LAND OF THE BLIND movie opening

Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 15:54:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: “The Billy Nayer Show”
To: editor@reviewermagazine.com
Subject: Land of the Blind opening

Hey Everybody,

This is from our friend Robert Edwards, he’s the Writer & Director of
the film, Land of the Blind, in which Cory plays Mr. Salty and gets to
beat up Ralph Fiennes. The film also features a track by the Billy Nayer
Show….

Hey Frank,

How are you? Hope all is well. Just a note to let you know about the
theatrical release of LAND OF THE BLIND, June 16, beginning in NYC.
Lacking ad money, we are trying to get the word out grass roots-style and
get as many people to come see the film as possible that crucial opening
weekend.

If it does well in limited release in Manhattan, the distributor will
widen to other big US cities; if not, they’ll yank it after a week and
send it straight to home video. (That decision will be made as early as
two days into its run, as you know, after the initial weekend numbers
are in.) In fact they already have announced a tentative DVD release
date of Aug 15, which gives you some idea of their confidence in its box
office prospects.

The problem is that the distributor perceives this as a small,
challenging art house film with politically provocative subject
matter…..which it is, fair enough. (Is that supposed to be an insult?) But because
they don’t see it as having lots of commercial potential, they don’t
want to put lots of money into promoting it, which needless to say risks
creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Orphaned by its producers, the
movie is in danger of running for a week in NYC with no advertising and no
press, and then vanishing like Jimmy Hoffa….

So Ferne and I are mounting a guerrilla campaign in hopes of giving it
a fighting chance and sticking it to the Man. I know you guys will be
on the road then, but I hope that in advance of the release you’ll
spread the word to anyone you know in NYC who might be interested and
encourage them to come see it opening weekend (maybe even stressing what’s on
the line). It could make the difference between survival and oblivion
for the film. If they can’t make that weekend, any time that week is
still helpful. If they want to just buy a ticket and skip the movie, that
won’t hurt my feelings either….

Thanks in advance for your help. Hope all is well in Nashville, and
looking forward to seeing you next time you’re in town…

Best, Bob

LAND OF THE BLIND
a daring and timely political satire
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Donald Sutherland
with Tom Hollander and Lara Flynn Boyle

Opening Friday June 16th in New York City – LIMITED ENGAGEMENT ONLY!
AMC Loews Village VII (3d Ave at 11th Street)
AMC Empire 25 (Times Square–234 W.42d Street between Broadway and 8th
Avenue)

“Acerbic as Dr. Strangelove….”
–The Times of London

“A fantastic film: darkly humorous, intelligent….satirises with
excruciating accuracy the kind of story we have seen played out all over the
world, from Haiti to Afghanistan.”
–The New Statesman (London)

Village Voice — Top Picks: Best in Fest, Tribeca Film Festival 2006

Fresh from its World Premiere at the 2006 International Film Festival
Rotterdam (VPRO Tiger Awards Competition), UK Premiere–Opening Night
Benefit Gala, 2006 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, and US
Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival (Official Competition).

Upcoming international screenings at the Munich Film Festival and
Jerusalem International Film Festival this July.

Written and directed by Robert Edwards
Produced by Philippe Martinez, Jon Avnet, and Alan Latham
Cinematography by Emmanuel Kadosh
Edited by Ferne Pearlsein
Music by Guy Farley and Doug Edwards
Released by Bauer Martinez Entertainment

LAND OF THE BLIND is a satiric political drama about terrorism,
revolution, and the power of memory. In an unnamed place and time, an
idealistic soldier named Joe (Ralph Fiennes) strikes up an illicit friendship
with a political prisoner named Thorne (Donald Sutherland). Through
their conversations in the high-security military prison where Thorne is
held, Joe slowly begins to question his allegiance to the country’s
brutal but clowinsh dictator and his Machiavellian wife (Lara Flynn Boyle).
Eventually Thorne succeeds in recruiting Joe to the revolutionary
cause, culminating in a bloody coup d’etat. But in the post-revolutionary
world, what Thorne asks of Joe leads the two men into bitter conflict,
spiraling downward into madness until Joe’s co-conspirators conclude that
they must erase him from history.

www.robertedwards.org
www.fernepearlstein.org
www.myspace.com/landotheblindthemovie

The Billy Nayer Show Itinerary

Sun, Jun 11 Santa Ana, CA – The Galaxy Theatre (w/ Echo & The
Bunnymen)
Mon, Jun 12 Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theater (w/ Echo & The
Bunnymen)
Tue, Jun 13 Cabazon, CA – The Key Club At Morongo (w/ Echo & The
Bunnymen)
Fri, Jun 16 Dallas, TX – The Gypsy Tea Room (w/ Echo & The
Bunnymen)
Sat, Jun 17 Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa (w/ Echo & The Bunnymen)
Sun, Jun 18 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live (w/ Echo & The
Bunnymen)

Thu, Jun 29 Asbury Park, NJ – The Asbury Lanes (w/ screening of
the American Astronaut)
Fri, Jun 30 New York, NY – Knitting Factory Tap Bar
Sat, Jul 01 Sherman, NY – Subgenius Festival @ Brushwood
Folklore Center

Sat, Jul 08 Louisville, KY – Rudyard Kipling (w/ screening of
the
American Astronaut)
Sun, Jul 09 Memphis, TN – Hi Tone
Mon, Jul 10 Springfield, MO – Randy Bacon Gallery
Tue, Jul 11 Oklahoma City, OK – Conservatory
Wed, Jul 12 TBA
Thu, Jul 13 TBA
Fri, Jul 14 TBA

www.billynayer.com – “A strangely narcotic collection of sexy (if
slightly unsettling) songs” — Time Out New York
www.americanastronaut.com – “Nothing short of phenomenal!” The New York
Times
http://www.myspace.com/thebillynayershow