Urging caution
It looks like, from Candida Brady’s feed, that she’s going to set up some kind of campaign to make a visible version of Urban & the Shed Crew available. What I’m really hoping is that we could download it for a fee (even if it were a hefty fee). What I suspect we’re going to get is an opportunity to crowd fund a DVD.
Casting no aspersions on Brady, veteran fans will remember we’ve been through this before, in 2009-2010, when Armitage was attached to an independent film called “Charlie.” Armitage never said anything about it, but the filmmaker advertised that he had Armitage’s permission to announce that Armitage was attached, and the filmmaker urged fans to donate to crowdfund the making of the film. By 2010 there was a lot of frustration built up in the fandom that Armitage seemed at a sort of professional plateau — headlining the UK primetime TV schedule but not going further. I remember a lot of discussions about whether projects for him that would be more artistically satisfying could be crowdfunded; it was the point at which smaller bands were starting to crowdfund their new albums with fan funding, and it seemed like a promising avenue. As we now know, of course, Armitage left the project, and I think, although I didn’t follow it, that the film was made under other circumstances. But many fans who had donated to the crowdfunding effort were understandably upset than their money was now supporting a project in which Armitage was no longer involved.
This situation is slightly different, in that the film has been made and has been seen by some fans already. I don’t doubt that Candida Brady has good intentions, even if her choices in the past regarding the marketing of this project haven’t been entirely professional. However, remembering the situation last time, I’m urging anyone who donates to a crowdfunding effort to be aware of what exactly is being promised. Read the offer carefully. Make sure in advance that if what you want doesn’t materialize, you can live with the consequences.
This is of course basic advice for being an adult — don’t buy a pig in a poke — and I’m trying to figure out a way not to make this post sound condescending, or as if I’m trying to trash the project. I’m not — I really badly want to see this film and have been excited since I read the book. And we’re all adults, able to bear the consequences of our actions.
So: without knowing any more details than that, I’m just: urging caution. Maybe it will be a download. In which I case I look forward to it. I just think if large, going concerns can’t manage that (Digital Theatre, I am looking at you), I’m not sure how Candida Brady will.
I’ve come across websites where you can download a documentary that’s not available anywhere else. The price was high. Maybe she should just test the waters for advanced sales. I think it would pay off.
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I would be up for that. I guess I’m just not thrilled with Brady at the helm of a crowdfunded effort. I’m sure she’s a fine filmmaker but her other organizational skills are less impressive. In the back of my mind, writing this, was also the whole episode with Darren Denison and paying for a DVD that we got like four months later because he was too busy or sick or something to send out the mdse.
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I have no idea what it costs to load a full length movie in good quality up to a website and set up an on demand download program- but I can’t imagine it’s much – ask the Putlocker people! I think she could get $ 50 -$ 75 a pop ( The docu I was talking about was $ 300) OTOH, as soon as it’s up. it will be pirated. Maybe the help she needs is a fan campaign. Amazon owns Audible. Audible Productions has good results with Richard Armitage material. If she’s reasonable in her $$$ demands, it could be a good match – save for the geoblocking issues. Oops.
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Would I pay $300 to see it? Hmmm. Would I pay $75? Absolutely, but only if I know I’m going to for sure get it.
Not confident she has the knowhow to organize a fan campaign.
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uh oh.
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Yeah. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking.
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I think so, yeah.
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I guess what I wonder is whether the audience for this film is all that much smaller than for something like Sleepwalker. One difference is that I would guess the the non-fan audience is going to be primarily British — so she needs maybe to find the British equivalent of MarVista entertainment. (Hmm, maybe she should ask Digital Theatre). But the property is a known quantity in the UK at least; I wonder what was so hard about finding someone.
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I think Sleepwalker may be a sleeper – I mean that in a good way.
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I think it’s one of those films that filmmakers will really like. I also really liked it, so … I was actually shocked to see such negative response to it as a film. I can sort of understand having issues with the subject matter (or maybe being triggered by it), but apart from a few minor things, I thought it was a pretty interesting film and well acted by Ahna O’Reilly. It also didn’t feel like it was made on a tiny budget.
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We don’t know what her original distribution deal was – whether it was limited to theaters, international, other platforms. We don’t know how hard the distributor tried to shop it, where, etc. I agree, the non-fan audience would be mostly British, and maybe social workers? What she does have is three known actors. Also, from what we were told by fans who saw it, I think it could appeal to a YA audience.
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Do we know that she even had a distribution deal? I think we hypothesized that.
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I’d have to go back to my earlier posts. I seem to recall that someone was listed on the website and that I wrote about it. But I could be confused with Sleepwalker.
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I think I’d remember it, and I don’t. I’m relatively certain it didn’t have one before Leeds. But I could be wrong.
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This is the link to my post https://armitageagonistes.wordpress.com/2016/03/20/is-urban-under-water/
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ah, okay. I saw the British Council thing (which to me said: they’ll show this at universities) but not the part about Austin.
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So by extension, that info suggests he couldn’t sell it. Which means … I’m not sure what, but probably that it’s not a saleable film in the current market.
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Battle Creek, the Eastwood film he was promoting, didn’t get far either found it on Putlocker.
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well, it’s hard for anyone to pirate it as long as no one has the file of the print — which seems like it might be the case here. It’s only been shown in Leeds and at that one other occasion, and possibly privately.
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I meant after or if it was uploaded.
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That would be my guess – if he tried. Battle Creek, his Eastwood film, didn’t get far either. ( Disease of the month) Found it on Putlocker.
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[…] reminded before that enthusiastic Richard Armitage fans have been burned or close to burned before on stuff like this. I’m reminded that Darren Denison took something like six months to deliver on the […]
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The apparent status of Urban #richardarmitage | Me + Richard Armitage said this on November 12, 2017 at 7:02 pm |