Local movie notches 6-week Valley run

WASILLA — After six weeks on the big screen in the local theater, the community-made movie created by the Carpenter brothers is headed out for distribution.

“Moose: The Movie” has made its way across six states in 15 different locations since it first premiered at Coming Attractions Theatres’ Valley Cinema April 24. It will play in Juneau June 12 and in Lake Tahoe, Nevada June 14.

The movie was originally slated for a two-week run in Wasilla.

“We’ve continued to expand it because it’s had such a strong showing,” said Cheryl Metiva, director of Alaska sales and marketing for Coming Attractions Theatres. “It’s been one of the strongest movies in the theater.”

Metiva also worked on the movie as a member of the marketing committee. She said the movie sold out in its first weekend.

And according to Coming Attractions Vice President Lee Fuchsmann, “Moose” out-grossed “Night at the Museum 3,” “Interstellar” and “Into the Woods” in their opening weekends in the Valley this past winter. It even rivaled local ticket sales for “Fifty Shades of Grey” and “Kingsman” in their first weekends, both of which sold well in the Valley within recent months, Fuchsmann said.

Why?

“The team behind ‘Moose The Movie’ put a lot of hard work and heart into their promotion of the film,” Fuchsmann wrote in an email to Metiva. “While a local shoot normally gives a film a leg up in any locale, the film can still fail without backing by its team.”

Obviously, “Moose” did not fail. Residents in Florida, Wisconsin and even Norway have inquired, via the movie’s Facebook page, when “Moose” will be charging their way.

“I’m overwhelmed and thrilled that it’s already achieved so much more than I ever originally thought it would,” said Chad Carpenter, half of the comic artist duo behind the film’s script.

Carpenter traveled south for the Kenai and Homer shows May 9 and May 30, while his brother and co-writer, Darin, has been entertaining fans in Fairbanks. But Chad Carpenter said he will miss the Valdez opening this weekend as he prepares for a visit to Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation — casually known as Lionsgate — in Las Vegas.

Lionsgate has put forward movies like the “Hunger Games” and “Divergent” series, “Ender’s Game,” “John Wick,” “Age of Adaline” and “Perks of Being a Wallflower.”

“I think we have a really good chance of (‘Moose’) getting picked up (by Lionsgate), especially since it’s already been released theatrically,” Carpenter said. “It’s got some street cred to it now.”

But the visit is not indication of a contract. Carpenter said keeping everything Moose-related “in house” is part of their “out of the box” business plan.

Just like “Moose,” the Carpenter brothers’ “Tundra” comic strip was developed independently, in the same small town. But both expanded farther than the artists originally expected — “Tundra” is now in more than 600 newspapers worldwide, several of which are published in Europe — despite a large group of naysayers.

“Everything we do with ‘Tundra’ they told us would not work, and they told us the same thing about ‘Moose,’” said Bill Kellogg, the marketing director for “Tundra” and “Moose.”

But even if the “Moose” budget more closely resembles “$35 and half a pack of gum” than the amount of money “Avengers” spends on bottled water, Kellogg said, it will get out there.

The movie’s success is undeniable. So if, by chance, the guy Kellogg knows who knows a guy at Lionsgate doesn’t want to distribute the movie nationwide, there are “definitely advantages to doing stuff on our own,” Kellogg said.

For example, they wouldn’t have to offer a potentially high percentage of the profit to a third party.

“We don’t know their terms (yet),” Kellogg said, of Lionsgate. “We haven’t ruled anything out.”

“It’s like any contract, you’ve gotta make sure it works for both (parties),” he added.

As for the DVD release date, Kellogg said the deal between the “Moose” crew and Regal Cinemas requires them to wait at least 90 days after the premier at a Regal to release the movie in stores or online. Kellogg said the wait could be longer than that for some people, as he and the Carpenters plan to do a “controlled release,” putting the movie out in “Tundra-friendly areas” first.

“Our plan is to start it in three or four cities and see how it does,” Kellogg said. “It’ll be everywhere in Alaska, but Outside, it doesn’t do us any good if the movie goes to the store and sits on the shelf ’cause nobody’s heard of it.”

‘Moose’ at the museum

In the meantime, while “Moose” makes its way farther south and across borders, Valley residents and tourists will soon be able to tour the movie’s Gangrene Gulch Ranger Station and view the “Moose” exhibit presented during the film’s opening weekend at the Dorothy Page Museum in Wasilla. Still photos from the movie and information about the actors are a few aspects of the exhibit.

Curator Bethany Buckingham said tours are tentatively set to begin June 22.

Buckingham said the idea is to “permanently maintain the ranger station” at the townsite — the museum is even getting a new sign in the next week to officially rename the building the exhibit occupies.

“It’s exciting,” Buckingham said.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.