Distributing Six Horror Features with Calvin McArthy
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01/22/24 • 60 min
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On this episode I’m talking with Calvin McArthy of Seventh Street Productions. Over the past decade, Calvin and his team have made six low-budget horror features, and still going strong. Calvin takes us through his filmmaking journey, starting out with his roots as an actor, then shifting to behind the camera with shorts and a horror anthology feature. A few films later Calvin formed a relationship with Breaking Glass Pictures, a Philadelphia-based distributor, who continues to put out Calvin’s films to this day with mockbuster titles such as Conjuring: The Beyond, and his latest, Insidious Inferno. Calvin and I discuss a number of topics relevant to filmmakers wrestling with distribution strategies today, including common pitfalls and what to look for when signing a favorable distribution deal.
On this episode I’m talking with Calvin McArthy of Seventh Street Productions. Over the past decade, Calvin and his team have made six low-budget horror features, and still going strong. Calvin takes us through his filmmaking journey, starting out with his roots as an actor, then shifting to behind the camera with shorts and a horror anthology feature. A few films later Calvin formed a relationship with Breaking Glass Pictures, a Philadelphia-based distributor, who continues to put out Calvin’s films to this day with mockbuster titles such as Conjuring: The Beyond, and his latest, Insidious Inferno. Calvin and I discuss a number of topics relevant to filmmakers wrestling with distribution strategies today, including common pitfalls and what to look for when signing a favorable distribution deal.
Previous Episode
Michael Epstein on Distributing His "Weird" Features
Today I’m speaking with Michael Epstein, a Los Angeles filmmaker with several low-budget and self-described “weird” features to his and his partner’s name. Our conversation covers the beginning of his career, his varied stories and experiences distributing each of his feature films, and his current plans for his latest feature, The Once and Future Smash, and its companion throwback horror film, End Zone 2. Michael’s experience with these films amounts to an overview of the state of low-budget indie film distribution over the past decade, with some hard lessons learned along the way. Michael is wonderfully transparent in this interview, giving us insight into budget and revenue numbers.
Next Episode
So Many Great Distribution Stories with Paul Osborne
Today I’m talking with Paul Osborne, who’s been making and distributing his films since the late 2000s and still going strong today. Paul has so many great stories to tell here, with a really wide variety of distribution experiences that span so many of the changes the industry has gone through over the past two decades. One of those films includes his documentary about the realities of the film festival circuit called Official Rejection, and we get some great stories about playing that movie about the festival circuit on the festival circuit. Paul brings such a wealth of experience to bear in this conversation, from self-distributing theatrical to experiences on the festival circuit to DVD releases and streaming platforms ... it’s a long one but I promise you it’s worth.
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