Case Study: RED STATE
by Website Update on November 9, 2011 in Distribution
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Hear from the team behind the release of Kevin Smith’s RED STATE. Debuting at this year’s Sundance Film Festival to much notoriety, Smith ended studio bidding by buying his own film for $20 and declaring he would be self-distributing the film theatrically. Smith has since toured the film around the country to enthusiastic audiences, grossing close to $1 million to date at the US box office from only 15 single show engagements. Less than $500 in paid advertising was spent to support the tour, which kicked off at Radio City Music Hall on March 5th. It quietly topped the per screen average charts for three weekends, becoming the 9th best per screen average film of all time.
David Dinerstein, President, D Squared Films
David Dinerstein has built and managed several independent companies from their inception. He has been responsible for acquiring, marketing and distributing many of the most significant independent films in the past 20 years. Dinerstein helped launch the careers of numerous successful filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderberg, Justin Lin, Sofia Coppola, Baz Luhrmann, Jane Campion and Kevin Smith. His films have garnered over 72 Academy Award Nominations and 15 Academy Awards.
Jon Gordon, Producer, Red State
Jon Gordon is an independent producer who recently produced Red State for writer-director (and his partner in The Harvey Boys) Kevin Smith, executive produced The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon and, through his Jon Gordon Productions banner, produced the Dreamworks/Paramount family film Hotel for Dogs.
Prior to setting up his own company, Jon Gordon Productions, Gordon was President of Production at Universal Pictures, where he oversaw the development and production of, among others, The Bourne Ultimatum, directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Matt Damon and The Kingdom directed by Pete Berg and starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner. He moved to Universal after a 15 year career at Miramax Films, where his last role was as Co-President of Production, a position he held until Harvey and Bob Weinstein separated from Disney in 2005 to form The Weinstein Company.