Bill Plympton's "Idiots' Diary": Most Read Posts

Idiots' Diary #19: Idiots & Angels Held Over at the IFC in New York!

bplympton — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:50:51 -0700

Yeah! Idiots and Angels was held over at the IFC by popular demand! This is what I dreamed of. All those distributors who rejected “Idiots and Angels” now must realize that there is an audience for an adult animated film. People want to see mature and provocative ideas in cartoons.

Idiots’ Diary #4: Finding an Indie Cinema in NYC

bplympton — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:36:11 -0700

I've narrowed my list of available NYC indie cinemas to 2: IFC Center and Cinema Village. Both are quite good and have a history of showing animated films. Both theaters seemed interested in Idiots & Angels, so I sent each booker a screener of the film plus the great reviews it got from Variety and The Village Voice. My plan, and I do have a plan, everybody should have a plan, is this…

Idiots’ Diary #9: Chicago

bplympton — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:19:57 -0700

Great news, we just got booked in Chicago's prestigious Music Box Cinema! It looks like it will be screening there the 1st week of December.

Idiots’ Diary #8: Crowd Control

bplympton — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:48:01 -0700

I'm now moving into Phase II of my brilliant military campaign to spread the word about my animated feature film premier in NY and LA. This week, I've called up all my writer friends and press associates who have contacts with the media.

Idiots’ Diary #24: Surprises with the Academy Shortlist

bplympton — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:32:35 -0800

Several weeks ago, I went to the Academy screening of all the eligible animated shorts – about 30 films. It's one of my favorite events, because often I discover films I've never seen before and I always have a film that I'm trying to get nominated.

Idiots' Diary #3: I’ve Decided to Self Distribute Idiots & Angels

bplympton — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:40:55 -0700

So I've decided to self distribute Idiots & Angels. The biggest hurdle is finding a cinema in NYC. There are a whole lot of films looking for cinemas and not a whole lot of cinemas, so the trick is the find one that suites my audience. Animation fans.

Idiots’ Diary #22: The Oscar Qualification Gauntlet

bplympton — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:41:38 -0800

The big problem with the Oscars is that if there are more than 15 films qualifying, then the number of nominations expands from 3 films to 5. Obviously, with 5 films I have a much better shot, like Secret of the Kells last year. But with only 3 films nominated, they usually go to the Hollywood Blockbusters.

Idiots’ Diary #5: Big Meeting

bplympton — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:35:24 -0700

So now the craziness begins. I've got 2 hard dates for Idiots & Angels: Oct. 6th at the IFC Center on 6th Ave in NYC and Oct. 29th at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in LA. So like Patton I'm devising a 2-prong attack. First, I'll invade NYC using low-cost but more personal forms of advertising: Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Skype. We can save a few bucks and then I'll turn my forces onto LA.

Idiots’ Diary #23: I&A Plays in Chicago

bplympton — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:29:16 -0800

In the third of my trifecta of “Idiots and Angels” theatrical release appearances, I made a trip to Chicago, where it played at the wonderful Music Box Cinema. Three years ago, Gabe Levinson brought me to the Music Box to run a rough cut of the work in progress to help me make the final cut. It was wonderfully helpful and important.

Idiots’ Diary #12: Ramping up the Guerilla Marketing

bplympton — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:02:52 -0700

Now, whether posters and postcards all over the city will drive huge numbers to the theatre, that's a different and interesting question - We hope so, because without the money for a full-out publicity blitz, I'm forced to use more street guerilla tactics. Eager student volunteers seem to be the most efficient way.