Announce third person
It’s finally January 15th (depending on where you live) and we’re announcing the third person to join StephenKingShortMovies.com. There was a lot of speculation as to who it would be. We could write something about him, but we haven’t done that, he does that himself!
My name is Leonardo Granado, I am a 39 years old Brazilian filmmaker and an Constant Reader and/-or Viewer. Reading Stephen King started as a hobby 27 years ago and will continue for many years to come. He is my favorite author and several film adaptations based on his books are among my favorites. Like I said, I am an independent filmmaker, and wrote and directed my own Dollar Baby (All That You Love Will Be Carried Away) in 2015. This was my 5th professional work. After the film adaptation it gave me a lot of joy and pride. And still experience that.
The Dollar Baby Program is such a great thing and a great way for independent filmmakers to start a career. My Dollar Baby was the first step in the right direction that helped me become the professional I am today. Just like many before me.
Like many others, I am a fan of his work and later learned about the Dollar Baby Program. Which quickly led to frustration as these film adaptations cannot be seen by the regular audience, except at a film festival. You open Google and look for these Dollar Babies. I searched and found StephenKingShortMovies.com. My previous frustration slowly faded away. I saw my “first” Dollar Babies through that website. These dated back to prehistoric times when StephenKingShortMovies.com was mentioned at the beginning of the film adaptation. I enjoyed watching these oldies, so to speak.
It wasn’t until years later that I filmed my own Dollar Baby, the second (this was the first) in Brazil. Partly because of this I was interviewed by Insomnia Magazine (Argentina) and received my first international review. Shortly afterwards I was contacted by Oscar for an interview on my favorite website. I followed the website closely and what led me to become part of it years later.
Facebook is a wonderful tool when it comes to making new friendships. Partly because of this, I discovered that two film festivals took place during the pandemic. King on Screen (Argentina) and Stephen King Rules (Canada) With these two events (I and many with me had culture needs) I had the opportunity to view several of the beloved Dollar Babies. I invited myself given the time frame Stephen King Rules accepted my request. My Dollar Baby was seen by many and with a Live Chat it was fun and enjoyable. This was one of the nicer things from my experience.
After the screening, a Live interview took place via Zoom which made everything perfect.
At the Stephen King Rules festival I saw how successful this is among Stephen King fans worldwide.
I thought to myself, I can do this too. What started as a joke eventually ended in organizing my own Dollar Baby Film Fesitval “Long Live the King” in 2022 and 2023. The Film Festival is also planned for this year (October 2024). I enjoy watching these Dollar Babies from the past and present and have spoken to many acquaintances and strangers since then. I enjoy that. Despite what I saw and experienced, I always ended up at StephenKingShortMovies.com and have a closer bond with Oscar and last year (2023) with Bernd.
2024 had only just begun for me when Bernd asked to become part of StephenKingShortMovies.com on January 3. I was allowed to think about it, he didn’t need an answer right away.
What do you do when the creator of my favorite website asks to join the team? Didn’t have to think about it for long and immediately said “YES”. I felt honored. This provides new possibilities with regard to communication between fellow filmmakers and fans worldwide
This is a small summary of my life when it comes to Stephen King and since I know absolutely nothing about websites (except how to visit them), Bernd gives me the freedom to develop some ideas. Since I like to read and write reviews, I should create my own review section.
You can sign up for a review here 🙂
Why are we only starting to do this now and not much sooner?
Since there will not be many new Dollar Babies, there is now time to look back 40 years and write about this. So much beauty from so many countries.
Reviews are not the only thing to consider. We will write about things such as; official films/series, audio series, audio books and comic books. Another progressive idea is for a filmmaker to share their thoughts, feelings, experiences about their own Dollar Baby and a few words that tell us what their film adaptation meant to them. Marcello Trigo preceded you in 2018. And can be read here.
So the news of January 15 is out. I would like to hear what you think and share it with me/us. Please leave a comment below.
See you soon, everyone
Leonardo Granado – A happy constant reader.
