Mike Birbiglia and Ira Glass respond to Joss Whedon’s “Sleepwalk with Me” boycott Posted by Terri Schwartz on August 17th

In the words of Ira Glass, “it’s on.”

Only days after Joss Whedon released his video asking fans to boycott the upcoming premiere of indie darling “Sleepwalk with Me,” co-writers Mike Birbiglia and Ira Glass have released their response. Their video is just as hilarious and well meant as Whedon’s was, this time pointing out the impossibility of an indie film ever overcoming a studio-financed blockbuster titan in theaters.

In Whedon’s video, the beloved director asked his fans to boycott “Sleepwalk with Me” so that it doesn’t encroach the hold “The Avengers” has on the box office. His solution? Call local art house theaters and get them to book “Sleepwalk with Me” so that people can boycott it. Sounds like a brilliant master plan to us, and Birbiglia and Glass have a suitable response.

“Your movie’s made $1.5 billion worldwide. We’re just going to show you how we’re going to beat that number. Thanks to our fans, we’re now on 115 screens nationwide. All we need is $13 million in ticket sales per screen. That’s $1 million per screen for 13 weeks,” Birbiglia detailed.

“That basically takes us through Christmas,” Glass quipped.

Birbiglia continued, “That basically breaks down to 77,000 tickets per city. So in a town like Dennis, Mass. where my parents live, the population is 14,000. … All the people have to do is see the movie 5.5 times each. And my parents have agreed to see it eight times, so people really only have to see it four or five times each.”

They claim their goal is “we’re going to make what you made, plus one dollar.” And unlike “The Avengers,” which made most of its money overseas, these two claim they’re going to make that entire gross in America. Not even “Avatar” could pull that off, but we have faith in “Sleepwalk with Me.” The movie is one of the year’s best, even if Whedon is doing everything he can to draw attention to it boycotting the film.

Our take on this whole exchange? Go see “Sleepwalk with Me” and see what all the fuss is about. Hopefully we’ll get another video from Whedon in the meantime. Let’s keep this rivalry going, boys!

Are you glad Whedon is doing his best to bring attention to “Sleepwalk with Me”? Tell us in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.