There’s an age old saying “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” It’s something I have heard a hundred times over. After my meeting Friday morning with veteran Vancouver producer, Colleen Nystedt, who is now the proud owner of movieset.com, I realized something;this age old saying is missing something. I realized that “It’s not only about who you know, it’s also about what you know when you meet that person who can give you the opportunity.” It’s like the saying “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” I experienced this in a big way. All the years of making films in an amateur independent way is starting to pay off.

Friday morning, I arrived at the “movieset.com” office on Broadway. I was referred to Colleen by my friend Andrew O’Bray, who works in the Transport Department in the film industry. He asked me how things were coming with the script “Simple Happiness” and I told him that I was looking to produce it. Without any hesitation he told me to look her up on his facebook profile and contact her. So I did.

Colleen told me she was no longer producing, as her focus now was on the film site movieset.com; however she would meet with me. She also sent me the link to her website. My first thought about the site was this is very cool. Easy to navigate, saw their intention with it. I really liked the site. I admire anyone who is doing something, anything to help promote indie film making.

I was greeted by the receptionist who could barely see over the counter. I let her know I was there to see Colleen. She gave me a once over, before disappearing around the corner. As I awaited her return I noticed the movie poster on the wall of Fear, Mark Wahlberg’s first feature film with Reese Witherspoon. I chuckled to myself as that was the first film set that I had ever worked on. I still remember that feeling. Even though I was one of the five hundred extras, that feeling was like being home. Comfortable and able to just be! Assuming Colleen worked on it, I thought ’Why not mention it?’

The receptionist returned to tell me that Colleen was just finishing up another meeting. I took a seat, and waited only a short amount of time before Colleen and I officially introduced ourselves.

I followed her to her office. As soon as I sat myself into the chair, Colleen said “Tell me about yourself.” At first I didn’t have her complete attention; obviously she was busy and had taken some time out of her schedule to sit with an unknown. I felt like it was going to one of those meetings, like an audition where the casting director is present but they are so busy that they can’t give you their full attention. It’s the business we work in and it’s something we all have to learn to work with. None the less, I’ve been here before and I’ll be here again. In the 30 second spiel I was giving her I mentionned a name that caught her attention. And I can’t believe I’m about to write it here, however, it is part of my life and I can’t deny that. So this person I can’t escape is Mark Tuit. It was obvious that she knew him and when I asked her, she smiled and said yes. Without getting into detail with my experience on Subhuman (aka Shelf Life), let’s just say one day I may write a book called ‘How not to make a movie.” When she asked me why I am not working with him anymore, I told her that I chose not to because Mark isn’t a businessman. I’m not saying to slam him. It’s something that he told me himself. He’s a writer/director. She said “What about his partner Ron Loudoun, he’s a businessman.” I agreed. “However Ron, knows very little about the business of filmmaking.” This made her smile. She agreed as she saw Ron at the Cannes Film Festival this past May. She says she thinks it was an eye opener for him.

In that moment I could tell that Colleen and I had found common ground. We had a few exchanges, where I said something that set fire to her eyes and I saw the tough hardball business woman she was. I admired that. However it quickly disappeared when I share with her how I felt filmmaking is collaboration and the producer and the director ought to be a team, because filmmaking is about the story. Once again, she smiled in agreement.

We talked about filmmaking and she shared some great insight with me on the business, building a case for investors, Telefilm, making a small budget film and our sinking film industry. In the end Colleen asked me, “If I was to ask you to report back to me in two weeks what would you have for me?” I knew it was a test to see if I was taking in what she was telling me. I said “a list of movies that I feel are comparable to the story I am telling; a list of actors I wish to play the lead (Ryan Reynolds being my first, and someone who Colleen said is attainable) “Put a ‘C’ for Canadian by the ones who are. It’ll help your case”; make a list of the Professional Readers that I have had or wish to have read the script and get feedback from. (First and foremost Colleen told me make sure that script is polished and ready to go); then I told her I would give her the budget that I had done up.” She said, “I’m not interested in seeing one.” It was a nice try though.

After all was said and done, Colleen left me with these final words “Imagine everything on a grand scale and dream big. People who become highly successful are ones that think on a grand level. Do that with this.”

So to all who will read this, remember our world in film is make believe. Believe in yourself and see yourself in the stars. I leave you with one final quote from Mark Fergus’s written article in issue 71 of Movie Maker magazine “As a writer, you possess tremendous power-absolutely nothing happens until the blank page is filled and the whole world is brought to life. You’re the one who gets to make that world. Oh, and work hard. It’ll make you lucky.” So please all know that anything is possible. Anything is attainable. Just know what you’re talking about when you’re talking to those who can assist you.