TYLER PERRY DONATES A MILLION BUCKS TO THE NAACP!

Wow! Check out this article below that I received from the Hollywood bureau of the NAACP. I'm honestly surprised that this is the largest donation by an artist in their history. That's fantastic!
I'm sorry to say I have not yet seen "Precious" but it's still in my plans. I really didn't want to see it alone, but it seems that may be what I have to do. Hope I can handle it! In other news, I'm closing out the year on a high note and continuing to write, create and produce. At the top of 2010 I'll be shooting the web series for Reality Check. But more on that later--right now, it's all about Tyler!

THE NAACP HOLLYWOOD BUREAU APPLAUDS FILMMAKER TYLER PERRY FOR HIS DONATION OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS TO NAACP
Gift is the Largest Received from an Individual Artist in the NAACP's History

Los Angeles, CA - The NAACP, the country's oldest and largest civil rights organization, announced yesterday that acclaimed filmmaker Tyler Perry has donated one million dollars, marking the largest gift ever given by an individual artist. This donation continues an ongoing relationship between Tyler Perry and the NAACP - from the NAACP Hollywood Bureau assisting in the negotiations between the Tyler Perry Studios and the Writers Guild of America, West agreement, to Perry co-hosting last year's 40th NAACP Image Awards, as part of the 100th Anniversary celebration of the NAACP.

"We are honored that Tyler Perry chose to support the NAACP," said Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP. "Tyler is a courageous pioneer in bringing positive images of African American culture and struggles to the screen. His remarkable journey from poverty and childhood abuse to become one of the world's most successful filmmakers and entrepreneurs is an inspiration to us all," Bond said.

"Tyler Perry exemplifies an unyielding commitment to uplifting and bringing hope to the disenfranchised and those less fortunate," stated Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, "Both in his films and in his life, he reflects an impressive ethos of caring and conscientiousness. We are deeply grateful for his support."

"I feel so honored and blessed to be in a position where I can give to the NAACP." Perry said. "Had it not been for the perseverance and vision of the thousands who came before me in the 100 years of this legendary organization, I would not be in the position I am in today. I continue to be thankful for the tireless work of the NAACP, and I am proud to be able to help in their mission to fight for the equality of all people, and to work towards the elimination of discrimination against race."

"This is a paradigm shifting moment in black philanthropy. Here is a civil rights organization that is receiving a donation that is usually targeted only at education or cultural institutions. Tyler Perry is setting a high standard for others to follow," said Maxim Thorne, Senior Vice President of the NAACP.

"The generous gift by Tyler Perry will be used to support our Second Century Society advocacy programs on economic equality, education, health care and criminal justice" stated Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP.

FOX NETWORKS, KEEPIN IT REAL?!!!

Tonight, Fox’s new sitcom “Brothers” premieres and I’m looking forward to it.

I saw a sneak peak of some scenes and it was pretty funny. Plus, the cast is stellar—I’ve always been a fan of Darryl “Chill” Mitchell and commend his determination to keep his life and career on track after an accident left him wheelchair bound. And of course the talented Carl Weathers and CCH Pounder. That on top of what sounds like an interesting premise should be enough to carry newcomer/star Michael Strahan if his acting isn’t quite up to par. But let’s be real, many a rap artist and athlete has transitioned successfully to acting and this shouldn’t be any different.

But there are some other interesting things going on which makes tonight’s premiere especially exciting. The number of sitcoms is dwindling each season, and family-based ones are truly suffering. This season, "Brothers" is the ONLY sitcom on broadcast network television featuring an African-American family. Period. Amazing. But here’s a twist. There’s one other show featuring a black family on network television, but it’s animated! “The Cleveland Show” a spin off of “Family Guy” features soft-spoken Cleveland Brown, who’s now moved to Virginia after his wife cheated on him with Quagmire to start a new life with his first love. Can’t wait for that either. But really, who would have thought that Fox would be the only channel to keep black folks in the mix on network television? This is such a big deal that the NAACP Hollywood Bureau sent out a release giving Fox kudos. (http://naacp.org/news/press/2009-09-23/index.htm)

What does this mean to you? Well it’s just like in the movies where box office numbers determine success. Except in this case it’s ratings. So if you want to see more shows about people of color, you have to support. That means at least watch the first episode and see if you like it. If you don’t, keep it moving. If you do, don’t just watch it—let the networks know you love it!

I recently went to an entertainment summit where an executive from The CW explained this in no uncertain terms. Having just seen the demise of Girlfriends and The Game, she explained that if you want a show to stay on the air, ratings is great but it’s not enough. You’ve got to chime in and let studio execs know that you love a show while it’s on. Write them letters, leave posts on the show website, Twitter about it and really stand behind the show. She said this did not happen with The Game, but it did and is happening with “House of Payne” Tyler Perry’s hit sitcom that airs on cable station TBS.

I’m not an advocate of supporting a wack show just because it’s black. If you hate a show, you’ve got to do the same thing—send letters, posts etc and let them know what it is you are looking to support.

One thing’s for sure, this new television season is exciting for many reasons. I love premiere time! Hit me back on the blog and let me know what you think of the shows. I'll have a review also.

Brothers premieres Tonight, 9/25 on Fox at 8/7c
The Cleveland Show premieres Sunday, 9/27 on Fox at 8:30/7:30c

Laughs, Hugs & Blessings!

Bitch is the New Black

Wait. It's not what you think! Just interesting breaking news!

Bitch is the New Black is the title of the book and upcoming film written and produced by Shonda Rhimes, creator and Executive Producer of Grey's Anatomy and The Practice. The book, repped by Gail Ross Literary Agency and the film which will be produced by Miramax Films and Shondaland revolves around a new generation of young, successful black women in Washington DC! The film/screenplay will be adapted from her memoir which is set to be published by Harper Collins next year.

Me likes! Did I mention that Reality Check takes place in DC also? And Oil & Blood? If Bitch is the new black, DC is the new.....fill in the blank!

The Good, the Better, and the Crappy

First off--Be prepared for a less animated entry--I'm typing with remnants of the flu. Energy is low. But the week was pretty damn good!

I kicked it off going to a networking event in West Hollywood called "Launch Mondays." It was created by my friend Tony P. in an effort to connect folks in the media, PR and entertainment.

A friend of mine was in town--the fabulous TOY (singer, voiceover diva: http://www.teeohwhy.com/) and so we went together. I had a blast--thanks to the wine, the great atmosphere and old friends. And can you imagine--I actually networked instead of staying in my comfort zone.

I'd recently begun subscribing to this newsletter on screenwriting and success in the industry called The Business of Show Institute and have been following the advice of Marvin Acuna. (http://www.thebusinessofshowinstitute.com/) He's says networking is essential, but not in the "in-sincere, what can you do for me" type of way. Just in the "getting to know you and perhaps I can do something for YOU" type of way. Most may not know this, but I'm a bit of a shy girl if I don't know people. I mean really. It has kept me from going out. Sometimes I just can't fake it. But I felt pretty secure this Monday night and had been practicing just starting small talk with people (strangers) over the past few weeks, so I was prepared. And like I said, I was surrounded by good people, and wine.

I met a few new people in the production business that I am hoping to give leads on jobs (as if I don't need a lead myself!) And I linked up with a guy I met a few weeks back who has special knowledge of the new media, webisode/sponsorship world. And he's helping me out!

THEN, I met this guy who is in money management. He, I and Toy had great convo and I was pumping up Toy as a great singer and the casually sassy voice of Michelle the Old Navy Modelquinn. It never occurred to me that maybe he could help me. Then Toy mentioned to him that I was looking for funding/investors for my film and maybe he could help me out. And wouldn't you know we have a meeting today at 1 pm to discuss? YAAAAY!!!!

So I'm getting my mind right for our lunch meeting. Wish me luck!

Well that was just Monday. On Tuesday I did family home stuff--the dog was washed and my son's room was finally decorated and organized into a baby room though he's at the ripe age of 1 year 3 months!

Wednesday night, I got all jazzed up in a cute little black short set that looked like a dress and some killer red heels and pranced my way over to The Improv on Melrose--where my friend Kimrie would be performing for the first time! Let me just say--she was amazing. Especially considering the fact that all the other performers that night have been doing comedy forever--one was a finalist on Last Comic Standing, the other is a comedy writer/producer for Ellen. And then there's Kimrie, who's also the star of my film "Reality Check," who decided to take an improv class to continue growing as an actress, and was so damn good they invited her to perform with these comedic professionals. Wowee. Amazing. She did great, was hilarious and didn't make me anxious or uncomfortable when she was on stage. (You know how someone is just not that good and you just are sitting there wincing inside wishing for it to be over--yeah, that didn't happen...Thank goodness!) Check her out http://www.kimrie.com/

OK, one crappy thing did happen this week. I had applied for a Producer's Lab with Film Independent. This program helps director/producer pull their project together, meet the right people and learn the tricks of the trade necessary to get your film off the ground. You can imagine how badly I wanted to be down. I put so much effort into the application, paid the app fee, submitted my script, business plan everything. Only to get an email Thursday evening saying "Thanks so much for submitting, unfortunately you have not been selected." I wanted to throw my blackberry out the window.
Do you know how tired I am of being rejected? Do you?? And still no word from the writer that's supposed to be my mentor but doesn't know it yet. But big shout-out to my friend Elon who's response to my rejection was: "F**k those film programs who don't see the light. They are insane. It is a great film." Ahhh---friends!!

I start a day job on Monday for the next two months. Which is great because I got bills to pay. But is definitely going to take time away from my film hustle. I'm gonna have to figure out how to balance.
Regardless, I'm praying for an even better upcoming week, and that my meeting with the finance man leads to FANTASTIC things!

Feel free to pray on my behalf as well!
Have a great one--

Laughs, Hugs & Blessings!
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WE ALL NEED A REALITY CHECK SOMETIMES

Mornin'!

To top off the work week I wanted to share with you some details on the film I'm working on. It's called, "Reality Check." Here's a picture of the movie poster:It's about Marisa, an attractive and seemingly average 28-year-old with a serious addiction. She's a reality TV dating show junkie, and her love jones is messing up her love life. She expects her dates to follow the reality TV dating rules--or they're quickly eliminated.

So I'd love to hear your comments! What do you think about the poster, the concept? Would you go see this film?

Ok--I've got some work to do. I have 10 webisodes (a series of short episodes that will "air" on the web) that I'm writing as a prequel to this film. I've decided that I'm going to shoot the first one. So I need to tweak the script, find locations, secure some actors, and pull together a crew and GET IT DONE--hopefully by the end of this month so I can post it for all of you to view. And you will be hooked on the series! MUUAAHHH--HAAAA-HAAAA!!! (mastermind laugh). So I'll be back later!

Laughs, hugs & blessings!
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FREE MONEY!!!!!!

I belong to a few film investors groups on LinkedIn. The hope for all of us members is to find someone--angel investors, private investors--who want to finance our film. The fact is most of the postings on there are from directors and producers like me, looking for money. Rarely is there a request for material for someone looking to invest. So when a certain individual put up a post saying his company was looking to invest in films in my price range I jumped at the opportunity! The initial emails seemed normal enough, he asked me to send him a synopsis of the project. I did that along with my bio and a poster art of the film. This is when things got a little strange. The response letter-- was a hot mess. First it was obviously a cut and pasted letter with several repeated paragraphs. It was full of typos. It never explained who or what the company was...and it requested I send 15 of my favorite DVDs to a dropbox address in Israel all the while explaining that it's not illegal or a copyright issue. Strange right? Here's an excerpt:

We realize our methodology is very unusual and unorthodox but then so is Chinese Medicine to most mainstream uses of pharmaceutical and surgery based medicine ( yet over 2 billionChinese prefer it to mainstream medicine Humor our analysts and we will not subject you again to this type of evaluation.

Anyway, all this to say that once I suspected something, I googled his ass and he is fraudulent for sure! Then I alerted my group members--some already knew--some were grateful.

Meanwhile I'm telling myself to slow down. Because I know better. Due diligence. I always do a "background" check of any person that I'm considering doing business with, or even "friending" online. But this time I didn't. My heart started beating fast, I became desperate believing--finally, this might be it!

Well, lesson learned, and thankfully, learned early. I'm gonna keep it moving. I've got a second script to revamp. My catch 22 is growing exponentially: Need money to direct film, need to have directed film to get money. need agent to get money, need to have directed film to get agent. need to direct first feature to get another, so have to create my own project first.


So this is what I'm doing. And I'm not giving up. I'm NOT! I'm itching to get on a set and be directing again. And it will happen in due time. In the meantime--due diligence--in my craft and in the people that I bring into my circle.

Have a great one!

WHAT A YEAR! IS IT SEPTEMBER ALREADY?

Wow! It's almost been a year since my last post.

If you didn't know me, you might think that I'd been slackin, not doing a damn thing, chillin. And you'd be wrong. Since my last post I've been adjusting to life as a working mommy, trying to figure out how to balance the day job, with the mommy job, with the wifely duties with the filmmaking and creative pursuits. I have to say--it's been difficult. But I'm getting there!

So since we last spoke, I've completely re-written my business plan for Black Pearl Filmworks, LLC and have re-built my website! I've also submmitted my screenplay REALITY CHECK to several fellowships including the Film Independent Producer's Lab which I'm waiting to see if I was accepted. Let's see, what else? Well, seeing as it's Labor Day weekend, I have to make a quick statement. It's really only fitting that I'm blogging today. I really love the Fall season and always look at Labor day weekend, which ushers in the soon to come Fall season, as a new beginning. And I'm moving into a new phase as a writer and director. I'm being more diligent than ever before, making sure I write everyday, making sure I pursue new opportunities, stay creative and stay connected. It's like I'm in grad school the way I'm studying this industry. It's really crazy how much has changed and it's hard to keep up. It's a full time job really. So I've utilized the downtime I've had between day jobs to really immerse myself in the business side of the movie industry. I'm learning a lot and am going to be sharing what I learn, the progress I make, the setbacks I have, and all that in this blog!
My day job starts back on September 21st so I have two full weeks to wrap up loose ends and figure out a workable schedule.

Let me give you a quick and brief synopsis of what I'm working on now:
1--I've decided to create a series of 10 webisodes that are a prequel to my film Reality Check. I plan to direct them in the next month and post them here and on my website so keep your eyes open. HURDLES: Need either a skeleton crew that's willing to work free, or sponsorhip money of up to $10K so I can do this right!

2--I'm working on the outline of my script OIL & BLOOD which needs to totally be re-written. Why? Because so much has changed since I first wrote it. And because it was the first script I ever wrote and is really not in the best shape. HURDLES: I'm stuck on the intricacies of the second act. This is a drama/suspense in the vain of State of Play, Conspiracy Theory & The Pelican Brief. I don't want it to be predictable or too convuluted.

3--I'm waiting to hear back from a prominent screenwriter who I pitched my project Reality Check to 2 weeks ago. He liked the concept. My pitch needed a little work, but he was a great teacher and requested my full script. But alas, I have gotten no response from him. When I say prominent, I mean, many successful feature films, working with Oprah, prominent. Ugh. He asked me if I was a good writer during my pitch session. I said yes, rambled on about my background and couldn't look the man in the eye I was so nervous. What I wanted to say was-- "I think I have great ideas and a lot of potential, but I want to be the best I can be. It's a daily struggle." Ok, so that's off my chest, if only I had thought on my feet! HURDLES: I really am in need of a mentor and have realized that for a while. This guy seems like he would be ideal for that if willing. But what am I to do if he never hits me back? I think you know me--I'm going into determination mode. He may have to cuss me out to get rid of me. I just have a feeling about him--a lot of "coincidences" happened the week leading up to us meeting. I can't discuss now as I don't want to reveal his name just yet. But it's good ish!


4--I've connected with some old friends that are helping me try to find funding for RC. Sometimes this feels like a pipedream....(HURDLE)

which brings me to my new outlook on this whole process:

I'm no longer calling this a "dream" I'm pursuing and trying to fulfill. But rather, a GOAL that I will achieve. That makes it more tangible to me. That makes me understand that it is actually possible, and not some crazy, futile fantasy. I need to keep putting in the time, no matter what.

What an update hunh? Well check in daily. I'll be adding updates on my quest to blend all aspects of my life and hope to have great news soon about how my film will begin production.

YEAH!!!
Hugs, Laughs & Blessings! (my new sign-off, it's so me!)

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