Random thoughts, comments & rants from Larry N. Sapp II
Breaking Hollywood Stereotypes

Welcome Jose Rafael Fayette

 

Hello everyone! As I mentioned in my last entry here on the blog, there has been a lot happening in the past month or so, and I am so excited to tell you that one of those is that I now have a fantastic business partner and is the new co-founder of the business as a California Limited Liability Company of Abilities United Productions, LLC. Please welcome, Jose Rafael Fayette! We met through a mutual friend, Rob Romani an actor and performer with a disability (PWD), the second to the last week I was in the hospital. We talked through emails and phone and had the undeniable force to meet in person as soon as possible.

 

Our first meeting lasted over 2 hours and felt like only a few minutes! We have a lot in common and some things that compliment each other in the business of Abilities United. First let me tell you that he is also a spinal cord injured survivor. His happened in 1977 as a 16 year old surfing the beaches of San Pedro, CA. Amazingly, even miraculously, a young 12 year old surfer, David Cole, came to his rescue as he lay helpless in the water. It left him as a quadriplegic. You can read more of this fateful experience on Jose’s bio page on the website which will be up soon. But just like my self, Jose didn’t allow this traumatic event stop him from living life to the fullest!  

 

In the years that followed, Jose has been actively engaged in things that were passionate for him and included the studying the areas of theology and philosophy, (such as St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica and Aristotle’s Ethics, etc.), which in turn uncovered a deeper interest in social sciences and the performing arts. And to expand on his diverse interests he also worked at and earned a degree from the Blackstone School of Law. As a lawyer Jose has worked diligently on compliance issues of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and consulting services to many including A-list actors and independent film festivals.

 

With experience in his company, International Funding Solutions, Jose, has engaged in providing various financial services by and through its relationships with banks, savings and loans, finance companies, private investors and/or financial institutions, including private placements, and debt equity financing for independent film projects.  He has also been active with owning and managing the movie production company, Palomino Entertainment which produced, the “Art of Boxing” with Welterweight Boxing Champion, Boxing Hall of Famer, and actor, Carlos Palomino. And as if that isn’t enough he followed a deep passion for acting and has just recently, in February 2009, graduated the Sandy Meisner Acting at Barron Brown Studios. 

 

This has all culminated into years of helpful hands-on experience with Hollywood industry executives much related to financing and creating viable solutions to a variety of funding problems for projects over $10 million. Jose has formulated approaches to solve complex situations and with his close relationships with attorneys, bankers, accountants, and entrepreneurs have strengthened his interpersonal skills and the art of business.

 

All of this has given Jose the type of experience that along with his passion for working in the industry and desire for equal access to break down the Hollywood stereotypes and end the industry wide discrimination of those with a disAbility, will vastly assist Abilities United Productions’ reaching the mission of providing an authentic voice, vision and representation of those with a disAbility in the motion picture and television industry.

 

There is a lot more I can say about Jose but for now, let me stick with I am so glad we have met as he has quickly become a dear friend and is an excellent partner at Abilities United Productions, LLC.

 

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 3/31/2009 6:00 PM | Add Comment

Personal Update

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to update you in that I have finally been discharged from the hospital! Yeah! After 9 months I am so glad to be out! Never though a pressure sore would keep me out of commission for so long! All is well now and now that I am out this also means that I have full internet access and be able to update and add items to the website and blog more regularly.

I am in San Pedro, CA now. Still in my beloved SoCal and in fact it is a very nice beach community between Palos Verdes and Long Beach. I have a nice apartment on the 2nd floor which is actually the 3rd floor if you count the first level garage that is below me! It is cool because from my balcony and living room door I can see the Pacific ocean! Not a beach but the Pacific in the distance! It also faces the Port of Los Angeles, which is the largest port in America. On my first day here I saw 2 cruise ships depart from the port! Would've been fun to be aboard one of them but still way cool to see them! The port is wonderful at night as I can see a lot of lights from the ships and the huge cranes that load and unload the cargo ships that come and go! So I am happy to be here. Especially compared to the Valley! I have always lived on this side of the Santa Monica mountains and usually close to the beach! So I am home, sweet, home!

Well that is all for the personal updates. I will post a couple of VERY exciting news about the business in the next entry. Meanwhile I do hope all is well with all of you. Take care.

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 3/26/2009 4:06 PM | Add Comment

Turning Point in American Cinema

I just read in my Variety Daily email that Julia Roberts and Brett Ratner have pacted with Reliance, the entertainment conglom in India. And in the same email, that 20th Century Fox is making its first Arabic-language feature film after inking a deal with Moroccan director Hicham Ayonch to develop and finance, “Samba.”

And this isn’t the first of these. Last year when Dreamworks and Paramount divorced, it was quickly announced that Dreamworks was to re-marry and basically be under, Reliance. And there was a huge mega-deal in 2007 with Warner Bros and Abu Dhabi to make Arab friendly movies. Warner Bros VP of international division, Richard Fox said, “There’s a huge population of Arabic-speaking youth that needs to have their voice in cinema, and their own heroes.”

Nothing is wrong with any of that. You got to go with the money, after all this is show business. And its great giving voice in cinema to those who don’t have it and especially when it is for a large audience of potential ticket buyers!

  • But do they have to go international to do it?
  • Do they think they have exhausted all the underserved markets here at home?
  • Will they continue to overlook the largest and fastest growing minority in America?
  • And except for comic books and sequels, is this where American cinema is going?

And In 10, 20, 50+ years from now will this be remembered as a ”turning point” in American cinema? I mean will people look back like we do now on the significant change in American cinema for black characters and people in the 1960’s and specifically with roles starring Sidney Poitier?

It can and will be when my work, Abilities United Productions has launched our first of many feature films. Will any of these Arab or Indian crossover, friendly American films do what we will?

  • Giving an authentic voice, vision, and representation to Americans with a disAbility that have been unjustly silenced and forced to have able bodied be our representatives for the over 100 year history of American cinema?
  • Help pioneer the breaking of Hollywood stereotypes on Americans in movies and television which has a huge influence on our culture and in turn our society? The images of Hollywood go a lot further than just entertaining audiences. The impact is much more then just a reflection of American society and most often influences the opinions and subsequent actions on causes and people by our society.
  • And what about how my work and my determination to hire only actors with the same or similar disAbility as my characters will help end the blatant, industry-wide discrimination of those with a disAbility? Will any of those films be remembered as having a large effect on AMERICANS?
How many Americans? Will it be anywhere near the 56 million Americans with a disAbility? Or the impact it will have on their family and friends to see their loved ones finally portrayed as genuinely, authentically and honestly as a part of the American Scene as they know that their loved ones deserve? And if we conservatively just add one family member or friend and expand this niche market to 112 million Americans that will be deeply affected will that not be more significant than Arab friendly movie? You could add all of the Arab Americans including all of their family members of the same decent and the Americans from India and all of their family members, and you would not get near half the 56 million Americans with a disAbility, let alone the additional family or friends that doubles that number to equal ONE THIRD of the AMERICAN POPULATION!

So what is Hollywood so afraid of?

Or even a better question since the bottom line in show business is business, why is Hollywood so blind to the number of this market segment? Why do they seemingly not care for an instant and loyal audience of 112 million American moviegoers? And since Hollywood does rely on the global market for significant revenue, we can certainly expand our reach. As we already know the global market is often much more likely to attend a movie that features a character out of the norm. Especially since they can identify with being out of the normal when it comes to Americans! And the U.N. has estimated that there are 650 million people with a disAbility around the world!

That ought to be enough to make Hollywood at least consider what I have to offer! Especially since my work goes well beyond just sticking a character who uses a wheelchair in the middle of a screenplay. And I have detailed elements and marketing strategies in an 80+ page business plan to tell exactly how to reach and capture this audience in even today’s rough economy! With the commercial aspect covered, I also bring an authentic voice that will not alienate or offend the disAbled community! And it will do so much - for so many!

Come on Hollywood. Who has 10 minutes for me to explain how YOU will have a significant impact on American cinema, if you partner with me and will last more than a lifetime? Someone will take me up on this because I will not stop and then the rest will be recorded in history as a significant “turning point” for those with a disAbility in American cinema.

Will it be you or your competitor? Tomorrow might be too late! Yeah, you better get your assistant to find my number before history records that you were one that did NOT act when such an opportunity was revealed to you!

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 2/8/2009 8:58 PM | Add Comment

Boston Legal Suit

I watched Boston Legal this week as usual, even though I don't like being politically preached to every week, I love the characters and the actors portraying them. Including John Larroquette and his character who this week went on to sue the television networks for discriminating against the elderly! The similarities toward those with a disAbility that I have working and shouting about for years was remarkable! Only it is even twice, five, ten times worse with any representation for those of us with a disAbility have on television or movies (oh come on. At least the elderly market had "Murder She Wrote" and "Matlock" which is still in syndication. Its been 40 years since "Ironside" and no reruns on TV Land!).

Still the stats Larroquette's character spoke about in and out of the court room is what had me cheering at the tv! Most were so identical to our cause here. From the market size which I forgot the exact number he said it was for the elderly Americans but ours of 56+ million Americans with a disAbility, to the spending power of the disAbled consumer market which for us in 2001 numbers is over $1 trillion in aggragate income and $220 billion in discrectionary spending power, both of which he quoted the stats of the elderly market of. to the market demographics of who is watching television (and I might add movies) and yet where is the targeted programing for either of these market segments of the most prolific entertainment consumers?

So kudos to David E. Kelley for bringing up the issue that should be as obvious as a white elephant of ignoring and even discrimination that are common in network and even cable network programming and production practices. Although it was part of the Boston Legal swan song with only 1 or 2 more episodes left in the series at least someone who is on network television has the balls to speak out against the networks! Now let's keep the ball rolling (no, not Kelley's balls!) and make a difference. Make our voices heard so that all of Hollywood will recognize the injustices they are unknowingly or uncaring about those of us in the LARGEST and FASTEST growing minority - which by the way as more and more Baby Boomers enter retirement age more and more will also join the disAbled community and therefore why it is predicted that the disAbled community will retain the status of largest ans fastest growiing minority for some years to come.

So listen up Hollywood Dearest. If 56 million Americans is not enough for you to give any respect to, maybe you will when that number becomes 70, 75, 80 million and the voices get louider. Do you really want to wait until you get your balls handed to you as its splashed all over the media on how repressive and disciminatory you have been before making a difference to a very significant market segment of entertainment consumers? When it will be revealed how negligent you have been to us for years - even after the warnings that I have been sending you and calling you about and that you CHOOSE to ignore. Will that be the crowning jewel or the crown of thorns in your contribution to entertainment, your career, your life? Call me!

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 12/5/2008 4:56 PM | Add Comment

"Rolling Thunder" part deux

This summer has had another blockbuster season, but I have been stuck in a hospital bed and have not seen a single one of them!  But being in LA the news on television and in the LA Times gives me alot more information than any other city I have lived in and of course info on the protest surrounding the premiere of Ben Stiller's new movie "Tropic Thunder".  I have read the contraversial part in the film and for me it comes down to language, equal treatment, and representation. 

I have spoken before about language and the politically correct era we live in.  I am not that politically correct but I will give you an ear full if you call me a handicapped person!  The origin of the word "handicapped"  comes from cap in hand, a person who holds a cap or hat upside down in their hands is often associated as a begger.  The image is also often with a person in a wheelchair.  So, I am not a begger although because of my disabilities and the often unacceptable society, I do have to ask for help and those situations handicap me but I am a person first and foremost who happens to have a disabilty.  If one has to label me, I am a "person with a disabilty" and NOT a handicapped person. 

Of course I speak on physical disabilities because I am a paraplegic from a spinal cord injury 13 years ago when I broke my back.  But the language used to label people with developmental disabilities can be just as insensitive and demeaning if not more so.  Using the word "retard"  or  "handicapped" is as much as a slur as "nigger" or "faggot".  Yet I didn't read anywhere that even with Robert Downy Jr.'s character in Blackface that any racial slurs were used.  Society has deemed those as politically incorrect and not to be used.  Yet those with a disability are once again not given the same consideration.  As if living with a disability, physical or mental, is not as significant, not as important as a persons skin color or sexual preference.  And even though I have mentioned this before, but the numbers are staggering.  There are approximately 40 million black Americans, the same for Hispanics, and 15 million gay, lesbian, and transgender.  And 56 million Americans with a disabilit.  Some say that that is a low number and there are actually 62 million with a disability.  Either way, clearly the largest and has been the fastest growing minority in America and yet society doesn't give us the same consideration and respect. 

So language and equal treatment is obviously a part of this "Tropic Thunder" controversy.  Lastly I again I have to talk about representation.  If there were more, or today's Hollywood, any authentic voices and representation of those with a disability in movies and television then the tongue and cheek satire like that in "Tropic Thunder"  would create the same controversy as the Blackface.  It could actually be less offensive given the context and genre of the film.

Since the only representation those with a disability have in Hollywood is limited, stereotypical and all of pend, helmed, and performed by able bodied, each reference is that much more significant and has to be protested.  If the only representation and even references are a slur to get a laugh or to magnify stereotypes and it is easy to see why each one is offensive regardless of the context.  I wonder how black Americans would feel if all representation of their lives was done by white actors in Blackface.  Or all representation of women were written, directed, and performed by men. 

I am here in Hollywood to not only hold this mirror up, but to also say "Look at this protest.  Can you imagine the box office of a film that authentically represented this huge market segment that often ignored or when recognized is only humiliated" I can not only imagine the great potential for commercial success, but I have the creative works and a business plan with step by step details on how to capitalize on this socially responsible genre!

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 8/19/2008 8:58 PM | Add Comment

Hello, Hollywood

I haven't been around for a while and I am sure this update will explain. 

I have returned home to SoCal!  Got here in the middle of May and spent time with friends and hanging out at some of my favorite places like the Huntington Beach pier and O'Neil Park and the rolling hills behind Lake Forrest.  But all of them are in Orange County and an hour drive (if traffic is good) from Hollywood, Studio City, Burbank, etc.  So as much as I wanted to find a place to live in OC I was determined to live closer to the action (no pun intended!) and be able to network at the many events and functions.  So, after almost 4 weeks living in the OC (thanks John for letting me stay on your couch) I found a place only minutes away.  4 days before moving in I went camping at O'Neil Park for 2 days.  They have a wonderful wheelchair acceptable facility.  But on the second night I was enjoying my camp fire and the star filled sky and set my foot on the fire pit's concrete ring which was next to my hot dog buns.  So I know the temperature was safe.  Muscle spasms was the reason I stretched my leg out and set my foot on the concrete ring.  The muscle spasms continued and my foot fell off and so did my shoe.  I set my shoe up there and my bare foot on top of that.  No biggie, right?  Well there was a steel plate that bordered the inside of the concrete ring.  It went 10 to 12 inches above the ring and my foot leaned against it.  It was there for about 4 minutes and when the spasms didn't cease I moved my leg and set my foot up on my other leg so I could do some range of motion on the foot.  When I touched the part that was leaning on the steel plate, I found that I had burned it - real bad!!! 

The local ER doctor patched it up and gave me silverdine cream and bandages to treat it until I could see my primary doctor, which I don't have at this point!  No use in looking for one in OC when I would be moving to LA in a couple of days! 

During the same time, I was also feeling a pressure sore directly on my tail bone.  And, same thing, just wait till I got to LA to find a primary doctor.  The day of the move I didn't feel that good, in fact, I didn't move much out of my van except for the neccessities for the night.  The next morning I woke with a terrible fever and feeling really bad.  So, although I am finally here in LA county, I still didn't have a doctor to call so I went to the local doctor.  I figured they would patch me up, give me some meds and maybe help me find a primary doctor and I would be on my way!  After all, the LA Film Festival was getting started the next day and although the host, Film Independence, rejected my application for the "Fast Track" program because as Josh Charles said "I was currently a 1 man show."  I thought that was what the "Fast Track" program was to help fix I still was going to network at the LA FIlm Festival. 

But it was worst than I thought and I was admitted to the hospital with 3rd degree burns and a serious pressure sore.  They did a skin graff on my foot and treated it with special foam bandages that have medicine in it and changed the bandage on the pressure sore daily.  I was on a specially designed air mattress and had to turn from side to side to stay off of it to heal.  In mid July, a month later, I was transferred to a rehab and skilled nursing facility to continue daily treatment, air mattress to lay on my side to stay off of it. 

I am still here in this facility located in Conoga Park, still only minutes away from Hollywood and Studio City but cannot do much.  I am away from my computer because it is a desktop and I don't have a laptop.  In fact, this blog entry is being dictated to my brother who is good enough to type this up for me (thanks Jason!) 

So, although I am extremly glad to be back in SoCal where I grew up, the circumstances have become another big challange as I can't really do the work I so want to do in raising awareness and eventually the finance and distribution deals to end the discrimination and break the stereotypes with those with a disability.  I am hand writing some letters and doing all that I can to do whatever I can from this damn hospital bed!  I just found out I should be ready to go home around the end of September.  So, please be patient with updates as I will get to them when I can.  Do not worry I will never give up on this cause and my pationate work.

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 8/19/2008 8:21 PM | Add Comment

Reap What You Sow

I was re-watching “Trainspotting” on television recently and a song that played repeated the words about reaping what you sow. And the metaphor which is commonly used crept up into my mind using my work in it for the first time and as usual I grabbed my pen and some paper and began to jot down those thoughts.
 
I’ve been tilling the ground in my garden for many years now. I have cultivated the area into some rich and fertile soil. I have planted some hybrid seeds that through my endless research and work I have created and am fully prepared to make into a healthy crop. My garden is in the entertainment field and I have done all that I could and used all the resources that I have at my disposal and have waited for the one crucial resource that I do not control – water. It has not rained in many years. In fact it has been decades since substantial rain has fallen on this part of the entertainment field and maybe is the reason why I was able to place my garden firmly in this area of the field. But I certainly expected that if I were to cultivate this harden and clay like ground into a rich and fertile soil and plant it with my specific hybrid seeds, the water would come.
 

It’s worked in Arizona!


When the heavens still did not open up over my section of the entertainment field and onto my garden – I spent more time creating a wonderful irrigation system and went to those with abundant water resources to help me – give me some life giving resources and promised with a complete plan on how I can make a healthy and profitable crop when the harvest time comes and share with them the great rewards to compensate for the water.
 
I first went to the entertainment farmers, those who have great big gardens and could supply me as they have many other farmers and asked if they would send me a shipment of water in their trucks but none would even accept my inquires because of not being a member of their entertainment association and because I was tilling the ground they have either written off or never even considered to be a potential success for a garden.
 

The Banks and even the Government

 
So I changed my focus and after a lot more work created a proposal for the business community – the traditional water suppliers for all types of farmers and gardens. To my surprise even after having a complete business plan written and showing exactly how I expect to make a success out of my garden and have a wonderful crop they would not consider my proposals. It was not so much because of where in the entertainment field I have my garden but mainly because my garden is in the entertainment field itself and that is one they consider to be far too risking. When that came to light then I adding the fact that I am a minority farmer having a severe disAbility and because there are special programs out there to help those who just happen to be in a rural area – a less developed area of the country – I pointed out that my garden was located in the banished area of the entertainment field – yet I was unable to get far enough to show how I WILL overcome the objections and make something out of nothing and in an area that nobody has succeeded at before. When it was apparent that the traditional supply of providing water by trucks was obviously not going to happen, I dug trenches right up to their reservoirs and asked that they merely open the gates and allow some water resources to flow down and into my well designed and crafted irrigation system. But to no avail as they said this method is reserved for other farmers and gardens and that they only provide these exceptions to other less fortunate minority farmers and that they did not consider those with a disAbility as being among the disadvantaged (The Small Business Administration does not and in FACT you have to submit an exception form that includes proof that your group is both socially and economically disadvantaged in American society! This is when the facts are clear and known everywhere that the disabled community has the highest rate of unemployment and where laws have to be enacted just to make sure there is access to public and private areas of social gatherings and commerce.)
 

Back to the West

 
So I refocused and returned to the only place known to help those in the entertainment field and that was the farmers and workers in the entertainment field. Excited with more detailed information and a blueprint, my complete business plan that also answers any and all questions and objections to helping one who has his garden in the formerly known barren ground and area of the entertainment field and that I also dug trenches right to their water resources and so there is little they have to do to reap what I sowed – but I knock and knock and they do not even answer the door.
 
Over 96 entertainment farm owners, entertainment farm workers and those associated with supplying the entertainment farmers I have contacted and many of them multiple times and still less than 2% have even responded. Of those that did respond it was merely a polite and maybe PC gesture that all ended with “it is a great idea and I wish you good luck in your endeavors.” Not to say that I am not grateful for the encouragement and praise that have given me for my passion in this garden I have created – but it does nothing to help make the garden grow!
 

Many Moons and several Almanacs

 
This has gone on season after season, year after year and without having water to grow what I have sowed – there is nothing to harvest and nothing to reap! After a few years and continuous efforts and hope and faith that it will happen the next season or by the next year – I think you can see how my frustrations have been gaining in strength and size. But I still push on and even though I have had to work in other gardens by farmers or farm owners most of which are not in the entertainment fields but that is because they will hire a minority from my community of those with a disAbility. Some of these have lasted a few seasons but usually only lasted for a short term and regardless of the length I was always consumed with the thoughts of my own garden. Especially after I got it to the state as it is now – completely prepared and developed so much more than other first time farmers or wannabe farmers with a garden in the entertainment field.
 

Pie in the Sky

 
There have been times when I had to use a portion of the garden when I was sold on formulas and methods that promised a great crop and a lot to reap during a harvest that would not take as long as most and usually will less effort. I took the time and effort and resources to follow things such as internet marketing, affiliate marketing, pay-per-click Adwords, writing copy and many, many others. I would give it all my effort as I do with anything I am involved in but when I finally gave into the fact that it was not going to work I would till under the ground that I used for it until by necessity I was seduced into a different formula or method that promised big rewards all because my simultaneous efforts to attract water to my garden continues to go unnoticed by the others in the entertainment field.
 
I really am tired and don’t know how I’m keeping alive. I have very little income which currently is coming only from government subsidy due to my disAbility, I’m in debt and the only good thing is that I cannot qualify for any more personal loans to get me further into debt.
 

Purple Rain

 
I counted on being able to get some water by now. In fact I thought I would surely not only have the life giving resource but would also have reaped the rewards of my first harvest well before now! And when a couple of more seasons passed and a couple of years passed the point that I expected I began to rely more on hope and faith – and it became a daily hope that something would turn that day. That was a few seasons ago and so I am sure you can tell where I am today and although I have never just sat and waited or expected to have someone come by and give me help – I have always gone out there and asked and searched for assistance and you can see for yourself when you look at my work that I have shown on the website – exploring all areas of my garden and my trials and tribulations! But there are times when I sit in the middle of the garden and hold my head in my hands and wonder what is going to happen to all of this.
 
I used to be so happy and celebrate whenever any farmer in any field would overcome the obstacles and reap rewards from their garden and especially those who where members of other minorities that gave me hope that I would also have a day when I was able to reap – hell, I just want to be able to grow in my garden! But lately I am so tired and so frustrated that I’m not celebrating with them anymore. I am still happy for them and although I still do NOT ask “Why me?” I am wondering “Why not me?”
 
Recently seeing the whole nation being swept up in a Big Give to those less fortunate and many following that example I wonder what it will take to harness some of that from those who can afford to give. I have a cause and a mission that will give so much too so many with the labors in my garden that I cannot understand why I couldn’t find someone to help. Even if not for the cause or the mission – what about for the person? For a less fortunate farmer who despite the incredible challenges physically, emotionally, financially and socially that is added due to being a paraplegic and living with a disAbility all hours of all days!
 

Going to Market

 
I have tried to gain attention with descriptions of how colorful and how sweet the fruits of my garden will be once we get them some water to grow and then finally harvested. But that has not seemed to work so I use descriptions and details on how powerful crop will be and what it will bring at the market – which has a great chance of being very successful based on all other factors I have included in my garden and the farming of it! But that hasn’t brought any awareness or support either – sooooo even with the social conscious of this garden being what is so needed for so many is not touching the hearts of those who can help I know that the main issue of all of this is that I have not been able to get it in front of those who have the power and means to help. Once I do, I know I will be able to sell them on the idea or the chance of this barren land in the entertainment field becoming an oasis of success both socially and commercially! So I am no longer waiting for the perfect time to go to Hollywood and instead I am going and I will take it directly to them – meet them at film festivals and other entertainment field gatherings! How long will it take before I get that appointment – until I get that attention to have them consider an appointment? Yeah, yeah, time will tell – it’s been over 12 years now so I can only hope it will not be too much further in the future!

If you see me passing by your garden or at one of the many entertainment field markets I do hope you’ll come and shake my hand and say hello. Eventually all will know who I am and what I have done in this once barren section of the entertainment field and I will remember all of those who said hello and all those who ignored my proposals and labors just because my garden wasn’t originated in a prosperous section of this vast entertainment field!  
 

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 5/1/2008 4:22 PM | Add Comment

What is the Problem?

Some think that if the issues I bring up about the authentic voices and equal opportunity to represent ourselves as people with a disAbility is such a problem and has as much of a deep impact as I proclaim then why hasn’t it been addressed before?
 
That is a good question and I am sure it has been addressed but was obviously squashed before it got any momentum. First is the stereotypes and the way that most of Hollywood believes that only the stories and characters that fit into the stereotype can be made into a movie. I know this first hand as I have told you before that I have had my screenplays reviewed by some who requested that I make changes to make them more stereotypical. But I refused and besides how many stereotypical movies can you do? How many movies that focus and center on the disAbility, or are surrounded by a political agenda or how many after-school specials can you do?
 
But it is not all on the industry. You have to look at the very nature of the disabled community. Most of us do not want to bring any attention to ourselves and especially if it deals with our disAbility. Why? Because the very image and opinions of general public – the American society are that we are needy, dependent, unable to contribute to society and more of a drain on our welfare and medical system then most. This is the image and opinions we fight against and therefore do not want to bring any more attention to it. If we protest and scream about the fairness and equal representation in movies and television – or any cause for that matter – it will only contribute and perpetuate the very image and opinions we are protesting! Serious catch-22!
 
And of course as I preach about the influence that movies and television have on our culture and our society’s images and opinions – the very stereotypes and even the essence of the problem is connected so much that it is the main reason why the endless cycle continues. BUT this is where it must start – in movies and television programs. We have to break through – I have to break through to a producers, financiers, distributors so I can get my vision, my authentic voice and representation in front of the ultimate group to break through to – the audiences!
 
This is where it is a win-win. I want to get in front of as many audiences as possible. And so along with the specific 3 elements that I have included in all of my film projects, I also include the elements that all successful movies and moviemakers are looking for – a well crafted script (which has its own elements that make it more likely to become successful and considered “well crafted”), and the very next thing – Hollywood star power – name recognizable talent which I know I can and will attract to my co-leading roles next to my character and actor with a disAbility. I plan to first attract this Hollywood star power by pleading the cause and how great it would be for them to help me in breaking the stereotypes and helping end the discrimination against other actors! Then when they agree to look closer at the project I can get them to read the script where I know I will capture their desire to portray the co-leading characters in my movies.
 
The main elements of a professional independent production budget and distribution deal that includes a respectable P&A budget that other successful movies have is where I am fighting and have been fighting for the past couple of years!
 
But just like my fellow individuals with a disAbility working or trying to work in this business – I not only face all the same challenges that all of my able bodied counterparts have in getting funding and distribution support – but on top of that I am fighting the stereotypes and the discrimination the industry has on those with a disAbility – the very stereotypes and discrimination that my film projects address and will break! Another catch-22!
 
I cannot wait until we finally get the first step – the first roll in the right direction of this change that I have planned for and prepared to become a permanent solution to ending the seemingly endless cycle. It will be like the snowball effect and depending on the success of the first film (or size of the hill the snowball is rolling down) the faster it will become. And just maybe one that I think is a very good possibility if given the proper production and distribution support, will become a literal gold mine – the mother lode of independent films and one that I have prepared and planned already for so I can mine it for a very long time! This is the win-win situation in where I get to have the social issues addressed and provide the authentic voice and representation AND the financiers and distributors all make a healthy return on investment. This affords me the opportunity to continue and provide the long term answers to the current problems and finally break this catch-22 forever!
 
And because I am a person who cannot be squashed and will not go away – I will make my film projects with the proper production and distribution support this cause deserves and will not back down until I get it – all of the social issues that I have been preaching AND the commercial success that is possible will come together in the same projects. How do I know about this? I have worked it from every angle for the past 12 – 13 years and I know and I can make it happen. It’s just a matter of who will I be able to influence to assist in this process? Are you that person? Do you know that person or someone who might be that person? Whether big or small contributions – big or small abilities that you have that can be added – United to this cause will be significant and never be forgotten.
 
Will you join with me?

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 4/22/2008 2:36 PM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

What Do You Think?

Do you think the general publics’ opinions, views, and treatment of those with a disAbility are fair and equal to those who are able bodied?
 
Do you think those with a disAbility deserve to be treated fairly and equally? Is that only in some circumstances, or all aspects of society?
 
Do you think some of the opinions of society, the general public are influenced by their culture?
 
Do you think that movies and television affect the culture?
 
Do you think that repeated stereotypes and misrepresentations in film and television can influence the opinions, views and treatment society has on a people, a class, a minority or subgroup?
 
Did you know that nearly all representation of those with a disAbility are written, directed and performed by able bodied individuals? Does any able bodied person know what it is like to live everyday with a disAbility – and with the knowledge that it will never change – even after production ends?
 
Do you think that disAbilities, such as paralysis, deafness, or blindness and others are significant to the identity of a person just like their gender, race, age, or sexual orientation?
 
Did you know that in the 2005 Screen Actors Guild report on those with a disAbility showed that most in the industry believe that actors with a disAbility can only be hired for roles that were specifically written as characters with a disAbility? Did you know that nearly all of the already limited roles that are written specifically as characters with a disAbility are cast using able bodied performers? Double, double standard or merely just double discrimination?
 
Did you know that there are over 1200 SAG certified performers who bravely admitted by self identifying themselves as a person with a disAbility even though they know their disAbility will be stereotyped and discriminated against in the industry?
 
Do these performers and others such as writers and directors with a disAbility deserve a fair and equal opportunity to represent themselves in movies and television? Can you see the significance of this – just as any person within the majority representing a person of a minority subgroup?
 
Would these honest and authentic portrayals affect the stereotypes propagated and perpetuated by Hollywood and eventually influence the opinions, images and treatment of society on those with a disAbility?
 
If you could, with minimal effort, be able to help change all of this, the discrimination, the stereotypes, the non-genuine representations of a person not belonging to a specific minority subgroup – through supporting authentic voices and representations of those with a disAbility – just as fairly and equally that all other minority subgroups have in Hollywood – would you?

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 4/10/2008 8:44 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

What Was, What Is and What Will Be.

I go through these cycles of focus. I’m not really sure which one came first but it is a focus on the past films, or present films, or future films that feature a character who is paralyzed. And this happens for both my creative moments and planning as well as the business side. But I am very tired of focusing on what was and what is and want to be more positive because I like that energy a more and so want to focus most of the time on what can be.
 
What Was and Currently Is

I thought how tired I was of harping on what was and even as in the recent case with “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” – on what is – those films are what they are – and I’m sure they are done by well meaning able bodied individuals and I suspect that most do not know and probably do not want to know what the real results are with the producing and distributing stereotypical films. Just as I am sure those filmmakers prior to the 1960’s and Sidney Poitier that films that featured stereotypical black characters and were done by well intentioned white individuals and had no idea what the real affect their films had on the black community and society as a whole. And as much as I would like to just focus on what can be, I am often swayed back into this arena in attempts to gain awareness in Hollywood – since showing what I have as a solution – they must need to be shown what it is they are doing and the real affects it has on the disAbled community and society as a whole! I do not have any control over it.
 
Besides this seemingly endless cycle I am also considering all of this for both the creative works and the business side. I wish I could focus more on the creative side as there is so much I want to write and then direct but because of my need of getting my creative work seen, gain awareness and raise support it means I have to spend all of my time with the business side of this cause! Especially since this has become my only means for personal support – I need the job. I need one that pays and I cannot let this cause or mission or business wait any longer. Damn catch 22 that not many within my circle understand!
 
I am so tired. And I could help but relate so much to a quote I found from the great screenwriter and fantastic director, Robert Towne who is the Academy Award winning screenwriter of “Chinatown” and many other wonderful films. He also wrote and directed one of my all time favorite movies, “Tequila Sunrise” starring Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer. Anyway Mr. Towne said:
 
“The amount of ancillary effort unrelated to what goes up on-screen by filmmakers, all of us, having to beg, borrow, and steal to finance, to go out there with hat in hand, the struggle we have to do in preparation just for the movies to happen, is a drain. It's like I was saying to George Clooney at a film festival recently, it's a drain on you, it's time-consuming, it's energy-consuming. You get to the point where you're so fucking tired you feel like you've already done the movie, just trying to get enough money to make it. In the old days, the amount of time it took to make Ask The Dust, I could have made three movies and not been so tired and thought, "God, I never want to do this again."" [On today's Hollywood (March 2006)]”
 
I feel that too. 12+ years trying to get the finance to do one of my screenplays and I am also am dealing with the huge barriers of Hollywood attitudes, stereotypes and discrimination. I am “so fucking tired” that it is unreal. Yet I have to go on!
 
“Luke, use the Force”
 
Still I want to focus on the future and what can be – what I want to be. Like the famous quote from George Lucas when asked about making “Star Wars” he said that he “wanted to make movies that he wanted to see.” That’s exactly what I want to do – see movies that are non-stereotypical and authentically represented. That is not about pity, oh my poor life – yes it sucks and yes it is very difficult but I look past that as much as I can in my own life. I want to see fun, dramas, comedies, action adventure, romantic dramedies that feature a character who happens to be a paraplegic and shows some of that perspective, the point of view as a person with a disAbility but without that being the focus or in a poor me setting.
 
This is where I lose some people when I say I do not focus nor ignore the disAbility of my characters and their stories. The best way to describe it is that I want to create films that will have an impact for the good. An impact on the disAbled community and on society – their images and treatment of those living with a disAbility. So I do create characters and stories that are like myself in some ways and certainly in attitude! I do not want to be “normal” I have to have certain accommodations to function and participate in my own existence and in society. I have to respect my disability and that should be recognized. This is where there is confusion among the public and even some within the disAbled community, especially the newly injured or afflicted. “Oh they just want to be treated normally.” Some think that also means that to treat someone normally means they do not need or want to have any consideration but I do not want to be “normal.” Normal is too difficult to define as it means different things to different people and as I mention the disAbility must be respected and there are some considerations that must be made. I just want to be seen and treated as an equal person, human being of our culture and society and not as one who is normal. After all I never wanted to be normal anyway even before my accident! 
 
What Can Be

This is the attitude and the affect that I want my films to have. That is what I have written in my feature scripts and my short scripts and stories I will adapt into screenplays! This has been a life long dream – even before I realized that filmmaking was my destiny – I always loved movies. See my bio! So even though my life hasn’t turned out like I have wanted – the dream is still alive and I am still frantically trying to gain support for this vision that will affect millions and millions of lives.
 
On that note I want to add this. Many have seen it but for those who haven’t and even as a reminder for those who have watch this 11 minute video that he reprised and abridged for the Oprah Show!



I am not dying - although they say that my life expectancy is a few years less then if I were able bodied, but I identified with him so much - especially early on in the lecture saying he "chooses not to be an object of pity" and about being physically strong despite his infirmity! There are a couple quotes I love. “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” How true is that? And the one he had listed “Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.” After 12+ years of brick walls I have proven it to myself – so my question is, now how much more proving before I prove it to Hollywood? Well, since it is Hollywood putting up the brick walls, who knows? So what was and what is are important but I really want to focus on what can be! And that about wraps it up! Until next time – “Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?”

Posted by Larry the Rolling Filmmaker at 3/24/2008 2:47 AM | Add Comment
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