Recently it was learned that Smallville‘s John Schneider could lose his 58-acre plot and the studio located on it, and now he’s addressing the situation with fans and letting them know how to help.
As reported earlier, the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office seized the property, which houses John Schneider Studios, a one-stop shop for filmmakers. Schneider has had issues keeping up with the mortgage on the property, and he took to Facebook to explain the sitaution, which included letting fans know not to blame the police (via NOLA).
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“Everything you’ve heard and you’ve been hearing is true, and I want to get right down to it,” Schneider said. “First of all: This is not the sheriff’s doing — not the sheriff’s doing at all. This is my doing. The sheriff is not the one that couldn’t pay the mortgage. The sheriff is not the one who got himself in trouble. I’m the one that got myself in trouble. His department is great. They are all doing their job. This problem is my problem, my doing.”
Schneider then went on to explain how things go this way, and it turns out it has just been incredibly challenging to maintain a business here since 2016.
“Since the floods of 2016 developing and maintaining a business here has been an uphill battle,” Schneider said. “Now what makes matters worse is that I’m a storyteller and not under any circumstances a businessman, and that is exactly why I got involved with Maven, and why they are the lease holder and manager of the studio property. Now Maven doesn’t have a magic wand or secret formula but what they do have is a willingness to work very very hard toward a common goal that we have of having this business actually make more than it spends.”
“Now, I’m not blaming the situation I’m in on the flood, okay,” Schneider stressed. “I’m blaming it on a dream because I dream to be something, to be someone, to share my stories with the world.”
While things are difficult at the moment, Schneider is not giving up on his dream by a longshot. “This dream is a dream I am not going to give up on,” Schneider said. “I’ve had it since I was 8 years old, and I’m going to continue having it until the day I achieve it or the day I die. … Come hell or high water — and believe me, we’ve been through both — we are going to get through this or die trying.”
Schneider explained that they have until January 14th to make something happen, and acknowledges that isn’t a ton of time, but he did give fans a way they can help.
“If you want to help. If you want to dream right alongside of us it’s very simple,” Schneider said. “We make movies. We make music. We have a store. We have an online prescence. I want you to follow the link down there to the online store to John Schneider Studios. Look around. If you see something you like, buy it, rent it, download it, order it, it’s simple. Only if you see something you like.”
“I know there’s somebody out there saying, ‘He’s only using this to try and sell more of his movies, music and merchandising.’ Well, to that person I say, ‘Sir or Madam, you are absolutely dead-on right,’” Schneider said. “But as the saying goes, I was always taught this, when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade,” Schneider said.
You can check out the store right here.
