S.A. Watching Party

I'm really sleepy, but I had to write about the Watching Party before I crashed. It was a tremendous success and a lot of fun.

Well, first of all, this morning we went back to Traders Village in Houston. It was busier, and we sold a few copies, but we just weren't feeling it. Plus it started to drizzle. So we decided to shut down early. We did walk around for a few minutes and handed out a few promotional items to people we thought might like the film.

After that, we headed for San Antonio. We were running a bit behind. Ideally, we wanted to get to S.A. around 6 PM or earlier, but it was looking more like 6:30 PM if we were lucky and didn't hit any traffic. As it turned out, we were lucky.

My girlfriend's parents were hosting the screening. Before today, I imagined maybe ten people would show up, which would have been great. I didn't expect 20 something people to be there! It was a packed house. I was blown away.

We pulled into the back where everyone was out on the patio (it's a big patio... is it a patio? A deck maybe... Or a back porch... Anyway, it's big). They all got a kick out of the truck and of me climbing onto the roof and into the hatch.

We went inside and unloaded. My gf's parents had gotten tons of food. There were meatballs, pork empanadas, tacitos, guacamole, brownies, cake, nuts, pretzels, and someone made and brought the most fantastic cookies I've ever had (not sure what they're called. I've heard them referred to as "wedding cookies" or even "Christmas cookies". Either way, they're dunked in powdered sugar and awesome).

We started the show at 7:15 PM. I did a quick thanks and welcome then introduced Gabriel. He spoke a bit about the movie, the contest, and the tour. Then we screened the movie. Gabriel stepped out of the room while the movie played. I know where he's coming from. It's not that easy to sit and watch something you created with a group of people. You feel like you're being judged, which may or may not be true. And considering we're going to be doing a lot of screenings during the tour, it makes sense to spare yourself the emotional pain as much as you can.

I went ahead and watched it with the audience. I would periodically go to the guest room and update Gabe on what people were reacting to, when they seemed restless, when they jumped at scares, etc. I took a bit of video and some pics, but it was really dark so not sure how they turned out.

After the screening, everyone applauded and stayed around for a rather lengthy Q&A. I really didn't think it would go on for as long as it did, or that EVERYONE would stick around to participate, but I was pleasantly surprised. And it wasn't a total love fest; they weren't just trying to flatter him. They asked him some tough questions and made poignant observations. And they weren't afraid to critique either. It went really well. I got a lot of footage of it so hopefully we can post some later.

Following the Q&A, we asked if anyone wanted to buy the movie. We sold 18 copies at least! One couple bought five, another four, others bought one or two... it was fantastic. And, you know, I'm sure that some of it was just to support us, and not necessarily because they just loved the movie that much, but so what? That's what this is all about right? I mean, they buy multiple copies to give to their friends which means that that much more people will watch it. And if they like it, maybe they show it to their friends. And so on and so on. I was/am so elated. I can honestly say I had to fight to keep from choking up at times. I mean, I told Gabriel to expect some wonderful hospitality, but even I was taken aback at just how much love and support we received. This has been one of the best experiences so far. I can only hope that others can come close.

A few people lingered well until midnight. That was another surprise. It's Sunday night, I know people have to work in the morning, but they stayed. They talked to us about the movie and how it was made and the tour schedule. We got tips on promotional ideas for here in S.A. My gf's brother-in-law is even going to help us out with a press release. I could go on forever about the generosity we were shown. Again, this is my gf's family, she is not here... in part they are doing it for her, and doing it for me, but really they're doing it for Gabriel, a person they never met before today. I can't wait to see what they do when I make MY movie.

Not sure what's up for tomorrow. Maybe some much needed rest, a little promoting, some online work. We'll see.