Rebel Pilgrim Productions Releases "Hitting the Nuts" Amidst Groundswell of Support
Cincinnati, OH, March 16, 2011 --(PR.com)-- The independent poker-themed comedy Hitting the Nuts is going to be released on DVD April 15, 2011. (To “hit the nuts” in a poker game is to hold the best possible hand in a given scenario.)
The story of Hitting the Nuts is the exact opposite of how Hollywood manufactures a blockbuster. No name actors. (They are all unknown improvisers pulled from NY, LA and Chicago comedy clubs.) No budget to speak of. (Less than $200,000 total.) No famous director. (Turns out the director and is actually a pastor from Ohio.) So what gives?
“We made a ridiculous movie on purpose,” says Joe Boyd, the pastor turned director who also plays Ezekiel Yoder, an Amish farmer in the movie. “The poker community has been burnt by a series of unpopular, terrible movies over the last five years,” says Boyd. “I think people like this movie so much because it takes nothing seriously. It’s a complete silly farce. It’s like the movie Airplane…if Airplane was a fake documentary about poker.”
As for the comedic tone, Boyd says, "It also has a Saturday Night Live vibe to it." That makes sense considering the actors were pulled from the historically popular SNL farm systems of The Second City and The Groundlings.
The film is also achieving critical success. It has won the only two film festivals it has entered, taking home the Best Feature Film awards in the 2011 Derby City Film Festival and the 2010 Cincinnati International Film Festival.
“We aren’t ready for theaters,” says Boyd. “I think it will get there. What we are attempting to do here only happens with a comedy every few years. We made a great movie with no money or name actors. It’s on its way to being a Napoleon Dynamite kind of success story. But it is a slow rise from the ground up.” With the film industry in relative chaos as it tries to transition from the traditional market to a more web-based digital delivery system, it is hard to know what to do with a movie like Hitting the Nuts. “In the old days distributors wanted a movie that had never been offered before. These days they want more of a sales track record. To be honest, we’ve turned down some bad deals to wait for a better one.”
Boyd and his company, Rebel Pilgrim Productions, have decided to self-distribute a limited amount of DVD’s on the film’s website at www.hittingthenuts.com. Pre-orders for the April 15th release begin March 16th. “We’re going to sell a bunch of DVD’s to the thousands of people who have been asking us for the movie. Then we’re going to take the data to a distributer and get this thing out to the world. I have no doubts.”
For more information on the movie visit the official site at www.hittingthenuts.com.
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The story of Hitting the Nuts is the exact opposite of how Hollywood manufactures a blockbuster. No name actors. (They are all unknown improvisers pulled from NY, LA and Chicago comedy clubs.) No budget to speak of. (Less than $200,000 total.) No famous director. (Turns out the director and is actually a pastor from Ohio.) So what gives?
“We made a ridiculous movie on purpose,” says Joe Boyd, the pastor turned director who also plays Ezekiel Yoder, an Amish farmer in the movie. “The poker community has been burnt by a series of unpopular, terrible movies over the last five years,” says Boyd. “I think people like this movie so much because it takes nothing seriously. It’s a complete silly farce. It’s like the movie Airplane…if Airplane was a fake documentary about poker.”
As for the comedic tone, Boyd says, "It also has a Saturday Night Live vibe to it." That makes sense considering the actors were pulled from the historically popular SNL farm systems of The Second City and The Groundlings.
The film is also achieving critical success. It has won the only two film festivals it has entered, taking home the Best Feature Film awards in the 2011 Derby City Film Festival and the 2010 Cincinnati International Film Festival.
“We aren’t ready for theaters,” says Boyd. “I think it will get there. What we are attempting to do here only happens with a comedy every few years. We made a great movie with no money or name actors. It’s on its way to being a Napoleon Dynamite kind of success story. But it is a slow rise from the ground up.” With the film industry in relative chaos as it tries to transition from the traditional market to a more web-based digital delivery system, it is hard to know what to do with a movie like Hitting the Nuts. “In the old days distributors wanted a movie that had never been offered before. These days they want more of a sales track record. To be honest, we’ve turned down some bad deals to wait for a better one.”
Boyd and his company, Rebel Pilgrim Productions, have decided to self-distribute a limited amount of DVD’s on the film’s website at www.hittingthenuts.com. Pre-orders for the April 15th release begin March 16th. “We’re going to sell a bunch of DVD’s to the thousands of people who have been asking us for the movie. Then we’re going to take the data to a distributer and get this thing out to the world. I have no doubts.”
For more information on the movie visit the official site at www.hittingthenuts.com.
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Contact
Rebel Pilgrim Productions
Joe Boyd
513-629-0277
www.hittingthenuts.com
Joe Boyd
513-629-0277
www.hittingthenuts.com
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