Film Courage: From having those early businesses, a pager business, a dry cleaners, etc., what did
that teach you about like filmmaking? Chicago-based Filmmaker, Mark Harris of Black and Privileged, Why Men Cheat, Black Coffee, and more: So the thing is because of as filmmakers
where a lot of us want to be artists and a lot of us don't want to deal with the
business aspect which is cool if you don't what you have to write if you
depend on other people to take care of the business aspect you will always be
broke so we have to understand business we have to understand marketing because
we have to apply those things not just be just be artists we have to apply
toasting so if you look at some of the most successful filmmakers from Tyler
Perry to George Lucas to Steven Spielberg they're not only great
filmmakers but they're also a great businessman so as a businessman I took
those same that same energy those those same laws and I just transfer those laws
and that energy and I the hustle to the film business so I knew when I went out
to me even again I'm gonna just use my first film as an example even the first
film that I made I knew I shot everything we shot in wash
I bet I was like I didn't give up I didn't say okay I'm not I'm not going to
put it out I didn't say that I'm not I don't want it to edit it I was like go
ahead just put it together so we did still put it together and I what I did
was I just like I went out with the briefcase with the pages I got copies of
the DVDs made and I went out and hustle those DVDs it was going door-to-door it
was going hitting the streets of Chicago it was going to different clubs and you
just use that same energy and that's those same laws and transforming those
over to the movie business which allowed me to continue to make films for the
last 15 years being is because of that drive that hustle and understanding the
business aspect of filmmaking so can you take me through a day of like selling
DVDs what that was like oh yes so what I would do is I would go for a first I
would I would hit it I always would get like a thousand copies made
and I would say okay I knew that I had to do events so what I would do is I
would do an event and I would do like a a poetry even right and I was
surrounding the portrait vendors say okay 25 hours for the poetry event so I
would hire poets I would have like food and but a DVD will come in with that as
well so I wrapped everything around the
selling of this of my movies and then what I would do is I would get up in the
morning like if I when I hit the streets I get up in the morning you know get
dressed and put my DVDs a box of DVDs in the car and I was just going like a busy
street like say for instance 87th in Ashley which is like a really really
major busy street and I was stand up in front in the middle of the street with
the DVDs as Carl's driving past and sell the DVDs you know and people will stop
and they were like okay whose movies this is my movie my name is Mark Harris
I would like you know wanna know do you like to you know to my DVD and a lot of
time not a lot of times most times people were like oh okay they want they
want to support you even if they don't watch the film they want to support you
because they seem that you out here you out here making it happen you know so
it's today it's a lot easier because so much because we're streaming you could
put your family on YouTube and you know how to you could pin and people will
watch it but with me it was like I went out hit the streets
I went door-to-door when I went door-to-door people will come and say
what were you doing my my name is Mark Harris I'm a filmmaker from Chicago I
would like you know just know like for you to know what about my DVD what is it
about I would tell them the story lie and it was like okay some people say no
but some people say yeah but everyday I will go back I will go back I would hit
different blocks up you know even if they say you know you go back maybe a
week later look you know most times most times people were bad because you
noticed this person is serious you just can't take no for an answer
at all and that's how that was our day to day just going out hitting the
streets going door to door going to the clubs and just selling your DVDs selling
money would you say you're an extrovert no I'm
a little introvert okay yeah cuz that takes a real like confidence or you know
special kind of person to be able to go and be like this self driver and knock
on people's doors I mean that's scary yeah it is but is it is interested
because like when I'm like around a lot of people when I'm if I'm not this is
what my wife says a lot she says when I'm on a set I mean she visited me on
the said she and she doesn't like visiting me come to coming to the set
for this very reason it she said I'm a different person and I'm liking I said
what do you mean I'm a different person she said well like you just a totally
different person when you want to say opposed to me you at home you know and
so like if I'm just if I'm not and doing anything fin related and it feels like a
party I'm like sit back observant but if I have to do something feel related
onset or then I'm more open you know extrovert you know but when again when I
went out to with those DVDs it's overcoming your fear and a lot of us and
I think that's the key thing is that a lot of us don't want to share our work
because they fear what people may say a lot of us don't want to go door to door
because they fear that people say no you know a lot of us don't want to start on
that first screenplay because they fear people will not read it or people like
they would not get it made or you know so their fear is the one it sucked it
just controls us so we have to overcome that fear and so what means that I had
to overcome it was the fear was there it was there like going you know I was
timid you know especially going you know especially when I was doing like the the
pages and because I've never done that before so when I did the pagers and why
did the going and asking people about pages again that was just I was just
shopping in my skills for when I had to do the DVDs which it was what I was most
passionate about but we have to go get over that fear and just go out and just
do it and make it happen just do it yeah so with the film that
you went door to door with that was your first film that was my first and it was
at a documentary no it was a oh it's called wyman my minute chief
okay and of course that's a catchy to a subject sure yeah yeah I'm sure yeah and
so did the distributor pick up the film that's the only film that I've ever made
I have I have no never got distribution for it at all and that's that was the
one that was that you know my first film again and that's the one of the ones
that allowed me to get enough make enough money to make other things but I
never got a distribution for that family that's the only family this was in 2005
this was a 2005 okay yeah so you're knocking on people's doors in
the Chicago area selling them a film about infidelity and
some people are like yeah I'll take it yeah beautiful
no I don't want to see it or what what would they say well so well because the
cat does this they were like what what is that what is the film about a lot of
women will say why do men cheat so the conversation okay and that's a key thing
too is that people don't don't be so quick to just want to get people's money
have that and be sincere how about genuine conversation with
people and talk with people and when you're just so quick to get their money
they gonna like no they know they're not gonna want to support you but if you
have a sincere conversation with people and you just listen to people and give
them be honest with people you can get their support so when I will go do what
ad or a lot of women be like why do men cheat like maybe like man are you
telling our secrets alright so the women want women of course they want to know
why do you manage change so we have that discussion you know and uh it would it
would you know we have that discussion and then they were about it they were
about a DVD and the more you have that discussion it is the thing and more you
help or you talk you have a discussion you listen to what they are saying and
you answer the questions honestly they're gonna they're going about it
because they want to know what this movie is about and they want to know the
secrets of the why manche did anyone ever ask you to do
one from the female perspective no I've never been asked to do really oh why
women cheat I don't know just just to kind of do like you you doing black and
privilege Volume one so you could do you know I don't know yeah that we good job
you're great you know I think that would be a great topic to cover the reason why
women cheat yeah even more taboo yeah cuz then for men because women cheat
different for different reasons of course sure yeah sure I'm sure did you
find that there was one reason for me men or was it was it various reasons but
it was just a need that wasn't met whether it was sexual or emotional very
different reasons my man cheat I mean like I mean just be honest like we
really do we really need a reason I don't for me me a women like my
emotional attached that's why when again that's why when uh when man we found out
that the woman that recent agree that we love cheated on us we'd be devastated we
could be out there cheating Oh doing everything all kind of thing but we
found out that a woman she didn't know knows we're devastated we heartbroken
you know we're so unforgiving you know and so I think that would be a great
subject to tackle as far as why do women cheat well you know you see it in the
media to and then we'll move on from this topic but then if a man does it
it's it's a little more forgivable okay he's a man and she threw you know quote
threw her herself at him or whatever but if a woman does it it's it's wow like
who is she she's but she's a bad person you know so it's just interesting how
its proceeding you know you know back in the day you know these indiscretions
they would call you know and but yeah it's just interesting how it's perceived
yeah nobody so we'll move on very subject okay so how many of those DVDs
did you sell okay so we were selling out DVDs for we got we got the first the
first one we did like a thousand we saw those got another
run off like another thousand so we got a total run like I think like five
thousand however we would sell a lot for ten thousand for ten dollars sometime we
would do two for ten other things like that so we told we saw over over the
years maybe like between probably close to ten thousand DVDs yeah yeah but this
is over over time yeah were you ever tempted because I know to get those DVDs
made weren't probably we're not cheap if you got unless you did like a huge bulk
is I still remembered the calls oh yeah so I would get a thousand made and would
be like $1,100 $1,100 for a thousand it was a company car I don't know if
they're still in business most do plan and what we do go to now they would
print us a thousand copy they would mail at me I only see big boxes in in my room
that was just like exactly at that particular time I live in the Attic of
my mom's house okay and and so I would get these DVDs and they were baby ship
it would come to our house and I would just have all these boxes of DVDs and
attic when I lived and but I was spending like you know a thousand
dollars for a thousand copies like he level hundred islands four thousand
copies were you ever tempted to buy a huge like even more or were you afraid
that somehow you wouldn't be able to sell them out or you just want to do it
in certain increments I wanted to do them a thousand each because I knew but
before I actually here's the thing before I actually sold the DVDs I
already knew like how to get rid of at least three hundred and that is what I
was telling about is I would do events like I would do it a poetry event and
where I would sell tickets for $25 where you know when you get poetry you get it
food and you get a DVD so I knew that I knew that based of that dollar amount
that I was gonna at least make my thousand dollars back plus a profit
where I can reinvest and then from there what I can do is because I wanted to
people to get the DVD I can I can sell a DVD for
dollars you know or I can just sell it all somebody say okay I don't have the
money at this particular time can I pick you back you know so you have to take
that chance you know give them a DVD give them a DVD
and something a lot of times like when people say that you know they don't have
the money I really don't have the money if you give them the movie and then come
back and they may even give you a $20 bill and that happened as well the movie
was ten dollars and I would give I was like you know worried about it you know
just take the DVD and they will come back and then give me a $20 $20
so those things you know so we can't you know we want to because that my mission
was to get the movie out get the movie out so but I knew I had to make that
investment back so you knew if I do this only this amount I feel confident that I
can get them out yes oh yeah
you