Ep. 59 - The Multitasking Screenwriter Conversation with Derrick Shaw

A lot of us have a dream we quietly put away because life gets loud. Today we sit down with Philadelphia-born filmmaker and entrepreneur Derek Shaw, and he’s proof that “later” can still turn into real momentum if you’re willing to start small and keep showing up.

We talk about where Derek’s storytelling starts, from a fifth grade teacher who pushed him to write more, to the years he “sat it in the closet” while working full time, raising a family, and building side businesses. Then comes the turning point that changes everything: he starts writing again after decades, and that decision becomes the bridge to screenplays, production, and building Ruby Street Productions.

Derek breaks down the nuts and bolts of independent filmmaking: buying a cheap camera, making early short films, and turning a weekend hobby into feature projects like Blissfully Unmarried and his dark comedy Bedridden. We get honest about film financing, earning investor trust through reputation, navigating SAG requirements, and why film distribution can be harder than making the movie. Derek also shares what it took to get Bedridden onto Amazon and Apple TV, why he chose self-distribution, and what he’s chasing next with bigger budgets and bigger names.

If you’re into indie film, screenwriting, self-distribution, creative entrepreneurship, and building a sustainable production company, this conversation is packed with practical insight and real-world perspective. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a push, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What’s one daydream you’re ready to dust off?

Guest Links

Ruby Street Productions

Bedridden on Amazon

Derrick on Insta

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Credits

Music Credit:  True Living by Patrick Moore

Royalty free music license purchased at soundotcom.com

Transcript

Cold Open On Passion And Risk

SPEAKER_06 0:09

Everyday people following their passions.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

That's probably like one of the highlights of my life so far. Just being able to be creative like that. I mean I've always wanted.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

And then I decided to get another hive, and that turned into a lot of hives.

SPEAKER_04 0:28

As long as I can do that, I want to be a good citizen. Help people out.

SPEAKER_06 0:33

Putting themselves out there, taking chances, and navigating challenges along the way.

SPEAKER_05 0:40

I I absolutely identified with having stage rides because, you know, anytime I went on stage, I just felt like I was having a heart attack.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Very first laugh, very first practice session, I crashed, turned the car upside down, made a spectacle of myself, and I got back on that horse and started riding again.

SPEAKER_06 0:56

As they pursue what makes them happy and brings them joy.

SPEAKER_03 1:02

As long as people are having a good time and I have the opportunity to put smiles on people's faces, I I love what I do.

SPEAKER_06 1:08

I have done things that I never thought I could do.

SPEAKER_04 1:13

To have somebody tell me how real it looks and how, you know, from their actual memory. Because that's telling me I captured what I was trying to get.

A Question About Forgotten Dreams

SPEAKER_06 1:24

Welcome to a sorted conversation. I'm your host, Helen. Hello, and thanks for tuning in. You know, after speaking with this week's guest, it got me wondering about you guys, and and also a little self-reflective with myself. Was there something you loved to do, maybe even excelled in in your younger days, maybe even as far back as a fifth grader? But you pushed it aside because you didn't see a way forward, or because other things took priority. I know I did. For me, it was broadcasting. I wanted to be a radio DJ so bad growing up. I loved music, I loved to talk and make people laugh, and that's basically what I went to school for. But once I graduated, I faced so much competition in the Boston media market, and I was up against other recent grads who had graduated from Emerson, BC, BU, and they had interned at all the big radio stations in the area. I let all of that distract me from what I wanted to do. Now the good news is I did find other avenues that got me excited and allowed me to be creative in other ways. But after a 20 plus year career in learning and development, I eventually found my way back to a mic. This week's guest had a similar journey, but he was much quicker about getting back to what he loved than I was. Dust off your daydreams, take a listen to this week's conversation, and I'll see you on the other side.

Meet Filmmaker Derek Shaw

SPEAKER_06 3:23

Today's guest is a Philadelphia-born filmmaker, entrepreneur, and storyteller with a strong working-class foundation and a sharp creative vision. He is the founder of Ruby Street Productions and has built a career spanning film, media, real estate, and business. His work includes the feature film Blissfully Unmarried, the award-winning web series The Man Code, and his latest release, the film Bedridden. With studies in business and film plus decades of real work experience, he brings authenticity, grit, and heart to everything he creates. He is driven by ownership, legacy, and turning life experiences into compelling stories while continuing to grow as both a producer and a businessman. I am so excited to welcome this week's guest, Derek Shaw, to Astorted Conversations. Hi, Derek. Hey, how are you doing? Glad to be here, Ellen. I am glad to have you here. You have such an interesting journey to talk about. So let's get started. Where did where did it all begin? Did it begin with film? Did it begin with entrepreneurship? What was the starting point for you?

Fifth Grade Spark For Writing

SPEAKER_07 4:46

I have always liked to write. So early in elementary school, I think I remember fifth grade. My fifth grade teacher encouraged me to write. You know, when you just hand in homework. She said, I see something here. You need to expand on, you know, I'm only, I don't know, where are you, fifth grade? 10, maybe? Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 5:07

Maybe.

SPEAKER_07 5:07

Yeah. And she was like, you know, just the stuff you hand in, I need you to write more. You know, she would actually give special assignments just for me to hone my writing craft in the fifth grade.

SPEAKER_08 5:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 5:21

So it's something I just love to uh be creative. You know, I always had stories in my head, and she wanted me to express them.

SPEAKER_06 5:31

Oh, that's awesome. Do you remember anything that you wrote back then?

SPEAKER_07 5:36

Uh no. Not from fifth grade.

SPEAKER_06 5:40

Yeah, I was gonna say I couldn't remember anything from fifth grade. But anything like, you know, through your teen years or high school years that you wrote growing up that maybe has stuck with you. Because I know with a lot of writers, there's always the germ of a story, and they may take years to work it, rework it, or get it where they want to.

SPEAKER_07 6:02

I remember in high school, I we had just read Man, Child in a Promised Land by uh by uh with Bald. And I wrote the Derrick Shaw story, and I I more I framed it out like Man Child in the Promised Land. So, you know, I wrote, I was only in high school, but I wrote my life story, and my mother actually took it to work and she was showing people, look, this is my son's life story. And they're like, all right, he's 16, he has the life story, but it was it was entertaining. So back then, she was like, ah, you're good. And I'm like, you know, you're my mom. You're supposed to say that. Yeah. Because you know, she passed it around the office, and they were all, they were, they had a ball.

SPEAKER_06 6:50

Oh, that's awesome. That's awesome. So from a young age, you you had the stories, you had the creativity, and you were framing stories in a way that resonated and entertained people.

SPEAKER_07 7:01

Yeah, I've always wanted to entertain. I just I wanted to be an actor, but I don't think I was any good at it.

SPEAKER_08 7:10

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_07 7:10

So I was better telling stories than recreating someone else's work. Right. Right. You know.

SPEAKER_06 7:17

Well, and that's a gift in itself.

SPEAKER_07 7:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 7:20

That's a gift in itself.

SPEAKER_07 7:22

I tried stand-up comedy for a little while.

SPEAKER_06 7:25

Did you?

SPEAKER_07 7:26

I did too.

unknown 7:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 7:27

I had stage fright like crazy. I couldn't take it. Yeah. So the first time I was heckled was the last time I did it.

unknown 7:35

Oh.

SPEAKER_07 7:35

If I I, you know, I didn't know the comedians had off nights. You know, back then, you know, the Eddie Murphy and the Martin Larzers and the Seinfelds. I always thought every night was a banger. I didn't know they had. Had I known that, I would have probably kept doing it. My first bad night, I was like, oh, I'm horrible at this. You know, and I quit. I never did it again.

SPEAKER_06 7:58

Yeah, it it's funny. I did about 30 open mic nights, and I never got heckled, but I definitely had those nights of polite golf claps and you know, little chuckles to make you feel better because people feel bad for you. And I I every time the the the 30th open mic was as terrifying as the first. So I'm like, why am I torturing myself? And I, you know, looked at other avenues, improv comedy and and comedy writing. And I had a couple local comedians, you know, give me some feedback saying if you want to do stand-up, here's what you have to improve on. But don't feel like you have to improve on anything to be funny because your writing is funny. It's just not stand-up writing.

SPEAKER_08 8:45

So yeah.

SPEAKER_06 8:47

Yeah, I feel you. So after high school, where did you take your gift for storytelling?

SPEAKER_07 8:55

I

Life Gets Busy And Art Pauses

SPEAKER_07 8:56

sat it in the closet. Uh huh. So at 19, you know, I was I was in college, so I had to join the workforce, workforce. So, you know, I had to put all my dreams and aspirations in the closet. You know, I got married at 22. I was 19 when I when I was employed by Verizon, well, it was Bell of Pennsylvania back then in 1986. So for 35 years, I pretty much did nothing. I just, you know, I I would think about it, but I had to go to work. You know, I had bills to pay, you know, I ended up married with three kids. There was no time for dreams. I had to get them up and ready to go. Right.

The Day He Started Again

SPEAKER_07 9:42

The craziest thing is the day I decided to start writing again, I remember it like it was yesterday. I stopped by my mother's house. I was like, I think I want to write again. She's like, Oh, I was wondering why you didn't do it, such and such and such. She's like, Can you go to the store and pick up my medicine? So it was a prescription. So I sat in the parking lot for an hour and I started writing a book. I came home, my mom had passed away. The crazy that she passed away dead while I was at the store picking up her prescription, writing for the first time in 30 years, she passed away.

SPEAKER_06 10:20

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07 10:22

Is that crazy? Yeah, I I came back and found her. She was gone.

SPEAKER_06 10:27

Oh my God. Oh, God bless her. God bless you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_07 10:31

The day I started writing again. Craziest thing ever. But, you know, I took it okay. She told me to start back up again. So from then on, I started writing again. You know, that's that's when I picked it back up. Like in 2004, I started writing again. So from 85 to 2004, I hadn't written anything.

SPEAKER_06 10:53

Right.

SPEAKER_07 10:53

And in 2004, I I picked up the pen and started once again.

SPEAKER_06 10:59

Did it did it come back to you? Had there been things, you know, floating around in your brain that you wanted to get done on paper? Or did did you start fresh?

SPEAKER_07 11:09

Well, no, it I've always had ideas. I just never put pen to pad. You know, over the years I've always, oh, I want to do this and I want to do that. I just never did it. But I had an idea floating in my mind, and I said, okay, let me write this. And I finally started writing it.

SPEAKER_06 11:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:26

And and that that opened the door, that opened the floodgates. So after that, I've been writing ever since.

SPEAKER_06 11:32

Oh wow. What was the first piece you wrote when you came back? Was it a story? Was it a book? Was it screenplay?

SPEAKER_07 11:38

It was a book. It was a book. It was a book about a an NFL kicker. You know, in the NFL, the kicker is the one who gets the least amount of accolades. Right. You know? So I it was a it was a comedy about a kicker who had to navigate his way through the NFL.

SPEAKER_06 11:58

Oh wow. Oh, that must have been funny.

SPEAKER_07 12:00

Yeah. I don't know what I did with it.

SPEAKER_06 12:02

But you know, I was gonna say, did it get published? No.

SPEAKER_07 12:07

You know, I you wrote everything in notebooks back then. Right. Right. Didn't have a computer, so the notebook is floating around somewhere. I wish I could find it. You know, I I want to write it again and turn it into a movie. And it's it's on my list. But it my list is so long of stuff that I want to do.

SPEAKER_06 12:27

Well, now in 2004 you wrote that. So you wrote it as a book. When did you when did you leave Verizon and and start your your other businesses?

Side Hustles That Built Discipline

SPEAKER_06 12:41

Because you are so you're so ensconced in a couple different things.

SPEAKER_07 12:48

Well, during Verizon, I I did real estate. I stopped buying houses, I built a portfolio, and I was always uh uh I have ADD, so to speak. I need something to do. I always keep busy. So it's a superpower.

SPEAKER_06 13:05

Yeah, well Especially when you're an entrepreneur, it can be a superpower.

SPEAKER_07 13:10

Yeah, so you know, I used to, when I worked for Verizon, I would get up five o'clock in the morning, go to Home Depot, get all my supplies, take them over to the house, go to work at eight o'clock. At five o'clock, I would go straight over to the house and start working on the house until like midnight. And then the next day I would do it all over again. It was it w I had a system. But like I said, I had a family. That did not help the marriage. You know, we had plenty of money, but there was no togetherness. So we kind of we grew apart.

SPEAKER_06 13:42

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_07 13:44

Yeah, well, you know, it's a superpower, but at the same time, it it's your kryptonite.

SPEAKER_06 13:49

Yeah, yeah. Good point. Good point.

SPEAKER_07 13:51

Yeah, but I I I've always had to keep it moving. You know, I used to build computers in my spare time and sell them. You know, I just it was a hobby that I picked up and I enjoyed it and back in the early 2000s, you know, I could build one real cheap and sell it and make a nice profit from it.

SPEAKER_06 14:08

Right.

unknown 14:09

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_06 14:10

So you've Yeah, you've always had I don't want to say a side hustle, but you've always had a side hustle. You've always had uh balls up in the air.

SPEAKER_07 14:23

Yeah, yeah. Well, I worked for Verizon for 38 years. I retired three years ago.

SPEAKER_06 14:28

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_07 14:30

So, you know, well, I started the video production company in 2010. You know, I started well, you know, I was writing and writing and writing, and stuff was just sitting on the shelf. Because I transitioned from books. A book is hard to write. A book takes so long. Yeah. A movie's a whole lot easier. A script is way easier than writing a novel. So I started writing scripts, and I had five or six scripts just sitting, you know, living in Philadelphia, no connections. There was no way for me to get it to somebody to produce it. Right. I could only get my friends to read it. And I don't know any friends who know it. I'm not Tarantino, you know, quitting Tarantino gave it to a friend who gave it to a friend who gave it to somebody.

SPEAKER_08 15:20

Right.

SPEAKER_07 15:21

I don't have those friends, you know.

SPEAKER_08 15:23

Yeah.

Buying A Camera And Starting Small

SPEAKER_07 15:24

So I went to a seminar with Robert Townsend. And he he said, it was in New York. I wrote up, took a day, and he said, for writers such as myself who don't know anybody, you need to learn to shoot your own content. Never even considered it before. All I wanted to do was write. And he encouraged us, look, start shooting. So I went out and bought a camera for $150. And then he said, start small. You know, I wrote a little three-minute film. Matter of fact, my first film was I made it in black and white, and it had no sound because I didn't know how to do sound. So it was like a Charlie Chapman type thing. So I wrote that and uh I put it around the internet and people started enjoying it.

SPEAKER_06 16:13

Oh good. Did you uh was it YouTube?

SPEAKER_07 16:17

Uh yeah. Okay. Funny story. I took a class at Academy of the Arts in San Francisco. It was a film class that I took online. And matter of fact, that was a project for the class. The teacher gave me a C in it. You know, I'm like, all right, this is such and such and such. A couple months later, you know, on the internet, and I see an advertisement for Academy of the Art San Francisco. And they were saying things you could learn at this school, and they were using my film to promote things that you can use at this film.

SPEAKER_06 16:52

Are you kidding me?

SPEAKER_07 16:53

I got a C. I got a C on a film. But now they're using it to promote things you can learn at Academy of the Art San Francisco. I was like, Wow. Okay. Yeah, so you know, you never know what's going on.

SPEAKER_06 17:07

There's some royalties due there, I think. Holy cow. So really you just rolled up your sleeves and went to it while you're still providing for your family, learning, learning in the direction you wanted to go in, and still doing real estate flips and building computers. Holy cow. Holy cow.

SPEAKER_07 17:36

So, you know. Yeah, it was it was my weekend hobby, I'll say. You know, every now and then I call a couple of my friends. Yo, I I want to shoot this film. You know, come hold the camera for me. Or come hold the mic. You know, first film I just had my my family in, and then I got a couple friends, and then my network started growing. People I know a guy I grew up with, me and him know each other forever. As I was learning to shoot films, I found out he's in acting class. So now he's my star. You know, he's been my star from early on. So anything I do, he's in it. He may not star in it, but he's in everything I do. Because he and I started together.

SPEAKER_06 18:22

Kind of like Adam Sandler.

unknown 18:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 18:26

He uses he uses all his buds. All his buds. And they may not get starring roles, but they are there. That's ver that is very cool. So what was the first film you you actually produced, uh wrote and produced?

Making A First Feature Film

SPEAKER_06 18:46

Full feature?

SPEAKER_08 18:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 18:48

Or or short. Full feature. Oh, Blissy and Mary. Okay. Since I was a you know, I was working full-time, I used to take classes here and there, you know, just to see if I can pick up stuff.

SPEAKER_08 19:00

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 19:00

And I took a class at Wilmington University, and I had access to all this equipment that I've never even seen before. You know, they're teaching you how to use the camera, the mic, and I'm in class and I'm asking during class, I said, okay, we have access to all of this. We have a network. Do y'all actually make films here? And he was like, Well, it's film school. I'm like, yeah, but have y'all made a film? They were like, no. I'm like, okay, well, y'all are lucky that I'm here. You know, we're getting ready to make it. I decided that day we were making a film. And I grabbed a couple students and I wrote, well, yeah, I finished right. I had something that I had started. I was like, okay, this is low budget. It doesn't need many locations, it doesn't need many people. And that's how I shot my first film. You know, I had no idea how to produce or anything, but I knew how to make shorts. I made shorts. So I I handled it like putting a bunch of little shorts together. And we made a full-featured film.

SPEAKER_06 20:07

Oh, that's fantastic. And is that blissfully unmarried?

SPEAKER_07 20:11

Yeah, yeah. And then he threw that a couple film festivals, and distributor and a film festival had saw him, saw it. He was in all he was like, yo, do you have your film distributed? I'm like, no, I'm pretty much just putting it in festivals. He he grabbed it and he threw me on Amazon early on. So it's it's really hard to get on Amazon now. But 10 years ago, yeah, and I was making money. I would like this hobby actually turned into something I can make money from.

SPEAKER_06 20:43

Oh, that's funny. And now you know, Ruby Street Productions, it's a full production house. It's not just your films, it's training videos, wedding videos. What what else does Ruby Street do?

SPEAKER_07 20:57

Well, pretty commercials, like you said, trading videos. We're trying to get this television show on the air. Hopefully by September we should be able to. It's a sports television network that we're trying to get on. So we're trying to produce a show for that. But anything film related. You know, we do documentaries. We've done a couple of documentaries. You know, we'll shoot your film for you, we'll partner up with you to shoot your film, we'll shoot our stuff. We do it all.

SPEAKER_06 21:29

Yeah. I I was on the website. I looked at uh a bunch of stuff that was up there. Phenomenal work. Like well shot, clean. When did Ruby Street Productions happen? You know, as you started to get a little bit of of success and and you got your short films not just in film festivals, but on Amazon. How did that kind of take off for you?

SPEAKER_07 21:59

Well As I started doing the shorts, you know, back in the day, you made no money from shorts. Shorts was pretty much just practice and entertaining. I wish I would have kept it up because people are making a lot of money from shorts right now. So, you know, we should have stayed in the short business. We were ahead of the game. We just didn't know we were ahead of the game. You know? So once we did our shorts, we decided we wanted to try to make some money. So it's pretty much five of us with Ruby Tree Productions. So, you know, I founded it. And once again, one of my guys at Barraga, he was in film school. Somebody I see every day. We talked in the Lunchroom. I had no idea he was in film school. He found out I was making films. He's like, yo, you might come on. And we collaborated, my buddy Mark. And then him and I, we started Ruby Street Productions. And then from there, you know, people just kept jumping on, jumping on board.

SPEAKER_06 22:57

Yo, that's funny. So you worked with him and never even knew he was in acting class.

SPEAKER_07 23:03

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 23:05

That, you know, it's funny. That is the premise for the podcast. Is I worked with people and I used to have a pod partner, and we were both talking one day about, you know, you think you know somebody because you know them like in a friend context or a work context. And you really don't because you find out they're doing these amazing things in their spare time. And it happened to be a woman that I worked with in my day job in learning and development. She had a consultant, the learning and development consultant company, and we were one of her clients. And I didn't see her for the longest time. And I jokingly said to one of her coworkers, I was like, is she cheating on us with uh with another client? And she said, no, she took some time off to tour short film festivals through Europe. I'm like, I had no idea she was a short film buff. And the person said, Well, she isn't, but she wrote one and it got made and it got entered into all of these festivals. And I was like, I need to have a conversation with her about that. So it's amazing what people do, you know, outside of the context that you know them in. Yeah. So that is really cool that you found a collaborator. Yeah, yeah. That's so cool.

Funding Films Through Reputation

SPEAKER_06 24:22

So from there, where did, you know, once you founded Ruby Street Productions, I mean, I can't imagine that it's easy to get distributorship. I can't imagine it's even easy to get funding to, you know, make a film, whether it's a short or it's a if it's a feature film. So how how did how did the financing piece come together for you?

SPEAKER_07 24:51

Okay. Well, with the Blissful You have Mary, we actually treated it like a bunch of little short films. It took us eight months to shoot. I think we only shot maybe 12 days, but that took eight months. You know, we get a couple dollars, we shoot this weekend, and then we may not shoot again for another six weeks. And then we may have to do that. Right. So you guys were funding it. Yes. Yeah, we had to fund that all on our own. So, you know, it w it was real low budget. You know, it may have taken us $15,000, $16,000 to make that film. But distribution just fell on our lacks. You know, somebody at the film festival. Yeah, he once he got us on Amazon, then he called me and was like, yo, I think I can sell this to Africa. Do you want this in Africa? I was like, okay. I think in Africa it was called Shuka for Love, and then he sold it to Germany. So he ended up being like an international distributor and trying to go places that I've never been. So that the film, Blissfully Unmarried, that's a $15,000 film, has been all over the world. Wow. So, you know. Refutation is a thing.

SPEAKER_08 26:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 26:02

You know, once you you get one made, and then people see that you you're not just wasting their time and money. That's how Bedridden was funded. We we had a couple of hours, and then it's the stranger thing. People heard that we were looking for investors, and I was literally getting calls of people offering me money.

SPEAKER_06 26:30

Wow.

SPEAKER_07 26:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 26:32

And was that based on the success of Blissfully Married?

SPEAKER_07 26:38

Well, just us. They they've seen us hustle, they've seen us work. Yeah. You know, we've been the shows we've been doing, you know, we've we've we've shot and everything. Just on reputation, people believed that they were not gonna waste their money. You know, you meet a lot of people over the years, and people they remember perceived you're about business. Yeah, they were more than willing to to open up their wallets and be like, here, you know you need some money. Which is I had somebody who I didn't even tell that I was looking for money, and they called me and like, yo, I heard you're doing a film, like such and such and such. You got all the money you need? I'm like, no. He's like, all right, well, how much you need? Like, well, how much you gonna give me? I wanna like, well, I can give you 10 grand. Man, he's like, All right, I'll give you 10 grand, but I want to be an executive producer. Man, you ain't saying nothing but a thing. You are now an executive producer on bedridden.

SPEAKER_08 27:39

Wow.

SPEAKER_07 27:41

But even then when the film first opens up, his name is in there because hey, he wanted to be there for 10 grand. By all means.

SPEAKER_06 27:48

Yeah. That's fantastic. Wow.

The Dark Comedy Bedridden Explained

SPEAKER_06 27:52

So, and I I actually got to see Bedrid and I and we talked a little bit off mic. I laughed. Tell me where that story came from. Did you write it?

SPEAKER_07 28:04

Yes, me and one of my, once again, guy I grew up with, my buddy Magic. He and I grew up maybe three blocks away from each other. His brother and I played on the same baseball team. So I've known him since I was 12, 13 years old. But you know how you know friends and you see them every now and then, you lose touch. Yeah. I entered one of my shorts into a film festival, and he was at the film festival. He entered one of his shorts. So I'm like, yo, what you doing here? Like, oh man, I'm doing films. I'm like, ah, you lying. All right, dude, we're working together. So, you know, we already had a relationship. We start working together, and I was like, I started this film bedridden, and I was stuck after like page 20. He's like, let me look at it. I gave it to him, but he gave it back with like another 20 pages. And then I did 20 pages, and I gave it back to him. And we just went back and forth with it. And, you know, that's the first time I actually writ wrote something with a partner. So, you know, his writing style is completely different than mine. So it just meshed together, you know, his style and my style.

SPEAKER_06 29:14

Did did you guys ever have any creative conflicts? Because I know when when two creatives get together, if there are two different ways of doing things, sometimes there's a clash. Did you experience that?

SPEAKER_07 29:27

Oh, yeah, yeah, we clashed. But he did understand. I started this without him. So he let me be the captain. So, you know, he my word was the last word. So, you know, that's that's how we got over that hurdle. So I was directing it. He was like, look, man, you know, he he came to ease with it, but we had some arguments. You're like, man, I need this in the film. I'm like, I don't think it's gonna work. So you know, but we've been friends for 30 years. So it was nothing, yeah, nothing major, but you know, we did have some discussions.

SPEAKER_06 30:11

Well, I know when I had my pod partner on this, we approached things differently. And it was the same thing. It was never, you know, a a a hurtful disagreement. It was always in service of the podcast and and and the listeners and the guests. But yeah, we had we had a couple heated exchanges when we didn't think or when we didn't agree. And that's that's just I think part of the game. Sometimes you're just better afterwards.

SPEAKER_07 30:40

Yeah. Well, you know, I I respected him as a writer. I was like, look, I respect your idea, man. I love some of your ideas, but you know, I don't know everything. It's just like you're not gonna love all of mine. So, yeah. It's it's gotta be a mutual respect.

unknown 30:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 30:58

But we work good.

SPEAKER_06 31:01

So the story of Bedridden. Walk walk listeners through it. I mean, I know what the story is because I've watched it and I've laughed. But uh but give us a synopsis.

SPEAKER_07 31:17

Okay, a well-to-do family is completely dysfunctional. So the head of the family, who's Earthquake, he's the head of the comedian Earthquake, he is the head of the family and he gets into a car accident. Now, now he's in a coma. So while he's in a coma, he can hear everything that's going on around him. He has this consciousness, he just can't talk or move. So he finds out why the family's so dysfunctional, and he learns he's pretty much the reason the whole family is so dysfunctional. It's all his fault. So he learns why he's in the coma, how and why everybody's why they are.

SPEAKER_06 31:58

Yeah, I there are some really funny parts in it. I laughed like hell, but it it it's a gr I thought it was a great story, and I love the ending. It wasn't a cheesy ending, it was a really realistic ending to that whole story. Did that come from something personal in your life, or did that come from your imagination?

SPEAKER_07 32:24

Well, the ending was actually my writing partner, and I think it was personal for him because it was actually longer, and I had to cut part of it out. He was not happy that it was cut out because it was personal to him. I'm like, look, you know, it we can't have a three-hour movie. So, you know, some stuff has to go. So the ending was it was personal to him, and you know, he felt it, and you can feel it in his writing, but you know, like uh it's only 90 minutes. You know, we can't have a 30-minute ending in a 90-minute movie. Right. So yeah, it was it was personal for us.

SPEAKER_06 33:01

Sha, how how has Bedridden done for you? I know I was able to watch it on Amazon. Has it been distributed anywhere else?

Marketing Plans And Investor Reality

SPEAKER_07 33:10

Uh it's on Amazon and it's on Apple TV right now. So we actually just begun national marketing. Yeah, we have only done local marketing. We last month we had our premiere in the DC area, Baltimore, you know, Potomac area. So we pretty much just marketed right there to see, give a feel of how we're doing it. It did pretty well in that area. So we are about to do the national marketing campaign.

SPEAKER_06 33:43

Oh, that's awesome. Now, how what what's the national marketing campaign include?

SPEAKER_07 33:49

Well, uh I don't know. We pay somebody to do it. So you know, marketing is not my thing. So, you know, they said don't be the smartest one in the room. So, you know, I decide we just pay somebody. Yeah. Yeah. We pay somebody who this is what they do. You know, I I know how to make a movie, but I don't know how to market a movie. You know, I do have investors that I need to pay back. So you know, we hire people to do what they do.

SPEAKER_08 34:24

When um will it be in movie?

SPEAKER_06 34:29

Do you expect it to be in movie theaters?

SPEAKER_07 34:32

No, no, it's just it's just pretty much gonna be online. We just had to premiere in a theater. But one of somebody wanted to buy it and put it in theaters. But we're doing self-distribution. They they didn't want to give us much money. They was like, man, I think this can make a lot of money, but we're gonna give you a couple dollars now, wink wink, and then we'll give you the rest later.

SPEAKER_06 34:57

Couple dollars.

SPEAKER_07 34:59

You know. Yeah, so uh everybody has their own accounting system. So, you know, to make two million, and the paperwork only says it made 150,000. So we were leery. So we decided to do self-distribution. So that's how we got on Amazon and Apple TV. We just went to an aggregator and got it on there ourselves.

Why Distribution Is The Hardest Part

SPEAKER_06 35:24

How hard is self-distribution? Are there challenges there?

SPEAKER_07 35:30

Oh my goodness, yes, there is. I thought making a movie was gonna be the hardest part of this. You know, getting financing for the movie, getting it done, I thought that distribution has been by far the hardest part of the process. So pursuing the distribution and because we we tried to sell it first. We were like, okay, let's sell it, make our money back, and make another movie. But it's it just didn't work out that way. People wanted it, but it was always, okay, I'll give you a seven-year deal, but I'm only giving you this much up front, which doesn't cover nowhere near, you know, and then two years, it may take us four years to make our money back with some of the deals that they wanted to give us. So with self-distribution, you know, if it does well, you get the money now. But you have to take a chance on yourself. That's that's the hard part.

SPEAKER_08 36:26

Right.

SPEAKER_07 36:26

I've had some sleepless nights, but so far, I I think we'll do okay.

SPEAKER_08 36:32

I think we will be fine.

SPEAKER_06 36:39

Yeah. What what were some of the challenges that you faced that made distribution kind of the hardest part of getting bedridden out there?

SPEAKER_07 36:51

Well, okay. You you don't wanna you you have trust issues. You know, you gotta give it to people that you don't know and hopefully they're gonna do the right thing. You know, you end up finding your thing on 52nd Street on a stand before anybody else sees it. So just getting it to the right person that you could trust. Now Netflix was interested. And the person we got it to, they held it for a long time before they even looked at it. And then once again, it was it wasn't a deal that we were comfortable with, but you know, it took a long time to find out. So for six or seven months, we just sat and waited when our hands are in our pockets until just to get an answer that we didn't like. And then, you know, we took that and we went somewhere else, and we had to wait three or four months. You know, you're in line for them to even watch your movie. So unless you know somebody.

SPEAKER_08 37:59

Right.

SPEAKER_07 38:00

And then, you know, you you wait three or four months, you get the answer, they give you a deal, or they don't give you a deal. But either way, if they give you a deal you don't like, then you have to start that process all over again. Start all over again. Yeah, just that process alone was a long going from distributor to distributor, trying to find something that we felt was in our best interest. And that's what we finally decided, let's just do it ourselves.

SPEAKER_08 38:31

Wow. Wow.

SPEAKER_06 38:33

Well, that I mean, that's good that you're you're moving forward. You've got the you did the local and it did well locally, and now you're focused on the national. So I'm excited to see where it goes. How how has the distribution on Amazon been for you? Are you are are people seeing it and watching it?

SPEAKER_07 38:53

Yeah, but since we only did local marketing, we're we're getting good reviews, people who've seen it. So people around Washington, D.C., uh they're the only ones who know this it's out, you know? So that's why we have to get the national person to let everybody know that it's out.

SPEAKER_06 39:16

Yeah. Yeah. Well, and we'll get the word out through the little podcast right now.

SPEAKER_07 39:25

Yeah.

SAG, Bigger Budgets, Bigger Goals

SPEAKER_06 39:27

How where where do you see yourself going from here? I mean, what, you know, once you get bedridden up and off the ground and you get through the national campaign and you get your investors paid back, what's the next project for you?

SPEAKER_07 39:43

We have two that we're looking into. We have another, we another comedy, but it's a bigger budget comedy. So this really has to do well. We have somebody, a couple people who are interested, but everybody wants to see what this does. So, you know, we we're trying to go bigger, like between blissfully and married and bedridden was miles apart. You know, blissfully unmarried, it was just me and my whole team. We made a film, we got lucky distribution. But with Bedridden, we went sag. We had to get sag actors, sag contracts. Have you ever dealt with sag? It's it's overwhelming. So we actually had to hire a producer who knew more than us. Once again, don't be the smartest one in the room. So we hired. Jossie Vance worked on a TV show while and out. So she helped get us to the next level. She had connections. Well, she's the one who got us Earthquake and Donald Rollins. You know. Oh, wow. Yeah. Well, we hired a casting agent first, BMG Casting. And she actually told us, look, I had this producer who's looking for her next project. And we met with her. We liked her. She liked us. She liked the script. She said, let's do this. And she helped us navigate through SAG. Because, you know, we still be lost in the ocean trying to deal with SAG. That is that is something that beginners do not do yourself. You need somebody experienced. And she helped us navigate that mountain.

SPEAKER_06 41:24

Wow. So I I and it's funny, I didn't realize that. I didn't realize they were sag actors.

SPEAKER_07 41:33

Oh, yeah. Yeah, well, Donnell Rollins has been wanted Dave Chapel Show. Have you seen Dave Chapel show?

SPEAKER_06 41:41

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. No, I I knew he was. And I and I've seen Earthquake, but I didn't, I guess I just didn't put two and two together and think they were sag. I just thought it was, oh, maybe they knew each other, or you know, it was kind of a grassroots independent film as opposed to, you know, Hughes and Sad actors. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_07 42:02

We're together before. But yeah. Yeah, Earthquake throwing up the neighborhood. I think it's on TBS. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 42:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 42:10

So yeah. Once you're SAG, you can't just do anything. You know, a sag actor can't just do any film. It's all these, all this red tape that's got to be done. Yeah, gotcha. I had to make it a sag film to get sag actors. So most of the actors in there were sag actors.

SPEAKER_08 42:31

Yeah, the cast was fantastic.

SPEAKER_07 42:34

Well, yeah, well, the between the casting agent and my producer, they helped us get to the next level. Because, you know, Glissely and Mary, it was pretty much, you know, Uncle Bob and my buddy Ray Ray. That's what Gliesley and Mary was. So, but we we knew how to make a movie. We just didn't know how to make this type of movie.

SPEAKER_06 42:55

Right. Oh, so exciting for the next for the next step. So you said the the next project is another comedy and it's a bigger budget.

SPEAKER_07 43:09

Yeah. Yeah, it's a lot bigger budget, and we're going for bigger names. And it's the next one's actually two employee and an employer who don't like each other get stuck together on a deserted island. Matter of fact, it was one that was just out, it was a drama. I can't remember. And some, it was just out a couple months ago. But this is a comedy with the two of them stuck together on a deserted island. That's funny.

SPEAKER_06 43:42

Oh, I'm excited. So, how long does it take for something like that to get put together?

SPEAKER_07 43:51

Well, if you have the right people, once we hired the producer, I think it may have taken us three or four months. months to get started shooting. So this may take a little bit longer, so you know, we probably have to find an island first of all that we can shoot at. But you know, just all the particulars, you know, probably a lot more involved. Yeah. But I'm hoping to get it started by the end of the year.

SPEAKER_08 44:23

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_07 44:25

Or if not, in the spring. That's awesome. So yeah, that's a it's a it's a lot of moving pieces on that.

SPEAKER_06 44:31

Yeah. Oh, I bet. I can't even imagine from location to casting to budget and uh I it I it would be mind-boggling to me. And and I'm probably just scratching the surface of what's needed.

SPEAKER_07 44:53

They gave me that bill. I was like oh what?

SPEAKER_08 44:58

For bagels? Yeah I know crazy stuff.

Where To Find Derek Online

SPEAKER_06 45:06

So Derek moving forward where do you see Ruby Street Productions going?

SPEAKER_07 45:16

Well every project we try to do push the envelope just a little bit more, get a little bit better, try, you know take a little bit more Alcassus at night for the for the ulcer. So we push ourselves hard but at the end of the day we always sit back and we're like ooh we're glad we did it. But during oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_06 45:39

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 45:40

I'm surprised we're all still friends.

SPEAKER_06 45:41

But we are well I mean you don't grow when you're comfortable so it's good to get uncomfortable and if you can look back and see the first film was this the second film was that the third film is going to be this then you know sorry all the El Caselsa was worth it.

SPEAKER_07 46:02

Yeah yeah all that is so fantastic for you where can folks find you online you can find me anywhere Derek dotshaw Instagram Facebook TikTok you can find me at bedriddenovie.com you can catch me there. I'm all over social media right now.

SPEAKER_06 46:23

So yeah just Derek.shaw you google it I'll pop up somewhere I'm all over the place I definitely will and I'll make sure all those links are in the show notes so folks can go watch some of your films or take a look at what Ruby Street Productions offers and you know get to know you and and sit patiently and wait for the next project to come out. I'm gonna have to go back and watch Blissfully married I I didn't get a chance to see that one.

Web Series And Future TV Ideas

SPEAKER_06 46:55

And then you had a web series.

SPEAKER_07 46:57

Yeah the man code yeah the man code yeah we won a couple of awards with that one we're trying well right now vertical drama is the big thing. Yeah so we're getting ready to bring back the man code and see if we can do that a vertical drama at the same time we're trying to get a uh a television show on the on on a network on a you know regular a regular network oh not the sports one well yeah the sports one we're trying to get it on the regular network oh oh oh yeah um so one question uh again come the rain oh again comes the rain yeah okay that was with Carl Payne from Martin Bill Cosby that fell apart we shot a promo for that and we were going to get it done his schedule got tied up our schedule got tied up you know he was actually supposed to be in bedrid. You know once we couldn't get funded for Then Comes the Rain because it's a period. And it goes back into the 70s and that costs a lot more money. Once you need the old cards and the old clothes that gets a little pricey. So yeah then we put that on a back burner and he was going to do bedridden but he started another project and then he couldn't get off of it. So you know we we had to move on we couldn't wait for him to finish his project. So that's it Yeah the sizzle reel was awesome I was like where can I watch this? That was that was my pride and joy. I love that script yeah that's one of my favorite scripts that I've written and I couldn't wait to shoot it. But yeah the the financing on that we couldn't get green lit not yet but it's not over with yeah oh I hope I hope you do because the sizzle rail was awesome yeah Carl's a fantastic actor you know he's actually Shakespeare trained people don't know that because he's usually in comedies and he does funny stuff but he's he's he does he can do Shakespeare. He's actually uh his range is incredible.

SPEAKER_06 49:18

Oh that's awesome. Oh I hope I hope the planets aligned so that you two can work together. Yeah so do I so do I and that one gets made. Well Derek thank you so much for all of your time I have loved hearing about your journey in filmmaking and really kind of the the nuts and bolts of rolling up your sleeves, doing what you have to do in order to be able to do what you want to do. And I wish you continued success. And you too I hope this podcast gets you everywhere you need to go well thanks from your your lips to God's ears thanks so much. All right

Takeaways And Closing Ask

SPEAKER_06 49:59

thank you for having me I learned an awful lot about drive resourcefulness and building a reliable network from chatting with Derek. He could teach a masterclass on juggling and how to make your dreams a reality the things that stood out to me the most about my conversation with Derek is how he continually sought to learn from taking that class in San Francisco where they bootlegged his video project that only got him a C to all the time he took to learn from others in the business curiosity has always led him higher in his pursuits. If you'd like to see more of Derek's work and stay up to date on his future projects jump down to the show notes for his links and I really recommend checking out Bedridden. It's a very funny dark comedy and I really enjoyed it. While you're in the show notes don't forget to connect with me. All my socials are linked there as well. As always thank you for listening and supporting and don't forget tell a friend about the podcast word of mouth is the most popular way folks find new podcasts to listen to again thank you for your support and I'll see you in two weeks