Contour to be rereleased as "The Agent"

[stuntpeople]

Showlin: I hate false advertising too, but the cover isn't entirely misleading. Aside from one whoever-guy at the bottom (he's someone doing a kick, and there's a lot of nobodies doing kicks in Contour), the China background, explosions, and the CIA mention, there's nothing else too misleading about the cover. Hell all the faces are accurate, they even kept the exact same credit block. I think people will still grab this, expect a hardcore action film (with a bunch of no-names), and get just that, just with fewer explosions.



blue_skies: Great point you bring up.

Eric, I would suspect the movie is not doing well internationally because it's not available… Or at least it wasn't available in the UK. As long as this movie gets the opportunity to be seen by more people, I think that's the most important thing, regardless of deceiving artwork.

Here's what I've learned in my short career in doing this. See, I can't get Contour or The Agent into the UK or any non-American territory unless I

a) deliver it there myself, get a sales permit, and sell it directly (I doubt I'll recoup travel costs this way, better to just keep selling it off my website, which isn't exactly making me rich)
b) convince a small retailer there to sell it (I can't expect anyone to actually buy it, so I'll expect a lot of returns!)
c) sell it to a distributor, who will advertise it and sell it to retailers more aggressively to recoup their expenses.

The only real viable option is (c). But in order to do (c), since we don't have any celebrities in Contour, we need something that basically smacks of "average" or "mainstream". The distributors around the world simply weren't interested in the indie-martial-arts-action-comedy until Indican did this and basically made it look like an action-thriller. They did the right thing. Otherwise it would just collect dust.

Now to wait for the hate mail. I'll post some of it here :D

[ShaOW!linDude]

I get what you're saying. Like I said, it would be nice if it had a scene in context with the actual film. Shoot, they could've even photo-shopped that. (Gasp! I can't believe I suggested that.) Ah well. It's no biggie, I got mine already. The main thing is I hope it pans out for you guys and more copies of it sell so as to gain you more notice.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by ShaOW!linDude

Well, the great thing about the dvd, if I recall correctly, is that it's region free and affordable through the Stunt People's website.

but therein lies the problem and how many martial arts fans have never even heard of the Stunt People, let alone know about their website and the DVDs available. I mean if it wasn't for this place I would be blissfully ignorant of their existence. Their DVDs really need to be more accessible.

Originally Posted by stuntpeople

blue_skies: Great point you bring up.



Here's what I've learned in my short career in doing this. See, I can't get Contour or The Agent into the UK or any non-American territory unless I

a) deliver it there myself, get a sales permit, and sell it directly (I doubt I'll recoup travel costs this way, better to just keep selling it off my website, which isn't exactly making me rich)
b) convince a small retailer there to sell it (I can't expect anyone to actually buy it, so I'll expect a lot of returns!)
c) sell it to a distributor, who will advertise it and sell it to retailers more aggressively to recoup their expenses.

The only real viable option is (c). But in order to do (c), since we don't have any celebrities in Contour, we need something that basically smacks of "average" or "mainstream". The distributors around the world simply weren't interested in the indie-martial-arts-action-comedy until Indican did this and basically made it look like an action-thriller. They did the right thing. Otherwise it would just collect dust.

Now to wait for the hate mail. I'll post some of it here :D

You also have an option d) which would be getting all the Stunt People DVDs on places like eBay, Amazon.com , Amazon.co.uk, & Play.com where you could list the DVDs yourself, making the films more easily accessible where fans could easily stumble across them while searching for similar martial arts/action DVDs. I know at the time when I first wanted to see your films I didn't have a credit card so was limited to UK websites. other fans could be experiencing similar problems? Equally being unaware of a product whatsoever they wouldn't even know to look for it.

[massa_yoda]

Originally Posted by blue_skies

I mean if it wasn't for this place I would be blissfully ignorant of their existence. Their DVDs really need to be more accessible.

And wasn't it you that introduced me to them blue_skies? :) If it wasn't you, it was someone on here. KFC is so important in raising awareness about films like this that don't get a lot of exposure.

You also have an option d) which would be getting all the Stunt People DVDs on places like eBay, Amazon.com , Amazon.co.uk, & Play.com where you could list the DVDs yourself, making the films more easily accessible where fans could easily stumble across them while searching for similar martial arts/action DVDs.

Don't forget itunes. Lots of people download or rent films from here.

[blue_skies]

Originally Posted by massa_yoda

And wasn't it you that introduced me to them blue_skies? :) If it wasn't you, it was someone on here. KFC is so important in raising awareness about films like this that don't get a lot of exposure.
.

I believe I was the one who introduced you to them. Absolutely this forum is my number one resource and you can always guarantee that there's someone who's seen a particular film or can recommend something you've never heard of before .

You know I was just thinking maybe the forum could use a little promotion? With more people visiting, more recommendations could get out there!

Don't forget itunes. Lots of people download or rent films from here

yeah? I honestly never thought of that. I may have to do take a look myself see what Shaw Bros movies the UK version has… Wouldn't be surprised if there isn't any

edit: maybe someone in the UK can correct me but from a casual search there doesn't seem to be a way to search what movies they have. They seem to have access to Netflix, which has an extremely limited playlist in the UK. Seems a bit **** to me that they don't appear to let you browse the catalogue of movies.

[stuntpeople]

Originally Posted by Drunken Monk

That's a really fantastic choice. It's great to see filmmakers actually being considerate of fans and giving them what they want.

Let me be the first (on the site) to thank you.

Here's the full making-of featurette: