Well, judging by the videos M Dot's been releasing on YouTube, advertising and a theatrical release seem like they might be out of the picture unless something amazing comes through. Now if all the advertising fails and all that goes under, I had a thought that seemed relatively obvious in nature but I felt like I should post it and see what other people think. Given that M dot's moving on to other projects (according to the video "closure") I figure he's become pretty disillusioned with trying to sell it on a mass scale - Which isn't a surprise. So if it's not going to theaters and it's going straight to DVD...

Why not pitch it to Adult Swim on the cartoon network?

They cater to a late night audience, have an abundance of stop-motion, anime and other things that this movie appeal to. For TV they have a pretty low risk lineup (I mean for god-sakes they played pee wee herman...) AND it'd be killer exposure to the audience that would appreciate the film. It'd garner WAY more attention M Dot could probably use to make a ton more off the DVD sales. This would be prime-time to do this because once the DVD is out it really isn't gonna seem as crazy and it'll be harder to sell. Pitching it as an exclusive for Adult Swim would really help it. Hell Adult Swim could advertise it through their bumps and on the site. Even if you did a free exchange for advertising you'd still make invariably more money in DVD sales and it'd give you more exposure than you could handle.

Maybe M Dot's tried this already but if he hasn't he should at least find a way to give them a call and see if they are interested. I'm sure if he sent them a copy they'd screen it and that alone might be enough to convince them. If it doesn't work it's no harm no foul - they might even make just a bump or two about it, which will get people coming to your site.

Even better, pitch the trailer to them and ask them to bump it - say if it gets positive flow on the site then consider airing it.

Besides a theatrical release, I can't imagine anything more awesome than watching WATS on Adult Swim for a midnight screening to the world, that'd be AWESOME.

What are your thoughts people? Oh and please, be constructive.  

Oh also possibly HBO or IFC (Independant Film Channel) might work but I think Adult Swim would respond better.  

--Last edited by BigMac8000 on 2007-03-14 22:51:29 --

I'm kinda liking this idea. Most people who would enjoy the movie, in my opinion, would be the anime and/or video game fans who stay up to watch the anime shows Adult Swim.

A bit offtopic, but kinda not, GaiaOnline.com has recently made an item and done some advertising for the film "The Last Mimzy". They might be interesting in promoting the DVD to their users as well if Adult Swim or any of the other TV stations say no.  

--Last edited by OtakuEmi on 2007-03-15 14:37:39 --

i too agree that this sounds like a good idea. but i think that CT is very greedy with money and will want more than a little to advertise it, not to mention having an almost unheard of (mega-hella-awesome, none the less) movie air? maybe with time. but untill then, i think gaia, or maybe myspace even, is a better bet.

That could always be the case, the network may want to stick it to M simply because... but if you were to pitch it to them that they'd be getting an exclusive premiere it might get their attention. The thing is if they decide to air it the advertising would be for their own benefit - they'd be advertising the premiere rather than simply the film itself.

The thing is M's gotten some real luck having been allowed to go to Sundance, it gives his film credibility and that's hard to get. I can't imagine Adult Swim, which prides itself on it's complete randomness wouldn't at least be possibly interested. The other thing is its risk free, if they don't bite, it's no skin off M's nose.

Come to think of it, there are some really ridiculous shows on Adult Swim, I can't imagine why they wouldn't at least consider it... and asking them solely to advertise for the film would be really, really expensive I agree, but if you can get them to do a showing of it that'd be the best advertising he could get. More people watch TV mindlessly than go on the net and discover things.

Anyway it is a legistical concern but I think if M Dot pitches right than they'd at least hear him out.

If I was Adult Swim my biggest concern would be chancing bad reviews in which case I can't make any testament to the quality of M Dot's work, I haven't seen the movie yet. Anyway it's definitely a thought.

Maybe I should post on the Adult Swim webpage!

Aha - later all. I've got work to do.

Problem with pitching it to Adult Swim is that Cartoon Network are a bunch of A-holes.  I've known a few flash artists who've tried to branch out of cartooning but have gotten their hopes held high only to crash down on them.

Problem is with showing it on Adult Swim they'll probably demand exclusive rights for their region (the US, I believe...I don't think Adult Swim is on Canada as some of their shows are aired on other networks in Canada).  Meaning that M dot Strange won't be able to get the DVD out unless they allow him to in the contract (most likely not).

And, if WATS becomes popular as a result, they'll probably want to distribute it and at that point a lot of the creative freedom M dot has is taken away from him.  THAT and one of the reasons distributors have been iffy on WATS is the abundance of video game references.

I -believe- the Sundance version of WATS contained sprite shadows that were taken directly from certain games.  Meaning M dot used copyrighted materials, which could lead him to getting sued.  The only reasons he didn't get sued at that point is because he's not exactly a big name and doesn't have any money to take from. That and I think he didn't make enough money for it to be a problem (you can use copyrighted material as long as you don't claim ownership and make money off of it).  Now, attach a big name distributor to WATS and WATS becomes better known and there is a wealthy group now attached to M dot.  Meaning people would be more likely to sue.

But, according to an E-mail I got from him, a lawyer who gave him advice advised him to change the sprite shadows he used.  That version was shown at the San Jose theaters.  But, I haven't heard much from him since then so I don't know how much was changed.  So that may not be a factor.

Regardless, from what I know of M dot wants to move on from WATS and work on his new films.  By continuing to search for distributors he'll have to stay attached to WATS.  From what I understand M dot wants to put WATS on a DVD and move on.

COURSE, this is all based on from what I know and is just my two cents.  Send M dot an E-mail.  He may like the idea and go through it himself.

That's some good feedback.

The sprites would of course be an issue, but if he ever intended it to be marketed as a product then that would've had to have been altered... wouldn't that also become a problem if he starts selling DVD's through the website? Who knows, but good point.

I can see why he'd hesitate to sell out his movie but he really could use the exposure and as much as I'm sure he's getting by making these films, I imagine having a broader audience would be really, really important. The other thing is he doesn't have to do it immediately if he wants to move onto other projects. In fact, although earlier I thought it would be better to do it now, he might have a better stepping stone with two projects under his belt rather than one. That way he's gotten past that "success story" stigma and really gets his teeth sunk into the public eye.

However despite these misgivings, I think a call or an e-mail, which is legally non-binding might be a good idea. It may turn out to be simpler than all that - Cartoon Network / Adult Swim may not go evil corporation and even if they do, I'm sure M dot could handle it, he sounds like he'd know better that to sign away his own movie.

The other big thing is that Adult Swim seems really open to their viewer base, more so than any other TV group. They are definitely a corporation but I have a feeling if he went straight to Adult Swim through the right channels he might get in touch with the type of people who'd support this type of thing. I mean they post stupid things people say and actually respond to them on TV so at least you know they are listening.

I understand he wants to move on to new projects as I bet he's probably gone over the brink thinking about WATS, but sooner or later I'd imagine even jaded as he may be he may want to spread wats out to a wider audience. Perhaps in time it'd become a more viable option but maybe I'll send him an e-mail, just to see if the thought already hasn't crossed his mind.