The Peanut Butter Case Study

Now that I have researched scripts and determined how to write my own, I now need to research how our movie should be produced and distributed. In order to do this, I decided to look at a low budget comedy drama film that did the same.

The low budget drama comedy I chose was The Peanut Butter Falcon released just last year, directed and written by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz.

History

The star of The Peanut Butter Falcon Zack Gottsagen met Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz at a camp that brought together artists with and without disabilities. Zack Gottsagen has Down Syndrome and when Tyler and Michael were discussing the challenges he would face as an actor Zack challenged them to write a role that only he could play, and so they did.

This is how The Peanut Butter Falcon, the story of a young man with Down Syndrome with aspirations of being a professional wrestler came to find a family in a fisherman and a local caretaker, both with troubled pasts.

Much of the story was based on Zack’s own life, but instead of struggling to be a wrestler, Zack struggled to be a famous actor.

Audience

The decision to make wrestling a key theme within the movie was not done without thought.

For years there has been a connection developing between the fans of wrestling and the fans of Hollywood. Both enjoy the detail and precision put into the performance of stunts. Both love the costuming and design that goes in to creating unique characters. Not to mention the fact that many famous wrestlers have made a career as movie actors as well. This includes Bill Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Steve Austin, John Cena, Dave Bautista, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, and Dwayne Johnson just to name a few.

Because of this movie’s inclusion of famous WWE stars-turned-actors like Jake “The Snake” Roberts the film drew not only the attention of normal Hollywood fans, but professional wrestling fans as well.

This plot choice created a larger audience for the small budget independent film, enabling its success.

With the help of the production and distribution of this movie Zack’s dream to become a famous actor has become a reality. Just this past weekend at the 2020 Oscars Zack Gottsagen became the first presenter with Down Syndrome.

In my next post I will continue this case study of The Peanut Butter Falcon and how it was produced and distributed as I use it to determine the best way our movie could be produced and distributed.

Resources:

McKnight. “The 10 Greatest Wrestlers Turned Actors.” CINEMABLEND, CINEMABLEND, 8 Oct. 2018, www.cinemablend.com/new/10-Greatest-Wrestlers-Turned-Actors-71664.html.

‘Peanut Butter Falcon’ Star Zack Gottsagen Becomes First Actor With Down Syndrome to Present at Oscars, www.msn.com/en-us/movies/oscars/peanut-butter-falcon-star-zack-gottsagen-becomes-first-actor-with-down-syndrome-to-present-at-oscars/ar-BBZOWHY.

“Bluegrass, Low Budgets, and Professional Wrestling: How the Indie Sensation The Peanut Butter Falcon Was Made.” /Film, 7 Aug. 2019, www.slashfilm.com/making-of-the-peanut-butter-falcon/.