A Dog's Breakfast

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A Dog's Breakfast

Promotional poster for A Dog's Breakfast.
Directed by David Hewlett
Produced by John Lenic, Jane Loughman
Written by story and screenplay by David Hewlett
Starring David Hewlett
Kate Hewlett
Paul McGillion
Music by Tim Williams
Editing by Jason Schneider
Distributed by Independent/MGM Studios
Release date(s) July/August 2006 (U.S.)
Country United States
Language English
Budget less than $1,000,000
IMDb profile

A Dog's Breakfast is a Canadian black comedy independent film produced in 2006. It was the first film to be written and directed by David Hewlett, who also stars. It was produced by John Lenic and Hewlett's then-girlfriend (now-fiancée) Jane Loughman. The film had several screenings in selected major towns in the USA and the UK in late 2006 and early 2007. In early December 2006, MGM had announced that they had picked up worldwide television and home video rights to the film.[1]

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

When Marylin brings home her new sci-fi-soap star fiancé Ryan, her big brother Patrick first tries to drive a wedge between the happy couple. After several unsuccessful attempts, Patrick tries to murder Ryan.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Main Cast

[edit] Production

The majority of A Dog's Breakfast was filmed on a fourteen day schedule and with extremely limited funds in January 2006 when Stargate Atlantis (the TV show David Hewlett stars in) was on hiatus between seasons. Some scenes were already filmed on Saturdays during the Atlantis season.[2]

Originally, David Hewlett planned to shoot at his own house, but legal problems due to its US location forced the production to rent a house in Canada.[3][4]

In addition to several Stargate producers and crew members, this film also stars and co-stars several actors of Stargate fame, who were all on hiatus from the Stargate franchise. A Dog's Breakfast used Stargate sets and equipment as well (see the Stargate crossovers section). Hewlett mentioned he wrote the script especially around those availabilities.[2] This had made it possible to produce the film with a budget of less than $1 million.[1]

[edit] Marketing

The script was written with the Stargate audience in mind and pet lovers as a secondary audience. Before contacting possible distributors, the producers of A Dog's Breakfast mapped out specific marketing strategies by visiting Stargate websites to learn about DVD sales, television viewers and convention attendance around the world.[5]

Inspired by The Long Tail, Hewlett started an internet marketing campaign by setting up a youtube channel and his own producer blog for $8 a month to keep promotion costs down.[6] He also encouraged his fans to promote A Dog's Breakfast in any way they could. He called this strategy Squirrel Marketing.[7]

Promoting the movie from a Stargate angle[8] plus high youtube sneak preview viewing numbers and a full theater for the test screening[9] helped to convince Stargate's distributer MGM to make a deal with A Dog's Breakfast in November 2006.[2]. MGM officially announced that they had picked up worldwide television and home video rights to the film on December 4, 2006.[1]

[edit] Screenings

  • A first sneak preview was held at the Creation Stargate Convention in Los Angeles on November 16, 2006.
  • Two further screenings took place in London on February 1, 2007.
  • Several screenings took place at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival in early March 2007.
  • Two screenings were announced for the city of Vancouver, taking place on March 25, 2007.[10]

[edit] Influences

In an interview with Eclipse Magazine,[4] David Hewlett talked about the influences for A Dog's Breakfast.

Although Hewlett had been rather focused on the actors and the acting before, Hewlett started pay more attention to in old style comedy film-making such as of Monty Python and director Blake Edwards. In general, old-fashioned comedies would appeal more to him than comedy films of recent history. Hewlett said he copied some old-fashioned techniques into his own project.

Despite A Dog's Breakfast's murder theme, Hewlett wanted to avoid violence and gore as audience attraction, and rather produce a family film for all ages. He thinks that younger members of the audience will enjoy the cartoon-like elements of the movie.

In the interview, Hewlett further mentioned Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd of the silent era of movie-making as major influences, who he says reflect a simpler method of story-telling and comedy. Similarly, he did not want to overdo cutting and manipulation, as he feared this would endanger the comedy effect.

[edit] Stargate crossovers

[edit] Starcrossed

Starcrossed is a science fiction show originally within A Dog's Breakfast, created as a tribute to Stargate. During the movie production, several people told David Hewlett that Starcrossed should be made into a real show, so Hewlett approached NBC Universal and the Sci Fi Channel.[3] David Hewlett wrote a draft for the Starcrossed pilot in late January 2007 and sent it to the network,[11] who bought the pilot in return.[3] It is said to air in 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel.[8] A press release by the Sci Fi Channel described Starcrossed as a high touch, high-tech half-hour comedy about life behind the camera at a long-running sci-fi space soap, similar to the movie Galaxy Quest. Jane Loughman and John Lenic will be serving as executive producers.[12]

However, David Hewlett acknowledged that although Starcrossed made it into script stage, it might never be filmed. He remains hopeful.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c MGM (December 04, 2006). MGM Acquires Worldwide Rights to Hysterical Dark Comedy A Dog's Breakfast. Press release.
  2. ^ a b c Exclusive Interview With David Hewlett. filmick.co.uk (January 8, 2007). Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d A Dog's Breakfast Q&A session at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival with David Hewlett and Jane Loughman, on March 3, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Making Breakfast - An interview with film-maker David Hewlett. eclipsemagazine.com (March 12, 2007). Retrieved on March 18, 2007.
  5. ^ No market for first time filmmakers?. adogsbreakfastmovie.com (March 9, 2007). Retrieved on March 9, 2007.
  6. ^ Youtube and $8 website sells indie film to MGM!. adogsbreakfastmovie.com (January 20, 2007). Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
  7. ^ Squirrel Marketing. adogsbreakfastmovie.com (November 4, 2006). Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  8. ^ a b David Hewlett – on Wagging the Long Tail. artshub.co.uk (January 7, 2007). Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  9. ^ Screening, Stats and Siblings. adogsbreakfastmovie.com (November 13, 2006). Retrieved on March 6, 2007.
  10. ^ A Dog's Breakfast Vancouver Screening!. adogsbreakfastmovie.com (March 12, 2007). Retrieved on March 20, 2007.
  11. ^ Notes from the squirrel underground. adogsbreakfastmovie.com (January 25, 2007). Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
  12. ^ SCI FI'S 2007 Scripted Development Slate Delivers Bold Mix of Action Thrillers, Fantasy and Dramedys. thefutoncritic.com (January 12, 2007). Retrieved on March 7, 2007.

[edit] External links

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