SXSW

UT class gets a lesson in film promotion

By Theresa Everline
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Thursday, March 15, 2007

In a large studio classroom on the University of Texas campus last week, 20 students bounced ideas off their teacher, the lanky and gregarious John Pierson, a lecturer in the department of radio-television-film.

This was no textbook exercise. Their real-world, semester-long task was to promote and seek distribution for a documentary already having its world premiere at South by Southwest.

To make things more interesting, the focus of their efforts was the film "Manufacturing Dissent," a documentary by directors Debbie Melnyck and Rick Caine that critically examines Michael Moore, the notorious filmmaker sanctified by liberals and vilified by conservatives.

The first screening at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday loomed a mere three days away.

At one point Pierson asked for suggestions of free goodies that could be handed out to the public and the press. How about temporary tattoos of the film's logo, offered one student? Or masks of Moore? Or chocolate figurines shaped like Moore?

None of the ideas went anywhere, and the class didn't have much of a budget to work with, anyway. But they did brandish brand-new "Manufacturing Dissent" T-shirts, not to mention energy to spare.

The class, titled "Advanced Producing," teaches students aspects of filmmaking beyond writing and directing.

As Pierson put it, "You've shot your film. Now what?"

Brad Montesi, 23, remembered something about "Roger & Me," Moore's groundbreaking documentary in which he tries unsuccessfully to interview General Motors chairman Roger Smith about the closing of an auto plant in Flint, Mich. "I read that Michael Moore saved a seat at screenings for Roger Smith," Montesi said. "Should we save a seat for him?"

The class appreciated the parallel.

One thread of "Manufacturing Dissent" focuses on how Moore constantly evades attempts to be interviewed. As the film delves deeper into Moore's proven on-screen fabrications and his apparently self-serving political alliances, this bit of hypocrisy gains in resonance.

Then comes the film's big claim: that Moore actually did interview Roger Smith but kept that footage out of "Roger & Me," and to this day denies it.

With such juicy material to work with, the class then divided into the three teams they had formed at the semester's start. Pierson hopped from one to the next.

The publicity team worked on their list of journalists to contact. This group dealt with the fact that, even though "Manufacturing Dissent" was even-handed and came from the perspective of disillusioned liberals, the right-wing press was eager to embrace its debunking of Moore.

"Anyone want to be the Fox News person?" Pierson joked. "You'll get extra credit!"

The sales and distribution team fine-tuned their own list, that of potential buyers for the film. One of their assignments was to research the track records of film distribution companies.

Pierson gave a pep talk to the marketing and public relations team members, charged with tasks such as creating a MySpace page, placing the trailer on YouTube and handing out promotional postcards to festivalgoers.

"Think this way: Man, we're going to feel bad if only 500 people are there," said Pierson.

Pierson went over the itinerary for the day of the world premiere. Like a good coach, he called it "game day."

Those who can, teach

Pierson is well acquainted with the filmmaking game. For years he worked as a producer's representative, a liaison between obscure filmmakers and big studios. According to one seasoned producer, it's a little-known but vital role in indie filmmaking.

"I hire producer's reps just like I hire a director of photography and a casting director," explained Gill Holland, whose credits include 1998's "Desert Blue," one of Kate Hudson's first on-screen appearances. "In a perfect world, the 5 to 10 percent you pay them should mean they are getting you a deal that is still, even after their cut, more valuable than the one you would have gotten on your own."

Pierson's résumé reads like an honor roll of independent film. He invested $10,000 in Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It." He got the right people to notice Richard Linklater's "Slacker," Errol Morris' "The Thin Blue Line" and Kevin Smith's "Clerks." The big irony is that Pierson also was the producer's rep for Michael Moore's "Roger & Me."

"Many indie producers, especially first-timers, simply don't have the connections to really get in the door with the distributors, nor do they have the experience in dealing with them," said Michael Monello, part of the Haxan Films team that created 1999's "The Blair Witch Project." Producer's reps "can be invaluable in the negotiation process, as they understand how distribution deals are structured," Monello added.

"Blair Witch" made more than $200 million and for a few years held the record for the highest-grossing indie film. Pierson was part of that one, too. In August 1997, the Haxan people were guests on "Split Screen," a weekly show on the Independent Film Channel created and hosted by Pierson. Afterward, Pierson's company, Grainy Pictures Inc., put up $10,000 for the film's first phase of shooting.

During a break in the Advanced Producing class, Pierson was quick to point out that neither he nor the students will profit financially from their work on behalf of "Manufacturing Dissent."

"If the film does well, that's great, but if it doesn't, it's still a good learning experience for them," he said.

When Pierson taught the class two years ago, the students promoted the film "Cavite," which went on to win an Independent Spirit Award for directors Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana. When accepting the award, Pierson said, the directors "gave a shout out to the Advanced Producing class, and all the students' names were in the end credits." After "Cavite" got a distribution deal, the filmmakers contributed some money that went toward a class fund.

The students get hands-on experience, and the filmmakers get a small army at the ready. As Pierson said of his students, "They're a really good test group."

Meet the makers

On Monday, six hours before the world premiere of "Manufacturing Dissent," Pierson, his students and the film's directors gathered at Lamberts restaurant on Second Street to go over the evening's game plan.

"We were lucky to even get a poster done for our last documentary," said Caine as he looked around at the students, all sporting their "Manufacturing Dissent" T-shirts. "To see this on a T-shirt is weird. It's overwhelming."

Caine noted that the students were part of a select group that included a few journalists and only eight or nine other people who had seen the completed film by that point. "John's philosophy is to keep a tight lid on it," Caine explained.

At the other end of the long table, Melnyck was introduced to student Zach Anner, 22. Her face lit up. "I heard you came up with one of the tag lines!" she said. Anner, playing off footage in which Moore dismisses documentaries and PBS, had suggested the phrase, "Michael Moore doesn't like documentaries. That's why he doesn't make them." The line is in the marketing material and was even quoted in a New York Times story about the film.

After the food was cleared, the students gathered around the filmmakers to quiz them on how they might answer potential audience questions. They discussed whether Caine and Melnyck should bring up scenes from Moore's movies. Caine tried out a line about whether he expected a response from Moore. When Caine launched into a rambling anecdote about a producer with a grudge against Moore, Pierson laughed, then warned with a roll of the eyes, "Do not tell that story."

That evening, nearly 800 people showed up for the "Manufacturing Dissent" screening at the Paramount. The next day, student Brittany Lace, 21, of the marketing team, felt exhausted but pleased.

"We had a larger crowd than we were expecting," said Lace. "There was a line around the block when we got there, so that was reassuring to see."

What did she learn from the experience? "There's so much behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on, that I never even thought about until we had to do it," said Lace. "Trying to get one small movie promoted takes a lot of work and a lot of people. There's no way one person could do it alone."

Addendum: After the premiere Monday, the film's directors were interviewed on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, BBC and BBC Radio. Reviews and features have appeared online and in print. At press time, Moore had not yet commented and no distribution deal has been reached.