Download - Danny Caldwell Film Festival Campaign
Rob Zombie Can suck His Canniballs
Movie Title: Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell
Year: 2009
Director: Ben Caution Lupinetti
Producer: Melissa Izbicki
Screenwriter: Austin Sheeley
Sound Designer: Alex Ma
Editor: Casey McClelland
Production Designer: Erin Mitchell
Art Director: Maya Levy
Costume Designer: Samson Collins
Starring: Clint Morrison, Stephanie Drapeau,
Gordon Carmadelle, and David Alan Graf
Marketing Director: Janelle maluenda
HOW TO NAVIGATE HELL
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Title PageCreditsTable of ContentsIntroductionExecutive SummaryObjectivesSynopsisFundamentalsTarget AudiencesPhase One: Film FestivalsLos Angeles FestivalsFreak Show: FloridaHorror fest: Big BearFirst Glance: PhiladelphiaFestival KitDVD ArtFestival StrategiesMarketing and Public RelationsGuerillaSocial Media
1 5INTRODUCTION
Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell is an intelligently written campy horror comedy that criticizes the way the sell out movie industry caters to washed out masses by only producing bad horror films with excessive amounts of latex, blood, predictable dia-logue and obvious twists endings. Danny is a screenwriter with lofty ambitions. He wants to write scripts about Satchel Page, the oldest major league pitcher of all time, yet can only make a living writing sub par horror scripts. With a baby on the way, Danny hushes the frustrated artist within to responsibly sell compromised scripts and provide for his new family. Then Danny dies. The dead screenwriter is now faced with a punishment as ironic as his screenplays: he must spend the rest of eternity stuck as a character in a crappy horror flick. The film is ironic. It is a satire. It is bloody. Hilariously bloody.
Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell is a film for the horror fanatics. The slashes and blood geysers are so over done, its ridiculous. Its an experience for the frustrat-ed writer, painter, producer, performer and any other individual that calls himself an artist. Its a story line for any one who struggles to respect the integrity of his art, while trying to make a decent living.
The following pages will layout the fundamentals of the film. The campaign will explore the strengths of Danny Caldwell and who will enjoy watch-ing it. It will go into detail as to what festivals Danny Caldwell will be most successful at. This campaign book will provide samples of collateral materials for press, as well as contact information and story angles. Finally this book will provide access information for the social media accounts that have been set up as well as strategies and tactics.
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WHAT THIS CAMPAIGN WILL
DO FOR YOU
Position film as a fun piece of student cinema, poking fun of the ba-nality of today’s horror film industry.
Demonstrate the Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell is the next step for Wein-stein Company to communicate that the company is done with selfish financially driven endeavors and is getting back to the basics, back to the art, and more importantly, back to having fun.
Appeal to very targeted niche consumer audiences by developing an under-ground distribution campaign that relies on trusted strategic partnerships and positive word of mouth marketing to develop hype and successfully gain entrance to at least five film festivals across the nation.
Bruce Campbell presents Danny Caldwell at 2010 Sundance Film Fest
Psychobilly boys sporting Danny Caldwell merch Student director, Ben Lupinetti, with distributors, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, on the bloody white carpet.
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MARKETING PLAN OBJECTIVES
Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell is about a guy who writes crappy screenplays. Not because he’s a bad screen writer. He’s a good screen writer and he writes great scripts. Intelligent scripts in fact. But the industry wants crappy horror films, and since the industry pays his bills, and he’s got a baby on the way, he compromises the integrity of his work and writes crappy horror films. For a living. It sucks.
So Danny dies. Unfortunate right? But even worse: he is ill fated with the ironic punishment of being stuck in a crappy horror film- forever.
Danny’s B-List horror film from Hell is filled with hillbillies. Even better though, these hillbillies are cannibals. They live on a people farm. They invite people into their home. They cage em, breed em, and eat em. Its disgusting. And awesome.
Danny’s hell is a crappy horror film. Every cheesy special affect from blood geysers and predictable dialogue floods the screen. Limbs are lost at no one’s expense. Screams and chase scenes, and plot twists overwhelm Danny until he wakes up... Right? PLOT TWIST! Does Danny wake up? Did he die? Will he continue writing awful screenplays for the rest of his life?
Its ironic. Its cheesy. Its hilarious.
Its got blood. And cannibal hillbillies.
What’s better than bloody cannibal hillbil-lies?
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DANNYS STORY
Concept CapsuleCampy horror comedy about the industry’s demand for sub-par screenplays to please washed out masses, ironically oozing with blood and gore.
Marketable ElementsBlood; Horror. An easy association.
Comedy: Danny’s sarcastic wit and exaggerated situations make for a subtly hilarious film with ironic value in re-
gards to horror.
Screen Writing: A masochistic passion. It requires a lot of time, a lot of alone time, and 90% of the work done will be thrown away.
Integrity of Art: An internal struggle. Artist Versus Corporate. Cheer for the underdog. Its the epitome of David and Goliath in the art world.
Cannibals: Freakish. Interesting. Out of the ordinary. Hilarious!
Hillbillies: Gross, incestuous, just as freakish as canni- bals. That’s why cannibal hillbil-
lies is even more marketable than anything.
Obadiah and his Hillbilly Cannibal family are creepy and weird make
Danny Caldwell a unique horror film.
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FUN-DA-MENTALS
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WHO WILL LIKE THIS CAMPAIGN
Screen Writers:Screenwriters don’t like the movies that play in the theaters. That’s why they write their own. It must be clear that this movie is written for screen writ-ers, coming from the underground, student, world of cinema. They will relate to and understand the main character’s internal struggle more than any other tar-get audience.
PRIMARY
Horror Fanatics:These die hard fans are critical of contemporary horror and well aware that the classics are the best of screamer cinema; they can’t stand crappy horror. They will appreciate that Danny caldwell mocks the genre that is at stake. They are very difficult to influence, and are uninterested in anything main-stream. They trust friends more than any one.
SECONDARY
Starving Artists:Whether it is music, film, art, poetry, or dance, artists will relate to Dan-ny’s struggle to remain true to his passion of screen writing, and understand why he is sent to Hell for “selling out”. Artists do not want to be marketed to, live in a tight knit community, and the best way to penetrate the art world is to come from it.
TERTIARY
Phase One:Film Festivals
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Shriekfast: http://www.shriekfest.com/ Strategy: Campy, horror, comedy. Deadline: May 22. uper shorts/Webisodes (10 min/pages & under, including credits) Early: $20.00 Regular: $25.00, Late: $35.00Regular shorts (11 min/pages-49 min/pages, including credits) Early: $30.00 Regular: $35.00, Late: $45.00 [email protected]
Screamfest LA: http://www.screamfestla.com/ Strategy: Horror sci-fi, female leadership, female producer, Early: $35 Regular Deadline 07/15/10 $50 FINAL deadline 8/15/10 $60
ne of the biggest creative contests in the country, SXSW is an opportunity for Danny Caldwell to earn the respect from the creative community, specifically from industry leaders.
Eerie: http://www.eeriehorrorfilmfestival.com/ Strategy: Creepy hillbilly characters. Akward situations. Submit via withoutabix. Horror short
Sundance 2011: http://festival.sundance.org/ If you’re curious... They begin ac-cepting submissions June 2010 $35-$75 entry fee via withoutabox.com [email protected]
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WHERE ARE WE GOING
LOS ANGELES
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Strategy: Appeal to the artist that wants to create art without sac-rificing creative integrity.
http://www.freakshowfilmfest.com/
freaky Award CategoriesBest ShortBest CinematographyBest ActorBest Special FX Makeup
The 2010 entry period is as follows: Early Deadline is Feb. 12, 2010.Entry Deadline is May 14, 2010 * LATE DEADLINE AUG. 13, 2010*
Entry FeesShort Films0 to 45 minutes in length$20.00 before February 12, 2010*$30.00 before May 14, 2010* $40.00 before August 13, 2010***Run time includes credits***
FREAK SHOW FLORIDA 2010
10,000+ Horror Fans and multiple distributors will attend
http://www.bigbearhorrorfilmfest.com/
Strategy: Ben Lupinetti is the ultimate horror fan because he produced a film that is standing up for the integrity of the horror industry.
Early bird deadline: June 1, 2010*Regular deadline: July 1, 2010*Shorts/Student Films—Early bird: $15.00/Regular: $30.00
Big Bear Horror Film Festival Contest Seeks Out the Ultimate Horror Fan Big Bear Lake, California April 27, 2010 - - The Big Bear Horror Film Festival, produced by Evil Kitty Productions, is hosting a contest to find the ‘ultimate horror fan’ (UHF).
Contestants must create 1-2 minute videos wherein they creatively explain why they should be chosen as the “Ultimate Horror Fan”. Videos, which must be sub-mitted no later than July 1st, will then be judged by the general public, using the festival’s official website. Winner will be announced July 15, 2010 and will be invited to attend the festival for free, as a guest judge.
As a guest judge, the UHF, will be asked to view all films which have been sub-mitted for consideration in the festival. The guest judge will utilize a scoring sheet to provide feedback on those films and will be honored at the festi-val, as well. Some tangible and non-tangible benefits and requirements may apply.For complete rules and specifications regarding the contest and to down-load a submission form, please visit the festival’s official website, on the “2010 Festival” page, under ‘Ultimate Horror Fan’:
www.bigbearhorrorfilmfest.com | [email protected]
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BIG BEAR HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
2010
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Strategy: Indie, art film, Unique because of its witty dialogue. Spunky characters and ironic situations.
http://www.firstglancefilms.com/
Withoutabox.com submission:Short NarrativeShorts TooStudent Shorts
FIRSTGLANCE FILM FEST PHILADELPHIA 2010 CALL FOR ENTRIES NOW OPEN!!!!
Early Deadline March 13 2010Regular Deadline April 13, 2010Late Deadline May 13, 2010
Entry Fee:Starting at $25.00 for early submissions. Entries must be submitted on NTSC Region 0 or 1 DVD.
FIRST GLANCE FILM FEST 2010
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Cast Bios
SynopsisProduction Stills
Fact Sheet
FESTIVAL KIT
Cast Bios
DANNY CALDWELL GOES TO HELLCeiling Fan [email protected] Twitter.com/@DannyCaldwell626-825-3602
DANNYCALDWELL
GOESTOHELL
Fact Sheet
Movie Title: Danny Caldwell Goes to HellYear: 2009Director: Ben Caution LupinettiProducer: Melissa IzbickiScreenwriter: Austin SheeleySound Designer: Alex MaEditor: Casey McClellandProduction Designer: Erin MitchellArt Director: Maya LevyCostume Designer: Samson CollinsStarring: Clint Morrison, Stephanie Drapeau, Gordon Carmadelle, and David Alan Graf
MPAA Rating: R for adult themes, language, and violence.Genre: Campy Horror ComedyKeywords: Horror, blood, screen writer, sell out, hillbillies, canni-bals, pregnancy, redemption
Tagline: They Can Suck His Cannniballs
Concept Capsule: Campy horror comedy about the industry’s demand for sub-par screenplays to please washed out masses, ironically oozing with blood and gore.
Horror Industry Timeline1900-1930 Silent Fear1930-1940 Classic Creations1940-1950 Chills and Chuckles1950-1960 Sci-fi, B-Movies and Hammer Horror1960-1970 Psycho’s and Zombies1970-1980 The Birth of the Slasher1980-1990 Modern Horror Begins1990-2000 Scream. Forever.
Cast Bios
DANNY CALDWELL GOES TO HELLCeiling Fan [email protected] Twitter.com/@DannyCaldwell626-825-3602
DANNYCALDWELL
GOESTOHELL
Production Stills
DANNY CALDWELL GOES TO HELLCeiling Fan [email protected] Twitter.com/@DannyCaldwell626-825-3602
DANNYCALDWELL
GOESTOHELL
Synopsis
Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell is a film about a guy who writes crappy screenplays. Not because he’s a bad screen writer. He’s a good screen writer and he writes great scripts. Intelligent scripts in fact. But the industry wants crappy horror films, and since the industry pays his bills, and he’s got a baby on the way, he compromises the integrity of his work and writes crappy horror films. For a living. It sucks.
So Danny dies. Unfortunate right? But even worse: he is ill fated with the ironic punishment of being stuck in a crappy horror film- forever.
Danny’s B-List horror film from Hell is filled with hillbillies. Even better though, these hillbillies are cannibals. They live on a people farm. They invite people into their home. They cage em, breed em, and eat em. Its disgusting. And awesome.
Danny’s hell is a crappy horror film. Every cheesy special affect from blood geysers and predictable dialogue floods the screen. Limbs are lost at no one’s expense. Screams and chase scenes, and plot twists overwhelm Danny until he wakes up... right? PLOT TWIST! Does Danny wake up? Did he die? Will he continue writing awful screenplays for the rest of his life?
Its ironic. Its cheesy. Its hilarious. Its got blood. And cannibal hillbillies.
What’s better than bloody cannibal hillbillies?
Cast Bios
DANNY CALDWELL GOES TO HELLCeiling Fan [email protected] Twitter.com/@DannyCaldwell626-825-3602
DANNYCALDWELL
GOESTOHELL
Clint MorrisonClint is an actor living and working in Los Angeles, Califor-nia. Upon graduating from Georgetown University with Phi Beta Kappa honors, Clint drove cross-country to pursue a career in acting. Clint has trained with the Groundlings School in improv comedy and is currently studying under Howard Fine at the Howard Fine Acting Studio in West Hollywood. Currently, you can see Clint in Chris Berube’s The Seven Deadly Sins which runs Tuesday nights at 9:30pm at The Next Stage Theatre at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.
Stephanie DrapeauStephanie is the epitomy of a success story in Hollywood she quickly climbs to the top. Having performed in over 17 short and feature films in less than one year, she is not shy about working her way to stardom. Stephanie has talent in both drama and comedy as she has been gifted with intelligence, depth, and a zest for life that you can’t help but love...and to top it all off, her down-to-earth nature will keep her on the set simply because she’s a blast to be around!
Gordon CarmadelleUpom earning his bachelors from Louisiana State, Gordon has played lead in multiple films, leading to guest starring roles in shows such as The Big Easy and Mystery. His theater work has earned him the award for Best Male Newcomer in the Baker Theater production, “Wait Until Dark”.
David Alan GrafLos Angeles native David Alan Graf has been acting for over a quarter of a decade, gracing a variety of film, television, and theatrical productions. He was featured in the upcoming Muse Productions (American Psycho, The Virgin Suicides) release of This Girl’s Life.
Business Cards
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DVD Art
One Sheet
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WEINSTEIN COMPANY PRESENTS A CEILING FAN PRODUCTIONS film: DANNY CALDWELL GOES TO HELL
Directed By: BEN CAUTION LUPINETTI Producer: MELISSA IZBICKI Screenwriter: AUSTIN SHEELEY Sound Designer: ALEX MA Editor: CASEY MCCLELLAND Production Designer: ERIN MITCHELL Art Director: MAYA LEVY Costume Designer: SAMSON COLLINS
Starring: CLINT MORRISON, STEPHANIE DRAPEAU, GORDON CARMADELLE, and DAVID ALAN GRAF
DANNY
GOES
CALDWELL
TO
HELLrob zombie can suck his canniballs
FANCY STUFF
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Just One of the GangThree of the four target audiences Danny Caldwell is be-ing marketed to, do not want to be marketed to. Screen writers, horror fanatics, and starving artists do not want to be affiliated with corporate functions. The Danny Caldwell brand must appear to be apart of the art com-munity. There should be no divide, no hierarchy, no struggle for power or dominance while at festivals. Our director will be very involved in the Danny Caldwell ac-tivities and stunts and will act as the spokesperson for the film.
Have Fun With Influential IndividualsWhile abstaining from encouraging power, Danny Caldwell must also appeal to influential members of the art commu-nity. This will be executed by having fun, being relaxed, and going with the flow. Influentials must be given the op-portunity to lead Danny Caldwell fans, in a casual, yet structured fashion. This “role playing” will lay the foun-dation for influentials to guide consumers into partici-pating in future Danny Caldwell activities. These influ-entials will be take on key roles in the next phase of marketing when Danny Caldwell will be pitched to a distributor.
Strong Visual PresenceTo begin building momentum for the release of the film, the Danny Caldwell logo should be every where, at every festival. This is tricky because the brand cannot appear corporate. Our logo must be integrated into film, screen writing, and music culture. It must be visible without being noticeable.
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FESTIVAL MISSION
Street TeamFor each festival, a Danny Caldwell street team will be formed. This group will be respon-sible for carrying out public relations and marketing tactics day after day. The street team will be made up of those involved in the production of the film, as well as one mar-keting representative. The team will work to create hype about the film and the marketing rep will work to get coverage for the various stunts that are executed. The beauty of the project is that because every city, and every team, and every experience is different, the stunts, and media coverage will vary.
Screen Writers Survival Kit for HellEach festival that offers a screenplay compe-tition will be given the opportunity to pres-ent the winners with a Danny Caldwell Screen Writers Survival Kit for Hell. This kit is key in communicating to screen writers that Danny Caldwell is a story about them. The kit will include various pieces of branded Danny Caldwell memorabilia that is useful to screen writers such as a writing pad, literary action figures, and Danny Caldwell B Movie Victims. We will also provide contact information for our director to invite screen writers to con-nect with the film and become apart of the Danny Caldwell experience in months to come.
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MARKETING N PR
Cannibal CookoutOne of the easiest ways to attract crowds of people, without yelling at them with a blow horn, is to serve them food. At the Danny Caldwell Cannibal Cookout, Danny Caldwell reps will cook up human fingers, (hot dogs) and pass them out. This will bring people together, espe-cially because festivals are long and food is expen-sive. Artists and musicians love and appreciate free food. We will encourage directors and producers of films to get on the grill, and we can offer specials depending on who is cooking.
Free Danny Caldwell MerchThe best way to achieve a strong, transparent, visual presence, is with merchandise. The Danny Caldwell logo will be placed on track jackets, messenger bags, and other attire that humble, artist-types wear. Because our merchandise will be free, we will have to make our par-ticipants earn it. These contests will create brand enthusiasts and will be helpful in promoting the film.
NetworkingThroughout the festivals Ben will develop an e-mail list of all people he comes into contact with. Post festival e-mail will be sent out from Ben and other influentials we network with. This e-mail list will act as our underground form of communication with audiences about the future release of Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell.
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ATTENTION WHORES
CannibalCookout!Free hillbilly hot dogs from 1-3pm
CANN
IBALLS
TwitterEmail: [email protected]: Strategy: Tweet as Ben, the director. Position onself as an artist.• Opinions about the film industry• Updates about entering film into festivals• What members of the cast are up to• Chapman Film School newsHook it up to phone
FacebookPage Name: DannyCaldwellStrategy: Build a network of following• Stream Twitter, Youtube, Flikr and Tumblr to Facebook• Post pictures• Create events• Distribute press materials
FlikrEmail: [email protected]: Strategy: Post pictures as Ben. LIving his life as a film maker• On set• Editing• Networking • JobHook it up to phone
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SOCIAL MEDIA
GmailEmail: [email protected]: Strategy: For use by Ben and Janelle for festival outreachHook it up to phone
YouTubeEmail: [email protected]
Password: Strategy: Behind the scenes look• Trailer• Cast Interviews• B-Roll• Random stuff from Ben’s lifeHook it up to phone
TumblrPage Name: DannyCaldwell
Strategy: Build a network of following• Stream Twitter, Youtube, Flikr and Tumblr to Facebook• Post pictures• Create events• Distribute press materialsHook it up to phone by email or texting : [email protected]
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SOCIAL MEDIA
