Ep. 59 - The Multitasking Screenwriter Conversation with Derrick Shaw

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Everyday people following their passions.
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That's probably like one of the highlights of my life so far.
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Just being able to be creative like that.
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I mean I've always wanted.
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And then I decided to get another hive, and that turned into a lot of hives.
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As long as I can do that, I want to be a good citizen.
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Help people out.
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Putting themselves out there, taking chances, and navigating challenges along the way.
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I I absolutely identified with having stage rides because, you know, anytime I went on stage, I just felt like I was having a heart attack.
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Very first laugh, very first practice session, I crashed, turned the car upside down, made a spectacle of myself, and I got back on that horse and started riding again.
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As they pursue what makes them happy and brings them joy.
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As long as people are having a good time and I have the opportunity to put smiles on people's faces, I I love what I do.
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I have done things that I never thought I could do.
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To have somebody tell me how real it looks and how, you know, from their actual memory.
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Because that's telling me I captured what I was trying to get.
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Welcome to a sorted conversation.
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I'm your host, Helen.
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Hello, and thanks for tuning in.
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You know, after speaking with this week's guest, it got me wondering about you guys, and and also a little self-reflective with myself.
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Was there something you loved to do, maybe even excelled in in your younger days, maybe even as far back as a fifth grader?
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But you pushed it aside because you didn't see a way forward, or because other things took priority.
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I know I did.
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For me, it was broadcasting.
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I wanted to be a radio DJ so bad growing up.
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I loved music, I loved to talk and make people laugh, and that's basically what I went to school for.
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But once I graduated, I faced so much competition in the Boston media market, and I was up against other recent grads who had graduated from Emerson, BC, BU, and they had interned at all the big radio stations in the area.
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I let all of that distract me from what I wanted to do.
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Now the good news is I did find other avenues that got me excited and allowed me to be creative in other ways.
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But after a 20 plus year career in learning and development, I eventually found my way back to a mic.
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This week's guest had a similar journey, but he was much quicker about getting back to what he loved than I was.
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Dust off your daydreams, take a listen to this week's conversation, and I'll see you on the other side.
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Today's guest is a Philadelphia-born filmmaker, entrepreneur, and storyteller with a strong working-class foundation and a sharp creative vision.
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He is the founder of Ruby Street Productions and has built a career spanning film, media, real estate, and business.
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His work includes the feature film Blissfully Unmarried, the award-winning web series The Man Code, and his latest release, the film Bedridden.
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With studies in business and film plus decades of real work experience, he brings authenticity, grit, and heart to everything he creates.
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He is driven by ownership, legacy, and turning life experiences into compelling stories while continuing to grow as both a producer and a businessman.
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I am so excited to welcome this week's guest, Derek Shaw, to Astorted Conversations.
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Hi, Derek.
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Hey, how are you doing?
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Glad to be here, Ellen.
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I am glad to have you here.
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You have such an interesting journey to talk about.
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So let's get started.
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Where did where did it all begin?
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Did it begin with film?
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Did it begin with entrepreneurship?
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What was the starting point for you?
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I have always liked to write.
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So early in elementary school, I think I remember fifth grade.
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My fifth grade teacher encouraged me to write.
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You know, when you just hand in homework.
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She said, I see something here.
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You need to expand on, you know, I'm only, I don't know, where are you, fifth grade?
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10, maybe?
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Yeah.
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Maybe.
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Yeah.
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And she was like, you know, just the stuff you hand in, I need you to write more.
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You know, she would actually give special assignments just for me to hone my writing craft in the fifth grade.
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Yeah.
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So it's something I just love to uh be creative.
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You know, I always had stories in my head, and she wanted me to express them.
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Oh, that's awesome.
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Do you remember anything that you wrote back then?
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Uh no.
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Not from fifth grade.
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Yeah, I was gonna say I couldn't remember anything from fifth grade.
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But anything like, you know, through your teen years or high school years that you wrote growing up that maybe has stuck with you.
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Because I know with a lot of writers, there's always the germ of a story, and they may take years to work it, rework it, or get it where they want to.
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I remember in high school, I we had just read Man, Child in a Promised Land by uh by uh with Bald.
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And I wrote the Derrick Shaw story, and I I more I framed it out like Man Child in the Promised Land.
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So, you know, I wrote, I was only in high school, but I wrote my life story, and my mother actually took it to work and she was showing people, look, this is my son's life story.
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And they're like, all right, he's 16, he has the life story, but it was it was entertaining.
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So back then, she was like, ah, you're good.
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And I'm like, you know, you're my mom.
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You're supposed to say that.
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Yeah.
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Because you know, she passed it around the office, and they were all, they were, they had a ball.
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Oh, that's awesome.
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That's awesome.
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So from a young age, you you had the stories, you had the creativity, and you were framing stories in a way that resonated and entertained people.
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Yeah, I've always wanted to entertain.
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I just I wanted to be an actor, but I don't think I was any good at it.
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Uh-huh.
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So I was better telling stories than recreating someone else's work.
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Right.
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Right.
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You know.
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Well, and that's a gift in itself.
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Yeah.
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That's a gift in itself.
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I tried stand-up comedy for a little while.
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Did you?
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I did too.
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Yeah.
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I had stage fright like crazy.
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I couldn't take it.
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Yeah.
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So the first time I was heckled was the last time I did it.
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Oh.
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If I I, you know, I didn't know the comedians had off nights.
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You know, back then, you know, the Eddie Murphy and the Martin Larzers and the Seinfelds.
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I always thought every night was a banger.
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I didn't know they had.
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Had I known that, I would have probably kept doing it.
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My first bad night, I was like, oh, I'm horrible at this.
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You know, and I quit.
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I never did it again.
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Yeah, it it's funny.
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I did about 30 open mic nights, and I never got heckled, but I definitely had those nights of polite golf claps and you know, little chuckles to make you feel better because people feel bad for you.
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And I I every time the the the 30th open mic was as terrifying as the first.
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So I'm like, why am I torturing myself?
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And I, you know, looked at other avenues, improv comedy and and comedy writing.
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And I had a couple local comedians, you know, give me some feedback saying if you want to do stand-up, here's what you have to improve on.
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But don't feel like you have to improve on anything to be funny because your writing is funny.
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It's just not stand-up writing.
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So yeah.
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Yeah, I feel you.
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So after high school, where did you take your gift for storytelling?
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I sat it in the closet.
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Uh huh.
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So at 19, you know, I was I was in college, so I had to join the workforce, workforce.
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So, you know, I had to put all my dreams and aspirations in the closet.
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You know, I got married at 22.
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I was 19 when I when I was employed by Verizon, well, it was Bell of Pennsylvania back then in 1986.
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So for 35 years, I pretty much did nothing.
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I just, you know, I I would think about it, but I had to go to work.
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You know, I had bills to pay, you know, I ended up married with three kids.
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There was no time for dreams.
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I had to get them up and ready to go.
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Right.
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The craziest thing is the day I decided to start writing again, I remember it like it was yesterday.
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I stopped by my mother's house.
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I was like, I think I want to write again.
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She's like, Oh, I was wondering why you didn't do it, such and such and such.
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She's like, Can you go to the store and pick up my medicine?
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So it was a prescription.
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So I sat in the parking lot for an hour and I started writing a book.
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I came home, my mom had passed away.
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The crazy that she passed away dead while I was at the store picking up her prescription, writing for the first time in 30 years, she passed away.
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Oh my gosh.
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Is that crazy?
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Yeah, I I came back and found her.
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She was gone.
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Oh my God.
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Oh, God bless her.
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God bless you, Jesus.
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The day I started writing again.
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Craziest thing ever.
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But, you know, I took it okay.
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She told me to start back up again.
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So from then on, I started writing again.
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You know, that's that's when I picked it back up.
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Like in 2004, I started writing again.
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So from 85 to 2004, I hadn't written anything.
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Right.
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And in 2004, I I picked up the pen and started once again.
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Did it did it come back to you?
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Had there been things, you know, floating around in your brain that you wanted to get done on paper?
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Or did did you start fresh?
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Well, no, it I've always had ideas.
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I just never put pen to pad.
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You know, over the years I've always, oh, I want to do this and I want to do that.
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I just never did it.
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But I had an idea floating in my mind, and I said, okay, let me write this.
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And I finally started writing it.
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Yeah.
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And and that that opened the door, that opened the floodgates.
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So after that, I've been writing ever since.
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Oh wow.
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What was the first piece you wrote when you came back?
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Was it a story?
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Was it a book?
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Was it screenplay?
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It was a book.
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It was a book.
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It was a book about a an NFL kicker.
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You know, in the NFL, the kicker is the one who gets the least amount of accolades.
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Right.
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You know?
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So I it was a it was a comedy about a kicker who had to navigate his way through the NFL.
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Oh wow.
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Oh, that must have been funny.
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Yeah.
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I don't know what I did with it.
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But you know, I was gonna say, did it get published?
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No.
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You know, I you wrote everything in notebooks back then.
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Right.
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Right.
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Didn't have a computer, so the notebook is floating around somewhere.
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I wish I could find it.
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You know, I I want to write it again and turn it into a movie.
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And it's it's on my list.
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But it my list is so long of stuff that I want to do.
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Well, now in 2004 you wrote that.
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So you wrote it as a book.
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When did you when did you leave Verizon and and start your your other businesses?
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Because you are so you're so ensconced in a couple different things.
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Well, during Verizon, I I did real estate.
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I stopped buying houses, I built a portfolio, and I was always uh uh I have ADD, so to speak.
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I need something to do.
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I always keep busy.
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So it's a superpower.
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Yeah, well Especially when you're an entrepreneur, it can be a superpower.
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Yeah, so you know, I used to, when I worked for Verizon, I would get up five o'clock in the morning, go to Home Depot, get all my supplies, take them over to the house, go to work at eight o'clock.
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At five o'clock, I would go straight over to the house and start working on the house until like midnight.
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And then the next day I would do it all over again.
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It was it w I had a system.
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But like I said, I had a family.
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That did not help the marriage.
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You know, we had plenty of money, but there was no togetherness.
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So we kind of we grew apart.
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I'm sorry.
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Yeah, well, you know, it's a superpower, but at the same time, it it's your kryptonite.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Good point.
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Good point.
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Yeah, but I I I've always had to keep it moving.
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You know, I used to build computers in my spare time and sell them.
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You know, I just it was a hobby that I picked up and I enjoyed it and back in the early 2000s, you know, I could build one real cheap and sell it and make a nice profit from it.
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Right.
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Yeah, right.
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So you've Yeah, you've always had I don't want to say a side hustle, but you've always had a side hustle.
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You've always had uh balls up in the air.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Well, I worked for Verizon for 38 years.
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I retired three years ago.
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Uh-huh.
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So, you know, well, I started the video production company in 2010.
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You know, I started well, you know, I was writing and writing and writing, and stuff was just sitting on the shelf.
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Because I transitioned from books.
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A book is hard to write.
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A book takes so long.
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Yeah.
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A movie's a whole lot easier.
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A script is way easier than writing a novel.
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So I started writing scripts, and I had five or six scripts just sitting, you know, living in Philadelphia, no connections.
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There was no way for me to get it to somebody to produce it.
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Right.
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I could only get my friends to read it.
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And I don't know any friends who know it.
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I'm not Tarantino, you know, quitting Tarantino gave it to a friend who gave it to a friend who gave it to somebody.
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Right.
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I don't have those friends, you know.
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Yeah.
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So I went to a seminar with Robert Townsend.
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And he he said, it was in New York.
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I wrote up, took a day, and he said, for writers such as myself who don't know anybody, you need to learn to shoot your own content.
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Never even considered it before.
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All I wanted to do was write.
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And he encouraged us, look, start shooting.
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So I went out and bought a camera for$150.
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And then he said, start small.
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You know, I wrote a little three-minute film.
00:15:56.559 --> 00:16:02.240
Matter of fact, my first film was I made it in black and white, and it had no sound because I didn't know how to do sound.
00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:05.360
So it was like a Charlie Chapman type thing.
00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:13.039
So I wrote that and uh I put it around the internet and people started enjoying it.
00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:14.639
Oh good.
00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:16.240
Did you uh was it YouTube?
00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:18.480
Uh yeah.
00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:19.440
Okay.
00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:20.879
Funny story.
00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:24.559
I took a class at Academy of the Arts in San Francisco.
00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:26.639
It was a film class that I took online.
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:30.399
And matter of fact, that was a project for the class.
00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.320
The teacher gave me a C in it.
00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:35.039
You know, I'm like, all right, this is such and such and such.
00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:43.120
A couple months later, you know, on the internet, and I see an advertisement for Academy of the Art San Francisco.
00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:51.840
And they were saying things you could learn at this school, and they were using my film to promote things that you can use at this film.
00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:53.279
Are you kidding me?
00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:54.320
I got a C.
00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:56.240
I got a C on a film.
00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:01.759
But now they're using it to promote things you can learn at Academy of the Art San Francisco.
00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:03.200
I was like, Wow.
00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:03.840
Okay.
00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:06.799
Yeah, so you know, you never know what's going on.
00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:09.200
There's some royalties due there, I think.
00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:14.000
Holy cow.
00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:32.400
So really you just rolled up your sleeves and went to it while you're still providing for your family, learning, learning in the direction you wanted to go in, and still doing real estate flips and building computers.
00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:33.680
Holy cow.
00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:35.519
Holy cow.
00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:37.200
So, you know.
00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:39.920
Yeah, it was it was my weekend hobby, I'll say.
00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:43.839
You know, every now and then I call a couple of my friends.
00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:46.240
Yo, I I want to shoot this film.
00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:48.640
You know, come hold the camera for me.
00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:50.000
Or come hold the mic.
00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:57.200
You know, first film I just had my my family in, and then I got a couple friends, and then my network started growing.
00:17:57.519 --> 00:18:02.240
People I know a guy I grew up with, me and him know each other forever.
00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:06.480
As I was learning to shoot films, I found out he's in acting class.
00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:08.640
So now he's my star.
00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.920
You know, he's been my star from early on.
00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:14.079
So anything I do, he's in it.
00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:16.960
He may not star in it, but he's in everything I do.
00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:19.519
Because he and I started together.
00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:24.400
Kind of like Adam Sandler.
00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:26.160
Yeah.
00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:29.119
He uses he uses all his buds.
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:30.960
All his buds.
00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:33.759
And they may not get starring roles, but they are there.
00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:36.480
That's ver that is very cool.
00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:45.279
So what was the first film you you actually produced, uh wrote and produced?
00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:47.599
Full feature?
00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:48.000
Yeah.
00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:49.200
Or or short.
00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:49.920
Full feature.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:51.279
Oh, Blissy and Mary.
00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:51.920
Okay.
00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:59.680
Since I was a you know, I was working full-time, I used to take classes here and there, you know, just to see if I can pick up stuff.
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:00.240
Yep.
00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:08.880
And I took a class at Wilmington University, and I had access to all this equipment that I've never even seen before.
00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:18.559
You know, they're teaching you how to use the camera, the mic, and I'm in class and I'm asking during class, I said, okay, we have access to all of this.
00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:20.000
We have a network.
00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:22.319
Do y'all actually make films here?
00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:24.880
And he was like, Well, it's film school.
00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.599
I'm like, yeah, but have y'all made a film?
00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:30.000
They were like, no.
00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.960
I'm like, okay, well, y'all are lucky that I'm here.
00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:36.240
You know, we're getting ready to make it.
00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:38.480
I decided that day we were making a film.
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:43.119
And I grabbed a couple students and I wrote, well, yeah, I finished right.
00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:44.799
I had something that I had started.
00:19:44.960 --> 00:19:46.960
I was like, okay, this is low budget.
00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:51.119
It doesn't need many locations, it doesn't need many people.
00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:53.920
And that's how I shot my first film.
00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:58.880
You know, I had no idea how to produce or anything, but I knew how to make shorts.
00:19:58.960 --> 00:19:59.599
I made shorts.
00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.559
So I I handled it like putting a bunch of little shorts together.
00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:06.559
And we made a full-featured film.
00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:08.559
Oh, that's fantastic.
00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.279
And is that blissfully unmarried?
00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:12.559
Yeah, yeah.
00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:18.720
And then he threw that a couple film festivals, and distributor and a film festival had saw him, saw it.
00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:22.720
He was in all he was like, yo, do you have your film distributed?
00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.839
I'm like, no, I'm pretty much just putting it in festivals.
00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:31.839
He he grabbed it and he threw me on Amazon early on.
00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:34.880
So it's it's really hard to get on Amazon now.
00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:39.359
But 10 years ago, yeah, and I was making money.
00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:43.599
I would like this hobby actually turned into something I can make money from.
00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:45.119
Oh, that's funny.
00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:49.839
And now you know, Ruby Street Productions, it's a full production house.
00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:54.480
It's not just your films, it's training videos, wedding videos.
00:20:54.559 --> 00:20:56.880
What what else does Ruby Street do?
00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:02.799
Well, pretty commercials, like you said, trading videos.
00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:06.480
We're trying to get this television show on the air.
00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:10.720
Hopefully by September we should be able to.
00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:13.599
It's a sports television network that we're trying to get on.
00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:15.680
So we're trying to produce a show for that.
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.160
But anything film related.
00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:19.599
You know, we do documentaries.
00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:21.359
We've done a couple of documentaries.
00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:27.759
You know, we'll shoot your film for you, we'll partner up with you to shoot your film, we'll shoot our stuff.
00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:28.960
We do it all.
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:29.680
Yeah.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:31.440
I I was on the website.
00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.640
I looked at uh a bunch of stuff that was up there.
00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:36.240
Phenomenal work.
00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:39.119
Like well shot, clean.
00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:43.920
When did Ruby Street Productions happen?
00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:54.640
You know, as you started to get a little bit of of success and and you got your short films not just in film festivals, but on Amazon.
00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:57.279
How did that kind of take off for you?
00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:05.359
Well As I started doing the shorts, you know, back in the day, you made no money from shorts.
00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.720
Shorts was pretty much just practice and entertaining.
00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.960
I wish I would have kept it up because people are making a lot of money from shorts right now.
00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:15.519
So, you know, we should have stayed in the short business.
00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:16.799
We were ahead of the game.
00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:18.960
We just didn't know we were ahead of the game.
00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:19.680
You know?
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.720
So once we did our shorts, we decided we wanted to try to make some money.
00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.000
So it's pretty much five of us with Ruby Tree Productions.
00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:29.920
So, you know, I founded it.
00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:35.519
And once again, one of my guys at Barraga, he was in film school.
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:36.880
Somebody I see every day.
00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:38.960
We talked in the Lunchroom.
00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:40.799
I had no idea he was in film school.
00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:42.400
He found out I was making films.
00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:44.559
He's like, yo, you might come on.
00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:46.960
And we collaborated, my buddy Mark.
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:51.599
And then him and I, we started Ruby Street Productions.
00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:56.880
And then from there, you know, people just kept jumping on, jumping on board.
00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:58.400
Yo, that's funny.
00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:02.720
So you worked with him and never even knew he was in acting class.
00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:03.839
Yeah.
00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:04.640
Yeah.
00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:05.119
Yeah.
00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:06.559
That, you know, it's funny.
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:09.839
That is the premise for the podcast.
00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:24.000
Is I worked with people and I used to have a pod partner, and we were both talking one day about, you know, you think you know somebody because you know them like in a friend context or a work context.
00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:29.279
And you really don't because you find out they're doing these amazing things in their spare time.
00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:37.200
And it happened to be a woman that I worked with in my day job in learning and development.
00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:42.720
She had a consultant, the learning and development consultant company, and we were one of her clients.
00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.119
And I didn't see her for the longest time.
00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:50.240
And I jokingly said to one of her coworkers, I was like, is she cheating on us with uh with another client?
00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:55.519
And she said, no, she took some time off to tour short film festivals through Europe.
00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:59.359
I'm like, I had no idea she was a short film buff.
00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:05.680
And the person said, Well, she isn't, but she wrote one and it got made and it got entered into all of these festivals.
00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:09.359
And I was like, I need to have a conversation with her about that.
00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:15.519
So it's amazing what people do, you know, outside of the context that you know them in.
00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:15.759
Yeah.
00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:18.720
So that is really cool that you found a collaborator.
00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:20.640
Yeah, yeah.
00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:22.400
That's so cool.
00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:34.480
So from there, where did, you know, once you founded Ruby Street Productions, I mean, I can't imagine that it's easy to get distributorship.
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:43.839
I can't imagine it's even easy to get funding to, you know, make a film, whether it's a short or it's a if it's a feature film.
00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:49.839
So how how did how did the financing piece come together for you?
00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:51.359
Okay.
00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:56.319
Well, with the Blissful You have Mary, we actually treated it like a bunch of little short films.
00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:58.240
It took us eight months to shoot.
00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:01.920
I think we only shot maybe 12 days, but that took eight months.
00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:07.680
You know, we get a couple dollars, we shoot this weekend, and then we may not shoot again for another six weeks.
00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:08.640
And then we may have to do that.
00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:08.880
Right.
00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:10.319
So you guys were funding it.
00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:12.240
Yes.
00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:15.200
Yeah, we had to fund that all on our own.
00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:18.000
So, you know, it w it was real low budget.
00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:22.799
You know, it may have taken us$15,000,$16,000 to make that film.
00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:25.680
But distribution just fell on our lacks.
00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:27.680
You know, somebody at the film festival.
00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:36.000
Yeah, he once he got us on Amazon, then he called me and was like, yo, I think I can sell this to Africa.
00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:37.519
Do you want this in Africa?
00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:38.960
I was like, okay.
00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:43.759
I think in Africa it was called Shuka for Love, and then he sold it to Germany.
00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:50.880
So he ended up being like an international distributor and trying to go places that I've never been.
00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:57.440
So that the film, Blissfully Unmarried, that's a$15,000 film, has been all over the world.
00:25:57.839 --> 00:25:58.400
Wow.
00:25:58.640 --> 00:25:59.599
So, you know.
00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:02.079
Refutation is a thing.
00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:02.720
Yeah.
00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:11.039
You know, once you you get one made, and then people see that you you're not just wasting their time and money.
00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:13.920
That's how Bedridden was funded.
00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:20.319
We we had a couple of hours, and then it's the stranger thing.
00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:28.799
People heard that we were looking for investors, and I was literally getting calls of people offering me money.
00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:31.279
Wow.
00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:32.319
Yeah.
00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:37.359
And was that based on the success of Blissfully Married?
00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:39.519
Well, just us.
00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:42.000
They they've seen us hustle, they've seen us work.
00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:42.319
Yeah.
00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:48.160
You know, we've been the shows we've been doing, you know, we've we've we've shot and everything.
00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:53.359
Just on reputation, people believed that they were not gonna waste their money.
00:26:53.519 --> 00:27:01.920
You know, you meet a lot of people over the years, and people they remember perceived you're about business.
00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:09.519
Yeah, they were more than willing to to open up their wallets and be like, here, you know you need some money.
00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:17.359
Which is I had somebody who I didn't even tell that I was looking for money, and they called me and like, yo, I heard you're doing a film, like such and such and such.
00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:19.039
You got all the money you need?
00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:20.000
I'm like, no.
00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:21.680
He's like, all right, well, how much you need?
00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:23.680
Like, well, how much you gonna give me?
00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:28.559
I wanna like, well, I can give you 10 grand.
00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:33.920
Man, he's like, All right, I'll give you 10 grand, but I want to be an executive producer.
00:27:34.480 --> 00:27:36.240
Man, you ain't saying nothing but a thing.
00:27:36.319 --> 00:27:39.359
You are now an executive producer on bedridden.
00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:40.000
Wow.
00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:46.720
But even then when the film first opens up, his name is in there because hey, he wanted to be there for 10 grand.
00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.000
By all means.
00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:48.799
Yeah.
00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:51.039
That's fantastic.
00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:51.920
Wow.
00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:57.279
So, and I I actually got to see Bedrid and I and we talked a little bit off mic.
00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:58.559
I laughed.
00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:01.599
Tell me where that story came from.
00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:03.119
Did you write it?
00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:09.599
Yes, me and one of my, once again, guy I grew up with, my buddy Magic.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:13.759
He and I grew up maybe three blocks away from each other.
00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:16.880
His brother and I played on the same baseball team.
00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:19.759
So I've known him since I was 12, 13 years old.
00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:23.920
But you know how you know friends and you see them every now and then, you lose touch.
00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:24.319
Yeah.
00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:29.680
I entered one of my shorts into a film festival, and he was at the film festival.
00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:31.440
He entered one of his shorts.
00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:33.359
So I'm like, yo, what you doing here?
00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:34.799
Like, oh man, I'm doing films.
00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:36.079
I'm like, ah, you lying.
00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:38.319
All right, dude, we're working together.
00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:40.640
So, you know, we already had a relationship.
00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:48.960
We start working together, and I was like, I started this film bedridden, and I was stuck after like page 20.
00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:50.640
He's like, let me look at it.
00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:54.160
I gave it to him, but he gave it back with like another 20 pages.
00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:57.039
And then I did 20 pages, and I gave it back to him.
00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:59.440
And we just went back and forth with it.
00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:04.559
And, you know, that's the first time I actually writ wrote something with a partner.
00:29:05.359 --> 00:29:08.960
So, you know, his writing style is completely different than mine.
00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:14.160
So it just meshed together, you know, his style and my style.
00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:17.839
Did did you guys ever have any creative conflicts?
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:25.519
Because I know when when two creatives get together, if there are two different ways of doing things, sometimes there's a clash.
00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:27.359
Did you experience that?
00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:29.519
Oh, yeah, yeah, we clashed.
00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:35.279
But he did understand.
00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:37.119
I started this without him.
00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:39.359
So he let me be the captain.
00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:43.279
So, you know, he my word was the last word.
00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:47.759
So, you know, that's that's how we got over that hurdle.
00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:50.160
So I was directing it.
00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:56.480
He was like, look, man, you know, he he came to ease with it, but we had some arguments.
00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:58.319
You're like, man, I need this in the film.
00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:00.240
I'm like, I don't think it's gonna work.
00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:03.759
So you know, but we've been friends for 30 years.
00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:09.759
So it was nothing, yeah, nothing major, but you know, we did have some discussions.
00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:15.680
Well, I know when I had my pod partner on this, we approached things differently.
00:30:15.759 --> 00:30:17.039
And it was the same thing.
00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:22.559
It was never, you know, a a a hurtful disagreement.
00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:27.599
It was always in service of the podcast and and and the listeners and the guests.
00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:34.799
But yeah, we had we had a couple heated exchanges when we didn't think or when we didn't agree.
00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:36.960
And that's that's just I think part of the game.
00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:40.319
Sometimes you're just better afterwards.
00:30:40.880 --> 00:30:41.200
Yeah.
00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:43.920
Well, you know, I I respected him as a writer.
00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:46.079
I was like, look, I respect your idea, man.
00:30:46.240 --> 00:30:50.480
I love some of your ideas, but you know, I don't know everything.
00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:52.960
It's just like you're not gonna love all of mine.
00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:54.400
So, yeah.
00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:57.839
It's it's gotta be a mutual respect.
00:30:58.079 --> 00:30:58.240
Yeah.
00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:00.640
But we work good.
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:04.240
So the story of Bedridden.
00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:09.200
Walk walk listeners through it.
00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:13.200
I mean, I know what the story is because I've watched it and I've laughed.
00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:16.160
But uh but give us a synopsis.
00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:21.200
Okay, a well-to-do family is completely dysfunctional.
00:31:21.519 --> 00:31:30.880
So the head of the family, who's Earthquake, he's the head of the comedian Earthquake, he is the head of the family and he gets into a car accident.
00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:33.119
Now, now he's in a coma.
00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:37.440
So while he's in a coma, he can hear everything that's going on around him.
00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:40.400
He has this consciousness, he just can't talk or move.
00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:49.440
So he finds out why the family's so dysfunctional, and he learns he's pretty much the reason the whole family is so dysfunctional.
00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:50.720
It's all his fault.
00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:56.400
So he learns why he's in the coma, how and why everybody's why they are.
00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:02.720
Yeah, I there are some really funny parts in it.
00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:08.720
I laughed like hell, but it it it's a gr I thought it was a great story, and I love the ending.
00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:14.880
It wasn't a cheesy ending, it was a really realistic ending to that whole story.
00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:21.519
Did that come from something personal in your life, or did that come from your imagination?
00:32:24.640 --> 00:32:32.799
Well, the ending was actually my writing partner, and I think it was personal for him because it was actually longer, and I had to cut part of it out.
00:32:33.119 --> 00:32:36.559
He was not happy that it was cut out because it was personal to him.
00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:40.480
I'm like, look, you know, it we can't have a three-hour movie.
00:32:40.640 --> 00:32:42.799
So, you know, some stuff has to go.
00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:52.640
So the ending was it was personal to him, and you know, he felt it, and you can feel it in his writing, but you know, like uh it's only 90 minutes.
00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:57.359
You know, we can't have a 30-minute ending in a 90-minute movie.
00:32:57.599 --> 00:32:57.920
Right.
00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:01.279
So yeah, it was it was personal for us.
00:33:01.759 --> 00:33:04.240
Sha, how how has Bedridden done for you?
00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:06.480
I know I was able to watch it on Amazon.
00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:09.599
Has it been distributed anywhere else?
00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:14.319
Uh it's on Amazon and it's on Apple TV right now.
00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:18.799
So we actually just begun national marketing.
00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:21.920
Yeah, we have only done local marketing.
00:33:22.160 --> 00:33:29.440
We last month we had our premiere in the DC area, Baltimore, you know, Potomac area.
00:33:29.680 --> 00:33:35.200
So we pretty much just marketed right there to see, give a feel of how we're doing it.
00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:37.200
It did pretty well in that area.
00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:42.000
So we are about to do the national marketing campaign.
00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:44.079
Oh, that's awesome.
00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:47.920
Now, how what what's the national marketing campaign include?
00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:51.279
Well, uh I don't know.
00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:52.720
We pay somebody to do it.
00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:59.759
So you know, marketing is not my thing.
00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:04.000
So, you know, they said don't be the smartest one in the room.
00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:08.320
So, you know, I decide we just pay somebody.
00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:08.880
Yeah.
00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:09.280
Yeah.
00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:11.760
We pay somebody who this is what they do.
00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:15.360
You know, I I know how to make a movie, but I don't know how to market a movie.
00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:17.760
You know, I do have investors that I need to pay back.
00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:22.639
So you know, we hire people to do what they do.
00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:28.960
When um will it be in movie?
00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:31.199
Do you expect it to be in movie theaters?
00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:35.920
No, no, it's just it's just pretty much gonna be online.
00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:38.719
We just had to premiere in a theater.
00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:43.199
But one of somebody wanted to buy it and put it in theaters.
00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:45.360
But we're doing self-distribution.
00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:48.800
They they didn't want to give us much money.
00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:56.960
They was like, man, I think this can make a lot of money, but we're gonna give you a couple dollars now, wink wink, and then we'll give you the rest later.
00:34:57.280 --> 00:34:57.840
Couple dollars.
00:34:59.039 --> 00:34:59.679
You know.
00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:05.679
Yeah, so uh everybody has their own accounting system.
00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:12.719
So, you know, to make two million, and the paperwork only says it made 150,000.
00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:14.719
So we were leery.
00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:18.000
So we decided to do self-distribution.
00:35:18.239 --> 00:35:20.960
So that's how we got on Amazon and Apple TV.
00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:24.239
We just went to an aggregator and got it on there ourselves.
00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:26.559
How hard is self-distribution?
00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:28.400
Are there challenges there?
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:32.239
Oh my goodness, yes, there is.
00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:36.639
I thought making a movie was gonna be the hardest part of this.
00:35:36.719 --> 00:35:46.320
You know, getting financing for the movie, getting it done, I thought that distribution has been by far the hardest part of the process.
00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:50.400
So pursuing the distribution and because we we tried to sell it first.
00:35:50.480 --> 00:35:55.360
We were like, okay, let's sell it, make our money back, and make another movie.
00:35:55.599 --> 00:35:58.079
But it's it just didn't work out that way.
00:35:58.239 --> 00:36:15.599
People wanted it, but it was always, okay, I'll give you a seven-year deal, but I'm only giving you this much up front, which doesn't cover nowhere near, you know, and then two years, it may take us four years to make our money back with some of the deals that they wanted to give us.
00:36:16.239 --> 00:36:21.599
So with self-distribution, you know, if it does well, you get the money now.
00:36:21.840 --> 00:36:24.159
But you have to take a chance on yourself.
00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:25.840
That's that's the hard part.
00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:26.239
Right.
00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:32.480
I've had some sleepless nights, but so far, I I think we'll do okay.
00:36:32.719 --> 00:36:34.639
I think we will be fine.
00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:39.679
Yeah.
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:48.559
What what were some of the challenges that you faced that made distribution kind of the hardest part of getting bedridden out there?
00:36:51.039 --> 00:36:52.079
Well, okay.
00:36:52.320 --> 00:36:56.800
You you don't wanna you you have trust issues.
00:36:56.960 --> 00:37:03.199
You know, you gotta give it to people that you don't know and hopefully they're gonna do the right thing.
00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:10.880
You know, you end up finding your thing on 52nd Street on a stand before anybody else sees it.
00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:15.760
So just getting it to the right person that you could trust.
00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:20.480
Now Netflix was interested.
00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:30.320
And the person we got it to, they held it for a long time before they even looked at it.
00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:38.159
And then once again, it was it wasn't a deal that we were comfortable with, but you know, it took a long time to find out.
00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:48.480
So for six or seven months, we just sat and waited when our hands are in our pockets until just to get an answer that we didn't like.
00:37:48.719 --> 00:37:54.719
And then, you know, we took that and we went somewhere else, and we had to wait three or four months.
00:37:54.800 --> 00:37:58.000
You know, you're in line for them to even watch your movie.
00:37:58.400 --> 00:37:59.599
So unless you know somebody.
00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:00.000
Right.
00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:07.840
And then, you know, you you wait three or four months, you get the answer, they give you a deal, or they don't give you a deal.
00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:12.719
But either way, if they give you a deal you don't like, then you have to start that process all over again.
00:38:13.039 --> 00:38:13.920
Start all over again.
00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:25.840
Yeah, just that process alone was a long going from distributor to distributor, trying to find something that we felt was in our best interest.
00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:30.159
And that's what we finally decided, let's just do it ourselves.
00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:32.000
Wow.
00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:33.119
Wow.
00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:37.360
Well, that I mean, that's good that you're you're moving forward.
00:38:37.519 --> 00:38:43.519
You've got the you did the local and it did well locally, and now you're focused on the national.
00:38:43.760 --> 00:38:46.000
So I'm excited to see where it goes.
00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:49.599
How how has the distribution on Amazon been for you?
00:38:49.760 --> 00:38:52.960
Are you are are people seeing it and watching it?
00:38:53.360 --> 00:39:02.239
Yeah, but since we only did local marketing, we're we're getting good reviews, people who've seen it.
00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:08.800
So people around Washington, D.C., uh they're the only ones who know this it's out, you know?
00:39:09.039 --> 00:39:16.000
So that's why we have to get the national person to let everybody know that it's out.
00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:16.639
Yeah.
00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:17.280
Yeah.
00:39:17.599 --> 00:39:21.519
Well, and we'll get the word out through the little podcast right now.
00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:26.000
Yeah.
00:39:27.360 --> 00:39:31.199
How where where do you see yourself going from here?
00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:41.840
I mean, what, you know, once you get bedridden up and off the ground and you get through the national campaign and you get your investors paid back, what's the next project for you?
00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:46.000
We have two that we're looking into.
00:39:46.480 --> 00:39:52.960
We have another, we another comedy, but it's a bigger budget comedy.
00:39:53.199 --> 00:39:55.360
So this really has to do well.
00:39:55.519 --> 00:40:00.480
We have somebody, a couple people who are interested, but everybody wants to see what this does.
00:40:00.719 --> 00:40:10.639
So, you know, we we're trying to go bigger, like between blissfully and married and bedridden was miles apart.
00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:14.000
You know, blissfully unmarried, it was just me and my whole team.
00:40:14.079 --> 00:40:16.480
We made a film, we got lucky distribution.
00:40:16.639 --> 00:40:18.800
But with Bedridden, we went sag.
00:40:19.360 --> 00:40:22.239
We had to get sag actors, sag contracts.
00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:23.920
Have you ever dealt with sag?
00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:26.239
It's it's overwhelming.
00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:31.840
So we actually had to hire a producer who knew more than us.
00:40:32.000 --> 00:40:34.559
Once again, don't be the smartest one in the room.
00:40:34.960 --> 00:40:35.840
So we hired.
00:40:36.159 --> 00:40:39.760
Jossie Vance worked on a TV show while and out.
00:40:40.800 --> 00:40:43.440
So she helped get us to the next level.
00:40:43.599 --> 00:40:44.639
She had connections.
00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:47.760
Well, she's the one who got us Earthquake and Donald Rollins.
00:40:48.239 --> 00:40:48.559
You know.
00:40:48.880 --> 00:40:50.000
Oh, wow.
00:40:50.239 --> 00:40:50.559
Yeah.
00:40:51.199 --> 00:40:54.400
Well, we hired a casting agent first, BMG Casting.
00:40:54.559 --> 00:40:59.920
And she actually told us, look, I had this producer who's looking for her next project.
00:41:00.079 --> 00:41:01.280
And we met with her.
00:41:01.519 --> 00:41:02.239
We liked her.
00:41:02.400 --> 00:41:03.360
She liked us.
00:41:03.599 --> 00:41:04.800
She liked the script.
00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:06.320
She said, let's do this.
00:41:06.480 --> 00:41:09.119
And she helped us navigate through SAG.
00:41:09.360 --> 00:41:12.639
Because, you know, we still be lost in the ocean trying to deal with SAG.
00:41:12.960 --> 00:41:18.320
That is that is something that beginners do not do yourself.
00:41:18.639 --> 00:41:20.239
You need somebody experienced.
00:41:20.400 --> 00:41:23.119
And she helped us navigate that mountain.
00:41:24.719 --> 00:41:25.199
Wow.
00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:28.400
So I I and it's funny, I didn't realize that.
00:41:28.559 --> 00:41:32.079
I didn't realize they were sag actors.
00:41:33.519 --> 00:41:34.159
Oh, yeah.
00:41:34.320 --> 00:41:38.239
Yeah, well, Donnell Rollins has been wanted Dave Chapel Show.
00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:39.679
Have you seen Dave Chapel show?
00:41:41.440 --> 00:41:41.840
Yes.
00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:42.239
Yeah.
00:41:42.480 --> 00:41:42.639
Yeah.
00:41:42.800 --> 00:41:44.480
No, I I knew he was.
00:41:44.639 --> 00:41:50.159
And I and I've seen Earthquake, but I didn't, I guess I just didn't put two and two together and think they were sag.
00:41:50.559 --> 00:42:01.519
I just thought it was, oh, maybe they knew each other, or you know, it was kind of a grassroots independent film as opposed to, you know, Hughes and Sad actors.
00:42:01.840 --> 00:42:02.159
That's amazing.
00:42:02.800 --> 00:42:04.000
We're together before.
00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:04.639
But yeah.
00:42:04.800 --> 00:42:07.840
Yeah, Earthquake throwing up the neighborhood.
00:42:07.920 --> 00:42:09.280
I think it's on TBS.
00:42:09.599 --> 00:42:09.920
Yeah.
00:42:10.079 --> 00:42:10.320
Yeah.
00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:11.280
So yeah.
00:42:11.599 --> 00:42:15.679
Once you're SAG, you can't just do anything.
00:42:15.920 --> 00:42:18.880
You know, a sag actor can't just do any film.
00:42:19.360 --> 00:42:22.079
It's all these, all this red tape that's got to be done.
00:42:22.719 --> 00:42:23.360
Yeah, gotcha.
00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:26.800
I had to make it a sag film to get sag actors.
00:42:27.039 --> 00:42:29.920
So most of the actors in there were sag actors.
00:42:31.039 --> 00:42:33.119
Yeah, the cast was fantastic.
00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:40.639
Well, yeah, well, the between the casting agent and my producer, they helped us get to the next level.
00:42:40.800 --> 00:42:46.559
Because, you know, Glissely and Mary, it was pretty much, you know, Uncle Bob and my buddy Ray Ray.
00:42:48.239 --> 00:42:49.920
That's what Gliesley and Mary was.
00:42:50.079 --> 00:42:52.079
So, but we we knew how to make a movie.
00:42:52.239 --> 00:42:55.280
We just didn't know how to make this type of movie.
00:42:55.679 --> 00:42:55.920
Right.
00:42:56.639 --> 00:43:00.320
Oh, so exciting for the next for the next step.
00:43:02.079 --> 00:43:09.440
So you said the the next project is another comedy and it's a bigger budget.
00:43:09.760 --> 00:43:10.400
Yeah.
00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:14.639
Yeah, it's a lot bigger budget, and we're going for bigger names.
00:43:14.960 --> 00:43:28.239
And it's the next one's actually two employee and an employer who don't like each other get stuck together on a deserted island.
00:43:28.880 --> 00:43:32.239
Matter of fact, it was one that was just out, it was a drama.
00:43:33.760 --> 00:43:34.639
I can't remember.
00:43:34.800 --> 00:43:38.000
And some, it was just out a couple months ago.
00:43:38.239 --> 00:43:41.519
But this is a comedy with the two of them stuck together on a deserted island.
00:43:41.920 --> 00:43:42.559
That's funny.
00:43:42.880 --> 00:43:44.480
Oh, I'm excited.
00:43:44.719 --> 00:43:48.960
So, how long does it take for something like that to get put together?
00:43:51.199 --> 00:43:59.760
Well, if you have the right people, once we hired the producer, I think it may have taken us three or four months.
00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:02.719
months to get started shooting.
00:44:03.440 --> 00:44:11.599
So this may take a little bit longer, so you know, we probably have to find an island first of all that we can shoot at.
00:44:11.840 --> 00:44:17.360
But you know, just all the particulars, you know, probably a lot more involved.
00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:18.159
Yeah.
00:44:18.480 --> 00:44:23.199
But I'm hoping to get it started by the end of the year.
00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:24.719
Oh, that's awesome.
00:44:25.039 --> 00:44:26.960
Or if not, in the spring.
00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:28.079
That's awesome.
00:44:28.320 --> 00:44:31.519
So yeah, that's a it's a it's a lot of moving pieces on that.
00:44:31.760 --> 00:44:32.000
Yeah.
00:44:32.079 --> 00:44:32.719
Oh, I bet.
00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:43.039
I can't even imagine from location to casting to budget and uh I it I it would be mind-boggling to me.
00:44:43.199 --> 00:44:47.360
And and I'm probably just scratching the surface of what's needed.
00:44:53.599 --> 00:44:54.719
They gave me that bill.
00:44:54.880 --> 00:44:56.079
I was like oh what?
00:44:58.960 --> 00:45:00.000
For bagels?
00:45:00.719 --> 00:45:06.320
Yeah I know crazy stuff.
00:45:06.639 --> 00:45:14.719
So Derek moving forward where do you see Ruby Street Productions going?
00:45:16.159 --> 00:45:28.880
Well every project we try to do push the envelope just a little bit more, get a little bit better, try, you know take a little bit more Alcassus at night for the for the ulcer.
00:45:29.440 --> 00:45:36.400
So we push ourselves hard but at the end of the day we always sit back and we're like ooh we're glad we did it.
00:45:36.559 --> 00:45:38.320
But during oh my goodness.
00:45:38.480 --> 00:45:39.119
Oh my goodness.
00:45:39.280 --> 00:45:39.519
Yeah.
00:45:39.679 --> 00:45:39.920
Yeah.
00:45:40.159 --> 00:45:41.760
I'm surprised we're all still friends.
00:45:41.920 --> 00:46:00.960
But we are well I mean you don't grow when you're comfortable so it's good to get uncomfortable and if you can look back and see the first film was this the second film was that the third film is going to be this then you know sorry all the El Caselsa was worth it.
00:46:02.159 --> 00:46:20.719
Yeah yeah all that is so fantastic for you where can folks find you online you can find me anywhere Derek dotshaw Instagram Facebook TikTok you can find me at bedriddenovie.com you can catch me there.
00:46:21.519 --> 00:46:23.440
I'm all over social media right now.
00:46:23.599 --> 00:46:50.000
So yeah just Derek.shaw you google it I'll pop up somewhere I'm all over the place I definitely will and I'll make sure all those links are in the show notes so folks can go watch some of your films or take a look at what Ruby Street Productions offers and you know get to know you and and sit patiently and wait for the next project to come out.
00:46:50.159 --> 00:46:54.960
I'm gonna have to go back and watch Blissfully married I I didn't get a chance to see that one.
00:46:55.199 --> 00:46:57.360
And then you had a web series.
00:46:57.840 --> 00:47:07.840
Yeah the man code yeah the man code yeah we won a couple of awards with that one we're trying well right now vertical drama is the big thing.
00:47:08.159 --> 00:48:03.599
Yeah so we're getting ready to bring back the man code and see if we can do that a vertical drama at the same time we're trying to get a uh a television show on the on on a network on a you know regular a regular network oh not the sports one well yeah the sports one we're trying to get it on the regular network oh oh oh yeah um so one question uh again come the rain oh again comes the rain yeah okay that was with Carl Payne from Martin Bill Cosby that fell apart we shot a promo for that and we were going to get it done his schedule got tied up our schedule got tied up you know he was actually supposed to be in bedrid.
00:48:04.159 --> 00:48:09.039
You know once we couldn't get funded for Then Comes the Rain because it's a period.
00:48:09.679 --> 00:48:12.719
And it goes back into the 70s and that costs a lot more money.
00:48:12.880 --> 00:48:17.519
Once you need the old cards and the old clothes that gets a little pricey.
00:48:18.000 --> 00:48:27.119
So yeah then we put that on a back burner and he was going to do bedridden but he started another project and then he couldn't get off of it.
00:48:27.360 --> 00:48:32.400
So you know we we had to move on we couldn't wait for him to finish his project.
00:48:32.639 --> 00:48:37.599
So that's it Yeah the sizzle reel was awesome I was like where can I watch this?
00:48:38.960 --> 00:48:43.119
That was that was my pride and joy.
00:48:43.280 --> 00:48:48.000
I love that script yeah that's one of my favorite scripts that I've written and I couldn't wait to shoot it.
00:48:48.239 --> 00:49:14.079
But yeah the the financing on that we couldn't get green lit not yet but it's not over with yeah oh I hope I hope you do because the sizzle rail was awesome yeah Carl's a fantastic actor you know he's actually Shakespeare trained people don't know that because he's usually in comedies and he does funny stuff but he's he's he does he can do Shakespeare.
00:49:14.239 --> 00:49:17.840
He's actually uh his range is incredible.
00:49:18.239 --> 00:49:19.280
Oh that's awesome.
00:49:19.440 --> 00:49:23.519
Oh I hope I hope the planets aligned so that you two can work together.
00:49:23.840 --> 00:49:26.639
Yeah so do I so do I and that one gets made.
00:49:26.960 --> 00:49:43.119
Well Derek thank you so much for all of your time I have loved hearing about your journey in filmmaking and really kind of the the nuts and bolts of rolling up your sleeves, doing what you have to do in order to be able to do what you want to do.
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And I wish you continued success.
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And you too I hope this podcast gets you everywhere you need to go well thanks from your your lips to God's ears thanks so much.
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All right thank you for having me I learned an awful lot about drive resourcefulness and building a reliable network from chatting with Derek.
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He could teach a masterclass on juggling and how to make your dreams a reality the things that stood out to me the most about my conversation with Derek is how he continually sought to learn from taking that class in San Francisco where they bootlegged his video project that only got him a C to all the time he took to learn from others in the business curiosity has always led him higher in his pursuits.
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If you'd like to see more of Derek's work and stay up to date on his future projects jump down to the show notes for his links and I really recommend checking out Bedridden.
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It's a very funny dark comedy and I really enjoyed it.
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While you're in the show notes don't forget to connect with me.
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All my socials are linked there as well.
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As always thank you for listening and supporting and don't forget tell a friend about the podcast word of mouth is the most popular way folks find new podcasts to listen to again thank you for your support and I'll see you in two weeks