lair Hahn never imagined when he attended a dinner party years ago that meeting Warren Ostergard would lead him into a career in the movie industry. Ostergard, a Johns Island resident, is a member of the Directors Guild of America and has made more than 40 feature films. “I had an idea for a movie and he wanted to expand on that,” shared Hahn, currently an Isle of Palms City Council member and real estate broker at Black Bear Realty. “As a result of that we became friends, but never made the movie. But we’ve had fun, nevertheless.” Hahn and Ostergard have made films together since 2016, when the pair started a movie studio called Black Bear Studios with the intent to make independent feature films. “Hollywood no longer makes films, other than big dollar action films,” Hahn explained. “HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime are now in the movie business and are making some films and series. But most of the non-action high-dollar movies are made by independents and that was interesting to me.” While making a living in the independent film business is a gamble, Hahn has made the most of his experiences along the way, working with big stars like John Travolta, Danny Glover and Charlie Sheen. As an executive producer, Hahn was primarily involved in the financial side of making movies. “Most of the movies I was involved in were through Producer Capital Fund, a company I started to provide financing for tax credits and that was typically the last piece of financing to be put in place on an independent film so they could greenlight the movie,” Hahn said. “The easier films to make are horror 17 IslandVibesIOP.com LIFESTYLE Blair Hahn of Hollywood Bringing La La Land to the Lowcountry By Heather Rose Artushin B Photos Provided. films, so we’ve done some horror movies. We’ve done some thrillers that are on the edge between horror and action. It just depends on the script, really, and who is attached to it, who the directors and actors are. And then there’s the financial end of it. You have to put the entire financial package together or the movie won’t get made.” Though connecting with prominent Hollywood actors and producers has been an adventure for Hahn, he’s learned to have fun and not take himself too seriously. “Actors are all regular people, and they want to be treated as regular people. They have a job to do. This is their profession and they want to be respected for their work, just like everybody else.” While the independent film industry can be very difficult at times, Hahn is open to exploring projects of interest with his partner, Ostergard, in the future. “If there’s a project that he’s passionate about, that would probably pique my interest. Right now we do have “THE PHARM,” a screenplay about a lawyer that sues big pharmaceutical companies and that is what I did for a living for over 30 years. It is certainly not autobiographical, but it does have aspects of my experience in that screenplay. We’ve got a director attached to it and the screenplay written. We had, at one point, Anthony Hopkins attached to it but then he needed back surgery and we missed that window. Now, we’re back to looking for actors to attach to the screenplay and ultimately financing to back the movie.” Hahn has been a full-time Isle of Palms resident for 10 years, though he’s been visiting the island since he was a child in the 60s. “I was hanging out on the Isle of Palms before Ocean Boulevard had any houses on it because it was underwater. It’s a joy after a hard day or frustrating day to come over the Connector and see the ocean. Yes, there’s traffic on the island, but the difference is when you’re caught in traffic downtown or in Mount Pleasant people are typically angry, but if you’re caught in traffic on the island people are usually happy.” Hahn ran for city council to advocate for residents on the island, particularly when interfacing with South Carolina Department of Transportation and other officials involved in managing parking and traffic flow challenges. “I’m hoping that I’ll be able to effectuate some change that will be important for the city.” At the end of the day, Hahn embraces a lighthearted approach to enjoying life. “I have a vanity license plate on my car that says BYBF&BH – Be Young, Be Foolish and Be Happy. We are all human beings walking on this earth and we all have stories and a lot of our stories are interesting in different ways. Just celebrate the humanness of who we all are.”
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