Category Archives: Blog

How Fans Can Help

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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!

Hello everybody!

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My name is Mike McCafferty and once upon a time I was on a pretty cool show called “The Invisible Man”. The show was doing well, getting great reviews and good ratings. Then 9/11 and bickering network presidents killed it before it’s prime. But you know all this.

5 years later, most have moved on. But there are still enough people who remember that this was a show that meant something to them, and so they hold on. They hold on to a faint dream that someday these characters on a tv show at the turn of the millennium would return and entertain an enthrall at least once more.

I’m one of those folks.

So is Amanda, who took an idle conversation we had two years ago about how the fans need to take the reins and make something happen, and then proceeded to do just that. That’s why this site is here.

There are others. There is you, who is reading this blog not because you are required, but because you choose. If you’ve made it this far, for this long, you believe that this dream can happen too.

It ain’t gonna be easy. The last 5 years has buried the dream in a thick layer of intellectual property rights, shifting networks and general apathy. No one wants to help us, in fact they’d rather we fail to save them the hassle. They want you to watch what they tell you to watch and don’t cause a fuss. After all, they know better, don’t they.

Actually, they don’t. The fact is that the industry is changing a light speed…literally. There’s a lot of chaos going on and if you need proof, see how much a company called YouTube sold for recently. It’s no longer a world where a few dictate entertainment to the many, rather, the many create content, and a few or many watch, listen or read it. It’s a brave new world, and the rules don’t exist yet.

So I say we make some new rules, possibly by breaking old ones. Let’s take some baby steps then start to sprint. The dream is of course to have an I-man movie, but it can also be so much more. A group of like minded people can do almost anything, all it takes is a dream, the will to do it and a place to meet to talk about it. I think we’re in pretty good shape.

So drop by here now and then and I’ll do the same. I’ve given Amanda license to show anything I do here if that drives people here. If you make something that you think helps the cause, maybe it belongs here too. Maybe you can just tell a friend, maybe you can mention it in your own blog. Maybe you can just believe for a little while longer, just enough for us to get on our feet. Whatever you can do, it will help.

For now, we baby step. Soon, we shoom.

Thanks, and see you soon,
Mike McCafferty

Eddie Jones Returns to His Role in “Death of a Salesman”

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It’s a treat to get to see Eddie Jones perform live, so I was very pleased to find out tonight that Eddie has returned to the stage to reprise his role of Willy Loman in the classic play Death of a Salesman.  Back in 2002, Eddie had won the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for his role in this play.  I know several fans went to see his performance back then and I wish I had been one of them.

Death of a Salesman has won much acclaim over the years.  In 1949, it won a Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It made history as the first play to win all three awards. The play continues to be produced around the world making Arthur Miller an internationally known playwright.

It’s currently playing for a limited engagement from October 26 to December 15 at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles. Opening night was Saturday, October 28.  Performances are at 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays, and 2:00 p.m. on Sundays. 

Tickets run from $22 to $26.  There are discounts available for Odyssey subscribers; students; SAG, AFTRA and Equity members; and seniors. 

The Odyssey Theatre is located at:
2055 South Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

To purchase tickets or for more information, go to www.odysseytheatre.com or call (310) 477-2055.

Nestor Carbonell Guest Stars Tonight in “Cold Case”

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Today has turned out to be a busier posting day than originally planned.  I just found out that Shannon Kenny’s husband, Nestor Carbonell, is a guest star on tonight’s Cold Case.

Synopsis:  When the 1958 suicide of DJ Jimmy “The Hawk” Hawkins is discovered to have been a murder, Lilly and the team must find the truth of this public persona’s private life by decoding a message hidden in his final broadcast.

The episode is entitled “Static” and it airs at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

“Standoff” Marathon This Afternoon

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So has anybody been watching Standoff?  The man behind Standoff is none other than I-Man writer extraordinaire Craig Silverstein.  We I-Man fans know how incredibly talented Craig is, so it was only a matter of time before a show he created got picked up. 

Standoff has been on hiatus for a few weeks because of the games, but it’s set to return with a new episode in a new timeslot this Tuesday, October 31, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. 

If you’ve missed any of the previous episodes of Standoff, now is your chance to get caught up.  This afternoon the TV Guide Channel will be re-airing the first four episodes of the series according to a TV Guide Channel press release.  Series stars Ron Livingston and Rosemarie DeWitt will be hosting the marathon, which will air from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m ET/PT. 

Way to go, Craig!  Now if I could just get him to write our movie script.

Welcome to the Shoom Zone Production Blog!

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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.