Having written, directed, and starred in his own movie, Stargate Atlantis’ David Hewlett (Rodney McKay) is continuing his do-it-yourself theme as he and his partner Jane set out to market and even distribute the film: A Dog’s Breakfast. David has coded his own website (using the Joomla CMS, for geeks who want to know), including a forum, which to us is quite unheard of in acting circles!
He wants to distribute the movie himself in North America and the UK, to prevent most of the income from the film from going to the distributor instead of to those who made the film but haven’t yet been paid. As he described in this interview,
But the reality is we have a whole crew there who deferred all their wages. Deferrals usually mean you don’t see the money. Most people, and I’ve done this for like 20 years or something, and everything I’ve ever deferred, I’ve never made a penny on. And you know that going in and you just assume that it’s not going to happen. I very much want to be one of those films that’s an exception to that rule.
As a first step, David is planning all-day screening events for fans, sort of one-day conventions in which he would be there to answer questions, sign autographs, and of course show the film. He is likely looking for high concentrations of Stargate fans to ensure a good turnout.
In his latest blog entry, David asks fans to boost the profile of the movie through on-line activities like linking to his site and watching the trailer on YouTube. He also welcomes fans to request screenings in their area and perhaps even to help contact local theaters to convince them to provide a time and place for a screening.
So we’re here to help David get his very funny film out to the masses, if for no other reasons than he’s a cool guy, a great actor, and a geek like us. Good luck, David!