Femme Fatalities Message Board

It is with a great sense of disappointment that I must tell a wonderful set of loyal fans that I have decided to dissolve my Grey Panther Films partnership with Hank Samuels and retire. Making these short films is actually a lot of hard work, mixed with some good fun and enjoyments, of course.

But these days there are so many producers putting out so much product that it is hard to get the volumes of sales on individual productions needed to cover the costs when you're a junior partner, the biggest one being the 40 cents out of every dollar that NicheClips takes. (Genre Videos is much more positive for the producers, but their volumes are just at the beginning of the market curve right now. Support Blue's venture in every way you can, folks, because it puts a lot of extra cash into the hands of the producers who will turn it into better films.)

I must admit that co-producing, directing and editing was a labor of love in many respects, which is why I tried to emphasize the quality of story, wardrobe, acting and special effects in the productions. From T-Men to The City That Never Sleeps to I, the Jury, and about two dozen others, the work of the actresses, the effects and the stories were all special to me. I've got incredible appreciation of the female form and character (especially in a short skirt, tight sweater and nylon stockings!), but I'm not into porn or brutalizing females in one of the many fashions that are depicted these days. That seems to be what an increasing number of customers want, but it just didn't work for me.

The old film noir movies had incredible acting, but no bullet holes and blood, so I tried to fill in the gaps. Just finding the right way to make a bullet hole was a two year process, with lots of different experimental approaches along the way. Finally, I think I got it exactly right with the latest versions, and I'm pleased to see that some other producers have adopted the technology. The right formulation of bloods for fabrics, skin, mouth and refreshing wounds was a similar quest.

My stuff was bloody, which didn't fit everyone's tastes, but it certainly worked for a core audience, and I was incredibly grateful for their support. In the final event, the interests of the community are so varied, that one can't serve all the customers at the same time. From gun fun to buckets of blood, it was quite a spread!

And in the same vein, something produced from one creative perspective just didn't attract the dollars of customers who prefered another style and who had many, many other choices, which meant the revenues per film were so much lower than the old days.

So, my thanks to Hank for a great ride and education over the past five years. It was fun. I'll stay on the boards and comment from time to time, and will maintain the greypantherfilms@yahoo.com e-mail address if anyone wants to shoot the breeze with me from time to time. I love you guys and gals!

/tommygun

TG thanks for all the efforts you made to keep the Noir period alive and the classy creative way you produced these GEMS the way they should have been made in Hollywood ....Tremendous lasting work and hopefully others will carry on the torch.. :approve:Thanks Mate and happy travels

Sorry to hear this, as your product appeared to be top quality in terms of storytelling and commitment to the finer points that so many second, third, and fourth tier producers miss out on in the pursuit of pumping out quantity of product in order to always have something fresh and new to sell, and hence keep sales at a high rate.

Yes very sorry to miss you are hanging up your Tommygun for the last time. WIll miss your tribute to the films of old - always used to enjoy watching them. Glad to hear you are going to stick around on the Forums and still share some thoughts with us

I like the others, am sorry to hear you are retiring. You have been my role model as far as making customs. If you agree, iI may pass a few of my stories by your eyes for your opinion. Have a great retirement.

Kevin 67

I do not know your stuff but any producer who retires NOT to spend his summers in sunny Italy and winters in Switzerland, should look where he/she went wrong with his creations. Maybe you were too unidirectional or repetitious concentrating on a single niche " bullet holes". So what about little poisoning, stabbing, faaling from tall buildings etc..? Ask and you shall be rewarded. I have been in this racket for ovr 25 years and never made more money then now.....

Well, BakerBoy, I'm glad for you then. I'm sure the "falling from buildings" market is giving you a big lift in sales that I never considered. (We did do stabbings, but they never produced as much as shootings and arrowings, so not sure that's the solution.) Anyway, there are clearly ways to make some money as you point out, but I never considered this a substitute for a real job! It was a labor of love for me, and that was perhaps my mistake. I made stuff with Hank that felt good and fun to me, and then I was the junior partner.