THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE

For indie filmmakers there is a shell game that has existed since the beginning, we're talking long before the Island Pictures and Harvey-Harvey-Miramax days - it's the money and talent thing. The fact no one will give you money to make your project until you have a profitable director or acting talent attached and no profitable director or actor will attach to your project (rather their CAA agent won't allow them) until they see mean bunches of green in a bank account, enough at the very least to pay them.

So what do you do? Crowd sourcing our not, the truth is it is a rare thing for an indie director/writer/producer to be handed a million dollars to go shoot a film with George Clooney, Angelina Jolie or Meryl Streep. Period. So what you often do is lie.

Yep. You tell the assistant who tells the agent who tells their client that there's money in the bank. At the same time you tell the production company and the potential distributor and of course the potential sales agent that the A- list actor's agent loves the script and is reading it now. Or better yet, that the A-list actor is "interested." Or yep, even better still, sometimes= you tell the big whopper and say the A-list actor wants to do it and is ready to attach.

Then you cross your fingers and hope that it all works out.

Most of the time it doesn't. Sometimes it does, but who's going to cop to the lying?

It's a frustrating game to be sure. Even more frustrating when you don't want to pick up a phone, schedule a meeting or sit down at a table and play it. It's a tough game when all you want to do is make your dang movie!

That said, we are now on the hunt for great talent. We are on the beg and plead search for the managers that are not too jaded, and the agents that have yet to grow too greedy, People that will read our not fully-funded script and tell their talented clients that they must-must-must work with us.

We'll keep you posted on how that goes.

WE ARE NOT ALONE

At our meetings at AFM everyone seemed interested in our project. Several articles the past two years reflect that same sentiment,  the interest in projects targeting an older, broader audiences. During AFM THR reported on one such film sale.  We are not alone!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-douglas-diane-keaton-movie-386286

SPENT TV:  THE CLASSICS

Speaking of oldies, if you haven't checked out our CLASSICS section on the SPENT TV webnet. One of our viewer favorites is PORN KING - hold on, hold on, it's not what you think. You'll get a kick out of it's campy style and in fact - it's coming back bigger and better.  LOL.

THE VIEW FROM BELOW THE SUITES

Cary and I have been at this for a few years now. Forever riding the roller-coaster of writing, directing, producing and hope. This week, we found ourselves at AFM, the American Film Market, pitching our first feature project. First in the sense, that our other 'first' feature project "Secrets of the Son" fell apart when the financier dropped out a few years back.

So, we've been down this road before, like all the other indie filmmakers out there. You get close, you fall back, you get closer, you fall back, you get right to the precipice and are about to take the leap, and yep, again, you fall back. It isn't a creative ride for those weak at heart, nor for those nay-sayers who give up easily. It is a ride for those who believe in the stories they tell, in the visions they dream and are intellectually insane on some level.

AFM is an interesting place because it brings the hopefuls and heathens from all over the world together. It is a melting pot of creativity and a scammers heaven all at the same time.

We did the research before hand, which was helpful. Our associate producer DANIELLE FLORES, Cary and I put together a list of companies that worked with our budget range, at least dabbled in our action/drama/thriller genre, and then we did the six-degrees- of separation thing, trying to email those whom we had six-degree business relationships with.

Success! We got three meetings. Three meetings to beg, plead and cajole someone into giving us money. And at all three, the answer was yes to reading the script. The people we met with were diverse in age, and all related to the concept. In fact all loved the concept of our project.

And I will tell you, when someone who has the potential to give you the 1.7 million benjamins you are asking for says they love the concept and want to read your script, you about piss your pants.

It was a great day on Tuesday. We felt good, like creative people do when the stories they create connect with he total strangers of the world.

And now the next part. They wait game. The stretch of time never juts right, always to long, never predictable that you wait for that one person you met in a stuffy suite on a hot day (or that person's assistant) to say yes or no. Or even maybe.

That's where we are with Mops now.

THE ELECTION

Yeah, besides AFM this week there was an a election. Funny thing is there was no screens  at all at AFM in the bar or restaurant showing election coverage. No CNN, MSNBC or Fox.  Guess the organizers didn't want any brawls or broken deals for that mater.

Congrats to all of those who voted for the candidate of your choice. At least we can all agree that we showed up for ourselves and our country by exercising our right to vote. For all those who didn't, the official rule is you don't get to bitch about anything until the next election you vote in.

SPENT TV COOKING

With AFM over, and the new year close at hand, SPENT TV will finally be able to share it's first venture into reality cooking with our Cucina Clarissa show. 

Stay tuned for our update. Webisodes will be available on Spent TV and Youtube.

AFM AND SUCH

Greetings from the part of the country that is free from hurricane Sandy's wrath!

Wishing our east coast family, friends and supporters a safe next forty-eight hours. We are thinking of you!

INDIEGOGO UPDATE

We completed our Indiegogo fundraising campaign for our first feature MOMS AND POPS and thanks to the generosity of some wonderful people, we we're able to put together a small amount of money to move forward on the project. While it was not as much as we had hoped, we most definitely learned from the experience and are blazing ahead to get our project in front of the camera for our March 2013 start date.

We originally thought we might shoot in New York, but the great incentives in VIRGINIA and PITTSBURGH are options we are exploring. Both have neighborhoods that can sub for New York and also have locations that are a great fit for our bus station and trailer park needs,

What do you think of these Pittsburgh locations? Look like NYV enough for you?

Ahh, the struggles when you have no financing and a great project!

AFM

Next week, our MOMS AND POPS  journey takes us to the American Film Market in Santa Monica.

We've set up some meetings to pitch our project and to get the word out on our amazing web network as well. We'll keep you posted on what happens. Send some good vibes our way if you can spare some!

 SPENT TV

We're cooking up the cooking BUENA CUCINA show for youze. Yah, yah, yah, you've heard it before. But it's in its final simmering stages and should be on You Tube and our on SPENT WEBNET soon - just in time for the holidays!

In the mean time, click on and explore our webnet HERE!

MOMS AND POPS ON INDIEGOGO

We are up, running and crazy ready to go. If you haven't already done so,  please check out our MOMS AND POPS THE MOVIE Indiegogo campaign!

You can read a little about the project itself and watch some first concept clips of what our vision is for the project. We have a limited time to raise funds, so if you can help in any way, that would be great.

If you love your parents. If you love your grandparents, support our project. Instead of depicting grandparents as doddering or ailing as sadly, many projects do. In MOMS AND POPS we depict them as howe they truly are, thinking, loving people with complex lives and complex situations.

Our project is a thriller with a unique new twist and we like it that way. We know you will too.

LAURA BUTLER AND CARY TUSAN: 

SPENT TV FOUNDERS and CO-DIRECTORS OF THE MOMS AND POPS PROJECT.

So you hear from us on the blog and not about us. Here's a photo of us on the drive up to Park City Utah for the Sundance Film Festival and some of what we've done.

Laura Butler – Writer/Co-Director
A So-Cal native, Laura grew up on the west side of L.A., a wave rider and disco dancer when bell-bottom jeans were king. She attended CSUN and SFSU, majoring in film, but took to book and pen, teaching herself when life’s circumstances put the brakes on her academic pursuits. That said, her first script, a period drama set in 1963, THE COLUMNIST, placed third in the 2001 American Screenwriters Association script competition. Her script MOMS AND POPS was a second-round qualifier in the 2010 Sundance Screenwriters Lab program. Laura previously worked at Back Stage as a listings editor and contributing writer, The Hollywood Reporter (helping with some award season coverage), Baseline Studio System as research editor and HTV. She co-founded and currently produces, writes and directs for the SPENT TV web-network of digital series (www.spentv.com).
Cary Tusan – Co-Director
UCSB graduate Cary has worked all ends of the industry while continuing to produce/write and direct several projects. Currently a managing editor for one of the entertainment industry's largest informational data resources, Cary previously worked at The Hollywood Reporter, Silver Pictures, Singer Entertainment, and Greg Davis' Parkwood Pictures as a development executive. Cary is also the producer/director and co-writer of the acclaimed short film, "The Writer" and the writer/director of SPENT TV's newest series "Fast Track." He is the also the co-founder and a co-producer of the SPENT TV web-network and series (www.spentv.com). Cary recently completed his first family feature, BLUE ICE, with Tom Brennan.

OUR FEATURED SERIES FOR SEPTEMBER; THE ONE

One of SPENT TV's favorites, join host Lars Vance as he re-unites the un-unitable!

You can watch it HERE or on SPENT TV. We will post the link to THE ONE you tube channel later this week.

HAPPY LABOR DAY! 

Don't forget the sunscreen, and of course, don't labor over anything at all this weekend except the steak on the bbq or the tasty beverage in your hand!

OUR FIRST FEATURE AND SUCH

Well, we've indeed been to hell and back.  Life's challenges sometimes have a way of complicating the creativity. Creativity sometimes has a way of complicating the creativity itself with too many deadlines and multiple projects going on at the same time - so in a nutshell, that's where we've been. Dealing with life's joys and its crap and working hard on the creative projects that came our way.


Cary has been working on a pair of writing projects with his writing partner Tom. I've  been consulting with web content folks on revamping our webnetwork. We shot a pair of webisodes and faux commercials.  I've also been working with a great team of creatives, Nicholas Levis, Jean St. James, Rosemary Marks and of course, Cary Tusan to launch SPENT'S first feature MOMS AND POPS. 


MOMS AND POPS has a website, and a facebook page, so check them out, like us on FB if you can, and look for more to keep you up-to-date on our unique and fabulous first feature. More announcements to make on the project and more fun to have along the journey as well.


MONTHLY FEATURED SERIES


For month of August we are featuring our series LLA on You Tube. LLA now has it's very own you tube channel, so check out episode one. Next week we'll have the original short film that we did that the series is based on.


SPOTLIGHT: 
"MOMS AND POPS" PRODUCER NICHOLAS LEVIS

Passionate, articulate and looks-great-in-shorts, Nicholas Levis has joined us a producer on the MOMS AND POPS feature project. Nicholas possesses extensive experience in commercial, advertising and independent film production. Over the past ten years, he has worked on more than three hundred commercials, produced commercials worldwide -- in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Greece, and Mexico -- and worked closely with production companies from South America, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and Italy. As a commercial producer Mr. Levis has worked with EUE Screen Gems, Ridley Scott and Associates, H.S.I., Crossroads, and other major firms. He has also worked on music videos for Mariah Carey, The Rolling Stones, DMX, and others. He has produced various independent feature films including the SXSW Best Documentary Audience Award winning film DARKON. He graduated with a BFA in Performing Arts from Emerson College in Boston.

You can learn more about Nicholas online at Ovie Entertainment's website or by following him on twitter @NicholasLevis.

HERE'S SOME OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING...

Where We've Been Hiding

So to give a little backstory, we made the sojourn to Sundance, got snowed on and got the flu.

But we also made some great connections. So fabulous were the connections, we've been crazy busy with pitches, meetings and studio visits, all the things this pair of struggling writer/directors need to give us a little hope. We can't share until things are locked and signed on the dotted line or close to there. But thanks for your patience while we worked our asses off. It's a reminder to hang on to hope and believe!

CONGRATS TO OUR MOOBIE MOMMA AND POPPA!!
Eric and Gina of our web series IT'S JUST A MOOBIE are the proud parents of baby Miles and you can see for yourself he's a total cutie.

You can post well wishes here or go to their moobie WEBSITE. Welcome to the world baby MILES!

We'll miss Eric and Gina's moobie reviews for now, but know any free time they have is dedicated to getting some sleep. Congrats again you two. We know you'll be back soon for the big moobie releases coming our way this summer if not sooner. And in case you missed any of their rebiews, you can catch some of their oldies but goodies on the spent tv network. 

FAST TRACK RETURNS

The next episode of FAST TRACK is in our capable editor's hands and should be up on SPENT TV soon. Here's a behind the scenes shot of talented cast member Jeannie Bolet! She plays a lit agent in Hollywood. And we know what that means....

FLYERS ANYONE?

Look around town at your favorite coffee shop, brew stop or even on the street for our SPENT TV flyers. We're hitting the pavement, spreading the word. So give us a shout if one lands in your neck of the woods.

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Thanks to all of your votes, and our procrastination, we have a winner in our first annual BEST ACTOR ON SPENT TV AWARD. The competition was heated, went down to the wire. But a clear fan favorite emerged. Announcement and pictures will follow soon! Thanks for voting!

Sundance

2012. This time it really snowed, enough to shut down some highways and blast a person's face with brisk pellets of frozen water - brr. It was a Sundance of lots of parties, inspiring panels, and the long wait lines to get in "Liberal Arts" was a great film, got picked up by IFC for distribution by weeks end. Good news.

Wanted to live stream from the festival, but like everything else Sundance you have to go with the flow, so these pics will have to do. Met some great people and hopefully made the connections that will translate into a future for our Moms and Pops film project.

Morning snow.

Fresh dusting of the flaky stuff.

Cary and Laura on the road to Park City.

Back to work, back to our webseries. We're glad to be home.