So things are going smoothly – I'm setting up a number of signings and showings in LA and NY. Then I'm talking on the phone to Tom Akel of MTV who's setting up a new animation web channel (he even wants to bring back Liquid Television) and wants to do some interviews and maybe show some of my shorts, when I get this panicked call from my NY press agent; the dynamo Phyllis Bishop.
Turns out another cinema is playing Idiots and Angels and IFC is very angry because they thought they had an exclusive run of the film in NYC. So I freak out because I don't want to alienate the IFC and I have no idea who else could be showing my film. I go online and discover that Cinema Village is opening Idiots and Angels on exactly the same weekend!
What happened was, I initially called Harris Dew at IFC in May about booking I&A because I have such a great history with the cinema; they showed Hair High there plus a lot of my shorts. They also hosted The Animation Show and, in April, Signe Baumann and I did a very successful “Battle of the Sexes Animation” there and it was a lot of fun. They attract a lot of animation fans.
So Harris never got back to me, and I became very worried that they didn't want to show my film. The deadline for the LA screening and the Academy qualification were slipping away. In a panic, I called my good friend Ed Arentz (who books the Cinema Village) and he said he'd like to look at the film for a possible run. I sent him a DVD and heard nothing. Oh my God, I'm screwed! It's July and I have no venue to show the film! The Film Forum is booked until the winter. I don't know how to contact Angelika or Sunshine Cinemas. I may have to show at The Anthology. Then, at the last minute, Harris Dew finally gets back to me and says he has a date! October 6th - the perfect date since it's the same time as the NY Comic Con. I can promote there like gang busters.
Since Ed at Cinema Village never called me back I assumed he hated the film, but then there it was on the website! Now, I'm very happy he likes the film, but I just wish he had called me to let me know he booked it. It's always great to know your film is loved, but they put me in a very awkward position. Reluctantly, I called Ed up and asked him to remove the film from his website, and now Harris is happy with me and I can continue to hype the Oct. 6th opening at IFC.
Thanks for reading my diaries.