01.01.07
Posted in Business, I-Man Cast Film Update, Scripts/Screenwriting, Website Updates at 8:25 pm by Amanda Rogers
Welcome to 2007! I can’t believe it’s already here. Now where did 2006 go? I swear I just saw it around somewhere.
The beginning of the new year is a good time for me to take a few moments and talk about the status of the project and to take a look at what’s coming up in the future.
The LLCing is coming along slowly but surely. I had hoped to have it done by now, but sometimes these things take longer than planned. But it will get done.
Some of you have asked if we have a script yet, and the answer to that is no. However, since the script development phase can be a long process, I’ve already begun talking to writers. We’re considering several options in our search for a writer, from hiring a professional screenwriter, to an up-and-coming hopeful, to a talented student, to basically just putting the word out and seeing what we get. Nothing has been decided yet. It’s a complicated decision because, depending on which way we decide to go, contracts, union requirements, release forms, rights, funding, options, etc. may or may not have a play in our decision. But, whichever way we decide to go, my first concern will be to get a top notch story. It’s been said that you can make a good film from a good script. You can make a great film from a good script. You can even make a bad film from a good script. But no one can make a good film from a bad script. A quality script is absolutely vital. That’s where it all starts.
The dismantling of The Invisible Man Online has been put off for a while due to time constraints, but I hope to start in a month or so and spread it out over the course of several months or more. I really hate the thought of losing everything there, so I’ve decided to save as much as I can (without violating copyrights) and bring it over to this website. The SciFi.com website has tons of stuff for fans and they even feature productions that are not theirs, so I figured, why can’t I? So expect a new section for fan stuff in the near future. I’ll make an announcement when it’s online.
I look forward to a productive 2007 as we move closer to our goal of getting our film made. Thank you for all your support. It’s been heartwarming to get messages from you expressing your excitement and enthusiasm at the thought of seeing our cast together again.
May good things happen for you in 2007!
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11.25.06
Posted in MySpace, Website Updates at 7:58 am by Amanda Rogers
Yesterday I was fiddling around with the home page and decided that while it looked okay, it needed some kind of caption or blurb that would help grab the attention of visitors. Something that would make them say, “Hey, that looks interesting! I think I’ll check it out.” So I wrote a short one-sentence blurb. But as I read it again, it seems a bit run on to me. I understand what I’m trying to say, but do you? Anybody have a better suggestion? Or do you think it’s fine the way it is?
Also, if you scroll down the page a bit, you’ll see a blue box with the “Thought for the day.” (I also put it up on the MySpace page.) The thought changes daily (except for Sundays); and clicking on the box will take you to one of my favorite websites, The Daily Motivator, where you can read the entire message. The box doesn’t exactly match the color scheme, but who cares? We all could use a little support, inspiration, and motivation as we pursue our goals and dreams, so I thought I’d share this great little site with all of you.
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11.05.06
Posted in Film Distribution, Film Financing, Film Production, I-Man Cast Film Update, Mike McCafferty, MySpace, Website Updates at 8:31 pm by Amanda Rogers
First of all, let me say that it is a pleasure to have Mike McCafferty join this blog as a contributing author. Without Mike and that conversation we had last year, I would have never been able to take on a project such as this one. But Mike helped me realize that collaboration between a cast and fans is very possible. It just takes willingness on the part of both parties to work together and get it done. We’re definitely going into new territory here. Already, old rules are being broken and new ones are being created.
In his post, Mike asked for your help to promote this project. Now you may be thinking, “Of course, I will help! As soon as that movie is released, I’m going to tell everyone I know about it.” And that’s great. But instead of waiting until the movie is released, how about start now? Seems kind of early, doesn’t it? Well, bear with me and let me explain.
It’s going to take some time to build buzz (which the dictionary defines as “excited interest or attention”) and there are fewer of us now than there was before, so the earlier we start the better. Not only can buzz help increase the audience for the movie, but it can also help to get it made. How is that?
There are two big hurdles to jump over in getting this movie made: financing and distribution.
Let’s talk about financing first. I mention on the About Page that I have had some preliminary interest from a funding source, and that’s true. But at this point in time it’s not guaranteed. That funding source might come through for us and provide all the money needed to get this movie made. On the other hand, it could also fall through for a variety of reasons: from simply losing interest in the project, to having resources already tied up in other ventures, to thinking that this isn’t a good investment. Having funding fall through is actually a fairly common occurance in filmmaking and anyone who wants to be a producer has to be prepared to deal with that fact. I’ve been told to not just wait until the check is in the bank, but wait until the check actually clears.
People who invest in movies know that it is a risky investment, but they also know that the payoff can be big if the movie turns out to be hit. There are several factors that they look at when considering whether or not to invest in a film venture, but I’m going to only cover a couple right now: audience and distribution.
Having a built-in audience is not something that every film has, but producers often try to minimize the risks and make the film more appealing to financiers by getting a “name” star or two in their film. It doesn’t always work and we could probably all cite examples when a known star was in a film that flopped. But many times it does work. How many of you have gone to see a movie just because Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, or Angelina Jolie was starring in it? These actors are considered bankable, which is why if producers can get a name actor interested in their movie, they have a better chance of getting their film funded.
We happen to be very fortunate. We have a very talented cast from an awesome little TV show for our film. But the show has been off the air for a few years in the U.S. (though it is still airing in a few other countries), so investors are going to want to know if there is still a worldwide audience that wants to see this cast come together again.
Another thing that investors consider is distribution. While investors sometimes fund films without any kind of distribution deal in place, having a distribution deal already in place makes for a stronger case. As a producer, I owe it to the investors to get the best distribution deal possible. To do otherwise is unconscionable. After all, they are the ones who are putting their money on the line.
So do distributors consider the audience when deciding what films to promote and distribute/air? Yes, that’s definitely one of the factors they take into account. Like investors, they too are putting their money on the line. A film that already has a built-in audience can definitely be more attractive to them.
Now, I’m going to work my you-know-what off for this film and try to make it as good as I can with the resources I acquire. And, if you, the audience, are willing to support that and show that there is an audience for our I-Man cast, our chances for success will be that much greater. I know we can create something special of which we can all be proud.
Now you may be wondering just what is it that you can do to help, so I’ve taken Mike’s suggestions and added a couple of my own. These ideas are easy to do and don’t cost anything.
- Tell a friend–Do you have a friend that is a fan of The Invisible Man or its cast? Do you know someone who enjoys quality TV and movies? Tell them about this project and website! And tell them to tell their friends. Spread the word!
- Bulletin Boards–Do you visit any online bulletin boards? As long as it doesn’t violate the board’s rules or policies, how about posting a blurb about this exciting project? And don’t forget to include a link to this website.
- Blogs and Websites–Do you have a blog or website? Please consider putting up a link to Shoom Zone Productions. Links help in a couple of ways: 1) They help drive visitors to this site, and 2) They help increase our search engine rankings. Once you have a link up, please contact me via the Contact Form or leave a comment and let me know that you’ve linked to this site. Don’t forget to include a link to your website or blog because I want to be sure to reciprocate by adding your website or blog to a new link category I’ve created called Friends & Supporters. The idea is to grow the list of friends and supporters as large as possible. When I give presentations to investors and distributors, I want to be able to show them all the people who support this project! And I want it to be impressive!
- MySpace–Do you have a MySpace page? So does Shoom Zone Productions! It’s located at http://www.myspace.com/shoomzoneproductions. Please add Shoom Zone Productions to your MySpace friends list. The goal is to spread the news and grow the friends list. Let’s make it huge! Let’s impress those investors and distributors!
Those are just a few things that you can do right now to help out. For your convenience, I’ve posted them on a new page called How Fans Can Help. This list is by no means comprehensive, so if anybody has any ideas that I can add to this list, please let me know.
Thank you for your support. Let’s get our cast together again!
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10.29.06
Posted in Website Updates at 7:44 am by Amanda Rogers
It’s a pleasure to finally get this blog (and website) underway. For months I’ve been planning and developing this website, looking into the various software programs that are available for blogging, and working to get it all set up. I’ve gotta say I’m pleased with how it’s turning out and it’s my wish that this will be a site that is functional, informative, and entertaining for you, the reader.
I decided to go with blogging software with this site because of the ease of doing updates. With my other site, Invisible Man Online, updates were a bit of work. Getting posts into the archives or under a specific actor’s category meant creating new pages constantly and it was tough to find the time to keep it up. With blogging software, all that work is taken care of by the program. Archives are automatically created each month and posts are placed into the categories that I assign to them. This makes my life so much easier and gives me more time to work on what’s important: developing the movie.
The categories are a pretty cool feature of the blog. To illustrate, if you’re a fan of Vincent Ventresca and you want to read just the news about him, you’ll be able to click on his name in the categories section and read all the posts that pertain to him. Now don’t go running over to the categories section just yet. As of this date, the category for Vince hasn’t yet been created. Please give me some time. Eventually, I’ll have a category up for, not only Vince, but, also, the rest of our wonderful cast.
Now, I’ve given a lot of thought to what type of content should be on this website. The Invisible Man Online is a fan website from which I have made absolutely no profit. Not a penny. Because of that fact, I took certain liberties with the content. Furthermore, it is also an entertainment news site, albeit its subject matter is limited in scope. In fact, and this is something you may not be aware of, it was approved by ABC as a legitimate news site. This allowed me to have access to all those great pictures of Vince from his stint on Complete Savages that I was able to share with you. Remember those? (Unfortunately, I had to take them down after the show ended.) Anyways, because Invisible Man Online is considered a news site, I exercised the rule of “fair use.”
The rules have changed a bit now. Shoom Zone Productions is a business, and a business is run for profit just like any other business. Now, by necessity, I have to be more careful about posting copyrighted material. However, for the past two years, I’ve enjoyed posting news about the cast and crew’s latest projects, as well finding little gems of info from some of their past projects. I want that to continue and I’m guessing that, if you’re a fan, you want that too. So I’ve decided that the scope of Shoom Zone’s web content will include reporting news about the cast, crew and, at times, the entertainment business; and “fair use” laws should still apply…unless my lawyer tells me otherwise.
In addition, I’ll keep you informed about the progress of the movie. You do want to know about that, right?
I’ll, also, be talking about film production for those of you interested in the subject, both the business and creative sides of the process. Really interesting stuff…at least it is to me.
If anything bores you, feel free to skip over those posts. You won’t hurt my feelings. This blog is meant to appeal to readers of various interests…from fans to filmmakers. So I don’t expect everything I write to interest everyone.
There’s not much content on this website yet, but there will be in time. Feel free to explore the site. If you have any suggestions or ideas on content for the site, please leave a comment.
With a movie in development, this is an exciting time to be a fan of the I-Man cast. I encourage you to bookmark this blog and check back frequently for news and updates.
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