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Can Patriots Compete with Hollywood? One Independent Producer Says ‘Yes’
By Clay Potts
Once upon a time, Hollywood may have represented “the American Dream.” Increasingly, however, it has become the bastion of decadence and the harbinger of our nation’s decline. Falsehoods now regularly, and surreptitiously, form the cornerstones of storytelling. Not only have truths been forsaken, justice has been lost, and our very liberties put into jeopardy.
America’s traditional (and Christian) values have come under relentless assault and, with Hollywood’s celebrity “role models,” the future for our progeny looks dim. Motion pictures masquerade as “entertainment” but are, in reality, the lead agent of our subversion.
Americana Pictures is a new motion picture production and distribution company, which plans to build a viable alternative to Hollywood and help to restore the American Dream. Perhaps this is an uphill battle, but according to company founder, Merlin Miller, the timing has never been better.
A huge, disenfranchised audience awaits. Americana Pictures looks to develop, produce and market quality motion pictures, which promote fresh talent and the best of traditional American ideals. It wants to entertain, but in responsible ways, and to inspire people to achieve greatness again, with honor and integrity.
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Merlin is unusual for his business. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, at West Point, he brings a background and experiences unknown to Hollywood’s elite. After several years as a military leader, he attended and graduated from the University of Southern California’s prestigious Peter Stark Motion Picture Producing Program. He interned at Paramount and subsequently worked for many years in Hollywood on low budget features. He eventually left Hollywood to independently produce and direct his own shows, including the award winning A Place to Grow and Jericho.
They were each produced for under $1 million, a small fraction of the Hollywood $50 million-plus average. Can a small independent compete against the Hollywood juggernaut? Americana Pictures believes it can, if it totally avoids Hollywood and creates its own distribution model. The Internet, with its growing means of information dissemination and product marketing, can offer revolutionary alternatives to the costly, traditional Hollywood methods.
“We need to think out-of-the-box, and find ways to get our films to an increasingly marginalized audience,” Merlin says. “Hollywood is out of touch and serves interests, which no longer respect traditional American values, but instead propagandize with evil intent. With low-budgets, high-quality, and seemingly controversial subject matter, we intend to create a brand name that audiences can come to rely on for great entertainment that confronts the important issues of our times. If we are to reach mainstream audiences, we know that we must entertain first, and we plan to refreshingly put real beauty and talent back on the screen. Through great characters and stories, we can inspire Americans to wake up and once again take pride in their faith, family, ethnic identity, and country.”
The company is currently assembling its team and building an infrastructure. It is also planning a screenwriting workshop for early May to help develop talent—outside of the mechanisms of Hollywood. Projects currently in development include, In the Shadows of Liberty, a contemporary story of mystery, action and romance, which connects modern-day intrigues to the little known, but historically significant, assault on the USS Liberty. Also, The Liberator (aka, Arminius), written by Merlin for another company, may be produced in partnership. It is an incredible historic epic about the unification and liberation of Germanic tribes from Roman rule and oppression.
Americana Pictures, located in Gatlinburg, Tenn., can be reached through its website, www.Americana-Pictures.com.
(Issue # 12, March 23, 2009)
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