LA DJ Film Premieres at Streeters: Stars will Party with Moviegoers July 24

July 21, 2004

Controversy! It has been the key marketing ingredient in two of the year’s hottest movies: “The Passion of the Christ” and “Fahrenheit 9/11.” So when the producers of “L.A. D.J. The Movie” premiere the film at Streeters’ Ground Zero Nightclub, Saturday, July 24, will there be controversy?
“No controversy,” said Tim Scarne, the film’s producer. “A lot of craziness, but no controversy.”
Scarne co-wrote the film with his brother, the actor Thomas Ian Nicholas who directed and co-stars in the film with Scarne. Nicholas broke into Hollywood at the age of 12, starring in the lead role of the popular baseball comedy “Rookie of the Year.” Six years later he starred as Kevin Myers in “American Pie,” and continued the role in the sequel and then again in last year’s hit “American Wedding.”
So exactly how did the two come to make a film about DJs?
“Our older brothers were DJs and they passed on their equipment to me. I was a DJ for 13 years, and during that time Thom helped me for a year or two,” said Scarne. “I always felt I could make the transition from DJing to film. I decided to write a screenplay and had no idea where to start. I called my brother who had built a successful reputation as an actor and asked him to help me write the screenplay.”
Nicholas, who was in the middle of enjoying success with the “American Pie” movies, needed little convincing to join up with his brother.
“I told him that if he helped me write it, that it would be about two brothers. Tim and Thom trying to become DJs,” said Scarne. “He said sure. So we locked ourselves in a hotel room over a weekend about five years ago and nailed out the first rough draft of the script.”

TRAILER PARK DREAM
The two spent many late nights writing and crafting a screenplay. The film’s plotline is about two brothers living in a trailer park dreaming about becoming big time club DJs. In the film the brothers go to L.A. in hopes of breaking into the club scene and end up DJ-ing Bar Mitzvah’s. Of course along the way the brothers discover that girls love DJs.
“Every film has to have hotties,” said Scarne.
To finance the film the brothers pooled their own money, developed a business plan, and sought out sponsors and family members for the rest of the money. They even enlisted family to help make the film.
“Family usually works cheap,” said Scarne.
The film will debut in Los Angeles and New York October 1 and will be released on DVD October 26 of this year. Scarne and Nicholas decided to take an interactive approach on marketing the film. It all began at the renowned Sundance Film Festival.
“We commandeered Sundance as we didn’t make the submission deadline. We sent a rough cut of the film and they rejected it,” said Scarne. “We decided to go anyway and promote the hell out of our film. Through our promoting a couple of companies jumped on board and sponsored a private screening at Sundance. So you might say in a way we screened at Sundance.”
It’s one thing to raise the funds to make a film and it’s another to have the funding to promote it.
“The large movie houses have multi-million dollar marketing budgets and as independent filmmakers, we don’t,” said Nicholas. “However the large movie houses can’t butt their way into clubs to reach audiences. The success of our film depends on reaching our audience in a way that is not traditional. In order to create a buzz we need to go into the clubs.”

DO IT YOURSELF
For Scarne he sees their marketing concept in another way.
“Essentially this is our own film festival,” said Scarne. “And we’re the only film. The idea of doing a tour came to us before we even shot the film. We felt there was no better way to promote a DJ film than using DJs. Everything we are doing is grassroots, from e-mail lists to our websites to fliers.”
Isn’t it easier just to run some ads in the major markets?
“I have read where people see 20,000 blips of advertising data a day and you just end up tuning most of it out,” said Scarne. “We have taken the approach of getting our audience to experience the film. At these premiere parties people get to feel the message of the movie and then they network with friends.”
So what will happen in Traverse City on July 24 and why should people come out?
“We will buy all the beer, at least the beer for us,” said Nicholas. “No, it is a big party with DJ Micro and preview clips of the film. I take pictures for our website and Tim will DJ a set. One of our sponsors is HandHeld and they have this new handheld video player. It is like an Ipod that plays videos, so we will be giving some of those away.”
Both Scarne and Nicholas will come to Traverse City to sign autographs and do giveaways throughout the night. Their Traverse City stop is the only one in Michigan and is one of a handful they are doing around the country. Reviews of their film and previous premiere parties both have received two thumbs up.

SIGNING UP
So far their grassroots effort has worked. They have had thousands sign up at the film’s website to pre-order an autographed copy of the DVD. Plus several have e-mailed that they are traveling several hundred miles to catch the Traverse City premiere.
“In April we did a promotion in Cancun that was packed and we have people coming to the Traverse City premiere that were in Cancun,” said Scarne. “With the Internet there are no marketing boundaries. We have people from all over the world that have been visiting our website.”
So what is the incentive to visit the website?
“When you visit our site there is a motor home that goes across the screen click on it and you can sign up right there to qualify for the private showing of our film in Traverse City. We will draw out some names and they will be able to bring some friends. Winners will get to watch the film with me and Thom and receive VIP passes for the night.” said Scarne. “Plus we will give some all access passes away to the party that happens after the viewing.”
Scarne and Nicholas have enjoyed every aspect of making the film and have even stayed within budget. “We basically paid for our film school by making this film,” Scarne said. “We learned so much about how to make a film that you wouldn’t learn by just acting in one.”
So will the film be back in October in area theaters?
“We have what is known as a platform release. It will come out in a few theaters in New York and L.A. on October 1 and if it performs well it will roll out into more theaters,” said Nicholas. “You can’t guess what is going to happen. The bottom line is we are coming out to theaters in October. Maybe it will be a 1,000 or maybe just the initial two.”

RAP STARS
The film features cameo appearances from DMC and Jam Master Jay from the legendary group Run DMC. Jam Master Jay was murdered two weeks after shooting his cameo appearance for the movie.
“Jay loved the script and jumped at the chance to appear in the film. He had a tremendous impact on hip hop music. His work affected every DJ and he will be missed,” said Scarne. “We have dedicated this film to him, and a portion of the film’s proceeds will go to the fund to help his three children.”
The film also features other DJs including Carl Cox and Mark Lewis. As for actors, several are making their film debut, including Scarne.
So is it funny?
“Our film is more along the late ‘80s comedy style. Nowadays the comedies are more in your face,” said Nicholas. “The studios want them to be faster paced. When you look back at the John Hughes comedies of the eighties (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “National Lampoon Vacation”), essentially the more you pay attention, the more humor you catch. That’s what we were shooting for with our film.”
But is it funny?
“We have a lot of people laughing at the test screenings and a lot of e-mails saying it is,” said Scarne. “We have a targeted demographic for the film but we have had 70-year-olds laughing their asses off at test screenings. It really depends on your type of sense of humor.”
To register for a chance to win tickets (only winners from the website drawing will get a chance to see the full version of the film) and passes to a private showing of “L.A. DJ The Movie,” with the film’s stars, visit their website at www.ladjthemovie.com or call Streeters Ground Zero Nightlcub. (231) 932-1300. Tickets for the after party with Tim, Thom and DJ Micro are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.