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Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Hey all - this is the last official entry of the Buttleman Journal. The movie has long since been completed, and I've felt strange posting political rants or writing exercises on what is supposed to be a log of the life of a film. Some day, soon, "Buttleman" will be bought by a distributor and available for all to view. But in the meantime, my writings, musings and poetry (okay- not poetry) will reside here. Come visit!

Monday, August 01, 2005

GOOD NEWS! We won the Audience Award in the Had to be Made Film Festival. Thanks to all who rented and voted online!

"Me and You and Everyone We Know" is up to the $2 million mark. Hopefully, this will help prove there is an audience out there for John Hawkes. I suggested to my sales rep the new pitch: "If you liked John Hawkes as a shoe salesman... you'll LOVE John Hawkes as a tuxedo salesman!"

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

The time has come - "Buttleman" is on the shelves.

For those of you who don't know, "Buttleman" will be available to rent on DVD for a limited time through the Had to Be Made Film Festival. The festival has participating video stores across the country, and audiences rent the movies and then vote for them online.

Below is a list of the stores renting our movie. Scroll down, find one near you, rent our movie and then vote!

To VOTE on the film: Go to http://www.hadtobemadefilmfest.com/index-2004.html

Click on the "Vote" tab and register - it takes about two minutes. This will also enter you to win a professional audio system from M&K Sound.

Then click "Vote Now!" and follow the directions.

Please remember to vote - since there is no screening venue, there's no attendance record, so it's the only way the fest will know what kind of response we got.

HAD TO BE MADE FESTIVAL LOCATIONS

Latest Additions

Specialty Video Chicago, IL
Quick-Flix Cambridge, MA
Video Village Rockwall, TX
Video Station Alameda, CA

ARIZONA

Casa Video 2905 E. Speedway Tucson, AZ 85716
520.326.6314

Movies on Central 4700 North Central Avenue #121 Phoenix, AZ 85012
602.274.0994

CALIFORNIA

49'er Video 6633 Ventana Dr Rancho Murieta, CA 95683
530-759-8260

Penny Lane 620 S Raymond Avenue #4 Pasadena, CA 91105

Vidiots 302 Pico Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.392.8508

Movie Merchants 201 W. Napa Street Sonoma, CA 95476
707.996.7355

Box Office Video 6960 McKinley Street Sebastopol, CA 95472
707-823-9798

American Video Center 14442 Union Avenue San Jose, CA 95124
408.558.9545

Video Depot 41865 Boardwalk #109 Palm Desert, CA 92211
760-346-2946

Carmel Valley Video 308 Mid Valley Ctr Carmel, CA 93923
831-624-2270

Video Station 1929 Broadway Alameda, CA 94501

CONNECTICUT

Media Wave 1596 Post Road Fairfield, CT 06824
203.255.8643

Video Cinema Ridgefield, CT

WASHINGTON DC

Potomac Video 5536A Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC 20015
202-362-5018

FLORIDA

New Concept Video 1671 Meridian Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139
305.674.1111

GEORGIA Cinema Shack 707-A E. Lake Drive Decatur, GA 30030
404.377.5575

HAWAII

Pauwela Video 375 W. Kuiaha Road Suite 35 Haiku, HI 96708
808.281.2452

IDAHO Video West 560 Washington Ave. N. Ketchum, ID 83340
208-726-3217

MASSECHUSETS

Video Revolution 97 Thoreau Street Concord, MA 01742
508.624.7234

PM Productions 485 High Street Dedham, MA 02026
781.326.6399

Quick-Flix 8 Bow St. Cambridge, MA 02138
(617)864-FLIX

MARYLAND

Potomac Video 7300 Baltimore Ave #A College Park, MD 20740
301-699-3377

MICHIGAN

Video To Go 300 N Clippert St #18 Lansing, MI 48912
(517) 351-2255

Movie Store, Ltd. 15300 Kercheval Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230
(313) 822-1355

NORTH CAROLINA

Visart Video 300 E. Main Street Carrboro, NC 27510
919.932.1945

Visart Video 3405 Hillsborough Road Durham, NC 27705

Visart Video 1945 E. 7th Street Charlotte, NC 28204

NEW JERSEY

Sussex Video Total Entertainment 205 Rt. 23 Sussex, NJ 07461
973.875.1944

NEW YORK

Kim's Video 6 St. Mark Place (between 2nd & 3rd) New York, NY 10003
212.505.0311

Big Picture DVD Superstore 9220 Liverpool Road Liverpool, NY 13088

TLA Video 52 W. 8th Street New York, NY 10011
212.228.8282

OHIO

Granville Video 478 S. Main Street Granville, OH 43023
740.587.4635

Campus Video 16 S. Main Street Oberlin, OH 48912
(440) 775-7422

B-Ware Video 13367 Madison Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107
(216)521-2210

OREGON Trilogy Video 2484 NW Thurman Street Portland, OR 97210
503.229.1884

DJ's Video 1670 Ashland Street Ashland, OR 97520
541.488.1901

LaBeck's Video Chest 2310 N. Lombard Street Portland, OR 97217
503.289.8408

Movie Madness 4320 S.E. Belmont Street Portland, OR 97215
503.234.4363

PENNSYLVANIA

Rick's Video 1300 Broad Street Greensburg, PA 15601
724.838.9040

TLA Video 736 Lancaster Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19106
610.520.1222

West Coast Video 4614 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412.682.3900

TLA Video 517 S. 4th Street Philadelphia, PA 19147
215.922.3838

TLA Video 1520 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19102
215.735.7887

TLA Video 7630 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19118
215.248.4448

TLA Video 1808 Spring Garden Street Philadelphia, PA 19130
215.751.1171

TEXAS

Cactus Music and Video 2930 South Sheperd Drive Houston, TX 77098
713.526.9272

I Luv Video 4803 Airport Boulevard Austin, TX 78751
512.450.1966

Take-1 Video 2811 Thornton Lane Temple, TX 76502
254.742.1340

Take-1 Video 2144 North Main Street Belton, TX 76513

Video Depot 403 S. Bosque Street 9 Whitney, TX 76692
254.694.4234

Waterloo Records and Video Video Annex 1016 W. 6th Street Austin, TX 78703
512.474.2500

Video Village 1107 Ridge Rd. Rockwall, TX 75087
(972)771-2222

VERMONT

Beyond Video 1141 Willoughby Square Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.296.4211

Potomac Video 7505 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22043
703-893-0745

WASHINGTON

Island Movies 382 Madison Avenue N Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206.780.5663

Scarecrow Video 5030 Roosevelt Way Seattle, WA 98015
206.524.8554

Video Tonite 218 W 1st St Aberdeen, WA 98520
360-533-5368

Silverscreen Videos 1050A Hildebrand Lane Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206.842.0261

WISCONSIN

Four Star Video Heaven 315 N. Henry Street Madison, WI 53703
608.255.1994

Friday, March 18, 2005

The moment has arrived. “Buttleman” is on the shelves and available for rent through the Had To Be Made Film Festival. And even better: it’s introduced by Lou Gossett Jr! 1983 Oscar winner, 2005 Oscar snoozer Lou Gossett Jr. (This last was discovered by a friend with Tivo; he’s in the background of an audience shot during the lifetime achievement award, completely out.)

To find a location near you where you can rent “Buttleman”, go to:

http://www.hadtobemadefilmfest.com/index-2004.html

Click on the “Locations” tab and select your state. After you rent it and love it, click on the “Vote” tab and register your opinion!* At the end, they will tally up the results and announce a winner for the fest.

Go fast. Right now! GO!

*If you don’t love it, there is unfortunately no way to vote on the film.




Friday, December 24, 2004

Happy Christmas, all! That's right - Nothing rings in holiday cheer like...

REVIEWS OF 'CHRISTMAS WITH THE CRANKS'

(quotes taken from the Rotten Tomatoes website)

"Not since Arnold Schwarzenegger's Jingle All the Way has there been a Yuletide film as fascistic -- or as odious -- as Christmas With the Kranks."

"A nightmare vision of a theist, conformist America... It's like 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' except we're expected to root for the pod people."

"A shrill and mean-spirited orgy of banana-peel pranks."

"Okay. It’s official now. I hate Christmas."

"This grim holiday-themed comedy is the movie equivalent of getting socks and underwear for Christmas."

"As tasteless and stale as last year's cheese log."

"Phony, disingenuous family entertainment, suffocated by its green bean casserole approach to Middle America, spineless cardboard characters and paper-thin plot 'twists.'"

"Christmas with the Kranks takes the icy throne as the king of all bad holidays movies…except Jingle all the Way. "

"Really rather chilling, an unintentional Orwellian object lesson in what happens when you deviate from the groupthink...."

"A vile, morally repugnant lump of coal. One of the worst, most disingenuous Christmas movies in memory."

"Rotten Eggnog."

Happy holidays!


Wednesday, November 24, 2004

The Had To Be Made Film Festival is just around the corner, so here is the latest information...

The Had To Be Made Film Festival (www.hadtobemade.com) has a partnership with small, non-chain video stores across the country who rent out the movies in monthly volumes. Volume 9 has "Buttleman" and two short films, and will be on the shelves in late December. I have included a list of the participating stores below, so you can see if there is one in your state.

If NOT, you have just about a week to get your local store to participate. After that, they won't include the store until the next festival, and they won't get "Buttleman"! So, here's what to do: Tell the store's owner or manager about the festival, and if they're interested get their name, address and phone number. Then contact Sonia Giddens at Had to Be Made and let her know about them. The best way is to call her: 323-653-3937, but you can also email her at sgiddens@hadtobemade.com. Let her know all the info and tell the video store to expect her call - then check back with them in a couple days. Be sure to tell her you want them to have the CURRENT series, with "Buttleman". Remember, time is of the essence!

Thanks a lot, and happy Tofurkey day!

HAD TO BE MADE FESTIVAL LOCATIONS

Latest Additions

Specialty Video Chicago, IL
Quick-Flix Cambridge, MA
Video Village Rockwall, TX
Video Station Alameda, CA

ARIZONA

Casa Video 2905 E. Speedway Tucson, AZ 85716
520.326.6314

Movies on Central 4700 North Central Avenue #121 Phoenix, AZ 85012
602.274.0994

CALIFORNIA

49'er Video 6633 Ventana Dr Rancho Murieta, CA 95683
530-759-8260

Penny Lane 620 S Raymond Avenue #4 Pasadena, CA 91105

Video Journeys 2730 Griffith Park Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90027
323.663.5857

Vidiots 302 Pico Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.392.8508

Movie Merchants 201 W. Napa Street Sonoma, CA 95476
707.996.7355

Box Office Video 6960 McKinley Street Sebastopol, CA 95472
707-823-9798

American Video Center 14442 Union Avenue San Jose, CA 95124
408.558.9545

Video Depot 41865 Boardwalk #109 Palm Desert, CA 92211
760-346-2946

Carmel Valley Video 308 Mid Valley Ctr Carmel, CA 93923
831-624-2270

Video Station 1929 Broadway Alameda, CA 94501

CONNECTICUT

Media Wave 1596 Post Road Fairfield, CT 06824
203.255.8643

Video Cinema Ridgefield, CT

WASHINGTON DC

Potomac Video 5536A Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC 20015
202-362-5018

FLORIDA

New Concept Video 1671 Meridian Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139
305.674.1111

GEORGIA Cinema Shack 707-A E. Lake Drive Decatur, GA 30030
404.377.5575

HAWAII

Pauwela Video 375 W. Kuiaha Road Suite 35 Haiku, HI 96708
808.281.2452

IDAHO Video West 560 Washington Ave. N. Ketchum, ID 83340
208-726-3217

MASSECHUSETS

Video Revolution 97 Thoreau Street Concord, MA 01742
508.624.7234

PM Productions 485 High Street Dedham, MA 02026
781.326.6399

Quick-Flix 8 Bow St. Cambridge, MA 02138
(617)864-FLIX

MARYLAND

Potomac Video 7300 Baltimore Ave #A College Park, MD 20740
301-699-3377

MICHIGAN

Video To Go 300 N Clippert St #18 Lansing, MI 48912
(517) 351-2255

Movie Store, Ltd. 15300 Kercheval Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230
(313) 822-1355

NORTH CAROLINA

Visart Video 300 E. Main Street Carrboro, NC 27510
919.932.1945

Visart Video 3405 Hillsborough Road Durham, NC 27705

Visart Video 1945 E. 7th Street Charlotte, NC 28204

NEW JERSEY

Sussex Video Total Entertainment 205 Rt. 23 Sussex, NJ 07461
973.875.1944

NEW YORK

Kim's Video 6 St. Mark Place (between 2nd & 3rd) New York, NY 10003
212.505.0311

Big Picture DVD Superstore 9220 Liverpool Road Liverpool, NY 13088

TLA Video 52 W. 8th Street New York, NY 10011
212.228.8282

OHIO

Granville Video 478 S. Main Street Granville, OH 43023
740.587.4635

Campus Video 16 S. Main Street Oberlin, OH 48912
(440) 775-7422

B-Ware Video 13367 Madison Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107
(216)521-2210

OREGON Trilogy Video 2484 NW Thurman Street Portland, OR 97210
503.229.1884

DJ's Video 1670 Ashland Street Ashland, OR 97520
541.488.1901

LaBeck's Video Chest 2310 N. Lombard Street Portland, OR 97217
503.289.8408

Movie Madness 4320 S.E. Belmont Street Portland, OR 97215
503.234.4363

PENNSYLVANIA

Rick's Video 1300 Broad Street Greensburg, PA 15601
724.838.9040

TLA Video 736 Lancaster Avenue Bryn Mawr, PA 19106
610.520.1222

West Coast Video 4614 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412.682.3900

TLA Video 517 S. 4th Street Philadelphia, PA 19147
215.922.3838

TLA Video 1520 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19102
215.735.7887

TLA Video 7630 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19118
215.248.4448

TLA Video 1808 Spring Garden Street Philadelphia, PA 19130
215.751.1171

TEXAS

Cactus Music and Video 2930 South Sheperd Drive Houston, TX 77098
713.526.9272

I Luv Video 4803 Airport Boulevard Austin, TX 78751
512.450.1966

Take-1 Video 2811 Thornton Lane Temple, TX 76502
254.742.1340

Take-1 Video 2144 North Main Street Belton, TX 76513

Video Depot 403 S. Bosque Street 9 Whitney, TX 76692
254.694.4234

Waterloo Records and Video Video Annex 1016 W. 6th Street Austin, TX 78703
512.474.2500

Video Village 1107 Ridge Rd. Rockwall, TX 75087
(972)771-2222

VERMONT

Beyond Video 1141 Willoughby Square Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.296.4211

Potomac Video 7505 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, VA 22043
703-893-0745

WASHINGTON

Island Movies 382 Madison Avenue N Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206.780.5663

Scarecrow Video 5030 Roosevelt Way Seattle, WA 98015
206.524.8554

Video Tonite 218 W 1st St Aberdeen, WA 98520
360-533-5368

Silverscreen Videos 1050A Hildebrand Lane Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
206.842.0261

WISCONSIN

Four Star Video Heaven 315 N. Henry Street Madison, WI 53703
608.255.1994

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

So, I'm a little annoyed with the Had to Be Made Film Fest because they have not been updating their website. HTBM has video stores across the country that participate and rent out the movies in their fest. Ours is coming up around the end of the year, but the website is terribly outdated. They tell me, for example, that there are several outlets in Illinois that carry the fest, but none of them are mentioned on the site. Check back here and I'll try to get some more info.

I did an interview for the DVD that will appear on the beginning and end of the movie. They had me driving my car around their neighborhood on a somewhat rainy day while they filmed me from the passenger and back seat. In other words, the interview will be cutting between a profile and the back of my head. Thinking back on it, I'm pretty sure it was boring as hell.

Part of promoting your film, helping it rise above the dung heap, is using your own charm to add a personality to your projects. Kind of like a politician, or a porn star. The renegade filmmaker, the underground auteur, the underdog idealist, whatever. Something.

Example:

HAD TO BE MADE GUY: So, why are you an independent filmmaker?

RENEGADE FILMMAKER: Because indie film FUCKIN' RULES, G! They can't take my shit uptown. Too off the hook, make the man shit his BVDs.

UNDERGROUND AUTEUR: If not, I would be a traveling monk in the mountains of Nepal subsisting on fervent prayer and yak fat.

UNDERDOG IDEALIST: Because independent film gives hope for the children.

FRANK: Well, you see, that's the big choice a filmmaker has to make, if you want to try and work in the studio system, you have more money but less creative control, whereas with independent film you have complete creative control but low budget, and there are pros and cons bla bla bla bla bla bla bla.

The interview ended with my having to tell the camera why my film "Had To Be Made". This was the introduction for the DVD. My brain completely shorted out. Huh? Why my film Had To Be Made? I don't know. Because I wanted to make it. Because I raised the money for it and didn't want to go to jail for fraud. Because "Buttleman" gives hope for the children. I couldn't think of an answer. I felt like someone in one of those rigged infomercials: Tell us why the Miracle Supremo-Tongs are the only tongs you'll ever need!

Anyway, I hope they find some way to edit a non-tedious interview out of it. I kept thinking of the interview on "Being John Malkovich" where Spike Jonze is driving his car and looking kind of woozy, until he jumps out to vomit at an intersection. Next time I'll try that.


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