Filmmakers have often been afforded the luxury of only having one version of their film released. There are the anomalous films like Star Wars that have had multiple versions released long after the original and sometimes there are the movies with both a studio and director version, like Blade Runner, but for the most part films have a single definitive version set in stone.

As an independent filmmaker you are wise to be wary of any Hollywood tradition, the idea of a single version of a film being best is no exception. Just because it has always been done that way does not mean it is the right way for you. When you tell a story to someone, they retell it to others in their own way. Far from bastardizing the content they personalize it and can even add something extra that makes it a little better. As a low budget filmmaker you can use letting other people make their own version of your film to help get the word out about you original version.

More Participants, More Supporters

The more the merrier, indeed. The more people you can get to participate, the more people are given a reason to talk about your movie in general and each person's version in particular. For every new person you allow to use your film to make some art with, you will gain many more supporters in their social network. Not every person that joins in will bring a windfall of friends and family who become fans, but with each new participant comes exposure you would not have gotten otherwise.

More Storyworld Context

Many filmmakers feel they are the authority on what is what in their storyworld. No matter how much these filmmakers want to package or mold the experience, there are many things they cannot control. Opinions can often be just as catchy as a film's plot and speculation can sometimes be more compelling than the lines characters say. Each person that participates adds complexity to the story and context for people to better be able to place your film in their existing fictional world memory bank. The more people are immersed in your storyworld, the more invested, and thus diehard, they become.

More News Value From Each Release

There is only one premiere for a theatrical film and only one DVD release. Those are only two news opportunities to help spread the word through media. If you were to allow people to tinker with your film, you might find yourself with a load of releases of each version. For the release of each substantial new version you should expect people to want to spread the word which will not only promote that version but also the original which inspired it.

More Making-Of Stories For PR Use

One way to get media coverage when you do not offer much in the way of hard news is to have journalists write about the people behind the production and stories they have. With a streamlined film production only open to "authorized" personnel and sanctioned by the filmmaker you will have a limited set of people and situations that arise that would be newsworthy. When you open up the production to anyone that wants to join in you get more people, more stories, thus more chances of media writing about you and a better chance of finding your audience.

More Chances Of Finding Rabid Fans

Without a single take-it-or-leave-it version of the film, allowing people to have a say in how the story plays out, it might seem like it would confuse viewers and scare them away. It actually will offer your film more chances at wowing viewers. The director's cut might be a slow-burner that is not too impactful for the majority of people, but the more "fun" version that an amateur made may attract more attention. These new people would never have become a fan of the storyworld without the entree of the version that appealed to them so strongly and they may even come around to appreciating or loving the original version as well.

Instead of hogging all the fun, let others play. It might not seem worthwhile to give away so much of your hard work to people you do not know who could make fun of the story or do a horrible job, but with the internet people can do this without your permission anyway. Letting go and helping them along can reap benefits, trying to hold on to the way filmmaking was in the past is a sure way to not have much of a future. Embrace the way things are and it could come out in your favor, just not how you might have envisioned.

Fan-fiction is rampant in sci fi and fantasy. Do you know any examples in any other type of films?