THE STAGE IS SET. ALL WE'RE WAITING ON NOW, IS YOU!
Dear DriverX Cast & Crew,
Details are finally coming in about our Los Angeles opening and I wanted to let you know what I have planned so far. As you know, we have not screened the film here yet, so Friday November 30th will be our official Los Angeles Premiere. I had wanted to do a cast and crew screening before then, but other theaters were booked and IFC cautioned against it, so our LA Premiere is also going to be our Cast & Crew Screening! So, we're going to make it a very special night and we invite you all to come and participate.
DriverX will be opening in LA at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica. I don't have the exact showtimes yet, but on Friday, November 30th we're going to have two special screenings. Here's how the evening will play out: - We're going to meet at the theater an hour or so before the first evening screening (which will probably be at around 7:30pm) for red carpet and pictures. We're renting the mezzanine area inside the Monica for this purpose. We'll have our own photographer and likely there will be a wire service there too.
- We'll then screen the film (at around 7:30pm)
- Then we'll have a Q&A with cast and crew, and maybe even a live song from Marvin Etzioni, who contributed 7 songs to the soundtrack, (he will likely pass out free copies of the soundtrack at the screening). That Q&A discussion will be moderated by a celebrity guest moderator TBD.
- Then we'll go back to the mezzanine for more pictures, food and drinks. For folks who want to attend the second evening screening (probably around 10pm), you can come early to join us in the mezzanine, until it reaches capacity.
- Then main cast and crew and said celebrity moderator will introduce the second evening screening (at around 10pm), since we can not have a Q&A after that late screening.
- Then that group will come back to the mezzanine to finish our celebrations.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE COMING
I am going to have a limited number of comp tickets available for cast and crew for these two screenings. You must respond to this email right away with how many tickets you want (limit 2 per person, please) and for which screening you'd like to attend, (the 7:30pm-ish or the 10pm-ish). I will be giving out these comps on a first come, first served basis. I feel confident these screenings will sell out. In addition to all of you, and the general public and friends who will be attending, Patrick is going to invite a bunch of famous friends from all his past shows, and hopefully many of them will be able to attend, too, (so they can talk it up on social media afterwards).
All in all, it should be a super fun night and a chance to celebrate everyone's valuable contributions to the film. Most of you have not seen the film yet and we just can't wait to show it to you!
So, again, if you can make it, please email as soon as you read this before my comp tickets run out. I will confirm your tickets. And if for some reason you reserve a ticket, but then can't make it, please, please let me know ahead of time so I can make your ticket available to someone else who wants to go.
WHAT IF I CAN'T MAKE IT?
The film will play at the Monica all week and I am planning other fun nights with different themes, (though no reception with food and drinks). If you can't make Friday night, I hope you come back another night to see it on the big screen.
WHAT ABOUT NEW YORK?
The film opens at the IFC Center in New York the same day as LA--November 30th. BUT, IFC is doing a special sneak preview of the film on Tuesday, November 27th. Henry, Patrick, Tanya and myself will be flying to New York for this screening, so please tell your NYC friends about it.
WHERE THE HELL IS THE TRAILER?
That's a very good question. The trailer, which I think is terrific, is nearly done and we hope IFC will be releasing it publicly early next week. Once it's been released, we will be sharing it all over our social media channels. I hope that you will help pass it around. The trailer will probably be our most powerful marketing asset.
And it goes without saying--BUT I'M DEFINITELY SAYING IT--indie film distribution is hard. It's takes a village, (really a small city), to get anyone to watch anything that doesn't have a Marvel character in it, and especially leave their home to see it in a theater. I will send you links to the VOD platforms before we open, but please encourage your friends to come to Santa Monica to see DriverX as it was meant to be seen. It's a great theater with very comfortable seats, and we'll have Q&A's after several screenings. Getting a big weekend is so important for the prospects of the film going forward. A strong weekend performance will help IFC book more cities.
The best way to help pull more people to the show is social media. Please, if you haven't already, follow us on all our social platforms, (links below), and like and share our posts from time to time. With a group effort, we can give the film the boost it will thrive on.
I'll be back in touch with more details when I get them. Looking forward to hearing from you all!
Best, Mark
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