New Jersey, as a State, can brag about
how many world famous entertainers were born here, but taking a closer look, in order to succeed and become famous, almost
100% of them had to leave New Jersey behind and go to other states that are far more supportive of artists
(not just the politically connected ones).
In the case of movies, its still New York and L.A. Even Kevin Smith left
Jersey to live in California; he even opened another JAY AND SILENT BOB'S SECRET STASH comic book shop out there. And
if that weren't enough "Weird N.J." had to become "Weird U.S." to get a television show and more exposure.
When I was growing up my hero was George Romero, the maverick independent
filmmaker who made all of his movies in Pittsburgh, PA. He was lucky I think. Just because Romero did it doesn't mean
someone else can too. Reality check: if he was starting out as a young filmmaker today, in today's world, Romero may
not be able to repeate his success the same way either. He also had the advantage of publications like FANGORIA magazine who,
at that time, supported independent filmmakers more than they do today.
Anyhow, I tried, and am perhaps foolishly still trying, to make my feature
movies right here in New Jersey, despite the lack of support and cooperation I find in New Jersey. If I succeed its not because
of New Jersey, its in spite of being in New Jersey. I wish it was different.
For filmmakers New Jersey offers great location diversity. You can find
ghetto, beaches, typical neighberhoods, country, any backdrop you may need to create your movies. That is New Jersey's only
strength.
The downside is all the slackers and poor attitudes. "What's in it for
me" is a common expression which also reveals the IQ level of the person saying it: rock bottom. As an actor I would assume
that world-wide exposure and critics in newspapers, magazines, on TV and where ever, seeing your performance, plus getting
the all important screen credit so your fantasies of being world famous have some concrete hope of actually happening, should
be plenty of motivation.
I keep telling myself that maybe smarter people, not slackers, can be
found in New York and LA. Lots of motivated people travel miles, uprooting their lives, to relocate to those two media centers,
chasing after their dreams, annually. Those people are the non-slackers, the ones who have a prayer in hell of actually getting
a career.
To be fair over the years I have been lucky enough in New Jersey to find
non-slackers in the crewing, effects and acting departments, and not surprisingly, some of those non-slackers have
relocated to LA and made other feature films there; but they were the special few.
This year I am self-promoting in order to climb up the ladder to bigger
movies. I am already making feature length commercial movies and they are being distributed world-wide but I want to make
bigger movies.
I find it truly amazing that I am getting some resistance from people
in the media. Here I am making movies in New Jersey using local talent and its still an up hill battle to get exposure. Many
newspapers would rather report about a squirrel being hit by a car than the fact I am making feature movies in New Jersey.
How stupid can you get???
Though the New Jersey media is important, nation-wide exposure
is obviously far more important, so that is what I will be aiming for instead. I need to be known by all of America and Europe and Asia to succeed, not just in New Jersey. My movies have been distributed
in Asia, Europe, Canada, and the USA. Sadly, I get more coverage in different countries than I do here in New Jersey.
Despite the closed-mindedness of many in the media in New Jersey, I have
been in THE RAG published by Dominic Gregoria, UPSTAGE by Gary Wein, THE NEW YORK TIMES, TRI-CITY NEWS, THE ASBURY PARK PRESS,
THE HERALD, and a few other newspapers. My press releases and other feature stories also appear on the internet where, if
you GOOGLE my name, you get about 870 mentions; if you GOOGLE my movie titles you get 1,200 or more mentions.
Still, there are events and newspapers who simply, without reason, choose
to block me out, while at the same time promoting their friends or favorites.
So I'll keep plugging along in New Jersey, hoping the situation and attitudes
change, making commercial feature movies with those few special individuals who actually want to accomplish something and
get somewhere...for now.
