IFH 248: Bomb City – Tapping into Your Audience with Major Dodge

Welcome to the indie film hustle  podcast episode number 248 people who say it can’t be done should not interrupt those who are doing it Casey nice. Casting from the back alley in Hollywood. It’s the indie film hustle podcast where we show you how to survive and thrive as an indie filmmaker in the jungles of the film.

And here’s your host Alex Ferrari. Welcome Andy film Hustlers to another episode of the podcast. I am your humble host Alex far. Today’s episode is brought to you by Black Box black box is a new platform and community. That is all about Financial Freedom for filmmakers like you if you join block box, you will be transformed from being a worker to being a maker of your own content and you’ll be making steady passive income from the global market Black Box currently allows you to upload your stock footage once get it too many Global agencies and then allows you to share that passive income stream.

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Contact Studio known and mention the indie film also podcast and you’ll get 50% off one day of ATR or 10% off your complete post sound package. Just go to Studio unknown now. I know last week I slacked and only put out to podcasts. I apologize one for bulletproof screenplay and one for any film Hustle.

I am sorry. I was busy doing insane stuff and I a lot of stuff cooking. So I had to unfortunately only deliver to please forgive me, but this week because I’m not gonna be putting out for our podcast podcast episodes. So you’ll get to uh, three in the film muscles and one bulletproof screenplay because I’d love you guys.

I want to make sure you guys get the content that I promise. I’m Gonna Get You. Now today’s guest is producer major Dodge who produced an amazing film called bomb City. You guys have not seen bomb City or have not even heard of it go to the show notes at indie films and you can see the trailer for the movie.

It’s available at all, uh you anywhere you want iTunes Amazon so on it’s everywhere and I it’s an amazing story of how the movie got put together, uh, how it got a theatrical release. How uh major and his other producing co-producers were able to really understand the market that they were going after the audience.

They were going after and how they attacked that audience made sure that that audience was very well aware of the project. And is based on a true story very sad true story how they were able to obtain the rights to that story, uh and produce a very polished high-end Indie movie that they had complete control over and they got distribution through gravitas that gotta theatrical release.

And on top of that they also sell merch uh for the movie as well. So I really wanted to dig in with major about how they did everything they did on this movie, uh, how they’re producing their merch how they thought about their marketing plan their distribution plan how they got the financing for it.

And much much more. This is definitely a in the film hustle kind of film because they really hustled all the way for it. So without any further Ado, please enjoy my conversation with major Dodge. I like to welcome to the show major Dodge man. Thanks for coming on the show, man. Hey, thanks for having me Alex.

I appreciate it, man. You guys reached out to me about your movie bomb City and when I saw it and I saw the story about. The behind-the-scenes story about it and just what’s happened with it. I’m like I got to get these guys on the show. I want to hear this story. Um, even if it’s just a selfish just I want to know how you did it.

So before we get into it, how did you get into the film industry the first place? Yeah. So I started in front of the camera. Uh, I’ve been acting an actor since I was a kid and then professionally, uh, right after college. I moved to New York City and I lived in Manhattan for 11 years. And so, you know worked as an actor in the theater and uh, you know on TV and film and stuff like that and then in 2010, as fate would have it.

Uh, I um, you know had a son and relocated to Dallas to be dead and you can’t really be a full-time actor, um in the Dallas Market. No, I’m from the Miami Market. I know you didn’t. Well, I was at I was at a Christmas party yet Mark Colombo’s house who’s an offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys.

And in addition to getting me getting to meet Tony Romo and Jason Witten, uh, he introduced me to a couple of his buddies that had just been working on a music video for him in 2012. The NFL went on strike and um, it was funny because ESPN did this big story on what you know, football players were doing in the way of the strike and uh a couple of cowboys.

They formed a rock band called free rein. They needed a music video done. So he met Mark met Jamie and Sheldon and uh, and I knew mark from acting class and uh, you know, he he told them about me and told me about them and he was four months. He was like man, you guys got to work together. You guys got to work together like you all would make such a great team if you if you guys teamed up and so we’ve been hearing about each other for a while and we were at the Christmas party.

And Mark just came up and uh was like, hey, this is Jamie and chilling. These guys are telling you about the did our music video and he’s like, this is Major. This is I was telling you about and we just kind of hit it off and um the first week of uh, January of 2013, uh, Jamie, uh, he had put together a preliminary look book sure, you know a pitch deck where he took some sample images and uh, you know, wrote about the story in it and whatnot.

And uh, and he gave it to me like the second week of January and immediately. I was like, oh my gosh, I remember exactly where I was when this story happened. I remember what I was doing was one of those things that just stuck with me. Um, like 9/11 I knew what I was doing and and and I couldn’t I couldn’t believe that no one had you know made a movie on it yet.

And so, um, you know, I’m very Visual and so I immediately started seeing, you know, like punk rockers in the middle of Dusty steer pastures and uh thinking about how pretty it would look and um, but you know, all that kind of went out the window as I mentioned already. I’m a father. Got to meet Mike Dennehy face-to-face and talk about it and you know 17 years later and we talked about his son.

It was like as if it happened yesterday and I knew in that moment and that’s the reason I got into movies anyway, because I wanted to experience that human connection and I wanted to tell stories that mattered and you know, I mean we can only make so many movies about Big Green Ogre saving the planet.

Um, there is a place for the Big Green 2 Save the Planet but but you know, that’s why I love indie film because you know, you get to do character. Stories that um, you know that uh, really can affect people it’s not often that people, you know, read a newspaper article or watch a news story and they get moved to tears but I think that’s what’s powerful about the cinema is a really have the opportunity when done right to elicit change in people and to start good conversations, and I think that’s what we’re really able to do with bomb City know did you know, um the back up a little bit you were also in an MMA fighter at one point.

Oh gosh, man. You must you must have good with me I did. I did one MMA fight. Um, I uh, I wrestled my entire life. So I was a college wrestler and uh, actually coach my son’s wrestling team right now. But um, yeah, no I uh, I come from a sports background and you know, I think that’s one of the things that kind of probably gave me a little bit of a Competitive Edge, uh, when I got into producing because as you know, the first thing you got to do is find the money.

You know and the rest and the rest out of them in the conversation and you just put him in a sleeper hold and that’s it. Like just give me the money go to sleep go to sleep wrestlers have an uncanny ability to be able to overcome adversity when everything stacked against them in the face of adversity to to be able to just keep moving forward and keep pressing towards the goal.

And I think it’s one of the things that uh wrestling. Um taught me and kind of gives me an edge as a producer because when I set my mind to something, you know when the trains on the tracks it’s going to get moving and so um, yeah, but no, I’m not I’m not an MMA fight Robbie Lawler ruthless, Robbie Lawler who an MMA fighter.

He plays my partner in bomb City. You might have noticed that yeah. I don’t do you watch UFC I haven’t in a bit, but I’m familiar with the UFC world. Yeah. They know ruthless Robbie Lawler. He’s uh, He’s a bit of a stud. No now talk a little bit about bomb City because for people who don’t know the story.

What is the story of bomb City? Yeah, so bomb City. Uh, it’s a story that took place in Amarillo, Texas in 1997. It’s about it’s basically about a group of high school football jocks that are having a turf war with a group of punk rockers and uh, it results in a hate crime that kind of questions the morality of the American justice system.

Um, so, you know a kid loses his life. And um, you know, um, it was a widely publicized thing. It was on Oprah Dateline. 20/20 Marilyn Manson spoke out about it. He’s in our film. Uh, the Dropkick Murphys their famous punk band. They wrote a song about it, but it’s about the Life of Brian Dennehy.

And so, you know, I’ll go ahead and tell you what happens basically, you know, a punk rocker loses his life at the hands of a football players as football jock shows up to the fight and rather than get out of the car and fight you decide to slam on the gas run. And run over the punk rocker and so, um, you know, a lot of times I don’t like to tell what happens because there’s a whole build-up to the thing the way we story unravels you think one thing is going to happen.

Uh, basically, you know, we use the courtroom in the film and so you never see what side the attorneys arguing on so the whole time you’re watching the film until the end you think that a punk rocker murdered a football player. And so in reality, but you know, hey, you went to see the Titanic you need the ship was sinking.

That’s really about everything in the right if it’s done, right? Exactly. Remember when Titanic I was like what no one’s gonna go see that we all know how it ends but I tell you when we return the festival’s man, you know, uh, when somebody would come in completely blind. Yeah, he just really see the difference because it was like a big punch to the gut because the whole time they’re thinking and that’s the message of the story.

It’s about not judging a book by it’s cover, right? You know when I was raising money for the film I get down towards the end of an investor meeting. And so when the verdict was read Marilyn Manson, he gave the speech at a unity in diversity conference. It was called the disinfo conference back in uh at the year 2000 and um, If you’ve ever heard Marilyn Manson talk man, the guy’s just you know, he’s an Entertainer.

He’s a genius very very, uh, he’s a very profound and he speaks eloquently. Yeah eloquently as a very soothing tone to his voice also and so, uh, you know, I was raising money in the Bible about capital of the South and how did you how did you raise money? How did you go about raising the budget for this and if you don’t want me asking do you want to share the budget or at least their budget range?

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, I’ll get i’ll get to all that. But um, what I was saying was that with Manson is that I would you know, get towards the end of a meeting and I and and and if we had a car out in the parking lot, let’s say I’d like a dinner mini or some that say hey come sit in my car on a play something for you or if I didn’t have that opportunity.

I’d say here put these earphones in and listen to this and I’d play the speech for them and at the end of it. I’d say so who do you who do you think that was you just listened to because he was talkin about and we incorporate this in the film. You’ll hear the speech in the film but it was talkin about Brian and uh it just basically, you know, the American justice system and whatnot.

And uh and the event that took place and they’d say I’d say so, who do you think that was and they say, um, like a maybe like a lawyer or a politician, you know, somebody super intelligent and then I’d go that was Marilyn Manson and then their jaw would hit the floor. Go no way. That’s the movie and then just take my money.

Just take my money. Just take my always. That was always what I call Danelle Macaw and I was like my secret weapon I’d say for the end but to answer your previous question. It’s a low-budget film. But when you watch the film it looks amazing. Yeah, it looks in sounds amazing. And um, you know, um, we always felt the story was the star, you know, we don’t have any a listers.

No big big movie stars in it. But uh, we got a bunch of people who I think are going to be stars. And that’s that’s the beauty of you know doing films like this. Is that like, you know, You know five years from now when one of these kids, you know, they’re in the right age range when these kids blow up.

Everyone’s gonna go back to go watch. Yeah. Let me ask you let me ask you a question as a producer though going into a movie like this. So what was the budget range if you don’t mind me asking? I’m sorry. What was the budget range? If you don’t mind me asking, uh, half a million dollars. All right, so half a million dollars for a movie with no stars attached, um has some I’m assuming some action but mostly a drama.

Yeah, have you have you have to see I did not get did not get a chance to see the film. I only saw the trailer of it and the trailer does look pretty intense. Yeah. Yeah. So, um. Yeah, um, we um, we always felt like the story was the star so we didn’t feel like, you know, we needed to uh have a big A-list actor in there and it’s funny because I was listening to one of your podcast yesterday and the duplass brothers were talking about and you were talkin about, you know, don’t make a $700,000 movie if you’ve never made, you know have any movie right make 10 $70,000 movies and that was kind of the thing, you know, we had already made short films and you know as an actor I’ve worked on all different types of budgets, but as.

You know we met we made short films and you know, we work together making commercials and music videos. And so we uh, we uh, we didn’t want to make the first film for you know, five million dollars sure. So, um, You know, we felt that that was a budget range where we could pay our investors back because you know, what’s the old saying go don’t sell the got one car selling something, you know five cars over 15 years, right?

Exactly. So about a half a million dollar budget to recoup in today’s world is without any major stars in it, um is pretty intense, but you’re right you were you were trying to tap into the people who knew the story or at least you could put the store. Out there and that would be the attraction to the property or to the movie.

Correct? Yeah. Yeah, uh, we knew the audience was there and I always knew the audience was was bigger than what even you know, some of them investors that did invest. I mean, I always knew the dog was bigger than what they they may have even originally perceived. But you know, we knew we had we knew we had the punk Community which is a big Community itself.

Yeah, and then we also, you know True Crime enthusiasts and um, you know, the movie has you know, Skateboarding and graffiti. And so we knew there were a lot of built-in audiences but really to you know, it’s just, you know, the the story itself, you know had already been wide and far. I mean when we announced that we you know, before we even had day one of principle, you know, when people from all over the country that were sent messages on Facebook and you know, Brian went far and wide, you know, If you know, like I said in America was you know was on Dateline 20/20.

Um MTV did a documentary called MTV True Crime Punk’s versus press. Uh Manson spoke out about it. The Dropkick Murphys wrote a song about it. Uh, so I had a lot of built you had a fairly large built-in audience or where does of the property exactly I’m I’m saying all this so everybody who’s listening understands, Why something why the route that you went make sense and was successful because if you don’t understand that they that the like you don’t have a built-in audience or you don’t have a property or awareness of a of a film this this this work.

This could be disastrous. Yeah, I mean the first thing I always ask anybody when they come to man, they’re thinking about you know, they want to make a movie I say well who’s gonna watch your movie right? And if they if they if they can’t tell me that I say well come back to me when you can tell me who’s gonna watch your movie, you know, exactly.

So when you were raising the money you’d literally was just kind of going around to different investors and doing pitch decks and just trying to just try scrape the money together. Yeah, well we had we had a pitch deck but I mean the first thing I did I went to I went to um Office Depot and I bought this big white dry erase board.

And I you know, I Robot City real big at the top of it and then I started and then once I got into the money raised in part, you know after we had all the life rights after we had the PPM in place after you basically, you know, all of our ducks in a row, I went on that board and I wrote every single person that I thought.

I that I never met had money, but I could get direct access to and I just started hitting people up and it’s funny the first investor because you know, you brought up wrestling before so there’s a big wrestling Connection by the movie. Um, my first investor, so I had a buddy named Rick Cruz and Rick was working for a guy, uh as his web designer.

And um, this guy’s name Steve silver is one of my best friends now, but he’s in the wrestling hall of fame. All of his sons wrestled in college. Rick had walked, uh, Steve had walked into Rick’s office and he was like, hey Rick, uh, and Steve’s a big furniture guys, Steve Silver Furniture, um, like the only brand of furniture they sell at Costco.

And anyway, so doing it right then. Exactly. So Steve walks in the office the same look and all my years have been hit up for Investments. He’s like no one’s ever asked me to invest in a movie before and he throws down a pitch deck for Dixieland. There’s a movie with uh, Faith Hill and RJ meat from the kid from Breaking Bad a few other people, but they’d already made the movie, but they needed finishing funds.

They didn’t have enough money to finish the movie and Rick goes. Oh really? Because my friend major actually just started raising money from of he’s like here watch this. And he pulls up on his on his uh, he pulls up on his computer the short film we did in 2014 called Behold The Noose and we made that movie for $400.

On our Blackmagic cameras that movie in the Foreigner dollars two hundred dollars went to because I’m the only actor and I went to my police uniform and to rent the police cruiser and we made that film and it played in like nineteen festivals at one short of the week. It was in the New York Times was on the twentieth scariest shortest films online nice.

Uh, and we made that for 400 bucks in 24 hours. And so, uh, it’s a 9 and 1/2 minute movie watch it for free on Vimeo but put it on. I’ll put it in the show notes. Yeah. He plays it for Steve. And he sits and watches the whole nine and half minutes and he says he goes, you know that guy and he’s like, yeah, I want you to invite him out to Vegas with us this weekend.

And so they were going out there Steve also invests in an MMA gym and Fighters were fighting oddly enough. It was fighting Robbie Lawler for the title just really crazy and that’s a whole other story in itself. Sure. And so I got invited out to Vegas for the weekend just off the strength of him seeing that short film, but then when Steve got on the phone with me it came out.

That I also was a college wrestler and was coaching my kids wrestling. We had a connection and that’s what I tell people. I’m like like attracts like so in addition I would say in addition to knowing who your audience is also know. Uh who wants that film? You know, somebody hit me up last week about a golf movie.

I hate God. I like wrestling where people punch each other in the face. Come to me with a golf movie. I’m not want to make a movie about a golf. I don’t care how how awesome the story is, you know, but um in the investors are the same way and so I believe I’m like find out who in that audience. Has money and who would want that film and uh and go after them and that’s kind of how you know, Steve kind of fell in my lap just threw my mutual friend.

And so I went to Vegas for the weekend and probably talked about the film once or twice because it was all about fighting and just about building relationships. Just having a good time and then you know, when we got back I said, hey, I’d like to uh, Take you out to lunch and tell you you and your wife and tell you about this project.

I’m working on these the cassiar and you know, we went out to lunch on a Wednesday and on Friday. He wrote me a check. So wow and that started the that started the ball rolling that puts the Train on the tracks. Yeah, that’s the first money and I always say, uh, I call it Emily money early money is like yeast honey in it just starts growing from there and it makes it real too because Ryan until you got that first Money in the Bank.

You’re questioning if you can do it and you’re you know, and and that’s because you may not necessarily believe in it and you and you need to believe in it wholeheartedly or you got no business doing it because I’ve got friends who make movies just to build IMDb credits. I’m like no I want to make movies that I believe in 110% Um, and that’s what bomb city was for me.

I believed in the heart and I fell in love with Mike and Betty and I wanted to get their sons story out there. So now how did you how did you. Getting life rights because I know that’s something that a lot of people listening don’t even have a clue on how to do so you hear this story and you’re like I got to go get the rights the movie rights this how what’s the process of that?

Yeah, so there’s a couple things so, um, if you don’t have life rights from the people you can buy. Uh the rights to a book or you can buy the rights to a new story or a newspaper article, um, or you know, if you can get to the people, um, you can you can do it that way and that’s what we were able to do.

We were able to get to all the all the real people and uh, basically, uh, Jamie’s Jamie the director his mom, um knew someone who knew the dedicate and uh, and she got us in contact with them. And so, um, just one over and pitched them. I’m like, hey look this is what we’ve done before. Yeah, they were so what so what happened with so they had said they had uh sold the rights to got him Norm green who’s a film professor at NYU and he made the documentary that MTV bought and released as MTV True Crime back, you know, 17 years ago and then um, and then he renewed it because you get you get when you get the right to get them for a period of five years and then he renewed them and then and then in 2007.

He didn’t renew it. So he either you know, just figured hey, I made the documentary or just you know, I don’t know if he couldn’t, you know, get the money in place or whatever, but he you know, and you know seven that the rights, you know, went back to the family and he and so you had you know, all these years where they thought a movie was going to be done and they kind of got their hopes up, you know, and so when we came in and that was the other thing too, is that so Jamie the director and Sheldon the writer, they’re both from Amarillo where the story took place and so.

That was one of the things I kind of used to my benefit, you know, I talked about in this article. I may have shared with you that I wrote you know, the. Unknown director no actor. That’s like your two biggest. Yeah. I saw that was like this was the first time feature. He does Insurance a lot of shorts but exact so you really had a lot going against you guys.

Yeah I did. But but but you know, it’s about having that belief in the story and the belief in yourself. And you know, I come from a sales background. I’ve already done sales jobs to support macking habit. Um, I used to sew coupons on the street with Chris Pratt. I like I like that you call it an acting habit like it.

Drug habit and alcohol, it really is man it really so used to sell uh coupons with Chris Pratt. Well, he had he had a company like mine was like a competing office basically, but yeah, we still we still these gift certificates out on the out on the streets to uh, anybody and we have like these chance and uh things we would say to get motivated to go out.

He talked about it on Conan and I was cracking up but uh, so, you know, you know, I have a I have a sales background so I kind of just you know, I one of the things that you learn in sales is that people usually perceive things the way that it’s initially pitched to them. And so and if you pitch if you pitch with passion and you believe in your story, you know, I think you can a lot of people come in and they pitch on all these other things tax incentives for example, and so in my background, you know, I we call that pitching off failure.

So I never go in and lead and talk about numbers that I always say that for last because I feel like. People invest in stories and invest in people absolutely Influence People win them over and and you can show them that you have a vision. That’s the thing even if you even if they disagree with you, if you know, you can’t you got to speak up for your vision and you can’t be a pushover.

And uh, and I think it’s what we’re really good at doing. So with Jamie for example unknown director when I would come into the meeting I would say Hey listen, we’ve got a guy. Who is gonna be the next big thing, you know, he’s done all these shorts. He hasn’t done a feature yet, and he’s from Amarillo.

So he lived through the story. He’s gonna be come in and tell the story in a way that you know, some big director from Hollywood’s not going to be able to do because he lived through it. And and then also with it being his first feature, we’re going to get more bang for our buck. He’s going to you know, uh direct and edit the film and he’s going to he’s going to do it for a lot less.

Then what some you know big? Big big named director with the huge resume already has any and he did have some stuff that you could show people as well. Yeah. Yeah, and they and you can see that the style like even behold the news, you know, like I said, it’s only a you know, a hundred dollar film, but you could see the visual style.

You know, Jamie came from a background of BMX and skateboarding. So he’s really good with action. Um, you know, he that’s how he got into the videos. He started picking up the camera and just shooting all of his BMX and skater. And so, uh, yeah, so he used to make skate videos and BMX videos like starting at age 15.

And so, you know, I’ve come in and I’d lie in that when I lead with that they never got to have they never got to have that go through their head. Oh, hey, this is an unknown director and you know and and all that and I think it’s because you know, I would go in and I would leave with it because I knew ahead of time what my pitfalls were.

So there was nothing that they could say in the meeting that would stop me or throw me off because I already knew it. And when I’m lead with it would never even be it would never be an issue. They saw it as a positive Believe It or Not. Wow, and the crazy thing about bomb city is out of the 11 investors out of the 11 people that invested in the movie only one person read the script.

Isn’t that Hollywood even though it’s not Hollywood but it is I would just go in and I would you know, I would tell them the story and I believed you and they just believed you. You know, that’s what Steve said Steve Steve Steve is the first yeah. I talked to him on the phone and I couldn’t stop thinking him because he was you know, he was the first person and he was making a large investment and uh, I couldn’t stop thinking we said hey he said.

He goes, you know what I’m saying else. He said I’m investing in you. I believe you’re gonna be successful. He said and that’s why I’m giving you money. Wow, that’s awesome, man. That’s really awesome. Sorry, so you got the movie done by the way. What did you shoot on did you shoot on black? Magic Larry?

No. No we shot on the red weapon. Yeah with anamorphic lens. So the music the film’s beautiful. Yeah, it looks great. It looks it looks stunning. It really did. So in the movies done. Now it’s edited. What was your distribution plan or what? First of all did you go out to film festivals first and then did that the make your decision on your distribution plan or did you have a distribution plan off the top?

No, we’re gonna go to the Festival. Um, you know, we had a plan which included um, you know, um the first here, you know, trying to get into the to the festivals and so um, we finished filming in August of 2016. And so uh Sundance deadline was I think October yeah, So sorry, we had two months and so time.

What are you talkin about? Well it is it was plenty of time to send them a 27 minute version of our 35 rough. So we sent them to iron 27 minute and say we didn’t get into Sundance but our hopes our hopes weren’t crushed by that because we knew we didn’t we didn’t we hadn’t found the film yet sure, but the movie is 998 minutes now and it’s a huge change.

Yeah, and so. You know, it’s very dark and ominous throughout and um, you know, it wasn’t that yet. And so um, so we held office. Let’s wait till we get it right and then um, the president of the Dallas International Film Festival is it was a friend of mine and he happened to come over to uh, actually to Jamie’s apartment building and we had a status of the screening room in there in Downtown Dallas and he came over.

And he was like, oh my gosh. He’s like yet. We have to we have to show this and so, you know, we thought about holding off until we got a you know, an answer from somewhere else like, you know, Tribeca or something like that and we just started thinking about it. Like look, this is our hometown made it here.

All the crew is from here. I mean, we only fluent, you know, six actors from LA. Everyone else is a Texas actor. Um, you know, it would just be it just it just started making sense and we were like, all right, and we’d already found out we’re gonna play it, Nashville. And that’s full didn’t need to be uh.

World and yeah, I don’t need to be a World premiere and so like okay and so it was really funny because right after we got announced that uh, we were uh playing at Dallas we got a message from Draya Clark who’s the programmer in La film festival and she was like no I was about to offer you guys to play out here and she’s like James is my friend.

I’m gonna call him and tell him off because you’re not going to get distribution there. And if you play it La Film Festival, you’re going to get distribution and and all this stuff. Oh, no. No, it’s vicious. Dude. I’ve been there they they. Cut each other’s balls right off to get it to get a premier.

I’ve had people call. I had someone call me a week before a world premiere of one of my films and offered to give me like the world if I would just pull out of that. Yeah, it’s insane what they did. Yeah. Well luckily it didn’t get that aggressive because they they were their friends and they knew each other but she was trying everything to get us to play in LA film festival and you know, and then of course, we’re like well, yeah we want to.

LA with the film and play there. Is there any way you can just do a California only Premiere and I guess a few years ago they switched and they they only do they only do World premieres now so but soon so bougie. Yeah, so we played Dallas we won the audience Award for best narrative feature, uh sold out in 14 minutes.

It says the fastest on the history of the Dallas International Film Fest make sense. And uh, and so then we went to Nashville and at Nashville, we also won the audience Award for best narrative feature and we won best actor the actor and then from there we went to bend and we won best director at been film and then we won audience were fascinated feature at Tall Grass film.

You just kept going and going to go we just kept going. Yeah, we played nine festivals and we wanted every single one. No, did you get any offers? We did so so Nashville did have quite a few Distributors on hand. And so when we played in Nashville, that’s when the conversation started happening. I was um, I got hit up by uh, uh voltage and Samuel Goldwyn and um, you know, uh few other, uh, smaller companies, uh, and then broad green and then ultimately ended up going with gravitas because gravitas.

Um, they wanted to take it theatrical and we thought you know, It was important to us to have the have the film playing in theaters and not just be a you know, direct to um streaming me now. Did you um, how many theaters did you go out? And we released on February 9th. We released a 17 cities.

Nice. Yeah and how to do it did really well. It did really well. We had a we were on a Box Office Mojo we had you know our average. Was higher than you know, a lot of Studio Pictures is and so, uh, yeah and it got extended in several cities and uh, yeah, it’s just been it’s it’s still, you know, it’s been a slight a slow burn.

It’s still going. I mean, we just uh People magazine, uh picked up the film like three weeks ago. We were in people. Yeah. How did you get how did you get a lot of this because I saw some of the news outlets that were covering you guys and for an indie movie you got some major players. How did you get that?

Yes, I was very strategic with it. Um, so um, we dropped the trailer on December 12. 2017 which 20-year anniversary of Brian’s death. He died December 12 1997. And so we have been hitting up. Uh, we hit up some uh, actually, um, a write a freelance writer from vulture, uh had hit us up and she had heard about the movie and the story and it was going to be 20 anniversary and she wanted to pitch it to vulture and so she pitched it to vulture and vulture past she goes but uh Vice somebody advice.

Um, Uh overheard me talking about it and they want the story. And so yeah, and so Vice picked it up and on December 12, 20 years to the day of Brian’s death Vice released a big article and we dropped the trailer exclusively on December 12th through Vice. Of course, we open our borders that we so we did a day in date release.

So we opened our pre-orders that day as well with uh with iTunes. Uh-huh. And so anyone yeah, and then so it just started coming from there. And then you know, we uh were certified fresh and Rotten Tomatoes. We variety Hollywood Reporter, uh, um, you know favorable reviews and um, Daily Beast and she’s got a lot of good a lot of good reviews and then um this past November.

Um, I actually played John Gotti on a TV show called Murder made me famous. Okay, um, and um, Steve helling who’s the senior crime reporter People magazine. I met him because he does the commentary for the TV show and uh, yeah, it was just one of the exactly and so he he, uh, he started following me on Instagram and he sent me a message to tell me how good he thought my John Gotti was and I you know, and I’ve merely said thank you.

I’m a big fan of you in the show and then I just, you know, I told him. You know about the movie and I said, hey, you know, I know you’re the senior crime reporter people that is something that you might be interested in covering, you know, and I just I didn’t I I was pretty close to begging but I don’t think I quite begged but it’s pretty close.

That’s fine. I’d beg. Yeah, so he, uh, he said he was gonna do it. And then uh, you know, it came around and then Parkland happened then he had to push it back and then and then uh, you know, and there was I think was gonna happen then finally I just I reached out again. I was like, hey our DVD and Blu-ray blu-ray releases on uh, April 9th.

Um, is there any way you could do it? And uh, he he followed he uh, he made good on his promise. And so yeah, um, he big write-up and yeah, we were in People magazine in the the trailer and and everything was pretty. Also, that’s amazing. So it really you guys really were blessed in so many ways during this process.

We had a punk Angel helping us. There’s no question. There’s absolutely no question because a lot of the things that I preach against you guys did but which is which is great and I love that but I was that’s one of the reasons I wanted you on the show because I wanted to break down like why did it work?

And the end of the day it’s a story though, the national awareness of the story and the story itself the power of that story and that’s what was able to break through all of those things that first-time director, you know, half million dollar budget no major Stars basically coming out of New York or LA but coming out of Texas like there’s so many things going against the movie, but you.

Understood that like know we got something here and it happens all the time. I mean puffy chair for the two plus Brothers. I mean, you know came out of nowhere as well and they were in Austin so it’s doable but it was very interesting. I just want on the reasons. I wanted to kind of break down how you did this because it’s a pretty pretty remarkable story.

Yeah, yeah, it’s funny you talk about breaking rules too. So I actually I cast the film as well. Of course you did. Why wouldn’t you why wouldn’t anybody more like for hats, you know, of course you did. Of course you did. That’s the way it’s supposed to be an indie. I mean, come on, if you’ve got a trailer you got everyone with a job.

I’m like that’s just not an indie film anymore. Here’s a little tidbit for any actors that are listening about an actor that broke a rule. So so the actor that plays Jason. Can the film um, his name is Dominic Ryan Gabriel. And uh, we put the the casting breakdown out, um for the for the roles that you know, we didn’t do offers on and one of them was for Jason Brian’s brother and I get uh an email and a phone call from this actor.

He somehow got my information and pitching himself. For an audition. He didn’t live in LA he moved back to Detroit and didn’t have an agent but he knew the story and he was just so passionate about it and how much it spoke to him. And uh, you know, you never do that as an actor. I’m gonna call up the casting director and Astronaut dition, but there was that part of me, you know, who comes from a you know, a commission Coke all solicitation sales background as already mentioned and I’m like, you know, what freaking.

I like the kid. I like I like the balls that took to do that and I’m like sure you know, what here, I’m gonna email you the sides. So there’s the moral of the story if you’re going to break the rules. You better be ready to deliver and I sent Dominic the audition. Two hours later. I had his audition back.

He was completely off book and he had two very, um, contrasting, uh auditions two sets of size. Sure. Yeah two sets of sides and he did the emotional scene the first the first scene it’s the emotional scene where um, you know, the death happens and his brothers and his brothers dying in his arms, and he did that scene.

And he popped right up after that scene and he had to the tears going and everything and he popped right up and he wasn’t in a studio. He was right in his apartment and he looked and he looked apartment and his head was already shaved and got the tattoos and he gets right up and he grabs a beer certainly counter.

He pops open. The beer takes a drink and he’s in the other scene without a break without a cut nothing he rolls right into it and it was so effortless. Wow. I thought oh my God, this is going to be one of those stories that I tell forever because he did everything you’re not supposed to do. He’s getting the part like and we didn’t watch another audition for that role after that.

I like I called Jamie and the room was like come here. Come here. You have to see this. I found the guy and everyone agreed immediately. That was the dude. It’s it’s that makes perfect sense for this kind of film for this film specifically, which everything was You’re Breaking All the Rules. Why wouldn’t you break the rules when you’re casting got to know the rules?

I think the break and you know, what look and he also did his home. And he also knew how to connect with whoever he was aiming. I like I know the story it really connects with me. It’s not just like a cold call. Hi. I’m an actor. I heard you doing a movie. I love to hear about it. He did his homework before he was it was perfect for the lead singer in a metal band of his own and it was just it just made sense.

It just made sense. Uh, no, how did you uh come up with the idea for selling limited edition merchandise, which is something I preach so much about. Trying to find other revenue streams that the movie can help sell and generate for the property in general. We wish we had done that when we’re on our Festival tour because I mean people, you know, it’s just the type of film that has that kind of, you know, the imagery is amazing the posters amazing, of course.

Well, um the way we got so our merge is uh is licensed as being sold by killer merch. Okay who is and killer is a division of Sumerian records there, uh, one of the top metal Rock labels. They’ve got like Jonathan Davis and um, but anyway, the guy that started Sumerian records, his name’s Ash his dad was John avildsen the director of Rocky and karate kid, but Ash just released American Satan.

Which is uh an indie film about a metal band who makes a deal with the devil. Uh, yeah to become famous. It’s kind of like a like a The Twist on the Jordan that George Burns movie, right? Yeah. Exactly. So Ash, um was um, when you buy his movie, it says viewers also bought in bomb City kept popping up as the first movie.

As that people also bought our movie in his movie and he any any any any anybody and he watched it and he was and he loved it and uh, he tracked me down and was like, how can we team up? How can we what can I do to help you? Is this are you do you already have you know DVD distribution? Can I get this help you get this in FYE?

And you know, and he’s like if you got merged yet and so he really just that’s a hold of the movie. And so Ashley’s become a good friend of mine. And uh, so we’re doing all of our emerge through killer merch and uh his record label Samaria. Is getting ready to release our soundtrack nice well and uh, yeah and he’s getting uh, he’s getting you know hard, uh, uh with the there’s not a lot of stores left like that.

Um, but um, he’s getting the the hard, you know DVDs and Blu-rays into like FYE and stuff like that. So he’s helping with that and then he’s getting uh, getting our t-shirt into Hot Topic as well. That’s awesome. It’s just all that’s all you know, and that’s extra money. That’s especially extra Revenue that has nothing to do with distribution anything like that that goes directly to you guys.

Um, correct? Yeah. That’s that’s the dream. That’s the dream. I mean seriously it is if you can make a little money with the movie and it’s great. But then as George Lucas says the money is in the lunch boxes. And we had all this laid out. This isn’t like oh it just you know, even though that kind of was like fortuitous like hitting up and everything but we laid all this out.

We had a plan to do this stuff, you know, if it hadn’t been with him, it had been somewhere else that we utilized a lot of Forward Thinking and that was all you know in that pitch deck and that’s another reason why. I don’t think a lot of people even read the script just because everything was so spelled out and they could see it and you know, they could see that you know with the images that Jamie picked out in the way that he you know, he designed the look book and the website and everything.

They could just could see they could see the movie with the story I told and then with the uh, um assets that that uh that Jamie Sheldon were able to give me meant congratulations Ben. Seriously, you guys have done an amazing thing you first of all you’re a successful independent film, so that’ll.

Is up Applause worthy. Uh, but you guys are killing it and how you did it, um, you know coming out of nowhere, you know, uh, it’s pretty inspiring. So thank you for sharing your story man. I really appreciate it. Thanks Alex man. It’s been a pleasure. So I’m gonna ask you a few questions that I ask all of my guests.

Um, it’s kind of like a speed round. So, um, what advice would you give a filmmaker wanting to break into the business today? Um, my advice would be if you know 100% that you couldn’t be happy doing anything else than to go for it. But you have to be all in you can’t just be it’s not it’s not one of those things that you can just do and um, you know, maybe if it happens and wait on the phone to ring you’ve got to have a vision pinpoint laser focus, um, and you’ve got to be able to say no to distractions because it’s not about what you want.

It’s about what you want most. And uh things are going to come along and try to knock you off focus and that’s why um, you know, that’s why you need to look book. That’s why you need a vision board in your bedroom. That’s why you need notes on your mirror when you wake up every morning. So you reminded of what it is.

You’re going after nice. Nice now, can you tell me what book had the biggest impact on your life or career? Uh, gosh, uh, probably I probably did the first one I read when I first got into sales I’d say thinking girl Rich by Napoleon Hill amazing book. It’s amazing. I’ve written many times many many times.

Um, now what lesson took you to longest to learn whether in the film business or in life lesson took me the longest to learn whether in this film, um that you got to be. You’ve got to be able to collaborate, um, you know, because people can take the ball and go home and uh, you don’t want that to happen.

So you’ve got you know, you’ve got to understand that no matter how good you are what you do. You cannot make a movie by yourself and that’s one of the reasons I love the film business because it is the ultimate collaborative process, you know, you need other people. To be with you and to work with you and you know two is better than one three is better than two, you know and three and so on and so forth and uh, uh, yeah.

That was probably the hardest because I’m you know, I’m kind of you know, I’m a little bit Alpha, you know from a wrestling background. So I always you know, it took me a while to realize that hey, you know what other people are probably gonna have better ideas than you sometimes. Yes. Yes. That’s only H teaches you that when you said the longest went took me the longest in there and sometimes you’re still learning it.

It’s something that I’m still learning it as well now, uh, this is obviously the toughest question. What are the three of your favorite films of all time? Uh Fight Club amazing. It’s on my top three. Um, I’m gonna go here with uh, Vision Quest. Of course, you just get just just live is a fall into the stereotypes are go ahead just fall into what are you gonna say?

Um, what’s the other one? Oh, God, the no, I’m gonna I’m gonna come out of left field with this. The Goonies, of course, what was that movie with what was that movie with Tom Hardy about the warrior? Where what a great movie. It was a great man. Oh, I was bawling. I was born at the end of that movie.

Oh, I’m developing an MMA drama right now. Nice. Nice not very nice. And then where can people find you um online and more about bombs. Um, so yeah, so my handles easy, it’s my name. It’s major Dodge. Um. Instagram Facebook believe it or not. I don’t do Twitter. But um, bom city is uh bomb City film at bomb City film on Facebook Twitter and Instagram and actually run, uh, the bomb City social media.

So technically, I guess I am on Twitter now, but bomb City films are websites bomb City film and the movie is currently available on every platform, uh streaming and then the DVD and Blu-ray. For sale, you know through Amazon Target as well as on our merchandise, which is Bomb City merge mer CH bump City marched and that’s where you can find the t-shirts and the vests and the Pumpkin Patches and pins and all that jazz as well.

That is awesome, man. Again. Thank you so much for sharing your story and inspiration to uh, the tribe man. I appreciate it. I appreciate you man. It’s been a pleasure big fan. I want to thank major for coming on the show and dropping. Some knowledge bombs on the indie film hustle tribe. Thank you again major.

So much for your time taking the time out and if you can if you want to get any links to uh to anything we talked about in this episode and also links to the movie had over to indie films. Now a lot of you have been asking me what’s going on with ego and desire on the corner of Eagle desire. My latest feature film that I have not mentioned a whole lot about it is well because I’m now in the festival circuit.

We are applying to festivals with trying to get into some big festivals and see what happens. You know, I don’t know I’m gonna give it the old College try. Uh, and I’m hoping that the film gets well-received but that’s what’s going on right now and depending on how it goes in the festival run. Uh, we’ll get it out there sooner or later.

We’ll see what happens with it, but I will take you through the Journey as we go through it. I have a lot of cool stuff coming up in the coming year, uh the next half of this year. About ego and desires to do not fret there will be stories about uh, how I made it the camera rig that we used what we did everything.

There’s so much stuff coming. I can’t even tell you. I’m working also on another top secret project that I can’t tell you about right now, but we hopefully will have out by the end of the year and that’s. I’m gonna be one of the biggest things I’ve ever ever done. So please stay tuned for that and a lot of cool stuff.

I’m doing uh with indie film hustle. I promise it’s going to be some major developments in the indie film hustle brand and the indie film hustle world and what I’m going to be bringing to the tribe. I think it’s going to be kind of a one-of-a-kind thing that there isn’t anything like it anywhere else.

On the planet baby. So, uh, I’m hoping uh that you know that that will hopefully come out soon as well. But that’s also going to probably be at least three four months five months away as well. So a lot of good stuff to look forward to for the indie film hustle tribe moving forward and uh, there might be another podcast launch.

I don’t know maybe one maybe two more. I don’t know. I’m crazy. I’m crazy to give you guys a Content that you guys need and deserve. I’m obsessed with helping filmmakers and helping you guys out. So thank you again for all the support and if you haven’t done it already guys head over to filmmaking podcast and leave me a good review on iTunes.

It really helps us out a lot 5 Stars would be fantastic that’s filmmaking podcast. And as always keep that whole so going keep that dream alive, and I’ll talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to the indie film hustle podcast at indie film hustle.