It had been decided, and it seemed a long time coming, that 
Shervin Youssefian would need to find a nine to five job and 
leave behind his aspirations to become a film director. With 
barely enough in his checking account to pay for rent, or even 
to buy a movie ticket, instead of giving in and joining society’s
work force, he tightened his belt and gave it another go.

This would mark the first step of one of those great Cinderella 
stories that only come out of Hollywood. Everyone knows the story 
of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as they rose to the top by writing 
one Good Will Hunting that was directed by Gus Van Sant with an 
award-winning performance by Robin Williams. Everyone knows the 
story of Billy-Bob Thornton and how he stepped into the spotlight
after he gathered all his resources to make the low-budget Sling 
Blade, which also got him an Oscar for best original screenplay. 
And who could forget Jim Carrey and how he wrote himself a check 
for one million dollars before he even had one hundred in his 
account.

Every once in a while, we hear about such an artist with a strong
will and unbreakable drive that he manages to break through the 
egg shell and step on the other side of fame and success. It’s 
amazing how a person’s world can be flipped upside down and 
around and over and out over night. It just takes one person and 
one person alone in high places to notice you and to see that 
talent, whether raw or not, and will to take you under his wing.

This happened to Ben, Matt, Billy-Bob and Jim but it was 
certainly a different scenario with the filmmaker of the 
acclaimed Machiavelli Hangman. "He tried to knock on a lot 
of doors but they were too busy to open. He knocked harder and 
they shut off their ears before even listening. Youssefian 
realized that he was caught in a loop looking for agents and 
managers to represent him, so he decided to become his own 
agent. He take the first step on a journey of self-promotion, 
and only hope for the best. His first ingenious idea came when 
he put up a website encouraging his community to take part in 
what he called the one-dollar motion picture event. There are 
200,000 residents in the city of Glendale and he said that if 
each of those residents put in a single dollar, then he would 
have enough money to make his film.

The idea amused some, it intrigued others, but most of all, it 
inspired. Within five months, the website raised 85,000 dollars 
and after another two, the whole money was ready to be used and 
Youssefian was finally on his way to success.

When asked about it, Youssefian has often said that the answer 
is usually in front of our eyes but we choose not to see it. In 
this case, the answer was the community and it certainly came 
through to show how far people can go when they come together 
to achieve a single goal. 

Marissa Shroeder is working on her masters 
degree in filmic writing and she works 
full-time at a development company.
Machiavelli Hangman
http://www.hangmanmovie.com