I am really proud of Spout today. In an era of media saturation, it has chosen to do something far grander with its marketing dollars than throw it to Google. When users are boiled down to dollars all around us, it is nice to think that some of those dollars actually go to support truly creative acts. I have yet to watch the movie, I'm saving it to watch with my wife, but I've been watching the little widget count money to the worthiest of causes: inspiration.
There is something else going on here as well. Spout has invited the film industry to observe how the process of viral marketing works in the world of the internet. Watch the counter, guess how it is happening. Learn if there is a viable audience for homegrown independant cinema. Perhaps the studio system is becoming a moot point. Perhaps you can make your movie just how you want, with whatever resources you have. Perhaps its worth the risk.
There is an audience that can be trusted to acknowledge good craftsmanship and hard work. Respect is worth more than all those dollars. When you struggle to speak through visual images arranged according to your unique aesthetic, you are not just pissing in the wind, but inspiring others to make their own aesthetic journeys.
The critical community is changing along with cinema. Everything has grown more personal and, along the way, more engaging to folks like me. I look forward to the day when all the creative folk I know have had their works acknowledged and nurtured in an environment of thinly mediated engagement. This is happening right now in front of us. Dialogue is an integral part of it now. It is a conversation that reaches across superfluous barriers.
I look forward to seeing this movie from the arms of my wife. I hope Arin and Susan find all the love I feel for her. I'll be watching those dollars go up as well, trying to figure out why.