Darkoz history

Well here it is. How I came to be homeless and then AP

Some people speculated I had problems with drugs and/or alcohol to find myself homeless. I showed some of those posts this week to friends and family who couldn't stop laughing

I have NEVER tasted alcohol
Never smoked a cigarette or puffed a joint
Never been high in anyway aside from sex and gambling highs

One friend quipped a drug test on me would only find toxic levels of Doritos and Pepsicola

I also have never tasted hot coffee, hot tea or hot chocolate.

Im known to eat chef boyardee cold out of a can. I have a weird palate. And I always have felt I am an easily addicted person. Ironically that has made me extremely immune to addiction since I refuse to even try anything

Anyway here is my story

Through the 90's I worked my way up in the specialized field of negative cutting in motion pictures.

A negative cutter physically cuts the scenes from a camera roll and places them in order. Then cement splices them so the finished film can be printed at the lab for theatrical screening

Like tearing the Mona Lisa while trying to frame it I was being trusted not to cut the film in the wrong spot sometimes with $150 million dollar negatives.

If the film was one frame off the synch would be wobbly. Two frames and the film was out of synch noticeable to the naked eye.

If I had a film with 3000 cuts and I got 2,999 correct and one wrong I usually was threatened with a lawsuit. I was dealing with temperamental film artists and very powerful people

If my splices opened up while running through a lab printer entire feet could be destroyed. Labs refused films cut by people they didnt trust because they too could face lawsuits.

As a result I had a zero advertising expense budget. I came highly recommended by the labs. I was insanely busy.

I also was able to charge a lot due to all the perfectionist niche examples I gave above. Usually I made between $20,000 and $50,000 per month.

In 2003 I decided I really wanted to be on the artistic end. (I had self-financed a film, cut my own negatives to save money and that was how I got my start in negative cutting so I was just returning to my roots)

I optioned a comic book property and using the contacts made in Hollywood began shopping it. It was a dark reimagining of the Wizard of Oz

You guys are smart. I am sure you can guess what it was called.

The screenplay was being written and artists were being attracted. The producers of "Bridge to Terabithia" as well as the producers of the Batman films were attached

Then in late 2004 the labs perfected scanning entire rolls of negative to digital. No need for a negative cutter. It was faster, cleaner and safer. Even filmmakers who wanted to do it the old fashioned way were talked out of it by the labs who were thrilled at the loss of the insurance claims due to open splices and damaged film. The same labs which had sent me all my business were now directing my clients away from using me

November 2004 I made $49,000. I didnt even make $30k all of 2005.

Every movie in the history of motion pictures had the need of a negative cutter. We were as important as obtaining a camera to shoot the movie. And now we were all relics. An entire niche industry over 100 years old wiped out in 6 months

Now at entry level again jobs offered to me wouldn't have even covered my interest payments. Payments easy to make at my old salary were now impossible.

I had savings

I also had Dark Oz. Everyone was looking at getting the project off the ground within 2 years. As executive producer I was looking at a $300k up front check IF the film was greenlit

I was prepping LLCs while going bankrupt spending all my savings on the film.

I sold all my belongings as the time dragged on. I invested any money from the spare negative cutting job that came along.

Friends and family at first supported me. And as the years rolled by their support began to wane. By 2007 I was bouncing around from friend's house to family members still waiting for Dark Oz to get into production

By 2009 I had exhausted my welcome. I still was allowed to visit and bathe at my support group domiciles but not sleep. And so I hit the subways

2009 I snuck into the NY Comicon just to take a meeting with the producers. I was probably the only person sleeping on the subways of NYC doing Hollywood deals

I figured it would make a great rags to riches story. If it was published I would call it "The Yellow Brick Road To Hollywood."

If you think lawsuits take a long time you have never tried to get a Hollywood movie made

Then after sleeping for nearly 2 years on the subways April of 2011 came the Dark Oz earthquake. Sam Raimi had quit Spiderman 4 and Disney had scooped him up for "Oz, the Great and Powerful".

My producers all assured me we were good as long as there was no greenlight. We were all nigh on 8 years in development.

And it certainly was no surprise there was a Disney film. I was acutely aware of every Oz film project in Hollywood. It was a race to the finish.

And I lost!

September 2011 Disney gave their project the greenlight. I had one last phone call from the producers who gave me the 411. Dark Oz was now officially dead.

8 years. Tens of thousands of dollars invested. All wasted. All gone.

Dark Oz wasnt the only Oz project killed. Here is a link to them all.

Dark Oz is the 4th down. I suppose thats not too shabby considering I was sleeping on the subways while working on it.

http://newwwoz.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-oz-movies-that-could-have-been.html?m=1

I spent the next 3 months just staring out the windows of the subway not caring and not planning anything.

And then one day due to trackwork that made the usual train I took uncomfortable to sleep I switched trains and though I saw a mirage. I thought I saw a casino in NYC.

Those were all in Atlantic City to my knowledge.

They had just opened. I was not into gambling after dabbling in my youth and discovering you couldn't win. In fact the reason I joined this forum in 2009 was WizardofOdds came up in a google search for competing Oz movies. And that site led me to here.

I went into Resorts World Casino in January 2012 just to kill an afternoon. Curiosity!

I had three cents in my pocket and no expectation of playing any games. I spent an hour looking around and went to leave

And then I saw The Sign...

No, not a sign from a higher power. It was a sign on the wall.

It said: "NEW MEMBERS GET $10 FREEPLAY"

I suppose that was my first advantage play small as it was. And I wound up self teaching and learning and well here I am.

Ironically I did end up with that rags to riches story and my book when I publish it is the memoir of how I did it. It is not a how-to book.

But clearly from just the AP Nightmare thread even memoirs put fear into other AP,s

Anyway. That's my story!

Another fake story.


Just kidding.

More like riches to rags to riches, haha. That's a great story and I only wish the movie could have been. However, then we likely wouldn't have you, so I guess it all worked out in the end?

Also, you gotta try you some hot chocolate. C'mon, man.

OMG, I have the Dark OZ #1 comic book and I always thought it was a great concept for a film.

There are many ways for a film to turn out badly, but if it had been done reasonably well I think it could have been a smash.

I am stunned. Small world.

Quote:

Then in late 2004 the labs perfected scanning entire rolls of negative to digital.

And you didn't see this coming. My brother
owned a camera store from the late 80s till
2005. He totally saw digital coming and
ruining his business years before it happened.
He saw that digital cameras who's showing
up everywhere, you could buy them in all
kinds of places. Camera stores would soon
be obsolete, so he got out and lost nothing.
How is it that you were in this business making
all this money and was taken totally by surprise.

As far as making a movie goes, I'm not in that
business at all, and even I know how almost
impossible it is not only to get a movie made,
but to make a profit.

You lost tens of thousands, that's all? That's
nothing, people routinely lose hundreds of
thousands and the movie never gets made. If
you really were homeless for as long as you
say, you have nobody to blame but the
ridiculous decisions you made along the way.

If this story is true, I totally believe your robbery
story. The person who let that happen, is exactly
the type of person who would blindly drive
himself into homelessness by making one
reckless decision after another.

Quote: EvenBob

And you didn't see this coming. My brother
owned a camera store from the late 80s till
2005. He totally saw digital coming and
ruining his business years before it happened.
He saw that digital cameras who's showing
up everywhere, you could buy them in all
kinds of places. Camera stores would soon
be obsolete, so he got out and lost nothing.
How is it that you were in this business making
all this money and was taken totally by surprise.

As far as making a movie goes, I'm not in that
business at all, and even I know how almost
impossible it is not only to get a movie made,
but to make a profit.

You lost tens of thousands, that's all? That's
nothing, people routinely lose hundreds of
thousands and the movie never gets made. If
you really were homeless for as long as you
say, you have nobody to blame but the
ridiculous decisions you made along the way.

If this story is true, I totally believe your robbery
story. The person who let that happen, is exactly
the type of person who would blindly drive
himself into homelessness by making one
reckless decision after another.

EvenBob, your signature line is: "It's not enough to succeed, your friends must fail." Gore Vidal

After reading your post, which seems to have no other purpose than to belittle and demean DarkOz for his 'failure' in his film venture, I wonder whether you have any friends.

Quote: EvenBob

And you didn't see this coming. My brother
owned a camera store from the late 80s till
2005. He totally saw digital coming and
ruining his business years before it happened.
He saw that digital cameras who's showing
up everywhere, you could buy them in all
kinds of places. Camera stores would soon
be obsolete, so he got out and lost nothing.
How is it that you were in this business making
all this money and was taken totally by surprise.

As far as making a movie goes, I'm not in that
business at all, and even I know how almost
impossible it is not only to get a movie made,
but to make a profit.

You lost tens of thousands, that's all? That's
nothing, people routinely lose hundreds of
thousands and the movie never gets made. If
you really were homeless for as long as you
say, you have nobody to blame but the
ridiculous decisions you made along the way.

If this story is true, I totally believe your robbery
story. The person who let that happen, is exactly
the type of person who would blindly drive
himself into homelessness by making one
reckless decision after another.

EB

Scanning a frame here and there is one thing

Scanning millions of frames at 2K resolution (then the expensive industry standard) and then doing an intermediary interpositive of sufficient quality for theatrical release was a different story.

There were a number of other factors in the process and profession that made it prohibitive until well that breakthrough occurred

At any rate it is clear your only intent is to ridcule anything and everything so dont be surprised when I say anything you post in my threads will no longer be answered by me

Quote: darkoz

EB

Scanning a frame here and there is one thing

It just seems like a wild mistake that
you were in such a high demand
high paying profession and didn't
bother to keep up with the tech
side of it. My brother saw digital
coming in the mid 90's and knew
he was doomed. He constantly
kept himself up to date by reading
industry magazines and publications.

You seem to have been taken totally
by surprise, like you thought what
you were doing would last forever.

Reply or don't reply to my posts, why
should that matter to me. I post for
my own edification, I've said that
many times. Here, I'll give you the
definition of edification to save you
the trouble of looking it up:

ed·i·fi·ca·tion
/ˌedəfəˈkāSH(ə)n/Submit

the instruction or improvement of a person

you should have adapted to the times. You had the connections and the knowledge, no reason you shouldn't have just moved into another side of the business.

Quote: GWAE

you should have adapted to the times. You had the connections and the knowledge, no reason you shouldn't have just moved into another side of the business.

I have heard this criticism before and its not totally without merit

There was no lateral movement I could have done that would have prevented me from the same drop in income

The best way to explain it is remember all those people who developed films in darkrooms?

What adjustment could they have made into digital film?

How many people here are anxious to have their digital films developed?

There were other film jobs I was offered but all bottom rung. And after 15 years of driving my way up to the top I put my faith in the film project

We all take life gambles. Some we win. Some we dont

Not being critical, but what kind of lifestyle were you living with $50k/month to where you were out on the street so quickly after losing your golden goose?

Quote: darkoz

The best way to explain it is remember all those people who developed films in darkrooms?
What adjustment could they have made into digital film?

There isn't one. My brother had film lab
in his store, selling and developing were
half his business. He wisely sold the
machine 3 years before he closed and
sent all the film out. He got rid of the
most expensive cameras and started
selling some digital. But he knew it
wasn't enough and found another
profession.

Quote:

And after 15 years of driving my way up to the top I put my faith in the film project

Have a HS friend who sold his energy
bar biz in the 90's for $2mil. He got
talked into financing part of a movie
for a Hwood producer friend. Blew
$500K on a piece of crap that went
straight to video. But all the crew
and the actors and everybody
else got paid. That was the point
of it, just another paycheck with
some suckers money.

Quote: gamerfreak

Not being critical, but what kind of lifestyle were you living with $50k/month to where you were out on the street so quickly after losing your golden goose?

Well $20k to $50k. It all depended on the film and schedule.

Lets see

2 apartments on different coasts. Lots of travel back and forth

A time share in florida

Disney vacations naturally

A collection of antique pinball and arcade machines

Approximately 30% of my income to child support for my 2 children.

Government taxes naturally

And the Dark Oz investment

I had money for a rainy day
A rainy year
But not a rainy decade

Also it was only about 3 years I was at that level. Remember I didnt start my career as a negative cutter being entrusted with hundred million dollar negatives.

It was a 12 year journey to get to that position.

KODAK invented and patented digital camera (1987), but never manufactured same. It would have harmed film sales . Kodak went bankrupt in 2012, 5 years after digital camera royalties stopped

Quote: jackmagic777

KODAK invented and patented digital camera (1987), but never manufactured same.

Did not know that. Got my first
digital in 97 to take pics for
Ebay. Paid like $700 for a 2 meg
camera. Now you can buy a
descent 16 meg for $100..

Quote: EvenBob

Reply or don't reply to my posts, why
should that matter to me. I post for
my own edification, I've said that
many times. Here, I'll give you the
definition of edification to save you
the trouble of looking it up:

ed·i·fi·ca·tion
/ˌedəfəˈkāSH(ə)n/Submit

the instruction or improvement of a person

Darkoz,

Even if you did not foresee the digital revolution in film (which should have been obvious since the late 1990s), there is a huge gap in your story between 2005, when your negative-cutting business went tits up, and 2011, when your movie was dead in the water.

What did you do those six years? If your movie was not even greenlit, there was nothing to work on for that. Why didn't you try to get a new job or learn a new trade in that time?

Someone making "$20,000 a month" in a lucrative industry could easily use business connections to get a $50,000 a year job and avoid homelessness. And even if not, how did you not take steps to avoid your fate as your savings and friends dwindled?

There seems to be something missing from the story, likely something interpersonal or some addiction not mentioned.

Quote: Mosca

Cartoon says the only reason people post on
the Internet is to draw attention to themselves
. That's true for many people and untrue for just
as many people. Lots of people post to interact
with others, to learn things, to ask questions.
I post because it makes me think, it helps me
to expand on my own beliefs. Hence the phrase
'self edification'.

I'll use some executive time to figure out where my post went to. It just vanished like that! Good night.

Quote: darkoz

Ironically I did end up with that rags to riches story

really? you're saying you're rich

what's your net worth?

I have a right to ask because you are saying you are rich

successful silicon valley tech entrepreneurs are worth mucho millions - many are worth $10s of millions

are you in their league?

are you liquid $6 million?

Quote: EvenBob

Cartoon says the only reason people post on
the Internet is to draw attention to themselves
. That's true for many people and untrue for just
as many people. Lots of people post to interact
with others, to learn things, to ask questions.
I post because it makes me think, it helps me
to expand on my own beliefs. Hence the phrase
'self edification'.

Explain how your post calling out darkoz edifies you.

Quote: EvenBob

I post for
my own edification,

ed·i·fi·ca·tion
/ˌedəfəˈkāSH(ə)n/Submit

the instruction or improvement of a person

say what? is that a joke?
I don't get that from your posts at all

what I get is you're a guy who likes to lecture people on the correctness of the EvenBob point of view
you've got a picture of Trump as your profile picture - Trump is a guy who thinks he knows everything

that's your hero - a guy who thinks he knows everything

Dark oz,

How much did you make from that $10 free play?

More curious how you made your 1st $1000 from that $10 free play start

Quote: 100xOdds

Dark oz,

How much did you make from that $10 free play?

More curious how you made your 1st $1000 from that $10 free play start

$32

Pure luck lol. Several bonus rounds at sex and the city

The 1st $1000 is a story I need to save for my book

Edit: $38 was my high and when I had dropped down to $32 I left. I was playing .50 wagers

Quote: darkoz

I have heard this criticism before and its not totally without merit

There was no lateral movement I could have done that would have prevented me from the same drop in income

The best way to explain it is remember all those people who developed films in darkrooms?

What adjustment could they have made into digital film?

I know someone in this position.

Has worked in photography for 20+ years.

When the big shift to digital came, they adapted, fairly successfully, but still lost significant income.

You're right, sometimes industries just die, and there's very little you can do.

Quote: TigerWu

I know someone in this position.

Has worked in photography for 20+ years.

When the big shift to digital came, they adapted, fairly successfully, but still lost significant income.

You're right, sometimes industries just die, and there's very little you can do.

Especially with former giant Kodak Camera industry going belly up 7 years ago. Was wondering why I no longer saw Kodak Camera Kiosks. Even former giant Blockbusters Movie Rentals went out of business years ago. Being able to rent movies out of the comfort of your own home Netflix and rent movies from many stores, Redbox quickly put Blockbusters out of business.

Duplicate post.

Triple post.

Quote: Mosca

Explain how your post calling out darkoz edifies you.

Every post I make edifies me. It makes
me think, it makes me consider my
position. I have to weigh this against
that. I learned this in debate class
over 50 years ago. You're debating
not to wise up your opponent, that's
a lost cause. You're trying to improve
yourself, your ability to discuss,
your ability to discuss your opinion.

A person who posts just to be noticed,
or to be a jerk, is a buffoon. I forget
about a post as soon as I make it, I
don't care if anybody responds to it or
not. That's not my intent.

Quote: lilredrooster

that's your hero - a guy who thinks he knows everything

Well, yeah. Is this your hero?

Quote: darkoz

The 1st $1000 is a story I need to save for my book

There's a book coming? Have you picked a ghost
writer yet? You need some serious writing classes
if you plan on writing it yourself. I'll give you a
hand and list all the problems in what I've seen
so far, if you like. You have a real problem with
structure, right off the bat.

Quote: EvenBob

You're debating
not to wise up your opponent, that's
a lost cause. You're trying to improve
yourself, your ability to discuss,
your ability to discuss your opinion.

If there is no point in educating your opponent then what is the point in improving your ability to discuss? What's the point of even having the debate in the first place? You can just stay at home and talk to yourself in the mirror if you're just working on communication skills.

Quote: EvenBob

There's a book coming? Have you picked a ghost
writer yet? You need some serious writing classes
if you plan on writing it yourself. I'll give you a
hand and list all the problems in what I've seen
so far, if you like. You have a real problem with
structure, right off the bat.

Yeah, I'm sure he'd write a novel the exact same way he posts semi-anonymously on the internet.

*eyeroll*

I could be wrong, but I think a good number of people learn the hard way about losing what they might of thought was their long term career. Of course, a minimum wage job is almost always available. That doesn't mean it will pay your current bills. I don't think it's necessarily sad that someone makes a mistake, only sad if they keep repeating it after already going through it.

Quote: EvenBob

You have a real problem with
structure, right off the bat.

Thanks for the laugh EB.

And thanks for telling your story Dark Oz.

Quote: TigerWu

If there is no point in educating your opponent then what is the point in improving your ability to discuss?

It clarify's your thinking, it forces you
to see both sides of an issue. I've
been having a debate on the other
forum about religion with FrG
since 2014. We've made thousands
of posts, and PM's, and neither of
us has budged from our original
position.

But we both agree we now know so
much more about why we believe
what we believe, and have learned
a ton of new information along the
way. The more you state your position,
the stronger it becomes and the more
you grow in it.

Quote: TigerWu

Yeah, I'm sure he'd write a novel the exact same way he posts semi-anonymously on the internet.

So he has a different writing style than
the one he's presented here? What a
relief. Focus and structure are the most
important aspects of writing something
that's readable, what he presents here
in his stories lacks both.

Quote: EvenBob

So he has a different writing style than
the one he's presented here?

Doesn't everyone have different writing styles depending on the medium? I know I can't be alone in this....

If you were writing a novel, Evenbob, would it also have 4 inch margins with only eight words per line, as per the writing style of your forum posts?

Quote: TigerWu

Doesn't everyone have different writing styles depending on the medium?

He would have to have a completely
different writer than he has been here for
it to be readable.

I'm a huge Hemingway fan, and have
the fat book of his gathered letters.
His writing style in the letters is not
all that different than his style in
the fiction he wrote. It flows nicely
and he obviously understands
structure and order even in his letters.
His books are much more polished because
he would rewrite them as he went along.

Quote: EvenBob

There's a book coming? Have you picked a ghost
writer yet? You need some serious writing classes
if you plan on writing it yourself. I'll give you a
hand and list all the problems in what I've seen
so far, if you like. You have a real problem with
structure, right off the bat.

Lesson #1

Word Wrap

Quote: lilredrooster

say what? is that a joke?
I don't get that from your posts at all

what I get is you're a guy who likes to lecture people on the correctness of the EvenBob point of view
you've got a picture of Trump as your profile picture - Trump is a guy who thinks he knows everything

that's your hero - a guy who thinks he knows everything

Why is it that you post, if not for your own benefit?

That is what all of us are doing. We post, for the same reason we tip, which is, to make ourselves feel better.

Here, we tip with our words, at the tables, and so with beggars, we leave money [which is speech]. We "get'' something from that exchange. The trick is to know what that is.

Quote: petroglyph

Here, we tip with our words, at the tables, and so with beggars, we leave money

Sinatra would always tip with $100
bills because that's all he carried.
It's a gangster thing. They do it
to show the class separation between
them and the person being tipped.
They're saying, I've made it and you're
still a nobody. It has nothing to do
with being generous, it's an ego
thing.

Quote: darkoz

I also have never tasted hot coffee, hot tea or hot chocolate.

How can somome have went their entire life without tasting hot chocolate???? Now whats crazy talk, its probably one of the best things in the world.

Quote: EvenBob

Sinatra would always tip with $100
bills because that's all he carried.
It's a gangster thing. They do it
to show the class separation between
them and the person being tipped.
They're saying, I've made it and you're
still a nobody. It has nothing to do
with being generous, it's an ego
thing.

I'm sure the server that got tipped $100 by Frank Sinatra in the '70's doesn't give a damn about how famous he is when they just made their mortgage payment for the month by serving drinks to him for 45 minutes.

"I'm a nobody? Well, you just increased by daily pay tenfold. Woe is me. You sure put me in my place. How ever will I survive this travesty of humanity...."

Quote: AxelWolf

How can somome have went their entire life without tasting hot chocolate???? Now whats crazy talk, its probably one of the best things in the world.

I'm pretty sure I had sampled tea, hot chocolate, and coffee all by the time I was five years old. I'm amazed that someone could go their whole life without doing so.

Being in IT I've learned the more you specialise, the higher reward (because only a few people know what you do and it tends to be in high demand). Conversely, the more likely it is that someone will find a way to end the specialization and make you a relic.

I'm highly specialized and know that when my software disappears so do I. That's scheduled to happen in 11 years.

Quote: TigerWu

I'm sure the server that got tipped $100 by Frank Sinatra in the '70's doesn't give a damn about how famous he is .

It's not about the tipped, it's about
the tipper. Remember the scene
in Goodfellahs where the Deniro
character is throwing hundred
dollar bills at the restaurant staff?
He's saying screw you, look what I
can do and you'll never do. You'll
never be where I am. He could care
less what they do with it or how
it helps them.

Quote: TigerWu

I'm sure the server that got tipped $100 by Frank Sinatra in the '70's doesn't give a damn about how famous he is when they just made their mortgage payment for the month by serving drinks to him for 45 minutes.

"I'm a nobody? Well, you just increased by daily pay tenfold. Woe is me. You sure put me in my place. How ever will I survive this travesty of humanity...."

Your comment supports both my post and Bob's.

Sinatra didn't tip a C note because he was generous or cared whether or not the dealer had a mortgage.

The dealer didn't accept the tip thinking the work performed was worth an extra $100, for 45 minutes of slinging cards.

My point is, Sinatra was tipping for Sinatra, he may not have even seen the dealers face.

Quote: EvenBob

He could care
less what they do with it or how
it helps them.

But my point is, nobody cares what the big tipper thinks. They may be doing it for themselves, but nobody gets a $100 tip and thinks, "Wow, I'll never be where he is, what a nobody I am," they're thinking "Holy crap I just made $100 for bringing that guy a drink!" The big tipper may be trying to play the ego card, but the great irony is nobody is paying attention to him as a person; they're paying attention to the big tip he just left. Their ego play has totally backfired on them. In fact, if they had left NO TIP AT ALL, that's when people would start realizing and saying, "Hey, what a d-bag... who does that guy think he is? Does he think he's better than everyone else?"

Quote: TigerWu

Their ego play has totally backfired on them. I

Good grief. It NEVER fails because the tipper
doesn't CARE what the person being tipped feels
about it. It's all in the mind of the tipper. He's
separating himself from the riff raff with the
big tip, showing himself that's he's made
it and they haven't.

A lot of people in the service industry don't
respect big tippers at all, they resent them
for the very reason the guy is making the
tip. But the tipper couldn't care less, this
is all about him and how special he is.

Quote: EvenBob

Every post I make edifies me. It makes
me think, it makes me consider my
position. I have to weigh this against
that. I learned this in debate class
over 50 years ago. You're debating
not to wise up your opponent, that's
a lost cause. You're trying to improve
yourself, your ability to discuss,
your ability to discuss your opinion.

A person who posts just to be noticed,
or to be a jerk, is a buffoon. I forget
about a post as soon as I make it, I
don't care if anybody responds to it or
not. That's not my intent.

So you edify yourself by talking rather than listening.

Very interesting.