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A little Madness in the Spring,
Is wholesome even for the King. Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) 1875
Spring has sprung. The rains continue to pour, only to be interrupted by days of warm sunshine, and those of us who live on the river’s edge wonder with some trepidation whether this will be one of those years where we’ll be flooded from our homes. The last blasts of cold and foul weather continue to pound the world over, with many of us remembering our childhood verses, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, and April showers bring May flowers... March Madness. Kind if like Cabin Fever, only in some cases, worse, for those of us who can’t stand the cold and are waiting on that eternal sunshine for the renewing of the mind. Personally, I can’t believe that 25 percent of the year has already passed, and with the coming warmth, I’m just itchin’ to get in some traveling, and getting on with my other projects. Wasn’t it just a moment ago; a few turned pages of the calendar that I was going through a life change with the Cuba book and a feature film? And now?... Now reality sets in. The business part of dreaming, as it were. Constant phone calls and emails to my team of people, as we deal with selling the books and film to a potential studio for distribution, not to mention more phone calls and emails to several studios and influential people in the business of making magic to get them to take a look at a film that was made for groups of people considered the low figures on the monetary totem pole; getting them to see from your point of view; your vision, that there are untapped sources audiences waiting to see a film such as yours. The madness has taken over me. I can no longer sit idly by waiting for someone else to get the job done when they don’t know themselves how to sell a film that isn’t geared toward teenagers. Thus, I began showing the film to small groups of people within my target zone. To get a feel; an understanding of where I stand with this story. To date, the responses have been good; positive... promising. I don’t fear the tomatoes as much as I used to. I think we’re going to be all right. I’ve begun to build more confidence within. Word of mouth has started in my area, as people are talking about movies they’ve recently seen, and my small group gets the chance to have some fun and talk about Yesterday’s Dreams, knowing others have no idea what they’re talking about. This will have a positive effect as we continue down the path of seeing soon, the film make it into the theatres nationally and then (Lord willing), internationally. But I still carry the weight; the responsibility of repaying the debt to those who stepped out in faith with me (moreso, because it was their money and not mine). That burden alone rests upon my shoulders, as well as the success or failure of this film. Thoughts like that alone can make one mad to see the race to the end; the pressure of the climb to another achievement; of ghostly dreams turning into solid realities. And dreamers such as myself have been called mad by so many followers of routine lifestyles that the taunts themselves become effective burdens. Thus, we dreamers who wish and desire to bring something better to a drab and dreary world, tend to cling to one another for emotional support and hope that what we’re doing really is worthwhile. Perhaps that’s why I love stories of the underdog rebounding to success. Of perseverance paying off in the end. Of one person’s vision so out of tune with the rest of society that it looks as though they are doomed, when in reality they knew what they were doing all along. Why I love the new medium of DVDs. Not so much for the films, but for the Special Features that many of them come with. Of Behind the Scenes stories, and little antidotes of what it took to see the dream to the end. It’s these stories that give me hope to keep going, and to which one day, my own story of a quirky vision and relentless endurance that finally paid off, will be added to the roaster for future generations of dreamers to learn and glean from, and be inspired to continue onward and upward. So, I can remember a George Lucas who made a tiny film called American Graffiti that many studio executives at the time thought was a gangster film, and when they finally saw it, didn’t get it, walking out of screenings mumbling the film was a waste of time and of $775,000 (it eventually grossed over $117 million); not even bothering to look at another story he wanted to make called Star Wars. Or of a producer named David Putnam who, at the time had about 25 films to his credit; wanting to make a film about a pair of runners of different faiths when no one else wanted to. Finally receiving the $5 million necessary to get the picture done, only to be told by several studio executives and even a major TV network that it just wasn’t good enough, as they walked out the door. Down and beaten, he continued on until he found a studio willing to take a chance on this little film called Chariots of Fire that eventually went on to gross over $60 million, as well as earn several Academy Awards, including the one for Best Film during the year 1981. Those stories may be high expectations for a tiny film such as Yesterday’s Dreams, but they are stories of hope to aim for. Not only for this project, but for the future ones as well. It’s many stories such as these that other mad dreamers will cling to and strive for with their own ideas and projects. Who will want to better this world they live in, and inspire others along the way. Until Next Month, Kevin |
MARCH MADNESS