Hello everyone, I hope you are having a great New Year and everything is falling into place as you planned. In my newsletters each month we discuss many specifics of the business side of movie making and how to get our projects funded, made and distributed. If you are new to my newsletter list, you can click on the archive newsletter at the top of the newsletter or go to the website and retrieve all of the past newsletters for reference. I do hope they help you in your quest to become a professional filmmaker.

This month I wanted to talk about the one thing that inspires us to make movies and that is watching movies and how they affect our lives. I have been a fan of cinema since I was a kid. I love watching movies; it is one of my favorites things in the world. I watch 30-50 movies a month all genres and I am a fan of cinema. I will watch a movie all the way to the end even if I cannot stomach it anymore out of respect for the filmmaker. I know how difficult it is to get anything made when it comes to film. And the enormous amount of people it takes to get the project to the screen, whether it is the big screen, DVD, TV or your own screening for family and friends.

Recently I watched one of my favorite movies and forgot how much it inspired me when I was younger. The movie is “Dead Poet Society” starring Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles and Kirkwood Smith in one of his best performances playing the very strict and closed-minded father. Many of you face these obstacles everyday of someone telling “You can’t make movies, you don’t know anything about making movies!” You might also have to deal with someone not letting you do this whether It’s your parents, wife, or whomever.

One of the great lines from “Dead Poets Society” is “Carpe Diem”, Seize the Day. Because of how competitive and difficult it truly is to make a movie IT REQUIRES determination, persistence, passion and commitment and seizing the day. I have personally been inspired so many times by fans of my movie “All Roads Lead Home” and how it affected them and their families. Just when I would get down about a critic or a fan not liking the film, I will get 80-90% of the folks telling me how much they loved the movie, how it made them want to pick up the phone and call a loved one.

I recently had a lady email me saying, “All Roads Lead Home” is a movie she watches over and over again, because it calms her and gives her hope. She recently lost her young son in a construction accident and is struggling to get through. To hear that our movie helps her with something as painful as losing a son, I know we are on the right path to changing people’s lives.

One of the reasons I got into this business was I wanted to change peoples lives and we can do in the movie making business.

I recently read a review of “Dead Poet Society” on imdbpro.com and it inspired me as the movie has always done.

Here it is…

Review imdbpro.com

“Back when you are young, you never really stop to think what in the world you are doing with your life. You simply live for the day, hope your grades will be enough to pass, and that's it. Long-term thinking involves maybe flirting with a girl. Nothing more. What this film showed me was, we have the responsibility and the joy of being alive in this planet. That we are dust, and we will go back to it, so we have precious little time to make a difference. That we have a moral obligation to "seize the day, and make our lives extraordinary" (my favorite quote in all movie history). That the world basically is ours. That the only limitations are within ourselves, and that we owe it to us to fight, to rebel against conformity, to change what we hate and keep what we love. That living in this world is a beautiful responsibility, and that only cowards dare not to change it for the better”.

I added this review because it is so simple and to the point and wanted to share it with you all. Life is about taking chances and following your dreams, especially in the world of cinema. I have been asked on so many occasions how do I get my film made? Well you “seize the day” and go make it happen. So many people sit around and talk about how they want to make movies and never get it done. Get out there and do it, write the screenplay that is in your head and heart. Go out and raise the money that is necessary to make your film! No one is going to do it for you, you have to make it happen yourself.

Another great quote “Just Do It”. I know this sounds easier said then done, however if you go out and start putting the steps in place one at a time, you can get it down. Remember they built the “Great Wall of China” one brick at a time. Everything always seems overwhelming when you look at the whole picture. When you do break it down into smaller parts and goals it is easier to put it all together.

Let’s all have a positive year and make things happen…

Thanks,

Dennis

http://www.film3001.com