I had the wonderful experience to listen to film legend, Tom Skerritt, at the Zino Society Entertainment Forum last week. His speech was passionate, emotional, and heartfelt by everyone – and was spot on with his topic. I pretty much know nothing about the film industry, other than I like movies and know what I like and don’t like. And I love everything Tom Skerritt played in so this was a real treat to get his perspectives and views on the industry.
It was like our little piece of Hollywood – hearing about different actors, producers, and directors he had worked with over the years. Famous names we all recognize and know – like Robert Redford and Tom Cruise. His recounts of working with various actors was something most of us aren’t normally exposed to in our daily lives. Since the Forum was about companies looking for additional investment to finish their films, he was more focused on the content of the film than just the actors.
I also didn’t realize he has lived in the Seattle area for almost 25 years and is part of one of the most prestigious film schools in the country, The Film School. As he described what makes a great film, he centered on one key element that makes for breaks a movie – the script. The script is the difference between a great film and another bomb. And what makes a strong script? It is the ability of the writer to “tell a story”. Storytelling, as Tom put it, is the heart of what an actor looks for and when they find a great story that is told in a way they can connect to, you have the makings of a great movie.
Does this ring any bells with the effective use of social media? The heart of social media is EXACTLY the same thing – the ability to tell a story. This post is a story – a story about a phenomenal actor and his ability to draw his audience in because he can act out a great story that was written for him. Social media, when done right, is exactly the same thing – telling a story about something you are passionate about. So why is it so hard for people to blog and communicate in social media? Because they don’t know how to tell a story and they don’t have passion. Tom has the ability to do both and he made that very clear in his speech – and with passion. Thanks Tom, you helped open my eyes even further.
I read a lot of interesting content here. Probably you spend a lot of time writing, i know
how to save you a lot of work, there is an online tool that creates readable, google friendly
posts in seconds, just type in google – laranitas free content source