Franklyn - Great British Fantasy Film-Making That I'm Fighting For!

[Almar@Cult Labs]

So what's this new section? Well a little while ago some of you may recall that I'd been musing whether to share with you all some of the upcoming films and DVDs that I was working the PR campaigns for. Well after some thought we're going to set up for special releases a page and a thread section for them. I can then share with you guys how the campaigns are shaping up, what the reviews are like, possible access to the talent behind the films and so on. It's all experimental but it allows you to judge for yourself whether a film is worth the hype I'm trying to create!

The first movie I'm going to highlight is a British film I'm PR-ing and it's a welcome respite from the usual conventions of modern British cinema (i.e., it's not a gangster flick, a cheap horror knock-off or a clichéd rom-com).

I also think it got a rough ride for theatrical reviews. It's not perfect and it's flawed but I'd say the same of films that grew over time to be better appreciated like Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Blade Runner, Dark City and Donnie Darko.



The film is called Franklyn - it comes blessed with a great cast of hot young actors Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green, Sam Riley but best of all it has debut director Gerald McMorrow who for £6m has produced an epic (look at the budget, then the visuals and you'll see what I mean) film that dares to be different and delivers thrilling art design, imaginative ideas and compelling storytelling in spades.

I found it interesting that on the websites that carry theatrical reviews that whilst the verdict on Franklyn was at times unenthusiastic that the user comments were very different and very supportive. I found that sad that this kind of effort to make something cool in this country on tiny money got a bit of a kicking.

Franklyn rewards the second viewing and is set in an other-worldly parallel to London that I found fascinating. I can't claim I could understand quite how everything worked but I can see it's a film that will grow in reputation and I think totally missed the target market when it came out. One thing for sure - Gerald McMorrow is going to be a talent to watch.

So in short I'm appealing to your greater wisdom and insight into giving this unusual and rewarding film a better chance to find the audience it deserves. I suspect members here will not knock such an effort because of some debut flaws like other short-sighted people did.

In the coming weeks I'll have clips and more to share with you. The DVD and Blu Ray of Franklyn come out 22nd June.

Sam is also going to be going round social network groups and more to identify the kinds of people that might well like this film but missed it when it came out so you'll no doubt see him reporting back here to see whether any online doors were slammed in his face!

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[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Yeah stick the clips up mate.I collected Vipco dvd's for years,for Christsakes.I'm VERY open minded when it comes to films. Good films just ain't all about sleaze,horror and exploitation.

[Sam@Cult Labs]

Great response from the steampunk forum, http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/

They love the look and costumes of the movie.

Straight ahead goths next!

[eiren]

I'll watch anything with Eva Green in high definition... and this sounds pretty good.

Watched the trailer and think I'll pick this up on Blu-ray.

The really detailed cityscapes look like they'll be a good high definition reference to show off with, so maybe you might want to try sending a review copy over to AV Forums?

http://www.avforums.com/movies/index.php

That would get the film in front of a pretty huge user base of people.

[Sam@Cult Labs]

I found a forum called Goth Topic, I'm going to start a thread there.

[Almar@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by eiren

I'll watch anything with Eva Green in high definition... and this sounds pretty good.

Watched the trailer and think I'll pick this up on Blu-ray.

The really detailed cityscapes look like they'll be a good high definition reference to show off with, so maybe you might want to try sending a review copy over to AV Forums?

http://www.avforums.com/movies/index.php

That would get the film in front of a pretty huge user base of people.

Nice idea Eiren - I'm going to do that. Also I've got some of the concept artwork - I'll get that up once we have the film page ready.

[eiren]

Also, one of the reviewers there Chris McEneany (http://www.avforums.com/movies/revie...e&reviewerid=3 OR http://www.avforums.com/forums/members/87967.html) is a big cult movie fan and has a huge knowledge on a lot of the films discussed on here.

Might be a good plan to send them review copies of some of the DVDs that you release. They'll get a good review in front of a lot of people again.

He did a good review of Bird With The Crystal Plumage Blu-ray:

http://www.avforums.com/movies/The-B...-Feb-2009.html

[Almar@Cult Labs]

If you want to meet the director of Franklyn I'm bringing him to the MCM Expo at the London Excel centre this Saturday - 22nd May!

Gerald McMorrow will be doing a Q&A at 12pm and then at 1.45pm will be signing original theatrical posters from the cinema release - these are limited in quantity (50!) and lovely things to have - especially if you like Eva Green!



Full details here:

http://www.londonexpo.com/news/frank..._mcm_expo.html

This is a great show - if you love Tony Curtis, Linda Hamilton, Lindsay Wagner, James Duval it's well worth coming down as they'll be there plus more!

[Almar@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by eiren

Also, one of the reviewers there Chris McEneany (http://www.avforums.com/movies/revie...e&reviewerid=3 OR http://www.avforums.com/forums/members/87967.html) is a big cult movie fan and has a huge knowledge on a lot of the films discussed on here.

Might be a good plan to send them review copies of some of the DVDs that you release. They'll get a good review in front of a lot of people again.

He did a good review of Bird With The Crystal Plumage Blu-ray:

http://www.avforums.com/movies/The-B...-Feb-2009.html

Cool - are you able to PM me his postal address at all?

[eiren]

Yeah I'll get it off him or I'll get him to shoot you an email (is it almar [at] cult-labs [dot] com?)