Attention from voters: priceless

These are desperate times, and desperate measures are called for.

That's not only a Johnny Depp line in the upcoming serial murderer musical "Sweeney Todd," but it's also a rallying cry from some low-low-budget filmmakers who are trying to get noticed by Academy voters in this year's sea of celluloid. Herculean task or Sisyphean challenge? Must feel like a lot of both.

One such case: Michael Schroeder, writer-director-producer of "Man in the Chair," a dramedy made on a $2.5 million shoestring that stars Christopher Plummer.

Number of screenings in L.A. and N.Y.: more than 40something already, with that number expected to triple by early next year.

Copies of the movie sent to BAFTA, SAG, Academy members and the Hollywood Foreign Press: 16,000.

Festivals where the movie's been shown: 17 in 10 months (it's won at seven).

Not so incidentally, number of movies Plummer's made: 88. Oscar nods: 0.

THR's Martin Grove talks with Schroeder about his Jerry Maguire moment, which involved selling the spoils of his big-studio work and committing to indie movies, specifically the multi-generational movie-within-a-movie "Man in the Chair." It opens in New York and San Francisco on Dec. 7, L.A. on Dec. 14.