Welcome to the $5 Starbucks Venti Latte Film Funding Blog!

If you’ve reached this page it’s because of one or two reasons:  you come here often, or, you received an email from me asking for your donation of $5 to help me reach my film funding goal of $9500 to make the independent epic fantasy, Legend of Black Lotus.

Legend of Black Lotus is the short film version of a feature film I hope to make next year. In its simplest form, the project is a revisionist telling of the legend of Mulan, the Chinese girl who dressed as a man and took her father’s place in the army.

In Black Lotus, an African American child is born to Chinese parents in Ancient China. It is believed that she will reunite a divided kingdom and free the people from the tyrannical Emperor, who happens to be her father. Despite obvious implications of the prophecy, the girl is demonized because of her dark skin and must overcome the bonds of slavery to fulfill her destiny.

WHAT MAKES LEGEND OF BLACK LOTUS DIFFERENT?

Legend of Black Lotus was written to be exciting, dramatic, suspenseful, intriguing…all those things that make a short film worth twenty minutes of your time. There’s also some cool action sequences. Ironically though, it’s not an all-guy or all-gal film.  I cut my teeth in screenwriting by writing detailed action sequences, but as I’ve matured I’ve recognized the value of writing strong female characters. In fact my best characters have been female characters.

The short film addresses the bonds of motherhood (mother/daughter), womanhood (woman/woman), girl-power (empowerment) and sisterhood (sister/sister). But there is enough action and suspense to keep the most manliest of men thoroughly entertained

Here are some informative videos to acquaint you with Legend of Black Lotus:

HOW DOES $5 FIGURE INTO ALL THIS?

It’s simple math! I have 661 friends on Facebook, over 1400 friends on combined Myspace accounts, and 2300 friends on Twitter. If everyone  donated only $5 I would have more than enough money to make my film.

Simply put, if you skipped your usual Double Grande Mocha from Starbucks you’d be helping me make my film! But you aren’t merely giving away your hard-earned dollars. You’re getting something of value in return. If you donate $5 you’ll automatically be upgraded to the $10 perk.  This means you’ll get a  free  High Definition digital download of the completed Legend of Black Lotus film, a film credit, a digital download of the short script, a copy of the TREATMENT used for the feature film and free digital downloads of my ultra-micro-budget feature films Sex, Shoes & Unicorns and Nanny and the Professional.

Look at the countdown clock on the upper right-hand side. It shows the amount of time I have left to raise funds for my film. If you’re ready to donate NOW please visit my site at www.indiegogo.com/blacklotus to process your $5 donation in a secure transaction.

If you’re not ready to donate yet, please read on.

WHY SHOULD YOU DONATE YOUR HARD-EARNED MONEY?

That’s an easy question to answer. You should only donate if you believe you’ll get some value out of: 1) being a part of a film with an inspiring message, 2) getting a film credit on IMDB,  3) getting some cool film freebies and/or swag including three films, and 4) you want to brag to your friends how you helped make a film!

Okay, I admit it, the paragraph above appeals to your vanity. But let me also appeal to your faith…in me.

Chances are, my request isn’t the only request you’ll get from an independent filmmaker asking you to open your wallets and purses to help make art. I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “Why him?“  And your second question is probably, “How do I know you’re even going to make the film after you get my money?” The fact is, it is a miracle that any film gets made, low-budget or otherwise. There are so many factors to consider and so many variables that become fertile breeding grounds for Murphy’s Law.

The fact is I cannot think of one reason why one film should be more deserving than the next. I cannot sit here and tell you that my film deserves your money but someone else film does not. But I am here asking for your  donation.

One thing that makes me different is that I’ve navigated this labyrinthine indie film conundrum many times… 14 times to be exact. I’ve written, directed or produced 14 films. I’ve won awards for my films. My films have aired on the IFC channel, on television and toured the world in film festivals. My recent film, Broken Hearts Club was recently greenlit by NBC Universal to air in one of their top ten markets, New York City for a test run. In fact, you can watch six of my short films in their entirety, for free, on the YouTube playlist below:

So, at the risk of patting myself on the back,  I have to admit: I am the real deal. My films get made and get seen.

The countdown clock on the upper right-hand side is still moving. If you’re ready to donate NOW please visit my site at www.indiegogo.com/blacklotus to process your $5 donation in a secure transaction and get all the perks of a $10 donation.

THE RIGHT TIME, THE RIGHT PLACE

If you’re like me, you’ve looked back in time and wished you would have taken advantage of past opportunities. Perhaps you wish you invested in Google or Apple stock. Maybe you’re life would have been different if you started your blog sooner rather than later. Or maybe you’re a big fan of web video and wish you were around to help the folks at The Guild launch their incredibly successful web series.

A couple of things have happened recently that tell me that now is the right time and right place for Legend of Black Lotus. Earlier this year YouTuber’s tuned in to The Raven, a sci-fi short film which has garnered national attention for the filmmaker Ricardo de Montreuil. And almost everyone recognizes the film title, District 9 which spawned from the YouTube short film, Alive in Joburg. Most recently there’s been talk of a $30 million production deal for Fede Alvarex who made the exciting YouTube short film, Ataque de Panico (Panic Attack!).

Two years from now when Legend of Black Lotus (the feature film version) is in theaters, wouldn’t you like to say to your friends, I was in the right place at the right time and I helped make that film?

AIN’T IT COOL!

Let’s face it, it’s just damn cool to be a patron of the arts and support the efforts of independent filmmakers!  When you support an indie filmmaker like myself you also support our dreams. You tell us that it is okay to go after our dreams, and that you wish us success.

Most importantly, when you support me, you have a friend for life. You’ll have friend-access to many of the insane ideas and plans I have to: make sequels to my films,  become the next J.J. Abrams, win an Oscar, make a blockbuster film, work with Jerry Bruckheimer, break records and basically take over the film world.

Please join me in this epic journey to make and epic film. Your donations are greatly appreciated, admired and adored. Thank you for your consideration. I’ll see you at the movies.

If you’re ready to donate NOW please visit my site at www.indiegogo.com/blacklotus to process your $5 donation in a secure transaction and get all the perks of a $10 donation.

OR
You can Spread the Love and Spread the Word by Forwarding this link to your friends and family, and other generous people

Who needs Sundance when your film has been accepted by a film festival of your peers?

That’s right, my film The Broken Hearts Club has been accepted to screen at the Hollywood Black Film Festival (www.hbff.org) 

Below is my “acceptance letter:”

Dear Filmmaker(s):

Congratulations!  

I am pleased to inform you that your film has been selected by the Hollywood Black Film Festival Screening Committee to screen at the 10th Annual Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF 2009), which will take place June 2-7, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

We have an exciting festival planned for you this year and I hope that you will be able to join us.

Your screening schedule, information regarding filmmaker registration and the shipping & delivery instructions for your screener will be emailed the week of April 27, 2009.  In the interim, update your submission information on withoutabox to reflect any changes to your submission, and make sure that we have your current contact information.  (All festival communication will be sent via email and will be sent to one email address per film.)

Congratulations again on being selected to screen at HBFF 2009.  Feel free to send an email to me at hbffprogramming@aol.com if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Jacqueline Blaylock
Director of Programming
HOLLYWOOD BLACK FILM FESTIVAL

Truth be told, when I got the email I didn’t even look at the “Congratulations” salutation. My eyes went right for the body of the letter, scanning for those infamous words, “Sorry but…” Those words were noticably absent as I read. It didn’t really hit me until I read the words, “…pleased to inform you…” Then I thought…I‘m in!

Holy smoke, Broken Hearts Club is an official selection of the Hollywood Black Film Festival!!!

Interestingly enough, I just tried to access my website at http://www.brokenheartsclubfilm.com and it didn’t come up. I checked the ISP and you guessed it! My server is being hit with a DDOS (denial of service) attack. Hopefully the site will be up again soon.

More about the Hollywood Black Film Festival

The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF),dubbed “The Black Sundance,” is an annual 6-day celebration of Black Cinema drawing together established filmmakers, popular film and TV stars, writers, directors, industry executives, emerging artists, and diverse audiences from Hollywood and around the world.

Attracting such stars and industry insiders as Academy Award® winners Sidney Poitier, Forest Whitaker, John Singleton, Spike Lee, George Tillman, Tina Andrews, Reuben Cannon, Cedric The Entertainer, Anthony Anderson, Blair Underwood, Sanaa Lathan, Antwone Fisher, Ice-T, Rev. Run, Bill Duke, Loretta Devine, Rockmond Dunbar, Lamaan Rucker, directors Tim Story, Preston Whitmore, Rob Hardy and Jeff Byrd, and producer Will Packer, the festival has become a hotbed for the Black Hollywood community.

Coppola's Tetro

Kathleen Talbert, a publicist for Francis Ford Coppola, has confirmed the director won’t bring “Tetro” starring Vincent Gallo to Cannes. 

In a statement, Coppola says:

“While I very much appreciate the invitation, this is an independent film, self-financed and self released, and I felt that being invited for a non-competition gala screening wasn’t true to the personal and independent nature of this film.  More important than Cannes, our team can focus all our time, energy and resources into the U.S. release this June 11th.” 

Talbert told The Circuit that Coppola will release the film through a distribution arm of American Zoetrope, the studio the helmer founded in 1969 with George Lucas.

Following its world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 10, “Tetro” will open in New York and LA before expanding to Seattle, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco , and Washington, D.C. 

According to the film’s official site, the drama involves an Italian family of artists who have relocated to Buenos Aires.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/mikejones/archives/2009/04/17/no_cannes_for_coppola

Sex, Shoes & Unicorns

Today I  watched a very good independent documentary. The thing I love about watching the work of other filmmakers is that I am always inspired. Even if I don’t particularly like the film, I am inspired because finishing a film is a huge accomplishment in itself. My inspiration has thus caused me to rethink my plans for 2009. As you may know, I’ve been diligently working on two films. One is The Broken Hearts Club and the second is The Resurrection of Serious Rogers. Due to time constraints and post-production difficulties, I have to delay post for TRSR. BHC is nearly done. However, there was a third film I planned to release in the winter of 2009. I am now reprioritizing my endeavors and moving Sex, Shoes & Unicorns up.

Sex, Shoes & Unicorns is a Sex and the City-like tale of four girlfriends in Los Angeles who must choose between the best male-friend they’ve ever had and their long standing friendship. I shot the film in 11 days in over 15 locations throughout LA. I even managed to close down a high-end shoe store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills for a day. And it was free.

Everything about the Sex, Shoes & Unicorns reeks of low-budget, but I make no apology for it. I think what the film lacks cinematically is part of the its charm. It’s not great looking by any stretch of the imagination but the writing is very good and the performances are solid. It’s a film I’m proud of for no other reason than I did it with almost no money. I managed to obtain over $5000 of clothing from local designers in LA for free. We shot in the Bonaventure Hotel using guerilla filmmaking tactics and we nabbed some decent footage in a park in Southeast LA.

I’ll make some minor changes to SSU and then ship it off to Amazon to get ready for a straight-to-DVD release. I’m not sure how I’ll handle some of the dated lines of the script. Perhaps a bit of dubbing will suffice.

In the next few days I’ll redo the trailer, a new poster, maybe make a second trailer and snag a few scenes from the film to place on YouTube. It’s all gravy with this film because, as I recall, It really didn’t cost me anything to make. So whatever DVD sales, Rentals or Downloads arise, it puts me in the black.

Michael Monks, Actor

Michael Monks gave so much life to the Dr. Thaddeus Knowles character that I cannot imagine anyone else occupying that role. He was funny, insightful, natural and an efficient collaborator. Michael Monks has been around the block, so to speak. Recently he played opposite, Christian Bale in Harsh Times and alongside Keanu Reeves in Street Kings.  

Back in the day Michael went tote-to-toe with Angela Basset and Lawrence Fishburne in What’s Love Got To Do With It and was the airline pilot who sacrificed himself for Harrison Ford in the classic thriller, Air Force One. Michael now coaches actors in the Ivana Chubbuck Acting Technique.  Michael is also a champion of sorts for independent film. In 2007 he directed an independent film written and produced by two of his students. And if the project has merit, Michael probably won’t say no to appearing in your indie short film.

  Broken Hearts Club also stars Maya Gilbert. Maya plays the supportive but firm Carina Thiebold, wife of Dr. Thiebold (played by Tank Jones – more on Tank in an upcoming blog). You may have seen Maya recently on Zane’s Sex Chronicles airing on Cinemax. She’s currently in production  for two films this year. Check her out on IMDB. Maya hails from Ohio but there is nothing “small town” about her.” She is a natural talent with the exuberance of youth and the wisdom of maturity. She will definitely achieve immeasurable success in Hollywood.

Broken Hearts Club isn’t a typical romantic comedy. In fact if anything it is a romantic-dramady. In my desire to bring the full breadth and profundity of heartbreak into focus I realized I couldn’t do it with traditional rom-com antics. Besides, I think it was a smart move to stray as far away as possible from the conventional. Independent films with no so-called name talent, that will most likely be self-distributed have to do things differently. For Broken Hearts Club the process is simple. Having gone 0-for-8 with film festivals I am nowgearing up to release it on DVD this year. Myself.

Another clip from “Broken Hearts Club” – this clips is in by no means finished. It’s in its most raw form with temp sound, so adjust your speakers volume as necessary 

The only caveat I have is the overwhelming statistical data and numerical comparisons used in discussing the old incumbent model vs the new emerging model. Every film is different. Many films have completely different audiences and the way to reach these audience vary by increasing degrees. Podcasts may not work for every film. A local theatrical run may not work for a film while an overseas theatrical run, via festivals, may work wonders.

Filmmakers should have a presence on the web and free Internet tools and social networking sites such as Vimeo, YouTube, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Wordpress, Blogger, etc should direct the prospective audience to that web presence (site). Trailers and new versions of trailers are good examples of visual content to make this happen. Promoting a recorded Interview is another way to make this happen. However, I for one, cannot imagine how giving away your content –a completed film– could help a filmmaker unless that was his intention from the start.

In the end, it’s about hard work getting to know your audience(s). My distribution mentor, Tony Comstock, once told me that you should never commit to making your first film unless you’re committed to making your third. It’s about building your audience. Documented examples like “Four-Eyed Monsters” are exciting but rare. It’s difficult to emulate a film’s success especially when you have a different kind of film.

In my personal experience, I realized that there was a 99.999% chance that I’d have to self-distribute my film, The Broken Heart Club. However, being new to this arena I also realized the importance of education. I didn’t want to “learn” on my pride & joy, so I pulled another film out of the cobwebs, dusted it off and prepped it for self-distribution. The process not only revived the film (I ended up shooting another sequence and a narration) but it revived FIVE other films as well. My self-education unearthed glorious and empowering examples of low-budget film distribution. Now I am as excited about distributing Pulp Fusion: The Resurrection of Serious Rogers as I am about The Broken Heart Club.

Empowerment is the key. If independent filmmakers truly believe we don’t need Hollywood to make a film, shouldn’t we also believe that we don’t need Hollywood to distribute our films? We’ve proven the former. Let’s prove the latter.