JotBlog

Like many people, Team JotSpot waited in line this morning and saw “Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith” (see related post). I grew up with the Star Wars franchise and was excited / nervous about this final installment. As a former Hollywood agent, I know sequels can suck. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, The Ring 2, Speed 2: Cruise Control, Beverly Hills Cop 3, Look Who’s Talking 3, Lion King 1 1/2, Son of the Mask…

The problem is motivation. When you make the original, you are making a motion picture. Films are creative labors of love that you hope make money. When you make a sequel, you are trying to make a profit. For a sequel to be greenlit, the studio believes they can generate a return on their investment by cashing in on the success of the original. It is not to answer all of the questions at the end of “Speed” or because audiences had been campaigning extensively for the back story to Jim Carrey’s character in “The Mask.”

The logic with sequels is that it is ok if you make a decent movie but it is not a requirement. Which is why very few sequels satisfy expectations: The Godfather Part 2, The Empire Strikes Back and Spiderman 2.

A key ingredient to sequel success is chemistry. Positive examples include Sean Connery as James Bond and Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. Whereas Ice Cube as XXX and Jar Jar Binks both jump the shark. Said another way, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Which is why JotSpot Hackathon Part Deux is sticking with our original formula and core values. Each of our engineers will crank on something:

• valuable to the company
• but not what they’re “supposed” to be working on
• can be taken from idea to working prototype in one day

Got an idea on what we should tackle? Feel free to cast your personal vote for features, bug fixes or projects. While there are no guarantees we would like to hear from you.

Details:

JotSpot Hackathon 2

Thurs. May 26

Air horn will sound at 9am and show & tell is scheduled for 8pm.

Thank you!

Team JotSpot