Posts Tagged ‘Million Dollar Arm’

The Next Hot Speaker-Coming Soon to a Theater Near You?

Posted: October 10, 2014 in Be In The Know, Speaker Ideas
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The great hockey player Wayne Gretzky once said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”. That quote is applicable within any industry, but has particular relevance in the world of professional speaking. Forward-thinking speaker bureaus are constantly trying to identify the next big speaker, and Hollywood traditionally has been a great place to turn to when an agent is looking for the next big thing.

History has shown that movies like Apollo 13 (Captain Jim Lovell), The Blind Side (Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy), The Pursuit of Happyness (Chris Gardner), and 127 Hours (Aron Ralston) have helped launch and sustain the careers of some of the speaking circuit’s most in-demand speakers.

The Speaker Experts have identified a number of upcoming movies that could be the launching pad for the next superstar speaker. Of course, past performance is never a guarantee of future results. Just because you are the protagonist in a blockbuster movie does not mean you know your way around the speaking stage – and there is never a guarantee the film will even make it to the big screen.

Listed below are a number of films to keep an eye on over the months ahead. Some are completed and scheduled for release, while others are merely projects that merit monitoring.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Million Dollar Arm
Film based on JB Bernstein’s book “Million Dollar Arm”;
Jon Hamm reprises the role of JB Bernstein.
DVD Release Date: October 7, 2014

Foxcatcher
Film based on Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz’s autobiography “Foxcatcher”;
Channing Tatum playing the role of Mark Schultz.
Scheduled Release Date: November 14, 2014

Spare Parts
Lajvardi_Lopez George Lopez to reprise the role based on Fredi Lajvardi, high school educator
Scheduled Release Date: January 16, 2015

Reykjavik
Film based on Ken Adelman’s book “Reagan at Reykjavik”
Scheduled Release Date: In pre-production

The Glass Castle
Film based on Jeannette Walls’ memoir “The Glass Castle”;
Jennifer Lawrence to star in and produce the film.
Scheduled Release Date: In pre-production

Brain Game
OmaluFilm based on Dr. Bennet Omalu’s work “Play Hard, Die Young”;
Will Smith rumored as the top contender to play Dr. Omalu.
Release Date: In pre-production

American Can
Keller_Smith Film based on true events during Hurricane Katrina;
Will Smith signed on as the protagonist, decorated Marine John Keller.
Release Date: In pre-production

The risk and the reward can be high when considering a speaker from an upcoming movie. If you get the right person, you may be able to secure them at a fraction of what their potential fee will be if the movie becomes a success. An IASB-member speaker bureau can help you navigate the risk and determine whether this type of a speaker makes sense for your next meeting.

Gary McManis & Jay Conklin

“Buy Low, Sell High”:  3 Speakers Going Up In Value

Posted: July 3, 2014 in Be In The Know
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“Buy Low, Sell High” is a term you often hear in the investment world.    In looking over my stock portfolio last week, I have come to the realization that it is a very tricky and risky outcome to achieve.

While past performance is never a guarantee of future performance in the speaker world either, there are certain indicators that that will signal a speaker fee increase.  One key indicator is an announcement and release of a major motion picture about a speaker’s life.  Over the years we have seen speakers’ fees go up dramatically when such a film is made.  A few examples are as follows:

Captain Jim Lovell and Former Flight Director Gene Kranz – Apollo 13

Captain Richard Phillips – Captain Phillips

Aron Ralston – 127 Hours

Leigh Anne Tuohy – The Blind Side

Marcus Lutrell – Lone Survivor

JB Bernstein – Million Dollar Arm

Chris Gardner – The Pursuit of Happyness

Jim Morris – The Rookie

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The key to buying low in the speaker world is to book these speakers before the film is released.  Here are three speakers who will be going up in fee in 2015:

Jeannette Walls – The Glass Castle (starring Jennifer Lawrence), based on Jeannette Walls’s memoir published in 2005 that lived for a resounding 261 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, is being brought to life by Lionsgate after seven years of practically stagnant development at Paramount.

Mark Schultz – Foxcatcher (starring Channing Tatum) is based on Mark Schultz’s autobiography detailing his and his brother’s lives as Olympic Wrestling Champions, all of which came to a grinding halt when one commits a harrowing murder. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, its set release is in November 2014.

Dr. Beck Weathers – Into Thin Air, a book written by Jon Krakauer and currently being adapted into a major motion picture, stars Josh Brolin as Dr. Beck Weathers and retells the harrowing story of one team’s ill-fated attempt at scaling Mount Everest. Backed by the production company Working Title, the film has no set release date.

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Keep an eye on these three speakers. Today’s “unknowns” are speaker superstars of tomorrow!

Speaker Recovery Options in First Tier Markets

Posted: June 30, 2014 in Meeting Planner
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One nightmare scenario and almost rite of passage for any meeting planner is dealing with a last minute speaker cancellation. No matter how many precautions are taken, disruptions happen (e.g. acts of god, sickness, family issues, airline strike, etc.). You have experienced them all and so have we but the show must go on.

While this is a situation nobody wants to go through, it is one of the value propositions of working with a dependable, knowledgeable and experienced speaker bureau. They can explore and find a solution to the challenge while you continue juggling the many other responsibilities that come with your role.

One solution we generally turn to (along with looking at speakers we may already have “booked” in the meeting city or surrounding area during that time) is finding reliable and proven speaker options who live in the area and can arrive at a venue within minutes.

Here are a few options to consider for some of the major meeting markets:

Las Vegas

Chef Jeff Henderson – Celebrity Chef and Inspiration behind NYT best-selling memoir Cooked

JB Bernstein – Sports Marketing Expert and Inspiration behind Disney’s major motion picture Million Dollar Arm 

Tim Sanders – Former Yahoo executive, and NYT best-selling business author

Orlando

Jim Knight – Former Senior Director of Training & Development for Hard Rock International

Pat Williams – Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic

Dennis Snow – Former Disney Leadership Executive, Customer Service Expert

New Orleans

General Russel Honoré – Commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, Leadership & Preparedness Expert

Archie Manning – NFL Icon and father Super Bowl Winning Quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning

Peter Ricchiuti – Finance Professor and nationally sought after Economic Expert

Phoenix & Scottsdale

Captain Mark Kelly – beloved husband of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, retired NASA astronaut and naval aviator

Larry Winget – The Pitbull of Personal Development

Dr. Barry Asmus – Economic Policy Expert

San Francisco

Alison Levine – NYT best-selling author of On The Edge, leadership expert and extreme adventurer

Peter Leyden – Future Trends & Technologies Expert

Jeff Ma – Inspiration behind Ben Mezrich’s best-selling book Bringing Down The House, Expert on Data and Analytics

Jason Jennings – Business Leadership & Productivity Expert, NYT best-selling business author

 

If you are interested, we would be happy to provide you with a list of “local” speakers in the first, second and even third tier meeting destinations.

Gary McManis & Jay Conklin