Conscious Oscar Winners Vibe-Out Hollywood

Conscious Oscar Winners Vibe-Out Hollywood

'WHAT THE BLEEP - DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE' Kicks Off a 'REVO LOU TION' at the Inaugural CONSCIOUS LIFE FILM FESTIVAL

February 10-12, 2006

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Visionary promoter Robert Quicksilver's inaugural CONSCIOUS LIFE FILM FESTIVAL, (Part of the CONSCIOUS LIFE EXPO - February 10-12, 2006, LAX HILTON, 5711 West Century Blvd.) will be showcasing five films reshaping the landscape of Hollywood, featuring the work of multiple Academy Award winners who, with the help of the Internet, and messages of transformation, are redefining traditional movie viewing and distribution.

Last year a self-distributed sleeper hit "WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW" grossed $US60 million internationally, identifying a large audience interested in expanding it's consciousness. Mopictalent, a release consulting agency for the festival, says that with quickening of our knowledge based society, storytellers are creating a new genre of movie -- more powerful than anything before experienced in the history of cinema. With the advent of Conscious Cinema, the movie theatre becomes the playground for a select group of visionary filmmakers destined to make an impact. Like LSD was to the sixties, and therapy was to the eighties and nineties, this decade may find that stories structured to awaken our dormant self knowledge could become the activator of instantaneous self-transformation. This virally explosive new genre of cinema is born and on display as part of Robert Quicksilver's CONSCIOUS LIFE FILM FESTIVAL.

Highlighting the festival is the highly anticipated showing of "WHAT THE BLEEP - DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE."

Also creating an overwhelming demand for advanced tickets is filmmaker Bret Carr's "REVO LOU TION," the first screenplay in three decades from Quinn K. Redeker, the writer of five time Oscar-winner "THE DEER HUNTER." "REVO LOU TION" (http://www.areyoulou.com/) is about a violent stuttering boxer who becomes a great, powerful communicator.

Bret Carr, who also stars in what Jane Fonda calls "an extraordinary performance," was featured on the cover of the Hollywood Reporter for directing the world's most downloaded short film. Billed as a Bret Carr piece of work, "REVO LOU TION" is another landmark film uniquely structured to allow audiences to "experience epiphanies" while heavily identifying with the near death psychological awakening of it's title character LOU BENEDETTI. Even the film's trailer breaks rules, asking "How radically would it change your life ... if you could stop reliving the dramas of your childhood ... in your current relationships?"

With the sub-billing of "SEE the MOVIE that SEES YOU," Carr's 12 time international film-festival winner, "REVO LOU TION" has several things in common with the other four screening at the Expo: all have strenuously shunned Hollywood's attempts to homogenize them, are releasing theatrically through independent means, and have strong indication at mainstream success, evidenced by enormous support and attendance at festival and community screenings around the country.

Carr's film, for example, playing theatrically as a "work in progress" in a one-week test run in Cincinnati, outgrossed all other films at the venue, even the critically acclaimed "HOTEL RWANDA" one month after the film's Oscar win in March, 2004. Carr is releasing the film through his own newly-formed company, Conscious Releasing, on April 28th in LA and May 11th in New York. Other much buzzed about films such as "THE CELESTINE PROPHECY," and "WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR" were also independently funded and are showcasing at Quicksilver's festival of cultural visionaries.

What is Hollywood Missing?

Perhaps Carr's story provides an answer. Several months ago, according to Carr's reps, Carr sent his film to Jane Fonda, hoping an A-list name along with impressive theatrical grosses would give marketing muscle that would impress studio executives who said they couldn't duplicate Carr's word of mouth release strategy on a wide scale. According to Carr's rep, "The 'REVO LOU TION' release had no ad budget, and our success was a result of pre-screenings which caused repeat attendees to come back with family and friends multiple times. People fall in love with Carr's character LOU BENEDETTI."

According to Carr's producer Noah Berlow, an agent at CAA who became fond of Carr's work told Carr not to return long-time Fonda representative Paula Weinstien's calls. Carr, who became a hot commodity after his "Passion of the Heist" short generated 12 million downloads, "refused to comply with the agents censorship suggestions," says Berlow, alleging that the strategy was meant to protect the agency's interest on larger pending projects with Fonda. Carr actually proved out the winner in his small battle.

Carr did call Weinstein back who, according to Carr, said she would ask Fonda's current agent to seriously look at his offer, and all he had to do was mention her name in the header of his letter. Carr's package was sent back "unopened," and he instead fed-exed directly to Fonda at her Georgia Office. Carr's producer, Berlow, said, "The result was the email from Ms. Fonda praising Bret Carr's 'REVO LOU TION' as an 'Intense film, an extraordinary performance,'" though she declined the reshoot due to her hip operation and pending bus tour. However, the email came complete with what Carr called "Brilliant" reshoot notes which Carr implemented with Kumar Pallana, the iconic Indian character actor who is noted for his "scene-stealing" performances in Steven Spielberg's "TERMINAL" and Wes Anderson's "ROYAL TENNENBAUMS."

Both Carr's iconoclastic, devil-may-care approach to Hollywood Politics as well as the theme of the film -- confronting one's deepest fears, again and again, to achieve liberation -- mesh perfectly with the aims of the Expo, which will be attended by an anticipated audience of 20,000 attendees.

"The Celestine Prophecy" (http://www.celestinevision.com/) author James Redfield, in order to protect his vision, also embraced an alternate to Studio Politics, turning his best selling novel into a film directed by the Oscar- winning producer of "WHAT DREAMS MAY COME." As with "REVO LOU TION's" Bret Carr, "CELESTINE PROPHECY's" James Redfield, "WAY OF THE PEACEFUL WARRIOR" author Dan Millman, and the other word-of-mouth cultural leaders who are showcasing their work at the festival, box office is dependent on word of mouth, the illusory gold which Major Motion Picture Studios can't buy.

A New Paradigm for Distribution

"CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD" (http://www.cwgthemovie.com/), the work of New York Times bestseller Neal Donald Walsh, was funded out-of-pocket by Spiritual Cinema Circle's Gay Hendricks, who, as with all of these filmmakers and their films, is part of a tight-knit community of producers and artists who support each other's work. Hendricks, whom Carr turned down, in lieu of his own theatrical release of "REVO LOU TION," for a Spiritual Cinema Circle DVD release of the film, has promoted Carr's work through his million-plus community of followers, simply because he feels, "'REVO LOU TION' is one of the best films I've ever seen. It's a film which polarizes some people and confronts them with their own dark stories ... Bret Carr's 'REVO LOU TION' is an inspirational masterpiece destined to change lives."

The NetFlix-like members of Spiritual Cinema Circle, in turn, find out about films they may not otherwise have a chance to hear about, especially since Hollywood seems to be missing the metaphysical and metaphorical boat. Each of these films are not simple creative gambles, but films with a devotional following of millions of people who have opted into the email lists of spiritual and consciousness communities around the movies and their creators. Hendricks is a bestselling author who has appeared on "Oprah" twice. "INDIGO" for example, a film produced by Hendricks, grossed 1.7 million dollars in a one time showing on January 29th, 2004 at 11am at 500 Churches and AMC theaters around the world. All of the ticket sales were generated through online emails promoting the film to a network of their fans and consciousness and film-loving Internet communities.

The next year will prove out this new "genre" and Hollywood may be forced to wake up and get conscious.

Sent by Mopictalent: Feature film release consulting

To Schedule Interviews call:
Steve McRory 818-848-3278
steve@thebusinessmuse.comjoe.klein@mopictalent.com

For further info: 800-367-5777
www.consciouslifeexpo.com

Source: Mopictalent: Feature film release consulting

CONTACT: Steve McRory, +1-818-848-3278, steve@thebusinessmuse.com or
joe.klein@mopictalent.com, for Mopictalent: Feature film release consulting

Web site: http://www.consciouslifeexpo.com/
http://www.areyoulou.com/
http://www.revolutionmovie.com/
http://www.celestinevision.com/
http://www.cwgthemovie.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Pictures, poster thumbnail, 60 second quicktime trailers and press kit for "REVO LOU TION" are available through auto-return link by emailing loupresskit@mopictalent.com. Please call Steve McRory for immediate interviews with Bret Carr, Quinn K. Redeker or Robert Quicksilver.

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