In early March it became apparent that we were facing unprecedented times… Restaurants, shopping malls and theaters would soon be closing for business and the entire world was about to come to a halt.
For nearly 6 months we were planning on releasing the Let Them Play Triathlon Across America documentary into hundreds of theaters across the country, and those plans (just like many others we all had in our lives) instantly went down in a blaze of COVID-19 glory. 💥
So, here we were with this documentary we busted our butts on that we were going to have to shelve for an unknown amount of time until the world opened back up for business…
The obvious benefit of the release into movie theaters is the revenue generated from ticket sales, and we felt like we had the right team and groups behind the scenes making that happen on a relatively large scale.
We very easily could have waited for the world to return to normal to release the film, but when I talked to the movies producer Eric Cochran, without hesitation, we both instantly agreed to make alternate plans and go ahead and release the film online.
Sure, we would have loved the red carpet unveiling and there is a very good chance waiting to release the film into theaters would have been more financially rewarding, but sometimes in life, we need to listen to the moment and make actionable decisions based on our current situation and the environment we live in.
With sports & youth activities shut down and all of us basically locked in our homes, we viewed this as the absolute most opportune time to deliver fresh content and a fresh message about the invaluable benefits of movement and exercise, not only for kids but adults as well.
So often we have a plan and when our plans become disrupted, we remain slaves to what we believe is the only way to have success going forward… Yet, in order to potentially have the maximum impact, we must be willing to make quick witted decisions that often deviate far and wide beyond the original.
If nothing else, this pandemic has forced us to rethink how we do everything, including watching movies… The traditional movie theater release sounds romantic, but the reality is that most people have movie theatre type TV’s in their homes and there is also something very comforting about watching in the confines of your living room with the ability to pause and restart at a moment’s notice.
Ultimately, it will be tough to tell if the Let Them Play film would have done better with a theatrical release. Regardless, we believe we appropriately adapted and adjusted in accordance with our current universe…
At the end of the day, we controlled what we could control and made a kick ass documentary with an awesome message available to a world starving for fresh content right about now…
Let Them Play 📽🏊🏼♂️🚵♂️🏃🇺🇸
-EB
P.S. If you and the family would like to watch the Let Them Play: A Triathlon Across America documentary, visit LetThemPlayFilm.com or click the button below to watch now! 📽🍿
Proceeds will not only benefit the Let Them Play Foundation, but $1 from each sale goes directly to the COVID-19 Response Fund.
