ARE YOU LIVING YOUR DREAM?

Everybody talks about "living the dream" and making their own films.

How many of us really get to do “what we really want to do”?

Some of us are already living our dreams, while others watch on in wonder and say “Why not me?” There is no magic formula, no special potion and no secret answer available to the chosen few on how to live your dream.

Paying attention, doing the thing that needs doing and realization that it IS (you are in the middle of your dream!) are the three elements that are needed for “living the dream”. Opportunities might be right under your nose! You simply have to do something about what you dream about (this involves inspiration, perspiration and manifestation).

Films do NOT get made by themselves but regardless what your dream may be, there are certain rules to making it a reality.

READ MORE FOR INSPIRATION - by Peggy Barry Bartz owner of A Rose in The Road, a multi-faceted company that encourages, entertains and enlightens hearts. - http://tickledbylife.com/index.php/living-the-dream/

Venture Capital 101

An Extremely Valuable Entrepreneurial Resource

Realizing early stage entrepreneurs often have many misconceptions about venture capital, BillSnow put together this very handy introductory look at the world of venture capital. In seventy jam packed and easy to read pages, Venture Capital 101 shatters myths, and believe it or not, uses Keith Richard's guitar tuning as a paradigm to:
• Dispel the many myths and misconceptions about venture capital.
• Better position the entrepreneur for successful venture capital raises by 1) identifying the characteristics venture capitalists find attractive and 2) providing a framework for when and how to raise venture capital.
• Demonstrate venture capital is not a stamp of approval. The entrepreneur can build a successful company without raising venture capital. In other words, there is no shame in aspiring to build a company that is not “venture worthy.”
• Teach the entrepreneur when to "cut bait." Dump bad ideas and save time and money trying to raise venture capital for deals that are not venture worthy.

READ nine pages - by Bill Snow - http://www.billsnow.com/Venture%20Capital%20101_2004_10_25_9_Pages.pdf

GONE FISHING

In 2008, film maker Chris Jones set out to make a short film that would force industry professionals to sit up and notice his work, as well as reaching out to audiences around the world. Written and directed by Chris Jones, GONE FISHING" is his film. Watch the 60 second 'Gone Fishing' trailer below...

'Gone Fishing' has won many international awards and was shortlisted for the Oscars in 2009 (the short list are the ten films from which the five nominations are drawn).

Gone Fishing Trailer from Chris Jones on Vimeo.

THE STATE OF 3D ART

In the last decade the state of digital 3D art and animation has been developed and exploited to its fullest. The latest entry in LucasFilm's Star Wars Video game saga casts players as Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice", unveiling new revelations about the Star Wars galaxy.



The expansive story, created under direction from George Lucas, is set during the largely unexplored era between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. As its name implies, The Force Unleashed completely re-imagines the scope and scale of the Force by taking full advantage of newly developed technologies that will be seen and experienced for the first time anywhere in videogaming.

And so, we approach the day when all movies might be made with 3d animation...

© 2009 YouTube, LLC
© 2003 - 2009, LucasFilm
© 2009 Stanley N. Lozowski, All Rights Reserved.

WRITING A SCREENPLAY "HOOK"

Hooks became necessary after the MTV age, where shorter attention spans required the writer to jolt the viewer. A screenplay hook must "hook" your reader into your story and it needs to be established within the first five or six pages of your screenplay.

Today's movie-goers and readers have less patience to wait for a screenplay or a movie to "get going." Horror, suspense, and crime films are notorious for using a death or a murder as a hook. Nowadays, a murder has become cliché and if one is going to be used, the writer must make sure the rest of the trip is a very exciting journey.

Q.: What makes a hook more powerful?

A.: When the writer establishes not only the hook, but raises a question from it. The question could be the same as the Central Question of the movie. It could be related to the Central Question of the main character, or it could be totally unrelated. The more related the question--the more powerful it becomes.

READ MORE by Gina VanName - http://www.scriptfly.com/sceneanalysis/index.shtml

My advice to young writers is get a life. Find out what fear, pain, exhaustion, love and hunger really feel like. Then work out how to put that feeling in pictures. - John Collee

PROMOTING YOUR FILM

TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE

There are great opportunities and challenges facing today's filmmakers as they produce new media digital films.

Films can be made at less expense and produced and edited faster than ever before. But, funding is always the first problem and when your film is completed, you face the major obstacles of marketing and distribution.

Marketing or film promotion is the method by which a film is made to look appealing to your audience. If done properly, it will insure a large group of patrons willing to pay to view your film as soon as it is in distribution.

Major studios producing films often rely on big name super stars and/or fantastic special effects and CGI wizardry to produce incredible moments that will keep the audience in awe and make them want to see the spectacle on a big screen.

The promotion of independent films with smaller budgets must, of necessity, depend on other elements. Some of these include promoting: 1.) intriguing stories with great plot twists, 2.) exceptional characters who defy classification, and 3.) something new and/or completely unexpected.

Whether you produce low-budget documentary or narrative new media, well-made and well-acted independent films may face particular marketing challenges, especially if they’re aimed at general audiences. It's always best to aim your film at a specific audience who will want to see it simply because it's of interest to them. Perhaps that's one reason why so many horror films are being made; it's easy to promote to an audience that wants to be spooked and frightened.

Copyright © 2009, Stanley Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.

BIG NAME STARS = FINANCIAL FLOPS?

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

There used to be a time when a large cast of big name stars would attract a lot of attention for Hollywood spectacles but more and more, smart film producers are going with lower and lower budgets and fewer and fewer big names. It's possible with digital new media.

It makes sense today to pay less to make your film. You can't lose a lot of money if you only spend a little. Hollywood spends other people's money (sometimes in excess) in the hope of making big profits, but we have seen time and time again that it isn't the stars who make the film profitable, it's the audience.

Films do not even have to be good films; they simply need to attract the masses and fill the theater seats.

ROBERT DENIRO and AL PACINO, 50 CENT, DONNIE WAHLBERG, JOHN LEGUIZAMO, BRIAN DENNEHEY and MANY MORE in Jon Avnet's "Righteous Kill" (2008) "The movie, which has more than 10 credited producers, feels like one of those slick, for-the-money projects Hollywood studios cook up via graph charts and marketing surveys." - Rene Rodriguez, Film Critic, Miami Herald. Production Budget: $60 million; Domestic Gross: $40,081,410

ROBERT DENIRO and BRUCE WILLIS, STANLEY TUCCI, SEAN PENN, JOHN TURTURRO and MANY MORE in Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened" (2008) Good reviews, BUT "It is hard to empathize with the petty problems of people living in luxurious houses the size of hotels when so many people in America have lost their homes." - Robert Roten, Film Critic, Laramie Movie Scope. Production Budget: N/A, Domestic Gross: $1,090,947

Copyright © 2009, Stanley Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 1998–2009 IMDb.com, Inc.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc.

"Press on. Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; the world is full of unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." ~ Calvin Coolidge

Q: WHY MAKE INDIE FILMS?

A: Because if you make the right one, you can make enormous PROFITS!

The Top 10 highest grossing Indie Films of all time (Domestic and International theatrical) are listed below.

Most of these films were made within the last few years at a point in time when ticket prices were higher than ever and larger foreign audiences clamor to be entertained.

In addition to the gross ticket sales reported from domestic and international theaters, bear in mind that these films made a great deal of additional money through TV and cable sales and ticket prices(VHS and DVD) and that they are still earning money in the marketplace. These sales are usually not reported.

1 - $611,899,420 - The Passion of the Christ
2 - $368,744,044 - My Big Fat Greek Wedding
3 - $289,317,794 - Shakespeare in Love
4 - $248,639,099 - The Blair Witch Project
5 - $231,399,720 - Juno
6 - $225,933,435 - Good Will Hunting
7 - $222,446,882 - Fahrenheit 9/11
8 - *112,892,319 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show
9 - $213,928,762 - Pulp Fiction
10- $213,525,736 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

* = (Domestic gross only) The oldest film on this list was released in 1975 when it was standard practice not to report foreign box office gross. Earning 1975 dollars not adjusted for inflation, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW could be estimated to probably fall in the #2 or #3 slot.

Copyright © 2009, Stanley Lozowski. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 1998–2009 IMDb.com, Inc.

HOLLYWOOD is KING!

Oscar night is the night THE STARS COME OUT. Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress and the all the other awards. On this one night every year, Hollywood Rules!

"Slumdog Millionaire" Theatrical Trailer (2:05)

"Milk" Theatrical Trailer (2:26)

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" Theatrical Trailer (2:40)

"Frost/Nixon" Theatrical Trailer (2:30)

"The Reader" Theatrical Trailer (2:31)

NEW MEDIA = NEW MARKETING

Is Content Marketing the Only Marketing Left?

Seth Godin thinks so...

His new book is called "Tribes" and this is his definition:

"A tribe is a group of people connected by a culture, a language, a mission and probably a leader. Barack Obama built a tribe, so did Harley Davidson."

Seth believes that teaching your customers and giving your customers the resources to believe you is "new" marketing. They become a "fan" of yours simply because you teach them something that makes them feel better about the world.

If you are not creating your own content that gets people talking about you, what are you doing?

10 other key points:

1.) The old way of marketing is where producers talked AT customers with consistent interruption. New marketing is about connecting WITH customers.

2.) Today's new marketing is a bigger opportunity than any revolution that came along before (Factory, Industrial revolution) because people only need access to IDEAS, not access to large amounts of MONEY.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE - http://blog.junta42.com/content_marketing_blog/2008/01/seth-godin-cont.html

A Three Act Play

See how easily Bruce Dorn creates an amazing sample bridal video short with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

The video was shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR. All files used to create the video were not manipulated in any way. They were re-compressed for 1/4 resolution display on Canon's website.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE - http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2327

© 2008 Canon U.S.A., Inc. All Rights Reserved

COMING TO YOUR LIVING ROOM: 3D

The big four TV manufactures (Samsung, Sony, LG and Panasonic) look at 3D as the next feature to attract new buyers. They all plan to have their new 3D TVs on sale by the end of 2009 as Hollywood and many sports leagues experiment with 3D broadcasting.

Or, will 3D end up being the next big flop?

It's clear that TV manufacturers need something new to get more people to purchase the latest model TVs. During the last few years, manufacturers have experienced a sales boom as consumers upgraded to digital TVs in anticipation of the government's mandated switch to digital TV broadcasts in 2009.That said, some manufacturers claim they have developed technology that doesn't require glasses.

Some manufacturers claim they have developed technology that doesn't require the use of 3D glasses.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE By Marguerite Reardon - http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/15/3d.tv/

© 2009 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

After attending The World Premiere of Yatterman, I was invited to attend a seminar with Takashi Miike at the Japan society. I was there to witness my client Marco of marcoart.com present a tribute portrait to the master director. Afterward I was honored to meet the man in person.

Takashi Miike is different from our mis-conception of a Japanese national. He is not a company man, but a fiercely independent person. Born in Osaka in 1960, he grew up with the spector of the tremendous loss of World War Two. Both the infrastructure and the moral of the Japanese people had been diminished. From this he drew strength.

When asked about the risk of premiering Yatterman to an American audience Miike-san responded that he was nervous that American might not know enough about the subject. He was greatly relieved by the response. Miike-San describes his own work as a repressed bloodlust.

As a child, he was influenced by early anime like Speed Racer, Kimba and Astro- boy. Unlike most areas of Japan, his neighbor hood was diverse with lower caste Japanese, Koreans and mixed backgrounds. Like in America, during the 50’s and 60’s ethnicity was a major prejudice in Japan. Miike-san stated that he tries to avoid wondering where his concepts come from.

While he was ‘trained’ at a film school, he revealed that the school was largely a scheme by the instructor to raise money for a treasure hunt for the emperors’ hidden gold. He went to that school because it was the only one to accept him. He admits to being lazy, but that actually served him well. By not doing his thesis, he was available to do the grunt work on productions. That got him into the business, of direct to video industry.
To the stalwarts of the industry this segment was below their station in business. To be in their realm you need to apply to a company, pass a test and become an adult. That means you are part of an organization. Good thing Miike-san did not want to grow up in the first place.

Miike, wants to spend his golden years retired as a Yakitori chief at a restaurant catering to film makers who talk about the legend of Miike, without knowing their friend and mentor is the master himself.

Pictured is Marco and Miike

COURTING CONDI

CAN ONE MAN WITH A DREAM WIN THE HEART OF THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL WOMAN?

Independent filmmaking is alive and well! Follow Devin's journey in the first ever musical docu-tragi-comedy.

"Courting Condi" by director/producer Sebastian Doggart.


Courting Condi - Official Trailer from Courting Condi on Vimeo.

STORYBOARDING

Remember the days when you could sit back and enjoy a good comic book?

Today, it seems every movie company is reviewing the latest graphic novels and using them as storyboards to turn them into major motion pictures.

When you scan the pages of the graphic novel or comic, the action plays out in your mind. In the film and video world, black text on white pages is the script, and the graphic novels are storyboards.

READ MORE - http://www.videomaker.com/article/14236/?utm_source=enews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=%2520&utm_content=enews_2008_12_2&utm_campaign=traffic

©2009 Videomaker, Inc.

Singapore has Funding

Singapore is set to be a center of finance for the Asian entertainment industry and $385 million is available for film, TV and games development across 13 funds run by private-sector operators.

"The Economic Development Board and the MDA are very generous in their approach to companies that have an interest in Asia. And they are very flexible in the way they allow you to structure the funds," says Ashok Amritraj, topper of Los Angeles-based Hyde Park Entertainment. "They have made Singapore a safe, clear haven in these crazy times."

The territory often has played second fiddle to Hong Kong, but Singapore has outpaced its Asian rival in the fund-management and investment-trust industry. So the development of specialty funds for an industry that has been set as a national-priority growth area seems a natural extension of that process.

READ MORE - http://varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/7581/

© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Yatterman World Premiere

February 7, 2009 New York City, The Directors Guild Theater

-Scott Wolpow
Myfilm.com’s Scott Wolpow was invited to the World Première of the live action movie of the hit 1970’s Japanese animated series Yatterman. The event was in conjunction with The New York Comic Convention.

I have seen the animated series a couple of times over the years. Mostly at various Sci-Fi and comic conventions. I am also aware of Directors Takashi Miike’s work. He is best know for pushing the horror genre in films like “Audition” and “Icchi, the Killer”. This left me in a quandary of what to expect.

The theater was packed with many female fans, which puzzled me. I had no idea that Japanese POP star Sho Sakurai was the lead in the film. I had no idea who he was. He is in a boy band called Arashi.

The credits opened to the screaming delight of the fans. Quickly we were treated to a visual delight of a surreal live action world with cartoon aspects. The plot holds true to the cartoon form. The Yatterman team, made up of Yatterman #1 [Sho], Yatterman #2 [Saki Fukada], Yatterwoof [A dog robot] and ToyBoty [another bot]. They are trying to prevent general evil, which is in the form of the beautiful Queen Dorojo [Kyoko Fukada] and her henchmen Tonzura [Kendo Kobayashi] and Boyakki [Katsuhisa Namase]. This time the evil trio are trying to steal all four pieces of a magical skull.

As traditional with the animated art form, the movie lampoons popular culture and other hit movies. It also held true to its origins and preserved the traditional costume change of the hero leaping into the air and the silly dances each group breaks into. Tribute is also given to the original voices of the cartoon in a very playful manner and peppered in the story are many jokes and references from the series.

After the show the stars honored us with a question and answer period. Miike explained he was drawn to the movie because he loved the aspect of simple people without real skills who had hope and belief good would come. He explained that in the 70’s Japan was till recovering its self image after World War 2. He and others were inspired by the series.

I look forward to the US release of the movie and I think it will further expand the relationship between two cultures that thrive off each other’s work. I am also looking forward to the honor of meeting Miike in person. My client and good friend Marco will present him with an 8 foot by 4 foot tribute portrait at New Yorks Japan Society.

YouTube's Hollywood Deal

YouTube and the the Hollywood talent agency (William Morris Agency), are close to signing a deal that would place the company’s clients in made-for-the-Web productions. William Morris Agency represents a number of famous clients like the actors Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and producers J. J. Abrams and Michael Bay.

The deal underscores the ways that distribution models are presently evolving on the Internet.

Some actors and various celebrities are creating their own content for the Web, bypassing the often arduous process of developing a program for a television network.

William Morris clients would be given an ownership stake in the videos they create for the YouTube Web site.

READ MORE by BRIAN STELTER - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/business/media/29youtube.html

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company