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Hilarie Burton: Hey everyone! This is Hilarie Burton, and you have tuned in to the Southern Gothic Productions podcast, a weekly look into the inner workings of a production company. So sit back, and enjoy a peek into our journey.

Denise Gideon: Denise Gideon here with another edition of the Southern Gothic Productions podcast, here again, welcoming in our Big Three: Hilarie Burton, Kelly Tenney, and Nicholas Gray for yet another round table discussion. And this week we’ve kind of gotten over the lull… not the lull, but the excitement, I guess you could say, of the web series launch, and now we’re going to kind of move into another direction. Is that right, guys?

HB: Oh, man! We have so much going on. I’m glad ‘Friendship Union Community Theater’ is out there for everybody, but now we got to keep going with it, and also focus on our other projects.

DG: Before we kind of talk about some of your other projects, I think… when I was talking once with Kelly, and we were talking about some of the people that we either sending in questions for the podcast, or people that were doing some audio comments about it that we Twittered about, I was really shocked about a lot of the international fan base that you guys have, and I’m just wondering, were you guys shocked when you started seeing all the international people kind of coming on your blog and coming on your website, and does that help an independent production company to already have so many far-reaching fans in other countries?

HB: Well, Kelly, you were really the first one to discover that, with the flag counter on the website.

Kelly Tenney: Yeah, our blog. Yeah, it was pretty cool to see, I think, we got up to about 167 countries.

HB: Really, really quickly, too!

KT: Yeah, and even now, I think, with our new website, we’re up to about 140 countries that we reach.

HB: It’s really exciting to see that, even though there’s a language barrier, people are still in tune with what we’re doing and really supportive of it. And obviously, in the film industry, overseas sales is a big deal. A lot of times independent film will get all their actors attached, have their story, and then sell the rights overseas, and that’s how they make the money to shoot their film. The film’s distributed overseas, and then it’s domestic sales where they make their money. So, to already have such a big base overseas is really important for us. One of the things that we’re doing… we’re going to leak a little bit of information here. Are you ready, Denise?

DG: I’m ready.

HB: Okay. This graphic novel we’ve been talking about actually takes place in Paris. We have such a strong European fan base, and especially the French, you know, they have been rabid and awesome. That’s a culture that’s always fascinated me. Yeah, we have a historical piece that takes place in the heart of Paris, and that’s what we’re working on. So we hope our European audience enjoys it, and yeah, we hope that’s one more thing that brings our domestic audience and our foreign audience together.

DG: And I think it’s too cool too, because you have such a great fan base, and the fact that, I’ve noticed, that there’s so many different transcripts of everything that you guys are doing, but not just in English. You have them in French and in Spanish as well, and so you’re having some of your fans kind of help out and do translations for you.

HB: Yeah…

KT: Yeah, one of our translators… [to Hilarie] Sorry about that… One of our translators, actually, they pride themselves on how fast they translate. [Hilarie laughs] It’s amazing. They stay up and just work on our blogs to get them out there as quickly as possible.

Nicholas Gray: Which is amazing, too, because half the time I wonder if they know what we’re talking about. [Hilarie and Kelly laugh] Because we’re always just being so foolish.

DG: You kind of alluded to my next question, Hilarie, in what we’re talking about is after the webisode launch, and you’re plans of course to create more episodes for the webisodes and the web series, and now you’re free to move on to other projects, which I assume now is the correct question and the correct answer is your graphic novel.

HB: Yeah, I mean, I think that’s something that we’re all really, really passionate about. We’re at the stage right now where we have a very strong outline for the project, and so now we’re in talks with artists. You know, we’re kind of figuring out, visually, what direction we want to move in, and what’s nice is I feel like we’re all kind of on the same page. We have a similar sense of aesthetic. We have a similar sense of, you know, what we think sounds good. You know, we were looking for music for ‘Friendship Union Community Theater.’ You know, Nick and I kept telling Kelly, we’re like, ‘No, it’s gotta be like plucky!’ [laughs] We just kept saying that over and over and over again, and so finally, you know, Nick just did it himself, and it was exactly what we’d all wanted to begin with, and so now, in trying to figure out the visuals, you know, I feel really confident that when we see the exact thing that is gonna work, we’re all going to know it, and we’re all gonna agree. Yeah, right now it’s just a hunt to find our match.

DG: Match-wise, as far as… Let’s go to your next step. You’re next step… we’ve talked about it a little bit. You’re next step is finding the artist and, kind of, narrowing down the focus of the script of the graphic novel.

HB: Yeah, I mean, the story for the first novel… We plan on doing a series. The story for the first novel: done. That’s done, and we have a pretty good idea of where the story’s going and after that. You want to have your artist in place while you’re working on the actual, like, words that are going to go in the bubbles, you know. That’s why we want to find someone that Nick responds too, especially because Nick’s going to be the person working most closely with them, and Nick, you know, you were sat with the script… or sat with the story for this project for a long time. What kind of person are you looking for in an artist?

NG: What I want to come out of this is just something really special, you know. So, I’m looking for somebody who has, you know, a really modern aesthetic, and just somebody who can tell this story in the way that we all want, and one of the things that, you know, I’ve been doing in pre-production for this is reading as many graphic novels that I can get my hands on. What we’ve discovered is that they’re all quite different, and so that’s the other thing we’re trying to figure out is how are we doing ours? Are we going to do, you know, 6 volumes that later go into a big volume like a lot? Or are we doing one book that… I’ve read a few like that. And so, you know, that’s another stepping stone [clears throat] Pardon me…. That we’re traveling on right now as well.

DG: You can go different routes with a graphic novel. You can say, do as you say, one big story, and it will lead into another one, but it’s not got a pop or a wow moment. Others do have that cliffhanger feeling of the old serials. Are you looking to add to that script and give it a little bit of a ‘pop wow’ moment, and maybe give the readers more of a cliffhanger feel, so since you do know you’re going to have a more serialized graphic novel?

HB: I think the story we have in place has that, right?

NG: Absolutely.

HB: Yeah, I mean, when Nick writes, Nick writes very visually, so it lends itself to T.V. and film. So you know, if you look at each one of our graphic novels as it’s own little T.V. show, yes, there’s going to be a cliffhanger at the end of each one. They all bleed in to one another, and I think that’s where Nick’s strong points really are. He knows how to plump people with cleverness. [to Nick] God, you’re so clever! [Nick laughs and Hilarie laughs]

DG: Well, tell me a little bit about your hopes. You got your set-up. You got, kind of, everything… all your pieces of the puzzles, kind of, lined up on the floor and you know where you want to put things when it starts rolling, so tell me what your hopes are for this graphic novel, because there are people out in Hollywood who use the graphic novel to be able to create a movie or create a television show. It is your sounding board, your stepping stone, to something else?

HB: Kelly?

KT: Yes. [he and Hilarie laugh] The answer is yes.

DG: Thanks.

KT: That’s exactly what we’re doing. [he and Hilarie laugh] That’s what we’re doing.

HB: We’re building an empire! [she and Kelly laugh]

KT: Really to get the story across we felt it was the avenue that’s best taken, to get it quickly out and show it to Hollywood. This is our story. Take a look at it. You can show it to our European partners and say, ‘Hey, you know, the audience’s there are going to be attracted to it, and visually they’ll be able to see it.’ So yes, the answer, that’s why we’re doing it.

HB: I mean, a graphic novel is a storyboard, you know, for a film or a movie. It is the perfect tool to be able to clearly articulate what exactly you’re trying to present your audience with. It’s better than a treatment, and a couple, you know, photos from sets you’d like to shoot at. I mean, it’s the full picture, and I think that’s why it’s become so prevalent for graphic novels to be turned into film these days, because a studio head… all the variables are kind of eliminated. I mean, he knows exactly what he’s going to get, so he doesn’t have to use his own imagination. Work’s done for him.

NG: You know, nearly every one of the graphic novels that I’ve read so far, with the exception of one has either already been made into something, or has been optioned, or is in production right now, and I think out of anything that’s the truth of the industry right now.

DG: And you guys can do a really cool thing when you start off, because people are elitists, and they like to be the first to do something, so to maybe make the extra cash and get it out there you can also go the route of having special editions to start with, and be able to go that route as well to be able to give an elitist feel to be able to give it to the rest of the people.

HB: Yeah, I mean, what’s great too is we’re… we still maintain our deep affection for independent production and that means also using smaller prints, you know, not putting as many books out, but printing it ourselves, you know, on a smaller press, and being able to sell it, not only in stores, but also on our own website, you know. We want the thousands of people that come to the Southern Gothic website to be able to get it straight from us. I think it’s a more intimate form of commerce. Yeah, and so, you know, Kelly, we’ve talked about doing presales for the book. Once the ball’s actually rolling, and our artist is… what do you say? When our artist is probably half way through? We’ll probably start…

KT: Maybe before we go to press, yes, start letting our fans buy them first.

DG: Awesome. Get started! [laughs]

HB: [laughing] Yes ma’am!

KT: I think we are.

DG: [laughing] No pressure!

HB: [laughs] Oh, yeah.

DG: Well, we’re kind of in the middle of September here, and we talked about, you know, you’ve gotten over the excitement of the web series, or you’re getting ready and I’m putting you to work to get this graphic novel started, but like I said, we’re in the middle of September, and can you maybe give us an outline? Or are you guys kind of seeing how it goes through the rest of this year?

HB: Kelly, yeah…

KT: Well, I know my plans are… Our legal team has given up the PPM for ‘Pedestrian.’ My job now is to raise money.

HB: Well, explain to them what the PPM is.

DG: Yeah.

KT: It’s a product placement memorandum. It’s a legal financial tool that you use to raise money and not go to jail.

HB: So it’s like… How many pages is it? It’s a big…

KT: It’s, like, 40. It’s a crazy…

DG: Oh my god.

KT: But you have to have it in place in order to ask individuals for investments, and it’s important to have that done, so that, like I said, the FCC doesn’t come after you later. So, we have that document and we now can ask individuals to get involved in ‘Pedestrian,’ which is really our goal so that we can get it financed for next summer. So, I’m now on the phone and raising money. Nick, what are you going to be doing?

NG: [sighs] I’m getting ready for Christmas… [Kelly laughs]

HB: Yeah! Oh, we have to make presents! [Denise and Hilarie laugh]

KT: Yeah, okay. [laughs]

NG: No, I mean, I’m going to be… Hopefully I’m going to be working on this graphic novel, probably working on, perhaps, another feature.

HB: Ooh.

KT: Nice! I like to hear that.

DG: Okay, Hilarie, what are you going to be doing?

HB: Well, I have to keep auditioning for stuff, you know, in order to maintain a profile for our company, I’ve taken a nice little sabbatical. You know, after you work on a television show for 6 years, you know, you have to train yourself not to be a machine anymore. And so, I’ve taken a nice little break this summer, and it’s the first time that I haven’t had a job since I was, like, 15 years old, so I’m currently auditioning for stuff again, and I don’t know, I might have some work at the end of this month that I can’t talk about, but…. Yeah, doing that! My good friend, Gary Wheeler, who was kind of my mentor when Kelly and I first started Southern Gothic, he was the guy who taught us what a PPM was! You know, he was, like, really great teaching us the steps we needed to take in order to be able to do a film. He’s doing his next project in October, so I have to get in touch with him, and see if I can offer my services to him, and then, you know, with the sale of ‘Pedestrian,’ Kelly gets the contacts, and then we sit down at a lunch with our potential investors, and I have to get these people to trust us, you know? I have to sit down across from a businessman that’s, like, in his 50s and tell him, ‘Hi! I’m a 27-year-old little girl! You should give me your money and trust me in order to be able to make it back for you!’ And I think we’re really good at that, Kelly! [laughs]

KT: [laughs] Now that we’re allowed to do that, yes.

HB: Yeah! Yeah, no, I mean, I…

NG: You know, Hilarie, you should let me go because I can glamour them with my eyes.

HB: That’s so true! You could get lost in Nick’s eyes. They are just pools of emotion and depth! Yeah, you can glamour them like a vamp! [Hilarie and Nick laugh]

DG: ‘True Blood’ reference! ‘True Blood.’

HB: [laughing] So yeah, between the three of us we’re going to get our money, Denise! That’s what I want! So, if anybody out there has any money… give it to me! [everyone laughs]

KT: At least call us!

HB: Yeah! I’ll take you to lunch!

DG: Buy those North Carolina lottery tickets.

NG: That’ll work.

HB: Yeah, right?

DG: I’ll be in Alaska, so…

HB: Ooh!

NG: Interesting.

DG: Not happy…

HB: What are you doing in Alaska?

DG: I’m going to stay in a hotel!

HB: [laughs] Oh, okay.

DG: [laughing] No, our basketball team is going to Anchorage in November, so… I’m not happy.

HB: All right!

DG: Two years ago, I go to Hawaii, and now they’re taking me to Alaska? Thanks.

KT: It’s a big difference.

HB: Steal a sled dog! [Kelly laughs]

DG: They are actually going to do that! Thanks a lot!

HB: Oh, good.

DG: Well, as we all know what we are going to be doing until December, and Christmas shopping and all, we’ll close out this segment with another wonderful fan question. I think it’s perfect. We were just opening up this podcast talking about international fans, and I have a question from Natalie from South Africa! Yeah, she asks, ‘With the thousands of influences and ideas out there for potential projects, how do you guys choose what’s worth pursuing and making it into a story?’

KT: Hmm. That’s a good one.

HB: Well, I mean, I think we just do what we want to do, right? Isn’t that kind of… [laughs]

KT: [laughing] That’s kind of it!

HB: [laughing] It’s like… you know what happens is we have one of our dinner meetings, and we have a couple glasses of wine, and one of us will spit something out, and then the next thing we know, that’s, like, what we’re doing! And we’re like, ‘How did we…? Oh, yeah! That dinner at Caprice, that’s how we ended up doing this!’ I think the whole reason you start a company is because you have something in your heart that you want to share, you know, and we’re just really lucky that we found each other and we’re all kind of on the same page, and we all are kind of enamored of each other, you know, and like each other’s ideas. Yeah, I mean Nick has some stories that he’s already told us about that were just treatments that, you know, Kelly and I are just waiting with baited breath for him to finish up. And I hope when he says that he’s doing another screenplay that that’s one of the things we’ve already talked about. [Kelly laughs]

NG: Perhaps.

HB: Perhaps! Nick!

KT: And Nick will keep us very, very busy.

NG: Yeah.

DG: Just adding to that question, do you guys ever see a story… I think you talked about it just a little while ago, Hilarie, you talked about finding… you read a book that at some point you think, maybe, one of these days, it could be our project.

HB: Yeah, you know, we were helping extensively my friend, Brad Land. He wrote a book called ‘Goat.’ And the rights to his book are owned by Killer Films, and so we really had no jurisdiction over the project, but we’re trying to help them raise money because we really believe in him and Jeff Nichols, the guy that’s attached to direct, you know, they’re such wonderful people. And so we held an event at Cucalorus last year where we did a workshop reading of a couple scenes from the script, and you know, Killer Films has since put that project back on a front burner, and it looks like that project is going to get make and so, you know, our hope is that while they were here and we were helping them with the reading that they fell in love with Wilmington, and that we can help them in some capacity with their project, you know. But yeah, there’s stuff out there that… there’s obviously rights to books that we would love to get a hold of, and you know, that’s just always a gamble! Everybody’s buying for the same rights, so that’s where the wheelin’ and dealin’ comes in. It’s a lot easier when you’re creating your own content.

KT: Yeah, there’s not a timetable like there is on some of these other projects that are booking deals and things like that.

DG: I appreciate you guys coming on and sharing some information again with us, and we’ll be back next week!

HB: Bye!

KT: Bye.

NG: Bye!

HB: Thank you guys so much for listening for listening to the Southern Gothic Productions podcast. Make sure you come and check us out every Wednesday!