Movie fans can demand to see Best Picture Oscar nominee The Tree of Life thanks to a new web platform that books screenings at theaters.
Built around popular demand and social promotion rather than Hollywood's top-down distribution model, Texas-based Tugg is currently in beta and "testing in select pilot cities." Tugg has deals in place with the giant AMC, Regal and Cinemark theater chains plus a number of art house exhibitors.
Tree of Life producer Sarah Green is bullish about Tugg because it extends movies' theatrical shelf life and enables them to be experienced the way most filmmakers intended: in a large dark room on a big screen.
"I think it's a genius way to allow people to see movies on a big screen," She told Wired.com in a phone interview. "We're thrilled because there are places that The Tree of Life may not have gotten to earlier, or there are people who want to see it again. What's exciting about Tugg is that it allows people to create their own event."
Here's how Tugg works: Individuals go online to select a film, screening time and venue, then promote the event. Once the promoter has recruited enough people who commit to attending, the screening gets confirmed, with Tugg handling reservations, ticket management and delivery of the film.
Besides The Tree of Life, Tugg is currently making available Oscar-nominated foreign-language drama Bullhead. Other titles will be announced next month. (Tugg's Austin, Texas-based co-founder Nicolas Gonda co-produced *Tree of Life * and recruited Malick to serve on the company's board of directors early on. Austin's Alamo Drafthouse handles Bullhead.)
Tugg expands on a similar concept introduced a couple years ago when Finnish filmmakers asked backers of their crowd-funded sci-fi flick to take part in the Demand to See Iron Sky campaign.
Tree of Life producer Green sees big potential in fan-driven bookings.
"If you want to see a movie with your friends, you can make it happen and make a night out of it," she says. "To me, that's exciting."
