‘Primitive War’ Director Luke Sparke Is Arranging A Blu-Ray Release, Hopes For A Steelbook
Luke Sparke managed against all odds to get his little Jurassic Park homage Primitive War made and in theaters, but he isn’t done toiling by any means. His next step is getting the film in your hands in the form of a physical copy you can bring home and add to your collection.
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If all goes according to plan, Primitive War will make it to Blu-ray as God intended, and maybe more. “There’s going to be a Blu-ray, and if that goes well or if it goes on VOD, steelbook as well,” Sparke said to Slash Film.
“I’ve done an audio commentary, and there’s behind the scenes and there’s a whole bunch of extra stuff,” the filmmaker added. Still, he acknowledges the wait-and-see period of the initial video-on-demand release, which if successful, could determine if there is a sequel.
“To me, it’s going to be how it goes on VOD,” he said. “I definitely want to continue.” What’s more, many who have seen his film want him to as well, and that might be easier than getting the first one made now that Sparke is silencing his doubters.
“Even up until the release, there was still this, you can’t do this,” he explained. “Luckily, the fans and everyone else like yourself have really jumped on board and made a bit of an online noise about it, which, for a filmmaker, is the best thing. I make ’em for the audience. I don’t make ’em for the critics.”
Early on during the development for Primitive War, Sparke thought he could go through the usual channels to pitch his vision. “My initial thought was doing it the traditional way, getting the rights and developing it, then pitching it to Hollywood and studios,” he recalled. Sadly, skeptical, or territorial studios all had the same answer.
“The problem is, as you pointed out before, everyone said, well, ‘Jurassic’ has the monopoly on dinosaurs and you are not Steven Spielberg, so how would anyone possibly do this if you’re not Spielberg?” Sparke recalled further.
“And I’m like, well look, I love Spielberg and I love the ‘Jurassic’ series, but don’t think that, here’s my pitch. And nothing happened. Literally everyone, it was the same conversation and I’m not the type of guy to take no for an answer,” he continued.
Even festivals didn’t bite, but an undeterred Sparke soldiered on. “Eventually, I released another film,” he added. “When I was over in L.A. doing the premiere of that, I went around and talked to some cast, and some crew, and some people, and producers. Then I came back and I said, screw it. We’re going to do it ourselves.”
And he did, without grants or tax credits, for below the meager sum of $10 million in today’s money. “It’s a completely independent film. There’s no government money from Australia. There’s no studio. There’s no pre-sales. There’s literally nothing,” Sparke revealed. Doing a lot with very little, he even impressed parties that passed on him at first.
“Film festivals, high film festivals, I won’t say which ones, but once they saw us go to Comic-Con and once they saw the crowd and once they saw the trailers and once they saw the release, they reached back out to me going, oh look, we should have taken it. We would’ve loved to take it. If you do anything else, let me know,” Sparke remembered.
Maybe he will get back to them with that sequel in tow, if the director believes in second chances. Primitive War’s second chance is happening on VOD right now, starting at $9.99.
NEXT: ‘Primitive War’ Review – The Real Jurassic Rebirth
