Maleficarum goes mainstream
When one sits at a mall and sees TV screens all over the place showing the movies playing in the 20 screening rooms there, one knows that the movies in those screens are all mainstream and mostly Hollywood. So…
It was Tuesday the 8th, a day after the premiere, the city was paralysed by a strike and blockade of the transport people who want to do whatever they want, when Amy and Jac decided to walk all the way to the mall where Maleficarum was scheduled to open on the 10th (today) Off they went with copies of the movie, to deliver them to the theater, the reason for their long, very long, over an hour walk there. Downhill, luckily. The problem was the return, uphill.. but that’s another story for another time, maybe.
It was a sunny and pleasant day. The advantage of not having cars ruining the city is that the air is better, there’s no noise pollution, … it’s simply nice.
So, after the long walk the couple arrived to deliver the film. The first thing they noticed is the big banner of Maleficarum along side banners of the Hollywood movies like The Avengers and Lady in Black.
Jac delivered the copies of the film at the office and a woman waiting for someone asks: Are you the filmmaker that made that movie? She requests info, e mail, website address…she wants to learn more, she wants to see the film.
After delivering the movie, Amy and Jac decided to have some coffee in one of the coffee places in the mall, there are three or four of them so, they sit at a nice table to have their coffee. Expresso for Amy, Cappuccino for Jac. They are having their coffee when they hear a recognizable scream. Is Amy, screaming at the top of her lungs as the flames reach her face. It is the trailer of Maleficarum on the many screens at the mall, in all three stories of stores, shops, restaurants, supermarkets and even a giant screen at the entrance of the mall. The mall is giant, it’s aptly named MegaCenter for its bigness, the biggest in Bolivia and some say most of South America.
And there it is, Amy being tortured and raped, Mila Branded, Both whipped and beaten and even making out … everyone can see. If that’s not mainstream I don’t know what it is.
There was a PREMIERE.
Jac thought he might have to cancel it because there was no way of going anywhere except by walking and a lot of the invited press and guests were calling to tell that they could not make it. Jac had some discussions with the person in charge at the movie theater and decided to proceed with the premiere but he managed to convince the theater that all the guests who could not make it were going to be able to use their invitations the day of the opening.
In his heart of hearths Jac braced himself hoping that some people might make it to the premiere.
There he was, waiting at the theater, talking to Amy and Beto at a table when the first people started to trickle in. But Mila wasn’t there yet. Oh the stress. At one point Jac asked Miguel to take some pictures when suddenly Mila appeared coming down the escalators, all dressed up. So Amy, Mila and Jac stood in front of the banner and Miguel started taking pictures, when all of a sudden a lot of people pulled out their phones, iPhones, cameras and voila, it looked like Hollywood with dozens of photographers taking pictures of the beautiful stars and the director. Flashes here, flashes there, crowds gathering to see what the big deal was and the big deal was the two stars of the movie and the director attracting the photographers.
It was clear, at that moment, that the crowd gathering at the theater were there for Maleficarum, and it was a large crowd. There was space for 250 people in the screening room and before that moment everybody thought that it was going to be empty… but no… it filled up and to our people’s amazement some of the actors brought their parents, grand parents and even some children… yes, a couple of kids were there for the show and THEY WERE LET IN!…
Amy was tense, so was Jac and not to mention Mila who had been under a lot of stress just thinking that a lot of her friends and family were going to see her like they never saw her before… naked.
The lights went out, the film began. Everyone was quiet. And there it was…. the movie, playing to a large audience and on a big screen and it looked good, really good.
What can be said? It was wonderful. When the film ended and the crowd broke in a big applause Jac knew he didn’t have to worry anymore, Amy had a huge smile and Mila was amazingly relieved. The crew and cast present were certainly proud, there were smiles all over the place.
Mila’s sister was very proud of her and told her so. Mila was beaming, so was Amy. As people left the screening room they walked up to Jac and Amy who could no longer move as people wanted to shake their hands to congratulate them for a job well done.
Later that night a few of the crew and cast plus a couple of friends went to Jac and Amy’s house for a little get together that turned into a drinking party.
The comments after the screening were great. One woman said that Maleficarum dwarfed The Passion of the Christ and Saw, that it was veeeeeery strong. The most used terms were “powerful” “courageous” “daring” and so on. There are no negative comments… yet. We’re expecting them to come from the critics.
The entire cast is very, very proud of being part of this movie. That was Jac’s worry, that they were going to feel used or something. But no, they are taking their friends and relatives to the big opening today.
Today is the big opening in three cities, four screens and at all kinds of hours, plenty of chance for anyone to see it. It’s the big day for Maleficarum, one no one in our world foresaw. Maleficarum went mainstream and we’re proud of it. Everyone can anticipate the reception to Barbazul and Dead But Dreaming now.
And of course, there’s the press. We’re recieving an acceptable coverage, althought a bit slow in coming. There are some interviews on TV, some news reports, and so on. Not a lot of radio yet. The interviews are all different. The first one, that you all saw already, was short and funny.
Found this new video on Amy’s channel on YouTube. It’s Jac and Amy being interviewed in Spanish by a blonde TV hostess showing lots of cleavage who botches Amy’s name and towers over both of them because she’s wearing big spiked heels. I couldn’t understand a word of it except when they said the name “Maleficarum” about a dozen times. You get to see the Spanish language trailer for the movie while they’re being interviewed.
BTW, the Spanish captions over top of the trailer read: More than one hundred thousand women were condemned, tortured and executed by the Inquisition in Europe and the Americas …
… this is the story of two of them.
Thank you, Google Translate!
Now Jac and Amy, you found Mila, who had never acted before, while she was working in a doctor’s office. I’ve just discovered the star of your next movie, and she’s already got experience on camera! I think you need to sign up the bimbette in the pink dress!
Ralphus
Well, I don’t think she has the talent we need. But we expect a lot of people to come knocking on our doors for a juicy role in one of our productions.
After that interview Jac and Amy had a second one, that was actually better. Amy was a bit more awake and could discuss the movie rather than respond to questions with monosilables.
The funny part of this interview is that the host of the program had a coughing fit everytime Jac was answering some question, and it was distracting and sometimes upsetting, specially for Beto who could not hear his name mentioned because of the cough. But it was a better interview.
There was also a third interview in a Catholic TV station, the host is apparently a priest, but it was the best interview before the premiere. It happened the day of the premiere. The questions were nice, the Maleficarum clip they requested in advance was actually re-edited so the bit where Mila and Amy are making out is not shown, but the beatings, burning, etc, are. Go figure.
This time there were four being interviewed. Jac, Amy, Mila (her first interview ever) and Eric the torturer.
It was good, specially because the discussion centered on the inquisition itself. Good one.
There are also some interesting written press items, appearing one at a time, which is good because the coverage will continue throughout the week and the next. More TV interviews will be appearing today, tomorrow, and for the rest of the week. We’re getting a lot of attention, that’s for sure. This in one of the reports.
This period of time, this crazy period of time, will be over in a couple of weeks. The film won’t be playing more than two weeks, that’s a certainty. The places where it is playing are commercial movie houses with tight programming, lots of new releases, so we are given the same treatment as Hollywood. The only thing that can change that is if there’s a massive response to the movie which doesn’t normally happens here, most people wait for the pirate DVD, sad to say.
Margot: Thanks for another enjoyable post with illustrations. I always like hearing the “inside scoop” on the doings of Red Feline, past, present and future. I am very interested in hearing about the reaction to the theatrical release of Maleficarum.
John Galt
I personally think it was a good idea for JJ to edit the movie for theatrical release for just the reasons you mentioned. So my question is, when it comes to ordering the movie in the future, will there be a “GIMP Release” and a “General Audience Release?” There will definitely be folks who want the all-torture all-the-time approach (most of the readers of this forum, I suspect), but surely there will be others who want the more tightly edited version. Please be sure to clarify which version is which. It was also pretty cool to read that Ralphus is getting his own re-edited fire scenes.
I will refrain from weighing in on the reality vs fantasy discussion, except to say that I’m sure it resembles a sliding scale with extremes that are well-defined but a lengthy continuum that is highly subjective. Logically, though, any fantasy that is acted out has become a reality to a certain extent simply by virtue of having been done. The dividing line is all in the mind.
The “Theatrical” version of the movie will be released as well and it will be clearly noted in our stores. It will be made available in larger markets like Amazon.com, where the original version won’t be available.
The ‘fantasy vs reality’ discussion will have to be on hold for the time being. I have a lot to say but today I’m in a rush to get this out and get our promotion work for the movie done. We’re having a fantastic time and stressed filled as well. But that’s normal in our kind of work.
I’ll have a lot to say when the first reviews, if any, start coming in. That’s it for now.
Margot
