Recent news about Did I Say Thousand Island? and Leftview Productions.
"If you think you can, you're right. If you think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford
Horses and Chimpanzees
Fri, Feb 3 2012 01:47 PM
| this is water, benefits, waitress, water issues, waiter, restaurants, water use, servers
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The average age of the crowd that went to see War Horse last Tuesday was surprising. Maybe it was the day of the week, maybe the time of year, I don't know. But I would say the average age was over 40.
When I premiered "Did I Say Thousand Island?" in Colorado, people of all ages came to see it, but I have been surprised over time that I get the most emails from middle aged folks who say they enjoyed the movie. One of the largest demographic today is women over 35, and that bodes well for a remake of this restaurant movie. Aren't most servers female? Yes. Which brings me to another interesting fact. Two of the most popular offerings the public has had about the restaurant industry in recent years have been written by men who have spent only 10 years in the industry in one city. I'm talking about the book Waiter Rant and the movie Waiting.
I thought Waiter Rant was very well written, and the content was, I am assuming, true for a New Yorker who is a waiter by default, but it certainly isn't true across the board. Too much research that I did when I was making my movie just disagrees. Many waitresses and waiters actually do enjoy their job, and I can bet more would if it was considered to be a "real job".
"Did I Say Thousand Island?" shows servers as the fun and smart people they are and as I have been told many times, is a realistic portrayal of the restaurant industry. That must be why it's been downloaded over 55,000 times in 183 countries so far. For a no-name movie made by basically one person (with awesome help from friends) that's pretty good. Here's a link to the latest press release talking about the new project going on with the movie concerning water.
Why did I put chimpanzees at the top? When I saw War Horse, one of the ads at the beginning was for Chimpanzee, a documentary/story about a wee monkey, and if you go and see it during the opening week, Disney will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Jane Goodall Institute. That's the exact idea I have been proposing with Remake 4 Water for a long time, so see? It can be done. The difference is that my movie isn't mostly a documentary, it's a story. It's a story about everyone--everyone goes out to eat. Remake 4 Water...c'mon. Let's Do It!
When I premiered "Did I Say Thousand Island?" in Colorado, people of all ages came to see it, but I have been surprised over time that I get the most emails from middle aged folks who say they enjoyed the movie. One of the largest demographic today is women over 35, and that bodes well for a remake of this restaurant movie. Aren't most servers female? Yes. Which brings me to another interesting fact. Two of the most popular offerings the public has had about the restaurant industry in recent years have been written by men who have spent only 10 years in the industry in one city. I'm talking about the book Waiter Rant and the movie Waiting.
I thought Waiter Rant was very well written, and the content was, I am assuming, true for a New Yorker who is a waiter by default, but it certainly isn't true across the board. Too much research that I did when I was making my movie just disagrees. Many waitresses and waiters actually do enjoy their job, and I can bet more would if it was considered to be a "real job".
"Did I Say Thousand Island?" shows servers as the fun and smart people they are and as I have been told many times, is a realistic portrayal of the restaurant industry. That must be why it's been downloaded over 55,000 times in 183 countries so far. For a no-name movie made by basically one person (with awesome help from friends) that's pretty good. Here's a link to the latest press release talking about the new project going on with the movie concerning water.
Why did I put chimpanzees at the top? When I saw War Horse, one of the ads at the beginning was for Chimpanzee, a documentary/story about a wee monkey, and if you go and see it during the opening week, Disney will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Jane Goodall Institute. That's the exact idea I have been proposing with Remake 4 Water for a long time, so see? It can be done. The difference is that my movie isn't mostly a documentary, it's a story. It's a story about everyone--everyone goes out to eat. Remake 4 Water...c'mon. Let's Do It!
Comments
Returning to "My Community"
Thu, Nov 3 2011 01:43 PM
| this is water, benefits, waitress, water issues, waiter, water, restaurants, water use, servers
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After returning home from my 6 week trip down east as they say here in Canada, I have come to realize something. I've been concentrating so hard on the "water" aspect of this mission, that the other part of my heart of this mission has fallen by the way side.
It occurred to me this morning as I was throwing away the brochure from a restaurant that I went to in Maine. I had intended to give them feedback from our visit (and it wasn't exactly positive) but decided not to, as it wasn't positive. But then I thought WAIT, if I do it in a kind way, it might actually help them. How can they fix a problem if they don't even know it exists? Then it hit me how no matter how much time I spend away from waitressing, I will never lose the love I have for the job and freedom based lifestyle, the people and the desire to do something about the negative attitudes and stereotypes that remain. Maybe it's a losing battle, but if you don't try, how can things change?
Whenever there's an article relating to anything in the restaurant business, it always receives so many comments. Why? People usually have an opinion because it might have happened to them, or they just want to be heard. Or maybe because the restaurant biz is the largest private employer in the US and probably world. That's why I am working to get my movie remade so it's seen by more people. I had so many emails saying that it "should get out there more so people see it".
Now after attending the International Water Forum at the UN in September, I know I'm on the right track. What was the biggest issue with the Global Water Crisis? AWARENESS!! That's right. People just don't know there are water troubles. So by combining a "fun and engaging" (quoting a viewer) and realistic movie about restaurant life with the subject of water (which a restaurant can't run without), we can get the messages out! We're not stupid people in the business, and wouldn't you love that cranky and demanding customer to hear that! It's in the movie. That, and a lot of other messages. Do you really like doing separate checks when the people are all over the place!? It's in the movie too...
Why do people think we spit in their food? It's in the movies. Why do they think we hate our jobs? It's in the movies. Why do they think we're stupid and are total losers? It's in the movies. It's about time there's a movie that tells them the way it really is. By the way, we just added another country: people in 182 countries have seen the movie and it's growing everyday! Not bad for a 5 year old nobody movie made by a waitress. C'mon. Let's Do It! www.remake4water.org
It occurred to me this morning as I was throwing away the brochure from a restaurant that I went to in Maine. I had intended to give them feedback from our visit (and it wasn't exactly positive) but decided not to, as it wasn't positive. But then I thought WAIT, if I do it in a kind way, it might actually help them. How can they fix a problem if they don't even know it exists? Then it hit me how no matter how much time I spend away from waitressing, I will never lose the love I have for the job and freedom based lifestyle, the people and the desire to do something about the negative attitudes and stereotypes that remain. Maybe it's a losing battle, but if you don't try, how can things change?
Whenever there's an article relating to anything in the restaurant business, it always receives so many comments. Why? People usually have an opinion because it might have happened to them, or they just want to be heard. Or maybe because the restaurant biz is the largest private employer in the US and probably world. That's why I am working to get my movie remade so it's seen by more people. I had so many emails saying that it "should get out there more so people see it".
Now after attending the International Water Forum at the UN in September, I know I'm on the right track. What was the biggest issue with the Global Water Crisis? AWARENESS!! That's right. People just don't know there are water troubles. So by combining a "fun and engaging" (quoting a viewer) and realistic movie about restaurant life with the subject of water (which a restaurant can't run without), we can get the messages out! We're not stupid people in the business, and wouldn't you love that cranky and demanding customer to hear that! It's in the movie. That, and a lot of other messages. Do you really like doing separate checks when the people are all over the place!? It's in the movie too...
Why do people think we spit in their food? It's in the movies. Why do they think we hate our jobs? It's in the movies. Why do they think we're stupid and are total losers? It's in the movies. It's about time there's a movie that tells them the way it really is. By the way, we just added another country: people in 182 countries have seen the movie and it's growing everyday! Not bad for a 5 year old nobody movie made by a waitress. C'mon. Let's Do It! www.remake4water.org
July 4th and restaurants
Tue, Jul 5 2011 12:45 AM
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Howdy!
Belated Happy 4th of July to you all (this is being posted after midnight where I am). By now the fireworks are just a memory of ooohs and aaaahs and I hope it was a grand event for you and your friends.
I was thinking today about this Holiday and how restaurants handle it. I've worked at all types of restaurants and depending on the climate of the restaurant, they treat these summer holidays differently. Well, at least they should.
At one place, we were on the main street and were a more casual dining place in the day and more elegant at night. There was, as I remember the right staffing for each shift according to the tendencies of the past. We all know how things can be inconsistent, but still, good owners and managers tend to look at past trends, throw in some common sense and go from there. Other places....not so much.
One year I missed a family reunion in Canada because of poor planning. I worked at a very elegant place in a resort town that is known for out door activities. The owner/manager thought we would be very busy and wanted a very full staff. I on the other hand knew we wouldn't be busy, but couldn't convince her of that fact. She was relatively new to the restaurant industry and that coupled with the fact that she wasn't wearing her common sense hat led to my missing a fun family event. People bbq on this middle-of-the-summer event. They don't tend to go to posh places in droves. It's a hamburger kind of Holiday.
Well I was also thinking today how this simple situation in the life of waiter or waitress could be a scene in the remake. A casual way to educate managers. I was out to lunch with a pal last week who had recently watched the movie and she told our waitress how she learned something not to ever do again when she went out with friends. It was the separate checks with couples all over the place scene. The movie is a way to educate as well as entertain.
That's all for now. Oh yeah, by the way, that 4th of July night when I was forced to miss the reunion? I waited on 2, yes count 'em, 2 people. The next night wasn't much better...;-) Ah well, that's the biz.
Belated Happy 4th of July to you all (this is being posted after midnight where I am). By now the fireworks are just a memory of ooohs and aaaahs and I hope it was a grand event for you and your friends.
I was thinking today about this Holiday and how restaurants handle it. I've worked at all types of restaurants and depending on the climate of the restaurant, they treat these summer holidays differently. Well, at least they should.
At one place, we were on the main street and were a more casual dining place in the day and more elegant at night. There was, as I remember the right staffing for each shift according to the tendencies of the past. We all know how things can be inconsistent, but still, good owners and managers tend to look at past trends, throw in some common sense and go from there. Other places....not so much.
One year I missed a family reunion in Canada because of poor planning. I worked at a very elegant place in a resort town that is known for out door activities. The owner/manager thought we would be very busy and wanted a very full staff. I on the other hand knew we wouldn't be busy, but couldn't convince her of that fact. She was relatively new to the restaurant industry and that coupled with the fact that she wasn't wearing her common sense hat led to my missing a fun family event. People bbq on this middle-of-the-summer event. They don't tend to go to posh places in droves. It's a hamburger kind of Holiday.
Well I was also thinking today how this simple situation in the life of waiter or waitress could be a scene in the remake. A casual way to educate managers. I was out to lunch with a pal last week who had recently watched the movie and she told our waitress how she learned something not to ever do again when she went out with friends. It was the separate checks with couples all over the place scene. The movie is a way to educate as well as entertain.
That's all for now. Oh yeah, by the way, that 4th of July night when I was forced to miss the reunion? I waited on 2, yes count 'em, 2 people. The next night wasn't much better...;-) Ah well, that's the biz.