- What made you decide to start Outlaw East Entertainment?
I started Outlaw East Entertainment, with Edwin Jones, out
of an evolutionary process. Allow me to
back track. In the late 90’s, I owned
and operated an art studio. Our product
was graphic arts for various publications.
We did newspapers, magazines, and foremost comic books. We called ourselves an art studio rather than
publishers was because we cared more about the art; the freedom of expression
in artistic form by any and all individuals.
My staff and I believed in that so strongly, that when the local kids
would hang out to see what we were working on, we started listening to their
ideas, their input and their opinions.
We eventually started to hear the kids own characters and stories. So we encouraged them to write it out. I guess, at that time, every teacher in the
local school was wondering what was going on with these kids. But, the kids
came back with good stories and characters.
Sure it was rough and needed some polishing, but they were engaged in
something positive! So I made the
decision to put my money where my mouth was and develop, draw out and publish
their stories. I was involved helping
the kids with story development, character, content (to a point) and every
title featured the creator’s name on the cover;
A confirmation of ownership and development. Fast forward to 2007, when I was approached
to obtain rights from one of my personally created characters for filming. I was skeptical so I offered a “low end”
character. Then I was asked to write the
screenplay for the character and at that point Edwin approached me and wondered
why we couldn’t do it ourselves. After
some deliberation, some support from my loved ones I told Edwin, let’s do
it. But we wanted to approach it
differently…within the norm, but let’s get real stories behind us again, like
when we were in the art studio. The name
Outlaw didn’t signify that we wanted to be ‘badasses’, we use ‘Outlaw’ to state
we operate outside of the normal conventional ways.
- Was it a lifelong dream? To start your company? To help others?
When we started O.E.E. we decided on a few perimeters for
the company; 1) Everyone gets an opportunity. 2) A good story is a good story.
3) No one pays to participate 4) We keep the studio East of the Rocky Mountains .
The craziness that is Hollywood , can stay
in Hollywood . And finally 5) We don’t get in the way of
anyone actually finding their own version of success, whether it means working
with us or leaving us for greater things.
Those are the 5 principles we use.
- What do you think are the benefits of reaching out to help others?
I believe the benefit of reaching out to others goes far
beyond finding an original story or an inventive way to do something. It creates a community. Thanks to the internet, the community is
global. A united community solves
problems be it; low employment or high anxieties. While we are not dumb enough to think we
don’t need money, we are not terribly jaded by it either. If our studio could generate one to two $20
million dollar film per year (low balling it) , we could employ 400 persons at
$50k a year salary. That changes things
dramatically. Once we go beyond that,
well the sky’s the limit.
- What do you see happening for Outlaw East Entertainment in the next 5 years? Ten years?
I see Outlaw East Entertainment growing and evolving like it
should and not being held back by typical constraints. We’ve all heard nightmarish stories about
what may or may not go on in Hollywood .
Why do we have to follow suit? Some
extraordinary things have happened from independent artists. We believe we can allow more into the
industry, after all there are over nine (9,000) thousand television stations
around and even now there are more content on the internet with the new format
of televised show online. That creates a
need for new and abundant material. I
think O.E.E. will still be pertinent long after I’m gone.
- And finally, what words of advice would you give anyone wanting to go into the entertainment field?
My advise for anyone trying to get in the entertainment
field is follow what you are comfortable with.
If you want to go the conventional route to your destiny, do it with
conviction. However if the conventional
road is not for you, get tough, roll up your sleeve and blaze a whole new
trail. Whether you succeed of fail, the
accolades you get from the effort while be just as satisfying.
*End Of Questions*
I really enjoyed interviewing Exlus Bennett and learning the story of www.OutlawEastEntertainment.com . And I realized something--as I read the answers Exlus gave me--that I have become rather jaded in my opinions--where the internet is concerned.
Somewhere, along the line, I have closed my eyes, not seeing clearly, those who have offered kindness, that became instrumental in helping others make their dreams come true. So I plan, thanks to Exlus helping me see things more clearly, to periodically post--of those on the net--whose kindness helped others see their dreams to fruition.
Somewhere, along the line, I have closed my eyes, not seeing clearly, those who have offered kindness, that became instrumental in helping others make their dreams come true. So I plan, thanks to Exlus helping me see things more clearly, to periodically post--of those on the net--whose kindness helped others see their dreams to fruition.
