Or, I guess to be more accurate, I’m in Hollywood. Here is a smattering of what has happend on this trip:

• I got to see the new production of DIRK, the play based on the Douglas Adam’s novel “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency”, which I adapted with James Goss for the stage a startling 15 years ago, and which continues to appear, in true Douglas faishon, in various multi-media productions around the world. This production, which at 3 months and counting is the longest running ever, was really a lot of fun and it was a strange thrill to take of my producer hat for a few hours and be a writer and do a Q&A session for the audience with the cast. Variety likes it which is nice.

• Kate, my taller, prettier half got a piece of work in the New York Times
  
• We had dinner with the delightful, funny and talented writer Emma Forrest and her charming boyfriend Ryan.
• And along the way a bunch of work meetings with Producers, Writers, Agents and the like… but as its late and the Thanksgiving holidays are about to begin, I won’t talk too much about those….

www.sugarhouselane.com . Well I have to say I was real interested to read all about this film set in the east side of London, way out when you think about it as I’m plan on moving to London (I live in Dallas right now) in November. Anyway you know what I like sooo loved the look of east side london so I’ve decided that’s where I’m going to come and live when I move over as it looks real cute and English. Anyway it was so cool because I like then carried on a little internet trail and came to your blog website where I read all your writings and musings and I was like OH MY GOD this man is so clever and funny and like real witty I just read the whole thing. I think you’re a real english aristocrate being an owner of a real important company, and I’ve like always wanted to meet a real posh english person like you see in the movies with Hugh Grant. I then found you on your company website http://www.slingshot-studios.com/people.htm and I just can’t believe how much we have in common! You used to work for a company called Ruby, well blow me down my mama is called Ruby! You worked on Sylvia and oh my god I just love that film! It’s one of my favourites, I just love Gwenyth, she’s so cute. You used to worked in an animation company, well I just love animation! Us Americans just love cartoons and Disney and all that, and so must you if you worked in an animation company! Oh and most of all my favourite name is David, I’ve always loved that name since my mama sent me to Sunday school and I learned all about the people in the bible. David was the second king of Israel and I’ve like always real loved the name since I first read the stories in the bible about him and then I find you on the internet and think you’re awesome and your family name is David!

This arrived today from someone who has been in irregular (in every sense of the world) correspondence with us about an internship. No other comment is possible or necessary.

Dear Arvind

I thank you immeasurably for taking my call recently, it was real kind of you to speak to me. I am real sorry I haven’t been real regular at being in touch. Not like me as I’m normally real regular at most things (except sometimes if I eat too little fruit). Anyhows I have been so busy of late because like you know my lil’ doggie Diana passed and I have been real distraught as I wasn’t even with her when she passed over to heaven as she was in the States. God bless her fluffy soul. Anyhows Charles and Elizabeth are now with me in Hackney town so I feel much better I have been reunited with two of my three fluffy babies again. They have settled in well with their new dog sitter and environment and we have found a nice route to walk in the mornings. They are getting on well with the English dog food and like the local dogs too. I will always hold a place in my heart for Diana but am taking each day as it comes and am getting stronger each day that passes without her. I say a little prayer to her at night when I cuddle up to Charles and Elizabeth and I find it comforting to talk to her too. I know life has to go on so I am trying my darndest to get on with it, but not without the occasional outbreak of crying a few times a day.

Anyhows what with the death of Diana I have had a real evaluation and reassessment and reconsideration of my life and have been thinking like real deeply philosophically and theologically and spiritually about my life as Diana’s death has made me realise that life is so short and can change at any moment. I have come to some real serious conclusions and thought I should update you Arvind Ethan David. I have decided that the television industry is real shallow and fake and not an environment I want to be placed in. I think that while it is a good place for some people that it just is not a good industry for someone as genuine, real, modest, intelligent and kind like myself. I have decided therefore that I am going to focus my mental and physical and psychological energies into contacting a member of Parliament and trying to get a cleaning job there as I think working in politics would be real cool to work with people who are intelligent and concerned with real issues, not just image. I am already doing well as I have posted an application letter and resume to Tony Blair as I stumbled across his address on the internet. I was real surprised to be able to find such private information on the world wide web. Tony lives in a real cute little street called Downing Street and I took my fluffy babies for a walk past it just to check it out and that it was in a good area as I find some parts of this London City real scary. I was recently walking past your office in Ealing and thought the area was not real pretty or nice to work in and looks a bit of a cheap place to work in so I am real excited about the potential of working in Downing Street.

Anyways Arvind thanks for all the time you have put in to me and for your enthusiastic emails offering me interviews and jobs and asking for my photo. I am pleased you got to have a little Mary-Lou in your life as I believe I bring a ray of blessed light into strangers lives. This is what my fluffy babies American vet told me. I am sorry I cannot work with you and please pass my apologies on to your whole company especially your boss Azuma and your colleague Cate. I hope you are all not too upset. You will get stronger day by day, that I can guarantee. Just think of it like I think of Diana - I will be going to work in a better place.

Good luck in your film career - I will pray Azuma will make you partner one day as you seem very suited to a life long career in film so should strive to make it to the top like her.

Good bye and god bless

Viral Marketing for Movies

Stupid Lawyers

Joss Whedon’s SERENITY.

Wonderfully combine in THIS story

Expounded on here at a URL which really says it all:

www.overlawyered.com/2006/11/oops_we_sued_our_own_viral_mar.html

Briliiant… Absurd though it seems, it does raise the serious point that Web 2.0 “pro-sumer” dynamics sit very ill with the traditional distinction between producers and consumers. There are other examples - the user generated Chevy Tahoe adverts that Chevy’ marketeers hoped would build grass roots support, but ended up denigrating the car’s lack of social consciousness (at least Chevy was smart enough not to sue them, but you know they wanted to) being the most high profile.

Oh, go BROWNCOATS.

Our friend and collaborator Aschlin Ditta’s film SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE openned this past weekend around the UK. We’ve been following it closely for a bunch of reasons.

• We love Ash - who is one of the funniest and nicest men in the world. (Don’t just take our word for it - Ewan McGregor thinks so too); and of course are making his next film FRENCH FILM (and folk are talking about it already, which is nice)
• It was made for a slingshot sized microbudget.
• And it’s been released independently, by the new distribution company set up by the film’s exec producer, the faishon entrepeneur Suran Goonatilake, utilising some of the niche marketing strategies that we have been espousing here: most notably the clever stunt and viral idea of the World’s Biggest Blind Date; and a Chief’s and Indian’s strategy.

Honesty compells us to admit that the results to date have been mixed. The film did around 50k in its openning weekend on 35 screens (it was handicapped by having to compete with the monster which is BORAT); which given typical decay curves would suggest it will end up grossing around 100 - 150k; but on the basis of that it has done a good DVD deal with Sony which suggests that it will break even, perhaps even post a small but satisfactory profit, to its investors and small deferral cheques to its talent - something it would not have done if it had been budgeted conventionally.

So case made for microbudget British movie.
But not yet proved, for unconventional British movie marketing…

Thoughts welcomed from anyone who has seen the film or impacted by its marketing campaign (who is that girl with the wonderful pants?)