John Assaraf interviews... Dr. Brian Alman 6/17/2010 #SuccessManifestors

John Assaraf interviews... Dr. Brian Alman 6/17/2010 #SuccessManifestors

This is incredible

Opening Night @ the Movies

Hello. It's been too long. This may be a mash up, maybe not. [mash up is a now commonly used word, implying the combination of 2 or more different things, more like an ice cream sandwich, rather then a smoothie]

I've got a pal, he is a writer, he writes movies. He wrote one that got made. It opens TONIGHT! officially (unofficially-you know how they have the midnight screenings the night before).

Opening nights and the weekend box office are HUGELY important in the entertainment industry. Who knew numbers would play such a vital roll (haha, a freudian slip) -that's role, but they do, especially the first numbers that come out. It's like, is this going to avalanche?

But you see the people who make the budgets are investing in these projects and people and those numbers let them know 'you done good' and to keep investing in them. It also lets other investors know they are a good investment. (They being the actors, directors, writers, even producers...the list goes on) Its a win-win. Now it works the other way too, luckily you can still get a second try or even third, but if it continues to falter you are known as 'box office poison'. This usually gets pinned on the actors, but could fall on just about anyone as well. So it takes a keen savviness to navigate a career. Sometimes it's the choices we make, maybe not the best fit. Sometimes its simply timing. But it is all based on the numbers.

Now of course there are other factors involved as well. Marketing efforts for example. This pal of mine, had another great ensemble film that didn't get the attention it deserved, even having a huge cast full of known A listers. In that case the distributing studio rushed it through the theaters without having much of a marketing push.

This industry is ALL collaboration. It starts as one idea. Gets truned into a script. Gets cast. Gets made. Gets edited. Gets released. Each step, being handed off, partly to another. But when it works, it works so beautifully and can hit a nerve in the pop culture of the world - which is spectacular if you think about it! I mean movies literally bring humanity together in a shared experience. Not everyone is going to like everything, but when that magic works...it really is magical.

O.K. back on topic, if there are people you follow/ like to support or if there is a particular movie that peeks your interest please make the effort to see it opening weekend. As these are the numbers that count most for any film.

post script: there is also the occasional sleeper hits, and underground/cult hits, that make ressurections in dvd rentals/sales and special midnight screenings-but wouldn't it be even cooler to say, "I was actually one of the few who saw it when it first came out". I think so.

My moral for this blog: go see movies on opening weekend, so your 'vote' is counted!

Until next time (possibly in a few minutes or hours)

Joey-