Our Story

By William Hawkins and Bonnie Lennon

Like many adults in the U.S., we were concerned about the degradation of theatrical films produced and distributed by the major Hollywood studios. We wondered why dramas were increasingly violent and noticed the growing number of  “comedies” that relied on vulgar acts, profanity, and endless mocking.

In 2020, we decided to explore the movie business to determine whether it might be worthwhile to get involved. We started on this path because we were confident that among our extensive network of contacts, it would be possible to find and/or create commercial screenplays. We were also optimistic that if we were able to figure out the right formula, we would be able to raise the necessary funds to produce, distribute, and promote theatrical quality films.

The first phase of our research involved reading publications like the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Filmmaker magazine and others. We also learned key facts and valuable insights from the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal. Equally important, we read books written by highly respected entertainment attorneys who described how the film business worked. They also revealed many of the unethical business practices that have existed in Hollywood for decades.

We were fortunate to be learning about the movie industry during a time of multiple challenges. For example, the decade long competition from online streamers like Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and others was making it increasingly difficult for the old studio system to survive.

The legacy film production companies in Los Angeles long relied on theatrical revenue; however, due to competition from the streamers, box office income topped out in 2018 at 11.9 billion dollars in the U.S. Then the Covid virus hit which caused theatrical revenue to drop to 2.28 billion in 2020.  The U.S. box office improved to 4.5 billion in 2021, 7.4 billion in 2022 and 9.9 billion in 2023. However, the theatrical revenue dropped off to 8.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to stay at that level in 2025.

The movement of viewers to the online content providers caused the corporate owners of the major Hollywood studios to realize a new business model was necessary to survive. Consequently, CEOs with knowledge and connections that were valuable in the old system were fired along with thousands of employees. The message was clear: Hollywood would be producing films primarily for the online streamers.  

In 2021, we realized that we had the capability to create and find commercial scripts – the key component in film projects. We also learned that the demand exceeded the supply in the comedy genre.

In 2023, we began writing essays on important subjects related to the movie business so potential production financiers would be able to benefit from our research. We also began preparing prospect lists of producers, directors, and actors who would be suitable for each of our film projects.

In 2024, we began communicating with potential production financiers and creative professionals for the purpose of determining if it was feasible to bring the two sides together. This process involved sharing our research, analysis, and preliminary plans for the creation of commercial film projects that would likely generate critical acclaim and box office success.