Last week, I went to the premiere of “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell,” a movie based on a book of the same name, and I left extremely impressed…not so much with the movie, but with everything else. Allow me to explain.
For those who don’t know, Tucker Max is a Duke Law School Graduate who had so many stories about drunken escapades and random crazy nights with friends and females that he decided to start a website with his stories. These stories are vulgar, offensive, politically incorrect, and absolutely hilarious. Not surprisingly, once somebody reads his stories, they forward a few to their friends, who then forward it to their friends, and so on. Here’s a link to his least offensive story (full of profanity and slurs but still really funny). I started following Tucker’s stories a few years back because I couldn’t get enough – the guy is an absolute riot and writes with such humor and passion that it’s almost impossible not to laugh out loud. In fact, I wrote a blog for Sixthman last year about the book, saying it was the only one I’ve ever read that had me laughing out loud on every page.
Tucker essentially became a celebrity without spending a single dollar on marketing or advertising. After his website got enough hits, Tucker compiled these stories into a book called, “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell,” and then went on a nationwide book-signing tour, all the while blogging about his adventures at each book signing stop. Shortly thereafter, Tucker received private financing (from those who truly believed in him) to write and produce a movie based on the book.
Now, to promote the movie, rather than an ultra-exclusive, expensive, one night premiere in L.A. with celebrities, Tucker decided instead to have 30 premieres in 30 nights throughout the country (similar to his book tour). For only 10 bucks, you got to screen the movie a month before it hits theaters, a free t-shirt, a bag of swag, a pint glass, a Q&A with Tucker and the producers after the movie ended, and the opportunity to meet Tucker and some of the other actors at the end of the night. When I found out there was a premiere in Atlanta, my friend Joe and I figured this was worth the 10 dollar risk.
The movie was pretty good; it’s not going to win any Oscars, but it was better than expected and I laughed pretty much the entire time. After the movie was over, Tucker came out and did about 20 minutes of Q&A with the crowd, humorously answering good questions with good answers and answering dumb questions with offensive responses. After the Q&A, Tucker sat there and met every single person in the theater, signed autographs, answered questions, and took pictures with anybody who wanted one (which was pretty much everybody).
Based on the amount of stuff they gave away compared to the cost of the ticket (10 bucks won’t get you a movie ticket on a Friday night anymore), I bet these premieres are costing Tucker and his financial backers quite a bit of money. However, I can almost guarantee that this movie will be a success due to the hard work of Tucker’s team and the sincerity behind Tucker’s actions. Sure he may be an a**, but you can tell that Tucker truly believes in this movie and recognizes that his fans are the reason he has both a best-selling book and now movie.
By taking the time to meet every single person, sign posters, give away t-shirts, do Q&As, and so on, I know Tucker has managed to win some new fans for life and created a groundswell of momentum for a major motion picture without a single television commercial. Most people will leave these premieres and go tell everybody that they met Tucker, then they’ll go on the internet and read the stories about what happened after each premiere, and then they’ll convince their friends to go see the movie next month when it opens nationwide.
Rather than spending a million dollars (or more) building fake hype for a movie (the traditional Hollywood way), Tucker has spent a fraction of that to build real hype and momentum with these premieres, and I can’t wait to read the stories about what happens next. You can read about each premiere and the adventures afterward over at www.ihopetheyservebeerinhell.com.
Tucker, you’re a funny man, you write one hell of a story, and you know how to promote a movie the right way. For your sake I hope they serve beer down there.
-Steve