I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script!

This article has been spreading like wildfire throughout the filmmaking universe for obvious reasons (once you read it). I am adding it to my blog so that others can make use of it...and still others will get an acerbic, funny but very honest explanation of why I, myself, won't read their scripts. :)

Here's a link if you want to read it from its Village Voice original source:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/09/i_will_not_read.php

I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script

excerpted from The Village Voice, Wednesday, Sep. 9 2009 @ 10:00PM

We know you've been working very hard on your screenplay, but before you go looking for some professional feedback, you might keep in mind the following piece by A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson.

​I will not read your fucking script.

That's simple enough, isn't it? "I will not read your fucking script." What's not clear about that? There's nothing personal about it, nothing loaded, nothing complicated. I simply have no interest in reading your fucking screenplay. None whatsoever.

If that seems unfair, I'll make you a deal. In return for you not asking me to read your fucking script, I will not ask you to wash my fucking car, or take my fucking picture, or represent me in fucking court, or take out my fucking gall bladder, or whatever the fuck it is that you do for a living.

You're a lovely person. Whatever time we've spent together has, I'm sure, been pleasurable for both of us. I quite enjoyed that conversation we once had about structure and theme, and why Sergio Leone is the greatest director who ever lived. Yes, we bonded, and yes, I wish you luck in all your endeavors, and it would thrill me no end to hear that you had sold your screenplay, and that it had been made into the best movie since Godfather Part II.

But I will not read your fucking script.

At this point, you should walk away, firm in your conviction that I'm a dick. But if you're interested in growing as a human being and recognizing that it is, in fact, you who are the dick in this situation, please read on.

Yes. That's right. I called you a dick. Because you created this situation. You put me in this spot where my only option is to acquiesce to your demands or be the bad guy. That, my friend, is the very definition of a dick move.

I was recently cornered by a young man of my barest acquaintance.

I doubt we've exchanged a hundred words. But he's dating someone I know, and he cornered me in the right place at the right time, and asked me to read a two-page synopsis for a script he'd been working on for the last year. He was submitting the synopsis to some contest or program, and wanted to get a professional opinion.

Now, I normally have a standard response to people who ask me to read their scripts, and it's the simple truth: I have two piles next to my bed. One is scripts from good friends, and the other is manuscripts and books and scripts my agents have sent to me that I have to read for work. Every time I pick up a friend's script, I feel guilty that I'm ignoring work. Every time I pick something up from the other pile, I feel guilty that I'm ignoring my friends. If I read yours before any of that, I'd be an awful person.

Most people get that. But sometimes you find yourself in a situation where the guilt factor is really high, or someone plays on a relationship or a perceived obligation, and it's hard to escape without seeming rude. Then, I tell them I'll read it, but if I can put it down after ten pages, I will. They always go for that, because nobody ever believes you can put their script down once you start.

But hell, this was a two page synopsis, and there was no time to go into either song or dance, and it was just easier to take it. How long can two pages take?

Weeks, is the answer.

And this is why I will not read your fucking script.

It rarely takes more than a page to recognize that you're in the presence of someone who can write, but it only takes a sentence to know you're dealing with someone who can't.

(By the way, here's a simple way to find out if you're a writer. If you disagree with that statement, you're not a writer. Because, you see, writers are also readers.)

You may want to allow for the fact that this fellow had never written a synopsis before, but that doesn't excuse the inability to form a decent sentence, or an utter lack of facility with language and structure. The story described was clearly of great importance to him, but he had done nothing to convey its specifics to an impartial reader. What I was handed was, essentially, a barely coherent list of events, some connected, some not so much. Characters wander around aimlessly, do things for no reason, vanish, reappear, get arrested for unnamed crimes, and make wild, life-altering decisions for no reason. Half a paragraph is devoted to describing the smell and texture of a piece of food, but the climactic central event of the film is glossed over in a sentence. The death of the hero is not even mentioned. One sentence describes a scene he's in, the next describes people showing up at his funeral. I could go on, but I won't. This is the sort of thing that would earn you a D minus in any Freshman Comp class.

Which brings us to an ugly truth about many aspiring screenwriters: They think that screenwriting doesn't actually require the ability to write, just the ability to come up with a cool story that would make a cool movie. Screenwriting is widely regarded as the easiest way to break into the movie business, because it doesn't require any kind of training, skill or equipment. Everybody can write, right? And because they believe that, they don't regard working screenwriters with any kind of real respect. They will hand you a piece of inept writing without a second thought, because you do not have to be a writer to be a screenwriter.

So. I read the thing. And it hurt, man. It really hurt. I was dying to find something positive to say, and there was nothing. And the truth is, saying something positive about this thing would be the nastiest, meanest and most dishonest thing I could do. Because here's the thing: not only is it cruel to encourage the hopeless, but you cannot discourage a writer. If someone can talk you out of being a writer, you're not a writer. If I can talk you out of being a writer, I've done you a favor, because now you'll be free to pursue your real talent, whatever that may be. And, for the record, everybody has one. The lucky ones figure out what that is. The unlucky ones keep on writing shitty screenplays and asking me to read them.

To make matters worse, this guy (and his girlfriend) had begged me to be honest with him. He was frustrated by the responses he'd gotten from friends, because he felt they were going easy on him, and he wanted real criticism. They never do, of course. What they want is a few tough notes to give the illusion of honesty, and then some pats on the head. What they want--always--is encouragement, even when they shouldn't get any.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to tell someone that they've spent a year wasting their time? Do you know how much blood and sweat goes into that criticism? Because you want to tell the truth, but you want to make absolutely certain that it comes across honestly and without cruelty. I did more rewrites on that fucking e-mail than I did on my last three studio projects.

My first draft was ridiculous. I started with specific notes, and after a while, found I'd written three pages on the first two paragraphs. That wasn't the right approach. So I tossed it, and by the time I was done, I'd come up with something that was relatively brief, to the point, and considerate as hell. The main point I made was that he'd fallen prey to a fallacy that nails a lot of first timers. He was way more interested in telling his one story than in being a writer. It was like buying all the parts to a car and starting to build it before learning the basics of auto mechanics. You'll learn a lot along the way, I said, but you'll never have a car that runs.

(I should mention that while I was composing my response, he pulled the ultimate amateur move, and sent me an e-mail saying, "If you haven't read it yet, don't! I have a new draft. Read this!" In other words, "The draft I told you was ready for professional input, wasn't actually.")

I advised him that if all he was interested in was this story, he should find a writer and work with him; or, if he really wanted to be a writer, start at the beginning and take some classes, and start studying seriously.

And you know what? I shouldn't have bothered. Because for all the hair I pulled out, for all the weight and seriousness I gave his request for a real, professional critique, his response was a terse "Thanks for your opinion." And, the inevitable fallout--a week later a mutual friend asked me, "What's this dick move I hear you pulled on Whatsisname?"
So now this guy and his girlfriend think I'm an asshole, and the truth of the matter is, the story really ended the moment he handed me the goddamn synopsis. Because if I'd just said "No" then and there, they'd still think I'm an asshole. Only difference is, I wouldn't have had to spend all that time trying to communicate thoughtfully and honestly with someone who just wanted a pat on the head, and, more importantly, I wouldn't have had to read that godawful piece of shit.

You are not owed a read from a professional, even if you think you have an in, and even if you think it's not a huge imposition. It's not your choice to make. This needs to be clear--when you ask a professional for their take on your material, you're not just asking them to take an hour or two out of their life, you're asking them to give you--gratis--the acquired knowledge, insight, and skill of years of work. It is no different than asking your friend the house painter to paint your living room during his off hours.

There's a great story about Pablo Picasso. Some guy told Picasso he'd pay him to draw a picture on a napkin. Picasso whipped out a pen and banged out a sketch, handed it to the guy, and said, "One million dollars, please."

"A million dollars?" the guy exclaimed. "That only took you thirty seconds!"

"Yes," said Picasso. "But it took me fifty years to learn how to draw that in thirty seconds."

Like the cad who asks the professional for a free read, the guy simply didn't have enough respect for the artist to think about what he was asking for. If you think it's only about the time, then ask one of your non-writer friends to read it. Hell, they might even enjoy your script. They might look upon you with a newfound respect. It could even come to pass that they call up a friend in the movie business and help you sell it, and soon, all your dreams will come true. But me?

I will not read your fucking script.

Josh Olson's screenplay for the film A History of Violence was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA, the WGA award and the Edgar. He is also the writer and director of the horror/comedy cult movie Infested, which Empire Magazine named one of the 20 Best Straight to Video Movies ever made. Recently, he has written with the legendary Harlan Ellison, and worked on Halo with Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp. He adapted Dennis Lehane's story "Until Gwen," which he will also be directing. He is currently adapting One Shot, one of the best-selling Jack Reacher books for Paramount.

© 2009 Josh Olson. All rights reserved.

Distribution Links

Hey All,

Here's some great links/info on the current and future state of indie film distribution to compliment Ted Hope's article posted previously:

Peter Broderick's Declaration of Independence: 10 Principles of Hybrid Distribution:

http://www.peterbroderick.com/writing/writing/declarationofindependence.html

Orly Ravid and Jeffery Winter's New American Vision company: http://www.newamericanvision.com  and in particular: http://www.newamericanvision.com/collaborative.html

Adam Chapnick's Distribber: http://www.distribber.com/

And, of course, our partners at Magic Rock/NeoFlix: http://www.magicrock.com/

Ted Hope's Latest....

This is from Ted Hope's latest post....

Read it here or here: http://trulyfreefilm.blogspot.com/2009/09/18-actions-towards-sustainable-truly.html

...where you can comment on it, as well.

18 Actions Towards A Sustainable Truly Free Film Community

I promised the Twitterverse this list a few weeks back. Life gets in the way of completing things though. I eventually hope to have more than a draft for you, but I also hope it won't be necessary. I initially thought this was just a top ten list, and maybe it should have been. I already know I have left important things off this list though, and here I am at eighteen.

Having already left home before I hit such a mark, it seems fit this list does likewise. The comfort of the nest is part of the problem and its time to get the conversation started. And like so many things, with this list it is not about the size, but about the intensity with which we engage with each element. I wish I could give marching orders instead of discussion points. I wrote this to encourage but you can use it as a litmus test for whether you really want an independent and diverse culture or not. What are these are you doing? What of these are you willing to do?

The time is now. If we don't fully own the absolute necessity to change how we've all been working, we won't be working -- and we won't have the illuminating, inspiring, transforming films that we now enjoy. It's your choice, but action is required.

There is the capacity for many more of us to create and prosper from creative media work. This capacity can also close up and vanish along with our audiences. The canaries are now the size of Big Birds and we somehow are able to ignore them (but that is a subject for a different posts).

SO YOU SAY YOU WANT A SUSTAINABLE & TRULY FREE FILM COMMUNITY AND CULTURE? Time to take some action.

Mentor - if you have been working in the film industry for at least five years, you certainly have the knowledge to help lift somebody else up. Ideally this would be someone from a much different background than yourself (more on that later) so things don't have to stay the same. That said, those that you lift up will also carry on some of your knowledge, so the bonds that need to be strengthened hopefully will be.

Curate- You got into this business because you loved film, maybe you even always loved talking about films, but what do you do now to help spread the love? Friends and family are the best influencers in terms of getting others to see films, and there won't be any business unless we keep people going to the movies. Whether its as simple as getting friends over on the weekend to watch something they wouldn't normally have, using a social network tool to get a large group out and into the theaters, blogging about the things you think are essential, or forming a film club and actually booking films you love, there's something you could be doing to get work you love seen and appreciated. There are over 6000 films made a year; it's overwhelming. You have to become the filter for your friends, family, and followers. Tell them what you love, share it. And there are many alternatives that sending around that link where you found that others labors are now being bootlegged.

Provide- info, advice, access - Industries all go through cycles and it may have once benefited some folks who got established early to limit what others could know or get to do, but those days ended. It is changing to fast and yesterday's discovery is old news pretty damn fast. Our future depends on innovation and unity; sharing what you know and have are the most likely ways for each to occur. If you learn something, pass it on. Post it. Tweet it. Discuss it.

Learn/Evolve- Everyone likes to quote William Goldman's line about the movie industry, but it has never been truer that no one knows anything now. The ways films were financed & sold for the last fifteen years are no longer do-able. Audiences don't consume the way they used to. There is no acquisition market and no business model has emerged for earning significant revenue on the internet. People have been convinced that hardware should be expensive whereas content should be free (i.e. creators have become the advertisers for the manufacturers). We have the tools to build a new model but our ability to use them is rather limited. It's time to try new things and if you aren't learning new things on a regular basis you might as well admit defeat now. Build experimentation into your daily regime, into your business plan.

Migrate - Although this is close to "Learn/Evolve", migration is a specific form thereof. As much as we need to strengthen the net, we have to extend our web's reach. We have to both give and take. Cinema requires a global awareness and participation. Specificity is universal. You aren't just making your work for friends and family, unless it is the Family Of Man (to borrow an inaccurate phrase). Travel and source. Bring it back home. Give it away. Extend your reach and modify your inputs, but cross borders. It is a global community and the more we embrace that, the stronger we will be.

Aim Higher With Content Quality -For years the movie business flourished because not enough material was available. Now everything is there for the viewing when you want it, where you want it, and how you want it. As a filmmaker today you are competing against everything that came before you. Yet also as a filmmaker you have the benefit of having access to all of film history that has preceded you. You get to see what others have done, but you have to take it one step further. Since you can no longer win by getting there first, you have no choice but to try to do it better.

Aim Higher With Narrative Structure & Ambitions - It's not enough to have a good story well told anymore. Cinema is over one hundred years old and stories can't just have a beginning, a middle, or an end. Our films won't survive if they are dependent on a single author to deliver them or don't inspire others to deliver them. Take back what has always been yours and embrace the other aspects of filmmaking beyond content and production. There are many points of access to a story and many reasons to return to the world, but we have not been utilizing them.

Introduce- We have to knit this net a whole lot stronger. If your friends are stronger, you are stronger. One persons success does not limit yours, but quite the opposite -- it enhances your position. You have to work to get your team further down the field. It takes more than an army to create, promote, market, distribute, and appreciate good work. If you are not providing introductions to those that you know who will benefit by knowing the other ones you know, you asking to play a game solo when everyone else will be be fielding battalions.

Make Different, Make Strange & Change- Does it ever feel to you that half the films that get made are remakes but they don't know it? Or that everyone is preaching to the converted but they forgot what the sermon was about? Or maybe that they long ago stopped looking for the real sky and were content to keep going as long as the treadmill was moving? Once I had a friend come to me with so much urgency asking "Don't they get it? Our job is to make them want to be over there, farther away from here, aspiring for something better, feeling the hope that they can get there." He was right, but we aren't going to do it by repeating what has been done before.

Ignore - There are many in the film business who are never going to help you. Many of these will never help you even after you have helped them. The sooner you identify these folks and stop wasting your time with them, the better off you are going to be. We have to much to do to bother with them, no matter how powerful they may be, how smart or creative they may be, or how much they appear to have to offer you. Get on with it and move on.

Reduce- Unfortunately the industry has been rewarding quantity more than quality. Even more unfortunately, bad work has a greater impact than good, and its impact is not of the positive sort. Very little can prosper in an environment of poor attention, limited commitment, or fractured focus. I don't know anyone who doesn't have too much to do already (and less money or time to do it in than previously). We could all gain by slowing down and doing less but doing that thing we do better. We have to. The independent sector doesn't have the money to fool people to think that their mediocre work should be seen. More work needs to go into both making our films better and into how to reach and engage with our audiences in more rewarding way. Unless a filmmaker can demonstrate both of those qualities, they shouldn't be shooting their film. Failure in either department brings all of us down with it. We are all connected and only the best work lifts us (don't get me wrong, we can't have gate keepers determining what or who "is ready" to make a film -- we just have to be more demanding on ourselves).

Participate - You have something to say, so say it. Others are saying the things you believe, so let it be known. Your skill set and experience is unique to you, but others would benefit from the gift of your engagement, so why not get something done now, even if it is not what you ultimately are striving for. We don't have time to be silent. Speak up not just about what you know or feel, but what you want to know or feel. If you care about something, write in, or send a proxy. Encourage others to do the same too. The world will change for the worse unless you engage.

Collaborate - We learn more when we break our normal routine and do something different, be it a different task, or a different situation, or a different sort of creation. There are times to lead and times to follow. We learn from those that see differently than us. We understand and process things better when it involves others we care about. There is also no denying that there is so much change both needed and occurring that we can't possibly gain by working alone. If you haven't realized that you can't possibly get it done alone anymore, you haven't engaged. Filmmaking and it's secondary necessities of marketing and distribution can't be the work of a singular auteur anymore -- cinema requires that you (to borrow IndieGoGo's mantra) Do It With Others.

Go To The Crowd - We need our work to have greater reach. At some point in the process, we need to engage and encourage everyone out there to determine something about the work. This makes them stakeholders in the process and cements a deeper relationship with you. Both CrowdSourcing and CrowdFunding are marvelous endeavors, not just for what the immediate product they bring, but for the engagement they deliver. Don't get me wrong, there are inefficiencies in many approaches and in reaching out we need to offer meaningful ways for people to engage, and reasons for them to remain. Today's collaboration is not just about working with those you know, but also those that you don't and won't ever know.

Question- I find the obvious is often ignored by the status quo. Whether it was making movies for six figures, creating a producer-driven company, starting an international sales company & licensing our own films, cutting digitally, shooting video and transferring to film, or the actions I currently contemplate, I have found resistance from the mainstream to adopt new behavior that might be game-changing. Culturally, we've all been seduced by security and knowledge, but it is risk and exploration of the unknown that usually moves us forward.

Keep It Human & Personable- It is sooo hard to get a movie made. It is soooo hard to write a decent script. It is soooo hard to find a way to make a living and to be engaged in the creative arts. Anyone that does any of these things is a hero to me. Good fortune is rare, but it is needed for most to obtain the life they want. It may take something that resembles an army to make a movie, promote it, and get it seen, but those engaged in the process are usually operating out of some aspect of love, and need acknowledgement. What's with all the ego that swims through this business?

Reward- If you are trying to make movies, or already working in the film business, you have too much on your plate; if you are able to do good work, help those around you, or just make stuff happen, you are probably super human. If someone around you is doing this kind of stuff, show your appreciation. When I get a note from someone that they liked my film, it makes my day. When someone has tried to help me without any personal gain on their part, I think the world may actually be an alright place. When someone indicates that they know what I do and they treat it with all due respect, I think we might just get out of this situation somewhat intact. Vote for the world you want with your actions and appreciation.

Make It All One Ongoing Conversation - We squander our efforts when we think only about the single project at hand. It is not about just getting that one movie done. We have to keep moving the conversation forward. We have to engage with our community in such a meaningful way that they will be motivated to move with us to the next project too. Don't reinvent the wheel each time, but if you have invested the time to seed an audience, feed them and breed them; bring them with you to all that you are doing. Help them understand why X eventually follows A. Keep them engaged. Keep them loyal.

And you thought you didn't have enough to do today!

Cinereach Grants & Awards

Recently tumbled across this amazing organization called - Cinereach. Don't know the people behind it, but would love to. They seem to be doing something almost no one else is doing - helping fund films that matter.

This is from their site:

Each year Cinereach gives up to $500,000 in grants and awards to documentary & narrative films.

Cinereach funds artful narrative and documentary films that depict underrepresented perspectives, cross international boundaries and start meaningful conversations. Film projects that are consistent with Cinereach’s ethos favor good storytelling over didacticism and complexity over traditional duality. Cinereach-supported films also demonstrate creativity, visual artistry and take a character-based approach.

Grants are awarded to films at any stage: development, production, post-production, audience building and/or distribution. The Cinereach grant committee meets twice a year to review grant applications. Please check the “Submit a Letter of Inquiry” page for more information.

Check them out at http://www.cinereach.org/

Fundraising suggestions....

Here's a chat exchange I just had with a filmmaker that I will share with everyone because there was some good f*&^%ing advice in there, dammit!!

10:55am XXXX
Basically, im the only producer right now.. we just need to raise some funds...which ive never done!

10:55am Jacques
Holy tomatoes!

10:55am XXXX
i know!

10:56amJacques
Well, I never did it before when I first did it. Basically, you just gotta jump in with such things, sometimes....like learning to swim by being tossed in the ocean (as my older brother did to me - that mothaf^%$er).....

10:57am XXXX
i agree!

10:59am Jacques
It's a learning curve, but charm and common sense usually are the best guides. Target the potential investors. Figure out what they need to know based on what their goals might be. Tell them the facts good and bad (but dress them up nicely). Sound like you know what you're doing but don't be afraid to admit mistakes. Follow up until they tell you to stop. Move on to the next. It's a numbers game.

11:00am XXXX
right...i get cha

11:01am Jacques
Never bullshit them. They are usually too smart for it. But it doesn't hurt to play to their emotions. Film investment, for the most part, is a really dumb bet. They either do it because it is their job (as in a production company) or because they have an emotional attachment to the idea of being in films. It might be sexy for them or an ego thing or just fun...

11:03am,Jacques
...but they can't feel like they are pissing their money away, so you gotta have a nice, smart proposal...(not necessarily a real, detailed business plan)....

11:03am XXXX
That makes sense!! We have a preliminary marketing plan that im turning into a business proposal as we speak....did u contact any and all people with money? Or did u find a list of film investors?

11:03amJacques
Lists are meaningless. If one exists, it means 4 billion other people have it.

With production companies, it's all about the script...and relationships. And packaging, if you can do that...but that's hard without connections/cred.

11:05am Jacques
With private individuals, you gotta use degrees of separation. Who do you know? Who do they know? Never go farther than 3 degrees of separation...

11:07am XXXX
ok, The writer/director wants to aim high (insert big names) with prod. co's that I am sending the script to...BIG names! I feel its a shot in the dark...

11:07am Jacques
yeah. It's the common routine. It is a shot in the dark, but it works, sometimes. Like maybe less than 1% of the time. :) I certainly wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket....

With private individuals, set up as many individual meetings as you can. When you have people interested, wait until you have at least 5-10, then do a presentation or dinner for them to lock 'em in. The collective energy and enthusiasm often helps a lot. But if you can lock 'em in without that, so much the better.

11:07am XXXX
ooh good idea!!

11:10am Jacques
Make everyone invested in the project (not just involved, but emotionally and financially invested) - you, the director, anybody else - work up a list of investor potentials. And when I say investor potentials, I don't mean necessarily people with money, but also people who might know people with money....

11:11amJacques
Then attack the list with all your resources - a strong proposal, charm, intelligence and most importantly, gratitude and respect....

Okay. That's my mentoring for the day. Hope it helps.

The New Media Revolution - ?

A New Media revolution is underway, apparently, but I fear I might be sleeping through it. What the f%$# is "New Media", anyway. I've been hearing this phrase for awhile, now, and I'm not any more certain today of what exactly it is than I was back when I first heard it. Is it referring to actual content, the format of that content or the way that content is delivered...or all of the above? Is it some crazy, as-yet indescribable hybrid of books, film, art and other stuff? Is it stuff that is already here or stuff that is coming in the future? Is New Media strictly tied to the internet or is it stuff that can be bounced up to satellites and projected against a 10 story building? Or can it be as simple as a good HD cable t.v. show as opposed to the network crap we were forced to watch throughout my growing years? Maybe it's just anything media-related that I have trouble understanding.

Of course, I had to go to wikipedia, where I often scurry to when I want to begin to understand something - or at least get a pulse on how others understand it. Here's what it says, essentially:

New Media is a term meant to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century. Most technologies described as "new media" are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulatable, networkable, dense, compressible, and impartial.

Hmmm. Whatever that means. Other terms commonly associated with New Media include: interactivity, media convergence, viral communities, open source, globalization and others that are equally opaque to me. However, I do know one thing as an independent filmmaker, the way media is created, delivered and promoted is changing. Fast. Actually has already changed tremendously, for the most part. And the way stories are told may (or may not) change with it.

Is this big news? Hell no. People have been talking about this for years and the forward-thinkers have been batting it around for decades - even pre-internet (as we know it now, anyway). But it always seemed like the theoretic mental masturbation of think tank-types and not anything that would have any real-world relevance to a hustling young indie filmmaker bred on "Stalker" and "Mouchette" or even "Star Wars", who still craves the romance of sitting in a big dark theater with a bunch of eager strangers.

There will always be a place for that, even if that theater now often exists inside people's homes (minus the strangers...I think). But people are now watching their movies in lots of different ways. And I've already made it clear in other blogs that the commercial theatrical model for truly independent filmmakers is all but dead. Digital technology has already won the content creation revolution and that same technology, applied in different ways, has us squarely in the midst of a content delivery revolution. The cost barrier for making films is much lower these days - and that includes everything from CGI work to 3-D. And the cost barrier for delivery of those films is lowering, as well. Right now, you can upload your film to a "store" where people can purchase a DVD or download it in various ways and you can promote it through various network sites with affiliate sales support - without it costing you much of anything up front. It's a low-level distribution/marketing network that used to cost thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of dollars to create, but can now be done for practically nothing, depending on who is willing to do what for you for free. In any case, there's probably never more than a thousand dollars in inescapable costs and not too much more than that in elective costs.

Does that mean a brighter future for indie filmmakers? Possibly. But unlikely for most filmmakers and far from guaranteed for even truly talented filmmakers. In this fine ol' world of ours, you often get what you pay for. Just because the tools have gotten much cheaper, doesn't mean they'll work magic for you. Most filmmakers are crappy marketers. Actually, quite frankly, most filmmakers are crappy filmmakers. Which also means a glut of crap is getting made, forcing good filmmakers to be innovative to be heard above the din...or risk getting lost in a sea of cinematic mediocrity.

That need for innovation is starting to trickle down to the way "films" are getting made. (Will the term "film" and "filmmaker" start to die? - Media and content are sooooo UNsexy....). We're seeing more and more serialized work (i.e. webisodes), mixed media work, interactive works, works of unusual lengths and some stuff that is simply uncategorizable. At first, I dismissed these new works as the desperate attempts of opportunistic filmmakers trying to fit square pegs into round holes. "We can show movies on cell phones?? Great! Let's make a 30 second version of Gone With The Wind!". But as more and more "New Media" emerges, they are starting to look like not just new work, but new models of work - new paradigms. The old school part of me is admittedly still resisting this new stuff. I grew up watching movies in theaters and I can't help feeling that anything that is not created for that experience is not CINEMA. But is that really true?

I'm not saying it isn't true, I'm just exploring the question. In one sense, of course, it is indeed true. The term cinema refers to the place where you watch films itself. So, for something to be cinematic, it needs to be ideally suited to that environment. Also, I feel like so much "New Media" stuff is simply sales tools or pandering to the growing A.D.D. epidemic rather than exploring all of the aesthetic possibilities of visual storytelling. And finally, with all of this "convergence" what distinguishes one thing from another. When is a book no longer a book or a film no longer a film if the two can be combined digitally to create a hybrid experience?

On the other hand, it's clearly time for filmmakers to broaden our conception of "filmmaking" - of visual/aural storytelling. The times, they are a-changin'. New Media, whatever the f^%$ it is, is here. Or coming soon. Old media, if not dying, is definitely limited in its ability to provide opportunity for filmmakers. If we are true artists, true creatives, we will embrace the creative challenge these new models are presenting to us. It's actually a very exciting time. But it is a transitional time and that, even with the best of transitions, is always a slightly melancholic experience. In any transition, something dies when something new is born. Even if it's just our old dream/fantasy of sitting in a dark, crowded cinema, feeling the buzz of the audience as your film slowly unfolds for them. Well, we can still have that at festivals and private screenings. That won't ever go away. But there's a brave new world out there that doesn't yet make sense to me. I think I need to get off of my old-school ass and go explore it.....

A Summer In The Life Of This Filmmaker...

Well, well, well. Lookie-here what the cat dragged in. A new blog. I know, I know. I've been a very naughty blogger. I let June, July and most of August just slip away. And I'm kinda shocked at how quickly those months have passed. But, let's face it, if work/obligations were an animal and time was a car, I tried to fit an elephant into a VW bug. Surprisingly, I got most of it in.

So, what the hell was I doing besides working? Livin', dammit!! Livin' the filmmaka life! So, let me just try to catch you up on what that was all about....

Well, June was all about film festivals. There seemed to be so many festivals in one month you could literally go to two different festivals in one day. I only attended 4 and that seemed overwhelming. I was at Dances With Films, CineVegas, Los Angeles Film Festival and Palm Springs Shortsfest. And frankly, I had an awesome time at all of them.



There was a nice mix of film watching, schmoozing, serious film talk and flat-out partying at each of them. All were nicely organized and energetic. Although it's a shame the Los Angeles Film Festival can't figure out how to have a closing night party or some kind of wrap-up event to bring together all the peeps who connected throughout the fest. I know money is tight, but when a fest is missing that, it always feels like it fizzles out rather than ending with a bang. Anyway, I could do separate blogs about each of the fests, but I took too long to get around to writing this blog so that I may confuse the details a bit. What goes on isn't much different at any of them, but it's the how and where it all goes on that makes the difference and gives each its own unique energy. However, I will say that "The Revenant" on which I was one of the producers, played at CineVegas and won the Audience Award for Best Feature which made that experience extra special. And I also had an especially amazing personal adventure at L.A. Film Festival that only happened because of the festival. Nonetheless, each fest truly deserves its own separate blog, but I wasn't up to it this year. Here's some blogs/reviews/wrap-ups done by others:
http://www.film.com/features/story/cinevegas-film-festival-wrap-up/28711976
http://dances-with-films.blogspot.com
http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/06/laff-film-fest-wrap.html
http://insidereel.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/ps-sf-09-feat

However, June was also about the Ultimate Filmmaker Competition we're hosting - and it cranked up even more intensely in July after the final extended deadline. Amanda Sweikow, Filmmakers Alliance Executive Director and my partner in all things filmmaking, shouldered the bulk of the load. And what a load it was. This is our first year doing this competition, and, taking that into consideration, we are handling it exceptionally well. But we had no idea how much work organizing all of the submissions and getting them out to judges was going to be - not to mention responding to the mountain of filmmaker queries and various requests. And on top of it, we had to manage far too many flaky judges. Simply put, it was a bitch. And Amanda and I are still concerned that some good projects may have slipped through the cracks, although we pray that is not the case - despite what some disgruntled filmmakers who did not make it to the quarterfinal round have assured us.



I also started shooting my new short film "My Last Day On Earth" in June. The pressure was on because I wanted to get it in for the VisionFest selection committee deadline. People assume that because I'm the President of Filmmakers Alliance that my film's inclusion in the program is automatic. It isn't. Nor would I want it to be. If the people on our selection committee don't think it should play in VisionFest, I wouldn't want it to play there. Some filmmakers get really upset when their films don't get selected, which I don't understand. I mean, I understand the disappointment. I would be pretty damn disappointed. But ultimately, if the film is not being received well by the committee, it will probably not be received well by a larger audience. And hence, would not benefit me as a filmmaker to have it out there. The only exception to this is if the film is so incredibly unique, the selection committee just doesn't "get it". But I've worked closely with the committee over the years and it is very good - no matter who is on it - at differentiating between unique artistic intention and intention gone wrong. Simply put, they can see the difference between stuff they just don't get and stuff they don't want to get. Anyway, I made the deadline and the film got into the selection pool. But the making of the short deserves a blog all its own, which I will do very soon.

LOGAN LOZIER, CARSON CROSBY (IN BACKGROUND) AND DAISY O'BRYAN IN "MY LAST DAY ON EARTH"


As July kicked in, VisionFest cranked up to the next level. All the last minute details are overwhelming and, again, Amanda was on top of it all. But I had no small share of stuff to do. That, along with arranging and doing the re-shoots and aerial shots for my short kept me running. And lastly, I had some fundraising to do for our new global web-based expansion, which launches in early 2010. So, all of this crazy activity - making a short, working on and raising money for the Global FA, the Ultimate Filmmaker Competition and VisionFest all spilled over into August and finally came to a rest of sorts on August 19th.

That day, I had a big meeting with a potentially huge partner for the new global site with VisionFest right on top of it that evening. So I had to prep for VisionFest - including cleaning myself up and putting on an actual suit - early in the day, go to the meeting and then run straight over to the Directors Guild for VisionFest. My film was selected by the committee, by the way, and VisionFest was a huge success. But that deserves another blog of its own.



With the passing of this year's VisionFest, the crazed energy seems to have to have mellowed a bit, although there's still more fundraising and a ton of work to do for Global FA. Which begs still another blog as I'd love to relate to everyone how that is evolving, the mindset behind it, and the resources we are trying to pull together for it. For YOU! Then, there's still a couple more rounds of the Ultimate Filmmaker Competition to judge/manage and the usual FA activities to handle including moving out of our current (very dirty and decrepit - but dirt cheap) facility. And personal life? I squeeze in some fun and drama here and there. I don't talk about my personal life very much in this blog other than to allude to it in regard to how it might directly affect my filmmaking life - which is what this blog is about. But the two lives are necessarily intertwined for me since I believe experience fuels imagination, deepens creativity and sharpens authenticity. However, there is frankly, not that much to relate....just a lot of internal activity - questions about happiness, love, meaning, purpose, obsession, fear, comfort, ego, art, etc. - that I will attempt to address through the work.

What's next? Independent Film Week in New York City in late September...and the festival circuit with my short.....And, of course....more blogging to come...I promise!!

Responsible Filmmaking - sketching the blurry line between the creative and the careful

When I decided to shoot a short film about the day a 14 year-old girl decides to give up her virginity called "My Last Day On Earth", I was not at all thinking about the various practical and ethical issues that it might engender. I was just thinking about the film from a creative/thematic/story-telling perspective that is necessarily divorced - at least initially - from the actual process of realizing this idea as a film.

But once the mechanics of making any particular film are set in motion, the reality of what you are putting people through to fully realize your film starts to come into play - and that's when things get thorny, if not downright hairy....and sometimes tragic.

While at dinner one night over at my good friend and creative collaborator Sean Hood's house, I discussed the film off-handedly with him and talented D.P. Fortunato Procopio. The script included some simulated pot-smoking and , at the time, a couple of shots of simulated sex. I told them I wanted to cast a true 14 year-old to maintain a sense of autheticity and they made it clear that this was not a good plan. They informed me it was not only irresponsible, it was illegal. I was a little surprised by their reaction and (mis)read some moral indignation in their tone. So, of course, I decided to needle them by pretending I didn't care and suggested that America's cock-eyed puritanism was not going to influence my creative judgement.

What emerged was a fascinating, contentious (and perhaps irritating for them) debate about the conflict between personal responsibility and creative ambition. I'm the first guy to criticize filmmakers for not demanding more from their films and doing all that is necessary to create a truly unique and arresting film - filled with authenticity, complexity and power. But on the other hand, I have seen and heard about filmmakers so blinded by their own obsessive "vision" that they have put actors and other crew members in harm's way both physically and emotionally.

In my case, I was going to ask a young girl to simulate a very sensitive and profound adult experience that she may, in her own life, be nowhere near comprehending - let alone experiencing - the fact of which, my friends argued, may cause irreparable harm to her psyche. Although they acknowledged there are many girls who may actually be sexually experienced at 14 years old, there is no way of me knowing that nor the circumstances surrounding those experiences. I argued that this was a rather tame simulation and that there are films where girls of similar age are doing much more shocking and egregious acts. I made the point that each girl is different and this, then, becomes a personal decision - one that should be made jointly by the girl and her parents.


Carson Goodwin and Daisy O'Bryan (laying down)
rehearsing for "My Last Day On Earth".

Of course, they countered with the point that there are many desperate stage parents whose judgement is clouded by the ambition they harbor for their child and will let them do just about anything. As for the films that had children engaging in more graphic behavior, there's no way to know the psychological toll such "acting" took on their lives.

Good points. I would never want to be responsible for willfully causing any kind of permanent harm - physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or otherwise - to any cast or crew member no matter how "important" realizing the film in a specific way might be to me. Even accidents, such as the ones that killed Brandon Lee and Vic Morrow would haunt me forever and make it perhaps impossible to ever make another film.

Of course, a death is an extreme example. But there are many other things short of that which can happen that would thoroughly suck - mental breakdowns being a rather common occurrence on shoots that test the limits of a cast member (or entire cast/crew's) endurance. And I certainly would not want to be even partially responsible for transforming a sweet, innocent 14 year-old girl into a potentially promiscuous, drug-using, shop-lifting, therapy-needing basket case of an adult.

But I recently saw a beautiful, but gut-wrenching short film from Iceland at the Los Angeles Film Festival called "2 Birds". It was gut-wrenching for one particular scene that **SPOILER ALERT** graphically depicted the rape of an unconscious teen-age girl. This was not an 18 year-0ld playing a 14 year-old. This was truly a 14 year-old, which was obvious from her body type since she was nude in the scene. This gave the film a sense of authenticity and power that was absolutely horrifying. As a cautionary tale, it was even more profoundly disturbing for having this veracity. As a work of creative ambition, this choice made the film's final moments even more deeply affecting.

However, given what I had gone through trying to cast my film, I couldn't help but wonder what parent would let their child do this and how this scene might have affected the actual young actress playing the victim. Shot in Iceland, I simply assumed they may not have the same laws protecting minors that we do here in the States. But beyond the legalities, what were the ramifications? And was the end result that was achieved worth those ramifications or even the risk of adverse ramifications even if there were none? I personally could not answer that because I was so bowled over by the film.

In my thinking, most films that take obvious creative risks and/or convey an authentic and palpable sense of the character's experience are going to rise head and shoulders above all other films. And the bigger the risks, the bigger the potential payoffs...and potential failures - on screen and off. So when are we taking it too far? When is the true life experience of making the film too dangerously secondary to the art we are attempting to create? And is the lasting cultural/social impact of that art ever more important than the lasting personal impact of its creation?

I really don't know the answer since the lines blur for me at a certain point. And I really don't think there is a single answer that an be applied to all filmmaking situations. But I think the answers are less important than the questions. Legalities aside, if you aren't even asking yourself these questions, then you are perhaps dangerously self-absorbed.

With my film, it simply boiled down to a practical/legal matter. If I wanted to show simulated sex, I would have to get an actress over 18. Otherwise, parents would rail in disgust and perhaps torch my home. But also, I could get arrested. The other option was to cast an authentic 14 year-old, but remove the simulated sex and keep everything at the level of suggestion. This second option seemed like the more elegant and poetic choice and, therefore, the choice I made. And I don't regret it. My film didn't need anything more graphic. But some films do demand more if they hope to realize their full power and potential. Tough choices are made. And, perhaps, not without consequence....