Jon Reiss at IFC this Tuesday, November 17th!

Just out from an amazing weekend at DOX:FORUM in Cophenhagen, I’ll be in New York this week at the IFC Center speaking about my new book Think Outside the Box Office (released on the 16th!).  Come check it out!  Call (212) 924-7771 for tickets!

Thinking Outside the Box Office

In a presentation full of practical advice and hard information, filmmaker Jon Reiss (Bomb It), the author of the recently released “Think Outside the Box (Office): The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing in the Digital Era” will teach how to create unique distribution and marketing plans for independent films, explaining both do-it-yourself and hybrid approaches. He will outline what filmmakers need to do to prepare for distribution while making their films. Finally he will lay out ways in which filmmakers can take back and redefine the theatrical release by playing a combination of conventional theaters, community screenings and festivals.

Jon Reiss at IFP Independent Film Week in IndieWire

Definately time to put the doom and gloom away, roll up the sleeves and get to work. Here are a few pull quotes from the distribution panel at IFP:

“Filmmakers need to re-conceptualize marketing and distribution,” advocated Jon Reiss, the director of “Bomb It” who has become a passionate advocate aimed at distribution empowerment. “Filmmakers need to redefine the theatrical experience.” He also held up a copy of his new book, “Think Outside the Box Office.” . . .
Jon Reiss called upon filmmakers to create a new crew position for a film, a “Producer of Distribution and Marketing,” advocating that, like it or not, “You have to think of distribution and marketing as integral to the actual film.”

Here’s the whole article:

No More Doom and Gloom? IFP Crowd Eye Distribution’s Silver Cloud
Eugene Hernandez by Eugene Hernandez (September 25, 2009)
No More Doom and Gloom? IFP Crowd Eye Distribution’s Silver Cloud

The sky is falling. Indie bloodbath. Independent film is dead. All are phrases that have provoked passionate discussions. Instead of going there, though, a group of distribution veterans eschewed dark talk in favor of optimism earlier this week at a signature IFP panel discussion on the current state of film distribution.

The old model—making a film with investors, taking it to festivals, selling it there and releasing it months later in theaters before hitting other ancillary markets—is nearly gone, the group seemed to agree. IFC Films head Jonathan Sehring, Mark Urman from upstart label Palladin, Paola Freccero from B-Side and filmmaker and author Jon Reiss joined producer and Filmmaker Magazine editor-in-chief Scott Macaulay to survey the state of distribution in a week when bleak talk out of the recent Toronto International Film Festival has meshed with stories of individual filmmaker empowerment here at the IFP Market. Continue reading →