Corrado Part II

[taormina]

Adamo:

I was briefly on Film Specific, and remembered reading a post from you where you talked about losing money on Corrado. If I'm remembering incorrectly, I apologize. As I said, you've got my respect for going out and getting movies made.

Continued success,

Jeff

Jeff - I think I see what the problem is here. We're talking about two different things. Let me clarify:

The question has been posed, was Corrado a commercial success? The answer overwhelmingly is YES.

Did Corrado make me or my investors money? Not Yet.

Well then how can it be considered a commercial success????

Let me explain.

Corrado was picked up by a large, reputable sales agency and thence sold worldwide to many distributors. Amongst the larger territories it sold in are US / Canada (Domestic), Germany, Benelux, Australia, Scandinavia, and a bunch of other smaller ones.

To get a domestic release is pretty good, to get most of the world sold is even better. Corrado has made a lot of distributors a good profit - I know, because I see the statements!

This was a key factor in getting H14 made. There was a track record, however small, of having a film that did the most important thing a film in this budget range can do: Sell. And that was huge.

The only reason it did so was because Tom Sizemore's face was on the cover, and ALL of the distributors bought because of him. Just because you haven't seen the film come out until recently, doesn't mean they hadn't bought long ago....the US distributor bought the movie close to a year before they released. Tom was much bigger even a year or two ago than he is now.

Moving on, Has Corrado been a commercial success for me and my investors? Absolutely not - YET. It has not recouped it's budget. The sales agreement I entered into was so heavily slanted towards the sales agency that all incoming monies went to pay for their inflated marketing fees and commissions. The marketing fee is now paid off, and all future monies come back to us now.

The point I am trying to make is that the metric one uses to determine "commercial success" is always different for the investors/ producers of the film than the distributors.

Here's another crude example. Was Blair Witch a commercial success? Yes. It got the producers of the show $4M and made the distributor a couple hundred million.

The metric for each is different.

In my case, I've made a lot of people a good amount of money - money that I have not realized myself, mind you, but there are a lot of happy distribs out there, so that is what I mean by commercial success.

At the end of the day, this is what will allow you to work again. These guys don't care if you lost your ass. They care if you lost THEIR ass.

And so the proverbial hits just keep coming. In any case now there are healthy salaries built into my shows so I don't much care about back end anymore.

Back end in these ventures is really a sucker's game. They don't call them monkey points for nothing.

 

[taormina]

Well, since the OP himself is going in this direction, I'll just pop in briefly. I don't know the guy from Adam (sorry ), and I'll never meet him, so I don't care about being "nice". I gave him credit, because he deserves it, period, not to be "nice". I tell you what makes me think this guy is going places. It's not only what I said before - that he actually completed a movie, and got it distributed, and got another one going. That's hard enough - very, very hard. It's the fact that he's not blind to the faults of his first film (which I have not seen). Because I've seen guys who got a movie made by hook or by crook, and yet had no career afterward... and all of them, down to the man, were dicks about it - refusing to see any faults, and thinking they're perfect... when you can't see the faults in your work, you will never grow artistically, period. But this guy sounds like he's totally willing to own up to mistakes - so he's going places.

One note on negativity. You know, after someone has already acknowledged their mistakes, there is no reason to keep harping on them. I have a policy. I'm extremely open to criticism of my work; in fact, I welcome it and I solicit it - getting honest criticism is very hard, and you should treasure honest critics because they are super rare, while there are plenty of folks who'll shine you on. So I personally love critics, and the tougher, the better. But here's the point. After I've heard what the criticism is, and after discussing it, it's time to move forward. Don't keep harping on it, because at that point it becomes negativity. There's a fine - but very bright - line between being a valued (actually: treasured) constructive critic and a destructive negative force that will do nothing but bring your project and life down. I get rid of such people. I surround myself with "can do" people. On every production I've been involved on, I've said at the outset "don't ever tell me IT'S IMPOSSIBLE", at best, tell me, "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT". You are welcome to tell me the difficulties with your job on the project, but only if I can do something about it - if it's just about how hard things are and how sucky life is - can it. I don't want to hear it. I only want results. If you can't do it, tell me that, not that objectively something "cannot be done". If you surround yourself with negative people, you'll get negative results. If you surround yourself with "can do" people, you'll get sh|t done.

And that's the thing about criticism. When I hear it - indeed I solicit it - I thank profusely. If I'm not clear on some point of criticism, I ask questions. But once that's done, I say "thank you ever so much; I hear you loud and clear; and now, this is what I have decided: X, Y, Z". At that point it's time for action, and I don't want to hear the criticism again - because then it becomes merely carping. Carping is bad for morale, it holds you back, brings you down, and is a destructive influence in you life - I give you one warning at that point, and then cut you out of my life, if you can't get with the program.

I feel like sometimes there's a tendency for some to just be negative influences. They can't do X, Y, and Z, so they don't want anyone to even try, or worse, to succeed at it - whether they do it consciously or subconsciously. And I don't need to hear oh how terrible and hard everything is. I got it. Believe me, nobody who is serious about film can have any illusion about how hard it is to accomplish anything. We get it. You're not telling us anything new. If you don't have a solution, don't say anything, because merely carping is not helpful, it is not illuminating and it is not informative.

And finally, I again affirm - go do it. You can talk about how "one day", or "wait until X" (X being anything: 'right' camera, 'perfect script', 'right' life conditions) - or you can go out there and do it. Because guess what - there'll always be a reason to wait. Knowing that there comes a time when you must act, is the difference between losers and those who accomplish something. It's not about how one had it hard and the other had it easy.

So if you want to sit there in your corner and snipe, go ahead, but that's a loser's corner.

Cool bro. I love it1

 

[wileypen]

Moving on, Has Corrado been a commercial success for me and my investors? Absolutely not - YET. It has not recouped it's budget. The sales agreement I entered into was so heavily slanted towards the sales agency that all incoming monies went to pay for their inflated marketing fees and commissions. The marketing fee is now paid off, and all future monies come back to us now.

And if memory serves, to get the money from the investors, you had to guarantee that you'll pay them back out of your pocket if you don't recoup the budget. Which was necessary to get the cash, and has paid off in that you're in the director's chair again... But it's a dangerous bet.

Break a leg with the new one.

 

[Erik Olson]

It is human nature to find fault in the way others do things to justify that you're not out there doing it yourself. I would rather "fail" having tried to do something remarkable than not try at all. There will always be people in your life, with (or without) your best interests at heart, who tell you something can't be done. It is up to you to decide how you interpret their advice.

 

[capitalP]

I read a lot of this thread. Adam I can't believe how cool you are about everything. You have a great attitude man, you could of been an A$$ and said screw everybody but you stuck around to answer questions and all that stuff. May the Gods of luck reign down on you on your next project and many more to come. With an attitude like yours, how can one not root for you.

As for Corrado not being a great movie, it happens and the fact that you are honest about it shows character. As long as you continue to make movies, but I do have to say, I hope you haven't given up your belief that story is key. So I hope in your next projects, though the objective is to make money, I do hope you give equal amount to the development of a great story. But then again, your goal may not be to be an artsty farsty director LOL, as long as you are doing what you love keep doing it.

I just put Corrado on my netflix queue.

 

[Staven]

I'm not sure how far people are reading back in this thread, but you realize that in the case of Ted, he didn't really want to give a review and was coaxed to do it suggesting that he shouldn't have to bite his tongue because it's a professional film that has been distributed and it should be able to stand on it's own two feet. He then watched the movie twice (I believe) and took time to write a well thought out review. But now it's too negative and a person shouldn't articulate an opinion on a film they paid for and actually watched?

I contend that treating the film with kids gloves is way less supportive than treating it like a "real movie". Adam doesn't need defending, especially using the "obviously you don't know what it's like to actually make a movie." I have yet to see that used on a dvd cover where there's a disclaimer that the reason movie x is the way it is is because there were hardships on set. It doesn't hold weight for the consumer, and I expect that consumers are more important than cheerleaders.

For future reference which is it? Corrado a "user film" that is fragile and should be discussed with the ideology that saying anything "negative" might hurt the filmmakers feelings, or is Corrado a professional movie that we should be able to discuss like any other film in the Film Discussion Section.

And f'ing eh that Adam has come back and told us more of his adventures and told us stuff pertinent to the industry a lot of us dream to be in. When I read the recent things he's posted I genuinely like the guy and wish him much success. I just know that if I ever get a movie distributed I'd rather Adam or anyone for that matter actually watch it and give feedback, good or bad than have people defend my work and not watch it.

(food for thought - Adam graced us again with his presence and with lots of great insight and info after people watched and commented on his film. Had no one said anything, we might not have this info. AND, the more we talk about the movie the greater chance it gets to reach a broader audience. We're free advertising. I'm not sure what's negative about that)

 

[bosindy]

I'm not sure how far people are reading back in this thread, but you realize that in the case of Ted, he didn't really want to give a review and was coaxed to do it suggesting that he shouldn't have to bite his tongue because it's a professional film that has been distributed and it should be able to stand on it's own two feet. He then watched the movie twice (I believe) and took time to write a well thought out review. But now it's too negative and a person shouldn't articulate an opinion on a film they paid for and actually watched?

I contend that treating the film with kids gloves is way less supportive than treating it like a "real movie". Adam doesn't need defending, especially using the "obviously you don't know what it's like to actually make a movie." I have yet to see that used on a dvd cover where there's a disclaimer that the reason movie x is the way it is is because there were hardships on set. It doesn't hold weight for the consumer, and I expect that consumers are more important than cheerleaders.

For future reference which is it? Corrado a "user film" that is fragile and should be discussed with the ideology that saying anything "negative" might hurt the filmmakers feelings, or is Corrado a professional movie that we should be able to discuss like any other film in the Film Discussion Section.

And f'ing eh that Adam has come back and told us more of his adventures and told us stuff pertinent to the industry a lot of us dream to be in. When I read the recent things he's posted I genuinely like the guy and wish him much success. I just know that if I ever get a movie distributed I'd rather Adam or anyone for that matter actually watch it and give feedback, good or bad than have people defend my work and not watch it.

(food for thought - Adam graced us again with his presence and with lots of great insight and info after people watched and commented on his film. Had no one said anything, we might not have this info. AND, the more we talk about the movie the greater chance it gets to reach a broader audience. We're free advertising. I'm not sure what's negative about that)

The criticism of the actual film was never challenged by anyone, at least that i saw and certainly not by me. No one said, you shouldn't say the audio mix was bad, the writing wasn't there etc... Much of this conversation has centered around the given that the film was not an artistic success.

No ones review was called into question. It was the speculation about the worthiness of making the film, whether the process had merit for Adam (or for anyone else that might take a similar risk), when someone should proceed with their own project that has been challenged. To go a step further, were some of the 99% that fail still worth making because some were good films, or led to greater success down the road. I think if someone steps out with certain absolutes as to process, using negatives they perceived, maybe incorrectly, it is fair to challenge them.

 

[Staven]

The criticism of the actual film was never challenged by anyone, at least that i saw and certainly not by me. No one said, you shouldn't say the audio mix was bad, the writing wasn't there etc... Much of this conversation has centered around the given that the film was not an artistic success.

No ones review was called into question. It was the speculation about the worthiness of making the film, whether the process had merit for Adam (or for anyone else that might take a similar risk), when someone should proceed with their own project that has been challenged. To go a step further, were some of the 99% that fail still worth making because some were good films, or led to greater success down the road. I think if someone steps out with certain absolutes as to process, using negatives they perceived, maybe incorrectly, it is fair to challenge them.

Right, which to me is a discussion worth having (the going out on a limb and taking the risk) - but what I've read since Adam has come back reads like (imo) people who are opposed are doing so in a malicious manner and people need to step in and defend Adam despite the fact he may be the last guy on earth who needs it. I'm sort of coming to the conclusion that no matter what there will be a disconnect on the subject until everyone has watched Corrado. Until then there will be a gap between people who have formed an opinion based on watching the film and those who have made an opinion based on the result of the film.

*I'm all for a dvxuser "fan base" for Adam. He gives us insight like he has, popping in on a somewhat regular basis - we all support him by seeing his films in the theater and/or buying on dvd (starting with Hangar 14).

I think this is a great thread, I personally find it redundant to play the haters gonna hate mantra when most are trying to have an active civil discussion on a subject relevant to us.

 

[Ted Spencer]

I usually don't post much in these type of threads however this one is pretty disgusting if you ask me...

...most of what I'm reading here shows me clearly they are comments from people who just haven't done it. People who have read one to many blog posts but have never dealt with the business itself on a first hand basis.... This to me is a perfect example of those who can't do teach or in this case preach...

I feel like sometimes there's a tendency for some to just be negative influences. They can't do X, Y, and Z, so they don't want anyone to even try, or worse, to succeed at it - whether they do it consciously or subconsciously...

...Knowing that there comes a time when you must act, is the difference between losers and those who accomplish something. It's not about how one had it hard and the other had it easy.

So if you want to sit there in your corner and snipe, go ahead, but that's a loser's corner.

It is human nature to find fault in the way others do things to justify that you're not out there doing it yourself...

(NOTE: Please make sure to read the above quotations before my response below)

Ok...

Call me paranoid, but I'm gonna presume that much of this is directed at me, due to my abundance of recent posts in this thread on the subject of how one should be especially highly prepared, trained, etc., before one makes a serious foray into feature filmmaking, as well as specific critical commentary I've written regarding "Corrado". I still stand by everything I said.

However:

What was left off the table here, and perhaps even left negatively implied (inadvertently, by me), was the matter of what my own experience has been in films. First of all, it is true that I have never directed a feature, or even a short film. I'm zeroing in on doing one of the latter as I write this however, although I'm following my own advice about thorough preparation where it's concerned, especially during the writing stage, which is where it is now.

I think it's pretty unbecoming for one to do a 'cred flash' to establish one's...well...cred, so I do so only rarely, and only when it seems absolutely necessary to get past misconceptions that might have gotten in the way of a clear, clean discourse. It seems that this may be one of those cases. To let this conversation be left where it might be assumed that I "have never dealt with the business itself on a first hand basis", or that I'm the kind of person who "can't do X, Y, and Z, so they don't want anyone to even try", or likes to "find fault in the way others do things to justify that you're not out there doing it yourself", as excerpted from the above, would be to do myself a great disservice here.

So, with apologies in advance to any of the folks above if my assumptions regarding my being the object of their scorn is incorrect, and in spite of how much I wish I didn't feel compelled to do this, a cred flash it will be. You're welcome to consider any or all of it to be trivial if you wish, and I offer it *solely* as a counter to the (apparent) notion that I might be nothing more than an inexperienced, arm-chair amateur critic so-and-so, as implied above. The merits of my opinions regarding how one should approach filmmaking are *completely* open to discussion, just as, IMO, are the merits of "Corrado" and the process by which it was created. But if a cred-flash is the *only* way to refute the former issue (which it appears to be), then so be it. So, here it goes, at least in part:

-As a screenwriter I have written two features, one of which was produced and is nearly complete, and many short scripts. I am a script consultant on another feature that will start production very soon. I have numerous other feature and short scripts in various stages of completion.

-I had a primary role in casting the produced feature mentioned above, and a featured role as an actor.

-As an actor, I have had starring roles in two feature-length films, featured roles in two (including the above), and smaller roles in three others. Two of these films have had festival wins (so far). I've also appeared in dozens of short films. I've had countless auditions, and extensive formal acting training.

-I've directed and co-directed many famous actors in voice recording sessions, including Leonard Nimoy, Richard Belzer, Marlo Thomas, and many others, as well as countless A-List voice actors whose names most people don't know.

-As a facility designer, I designed and installed a complete, turnkey HVX200/FCS/Mac Pro/lighting/sound/Pro Tools based video/audio studio for the United Methodist Church here in NYC.

-I shot, directed, edited, and sound-mixed a 12 minute doc-style DVD for the above mentioned UMC as an inaugural project in the new studio. While they have full-time staff for much of their A/V needs, I continue to be hired from time to time as an outside expert. One of these occasions, for a 30 minute DVD in which I will likewise do (almost) everything on the directorial and technical side, will shoot next month.

-Using my own HVX200/a rig, I shot, edited and authored a DVD of an 80 minute musical theater performance, and operated camera on a number of short films and docs. I also served as audio and/or video technical advisor on three of the features I acted in.

-I own (and designed and built) a complete audio/video production studio, including the aforementioned camera rig, Letus Extreme/rails/Nikons/Cartoni, Redrock FF/Mattebox, a Steadicam Pilot, ride-on track dolly, 7' jib, handheld rig, lavs, boom/shotgun, a small lighting kit, on and off-camera HD monitors, a Mac Pro based FCS3 editing setup, a Pro Tools HD rig with an extensive array of plugins, a huge collection of high-end mics, preamps and ancillary gear, voice/foley space, etc.

-In the above studio I did (among thousands of other things) a complete, from-the-ground-up soundtrack redo of a 30 minute 70s-era television show, including all ADR, Foley, SFX, music, editing and mixing.

-As a recording engineer, both in my own studio and other larger ones here in NYC, I recorded and mixed the music scores for the following features and feature-length docs:

Metropolitan*
Barcelona
Last Days Of Disco
American Splendor*, **
Nick & Jane
The Nanny Diaries
The Notorious Bettie Page
Off The Menu (the last days of Chasen's)
The Young And The Dead
Sound And Fury*
Unknown Soldier: Searching for a Father
Well Founded Fear**
Shelter Dogs
Wanderlust
Dead By Monday
Terry Sanford and the New South
Rosalie Goes Shopping
Thank You And Good Night***
Toots (Shor)

* = Oscar Nominee
** = Sundance Grand Jury Winner
*** = Sundance Grand Jury Nominee
(plus countless other noteworthy festival wins and noms for many of the above)

-Music score recording on two new films I can't specifically mention yet - a feature and a doc, has just begun.

-And last but not least, I've extensively 'self-educated', having read about 30 or so books on various aspects of the craft so far, studied about a half-dozen long-form DVD tutorial 'courses', meticulously analyzed hundreds of movies (some many times over), read countless scripts, and spent what probably adds up to thousands of hours on sites like this one and others, trying to soak up as much useful information as possible.

So, you can regard me as a sideline-sitting, self appointed critic/loser if you choose to, but I suspect that the folks who actually know me (not to mention hire me), would likely disagree.

And once again, I regret that I felt obliged to post the above. I had, perhaps naively, hoped my previous comments would be taken in the spirit in which they were intended:

Constructively

So here I go, trotting out that new favorite word of mine again:

Evidently, I was wrong.

: )

Peace

 

[taormina]

I read a lot of this thread. Adam I can't believe how cool you are about everything. You have a great attitude man, you could of been an A$$ and said screw everybody but you stuck around to answer questions and all that stuff.

Thanks man. I actually did say "screw everybody" many times, sometimes even in this blog. My attitude really changed when I realized the ridiculousness of arguing with complete strangers on the internet. I was like....why bother. It's just not worth the grief.

But there are still people out there who want to learn, who have legitimate questions that they need answered and my little way of giving back is to answer the ones I can.

Am I still super cocky? Oh yeah. That will probably never go away. It's part of my DNA and part of what got me to where I am. Will I sit there and duke it out with someone because they hated my show? Hell no. That's their opinion and I want to hear it so I can learn from it.

Ad hominem attacks are things that will still make me take the bait and go in guns blazing, but honestly, none of the reviews on here have even been the slightest bit slanted that way.

One thing to say that I am a talentless hack and half retarded, quite another to say my story needed work and they hated the color correction. I can live with the latter, not the former.

 

[Erik Olson]

The criticism of the actual film was never challenged by anyone, at least that i saw and certainly not by me. No one said, you shouldn't say the audio mix was bad, the writing wasn't there etc... Much of this conversation has centered around the given that the film was not an artistic success.

No ones review was called into question. It was the speculation about the worthiness of making the film, whether the process had merit for Adam (or for anyone else that might take a similar risk), when someone should proceed with their own project that has been challenged. To go a step further, were some of the 99% that fail still worth making because some were good films, or led to greater success down the road. I think if someone steps out with certain absolutes as to process, using negatives they perceived, maybe incorrectly, it is fair to challenge them.

+1.

I haven't read anyone disparaging the review(s) of the film. There were artistic issues. Adam has answered these observations thoughtfully and, I'd offer... graciously.

Posts that seem to go at the throat of the filmmaker won't be tolerated. Challenging the creator to do better work is much different than questioning their integrity. Furthermore, searching around third-party sites for what can best be described as unsubstantiated rumors and other innuendo is going to draw extremely negative attention from the moderators.

 

[taormina]

Ted, You're getting defensive. Let it go. No need to post your resume. You are also taking the bait. Maybe I need to teach you how to stay out of conflicts on the interwebs.

 

[taormina]

Thank you Erik.

 

[Mickey Munday]

Right, which to me is a discussion worth having (the going out on a limb and taking the risk) - but what I've read since Adam has come back reads like (imo) people who are opposed are doing so in a malicious manner and people need to step in and defend Adam despite the fact he may be the last guy on earth who needs it. I'm sort of coming to the conclusion that no matter what there will be a disconnect on the subject until everyone has watched Corrado. Until then there will be a gap between people who have formed an opinion based on watching the film and those who have made an opinion based on the result of the film.

*I'm all for a dvxuser "fan base" for Adam. He gives us insight like he has, popping in on a somewhat regular basis - we all support him by seeing his films in the theater and/or buying on dvd (starting with Hangar 14).

I think this is a great thread, I personally find it redundant to play the haters gonna hate mantra when most are trying to have an active civil discussion on a subject relevant to us.

I'm with you on all of this. It's weird, it's like Adam has thicker skin than the people actually defending him....and defending him when noone is attacking him. It's not like this is a forum fiull of fanboys and movie critics who are just Monday Morning Quarterbacking his film. He made a REAL movie with distribution and it's up for discussion and respectfully I might add, which is RARE on the internet where people can easily hide behind aliases and whatnot. Everybody here, even if they didn't like the film, is still behind Adam as a filmmaker and waiting to see what he does next with his "career" and I put that in quotes because it should be highlighted that he has one now.

Ted gave his opinion on the film and on his opinion about when he felt a filmmaker should hold off and hone his story telling skills before pulling the trigger. Some of that i disagree with...but I'm smart enough to recognize THAT'S HIS OPINION....

----- and Ted......I'm not really sure on why you're qualifying yourself in the above post with credentials. Whether you have made films with Spielberg or if you haven't made your first short film yet you're entitled to give your opinion, none of what you said was spiteful, Adam called you on one thing and you had already mentioned you were assuming when you made the statement and for anybody who can read it's not a big deal to Adam.

 

[Staven]

Thanks man. I actually did say "screw everybody" many times, sometimes even in this blog. My attitude really changed when I realized the ridiculousness of arguing with complete strangers on the internet. I was like....why bother. It's just not worth the grief.

But there are still people out there who want to learn, who have legitimate questions that they need answered and my little way of giving back is to answer the ones I can.

Am I still super cocky? Oh yeah. That will probably never go away. It's part of my DNA and part of what got me to where I am. Will I sit there and duke it out with someone because they hated my show? Hell no. That's their opinion and I want to hear it so I can learn from it.

Ad hominem attacks are things that will still make me take the bait and go in guns blazing, but honestly, none of the reviews on here have even been the slightest bit slanted that way.

One thing to say that I am a talentless hack and half retarded, quite another to say my story needed work and they hated the color correction. I can live with the latter, not the former.

You do realize that you've already established a bit of a cult following... I believe through reading your threads most have a vested interest in what you do and whether bad or good - "are interested".

**I'm curious if that was part of the master plan or a happy accident when deciding to be a window for us?

Happy you're back and I enjoy reading your stuff. And I'm jealous that you got to work with Austin, MJW, and Johnny Messner... all "tough guys" I'd love to get to have act in a genre flick.

 

[taormina]

^^ I don't think I ever really had a plan when it came to the internet thing. Happy accident, I'd say.

This "cult following" you speak of has been (usually) more of pain than it's worth, lol.

 

[Ted Spencer]

Ted, You're getting defensive. Let it go. No need to post your resume. You are also taking the bait. Maybe I need to teach you how to stay out of conflicts on the interwebs.

Well, Adam, I considered this quite carefully, and counted to ten quite a few times before posting it to make sure I thought it really needed saying. I also made it *abundantly* clear that I didn't really want to have to do it. But if I've got several people, including a moderator for heaven's sake, (presumably) characterizing me as (see their words above), I didn't think it was appropriate to just sit by and let that stand. So I didn't...

All I did was set the record straight where facts are concerned. I don't think "defensive" is the right adjective to use when one is (evidently) the subject of direct, and largely incorrect, attacks on one's level of professional experience.

You yourself just said you could handle someone (me, in fact) criticizing your script and technical issues, but if you were to be called a hack, or words to that effect, it would be another matter. Well, it appears, best as I can determine, that I've been called pretty much exactly that. So I responded...

And there's really nothing for me to "let go" of, since it's not an *emotional* position I'm taking, regardless of how it may appear. I'm completely 'validated' in my career, and have been for a long, long time, so I'm not personally hurt or even offended by the attacks. It's rather a matter of correcting some pretty provocatively worded misconceptions.

So I felt it was important to point out that I have, contrary to the (apparent) assertions of some other folks here, had the following professional experiences. That's it.

Thanks for your concern nonetheless.

 

[Ted Spencer]

Maybe I need to teach you how to stay out of conflicts on the interwebs.

You have indeed made great strides in that department, Adam : )

 

[Ted Spencer]

Ted......I'm not really sure on why you're qualifying yourself in the above post with credentials. Whether you have made films with Spielberg or if you haven't made your first short film yet you're entitled to give your opinion, none of what you said was spiteful

Thank you. That's how I saw it too. But when words like "disgusting", and "loser" and phrases like "don't want anyone to even try, or worse, to succeed" are bandied about (apparently) in reference to me and my professional credibility, it's another matter.

But I'd love to see all this drama go away so we can get back to more substantive matters, which I've been quite enjoying otherwise. Now that I've (hopefully) made it clear enough that I am not in fact some kind of a troll, maybe it will.

Otherwise I think it's a fascinating discussion, especially now that Adam has chosen to re-grace us with his presence. I mean, how many other $22M feature writer/directors do we have to talk to here? 'Bout zero, I'd say.

So it's all good in my book...

 

[FilmBoy77]

All in all I think it's been a pretty healthy discussion. If there were any trolls on this board just trashing the movie and Adam personally I think EVERYBODY would jump on his case and the moderators would delete the posts so it doesn't mess up the flow.

Adam you got some good karma coming your way for being so open about your experiences and letting people learn from your mistakes as well as the things you did right.

Will you be keeping everybody up to date with Hangar 14? Or since you're a "big dawg" now are you just going to let people hear about it however they hear about it?