Archive for the ‘Filmmakers’ Category
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
I held the DVD Farm Girl in New York in my hands for just an extra moment, trying to predict what fine cinematic feature have I chosen this time? The title alone had my mind racing, but I didn’t want to spend too much time analyzing the plot. A self explanatory story with nothing to leave to the imagination, or so I thought. Sam is a stressed out writer who gets fired from his job a month before his wedding, only to come home and find out his fiancé is cheating on him. Ok, let’s be honest here. The script is campy but the story itself has several witty moments.
Sam decides to not waste his honeymoon, but invite his best friend Matt on a bus trip to the big apple. Upon their unplanned agenda in New York City, Sam happens to notice a pretty girl while he and Matt are visiting a local diner. This is the Farm Girl I assume, which appears to have a strong resemblance to famed hottie Tara Reid. The main difference was the spark of innocence in farm girl’s eyes. Now out of respect her name is Mary, but she just does happen to be a farm girl trying to live out her dreams in NYC.
Many months later Matt comes up with a scheme to meet chicks by holding fake auditions for absolutely no purpose other than to meet them in hopes of hooking up. Matt is pretty successful in his mission, Sam- not so much. Coincidently Mary shows up for the audition and this is where the real fun begins. Sam is completely enamored by her performance, so now he and Matt must use one of Sam’s scripts to create fake rehearsals.
The movie become slightly intriguing with this kooky cast of characters, who all have no clue they’re just hanging out and reading one of Sam’s writing projects. As time passes by, Sam and Mary become better friends and spend more time together. Until, one day Mary walks in on a squabble between Sam and Matt and realizes the truth behind their acting outreach.
With every good romance, there comes a time to break up. Sam and Matt get the script embraced by a gay community; hence a real stage performance is born. Mary steps up to the plate and gets her chance to shine. Unfortunately, Allan, the main lead of the play gets hurt, so who better would know the lines than the writer to take over the part? The show must go on, and there’s not guessing on who is going to do it!
It is only in the meaning behind the words of Sam’s writing that he can confess his love for Mary. This movie has a happy ending like every other romantic comedy, but the difference is how they each get to that point. Maverick Entertainment chose to represent a short but sweet look at conquering love from a bumpy beginning to a warm and fuzzy ending. Curtain please.
Farm Girl in New York is available February 1, 2011! Buy it, Rent it, or Queue it up today! ~Janel Rana
Tags: actors, actress, bestfriends, Big Apple, buddy, chicks, Comedy, fake, Farm Girl, hook-ups, indie, indy, Janel Rana, maverick entertainment, New York, script, showtime, stage, writer
Posted in Comedy, Filmmakers, Movie News, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Miami, (August 10, 2010)- Maverick Entertainment Group (MEG) will present The Best New Filmmaker Award to the recipient at the Peachtree Village International Film Festival. The winner will receive an award and gift pack including five MEG films and a free 30 minute phone consultation with a Maverick Entertainment acquisitions executive. The consultation will provide a rare opportunity for a budding filmmaker to discuss distribution possibilities with an industry pro.
As a long time supporter of independent filmmakers Maverick Entertainment Group is honored to have been asked to participate in this year’s festival. The Best New Filmmaker award will be presented at the Closing Night Award Ceremony on Sunday August 22nd from 7pm to 10pm.
The 5th annual Peachtree International Film Festival will be held August 19th – 22nd at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Atlanta. More information about the festival can be found on the festival’s website: http://pviff.squarespace.com/
About Maverick Entertainment Group Incorporated
Maverick Entertainment Group Inc. (MEG) specializes in the acquisition and distribution of diverse independent fare; including Mainstream, Urban, Latino-theatrical, Horror, Spiritual, and Light Erotic genres. Founder and President Doug Schwab, a 31-year veteran in the film and distribution industry, has cemented the independent company as the leading entity for niche product with over 500 distributed films in the U.S. Maverick Entertainment Group catalog films have starred the likes of Eva Longoria, Harvey Keitel, James Caan, and Salma Hayek. Titles are currently available at all major video outlets; including, Blockbuster, Redbox, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and NetFlix. Maverick Entertainment Group Films are also available via several digital outlets; including, Hulu, YouTube, RoxioNow, and BBDigital. In addition, Maverick’s films can be seen on cable television VOD providers; including, Comcast, Time Warner, Charter Communications, and Cox Communications. Also, look for Maverick PPV Films in hotels across the United States from various hospitality networks. www.maverickentertainment.cc www.maverickgodigital.com
Tags: best new filmmaker, film award, film festival, Maverick, maverick entertainment, movie, Peachtree Village International Film Festival, press release
Posted in Film Distribution, Filmmakers | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Sometimes you just find yourself mad as hell and, well, you know the rest. In the end, it boils down to a burning, primal desire to pummel something, or preferably, someone. So, when Maverick Entertainment Group sent me a copy of Circle of Fury to write about, an itch was very much scratched.
Johnny has returned from a traumatic tour of duty in Iraq to find himself a homeless beggar on the streets of his hometown, New York City. Luckily, he soon gets taken under the wing of his childhood friend Tariq, who has made a fortune through arranging fights that are only bet on by five random bystanders and somebody’s grandmother. Tariq shows Johnny the ropes and hands him a gym to run.
Unfortunately, Tariq’s also a local luminary of the criminal underworld, and uses the gym as a staging ground for his elicit drug business (I guess Granny’s Bingo winnings just weren’t enough to keep Tariq rolling). Johnny, content with running a gym which focuses on fitness and martial arts training, takes exception to Tariq’s extralegal side and, needless to say, a bit of bad blood is created between these one-time chums.
Asses will be kicked, heads will be smashed through various barriers and a good pulse-pounding time will be had by all. Maverick Entertainment Group is releasing Circle of Fury on September 14, 2010. Buy it, Rent it, or Queue it up!
-Richard Snyder
Intimidator of the Realm
Tags: Action, Adonis Williams, blood, Christina Rose, circle of fury, director, distribution, drama, DVD, fight, fighting, film, filmmaker, Filmmakers, fury, gym, Independent film, indie, indy, indy film, Iraqi, martial arts, Maverick, maverick entertainment, mma, money, movie, New York, producer, punch, Randy Spence, review, Richard Snyder, streets, violence, war, Z. Winston Brown
Posted in Action, Film Distribution, Filmmakers, Movie News | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
A Gangland Love Story will be distributed under the Maverick Platinum label.
Maverick Entertainment Group Incorporated (MEG) announces the release of A Gangland Love Story streeting on July 20, 2010. A.J. Lamas, star of E! Entertainment’s reality TV show “Leave it to Lama’s,” and Reagan Gomez (“The Cleveland Show”) star in this modern day Romeo and Juliet. As sparks fly between the two star-crossed lovers trouble is brewing back home between their feuding families. The all star cast is rounded out by Gary Sturgis (Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman), Lew Temple (Rob Zombie’s Halloween), and Brandon Smith (“Friday Night Lights”).
Synopsis
Julia, the protected baby sister of a feared African American crime lord, and Romano, the nephew of a rivaled leader in a Latino organization, have fallen in love and runaway together. Their getaway vehicle of choice: a customized Cadillac convertible. Before long they discover that the customized rims and tires on their getaway car are packed with 20 million dollars in drugs! Now, their lovers’ getaway has set off a cross-country chase involving both crime lords and the Russian Mafia.
Click here to view A Gangland Love Story trailer
Tags: a gangland love story, A.J. Lamas, Brandon Smith, crime, drama, film, gang, Gary Anthony Sturgis, guns, Independent film, indie, indy, Lew Temple, love story, mafia, Maverick, maverick entertainment, money, movie, Power, Reagan Gomez, Romeo and, runaway
Posted in Action, Film Distribution, Filmmakers, Movie News, Urban | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Rent A Car will be distributed under the Maverick label.
Maverick Entertainment Group Incorporated (MEG) announces the release of Rent A Car streeting on July 13, 2010. The wild antics that go on at this Rent A Car business will definitely tickle your funny bone. Directors Lakisha Lemons and Marcus Jones know how to tackle comedy and with the help of a great cast this laugh out loud film is an insane ride beginning to end. Starring Shawn Harris from B.E.T.’s Comic View, Best Actress winner Chantal Nicole, B.E.T. Comedian Rodney Yarbrough, and Independent rap label owner Frank White.
Synopsis
The hilarious story of a rental car business owner named ‘D-Stacks’ and his dedicated, but sometimes demented, employees. Business is booming and even ‘Little Man’ is taking his job as “Manager” seriously, until one fateful day when big-shot ‘Boogie White’ rents a car and mistakenly returns it with $10,000 dollars in the trunk. Now ‘D-Stacks’ has only 72 hours to replace the money. Lucky for him, one of his employees is a talented musician, but will his single be amazing enough to make $10,000 in 72 hours? Maybe not, but with friends, hookups, and a killer hood concert, it just might.
Click here to view the Rent A Car trailer.
Tags: African American, BET Comedian, BET Comic View, blog, Comedy, distribution, DVD, film, filmmaker, Filmmakers, funny, Independent film, indie, indy, indy film, Maverick, maverick entertainment, money, movie, press release, review, Urban
Posted in Comedy, Filmmakers, Movie News, Urban | No Comments »
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
First off, I would just like to start by saying there really are no rules in making a movie, especially if your budget is less than 100k. There are secrets to getting your film successfully picked up and noticed, but please note this blog won’t help you with that. The pointers I will give you might give you more insight into how to approach your creative direction with more effectiveness, but please understand me when I say this; I’m not some sort of ‘Director Guru.’ In short I am just a guy who loves to make films and has, by chance, successfully gotten noticed by Maverick Entertainment. I understand that my film has its short comings, as most do, but the end result is the most important subject here. Getting your film finished!
Here are the 5 elements I believe are super essential in helping make an awesome film.
1. Actors
2. Story/Screenplay
3. Budget
4. Format
5. Location
My first decision – Location
I’ll start off with location being that it is one of the most important aspects, especially in low budget filmmaking. Don’t get me wrong if you have a ton of cash 250k and above…then locations really won’t determine what kind of film you are going to shoot, but if you’re like me and a first time feature Director you’ll need to find REAL locations. What do I mean by REAL locations? For instance if I’m shooting a friends room and I choose to shoot someone’s home for the Interior portion of the film. I must have things on the walls. Typically when you see things that don’t look REAL in films you’ll see a room with four bare walls. Just check out any great films that shoot a room; there is stuff all over the place.
Location will determine your script/story and I believe that Low Budget films should have no more than 5 to 8 locations. For instance, for my film, Date For Hire, 70% if not more, was shot in one location. The fewer locations lends to an easy shoot that can be shot in about 14 days. Now, I’m sorry about using the term easy because we all know there is nothing easy about making a film, but we can make the process a tad bit more endurable.
What type of locations should be used? Well, using something that has room and movement is best because multiple scenes can be shot at the same place. We used a bar for the center of most of the action and we had a few added interiors and 3-4 exterior scenes. I chose the bar because my buddy owned the location and he let us shoot there for FREE! Keyword here is FREE, but it did come with some drawbacks, like shooting from 2am-10am! I think we spent 10 of the 14 days at the bar. So, a great rule of thumb is put out feelers for your location before you make a decision about what your story is going to be.
Now that I had a location I needed to come up with a storyline and a genre. For me it really came down to Comedy vs. Horror.
As I was told by Maverick if you are going to do Horror you must have a few items.
1. You need a monster
2. The monster has to look scary and real
3. You can’t have a story where a bunch of people are just camping and Bam they run into zombies or something
4. Make a movie you would like to see
5. Remember there are No Rules!
Why did I decide to do a comedy? Well, I love comedies first off. That’s why I did one. Do what you love, right? I like Horror films, but I don’t LOVE them. I almost fell into the trap, where EVERYONE was telling me to do a Horror film. They’d say they are so cheap to make as well as so lucrative in the DVD market. Rule #121 Never be ruled by the mighty dollar! Second there is nothing cheap about Horror. Good Horror or good filmmaking takes time. For me I didn’t know of any make-up artists, so we would have had to spend a bazillion dollars trying to put people into make-up. And there are countless other fees and expenses that I didn’t even start to add up. But if you do know make-up artists or have the budget for one by all means shoot a Horror film, but only if you LOVE it, because after 7-14 days…you’ll get sickened by faces you have to see over and over again, especially if they look like zombies!
I could keep going on about the best way to cast a film or the best way to organize a tight budget, but you’re a filmmaker and you get the idea. I hope my insights on location and genre have helped and just remember it really is about doing what you love. I loved everyday working on Date for Hire and I’m super excited for its release! September 21st 2010 my film will be available for everyone to see, support a fellow filmmaker and check it out!
~Lee Cummings (Director/Producer Date for Hire)
Tags: acting, bar, budget, casting, Comedy, Date for Hire, director, distribution, film movie, funny, Horror, how to, Independent film, indie, indy, Lee Cummings, location, low budget, Maverick, maverick entertainment, Mayflower, new movie, producer, September 21, successful filmmaking
Posted in Filmmakers | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
“Where did that idea come from?” and similar questions are among the most often posed to anyone who spends time creating a story, whether a movie, opera, cave painting, or whatever — and are also among the most deceptively difficult to answer, because one imagines that there should be a good reply, and yet the first thought that comes to mind is, “Hell if I know.”
I’m not sure precisely why I even decided to make a movie with a monster in it. I know my imagination is naturally drawn to fantasy, and I also know that, when I conceived Spike, I had access to a budget which could provide for perhaps one fantastical element at most. 
Figuring that an invented creature could serve as that one fantastical element, I researched monster movies and found an endless array of them, the vast majority of which were meretricious knockoffs of Jaws and Alien. (I’m not disparaging Jaws or Alien; it’s just that they’ve been done, and the idea of hundreds of other movies trying to emulate them does not appeal to me.)
So I proposed for myself the experiment of attempting to make a “monster movie” that would stand apart from the countless monster movies made before it. My first step was to develop the character of the monster; to make it, or him, a three-dimensional individual with a back story, goals, needs, idiosyncrasies, secrets, flaws: in short, an inner life. This of course isn’t unprecedented: there have been other monster-as-character stories, from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame to No Such Thing — but at least monsters with human qualities haven’t been filmed as incessantly as have mindless flesh-eaters.
The idea of a humanized monster, or a monsterized human, brought to mind the fairytale motif of the “animal-groom”, i.e., a hideous beast seeking transformation through love. To root the beast in reality, I researched freak shows and deformities, and extrapolated scientific ways for someone covered with spiny growths to exist plausibly (or at least with a veneer of plausibility) in the real world. Following that, and more importantly to a story of relationships between disparate characters thrust into extreme circumstances, I tried to imagine how such radical disfigurement might affect a person’s life and character, my goal being for Spike to manifest as a believably real and unique individual, driven by his dreams and passions while unable to master the frustrations and sorrows which lead him to cause suffering.
Creating the monster was just the beginning of a long process of building all the characters and their various potentials for interaction and conflict. Once all the characters became defined individuals with back stories, idiosyncrasies, flaws, etc., then coming up with ideas seemed practically irrelevant: all that remained was to strand the characters together in a dark and wild forest, and see what they would do.
Spike is available everywhere on DVD August 3rd! Buy it, Rent it, or Queue it up!
~Spike writer-director Robert Beaucage
Tags: beauty and the beast, blog, dark fairytale, deformity, director, Edward Gusts, film, filmmaker, gothic, gothic love story, Horror, independent filmmaker, indie, indy, love story, Maverick, maverick entertainment, monster, movie, Robert Beaucage, Sarah Livingston Evans, Spike, thriller, writer
Posted in Filmmakers, thriller | 7 Comments »
Friday, June 25th, 2010
Initially, I sat in my office debating what I could shoot a film about. I wanted to do something really funny and was trying to find a life experience that I could make a story out of. Rent A Car was the answer!
I had worked in the rental car industry for 8 years prior to making this film and had seen everything; from customers literally running away with our cars, to their unbelievable explanations of damage to them. In addition, I had eight year’s worth of notes on all of these zany occurrences compiled in a stack that I could use for story ideas for my film. 
To help tie together a sequence of hilarious episodes stemming form my workdays, I reached out to a comedian that I had actually met while working in the rental car business. His name … Shawn Harris (P. Diddy Presents the Bad Boys of Comedy). This guy was so funny that when we talked in person, I just had to work with him and luckily he agreed. In fact, the very first night we shot two scenes at Shawn’s house! We thought the scenes would take about 5 hours, but when the other comedians and beautiful female actresses hired for the shoot arrived, things quickly changed. Shawn immediately changed our simple “wings and fries” budget for the night into Chinese food for everyone!
We didn’t leave Shawn’s house until 6 am the next morning and yes, we did manage to shoot our two scenes. But, just as we overspent on Chinese food that one night, we overspent ourselves trying to get into the crazy characters from Rent A Car.
We had a great cast and crew that really worked hard and knew their job. Everyone knew how to work and play hard too. There are so many stories with Shawn Harris and Rodney “Lil’Brough” Yarborough (BET Comic View comedian), that would take a whole week to run through! Just know there were many “YO Momma” jokes and plenty of making fun of anyone that forgot any of their lines on set. This was one of the best experiences I have had in my life, and others in the movie have said the same. I feel that our good time shows in our movie and you will really love it if you are looking for action and comedy mixed in one. Rent A Car is the way to go! Buy it, Rent it, and Queue it up! Available everywhere on DVD July 13th!
~Frank White (Rent A Car writer/producer)
Tags: African American, BET, car, Comedy, Comic View, DVD, film, filmmaker, Frank White, funny, indie, indy, Lil’Brough, making a movie, Maverick, maverick entertainment, movie, music, producer, rent a car, Shawn Harris, Urban, writer
Posted in Comedy, Filmmakers, Movie News, Urban | 8 Comments »
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Reflections of a Black Independent Filmmaker DVD sales in the age of Internet and Blu-Ray Doom and Gloom. That’s was the pervasive feeling at the last AFM in Santa Monica. As someone who made my small urban movies on the fringe, I never really felt the pressure as most of my mainstream counterparts. The urban genre always had a built in audience, and not just black people as you would think. Because the African-American audience and to a large part the “Hip-Hop” generation is normally under represented as far as selections at the multi-plex, home video has always been fertile ground for black filmmakers. In fact is been something we depended on.
Under attack. The film business is now on the same precipice, that the music industry found itself on 10 years ago. Shifting attitudes about the delivery systems meant the end of the CD Album as viable way to monetize the music business. The first to be hit was the small independent record labels, followed by the big record companies. One by one the giants continue to fall. This change is now being seen in the DVD market.
Because of bandwidth issues and problems with uniform codec standards with video software, video delivery via the internet was always difficult. Thus protecting DVD sales from the shifting attitudes about delivery until now. Mobile media (ipods, laptops, cell phones) and generation of internet savvy users is changing everything. Ultimately, Redbox, Blockbuster, Hollywood video are in trouble. And no, this is not a shift in format preference. ie …VHS to DVD or DVD to Blu-Ray. It won’t matter if your program is presented in HD or not. This added to the glut independent features, makes it a buyers market. Think about it. You got independent features out there shot for 1-3 million dollars for distributors to cherry pick from. And even those titles they buy for pennies on the dollar. Advances for 30-40K are now more common place, or in most cases, no advance at all.
What can you do? First, embrace the technology. Digital filmmaking changed independent filmmaking forever. So, if you haven’t used the technology, you should it as a means to push your production cost as low as possible. The cheaper your film the less money you have to recoup for your investors. Which translates to more choices when deciding on a distributor. Two, include the DVD marketing money in you budget. The days of the studio financing the marketing campaign for the DVD of your film were generally a certainty if they decided to distribute your film. But, with the economy being what it is and the DVD market shrinking, the only way to guarantee a solid distribution deal, and again have a lot of options, is to come to the table with your own marketing money. In fact most dirstrib’s will give better backend percentages for your film and you’ll take the aspect of “creative accounting” by the distributor out of the equation. Lastly, don’t skimp on the DVD bonus material and extras. When people rent or purchase DVD’s, they want that extra value. Independent films which are still found primarily on DVD and not Blu-Ray. Studio’s mainly put bonus material on their Blu-Ray discs in order to drive those sales of the home video releases of their theatrical release. Bonus material (commentaries, behind the scenes, stills, music videos) will help convince the cost conscience consumers who are seeking value to purchase or rent your DVD.Ultimately, planning is your best tool. I hope this helps. (Original post on ScriptShark)
Greg Carter has produced 13 feature films and documentaries, 8 of which he has also directed and 6 he wrote. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to film and the community, Greg has been inducted into the Texas Filmmakers’ Hall of Fame and has received numerous awards, including Best Director and Best Film 30th Parallel Film Festival (“Fifth Ward”); Gold Remi for Best Feature World Fest Houston International Film Festival (“Resurrection: The J.R. Richard Story”); and Best Docu-Drama San Diego Black Film Festival (“Waters Rising”); When his schedule permits, Greg enjoys teaching filmmaking which has included teaching filmmaking to underprivileged youths through his association with SWAMP. He founded the Fifth Ward Young Filmmakers’ Project in 1992 receiving an recognition from the Mayor of Houston for his public service and contribution to the community.
Tags: AFM, African American, black filmmaker, Blockbuster, blu-ray, bonus material, business tips, distribution, distribution tips, DVD, film, film business, filmmaker, financing a film, funding, Greg Carter, independent filmmaker, indie, indy, Maverick, maverick entertainment, movie, Redbox, Script shark, special features, studio, urban films, Urban genre
Posted in Film Distribution, Filmmakers, Urban | 52 Comments »
Monday, May 10th, 2010
* Media Advisory *
Film Shot Exclusively in Indianapolis on the Shelves at Blockbuster May 11, 2010
Who: Adam Corya, Producer
Marty Allain, Post Producer
Kent Holbert, Blockbuster Video Store Manager
What: Indiana film producers of the independent film The Mini, shot exclusively in the Indianapolis metro area and featuring Park Tudor School alumnus Chris Stack (School of Rock, Rodger Dodger, Evening, Third Watch, One Life to Live) announce and discuss their national distribution deal with Blockbuster Video, through its distributor Maverick Entertainment, at the Indianapolis Blockbuster Video store on Keystone Avenue.
The distribution deal makes The Mini available at most corporately owned Blockbuster Video stores throughout the country and on-line through Blockbuster Digital. The film will also be available through Netflix, Amazon.com, select on-demand networks, and Hollywood Video stores. Upon The Mini’s release on May 11, 2010, the film becomes one of only a handful of feature film productions shot exclusively in Indiana in the last ten (10) years that can boast national distribution of this scope.
The Mini, written and directed by Indianapolis native and Park Tudor School alumnus Ron Beck, was shot on a shoe-string budget of only $25,000 at several locations throughout the Indianapolis area. The Mini is a family-friendly comedy that tells the story of a down-on-his-luck futon salesman who runs a mini-marathon to get ahead in the bedding business.
When: Tuesday, May 11, 2010
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Where: Blockbuster Video
6315 E. Keystone Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Tags: Adam Corya, Blockbuster, Comedy, distribution, film, film producer, film producers, funny, Indianapolis, marathon, Marty Allain, Maverick, maverick entertainment, meet and greet, mini, mini marathon, movie, nation wide, producer, producers, release date, run, running, street date, the mini
Posted in Filmmakers, Movie News | 60 Comments »
