Story Ripples is the impact division of LA Story Studio, an independent film development and production company. Where certain projects that we work on have an adjacency to social issues in our world today, and we partner with organizations to help those individuals and communities. Causes such as treatment for brain cancer, support for refugee children, support for women who are in abusive situations or need reproductive health care, and support for abandoned or abused animals, or clean water supplies.
All stories have the power to inspire and move people to action, at LA Story Studio we strive to not only entertain but to deliver stories that highlight issues that others are afraid to talk about. It’s those very issues and people that are affected and impacted, that deserve to have the resources they need to live and enjoy life more fully.
True to the LA Story Studio mantra, we live by one simple rule.
Make. People. Care.
INTRODUCTION
When filming RAIN MAN, Director Barry Levinson told Tom Cruise that he had to make the audience consider what would happen if someone they loved were suddenly incapacitated or diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and they had to change their life to manage their care. Barry’s goal was to impact audiences to change the way they related to physically or mentally challenged people in their lives. RAIN MAN won 4 Academy Awards, but more importantly, letters poured into Producer Peter Gruber’s offices from audience members with tales of how the film impacted and changed them; not from savants or those with autism, all of them were from people who had related to being in the hero’s shoes and changed their personal situations. Not once, did the filmmakers get on a soapbox about the issue.
Movies impact viewers beyond entertainment
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW; a Yale study revealed that the film influenced the awareness of global warming far more than AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, especially when it came to their admissions in environmental sciences.
JAWS; tripled the tourist population to the island where the movie was filmed.
BAMBI; decreased recreational hunting by 50%
TOP GUN; increased applications to military aviation training programs 500% despite not being used as a recruitment tool
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW
made over a half a billion dollars in worldwide box office revenue.* The budget was $125 million. The average ticket price at the time would equate to almost 89 million tickets. If just .10¢ of every ticket sale went to scholarships to study climate change, today, 20-years later, a student who otherwise could not afford college would be in the prime of their career and there’s no telling what they could have accomplished. Or that nearly 9 million dollars could have gone to combating the issue another way. No matter the planned contribution, no one would come out of the theater thinking they were watching an “issue-driven” narrative. Instead, audiences would be just as pleased with the entertainment, but would have the added comfort that part of what they spent went to address something of value.
*Rentals and DVD sales would see revenue exceed $1 billion
THE BUSINESS MODEL
Investors not typically in the film space, but have an affinity for the cause initiative, similar to those who would typically go to a gala raising money for a specific initiative, they invest in a film that brings awareness to that same issue / initiative.
The project entertains with a good story. It is not a documentary that is speaking to the choir of the initiative, it is simply a story that people will walk away from with a desire to look into an issue a little bit more, so there is an organic increase in awareness.
The project contributes proceeds proceeds to the nonprofit partner as a soft equity stakeholder, so the charity benefits. The publicity that is generated from this contribution drives more ticket sales and awareness.There is also a built-in audience at the onset, much the same way is is with established IP, and finally, there is a benefit to the bottom line of the stake holders in the financial return by being able to use this as a write off.
