Brian Sacca
Actor, Producer and Comedian
Discussion
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
My bloated face has filled the screen in projects like "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Wrecked" on TBS (watch it Tuesday's at 10pm!). Bill Murray was in one of the many digital pieces I wrote and produced - yup, that Bill Murray. ASK ME WHATEVER YOUR HEART DESIRES.
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Chris Sacca
@sacca · Chairman, Lowercase Capital
Apart from the fact you actually have talent, it's always seemed that our work in entertainment and venture capital has a lot in common. Do you see any parallels?
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
@sacca YES. 1. Both industries are populated by obsessive people who throw hissy fits if they don't get their way. 2. (and here is the longer answer) Creating a TV show is similar to building a start up. To explain - a writer writes a pilot. A pilot is the first ep of a TV show. That pilot is like an idea for a startup. Like a startup, in order for that script to get produced, they need financial backing. That's what a network provides. I guess you could say that a network investing in a pilot is like an angel investor giving seed money for a BETA? Then, if the pilot is good, the network will greenlight a whole season. A whole season is obviously a bigger investment, so I could parallel that to a series A? Obviously, you're the VC in the family, so you can better correlate but I think I got it right!
Cameron James
@camero_n · Founder
@briansacca @sacca Keeping Up With The Sacca's -- I'd watch.
Matt Starrett
@matt_starrett · Founder @risablemedia, Press Partners .
@briansacca @sacca Have you seen https://crowdedreality.com? It helps aspiring TV producers prove their concept and the reach of their fanbase - all before networks take the risk of giving them airtime, or sponsors spend a dime. Think of us as a Kickstarter for the entertainment world.
Gerald Sacca
@thekooze
Hey, Brian, I'm in line at Starbucks, and I forgot. Did you want a grande, iced, sugar-free, vanilla latte with soy milk, sugar and extra cream covered in caramel drizzle, or a strudel?
Matt Mazzeo
@mazzeo · Managing Director, Lowercase Capital
Hey Brian! How the hell did you get Bill Murray to star in a YouTube vid??? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aP...
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
@mazzeo Truthfully, our director Dan Beers had worked on "A Life Aquatic" with Bill. We faxed Bill the script and left a message on his voicemail. That's all you can do if you want Bill in your project. A few weeks later, Dan was at a party with Bill and Bill said "Fact Checkers, huh? I'll do it." That was it. He was in. Magic.
Chris Sacca
@sacca · Chairman, Lowercase Capital
Your new show Wrecked has been a huge hit. It is the number one comedy on cable and it was TBS' biggest debut ever. Every episode to date has trended on Twitter. Could you tell during the shooting that it was going to be big? What about even earlier while reading the script? Which signals do you look for to know if an entertainment project is going to take off?
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
@sacca We did not know it was going to be big BUT every one involved knew it was going to be SPECIAL. We all had so much fun shooting that there was an incredible energy on set. The truth is, in the industry, you'll never know if something is going to pop or not. There were 409 original scripted series produced in 2015. 409!!! There is no way to know if your show will be one of the ones to stand out. I feel incredibly lucky that we've found an audience!
Hey Brian, thanks for joining us! Your segment on Conan last month was really funny 😁
Can you share a funny story from the set of Wolf of Wall Street? (hard to recognize you without the beard!) 😜
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
@nivo0o0 I shot four orgy scenes (one was cut) within four months of getting married. When I initially got the contract and saw there was a nudity clause, I knew I was going to have to shoot those scenes. This was WEEKS after my wedding. I said to my wife "what do I do?" She looked me in the eyes and said "you do whatever the F$%K Scorsese tells you to do."
Tristan Pollock
@writerpollock · EIR/Venture Partner @ 500 Startups
In my opinion, LA and SF are growing closer, and I'm not just talking continental drift. I'm talking about how the entertainment scene and tech scene are collaborating more and more. Think Silicon Beach, Silicon Valley the TV show, celebrity endorsements, celebrity founders, entertainment VCs, etc. How do you see these two industry cities working together in the future?
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
@writerpollock I think they are a necessary duo. Entertainment is changing in all forms. Traditional media will adopt more SV approaches (Netflix) and vice versa. That's the short answer. My long answer will have to be a Medium post I write someday.
Hope Atina
@the_onlyhope · BioBreaks.com
Ever since your first joke, how has your humor evolved? Do you see a similar shift in the way people respond to humor?
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
@the_onlyhope My humor has evolved with age and maturity. Obviously, I'm gonna laugh real hard at a fart joke (if you don't laugh at fart jokes, we need to talk). But, as I get older, I love a more complicated joke. Go to Megan Amram's twitter feed if you need an example.
Tristan Pollock
@writerpollock · EIR/Venture Partner @ 500 Startups
@briansacca @the_onlyhope I went to @meganamram's twitter and really appreciate her dedication to self in her profile photo.
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
If you were to launch a VC fund that (instead of tech companies) invested in up and coming comedians, actors, authors and other artists, which 10 people would you place your bets on right now?
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
@tomstocklein 1. Brian Sacca 2. Zach Cregger 3. Jessica Lowe 4. Rhys Darby 5. Ally Maki 6. Asif Ali 7. Brook Dillman 8. Will Greenberg 9. Ginger Gonzaga 10 Chris Sacca (gotta keep it on brand!!!!)
Tristan Pollock
@writerpollock · EIR/Venture Partner @ 500 Startups
@justintime4guac great question, really appreciate the time you put into it. I definitely agree that ALL CAPS was the way to go here.
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Brian Sacca
@briansacca · Actor, Writer, Producer
@writerpollock @justintime4guac I like how you roll, Tristan.