It's been a while since posting in the forums. My name is John Kevin Bell some on here call me JKB. I am primarily a screen writer and now novelist. I have produced, directed and edited several projects and I'm always looking for the next project around the corner. After Effects, Premier Pro, and Blender is what I jumped into extensively to cut my teeth. I try not to look at early crappy movies we make as failures as you grow more with each film you make. My first few are now laughable!
Sure, I have several IMDB rat race credits but on what? A No budget feature film, shorts, commercials and infomercials. Ever looking for the homerun hit to land a good budget project that looks good on IMDB.
For me at least and a bunch of screen writers I follow on here, it is hard at times not to feel like you are failing when you are entering endless contests and endless rewrites to make those spec scripts as tight as possible and get nowhere with it. Or, conflicting notes from the contests. As of now I have 20 scripts, a completed 80,000 word novel and halfway through the next one. I burry myself in writing thinking if I throw enough spaghetti at the wall that something will eventually stick.
To pitch or not to pitch, now that is the question! Pitching takes money, endless screen writing comps takes a lot of money. Lets not get going on Film Festivals! Don't feel like you are failing if you're not doing these. Anyway,
I guess my biggest fails thus far has been in dealing with investors. I ran into a few fake ones that took the wind out of my sails for a bit. After compiling a killer business plan and different film business plans to have everything all lined up for the bank transfers just to have some shady crap go down in the last few minutes. It all fell apart and I did feel like a failure. But we live and we learn.
IT says down below that it has been 8908 new discussion in this introduce yourself section since I was last here. Oops! Well, If you are new to Stage32 Welcome! Stay true!
Hi, John Kevin Bell. I can relate to some of the things you wrote. My first scripts were laughable and horrible. We do live and learn.
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Shady investors in the film business? I've NEVER had that problem myself. XD
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Ben, 2 different ones instant messaged me from the chat here on stage32 where I never go after I posted for investors back now in the day. One was an international bank in England for 2.5 million that in the end wanted an insane international bank transfer fee. My bank flagged it and put a stop to it. The other was a group of supposedly private investors who after negotiating with them kept raising how much they wanted to lend me to the okay now, 50 million on a 22 year loan. I was only asking the 2.5 again. I was told by others on here back when it all went down to don't walk way, RUN!
Dealing with these two was stressful to say the least. So, again, live and learn! So, now its all about establishing my Production Co in Phoenix, then I will begin talking with normal investors for a few film projects I'm sitting on. Best of luck to all!
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I know my earlier scripts were laughable too. I kept learning and getting better.