Breakfast Epiphanies

The Platinum Story on MoneyTV

2009-04-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

Last week, I did a segment on MoneyTV, a weekly syndicated cable and online show that highlights public companies and updates on their story. Click on the title of this article to get to the link! The segment that I did was a 15-minute overview on all of the things we currently have going on at Platinum Studios. A little about Cowboys & Aliens, a little about our production of Dead of Night, currently shooting in New Orleans, a bit about Wowio and a perspective on why I think Platinum is a good value for interested investors. Take a look and leave me a comment - I'd like to hear some feedback other than I have no upper lip and I could stand losing a few pounds. :).

-Brian

REBOOT

2009-03-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Man, it's been a long time since I last blogged on. Lots of reasons. None really any more important than any other - I was curtailing my activity after we went public last year to just limit my public comments. I have realized however, that between Twitter and Facebook, my life has become a pretty open book anyway so I might as well try to communicate in sentences longer than 140 characters. I do laugh when I think about my parents' generation shying away from any kind of electronic identification device (my mother still doesn't use an ATM machine), yet our generation and the young interatti put everything up online for the entire world to see: "Follow me on Twitter" "Add me as a friend!" "Watch me party like an animal." There is SOME limit to the information one should share with the world, i.e. potential college admissions officers, potential bosses, etc. but every generation has had its share of "Stupid things I did when I was 19" things. Remember Bill Clinton saying he never inhaled?

I have been perusing the social network space and I've been amazed at all of the publicity around the phenomenon of Twitter. It's been all the rage recently, mentioned in every major news and media outlet as if it were the greatest invention since the internet. In reality, Twitter has been around for 3 years and has been used as a means to communicate short SMS-type messages to groups of friends. Some use it to throw out a net to a group in order to meet up somewhere in person. Others use it as an alternate to emailing out interesting news pieces. The difference between Twitter and Facebook or MySpace, though, is you don't have to be part of the inner "Friend" circle in order to follow someone on Twitter. You can just follow them because you want to see what they have to say. I have found it fascinating to follow those out on the bleeding edge to see what THEY are reading, watching and attending. These folks that we consider to be thought leaders. For example, I follow Jason Calacanis (www.twitter.com/jasoncalacanis). Jason founded Weblogs, Inc., which he successfully sold to AOL before anyone knew what a blog was. He also founded TechCrunch50 and, most recently, a user-generated and -turbocharged search engine called Mahalo. I love following his areas of focus because I like this expansive digital world we live in and he is definitely at the forefront. Apparently, though, I'm not alone. To date, Jason has over 64,000 followers. That's a lot of people reading about him playing cards with World Series of Poker Champion Phil Hellmuth in Vegas this weekend, but he's also in tune with what's going on in the Los Angeles digital community, the venture capital world, Arnold in Sacramento and other things that are interesting to me.

We're using Twitter at Platinum to expand our communities - I use it to talk about things that are of interest to me as well as to our employees, friends, investors, etc. I have my Blackberry set to easily update Twitter and because of a special plug-in tool, updates on Twitter automatically update my Facebook status. I have been amazed at the responses I've been getting and I only have a handful of followers. I can't imagine what it would be like to have 64,000 followers. If you haven't done it yet, try it. Follow someone you are interested in. John McCain Twitters. So do Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, Dane Cook, Joe Biden, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lance Armstrong, my brother David, many other friends. Follow who they are following and you will be hooked. Don't be surprised when you are searching the web and see on almost every web page you explore: "Follow me on Twitter" You can find me at www.twitter.com/brianaltounian. TWEET!

Vacating

2008-03-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

See what happens? We start trading on the OTC market and my free time all goes out the window. I have to go on vacation just to catch up on blogging. I think that goes against the whole "blogging" concept, doesn't it? Oh well, now is good a time as any to get caught up.

Since we hit the market on February 1, the market has taken a considerable hit. Then this weekend, Bear Stearns goes under, getting scooped up by JP Morgan at a fraction of its value, sending global markets into a wild tailspin. I've been talking to financial professionals for a couple of weeks and they all say that this is worse than the dot-com bust and fallout. Between the housing market debacle, the financial markets failing, then the WGA writer's strike, hard times are hitting Southern California and the entertainment industry. Hopefully, this will create a shakeout throughout all 3 industries that will create a more solid base across the board. It could take quite a bit of time, though.

What does this mean for the OTC market and our stock price specifically? Over the last 45 days, trading volume has all but dried up on stocks I track on the OTC. I would gather that if there WERE any institutions invested in OTC companies (highly unlikely), they've either curtailed their trading activity or have pulled out entirely. But here is where the opportunity is being missed. While one would assume that "smart money" has moved out of the riskier, wilder OTC frontier and into safe investments, what is a safe investment today? My dad used to say that safe money was in municipal bonds and zero-coupon t-bills but that isn't true anymore. The Fed can't bail out everyone! So where do you invest? banks? financial institutions? Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac? Pharmaceuticals? Commodities?

During all economic conditions, I still stick to the idea that the smartest investments are in companies that you know. If you know computers, invest in Apple or some other computer company. If you watch the green technology companies, that's where you should put your money. If you know entertainment, invest in entertainment companies. At the end of the day, the best investments are ones that make you money. The way to do that: get a good value for your investment. You don't want to overpay for anything. Microsoft's bid for Yahoo! is following the same path - MS isn't raising their target price for Yahoo! and the marriage is on track to complete soon.

When investors ask me about the prospect of Platinum's stock during these rocky economic times, I have a standard answer to that question. We're not running our company specifically to drive the share price or in direct response to market activity - rather, we are trying to build a growing, scalable, profitable company. If we focus on that end game, the fundamentals and the stock price should be reflective of that success. That's what we're focusing on. At the very least, the entertainment industry as a whole is recession-proof and that should attract some attention and our business case success should point to great value.

$2/share for Bear Stearns? Wow! Even in these insane economic times, there are great investment/money-making opportunities. So much for vacating......

Purple Cow in everyday life

2008-02-11T09:10:00.000-08:00

I'm reading a fantastic book on marketing called "Purple Cow" by Seth Godin. It was recommended to me by Jason Leon, our new head of Digital Publishing and it has one simple message that is targeted towards marketing, but I think it applies across the board: "Be Remarkable!" Godin has become a guru in marketing circles and he has put out a number of books but he is also a prolific blogger. His site is http://www.sethgodin.com and his books are short, sweet, poignant and right on the mark. I thought I was going to learn something about marketing but, again, I feel that his message can be applied to every area of our company. If we had cubicles, I can see "Be Remarkable!" pinned up on everyone's walls - it should be a mantra for all businesses and for everyone individually as well.

In Purple Cow, the anecdote that he leads with is about his family traveling the countryside of France when they spot an absolutely gorgeous cow in a pasture near the road. Shortly, they come upon another truly beautiful cow and then another and another, until they find that the large number of cows by the side of the road begin to blend in with the countryside and don't seem as incredible as the first one they viewed. To stand out in this now vast sea of cows, one would have to be purple to catch the attention of the family. The analogy is that in this mass media world we live in, the only way to have your marketing message heard above the cacophony is to be a Purple Cow.

I tend to hold onto pieces of gold when I come across them in books or articles I read, especially when they can apply to a variety of disciplines - I tend to make them my own wallboard pin-ups and I use them in staff meetings and in conversations about our business. This has become my mantra of the week: Be remarkable! I challenge you to embrace that mantra for one week - implement that in your powerpoint presentations and your emails and your blog entries and your phone conversations. If we all entered a conversation with the intention of being remarkable, amazing results will be produced! Imagine our world if every service provider, small business owner, corporation and government worked with that mandate. Holy Cow! er, Holy Purple Cow!

-Brian

Platinum begins trading under symbol PDOS

2008-02-01T05:58:00.000-08:00

We begin a new era at Platinum Studios today: we received our stock ticker symbol from FINRA and start trading under PDOS on the OTC board today. This has been an exciting and exhausting process and the fun is just about to start. Dan Forcey, our VP of Content Development, has suggested that all of the execs in the company write entries for the Platinum Press pages in the back of our comic books - they're kind of like Letters FROM the Editor. Every month, a new Press page is inserted in all of the books released that month. Scott has been writing these for over a year and we are spreading the duties out, under the guise that he needs to be sequestered during this going-public process. Here is my entry (NOTE: this hasn't been edited by the content folks so you're seeing it in its raw form....):

"OK, so while we have Scott sequestered behind his 9-monitor computer system that resembles the main console at NASA’s headquarters, it’s my turn to wax poetic on the amazing place we’ve created here at Platinum Studios. I have wanted folks to know that Platinum was made up of a bunch of amazing, dedicated, creative and fun people but I think it was Dan’s idea to have us guest-write these press pages so our remarks will live on forever in print. Geez, now I have to sound eloquent. Hopefully, just using the word “eloquent” fulfilled that obligation….

To be honest, and I know this is going to come off as blasphemous but I was never a comic book fan. I grew up reading Archie comics, Richie Rich, Wendy, Casper and those hokey comics at Bob’s Big Boy restaurants that used to be all over Southern California. And that was about it. (OK, I also dug Adam West’s Batman.) I wasn’t even familiar with Malibu Comics and, yes, I told that to Scott when we first met and he still spoke to me. But during that very first conversation back in 2005, when I learned the story behind Platinum Studios, I was hooked. I was amazed by Scott’s creativity, his passion for this industry, his quirkiness, his drive to NEVER accept the status quo (about anything!), his 24/7 engine (that still exhausts all of us), and his love for outside-the-box thinking. I joined Platinum Studios because I love building businesses with creative geniuses. Our styles are as diametrically opposed as two styles could be but we share one thing: a driving passion to generate success and to share that success with as many people as possible!

I have spent many years of my career putting structure in place to support creative brilliance. I learned a valuable lesson that I have applied to a number of ventures: the height of a building is directly proportional to the depth of its foundation. To me, the success of a company is limited by the organizational depth and, vice versa, it is enhanced when that depth is made up of brilliant leaders. Scott has given me a lot of leeway to build the structure to make Platinum a huge success and we have assembled a group of all-stars. His vision, our execution. We’re not a huge team in terms of numbers, but every person on our team plays multiple positions so it seems like we have a bunch of Doc Ocks working for us (hey look, I made a comic-book reference!!) I always wanted to surround myself with people I’d want to hang out with, not just at a party on a Friday night, but also at brunch on Sunday morning – people who love to laugh, play, work hard, and have the drive to make everyone else around them better people.

I am passionate about the creative process and the contagious enthusiasm that creators bring to that process. I love our position at the nexus of an entertainment industry that distributes content in every form of media to every corner of the world. I have never been more challenged nor felt so rewarded in my professional life and I doubt I ever would anywhere else. I hope you agree that our hard work and dedication is coming through in our product and know that we are deeply committed to having an impact in this industry. I thank each of you for picking up this book, sharing it with your friends and joining us on this journey. We’re having a blast and we hope you are, too!"

I'm off to watch the opening bell on this first day of trading..... -Brian

My involvement with OTC companies

2008-01-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

I wrote in my last entry that we got our Notice of Effectiveness from the SEC a couple of weeks ago, making Platinum Studios a publicly-trading company on the OTC Bulletin Board. Platinum represents the 9th company I have been involved with since 2003 to go out to the public market via the OTCBB, although it's really the first company where I have taken a senior management position actively involved in the day-to-day operations. I was interim CEO for the very first company, XsunX, Inc., back in 2003, until we brought in a full-time CEO and I moved up to the Board Chairman position.

I have taken Board seats for three public companies prior to Platinum: XsunX (XSNX), MachineTalker, Inc. (MTKN), and Cereplast, Inc. (CERP). I resigned from the Boards of Xsunx and Machine Talker in 2006, when I took on the role of President for Platinum and I resigned from the Board of Cereplast this past week, just after getting our notification from the SEC. I have heard mixed reactions to those resignations, although mostly the comments have been negative. My reasons for resigning are obviously personal. Mostly, though, Board positions, especially for early-stage companies, can be time-consuming. At least they are for me. I don't take those positions lightly and I tend to get somewhat immersed in the responsibilities. As my workload has increased at Platinum, my ability to serve these other companies (at least at the level I demand of myself) has diminished proportionately. I am still a major shareholder in all three of the aforementioned companies, holding over 1,000,000 shares in each, so obviously I am a supporter of their efforts. You could say I'm "long" on them all - meaning I'm interested in the long-term stock performance.

All companies go through the same life-cycle: birth, growth, expansion, maturation, recession, and either rebirth or death. Boards often bring in CEOs who have an expertise in managing companies through these various stages. Back in the late 1990's, George Fisher was hired by Kodak to turn around that struggling behemoth after performing miracles at Motorola. He spent a few years spearheading cutbacks, layoffs and a corporate restructuring - because that was what he was an expert at. Most companies who can recognize that different leaders need to emerge during different stages of their company's life-cycle give themselves a better chance of adapting and surviving. Boards of Directors are no different. I consider myself to be well-versed in the early-stage efforts and I consider myself to be an entrepreneur. I also have an investor base of several hundred people who have seen tremendous returns with almost every company I have been involved in.

I feel I can add tremendous value to companies as they emerge from their early stages and launch themselves on the open market - and it almost doesn't matter what business the company is in because the needs at this time are basically the same. Once the companies start to hit their stride and begin to execute on their business plans, they need Board members who are experts in the field of interest and/or can bring specific growth strategies. At that point for the companies mentioned above, it was a good time for me to step down and put my efforts where they can best be utilized.

The exception with Platinum Studios is I have enough experience in the entertainment industry to want to stay around for quite some time to help drive the company forward. I want to see us produce feature films, television programs, bestselling graphic novels, establish an unprecedented online experience and basically become the next Disney. Do I need to mention that Disney has a $58 Billion market cap? That's Billion with a "B"!! Even if we're 1% of Disney, that puts us at a $580 Million market cap. I'll take that any day. Now that I've reduced my Board activities from all other companies, I am going to focus my efforts on making that happen. I think our investors will be pleased with that focus and that kind of return.

In a blink of an eye

2008-01-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

Is it almost the end of January already? of 2008? I was just writing about how fleeting time is and 6 months have passed by. What a wild stretch of road its been over this time. Our son, Blake Harrison Altounian, was born on July 20 and is growing like a weed. Sitting up on his own, rolling over, teething - what an incredible run it's been already. If only he'd sleep! Up until a few days ago, he didn't sleep more than 2 hours at any given time. UGH! Actually, although I complain, my wife has taken the brunt of the sleepless nights.

In addition to a newborn in the house, we filed our registration statement with the SEC for Platinum Studios in September and we became a public company by Notice of Effectiveness back on January 10. It has been a whirlwind 4 months. The process of going back and forth with the SEC, is exhausting at times - OK, it's thoroughly exhausting. At the end of the day, going out to the public market will be rewarding for our investors and employees alike so the headaches will all be worth it. In the meantime, between the birth of my son and the birth of this public company, I've been a little busy. Maybe now I can start returning some phone calls. Let me see, I have to go back to July 23, 2007.

On to the market!!!

Time Passes Quickly

2007-07-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

I used to hate it when I was a kid and my parents used to say "enjoy the time you have now because it goes by way too fast." I never knew what they meant. When I was told as a kid that I would have to wait a month for something, it felt like a few years. Today, a month seems to go by in just a few days. I have also had the weird experience of looking back and having things seem like they occurred lifetimes ago.

My youngest daughter turned 8 this past weekend and when I think back to when she was born, I can't believe that was 8 years ago. At the same time, I have been through so many ups and downs over these past 8 years that some elements of our life seem like ancient history. I have had success, lost everything in the dot com bubble burst, got divorced, found new success, got remarried and now have a new baby on the way. And lots of craziness in between. Yeah, I guess it does feel like a couple of lifetimes.

Actually, I have learned that it is possible to completely reformulate your life. It's not easy. It takes a bit of internal fortitude, a lot of faith in yourself and in the universe, and it helps to surround yourself with people who love you unconditionally. For some, that's family. For others, it can be friends, partners, mentors or children. Whatever the source, the unconditional love, support and faith is often the difference between homelessness and tremendous success. I've tasted both and I like success much better - but if I ever found myself in the other position, I feel confident that I could remake myself again.

Lost and Found in America has as one of its basic tenets that all it takes to change the world is the simple extension of one's hand to another in need. It's my "Pay it Forward" mission in life. And something to teach my children so they can pass it down to their children. The world looks a little brighter already today. Have a great week. -Brian

-B

The LAFIA site launches

2007-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

Not quite the full-blown site we've been envisioning, but the Lost and Found in America website has a home page: www.lafia.org. We've even included a "Donate" button to start the fundraising process. I have set a goal of $500,000 by September 26, 2007. Gotta start somewhere. Hoping to launch the complete site by mid-July, along with a launch of the new trailer and a full DVD with bonus features available for sale.

I do have a day job, too, and lots of exciting things are happening at Platinum Studios this year. We just agreed on deal terms with Dreamworks for one of our projects, Cowboys & Aliens, and we are looking to go into production on anywhere between 1 and 4 films in our slate deals before the end of the year.

Oh yeah, and a baby on the way, also making his debut sometime around mid-July! It's going to be an exciting 2nd half of the year. Who needs sleep? Have a great holiday weekend. -B

It's not MY win, it's OUR win

2007-06-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

From my friend Pat Finn: A while back at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100 yard dash.

At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a determination to run the race to the finish and win. All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy. They slowed down and looked back. They all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down's syndrome bent down and kissed him and said," This will make it better." All nine linked arms and walked across the finish line together. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for several minutes. People who were there are still telling the story. Why?
Because deep down we know one thing:
What matters most in this life is more than winning for
ourselves. What truly matters in this life is helping others win.

I was going to comment on this, but it stands by itself. Have a great day! -B

PS. Look for a miracle today

Letting go

2007-06-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

There is a term used by certain 12-step programs (and no, I don't know this from personal experience or reference) that I used to say to my friends when they were really stressed out and they needed some comedic relief: Let go, Let God! It is a funny saying if you are not particularly religious - it's like whispering "Just say no to drugs" to your brother while you are experiencing a tirade of some sort from your parents. It's said tongue in cheek. But I'm starting to change my tune about Let go, Let God.

Over the course of the last couple of years, and even more over the last several months, I have begun to believe that amazing things can be accomplished by just letting go. Deeprok Chopra talks about letting go in terms of money - that the flow of money is like that of a river and you must let go a bit to let the river run its course. In the myriad of books out today on the Laws of Attraction, letting go of certain lifelong mantras and having some faith in the universe creates the opportunity to attract life-affirming elements.

In terms of running a business, I find that when one "lets go" of complete control, a space develops where growth opportunities emerge and leaders step up to guide the ship. It's one of the most powerful experiences to see a young protege step up his/her game and claim ownership of an agenda, a meeting, a project. It is actually rather heady. I read the following quote recently:

A true leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders. ~Neale Donald Walsch

This happens when you "let go, let God." Try it. I promise you'll like what happens.

-Brian

Capturing the Wind

2007-06-26T08:07:00.000-07:00

Whew! I can't believe almost a month has passed since I last posted. It hasn't been for lack of action, for sure, as our Lost and Found in America organization is starting to take shape. A new website is due to launch this week. David Riordan has accepted the role of Executive Director and we are working on our arrangement with Normand as Key Speaker of the organization. One of the things I want to be able to provide in this organization is an opportunity for young people to get involved. We need to find a way to get the film out to the college circuit - an amazing transformation could occur if the message of hope and respect can get out to our young people.

In a phone call last weekend with Alan Graham, the courageous leader of Austin-based Mobile Loaves and Fishes, he made an amazing observation. He said in our society, there is so much segregation within our communities along the lines of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and economics. But down on the street, among the homeless, circumstance does not discriminate. When our leaders, both secular and non-secular, can stand together and pledge their support for and love of ALL people, regardless of their background and socio-economic status, then we will truly have peace in the world. For our part, it starts at the community level, one life at a time.

Be on the lookout for Lost and Found in America at www.lafia.org soon!

-B

Lost and Found in America

2007-05-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had the experience of being away on vacation, perhaps standing on the beach or lying in the woods, and thought "I wish I could just bottle this and take it with me"? There is a great commercial playing on TV these days by GE that shows a little boy carrying a bottle of "captured wind" to a family birthday celebration that is beautifully shot and is, apparently based on a fable: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=563GHUCECBg.

Over the last few weeks, I've been trying to figure out how to "capture the wind" of our Lost in Woonsocket experience and share it in a much broader sense and I think I've found it. Last week, we started to put the plans together to start Lost and Found in America, Inc., a non-profit organization created to restore the basic values of our American society through media projects. Respect, dignity, integrity, humanity, to name just a few. We'll support those organizations that are dedicated to these issues such as Matthew 25 Center for Hope, Crossroads and Mobile Loaves and Fishes. We discovered a real sense of togetherness when we came together for the screening in Woonsocket (ok, I didn't really discover it, I really just experienced it for the first time, which moved me to action). When all was said and done, almost 1,200 people watched the movie, and Matthew 25 and Crossroads each made over $4,000 by splitting ticket sales, DVD sales and collections. This seems to be a great model for future endeavors.

More importantly, what I got about Normand was this amazing sense of accomplishment he was feeling and how dedicated he was/is to this "movement" of helping others overcome issues of addiction and homelessness. I wanted to be part of something that could give him a permanent outlet for that energy and I am set on creating a position in this new organization for Normand to be a speaker and go on tour, supporting others in their quest for restoring humanity in our world. If we could create something for kids to participate here as well, it would be really exciting. David Riordan is going to create a place on the new website for people to upload their stories - we're thinking about putting them out in a book ala "PostSecret". Very exciting! I am so pumped about this - if we make a difference in one person's life, it will have been worth it.

-B

Great lines

2007-05-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

From Joe the Barber in Lost in Woonsocket, after giving Normand a blessing ring that says "Love": "Remember to hold this when you think that no one loves you and remember that God loves you and I do, too."

Also from Joe, this time to Mark, who has fallen off the wagon and is on the way to yet another detox center: "Instead of picking up a bottle, pick up a phone and call someone who loves you."

There were countless more but these two are my favorites. There is a very thin line between success and failure and the difference is usually wrapped up in faith.

-Brian

SRO Screening

2007-05-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

Flew in today from our screening in Woonsocket and as I expected, I was deeply moved by the entire experience. First, the venue: The Stadium Theater, built in 1926, has been beautifully restored to its original gorgeous design and boasts a sound system that rivals the sound of any major movie theatre in the country. There are only 4 full-time staff members - the entire operation runs like a well-oiled machine with the help and support of about 200 volunteers. And what phenomenal folks they all are! Other companies could learn quite a few things from the customer service provided by the volunteers and staff in this fine Theater. But this is just one of the many incredible experiences from this weekend.

The coincidences: The story behind the story of Lost in Woonsocket includes many coincidences that kept pushing the momentum, even when odds were stacked against best intentions. The filmmakers turned off the freeway because they thought "Woonsocket" sounded like a cool name for a city. On the way to detox, the guys found Normand "by chance" in a parking lot after looking for him for several hours. The crew found a local barber on the way to detox who "happened" to be a recovering alcoholic himself, 27 years sober. And the list goes on.

And I got to experience it myself....Before the credits roll at the end of "LIW," the epilogue explains that Normand is over 12 months sober and that Mark had slipped and had been in and out of detox 5 times since the A&E series ended, and had returned to the streets. Pastor Brian Souza of the Matthew 25 Center of Hope had heard that Mark was intending to come to the screening and the consensus was that if he came, he would most likely have been drinking and would make a scene. Frankly, nobody knew where he was going through detox and if he was even going to show up at the screening at all. And then God winked. On Friday, our first full day in Woonsocket, our first order of business was to go to the theater and meet the delivery of the projection equipment. After waiting for several hours, we did what any normal group of people would do with some spare time on the east coast - we headed off for the local Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee and donuts. But, even though Woonsocket is a small town, it has one-way streets that don't run parallel and after 20 minutes, ironically, we found ourselves lost - Lost in Woonsocket! So we stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts down the street from the Theater - not even the original store we had been in search of and as we came out of the store, who should we see standing out front? MARK! He had been in town only 20 minutes from detox and he was clean and committed to attending the show Saturday night. And he did! To a rousing standing ovation at the end of the screening.

The event: The screening started at 7:00 in front of a standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,100. The marketing campaign led by Alan Neville and his team at Crossroads resulted in several newspaper articles and local news pieces, leading to a successful sell-out. The crowd was anxious and abuzz, their expectations for a great show pushed to the limit when news leaked out that Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy was in attendance. Alan Neville and Pastor Brian introduced the evening and invited John onto the stage to welcome the crowd and kick off the show. The audience reacted warmly to the story, laughing and crying in all of the right places. At the end of the show, John came out on stage with Pastor Brian, Joe the Barber and the new local celebrity and focal point of the movie, Normand Cartier. The crowd gave Normand a standing ovation and another when he pointed out his family, standing from their front row seats. And still another when Mark was invited to join the crew up on stage.

We sold over 150 DVDs, collecting several hundred dollars for Crossroads and Matthew 25 Center for Hope. Those sales, along with ticket sales and donations, helped make this a tremendous fundraising effort as well as a true community event. Overall, it was a magical night! Thank you, Woonsocket family, for kicking off this humanitarian movement with your generosity, love and support. I couldn't have predicted this kind of experience when we started this adventure 3.5 years ago.

Lost in Woonsocket revisited

2007-05-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

On the front page of today's Providence Journal, the daily newspaper in Rhode Island, is an article on the upcoming screening of Lost in Woonsocket on May 12. An excerpt:

Our story starts in a tent in the woods of Woonsocket.
Here, Normand Cartier lives -- homeless, alcoholic and disconnected from his
family.
Fast forward two years. The story gets better.
Cartier's on a plane. He's flying to Texas, California, Florida and Iowa. He's attending film festivals and speaking to crowds that invariably rise to their feet, fight back tears, and applaud -- not necessarily for what Cartier says, but for what he does: simply show up.

The great thing about spirituality and transformation is its viral nature - natural viral expansion, not like the impersonal electronic kind that Internet 2.0 propagates, but more traditional and community-oriented and personal, with real tears, real hugs and real connection.

I am flying to Rhode Island next week to attend the screening with the expectation that I will get to experience this transformation first-hand and I am convinced that the world will be improved ever so slightly by this gathering. I have a feeling that Woonsocket will never be the same again. I already know that I won't be.

If we all did one thing to try to make this world a better place, it would, by the very attempt, become one. Isn't that the kind of world we want to leave to our children and grandchildren?

-Brian

Spidey's coming!

2007-04-30T23:45:00.000-07:00

As President of an entertainment company, it is almost in my job description to watch television and go to movies - how can it get any better than that? Considering my company, Platinum Studios, is a comics-based entertainment company, it DOES get better as I pay particular attention to television shows and movies based on comic books and graphic novels. This coming weekend we will see the kickoff of the early summer movie campaign with the highly anticipated Spider-Man 3, the 4th comic-based film to premiere in 2007 following Ghost Rider, 300, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (all of which hit #1 in box office receipts at least one weekend in their respective runs!) And Spider-Man 3 should be the highest-grossing film of them all, especially considering the first two Spider-Man movies grossed just under $1 Billion in worldwide box office. This weekend, we get to see our spidey hero wrestle with his own dark side as well as the bad guys. The Plot Outline: A strange black entity from another world bonds with Peter Parker and causes inner turmoil as he contends with new villains, temptations, and revenge. While I'm too old to go stand in line at midnight and catch the 1st possible showing, I am going on opening weekend and I am really excited.

On a cool side note, my oldest daughter (now a 5th-grader - yikes!!) was in a private school for kindergarten back in 2002. Like most private schools, this particular school required a lot of parental involvement in the classroom, which is nearly impossible on a regular basis when both parents work. My daughter had one parent who she really loved hanging out with because he always came on parent reading day and he was her reading partner. All year, I heard about Sam reading this book or Sam sharing that story, but because I came to school on different days, I never met Sam. Near the end of the year, there was a classroom event where our kids showed off stories that they had written with the help of their reading partner and I got to finally meet the infamous SAM. Needless to say, I was speechless as I stood there shaking hands with my daughter's reading partner, Sam Raimi, the director of all three Spider-Man movies, among other amazing credentials. But the surprises didn't stop there - the day was May 3, 2002, the very day that the original Spider-Man was premiering -not just some ordinary day. I asked him why, of all days, he felt it was necessary to come to school on this particular day when there was so much going on surrounding the premiere of his movie, and he told me something I will never forget. He said "Work is just work. My son's education is important to me and I made a commitment to be involved as much as possible and whenever I can. I'm never too busy to be here for him."

If Sam Raimi can come to kindergarten on the opening day of the largest movie of his career (up to that point) to be with his son, I can NEVER complain about being too busy to come to a talent show, open house or any other event my kids have going on. "Work is just work. I'm never too busy to be there for them."

-Brian

Sanjaya's 15-minutes are just about over

2007-04-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, it had to happen sooner or later - Sanjaya's days on American Idol are over (for now!) He definitely won't get a recording contract or, if he does, it will probably go the way of William Hung. But you gotta hand it to this kid: he turned his Idol experience, with a mediocre singing voice, into a fan sensation with a cult-like following. I wouldn't be surprised to see him turn this experience into an acting or modeling career - he is a good-looking kid and he has amazing chutzpah. He continued to fly in the face of conformity and against all odds.

I hate to be trite but the simple lesson here is to believe in yourself. It is amazing what can be accomplished when you believe. It also helps to have millions of people vote for your success. Even though Howard Stern and others were encouraging fan support of Sanjaya as a way of mocking the contest, I don't believe for a minute that he avoided elimination ONLY because people thought he was the worst. In fact, I bet this ploy accounted for only a small fraction of his total votes. Think about it, would you really spend $0.99 per text message to vote for this guy just to mock the show? Multiple times? Can people really be motivated to spend their hard-earned money just to prove a point?

38,000,000 people voted this past week to send 6 finalists on to the next week and it looks like the real talent fans showed up. Perhaps they were scared of the idea of seeing their favorite supplanted by Sunjaya. So fans rallied and called in their support for Melinda, Jordin, Blake, Chris, Lakisha and Phil so they wouldn't have to see Sanjaya's next hairdo choice. That's real motivation. I wouldn't be surprised if Howard Stern sees a little kick-back "thank you" gift from AT&T for the amazing amount of revenues generated by this mocking agenda. What a country! If only we could vote for President via text message and by phone. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we see something like that in the next election. We have had more people vote for this year's American Idol than voted for President Bush. Now that I think about it, perhaps www.votefortheworst.com got its start back during the last Presidential election.......hhmmm.

RIP, Hokie Victims

2007-04-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

After watching news report after news report on the horrible massacre at Virginia Tech, I can't help but think that outside of Virginia, this tragedy may be lost in the overwhelming sea of similar "academic shootings" across the country. I hope not. Whether we were directly impacted by knowing the victims personally, or indirectly impacted just because we're human, we cannot let this story become Page 2 news so quickly. The victims (all of us included) deserve to be remembered and honored and mourned. We all died a little yesterday.

Not only was this an injustice done to those innocent students and professors (one a Holocaust survivor!) but this was an injustice done to our "free" society. This is a critical time around the world where religious and cultural issues are diverging further everyday and here we are, showing the world what freedom looks like! What a shame and a terrible tragedy.

What I can't understand is, if these deranged individuals want to take out 30 people with a legal handgun, why don't they enlist in the army and go fight in Afghanistan or in Iraq? Why cut down some of the promising minds of our future? What could these victims have become if they weren't cut down in their pursuit of higher knowledge? What advancements in science, math and engineering could they have brought to us? How could they have made our world a better place? What were we shortchanged by this twisted killer? We'll never know. We all died a little yesterday and we are a little worse off as a world because of it.

Rest in Peace, Hokies. You will not be forgotten.

-Brian

Cereplast on "The Green"

2007-04-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

Robert Redford is supporting a series on his Sundance Channel that is dedicated to companies, issues, ideas and efforts in the new "green" movement, aptly titled "The Green", which is set to premiere tomorrow night at 9pm. Sponsored by Lexus and Smith Barney, the series will explore everything from global warming and alternative fuels to food choices and city planning, all of which will help make our planet a better place to live. While not complete, the website gives a lot of information about the people behind the effort around the globe and the companies dedicated to that effort: www.sundancechannel.com/thegreen. Having a force like Robert Redford and his foundation behind this series will surely get the attention of many!

I am also thrilled to report that Cereplast, Inc. will be featured in an upcoming episode of "The Green", with a projected air date of June 19. From the press announcement: In “Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Paper or Plastic,” the United States Post Office teams up with William McDonough to develop a “cradle to cradle” policy that will reduce the USPS’s environmental impact; Frederic Scheer of Cereplast creates biodegradable containers made from corn and potato starch; and the designers at Ford present a tour of the recyclable Model U, a concept car that embodies the “cradle to cradle” principle with its hydrogen fuel cell supercharged engine featuring high fuel efficiency and recyclable or biodegradable parts.

Cereplast has been a leader in the biodegradable food serviceware industry for a few years, making biodegradable resins out of corn, potato and other starches to great success. Cereplast’s products are used to manufacture plastic products that are biodegradable and compostable. This makes them key elements in the fight against global warming and instrumental in the national drive for energy independence. The company’s resins have received strong acceptance from some of the major plastic resin users in the United States including Solo Cup, Duni-Innoware, Genpak, and Alcoa Kama, a division of Alcoa (NYSE: AA).

I am proud to sit on the Board of Directors of Cereplast (www.cereplast.com) and play a role in making this planet a better place for my children and the many generations to follow.

-Brian

Lost in Woonsocket

2007-04-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

SYNOPSIS: Lost in Woonsocket is a story of hope, miracles, and the painful reality of addiction. In 2005, a group of filmmakers from the A&E series Random1, come across two homeless alcoholics, Mark and Normand, living in a tent, literally on the edge of society. Hopeless and out of touch with their families for years, the two nonetheless maintain a strong bond of friendship. John and Andre break the rules of the show to get Mark into detox, a halfway house, and hopefully -- a life of sobriety. In their effort to get Mark cleaned up they pick a friendly barber out of the phone book who turns out to know the hard truth about what it takes to stay clean. When the episode runs in the fall of 2005, an avalanche of E-mails from the audience want to know why John and Andre didn’t help Normand as well. Their answer that day was that they could only help one and Mark seemed the more willing candidate. Then the bombshell arrives. An E-mail from a man named Timothy saying he is Normand’s son. He and the rest of the family has watched Mark’s R1 episode and sees their father for the first time in 13 years. He is asking where the R1 crew was when they filmed the episode. Normand’s family wants to find their father and take him in from the harsh New England winter.

The R1 crew changes direction and goes back to Woonsocket to find Normand and reunite him with his family. What ensues is an unlikely set of coincidences that as everyone says later, had to be directed by a higher source. What is revealed is the moment of surrender every person struggling with addiction must face.

If the life of an addict were only that simple, the story would have had a happy ending, but after the R1 show is no longer on television, a call from Pastor Brian brings the principle characters in Mark and Normand’s story back together again in a rainy Woonsocket parking lot. Someone has fallen. Up close and unflinching in its raw honesty, the moments of pathos, humor, and grace continue to unfold as this story of addiction and redemption in America plays out to its surprising conclusion.

Lost in Woonsocket has three upcoming screenings:

April 23rd - Newport Beach, CA
May 12th - Woonsocket, RI
May 19th - Jacksonville, Fla
June 24th - Austin, TX

We're looking to release this as a DVD for wide distribution before the end of the year. More news to come on this. See more information at www.lostinwoonsocket.com

-Brian

Welcome to the jungle!

2007-04-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I was having breakfast in my kitchen, mulling over a work problem that had kept me awake all night. Little did I know it would be first of many work-related stress-induced nights of insomnia...and then it hit me! I don't know if it was my fascination with the Kix floating in a pattern in the milk in my bowl or the white noise effect from the neighbor's lawnmower (why do gardeners start at 7:00 in the morning?), but, from out of nowhere, the answer to my problem hit me. I called it my "Breakfast Epiphany."

It is amazing to me how often I have those epiphanies and even more amazing that they come in the early morning as I'm starting my day - perhaps it's the coffee. Whatever the source, I consider these jolts of brain power to be signs that there is more at work than that which meets the eye. I'll post thoughts here on a wide range of topics - hopefully, we can have an interactive conversation about a good many of them.

'Til then.

-Brian