Diddy Returns To Producing, Says He’s Working With Kanye West, Pusha T, The Lox & More

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Sean Huze

Comcast is buying Time Warner Cable

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Sean Huze

Jay Leno on ’60 Minutes’: ‘Eventually you’re going to get screwed’

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Sean Huze

‘Look, show business pays you a lot of money because eventually you’re going to get screwed. And when you get screwed, you will have this pile of money off to the side….That’s the way it works,’” – Jay Leno

Sundance: Kickstarter Backers Plead for Tickets to Zach Braff Movie Premiere

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Sean Huze

Should you accommodate #Kickstarter backers? If possible it def shows appreciation and ensures their loyalty on your next project, BUT with limited tickets available to filmmakers and the need to get distributors/buyers’ butts in those seats, how is it even possible? Would love to hear ideas/thoughts and especially someone who has dealt with this before. Seems logistically impossible yet filmmakers will unfairly look ungrateful.

MSNBC Suspends Alec Baldwin’s Show For Two Weeks

Posted on November 16, 2013 by Sean Huze

Smiling Through Clenched Teeth: Why the Biz Bothers With the Hollywood Film Awards

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Sean Huze

Actor Reginald VelJohnson Flies Away to Baton Rouge on “Angel’s Wings”

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Sean Huze

Reginald VelJohnson, best known for his roles as Carl Winslow in “Family Matters” and Sgt. Al Powell in the “Die Hard” franchise, will play the lead role in a new family film titled “Angel’s Wings” shooting in Baton Rouge, LA this summer

May 28, 2013 3:06 PM

Family Matters” and “Die Hard” star, REGINALD VELJOHNSON, arrives in Baton Rouge, LA this week to start work on ANGEL’S WINGS, a heartwarming, family film, directed by AARON L. WILLIAMS (Preaching to the Pastor, The Pastor’s Secrets, Mama I Want to Sing). VELJOHNSON (Hart of Dixie, Mike & Molly, TRON: Uprising) plays “Coach Carter,” a volunteer coach for the Angel’s, a youth soccer team, who takes his “job” a bit too seriously.

He joins previously announced cast members TAYLOR FAYE RUFFIN (The Chaperone, That’s What I Am, Sinners and Saints), TYLER HUMPHREY (The Ledge, The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia, Ticking Clock), and SEAN HUZE (Green Zone, The Next Three Days, In the Valley of Elah).

When the star player for the Angel’s Soccer Team is injured Coach Carter (VelJohnson) decides to play the water girl, McKenzie Adams (Ruffin). After embarrassing herself in front of the entire school, her luck changes when she meets an Angel that grants her 3 wishes. Unable to keep it a secret, she takes her little Brother Josh (Humphrey) and their dog Zeus on a whirlwind of fun and adventure.

Their excitement proves short-lived when McKenzie’s luck runs out and she has to figure things out on her own. In this coming of age family movie, McKenzie, Josh, and their dog Zeus find that miracles really do happen everyday, because they happen whenever we help someone in need.

This moving story, created by writer and director Aaron L. Williams, is another significant contribution towards addressing the pervasive lack of positive content for the African-American community. African-Americans are a demographic he sees as largely neglected by not only the major studios, but also by a large percentage of independent filmmakers. On working with VelJohnson, the young director’s enthusiasm is palpable, “As an African-American growing up when I did it was tough. I remember wondering where were people who looked like me, and my friends, and family on television? Other than in the back of a squad car on Hill Street Blues! Think about it. There were so few positive portrayals of black families and culture… especially black men. On network television in the eighties and nineties, there were only two: Bill Cosby and Reginald VelJohnson! To work with him [VelJohnson] on this film is a real blessing.”

ANGEL’S WINGS is sure to uplift, inspire, and show the value of believing in yourself… and angels.

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For more information about “Angel’s Wings” or to check availability for an interview with Mr. VelJohnson, Aaron L. Williams, Taylor Ruffin, Tyler Humphrey, and/or Sean Huze, please email Nikki Bennen at nikki.b@allofthelights.net or call (225) 364-9484.

IRS Section 181 Extension Explained

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Sean Huze

Katy Perry Performs At The Opening Of ROK Vega…

Grand Opening Of ROK Vegas at New York, New York Hotel & Casino Arrivals Actor Sean Huze

Before we even get started let me disclose that I am not an accountant, attorney, nor a licensed tax professional. For guidance on your individual tax liabilities and which deductions and credits are best for you personally, I strongly advise you to seek the counsel of your tax professional. However, as a filmmaker in the state of Louisiana, I am knowledgeable about Louisiana’s Motion Picture Investor Tax Credits as well as the broad strokes of Section 181 of the US Tax Code as both pertain to filmmaking. From that general knowledge, I will proceed to type and hopefully you will proceed to read a little further so you may understand my excitement about Section 181’s inclusion in the deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff” on January 1, 2013. Let’s face it, the US Tax Code is not exactly riveting material, so a former infantryman in the US Marines who upon discharge enjoyed some modest success on the silver screen and the boards of Hollywood’s Theatre Rowe, feeling towards a bunch of politicians in DC like Sally Field felt towards Academy voters when she received her Oscar ® for Places in the Heart requires explanation. That explanation is forthcoming!

Campaign For A New GI Bill | Actress Sally Fie...

And now you know why I used the Sally Field reference above! Ms. Field and I are photographed at an event for the the new GI Bill for Veterans of Iraq & Afghanistan.

The reason I am so grateful this important section was extended as part of the legislation is because it makes investing in film better for the investor by mitigating their risk. And it doesn’t just provide a little bit of risk mitigation either. For qualified investors that can take full advantage of the 181 deduction, they can mitigate as much as 39.6% of their investment! Now, that’s great but since I’m not stroking six, seven, and eight figure checks, why am I personally so excited? Because it makes the part of my vocation I dislike the most (rasing funds) much easier which lets me focus the majority of my time towards the part of my job that I love as a filmmaker… MAKING FILMS!!!

The following are the basics on Section 181:

100% of the motion picture costs are deductible in the same year of investment.
There is a $15M dollar budget cap (which can be bumped to $20M if shooting in an economically depressed area).
There is no minimum film production budget cost.
Section 181 applies to TV shows, short films, music videos, and feature films.
Section 181 can be applied to active income or passive income.
Investors can be either individuals or businesses.
Section 181 is retroactive.
If the film does not get distributed, the Section 181 still applies with no penalty. It is based on the amount invested, not recoupment, nor return of investment.
To qualify the production company will give K-1’s to the investors which they and their tax professionals need to file with their returns to take advantage of the 181.
It is a deduction, not a credit.

So let’s look at an example investment for a Louisiana individual investor, who is in the top income bracket, and is making full use of the Section 181 and the Louisiana film tax credits. The individual investor puts up $3,000,000.00 of which he can deduct 100% that tax year. At a 39.6% income tax rate, he just saved nearly $1,200,000.00 that would have swollen the coffers at the IRS had he not made this investment! Now, he also gets 30% of his investment back under the Motion Picture Investor Tax Credit structure for the state of Louisiana. That’s another $900,000.00. Then there is an additional credit for hiring Louisiana workers (which I always prioritize when hiring). So assuming 50% of the budget is qualifying payroll, that would be another $75,000.00 in credits. So from Section 181 and Louisiana Credits alone, the investor has 72%+ of their investment covered. So yes, even though the guy I was a decade ago would have given me today a black eye for using this much math, that guy also couldn’t explain how you could save hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars on your state and federal taxes! For more information or to discuss working with Sandstorm Productions, please email me directly at sean@sandstormpro.com or give us a call at our office at (225) 384-0411. I hope you found this article informative and as engaging as a Tax Code post can possibly be!

Additional Resources:

Kessler Gives the 411 on the Extension of Section 181 | Filmmakers Notebook

Legal Information Institute – Cornell University: Section 181

Fiscal Cliff: Hollywood Tax Incentives Renewed Under Deal

Roger Ebert: Saying Good-bye to an Icon

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Sean Huze

How does one say good-bye to an icon? Roger Ebert defined what it meant to be a film critic. He did so by being a pioneer in the field and refusing to go along with the tradition of journalists being in the pockets of the studios and writing “fluff” pieces in exchange for positive coverage. While that may seem absurd today, it was standard practice in the 1960s when Mr. Ebert embarked on an illustrious career path and life journey. Anyone fortunate enough to be around to witness all or part of that journey was blessed.

Until yesterday the man was a living legend. Now his ghost should haunt filmmakers and film critics alike by forcing us to ask and answer honestly a simple question: “Would Roger Ebert give this a thumbs up or not?” If the answer is “no,” then let’s not do it. Let’s make better films. It would make Mr. Roger Ebert very proud of us. R.I.P., sir, and we hope you’re watching The Godfather on a giant screen at The Great Muliplex in the Sky!