In the most appropriate reflection of the state of the independent film industry today Behind The Mask closed in theaters one week after it opened. The opening box office numbers weren’t sufficient to entice theaters to continue running the film. There remains a handful of theaters around the country which are still running and may continue to run it but in effect the national release has come to a close. The dvd of the film with extra features and all is in the process of being rolled out and will probably be on store shelves in three months or so. In the meantime the cast and crew, production staff and all can content themselves with some impressive reviews from fans, genre publications and mainstream press. I was blown away by the good notices I received:

“Nathan Basel gives a brilliant performance…Mr Baesel is an extraordinary presence, holding the film together with his mesmerizing performance, charm and openness.”

Washington Post

“Baesel, who is by turns charming, manic and thoroughly scary, is a gifted young actor who clearly relishes a role he can sink his pitchfork into.”
LA Weekly

“Give big props to Nathan Baesel, who is frighteningly perfect as Vernon.”

Philadelphia Inquirer

“Baesel has taken a character that could easily have been played as a joke and made him into a complex and nuanced man…This is a film made with total, committed, complete and pure love.”

Film Threat

“Baesel, who played the one-armed cop on TV’s now-defunct “Invasion,” is great comic fun.”
Seattle Times

“The film rests comfortably on the shoulders of Nathan Baesel, most known for a role on INVASION. He’s energetic, charismatic and pulls off the character’s humor. He’s just a likable guy, which is what makes following his Leslie Vernon character so fun.”

Ain’t It Cool News

“A young, spry Ethan Hawke lookalike with a self-deprecating sense of humor and an easy charm, he’s certainly not what you’d expect from a movie maniac…director Glosserman has found a huge asset in Baesel. Previously best-known from ABC’s Invasion, Baesel delivers a layered, star-making performance as the cocky bad boy who teaches the film crew the secrets behind faking death so as to rise again, doing the right kind of cardio training for a fast-moving-yet-slow-lurching pursuit, and even the industry jargon that those in his trade use.”
OC Weekly

“Baesel’s regular-guy charm is Will Ferrell-like. “Behind the Mask” is original and weirdly delicious, and executed with gory aplomb.”

LA Times

“The cast is exactly what you’d hope for from a winking-yet-reverent mockumentary like Behind the Mask. Leading man Nathan Baesel switches from Jim Carrey-goofy to Jack Nicholson-creepy with the drop of one eyebrow, and it’s his performance that perfectly nails what Glosserman is going for: sly, scary … and maybe just a little silly.”

Cinematical

“In the lead role, newcomer Nathan Baesel has slacker charisma.”

New York Post

“As played by Nathan Baesel (ABC’s “Invasion”), Leslie suggests Jim Carrey torn between his perfectionist and homicidal impulses. (Either that, or the young Jack Lemmon as Norman Bates.)”

Boston Globe

“Baesel makes the most of the dead-pan script, a surprisingly fresh take on the usual clichés.”

New York Daily News

Nice, huh? But you know what they say, if you believe the good ones you have to believe the bad ones too. There were a few of those that didn’t just not like the film, they hated it. The enthusiasm with which they disliked me specifically was curious to behold. Here’s just a taste from Seattle Weekly’s review, enjoy!

“Nathan Baesel, is the type who’d give himself a blow job if he could—and judging by an impromptu flip he does in one scene, he’s probably tried.”

I didn’t even know that you could print “blow job” in a mass circulation newspaper. You learn new things every day. I encourage you to read the rest of the bizarrely hateful assessment of our efforts. In the interest of full disclosure I’ve never been a very flexible guy and though I enjoy physical challenges and I also enjoy blowjobs I’ve never been able to collide those two worlds. Ed Gonzalez pegged me though, I WOULD if I could, and I HAVE tried.

I’m not as broken up about the movie getting pulled as I thought I would be. When I first got the news and the fog of confusion cleared, I had a sit on my doorstep and watched the sun set beer in hand and I felt happy. Behind The Mask has been a tremendous learning experience and this is but one more lesson. The stark realities of independent film distribution are sobering. We had a good shot at the marketplace but didn’t cut it. It didn’t help that there was little to no advertisement for the film and I’m still baffled that Anchor Bay didn’t invest anything into raising the general public’s awareness of the film. It just doesn’t make good business sense to me especially if BTM was their first theatrical release, the one to put them on the map as a theatrical distributing presence. I suppose they felt the internet buzz about the film would take awareness a long way. It clearly wasn’t enough.

I met a number of Anchor Bay’s people on Friday to gear up for BTM’s dvd push. They all seemed really nice and they bought me my drinks which is a great way for someone to ingratiate themselves with me. I’m sure the film will have a much better life on dvd than it did in theaters. It was meant for a group experience. If you ever saw it at one of the festivals then you know what I’m talking about. There’s something remarkable about that group dynamic that transforms the movie into a POWERFULLY fun event. Its been the most rewarding thing about this whole process. When I hear people responding to every little nuance as well as the broad strokes I’m reminded that we really felt like were making something special when we were shooting up there in Portland. With the exception of midnight showings in certain theaters around the country I think dvd is going to allow more opportunities for folks to get together and have a good time with a good film.

The rewards of having a well regarded film playing in theaters is obvious but I’ve already reaped many of the rewards. People have taken notice of my work and appreciated it and the good is continuing to come of it. I’m grateful that so many of my friends and family were able to get out in that opening weekend and vote with their dollars. Some folks even went out of their way travelling hundreds of miles and braving snow storms to catch it. It’s the first film I ever did, it’s the best work I’ve ever done and this was one hell of a week.