An Interview with "Delinquent" Director, Peter Hall

Out of the IFFM, he did, however get two valuable contacts: he got invited to a festival in Germany called ex-ground, which later became his path to the underground film scene in America and he got an unofficial publicist in T.C. Rice, ("Bad Lieutenant") who initially advised him informally and then later became his distribution contact.

Rice guided the film to a debut at the Palm Springs festival where Variety reviewer Todd McCarthy liked the film, but condemned its "boxy" 16mm format. Afterwards, Hall was inspired to make the needed changes. He and cinematographer Todd Crocket added 10 closeups that would help clarify the story, cut 6 minutes and included a scene that was originally taken out. And then pulled another $50,000 in credit cards, recut it, and blew up the 16 to 35mm with the help of John Allen Assocs. in northeast Pennsylvania. "An amazing blowup," declared Hall.

With the new re-edited, re-mixed 35mm print and $15,000 video transfer from a fresh 35mm interpositive, Hall began chapter two of his journey in film industry playland. Now he was in the unfortunate position where distributors all over the U.S. had already seen and rejected the film, but to Hall, a "completely different film" (from the 16mm with a scratchy sound track). The trick was now to convince distributors that "Delinquent" was worth seeing again. Miramax was one of the few to a take a look at the film in its newly refurbished form, but Hall says, "they would have bought it a few years ago," but now, since Disney's influence, he didn't have much of a chance.

When Peter began to get depressed again, there was the sold-out debut at the Montreal World Film Festival. In a bar after the screening, Hall met Gary Hamilton of Beyond Films, Ltd. (now distributing "Love Seranade") who offered to buy the film's international rights. "I got 5 figures as an advance, and there were things that still needed to be done, it needed an M&E, it needed a trailer. They let me cut my own trailer which no American company would ever let you do. They were cool to work with; they were wonderful."

They sold on four continents, but still nothing in America, England, Germany or Japan. But the film will be released theatrically in Italy, sold television in Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Argentina. And the $1,500 sale to Bulgarian cable and video insures a good master went for bootlegging all over the former Iron Curtain.

Other international screenings included 1,600 people packed into "one of the biggest movie theaters I've ever seen" in New Delhi, India, the Euro-debut at Ireland's Galway Film Fleadh, Sweden's Umea International Film Festival and Portugal's International Festival de Cine where he had to wait 4 months for his $2,500 prize money for Best bet first-time director.

Getting into America was a different struggle, however and it began with the underground festivals. "New York Underground was a blessing," Hall says, and Chicago Underground, "made by people who care about detail, and really help people" helped him make some great connections. Judging from Hall's frenetic demeanor and love of the underground music scene, these festivals seemed a perfect place for him to jumpstart the life of his new film. "Without Chicago, my movie would not be coming out in America."

Hall does not want to see him film go out as an art-film. "I have to reach young people," he claims with a passion, worried that an art-house release will not bring in the desired crowds. He took the film out of a very respected art theater in Beverly Hills, because he was afraid it would drown there. "It was a very good theater and I was proud they wanted the movie, but I just felt it wasn't going to work for my movie. One week is not enough to reach my audience. I want my movie to be out for a few weeks."

"I am going to kill to make people see this movie," says Hall. He has planned a web site, T-shirts, a leaflet campaign and will hand out 700 dubbed copies of the trailer to fraternities and sororities at UCLA and groups of kids in Westwood near the Mann's Regent where the film debuts theatrically on September 12th.

Later in Manhattan, Hall was introduced to the Clips people and agreed to screen his newly cut trailer at their quarterly mini-market of independent film, hoping for additional funds to help boost the press for the film. He wants to make enough money for print ads ($15,000 a week to fork out for NY and LA) and then he still hopes to book the whole country.

"I'm used to the credit card treadmill," he says off handedly. Hall's persistence is unrelenting; he has the energy and honesty that it takes to exhibit a film. From zero recognition at major festivals in the U.S. to now distribution in New York and Los Angeles, Hall has traversed the wacky playground that is independent film. It's not for everyone and as Hall concedes, "No two movies succeed by the same path."