Sep 22, 2014

Fans of Humphrey Bogart-style noir will soon have a few ways to get their movie fix.

Santana Films, which is run by Bogart’s estate and filmmaker Steve Anderson, is making their film available DRM-free beginning Oct. 28 after the Indiegogo campaign concludes. Anderson, who directed This Last Lonely Place, is calling it an opportunity to link Bogart’s old-world sensibility with new-world distribution opportunities.

“We’re excited. It just feels like the right thing to do,” said Anderson. “This film was born from a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, and now we will use Indiegogo in a new way — as a release platform —to bring the film directly to our audience, forgoing the traditional film festival route.”

The film, which stars Rhys Coiro (Entourage), Xander Berkeley (24), and Carly Pope (Elysium), was shot in Los Angeles, California. It centers on a cab driver who unwittingly gets involved in helping an investment banker cover up a crime.

“We’ve had opportunities and offers for a more traditional release, but those came with requests we did not feel comfortable accommodating,” said Robbert de Klerk, managing partner of the Bogart Estate. “We were asked to change the name of the film, to cut a different trailer, and even to create promotional images of our cast in situations that did not appear in the movie. Perhaps doing that would have made us more money. But what matters most to the Bogart Estate is staying true to our vision and bringing the film we intended to make to the widest possible audience.”

This Last Lonely Place was produced in association with Josh Mandel and Jeff Marchelletta of Industry Standard Films. It won the jury prize for cinematography at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

From The Hollywood Reporter, Sept 18, 2014:  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/santana-films-release-last-lonely-734097