Back in 2013, I left Louisiana and made the 1000+ mile trip to move to Michigan to work with a self-proclaimed investor for the purpose of producing The Dead Reckoning, a gore-filled, action-packed, horror/western, cowboys & zombies screenplay I wrote in 2009, and it seems to have been my biggest mistake. After working on preproduction with this "investor" for about 6 months, I realized she had not one dime of the $3 million she originally told me she had access to for financing the movie. I ended up homeless and living in my pickup and squatting in a house that winter.
This was the 4th time I had experienced a letdown while trying to get something financed, but it was a much harder fall because of everything I had riding on it. I went into a depression and spent years dealing with it and struggling to climb out of it. I've spent the last decade eeking out a living in Michigan while struggling to get anything financed, but to no avail.
I'm still seeking financing for The Dead Reckoning, plus 3 more completed screenplays: a horror anthology, a monster movie, and an action/drama about a homeless Vietnam vet who risks his life to protect a kidnapped girl from a gang of ex-cons in an abandoned highrise, which was written as a love letter to my father and all the men and women who served in Vietnam.
It's been a struggle to stay creative in the face of failure, and some things take time to get over when they alter the course of your life for the worse, but you gotta keep on keepin' on. In the meantime, I kept writing and eventually pounded out several more screenplays and published 3 books, one of which is a novelized version of The Dead Reckoning. I've got several more books in the works and a few TV series in development, including 2 adult animated series.
So, at least I know that when the right financier comes along, I'll have plenty of projects to keep us busy for quite a while.
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Unfortunately, show biz is full of legit shady/broke producers. I was an assistant to a famous Hollywood producer- he collected sports-cars and owned multiple homes all over the world- producer called me in the middle of the night (he was in Cannes Film Festival) and asked me to open an American Express credit card and send him $2000 asap. Fuck that and fuck him.
Anyways, if you want this show biz life, you will figure a way to do what you want to do. Good luck!
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Sorry you went through those hardships, J. Brian. It's inspiring that throughout all of that, you have a positive attitude and you're still determined to get your projects financed. Keep building relationships/networking on here in the Lounges and Browse Members Section (www.stage32.com/people). Those relationships could lead to opportunities for you and your projects.
If I hear about any leads, I'll let you know. And feel free to DM me if I can help in any other way.
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Hey J. Brian! Thanks you for sharing. Know that you can always promote your projects in our "Your Stage" lounge, but also (and more importantly), you are not failing or the face of failure. This is a tough business and your strength and ambition are what will see you through this. If you'd like some resources on who to pitch to here on Stage 32 or resources on how to pitch/pitch materials, shoot me an email at success@stage32.com :)
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Thank you for sharing such personal stories J.Brian. This can be a rough business and I know there are others who can really relate to what you've been through. As a part of this community, we're here to support you and be a resource. Each one of us. If you ever have questions, get a bad feeling, or just want some advice or suggestions about financing or investors, reach out. The more we support each other the larger of a barrier we can be to the people who seek to scam.