Dark Times

It's hard to stay positive in these really difficult times, when basic things are a huge question mark. I mean, the fact that we can no longer completely trust the banks is a very scary thing. I went ahead and broke up the accounts for the Raspberry Magic, just to be safe. The whole economy and everything has got me feeling very restless and very uneasy about everything. While on a day to day basis everything is generally fine on my end, these are certainly very tough times to be an indie filmmaker. Money is tight and people who might ordinarily write a check without hesitation are now understandably nervous. On top of that, there have been incredibly bleak forecasts for selling indie films, as well. All of this has me feeling heavy, very heavy. But what do we do in times like these? Stop? Give up? forget about our aspirations? Seems like maybe that's the answer, and trust me, I have felt that way in many fleeting moments over the past couple of months. As corny as it sounds, though, these are truly the times when we have to simply do what we always do, and move forward. Especially as artists, now is a time when people need beauty, they need something that gives them hope and joy. For me, art has always played this role, and I feel more resolve than ever to keep going. In terms of making my film, we are basically there, all we need is $70K more to really be okay. Maybe it's not all of the money we originally wanted, and maybe there are compromises that will have to be made. But isn't this the nature of indie filmmaking? Shit, isn't this the nature of existing? And yes, there are many naysayers about indie film right now, but in reality, I think that once things settle down, the market for indie film is going to be much, much better than it ever was before, I think this could happen over the next few months, too. The current business model for indie filmmaking basically sucks. You make a movie, and then you basically stand on a street corner and beg someone to pay you for it. Megha and I have always been very clear that our strategy to bring RM to market will be much more comprehensive than just getting picked up at a festival. In our business plan, it is outlined much like the way Peter Broderick recently described on indie wire, in his new model for selling movies. His approach is what we have taken all along, to break up the distribution among many entities so that we have control. And, we've been exploring some very new and exciting places that are dying for content like ours, a family film. On some level, even though things are tough right now, it feels like the right/perfect time to make Raspberry Magic. I mean, it's a story about a family falling apart due to debt and the father's job loss, and a girl trying to figure out how to handle it. I personally went through this a few times when I was growing up, I mean, my dad losing his job and being nervous/confused about it, so I can relate to all of you out there dealing with tough times. That's really the essence of RM, and that's why I have to get it out there.