Angelica Harris Welcomes AEI Client Dr. Jin Kyu (Suh) Robertson to her show!
A show about your life and your writing.
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Poster Girl – IFC Center SARA NESSON'S FILM
POSTER GIRL (Directed by: Sara Nesson) is the story of Robynn Murray, an all-American high-school cheerleader turned “poster girl” for women in combat, distinguished by Army Magazine’s cover shot. Now home from Iraq, her tough-as-nails exterior begins to crack, leaving Robynn struggling with the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Shot and directed by first-time filmmaker Sara Nesson, POSTER GIRL is an emotionally raw documentary that follows Robynn over the course of two years as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and redemption, using art and poetry to redefine her life.
http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt1505384/maindetails
"Individual conferences with Dr. Atchity available afternoon of March 4."
"Top Publishing and Marketing Experts Reveal Tools and Techniques to Get Your Book Published and Double or Triple Your Income as an Author or Publisher."
A
re you curious about what publishers like Harper Collins, Morgan James, Adams Media, Wiley, Random House, and Simon & Schuster are looking for? What is the best way to get your manuscript read when you're an unpublished author? Want to know the biggest mistakes to avoid when writing book proposals? You'll be engaged as these top pros share their expertise, reveal the inner workings of the publishing industry, and discuss various approaches to common marketing and publishing challenges.
Additional bonus after hours cocktail party where you'll have the opportunity to network with the following speakers from the day, industry experts and other attendees.
Rick Frishman
Internet Marketing Expert
Best Selling Author, Leading Motivational Speaker
Folio Literary Management
Memory Expert and Internet Marketing Strategist
Bradley Communications Corp
Morgan James Publishing
Best Selling Author, Radio Interview Expert
Viral Marketing and Book Promotion Expert
Literary Agent & Publishing Consultant
Attorney to best and brightest
Literary Agent
Author, Speaker, Book Marketing Consultant
Publishing Consultant, Book Shepherd, Author
Atlas Books, V.P. of Sales
Celebrated Hollywood film producer
"The Expert's Expert"
Book Marketing Expert
Coach, Author, Speaker and Radio Show Host
Professional RockStar Speaker and Author
Student, Speaker, and Author
Bestselling author and Inventor of Afformations
Editor in Chief of The Gatekeepers Post
Founder of SelfGrowth.com
Public Relations Expert and Best Selling Author
News About The Lost Valentine
- New York's "As the World Turns " alum in "The Lost Valentine"
- This special Hallmark movie is a homage to the upcoming Valentines Day and should start hearts racing for that very special day where lovers unite or ...
- Love triumphant in new TV film 'The Lost Valentine'
- By Greg Goodsell TV icon Betty White, at 89 years young is starring in the latest Hallmark Hall of Fame TV film, "The Lost Valentine. ...
- Happy Birthday, Betty White! Beloved star celebrates in KC
- 20, after the screening of her upcoming Hallmark Hall of Fame movie "The Lost Valentine." Next to White is Brad Moore, president of Hallmark Hall of Fame ...
Nielsens: Lots of ratings love for 'Valentine'
•CBS' Valentine.The Lost Valentine seduced 14.6 million viewers Sunday, marking the biggest Hallmark Hall of Fame production in four years and the week's top program behind American Idol.
AEI Client Stuart Connelly and Clarence Jones' Behind The Dream Reviewed
Has Martin Luther King's dream come true?
When I helped draft that 1963 speech, none of us imagined an African American president. But US society is far from post-racial.
By Clarence Jones
In 1963, I had a contentious meeting with Robert Kennedy. In defending the civil rights achievements of his brother John and the Justice Department during his tenure as attorney general, RFK predicted that, "in 40 years", a negro might be president of the United States. Those of us who worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr never contemplated the possibility of a black president in our lifetimes. Kennedy turned out to be off by only five years.
In 2008, I travelled to France as the guest of SOS Racisme and the mayor of Paris. My invitation was part of the city's celebration of the 60th anniversary of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights and commemoration of the legacy of Dr King, 40 years after his death. One question asked of me, again and again there, was: Does the election of Obama as president of the United States mean that Dr King's dream has been fulfilled?
This is posed as a yes-or-no question, and I find that troubling. Because the situation is one of degrees. The problems of prejudice exist on a continuum. A better question might be: have we even come close?
Much progress has indeed been made. As a participant in the civil rights movement, I'm proud of that progress. But as long as there is necessity for such a legal category as hate crime, the "Dream" remains unfulfilled. As long as DWB ("Driving While Black") in the presence of police remains a perilous activity for many African Americans throughout our nation, the Dream remains diluted. As long as unemployment among African Americans keeps repeating the historic ratio of double the rate of unemployment among white people, the Dream remains unfulfilled. As long as polarisation of wealth and absence of equal access to economic opportunity continue to escalate and disproportionately affect African Americans, the Dream remains unfulfilled.
These are not anomalies; they are realities in America. As such, the Dream that Martin Luther King Jr brought to us remains out of reach.
Those who argue that our election of an African American president proves that racism is a thing of the past are not looking closely at the subtleties of racism. Of course, Barack Obama is living proof that progress has been made towards respect for African Americans, but consider the hatred that bubbled up as he gained momentum in the primaries.
Even Obama's eventual running mate, Joe Biden, was scrutinised by the media over a possibly racist comment. Among the adjectives he used to describe his then opponent, Biden offered "African American" and then the word "clean". And while he kept backpedalling, saying he meant the phrase to invoke the idea there were no skeletons in Obama's closet, one cannot help but wonder. Would Biden or any other public servant ever describe someone like John Kerry as "white and clean?" It is doubtful.
The post-racial America it's been suggested we achieved by Obama's election is nowhere in sight. The truth may be that we don't want to admit to ourselves that an African American president does not mean a society wholly accepting of all African Americans. Indeed, racism continues to fester in every American city and town. We can safely, if sadly, say that we have not fully achieved the Dream.
Those who say otherwise simply have not taken the requisite look at the underlying political ideology that powered the philosophical engine of Martin Luther King Jr. The essence of his dream for African Americans after the March on Washington was this: a United States where every person has the equal opportunity – educationally, economically, culturally and politically – to participate in our society and develop themselves to the maximum of their abilities, irrespective of the colour of their skin or ethnicity. This concept assumes that, all other things being equal, African Americans should have access to the same opportunities as whites.
But this "all other things being equal" is the lie of race relations in America. Because our country has not levelled the playing field at all. Various civil rights bills, constitutional amendments and supreme court decisions aimed at dismantling segregation in education, transportation and rental housing, have not constituted "all other things being equal". Ours is a capitalist society, and each individual's market power is key to how he is treated. There remains an enormous division between the races when it comes to median income, home ownership, education, life expectancy, the incarceration rate, drug use and mortality rate.
The issue at the heart of all these problems is the idea that freedom and economic opportunity are interchangeable; that freedom is economic opportunity. This is false logic. Freedom without economic opportunity is just a variant form of oppression. Further, this thinking is dangerous because it obscures the definitive criterion necessary in evaluating the realisation of Martin's Dream for African Americans in the 21st century and beyond: wealth.
• This article is adapted from Clarence B Jones' new book, co-authored with Stuart Connelly, Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech That Transformed a Nation, published by Palgrave Macmillan
AEI ASSOCIATE KATHY JACOBI FEATURED ...
12 Paintings of Women, 12 Studio Visits
Kathryn Jacobi: "My palette is glass taped over a white board. I use a relatively simple cast of colors, most of which get mixed with the basic flesh tones I prepare every week or so. The arrangement is a fairly traditional portrait palette: cremnitz or titanium white, jaune brilliant #2-4, naples yellow; then earth tones -- mars violet, indian red, umbers, ochres, mars yellow; then reds: alizerine and cadmium, cobalt violet, alizarin purple; blues -- permanent, cerulean; greens-- terre verte and pthalo. I mix my own black with alizarin crimson and pthalo green, so that I have control of the warmth or coolness of my darks and greys. Occasionally I'll put out other colors as needed. Usually I use Liquin (by Windsor & Newton) as a medium. Working on panel, I prefer working with sable or synthetic soft, fairly small brushes."
John Seed
To whet your appetite, I should tell you that you can expect to see an allegorical figure in Betty Shelton's "Remembrance," a saint in Cynthia Sitton's "St. Dyphna," and in Margaret McCann's stunning painting "Rotary" you will see a giantess reclining on a traffic circle. Add a passive aggressive mother, a diva, a muse and a Hollywood stylist, and you get some idea of the range you can expect.
Each of this week's diverse paintings is accompanied by a studio photo: in some cases it is the artist's palette along with some technical information, and in some cases the artists have provided studio views. There are also informative commentaries with many of paintings, meant to help all of us understand the ideas behind each image.
To each of the artists who provided images and text I say "Thank You."
If you are an artist -- or if you know of an artist -- who would like to be featured in a future slideshow, please email me at: johnseed@gmail.com
Kathryn Jacobi: "My palette is glass taped over a white board. I use a relatively simple cast of colors, most of which get mixed with the basic flesh tones I prepare every week or so. The arrangement is a fairly traditional portrait palette: cremnitz or titanium white, jaune brilliant #2-4, naples yellow; then earth tones -- mars violet, indian red, umbers, ochres, mars yellow; then reds: alizerine and cadmium, cobalt violet, alizarin purple; blues -- permanent, cerulean; greens-- terre verte and pthalo. I mix my own black with alizarin crimson and pthalo green, so that I have control of the warmth or coolness of my darks and greys. Occasionally I'll put out other colors as needed. Usually I use Liquin (by Windsor & Newton) as a medium. Working on panel, I prefer working with sable or synthetic soft, fairly small brushes."
Kathryn Jacobi: "Diva #3" is one of a series of 15 paintings of mezzosoprano Geeta Novotny singing arias from the opera Carmen, by Bizet. She is a perfect Carmen, passionate and strong, with a beautiful and powerful voice. While these paintings are not faithful portraits, they attempt to capture the inspiring qualities of her infinitely nuanced performance."
"Diva 3," 2011
18" x 12"
Oil on panel
www.kathrynjacobi.com
Investing in Hollywood and Broadway: Exposing your portfolio to Tinseltown and The Great White Way
Whether it’s for financial return or a vanity play, some wealth investors may find the lure of investing in show business irresistible. Before you envision yourself on location for a major motion picture, or gleam on-stage with the cast if your pet-project happens to win a Tony, consider this quadrant financial plan: 1) tax subsidies 2) sales projections 3) debt 4) equity and how a cast, budget and marketing will impact your gains.
Show business usually catches a bad rap but Judy Cairo of Informant Media, which operates as both a film production company and a film finance fund, told a group of wealthy investors that there are indeed opportunities for A-list returns due to three concurrent forces.
First, the major studios have been too focused on chasing high-profile commercial films. Entertainment Weekly reports that “a number of would-be blockbusters have underperformed and overall revenues have been down,” citing The Green Hornet and Gulliver’s Travels. Therefore the studios, according to Cairo, have overlooked a profitable space: the moderately budgeted, high-quality film for the adult demo.
Cairo used the recent box-office hit The Fighter to make her case in point. Paramount was originally supposed to produce the film with a budget of $77 million. Instead, independent film producers reigned in with a budget of $11.7 million. To date, the movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale has grossed over $74 million, and that’s just in domestic sales. The Black Swan and The King’s Speech also exemplify that the indie, non-commerical route can still garner all the glory: critics’ praise, awards galore and tickets sales.
Second, foreign countries, especially in Europe, are granting substantial tax subsidies to entice film production within their borders. Cairo’s next project, Hysteria, a romantic comedy situated around the development of the women’s electronic vibrator, (try mentioning that in a presentation to a room full of serious investors!) starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, was shot in Great Britain and Luxembourg, which raked in a combined $2.8 million. France, Italy and Poland are also film-friendly nations.
And last, investors are getting creative with diversification. Besides ticket sales, Cairo points to an endless stream of revenue from multiple sources, including foreign sales, cable networks, pay-per-view, hotels and airlines. However, accounting rules only recognize all this revenue when tickets are officially sold or when a license agreement is officially signed. Until then, the investor is staring at a sheet of projections and estimates.
Investors can either invest in film funds, where you could spread risk over several projects, or invest in one individual film. Either way, financiers of “The Industry” should think of each film as a business startup. If it fails, it’s usually because it has an ill-conceived business model, be it due to overspending on production or poor marketing strategy.
Theatric Investing
Stewart Lane, President and CEO of Stellar Productions International, aka Mr. Broadway himself, says theater has been recession-proof as it is impossible for a show to fall prey to piracy. More important, the ticket-buying audience is predominantly the affluent, college-educated, Caucasian woman who wasn’t as hard hit by the recession, as say, a blue-collared auto worker.
The four-time Tony award winning producer says the $1 billion industry (which rakes in more revenue than all the New York sports teams combined) is on an ongoing upward spiral. In 1972, Pippin broke ground as the first Broadway show to advertise on national television. Today, advertisers continue to find niche markets via the web. This allows for shows like Spiderman and The Merchant of Venice to reach its target audiences.
Lane says that with the right strategy, investing in a Tony- eligible show could easily outperform biotech and wildcatting as revenue and attendance for Broadway shows are both up 3%. At the moment, however, sales are down due to the tourism humdrum in January.
When it comes to flops, Lane advises investors to cut the emotional heartstrings. In 1981, when his adaptation of Frankenstein closed its first night, he and other investors were planning how to overcome the critics and re-strategize advertising. The final tab would’ve been heavy. That’s when his friend intervened, telling Lane, “Save your money for the next show!”
Twenty years later, Mr. Broadway still lives by this mantra.
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