What happens when you get laid off? How about you make a movie?

I am so inspired by this project, and I hope you will be too.

If you'd like to help the Lemonade project, you can contribute here. Your donation will go to legal fees, distribution costs, and screening expenses. Again, nothing is expected. But every bit matters. Thank you.

About Lemonade, the Movie:

More than 130,000 advertising professionals have lost their jobs in this Great Recession. Lemonade is about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives.

DETROIT UPDATE: 11/13/09

News from Eric Proulx:

In case you're in the advertising industry and haven't heard yet, BBDO in Detroit is closing its doors after losing the Chrysler account, laying off nearly 500 people. It's the latest in a long string of bad news for the Detroit ad community.

As Todd Gilleland of Cola Creative describes it, no one in Detroit leaves their homes anymore. No one socializes or attends Red Wings or Pistons games. It's an entire population trying to figure out how to survive.

Eric is working closely with Todd to bring an event and screening of Lemonade to Detroit. Tentatively planned for December 17, we want people to come out of seclusion, even if for a night, to watch a movie and enjoy each others' company. And maybe, collectively, we can start to think about what's next.

Ideally, we'd love to find a sponsor or two to fund it, including the costs of getting my partner and I out there, food & beverages. (The venue is graciously being donated by Ringside Creative.) So if you know anyone in Detroit who might want to be associated with this event, please do no hesitate to give them my name.

As for distribution of the film, there's still no official news to report. But if you happen to be in Miami next week, there is a pre-screening at Books and Books next Tuesday, November 17. You can register at www.adfedmiami.com.

Stay tuned. And thank you for all your support!

Sincerely,

Erik Proulx

PS - If you'd like to help the Lemonade project, you can contribute here. Your donation will go to legal fees, distribution costs, and screening expenses. Again, nothing is expected. But every bit matters. Thank you.

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11/11/09

If you are in Boston/Cambridge area, please support the movie's Premiere.

Monday, 11/30 7:00 PM, premiere for movie Lemonade at the Brattle Theater Cambridge, MA

In addition to the movie, creator Eric Proulx is writing a book as well. Here is his call for submissions:

"Lemonade, the book will assemble a collection of essays from people telling stories of reinvention in their own words. Only this time, I don't want to limit it to the advertising industry. Imagine all the inspirational personal triumphs that arose after the auto industry crash. Think of all the school teachers, engineers, and finance professionals who have found their life's work thanks to being downsized. Those of us in advertising provide just one, very sheltered viewpoint of what's possible in unemployment.

If you lost your job but found your calling, Eric wants to hear from you:

"You can submit a simple abstract of your experience, or an entire 1k - 3k word essay. (I want this to be more about the quality of your story and less about the quality of the writing. If your story is inspiring enough, we'll get it written.)

Here are the general guidelines for your submission:

1. It can be a 1-paragraph abstract, 3000-word essay, or anything in between. But is has to communicate your inspirational post-layoff story.
2. The submission must be an original, unpublished work.
3. There's no submission fee or cash prize. This is simply a forum to tell your story and inspire others who need to hear it.
4. All entries become the property of Please Feed The Animals and Fighting Monk, Inc (the legal entity for my business).
5. I want to be ambitious about getting this completed. So all submissions must be received by November 30.

Please email submissions to me directly at erik@pleasefeedtheanimals.com with the title "Lemonade Essay."

And if anyone knows anything about the process of book publishing and wants to lend a hand, I'm not shy about accepting the help.

Thanks everyone. Hopefully there will be more news about the movie with my next email.

Sincerely,

Erik Proulx"