A material year

Next year the Material movie is coming out - the 17th of February is not far away now. A lot of pacing is on the horizon ...

The film is magical - if you see it you are gonna love it. With a bit of luck we may just get the numbers.

We have a real shot with this film - it truly is wonderful. My wish for the new year is that it is a Material year.

As I sit here and ponder I think of a thought that Joey Rasdien shared with me once. Joey is a funny man, and one of the lead actors in the movie. I once asked Joey if he was happy and this is what he said "I am not where I want to be, but I thank God I am not where I used to be."

This new movie is material (excuse all the puns) and we are definitely not where we used to be.

Happy new year everyone - may we all produce some magical material in 2012.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Season Greetings

A friend sent me this - it was too good not to share:

Season Greetings

I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my colleagues and friends, but it is so difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my attorney yesterday, and on his advice I wish to say the following:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the summer solstice holiday, practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great (not to imply that South Africa is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were slightly inconvenienced.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Material madness

The year is winding down ... almost. But the material for Material is gearing up for the big event. The 17th of February is what it is all about. And this is not far away ... phew!

We have 10 corporate supporters that are helping us spread the word. Thank you to all of you. By the third week of January the campaign will begin and the Moosa man will be all over the place - lots of material is coming! The brands that are helping us include: Discovery, First National Bank, Steers, Glaceau (Coca-Cola), Europcar, Independent Newspapers, Multichoice, 94.7 (Primedia), Exclusive Books and Internet Solutions. Thank you again, to all of you.

The movie continues to get an overwhelming response from everyone we show it to. And they all say the same thing "This movie is so magical that it will sell itself." Yeah, I know that old expression "it speaks for itself". But, I have not heard the movie say one frikken word!? Does the movie speak French or something?! In my view, this is a very quiet movie - like it has lost its voice. Come on movie, speak up - spread the word!

The movie may be stunning but we are out there doing all the work. Yes, we do believe that the word of mouth on the film will be very very strong, but the challenge in South Africa remains: how do you get the public to buy tickets to a local movie. The economy is really tough at the moment (and about to get even tougher in the new year), and when someone goes to the mall and is presented with a bunch of Hollywood blockbusters, and there is an unknown little local film, then that one is always the last on anyone's list.

People are watching their spend more and more and all the movie tickets cost the same price, so why would one buy a ticket for a small South African film. Consider also that there is such a mistrust when it comes to local arts, especially movies, then you can start to see what I mean when I say that the movie isn't going to sell itself. We are on the road, all the time, drumming up marketing support with anyone who will give us an ear - so, please also help us spread the word - we really need ALL the help we can get.

I promise you one thing, you are going to be blown away when you see this movie - it is not what you are expecting at all. And if you don't like it, I will give you your money back (I am still good for it).

Now, check out the official trailer - it just went live this week : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMGkebuEkkE

Bring on the material madness!

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

USA economic stimulus package ... what the doctors had to say.

A friend sent this to me - it was too good not to share:

Dr. Krishnamoorthy Srinivas, well known for injecting a joke or a bit of humour into every conversation you have with him or in his speeches, offers this little bit of medical humour:

Apparently the American Medical Association has weighed in on the new economic stimulus package ...

The Allergists voted to scratch it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

The Obstetricians felt they were all labouring under a misconception.

Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted.

Pathologists yelled, ‘Over my dead body’, while the Pediatricians said, ‘Oh, grow up!’

The Podiatrists thought it was a big step backward, and the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea.

The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it all.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands off the whole thing.

The Internists thought it was a bitter pill to swallow, and the Plastic Surgeons said, ‘This puts a whole new face on the matter.’

The Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and the Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say ‘no’.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

THE AGONY OF DYSLEXIA

A friend sent me this ... ja well no fine.

After Daylight Savings Time ended, I stopped in to visit my dyslexic friend.

He was busy covering his penis with black shoe polish.

I said to him, "You idiot!

You're supposed to turn your clock back!

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Why ?!

How come people with no track record are often so arrogant? Why is this?

Is it because they have proved nothing so they have to act like big deals?! People who have climbed a big mountain don’t need to show off about it. It is amazing that people with no track always know everything. And when they have track record, then they are not so quick to give all the answers.

It is like that old saying goes "When you are good you can tell people. But when you are great, they will tell you."

Posted by Ronnie Apteker