Socialist Vlog #1

Just the first episode of what I like to call 'Soviet Humor'. Also, I won't be updating this blog any longer, so if you like the Socialist Vlog, please subscribe to my YouTube channel as well.

How I Wrote a Novel in 3 Days

 Hello, fellow human.

 Today's post is about what I like to call 'Extreme Motivation'. Something that we are all used to wanting, but never actually managed to reach. It's that thing that keeps you going in that vision you have of yourself working non-stop towards your goal.

 We all have our highs and lows. It's during those high points where the world seems to be at your fingertips and that desire to conquer pops out of nowhere. Suddenly, you are hit by an image of yourself vigorously typing at your amazing project sometime late at night. Proudly, you announce that starting tomorrow you will be that person.

Yes, I'll be right with you as soon as I'm done writing my 367 page e-book

 What happens when you wake up the next morning?

They called him 'Tired Power'.

 There you are again, watching mindless YouTube videos in the comfort of your bed. In fact, you're even annoyed with it, but for some reason keep on wasting your time.

 Maybe it's just the way we're programmed to act. Maybe it's just some basic survival instinct meant to do one thing and one thing only: keep you alive. Unfortunately, as time went on, man developed a consciousness that worked against his reflexes. 

Your conscious mind vs. your subconscious mind.

But enough with the complaining. Here is how I, for one brief moment, managed to overcome it(and you can too).

 Here's how I wrote a novel in 3 days

 It was the winter of 2011 and I was an unpopular and possibly retarded kid. 

 However, it wasn't the above that was bothering me. In fact, I always saw myself as being light years ahead of everyone else. I knew I was better than them and all I needed was a way to prove it(which is a bad mentality to begin with, but I'm just saying this as part of the story).

 So in the three days following Christmas, all I did was write an average of 40-50 pages a day. By the end of this writing rampage, I had a rough version of what was my second (completed) book.
 A few months later, I got the rights to it, added some extra chapters and printed out a small number of copies.

 No, I was not an overnight success and I didn't make any money from it- which is exactly what I was hoping for. I learned that life was a little more complicated than that.

 I then tried writing another book. This time, I couldn't stick to it. Why? Because I knew that all those rewards I wanted were not going to come to me this way. I needed another plan.

 *I ended up writing some e-books, but that's another story.

 For 6 years I tried to make a feature film. I always lost interest in every movie I'd start to work on.

  I have hundreds of unfinished scripts standing around the house. Some of them materialized into half-shot, half-edited 20-45 minute videos. All except for one.

 When I started making I Know Your Browser History, I decided to make my commitment to it by creating an IMDb page before I even picked up the camera. For me, the fact that the IMDb page existed was pretty much my only motivation.

 Unfortunately, I now know how many undone projects there are at the Internet Movie Database, so it would no longer help me stick to my projects. If I were to begin something else(and I will), I'd have to put myself in a position where I am forced to keep up with the same project no matter what.

 When I wrote the book, I never for a second had in mind the possibility of me failing at becoming a well known author. I did it as if commercial and mainstream success was right around the corner. I thought I was going to be famous.

 What is the key to Extreme Motivation?

 The answer is simple: Stay stupid.  

 Don't question the possibility of you succeeding. Do what you have to do and think later. 

 For example, the book was awesome. Everyone in school loved it, even though that didn't make me a celebrity. Had I used the same approach for marketing it- who knows- I could have made it.

 If you can't stay stupid, just find something that will force you to stay on the tracks. For me, it was the IMDb page and this blog. 

 In fact, it can be just a matter of goals: Instead of going for getting rich and famous through this project, just chose make this project great. Take it one step at a time and at least make it to the end of the first step.

 What happens if you don't take it step by step? You'll get a horrible project that you hate. Since you hate it, you won't be that confident with it and therefore suck at the marketing part. That's it.

 So remember- Stay stupid or have something else keep you stupid.

How to Get Your Email Noticed

 Hello, fellow human.

 So recently, I decided to make one final attempt at getting my film into a festival, then give up on the project. I'm glad I did both. Here's how I got the organizer's attention and had them accept a further screening within a few hours.

 Before I start

 Let it be known that in order to get wherever you want to get also requires great skills or an amazing product. Here we only focus on getting your email spotted and answered to.

 The Right Way vs. The Wrong Way

 Back to the story, I emailed the following over to the festival's office:

 And here's what I received(they even said 'Thank you'):

 Was it luck or just pure inspiration? Let's compare it with another email that I had sent a while earlier. Take a look and tell me what you think.

 Woah, dude! Talk about a formal message. This one seems to be more of a letter of honor from a forgotten World War I veteran. 

 Did I receive a reply? Yes, I did. But it was far from what I(or anyone else) would want to hear. All I managed to do with this one was annoy the other guy and be politely told to fuck off.

 But enough with the drama. Here's the simple, easy to apply method that I used.

 How to Write it The Right Way

 I'd love to bore you guys with a few more paragraphs about the insight on this concept, but it's too basic. I will sum it all up in the quote below.

It's not about what you want but what the other guy wants.

 It sounds over-obvious, but just think of all the times you ignored this simple rule. 

 In the case of the 'Right Email', Joshua was only looking for some comedy films to be shown at his festival. Period. I never said my movie was fabulous or that it stood out in any way, since that is an entirely subjective matter. The only 'real' thing is that I made a film that fits into the required criteria. That's point blank. If the guy wanted to know more, all he had to do was ask.

 The Wrong Email, however, didn't take anything in consideration apart from my own needs. Instead of at least proving to benefit bmunoz, I never even bothered to mention anything about the film itself. Because of all this, it ended up looking more like a desperate cry for attention and not possible content for the festival's audience. 

 So what's the key to writing a successful email? Quite simple. Just follow the two rules below:

 1.Only talk about how you can benefit the other person.

 2.Use verifiable, objective reasons to prove the benefit.

Announcing the daily quotes series.

 Seeing nothing else to do(at the time), I decided to come up with these daily motivational quotes.


They're all up on my new channel.

Why Movies That Have Names as Titles Are More Successful.

 If you're like me, then you've been wondering what the key to a sleeper hit is.

What is a sleeper hit? Generally, it's a production that, despite having little to no marketing to it encounters massive mainstream and commercial success. For example, take The Blair Witch Project(1999) or Rocky(1976).

 What was it about these movies that made them so great and brought the previously unknown makers to stardom?

 Rocky(1976)

 I've chosen this one because I think it is the most intriguing case of all. Before it, Sylvester Stallone was a nobody, broke and trying to sell his dog because he could no longer afford to feed it.

 After allegedly writing the script in 3 days, it caught the eye of several production companies, none of which was willing to let Stallone have the leading role. Insisting that he played Rocky Balboa, he was eventually given a 1 million budget(about 25 times less then the initial assumed cost), a van and a camera.

 A few months later, Stallone was accepting his Academy Award at the 1977 Oscars. Talk about being productive!

 Like I previously said, the marketing budget was close to nothing and the film was released mainly in coffee shop theaters. After all, it seems like the only thing that could have boosted Rocky's popularity in such a way was word of mouth. But why was there even a 'word of mouth'? Why did people like it and why did they even decide to 'tell their friends'?

The title relates to the character, and the character to the people

 This is a movie about a regular, happy and just plain stupid guy who, after being a smoker and an alcoholic, decides to beat the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Even though he never actually wins the final fight, he does manage to knock the other guy down, somehow achieving something.

 First of all, the movie focuses on Rocky's evolution from not even thinking of doing something with his life to being... successful. He has to go through the stages of figuring out what he wants to do, then doing it. It's a story, not a series of actions.

 Second of all, the main character's simplicity and bright attitude is completely different when compared to other 70's movies. Almost everything else was a combination of cynical, dark and egocentric characters, fake-looking gunfights and car chases revolving around a pointless drug deal or kidnapping. 

This time, the protagonist was close to the average viewer, sending some sort of a message of hope and 'you can do it if you put your mind to it' stuff.

 But still, it would have never been as successful, grossing 225 million dollars worldwide without the title.

 The title shows what kind of movie this is. It shows that this is a story of evolution and success.  Can you imagine it with another title?

I think you guys see where this is going. Other notable examples would be Scarface, The Godfather and even Harry Potter.

 For some reason, most people are attracted to people and not ideas or actions.

 -Achim

Sorry for being away

I'll be back in a few hours.

I am a 15 year old who made a feature film alone over the past 6 months.

So my name is Achim Scarlat(as you may have noticed) and I am an obsessed teenager trying to make a feature film ever since 2009. During this time, I ended up writing about 20 books, out of which 5 were ever published, made a video game, started a few small businesses(though none of them made me any money), about a dozen blogs(only one remained consistent) and made several short films-all by myself. However, I could never complete a feature film.

 I had a bunch load of half-done projects and others that I barely started working on. Why? Because of my long-lasting problem of losing interest in everything I did. I like to think that I have overcome that over the past 6 months.

 I started by writing 2 page screenplays that were downright retarded and exaggeratedly expensive, eventually getting to make an actual, watchable movie called 'I Know Your Browser History'. My next goal is to promote it using an ARG that I designed http://imgur.com/tY3Ys7Q.There's obviously a lot more to learn, but you name one guy who has written, directed, produced, filmed, edited and starred in his own film, then went on to promote and release it by himself. In fact, I'll even show you how I did it.

 Can you move a camera while acting at the same time? No, you can't. It's magic.

 _________________________

 At some point in 2012 I was trying to sell my t-shirt design on a website called Cafe Press(or something like that). While my new models were uploading, I went on to take a look at the 'meme' section.

 And there it was. A t-shirt that read I Know Your Browser History. There and then an entire

fabulous movie flashed before my eyes.

 I immediately dropped my current project at the time and went on to write. I promised myself

this was the last idea I ever gave up on.

 Did I keep my promise? Nope, but I kept the title, writing several screenplays of different genres with it.

 And then...

 Eventually, it was summer 2013 and I was struggling with a black and white detective

movie. And as much as I loved the title, I loved the other idea that was on my mind. But this

time, I came up with a plan.

 Yes, I gave up on that version of IKYBH in order to complete the other version of

IKYBH. The only way for me to do this was to keep it as simple as possible.

 I had to face it. I had no friends and nobody to hold the camera, so the script had to be as cheap and as simple as possible. This meant no video effects, no complicated shots or locations and as little characters as possible. I was also going to avoid a lot of props, filming indoors and at night, etc. So far, this seems like a pretty bad movie, right? Not if it's done on purpose.

 You can find the longer story here. I'll try and sum it up for you.

 I worked on this project from September 2013 to December 2013, finishing a day before New Years. Though I haven't promoted it to the fullest yet(which is my goal right now- getting 50.000 interested people), I can still tell you how the entire production of I Know Your Browser History went.

 The Script

 I wrote this one in the final week of August, solemnly swearing to write at least ten pages a day. After seven days, I had run out of story and had a 63 page script. Surprisingly, I also managed to stick to it.

 Being consistent

 Like I said before, I have trouble focusing on things and lose interest quickly. This was a major setback that I needed to overcome, and the only way for me to do this was by convincing myself that what I was doing was actually important.

 This is why I made an official website(that I changed later on) filled with crap about the movie, an IMDb, a blog and YouTube channel I updated daily, as well as accounts on every social media website that I could think of. A lot of these links were unrelated to the movie and were later removed from anything that had to do with IKYBH.

 Filming

 There is a whole load of crap that happened during filming. Maybe I'll tell you later.

 In theory, I discovered a method to move the camera while acting at the same time. It requires a rope and a tripod, making it too simple for me to explain.

*Just have the tripod hanging on the rope, which should be tied to something at both ends.

 Sometimes with the help of my dad, I filmed it from October to December. I deleted and re-made tens of scenes and in the end I had to re-make the entire audio track(but that's another long story).

 Editing

 I edited IKYBH in a shitty software called Cyberlink Powerdirector 9. I can't blame it for crashing since it wasn't meant for producing full high definition feature films. Either way, I made several backups of the project and it eventually worked. I also have to thank Kevin MacLeod of incompetech.com for the music.

 Budgeting 

 Actually, my budget was $0. I did it with things I had around the house just so I could prove a point.

 Marketing

 I am still struggling with this part, but what I can tell you so far is that I have designed a series of web puzzles called The Zog Liquid in order to promote it. 

 Actually, my plan here is a bit larger, but I'm not sharing it with you. Maybe later.

 I will come up with a series of videos describing every other thing that went wrong in the making of this movie and how it ended up good.

 

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

5 Movie Urban Legends:Part 2

My last article on this topic scored in the most views on this blog. That's 1000+ visitors on one article in 2 months. Obviously, 99% of the people who read the first part of '5 Movie Urban Legends' didn't bother to read the rest of the stuff on this blog. That's perfect.

 Like I said, the few of you who have read my earlier posts will notice a few unusual things about this post. But as far as that goes, it's still good. Here goes...

1.Apocalypse Now(1979) http://www.apocalypse-now.org/

Heard of this one? Probably yes. It's the thing where Martin Sheen is sent to Cambodia to assassinate some colonel who claims to be a god.

 So what exactly places this movie on our urban legends list? No curses and lunatics this time, but a few interesting bits.

 Apparently, Sheen was drunk while most of the movie was shot. The parts where he isn't are probably the parts that were done with his double. Why?

 According to both internet creepy pasta and whatever records there are out there, Martin Sheen had a heart attack on set. Nobody knows why this happened.

 But there's another interesting part- the scene where he smashes a mirror, then collapses, soaked in his own blood. His own blood.

 If you take a look at the original script, you'll notice there is no mention of this taking place in the film. Instead, Sheen took a more improvised approach here by accidentaly stabbing himself with mirror fragments while high on the alcohol.

2.Twilight Zone:The Movie(1982) 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086491/?ref_=ttloc_loc_tt

This one is perfect for a respectable controversy freak. There's so much tragedy in this one I have no idea how to start.

 First of all, Spielberg produced it.

 (The helicopter in the picture above is not 'part of the movie'. Even if it is, it wasn't supposed to.)

 So there's this scene in the movie where an entire village blows up in flames. Vic Morrow(who had the leading role) quickly picks up two small children under each arm, then proceeds to run across a river with a helicopter flying just a few feet above their heads.

 Obviously, this sounds like an interesting green screen attempt or a pretty dangerous stunt. According to Paul Stewart(the special-fx guy), it was none. In fact, he told the parents of the two kids that a lot of loud noises were about to come up, but there was no risk involved. What happened?

 First, someone yelled out 'action!'. The helicopter took off and Morrow grabbed the kids, heading for the river. Then this:

 Pyrotechnics popped in as Vic struggled to face the wind coming from the propellers. In no time, the heavily armed set took down the helicopter. The pilots lost control and crashed on top of the three people, beheading Vic and 6 year- old Renee Shin-Yi Chen, then crushing 7 year old Dinh Le to death.

 Paul Stewart and John Landis, the director of the film were later tried for manslaughter.

 While the above is certainly verified, there's a bit more controversy involving the two kids. The parents, for whom I couldn't find any evidence to prove their existence, were allegedly told to keep quiet about the two children acting out in the scene, mostly because child labor laws prevented them from working nights. If anyone asked, they'd claim that they're friends with the producers and have simply offered to help out.

3.The Exorcist(1973) http://theexorcist.warnerbros.com/

We all know a lot about this one, most of which was just a marketing strategy. But the rumors around it are still good to hear.

 To start with, the whole production of this film was a freaky experience. Freaky enough that the director had a priest bless the set before they started shooting anything.

 Then the scary 'events' popped in one after the other: 

 First, a fire destroyed the studio. Things went on fine from there... until the release... when both Jack MacGowran and Vasiliki Maliaros died before they could see the movie. 

 This whole series of deaths sounded a little weird, so I decided to check the life span of these two people. Here's what I came up with:

 Vasiliki Maliaros? She was born in 1883 and died in 1973, aged 89. This was also her first and only movie, so I'm guessing that a part in it was more like a death wish. As for MacGowran? He was 54 at the time of his death, probably a heavy smoker as well as professional alcoholic who died of a flu epidemic while in London. 

 Besides, The Exorcist isn't the only production where the set caught fire. Next.

4.A Day at The Beach(1970, 1992) 

 What is 'A Day at The Beach'? Most likely one of those odd 70's movies about nothing. It's the controversy that makes up to it.


 Some say Peter Sellers also shows up in the movie while wearing a disguise. In fact, there is a short sequence when the main character talks to a store owner closely resembling him. But enough with that- time for the cool part...

 Produced by Paramount, 'A Day at The Beach' is a movie directed by Roman Polanski, who apparently never directed it, only working as one of the producers. Some say he did it only to cope with the murder of Sharon Tate(his wife), who was killed by the Manson Family.

 Released in 1970, the film was somehow lost without a trace for over 22 years, only for it to be shown to the public again in 1992. There are also some rumors about parts that were cut out from the old version, but my question stays the same: who was the mysterious store owner and who directed him?

5.I Know Your Browser History(2009 or 2013) 

http://www.browserhistorymovie.com/

I couldn't find much about this one, but the story behind it is worth hearing.

Either in 2009 or 2013, some kid got his camera and decided to make a movie by himself, having no help from anyone. And guess what? He did it, but the few people who know of this movie have no idea how.

 Personally, I've never seen the movie and I'm quite sure nobody has. All there is to it are some stills and movie clips, most popular being the one above. But enough with that. Time for some internet tales...

 I'm assuming you've guessed the plot(a guy blackmails the world with the only thing we have in common), though I'm not sure of anything else above that.What seems more interesting is the following:

1. The guy claims to have done it by himself, yet there appear to be moving shots in the film. There is one shot where you can see the shadow of someone holding the camera and some where there should have been a shadow instead of none.

2. Clues in the background point out that the movie was done in 2009. There is also a banner ad for the iPhone 3GS in one particular shot, but more confusing is the laptop and car the protagonist uses, all from the 90's. In fact, other cars in this movie seem to be from the early 2000's. The whole thing is quite strange, since IMDb states the budget for this film is 5000$, which is too little to replace the entire locations. The director(who also did everything else) claims he did it for $0, if you count out the camera.

3.Most of the movie is filmed on an empty field and through a forest that is allegedly called 'The Suicide Woods'. Funny thing is, a rope with a cut off end is seen hanging from one of the trees during an action scene. 

 Some say there is also a previous version of the movie and that it also features a hidden message, but that again sounds like- creepy pasta.

I have completed the movie

Why make a long trailer when you can make a short trailer?

After a long blogging break, I bring you the final trailer that we'll be using for I Know Your Browser History. I also have another great announcement to make. But first, the trailer:

For those of you who stop my videos 5 seconds in... it is too late for that now...

 And the second announcement? *Drum roll, please...

 We're 3 scenes away from completing this movie. It may have started out boring at first, but towards the end of the last 5 months we've managed to add an awesome ninja fight, laser shooting 'handguns', riots and possibly a chase scene(this will be done today).

 Other than that, here's a random still:

Who could this character be?

The Vrincent is an ADDICT.

A lot of humans complain about actors portraying drug/ food/ smoking/ drinking addicts as leading roles in popular movies. But there's a reason for this.

That's why we created The Zog Liquid...

 I still haven't figured it out yet, but somehow we are attracted to addicts in movies. For instance, Jurassic park would have never been as successful without these two guys and their liver- dissolving habits:

Ray Arnold: insomniac& chain-smoker.

Dennis Nedry: processed food addict and Jerry Seinfeld's neighbor.

 Given these new, sudden realizations, I'm throwing in a little more for I Know Your Browser History: a drink that caused The Vrincent's dependency on Z.O.G (which is a fictional and lethal substance). 

 TV is to drink the infamous Zog Liquid through the film, which has allegedly burnt the retinas in both his eyes and caused a brain tumor- but that's just what they say... 

Upcoming sneak peak...

We're done shooting most of the movie. There are only a few action scenes left to make, then the final result will be put together.

 There will be a longer, better post coming out tomorrow. Until then, here's another still. Sorry for the delay to complete I Know Your Browser History.

A Question for you people

Greetings, Humans of the Internet!

Ever since I started working on I Know Your Browser History(actually, ever since I started doing productive things), I've been developing the so- called 'high web ranking addiction'.

 To sum it up, nothing else out there can satisfy an h-w-r addict better than some clean, fresh taste of going viral.

 As I mentioned before on this blog, I've been trying to go viral for the past six years. I'm not saying that's something to be proud of, just as I'm not saying that I have great content(or maybe I do).

 Oh, and the fake celebrity? It failed in about 3-5 minutes. Had to abandon.

 As I'm typing this, however, I am getting another great idea.


 That's right. Unless you share this link, I will release your browser history. Publicly.

 I probably won't say it like that. This is where the mystery plan C pops in.

 If this strategy works, that is.

 QUESTION: What do you think would be the best way to promote the movie?

What's the deal with having no friends?

So recently, I was watching this video called 'How to make a movie if you have no friends'. Pretty accurate description of what I am doing right now - www.browserhistorymovie.com

Some weird kid running around an empty field with his camera at 5 in the morning. 

Every morning... and lunch... and evening and through the night...

 Cutting to the point, the whole idea about making a movie by yourself is great(and hard). What I used to hate most about it is that you can't move the camera, therefore the final result looks like a boring video, with or without color correction and cinematic aspect ratios.

BUT I have found the solution! Furthermore, I can sum it up in one word. ROPE.

 As long as you have a tripod, all you need is to have it hanging from something. This way, you add some movement to your shots, also appearing to have a camera guy.

 My latest discovery? Take the rope, tie it around two things(anythings) and have the camera, placed on the tripod, hang in the middle.

 Besides, it's a cheap alternative to vertical shots. Genius, right? I know.

Stills & Photos from 'I Know Your Browser History'

5 Famous Filmmakers and How They Actually Got Famous

Introduction

You see their name every time the theme song starts playing in the intro scene and every time the screen fades to black in the endings. Even though you don't read these credits, the names slowly stick into your brain with every other movie you watch, and, eventually, you break down. You find yourself opening up Google and desperately typing in the name. Then you see it- the link to Wikipedia. You click on it, hoping for an answer to who this new mystery person is. You find him.

 Quickly, you scroll down, briefly searching through the page. Was he ever on drugs? Did he ever kill someone? Is he dead? Any conspiracy theories? None of these show up.

'There's no controversy in this one.'

 What next? Obviously, you go to the 'Early life' section. Maybe he got bullied, maybe his parents were drunks. Again, no.

 One thing left to do- find out how they started their career. You browse the same paragraph until you see it- the movie that brought them fame and fortune. You copy the name of it and paste it into YouTube, hoping to see some masterpiece. Instead, you see another random feature film from the 70's. You can feel some enthusiasm that was put in the making of it, but other than that, why did it stand out?

 Obviously, it wasn't exactly the film that scored all the points for them. So today, we'll be looking at what actually made them famous.

 1.Steven Spielberg- Amblin'(1968)

 We've heard a lot about Steven Spielberg, and some of you may already know of this film. It's a silent short about a couple hitchhiking around the country until they finally make it to the ocean. Fair enough, that is.

 Basically, this movie started Spielberg's career as a filmmaker.

 Back Story...

 Spielberg started making movies as a kid. At the age of 17, he completed his first feature length film called Firelight.

 Considering how hard making a watchable movie with no money was back then, Firelight should have been a good enough project to impress the average editor, right? But not Chuck Silvers.

 It wasn't until Spielberg walked into Chuck's office with a copy of Amblin' under his arm. Immediately, the guy asked for a private screening and, in less than month, 22 year old Spielberg was directing Joan Crawford in a Night Gallery episode. How's that for a success story?

 What actually happened

A lot of us tend to underestimate successful people. There's no difference with Spielberg.

Most of the things you know about him tell you one thing: College drop out makes boring short movie and becomes world renowned.

Actually, the story is a bit longer.

At first, Universal had a 7 year contract with Steven, starting in 1968. The young director made a few TV movies, with the theatrically released 'Duel'.

Still, it wasn't until 1975 that the name 'Steven Spielberg' actually meant anything, with one of the greatest box office hit movies of the century: Jaws.

* Jaws was made exactly seven years after Spielberg's contract. You know what they say- The last minute is the most productive one.

But honestly, have you ever heard of a movie called 'The Sugarland Express'? Or 'Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies'? Probably not. Universal may have picked him, but they would have never kept him unless it was for all the not- so- popular bunch of films he made for them.

 2.Spike Lee- She's Gotta Have It(1986)

 Maybe not as well- known as Spielberg, but still an important figure in film making.

 In 1986, he came up with a cheaply edited, black and white romantic comedy about 3 guys, each charming in their own way and a girl, who has to decide which one to spend the rest of her life with. Simple subject, simple film.

 To cut the story short, this movie jump started his entire career as a writer, director and everything else, shooting him into fame and fortune.

Back Story...

Unlike Spielberg, Spike Lee's first film was a student film called Last Hustle in Brooklyn. Through college, a few more shorts came up until he finally settled on 'She's Gotta Have it'.

 As stated before, this was shot in black and white over a period of two weeks. Budget? About $ 175,000. He never mentioned where his funding came from, but I'm assuming it was some film institute somewhere.

 The movie grossed $ 7 million. Easy money, right?

 What actually happened

 In case you've seen the movie, you probably remember him as an annoying machine talker wearing a Brooklyn hat. Somehow, he also made it big.

 While the above might be true, this story happens to be longer as well.


 Entering the long, hot, unemployed summer of 1977, Lee spotted a Super-8 movie camera in a friend’s house. Borrowing it, he roamed the streets of a panic- stricken New York City, filming everything that came in his way: The anxiety over the Son of Sam killings, the unrest that bubbled up during blackouts and the countless other aspects of urban life. He then put in hours of editing all this footage into a documentary called Last Hustle in Brooklyn.

 It was almost a decade later that he encountered his mainstream success with She's Gotta Have It.

 3.Peter Jackson- Bad Taste(1987)

 Peter Jackson is a New Zealand director, writer and producer. You probably know him as the guy who made The Lord of The Rings trilogy and it's prequel, The Hobbit trilogy.

 Because one can never make enough money out of a kids coloring book...

Again, my guess is you've heard of this movie, but never actually got to watch it. Here's a plot summary for you: Aliens abduct humans to use as meat in their intergalactic fast- food chain.

 To sum it all up, Peter Jackson effortlessly got it to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, where the rights to it where immediately sold to twelve different countries.

 Back story...

 Like Spielberg, Peter Jackson had been fascinated with movies as a child. Growing up on Ray Harryhausen films and inspired by Monty Python's Flying Circus, Jackson eventually got his hands on a Super 8 camera, which he used to direct movies with his friends.

 At the age of 12, he attempted to remake King Kong using stop motion animation. Other notable films he put together as a child are a WWII epic called The Dwarf Patrol, a James Bond spoof named Coldfinger, as well as a 20 minute short that got to air on national television, The Valley.

 In 1983, Peter started work on a short called Bad Taste.

 Somehow, the film turned into a 90 minute splatter feature with all the necessities: blood and lots of cruelty to aliens. At some point, Jackson was convinced that his masterpiece could go commercial.

 He got in touch with the New Zealand Film Commission, who got in touch with Jim Booth, who arranged the screening at Cannes. Done.  

 What actually happened

 Yet again, the story happens to be longer. About four years longer.

 First of all, he started working on Bad Taste in 1983. However, it wasn't until 1987 that anyone had heard of it. Therefore, I want you to imagine the following:

 Peter Jackson never actually had a crew. His 'crew' was made out of 4 people(including him), none of whom were paid. 4 people who sacrificed their weekends over a period of four years to get the thing done. And it wasn't just the weekends- one of them got divorced because of Bad Taste, another lost his car in an explosion scene, while Jackson took up the entire family kitchen and bathroom in order to build props - using a cooking oven.

 They went even further, building an entire house so they could shoot at it with a rocket launcher. And those cliff scenes they did a few hundred feet above the ground? Those were done with no safety equipment, using homemade filming gear.

 I'd say it was quite well earned.

 4.Martin Scorsese- I Call First(1967)

 Martin Scorsese. That's enough said.

 I Call First was his first feature film. Put together by him and his fellow students, it's about a guy whose girlfriend was once raped. Fabulous subject, what else?

That's pretty much it...

 What happened next? He became friends with popular movie makers such as Spielberg, George Lucas, Brian De Palma and Francis Ford Coppola. Then came Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, as well as fame and fortune.

 Back Story...

 Martin Scorsese was raised in Little Italy, Manhattan. Both his parents were actors, but I assume this credit comes from them making several appearances in their son's films(technically speaking, they were actors after Martin got into film making).

 He started out with short films, most notable of these being The Big Shave. Then came I Call First, then the best rewards imaginable.

What actually happened

 Personally, I have no idea. All sources so far point out to a giant gap between being an unknown Arts student and diving head- first into the industry.

 For lack of a better explanation, we'll either have to call that luck or the Illuminati. And speaking of the Illuminati...(I'm not a paranoid 9/11 freak. Please, do understand my Illuminati humor)

 5.Stanley Kubrick-  Paths of Glory(1957)

 For a brief biography, Stanley Kubrick is the guy who made 2001: A Space Odyssey and got killed by the Illuminati for making Eyes Wide Shut.

 

'Don't worry about the explosion scene. Bush is taking down the towers next week.'

 As far as it goes, Paths of Glory takes place during WWI, following an army unit sent on an impossible mission by their superiors. The movie was both a critical and commercial success, launching Kubrick into stardom.

 Back Story...

 Kubrick was born to a regular family in The Bronx. 

 At age 12, his father taught him how to play chess, sparking his lifelong fascination with the game. It was a year later that the guy also got him a Graflex camera, just to make sure his kid had a few more things to be obsessed with.

 Aged 17, Kubrick was hired as a photographer for Look magazine, while making short documentaries. Impressed with his early success in filmmaking, he quit his job and began work on some more short film projects. 

 By the 1950's, he was making feature lengths(that you've never heard of) such as Fear and Desire, Killer's Kiss and The Killing. The latter was the first to be shot with an actual cast and crew, landing him a job at MGM.

 His next project was Paths of Glory, which started his career as a professional director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor.

 What actually happened.

 He got into film making in 1951 and made his first feature film by 1953. However, four more years were to go before his commercial success.

 Did he have a crew? Nope. His first films were done entirely by him and his wife. Did he have any actors? Again, 3 years of his career had passed by the time he actually had access to any actors.

 Even with his 1957 breakthrough, it was still seven years later that he actually achieved his fame(or at least made a film that you have heard of) with Dr. Strangelove(1964).

Conclusions?

 With every famous movie person there's years of hopeless projects and even more of raising a loyal audience.

 It's not just the work and the results. It's the work, the marketing, the networking, the getting in touch with the right people, the learning and applying, the obsessions, the bright ideas and the drive to complete your project. Question is- can you make it through?

More stills.

Here's a still from the scene that was just edited.

In this one, Vrincent waits for a mystery guy to show up, at the orders of Ernesto.

Trailer coming up...

Terrorism will get you viral.

Here is one of my past attempts to go viral. I pretended to be a terrorist exposing some secret government operation...

The cape rage...

Just another still of me wearing a cape...

 Today was a good filming day. Some of the shots I got are great, others need to be re- done, etc.

 Right now, I should get to scripting the final(and best) trailer. I'll be back as soon as that is complete.