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Sneak Preview: "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself"
By Lee Tistaert Published March 12, 2004
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself, a British black comedy/drama about a guy who continuously tries to commit suicide until the day a young lady comes into his life, was the sixth film shown at the sneak preview program I attend. When this film was announced as the next week?s film a week before, I had never heard of this title but was curious, as I?m usually open to independent films since I sometimes find them more rewarding than some of the bigger studio films. After seeing the film?s ad in front of The Dreamers some days later, I was a bit indifferent.
Though this little film has friendly intentions, I was not a fan. British humor doesn?t often float my boat (unless it?s the television series, The Office), and here, I didn?t find any moment of the film funny nor particularly entertaining. Is it well acted? Yes. Well directed? Yes. But honestly, I didn?t care where this story was going, and it didn?t help much that the host of the program had challenged us to try to figure out how the story would unfold. He prepped us by saying that it was one of his more favorite films recently and one of the joys of independent cinema.
The audience did enjoy it and they chuckled/laughed to a good extent throughout the movie (though not as much as they did in Starsky & Hutch); and while I will try not to sound like a total scrooge for four paragraphs, I never cracked a smile. With that being said, the host wasn?t able to get the director (Lone Scherfig, who directed Italian for Beginners) booked for the night. Instead, Landmark Theaters? vice president of marketing, Ray Price, was present afterwards to discuss the differences between marketing mainstream movies versus for a small film like Wilbur.
Much of what was said in Price?s elaboration was information that I was familiar with, as I?ve been observing the war between mainstream movies and independent films for years. He noted that with studio movies (?studio? refers to bigger companies like Warner Bros., Paramount, New Line Cinema, etc.), the distributor has more funding to accommodate advertising campaigns than for smaller studios, and as a result they can take bigger risks in their advertising approaches.
With a small film like Wilbur, he said that advertising campaigns don?t always pay off, as it may be a hard product to sell given its cast of unknowns despite the Italian for Beginners director reference. In some cases, positive reviews from prominent critics can make some sort of difference (though not always drastic) in making filmgoer?s decisions, but a film?s success can also based on the word of mouth that the film is carrying before the movie is even released.
He expressed the importance of previewed screenings where the film is privately shown in front of various crowds (or film festivals), as you then have the possibility of those moviegoers rushing to their friends and talking about the movie (hopefully recommending it). Though he didn?t mention this one example in particular, one film that this approach did work for was Swingers.
In terms of reviews, he mentioned Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan as a strong figure who readers often look up to for recommendations. And depending on Turan?s opinion on art pictures, this can do a bit of damage, as sometimes he can brutally attack some films if he?s disappointed.
Price mentioned that it?s also a challenge to get moviegoers to find the mentions of smaller films in newspapers, as the films are often given little ads, and in terms of reviews, few are ever granted with a solid placement on the cover. He noted that many titles are given a very small space at the bottom right corner of the cover where it simply says to turn to page 9 for a review. One exception was when Punch-Drunk Love?s review was given a hot spot on the cover of the Calendar section in the LATimes that only big films usually get, including a big photo. Because it was Paul Thomas Anderson?s much-buzzed new art film with unusual casting, it earned the spot.
Price also said that as time passes, moviegoers seem to have an increasingly rushed life in that they don?t have the time or the willingness to stop and read about all the latest art films. He commented that people tend to just digest the gist of important things and move on. Because of rushed lives, there are many occasions when people are interested in a film but when they actually get around to seeing it, the movie has already concluded its run. Price noted that even if a highly regarded reviewer brands a film as just being an enjoyable time, that description does not always sell, as a merely diverting film does not always rank as a moviegoer?s top priority.
There have been times where Price?s friends have eagerly come to him asking where a film is playing, and he in turn asked them where they?ve been for the past two months, as the movie was gone. He noted that this can be a frustrating process, as you try to make as many moviegoers as possible knowledgeable of the movie, but the timing is not always going to fit their own schedules.
And adding to that, the age group that often flocks to art films is at least 50-years old, a demographic that doesn?t always attend theaters on a frequent basis. Some filmgoers only see so many pictures every year, compared to younger viewers who may go as routinely as every week, a demographic that is rarely interested in these products (one of the few exceptions was The Blair Witch Project, which due to a phenomenal, quiet ad-campaign, was a revolution).
But Price also expressed the importance of video and DVD, which he says is where a good amount of the profit for smaller films comes from. He said that while a theatrical performance is important, he doesn?t mind if people simply wait for video, as the budget can still have the possibility of being covered eventually if people discover it, but that it would just take longer.
Price commented that some people might think that we?re living in a rather bland moviemaking era when filmmakers like Truffaut are not around anymore and being as though Ingmar Bergman?s career is in the decades behind. On the contrary, Price believes that there are quite a few promising talents (young and old) who produce very worthy pictures today; he mentioned Pedro Almodovar (director of Talk to Her) who he believes is just as great as the legends of the past. But even so with those icon directors of the past, he noted that if you tracked the box office statistics for their art films back in those decades, not many people saw their films in theaters.
That wrapped it up for the evening, and next week we are going to be shown a documentary called Sunset Junction, which centers on Los Angeles? gangs, crimes, and violence. If that evening has enough relation to this site (or if it is stimulating enough), that will be the next session I?ll be reporting on.
Though this little film has friendly intentions, I was not a fan. British humor doesn?t often float my boat (unless it?s the television series, The Office), and here, I didn?t find any moment of the film funny nor particularly entertaining. Is it well acted? Yes. Well directed? Yes. But honestly, I didn?t care where this story was going, and it didn?t help much that the host of the program had challenged us to try to figure out how the story would unfold. He prepped us by saying that it was one of his more favorite films recently and one of the joys of independent cinema.
The audience did enjoy it and they chuckled/laughed to a good extent throughout the movie (though not as much as they did in Starsky & Hutch); and while I will try not to sound like a total scrooge for four paragraphs, I never cracked a smile. With that being said, the host wasn?t able to get the director (Lone Scherfig, who directed Italian for Beginners) booked for the night. Instead, Landmark Theaters? vice president of marketing, Ray Price, was present afterwards to discuss the differences between marketing mainstream movies versus for a small film like Wilbur.
Much of what was said in Price?s elaboration was information that I was familiar with, as I?ve been observing the war between mainstream movies and independent films for years. He noted that with studio movies (?studio? refers to bigger companies like Warner Bros., Paramount, New Line Cinema, etc.), the distributor has more funding to accommodate advertising campaigns than for smaller studios, and as a result they can take bigger risks in their advertising approaches.
With a small film like Wilbur, he said that advertising campaigns don?t always pay off, as it may be a hard product to sell given its cast of unknowns despite the Italian for Beginners director reference. In some cases, positive reviews from prominent critics can make some sort of difference (though not always drastic) in making filmgoer?s decisions, but a film?s success can also based on the word of mouth that the film is carrying before the movie is even released.
He expressed the importance of previewed screenings where the film is privately shown in front of various crowds (or film festivals), as you then have the possibility of those moviegoers rushing to their friends and talking about the movie (hopefully recommending it). Though he didn?t mention this one example in particular, one film that this approach did work for was Swingers.
In terms of reviews, he mentioned Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan as a strong figure who readers often look up to for recommendations. And depending on Turan?s opinion on art pictures, this can do a bit of damage, as sometimes he can brutally attack some films if he?s disappointed.
Price mentioned that it?s also a challenge to get moviegoers to find the mentions of smaller films in newspapers, as the films are often given little ads, and in terms of reviews, few are ever granted with a solid placement on the cover. He noted that many titles are given a very small space at the bottom right corner of the cover where it simply says to turn to page 9 for a review. One exception was when Punch-Drunk Love?s review was given a hot spot on the cover of the Calendar section in the LATimes that only big films usually get, including a big photo. Because it was Paul Thomas Anderson?s much-buzzed new art film with unusual casting, it earned the spot.
Price also said that as time passes, moviegoers seem to have an increasingly rushed life in that they don?t have the time or the willingness to stop and read about all the latest art films. He commented that people tend to just digest the gist of important things and move on. Because of rushed lives, there are many occasions when people are interested in a film but when they actually get around to seeing it, the movie has already concluded its run. Price noted that even if a highly regarded reviewer brands a film as just being an enjoyable time, that description does not always sell, as a merely diverting film does not always rank as a moviegoer?s top priority.
There have been times where Price?s friends have eagerly come to him asking where a film is playing, and he in turn asked them where they?ve been for the past two months, as the movie was gone. He noted that this can be a frustrating process, as you try to make as many moviegoers as possible knowledgeable of the movie, but the timing is not always going to fit their own schedules.
And adding to that, the age group that often flocks to art films is at least 50-years old, a demographic that doesn?t always attend theaters on a frequent basis. Some filmgoers only see so many pictures every year, compared to younger viewers who may go as routinely as every week, a demographic that is rarely interested in these products (one of the few exceptions was The Blair Witch Project, which due to a phenomenal, quiet ad-campaign, was a revolution).
But Price also expressed the importance of video and DVD, which he says is where a good amount of the profit for smaller films comes from. He said that while a theatrical performance is important, he doesn?t mind if people simply wait for video, as the budget can still have the possibility of being covered eventually if people discover it, but that it would just take longer.
Price commented that some people might think that we?re living in a rather bland moviemaking era when filmmakers like Truffaut are not around anymore and being as though Ingmar Bergman?s career is in the decades behind. On the contrary, Price believes that there are quite a few promising talents (young and old) who produce very worthy pictures today; he mentioned Pedro Almodovar (director of Talk to Her) who he believes is just as great as the legends of the past. But even so with those icon directors of the past, he noted that if you tracked the box office statistics for their art films back in those decades, not many people saw their films in theaters.
That wrapped it up for the evening, and next week we are going to be shown a documentary called Sunset Junction, which centers on Los Angeles? gangs, crimes, and violence. If that evening has enough relation to this site (or if it is stimulating enough), that will be the next session I?ll be reporting on.
