The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

After all the hooplah surrounding it last year, I found it online & watched the majority of it. I fast forwarded the parts I didn't care to pollute my brain with. Any redeeming qualities that the film has, is way over-shadowed by the terrible subject matter. But, to each their own.

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"From the eternal sea he rises, creating armies on either shore... Turning man against his brother, 'Til man exists no more..."

I know we are all anxiously awaiting announcements about various premieres. And I think we are all well aware by now that the status on new bookings is "you'll know when we know."

This is perfectly fine, but I was wondering if any additional vintage titles were being considered as well. I see by recent updates in other threads that Chicago has rounded out their lineup with four classic films. As I pointed out before, there is still plenty of room given the relatively short running times. And given the tenuous state of finding quality premieres, I was just curious.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

Priority number one right now is to see if we can secure two premieres. This tends to be a somewhat unpredictable endeavor, so confirmation might take awhile. There's the possibility of another repertory title being added (especially if we can only secure one premiere), but that might come late in the game.

In planning tentative lineup schedules when we were in the midst of the main booking process, we realized that twelve films might be the limit for this year. Even though most of the films are relatively short, when you add in time for various contests, giveaways, trailers, intermissions, etc. (plus some consideration for potential mishaps), the clock starts to run thin. But we'll see how things go.

On a side note, it unfortunately looks like The Innkeepers is out as a possible premiere. We contacted Glass Eye Pix about a screening, but they're still trying to configure the general release of the film.

That's too bad about The Innkeepers, but the more the reviews of You're Next trickle out of Toronto, the more I'm thinking "Hell, yes!" hoping for that one.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

You're Next looks good. Try to book it.

As a side note to this side note, we're always looking for premiere possibilities for the event. The potential titles we list on the flier and press release are one that we're inquiring about, but ultimately the decision comes down to the individual distributors of each film. We'd love to have two or three of the films from the flier alone, but it's not just a matter of calling someone and saying "send us the print, pronto!"

One of the reasons? As mentioned before, many distributors look at Columbus (and, in some ways, the Grandview Theatre) as small time venues. It's neither accurate nor fair, but over the past few years we've received quite a few no's from various outlets for creative reasons like:

"We've decided not to pursue any further playdates before the film hits DVD."

"We're not pursuing any more festival dates" (this occurred when we inquired about a documentary on a genre legend that was only playing select festivals and would have no shot of playing even arthouse engagements...fill in your own blanks here.)

And those are when we receive any definite answer. It's deeply frustrating, and even though this shouldn't be read as an indictment of any particular company, it's the new reality that we face every year.

Part of the reason why Columbus gets the short shrift is due to the proliferation of genre festivals in big cities over the last ten years. But part is also because we haven't necessarily bursting at the seams attendance-wise for quite some time. This is one the myriad reasons that I expressed what I did in the State of the Marathon post. When the Marathon struggles to go beyond 215-230 attendees, it makes it tougher (even in small part) to attract interest for some premiere outlets. To be fair, part of the problem is also just what we are: many distributors find a horror festival a more attractive outlet than a one day horror marathon. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's the general mindset that's out there.

Why, because another audience for their film, no matter how small, could not possibly generate any buzz or word of mouth? Especially considering said audience may be tailored to actually enjoy the film or even pretty hungry to do so? Because how could good word of mouth possibly help sales of a DVD?

Way to go, film companies. Guess that's why you make the big bucks.

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Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

I find it odd that Columbus Ohio is within the top fifty media markets. According to Nelsien. Number 36 in television alone. This isn't Dayton, Canton, Akron, ect.

I do find it odd that the Science Fiction Marathon doesn't have this problem. There were many premiers screened this year. Trollhunter did went on having a decient run here in Columbus. Odd.

Is it because that Drexel reputation is the reason that Science Fiction Marathon fare better in the premiers?

Side note of a side note. Is there any news that Flesh for Frankenstein be in 3D?

Lionsgate just purchase You're Next. So another possible premire might not happen.

All the cool kids come from Dayton. Just sayin'.

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David A. Zecchini; Creature of the Wheel, Lord of the Infernal Engines
"Damnati Im Ludum" (VitruvianZeke@att.net)

This. Is. Sparta!

NEEEWWWWWSSSS!!!!! More news!!!

If you never trust me on anything else, trust me on this: when we know, you'll know.

I'm trying to will news into being via message board posts.

Not to offend anybody, but at this point I'd be thrilled with the Lovecraft film that I know nothing about. I'll take ANYTHING. I'd even settle for Paranormal Activity 3 if it came down to that. I just want a premiere! I'm sure Joe and company will come through... but it's 2 weeks away now and I think we're all dying for some news here. I know something's coming... I'm going either way, but I know a couple of people who are waiting for a premiere to be announced before they decide whether or not to buy a ticket. Just saying.