (wars, no 'net residuals for writers, wars, the Burmese junta, etc.), however, I do believe that those of us who may be foolishly moved to do so must contact distributor First Look and ask them: "dude, what's up with releasing Smiley Face in only 1 theater!!!????"
Also, blog about Smiley Face, tell all your friends & emenies, & try to raise the profile of this movie (because, 1- we are/may be bored, and 2 - let's see if we can get a quite possibly deserving ('cause it might be a lot of fun) movie more attention, exposure & ticket sales).
Oh Kay, my indie film loving & quite possibly stoner movie loving friends, you have your mission :)
Smiley Face across America! :)
(and if this post fails to launch a mass movement that results in Smiley Face getting wider theatrical distribution, 1: I tried, and 2: see the flick on DVD)
And as an outro, a little bit from Cinematical's SMILEY FACE review:
"These days, most dumb comedies aren't too concerned with reality, but Smiley Face reminds us that you don't need aliens or other weirdness to make a dumb movie fun. You just need a balance between the stupid and the smart. Araki's comedy gives us the best of many comedic worlds in an incessantly funny, easily-quotable serving. From discussions of Marxism to love of lasagna, Smiley Face serves it all -- with some weed and a very, very stoned smile."
Read more here.
- Sujewa
The mind boggles.
It is actually still boggling.
OK, boggling over, let me list other ticket sales friendly qualities of this movie (granted, i have not seen it, but, given these ingredients, i am sure TONS of kids will want to see this movie):
- directed by Greg Araki; yes, not a household name across America, but, a well respected indie director with a solid following. Didn't his last "properly released" film (MYSTERIOUS SKIN) earn several million dollars?
- starring Anna Farris; an actress who is no doubt at least a little familiar to the tons of people who've seen or heard about the SCARY MOVIE movies.
- also, for us Office nerds, featuring John Krasinski from The Office. Now would be a good time to give the synopsis & the cast info (from the listing at NuArt -THE ONLY THEATER THAT THIS MOVIE IS SCHEDULED TO PLAY AT THE MOMENT as far as I (and Matt Dentler, judging by this post) knows):
"SMILEY FACE
Jane (Anna Faris, who plays Cindy in the Scary Movie series) is an unsuccessful slacker actress who's having a bad day. And it's getting more outrageous and comically surreal by the minute. Her misadventures begin when she ignores the warning of her psycho roommate (Danny Masterson, That '70s Show) and treats herself to a batch of cupcakes made with marijuana. Soon, she is on a pot-fuelled Los Angeles odyssey, trying to repay an unforgiving drug dealer (Adam Brody, The O.C.), attend an audition, and somehow replace the precious cupcakes. Co-starring John Krasinski (The Office). Directed by Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin, The Doom Generation).
Director:
Gregg Araki
Cast:
Anna Faris, John Krasinski, Adam Brody, Danny Masterson, John Cho, Matthew J. Evans, David Goldman, Michael Hitchcock, Rick Hoffman, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Chad Mountain, Marion Ross, Danny Trejo, Michael Shamus Wiles, Natashia Williams"
Now I was never a full on believer in the "get your film into a major film festival & you are all set for the future" path, but it is sad to see a film that screened at 4 incredibly well known festivals being released in only 1 theater.
Specially since the movie sounds like a mainstream accessible comedy, and since it features a relatively well known lead.
Now, there are important things to get upset about (wars, no 'net residuals for writers, wars, the Burmese junta, etc.), however, I do believe that those of us who may be foolishly moved to do so must contact distributor First Look and ask them: "dude, what's up with releasing Smiley Face in only 1 theater!!!????"
Also, blog about Smiley Face, tell all your friends & emenies, & try to raise the profile of this movie (because, 1- we are/may be bored, and 2 - let's see if we can get a quite possibly deserving ('cause it might be a lot of fun) movie more attention, exposure & ticket sales).
Oh Kay, my indie film loving & quite possibly stoner movie loving friends, you have your mission :)
Smiley Face across America! :)
(and if this post fails to launch a mass movement that results in Smiley Face getting wider theatrical distribution, 1: I tried, and 2: see the flick on DVD)
And as an outro, a little bit from Cinematical's SMILEY FACE review:
"These days, most dumb comedies aren't too concerned with reality, but Smiley Face reminds us that you don't need aliens or other weirdness to make a dumb movie fun. You just need a balance between the stupid and the smart. Araki's comedy gives us the best of many comedic worlds in an incessantly funny, easily-quotable serving. From discussions of Marxism to love of lasagna, Smiley Face serves it all -- with some weed and a very, very stoned smile."
Read more here.
- Sujewa
