Generally Speaking ... The Debate is ON!

Greetings eSTEEMed community! My name is Joe Skorpen. I wanted to come aboard to share with likeminded people some upcoming projects that might interest fellow steamy types.

Skorpen Productions currently has three motion picture projects in funded development. Our co-production partner is Moving Pictures Media Group, and our Producer’s Rep who is lining up distribution, is Rene Leda of Netminds, Inc. Performing analytics is FilmProfit and handling our marketing campaigns is Ribbow Media. The company began in the 1990’s as a holding company for screenplays and stunt equipment I would rent while coordinating features. It has now become the production entity launching “Boogiemen from Studio Z,” “Hindustan,” and “The B Queen.”

I wanted to jump in here and tell you about an event scheduled for October 7th, 2017. This event is called, “Generally Speaking,” and it is a live talkfest that will be held in Gurgaon, India, but will stream live on the Skorpen Productions YouTube channel; if only SteemIt had such a platform.

Speaking at this event will be Maj. Gen. GD Bakshi, PhD (ret.), Col. RSN Singh (ret.) and me; Joe Skorpen, writer/producer/director of the upcoming motion picture project “Hindustan.” Gen. GD Bakshi is a renowned war historian, author and analyst seen repeatedly on several Indian television programs. He serves now as “Hindustan’s” technical advisor, and Sam Narayan, PhD (aka “Miracle Max”), is our India based New Media Producer and is organizing the “Generally Speaking” live event.

Word of this event has quickly spread and seating is being provided for 1000. Hunter Valley Restaurant is providing the venue, and corporate sponsors will be announced on the website, which will be up shortly; www.generallyspeakingtalks.com

“Hindustan” is a screenplay I wrote three years ago and tells the story of the little-known Sino-Indian War of 1962, and was fought high in the Himalayan Mountains along the border of India and China. This war was waged during the administrations of Prime Minister Nehru and Chairman Mao. Peripherally involved were the Soviet administration of Nikita Khrushchev and the Kennedy administration, here in the States. The writing of this screenplay required the reading of ten books and resulted in a 5-page bibliography of references for the quotes and factual events that are incorporated into the story.

The screenplay tells of the lead-up to the war, beginning in 1954, and is told through the eyes of a young Indian war hero named Jaswant Singh Rawat. In the end, he alone held-off 1000 Chinese troops while his company retreated, saving his last bullet for himself. The point of the screenplay is to illustrate the pointlessness of the war, as nothing resulted from it … No treaties and no border resolutions.

The irony is that right now, as we speak, history is repeating itself along the Indian-Chinese border near Bhutan. This sudden relevance has thrust the “Hindustan” project into the limelight; so much so that we are even in talks to develop a weekly radio program for the biggest station in New Delhi, and have submitted a full-show sample reel.

I felt this was a great fit for the SteemIt community, as I am also a lover of liberty, the arts, and crypto currencies. In fact, we are working to devise a crew payment system where the Indians working for us during principal photography will be paid in crypto, converted from production funding here at home.

Anyone interested in learning more, head on over to skorpenproductions.com to read more than you would care to know. I welcome comments and questions and although working very long hours, I will do my best to respond, especially to those who want to kick around some thoughts on screenwriting, film production, libertarianism, economics, geopolitics and crypto currencies. I have a plethora of plebian musings for your perusal, and if anyone is interested in how to successfully navigate the treacherous waters of independent film financing and production, I’d be happy to share the recipe that worked for me.
My undergraduate and graduate education is in business administration (organizational theory/management). For the past six years I have voluntarily taught a monthly, two-semester, full-curriculum course on screenwriting and film production for the Laurel Springs School Film Club, and I am a life member of Mensa.

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks for inviting me into the community, thanks also for your time, and I look forward to upcoming chats with everyone.