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What
would YOU do for $320 million?
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What Happened Next? The plan was for "Payoff" to get a big media push by MTV and Amp'd Mobile. The Stew Cooking Contest was a first step in what was supposed to be a long term partnership between the two companies. I was told that if my film was well-received, it could be the first of many such contests to create "viral video" type content. Amp'd was really pushing original broadband content for its phones and MTV would place the movie on its website. A few days after I got back from California, Jacques called and said someone from MTV New York would be calling about doing a promotional shoot for the film. Sure enough, I was asked to come to New York to tape a segment that would be shown by MTV to potential promotional partners. They flew me to the Big Apple, put me up in a luxury hotel just off Times Square, and paid for my meals. All I had to do was spend a couple of hours telling them what a great experience I'd had because of this contest and how I think very highly of MTV and Amp'd because of it. No problem! |
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In the middle of all this, my dad was wasting away from a rare form of lung cancer. I was also working part-time at my TV station job, and starting work for my new employer, Pensacola Little Theatre. I didn't have much time to think about what was going on with the movie. Jacques and Rich were staying in touch. Jacques told me off the record -- though it's no secret now-- that the big promotion for "Payoff" might be delayed, because Amp'd was having some financial difficulties. |
| Because of my dad's declining health, it became my routine to leave work and head straight over to my parents' house, where I'd eat dinner, visit my dad, and try to help my mom with some of the household chores. I wasn't thinking much about the movie. On April 24, the same day the movie went live at mtv.com, my dad passed away. | |
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In the weeks after that, I just concentrated on trying to learn my new job and keep up with everything that needed to be done. I was also going over to my mom's house a lot, trying to make sure she was okay and to help her with some of the details that needed to be taken care of. I wondered sometimes if or when that "big promotion" would ever come about. Jacques left MTV for a new job. Rich moved on to the prep work for his latest release. As time went on, I knew it was too late for me to do any kind of local promotion for the film, but I kept hoping that MTV would decide to hold another video contest and use my film as an example. Then on June 1, Amp'd Mobile declared bankruptcy. A lot of companies do that, but they stay in business. Not Amp'd. At the end of July, they announced that they were shutting down operations. |
