How to Get Big Press for Your Little Movie
Plus, 200+ potential financiers!
Good afternoon! I’m feeling a little crazy today. Everyone seems to love the new James Gunn Superman. It had been a long time since I’d seen a superhero movie, and this one… kind of just felt like all the other ones?? The CGI is super bad, the quippy humor is super lame, it’s super corny (“BRAINS BEATS BRAWN” is something I’ve been screaming since seeing it), and I super did not feel any sense of stakes. The film is getting a lot of credit for its allusions to real world politics, but I’m not sure it has much to say other than what should be obvious — that tech CEOs are bad, that all people deserve protecting, and journalism and truth are important. I can’t help feeling like we grade these things on a curve — and why?!? Didn’t we all agree we were tired of superhero movies? Wasn’t this supposed to be over?
OK, thanks for indulging my rant! I’ve got what I hope will be a super-helpful newsletter for you today, with a guide I put together on how to get press for your film if it isn’t, well, Superman. Enjoy!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Sundance 2026 Sets Dates
It was just announced that the final Park City Sundance will take place January 22 - February 1, with premieres being held Jan 22 - Jan 27. On Jan 28, the festival will begin to look back at its 40-plus year history.
RESOURCES
Wondering Where to Find a Financier for Your Movie?
Over at his terrific Substack, Hope For Film, legendary indie producer Ted Hope put together a list of 200+ companies that might finance your movie. Check it out here:
THE FEATURE ATTRACTION
How to Get Big Press for Your Little Movie
In eight steps.
Step 1: Make a good movie
Simply put, if your movie is bad — or just mid — it’s going to be exponentially more difficult to get people to care about it. These days, most media outlets don’t have a lot of money. It’s hard enough to get an editor to accept a story on a good movie from a famous filmmaker with stars in it. Your movie doesn’t need to be everyone’s jam. But it does need to elicit enthusiasm. Where publicity is concerned, it’s undoubtedly better to have an even mix of 5 star and 1 star reviews than to have a bunch of 3 star reviews. So, go for it! Something Jane Schoenbrun told me a while back that has stuck with me is that when they were making We’re All Going to the World’s Fair they consciously thought about what “should exist that the commercial landscape is going to be too conservative to actually invest in.” Press — and audiences more generally — are going to be more interested in the thing that Hollywood isn’t making than the thing that’s a lower budget version of what Hollywood is making.
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