Griswold Video!

Here is the Griswold video released off of Old Navy's YouTube page. Enjoy!

Griswold Christmas

With the holiday season in full swing, companies are doing their best to win the hearts of consumers everywhere. The trick that one company is using is to bring a holiday classic back to life.

It has been told many times that a great movie to make is a holiday one as it will ring promises of being played at least once a year, every year. When thinking of Christmas, many think of the film Christmas Vacation. That is what the company Old Navy is hoping for at least. They have created 5 commercials bringing back the family from the classic movie.

"We have a strategy this season to be doing it all the way, larger than life. Gifts all the way; Cheer all the way," said Michelle Wlazlo, global senior VP-adult merchandising and licensing

The thought of bringing in these characters is said to hit home within their direct target market of consumers.

           

Having been released only 2 days ago in the Ad Age site, there are many hopes that these commercials will make many for the company. If it does, I suspect that it will be just a start to using holiday classics for promotions once again.

It is said that the first ad that will be released will be the re-enacting of Griswold plugging in all the lights. It is one of the most memorable scenes and will raise the bar on what other goodies the company can bring to the table. It will be one of the most remembered Christmas ads of the season.

Dates on when the ads will be released have not been disclosed yet but I feel that they will be coming within the next two weeks to bring in the spirit of Christmas shopping to all around.

Here's hoping for the best with the Griswold's this holiday season. 

General Petraeus TV Mini Series?

With all the hype about the recent affair that has rocked not only the White House but many more instead, the ever infamous General Petraeus affair with Paula Broadwell. What does this have to do with a film company you may ask? Well everything that has happened within the case thus far has seemed so sure real, that I had to make a visual prediction of how this situation could go 1 of 2 ways.

I think there is a potential in making a movie about this situation, maybe not with the actual names of Petraeus or Broadwell but of the story itself; a higher general falls in love with the woman writing his book. The love will make them betray their families and their country while the hymns to pull on the strands of lust that lie within the air are just too great.

Sounds pretty catchy...however I always feel that as great of a story as it could be, with some alterations to the plot of course, I also think the government would not approve and it would cause a bigger uproar.

Although, I do believe timing is everything. I also feel there could be a good chance of having a try after things simmer down and General Petraeus makes his speech at Libya, as was previously planned (although that is still being tossed around).

For those that are overwhelmed by what I just wrote because you have no idea about the Patreaus situation, here is a video describing what has happened thus far.

As I said earlier, the potential of this situation being created into even just a TV mini serious could make a dramatic exit to General Patraeus' life and could have him portrayed in a different light than what he has been thrust into within the past week or so. With it being 2012, society as a whole has gotten much more open about things that were considered sinful in the 1950's such as birth control and same sex marriage. A TV mini series exploring the life of a general swooned by a manipulative writer could catch the eye of the generation of today.

To find out more on my thoughts on what has been happening in the world of film prospects, subscribe to my blog! =)

Taxing Your Kickstarter!

Being a part of a small production company or setting one up on your own as an indie filmmaker can be a rough spot to be in. However with the Internet, anything is possible, right? Yes, but not without a catch I am afraid.

Many know of the site Kick Starter and how it works. For those of you that don't, here is a simple picture pulled from Kick Starter itself, explaining it.

Seems too good to be true! The only downside is that you may not reach your goal of money and not get your project funded. But then there is that magically 'what if' you get above your goal. I'm talking $100,000 above your goal, do you have a plan for what to do with all that money? It may seem as a shock but projects get overfunded all the time on Kick Starter and similar sites. Kick Starter even has a page devoted to those who recently got over funded. 

I got the idea to do more research after having a great class discussion about what could happen once you go way over your initial price and the answer is simple...IRS will get you. I know it may sound scary and unreasonable since you didn't ask for all that money.

Here is a great article written from Forbes magazine describing just how something so good can bite you in the end. The article includes great tips and advice to help you if you get into that situation.

The most important thing I have ever been told and will certainly put to use within my company, is always have an attorney by your side. They can always help you or answer any questions that you may have. There are too many resources out there to help you find a great, legitimate one if the idea of searching for one is just too scary.

Overall, the idea of Kick Starter and IndieGoGo and similar sites may seem like a dream come true to most creative, starving artists but in reality can actually put you in a worse position if you are not aware of how the system works.

World of Law

Within the world of film, the production company needs to be surrounded with attorneys and a constant update on the world in the industry. A great place to find some of these updates is in podcasts by Gordon P. Firemark or Article 3.

The first that they talk about within episode 35 is the talk with James Taylor suing Warner Brothers Records. A big part of this is the fact that with a previous case with Universal, it was decided that digital downloading is to be treated like a license that should be treated with royalties, etc. How does this affect the film world? I feel that you download much more than just music these days between TV shows and movies that that court decision could heavily affect how much money production companies should be getting from the downloads themselves.

Within episode 30, the first thing they discussed is how the JOBS Act has affected crowdfunding. Crowdfunding will play a huge part in any start up production company using sights such as Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and other sites. It is suppose to help make it easier for regular people along with professional entrepreneurs however discussed in this podcast is that there are predictions that as it is implemented there will be lots of changes. How has this affected these websites however? The money is seen as being donated but the bill is officially saying it is ok to be doing that and have expectations to have returns and won't be affected very much at all. This leaves the platform open for production companies as long as the sites just follow regulations. However a special regulation has been adjusted to take out the solicitation where you could only go to those you knew (friends and family) for film productions. You can actually put an ad on the Internet and get money from it.  Bad news is, if you get up to 1/2 a million dollars, you must have an audited financial statement.

 

On another website, Article 3, there was a discussion of the film The Decedents within episode 46. The film surrounds legalities of real estate and a good tip that could help in writing the script and in pre-production is doing what the producers did; they consulted a law professor to help make sure everything they were talking about was true to point. This was a big step with going outside of their own legal team in order to make sure where they were was also being told in a true light.

Overall, attorneys can be a lifesaver whether it is to help solve problems the film has stirred up, current laws that may affect funding your project or just getting legal advice to make your movie true. 

In Other News...

Being in the entertainment industry, surprises are always around the corner and as being a producer, you must be prepared for anything that can and will happen. Some things include artist fraud, employee issues, breach of contracts and many more things.

One of the things that have recently happened through the industry is Aronson vs. Dog Eat Dog Films. This case is a perfect example of copyright infringement and what is really right in the world of the film industry. A man had sent in a video to the company after hearing that the company was going to do a film about the United States healthcare system. Dog Eat Dog used part of the video in their film and the Aronson said it was against his privacy rights. The federal judge claimed that Moore was in the right as the emailed waived rights and he had the First Amendment on his side.

Another good law case is that of the actress Cindy LeeGarcia more recently known for her performance in Innocence of Muslims. She is currently suing the creators and YouTube after the film rocked riots in the Middle East and North Africa. At first, she simply wanted to film removed legally from YouTube. She feels fraud has ruined her career and now wants copyright ownership so that she can have the rights to who sees the film. Something that is even worse is that the actress is suing everyone on YouTube that has reposted the video; a little excessive for an actress.

Lastly, a case that has hurt television shows, TV spots and publishers is fraud stories. It is nothing new that someone makes up a story for money but a recent story that could have an affect on future movie deals is companies like Penguin Group have obtained a copy of breach of contract demanding their advancements to authors back. This is devastating in many ways considering one of the authors in the mix has already had a movie deal for previous novels and was in light of making more.

Things like this as a produce affect many different areas of production. Whether it is in pre-production like with the author movie deals, after the film has been released and the actors aren't happy or even when a bystander of sorts wants claim to your film because of an image he sent you. When things like this occur, it is always handy to always have lawyers present before, during and after your productions to make sure precautions have been put in place for any time. 

Cruise as a luxury, as a service

Entertainment is a broad topic that could mean very different things to many people. For some, it's a trip to the movies or to others it is a night at their favorite club. In the world of luxury however, cruise lines is the competitive market. Today I got the chance to meet a manager of the cruise line Seabourn and also a past representative for HollandAmerica.

Within the world of cruising and being part of the staff, he explained that everything is an experience and essentially a show for the guest. Coming to Full Sail, he had a very clear mind of what type of people he was looking to hire along with what needed to be said about the ships.

The main difference between the two companies is not the service they provide but in the manner they provide it. Holland America, being a bigger ship based company, is determined to put on bigger and better shows simply because they have the space too. Seabourn however is all about intimacy and the feel being on the sea brings to the guest.

A big service that pulls the two companies apart from so many other cruise lines is the fact that they pay immense about of detail to everything. The crew is very spot on, the plates are just the right placement and nothing goes unturned without someone knowing about it.

The same goes for the ships technical crew, as the manager explained. Since the Seabourn is so much smaller, it only has 2 tech members while the Holland has at least 6.

Another service they provide the guests is the promise of a safe voyage. Every technical crew goes through days of training from everything to putting out fires to tying knots properly. They also perform drug tests on the crew to make sure another cruise ship accident does not occur.

Overall, the manager brought with him the same poise and manner that is resembled within the ships and I feel it would be a great experience for anyone to work on whether it be as a technical member or as a waiter. The ships are beauty gliding across the sea.