Sorry to keep you guys waiting so long with this update on my writing and entrepreneurial career, but I've been mad busy lately! After completing my first independent film in December 2006, entitled The Lure of Young Women, I now have several Hollywood deals on the table to develop my book titles, as well as original screenplays for motion pictures. The only thing left for us to do now is agree to terms and sign the paperwork.
So what does that mean for my book writing career? Does it mean that I'll stop writing books and start writing only screenplays? No! But it does mean that I can breathe more freely now with the knowledge of film development deals to help promote and sell larger book ideas to compete again in a very competitive, and crowded urban book market.
Like I said in my last Omar Speaks column, the film world is exactly where we African-American book writers need to go to make our careers relevant and exciting again. I mean, we've all been selling millions of copies of our books for years now! And although we still enjoy book signings and the love of a loyal readership, progress is needed for everyone, including your boy Omar (smile).
Therefore, you'll notice me stepping up my Hollywood game this summer with the promotion of a new hot book - The Last Street Novel - (originally titled The Writer) where I make a very public call out for Mekhi Phifer and Tyrese Gibson as my one-two, knock-out punch combination for my leading men roles in the feature film. So read the book, debate the desired cast flyer, and then post your own opinions on my web site or Myspace page.
And this summer, I plan on touring the country and making as much noise as possible, like I do every summer with a new book. But this time, my partner on the Renaissance Entertainment Group film development side, Arthur Wylie @ ( www.ArthurWylie.com ), will be including his baller style swagger to our marketing efforts as well. We can't all do it alone, so my man will be stepping up our efforts to secure the hype and capital that we'll need to produce all of our upcoming feature films.
So it's all official, folks! The movie days are here! There will be no extended talk without action. At least not on our side. And those out there who would much rather talk than walk will be politely left behind. We'll be shooting at least 2-4 films this year alone, theatrical as well as straight-to-DVD. So get ready to support plenty of new product.
And if you're waiting for only Flyy Girl, then I have some very frank news for you. Be prepared to show the support on everything else I do first, so we can earn the respect and capital investments that we'll need in 3 more years to produce that blockbuster film correctly. So our plan on the big films is to blow out the market with Leslie first (from New Orleans), followed by The Last Street Novel (in Harlem, New York) and finally Diary of a Groupie (from Las Vegas), before Hollywood is ready for Flyy Girl.
By that time, with over $100 million in movie tickets sold at the box office, Renaissance Entertainment Group can then make the movies we want to make, and market them how we want to market them. Which will be very important for us to produce and market Flyy Girl the way that we'll ALL like it, with new national stars, making their names from a movie well done. We plan to do the same with Leslie, The Last Street Novel, and Diary of a Groupie, so don't sleep. And you know what . . . with these new Hollywood deals that we on the table, we don't plan to let you sleep on anything.
So get ready for The Last Street Novel, and as always . . .
. . . SPREAD THE WORD!
As reported each month at www.OmarTyree.com
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