I just spent close to 2 hours on the phone tonight with a U.S. Producer who has a film lined up & ready to go. It is a funny idea actually, totally tongue in cheek, and without giving away any of the plot - it might or might not be about a certain breed of voracious tiny rat-dogs that get genetically crossed with a certain notorious carnivorous fish, and then start graphically killing everyone at this remote, wooded camping area. (I smell Oscars!). I also hear stuff like this all the time and usually discount it, but he has a big name attached, & owns his own CGI SPFX house, has the budget together, PLUS can shoot it on the cheap. I thought to myself: "I could sell it this" (All the while trying to avoid the fires of hell...)
But again, I get all sorts of stuff thrown at me all the time, but I liked his pitch, and He was unlike most of the other "Producers" though. I checked him out on IMDB, and he has financing, has done a deal with a major studio in the past, and most importantly REAL. That was the biggest thing for me. I guess that everyone has a film that needs to be sold, and I have to deal with a lot of dreamers, time wasters, assholes, and people who quite frankly have no idea what they are talking about.
But really, I don't mind. I'm building a business, (but it's also possible that I just like to hear myself talk), so I emailed the guy my number and we had a chat. This is sort of my internet dating filtering thing. I figure that I'm a fairly bright guy, and a good judge of character, so if I can get a feel from them from a phone call while getting the scoop on their business plan, financing, production facility etc., then I will know sooner than later if they are full of shit, or ultimately worth investing a couple of months & a lot late nights and hard work towards my future or not.
More important though is the kind of person they are. I've dealt with assholes before - and believe me - there are no more worse assholes than the film business. So we talked, kvetched, and after a while, we started to connect. We were speaking the same language, and I gave him enough tantalizing information to keep him interested, all the while going back to his spiel, trying to poke holes in it, to check out his bona fides. The type of person they are is really what brings me around. It's that if I make the decision to make a long term investment in this person, then they'd better be worth it. Life's too short, you know?
He asked me questions about my background, my work history, and I did the same. I told him about the huge companies I've worked for, and the many deals I've made etc., and in turn he told me that he ran a production house, shot commercials for Nike, and then told me about his wife who is his producing partner, and how solid they are, and how they were out walking their dogs when he first called me etc. We gradually we got into each others comfort zone. He told me that he was going to send me the latest draft of their script later this evening.
*Bear in mind that we had been talking to each other on our cell phones*
About 10 minutes after we hung up, my phone beeped with a text message. I got one, then immediately a second text from HIS cell phone and they read verbatim:
Sept 12, 2008 8:11:26 PM: "Hey hot stuff! I'm writing late tonight but i have time tomorrow to see you. Would you like to make it a date? Please deedel yourself really good tonig..."
Sept 12, 2008 8:11:42 PM: "...ght and send me photos so I can't see straight... Meow!"
Me: Shocked, looking at my blackberry "... Right".
Ah, the movie business! Love! Marriage! Mis-sent text messages! (Mistakenly to me, and certainly not to his wife, co-producer, & dog-walking life partner etc,).
I do need to bone up on my intra-personal radar though. I thought I had this guy pegged as someone I could do some business with. Part of me wanted to write him back asking for pics in return or something - but that would have just been so wrong, on so many different levels.
Sometimes I really have to question what the hell I'm doing for a living.
But again, I get all sorts of stuff thrown at me all the time, but I liked his pitch, and He was unlike most of the other "Producers" though. I checked him out on IMDB, and he has financing, has done a deal with a major studio in the past, and most importantly REAL. That was the biggest thing for me. I guess that everyone has a film that needs to be sold, and I have to deal with a lot of dreamers, time wasters, assholes, and people who quite frankly have no idea what they are talking about.
But really, I don't mind. I'm building a business, (but it's also possible that I just like to hear myself talk), so I emailed the guy my number and we had a chat. This is sort of my internet dating filtering thing. I figure that I'm a fairly bright guy, and a good judge of character, so if I can get a feel from them from a phone call while getting the scoop on their business plan, financing, production facility etc., then I will know sooner than later if they are full of shit, or ultimately worth investing a couple of months & a lot late nights and hard work towards my future or not.
More important though is the kind of person they are. I've dealt with assholes before - and believe me - there are no more worse assholes than the film business. So we talked, kvetched, and after a while, we started to connect. We were speaking the same language, and I gave him enough tantalizing information to keep him interested, all the while going back to his spiel, trying to poke holes in it, to check out his bona fides. The type of person they are is really what brings me around. It's that if I make the decision to make a long term investment in this person, then they'd better be worth it. Life's too short, you know?
He asked me questions about my background, my work history, and I did the same. I told him about the huge companies I've worked for, and the many deals I've made etc., and in turn he told me that he ran a production house, shot commercials for Nike, and then told me about his wife who is his producing partner, and how solid they are, and how they were out walking their dogs when he first called me etc. We gradually we got into each others comfort zone. He told me that he was going to send me the latest draft of their script later this evening.
*Bear in mind that we had been talking to each other on our cell phones*
About 10 minutes after we hung up, my phone beeped with a text message. I got one, then immediately a second text from HIS cell phone and they read verbatim:
Sept 12, 2008 8:11:26 PM: "Hey hot stuff! I'm writing late tonight but i have time tomorrow to see you. Would you like to make it a date? Please deedel yourself really good tonig..."
Sept 12, 2008 8:11:42 PM: "...ght and send me photos so I can't see straight... Meow!"
Me: Shocked, looking at my blackberry "... Right".
Ah, the movie business! Love! Marriage! Mis-sent text messages! (Mistakenly to me, and certainly not to his wife, co-producer, & dog-walking life partner etc,).
I do need to bone up on my intra-personal radar though. I thought I had this guy pegged as someone I could do some business with. Part of me wanted to write him back asking for pics in return or something - but that would have just been so wrong, on so many different levels.
Sometimes I really have to question what the hell I'm doing for a living.
5 comments:
Hello the West Coast,
I finally had to comment. ;)
What the heck is "deedel yourself"? Do I really want to know??
ha ha - that is just brilliant my dear :)
Come visit!
xx K
LOL. Hilarious. That happened to me once a few years ago. Got an errant msg from a woman working on our project to her husband abt a late night adventure while house-sitting for her in-laws and details abt what she like where. The second msg like a half hour later was an invite for a repeat the following night. I saw her the next day, told her, we laughed, got over it. Mid morning the day after, I receive more errant msgs with details of the repeat!
WTF?!!
Found ur blog from the link of your YouTube Everyday vid :) First stop, so going to get lost around this blog now.....
lol
love it!
I apologize that I have been a terrible blogger... life is crazy (I'm teaching) and Ava is now 3/4 gorilla and almost 13 mos old. A crazy good life :)
But I have to confess that I'm wildly jelous of yours!
That was funny as hell!
Gia
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