NOT TRUE THREAD TITLE ALERT!!!
So, here's the situation: I went last night to see Seven Psychopaths, a film with an all star cast that I have been avoiding for one simple reason- it has a very similar plot to The Flight of the Flamingo.
When we started work on FOTF the plot of Seven Psychopaths hadn't been released and no one, except cast and crew, knew what it was about. A few weeks before we started shooting, the plot details emerged: dog kidnapping, angry gangsters trying to get the dog back, hopeless trio running away with dog...etc.
I would like to state, on record, that I didn't copy Seven Psychopaths and, having seen both films, they're very different. But films about dog kidnappings are, apparently, like buses, and come along two at a time.
So my question is basically how should I play this, from a marketing standpoint? Obviously there are studios like Asylum who make their living intentionally ripping off Blockbusters, but FOTF isn't really in that mould- it's a (relatively) serious dark comedy that just happens to share some plot elements with a major current release. Should I acknowledge the similarities and try and cash in on that? Should I try and target audiences who have enjoy Seven Psychopaths and could use an extra dose of dog kidnapping? Or should I totally ignore it and leave it up to others to make the connection? That might seem like the obvious answer, but if it could help the film to put it out there as a sort of low budget indie version of a Hollywood film then I'd be game for that.
Anyhow, advice, suggestions and observations are, as always, very welcome
So, here's the situation: I went last night to see Seven Psychopaths, a film with an all star cast that I have been avoiding for one simple reason- it has a very similar plot to The Flight of the Flamingo.
When we started work on FOTF the plot of Seven Psychopaths hadn't been released and no one, except cast and crew, knew what it was about. A few weeks before we started shooting, the plot details emerged: dog kidnapping, angry gangsters trying to get the dog back, hopeless trio running away with dog...etc.
I would like to state, on record, that I didn't copy Seven Psychopaths and, having seen both films, they're very different. But films about dog kidnappings are, apparently, like buses, and come along two at a time.
So my question is basically how should I play this, from a marketing standpoint? Obviously there are studios like Asylum who make their living intentionally ripping off Blockbusters, but FOTF isn't really in that mould- it's a (relatively) serious dark comedy that just happens to share some plot elements with a major current release. Should I acknowledge the similarities and try and cash in on that? Should I try and target audiences who have enjoy Seven Psychopaths and could use an extra dose of dog kidnapping? Or should I totally ignore it and leave it up to others to make the connection? That might seem like the obvious answer, but if it could help the film to put it out there as a sort of low budget indie version of a Hollywood film then I'd be game for that.
Anyhow, advice, suggestions and observations are, as always, very welcome
