Many of you may not know this, but in 2005 I had the pleasure to produce my first independent motion picture called "Sister’s Keeper".  The film stars Eric Roberts from this summer’s blockbuster, "The Dark Knight", Denise Boutte from "Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married", Tico Wells from "The Five Heartbeats" , Esther Scott from "Dreamgirls", and my producing partner in crime, Kent Faulcon (who, by the way, also wrote and directed the film).

The overall process has been a personal lesson in patience for me.  We formed our entertainment production company, SEE Entertainment, LLC (SEE stands for Stimulate, Educate, and Enlighten…Lisa thought of that and I thought it was brilliant) and began pre-production in 2004.  Then, we filmed the movie entirely in Los Angeles in 2005.  We started post production in 2006.  Afterwards, we started touring the film festival circuits in 2007 until now.  Needless to say, this "labor of love" has been going on for over 4 years now, but I am enjoying every minute of it.  Patience is a virtue, you know.

During our tours we have won critical acclaim and amassed numerous awards in New York, San Francisco, Dallas, London, Hollywood, Atlanta, San Diego, and Boston, just to name a few.  We are very proud of our work with this film.  We are now seeking distribution and sponsorship opportunities to generate additional buzz and bring the film to the general marketplace.  This has also been a process. 

The first lesson I learned in producing came from a well respected man in Hollywood who will remain nameless.  He said that there were three ways to produce a movie…fast, cheap, or good.  PICK TWO!  Therefore, the two we chose in producing our movie were cheap and good…hopefully.  You will need to be the judge of that!  Please check out our movie trailer at www.seeentertainment.net and then, take a look at what people are saying about our movie from our Atlanta and Boston screenings, respectively.  It will be screening again next week in New York City at the Urbanworld Film Festival.  The film is screening at the following times and locations…please join us there!

Thurs, Sept 11 @ 4:00pm

AMC 34th St, Theatre 7

And

Fri, Sept 12 @ 10:00pm

AMC 34th St, Theatre 9

Atlanta Screening

Boston Screening

I guess you are wondering what does this film have to do with real estate?  Quite simple…it was because of real estate that we were able to assist in financing this project.  Lisa and I started real estate investing in the Raleigh-Durham market in 1997.  From 1997 to 2005 we acquired a large portfolio of properties that we were able to sell to assist with the financing of our film project.  As we sold properties in 2005, we continued to purchase and we still have a profitable portfolio plus, a dream fulfilled in our little movie that could.

I am not suggesting to you to take your real estate holdings and produce a movie.  Every person’s goals in life are personalized based on their interpretation of the American dream.  What I am saying is that in 8 years of sticking to a strategic plan and seeing a slow, but consistent appreciation to our marketplace, I was able to accomplish something I’ve always wanted.  I could have NEVER saved for such an investment as a film project.  Isn’t it time that you put together your strategic plan and use our marketplace as your leveraging tool for prosperity?  Contact me and let me show you how real estate can help you fulfill your dreams!

Go Hard…Everyday…

Gary  

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