*Never* invest in a film to make money

To every single person I have ever spoken about film funding ... I have said:

Do not ever (pay to) make a film to make money.

Never.

Make it for the joy of making a film.
Make it to be part of a really great film.
Make it to meet people you've always wanted to meet.
Make it to give yourself a title.
Make it to show the kids in high school who pants'ed you that you are really cool now and hang out with the coolest people.
Make a film to learn about film making.
Make a film to support someone you believe in.
Make a film to support a point of view in which you believe.
Make a film to contribute to humankind.
Make a film to entertain people.

But do not *ever* pay for a film to make money.

You will only lose your money.
You will only get involved in legal crap that sours you on film making.
You will only lose friendships because you're worried and squabbling about who's spending how much on whatever and who gets how much after whatever.
You will only get lost in the mire of production because you won't understand it.
You will only wonder if the candy bar consumed by the first assistant director is necessary.
You will only make the blessing of genuine creativity a curse.
You will only see egos emerge and expand because they're thinking about the money or their credit or their place in the pecking order rather that the film itself.
You will only end up on the losing end of a monolithic system whose personal priorities left with the idea that movies are made to "strike it rich" - which is why there are so many attempts at over bloated budgeted blockbusters, many of which - if not most - are just this side of crap.
You will only end up throwing good money after bad to fix a problem that could have been fixed with professional due diligence from the getgo.

Never make a film for money.

Over the years, I'm proud to say that I've received money from people who took my advice - no one was "ripped off" who had partaken - even modestly - in our little adventures here. Some of them worked brilliantly - others? Not so much.

My current business partner, executive producer and co-owner of Heart Break Productionz is a respected, responsible, experienced, self-made business person who has worked in a physical labor field since he was 12 years young.

Actually, I think he'd refer to himself as a family man first, a business person second. He knows money. He's not afraid of it, impressed by it, intimidated by it or casual with it.

He understands the value of what's really important in life. Perhaps that should be "who" is really important in life.

He spends money but he does not waste it.

He believes that people deserve a living wage and health care. He believes in union protection for workers and negotiates with 31 of them.

He handles the finances, I handle the creative side. And yet - we're on the same page of every decision made on both sides. That's interesting.

For sure - and for a number of reasons too complicated to explain here dealing with federal laws - he won't lose any money on our feature film THE WHOLE TRUTH.

However - because we are only concerned about the quality of our film, the people with whom we work, the script and creative aspects of the production and final outcome; because we understand that money is not our boss - the audience is, we believe our film will find an audience. An audience which will allow us to continue to make good to great films for them. Hopefully, an audience that will watch those films over and over.

We intend to do this for the rest of our lives - and who knows if we'll pass it on.

Interestingly, over the years, I've paid outrageous fees for seminars that supposedly tell people how to "finance films" -- all of which are based on the model that strives to make money for investors. Not a thing is mentioned about the quality of a film.

Films are not a good investment.

Nine out of ten films flop financially.

But people ... good people who are creative and professional .. are the best investment anyone can make.

People - sober, fun, hard-working, dedicated, compassionate and courageous people unafraid of failure - people who have their personal priorities in order, people who seek to continually educate themselves to do better work for personal, spiritual, practical, fulfilling, satisfying reasons far beyond money - are the best renewable resource in the universe.

And, not coincidentally, they are generally the most successful.

Just like my biz partner - of whom I am immensely proud.

OK ... that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Gotta get back to work!

THE WHOLE TRUTH's first signed cast member

Fresh from his role as mafioso kingpin Salvatore Maroni in The Dark Knight, I'm proud - and thrilled - to announce that Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated Eric Roberts is the first actor officially cast in our Heart Break Productionz' The Whole Truth.

Creatively and personally, Eric is at the top of his game, and will surprise everyone with his performance in our screwball comedy - with a twist!

In fact, you may not even recognize him at first - but his acting will blow you away.

He'll be happy to hear he's a star with audiences of all ages! A teenager we know said she could hardly wait to see Eric in our film! Why? "He's got to be a great actor! He's Emma Roberts' (Nancy Drew) dad!"

OK, OK.

But Emma comes by her talent and work ethic honestly. Believe me when I say that never before -- and probably after -- has he, or will he, portray anyone like the role he's tackling in The Whole Truth.

The Whole Truth executive producer Gary Tucci and producer Larry Estes are equally excited about Eric joining our cast. I can hardly wait to collaborate with this enthusiastic, accomplished artist.

The camera rolls September 22.

Stay tuned for more news as deals are signed, sealed and great actors delivered!

Creative References

Now that the script for our Heart Break Productionz feature comedy The Whole Truth is locked and has scene numbers, we're flying into production action.

We're interviewing some terrific candidates for key crew positions (Director of Photography, Production Designer, local Casting Director, make-up, hair, wardrobe and so on). They've read an earlier incarnation of the script - it's better now - and come with ideas and questions for us as well.

Something that helps the technical/artistic crew members is called a "Creative Reference." I have in the past referred to it as my Film List, but now that I'm working in feature films, I discover the more accurate name is Creative Reference.

This is a list - comprehensive but not exhaustive - of films that have an element that would, IMO, serve our film well. Whether it's blocking (where/how characters move), design (scenery, background, colors, props), camera movement, symbolism or a number of other integral parts of scenes, scenery and style.

The idea is *not* to copy anyone - far from it. It is to recognize effective cinemagraphic techniques that could tell the story best.

So I watched about 40 films that I believed would have something that we (the production team) could use, update, twist or incorporate in a new or unusual way.

This is where knowing about films from the past and film history comes in handy.

From those, I selected nine for my list, writing what I saw in each that could lend effective creative elements - some minor, some major - to our film. Dramas and comedies are considered because, remember, we're looking for technical references as well as story telling techniques.

For example, one of the films I list on my Creative Reference sheet is Rob Reiner's classic, "This Is Spinal Tap."

Now, The Tap is *nothing* like The Whole Truth. Nothing.

The Whole Truth is tightly scripted, The Tap is mostly improv'ed by a cast of brilliant writer/actors. But what I see in The Tap that I believe will work for us? The sincerity of the characters; there's never one false note.

Those characters are simply who they are. None tries to be funny. They only react as their characters would honestly to the bizarre situations in which they find themselves, which are actually fairly realistic for show biz.

So, for our film, I listed: This Is Spinal Tap - the sincerity of the characters. No one tries to be funny, they are simply and honestly themselves. Billy Crystal tells the only joke (you'll have to see the film to find it) in the entire film.

The folks we're interviewing try to watch at least the top few films on my list to understand how I see an aspect of the acting or their technical make-up helping our project.

If the Creative Reference list is properly and well done - the crew folks who read it should immediately see what I see, the way I see it. It's written carefully, conscientiously.

Their job is to help me realize my vision as the director - but directing is a completely collaborative job. It takes a village of crew and cast to help bring that vision to life - what we directors do is, in the end, take credit for the work of The Whole Creative Village. ;-)

Now, by sharing my Creative Reference list, they can come up with notions that only enhance my concept and vision, bringing me ideas and creative choices to make that vision become a living, breathing reality in a way that, hopefully, you will enjoy on a number of levels.

This is a very layered film. You'll have the opportunity to enjoy it on a very simple level - from taking that roller coaster ride of "just" a funny film for a sheer escape from your day-to-day life, to an examination of the darker sub-stories, to many other levels of character analysis, story telling and subject matter.

Which is why casting is crucial. The folks cast in our film must be able to *act,* and well. We're working with some top casting folks in LA (who are amazing) and we'll be working side by side with a well-known Seattle casting director, too.

When all our crew is in place, I'll be listing them here.

Executive Producer Gary Allen Tucci and I have been so fortunate to hook up with, IMO, the best producer in the biz with the passing of Sydney Pollack, Larry Estes. His enthusiasm, vast knowledge and support for The Whole Truth are making certain we maintain our very high standards of quality and priority of doing the best job we possibly can to work on behalf of our real boss.

That's you.

Our audience.

Of dogs and wheels

Gary Allen Tucci, my business partner and executive producer of our Heart Break Productionz' film The Whole Truth and I were pondering some of the needlessly large egos in show biz.

We have what we call the Heart Break Productionz Way of working with people - not having people work "for" us. You gotta be professional and know your stuff - and once you're aboard? The CP/GAT/HBPz Way means respect, appreciation, good manners, consideration, a creative work environment, working hard, taking responsibility and a sense o' humor.

Although the ultimate buck stops with Gary and me, we do not consider ourselves "Big Wheels."

Nor would we ever want to.

Why?

As Gary puts it, "You know what dogs do to wheels, don't you?"

I'd just as soon stay out of that line of fire, thank you.

Heart Break Productionz supports:

Executive producer (and my biz partner in Heart Break Productionz) Gary Allen Tucci and I agreed: we want Heart Break Productionz to support in word and deed a special, terrific cause that deserves kudos, financial (and other) donations and media exposure.

After some research, we decided on First Place.

First Place is a school for homeless kids in Seattle - but the staff and volunteers provide so much more than readin', writin' and 'rithmetic for youngsters without a permanent home, kids on the run with a parent escaping domestic violence, and kids who are constantly moving for whatever reason.

Donations of money, clothes, books and all sorts of school supplies are always welcome.

Teachers, staff and volunteers work to keep classes limited to 14 - there are often as many as five adults in a classroom at once, which means these kids are getting a new and positive lease on life.

I'll be showing you photos of the school's interior. It's a secure large building whose location is supposed to be confidential, but I've seen the address disclosed in places when it's not supposed to be.

The kids - my assistant Matt and I took a tour just yesterday - are really well behaved, happy and excited about learning; excited about understanding how to deal with life. Before you think they were "told" to behave, the kids didn't even know we were there.

As I told our guide Melissa. The point of good child care is not to protect children against all pain because that's impossible, but to teach kids how to deal with pain in a way that is healthy and positive so they can create rewarding lives and relationships as they grow up and have children of their own.

She emphatically agreed.

There will be much more about First Place here - photos, stories and all sorts of good stuff - as well as on the Heart Break Productionz and The Whole Truth websites soon; we're also mentioning the school in media appearances and any other opportunity we get.

Later I'll be doing some special workshops for the kids regarding writing, acting and making films; Gary is not only a great father of three kids himself and loves kids, but has a number of skills I bet youngsters would love to hear about and see. He's into boats and cars and motorcycles and all sorts of other cool things he'd love to share with the students.

Ultimately -- when our films make a profit -- we will be donating a percentage of our proceeds to the school.

This school is making a phenomenal difference to kids who otherwise would not only be at extreme risk, but unhappy, dysfunctional and lost.

Most importantly, First Place is a private, non-profit establishment, which means it can't be politicized or influenced by government input or school district politics, its budget can't be juggled and the kids don't have to worry about unexpected changes or the physical state of the building eroding.

More, the school is scheduled to expand physically and include a curriculum that will feature pre-school and kindergarten classes in the future.

Hats off to all the staff, teachers and volunteers of First Place who work hard to right the wrongs done to innocent children who now have the chance for a new start.

The Whole Truth moves forward!

Our Heart Break Productionz comedy feature film project The Whole Truth is coming along beautifully. More splendid, topnotch professionals have come aboard, and it's so incredibly rewarding.

I can hardly wait to share the full crew list with you, as soon as all the positions are filled.

I continue to refine the script - the shooting script should be ready in two days. i'm extremely pleased with it; I hope the crew and cast are over the moon about it - and that the audience enjoys it even more.

It's going to be hard to let go of the basic writing process since I'm having so much fun with the characters and situations. But the finessing process through the shoot will also be a blast.

We're pushing ahead with prep, which means cameras may roll more than a month earlier than we planned if our cast comes together in time. Woo-hoo!