Two Screenings in the next week, more screenings added to the list

More news from the road. First up is Seattle, where our recent screenings went very very well. We sold out both screenings (opposite the Seattle Int'l Film Fest) and had a third show added at the last minute. The reviews and public outpouring of support was overwhelming to say the least.

We're running ragged here trying to get our ducks lined up as a series of screenings approach. This Tuesday (the 29th) Wiener screens at the Woods Hole Film Festival in Cape Cod. We're in the 500 seat theater so if you are in the area please come help us fill the place up!

Woods Hole Film Festival - July 29th @ 7pm

The following Sunday (August 3rd), we screen in San Diego as a fundraiser for Classics 4 Kids, a non-profit music education charity that M.E. our producer, volunteers with.

We're also gearing up for screenings at:

Atlanta DocuFest (October 21st)

Rome Int'l Film Festival (Georgia) - September 7th

We're also heading to the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (Arkansas), and the Berea (Ohio) Oktoberfest in October. We're also setting up a series of screenings with local dachshund clubs and dog rescue groups around the country to host fundraising events (tentative locations are New York City, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, College Station Texas, Chicago, Portland, and Toronto). As those are firmed up we'll post the details here. Of course, the best place to get the most up to date list of screenings is here.

Just a final note, Shane will be on the San Diego Fox affiliate (Channel 5 as of August 1st) on Monday, August 4th on the 8-9am morning show segment. There will also be a profile of Wiener on Saturday, August 2nd in the evening newscast, although we don't have a firm time yet.

Ok that's all! See you all soon!
Shane

Phoenix "Race"

Anybody who has gone to a wiener dog race knows that not all races feature the fast and the furriest. Some of the more inexperienced racers sometimes...well, let's just let the video speak for itself...

Poster Child

We just heard that we sold out our first screening at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival yesterday ! The film received some great press in Seattle this week; Kevin Nibur's spectacular photo was apparently featured prominently in some large papers. That doesn't surprise me one bit. It's a fantastic shot - I believe one of the best sports photography shots ever. And I'm not just saying that - it is a photograph that has captivated me - and I'm sure thousand of others by now.

The 2003 "incident" - notice the third set of ears - which belong to the eventual winner Pretzel
(photo copyright Kevin Nibur)

There's a lot of backstory to this picture. Noodles is being bumped out of contention of a nation championship race - a race he had just won moments ago but was now being re-run. The look of despair in Noodles' eyes is apparent, and the look in Buddy's eyes is one of crazed glee and hunger for victory. Captured legs mid-flight - ears flopping - eyes focused - that's a one in a million photo.

I believe our poster design has also had a great part of our success. The kudos for that go out to graphic designer David Ortiz, who went through innumerable revisions - for very little pay - to help us out. Man did he deliver. If you have a branding project this is the go to guy. Notice how the poster image is flipped and rotated a bit. David did that to give the image a sort of 3D effect - and it works well!

I was truly blessed to have these guys as part of my dedicated team.

Squirty's photoshoot

When we were in Phoenix we bumped into Squirty, the fast racer that would eventually go to the nationals to represent Phoenix. He looked so cute I wanted to grab a couple of photos of him. I soon realized that wiener dogs are not the easiest to photograph, although we finally did get a few good pics (after several minutes of trying).

Seattle and Cape Cod up next!

Wiener's romp across America continues! We've just finished screening at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art for a week - and it kicked off with a sold out rooftop party. We'll be uploading pics as soon as we get them. A couple weeks before that was a screening at Athens International where we got honorable mention in the feature documentary category.

June sees Wiener hit Seattle via STIFF, and now our July dance card is starting to fill as we just received information that we will be screening at Cape Cod's famous Woods Hole Film Festival. We're really excited, and will definitely be attending.

We're not sure if we'll be in Seattle with the film, but at least one of the stars will be - so if you can, drop by and soak in some of the glory that is the wiener racing phenom Hailey Tyo.

That's all for now - we'll post more news when we get it. Thanks for checking in!

Shane

Oklahoma City This Week

Wiener hits Oklahoma City this week (Thurs, May 15- Sunday, May 18) with six screenings at the OKC Museum of Art. Thursday evening's Oklahoma premiere will be preceded by a rooftop terrace party featuring, yup, cocktail wieners (plus live music, food, and full bar). Some of the local wiener racing celebrities will also be in attendance, so if you can make it you should - it sounds like an awesome time!

For more info go to http://www.okcmoa.com/film

A&E is a go, plus we add Seattle to our upcoming cities

Ok, well there's no confusion now. We are an official selection for the A&E IndieFilm Spotlight competition. In the coming weeks Wiener's going to be profiled on the network and their website. When we get more specifics we'll post them here.

Wiener's also on its way to Seattle this June. We'll be screening as part of the Seattle True Independent Film Festival. Dates are TBD.

Check back soon!

New Jersey, A&E, and Arizona.

Well last one first. The Tucson screening is confirmed. April 24th, at 7:30pm, Wiener will screen at La Placita Village Cinema (Broadway Blvd & Church Ave) as part of the Arizona International Film Festival. Quite a few of our stars are going to be in attendance so if you can make the screening please do - you'll be in for a treat. This is an outdoor venue, so a lot of people will be bringing their dogs.

People are asking me about the A&E IndieFilm Spotlight thing. I've received some clarification on this - we're actually one of a very few films at the Palm Beach Int'l Film Festival selected for this competition, but the winner only enters a pool of several other films (from 3 other fests) - one of which will have its trailer aired on A&E. Five others will be profiled on the network. So exciting to be nominated, but unfortunately - we're not a lock for any screen time yet. We'll be sure to let you know if/when we hit the cable channel's airwaves.

Last but not least, this weekend is our Northeast US premiere at the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, NJ. We screen at 1:15pm at the Berkeley #1 (1401 Ocean Ave). This will also be a fundraiser for the local humane society, so be sure to show your support if you are in the neighborhood.

More soon!
Shane

Springtime Wiener Action

What a crazy month! Wiener's springtime screening slate is filling up bigtime.

We just found out yesterday that we will be playing the 35th Athens International Film and Video Festival. This long running fest is a very prestigious stop on the circuit, and we're very thrilled to have been picked.

We've also been selected by the Palm Beach International Film Festival programmers for the A&E IndieFilm Spotlight competition, which means you might see clips from Wiener on a TV screen near you very soon. We'll let you know as soon as we know more.


Friday, April 5th has us in New Jersey at the Garden State Film Festival, followed the following Saturday (April 11) at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. We might be screening the following week in Tucson, and then on Saturday, April 19 we have our Los Angeles premiere at the Los Angeles United Film Festival.

Then in May, a very exciting event; we're the featured film at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Six screenings with a kickoff rooftop cocktail party on opening night means we're really jazzed about this stop on the circuit.

So April and May are going to see us bouncing around the country. Hopefully we'll see you along our journey!

Shane

Eat a wiener, save on Wiener!

This is very cool. If you plan on seeing Wiener Takes All at the upcoming Lake County Film Fest, be sure to first drop by the superbly named hotdog restaurant "Wiener Take All" (1117 Weiland Road, Buffalo Grove) and get one of their famous chardogs. Be sure to keep your receipt - because it will be worth $1 off admission at the screening!



The hotdog joint is well reviewed, and is apparently one of Chicago's best chardog places

READ ABOUT THE RESTAURANT

I'm sold! I'll be there next weekend!

Shane

Laguna Beach Film Society Pix

We finally have some pictures from the Laguna Beach Film Society screening in January. It was a blast and the film was really well received. Our thanks to Keiko and company for making our time in Laguna Beach so memorable.

Chicagoland Here We Come!

We're coming to the suburbs of Chicago next weekend for the Lake County Film Festival. We screen Saturday, March 1 @ 2:30 and Sunday @ 3:40. Get tickets HERE.

Apparently the word has gone out through many different area dachshund groups, so we are expecting full houses. If you want to attend be sure to get a ticket online since day of screening tix may be hard to come by.

We'll be making the trip to Lake County, so if you make it out to the screening be sure to let us know!

Up next, the Garden State and Los Angeles in April!

Shane

SoCal in Friday and Illinois in February

We're getting ready for this Friday's Laguna Film Society screening. Show starts at 7pm sharp at the Forum Theatre. Tickets are $15. Email Joanne Story to RSVP at jstory@lagunaartmuseum.org.

We also got word that we're going to be screening at the Lake County Film Festival in February over the leap weekend. For more details go to the official website. We're also waiting to hear from a few more festivals, but it's such a commitment of time and money that we may very well stop submitting and relax now that the film is done.

I'll be back soon with more news on Wiener...

Shane

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...