Interview On A Site With a NEGATIVE Review???

milkandcookie

milkandcookie

Hey All!

Okay, so a lot of the sites out there for reviews of small films like ours really are doing a service in getting the word out on our projects. And, obviously, it's always nice for people to hear about what you're doing. Here's my big question, though - if you get a negative review from a site, but they would like to interview you still, obviously you still take it - news is news. But what, in general, would you do? How would you handle the situation? Has anyone had any experience with this?

Thoughts, in general...?
 
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Well I have done a few reviews that made the movie look bad and for the most part the folks were still willing to do an interview I had one person decline because he stated that my review on his movie was really bad. Tell me what you think of the review of the movie http://www.buckonstuff.com/?p=103

I got the feeling that person was looking for a fluff piece.

If someone were to offer me an interview after doing a bad review on a movie I did I would most def do the interview. There are people out there who love bad movies, I enjoy them myself at times. So I don't think you should ever turn down and interview because of a bad review.
 
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Yeah, for me, it wasn't really a question as to whether or not to do the interview - obviously, you take every opportunity to talk about your work in the public forum. But, this film isn't really one which plays the "so bad it's good" thing well. That seems to work best for horror and "The Room," but this is literally the second person who has said they don't really care for it, out of lots of people and a few good reviews, so really maybe he is just not our audience.

I think I may have to try to turn this into a "I guess you, as someone listening to the interview, will just have to get a copy to make up your own mind" kinda thing?

Also, Buck, I definitely don't think that was a bad review - when a review ends with "I have to say that this movie is way better than a lot of indie flicks I have seen," then the review is not bad. There's a good chance the filmmaker was looking to interview only with people who didn't have a bad thing to say about their work.

P.S. Tricky thing for us also - this is a phone interview...
 
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milkandcookie said:
Hey All!

Okay, so a lot of the sites out there for reviews of small films like ours really are doing a service in getting the word out on our projects. And, obviously, it's always nice for people to hear about what you're doing. Here's my big question, though - if you get a negative review from a site, but they would like to interview you still, obviously you still take it - news is news. But what, in general, would you do? How would you handle the situation? Has anyone had any experience with this?

Thoughts, in general...?
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It all depends...how destructive do you think the reviewer is going to be? If you think the reviewer is going to use you as a 'what not to do'...as an example...then I'd say no don't do it. If you think they have good intentions, then yes, go for it.

We all get bad reviews...no matter how good our film is. Even Shawshank was hated by some.
 
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milkandcookie said:
if you get a negative review from a site, but they would like to interview you still, obviously you still take it - news is news.
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It's not obvious to me. I'd be careful, and selective. If it has red flags skip it. I didn't read the review so I can't tell you if I see red flags.

Don't think all press is good press. People say that with press they can't control, but you can control this by skipping it.
 
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Michael - Yeah, this is obviously part and partial of the whole making a film thing. Trying to find your audience is often difficult, and when it comes down to it, you have zero control over the audience's background, how they are feeling that day, etc. etc. - any number of the things which could affect how people review. And, people are people, which is absolutely why reviews can vary so wildly for the same film. We were discussing with a festival speaker last year, who was of the belief that this is why test screenings are of variable use - because even though it's an audience, normal audiences don't often enter movies with the mindset of "look for and find everything that is wrong or right and take note of it." They enter with a completely different approach.

Obviously, constructive criticism is something to pay attention to, but of course it seems important to take it with a grain of salt, because they just may not be my audience. If I made an exploitation slasher flick and then tried to show it to my conservative southern grandma, she may just plain not like it no matter how much I change it, because it's just not for her. But if consistently told fundamentals are missing, then paying attention to criticism becomes more useful. And often, it's difficult to find that balance.

Indietalk - Going with gut, I didn't really see any red flags. I think this is a genuine honest review from someone who just didn't find anything to click with - which is fair, of course. So, judging from his professional approach to things, it seems like it'd be ok. That's a very good point you make, though, I will keep that in mind.

Has anyone else here ever done an interview with a site that gave them a negative review?
 
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I'd say just approach it with honesty and humor. Lots of people have different tastes, but as long as you stay respectable in the interview and don't take yourself too seriously, I can't see real "harm"... just take your time choosing words and if you drop something that might be an out-of-context soundbyte, just start screaming at the top of your lungs, hang up the phone, and if they call back to continue just act as if nothing happened...
 
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Well, if your film gets a negative review then I suggest you make a better movie! :)

I'm sending off Germanity, my short film to BUCK. I plan on having it butchered. Am I scared? absolutely not, It was my first serious flick, made with less than 600 dollars. It happens.

If I expect 100% positive reviews then I need to slap myself across the face, because I'm dreaming!

Buck, look forward to having my film reviewed by you, pal!

Best,
The Opus Fuller
 
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No reason not to do it.

The Buck gave one of my recent films a terrible review (because, honestly, it is a terrible film), and I answered his whacky interview questions. Sure. Why not?

The only people bent out of shape were the other collaborators on the film, who still insist it's as good as any Shakespeare. :rolleyes:

I did hold back on a lot of inside stories, though - I'd love to share them (and they'd be a great source of amusement as well as being educational), but it's a lot harder to do when the other people involved get a public ribbing and tend to take things very personally. If the film had been 100% mine, I'd have gone for broke... but it ain't, so I gotta keep everyone else in mind when talking about the film.

But yeah, in general, go for it. :cool:

.
 
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Spatula said:
I'd say just approach it with honesty and humor. Lots of people have different tastes, but as long as you stay respectable in the interview and don't take yourself too seriously, I can't see real "harm"... just take your time choosing words and if you drop something that might be an out-of-context soundbyte, just start screaming at the top of your lungs, hang up the phone, and if they call back to continue just act as if nothing happened...
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Yeah, I'm not sure how many little indie shorts lose their life entirely because of one bad review - if one review could kill a good project, guess what: there would be no movies out there. i think this is the approach to take :)
 
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Unless you plan on making only one movie in your life, I say treat the reviewer like his opinion matters. Somewhere down tthe line, he's going to review you again and he's going to remember if you acted gracious or like a dick.

I had one reviewer call one of my films the worst ever. I didn't like some of what he said about my movie, but he was humorous and had style. He was amazed when I thanked him for a well written article and he went out of his way to say so, in the opening of his NEXT REVIEW.





Another thing is that an interview by the filmmaker can give some insight to the movie's motivation, that the reviewer might have missed. And, just as The Buck pointed out about the ENIGMA review, he remembers the filmmaker who shunned him, as well as those who were good sports. Now, if The Buck ever gets that job at the New York Times, he might be a handy guy to be on good terms with. :cheers:

Bottom line: Be a professional. Respect your audience's opinion, otherwise, they might gang up on a spiteful filmmaker, like sharks in a blood frenzy. Though being a gracious person won't change the quality of your movie, it can influence the perspective of it. How you are perceived will have an effect on whether the reviewer (and audience) feels like focusing on the positives or negatives of the movie.

Again, this may be helpful in the long run.
 
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Thanks, Scoopicman, well said. Yeah, I mean, I think once someone who received a negative review gets past the initial punch to the gut, it only stands to reason to explore why that review was written in the first place. Just professionalism in general - obviously, unless it's an extreme case, there's no reason to go all Maury Povich on someone just because they disagree with you. I think if you hit the rare case of a complete hack reviewer, then just don't send them your next movie. But if it's someone who genuinely has an interest in movies and why they do or do not work, it seems like it'd be useful to discuss with them what worked for them and what didn't.
 
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I'm throwing my film out for whoever to review. It's my first one, and yada yada. So far, most reviews are decent enough. A couple bad ones, but I don't really care. Part of the biz.

I am my own worst critic, and you are yours. I know damn good and well mine could have been better. Why didn't I make it that way?

It doesn't matter. No excuses.

I beat myself to death over it, but what can I do? Not a damn thing.

Like Opus said, make a better movie.
 
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Well said. I mean, our reviews up until this one have all been good, and our audiences have always been enthusiastic and satisfied, in festivals and otherwise, so that's really what is most important - that the real audiences get something out of it, right?

That and learning and moving onwards and upwards.
 
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I used to work at a movie magazine, and the reviewers were a real mixed bunch! All a bad review meant was that that particular person hadn't liked it, it didn't mean that no-one at the magazine liked it.

Interviews tend not to get into the nitty gritty of whether the film is any good - reviews do. The interview is more likely to focus on who you are, why you made the film, the behind the scenes stories, etc. As such - interviews are often better for you than a review! It personalises you & your film.

I would just be careful when doing the interview to know what angle you're going to talk about the film. Look at what the reviewer said, and ask yourself if it was a fair call, or a matter of opinion. Admitting there are flaws, but explaining a story behind the flaw (such and such broke their leg, so we had to reshoot with her standing behind a table..) is one way of dealing with it - people won't hold it against you.

On the other hand, you might think the reviewer was wrong, in which case, you might say "it's a film for teenage girls, and it really hit the spot for our test audience" - you're not saying you think the reviewer's opinion sucks, you're qualifying what kind of person will like it.

Good luck!
 
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I've done an interview with a guy who despised Us Sinners. He called it a crap version of Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, amongst other things. He even opened the review how he'd like to interview the person that made this shit.

When I answered all his questions, it took him a month to post it (after I asked where the interview was) he then opened with "Finally here's the interview...". He also cut it up. So, I posted the full version at my site.
 
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ussinners said:
I've done an interview with a guy who despised Us Sinners. He called it a crap version of Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, amongst other things. He even opened the review how he'd like to interview the person that made this shit.

When I answered all his questions, it took him a month to post it (after I asked where the interview was) he then opened with "Finally here's the interview...". He also cut it up. So, I posted the full version at my site.
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Funny how some people do that. I'm starting to think a lot of guys just jump on the "film review bandwagon" just to get get free copies out of people and start their own sites to ramble about them. If half of the reviewers out there had half a clue as to how hard it is to make a movie, they might change their tune.
 
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If I was in your situation, I would definitely do the interview as this would give you an opportunity to articulate the reasoning behind the choices you made. If you can communicate a certain level of intelligence and modesty, I think you can earn the respect of people who may have not enjoyed the film but can appreciate an honest effort was made to entertain.

I received a terrible review and what bothered me most was that I didn't learn a single thing from the review. Apparently, the guy teaches film which is hard to believe. I've seen better and more intelligent reviews on Netflix.
 
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