The market in the gap

We often hear of people who see the gap in the market, but seeing the market in the gap is something else altogether.

The Material movie enjoyed a very long theatrical run in South Africa, and the DVD is coming out next month, as well as the Box Office offering on DSTV. Looking at the numbers now it sounds impressive, but, when you convert the Rands into Dollars, etc. then we are just a pimple on the international radar. If you get into the top 20 for the year in India or Russia, for example, then those numbers stack up. But being in the top 20 films in SA just doesn't excite anyone unfortunately.

As my one friend pointed out to me recently: If you pay for a poker lesson then you get the lesson, but if you don't pay, then you don't get the lesson.

The writing is certainly on the wall here. We have learned this important lesson too many times. There simply is no market in SA for this kind of thing. I love Material, and I am inspired about where it is taking us as a team ... and that is all that matters - the journey continues, and it is about to get way more exciting.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Two tough questions

A friend sent this to me - it is a smart piece of text:

Question 1:

If you knew a woman who was pregnant,

Who had 8 kids already,

Three who were deaf,

Two who were blind,

One mentally retarded,

And she had syphilis,

Would you recommend that she have an abortion? 

Read the next question before looking at the response for this one. 

Question 2:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts...

Here are the facts about the three candidates. 

Candidate A:

Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists.
He's had two mistresses.
He also chain smokes.
And drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day. 

Candidate B:

He was kicked out of office twice.

Sleeps until noon.

Used opium in college.

And drinks a quart of whiskey every evening. 

Candidate C:

He is a decorated war hero.

He's a vegetarian.

Doesn't smoke.

Drinks an occasional beer.

And never committed adultery. 

Which of these candidates would be our choice? 

Decide first ... No peeking, and then scroll down for the response.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Candidate B is Winston Churchill.

Candidate C is Adolph Hitler. 

And, by the way, on your answer to the abortion question:

If you said YES, you just killed Beethoven.

.

.

.

Pretty interesting isn't it?

Makes a person think before judging someone. 

Remember: 

Amateurs ... Built the ark.

Professionals ... Built the Titanic 

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Health food in Heaven

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

There was a couple, 85 years old, who had been married for sixty years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies. They were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade. One day they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven. They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. A maid could be seen hanging their favorite clothes in the closet. They gasped in astonishment when he said, "Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now."

The old man asked St. Peter how much all this was going to cost. "Why, nothing," Peter replied, "remember, this is your reward in Heaven." The old man looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on earth. "What are the greens fees?" grumbled the old man. "This is heaven," St. Peter replied. "You can play for free, every day." Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood to steaks to exotic deserts, free flowing beverages.

"Don't even ask," said St. Peter to the man. "This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy." The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife. "Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods, and the decaffeinated tea?" he asked. "That's the best part," St. Peter replied. "You can eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like, and you will never get fat or sick. This IS Heaven!" The old man pushed, "No gym to work out at?"

"Not unless you want to," was the answer. "No testing my sugar or blood pressure or..." "Never again. All you do here is enjoy yourself."

The old man glared at his wife and said, "You and your stupid bran muffins. We could have been here ten years ago!"

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

The Material run

We are coming to the end of the Material theatrical run here in SA. We are hoping we will see more theatres again in the future in far away lands.

Yup, today is the last day in SA ... it has been a long and good run - we are all amazed.

Next month we will see the film released here on DVD - it is packed with cool new stuff and we are excited about this next chapter. We will also be seeing the film on the Box Office service from DSTV.

On other movie news, the Black-South Easter film shoot has 2 days left to go in Cape Town, and the teaser trailer for Sleeper's Wake is almost ready to go live on YouTube.

If you have not yet voted for Material then please do so at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1899240/

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

The difference between grannies and granddads

A friend sent this to me - I had to share it:

Ever wondered what the difference between grannies and granddads is?

So, a 5 year old granddaughter is usually taken to school, daily, by her grandfather.

When he had a bad cold his wife drove the grandchild to school.

That night she told her parents that  the ride to school with granny was very different!!

"What made it different?" asked her parents.

"Gran and I didn't see a single poephol, blind bastard, rubbish, bliksem or dom donner anywhere on the way to school today!'

Posted by Ronnie Apteker