Does Southern Charm Sell?

HOW A GOOD ‘OLE BOY FROM ALABAMA SOLD OVER 50 FILMS You already knew the entertainment industry was competitive, but did you realize that you probably have a better chance of getting into the NBA than your project does of getting in front of any kind of real audience? Take a look at the numbers: Of the 3,812 finished films submitted to Sundance last year only about 40 ended up getting any kind of distribution at all.  That’s just a little more than one percent-almost as low as the chances of a college basketball player making the NBA. Before you watch the game-changing video above, I want you to pay attention to some interesting facts about the TV biz too: If you think TV is any easier, think again. In 2011, of the thousands of TV show ideas pitched to the big four networks, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, 429 scripts were picked up…and only about 76 were made into pilots. Far less than half of those went to screen…and of those, only 24 are still on the air at last count. With odds like those, you may find yourself wondering whether the project you’re working on will ever end up in front of real audiences, and whether you’ll be given a chance at all. A lot of good work will ALWAYS get lost in the shuffle. Well, believe it or not, there are actually people who make it their job to sell good creative product and get it in front of audiences.   We’d like to introduce you to one of them. Houston King is a film producer who...

What do the Top 1% Know that You Don’t?

5 LASER-GUIDE BUSINESS TOOLS FOR SUCCESS Millions of people love movies and TV…hundreds of thousands want to generate work for the screen themselves.  But of those, only a few ever will. And the number of them who will end up with successful careers?  Well… Only about 10% of movies that make it into Sundance get distribution.  Only about 50% of screenwriters in the Writers Guild will earn any kind of money as writers, and of those, only about 1% will make over half a million dollars per year.    The statistics are daunting, but the real question is this: What are the 1% doing that you aren’t? The odds are just as bad for them as they are for everyone else, and yet somehow they convince others of their value, and you can bet that in 2012 they’ll be reaping bigger rewards today than ever.  What’s the secret sauce? Well, here’s my opinion-and this is from our observation of hundreds of our successful TV and Film clients over the last decade: Having a clear vision; a realistic plan; and the right habits to execute that plan day after day after day Success stems from consistent professionalism in a number of different ways, exhibited on a daily basis.  It’s about constantly planning, pushing forward, investing in yourself, thinking big when necessary, thinking to scale when necessary, taking action, and making ALL the right moves so that you deliver the goods and build upward momentum with every deadline, meeting, and screening. The truth of the industry is that it’s not about overnight success-because even when you get that, if you don’t handle...

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