Tom Sawyer Entertainment: 4 Years Older and (Somewhat) Wiser

Yesterday we threw a “Tom Sawyer Entertainment is 4″ birthday party at our favorite local bar. We have survived one strike, one defacto strike and a recession, so it seemed like a great reason to celebrate.

And as I sat in a packed bar surrounded by all our clients, friends, former assistants, and interns who had come out to support us, I thought about all the things I’ve learned in the four years since founding Tom Sawyer.

• Find good people that you want to work with.

This applies to both executives, producers, lawyers and clients. A lot of people complain that there are no good people in Hollywood, but that is simply not true.  There are just less good people so it takes longer to find them. That’s why it is worth spending your time and energy meeting everyone so you can find the truly greats in this business.

• Work on material you love.

I can’t repeat this enough. This actually applies to both clients and projects. By working on material you love, when you get the first 100 passes, you will be just as passionate to make the next 100 calls. In the long run, it will be so much more rewarding when you see it through.

• If you are going into business with someone, make sure you know that person inside and out.

My business partner and I like to say we “dated for four years before we got married.” What we mean by this is that, as assistants, we worked as a team (at separate companies but combined forces to cover more ground) for four years before we started a company together. And even in the worst days, when we want to kill each other, we always make up before the end of the day and never walk away mad.

• Have fun.

This business is hard and you will get a lot of rejections. An important thing to remember is that we aren’t curing cancer — we are making entertainment. To entertain is literally in our job description. So take the work seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously. Have fun, enjoy yourself!

Off-the-Wall Responses From Movie and Television Executives and How to Deal With Them

I have been hearing some passes that, if they weren’t true, would be really funny.  Here are some:

(Responding to a script similar to the Oscar-winning movie BEING THERE) “I don’t know if we would have made BEING THERE.”

“It’s going to be so successful and we don’t really know how to handle that.”

“”Since you don’t have a kid, you would be unauthentic in writing this show.”

“In the changing brand world, this doesn’t make sense.”

Seriously? How do executives think up these things to say?

However, I do think this brings up a great point. Everyone gets passed on no matter how big or how small you are.  And underneath all the ridiculous things executives say, what they are really saying is “this isn’t right for us no matter what way we spin it; we just don’t want to make this.”

Now you could argue till you are blue in the face but that doesn’t change anything.  If you love a project and believe in it then you have to move on to the next person.  And keep moving on until you find the person who does get it. Because at the end of the day — as we tell our clients — it only takes one person to say yes.

In fact, we know this from first-hand experience.  Everyone in town said “no” on our movie HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE. Then we finally found one company to say “yes,” and that company had the last laugh at Sundance when the movie won the Audience Award!

Here’s a clip of writer-director (and lead actor) Josh Radnor speaking at the premiere of the film at Sundance, which was already an amazing accomplishment to have this film accepted in the official competition.  Days later he flew back to the festival to accept the Audience Award.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2W2WqhQRTY

This just goes to show you, never give up!

Popping My Sundance Film Festival Cherry: And What I Learned From It

I just got back from my first trip to Sundance, where we premiered our movie HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE in dramatic competition. What an amazing experience!  To get a standing ovation on your first movie is pretty incredible. And all six screenings were sold out!

After an exhausting five days, here is what I learned from Sundance — and what I wish I had known before I left:

• Hit the slopes. No one is skiing or snowboarding during Sundance because all the locals have fled the city, none of the real skiers are there because they know to stay away during Sundance, and no one who is there for the festival is getting on the slopes. You pretty much have it all to yourself.

• Talk to the locals. See what movies they are seeing. If the locals are buying tickets to certain movies, you know those are the ones with commercial appeal.

• Pack lots of protein bars. I’ve got to be honest:  If you aren’t eating in the high-end restaurants, the cheap food there is disgusting — and expensive (let’s call it the tourist tax.) If you pack some protein bars you can save yourself a lot of money and stomach aches.

• Prepare for the altitude change — 8000 feet is really high up. If you aren’t used to it, you will get winded very easily. (I never thought I would exhaust myself so quickly from walking up hill). Drink lots of water and rest when you get tired.

• Pack warmly. Seriously, it is cold. And coats you buy in LA just don’t cut it. But instead of buying a coat that you use for two days, borrow from a friend who has lived in cold weather. Trust me, you will thank me for this because it is no fun standing in line when you are freezing cold.

Most importantly, have fun, meet new people, take in the beautiful scenery and enjoy the experience!

PS. And in exciting news, we just found out we won the Sundance Audience Award for HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE!