Small Budget. Big Reach: How "Almost Love" Is Finding Its Audience Amidst COVID-19
When: April 7, 2020
Time: 10:00 - 11:00 am PT / 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
Tune in live on your desktop or mobile device in order to participate in our Q&A session!
Join Winston Baker’s webcast to find out how the filmmakers and cast of ALMOST LOVE, a charming New York rom-com, pivoted their distribution and marketing strategy to release amidst closed theaters, canceled talk shows, social distancing and virtual date nights. The discussion will be joined by writer and director Mike Doyle, producer Mandy Ward and lead actor Scott Evans. Their film premiered in Toronto in 2019 at Inside Out, then traveled the festival circuit garnering awards along the way, including best feature, best screenplay and best director. It was released in the UK recently (under its previous title "Sell By") and just released in North America. It stars Kate Walsh, Scott Evans, Augustus Prew, Michelle Buteau, and Patricia Clarkson.
Learn what it takes to get independent movies released and promoted in current conditions.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS:
Mike Doyle
WriteR, Director AND ACTOR
Mike's feature film debut, ALMOST LOVE which he wrote and directed, premiered in Toronto in 2019 at Inside Out, then traveled the festival circuit garnering awards along the way, including best feature, best screenplay and best director. It was released in the UK this March and then in North America in April. It stars Kate Walsh, Scott Evans, Augustus Prew, Michelle Buteau, and Patricia Clarkson. Mike's first film, SHINER, a short starring Amy Ryan premiered at Tribeca and launched his directing career. Mike most recently directed THE CHASE, a short film which was on last year's festival circuit. Mike became WGA when he was hired by Judd Apatow and Universal to pen the comedy, UNTITLED GAY MARRIAGE. Mike is veteran actor, with years of experience in film and television, working with greats like Clint Eastwood, Karyn Kusama, Richard LaGravenese, Nancy Savoca, & Martin Campbell to name a few. He currently can be seen on NBC's NEW AMSTERDAM and Showtime's CITY ON A HILL. Mike holds a BS in economics from Georgetown, and he trained as an actor at The Juilliard School.
Scott Evans
Actor
SCOTT EVANS grew up in small town Massachusetts performing in more shows than he can count. He attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he earned his BFA in Drama. Upon graduating he landed his first television role on the soap opera "One Life to Live" where he turned a 5 episode guest star part into a 4 year contract character. During his time in NY he worked on various film and TV projects including "Guiding Light", "Fringe", "Law & Order", "Law & Order: Criminal Intent", "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and "Rubicon". After moving to LA, his lucky streak continued and has been working in the entertainment industry ever since -- landing roles on various projects such as “Grace and Frankie”, “Daytime Divas”, “White Collar", "Looking", "Hit the Floor" and more. He also co-produced the critically acclaimed web series "Go-Go Boy Interrupted" for which he helped raise $75,000 to make it happen. Keep an eye out for the upcoming feature “Almost Love” as well as the Hulu show “Into the Dark.”
When Scott isn't acting or playing dodgeball/kickball, fundraising/charity work are his main hobbies. Over the past 5 years Scott has raised over $100,000 dollars for various organizations. He has taught and raised money for the Concord Youth Theatre, a non-profit children's theatre in MA. He works with Cheshire Moon, an organization that raises money to help put arts back into middle schools. In addition, he has also raised money for ACLU, The Trevor Project, Suicide Prevention and HRC. He has taught theatre and dance to children since he was 16 and still does it today- so keeping people passionate about youth arts is something he cares deeply about.
Mandy Ward
Producer
Mandy worked at Radioaktivefilm, producing independent documentaries addressing social and political issues in society. Notable titles from her time managing Radioaktivefilm's New York City arm include We Will Not Die Like Dogs, Palestine Blues and Pennhurst. Mandy works in various capacities on the physical production of feature films, scripted television series, reality and recreational tv series as well. In between her production work, she works tirelessly finding and developing intellectual materials for the feature film, documentary and TV spaces. Mandy lives in New York City and, after a long run on the Emmy Award winning recreational crime show A CRIME TO REMEMBER, she produced two feature narratives. THE MAN IN THE WOODS stars Sam Waterston, Marin Ireland, Odessa Young, William Jackson Harper and Kevin Corrigan. ALMOST LOVE stars Kate Walsh, Michelle Buteau, Scott Evans, Augustus Prew, Zoe Chao and Patricia Clarkson. Both are set to be released in 2020.
ABOUT ALMOST LOVE
A romantic comedy about a group of friends navigating love, life, and relationships as they reach the mid-point. At the heart of the story is Adam (Scott Evans), a talented painter now stuck ghost painting for successful contemporary artist, Ravella Brewer (Patricia Clarkson). He and Marklin (Augustus Prew) are at the five-year mark of their relationship. They don't have kids, they're not married, and are face to face with the existential question "Is that all there is?" Their friend circle is confronting the same question in a whole host of ways: Elizabeth (Kate Walsh), Adam's best friend, is at the 15 year mark of her marriage, ready to bail when she discovers her husband's inappropriate text relationship with a younger woman; friend Cammy (Michelle Buteau) is dating Henry (Colin Donnell), but they never leave the house; Haley (Zoe Chao) is trying to figure out if her feelings for Scott James (Christopher Gray) are maternal or something more. Everyone's a bit of a mess, but at the same time eternally optimistic at finding new ways to make things work.
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MODERATOR:Amy Baker
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
WINSTON | BAKER
As Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WINSTON | BAKER, Amy Baker oversees the company’s global strategic planning, business development and vendor relationships. Amy co-founded the FILM FINANCE FORUM® in 2008, which provides the leading series of events dedicated to bringing finance and entertainment executives together from around the world. Prior to establishing Winston/Baker, she successfully directed B2B and B2C business development efforts for over 10 years by leveraging innovative sponsorship methods to engage business professionals. At ALM, as Vice President of Business Development, she provided finance executives and marketers with targeted channels for reaching decision-makers within the legal, entertainment, healthcare and tech sectors. In her previous position, Director of Business Development at RPMC, she worked with entertainment, music, and sports companies, creating event marketing programs, travel incentive services, sweepstakes, and media promotions. Amy received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with honors from New York University. In 2018 Amy was honored to join the National Board of Advisors for the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
In support of the independent entertainment community, Winston Baker will be offering webinars for free or at highly discounted rates so that you can continue to acquire strategic knowledge and connect with industry leaders through these challenging times. Space will be limited so we can allow our attendees time for questions after each webinar.