Saturday, March 17, 2007
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Invest in a zombie movie for as low as $20
Bloodee - 60 days after it was put online thanks (and a small jab at a horror webmaster that shall remain nameless)
About two months ago when bloodee was first put online, I tried to build relationships with horror webmasters and talked to many of them on MSN. One of them was the owner of one of the big horror sites, and he told me that everyone in horror was pretty much an a-hole... I didn't know what to say at the time, because until bloodee I had always only been a horror fan, nothing more, And I could tell that this guy was slightly full of himself, so I didn't want to say anything anyway, but I kept that in the back of my mind just in case. After two months more or less online, this is what I found out: it is absolutely NOT true... in most cases...
From the moment bloodee started there was a group of webmasters that understood the concept right away, and not only did they understand it, they showed tremendous class by promoting it on their own sites without me even suggesting it... There are a few groups that come to mind, on top of which are the folks at Horroryearbook and Zombiefriends. By a longshot Wil at horroryearbook was the most helpful. When I signed up to the horroryearbook forum, I had not intention to plug my site, but I stumble upon a thread on Social Bookmarking... This was too on-topic to miss so I emailed one of the moderators to ask permission and he replied positively, also directing me to Wil. Wil also replied positively, and the next thing I knew I had a backlink from the horroryearbook myspace page and link from the horroryearbook's page, without even asking for it. Few weeks later, when the site was officially launched with a PR, I posted my first ever MySpace Bulletin with the PR attached. About 15 minutes later, I got a bulletin back from Wil, which was essentially a repost of my bulletin. Did not ask. Wasn't expected. A nice surprise. You can't fake class like that. Period.
Ty at zombiefriend is another guy that showed a lot of class from the start. We first talked about exchanging links when I was preparing my official launch, and at that time I had been a member of his site for a while, I had sent some zombies his way and he had sent some undead my way, and zombiefriends was one of the first sites added to bloodee. We agreed to a link exchange... but he overdid it sort of speak. Check out zombiefriends, you can't miss it and if that is not class, nothing is.
There are obviously more people that helped kickstart this site, and I have added most of them to the bloodee about page and became a reader of their blogs or sites, bookmarking the content that I liked. And this is one of the things that makes this site great for me. Without bloodee, I wouldn't know about zombiefreak, zombie-a-gogo, zombo, bloodparty and the others.
And as of today, there is the case of the folks behind the zombie flick Autumn Renegade Motion Pictures. You can read all about this movie at their blog and how they are giving a chance to the zombie fans out there to invest in their movie for a share of the profits. I found out about them today and I invested right away, because it's the sort of concept that is very well aligned with the philosophy behind bloodee. But what kind of folks I ask you, movie people in particular, respond to your email and investment by:
1- Linking to you from their blog?
2- Linking to you from their site?
3- Inviting you to the set?
Yeah, you read quite right: "Inviting you to the set". Well, these people have class that's what it is. And what that means is that I am not only happy to have invested in the movie, it also means I will buy the DVD and pay regular visits to their site. So... to go back to my premise and the horror webmaster's statement. I didn't know what to say then, but this is what I would say today if we had this conversation: "So far, I have dealt mostly with very decent people, and I am happy to visit their site and bookmark their pages whenever I am interested in their content. I don't ask for anything in return but they give back anyway. So it's not surprising isn't it that I have stopped surfing YOUR site, and I now visit theirs instead?" Yeah, that's right, bye bye.
So... I can invest in Autumn?
Yes, you can. Rachel of Renegade Motion Pictures sent me the PR during today's correspondence. If interested, the shares are only $20 and you receive a share certificate. It's a great idea and a great opportunity to be part of a project that will be seen by... millions... no billions... of people. :-) But ultimately, this movie is also social. Not only because the public can have a financial stake, but also because the public is currently being asked to submit its feedback, prior to the film being in production (read about that here). So I will call that filmaking 2.0 if you don't mind, and it's a great idea that is philosophically aligned with the horror 2.0 concept of bloodee, and I am happy to support the movie.
About two months ago when bloodee was first put online, I tried to build relationships with horror webmasters and talked to many of them on MSN. One of them was the owner of one of the big horror sites, and he told me that everyone in horror was pretty much an a-hole... I didn't know what to say at the time, because until bloodee I had always only been a horror fan, nothing more, And I could tell that this guy was slightly full of himself, so I didn't want to say anything anyway, but I kept that in the back of my mind just in case. After two months more or less online, this is what I found out: it is absolutely NOT true... in most cases...
From the moment bloodee started there was a group of webmasters that understood the concept right away, and not only did they understand it, they showed tremendous class by promoting it on their own sites without me even suggesting it... There are a few groups that come to mind, on top of which are the folks at Horroryearbook and Zombiefriends. By a longshot Wil at horroryearbook was the most helpful. When I signed up to the horroryearbook forum, I had not intention to plug my site, but I stumble upon a thread on Social Bookmarking... This was too on-topic to miss so I emailed one of the moderators to ask permission and he replied positively, also directing me to Wil. Wil also replied positively, and the next thing I knew I had a backlink from the horroryearbook myspace page and link from the horroryearbook's page, without even asking for it. Few weeks later, when the site was officially launched with a PR, I posted my first ever MySpace Bulletin with the PR attached. About 15 minutes later, I got a bulletin back from Wil, which was essentially a repost of my bulletin. Did not ask. Wasn't expected. A nice surprise. You can't fake class like that. Period.
Ty at zombiefriend is another guy that showed a lot of class from the start. We first talked about exchanging links when I was preparing my official launch, and at that time I had been a member of his site for a while, I had sent some zombies his way and he had sent some undead my way, and zombiefriends was one of the first sites added to bloodee. We agreed to a link exchange... but he overdid it sort of speak. Check out zombiefriends, you can't miss it and if that is not class, nothing is.
There are obviously more people that helped kickstart this site, and I have added most of them to the bloodee about page and became a reader of their blogs or sites, bookmarking the content that I liked. And this is one of the things that makes this site great for me. Without bloodee, I wouldn't know about zombiefreak, zombie-a-gogo, zombo, bloodparty and the others.
And as of today, there is the case of the folks behind the zombie flick Autumn Renegade Motion Pictures. You can read all about this movie at their blog and how they are giving a chance to the zombie fans out there to invest in their movie for a share of the profits. I found out about them today and I invested right away, because it's the sort of concept that is very well aligned with the philosophy behind bloodee. But what kind of folks I ask you, movie people in particular, respond to your email and investment by:
1- Linking to you from their blog?
2- Linking to you from their site?
3- Inviting you to the set?
Yeah, you read quite right: "Inviting you to the set". Well, these people have class that's what it is. And what that means is that I am not only happy to have invested in the movie, it also means I will buy the DVD and pay regular visits to their site. So... to go back to my premise and the horror webmaster's statement. I didn't know what to say then, but this is what I would say today if we had this conversation: "So far, I have dealt mostly with very decent people, and I am happy to visit their site and bookmark their pages whenever I am interested in their content. I don't ask for anything in return but they give back anyway. So it's not surprising isn't it that I have stopped surfing YOUR site, and I now visit theirs instead?" Yeah, that's right, bye bye.
So... I can invest in Autumn?
Yes, you can. Rachel of Renegade Motion Pictures sent me the PR during today's correspondence. If interested, the shares are only $20 and you receive a share certificate. It's a great idea and a great opportunity to be part of a project that will be seen by... millions... no billions... of people. :-) But ultimately, this movie is also social. Not only because the public can have a financial stake, but also because the public is currently being asked to submit its feedback, prior to the film being in production (read about that here). So I will call that filmaking 2.0 if you don't mind, and it's a great idea that is philosophically aligned with the horror 2.0 concept of bloodee, and I am happy to support the movie.
PR:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE ZOMBIE PORTFOLIO
Renegade Motion Pictures sells shares of new horror movie to fans.
Toronto, ON, and Regina, SK, February 5, 2007 – Renegade Motion Pictures has acquired the rights to the popular zombie novel AUTUMN. Production begins the summer of 2007 and Renegade has decided to sell 25% of the movie to the fans with investments starting at $20.
AUTUMN, by David Moody (www.djmoody.co.uk), is the first in a series of novels about a post-apocalyptic world following a sudden viral epidemic. The series has developed a cult following on the internet and Renegade wants to give the already established fans and the future fans a chance to own part of the film, which will also include part of the film’s future profits.
Director Steven Rumbelow explains that they are not just selling shares, “…we are selling packages that include shares, which are designed to be immense fun for the fans. With 75% of the film’s budget being financed through traditional means, we wanted to try something new, something to involve indie audiences in a new way.” He goes on to say, “Everyone involved with the production of AUTUMN is committed to the fact that this is unique and very different from your standard zombie flick. It is more about human nature and the silence following devastation rather than knocking heads off zombies. The fans of the AUTUMN books know this and I think it sets us all a little bit apart.”
Rumbelow is perhaps best known for his work on the paranormal series BEYOND, which is currently airing on the Space Channel in Canada. He has an extensive career with over 200 productions that includes several award-winning British feature films, about 100 music videos and his theatre work in London, New York and Chicago. He is no stranger to horror in his work as he has directed many dark and twisted adaptations of Shakespeare, James Joyce, Dostoyevsky, Stanislaw Lem (SOLARIS) and many other iconic writers in history. “The key to the atmosphere of AUTUMN is to stress the sheer psychological terror surrounding this new apocalyptic world. Zombies are only part of it. True fear resides deep within the human psyche.”
Incentives for investors include things like dinner with selected cast and crew or a private screening for the investor and 20 of their family and friends, again, with selected cast and crew. There is also a Party Package that gives the investor access to wrap parties and other events. Other packages include inscribed Diesel Time pieces or inscribed leather Converse. For any serious fan, these packages are great fun.
Investment packages for the movie are available not only on the Renegade website (www.renegademotionpictures.com/autumninvestors.htm), but also a friend to indie films Cinema Nocturna (www.cinema-nocturna.com) and AUTUMN author David Moody’s site (www.djmoody.co.uk). Packages start at $20 and go up from there.
About Renegade Motion Pictures
Renegade Motion Pictures (www.renegademotionpictures.com) is a Canadian production company dedicated to high concept, low budget independent productions. Award-winning director, Steven Rumbelow, serves as president. Renegade produces feature films, as well as television series, documentaries, music videos, commercials and theatre productions.
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