Florida Man Serves Swamp Woman to Unsuspecting Fast Food Customers
It’s getting harder and harder to stay afloat in the underground, independent film world. Finding the money to make the movie in the first place is hard enough, with filmmakers relying on friends and fans to donate to crowdfunding campaigns, and crowdfunding sites becoming less and less friendly to the indies. Promotion efforts fall victim to algorithms, social media censorship, and just simply get lost in the daily deluge of ads and memes and LOLs and whatever else… Streaming services rarely help the “little” people, and the ones that do are at the whim of super-ultra-mega-corporate-conglomerations who are more than ready to pull the plug at the first sign of a nipple. And horror conventions are fun, but very pricey to table at, and the majority of the fans are there to spend $500 on a selfie with a background actor from that show that none of us watch anyway. So, where does this leave our favorite movie makers, the ones who spill blood, sweat, and tears into their projects?
Sean Donohue (Gatorblade Films; director of Swamp Woman, Death-Scort Service, Naked Cannibal Campers, and so many more) and Jessa Flux (star of Satan Lives: The Rise of the Illuminati Hotties, Debbie Does Demons, Murdercise, and the upcoming XXX-Mas, among many others) decided to try something a little different. Check that…a LOT different. They did a pop-up sale at a Long John Silver’s restaurant in Brandon, Florida. For real. I love this crazy outlaw-filmmaking idea so much, but I’m not the only one. The legend himself, Fred Olen Ray (director of everything from Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and Evil Toons to 13 Erotic Ghosts and Ghost in a Teeny Bikini, and over 150 more!), helped promote the event and said, “I find this type of hucksterism refreshing…maybe there is still hope in the hinterlands.”
How did it go? Sean and Jessa were kind enough to tell me all about it.
Nervousmaker: So, who came up with the idea to do a "pop-up" store at a Long John Silver's?
Sean Donohue: It was my idea. I told Jessa about it and she thought it was really funny. I told her it was crazy enough to work! She agreed to do it with me.
Jessa Flux: This was totally Sean’s idea. He hit me up a few months prior to the event & pitched the whole thing to me. I thought it was hilarious (and) I was pretty excited. I thought why not have a tasty dinner & sell some movies/magazines/media? Plus, it’s a pretty goofy place considering how people either love the food there or absolutely hate it. It’s even funnier to me to do it in Florida where there is so many places that serve fresh fish. So I was in!
We always send each other those memes asking who the hell is keeping Long Long Silver’s in business. Because it’s definitely us. I grew up eating LJS every Friday with my grandma so my family is a big supporter of LJS Enterprises or whatever.
Nervousmaker: How did you set this whole thing up? I have to assume Long John Silver's corporate office wasn't much help with promotion. Did you have a connection at the restaurant? Did you contact them first, or did you set up guerilla-style?
Sean Donohue: We literally just walked in and set up shop. Both Jessa and I promoted on our social media platforms. We spent no $$$ promoting the event.
Jessa Flux: Literally it was guerrilla-style. We snuck a box in of our wares. I got a little nervous when upon walking in our first customer was there, 30 minutes early & standing behind us in line asking about what we had for sale. Sean had to shush him so as to avoid any heat from the workers. Then we sat down in the second dining room closest to the front of the building, which was visibly cut off from the ordering counter.
Nervousmaker: How did it go? Did you sell much? What was the typical reaction from the customers?
Sean Donohue: It went great. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't my highest grossing convention, but we got to connect with new fans that never met us before, sold some of our wares, and it covered the cost of our dinner!
Jessa Flux: Well! I sold more than I expected to & met some new fans. I believe it made us more accessible than a convention would, since there are no entry fees to Long John Silver’s. One guy complained about the food though. At length. However, I did notice he ate his entire meal. He asked us to go out drinking with him after the event & I would have if I hadn’t had to film the next morning.
Nervousmaker: Would you do it again? Furthermore, are there future plans to do something similar?
Sean Donohue: I would definitely do it again! I would change up the venue next time. Jessa and I talked about doing it in other sites at different fast food establishments across the nation!
Jessa Flux: Absolutely. I think we might do this again in another city. Probably doing it after a convention closes out on a Sunday. I was thinking at a White Castle, but it might be fun to reach out to a local fast food place that’s more mom & pop ran to actually get permission, so we wouldn’t have to worry about being kicked out. I believe the Long John Silver’s employees became aware of the situation towards the end, which is why we packed up early. One of them came into the back room & cleaned a single spot on one table very slowly, as if he was listening to our conversations. Probably about to ask us to leave… Oh well!!!
Nervousmaker: Would you recommend this as an alternative/complement to tabling at conventions, selling online, social media promotion, etc?
Sean Donohue: I wouldn't recommend it as an alternative to conventions but as an addition to. I'm sure somewhere down the line I may be asked to leave the restaurant I am doing it at, but that's the risk you take. Anyone can just walk into a fast food restaurant so it's free admission. You have to be open to trying new things in this competitive indie film market.
Jessa Flux: I don’t know if this kind of thing is for everyone, but Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls did something similar. I read her book, The Art of Asking, & she would do pop-up concerts at random venues after her main shows in various cities & not announce where they would be until the last minute on her twitter. This made her more accessible to fans that may have not been able to afford her bigger concerts & she always had a good time connecting with fans on a more personal level. I want to be that accessible to my fans when I am able to be. It’s hard answering all of my DMs on the daily so I only really answer my Onlyfans messages to save time. But I don’t want fans that can’t afford my Onlyfans or convention entry fees to think I don’t care about them. They are valued too, whether any money is spent on not. This is a way they can get signatures & media from me at the base price of the cost of whatever it is they are buying. And we ate with these fans that showed up. They asked us about our craft & we answered, all while slugging our Cokes in the paper cups. It was nice. So if a person has the time, why not? We ate for free, sold some stuff, & connected with some interesting people. It was refreshing.
Sean Donohue and Jessa Flux are great people, always fun to hang and chat with. Check out what they’ve got for sale: Find Sean over at Gatorblade Films, where you can find movies, t-shirts, and details on Tampa Bay Screams, a cool horror convention down in the land of the Swamp Woman. Jessa Flux has tons of movies coming out soon, and you can find out all about her and contact her through JessaDoesItAll.com.
And next time you feel the need for some fast, greasy, fried food, maybe skip the drive-thru and go inside the restaurant to order. You never know who you might find in there.
Now watch these trailers and buy some DVDs and blu-rays!!!