I just watched the "Between Two Ferns" episode…

[Dien Rice]

It’s the one where Zack Galifianakis interviews...

..."Barack Obama, Community Organizer."

And I’ve noticed that Prez. Obama has gotten some flack for going on that show… a "comedy" interview show.

What will Putin think of him now? How will he have "gravitas?!"

However, of course, he went on the show because he wanted to appeal to specific segment of the population - to spruik "Obamacare" to young adults…

I think there is a lesson to be learned here… which is…

...to go where your audience is!

No point trying to reach young adults by appearing, on, say, an ad during the TV show "Castle" - because "Castle" has a generally older demographic…

Maybe the lesson is an obvious one - but one that you can sometimes forget!

As the saying goes, "the money is in the list" - and we could add, it’s in having the "right" list of people (demographically) for your product or service!

Anyway, just a thought or two…

I’m thinking of starting a new series… Between Two Palm Trees. It’ll be filmed in Hawaii. It'll just be me, interviewing the hammock…

Best wishes,

Dien

[MMacGillivray]

Sounds an idyllic film location, Dien. I hope that you've got plenty of gophers, assistants, focus pullers, wardrobe attendants and onsite catering

Margaret

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by MMacGillivray

Sounds an idyllic film location, Dien. I hope that you've got plenty of gophers, assistants, focus pullers, wardrobe attendants and onsite catering

Hi Margaret,

Thanks for the suggestion... It sounds like a pretty good dream!

Actually, that reminds me of something... I was once asked to be the executive producer on a movie!

This wasn't that long ago - about six months ago.

I have a friend who is an actor and playwright (among other things), and he held a joint party last year (it was his birthday, and someone else had a birthday as well). Because of the nature of who he is and who he knows, most of the people there were from the local independent film community, script writing community, and acting community...

Anyhow, I was chatting to people in general. While I don't have any experience in any of these kind of film or acting roles, I've always had an interest. (My interest has actually been more along the lines of producing... That's because from having experienced high school drama class - I know that my acting ability is atrocious! If I ever acted in a movie, I'm sure I'd be a "Razzie" contender!)

I was chatting to this very nice lady, who was telling me about the feature-length film she made. (This was her first film, but she had previous professional scriptwriting credits.) It had been made, and test screenings had been done, and had gotten very positive audience feedback. (It was a comedy, and apparently they measured it by how many "laughs per minute" it got...!)

But the problem was - she had had trouble getting distribution!

The "catch" is - the movie had been made around a decade ago. However, it had still not been released... (Though it was probably still just as funny...)

She really needed someone with more of a "business brain" to help her with with getting it out there...

Then she made me an offer. She said I could be the executive producer!

It was very tempting at the time, and had circumstances been different, I might have taken it up. (Six months ago, I was still having some serious health issues with diabetes... My health is greatly improved now...)

If I had taken it up, my role would have been to

(1) raise some money so she could add some special effects at the end, which she said she needed, and

(2) do a deal to distribute her movie.

I'm pretty sure I could have done it successfully (if I was back in good health at the time)... But, at the time, my no. 1 priority was getting my health back.

I didn't think the special effects would be a problem. I know a professional movie editor, who could probably do those effects she wanted, and have done a great job with it (I've seen his work and he's very good), at a fraction of the cost she was thinking about. (Computers are amazing.)

And I've always wanted to improve my deal-making skills... Trying to do a deal for her would have been fun!

Why hadn't she been able to do this herself?

The reality is, many people who go "out on a limb" and make films are creative, artistic people - but not business-minded people. So, when it comes to the more "business"-aspects of film, they flounder...

This is where marketing knowhow can really open doors!

Anyhow, because of my circumstances at the time, I let it slide...

But - it makes for an interesting (and true) story.

Best wishes,

Dien

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Dien Rice

Then she made me an offer. She said I could be the executive producer!

Just to clarify... This was a small, independent, partly self-financed movie (she also previously had some government arts-related funding, too, I think)... Not talking about Hollywood here.

It was a low-budget movie... Something like half a million, if I remember right, which is small by feature-length movie standards... (Keep in mind, out of that you have to pay all the actors and others who work on the movie, as well as other costs, etc.) I remember I couldn't believe how low her budget was when I heard it. (Yet, with some creativity, she got a good film made with the money she had!)

So, I wasn't being offered a paid salary position. Any money I made would have had to come out of the profits. (It was a business proposition, in other words.) No movie profits, no pay!

Just to clarify...

Best wishes,

Dien

(Some examples of successful low-budget movies are: Clerks, budget of $230k (total), gross $3 million; The Blair Witch Project, budget of $60k, gross $140 million in US, $240 million worldwide; Paranormal Activity, budget of $15k, gross $107 million in US, $193 million worldwide... So, it can be done!)