A group of local 20-somethings has a big goal; making, producing and acting in their own television series. Today, that group is causing a stir and may be one step closer to that goal, all thanks to social media.
The 5 friends have been working on their show for the past two years. They've raised thousands of dollars to get past hurdles most people could never leap. Now, they seem to be on the right track through hard work, dedication and a tweet.
"I flipped out." Ahmad Hussam said.
Hussam is referring to a tweet from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.
"'We're discussing your campaign during our board meeting.'" Hussam recalled from the simple message.
Like his collegues, Hussam devoted himself fulltime. The group built their own studio, developed a script and filmed their own trailer.
The series they hope to produce is called the Salahadin Project. It's about a 12th century Muslim hero during the Crusades.
"He used to send doctors to his enemies, He used to send supplies to his enemies. He was very famous for his chivalry." Hussam said.
The problem with producing any show is getting people to listen. For Hussam and his team, getting ahold of producers was tough. When they finally made an appointment with a producer and went to LA, they were stood up.
"He cancelled on us." Hussam said.
Instead of leaving California, Hussam drove to the Netflix headquarters to film a pitch they planned to put online.
"Let's pitch our idea to Netflix through social media." Hussam said.
The well produced pitch was then posted to Facebook and Twitter with #netflixlisten. But they weren't done. The group shot a total of about 50 pitches, all catered specifically to different actors and directors associated with Netflix shows. They were also all reached via social media.
Yesterday, after two weeks, they had the response they wanted. Netflix came up with their own hastag; #netflixlistening.
"I think it's a good thing, if people can call on the networks and say this is a story we want to hear." Hussam said.
So far, the group has not heard anything else from Netflix, but say they're not giving up and hope to get their show on the air soon.
