No matter their success, My Productions are dreams come true

Now it's time to talk about My Productions. I could write a book on all that I have experienced. Guess that's what I am trying to do with this website. I promise I never had any delusions of grandeur. I always wanted and believed I, (Bear Productions, Ltd.) needed to crawl long before I could ever expect to walk or run in the Movie Business.

I have been fortunate with My Productions of two features and one informational public service type show. My two features are; The Prosecutor and The Law of Divorce. My informational show which is hopefully the first in a series is entitled, Coptalk: Drive Aware, The Do's and Don'ts of a Carstop.

View Website Video Introduction

There are two things I would like to say about the features. First, neither of My Productions was the type of movie I wanted to make. The idea of crawling before I walk or run made me believe I needed to make highly marketable movies within the most wanted genre; action/adventure with a touch of sex. Yep, your basic industry standard exploitation movie.

Secondly, I wish I could say either movie was good. I can't. I wish I could say they were good enough to be called bad. Again, I really can't. In fact, they're worse than bad. Now for the bad part, I also wish I could say they didn't make money. They did. Just not for me or my investors. Putting it bluntly, we were raped in distribution, lied to, and stolen from. In both cases, I had to fight to get my masters returned.

I openly discuss more details about each of My Productions listed by their title on this website. For now, let me walk you through a chronological order of how My Productions became a reality.

For years I had been gathering more and more information about screenwriting and low budget independent filmmaking by attending many seminars throughout the country. I had met with and talked to many local industry professionals about making movies locally. Generally during this time most local professionals only saw opportunities if large productions came to St. Louis, not actually financing or producing themselves.

I guess this is where some Midwest stubborness came to play. Why couldn't I make it happen locally? So using the education I got from a few movie business seminars the first thing I had to do was make sure everything was legal. Especially the part for financing. This required an attorney who specialized in Securities.

Through a friend, I met with a young hungry securities attorney. I gave him a full presentation of the talent base in St. Louis on both sides of the camera. I provided a broad overview of My Productions. I gave him a copy of the script I wanted to make. He was interested but wanted to read the script before we went any further. I must admit, he also liked the idea I was a street cop in St. Louis.

The attorney called me the next week to set an appointment. When we met he told me he really liked the script. Basically, he didn't know anything about making movies, but he thought I just might be goofy enough to make this work. Our agreement was done by merely shaking hands. We scheduled another meeting to discuss movie financing and for me to introduce him to the local highly experienced Producer/Director I planned to use.

Our next meeting went well. The attorney liked the Producer/Director. He without question felt more comfortable knowing someone with all this experience was also involved in the proposed production. We determined that the best way to secure financing was to contact the many local movers and shakers. The attorney drafted the letter, and the mailing went out.

Now the fun part really began for me. Our agreement was, the attorney would draft the letter and do the mailing but since it was my dream, it was my responsibility to make all the contacts. The cold calls. Hell, I was a street cop. I didn't know how to talk with movers and shakers.

Oh well, what could I lose? It was my dream. It was my responsibility to pitch my script and passion for a local production. To condense this story from novel size, I made a bunch of anxious nervous calls. At best, I received very cool to cold responses. Then it hit. A bank President loved the idea and wanted to meet as soon as possible. I almost fell off the chair. As a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, I did fall off the chair.

The attorney, producer/director, and I met with the bank President. I described my dreams, My Productions. He loved the whole idea and saw it as a very positive statement for St. Louis. During our meeting he said he had to make a phone call to someone who he believed would really get behind the idea. He made the call and left a message. Before we left he said he was in! We had our first investor. Needless to say, we all walked on air when we left the meeting.

By the time I got home from the meeting, the friend of the bank President had called and left a message. We met two days later. Here I met a man who later became what the industry defines as an "Angel." To make things even better, what a great guy!! This man has become more than a friend to me! I trust him completely in anything and with anything. He has never done anything less than what he said he would do. He is truly an inspiration. An example of honesty and integrity.

The "Angel" joined us. We put togehter the full production and financing package. I am sorry to say this particular production didn't succeed but what a great experience. The friendship and trust grew between myself, the attorney, and "Angel."

It's important to state that this all began in 1983, and my first production, The Prosecutor, didn't occur until 1990. So what do you take from this little taste of my experience? Here's a thought: Writing the screenplay no matter how difficult may be the easiest part.

Finally a note of sincere appreciation and humble admiration for my attorney and "Angel." I know I will talk more about them when I discuss My Productions, but for now let me say, I know I have disappointed them with our at best limited success, but I am not done trying. Nor will I ever stop.

From My Productions to Homepage

To my first feature production, The Prosecutor

To my second feature production, The Law of Divorce

To Coptalk: Drive Aware, The Do's and Don'ts of a Carstop