or, perhaps Olive the Woolly Blogger...

Tag: a river runs through it

A River Runs Through It: 20 years after

Olive’s friends over at the Fly Fishing Frenzy recently posted an article from The Bozeman Chronicle titled, Reflecting on the film “A River Runs Through It” and how it changed Montana. The article talks about the impact the movie had on Montana specifically, and also fly fishing in general. It got peoples’ attention, and depending upon one’s perspective the movie’s success was either a good thing or a bad thing. One thing is for certain: the move had an impact.

Twenty years have passed since then, and things have quieted down a bit in the fly fishing industry. In fact the silence is deafening. I believe the time is now for another blockbuster film to hit theaters and once again use fly fishing as a vehicle to tell a great story, to get peoples’ attention.

No, I’m not referring to Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.

The script treatment for Olive’s film is nearly done and I could not be happier with the results. As I prepare to contact producers I can’t help but jump way ahead of myself and envision the overwhelming audience response to the film. It will be unique, unlike any other animated film the industry or public has ever seen. It has all the elements of a great story with an extremely likable cast of characters as well as some villains you’ll absolutely love to hate. There’s also an underlying message that will create an environmental awareness that is much needed today (all cleverly disguised in good movie-going fun, of course).

To say that Olive the Woolly Bugger will be the next River Runs Through It would be absurd, but it will have an impact if I can just get producers to hear my pitch.

Olive the woolly bugger just wants to catch the biggest fish. But beneath the surface lie troubled waters, as well as the answers she's really looking for.

 

 

Olive on the Big Screen

I’ve decided that Oprah is not going to be the person to help get the word out about Olive the woolly bugger. I tried to reach out to Oprah by tagging her on Twitter posts, emailing her via Oprah.com, applying to be a recipient of a Harpo Hookup, and even following her on Facebook. I posted several blog entries, hoping to capture the attention of her internet staff. In the end, I realized that getting the attention of Oprah was just another pipe dream…a bucket list item that will remain at the bottom of the bucket.

But I have not given up hope or stopped dreaming. In fact, my new goal is to bring Olive to the Big Screen. That’s right, the motion picture industry is next on Olive’s list of things to achieve.  The fly fishing industry needs a boost, which I wrote about on my other blog. However, the suggested solution of getting Clint Eastwood to make a Dirty Harry fly fishing film was clearly riddled with tongue and cheek humor (although it did speak to the real necessity to drive new participants to the sport of fly fishing).  The fly fishing industry needs another blockbuster hit like A River Runs Through It.  All this time I’ve been sitting on the solution and wasn’t even aware of it.

I figure that with the help of a talented team of script writers, the story of Olive the Little Woolly Bugger can be fashioned into a full length, animated feature.  There is an established cast of characters and the framework for a fun story that is unique and engaging, has already been established, and even contains valuable lessons in conservation and life. And I’ve got my eye on two studios:  Dreamworks and Pixar.

 

The animation branch of Dreamworks Studios seems like a logical fit for Olive. Heck, just look at their logo: the little boy on the moon is fishing…for what? A trout, or a bass? Perhaps the next great story for a film? Is he dangling a woolly bugger at the end of his line?  Seems encouraging to me. The studio has produced no shortage of great, engaging animated films including such notables as Shrek, Madagascar, Antz, Megamind and many others. I’d like to suggest to the executives at Dreamworks that you add Olive the Little Woolly Bugger to that list.

But I have no allegiance to any one particular studio. I’m shopping Olive around.

Disney’s Pixar Studios needs no introduction. Their list of movies reads like an all-star lineup: Cars, The Incredibles, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., and of course there’s that other one–Toy Story, I think it’s called…? Pixar has proven that they can draw bugs and fish, so I see Olive the Little Woolly Bugger equally at home there.

What I learned from my dead-end attempt at getting Oprah’s attention was that I appeared too desperate in my quest for her help.  Nobody likes a needy beggar, so I’m taking a different approach this time: I’m going to sit back and wait for the call from Dreamworks or Pixar. I’m sure it won’t be long after the communications departments for either studio pick this blog post off the RSS feeds. Whomever calls me first gets the contract.  Any guesses on who it’s going to be?

Olive’s dream is alive, and I’m sitting by the phone.