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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Chats With The Team Of Horror Equity Fund, LLC

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word Horror

There have been changes to how CrowdFunders may raise money. On Thursday Sept 11 we discuss some of these changes with my guests Marlon Schulman, Brian Herskowitz and John Crye. Together these gentleman fave created a genre specific funding platform Horror Equity Fund to offer investment opportunity, real ownership and profit participation for investors.

Join Us as we record Live Thursday Sept 11, 2014 at 11aET, 10aCT 8aPT To Listen Click the BOLDED LINK BELOW:

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Horror Equity Fund Founders Marlon Schulman, Brian Herskowitz, John Crye

Join Us Thursday September 11, 2014 for the show. The Chat Room is open when we record live. You can listen from the player or you can join chat room and  ask questions from there.

Here is a Broad Overview of Horror Equity Fund, LLC

Horror Equity Fund LLC leads the industry in genre-specific funding solutions for horror-centric projects including films, ancillary rights exploitation and other horror-related projects. Amongst the numerous domains it owns, Horror Equity Fund LLC owns and operates HorrorEquityFund.com and FederationOfHorror.com.

HorrorEquityFund.com (HEF) is a portal platform that brings together Investors and Content Creators in a simple, transparent and compliant online ecosystem that provides a unique opportunity for all participants to share in the amazing profits often realized in the world of Horror entertainment.

Unlike “pre-sale” or donation-based crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, which solicit donations or contributions in return for a poster, download, or other consideration, Horror Projects presented through HEF offer real ownership and profit participation (an equitable interest) for its Investors.

From the registration and online submission of a new script, to the review, approval and packaging of the Project, to the presentation and sponsorship of a distributor, financier or studio, to the posting of the Project opportunity on HEF, HEF prepares, tracks and presents the best possibilities of each investment.

HEF’s project development process improves the chances for commercial success in the marketplace by actively developing projects with the Content Creator and leading professionals in the Industry. HEF works not only on fundability, but on the profitability of Projects.

Horror projects include: Transmedia market projects; Feature Films; TV Episodic(s); Graphic Novels; Motion Comics; Books; Library Utilization; Remakes; Videogames; Studio Financing and Joint Ventures; Collectible Toys; Live horror shows and tours, Smart Apps; or any other form of merchandising. Cutting edge TV programming, to be co-produced by HEF, is already being developed.

With its companion community site, Federation of Horror (which provides a social media marketing and investment “game preserve” created specifically for such purposes), HEF has been uniquely created to tap into the perennially high ROI Horror market and provide a robust vehicle for fans, professional creators and investors. Together, with promising Projects lining the shelves, they form a virtual “Supermarket of Horror™.”

“Investing in Horror doesn’t have to be a SCARY experience: Only the Project does.” ™

Bios of Leadership Team

Marlon Schulman – Founder, CEO

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Marlon W. Schulman’s leadership in creating targeted, revenue-producing communities within the entertainment industry is enhanced by his intuition and passion. As an entrepreneurial producer and attorney, his specialty is the creation of diverse profit-driven entertainment products and services through innovatively conceived integration of proven strategies with new technologies.

He has successfully completed numerous and profitable entrepreneurial initiatives, both within major entertainment companies (Bandai Entertainment, Orion Pictures, AECG), as well as in his independent and partnership entities (Wednesday Morning Productions, Realbuzz Studios, Libertas Law Group). Those projects were created to serve de-centralized, under-served and in certain cases un-recognized interest groups, resulting in new audiences and on-going revenue centers.

Early recognition of voids in the marketplace is key to his approach. Before anime was widely recognized in the US, he formed an on-line, global community of avid fans with Anime Village for Bandai; with ground-breaking, value-reinforcement series of manga graphic novels, he addressed the otherwise-ignored concerns of young, mostly female, faith-based readers; by shepherding Opus 1 Music Library’s entry into new mobile technology, he led a generation-old business into the digital age.

His active strategic stance at the crossroads of new technology, law, business and the creative arts has led to the generation of hundreds of million of dollars in fresh revenue and the establishment of long-running revenue streams in the entertainment industry.

Brian Herskowitz

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Brian Herskowitz is a veteran Hollywood producer, writer, and director of feature films, TV series and digital series. He is the author of the best-selling book, Process to Product: A Practical Guide to Screenwriting and is a faculty member at the Boston University of Los Angeles’ graduate degree program, Writer in Hollywood.

His TV credits include series writing for Blossom on NBC; HBO’s Tour of Duty; CBS’s Murder, She Wrote; and the syndicated series, Hercules. He co-wrote the FOX pilot, Mantic, with Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander and also line-directed the Candace Buschnell web series, The Broadroom, starring Jenny Garth, Jennifer Esposito and Talia Balsam.

Brian’s film credits include writing and directing the award-winning short, Odessa or Bust, starring Red Buttons, Jason Schwartzman and Jason Alexander and documentaries on domestic abuse victims, 1736: Somewhere To Turn, and hard economic times, Joanne. As producer, he recently finished principal photography on feature films by directors Allen Katz (M*A*S*H) and Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan).

He is an active voice-over artist including hundreds of hours on the classic horror shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and True Blood. He is currently directing and writing several HEF-supported projects including She Feeds, The Whangdoodle, and Creature Feature: The Movie Musical.

A fourth degree black belt in Judo, Brian is the 2014 National Master Champion in Judo and the 2013 Pan American Champion in Jujitsu. He lives in Los Angeles, is married to actress Gina Hecht (Mork and Mindy), and has two amazing daughters.

John Crye

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John Crye’s experience in the independent film industry combines a deep knowledge of story development, a keen understanding of production and a firm grasp on the realities of the marketplace. As a creative executive and producer, Crye has honed his skill for selecting quality content, shaping it to meet its greatest potential, and then helping it achieve success via fiscally responsible production, distribution and marketing methods.

Working with such independent film industry leaders as Newmarket Films, Exclusive Media and Wrekin Hill Entertainment, Crye has shepherded a body of work to the screen that reads like a roll-call of great indie cinema, including such films as MEMENTO, DONNIE DARKO, THE PRESTIGE, WHALE RIDER, MONSTER and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. In acquiring content at the pitch, script and finished film phases, Crye has developed a reputation for recognizing value in challenging and even controversial properties. This ability is matched only by his talent for introducing such content to audiences that are hungry for genuine, original entertainment. Crye’s pioneering use of targeted social marketing has consistently delivered successful theatrical and home video releases at a fraction of traditional print and advertising costs.

Outside of his work as an executive, Crye is also a founding member of the Horror collective known as Fewdio. With its seminal web series, “Nightmare House,” Fewdio became an unqualified success story, turning five victims of the 2008 WGA strike into cult heroes with over 3 million unique views and more than 50 festival and convention appearances. The name “Fewdio,” non-existent before the creation of the collective, has gone on to become one of the most popular meta-tags used by makers of Horror shorts on the web, guaranteeing thousands of views upon posting.

With over 18 years working on both sides of the camera and both sides of the negotiating table, John Crye has developed an invaluable insight into what makes independent film successful, artistically and financially.

PETER FLOOD

Peter Flood

Peter is a story analyst with fifteen years experience in both development and acquisitions for Buena Vista Motion Picture Group (Walt Disney Studios, Universal Pictures, Miramax & National Geographic Films.

He was story consultant on both (true story) ‘LONE SURVIVOR’ (Universal Pictures 2014) and (no story) ‘BATTLESHIP’ (Universal Pictures 2012) that was a high value lesson on what can go wrong with a marketing idea, make-it-up-as-you-go-along mega-movie disaster.

Prior to Disney, Peter survived twenty-five years of professional theater in New York as a Director, Script Doctor, Acting Teacher and Coach to celebrity and non-celebrity actors. He produced on Broadway in association with the Shubert Organization and directed in New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome and taught ‘acting for directors’ as adjunct faculty at the Tisch School, NYU Graduate School of Film & Television and the New School for Social Research.

In 1991, he brought then unknown writer/director QUENTIN TARANTINO and unknown producer LAWRENCE BENDER (A Band Apart) to HARVEY KEITEL for the making of ‘RESERVOIR DOGS’ and continued in an advisory capacity to the production through the start of principal photography.

Peter is a member of the Screen Editor’s Guild and the Actors Studio Playwright & Director Units in New York (Elia Kazan, Arthur Penn) and in Los Angeles (Mark Rydell, Martin Landau, Paul Mazursky).

He grew up in Fort Worth and was educated by St Mark’s School of Texas, Oberlin College, Syracuse University, Joseph Campbell (Manhattan seminars on Carl Jung ‘Symbols Of Transformation’, three years as a Military Historian to Fifth Corps US Army Europe and two total immersion trips to INDIA (1977,1979).

SO Join Us Thursday September 11, 2014 for the show. The Chat Room is open when we record live. You can listen from the player or you can join chat room and  ask questions from there.

*** Disclaimer: Rex Sikes & Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat does not provide legal advice nor investment advice. It is recommended that prior to undertaking any legal or investment venture you consult with proper experts and authorities in those areas. Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat is a discussion show which explores topics related to filmmaking and content creation.***

 

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Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

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2014 Milwaukee Film Festival Entire Line UP – Check it Out!

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If you are a film fan you have been waiting for this Milwaukee! The entire 2014 film festival line up is announced. As you know, the festival begins Thursday Sept 25, 2014 and ends October 9. There is a great bunch of Milwaukee surprises during this festival for you to enjoy!

Opening the festival is the riveting documentary, 1971, about eight brave citizens who took matters into their own hands in order to expose government corruption.

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“The last time we opened the festival with a documentary was in our inaugural year. 1971 is one of the most important documentaries of 2014 – if not the most important – exemplifying the power of the individual. It’s expertly crafted and has significant parallels to today’s political and social climate. I feel the story will resonate with our audience and simultaneously provide Milwaukee with the incredibly unique opportunity to engage in-person with the film’s director and subjects,” explains Jonathan Jackson, Artistic and Executive Director for Milwaukee Film.

Oscar-winning Milwaukee native, John Ridley, to screen his Jimi Hendrix biopic for Centerpiece

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Fresh off of the unanimous critical acclaim and Oscar glory received by his screenplay for 12 Years a Slave, Milwaukee native John Ridley brings an intimate portrait of rock legend Jimi Hendrix to the screen in his newest film, Jimi: All is By My Side – the festival Centerpiece. Written and directed by Ridley, Jimi is an electric biopic following a year in Hendrix’s life, magnetically portrayed by Outkast’s André Benjamin.

Closing the festival is the thriller made entirely in Milwaukee by local crew, The Surface. Daringly filmed on Lake Michigan, the film stars Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings, Rudy, Goonies), and is a fitting bookend to the festival as a celebration of local filmmaking.

The Surface is one near and dear to my heart since I know much of the cast and nearly all of the crew members. I am eager to see this movie.

This year’s festival will screen a total of 276 films (36 more than in 2013) – 119 features (16 more than in 2013) and 156 shorts (19 more than in 2013) – from 63 different countries (19 more than in 2013). Among the features are 56 documentaries and 63 fiction films, including four world premieres, and one silent film (Man with a Movie Camera–voted the greatest documentary of all time by the prestigious British Film Institute) featuring live musical accompaniment from the world renowned Alloy Orchestra.

Program Books for the 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival will be available to the general public beginning Saturday, September 6 from 9 AM – 8 PM during both the East Town Farmer’s Market and the WMSE Backyard BBQ in Cathedral Square Park. This will also be the last day to purchase festival passes and ticket 6-packs in person at an early discount rate.

So here it is:

The complete 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival lineup:

SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATIONS

Opening Night Film
1971 USA / 2014 / Director: Johanna Hamilton

Festival Centerpiece

Jimi: All Is By My Side United Kingdom, Ireland, USA / 2013 / Director: John Ridley

CLOSING NIGHT FILM

The Surface USA / 2014 / Director: Gil Cates Jr.

 

Alive Inside USA / 2014 / Director: Michael Rossato-Bennett

 

Dear MKE

All in the Family (USA / 2013 / Director: Sam Macon

BuildMoto (USA / 2013 / Director: Matt Mixon

Come Sail Away (USA / 2013 / Director: Jack Davidson

Cooking with Kumar (USA / 2013 / Director: Frankie Latina
High Art (USA / 2013 / Director: Chris Thompson

Lo with the Fro (USA / 2013 / Director: Jessica Farrell

Mondo Lucha (USA / 2013 / Director: Sam Macon

The Right Ingredients (USA / 2013 / Director: Matt Mixon

Rory: Milwaukee’s Most Famous Cab Driver (USA / 2013 / Director: Frankie Latina

To See What You Can Do (USA / 2013 / Director: Jack Davidson

Tour de Space (USA / 2013 / Director: Blyth Renate Meier

The Truck Driver (USA / 2013 / Director: Matt Mixon

Underwater Harvey (USA / 2013 / Director: Steve Farr

 

Family United  Spain / 2013 / Director: Daniel Sánchez Arévalo

The Imitation Game  USA, United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Morten Tyldum

 Life Partners USA / 2014 / Director: Susanna Fogel

Man with a Movie Camera USSR / 1929 / Director: Dziga Vertov

Revival Czech Republic / 2013 / Director: Alice Nellis

Secundaria USA, Cuba / 2012 / Director: Mary Jane Doherty

TRIBUTES

Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys France, Germany, Romania / 2000 / Director: Michael Haneke

Point and Shoot USA / 2014 / Director: Marshall Curry

Stray Dog USA / 2014 / Director: Debra Granik

Street Fight USA / 2005 / Director: Marshall Curry

Top Secret! USA, United Kingdom / 1984 / Directors: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker

Winter’s Bone USA / 2010 / Director: Debra Granik

 

COMPETITION

Bad Hair Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Germany / 2013 / Director: Mariana Rondón

Cairo Drive Egypt, USA / 2013 / Director: Sherief Elkatsha

Don’t Leave Me Netherlands, Belgium / 2013 / Directors: Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Niels van Koevorden

Of Horses and Men Iceland, Germany, Norway / 2013 / Director: Benedikt Erlingsson

Still Life United Kingdom, Italy / 2013 / Director: Uberto Pasolini

The Tribe Ukraine, Netherlands / 2014 / Director: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky

The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga USA, Ukraine, Russia, Poland / 2013 / Director: Jessica Oreck

Zero Motivation Israel, France / 2014 / Director: Talya Lavie

 

PASSPORT: MEXICO

The Amazing Catfish (Los Insolitos Peces Gatos) Mexico, France / 2013 / Director: Claudia Sainte-Luce

Club Sandwich Mexico / 2013 / Director: Fernando Eimbcke

Heli Mexico / 2013 / Director: Amat Escalante

Last Call (Tercera llamada) Mexico / 2013 / Director: Francisco Franco Alba

Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border (Purgatorio: Viaje al Corazón de la Frontera) USA, Mexico / 2013 / Director: Rodrigo Reyes

Que Caramba es la Vida Germany / 2014 / Director: Doris Dörrie

We Are the Nobles (Nosotros los Nobles) Mexico / 2013 / Director: Gary Alazraki

Workers Mexico, Germany / 2013 / Director: Jose Luis Valle

RATED K: FOR KIDS

AninA Uruguay, Colombia / 2013 / Director: Alfredo Soderguit

Ernest & Celestine France, Luxembourg, Belgium / 2012 / Directors: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner

Felix South Africa / 2013 / Director: Roberta Durrant

Mary Poppins Sing-A-Long USA / 1964 / Director: Robert Stevenson

Windstorm Germany / 2013 / Director: Katja von Garnier

 

Kids Shorts: Size Small

Cloudy Goats Iran / 2014 / Director: Hamid Karimian

The Delirious Tales: The Chicken, the Elephant and the Snake France / 2012 / Director: Fabrice Luang-Vija

Goose Trouble Poland / 2013 / Director: Monika Dovnar

I Want My Hat Back USA / 2013 / Director: Galen Fott

Into Spring Netherlands / 2012 / Director: Udo Prinsen

My Little Chicken Canada / 2011 / Directors: Jeremy Diamond, Alex Hawley

My Mom is an Airplane Russia / 2013 / Director: Yulia Aronova

The Numberlys USA / 2013 / Directors: William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg

Sky Color USA / 2012 / Director: Peter H. Reynolds

Slowly but Surely USA / 2012 / Director: Eli Balser

Winter Has Come Russia / 2012 / Director: Vassiliy Shlychkov

 

Kids Shorts: Size Medium

At the Opera Argentina / 2010 / Director: Juan Pablo Zaramella

Beep, Beep, Beep Canada / 2012 / Director: Jeremy Diamond

The Dam Keeper USA / 2013 / Directors: Robert Kondo, Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi

The Mole at the Sea Russia / 2012 / Director: Anna Kadykova

Monster Symphony Germany / 2012 / Director: Kiana Naghshineh

Mushroom Monster Norway / 2013 / Director: Aleksander Leines Nordaas

The New Species Czech Republic / 2013 / Director: Kateřina Karhánková   

Gnarly in Pink­-Featuring the Pink Helmet Posse USA / 2014 / Directors: Benjamin Mullinkosson, Kristelle Laroche

Rabbit and Deer Hungary / 2013 / Director: Péter Vácz

The Whale Bird France / 2011 / Director: Sophie Roze

Wombo Germany / 2013 / Director: Daniel Acht

 

Kids Shorts: Size Large

Cootie Contagion USA / 2012 / Director: Josh Smooha

Dancing with Style Netherlands / 2012 / Director: Xander de Boer

Girl with the World in her Hair United Kingdom / 2011 / Director: Debbie Howard

Hedgehogs and the City Latvia / 2013 / Director: Evalds Lacis

Matilde Italy / 2013 / Director: Vito Palmieri

My Strange Grandfather Russia / 2012 / Director: Dina Velikovskaya

Sniffles USA / 2013 / Directors: Jeremy Galante, David Cowles

Sweet Love Netherlands / 2012 / Director: Albert Jan van Rees

Twins in Bakery Japan / 2013 / Director: Mari Miyazawa

 

BLACK LENS

25 to Life USA / 2014 / Director: Mike L. Brown

CRU USA / 2014 / Director: Alton Glass

Evolution of a Criminal USA / 2014 / Director: Darius Clark Monroe

Freedom Summer USA / 2014 / Director: Stanley Nelson

Hollywood Shuffle USA / 1987 / Director: Robert Townsend

Things Never Said USA / 2013 / Director: Charles Murray

Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People USA / 2014 / Director: Thomas Allen Harris

‘Til Infinity: Celebrating 20 Years of the Souls of Mischief USA / 2014 / Director: Shomari Smith

 

CREAM CITY CINEMA

 Hamlet A.D.D. USA / 2014 / Directors: Bobby Ciraldo, Andrew Swant

 

The Milwaukee Show I

The Death of Corey Stingley USA / 2014 / Director: Spencer Chumbley

An Evening at Angelo’s USA / 2014 / Director: Kara Mulrooney

Glider USA / 2014 / Director: Junehyuck Jeon

The Harpist USA / 2014 / Director: Erica Thompson

The Kenny Dennis USA / 2014 / Director: WC Tank

Little America USA / 2014 / Director:  Kurt Raether

New Planet USA / 2014 / Director: James Tindell

Settlers USA / 2013 / Director: Nathaniel Heuer

 

The Milwaukee Show II

Balloons USA / 2014 / Director: Sitora Takanaev

Geoffrey Broughe Handles Confrontation Poorly USA / 2014 / Director: Jon Phillips

MECCA: The Floor That Made Milwaukee Famous USA / 2014 / Director: Chris James Thompson

One Week Vacation USA / 2014 / Director:  Brendan T. Jones

Smoky Places USA / 2013 / Director: Michael DiMilo

This is Jackie. USA / 2014 / Director: Anna Sampers

‘Tis the Season USA / 2013 / Director: Kirsten Stuck

To Hold In the Heart USA / 2014 / Director: Pang Yang Her

The Waystation in the Stars USA / 2013 / Director: Brandon L Morrissey

 

The Milwaukee Youth Show

200,000 USA / 2014 / Directors: Gavin White, Tyler Matthews, Jeremy LeCleir, Scott Meade

Assist Bhopal USA / 2014 / Director: Megan Sai Dogra

The Autumn Vignette USA / 2014 / Director: Serbata Tarrer

Counting the Dead USA / 2012 / Director: Alexandra Van Den Heuvel

Dreaming USA / 2014 / Director: Felicia McGowan

Get Real People USA / 2014 / Directors: Griffin Anderson, Mitch Dykstra, Tanner Dykstra, Ronnie Al-Ramahi

Iero USA / 2014 / Directors: Gabriella Avila, Alexia Jaso

​​If You Weren’t Here USA / 2013 / Directors: LaVarnway Boys & Girls Club workshop participants

La Decisiones de Tu Vida USA / 2014 / Directors: Alondra Mercado, Ana Ornelas

Let the Children Live USA / 2014 / Directors: Clarke Street Boys & Girls Club workshop participants

Media and Mental Illness USA / 2014 / Directors: Eden Raduege, Mikayla Bell

Protect Yourself USA / 2014 / Directors: Youth from Townsend CLC Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee

Wake Up and Pay Attention USA / 2014 / Directors: Youth from the Daniels-Mardak Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee

The Other One USA / 2014 / Director: Josef Steiff

Pester USA / 2014 / Director: Eric Gerber

Psychopath USA / 2014 / Director: Manny Marquez

Serial Daters Anonymous USA / 2014 / Director: Christopher Carson Emmons (I have a special place in my heart for this movie, there is some history here. I am happy it is screening in the festival.

 

SOUND VISION

20,000 Days on Earth United Kingdom / 2014 / Directors: Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard

The Ballad of Shovels and Rope USA / 2014 / Director: Jace Freeman

Finding Fela USA / 2014 / Director: Alex Gibney

My Prairie Home Canada / 2013 / Director: Chelsea McMullan

Revenge of The Mekons USA / 2013 / Director: Joe Angio

Stop Making Sense USA / 1984 / Director: Jonathan Demme

Take Me to the River USA / 2014 / Director: Martin Shore

This May Be the Last Time USA / 2014 / Director: Sterlin Harjo

 

ART + ARTISTS

Advanced Style USA / 2014 / Director: Lina Plioplyte

Art and Craft USA / 2014 / Directors: Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, Mark Becker

Born to Fly USA / 2014 / Director: Catherine Gund

Crumb USA / 1994 / Director: Terry Zwigoff

Hairy Who & The Chicago Imagists USA / 2013 / Director: Leslie Buchbinder

Living Stars Argentina / 2014 / Directors: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat

Nan Goldin: I Remember Your Face Germany, Austria, Switzerland / 2013 / Director: Sabine Lidl

Sol LeWitt The Netherlands / 2012 / Director: Chris Teerink

 

CINEMA HOOLIGANTE

 

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb USA, United Kingdom / 1964 / Director: Stanley Kubrick

Mood Indigo (L’ecume des Jours) France / 2013 / Director: Michel Gondry

Patema Inverted (Sakasama No Patema) Japan / 2013 / Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura

The Raid 2 Indonesia / 2013 / Director: Gareth Evans

This Is Spinal Tap USA / 1984 / Director: Rob Reiner

Time Lapse USA / 2014 / Director: Bradley King

Wetlands (Feuchtgebiete) Germany / 2013 / Director: David Wnendt

Witching and Bitching (Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi) Spain, France / 2013 / Director: Álex de la Iglesia

SHORTER IS BETTER

Shorts: The Best Damn F*#@ing Midnight Program Ever. Sh*t.

Box Room Ireland / 2013 / Director: Michael Lathrop

Fool’s Day USA / 2013 / Director: Cody Blue Snider

The Gunfighter USA / 2014 / Director: Eric Kissack

I Love You So Hard United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Ross Butter)

Invasion France / 2014 / Directors: Hugo Ramirez, Olivier Patte

Kekasih Malaysia / 2013 / Director: Diffan Sina Norman

Kids and Explosions – Swear Words France / 2012 / Directors: Thomas Vernay, Yann Wallaert

Not Funny (No Tiene Gracia) Spain / 2013 / Director: Carlos Violade

The Obvious Child United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Stephen Irwin

 

Shorts: Date Night

2 Girls, 1 Cake Denmark / 2013 / Director: Jens Dahl

Best United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: William Oldroyd

Life’s A Bitch Toutes des Connes) (Canada / 2013 / Director: Francois Jaros

Love. Love. Love. Russia / 2013 / Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram

Oi, Meu Amor (Hi, My Love) USA / 2014 / Director: Robert G. Putka

Peepers USA / 2014 / Director: Ken Lam

Queenie New Zealand / 2014 / Director: Paul Neason

Scent of a Woman USA / 2013 / Director: Lauren Savoy

Send USA / 2013 / Director: Peter Vack

We Keep On Dancing Australia / 2013 / Director: Jessica Barclay Lawton

Where were you when Michael Jackson died? (T’étais où quand Michael Jackson est mort?) France / 2013 / Director: Jean-Baptiste Pouilloux

 

Shorts: Let’s Get Animated

365 United Kingdom / 2013 / Directors: Greg McLeod, Myles McLeod)

Coda Ireland / 2013 / Director: Alan Holly

Grace Under Water Australia / 2014 / Director: Anthony Lawrence

Love in the Time of March Madness(USA / 2014 / Directors: Melissa Johnson, Robertino Zambrano) Marilyn Myller (USA / 2013 / Director: Mikey Please

The Missing Scarf Ireland / 2013 / Director: Eoin Duffy

Phantom Limb United Kingdom, Australia / 2013 / Director: Alex Grigg

A Recipe for Gruel United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Sharon Smith

Symphony No. 42 Hungary / 2014 / Director: Reka Bucsi

Through the Hawthorn United Kingdom / 2014 / Directors: Anna Benner, Pia Borg, Gemma Burditt

White Morning United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Paul Barritt

 

Shorts: Modern Families

Baby Mary USA / 2013 / Director: Kris Swanberg

Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak) France, China / 2013 / Director: Hu Wei

Condom Australia / 2013 / Directors: Igor Coric, Sheldon Lieberman

Cruising Electric 1980) (USA / 2013 / Director: Brumby Boylston

The Cut (La Coupe) Canada / 2014 / Director: Genevieve Dulude-De Celles

The Hunger De Honger) (Belgium / 2013 / Director: Benoit De Clerck

I Think This Is The Closest To How The Footage Looked Israel / 2013 / Directors: Hameiri, Michal Vaknin

Krisha USA / 2013 / Director: Trey Edward Shults

Pony Place Netherlands / 2013 / Director: Joost Reijmers

 

Shorts: Out of This World

Bernard the Great (Bernard Le Grand) Canada / 2013 / Directors: Marie-Hélène Viens, Philippe Lupien

Democracy (Democracia) (pain / 2013 / Director: Borja Cobeaga

The iMom Australia, USA / 2013 / Director: Ariel Martin

The Kármán Line United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Oscar Sharp

Orbit Ever After United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Jamie Stone

When You Were Mine USA / 2014 / Director: Michelle M. Witten

 

Shorts: Sports Shorts. Shorts about Sports.

Cadet Belgium / 2013 / Director: Kevin Meul

Gnarly in Pink – Featuring the Pink Helmet Posse USA / 2014 / Directors: Benjamin Mullinkosson, Kristelle Laroche

The High Five USA / 2014 / Director: Michael Jacobs

The Immaculate Reception USA / 2014 / Director: Charlotte Glynn

Strike: the Greatest Bowling Story Ever Told (SA / 2014 / Director: Joey Daoud

Tennis Elbow France / 2012 / Director: Vital Philippot

Untucked USA / 2013 / Director: Danny Pudi

 

Shorts: Stories We Tell

The Chaperone Canada / 2013 / Directors: Fraser Munden, Neil Rathbone

CRIME: The Animated Series Marcus McGhee) (USA, Canada / 2013 / Directors: Sam Chou, Alix Lambert

Funnel USA / 2013 / Director: Andre Hyland

Maikaru USA / 2014 / Director: Amanda Harryman

One Is Listening Anymore! Australia / 2013 / Director: Romi Trower

One Year Lease USA / 2014 / Director: Brian Bolster

Person to Person USA / 2014 / Director: Dustin Guy Defa

Yearbook USA / 2013 /  Director: Bernardo Britto

You Won’t Regret That Tattoo Canada / 2013 / Director: Angie Bird

 

Shorts: Stranger Than Fiction

The Chilean Elvis Chile / 2013 / Director: Marcelo Kiwi

The Last Days of Peter Bergmann Ireland / 2013 / Director: Ciaran Cassidy

A Paradise (Un Paraíso) Cuba / 2013 / Director: Jayisha Patel

Stumped USA / 2014 / Director: Robin Berghaus

The Supreme (Najwyższy) Poland / 2013 / Director: Katarzyna Gondek

Taxidermists USA / 2012 / Director: Nicole Triche

 

​Pre-Feature Shorts

3 Acres in Detroit USA / 2013 / Director: Nora Mandray

Anchovies USA / 2014 / Director: Annabelle Attanasio

Carnival of the Animals USA / 2014 / Director: Sitora Takanaev

David Hockney In the Now USA / 2013 / Director: Lucy Walker

Dinosaurs and Sea Hawks USA / 2014 / Director: Linas Phillips

Eleanor Ambos Interiors USA / 2013 / Director: Andrew Michael Ellis

Give It Up for the Girl USA / 2014 / Director: Carol Brandt

I Was a Teenage Girl USA / 2014 / Director: Augustine Frizzell

MeTube: August sings Carmen “Habanera” Austria / 2013 / Director: Daniel Moshel

Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution USA, Syria, Turkey / 2013 / Director:  Matthew VanDyke

One Picture (Kay Pacha) Peru / 2013 / Director: Alvaro Sarmiento

Sker Iceland / 2013 / Director: Eytor Jovinsson

Supervenus France / 2013 / Director: Frederic Doazan

This is It USA / 2013 / Director: Alexander Engel

Years USA / 2014 / Director: Rose Curley

FILM FEAST

 

Cesar’s Grill Germany, Ecuador, Switzerland / 2013 / Director: Darío Aguirre

Paulette France / 2012 / Director: Jérôme Enrico

Slow Food Story Italy, Ireland / 2013 / Director: Stefano Sardo

Soul Food Stories Bulgaria, Finland / 2013 / Director: Tonislav Hristov

Soul of a Banquet USA / 2014 / Director: Wayne Wang

The Starfish Throwers USA, India / 2014 / Director: Jesse Roesler

A Year in Burgundy USA, France / 2013 / Director: David Kennard

Zone Pro Site: A Moveable Feast Taiwan / 2013 / Director: Yu-Hsun Chen

 

DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL FAVORITES

Big Men USA / 2013 / Director: Rachel Boynton

The Case Against 8 USA / 2014 / Directors: Ben Cotner, Ryan White

Dancing In Jaffa USA, Israel / 2013 / Director: Hilla Medalia

The Expedition to the End of the World Denmark / 2013 / Director: Daniel Dencik

The Green Prince Germany, Israel, United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Nadav Schirman

Happiness France, Finland / 2013 / Director: Thomas Balmès

An Honest Liar USA, Spain, Italy, Canada / 2014 / Directors: Tyler Measom, Justin Weinstein

The Immortalists USA / 2014 / Directors: David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg

Kids for Cash USA / 2014 / Director: Robert May

Meet the Patels USA / 2014 / Directors: Geeta V. Patel, Ravi V. Patel

The Missing Picture Cambodia, France / 2013 / Director: Rithy Panh

The Overnighters USA / 2014 / Director: Jesse Moss

Particle Fever USA / 2013 / Director: Mark A. Levinson

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry USA / 2014 / Director: Mary Dore

Vessel USA, Tanzania, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Pakistan, Netherlands, Ireland, Indonesia, Ecuador / 2014 / Director: Diana Whitten

Watchers of the Sky USA / 2014 / Director: Edet Belzberg

 

WORLDVIEWS

1,000 Times Good Night Norway, Ireland, Sweden / 2013 / Director: Erik Poppe)

Charlie’s Country Australia / 2013 / Director: Rolf de Heer)

The Forgotten Kingdom USA, South Africa, Lesotho / 2013 / Director: Andrew Mudge)

Horses of God Morocco, France, Belgium / 2012 / Director: Nabil Ayouch)

Human Capital Italy, France / 2014 / Director: Paolo Virzì)

In Bloom Georgia, Germany, France / 2013 / Directors: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Gross)

The Liberator Venezuela, Spain / 2013 / Director: Alberto Arvelo)

Life Feels Good Poland  / 2013 / Director: Maciej Pieprzyca)

Life’s a Breeze Ireland, Sweden / 2013 / Director: Lance Daly) 

Like Father, Like Son Japan / 2013 / Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Living is Easy With Eyes Closed Spain / 2013 / Director: David Trueba)

Manuscripts Don’t Burn Iran / 2013 / Director: Mohammad Rasoulof)

May in the Summer USA, Qatar, Jordan / 2013 / Director: Cherien Dabis)

Monsoon Shootout India, United Kingdom, Netherlands / 2013 / Director: Amit Kuma

Mystery Road Australia / 2013 / Director: Ivan Sen)

The Nightingale China, France / 2013 / Director: Philipe Muyl)

The Priest’s Children Croatia, Serbia / 2013 / Director: Vinko Bresan)

Those Happy Years Italy, France / 2013 / Director: Daniele Luchetti)

We Are the Best! Sweden, Denmark / 2013 / Director: Lukas Moodysson)

Young & Beautiful France / 2013 / Director: François Ozon)

Well there it is. Hope to see you and say hi to you while at the festival. Enjoy

The 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival runs September 25 – October 9, 2014 at the Landmark Oriental Theatre, Landmark Downer Theatre, Fox-Bay Cinema Grill and Times Cinema. Passes and ticket 6-Packs for the 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival are currently available at discounted rates exclusively online at mkefilm.org/tickets. 

Tickets for individual screenings will be available through Milwaukee Film Festival Box Office starting September 10 for Milwaukee Film Members and September 11 for the General Public.

 

Subscribe and Follow Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Blog!  Visit often & please share with others!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Stay up to date with the live shows on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat. You can join us and listen live as the show records. You can hang in chat and ask questions. All shows are recorded and archived at the official site.

Updates will be posted at this blog,  at the official site,  on the RSMB Friends page on FB,  through twitter and elsewhere.  When you can’t join us live you can still  listen to archived show from official site, from blogtalk radio and you can subscribe to the podcast at itunes.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site

 

 

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TO CROWDFUND OR NOT TO CROWDFUND? IS THAT THE QUESTION? Part 4

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money pile

Some projects don’t get funded right away, some do and then lose funding. Any number of things can happen that can make the going tougher than one imagined but don’t you quit if this is truly important to you. When you stick with it, with the right attitude, you will find another way. Stay focused on the goal, the solutions and believe in yourself, your project, your team and that you will prevail.

Consider this: Movies get funded and made every day.

I repeat: MOVIES GET FUNDED AND MADE EVERY DAY!

Sure, it is tough but it happens. Projects get green lit from the studios, independent films find their funding, crowdfunded pictures get their money to move forward, and more….

Part 4 The Crowdfunding Psychology You Must Know

Raising money and crowdfunding revolves all around the mindset you have. In this post I’ll will discuss some important principles as it relates to crowdfunding.

As stated crowdfunding takes an inordinate amount of work for most everyone. Some celebrities may have an easier go of it for a number of reasons. Regardless, crowdfunding takes a massive amount of effort.

Raising money the traditional way takes an inordinate amount of effort. Long hard hours, over a long period of time, getting closer and closer, losing this investor, gaining that one, piecing it all together is a lot of work. It is a struggle and people have been doing variations on this in the film business for quite some time.

Traditional methods have changed through the decades.

I think crowdfunding runs the risk of burning people out. While only a fraction of the population may know about crowdfunding platforms the fraction that is aware of it gets bombarded over and over again.

New territory, new people needs to be found.

Some filmmakers naively think that they will lunch crowdfund campaign when the time is right for their project. Usually sometime between preproduction and production. Then they will put it out there on the internet using social media.

Crowdfunding is much more complex than that. I think it operates like this: Everyone out there in internet land (your target audience)  IS your uncle or your aunt. Why would I think this.

Your relatives, because they are related to you, may be more willing to help out, (or in some cases because they DO know you they may not be so inclined. Let’s hope the latter is not the case).

Obviously, your social media audience aren’t related to you but consider why relatives will give to and most strangers won’t.

Most likely relatives give or support your efforts because there is a connection to you, they may like or love you, they may feel obligated to help family because ‘blood is thinker than water’, they watched you grow up and took care of you or other family members. Whatever it the reasons may be it is because they have a history with you.

The two KEY concepts that I believe are necessary to have are connection and history. Your relatives help support you because they are connected to you and they share a history with you.

I believe successful crowdfunding is based on the same principles. This may be the reason why celebrities may have an easier time with crowdfunding. People know them, love them and have a history with them. They have watched them or followed their careers. They want contact with the celebrity, for whatever reasons, and they feel good collecting celebrity memorabilia. The connection (even though it may not be real or exist in reality) still is important. The fans feel they have a connection. They have a history together too. The fans know or are familiar with the celebrity and have been for years.

I repeat: I believe successful crowdfunding is based on the same.

Crowdfunding is based on having an established network or community of people who are interested in you, your work, your projects and who already know and trust you (at least they don’t distrust you).

The are fans, followers, friends whom you have been engaging with for awhile. They are not cold strangers. They are relatively warm enthusiasts for you and your movies. This is important to understand because you aren’t really reaching out to strangers when you crowdfund you are reaching out to people who know you already. Strangers aren’t inclined to help you but friends or family may.

You must work to establish a good connection with your social media friends. These are the people who are your target audience for your project. They may become potential contributors to your campaign but you must provide value to them LONG before you ever ask for anything in return.

You must engage them and get to know them and they have to get to know you. You must find a way to make communication with them a two-way street communication.You must take them on the journey with you and keep their interest all along the way. You have to figure out ways to attract them. You want to keep them interested and eager for you to make and complete your project and get it into their hands.

They are not interested because they will make money off your project, they are not investors. Although recently, investing through crowdfunding platforms has become possible. Your friends and followers, your fans have much different interests than traditional investors and you must appeal to their wants and needs and meet those if you want to be successful.

They do want something in return for their attention and their loyalty and their potential contribution. You must give them what they want prior to the launch of your campaign.

Then during your campaign you offer perks that are meaningful to your fans because you know took the time to discover what is they desire. Because of connection you have established you know what will appeal to them.

A basic principle in sales states that you succeed when you can meet a need, solve a problem and/or give the customer what they desire most. When you are able to fulfill these you may make a sale. Think of your audience as your customers because that is truly what they are. They are people who may buy from you once or many times. You may not want to hear it but as a filmmaker you need to learn about selling and making sales.

When you have ACTUALLY made a sale to your customer is not just the time they part with their money and leave with your goods. When you have really made the sale is when the person returns and wants to do it  with you again. It is this moment the sale is made because they are convinced that you have something they want.

It is much like dating. You go out on the first date. You know you have ‘made the sale’ when the other person wants a second and third date. At whatever point you stop meeting their needs they will lose interest. As long as you have a mutually fulfilling relationship you will stick together. This is true of the business relationship and the crowdfunded relationship.

When you have a repeat customer, so much of your work is done for you, it is amazing. The lion share of expense goes into generating new leads and converting new customers. When you have a fan base who is eager for each of your projects you have laid some really solid ground work. You have established an important connection and together you share a history.

The key to making the sale is not to think, ‘what is in this for me,  how do I get what I want’, but to think, ‘what is it they want that I can readily give them?’

You have to appeal to the other person’s wants and needs and find a way to meet those if you wish to be more successful. Your success comes from adding value to the other person first.

This takes thought, it takes planning, it takes work and it begins long before you make your movie.

Just as you plant a seed you first need to prepare the soil. Next, you plant the seed then you nurture the seed while it grows underground by providing the proper care. Later, much later, it sprouts. You must continue to nurture it, take out the weeds that may choke it and help it grow strong. Eventually, you harvest the crop from the seed you planted but that is at a much later date. For everything there is a season. You sow and then later you reap.

Some people try to reap without preparing or sowing and that rarely, if ever, works. You do your part first and foremost and then others may reciprocate. Of course, not everyone will, so don’t get your hopes up too high. It is a numbers game, you do what you can to grab the lion share.

As in baseball it is about upping your batting average. You get better percentages, but rarely do you get 100%. As long as you are moving in that direction you are doing okay. You increase your opportunities and your chances.

The basic work of crowdfunding IS everything you need to do long before harvest time.

There are these two phases: First, you plant seeds to attract the interested and keep them close by engaging with them. You have to offer them something first. Just as you use bait to lure a fish. You offer something of value to attract followers to you. You keep them close by continuing to give them things from time to time and by communicating with them.

Perhaps you give them a behind the scenes look at what you are doing, you give them photos or videos, you help them solve problems by writing articles or dispensing tips, advice or ideas. Maybe you share with them where they can get discounts or items they might not know where to go to. The point is you offer them things of value, things that they are interested it.

Since it is the age of social media one assumes you have a page dedicated to you and your projects, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and any of the other platforms.

Second you launch the eventual campaign (in which you begin this planting process all over again). In this phase you again offer them something BUT in return for their support, their contribution and spreading the word. This is when you ask them to respond by giving back. Why will they give back. One reason is because you have been giving to them and they will want to reciprocate. The other reason is because they have a connection and history established with you and they want to see your movie. They actually want to see it!

During the Second Phase, you are requesting that they part with their money to support your efforts in return for VALUABLE perks. Perks are the items or opportunities you offer that they want to and must have. If they don’t want them then the perks are not valuable to them. This should be obvious, but for some reason it isn’t.

So in Phase One you attract and nurture your followers. You engage with them and provide them value for free. You give them things, you acknowledge them, you have dialogue so that they feel close to you and want to stick by you. In Phase Two you again provide things for them but in exchange for something they do for you. If Phase One is successful and you orchestrate Phase Two correctly you are more likely to succeed.

You attract the moths to the flame, capture them, take care of them, feed them and then when you are ready, you launch your campaign and hope the moths now will respond by contributing because you took such good care of them. During Phase Two strangers will get introduced to your campaign. They may not have the history with you because they just now are learning about you and your project. Your campaign should be structured and managed to help them feel right at home. A well run campaign should help them to connect to you thorough your video, photos, text, updates, engagement, credits, cast and crew. In Phase Two you hope to convert strangers to fans who will support your efforts.

When it comes to perks you need to think this through and get good advice. What is important and valuable to you may not be to someone else. So you want to research this area more. Remember, people are motivated by ‘What Is In It For Me?’ So to motivate your followers you must discover what they want when they think that about that question. 

You need price your perks smartly too. For example:  If most downloads sell between $1.99 and $14.99 don’t offer a download for $25.00.  Price it as the market place does. If you buy a DVD or Blue Ray for a certain amount don’t price yours higher than the lowest popular place they can obtain it. The only time your a perk like this could be higher prices is when you offer something else along with it. Perhaps, the jewel case, or the art work is signed by cast and crew. Something that makes it reasonable to be priced higher. Sometimes scarcity works. The price may be higher because you only have a few. 

Corporations spend billions of dollars every year targeting and appealing to consumers. They have it down to a science. Do your research and use the best methods they do tailored to your needs.

If you have an absolutely one of a kind valuable ‘must have it’ give away, it is rare and sought after by millions well, you may be able to name your price.

If you have something that most people don’t know who or what it is or could care less about it well giving it away could be difficult. People want what they perceive to be valuable and that is why celebrity swag is sought after. SO be smart about selling to your customers. By the way, that is precisely what a ticket holder is – a customer. All of your fans and friends and followers are customers. While it seems Corporate America has forgotten a  worthy tenant they used to adhere to don’t you forget it. Keep in mind, the customer is always right!!! Even if it is not always true it will serve you better if you act as if it were. Be driven to provide your customer what your customer wants most and you will succeed.

You must figure out ways to attract and capture your fan base. You want to engage them and create a connection and history together so that they want to want get more movies from you. You attract them, you hook them and then make them offers they find difficult to refuse. This is the basis of business and the basis of crowdfunding. It is about using psychology to get what you need to make your film project. Be smart about it and be wise. 

Make GOOD plans and then work the plans WELL.  You can succeed. Movies are funded all the time. You just have to find a way that works well for you.

All of what has been covered in this post and much more ARE some of the reasons why you need to be thorough in creating your campaign. Remember, it ALL begins BEFORE iyour campaign is officially launched. Take the time to do it well.

There are reasons why Business Plans exist. One reason is to show others; you potential partners, the bank, investors, etc. the plan for your intended business. It doesn’t yet exist so you need a crystal clear outline, a plan for what you will do, how you will do it, when and on and on. It is designed to leave NO stone unturned.

You have to think it through really well BEFORE you implement it. Never skimp on the planning phases of anything. Your crowdfunding campaign, traditional means of raising money, or your production. This is why good movie makers spend the right amount of time preparing during preproduction.

Consider this, professional sports teams take all the time off season preparing for the games. They practice offense and defense. They develop plans and strategies to use when playing. They rehearse. During game season they continue to prepare. Then they play the game. Whether they win or lose they return to analyze how to be better, and implement it. They continue to practice and rehearse.  Why should we think that we should do anything less than this when it comes to raising money for movies and getting good at it? As with anything you get better at it the more time you spend at it. Remember this point it is important!

How much money can you crowdfund? The upper limit is not yet known? More on all of this next time.” Rex SIkes

Have a great day!

Subscribe and Follow Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Blog!  Visit often & please share with others!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Stay up to date with the live shows on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat. You can join us and listen live as the show records. You can hang in chat and ask questions. All shows are recorded and archived at the official site.

Updates will be posted at this blog,  at the official site,  on the RSMB Friends page on FB,  through twitter and elsewhere.  When you can’t join us live you can still  listen to archived show from official site, from blogtalk radio and you can subscribe to the podcast at itunes.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site

acting, actors, casting, casting directors, directing, directors, film directing, film education, film festival, film producing, film production, film school, filmmaker, filmmakers, filmmaking, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, motion picture business, movie business, movies, producer, producing, screenwriter, screenwriting, storytelling

Milwaukee Film Festival: Marshall Curry; Debra Granik; Wesley Morris; Zucker, Abrahams, & Zucker, In Attendance

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Winters Bone01

It makes a film festival much more enjoyable when one can listen and learn from the filmmakers. This year Milwaukee Film Fest is bringing in some fine filmmakers for panel discussions.  Marshall Curry; Debra Granik; Wesley Morris and Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker will be present to discuss some of their films. You will not want to miss out. I know I will be there.  Read on to learn more.

Two award-winning directors, a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, and Hollywood comedy legends will be in attendance!!!

The 2014 Tributes lineup: two-time Oscar-nominated documentarian, Marshall Curry (Racing Dreams, Street Fight), Oscar-nominated director and writer, Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone), Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, Wesley Morris, and the three Hollywood comedy kingpins who originally hail from Milwaukee, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (also known as “ZAZ”).

The Milwaukee Film Festival’s annual tributes celebrate the work of individuals who have contributed greatly to film culture through efforts in differing areas of the film world. Each tribute includes both a live appearance from the tribute’s recipient(s) and a screening of a film. In the case of Granik and Curry, their latest film is paired with a past one, exemplifying the scope of their work.

Each honoree will participate in an extended question and answer session following their featured films(s). Granik will also lead the panel “Working with Actors” in which she will discuss and demonstrate her process for auditioning and working with actors on set.

“We have a spectacular group of diverse honorees this year: two of the greatest film storytellers of our time–Marshall Curry and Debra Granik–whose documentary and narrative films have been vastly influential, along with the Pulitzer Prize winning film critic and presenter of our State of the Cinema keynote lecture, Wesley Morris, and finally, the legendary comedy team Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker,” explains Jonathan Jackson, Artistic and Executive Director for Milwaukee Film.

Returning to the Milwaukee Film Festival this year with his outstanding new documentary Point and Shoot, is director Marshall Curry. Curry’s Racing Dreams was the Opening Night film at the first Milwaukee Film Festival in 2009. Both Curry and Granik come to Milwaukee having just received major awards at two of the nation’s best film festivals: Curry’s Point and Shoot won the Best Documentary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival while Granik’s Stray Dog received the jury award for Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Jackson continues, “It is exciting to have such a high-profile filmmaker as Marshall Curry return to our festival. We have grown quite a bit since that 2009 film festival and I can’t wait for him to come back and see what he helped inaugurate.”

2014 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL TRIBUTES

MARSHALL CURRY

MarshallCurry

Marshall Curry is one of the most important documentary filmmakers of our time, and he is an important person to Milwaukee Film. In 2009, his film Racing Dreams was the first to grace our festival screens on Opening Night at the inaugural Milwaukee Film Festival. Curry made his directorial debut in 2005 with Street Fight, a documentary that followed the campaign of the then-unknown Cory Booker, garnering his first Oscar nomination. Since that time, Curry directed If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front which tells the story of a radical environmentalist who faced life in prison for burning two Oregon timber facilities and won Curry his second Oscar nomination. Point and Shoot, Curry’s latest offering, is a documentary about a young Baltimore native who sets off for adventure and finds himself as part of the Libyan rebel army fighting dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Of Curry’s films, S.T. VanAirsdale (Movieline) said, “From vérité campaign-trail flashes in Street Fight to intimate dinner-table powwows in Racing Dreams to the candid, point-blank interviews in If a Tree Falls, his films take keen and unique advantage of both access and timing… getting down to the business of communicating without distraction, discrimination or guile. At heart, the films seek to detail the spectrum of grace.”

Marshall Curry is scheduled to attend selected screenings.

Point and Shoot

(USA / 2014 / Director: Marshall Curry)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/k8DUYyl1ods
Matthew VanDyke’s incredible personal odyssey from restless Baltimore native to Libyan rebel taking up arms against dictator Muammar Gaddafi is chronicled in the newest film from Oscar-nominated director Marshall Curry (Racing Dreams, MFF 2009). From his status as a young man diagnosed with OCD fresh out of graduate school, to his momentous international travel (a self-described “crash course in manhood”) that led him on a motorcycle trip across Northern Africa and the Middle East, to his eventual placement smack in the middle of the Arab Spring and Libyan revolution, VanDyke’s camera was always on—up until his capture and terrifying half-year spent in solitary confinement. This is a remarkable, sweeping story Curry tells in full.

Street Fight

(USA / 2005 / Director: Marshall Curry)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/fNrT2utrpAA

One of the greatest political documentaries of all time, Street Fight chronicles the very first political campaign of now-U.S. Senator Cory Booker as his grassroots campaign takes on the deeply entrenched political might of four-term incumbent Sharpe James for the mayoral seat in Newark, New Jersey. With the poverty-stricken streets as their battleground, 32-year-old Rhodes scholar/Yale Law School grad/Star Trek nerd Booker remains decent and straightforward despite the intimidation tactics and dirty politics (including claims that Booker’s background somehow makes him “less black”) employed by Sharpe. An edge-of-your-seat thriller even if you’re familiar with how this race ends, Street Fight is a wildly entertaining, modern-day Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

 

DEBRA GRANIK

DebraGranik

Debra Granik is the Academy Award-nominated director and co-writer of Winter’s Bone, which was

nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Granik’s first feature film, Down to the Bone, was awarded the Best Director prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. She is known for her amazing work with actors, essentially launching the careers of both Vera Farmiga and Jennifer Lawrence. Her work is known for an instinctive, collaborative style that Granik describes as “late-breaking global neorealism.” Granik’s most recent offering, the documentary Stray Dog, began with a chance encounter while scouting and casting Winter’s Bone. Granik met Ron “Stray Dog” Hall in the Biker Church of Branson and cast him as the film’s estranged father, Thump Milton. Of her work she says, “The question I’ve had for most of my life is, ‘How are you coping?’ Some people have these small, positive schemes for survival, a kind of strength that I am attracted to, maybe because I’m prone to the blues.” In Hall she found a worthy subject—one whose humor and lack of self-consciousness had the potential to make the plight of Vietnam vets accessible to a broader audience.

Debra Granik is scheduled to attend selected screenings and events.

Stray Dog

(USA / 2014 / Director: Debra Granik)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/5UKrOhJ0NRw
Ron “Stray Dog” Hall, Harley-Davidson biker, Vietnam veteran, husband, and father, receives a portrait every bit the equal to his substantial personality from Debra Granik, director of the Oscar-nominated Winter’s Bone. Defying expectations at every turn, Stray Dog tells a story of rough edges that give way to an expansive and tender heart as we see Ron equally at home shooting the breeze with his battery mates as they sip moonshine as he is opening up to his therapist or traveling to military funerals to pay respect to those he never met. A welcome corrective to rural stereotypes, Stray Dog is a slice of unforgettable Americana.

Winter’s Bone

(USA / 2010 / Director: Debra Granik)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/5O8F8JtSVmI
Winter’s Bone is an Oscar-nominated pitch-black slice of Ozarks noir following a young woman’s journey to protect her family no matter the cost. Seventeen-year-old Ree (Jennifer Lawrence, in her breakout role) discovers that her father has skipped bail, threatening the house he used as collateral, and leaving them homeless. Armed only with the knowledge of his involvement in the local crystal meth trade, Ree and her Uncle Teardrop (the mesmerizing John Hawkes) aim to find him despite the ever-increasing resistance to their inquiries. Told with incredible authenticity, this tale of family loyalty features a heroine for the ages, with minimalist setting and dialogue that add to its mythic flavor.

***(I think anytime a filmmaker has the opportunity to explore the casting process and working with actors in set the filmmaker should take it. Auditioning and working WITH talent is one of the most critical aspects of a director’s job. It is equally important for others to understand and appreciate as well. I will see you there – Rex)***

Working with Actors
Access the process of one of today’s foremost directors as Oscar nominee Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone, Stray Dog) discusses and demonstrates her process for auditioning and working with actors on set. This is not to be missed by any filmmakers who plan to cast actors or actors who want to get into films.

 

WESLEY MORRIS

WesleyMorris

In 2012, upon winning the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, Wesley Morris explained his attraction to film as an artistic medium with the following words: “Movies are visual, aural, they involve people, and life, and ideas and art, they are so elastic. They can hold anything, withstand everything, and make you feel anything. Other arts can do that, but movies are the only ones that can incorporate other media into cinema.” With those words, one can see easily why Morris earned this award—his writing is effortless, yet whip-smart, exuberant, yet precise. He is able to write about mainstream films as well as art house cinema, always compelling the reader toward a more nuanced understanding of the work at hand. Since 2013, Morris has been a cultural critic for the website Grantland; prior to that he wrote film criticism for The Boston

Globe (where he received his Pulitzer), San Francisco Chronicle, and San Francisco Examiner and contributed to Slate, Ebony, NPR, and Film Comment. Milwaukee Film is honored to present this tribute to Morris for his distinctive voice and remarkable career as a critic. As part of his visit, Morris will deliver our annual keynote address on the “State of Cinema,” followed by a presentation of Michael Haneke’s film Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys.

 Wesley Morris is scheduled to attend the following:

 State of Cinema

Join us for our annual lecture on the “State of Cinema.” Each year we host a distinguished member of the cinematic community to reflect on the current position of the industry and possible futures for the medium. This year we host Wesley Morris, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism while at the Boston Globe, who now writes on film and culture at Grantland.com. The panel will conclude with a brief Q&A, after which patrons are invited to join Morris for a screening of Michael Haneke’s 2000 romantic drama, Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys.

 

Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys

(France, Germany, Romania / 2000 / Director: Michael Haneke)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/lNnwk7DSKb8

One of the many masterpieces created over the course of Michael Haneke’s career (Caché, Funny Games, the Oscar-winning Amour), Code Unknown chronicles the fleeting intersection of lives on a bustling Paris street corner. We see the fallout from this brief connection through an actress (Juliette Binoche), her photojournalist boyfriend, a young teacher of African descent, and a Romanian illegal immigrant. Able to wring unbearable amounts of tension from his frequent long takes, Haneke spins an emotionally complex tale of the simple ways in which we misunderstand one another on a daily basis. He spells nothing out and challenges viewers to decode these stories for themselves. Our 2014 Critic Tribute recipient, Wesley Morris, has selected this film to screen at our festival and is scheduled to participate in a Q&A with the audience after the screening.

 

ZUCKER, ABRAHAMS, ZUCKER

ZuckerAbrahamsZucker

The filmmaking team Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker began their fortuitous union at Shorewood High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After college at UW-Madison, David Zucker, his brother Jerry, and their friend Jim Abrahams created the Kentucky Fried Theater in the back of a bookstore in Madison with a borrowed videotape deck and a camera. In 1972, they moved the show to Los Angeles, where the trio that would come to be known as ZAZ became the most successful small theater group in Los Angeles history. Their groundbreaking style of outrageous sketch comedy was later immortalized in their film The Kentucky Fried Movie, and a new brand of comedy was born. This style featured hairbrained dialogue delivered by dramatic actors with deadpan sincerity and would earn the trio recognition as Hollywood comedy kingpins. In their illustrious careers, the ZAZ team has worked with actors such as Lloyd Bridges,

Robert Stack, and Leslie Nielsen, to name a few, and cultivated a whole new genre of film. Together, they have been responsible for ‘80s comedy cult classics Airplane!, Ruthless People, and The Naked Gun. Their streak of successful movies included the secret agent spoof and now cult classic Top Secret! starring Val Kilmer. This year Milwaukee Film honors these local legends by screening this 1984 film and welcomes them home with a tribute. The trio recently returned to their native roots by creating commercials in their signature style with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism in conjunction with Laughlin Constable.

Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker are scheduled to attend the following screening:

Top Secret!
(USA, United Kingdom / 1984 / Directors: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/mKHLPtH2I30

After the wild success of their comedy classic Airplane!, the anarchic trio known as ZAZ (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker) set their sights on spy films and rock’ n’ roll musicals with the outrageous spoof Top Secret! In this film boasting the screen debut of Val Kilmer as a young secret agent tasked with crossing the Iron Curtain to rescue a scientist, ZAZ packs the proceedings with terrible puns, absurdist sight gags, and all the anachronism and political incorrectness that a breakneck 90-minute run time could contain. We proudly present this comedy classic on its 30th anniversary, in celebration of a film every bit the equal of its predecessor.

Note: All screening and panel times will be announced Saturday, September 6 at the Program Book Launch located at Cathedral Square Park from 9am-6pm.

The 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival runs September 25 – October 9, 2014 at the Landmark Oriental Theatre, Landmark Downer Theatre, Fox-Bay Cinema Grill and Times Cinema. Passes and ticket 6-Packs for the 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival are currently available at discounted rates exclusively online at mkefilm.org/tickets.

Tickets for individual screenings will be available through Milwaukee Film Festival Box Office starting September 10 for Milwaukee Film Members and September 11 for the General Public.

 

Subscribe and Follow Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Blog!  Visit often & please share with others!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Stay up to date with the live shows on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat. You can join us and listen live as the show records. You can hang in chat and ask questions. All shows are recorded and archived at the official site.

Updates will be posted at this blog,  at the official site,  on the RSMB Friends page on FB,  through twitter and elsewhere.  When you can’t join us live you can still  listen to archived show from official site, from blogtalk radio and you can subscribe to the podcast at itunes.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS blog.

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site

acquisition, crowdfunding, directing, distribution, film directing, film education, film festival, film financing, film marketing, film producing, film production, film school, filmmaker, filmmakers, filmmaking, fundraising, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, marketing, motion picture business, movie business, movies, post production, pre-production, private equity, producer, producing, raising money, sales agent, television business

To Crowdfund Or Not To Crowdfund? Is That The Question? Part 3

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“…Consider this: Movies get funded and made every day. I repeat: MOVIES GET FUNDED AND MADE EVERY DAY!Sure, it is tough but it happens. Projects get green lit from the  studios, independent films find their funding, crowdfunded pictures get their money to move forward, and more. These happen all the time.  It all boils down to a simple thought: If others can do it so can you! Keep the faith.”

Crowdfunding Part 3

“In my book the single most important ingredient for hoping to get a project launched IS to have a great movie to make.  It makes it much more likely you will be able to move ahead when you start with something that has incredible value. You should have an excellent script. Top of the line!

First and foremost here is what you need to consider and ask yourself: Do you have a film project worth investing your time, money and energy in? Do you have a film project worth another person investing their time, money and energy in? Do you have a film project worth an audience investing their time, money and energy in? Well, do you? Be honest.

These are important questions. Do you have something great that is worth making? If you can honestly answer yes, you may be on your way. If you cannot, keep looking for a great project.

No one wants mediocre or just okay? Everyone wants to be captivated, they want their attention grabbed and they want to go on a two hour roller coster ride. They want to laugh or cry or both. They want to be involved and live through the characters.

Movies are supposed to be for escape so people can forget the drudgery of their circumstances for a while and be transported somewhere more fun, enjoyable or even terrifying. They want to be entertained and not wonder why they wasted minutes of their life. Make sure your film project is worthy of you, your funders and the people it is intended to please – your audience.

It is true that even with the best script, the best director and the best available cast, the movie still may not get made.  There are many factors in getting a movie produced and all need to line up for it to go. That is the art of juggling a production. There are so many things to work on all at once it IS  like trying to keep a number of balls in the air. Some  productions will make it some will not. This is critical whether crowdfunding or using more traditional methods.

It is important to put together the best possible project so start with. You start with the best script. You seek the best producing team, the best cast and the best crew. You may or may not need any of these ‘attached’ to seek funds but ultimately you want to have the best to work with regardless. Often, you raise seed money first to be able to launch your LLC, set up a bank account and hire on the others.

It is important to have a good entertainment attorney who can advise you when and how to certain things. For example, when DO you launch you LLC,? Some say that should come first, (as I just described) get some money and incorporate.  Others advise that you wait, you don’t need to set up an LLC until you have funds coming from your sources. Investors understand the LLC will follow.

Savvy investors know the all the steps you should too. Seek wise, legitimate, experienced legal counsel. This is not an area you want to skimp on.

Even though some movies do not get made  the money out there for movies is still plentiful.  The proof that there is more than enough money to go around  IS this: even mediocre and terrible movies get funded and released. Haven’t we all wondered, ‘how on earth did this ever get made?’

Whatever  the reasoning behind the financing of a ‘bad movie’, which may have reasons, (often  tax shelters) the movie still got made and released. Most of us like to think that filmmakers don’t set out to make a bad movie but that is simply not the case, there are those who do.

My point is funds can be found! Money is plentiful! Bad movies are part of the  proof that the money is available if the conditions are right.

What are the right conditions that got the movie made regardless of whether  it was a good or bad. It was the ‘deal’,  the tax shelter, a vanity project, it was for any other reasons that some people invested. Apparently, it was to make money or to lose money but it was not to release a great movie. Funny, you wouldn’t think it to be the case but bottom line rules. Good or bad movies are financed because the investors saw fit to invest.

Funds exists. You just have to tap into them.  You are better served if you do everything smart and right from the get-go. Aim high! Make a really good movie. Make a great movie. If you are going to put all this time and work into it you should absolutely love it.

The attitude a filmmaker needs is to maintain is a positive attitude. You should have a great script you are passionate about, that you believe in 1000 per cent.  If you absolutely believe in it and are passionate about it others can jump on board because the believe in you and trust in your commitment. If you have a great script and great package it makes it more likely others will be interested too.

So chose something you will still be passionate about years from now because it could be a long road. It can be easy but it usually isn’t. Raising money is an art and a science that you should learn to do well if you want to produce your own projects.

Once you have  your budget and your producer package together you need to plan how to get financed either by traditional means, crowdfunding, both or by some new novel approach.

The bottom line is that you will have to be dedicated and you will have to know where to look. Fund raising can begin anytime you have a legitimate project to fund raise for.

You will need to know where to look for your money. Perhaps, your investors will be those who are in the field, or interested in the field you movie is about. Perhaps, they are medical people. law enforcement, attorneys, scientists, bankers, who have money and are interested in your topic. Perhaps, they are financial people who have no actual interest in your topic but like a well put together project that has potential.

You could piece them together from all over or it could mostly come from a few or even from one source. You will have to do the leg work to find out who and from what walks of life your investors come from. This is another area where a smart entertainment attorney may be of some help. Sometimes attorneys know people whom they can put you in touch with who are looking for investments. The entertainment attorney may be a useful resource in this area.

Besides a great script/project you REALLY need to know and understand people. You need to understand why and how people invest.  You want to get inside the investor or contributor mindset. You need to understand them to know how to approach them, to pitch them and to sell them. You not only have to know how to do these things you have to know when and how to close them.

Your first thought should be about getting to know these people and understanding their wants and needs. You need to learn how to create rapport with others and how to add value to them.

If you know why they invest and in what they invest you help yourself out in many ways.  As a producer you will spend more of your time raising money than making movies so you ought to understand how the people think that you are trying to get money from. This may be more  important than anything else for you to appreciate and know.

Savvy investors, if they even give you the time of day, will see you coming miles away. They will size you and your project up within seconds of first contact. This is the world of finance! It is not art. This is the world of business. No one cares about you as much as they care about their bottom line. So be prepared. Be professional!  You must have something they want. Be able to speak to them in the language that they speak (finance – not their native tongue) and in the world they understand.

At the very same time understand if you have a great project you may have something of value others will want. YOU also have to qualify investors just as investors will qualify you. Not everyone you approach or who approaches you is worth your time. You will want to learn how to separate the legitimate investor from the person who will waste your time because it makes them feel good to act the big shot around town. Getting legitimate investments is a two-way street.

You have to understand the laws and the rules too. You do not want to violate any in this area. Trust me, you don’t.  Do your homework.

As filmmakers we all want to just make films. In order to do that and make and pay living wages we need to finance our projects. You would be best served to read everything you can. Find someone who will mentor you in the art of financing or fund raising.

Today, filmmakers may be better off getting an MBA and going to business school than going to film school.  At the end of the day it is the business part of show business that rules and that determines who is successful and who isn’t.

Crowdfunding, at least for the time being, may be a way around all the legalities of traditional investing. Still, you have a responsibility to the funding platform, your ‘funders’, your team to be ethical, honest,  and completely above board. Be transparent so people know who you are and what you are all about.

Remember, HOWEVER, you raise funds it takes an enormous amount of energy, planning and working the process.  It is a lot of hard work. The people best suited for it may be the people who already have a passion for it. Perhaps, if this is not an area that you are drawn to you can partner up with someone who is. It requires dedication, passion, know-how and commitment. It requires being both smart and wise.

DO NOT EVER use the funds except as specified and when specified. They should be in escrow or considered escrowed in the case of crowdfunding. You owe perks to you funders always make sure you raise enough for what you intend to do and then some.

So when it comes to getting funded you have to do your homework More about all this next time.” Rex Sikes

Enjoy your day!

(Disclaimer: I do not purport to be an expert in crowdfunding or traditional means of financing. Nor am I able to dispense legal advice. Filmmakers are best served by finding a qualified entertainment attorney to work with and guide them in these areas. I bring up the topic to share a viewpoint and to encourage thinking and discussion).

Subscribe and Follow Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Blog!  Visit often & please share with others!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Stay up to date with the live shows on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat. You can join us and listen live as the show records. You can hang in chat and ask questions. All shows are recorded and archived at the official site.

Updates will be posted at this blog,  at the official site,  on the RSMB Friends page on FB,  through twitter and elsewhere.  When you can’t join us live you can still  listen to archived show from official site, from blogtalk radio and you can subscribe to the podcast at itunes.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS blog.

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site

acting, actors, casting, crowdfunding, directing, directors, editing, editor, film directing, film education, film festival, film financing, film marketing, film producing, film production, film school, filmmaker, filmmakers, filmmaking, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, marketing, motion picture business, movie business, post production, producer, producing, raising money, screenwriter, screenwriting, storytelling, television business, Uncategorized

Persistence is the key to success.

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I decided to republish a blog from my other site Daily Inspiration and Gratitude here: I have included the link to my other blog and I invite you to visit there and check it out if you haven’t yet. There are a lot of blog posts applicable to anyone in filmmaking.     Persistence is the key to success..

ambition-and-action-2-steps-to-success4

It is the consistent, persistent, daily actions that bring success in all things, you family, your health, your wealth and career, your life. Daily dedication to doing something positive that moves you closer to your goal makes all the difference.

You start with a clearly, well stated ‘burning desire’, the mental images of your ultimate goal. You envision it daily (as often as possible, but at least for sometime in the morning and before going to sleep) and infuse it with positive energy and enthusiasm. You keep at it no matter what. You do not give up! You keep at it until you get it. This IS your daily regime. Your mental nutrition.

Keep your goal alive and in sight. Keep it burning and stay passionate about it. Believe in your heart and know in your mind that you will have it, YOU will ATTAIN it, as long as you never give up. Once you quit it is over, so you must not stop. You keep the faith and keep going no matter what is going on or not going on around you. You do not let present circumstances distract you from getting the end game that you want.

Keep this goal burning hot in your mind each moment. Focus on things to be grateful for and feel good about because when you do you are opening up your mind to discovering greater opportunities, events, situations and people that can help you reach your goal.

Your mind awakens and you can think more clearly and easily about how you will make it happen. You form plans using your creativity, your intuition and you smarts. You may have to adjust the plan as you go along that is just part of the process. Each day you move forward and you make adjustments as necessary but no matter what you keep moving forward toward your ultimate destination.

YOU WILL GET THERE as long as you keep going toward it. No matter how long it takes or how many detours there happen to be you will get there if you just never stop.

Persistence means you keep going even when you may not feel like going.

That is why it is important to find things you appreciate, small and large miracles and good and new discoveries, and the best thoughts and feelings along the way, so that you stay inspired and dedicated.

The person who succeeds is the person who ‘wills’ it to happen not who wishes it to happen. You make all the changes inside of you to be better equipped to handle all those aspects outside you you, the challenges and opportunities that come your way. You make all the changes inside of you to better manage the inside of you so you are optimistic, positive, powerful and committed to your outcome. You won’t do it if you wimp out.

Yes, occasionally someone lucks into it but frankly, most people who ‘make it’, who succeed in their personal or professional lives do so because the go after it relentlessly until they succeed. These people pursue health, wealth and well being because it is the most important thing to them. They don’t let circumstances dictate or prevent them from prevailing. ‘When the going gets tough the tough get going’.

You must stick with it no matter how impossible it seems. Whatever hardship comes your way learn to overcome it. Go through it. You will find a way if you are determined to find a way.

Manage you mind and you emotions. Manage your time and your efforts. You will do it, when you believe you can. As Napoleon Hill stated, ‘If you can conceive it and believe it you can achieve it’. Just don’t stop.

If it is truly worth it and it makes your life better and the lives of those around you better and it does not harm anyone of prevent others from fulfilling themselves, go for it. Get on course, stay the course and find out how to make the journey most delightful. Whether you get closer by leaps and bounds or inch by inch you are getting closer. Stay positive and stay focused. It is completely UP TO YOU! So do it! Just do it!

What can you do today to keep yourself on track? How many marvelous feelings might you discover as you look into finding these within you frequently during this day? How much fun can you stand as you continue to pursue your dream? Hmmmm, I wonder… ” Rex Sikes

Find those special moments in this day and have an incredible one!

via Persistence is the key to success.. at Daily Inspiration and Gratitude. Subscribe to both blogs and enjoy.

Subscribe and Follow Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Blog!  Visit often & please share with others!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Stay up to date with the live shows on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat. You can join us and listen live as the show records. You can hang in chat and ask questions. All shows are recorded and archived at the official site.

Updates will be posted at this blog,  at the official site,  on the RSMB Friends page on FB,  through twitter and elsewhere.  When you can’t join us live you can still  listen to archived show from official site, from blogtalk radio and you can subscribe to the podcast at itunes.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site

directing, directors, editing, film directing, film education, film festival, film marketing, film producing, film production, film school, filmmaker, filmmakers, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, motion picture business, movie business, movies, pre-production, producer, producing, screenwriter, screenwriting, script breakdown, script development, storytelling

Brian Herskowitz Producer, Director, Screenwriter, Author ‘Process To Product’

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For the last twenty years Brian Herskowitz has taught screenwriting, first with WRITER’S BOOT CAMP, then with UCLA EXTENSIONS, and for the last five years he has held the post of Lead Faculty for the prestigious BOSTON UNIVERSITY in LOS ANGELES WRITER IN HOLLYWOOD graduate degree program.  His script writing textbook, PROCESS TO PRODUCT: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SCREENWRITING, is available on Amazon.com and in bookstores.

As a writer, Brian has completed well over a dozen feature films. His first screenplay KAMI HITO E (THE THIN LINE) was based on his experience as an international Judo champion training in Tokyo.

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Producer, Screenwriter, Director Brian Herskowitz

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Producer, Screenwriter, Director Brian Herskowitz PT 2

From there he continued to write and his first produced feature was a low budget slasher titled DARKROOM. He wrote and directed the award winning short film ODESSA OR BUST starring SEINFELD’S Jason Alexander, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER Red Buttons, and RUSHMORE’S Jason Schwartzman. Brian wrote, directed, and produced the documentary 1736: SOMEWHERE TO TURN – about a family crisis center for domestic abuse victims, and the short film JOANNE – the story of a woman going through hard economic times and a mid-life crisis.

As a voice over artist he’s been heard in hundreds of films, games, and commercials including, FORREST GUMP, TOTAL RECALL (with Colin Ferrell), X-2, WOLVERINE, the hit video games DILBERTS DESKTOP GAMES, and MEDAL OF HONOR:AIRBORNE, as well as national commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Beringer Wine.

His voice has been heard in hundreds of hours of TV including the classic horror shows BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and TRUE BLOOD.  Brian recently took on the duties of Voice Director for the new Animated Children’s series ANNIE SUNBEAM produced by Debbie Margolis-Horwitz.

Brian’s theatrical directing credits include the world premieres of I.A.N. (THE ITALIAN AMERICAN NETWORK), CONFESSION AND AVOIDANCE (based on the book of the same name written by his father, prolific biographer Mickey Herskowitz), JESSICA AND THE COUCH POTATO, the west coast premiere of  SHUFFLE OFF THIS MORTAL BUFFALO, and the recent hit CIRCLE OF WILL.

As a writer in TV his credits include a staff writing position on the NBC sit-com BLOSSOM, multiple episodes of the syndicated series HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS, and ACAPULCO HEAT, the HBO hit comedy DREAM ON, CBS’s RENEGADE, THE EXILE, MURDER, SHE WROTE, the TV movie MURDER OF MY AUNT, the FOX Network’s YOUNG HERCULES, and CBS’s critically acclaimed was series TOUR OF DUTY (associate producer).

Brian co-wrote the FOX pilot MANTIC with Jason Alexander. In addition, he worked as a punch-up writer on BOB PATTERSON, and LISTEN UP.

Working with Co-Op Productions in New York (THE GUITAR, THIS REVOLUTION), Brian line produced Candace Bushnell’s web series THE BROADROOM, which starred JENNY GARTH, JENNIFER ESPOSITO, and TALIA BALSAM.

As a feature film producer Brian just finished principal photography on UNTIL SOMEONE GETS HURT (co-writer), and BUCKY AND THE SQUIRRELS a comedy from director-writer Allan Katz (M*A*S*H*, BIG MAN ON CAMPUS),  MUSICAL CHAIRS, directed by Susan Seidelman (DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN), TIO PAPI directed by Fro Rojas, which he co-wrote.  He will producing the feature films SUSPENDED and AN INVISIBLE MAN for Scatterbrained Media.

In addition, Brian has several producing/directing duties on the boards including the slacker comedy MARTY AND VAHE TAKE A RIDE, and the HEF supported projects SHE FEEDS, THE WHANGDOODLE, and CREATURE FEATURE:THE MOVIE MUSICAL.

In his personal life, Brian is married to actress Gina Hecht (Mork and Mindy, Seven Pounds), and has two amazing daughters.  A fourth degree black belt in Judo, Brian continues to compete in the martial arts and is the 2014 U.S. National Masters Champion in Judo and 2013 Pan American Champion in Jujitsu.  Brian is thrilled to be a part of the HEF team.

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*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Stay up to date with the live shows on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat. You can join us and listen live as the show records. You can hang in chat and ask questions. All shows are recorded and archived at the official site.

Updates will be posted at this blog,  at the official site,  on the RSMB Friends page on FB,  through twitter and elsewhere.  When you can’t join us live you can still  listen to archived show from official site, from blogtalk radio and you can subscribe to the podcast at itunes.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site

acting, actors, directing, directors, editing, editor, film directing, film education, film festival, film producing, film school, filmmaker, filmmakers, filmmaking, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, marketing, motion picture business, movies, post production, producer, producing, storytelling, television business, Uncategorized

Daniel Veluzat | Executive Producer | Director | Actor | StuntMan | Studio Manager | Movie Set | Ranch Owner

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daniel veluzat

Daniel Veluzat is an entrepreneur like no other. He started off in the entertainment business over 30 years ago. As a young boy Daniel grew up on movie / television sets such as 1941 starring John Belushi, Baba Black Sheep starring Robert Conrad, McMillian and Wife starring Rock Hudson, and Maverick – The Lazy Ace starring James Garner.

Daniel has had such unique opportunities as visiting “Fantasy Island”, spending the day on “Gilligan’s Island”, and cruising the streets of Hazzard County in his family owned General Lee’s from “Duke’s of Hazzard”. His family built many vehicles for television and movies. He rode in General Lee’s, Army tanks, Kit from “Knight Rider” and even the “A-Team” van.

TO LISTEN CLICK THE BOLDED LINK Below:

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with producer Daniel Veluzat PT 3

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with producer Daniel Veluzat

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with producer Daniel Veluzat PT 2

As Daniel Veluzat became a young man his experiences in the film industry continued to grow. He owns and helps run The Veluzat Motion Picture Ranch and Melody Ranch Studios located in the Santa Clarita Valley area.

Both Motion Picture Ranches have been the backdrop where countless movies, television shows, commercials and music videos have been filmed. Daniel has worked on the ranches as a location liaison on many television shows. Daniel has a great love for music seeing how he fronted his own Heavy Metal band “Untaymd” and he has been able to continue being around music as he has been able work on music videos for many artists.

Daniel has been part of working on some of Hollywood’s biggest films. He has been a part of over 150 film and television productions and has also had the privilege to work alongside many of Hollywood’s most famous people.

He has worked as a Executive and Co Executive producer, Director, Actor, location liaison, studio manager, Stage Manager, stunt man, production designer, art director, set dresser and more! Daniel has also provided equipment to the industry such as motion picture vehicles, water trucks, production trailers, props and set dressing.

Official Veluzat ‘s Melody Ranch Studios Website

Veluzat Motion Picture Ranch Official Website

Veluzat’s Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studios FaceBook Page

Veluzat Motion Picture Studios FaceBook Page

Yellow Rock Official Website

Director Nick Vallelonga Yellow Rock interview on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat

Yellow Rock Co-stars Eddie & Michael Spears Interview on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat

Yellow Rock Producers and Writers Lenore Andriel & Steve Doucette Interview on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat

Subscribe and Follow Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Blog!  Visit often & please share with others!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Stay up to date with the live shows on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat. You can join us and listen live as the show records. You can hang in chat and ask questions. All shows are recorded and archived at the official site.

Updates will be posted at this blog,  at the official site,  on the RSMB Friends page on FB,  through twitter and elsewhere.  When you can’t join us live you can still  listen to archived show from official site, from blogtalk radio and you can subscribe to the podcast at itunes.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site