For those following our persistent facebook updates, you’ll know it’s been quite a week over here at SHOTGUN! HQ. From our FB membership explosion, to trying to organize all the logistics of this LIVE SCRIPT READ (this coming Sunday October 17th…) & also hearing of murmurings coming in from international waters… SHOTGUN! is really starting to pick up some pace!

First off I’d like to congratulate our followers, our SHOTGUNIES for their help in helping us to get to a momentous day – the day we get to join the Facebook 444 club, as we reach & surpass 444 members. We’re all working tirelessly around the clock to get this thing rick-rolling & I personally want to thank all those ambassadors I’ve asked to help spread the word…. AND KEEP ON GOING! I promised Nick that if we got to 1000 members by Sunday that I’d wax the tiny strip of hair I have on my chest… Maybe you’ll even get to see it?

If you are keeping posted on facebook, you will no doubt have heard that we’ve been in touch with LA, getting great feedback from some people over there in high places. Also that we received an email back from a very distinguished film editor in the UK, a note which I’d like to make a little bit more of, if you’ll humor me for a few moments of your life… Who are we kidding? If you don’t care for my babble, just go & invite all your FB friends to join our group, watch our live read & then be off with you!

Where were we? Oh right, the editor from the UK. So this guy is no slouch, that I can promise you. He has edited, most recently, 127 Hours & Kick-Ass, and most notably (in this writer’s humble opinion) Snatch & Layer Cake. Thanks to a little encouragement from one of our positive thinking & tenacious producers, Chris, I endeavored to get in contact with editors from films that I loved, to try & tie someone down to SHOTGUN!. Now, as you could imagine, when I sent an email to this guys agent, I never even thought for a second that I would hear a reply. If there’s one GREAT thing I learned from my time at 16th Street Actors Studio, it’s once you do something (in that case, an Audition, and in this case email someone you have a lot of respect for), you put it out of mind & just let it unfold as it will. Leave it in the lap of the Gods. Well, little more than 24 hours later, I received a reply from this gentleman, thanking me for my email & offering to help out however he could, given that he’s in the UK & offering to read the script… I have sub sequentially emailed a whole slew of people at the top of their game, including the likes of Peter Jackson, John Williams (the composer), Steven Spielberg, Guy Ritchie… The list goes one! And of course, when I say emailed them, I mean their agents. This little exercise has proved something that I always knew, but often struggled to put into practice – the power of putting yourself out there. In reality, I had absolutely nothing to lose, but then there was the idea of rejection… of not hearing back – or worse yet, being abused. But put this idea (which is actually just an issue of ego) to one side & you can conquer the world. So, if you’ve got a great idea, a great video, want to promote yourself, get some advice from someone at the top of your industry, my best advice would be, in the same vein as Nike… Just do it!!

“But Al, I have no idea how to get their email address… and what would I say if I was writing an email?” I hear you asking. Well PISH POSH I say. That’s right, PISH… POSH. Where there is a will, there is a way. Google is a fantastic tool, facebook can connect you to just about anyone if you are clever with your searching, and, if you’re like me, and your industry is the film one, go and get yourself an IMDb Pro account, where you can access the agents & production companies of just about anyone in the industry around the world. I’m sure there are equivalent databases for most industries. So dare to be rejected, as I will continue to do throughout this journey & beyond!

But enough about me. How are you?

AL.

PS. See you on Sunday @ 6pm…. DON’T FORGET!!
http://live.latenitefilms.com
Click HERE to RSVP on Facebook