OM DENNE EPISODE
Kirsty Stark sits down with the team behind Leviticus: Writer/Director Adrian Chiarella, Producer Sam Jennings (Causeway Films), and Distributor Marc Wooldridge (Maslow Entertainment) for Part 1 of a two-part conversation about what it takes to make a million dollars at the Australian box office.
The queer horror feature reached almost 1.5 million dollars domestically, and in this conversation the three share how they got there, from an idea developed through VicScreen’s Originate program to their breakout Sundance premiere.
Come back next week for Part 2, where they’ll discuss what happens on the ground when you make a sale at Sundance, the strategy behind opening weekend, and how to turn audience members into fans.
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Listen to hear Adrian, Sam and Marc discuss:
- Why horror is intrinsically theatrical and how they positioned Leviticus for both queer and broad horror audiences.
- Causeway Films’ financing strategy for the film, which allowed them to build a theatrical model that wasn’t centred on international pre-sales.
- What Maslow looks for in a script, concept and pathway to market before saying yes to distribution.
- The casting and packaging process and what actually mattered when putting the project together.
- Why they kept news about the film quiet through production and launched it as a breakout festival film.
- How they planned their Sundance premiere, including pre-screenings, PR and festival strategy.
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Further information after listening to the episode:
- Leviticus Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXuK0vlFxIILeviticus on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/leviticus-2026
- Adrian Chiarella on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adrianchiarella/
- Sam Jennings on Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-jennings-89674621
- Maslow Entertainment on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maslowentertainment
- Sam Jennings on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-jennings-89674621 Marc Wooldridge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-wooldridge
- Maslow Entertainment: https://www.maslowentertainment.com
- Causeway Films: https://www.causewayfilms.com.au
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This Deep Dive interview is hosted and edited by Kirsty Stark.If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and we'd love you to forward this episode to a friend!
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