Pirates' Strange Ties

Disney has had much success over the years and has been known for having impecable taste in creating immaginative family films.  Probably one of the most recent box office successes was that of The Pirates of the Carribean and its sequals.  Disney's Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, was directed by Rob Marshall and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.  The cast made up of: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, and Astrid Berges-Frisbey to name a few. 

Despite the bad reviews from film critics, Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides has kept up in the box office thanks to its large enthusiastic fan base.  The movie still managed to open the box office with $90 million.  However, this seems to be a disappointment for box office analysts who proclaimed Pirates would have a $100 million opening.    As Thomsons On Hollywood suggests, "In the world of perception, a Wednesday opening might have made a difference. Had Disney unspooled Pirates 4 over five-days, they could be writing press releases heralding a $100 million-plus opening. They implemented a wise distribution maneuver with the last Pirates pic, At World’s End, opening on late Thursday evening prior to Memorial Day weekend, which bolstered pre-Midnight screenings to $14 million at 3,100 sites and total four-half day holiday gross of $153 million.  It will be interesting to see if Pirates 4 crosses $100 million on Tuesday."  Hence, poor timing and publicity accounted for the film not meeting expectations as they had with the first three Pirate movies.

This serves as a valuable lesson in regards to any business opportunities.  It crucial and beneficial to always consider timing, location, and marketing plans to as a special formula to create desired earnings.  I say this because depsite the poor review the critics gave this film, there are many fans still waiting to see this movie that could have been accounted for had they opened on another night of the week or better yet on a holiday weekend.  Never under estimate the fan base.  These strange box office opening results are due to poor executive ties.   

I have included a video of the first trailor to the latest Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides film for you to enjoy.

Meet Vanessa Pascale Editor-in-Chief of Miami Living Magazine

I'd like to introduce you to someone whose hard work, dedication, commitment, and passion has led to a fulfilling career in the entertainment industry.  I truly admire and am very proud of my old high school friend, Vanessa Pascale , who has not only made a name for herself but followed her dreams.


My admiration for Vanessa's success provoked me to ask her a little bit about her journey along the way and her experiences in the industry.  I plan to share her story and thoughts with you for they have been very inspirational and I am certain that it will be very influential to my career as well.


Vanessa is a fellow University of Central Florida alumni who, like many of us, did not have an easy start.  She explained, "I spent almost an entire year actively contacting every major and minor publication I knew of.  Finally, Orlando Style Magazine gave me a shot and asked me to interview Genevieve Gorder--an interior designer from the TV show Trading Spaces who now has her own show on HGTV: Dear Genevieve."  Genevieve Gorder was her first big celebrity interview.  I asked Vanessa of that experience and she feels thankful to have had the opportunity to have interviewed her since she was "incredibly nervous, as I’d never interviewed anyone before, and she was very patient and comforting. She really was so sweet and the perfect person to ease me into interviewing."


She declares that after graduating, she actively sought employment and even flew to New York City for interviews but nothing seemed to come of it.  It wasn't until a close friend of hers mentioned that she was moving to California for grad school, she jumped at the opportunity to relocate, thinking there would be more writing opportunities in Los Angeles- the entertainment capital.  She moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and continued freelance writing.  It wasn't until 2009, that Miami Living Magazine's Editor-in-Chief decided to leave and suggested her for the job.  She was beyond ecstatic she says, "I never even considered becoming an Editor, especially this early in my writing career".  


I would think it to be normal for someone so early in her career to be filled with nerves and doubt in holding such a position, but not Vanessa.  She immediately came into that title with grace and much determination, "since becoming the Editor-in-Chief, I’ve made sure to use this position to my advantage. I’ve actively and steadily built strong relationships with L.A. public relations firms enabling me to garner many celebrity interviews for the magazine and allowing me to showcase the type of writing I’m really passionate about: interviews. And I’ve been able to help my friends promote their careers and businesses, which is really great."  Not only does Vanessa love what she does, she uses her talents and connections to help family and friends and she seems to find that rewarding.  I'm sure this is one of the many reasons I am such a fan of this young, talented, and ambitious woman; she finds it within herself to do more with what is given to her and it shows.

I asked Vanessa what she enjoys best about her career.  She responded, "What I enjoy most about my career is hearing about the journey of these incredibly successful people that I get to interview. It’s enlightening and inspiring. I am a very curious person so this feeds my need to understand people and learn from them."  Its no secret that any good writer needs to satisfy their need to seek answers in order to understand and grow.  Her response definitely leads me to believe that she has met her calling.


I also asked for her thoughts on the entertainment industry over the years and how she sees it evolving.  "In my experience, this industry is very hard to break into. After speaking with people in the industry who have high up positions at major publications/companies, I have found that a lot of them have gotten their jobs because of who they know." 


She continues, "There are so many talented writers out there and not enough positions (magazines) available. It’s really cutthroat. I asked a friend of a friend, who works at Vogue, for some advice and who I should contact about a job and she completely blew me off – did not want to help at all."  It is no surprise that the entertainment industry is the most competitive and one must be resourceful and learn to use their networking skills. 



To close the interview, I asked Vanessa what advice she would give to anyone pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.  This was her response: "If I could go back and do it over, I would’ve tried to intern at Hearst while in college, that way I would’ve had my foot in the door and would’ve been able to move my way up the ranks. I think the industry is only going to get more exclusive and harder to break into as the years go on. For anyone who wants to pursue a career in media/entertainment, I suggest that they hit the pavement full force –this is advice I’ve been given and really live by. Anything worth having takes tons of hard work and if the talent is there and the determination is there, it’s only a matter of time till you’re given the opportunity to shine. Don’t give up."   



***I want to personally thank Vanessa Pascale for taking the time to answer my questions and share some of her experiences, insights, and advice.  I admire your work, your passion, and your drive.  You are truly blessed to be living your dreams.  I wish you well always. ~Drea***

Time to Emerge my Talent

Everyone has their time...their moment in time, their time for change, their time to evolve as a human being.  As you may have learned from my first entry, "The Shannon Experience", I am currently within the process of searching for my moment in time, have gone through a personal change or growth, and am in the process of evolving as a defined human being.


Many of us have been dealt a good hand and at some point have managed to not play the cards right.  Many of us continue being handed opportunities but we do not know how to go about them.  In order to win the game, we must learn to understand the game.  This is why I am back in school.  I am trying to acquire my Master's so that I can better understand the game and learn to overcome the obstacles that come my way.  I plan to continue to learn and explore and give back to world.


How am I able to give back to the world? Well, in my previous entry "Ashton and Demi's Fight Human Trafficking", I mentioned the small ways in which I have been able to give back positively.  What I have yet not mentioned is the fact that I left my internship position at the "The Shannon Burke Show".  I loved being a part of that show.  Contrary to what most believe about Shannon, he is a man with a good heart and a very intelligent one may I add.  I guess my leaving was a blessing in disguise.  I have parents that are often ill and there had been times where I would have to tend to them and the family owned business.  I did not see it fair to the show, so I resigned.


It was time for me to really seek employment versus an internship.  I already acheived my first challenge of leaving a job I could not tolerate with great pay to doing something I love for no pay.  This is a valuable lesson I learned and I am certain that Robert Kiyosaki, aurthor of Rich Man Poor Dad would approve.  After all the first lesson is to "never work for money".  If you have not read it, I recommend you do for a better understanding of my thoughts as well as a window of opportunity for the creative mind.  For many personal reasons, I had to search for a job with pay but one that I would enjoy.  I have vowed to never do anything I do not enjoy ever again.


As a young girl, I had a vast interest in a career in the entertainment industry.  I was a young and talented little actress, singer, and dancer.  I recall taking modeling and finishing classes.  I remember winning first place in a state school chorus competion.  I will not forget my acting in a school play and my performance with story telling skills.  I will always remember the way I would be able to look at something and draw it on call.  I can't forget about my poetry, songs, and novels.  Looking back, I had many talents and dreams to be pursued.  Although, I know it may not be too late to pursue them, I do feel I may be able to help others acheive their dreams.


I am now a Model Scout for Emerge Talent.  Not only do I understand what it is like to model and aspire to be so many great things, I understand the disappointment and hard work that comes with that process.  I have always had a great gift for selecting the top picks in Beauty pageants.  I know what people are looking for it seems.  So why not put my gifts to work for others?  I intend to scout fashion models and help make their dreams come true.  I guess you can say I am emerging my talents with  Emerge Talent and my models.