[SPOILERS]

From: Eric Ray
Date: Aug 26, 2006
Subject: Re: Blowing Smoke The Movie question
To: Kamal Aboukhater

Kamal,

I received the DVD yesterday. THANK YOU!!! Of course my wife and I watched it right away. I must say we really enjoyed it. I did not put two and two together that you were the producer till I was reading the DVD cover and saw your name. I thought it was very well done and soooo much of what the guys were talking about was so true. :-) I did catch on, much faster than the guy characters, that Fay was setting them up. I caught on that she had said she had never tried cigars but then she knew all sorts of stuff about them. The guys were just too interested in scoring a piece that they weren't listening to her. You did surprise me, however, when Fay turned out to be the fired ex-employee. Please pass along my praise to James Orr also on a fine job of writing and directing.

I loved the cigar video and the crew video bonus materials. I can only imagine how much fun you all had making this film. I have only been smoking cigars for about three years, but I must say I have fallen deeply in love with them. I have a few examples of most of the smokes you used in your film in my humidors at all times. I seem to be on a constant quest to find that elusive stick.

I do have a question about the one Bob was smoking when he was talking to the viewer while in front of his computers. I have never seen that "peace sign" band. Was that a real brand of smoke or something you all did for the film?

Thanks again for the DVD and producing such a fine film.

Eric

(I'm not sure about the "peace sign" cigar. Kamal?)

Good news: There's a deal in place to distribute the DVD, both in stores and online, and it goes into effect at midnight tonight. When there's a release date from the distributor, we'll let you guys know when and where to get it!

The DVD will still be available, but no more downloads. So as my friend Lawrence the Employee of the Local Cable Television Company would say, "Make-R-Happen!"

(We're gonna keep this post at the top of the page so the nice people can see when the movie's on. We're posting new stuff too; just scroll down.)

Blowing Smoke is coming to Showtime! The thing is, most of the, er, showtimes are in the middle of the night, so you'll have to either stay up really late or get up really early. Or I guess you could Tivo it. Actually, why don't you do that? That makes the most sense, the Tivo idea.

Okay, here's the schedule (all times EST):

Showtime
Sun 4/9/2006
1:35:00 AM

Showtime
Fri 4/21/2006
4:25:00 AM

Showtime
Sun 4/23/2006
3:00:00 AM

Showtime
Tue 4/25/2006
1:00:00 AM

Showtime
Sat 4/29/2006
2:00:00 AM

The Movie Channel
Mon 5/15/2006
10:00:00 PM

You're an important person with a busy schedule, and we realize your time is very valuable. That's why you can now download Blowing Smoke right to your computer! No more tedious waiting for your DVD to be delivered. No more dealing with pesky cellophane wrap. (More like HELL-ophane!) No more fingernail-endangering DVD cases. Just good old-fashioned moviegoin' fun, right there where you're sittin'! What are you waiting for, big shot? Download Blowing Smoke today!

(Er, and you can still get it on DVD. If you like DVD's, I'm sorry for what I said about them earlier. Sometimes I get excited.)

My buddy Sean Collins points me to this Billboard article about Fiona Apple's latest album, Extraordinary Machine. If you're a Fiona Apple fan, you must have found this page via Google. Welcome! You also know that Epic was refusing to release the album, and then a few months back a leaked version was going around the Internet. Well, now Epic is going to release it, and you can hear a couple of cuts at Apple's site. So once again, if Corporate AmeriKKKa isn't cooperating, take it directly to the audience. Power to the people, right on! Free love! Etc. Anyhow, just another example of people using technology to work around traditional barriers. Like this blog, which allows me to work around my agoraphobia and massive goiter.

That's what Google Video Upload Program says.

It also says that:

Our mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google Video lets you search a growing archive of televised content -- everything from sports events to dinosaur documentaries to news programs. In addition to televised content, we'll also host video from anyone who wants to upload content to us.

Marvellous. This has implications for availability of online content as Google has just 'lent' its vast infrastructure to distribute it. Full FAQs are here.

The timing is auspicious, as MSN is streaming cable TV content, and now we learn that Al Gore's Current TV (it has a blog!) is partnering with Google. If the Google Beta works for him, and for others, bye-bye cable TV...?

This sounds familiar, doesn't it? We live in interesting times...

And before I go all squishy and start talking about multi-platfrom fusion and fragmentation of channels, let me get the news out:

MSN will stream this Sunday's premiere episode of the new Showtime series Barbershop simultaneously with the show's debut on the cable network. It will be streamed on MSN's video page at 10 p.m. on Sunday, and available on demand for the next eight days. In addition to the full episode, MSN will also offer extras such as behind-the-scenes footage.

This is great news for internet geeks like me. Although I don't watch the show, I watch this trend with trepidation. I'd much rather have a choice over what I watch, how I watch it and on what 'medium'. So that's the good news.

The other side of the story is that only the first episode will be streamed and some additional content related to the future episodes will be hosted online, but not the shows themselves. And even those streams although for free will be with ads.

It has been difficult to find 'quality' content free online. By quality I mean not just good value information/analysis/entertainment - there are thousands of blogs, providing all of that - but the kind of content that not everyone can produce from their home computer. Simply put, the production costs are still too high for all good stuff produced to be sloshing around the net. But there is demand (as BitTorrent clearly demonstrates). Podcasting and video-blogging are starting to make a difference but to make content that's been professionally produced available for free is not viable for everyone.

There is an argument that it is precisely because the 'professional' content is declining in quality and availability relative to the explosion of technology and channels, that the 'consumer-generated-content', as it is affectionately known among the marcom types, has taken off.

Nevertheless, I believe Blowing Smoke combines both quality and availability but the challenge of how you make this model work still applies. There are few choices to make online pay for content - you can find a sponsor, you can stick ads to pay for it (provided you have enough 'eyeballs' to impress the admen) or you can charge for it.

With Blowing Smoke the aim is to share with as wide an audience as possible and to recoup the money and effort that has been invested into producing it. If successful, there'll be more to follow and with an alternative distribution possible (fingers crossed), there is a path for other independent film-makers.

Yes, yes, the damn download is coming soon. The bad thing about new technology is that it takes forever to actually make it work, the good thing is that once you get it right, it really really rocks.

Buy the DVD! The only thing I can add to what Kamal said, from a movie buff's perspective: Theaters stink. If I buy a ticket to watch some cars crashing and greasy rednecks hollering and Jessica's boobies bouncing around, I don't really want to hear some guy yakking on his little cellphone with his JO buddy. Not that I'm jealous. Plus, getting off the couch, putting on pants, it's this whole big to-do. Why bother?

The movie will also be available for download soon, if you just can't wait for a DVD to come in the mail. We hear ya. Sheesh, life is short! I don't know all the technical details, but I'm told that the little gnomes who live in the Internet are working hard to bring that to you. If there was some way to beam it directly into your brain so you could watch it while you're plowing your SUV into my AMC Pacer hatchback, rest assured.

Well, I didn't do this yesterday because we wanted to keep the big announcement up top, but here are a few headlines, for the 3-7 of you who like these:

Paparazzi Shot at Totty's Tot-Party

Dead Actress Had Thoughts, Feelings

Bitch to Get Half

Ghoul Rules Aruba "News"

Heifer = Hoofer

I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of being at the mercy of major movie studios and distributors. Why do we have to watch what they tell us to watch? How many great movies and television shows are we missing out on because someone at a major studio or network decided that a movie or pilot was "no good"? The series Firefly is a perfect example. As our own Jim Treacher points out, Universal had no idea of the fanbase built around Firefly until they started holding private screenings. Thank goodness for the fans and the new media (internet and blogging) that now offer audiences more content and more choices.

After I made Blowing Smoke, I had to go the traditional route and shop the finished product to distributors and studios, and I was beholden to those decision-makers.

Oh, your movie is smart, funny, and controversial, but we can't distribute it because it's not middle-of-the-road and the content isn't safe.

My good friend, writer & director James Orr (Three Men and a Baby, Father of the Bride, Mr. Destiny), did an amazing job directing my movie despite all the limitations imposed on him, from budget restraints to tight deadlines. So having done all that, getting good people on my side working with me, I didn't want to become a slave to anyone. I didn't want to wait for my movie to travel up the long and tedious chain of command until someone finally made a decision to release it.

Instead, I decided to make movie history, or make the current movie distribution history (who knows?), by releasing Blowing Smoke on this blog. There will be no waiting. I can, audience willing, get immediate response and won't be at the mercy of a movie studio or distributor. One thing I have learned about audiences, thanks to blogs, is that they are not a unified mass of "consumers." They are individuals, choosing something (like what to watch) for many and varied reasons. Some might want to watch Blowing Smoke because they like cigars, some might be drawn to the poker, and others may want their opinions about women and men confirmed. Whatever the reason, now they can do so easily. And, if they feel like it, they can let me know their reactions and opinions.

In my experience, Hollywood follows self-imposed rules, and no single person has a final say or assumes responsibility for their own decisions. As a result, we are at the mercy of impotent executives who report to "number one," who imposes guidelines and protocols like a dictator. The business model currently practiced by the major studios has become so pathetic, it can turn a great screenplay into a flop (Alexander The Great starring Colin Farrell, which turned out to be not so great). How laughable is it that no matter how badly a movie flops, you still see it on the DVD shelf a few months later with one or two quotes from critics calling it "The Best Movie of the Year"?

Studios are scared to try anything original, so they resort to remakes, comic book heroes, and bad sequels. Then they wonder why there's a box office slump! They bank on marketing, with prints and ads to lure audiences to the big screen. Well, you don't have to go to the big screen anymore, unless you like the crowded, noisy, smelly 'ambience' of movie theaters. For me, it's all about High Definition TV and instant downloads that let me enjoy a movie in the comfort of my own living room. (With a cigar, if I wish. You can't do that in a movie theater!)

Major studios seem to be the last to adopt and adapt to innovation and trends. And, just like with video and DVDs, they are again missing the boat, unaware of the new possibilities for reaching their audiences. They might have caught glimpses of the future, such as Firefly, Global Frequency, and Garden State. This is thanks to a new band of warriors, better known as bloggers, who add strength to the voice of the fans, fighting for more choice for themselves and, in the end, all of us. Now there is more new content, as well as more ways to access it and distribute it. There is no reason why you should depend on a handful of major studios to tell you when, where, and what to watch.

So, Blowing Smoke is available here and now. Some will love it, some might not. If people enjoy watching it only half as much as I enjoyed making it, it'll be a roaring success!

Or even "movie." That term goes back to when you piled the youngsters into the Model T and took the 10-mile, 45-minute trip to the nickelodeon. "Look, Ma and Pa, them fellers up there's moving! It's a... a movie!" It's like, would you call a magazine a "flippy"? Folderol! Of course, I can't say "nickelodeon" without people thinking I mean the kids' informercial channel. You young people with your dungarees and your bebop music.

What was I going to say? Oh yeah. Over at Slate, Charles Taylor writes about an indie movie called Kwik Stop. It's won all kinds of awards, and even Roger Ebert thinks it's great (if you consider his opinion worthwhile). Even so, it got rejected by Sundance and hasn't been picked up for distribution by any studios. Now, after four years, iFilm has released it on DVD and it's only available online. Hey, that's a good idea... we should try that!

I know as much about the movie industry as I know about poker (i.e. zero), but check out Taylor's premise:

Except for a few remaining truly independent distributors, the major studios' specialty divisions—the arm that releases foreign films and what has been dubbed the "mid-size" movie (i.e., Lost in Translation, Sideways, et al.)—now virtually determine what audiences see of what we still think of as American independent movies. In other words, the studios nearly control the system that was supposed to represent an alternative to them. If an American indie movie doesn't have a name filmmaker or stars who have taken a smaller paycheck to work on it, if it doesn't create a buzz at Sundance (or is rejected by Sundance), its chances of getting a distribution deal are pretty much dead.

So filmmakers are starting to try things like, well, what you're reading right now. And things like Channel101.com, where (mostly) penniless but (mostly) ambitious filmmakers compete to see whose 5-minute minimovies are the biggest crowd-pleasers. Then they get legal threats from comedians who apparently can't laugh at themselves, but that's another story. And of course, if you've got a sex tape that you want to "leak" to the public to get your name back in the news, who do you look to? Loews? AMC? No, Internet nerds! Maybe that's a bad example, and maybe it isn't. The point is, if you're not Steven Spielberg but you've made a movie and you want people to see it, you've got to think out-- think outs-s-s-s... I can't even say it. You've got to open up your mind to all the possibilities, is the point.

I'm sure there are other examples of filmmakers taking their act on the modem. If you've got a good one, please post it in the comments. One of the advantages of blogging is that you can get your readers to do your work for you!

Fellow Blowers, many of you have been asking, "When do we get to see this controversial film we've been hearing about?"

We are working on a February release date, starting in New York and then working our way across the country. We’ll keep you posted on the blog as we go. In the meantime, keep blowing...smoke.

And if you just can’t wait to see the movie…

Then I have a suggestion for you. Gather a group of 100 or more people in any major city across the country (Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, etc.), we will bring the movie to you for a screening of the Blowing Smoke. That way you can have your very own Sneak Preview!