CEO Today - May 2023

www.ceotodaymagazine.com 35 THE CEO INTERVIEW there’s one department on a film that needs constant reassurance and emotional babysitting – that’s the department. Can you walk us through the key parts of the process when creating a film from concept to release? Once you’ve come up with a draft of the script you feel is strong enough to warrant the merit of exciting people to the point they want to come aboard, start tapping into your contacts, get those you’ve worked with in the past to jump aboard, if you have access to any known actors, send them the script. Then most importantly, break down a schedule and a budget, work out a structure from raising funds, utilising both hard and soft cash funds, and make it happen. Once in the edit process, make time to come up with a trailer, something to excite potential sales agents; a film is only a film if people watch it. If it sits on the shelf, then you’ve just wasted your time and someone else’s money. Going back to the concept, make it engaging, but make it commercial! What are the biggest challenges working as a director and writer in getting new projects off the ground? Simple. Raising the money. Film is anathema to investors. How do you foster motivation and passion in your team? Show passion in the film, and inspire them. Don’t exploit them with overtime. The hours are already long enough. Feed them good food. As Napoleon said, “An army marches on its stomach.” Can you give us a sneak peek into any upcoming projects you’re working on? No. Ok, maybe just a small peak. A couple of comedies, a twoparter about the Devil’s Summer house, which God wants to get his hands on, so he can turn it into condominiums. A couple of demons and humans are used as pawns in the middle of this fight. “Savings in the short term can cost a fortune down the line.” MARK MURPHY 35 www.ceotodaymagazine.com

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