About that time, I started having conversations with a friend of mine from Birmingham, Ala., who wrote the New York Times bestseller Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, based on the unique fans associated with Alabama football. It quickly became clear that for a film based on the book to reach its fullest potential, the ideal would be to get people involved from the state of Alabama on the production and financial sides.
We recently began to secure the rights to the screenplay written by Callie Khouri, the Oscar-winning writer of Thelma and Louise. In addition, we've partnered with Monnie Wills-producer of The Darkest Hour, which was released in December-to provide the technical expertise.
This industry is a very different type of business on the financial side. It's certainly not a venture that most people should consider. However, our objective with Omega Capital Entertainment is to build an Alabama-based film company-there are many very successful people in the entertainment industry with strong ties to the state-that promotes the business and in doing so creates industry, jobs, revenues and positive public relations for the state. We expect Rammer Jammer will be our initial project to get the ball rolling.
We've also partnered with Sundance award-winning producer Patrick Cunningham, who is the founding partner of the production company Maybach and Cunningham. His 2011 film Martha, Marcy, Mary and Marlene also won an award at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
Because of the relationships we have and continue to develop with large churches in the senior living business, we're exploring some "faith-based" film opportunities. We're also working on a reality TV show that has a connection in the college football world.
Prince: It's clear there's a broad range of private equity deals you're involved with. You've also said you're not a technical expert. Can you tell us how you approach putting these kinds of deals together?
Trammell: I firmly believe our model is exactly the same regardless of the endeavor. If you look at the various deals we've discussed, there's a common theme. We take our unique abilities, which I believe is my ability to see and create a vision, and then identify the right technical partners based on the particular endeavor. Then we connect the various parties together to create a powerful, synergistic and compelling opportunity for everyone involved. What I do, whether it's in the life insurance business, the senior living business or the entertainment business, doesn't really change at all.
At Omega Capital Enterprises, there are a number of factors that come into play. The most important factor is the networking. It's the ability to bring various parts together that make it all work.
Still, at the end of the day, it's all about execution. The people we partner with, from the ultra-affluent investor to the highly technical partner, all have one trait in common. They execute. They have a long history of achieving high levels of success. They also buy into the concept of the leverage you can create by combining these relationships together in a very strategic and synergistic way.
My primary role has evolved into being a connector, whether it's ideas or relationships. When we recently brought together a variety of ways to capitalize our senior living projects, an advisor who is generally considered to be the national expert in the field commented, "I cannot believe I didn't think of that."
I also hope I have the ability to get two or more parties who are superstars in their own right to see the value of collaborating, and by doing so creating what we hope are spectacular projects and opportunities. I try my best to find the right combination of people who quickly buy into the vision concerning particular projects.