Popcorn on DVD

The past almost two years of my life have been consumed by Popcorn. I have been obsessed with this film since I was about 11 years old and now almost 20 years later I still am.

When I set out to ensure a proper DVD release was made, I knew it would be a long, hard road. I don’t think I understood how hard it would be and all the roadblocks that would pop up to try and block my path.

Right now we are still in the process of being able to announce the company who will be distributing this DVD and Blu Ray. The moment the deal is sealed I will be able to tell the world. Believe me the wait will be worth it. It seems like it’s a never-ending stream of words coming from me, but soon enough we will be able to make the announcement and put all of the rumors to rest.

I can tell you that Code Red has been cease and desisted and there will be no more talk of them releasing a DVD. They do not own the rights, they never have and never will. The copyright holder Howard Hurst is working directly with our team to make this release happen.

Thank you for all of the support you have given me. I could not have made it through any of this without you.

We still have a long road ahead of us, but 2012 will be the year of Popcorn.

-Kristy

Hey Popcorn nerds!

Things have been quiet on the site,  but this happens sometimes when you’re working on a project like this. I cannot release details until the specifics are worked out and all the appropriate paperwork is signed but we will have distribution news to announce soon. All I can say right now is that all the months of pushing for this release has paid off. Not to mention that with the interest that has been shown from a couple of different prominent producers and a well known features/doc director, I will get to take a step back from directing and only focus on writing and producing. To be completely honest, when this whole thing started I knew that I wasn’t ready to direct, in fact I never wanted to be a director- I just wanted to make this release happen.

I’m really excited that one part of this journey is almost complete, giving us a brighter outlook on the second leg of the journey. Things are about to get real…

For everyone who has supported this release in any way, you’re going to be so happy with what we have planned. This will be a release that is worth every penny.

What you see below is a message I just sent to the 61 people who agreed to back our Kickstarter campaign to self-distribute and make the Popcorn DVD re-release happen. I have decided to pull the plug on the campaign since we have about 8 days left and it is very obvious we won’t make it haha. But the good news is that we only have to raise a portion of what we once thought….

Bad news first…it’s time for us to come to terms with the fact that the Popcorn DVD re-release will not be funded within the next 8 days.

Good news…it’s ok because things have changed…all for the better!

First off, we are going to start a new fund, possibly without the help of a Fundraising platform site. #1, because we don’t have to raise as much money as we had to before, and #2 because we no longer have to self-distribute.

I can’t go into details, but a distribution company has agreed to release the DVD with our documentary! So now this brings us to only having to raise enough money to finish the documentary and the other special features/featurettes. This is some of the best news I have gotten since the beginning of all of this! And the best part is, hopefully we can do this for around half of the cost of what we originally planned!

It does sadden me to write this message in some ways, but in other ways I couldn’t be more elated to tell you that we have more reasons to be excited than saddened. I am about to pull the plug on this campaign, but I want to thank you for what you agreed to pledge. I also want to ask you to find it in your heart to agree to still pledge to this endeavor. We’re a third of the way so far with your pledges…not so hard to raise the rest of the money after this…? Guess we’ll see :)

If in your heart you still want to help fund this fan labor of love, please contact me: popcornthedoc@gmail.com, and I will give you instructions on how to donate. You have my word that I will still hold up the end of the bargain as far as all the things that were promised to you with your pledge. You have my word.

Let’s make this happen!

-Kristy

Taking a look back at my last blog post I realize I started talking about the fact that a distributor had contacted me and expressed interest in releasing the DVD we’re working on. I failed to mention that the reason I had to “get real” was because the deal fell through. They may come around once everything is finished, but for now we’re on our own for funding this documentary.

I was a bit naive when I started all of this, thinking that it would be super cheap to finance a documentary when I already had participation from all of the cast members, I was so wrong. I had my Kickstarter project approved in December and didn’t release it until April…that gives you a little insight into how long I tried to find ways to do this for the bare minimum. I know many professionals who make special features for DVDs as well as produce feature length documentaries revolving around cult film, and the price it takes to make these is staggering. You have to think of crew, travel to said destination, and other incidentals like paying locations to shoot at, permits…there are so many things I had never thought of.

Then it came to what I wanted to do with the special features…I was extremely naive in that respect too. I managed to find a friend in the business who agreed to restore a print of Popcorn for the bargain basement price of $3400. On top of that, I have to pay the artists who are creating artwork for this, I have to print the posters, booklets and deal with replicating the DVDs. If you think I won’t end up paying out of my own pocket for some of this…you’re crazy.

I just felt I needed to give some insight into what the cost of making this dream a reality is. If a company comes along and says “we’ll take care of making the DVD, all you have to do is continue on with the doc” I would ABSOLUTELY accept that. It’d be 1000x less stressful than dealing with everything I have had to endure thus far as a precocious first timer. At that point the Kickstarter campaign would end, but until then, we have to keep going.

Thank you for all of your support and please keep spreading the word!

-Kristy

Hey everyone!

It’s been almost 2 weeks since we unleashed our Kickstarter campaign and we’re happy to have raised almost $1,000. But we have a long way to go to make this happen.

I’ll admit, a week or so ago when I was contacted by a major distribution company who is interested in releasing the Popcorn DVD, I got starry-eyed and thought, “Well, if this happens we don’t even have to worry about the Kickstarter campaign!” But I had to get real. From the start we wholeheartedly planned to release this independently. This meant filming the documentary, printing all of the materials, paying the filming crew full of industry professionals dedicating their time and effort, and replicating the DVDs. $16,000 was the lowest amount of money we could use to do all of this. If you know anything about the DVD industry then you understand how expensive it is to release a DVD.

46 days may seem like a long time, but it’s not. We only have until June 6th to get this show on the road. This project isn’t about me though, it’s about all of the fans who want to see this happen. People complain about not getting their favorite movies re-released in nice, spiffed up editions, but here is a chance for you to be the ones making the choice. Do you want this to happen? Then donate to the cause.

We’re not asking for everyone to donate $1,000, in fact if everyone could reach out to their friends and family and have them each donate $1 or $5 we could be there in no time.

If you want to see this happen, we need to mobilize. We’re calling on you. Let’s make this happen.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/popcorn/popcorn-dvd-re-release

In case I haven’t mentioned it, I will be attending HorrorHound Weekend from March 25th through the 27th. I won’t have a table set up or anything like that but I will be there hanging with some of my journalistic friends and fellow Horror nerds. I implore you to stop me and talk about Popcorn if you see me! If you stop me to talk about Popcorn I will have a special surprise for you. It’s a little token of my esteem for you spreading the word and being excited about Popcorn! If you need a refresher on what I look like you can find a picture on this page of the site.

Thank you once again for all of your support and enthusiasm for this labor of love!

-Kristy

Thanks to a selfless friend named Chris MacGibbon we now have this great flier to promote the Popcorn DVD re-release! Soon we’re going to have them printed and we’ll be looking for fans who want to help hand them out at Conventions and screenings. In the meantime please spread this on all of your favorite social networking sites; Facebook, Twitter, even MySpace!

Thank you again for all of the support! We should have the Kickstarter video edited by next week and the Kickstarter funding page good to go by then. Cannot wait to raise the rest of the money and reveal the beautiful, original artwork being created for this release by Jeff Zornow!

Right now we are toying with the idea of having a reversible cover with the German artwork on one side and the original artwork on the other…stay tuned for the decision! In the meantime, spread this flier like wildfire!

-Kristy

One of the main reasons I wanted to re-release Popcorn on DVD was because there is not one good or worthwhile release out there. Sadly, the Elite Entertainment version, aside from being out of print isn’t a good release. The transfer looks to be like someone transferred a VHS to the DVD. And granted I’m not knocking anyone, I don’t doubt that the quality of the Popcorn DVD wasn’t high priority at the time haha

The special features on that release were nothing more than a teaser/trailer gallery. Nothing really spectacular for us Popcorn diehards! We live in an age now where it is possible to make a beautiful transfer and add worthy special features in a DVD release, that’s why the time is so right for this project!

I have scoured the web to try and come across any other DVD releases, and while there are a few different ways for you to get your hands on Popcorn, Region 2 style in the UK, there was one German edition I came across that really took my breath away….yes, in a totally nerdy way…I’ll just let you see what I am talking about…

Needless to say, I was pretty taken aback by the bad-ass artwork. This release of the film was limited to only 84 pieces worldwide. It’s become apparent to me I need to get my hands on this. This is where I look to you…anybody have this or know where I could possibly get one? The site where I found it is sold out and Google searches are coming up empty…

This is a complete longshot, but I think it’d be something beautiful to showcase in the documentary along with other fanart and memorabilia.

If you have any idea on how to get me closer to one of these please email me:

popcornthedoc AT gmail DOT com

Hey everyone! It’s official…the site that is!

Check back often to see new pictures and updates about the progress of the retrospective documentary and the DVD re-release in general!

Next weekend I shoot my Kickstarter video with the help of Zach Shildwachter and soon after we will launch the Kickstarter fund. We’re looking to raise $16,000 as the initial fund to finish the documentary as well as start the DVD release into motion!

I can’t begin to thank you enough for all of your support! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email me: popcornthedoc AT gmail DOT com

-Kristy