Archive Two
April 4, 2005
- Design & Composition -
I
thought it was magic ...
On occasion as a child, I got
to watch my father develop photos in the darkroom at his work.
Whenever an image emerged from that blank photo paper in the
chemicals, I oohed and aahed, and sometimes even clapped.
Making magic is what I called it. Then later during
my college days I immersed myself into photography, and even had
my own darkroom. I mostly worked in black and white, as I
preferred playing with the shadows and guessing what the light
might bring before me. In fact, if I hadn't moving so
strongly in the direction of writing, I probably would have
pursued it as a career. Once I went the direction of film, I
could have just as easily became a cinematographer, but the
writing world overtook me. But learning to see the world as
a photographer greatly influenced the style of my storytelling,
and hopefully will influence the design of my current project ...
Actually I been thinking a
lot lately about the 'look' I want my film to have (of course it's
tied to the thematic content, but more a general style), which has
caused me to look back at certain influences. Early on my
favorite TV shows were 'The Twilight Zone' and 'Alfred Hitchcock
Presents', but mostly because of the quirky stories. Of
course later I became enamored with Hitchcock's cinematic style,
and in college discovered the French New Wave filmmakers, mostly
Truffaut and Godard, and later stumbled upon John Cassavetes.
Fellini and Bergmen were also in there somewhere. But I
think it was Jean Renoir and Akira Kurosawa who really stood out
for me, and to this day some of their images still hold resonance
for my being. I can only hope that in this illusionary
labyrinth of light and shadow, I will be able to find the right
look that will serve the story I search to tell. Maybe the
magic will emerge ...
Tidbits: Check
out this
Wired article
about Robert Rodriguez. Refusing to join the WGA a few years
back and now quitting the DGA. Boy does he have it going on
...
530 days and counting ...
J-Alden
Comments --
Really fascinating stuff.
-- 4/2
A first comment, regarding Project
Greenlight:
While I don't watch much TV, I must admit to occasionally tuning
in to Project Greenlight, mainly for the delicious schadenfreude
of watching a production (that isn't my own) fall completely
apart. But while it does make interesting, vaguely cautionary,
viewing, I hope aspiring filmmakers don't take too much of the
drama to heart. Because, in short, the program is less about what
really happens when you make a movie, and more about the drama you
can cause by derailing the making of a movie at every step along
the way.
Sure, Miramax (or, in the current season, Dimension) claims to
really want each Project Greenlight film to succeed. But I can
tell you that almost certainly isn't the case. Simply put,
pissing away the entire budget of a $2m film is still less
expensive than an average single episode of an hour-long
television drama. Make the process of pissing that budget away
entertaining, and the sunk cost of the film itself (when amortized
over the course of the season, and paired with an inexpensive
guerilla documentary style for the show) is remarkably cheap.
While each director inevitably looks like an idiot by the end of
their series, I'd say most come out surprisingly well, considering
how badly Project Greenlight stacks the odds against them. If you
want to make a good film, for example, you don't pair an indie-sized
budget with a blockbuster-sized all-union crew, necessarily
cutting the number of shoot days to about half the average for any
other film of the same price. If you want to make a bad film -
and, in the process, make good television - though, that makes
perfect sense.
Which, in the end, leads to what I think is the real lesson of
Project Greenlight: choosing the right partners is everything. As
a writer or director, it's tempting to jump into bed with the
first production company or financier willing to back your film;
but unless you're sure you have compatible ideas about where
you're trying to take the project - and about how you get there -
you're likely to end up feeling like the biggest asshole on
prime-time.
josh
www.joshuanewman.com
April 8, 2005
- Convention -
"There are just
conventions you must adhere to" ...
I've been
to quite a few seminars and film festivals the last few years, and
when someone (usually an industry insider, or the latest 'flavor
of the month' filmmaker) on their 'showcase' panel says that
(above), my
eyes start to glaze over. These 'gatekeepers' seem to have
territory to protect and position to entrench. In fact, I am
continually surprised and amazed at how unserviceable these
supposed 'indie sympathizers' are to the world and plight of true
indie filmmakers. While some of the newbie filmmakers may be
lapping it up, these gatekeepers just appear to be pandering to
our simplest naive natures. And we let it happen, with very
few challenges. Now to be fair, sometimes some good stuff
comes out of these exchanges, and one of these gatekeepers will
actually challenge us. And many times the other panelists
will glance over with an 'inside' exchange, and this person will
back off. Uh, oh, maybe a line has been crossed and the
others enforce to keep the facade alive ...
Actually,
this just happened to me, as it has on a number of occasions.
I've been going to the
Method
Fest film festival in Calabasas (NW edge of LA) this week, and
have seen a couple panels and some films. So many of these
panels seem way too self-serving, and are only token nods to the indie community (because it's the cool way to go?). And I'm
sad to say many of us filmmakers live in such fantasy worlds, so
that whatever crumbs are thrown are way, our fantasies are fed and
served to live on, until those next crumbs. Sour grapes?
Hhhmmm, well, self examination is quite healthy and I feel it's
good to practice at least once a month. No, actually I
personally got over most of this years ago, when I truly
discovered this world was not a TV show where truth, justice and
issues were worked out and resolved in nice tidy packages.
No, these are just my humble observations on the state of the
indie film world from the perspective of my tiny world within the
vast fabric of creation ...
Independent
film. A matter of perspective semantics? The indie
world seems to operate on at least three different tiers; indie-elite,
indie-bourgeois, indie-proletariat. To clarify this theory a
bit, let's start with budgetary levels: Elites would probably be
about $5 Million and up, Bourgeois about $500K to $5M, and
Proletariat below $500K. You could probably put the Steven
Spielbergs and Michael Moores in the top bracket. Spielberg?
Yes, whatever he wants to greenlight, he can do. Indie
definitions can go beyond budgetary concerns, right? Part of
it is, how independent are you? And, maybe the attitude
thing? I have to agree that the definitions are a bit fuzzy
these days, what with all the studios and their faux indie/classic
divisions. Thus, the differing tiers. The middle tier
is served by the IFP apparatus and all that, while the bottom tier
(the rest of us) is pretty much underserved. Sure there is
overlap, and this in an imperfect theory, but you get the real
point -- what the hell is really independent? My humble
answer is lower tier, the most at risk and the least served --
thus the most independent. Isn't that what being truly
independent is really about anyway? But hey, no sour grapes. It beats basket weaving. So,
when someone says to me, "there are just conventions you must
adhere to", I just remind them what William Goldman said about
Hollywood, "Nobody knows anything" ...
Tidbits: A couple intriguingly cool Wired articles to
check out --
Discs Are So Dead and
The Vee Pee's New Tee Vee. Enjoy!
526 days and counting ...
J-Alden
Comments --
I wish you luck on your
blog and your film. -- 4/7
It's good to
start on pre-production so early. I read your blog and about your
consideration of the look of your film. I would strongly
recommend picking up a copy of Blain Brown's Cinematography:
Theory and Practice. It's filled with color photos showing
examples of classic and modern films and how those results were
achieved. When you get closer to production in 123 days ;-),
my book ("Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking") can help you solve a lot of
production problems you'll run into (lighting, camera, equipment,
etc.).
I'll make sure to read your blog from time to time and see how
things are going. Best of luck!
Dan Rahmel
Author: "Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking"
http://www.cvisual.com
April 12, 2005
- The Money -
Greasing the
wheels of production ...
Ah yes
praise be, just show me the money. Why is it that there's
never ever enough to go around, especially for all us guerilla
filmmakers? Well, it certainly doesn't grow on trees, and of
course it's obvious why indie filmmakers never have enough.
Minimal perceived value in an environment of glutted product
within a corporate-controlled market place. Actually,
there's plenty of money out there. It's just not there for
the asking, only there for those who don't need it ...
Ever apply
for a loan when you don't qualify? Or yes, even when you do?
Of course, you only get it when it's perceived you can pay it
back. So no one gives you money unless you're good for it,
thus you can only get it when you don't really need it.
Remember, in a capitalist society, capital is more valuable than
labor. Meaning money is harder to replace than us (or
actually our labor), as we can always work to earn more money (or
be replaced), but once capital (money) is spent, it's gone.
Unless of course it is invested to enable more capital to be made
and grow at exponential rates. Thus, the value of money is
greater than our hard work ...
Don't get
me wrong. I'm a capitalist through and through, and always
will be. But the statements above are only part of the
equation. Every smart employer knows how valuable a good
employee can be, and how their worth doesn't always show up on a
balance sheet. In fact, I'll go even further. A good
worker can potentially be more an asset than an equal amount of
the cash used in a business, thus possibly making labor more
valuable than capital ...
What does
this have to do with indie filmmaking? It's how we help
stack the game in our favor. It's how we get our films made.
It's how we get them into the market place. Actually, this
is not exactly profound or even new, as the model I'm proposing is
already being done by several film companies and organizations
around the country (and abroad possibly?),
Indigent for one.
It's about co-ownership for cast and crew, where the fruits of
their labor are tied to the success of the films, where a team of
dedicated partners all share in the bounty and can help motivate
all to help grow the film into a niche market waiting for its
release. That is what I propose to do with my film project.
And most certainly, more details later ...
522 days and counting ...
J-Alden
April 15, 2005
- Script Coverage -
To produce or
not to produce, is that a question? ...
Years ago I worked as a script reader for awhile, both for a
production company and as a freelancer. I feel it was more
an education on my part than a real service to the poor writer
whose script I was probably rejecting. Looking back on it, I
have some regrets on how I handled the situation, as it was most
assuredly not a positive learning experience for the writer(s).
Of course, I was under certain strict guidelines by the producer(s)
on how they expected coverage to be presented to them, and
subsequently communicated to the writer. It was more a
learning experience for me on how producers conducted themselves
than anything else. Sure, I learned how many different
mistakes writers can make, and how obviously some had very little
talent. Even the highly-represented, famous ones, which was
a real shocker to me. What hacks some of them seemed to be.
Not that I was an expert, but bad writing is usually fairly
obvious, and some of them were just mailing it in. In some
ways, though, as a struggling screenwriter myself, it did help
motivate me. I mean, if this is what it takes, then hey I'm
game. Course, nothing is as simple as that, especially the
Hollywood game ...
Anyway,
back to the producers. What surprised me the most was the
disregard many had for scripts and the scriptwriting process.
It seemed most had no interest in reading a script, only interest
for playing the game. I realize many probably don't have
time for it, but it was more the negative attitude towards it all
that got to me. Oh, the unfairness of it all. Okay,
okay, I'm getting a grip. So, it does seem the script reader
is one of the first guardians of the gate, and it's easy to see
one fall into a power trap. Especially some of the
frustrated writers who are readers. I guess that made yours
truly a sort of 'gatekeeper', albeit a low level one. I did
my best with it, but after more than a year of it, I'd had enough.
Besides, it was interfering with my own writing schedule, thus I
learned I enjoyed writing over reading (or at least the critiquing
part) ...
What I did
find a bit amusing, and inherently troublesome, over the next few
years were the 'results' of some of my recommendations. Of
the few scripts I did recommend, I believe none of them were ever
made. Of the many I passed on, a number of them were made by
a different production company than who I did the coverage for.
Every one of those performed poorly at the box office. No,
not any 'I told you so's here'. So many films fail at the
box office, I'm sure my recommends could just as easily been
there. But considering all I've learned now, I firmly
believe that the right producer with the right script and the
right attitude can put himself (or herself) ahead of the game, not
just be playing it. Oh well, so much for the imperfect
efficiency of human beings ...
Tidbits:
For those of you in the LA area, check out the
Filmmakers
Alliance. And then of course coming up is the
Los Angeles Film
Festival. Enjoy, and be well.
519 days and counting ...
J-Alden
April 19, 2005
- Casting -
To SAG or not to
SAG, yes that is the question ...
Wow, this
is a biggee for me. And I get a real brain freeze whenever I
revisit this conundrum. It may be a no-brainer for some of
you, but when I go over the pros and cons I get real dizzy.
It has nothing to do with whether I'm union or non-union, since
actually I don't care one way or another, but more about the
practicality for a guerilla filmmaker like myself. In the
end, I only want to serve the project, and try to guide its
success ...
Yes, I
think I know what most of the pros and cons are (you can correct
me if I'm wrong), even with the low budget indie agreements.
Briefly, the obvious pros - a) large and deep talent pool, b)
possibly name talent loving the script, c) more experience and
professional, d) marketing considerations, e) financing
considerations. Those are the main ones, but they're enough.
Now the cons - a) the upfront bond is money really needed for
the shoot, b) some conditions of the low budget agreements take
distribution control from the producer, c) extra expense of some
conditions, d) other expense & control issues (I know this is
vague but I don't want to go into all the minute details here.
Just read the agreements.) On the surface, it would seem the
pros outweigh the cons, but I'm a bit of a maverick and don't
always go with what is obvious. Sometimes my gut tells me
something else, and here it's telling me something else ...
I've seen
and heard of enough community theater talent around this country
to feel there is plenty of great undiscovered talent. And
I've also seen some in several non-union projects. Take this American Idol phenomena (no
matter what your opinion of the show is), as
some talent does crop up there. Across this country (or world for that
matter), there is bound to be the actors I need. Course,
that is the real problem, huh? Tracking them down and
finding those diamonds in the rough. I know, not an easy
task. Casting a wide net and conducting a nationwide talent
search isn't something I would look forward to, but it does sound
like something I'd cunningly agree to ...
I can see
I'll have to revisit this several times more. If anyone out
there has any insight into this, please feel free to shine that
illusive
light on me ...
516 days and counting ...
J-Alden
April 22, 2005
- Hard Lessons -
Learning how to
take the wood out of the knock ...
Anyone who's been knocking around the Hollywood game (or some
semblance of it) for awhile has the 'stories'. You know, the
ones where we've being taken advantage of, used, messed with,
screwed up and basically abused to no end. I've heard some
real whoppers from a few of my cohorts, and even have a couple
myself. Though I have to admit, for the most part I've
escaped the real serious stuff. But it's a slow day so I
though I'd pass one of my tales along, just for a little
entertainment value ...
Back in
'86 when I started thinking I knew how to write screenplays (I'd
written four or five by then), right out of the blue a film
producer from Dallas calls me up and says he wants to meet with me
about possibly writing a script for him. Say what? Now
I had never been hired to write before, but I did have one of my
scripts optioned (it was the only experience I had with 'the biz',
which was not much at all). Jeez, now somebody actually
wanted to hire me? Anyway, we met, talked, and at the end of
the meeting he whipped out a contract for me to sign. Now
that should have been a red flag, but I was green and hungry.
So I took the time to read it through, shrugged and then
unceremoniously signed it. Oh boy ...
It was a
step deal, so I developed a story idea he had, delivered a
treatment, first draft and second draft, and was paid each step of
the way. And during that whole time, he was feeding me all
kinds of lines about the name directors and actors he was getting
interest from (some very big names of that time), blah, blah,
blah. I was jazzed. I was on my way! The big
times were getting ready to roll!! Then I delivered the
third draft (supposedly the last one, and the big pay day), and
waited and waited, and never heard a thing from the guy ever
again. Say what? So, I try to track the guy down, but
no luck. Then about a month later, this big time Texas oil
guy calls me up and wants to know where this lost producer is,
like I'm supposed to know. But now I get the picture.
Turns out the oil man is the financer, and the producer has run
off with his money. I'm afraid to ask how much.
Anyway, the oil guy wants to meet with me, and I get the
impression that he thinks I may be in on the swindle. Great.
So, I reluctantly agree, and we meet in a restaurant (I demanded a
public place in case Quido showed up). It doesn't start out
too well, as I have to take the brunt of all his frustrations, but
at least he doesn't lay a hand on me. Once he finally gets
it through his head that I was a victim too, he backs off, and
swears if he ever catches him he'll kill him. After
assessing this guy, who seems like a pretty tough old bird, I'm
beginning to believe him, Anyway, he decides to hire a
private detective to track him down to the ends of the earth.
We part ways, and says he'll keep me apprised ....
So for
about the next two years, he calls about once a month to tell me
what's happening, which is usually nothing. Then, all of a
sudden I don't hear a thing any more. After about three
months, I call him, which is his office phone. His secretary
tells me he's missing and his family doesn't know where he is.
Shit, this is too weird. I decide to drop this whole thing
and forget about it, which I really have for the most part.
Then about four years later I'm reading the paper, and I see a
story about a guy with the same name as the producer, which was
not a common name, who died under some kind of mysterious
circumstances. Hhhmmm... Okay, that's it. I
didn't want to know any more. Reality is starting to blur
with illusion, and my stories and my real life are starting to
merge too much. I make peace with it, and tell creation I'm
done with this storyline and timeline, and will move on no matter
what else is happening. Except. Except a week later, I
decide to call the oil guy's office again. I do, and the
phone is disconnected. I'll be damned. Maybe creation
heard me. Anyway, I chalk it up to part of my initiation
into 'the biz' ...
So now
here I am years later looking for investors myself -- hhhmmm,
wonder if that old oil guy with the those deep pockets would--naahhh
...
513 days and counting ...
J-Alden
Comments --
Intriguing stories --
4/24
Just found your blog and
find it good reading. Hope you get your film together.
What's it about? And I assume you'll eventually need crew.
When will you be looking? I'd like to offer my services-I'll be in
touch. Good luck!
JRC
April 27, 2005
- Music -
Such sweet
sorrow, these soothing sounds of the spheres ...
I'm having fun now. Yeah, this is more like it. So
many musicians, so much music. Composer samples have been
coming in by the truckload, from all corners of the planet.
Sifting through it all has been quite a pleasure, even if most of
it wouldn't be quite right for my project. But of course my
intention is not to license songs, just find a composer who can
create an original score for this project. Did I say
just? Not an easy proposition for sure. As
good as much of this music is, most of these musicians have not
scored a film. Though most of them certainly want the
opportunity. While creating good music for its own sake is
an accomplishment, creating an original score is a whole different
ball game. Matching and choreographing the right sounds to
the right images is a unique skill in itself, and a talent most
musicians are not well versed in. However, I will continue
to enjoy myself in this process and I will find the
right composer to create the sounds I so sorely need, since music
will be a major component ...
Tidbits:
You should check out
this
interview in the latest issue of Moviemaker Magazine for a
chuckle (a guy after my own heart). Also see where
Lucas wants to go after Star Wars (an avant-garde, underground
filmmaker? - interesting since him and his buddy Spielberg are
largely responsible for the blockbuster mentality in Hollywood) ...
508 days and counting ...
J-Alden
April 30, 2005
- Four Quadrant Marketing -
Mom and pop, and
sis and bro ...
I
remember when I first heard about the concept of the four quadrant
film a few years back. (For those who don't know, it's a
film that plays to the widest possible audience, young and old,
male and female. It's about marketing and demographics.)
On one level it didn't surprise me, because of how much money the
studios have at risk in their films. On another level, as a
writer, it did offend my sensibilities, since screenwriters are
obviously employed by studios to write with this in mind. In
fact, the latest issue of
Creative
Screenwriting (Vol. 12 #3 -May/June) has a story about writing
for the four quadrant film. Again, no real crime here, but I
began to wonder how prevalent this really was. Do most
screenwriters actually write with the audience demographic as a
major consideration in their story crafting? Does the tail
wag the dog that much? Well certainly, if we as writers
expect to have an audience (or readers), we need to have the
audience in mind. But the exact audience? Wow ...
In their
cookie cutter approach to storytelling, it's quite obvious the
film studios are under tremendous pressure to make lots of money.
So then, four quadrant marketing makes perfect sense. And
many of these films can be quite enjoyable. Titanic, Shrek,
Harry Potter and The Incredibles are perfect examples of four
quadrant films. Hey, I enjoyed The Incredibles, as my entire
family did. So there's nothing inherently wrong from their point
of view or mode of operation. They're just selling product
and widening their brand. But come on writers, having the
Madison Avenue advertising geeks hijack your writing souls?
I know, I know, we have to eat and all that. It's a choice
we all have to make. Do we sacrifice art for commerce, the
age-old argument? Or can we balance them, for the benefit of
all? ...
Maybe
that's why Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck and Faulkner (and
possibly other novelists of their statue?), tried screenwriting
and the Hollywood route, but gave it up in frustration. They
probably knew what they were sacrificing, as well as the fact
their scripts would just be footnotes to the pop culture of their
time and not really endure the test of time. Thankfully, we
have their novels, which will ...
Funny,
thinking about my project, I might actually have a four quadrant
film - a family drama wrapped into a spiritual mystery.
There's kids and adults, with adult and kid stuff in it.
Wow, and I didn't even realize it until now. And it happened
without me even thinking about it, or even consulting my
marketing department. Imagine that. Yeah, uh, huh?
Wait, what
marketing department? ...
Tidbits:
A site you might want to check out -
Box Office Prophets -
if you're into that.
505 days and counting ...
J-Alden
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