Production Begins TODAY!
Let’s Gooooooo!
I had no idea when I set my mind to producing the official music video for “It’s Game Time” and featuring best friends and “Because of Sam” stars, Sam Piazza, Nick Altieri, and David Scott who have intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD), that the Tampa Bay area sports scene would be thriving.
In case you haven’t seen “Because of Sam”, “It’s Game Time” is what I describe as the “upbeat, sports anthem, clean rap song” in the end credits that excites the audience, and leaves them on cloud nine.
With the Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley Cup, the Tampa Bay Bucs winning the Superbowl, and now the Tampa Bay Rays in the playoffs, the global spotlight is directly on Tampa Bay (ChampaBay), my hometown—and it certainly IS GAME TIME!
Sam, Nick, and David will be THE sports superstars in this inclusive music video, and we plan to fly the AMAZING Chicago-based singer-songwriter, Tommy Cicero, down to Tampa to be in it too. Tampa’s BRILLIANT Shorne “2SC” Callahan created the music and mixed the song recording master. These two men tirelessly worked with me to produce the song in time for it to be featured in the July 2019 sold-out “First Look” Screening of “Because of Sam” at Tampa Theatre where people were up on their feet cheering when the song played!
Sadly, the late Cindy Badell-Slaughter who was my Music Supervisor for “Because of Sam” has passed away. Cindy guided me through the music creation and licensing process for all of the music in “Because of Sam” and I’m now entrusted with the publishing rights to this amazing “It’s Game Time” piece of work. The music video will be dedicated to her.
Today we begin production with our first shoot for the music video, and I invite you to join us along the journey of the behind-the-scenes process (and shenanigans – if you know Sam, Nick, and David, you know that they are a blast to be with, and that they share the love and camaraderie of true brothers).
We have some surprises along the way, too, that we can’t wait to share.
Our goal is to launch the song and music video this Fall, to showcase inclusion in sports, highlight our diverse ChampaBay community, and the transformative message of “Because of Sam” and “It’s Game Time”.
There are other things happening besides championships that make this timing important.
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month and we will be producing the music video (and possibly premiering it) in that month. How often do you see people with disabilities in films, much less as THE stars? Well, we are making our mark here in Tampa, with this epic music video that is sure to resonate across the globe to show others with IDD that they too can achieve their dreams.
The Bucs play the Chicago Bears at home on Oct. 24th and with the Tommy Cicero-Chicago-Tampa connection, I’d be remiss if I didn’t (continue) to pitch the song to the Bucs as a halftime show performance or a song to be played on tv to cut away to commercials or the music video to air as a shout out to ChampaBay’s inclusive, diverse culture.
Please follow along our journey on social media or by signing up to get email updates at the Because of Sam or Renee Warmack Productions websites, or on our social media pages.
This project is being produced through in-kind services and sponsorships from Renee Warmack Productions and others. If you’d like to help out by pitching in, please click the button below:
YES! I Want to Support the “It’s Game Time” Project
For sponsorship/product placement opportunities, please contact Filmmaker Renee Warmack at: (813) 610-3132 or ReneeWarmackProductions@yahoo.com