Laguna Beach Here We Come!

Good lord is it hard to make and sell a movie. The sheer hours of energy a film consumes is staggering. The good news is that it's a learning process. The bad news is it's a learning process. Well at least I know a million things not to do next time around. Okay maybe not a million - more like 500,000...

I've been very lucky so far - we've gotten great press - a review in Variety, a front page review on the Chronicle Herald (color), national radio coverage, numerous TV and print articles - most of them very positive about the film. That's a testament to my PR folks at BAT Entertainment as well as the dedicated media people at the various fests (Brie Rhieben and Pam Todd at the Atlantic Film Festival in particular, and mega kudos to Chris Wiggum in San Francisco for snagging Variety).

Now that we have some big fests under our belt and a sizable press kit, we've headed into the wonderful world of film sales.

Wow.

To say this is a sleazy world, let's just say I've already met more snakes and weasels than I would at a mongoose picnic. Luckily we've had some people around to guide us through the muck, and things are looking up. Can't say much more than that for now - but expect an announcement soon...

We're not finished with the festival circuit by any means. We're kicking off the new year with a very cool screening at the Laguna Art Museum on Jan 11th, as the opening film for their 2008 documentary film series. Along with Tribeca winner "The Cats of Mirikitani" we'll be part of a series called "The Truth About Cats and Dogs." More details as the screening date approaches.

We'll know more about other festival screenings in a few weeks. The nice thing is that now we've had exposure festivals are soliciting us to send screeners. That's a nice change lol.

Anyway there will be more news coming soon - I promise.

Later
Shane

Wiener makes Variety

Read the review at Variety.com

What can I say - I'm shocked. Our little wiener dog documentary got reviewed in Variety!!! For an indie film that's pretty rare - and our phone's been ringing off the hook and our email box has been flooded. Could it be that somebody out there actually realizes there's a huge audience of dog lovers who would love this film? We'll see!

BendFilm is a Blast!

Well the fests keep getting better and better! Bend, Oregon is this tiny, ultra-hip, very expensive yet very artsy enclave smack dab in the middle of the state, and boy do they know how to throw a film fest. I can see why it's getting such a buzz in the film world - the awards ceremony itself was a jaw dropper.

Again we had sold out shows. Our first was at a small theatre, again around 11 on a Friday, and again no problem. A lot of people were taking extra long lunches to catch the film.

Lineup at our first screening

The first screening

Our second screening at the much bigger theatre went just as well. Again, another sellout crowd (festival people on site told us we were the only ones to fully sell out the theatre!). Baby Luv made the trip up to Bend, and as always stole the show.

Baby Luv greets her fans

Lineup for the second screening

On a side note I was especially surprised we got picked for this - we submitted after the deadline and asked if we could get a price break on the submission - and then asked if we could pay with a post-dated check!!! Needless to say I had written our chances off - but Erik Jambor took a chance and are we ever glad that we did!

It's now the end of the festival season unless we get into Fort Lauderdale - which I'm pretty sure isn't going to happen (film snobs!!!). That's it for this year. Now we're in sales mode as well as recovery mode. Travelling this much really takes a lot out of you. We'll keep you posted as events unfold!

Shane

US Premiere a Dog Gone Success!

Another festival, another round of sell outs! We opened in San Francisco during the famous Love Parade. Again we figured we were screwed crowd wise. Er, not so much. Ticket demand was so big we sold out our initial venue and got moved to the larger theatre - with over 110 attending (over twice the capacity of the first theatre).

The following night we sold out the large theatre, and the San Francisco DocFest people decided to add two more screenings because of the demand. Again we sold out the smaller venue both times and were moved to the big theatre.

Baby Luv walks the red carpet.

Baby Luv and Bruno made it up to the premiere which was great - they stole the show as they walked the red carpet (more pictures and video coming soon!).

We're now getting ready for our next screening tomorrow at the very hip BendFilm festival in Bend Oregon. If you're in the neck of the woods please come by and catch the film and introduce yourself to us. We gotta get some sleep - our flight leaves at 6am out of LAX so we need to be on the road a 3. Yuck!

Shane

Atlantic Film Fest Premiere a resounding success!

Wow wow wow. What can I say. I haven't been to Halifax in years, but returning for our world premiere in my old hometown (and home of my production company) was unbelievable. From a sellout crowd to awesome films to great parties, it was a blast. I can't recommend this festival enough. I had forgotten how Maritimers like to party.

It started out with our screening which was scheduled Sunday at noon. I was convinced this was going to be a death slot. Who the hell would want to come out to see our wiener dog movie at noon on a Sunday?

Apparently a lot! We sold out the largest venue, and left a lot of people out in the cold.

Sorry - sold out!!!

There was a lineup upstairs and downstairs in the theatre! Great audience response, and fantastic coverage in the local press what more could we have asked for? I was able to hool up with lots of great filmmakers and saw some great films.

My favourites:

End of The Line (Maurice Devereaux)
Portage (Matt Miller and Sascha Drews)


We're exhausted, but don't have much time to recuperate. In a week we're off to our US premiere at the San Francisco Documentary Festival. Hope to see you there!

World Premiere Announced

We're pleased to announce our world premiere will be Sunday, September 16th as part of the Atlantic Film Festival

If you're in town please be sure to drop us a line and say hello!

Release the hounds!

The past few weeks have been extremely hectic as we prepare for our world and US premieres. That's right - we found out we've been accepted to a major festival in Canada (that we can't yet name because of a press embargo), as well as the San Francisco Documentary Festival!

We're really jazzed - although now the dung hits the proverbial fan; there's no more slacking around - we've got a firm deadline that we need to meet. Now we need to create press kits, arrange promotional events, get hotels and flights set away, and oh yes, finish every edit I need (or want to make). The pile of work is daunting but yet with the festivals fast approaching it's also kind of exhilarating.

I'm trying to get som Anne Roger Clark footage together as well as video of an interview I did with the head of the Olympic Drug Lab at UCLA, Dr. Don Catlin. With all the doping stuff in the news I gotta get this out onto the web.

Okay, it's 2:23 in the morning - I need to do some more pre-festival work, then grab a couple hours sleep before I head into the day job. What a life.

I wouldn't change it for anything...

Iris Love Speaks on the Doxie Color Issue

Here's the third and final installment of our new video releases featuring New York socialite, Guggenheim heiress, and dachshund world personality Iris Love. Never afraid to voice her opinion, Iris speaks her mind about the current piebald/double-dapple and mini versus standard controversies in the doxie world.

Iris Love on The Dachshund "Color" Issue and the "Mini/Standard" Controversy

Come back soon! We'll have more videos soon!

Iris' Healing Wiener

Okay as promised here are more Iris videos.

Here, NYC socialite and patron saint to the dachshund world Iris Love tells an inspiring story about the tremendous healing power of therapy dogs. It's a refrain we heard again and again on our travels. Check it out.

Iris Love talks about her therapy dog Phoebe.

Iris Video #1

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Yes, I know, I haven't updated the blog or the site. Getting the doc finished and out to fests has been consuming my life. Ongoing serious health issues with Marion and myself have also been contributing to the backslide, and the quarterly RAID failure was pretty much the coup de grace.

But today I more than make up for it. I've put up 18 and a half minutes of out takes
from my interview with Iris Love.

If you don't know who Iris is, you've got to get to know her; Guggenheim heiress, archaeologist, historian, and patron saint to the dachshund world, Iris is a heavy hitter in the doxie world, and landing an interview with her was no mean feat. So without any further delay here ya go with interview #1.

Iris On The History Of Dachshunds

Where We Stand

It's been a very busy month. We finally nailed down the final cut, got the posters ordered, and received some promising news. The programmers from the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival have selected Wiener Takes All and 19 other films as finalists for the Rockefeller Plaza Film Series, to be held in June. They will pick 4 films from the 20, so we're by no means assuming we're in, but we're happy just to have received the nod from the programmers.

We're busy culling video from the outtakes to put up on our Veoh channel, and hope to have several clips up by this weekend.

Gotta head back to the edit suite. TTYL!

Shane

Good news

We just got word from Todd Kroeker that Blazer has indeed still alive, and that after going to another vet was successfully treated for a condition that another vet was going to euthanize him for. A very important lesson here - whenever you get a critical diagnosis, always get a second opinion! It may save your dog's life.

Week of Animal Deaths

What a terrible week. First our neighbor's cat Hannibal got run over right in front of the house. I was the one that had to tell his owner. Worst of all, I'm pretty sure Hannibal was on his way to visit me. Now tonight I've heard from Todd Kroeker (of Todd and Poppy fame) that Blazer is being put down this evening. Such sad times. Blazer had a ruptured disc in his back, which is a very common ailment to dachshunds. At least he won't be in pain.

Hannibal and Blazer, I wish you well on your journey. You will be missed.