The Internet, Netflix andiTunes have changed the film industry. Last week I caught up with D.B. Sweeney, writer, actor, director and producer of Two Tickets to Paradise, a feature length film that bypassed a theatrical release and debuts on DVD this week. In addition to DVD sales and rentals, the film will be available for download on iTunes in early 2009. Based on the success of DVD sales, Sweeney hopes to negotiate distribution on subscription cable networks.
In reaction to the Hollywood film system, Sweeney says, “It’s kind of a foolish model in this day and age because as the Internet and other ways of delivering movies to people becomes more common, who needs the multiplex? Who needs MGM? Who needs any of these places? Why should a filmmaker turn over the irreplaceable asset, the movie, to a distribution center? All these big corporations likeAmazon, those places have great distribution arms but they can’t create content.”
Two Tickets to Paradise is over six years in the making. Shortly after September 11th, Sweeney found himself spending another night at a bar with firefighter friends after yet another funeral. When he suggested that they take a night off to relax and maybe see a movie, one of them turned to the other and said, “Movie? Nobody makes movies for us.”
In 2002, Sweeney and co-writer Brian Currie began writing the film, originally titledDirt Nap, keeping in mind an audience of men over 40. Several studios had offered to purchase the script for around $200,000 but Sweeney hoped to play the lead role of Billy McGriff and didn’t want to sell the script unless the offer was much more profitable.
“If somebody had offered a million dollars, we might have done it.” said Sweeney. “I just thought the offers weren’t enough money to make it worth watching somebody else wreck it.”
Once the film was completed, three studios had offered to do theatrical releases but again, Sweeney felt the film might be cheated out of profits. He said, “Basically the studio will say, ‘We’ll give you 500 screens and we’ll spend $4 million to promote it.’ In reality, they’re going to spend about $700,000 to promote it. That, in dollars is now charged against your movie, with interest, every day. So any money you would have received from Pay TV or DVD or any of the other myriad ancillary markets is going to be chewed up by this false deficit the studio creates.”
Sweeney went on to say that established filmmakers have an easier time negotiating studio contracts and can demand accountability for promotional monies spent. Two Tickets to Paradise was largely funded by Sweeney and the equity in his home. Half of the film was sold to an entrepreneur investor andCoors and Hooterswere integral in both the production and post-production promotional processes.
Because Sweeney plays a beer truck driver in the film, he pitched the product placement opportunity to several beer brands. Many brands were uncomfortable with a particular scene in the film when passengers (but not the driver) in a moving car were drinking and didn’t want their brand associated with drunk driving. In a compromise that included careful consideration from Coors’ lawyers, Sweeney was permitted to use the brand in bar and restaurant scenes and a fictional beer brand was used in the car scenes.
Coors also provided Sweeney with a number of production assets including use of a factory, uniforms and trucks. “The deal I made with them was pretty much unprecedented for independent filmmakers. They gave me studio level support. I couldn’t have done the movie without them. Anytime I needed a truck, they gave me a truck. They gave me the factory. All those things don’t sound like a lot but on an independent film budget, that stuff can be time-consuming and expensive,” said Sweeney.
Hooters has a presence within the film but was also integral in promoting the film. During the restaurant chain’s annual Fall contest for tickets to the Bowl Championship Series Championship Game, they will be giving away a copy of the film as a runner-up prize. Hooters customers will also be given promotional codes for a discounted copy of the DVD.
Sweeney admits that despite having acted in over 50 films, he had no idea how difficult it would be to create an independent film. Despite hurdles during the post-production process, Sweeney is currently working on another independent project, a Web series titled The Opportunist, scheduled to begin filming next month.