You’ll be able to watch my film, A Love Letter To Handsome John, for free on youtube starting this Saturday, July 4th.
The back story-
A couple of years ago, I started making a film with my buddy, Todd Snider. It started out as a film about gratitude. It’s a long story that I’ll tell on another day, but it quickly became a way for Todd to show his love for John Prine.
The film is called, “A Love Letter To Handsome John.”
While making this, I kept telling Todd that 99.9% of the world will absolutely hate this film.
(He loved hearing that.)
That’s ok, because it’s not for them. The good news is, the other .1% of people will love it.
Those are our people.
The imperfect ones. The weirdos and the outsiders. They’ll be so damned grateful that we took the time to make this. No matter how flawed and ramshackled it is (and it is.) They’ll appreciate it and support it.
(He loved hearing that too.)
At first, Todd didn’t understand why I wanted to put this on my Youtube channel. I argued that a hundred thousand people, or more will watch it, if we put it on my channel. People all over the world will be able to see it. People 25 years from now, who aren’t even born yet will be able to see it. That’s pretty good for a couple of folk singers.
Todd understood where I was coming from, but he wanted to show it in movie theaters. He made a pretty good argument. He said there’s nothing more powerful than a community coming together, in one room, to share something real. Something they’ve chosen to be part of. Todd argued that we’ve travelled all over the world with guitars in our hands, hoping to be part of such experiences. That’s a powerful thing. Even if it’s just 25 people. Todd wanted the film to bring that same experience to people. He was right, so I promised him we’d show it in a movie theater.
So, I rented two theaters in Nashville and Indianapolis, so I could make good on a promise to my friend.
Those screenings sold out almost immediately. When word got out about the success of those screenings, we started getting calls from mom and pop theaters across the country who wanted to screen the film. It was amazing and inspiring.
The film was screened in almost 40 theaters across the USA. That’s a staggering number for a homemade film made by two friends with no money. Most importantly, people came out and supported the film. They gathered together in a room and shared their love for Todd and John.
Those screenings are over now, so I’m publishing it to my Youtube channel, where you can watch it for free. I strongly encourage you to get together and watch it with a friend. Maybe throw a party and watch it with 20 friends.
The 4th of July was Todd’s favorite holiday, so it seems like the perfect day to stream it to the world for free. Just like Todd and I planned it from the beginning.
Thanks for giving a damn,
-Otis
Here’s the link to watch the film. You can click the “Notify Me’ button on the player and it’ll remind you that the film is live. I’ll be hanging out in the chat while the film premiers on Saturday morning. I strongly urge you to grab a coffee and watch it live with the rest of us. Please help me spread the word. ❤️