| Friend,
It's Veteran's Day here in the U.S., and Remembrance Day in Canada. So, to all who served, thank you for your service.
Now, I know that normally I send you interesting, funny, or crazy video clips on Fridays. But today, I thought I'd do something different...
See, about two years ago we moved to a new area, and one of the first people I met after we moved was a guy named Edwin.
I kept bumping into Edwin for some reason, and eventually discovered we're both martial artists.
Well, pretty soon Edwin starts telling me that he's a filmmaker. And pretty soon I start to understand that he's serious about it.
The thing about Edwin is, when he started out he didn't know the first thing about film-making. All he knew was, he had a story to tell and he wanted to get it on film.
So, at first he decided to write a film script. Not for a short, but for a feature-length film.
And people told him, "Oh, you'll never get a workable film script written -- it's too hard."
But Edwin did it anyway.
Then, he wanted to get his script turned into a feature-length film. So, he started talking to to people in the industry, and getting a lot of doors slammed in his face.
That's when he decided to produce and direct it on his own.
Of course, people said he'd never be able to produce and direct his own film. "You'll never get that film made, Edwin!" they said.
But, Edwin didn't listen. Instead, he went out and got investors to back his production, to the tune of several hundred-thousand dollars.
He hired film crews and actors, and got people to volunteer. He hustled.
And before you know it, he'd completed his feature-length film.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Oh, now you have to get distribution. But, you'll never get distribution for your movie... do you know how hard that is? There are tons of movies that never get a distributor. Just give up."
But Edwin wasn't about to give up. And as it turns out, he recently secured overseas distribution for his movie, and now it's available everywhere.
Talk about the power of persistence.
So, I'd like to encourage you to check out Edwin's film this weekend. He wrote, starred, directed, and produced this film, and it's actually a pretty entertaining flick... especially when you remember he started out knowing nothing about the film industry.
It's also a family film with a great message, and it has some killer fight scenes, too. You can watch "Shilo" on Amazon now (and for free if you're a Prime member).
Until next time,
Mike Massie MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com
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P.S. - *Edwin explained to me recently that he tries to shoot all his fight scenes in one take. "Too expensive to shoot them like they do in Hollywood now. Besides, it looks better the way I do it." I think you'll agree when you check his movie out. The fight scenes are pretty cool.
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