I fully committed to the idea of starting a production company on the morning of Sunday, April 18th, 2010. I was lying in bed in my childhood room, having come home to attend the Wisconsin Film Festival, and I was ruminating about the overall experience. The night before I had gone to a festival party with the Lobit Sisters (of The Things We Carry fame) and was completely energized by it. It was so invigorating to be surrounded by creative, like-minded people who all shared a love of cinema. I knew it was time for me to finally go for it and realize my lifelong ambition. I thought to myself, “I’m going to make a movie.”
I guess the bedroom of my youth was an appropriate location to have this epiphany considering all of the Hollywood daydreaming I’d done there as a kid – not to mention the many Oscar acceptance speeches practiced in front of an audience of devoted stuffed animals. The fantasy date to these imaginary Academy Awards? My still-favorite guilty pleasure: Keanu Reeves. Funny how that fantasy hasn’t really changed. Is that gorgeous man ageless or what? And he cleans up so nicely…
"Deirdre, if you don't allow me the honor of escorting you to the Oscars I will be forced to make another film written by that Shakespeare guy."
Uh oh…am I digressing again?
Anyway, in formulating this grandiose movie-making scheme of mine, I knew that this would be a group effort. As Successories tells us, “There is no ‘I’ in ‘TEAM’” and I clearly needed a team. So I looked to my immediate circle and realized that despite the fact that my last name isn’t Eisner, I have a wealth of knowledgeable resources readily available to me.
Therefore, I bring you some of the preliminary members of TEAM DELIBERATE!
DAD
Executive Producer/All-Knowing Obi Wan Kenobi-like figure
You *will* pay back your investors.
Dad’s the guy who’s going to help me locate the money people. It’s still up to me to convince the money people that a low-budget film is a terrific investment to make in the middle of one of the worst economies since the Great Depression. But I’m grateful that dear old Dad might at least get some butts in the seats to listen to my pitch. He’s always filled with sage advice and he makes a mean Manhattan!
SISTER BARBARA
(sister as in blood-relation, not habit-wearing convent-dweller)
Vice-President of Marketing
(Yes, I’m already doling out fancy-schmancy titles for a company that has yet to have its own stationary)
Got Message?
Barbara is my marketing/social-networking guru. She’s the one who assessed my initial Facebook profile picture and convinced me to swap out the photo of my adorable dog, Lucy, and replace it with my own beleaguered mug. (Seriously, that picture was taken during the holidays and I was probably operating on about three hours of sleep.) Blame her.
BROTHER-IN-LAW JOHN
Full-Fledged Professional CFO (and Barb’s Husband)
You're gonna need a bigger bank!
I’ve anointed John the de facto CFO of Deliberate Productions. (I just ignore the fact that he hasn’t officially accepted the position.) Our only roadblock: he doesn’t seem to appreciate my mantra, “You’ve got to spend money to make money.” But I guess this is where art and commerce intersect for some lively and animated conversations. (Since John is British the conversations are all exceedingly polite, albeit through gritted teeth on his part.)
COUSIN JIMMY (aka: Mr. Awesome)
All-Around Bon Vivant
Care for a little "Sweet Melissa" with that lemonade?
I’ll probably invite Jimmy on set simply to keep spirits high and to sample from the craft services table. When my nieces (ages 8 and 5) opened a lemonade stand over the 4th of July weekend, Jimmy came out with a guitar and served up a storm of classic hits while the girls tried to peddle their citrusy concoction. Jimmy’s convinced that his tribute to the Allman Brothers is what finally turned their business around.
FRIEND SHANNON
Wisconsin-based Sophisticated Lady
Is that a checkbook in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Shannon will serve as charming-yet-persuasive eye candy at various fund-raising cocktail parties. Throw a mink stole on her (faux, of course) and she can play the role of Midwest Brewery heiress looking to be a patron of the cinematic arts. The rest of the investors should quickly fall in line, right?
You will meet other members of the team because there are so many more who have pledged their support and assistance. So those of you out there who might be feeling slighted that I neglected to mention you, please know that you are appreciated! And not to worry – your time of blog humiliation is yet to come!
NEXT UP: What about Bob?
2 Responses to The Few. The Proud? THE TEAM.