THE POWER OF THE PROJECTIONIST

Many memories over four decades in the motion picture industry are flooding my mind this morning.  Inside each experience, there are invaluable lessons we learn about story and finding stories that arrest our spirit. So, please allow me to indulge here a moment.

Almost two decades ago I was with a man I had grown to love very much, Bill Ewing. He had worked for years as the Vice President of Sony for Columbia Pictures and we were finally at a place to take our film we had created to a screening room after completing our surround sound mix. The film was BEYOND THE GATES OF SPLENDOR.

I noticed Bill was working on the "behind the scenes" technical aspect as we were about to screen the film for the very first time.  There was an older gentlemen who was a different ethnicity, but I don't remember which who was at the back of the room.  Many executives were coming to the screening and naturally I was curious how they would receive the "film". 

After the screening, we had a few words and thanked everyone for coming, but Bill made a direct line to the projectionist who was in the back of the room behind the doors where the film had run.  I was surprised Bill would want to hear what the guy who ran the movie would say. Bill came out of the room with a huge smile on his face and after the normal salutations with the studio guys I asked him, why he had ran to the back of the room after the movie was finished when all the studio guys were there?.

He said, "The projectionist had tears in his eyes".   Bill was teaching me an invaluable lesson with his actions. He knew something I had not learned. 

You see, a projectionist at SONY had seen thousands of films over the years, but this man followed up by saying, "You have to get this film out there, Bill".  The test of the man and his emotional experience was a "litmus" test for the movie screening and a foreshadowing of the success to follow.  The wisdom in this small act confirmed so much as we paid the projectionist for his faithful service. 

We never know who God places in our lives to "test" what we create as a third party, but the investment is invaluable.  Sometimes it can be a projectionist or someone whom you would not believe or understand their value, but we in the film industry KNOW their value.  Do you have a "litmus test" besides friends and family to share with you the positives and negatives of your creative writing? Would it be worth it to you, to have this asset close by?

At the FILMMAKER'S ROUNDTABLE, our team is here to help you as you bring your content to our table for one reason, a "proven litmus test" and a process where proven diagnostics and analysis will adjudicate and resolve creative barriers and expand your understanding.  We don't use one judge, but many adjudicators to gain the knowledge of excellent advisors helping you for one purpose, to win in a highly competitive field of writers. There is no perfect book, screenplay and re-writes are common, script doctoring have become the norm, but for authors who dream for their book to be a movie, this is different.

We tell authors and content creators the majority of the time, they do not have a book which should be made into a film.  However, we have one author from last year who is now turning their book into a trilogy because of the ethos, the power of the story and the expansion of a wonderful read.  Do you realize what could happen?

After one of our films, we received 114 screenplays written by WGA screenwriters and of those, only eight made the "grade" to move forward.  Of the eight, three were finally in the top and only one moved forward into film production.  Could you be the one? We need two more stories to complete our "slate".  Will you be one of those stories?

Dare to dream and invest in "listening to others" for an honest and accurate assessment of your creative content.  We believe by listening, you will grow and be more prepared for the future!

Best to you in your writing!

Coach KMAC

PS Please be in prayer for Lorretta Segars who is one of our authors for her book SAND IN TUSCANY and has now a feature screenplay finished entitled, WAR BRIDE. Her cancer has returned and we are remembering her in prayer.  Thanks gang.