Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph A. Elmore Jr.
Joseph, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I got my start in music. I was a local rapper looking for a record deal. At the same time, I was attending school at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, where I worked as an assistant basketball coach under now Michigan Wolverines, head basketball coach, John Belien, while still holding down a full-time job as a security officer and working at a waterbeds warehouse on the weekends. I guess you could say I was hardworking and ambitious.
During my Junior year in college, I took a screenwriting class and fell in love with the idea of the film. An ex-girlfriend of mines gave my first script to a co-worker who just happened to be in the film. Now, I could always write, songs, stories, comic books, whatever but working on set, learning all that I could, about the process of filmmaking made me want to really take it seriously. So I got to work on my first real screenplay. A crime drama called THE TRUNK.
After I finished THE TRUNK, I knew it was good. A friend told me that he would invest and I started reaching out to people on the internet. One of the people that I reached out to was a young actor named BRIAN WHITE (Tyler Perry’s “Good Deeds” and “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” Family Stone and The Game Plan). Brian loved The Trunk and wanted to help to get it produced the right way. He then enlisted the help of BORIS KODJOE (Resident Evil, The Real Husbands Of Hollywood, Madea’s Family Reunion). Sylvain White (Stomp The Yard) was set to Direct and my career was on its way.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. While in college, my professors wanted me to be a novelist. They laughed at the idea of me becoming a filmmaker. They told me that it was an eight million to one chance that I would ever see my work on the silver screen.
While waiting for The Trunk to be produced I got a call to re-write a screenplay called THE DESIRE (the name would eventually be changed to WATER’S RISING). They were producing it in Houston, Texas and it already had distribution. That would be my first project that actually got produced and put on DVD, in Walmart, Redbox etc. The Director of the project to this day claims to have written parts of Water’s Rising. Lies. He wrote not one page. The story comes from a script that I was already working on called GUTTER. I knew Gutter was a great story, I implemented a few ideas that I got from a man that I was introduced to named DIRT and that was that. The Director did do a good job directing, but he never wrote a word.
After working on Water’s Rising people wanted me to write for them, so I moved to Houston, to get closer to Hollywood, which was my dream. Circumstances led me to be without a place to stay. My friend, Shawn McKelveen let me sleep in his car for about 3 days. After that, I took up residence in what I call the roach motel. I have slept on many a couch in Miami, South Carolina, Atlanta and yes Los Angeles, chasing this dream and I don’t regret one moment.
On my journey, I have made a lot of friends and lost a lot of friends. People in this business want your talent, not your love or friendship. If you cannot help them, you are worthless to them and that goes for men and women.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the ElmoreVision Entertainment story. Tell us more about the business.
I started ElmoreVision Entertainment film group in 2015 because I got tired of watching people who have no idea how to take a film to the next level, destroy really good opportunities. My first big film SPEED-DATING went to theaters. We were offered 50/50 deal with Universal with an excellent P&A (print and advertisement) campaign, but my partner turned it down. I myself was offered a sixty million dollar deal for my film package, but it would have to include SPEED-DATING. My producer didn’t want to do it and the deal was squashed. I have seen too many bad choices and it is always for personal reasons.
Movies are always personal with me when it comes to the art, but when it comes to business, it is never personal. I produce my own films, and along with being one of the dopest writers around, I am also a good editor and Director. I do these things, not only because I can, but to save money on the budget. I want to make smart deals, where my investors get paid for years to come.
This is the thing that sets me apart from most. I write, I edit, produce and Direct. I also for years taught acting classes, where I coached and/or worked with some notable Houston talent, that includes, Maliah Michel, Just Brittany, Dominique Perry, Billy Sorrels and many more.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Film is going to the internet and beyond. I think 3D is going to be the next and since I see in 3D anyway I will be ready.
Pricing:
- I am always looking for investors. We have two feature films that we are looking to shoot this year. We except 5,ooo.00 investments, 10,000.00 and more.
- As a writer, I can write you a Hollywood screenplay for 7,000.00 and up depending on the details and the budget.
- As a Director I am willing to work for 10,000.00 plus, depending on the budget.
Contact Info:
- Email: elmorevision@gmail.com
- Phone: 281-804-5485
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