The NAR Convention takes place this weekend in Orlando. This Expo offers 4 days of intensive training for anyone involved in the real estate world. Temple Media and We Mean Business have teamed together to offer our exclusive “Classroom in a Box”; an intensive 2-Book/2-DVD/2-CD Educational System that can transform your real estate business!

If you’re a brand new Realtor, or have been in business for some years but need to brush up on your real estate and accounting education, this is a MUST HAVE for your educational library. ORDER YOURS TODAY! Mention [Temple Media] and get a special NAR Discount!

We have a new president-elect, and his name is Barack Obama! In a move that is sure to change America in significant ways,  our new President has quite the road ahead of him. I guess what they say is true…

CHANGE CAN HAPPEN!

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Happy Halloween. I couldn’t decide to go to my neighborhood party as either McCain or Obama. I’m too young for McCain, and didn’t have enough makeup to be Obama. My legs weren’t quite good enough to mirror Palin, and my botox treatments have worn off long ago, so I couldn’t play Biden (jk). In the end, I said to heck with it and just stayed home. How about you? Share your best pics and win something really swell.

It’s finally OPEN for business: Trader Joe’s, in Midtown Charlotte. What a great store. I used to frequent it while living in LA years ago, and had forgotten how you could get fresh, tasty, predominantly organic (and earth-friendly) food, wine and beer all in one place. Be sure to check it out in your next visit! And who could forget such staples as “Two Buck Chuck” (great, cheap wine, perfect for your next gathering), the organic flaxseed and corn chips, yummy frozen fish (if you don’t mind frozen; and what isn’t frozen these days), and top it all off with friendly staff and ease of use and you have a delightful shopping experience! Gee; sounds like a commercial, huh?

Man, if you have never visited Vancouver, and you like a cosmopolitan city, with neat neighborhoods, a great art scene, plenty of terrific restaurants with fresh seafood, and much more, then, visit Vancouver. I just returned (well, last week), from helping a client/friend get his business moving forward with the help of a (a) radio interview for potential future shareholders, and (b) a documentary on his “climb to fame”. I’ll share more pictures and videos later. But back to what I started; you must see Vancouver. Oh, just one reminder; it rains a lot there; so, you may want to consider the spring and summer; otherwise, it’s just fine.

I think the next few years, perhaps the next few months will prove to be an extremely exciting, creative, and profitable time for filmmakers. The technology is right at our fingertips. The equipment, while growing in strength, power and ability, is shrinking, as it pertains to cost. Moreover, just about anyone can write, produce, direct and shoot a film IF they choose to. Of course, while there is a unfathomable amount of ideas, not always the same can be said for quality of said ideas. So; good story first, and all else will follow. I will expound upon this later, but I’m about to jet off to Canada to dip my toe in the documentary pond. When I return, I’ll likely start working on a project I was approached with recently; this makes three: (1) a Family Film, (2) a Documentary based upon a mainstream topic, and (3) a very Phresh Pheature. Stay tuned.

The little guy. The underdog. The up-n-comer. The daydreamer. Can you relate? I can. Listen, just as good ideas don’t care from whence they come, so it goes with movies, as evidenced with the recent Fireproof. I know, I know; still talking about it. But look, I finally rented Leatherheads, the George Clooney, Renee Zellwegger, John Krasinski movie, for which I coincidently auditioned, thanks to Tracey Kilpatrick Casting. Here’s the goof: I read for a Radio Announcer, a career I gave 20 years, and…well, that’s another story. Nonetheless, want to see some staggering Numbers according to Box Office Mojo? This is how we still judge the overall success of movies.

 

Leatherheads: Budget: $58 mil, Domestic Gross: $31, 230,175 and Foreign Gross: $9,451,474

So, it’s total worldwide was $40,681,649 yet it’s budget was $58.

Fireproof: Budget: $500 thousand, Domestic Gross: $16,924,000

Thus far, their Domestic gross is HALF of Leatherhead’s and they are still in the theatres!

 

I rest my case in favor of the little guy; the under dog. Good ideas, and perhaps more importantly, AUDIENCES THIRST for good material doesn’t care how much it costs, or even the size of the star that helms the project, as long as it’s a good story, well told. And another thing, I love George and Renee and football, and the town where the movie was shot (Charlotte); I just was expecting a better box office return. And if I’m a filmmaker, and I’m trying to raise money for my projects, the numbers have to work. Wanna guess the budget for my next project? Yep, you guessed right! 

Friends ask me, having worked in radio and the music biz for so many years, what sort of music do I like to listen to. Here are but a few of my faves: Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Dizzy, Dinah, Billie Holiday, and Madeleine Peyroux for Jazz. Alex Cortiz, Al-pha-X, Lemongrass, Hybrid, Fumio Miyashita, Nicola Conte, Chemical Brothers for Eclectronica/Ambient. P.O.D., Sparklehorse and Chris Brown for Christian. Shelby Lynne, Lilly Allen, Keane, for Pop. Dwight Yokam, Rascal Flats, and Billy Childers for Country. Check some of that out.

I had the pleasure of attending the Visualite Theatre on Friday night with some friends to see the Pat McGee Band. Man, those cats smoked. The vocals were dead on, the instrumentation was tight, the beer was cold, and the company was delish!

This title, thanks to our visiting writer, Warren Cole Smith, reflects the thoughts of many of us concerning Fireproof. Now, before you toss your iced tea at me, let me share a note I wrote to WCS:

Warren, I enjoy your writing and admire your talents. Thank you for your article on Fireproof. While I like the movie, adore the hearts of the Kendrick brothers, and admire the mission of Sherwood Church, while also whole-heartedly respect what they are trying to do (being a filmmaker myself), I MUST agree with your article. I bet their next film will be 5 times as good, and I wish them ALL the very best. Who knows, perhaps we’ll be standing alongside one another on stage very soon. Thank you. All my best, Warren, David Temple, Temple Media + Custom Made Films

Now, if you’d like to read more about the article, while STILL participating in watching this wholesome and insightful movie, please READ WARREN’S ARTICLE.