Our First Official Teaser Trailer.

40 hours without sleep to edit this one... hope ya likes it!

Just finished principle photography...

The Race-ist is more than my first movie, it has become an event in my life that has shown me who I truly am and defined me as a man and a leader.

I have had to dig deep to keep going every day, fought frustrations within myself at the pettiness of industry tradition...

I have come face to face with people who demand clear and concise leadership and it has made me a better human being!
I have hated them at times but have grown to love and respect them and proudly call them 'my team'.

Producing and Directing a film is like being on a battlefield!
There is so much going on simultaneously, so much expected of you and so much riding on your ability to maintain a haven of perspective that giving up or backing down are simply not an option!

No matter how well you plan your strategy, you need to keep moving, stay on your feet, keep focused... When things go wrong, they cannot be fixed, they have to be changed! If you are making a film, fear of change is garunteed suicide!

We made this thing with Rands... not dollars, not pounds... RANDS...

Our project is considered low budget.. and you feel it when you are shooting the thing! The strange thing is, 'low budget' is still enough money to buy a nice house and a very nice car...

You spend millions without effort!
It's an industry that eats money like popcorn. If you don't keep your eye on that budget, you'll be broken before you even finish filming the thing!

The financial pressure in itself is enough to crush you... still, your creativity has to stay up there! You have to keep pushing your team and just keep your eyes on the goal.

Well anyway... I'll chat some more in the future but I'll end with this:

My first movie making experience has simultaneously been the worst and best thing I have ever been through! I can't wait for the next one! :)

...still plugging at it!

Almost a year later.

We start the shoot in a couple of days.

What a ride it has been, so bumpy in fact that all the naysayers and cynics have fallen off the Bus.

Pursuing your dreams is a great way to experience life. You find your real friends. Your relationships are tested to their limits and you see first hand who you will take with you to your great future.

I am so happy with my team right now, they are more than just great friends, they are great people. 

Keep watching this space... it will be filled with success very soon! :)

And the beat goes on...

Gahhh...

Logistics, Logistics and more Logistics!

This 64 page excel document is a mountain all in itself!

To many it is known as a dead stop, an intimidation so ghastly that it ends many journeys!

I lovingly call it 'THE BUDGET!'

This is where the other geniuses come in... they use phrases like 'forensically question' and 'economically viable'.

Well... I'll keep my attention deficit disorder under wraps for now and keep my head down.

Sugar anyone?

It takes discipline to be disciplined!

So here I am working on the Character histories and story maps... it's like a spider spinning a web on crack...

We are not talking minutes here.. this is hours... and lots of them!

Each character needs a history, richly colored and lovingly crafted so that when the scripting is done, we have a strong reference to keep our story believable.

Boring as hell.. but it is crucial to a powerful story!

If you're going to tell a story, it helps to have well... um... a story in it... hahaha.

..and the hits keep coming...

More than ever, I begin to realise the importance of a planned vision... of seeing your end product in your mind as if it is done. Preparation, preparation, refinement and more preparation.

Then there's the importance of keeping your mind open... allowing others to give input...

To helm any project means you need to 'know it all' without being a 'knowitall'...
Listen as much as you can, Learn as much as you can and do as much as you can...

Excellence, Brilliance... etc. these are words are much more than mere results.

These words are a discipline that needs to be present from the word 'Go'.

Great people bring greatness to the smallest tasks... so the small things..EVERY little thing!

Greatness is a decision.. and I have made that decision with all my heart!

Whn I speak to sponsors, actors, crew etc. I speak with confidence and passion. Dignity is something you give everything around you. never be ashamed to sell your dreams to people... you are a machine! yoo can dooo eeeet!

Putting the 'Fun' in Funding...

So here we are... where we have never been before... cautiously peering over the edge of an intimidating precipice when suddenly...

...eh?

It's not half as bad as I thought!

I shake my head vigorously and gasp in surprise as I notice the lies and misconceptions of the nay-sayers scattered on the ground all around me... it's crazy... impossible is a mere point of view, nothing more!

They bark and they spew. They advise and they warn. We cover their cowardice by saying: 'they meant well'.

Well heres my new philosophy: If your negative opinion does not have a working alternative attached to it, shut the hell up!



The mountain:

My movie is going to cost me 30 million Rands (about 2 million pounds).

Its a great concept, powerful script and funny as hell.

I have awesome writers on board, the best crew are all saying yes and my cast is fantastic.

Investors are smiling at me greedily.... here's the catch:

I do not want investors! I want sponsors, advertisers and media partners!

Investors mean risk. I live in South Africa. Risk + South Africa = Epic Phail!

So off I go, I find clever people to help me work out the budgets, find great marketing and branding trade strategies and go find me some money!

Annnnnd they're off. 'It cant be done'; 'It hasn't been done'; 'You are biting off more than you can chew'.... it goes on and on... small minded, slow witted cowards who do not realise that 'can't' is a pure matter of perspective.

From my pont of view, ANYTHING looks possible!

The nay-sayer lies down on his bed of mediocrity where the pillow of challenge looks like an insurmountable mountain!


I send the first email... the answer is yes.
I send the second email... the answer is yes.

It would appear that Donald Trumps' motto works perfectly!
'When preparation meets opportunity, the idiots call it luck'.

I wait for answers from the other emails... nothing.. the deafening silence of rejection threatens to overwhelm me.

Another investor calls to see how it is going. I lie to him and say it is going very well.

No replies on them emails.

Phone not ringing.

Deafening silence.

And so I keep preparing.

Refine the story.

Upgrade the details.

Approach more clever people.

Research some more.


click the Send/Receive button as if it will speed things up...

Upgrade some more, refine some more.

and the project gets bigger...and better!

and still the deafening silence...

Then....

It starts.

The emails start arriving...

And the phone starts ringing...

The deafening silence had prepared me.

I have the answers. I have the strategies. I have the vision firmly in my mind.

I will accomplish this!

And I will not use one investor!

Impossible?







Just watch this space!