Part sci-fi, mostly horror, this indie gem is no stranger to going up against impossible odds. Debuting in theaters in January of this year, it ended up taking its starting budget of $3 million and turning that into a $50 profit at the box office, leaving Hollywood execs confused and more than a little baffled by the runaway success it found without the help of any major studios or big names behind it.
Iron Lung takes place after an event known as the Quiet Rapture, which caused all stars, planets, and human life to mysteriously vanish, leaving only those aboard space stations and spacecraft alive. Simon, a convict charged with the destruction of a space station, is promised his freedom if he chooses to enter a submarine known as the Iron Lung to explore a desolate moon that turns out to be an ocean of blood. The film debuted with impressive audience and critic reviews and was financed, produced, and starred in by Mark Fischbach, better known by his online handle, Markiplier.
Iron Lung Proves That Things Can Be Done Differently in the Film Industry
Now, Fischbach is attempting to distribute Iron Lung without going through what Hollywood executives consider the proper channels, leading to some pushback and more than a few speed bumps. Speaking on a live stream about his choice to attempt to distribute Iron Lung solely through YouTube, the platform where he got his start, he said, “I would love to fight to build the system where anybody could do it right. There should be a system where people are able to just do it almost as easily as making YouTube videos. Everyone stays on the platform.”
“You can’t just take a video and put it up on YouTube and sell it as a movie. You’d think it would work that way… I thought it worked that way because I’m a YouTuber,” he elaborated. And while YouTube is the largest distributor for video content, it wasn’t initially set up to distribute films in this way—it’s basically just the middleman for other content aggregators. But one thing Fischbach is refusing to do is give up his creative rights to his project, something other distributors would demand in return for making the film available to stream, rent, or buy. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering it’s exactly what he did when writing, producing, funding, and getting Iron Lung into theaters in the first place.
And he’s also got some advice for YouTube in terms of film distribution, saying, “This makes sense for you. It gets more people involved in this. Some people may not even know you can buy movies on YouTube.”
What are your thoughts on all the issues facing the distribution of Iron Lung? Let us know in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.