Producing : Target audiences by Brian McAndrew

Palm Springs Ca...

I believe audiences are interested in stories. The sexual orientation of the protagonists is not something that most people are interested in. If (and I am saying IF) that's all ya got; that the two protagonists are a lesbian couple, then your audience will be limited. If you are telling a compelling story with relatable people at the center then you broaden your audience. In general if (and again I'm saying IF) you are producing a LGB movie then your audience is most likely going to be limited to people who are interested in LGB movies. Not much different than if you were to produce a western your audience is most likely going to be limited to people who are interested in westerns. Or if you were to produce a sports movie your audience is most likely going to be limited to people who are interested in sports movies.

Brian, a movie featuring a lesbian couple and a movie targeted at the LGBT marketplace aren't necessarily the same thing. The former is just the beautiful reality that is sexuality in the modern age. Having a lesbian couple as protagonists, should, effectively be no different to them being heterosexual. The latter is most likely going to have a storyline which members and supporters of the LGBT community are going to relate to. For examples I'd suggest visiting some of the LGBT community websites as some have a library of literature you can reference.

Thank you I was just curious.

Oh sweetie I bet you are.

I don't think they make lesbians in 3 d? Anyway fun question, what's the difference does the story benefit from two lesbian protagonist? Me personally I dislike segregation of any kind , make a good movie, if your protagonist happen to be lesbian then there you go. They say write what you know, if you happen to be gay and you write a story you like then theirs your audience. I myself have two lesbians who are twin sisters in my new screenplay and except for me mentioning it here you would never know, because it has nothing to do with the story. I know I had a point when I started this......oh yeah don't drink and give advice;-)

I'm not knocking your project but I don't think you've asked the right question. Start with asking yourself why people generally go to movies. Probably because they want to be entertained. You mention that your protagonists are a lesbian couple. That doesn't give any indication of what will be entertaining about your story. I'll go further and speculate that even members of the LGB community may not show up simply to watch a lesbian couple. I admit that I'm guessing, but it sounds to me as if you want your story to send a message. That's a great goal, but the path to achieving that goal is fraught with difficulty, because a message without entertainment is, in my view, poor story telling. I suggest that you focus on, find, the entertainment, which sounds as if it's there in your conception of the project.

Actually maybe I should have explained it more. It's Romeo & Juliet themed movie (without the suicide part).

With the main antagonist being one of the protagonist's family.

Hi Brian, While it's important to find the niche audience for a film - I think LGB films can totally cross over to broader audiences if at their core they are simply great STORIES (love story, coming of age, thriller, no matter) An example of a film locally that I think does the extremely well is a 2013 production in Toronto called Tru Love by Writer/Director Kate Johnston http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2634384/ This film is a multi-generational lesbian love story - (technically) but it is really just a well told, well shot feature love story. This film appeals more generally to anyone who appreciates a love story - and can - and should be marketed beyond the LGB community. We premiered it at Raindance last year and it is being invited to dozens of festivals. So I guess what I'm saying is - figure out your STORY/genre/stylistic flavour of your LGB film...and market it to THAT audience as week. If it's well told, audiences will come! All the best, Tiska [Teesh ka]

OK. I could go for that. Especially if what's keeping the families apart is something unusual, unexpected. Not that it may have anything to do with your story but there was letter in the paper today (one of the advice columns) from a woman who was about to become a grandmother to the child of her daughter and her partner. The woman was not upset because of her daughter's orientation, she was fine with that, or her daughter's partner, whom she liked, but because the couple was planning to give the partner's last name to the child, and because of that, the woman felt disconnected from her grand child. As I say, this example undoubtedly doesn't relate to your story. I only include it as an example of the weird things that can make people upset and potentially start family feuds.

An excellent example, Alle. That movie is not a LGBT movie. It is a movie about a complex relationship. It naturally reached far beyond the LGBT community because it was a movie about people - not strictly about a gay couple.

Who's in it? It's not on IMBD.

What movie are you asking about, Brian?

Bamboozled. The only thing I can find is the Damon Wayans one.

My mistake Alle , it seems I was misinformed;-)

A good story will be appreciated by most anyone. Forget the LGB community. What do the character's want? How are they going to get it? Who's trying to stop them? That will tell you who your audience is.

The market base is expanding nicely, but how to target investors for such a project remains a mystery to myself as I too am working on unusual topics. Oddly enough I have never really tried to promote my stories directly to any given audience because that could potentially be exclusive of some other demographic more receptive to the project. I claim to write romances, yet they end up being more action, suspense, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy or other classifications in the end, with the romance somehow only appearing as some kind of minor side detail, almost as if we are saying, "Oh yeah and the protagonist sees their love interest now and then in their free time."