TonyGinnThreee

Tony Ginn discusses the creative process of making films, including how ideas can come from dreams or research. He mentions the importance of treatments and scripts in developing a film, as well as the various genres and genres of films. He also discusses the role of different crew members, such as grips, in the production process. Ginn touches on the challenges of funding and the current issues in the film industry, including the actors' strike and the impact of streaming services on residuals. He also mentions the potential benefits and drawbacks of AI technology in the industry. Audio Stamp, Tony Ginn Interview, Part 3. Following recording was produced by B&B Productions. B&B Productions Tacoma, Washington. Quality audio and film. Reach us at B&BProductionsint at gmail.com. Hey everybody, welcome back. As always, I am your producer. My name is... And I am here with the illustrious, the world-renowned, the iconic, Tony Ginn. Welcome back, Tony. Thank you so much for being here with us. We appreciate having you. It's a pleasure to be back. You know, us collaborating has just been a wonderful thing, and I'm always looking forward to our future collaboration together, too. Oh, that's really nice. I'm looking forward to that as well. So, listen, let's jump right into it, because I know we've got a lot of stuff to cover today. So we're looking at the creative process. You know, actually taking these, you know, thoughts and visions and getting to where the people can see them, you know, on the big screen or a little screen, whatever kind of screen you're talking about. But talk to me about how do you make your films? Well, it's interesting. You know, sometimes I'm asleep, and a dream, it comes in a dream. A good example was the first script I wrote, which is a sci-fi, and it's titled Jason and the Astronauts, where they are fighting an evil force that's trying to take over Earth. So that was my first start in 2011. And then the Robert Johnson story, which we can go into detail at another session. But then it goes to an idea, to a story, to a script, and then there's a technical term called a treatment, and that's done by a script supervisor, somebody that goes through your whole content of your script. Then it goes to… Back up a little bit. So treatment. Talk to us just a little bit about what all is included in a treatment. Well, you're working with another writer that has experience. A good example, one of my best friends, Gregory Crosby, being Crosby's grandson, who did Hacksaw Ridge, a faith-based film. Prior to that, when he was with Interstellar, he did treatments for other people. So that's where I learned about how that process works. So then he goes through and basically kind of picks everything apart and puts it in its proper form. So then it can go to a screenplay. Then from the screenplay, it will go to a site location. Then today it will go to a trailer. Then it will be pitched for funding. And then you go on the shoot, and there's a term. It's called putting it in the can. And then everything else follows, marketing and distribution and legal aspects, copyrights, intellectual properties, and the like. Okay. So continue talking to us about your creative process. You mentioned the dream. So do a lot of your ideas or visions for the types of works you want to create come to you in dreams? Yes, some do, but others will come from research. Reading a particular novel that you want to develop into a story and a script. Okay, like an adaptation. Yeah. Okay, got you. Yeah. And the other is my writing technique. It's interesting. I heard an interview on NPR with Ray Charles. And the interviewer, she asked him, how do you create your music? Well, I write the title first, and then I create the story underneath. Well, it's happened both ways, you know, because I'm also a musician, a lyricist, a band leader, and so on and so forth. So this lyric, you know, is developed from the song title first. It's the same thing sometimes with a script. And that dream develops that title, and then I build the story underneath. Okay. Now, could someone, like let's say someone has like a vision of like one particular scene. You know, let's say like a couple kissing on the Eiffel Tower. Okay. And could, you know, that vision or that one scene in their head, could they form a movie or a process around that? Oh, definitely. Okay. In fact, it's been done. Okay. You know, back in the days when they were shooting in the 30s and 40s, you know, there is one scene, I can't remember the name of the movie, where these two meet at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Well, yeah, actually the Empire State Building. Okay. Well, it's not unusual, but the visual aspect of it, you know, is for the producer that is looking at it or the investor in film, that gives them an intro and what you would call an interest in moving forward with the project and subsequently funding, which is a deal. And then, of course, you're developing the budget. You are hiring the crew. And, you know, in some cases, I mean, you might have a motion picture that has 5,000 crew members. So you have your own team, and you have to have a team. And then each person is like the supervisor of construction has his team. You would have the head grip that would have his team. I think you get the gist of what I'm saying. No, I don't mean to sound like a neophyte. What do the grip do? Oh, the grip, you know. They grip stuff? Well, yeah, they grip wrenches. A lot of them are seamstress, and they are sewing canvas backdrops and stuff like that. Oh, okay. Of course, in today's technology, the use of the green screen is similar in the sense of the technology used. But still, you have many, many scenes that require a grip to sew all of these different backdrops. Okay. That's cool. Learn something new every day. So now we have our idea. We've gotten it to – okay. So after you have the idea, what is the first thing that the writer or whomever wants to write down to capture that? Do you write to a script, or I believe you mentioned – Well, sometimes it can be just totally fictitious. I mean if they want to follow the industry standard. Well, I'm just saying sometimes it can be totally fictitious. Other times it can be based on a true story, what they call a biopic. Others, you have documentaries. You have short films. You have animated films. You have sci-fis. There's a whole – many different genres. Romantic comedy. True adventure stories. A good example of an adventure story is The Treasure of Sierra Madre. That was – it's called an adventure story. Also on the rise are Native American stories, true stories. Because I have many associates in the tribes here in the Northwest that have production companies. One is the Muckleshoots. And then another friend and colleague in New Mexico, Angela Studi, who has her own production company. So what is happening is they are developing their own true stories. It's not like Tonto and Lone Ranger anymore. So you have that. But to segue back to what you're saying, the creative process can cover a lot of different landscapes. And some writers only focus on one genre. Some on sci-fi. Some on independent films. Some on sitcoms, detector stories. It's like the FBI and SVU and stuff like that. And then there's a whole group of writers for those particular episodes and ultimately the series that goes on and on and on. So for the layperson, it can be very complicated. But you have to be a student and get educated. It comes down to our previous program where mentorship is important. Then funding today is a real difficult – it always has been, actually, to have an investor in your particular – and it's really a product versus a production, which has kind of got this thing. It's a production that makes a product. Yeah, exactly. So that's a good point, Tony. So with it being an investment and all the things that have happened, all the industries that have taken a really hard hit post-COVID, obviously the movie industry took a really big hit and is still kind of recovering. And now we have the Actors Guild striking and tensions in Hollywood. And with the price of goods going up, it costs more to make these movies. So as an investor in film, do you think that movies now are a good investment? Because, again, it is a product, like you said. Well, that's a good question because everything is always in flux right now. In fact, in June, I was on the picket lines in front of Paramount Studios with the writers. And subsequently, negotiations went on and they came to an agreement. Then now, as an actor myself, we are on strike. But the main bones in there, of course, the whole thing is about fair wages, pension, health, and welfare benefits. And then the stickler is streaming because there hasn't been any, I would call it, adjustment for payment to the actors, the writers, and so on and so forth. Because the studios are taking advantage of not having to pay for then what's called residuals. Streaming services like Hulu, Netflix, and the others. Exactly. And when you look at that, remember, before it was free. Right. Now subscriptions are up. Yeah. They're moving away from cable. But the billionaire CEOs are still doing well. Because Hollywood is still getting their cut. Yeah. But is Hollywood giving the residual cut to the actors and the writers? Not yet. Not until it's settled. It's funny because if you would look at the news, the outside looking in, it would make you think that they were striking over AI and AI threatening their jobs. But in actuality, that makes a lot more sense, that they'd be striking over something like that. Because that's a much bigger pot that the studio has been getting and not having to share. Yeah. Well, this whole AI technology is another interesting development. Right. Renovation even. Because it's got its positives and negatives. As with all tools. In terms of the acting world, AI can take one person and blow it up to 1,000. Well, that actor is not getting paid union wages for his image or hers to be blown up. Then there's another aspect of – so that's the residuals. But then also music, royalties. Every film, YouTube or whatever, has music, soundtrack. So the musicians need to get their royalties. Right. So you have residuals to film and royalties to music. Now, the AI situation is, on one side, there's that medical application where you can use AI to examine internal organs or be able to do remote care. But then you've got to look at the money aspect of AI. It's like crypto and Bitcoin. The investors in AI are making boo-coo money. And then, of course, the federal government now, usually out of the SEC, they're looking into it because it's affecting the dollar. So there's a lot going on. You're absolutely right. There is. There is definitely a lot going on, particularly around AI. But speaking of – Well, let me put it this way. Let's say you're an artist, artist, artist, and you have your master. All right. And then AI comes in and captures your master. And then there's a technology. It's called Gicle, which means you take the master and you copy the master and print off one to a thousand. Okay. Well, is that creator of that masterpiece going to be able then to benefit from the resale of their own work? They should be. Well, they should. But then how do you protect yourself? That's the other thing, too. You've got to have your copyrights in place. You have to have your intellectual properties in place, and that's a legal aspect. You need a good attorney to be able to protect yourself. Because we know in history, especially within our own black musicians and so on and so forth. Oh, yeah. They're right for it. Yeah. For the crazy stories. Yeah. And, you know, I mean, like with the Robert Johnson story and the soundtrack, two songs, Sweet Home Chicago and Crossroad Blues, well, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers, they recorded those, too, and they got all the profit. And nothing went to the Robert Johnson Foundation. So, you know, there's one of that. Why is that? Sometimes I think it's because nobody's paying attention. The other is, you know, again, you need a good attorney to be able to say, well, that I created and that you stole. Right. And the money to fight it as well. Well, yeah. That's part of the good attorney. But, you know, going back to my grandfather, we talked about him. He had one song called That Teasin' Rag, and there was a group called the Dixieland Jazz Band that basically stole his song. So then here in Tacoma, we went to Davies Pearson Law Firm, filed the suit, and finally, eventually, after several years, got all the royalties back to go to the estate. So, yeah, it goes on. And, you know, again, you know, if you're a young person first coming into business, you know, you're all hyped up and you're excited and you've got a good product and everything else. But then it's like you're in a world of sharks, and you have to be able then to know how to navigate, you know, through the shark-ridden waters. But the bottom line in everything related to entertainment, this is a brutal industry, and it's a tough way to go. And speaking of brutal, let's take a quick break to mention our sponsors. The following recording was produced by B&B Productions. B&B Productions, Tacoma, Washington. Quality audio and film. Reach us at B&BProductionsint at gmail.com. This following program also brought to you by Amalgamated Cinema and Entertainment, an S-Corp operation, as well as Bullseye Entertainment. Bullseye Entertainment. So, again, continue as we were speaking. Well, then you have to look at what help is there for young writers, or it could be an older writer, where you can get paid. So there's a couple of sites. One for writers is called NetworkISA.org. And then Stage32.com, which is a social media, basically a platform, but you're connected to one million producers in 121 countries. You can pitch your deal. They have webinars and workshops covering acting, how do you get an agent, an opportunity to pitch to producers, say, from Paramount or Netflix or any other production house. So they're out there, but then it's a matter of someone like me to be able then to steer or refer that particular person that's in that particular field, writing or music or whatever. Now, on LinkedIn, there's all kinds of professionals there from all over the world. And I'm on that, and I have been since 2015, and have 22,000 LinkedIn connections, somewhat 30,000 followers. And so you can, you know, in every country on this continent. So, you know, I'm putting out there, somebody will come back and say, well, you know, what genre is this, or interested, or whatever. But as a business, you have to look at it both ways. This is 98% business, 2% talent. So you better be both. And over all these years, I am. Because I want a self-fund to be able to – I don't want to call it control so much, but then to hire people, surround myself with people that can do things that I can't. Because I can't. I can't do everything. Very wise. Very, very wise. That's the wise. That's the wise sound. Sorry. Pardon me? Yeah, that was the wise. Let me say something wise. Give us that website again for that social media network. Well, for writers, it's called NetworkISA.org. For all aspects, you could be a cinematographer, you could be a writer, makeup artist, you know, whatever. And that's called Stage32.com. And that has now grown since I started to 1 million producers in 121 countries. Very nice. So a lot of times – and I, you know, every day with my email, I say, you have new people that's joined your network. And then I give them my link to LinkedIn. And so now I've got them in both networks. And I'm able then to help, if you want to say guide them, through the process. So, yeah. So for me, you know, I've always said it already before, you know, I'm going on 75 years old. Which takes it back again to what length of time does it take to get from the dream to in the can. It could sum – Scorsese is a good example, a couple, which took 20 years. Really? Yeah. For me, Robert Johnson, it's been a 12-year work in progress. But it takes a lot of research and developing a network of connections, which takes it then to the actors themselves. There's what's called A-plus actors, like Samuel L. Jackson or James Earl Jones or Ben Affleck or, you know, Matt Damon. Those are A-plus actors. And, of course, those are the ones that are more expensive in your total budget. But there's another way to approach it. You have the actor sign on to your film and have them take points on the back end. Meaning, let's say the projected gross revenue is simple. Let's say $100,000. So they're going to get 2% of that $100,000. Now, and look at the actors themselves, what are their net worth? Well, the highest net worth in the industry is actually The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. He has the highest net worth in Hollywood. That makes sense. Yeah. So, yeah. And then, of course, you've got to break it down. You know, you have your actor that has, say, maybe one word, and they get paid union wage. And let's say it's $2,000 for that first shoot. But then the residuals go in a cycle, which is 52 cycles. So it goes 52, the residuals diminish, and once it hits 52, it goes back to one again. So when I think about national commercials and you look at flow, right, you've got to be a multimillionaire by now. You know? Makes sense. Yeah. And others. I mean, and, of course, now you've got athletes that are doing commercials, Samuel Jackson and all of them. Yeah, Captain Wong. Captain Wong, yeah. So besides getting paid for the particular movie that they're doing, they're also getting residuals from the national commercials. And usually it's on a contract. So the initial payment could be, let's see, $25,000, okay, which is probably a little cheap. But then the residuals keep coming. So now with college athletes, they're able to get endorsements. You're starting to see college athletes on commercials. Yes, I saw that. That's a good thing. That's definitely a good thing. So there are very beneficial things within the industry, but you really have to understand that you're maybe 50 people or persons, let's say me, that look like me that are going in to the casting director. Right. How do you set yourself apart? That's a good question. Maybe we save that for another time. But one thing I just wanted to just kind of re-highlight for the folks listening at home and to thank you for, Mr. Dan. So I was able to look up that Stage 32 that you had mentioned. And one of the things that really struck me, and I told you that B&B Productions will be signing up with them. But it says on the banner on the front page, it says, The future of film school is here. Stage 32 certification. I don't know what that is, but it sounds amazing. It sounds good. No, I actually qualify. But R.B., who's the founder, he's Italian. R.B. Batto is from Brooklyn. The certification costs money, right? And so he'll have offers like 50% off or something at a particular deadline. The pitch sessions would close after 20 people. But in some cases, it might cost you $39. In another case, it might cost you $150. So he's making a lot of money. Now, also, R.B. has his own production company called Fair Warning Productions. And I'm waiting for him to produce one of his own films. But he is a networker, networker, networker, networker. He's amazing. Well, he's put together a pretty decent website. And I like the videos that I'm seeing up here. But just the idea of a certification, like an online film school certification with a network of a million folks, you know what I mean? Like a certification from there could hold a little bit of gravitas. It becomes a real major credit to your resume. It's like I've done five master thesis films. I've got my master's in fine arts. I've done several national commercials. I've done several TV series. So do I need that certification? No. No, I'm just saying. Yeah. But, I mean, here are some of the young people and the mentorship and breaking into the industry. And I'm thinking this may be a great tool for a neophyte, someone like me, or some of the younger people coming up who don't have access to NYU or film school in SoCal or something like that, maybe in the middle of Idaho. And they can go on to State 32 and start getting that experience. And that's really what it's about. Well, and then there's another college called Full Sail. Oh, yeah, Full Sail. Yeah. Out of Florida. Right. Shout out Full Sail. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. But I want to nail that down. One, I should do it. Okay. Okay. But it's in the – I think it's in a – I think it's three classes I'd have to dig into it more. Yeah. It's not just one class. Certification. Certification. Well, when you're done, the certification is there. Right. But let's look at it as if you're going to college quarter by quarter by quarter. Okay. All right? Yeah, I haven't looked into it either, but we're almost out of time. But we can definitely delve into that the following week. And, yeah, it should be pretty good. I think the people actually like it. Stage32.com. Everybody check that out. One last time for the folks at home. The following recording was produced by B&B Productions. B&B Productions, Tacoma, Washington. Quality audio and film. Reach us at B&BProductionsint at gmail.com. All right. Thank you, folks, so much for joining us today. Again, I'm your producer. My name is – And, of course, your host, the fabulous Tony Ginn. I'm here. The last thing I would say is the one major thing you have to realize in this business is never give up. Last but not least, what is more important, your net worth or your legacy? You can't take the money with you. Absolutely. So you might as well have your name on a street sign or a building or something. And the ultimate, of course, is to have your star on the Walk of Fame. There you go. Reaching for that star. And we'll see you guys next time. Thank you so much. We're out of here.