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Showing posts from July, 2014

PRODUCTION JOURNAL: What It's Like to Sell 3 Films in Sundance

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One of the best ways we learn is through the experience of others.  That is one reason why we read about people in the industry and the things they do.  Producer   Galt Niederhoffer 's account of bringing and selling her 3 films in Sundance is illustrative of what to expect and what to take heed of for aspiring indie filmmakers.   Read it in full  not only for the big and small lessons it contains but for a voyeuristic glimpse into what your life as a producer may be like , for better or worse .  My favorite take-aways were her thoughts on the current and future film market: The media is pushing the through­line that the muted sales and lower prices reported to date at this year's festival are because the films have been just "meh." In my opinion, the more mellow market is a function of several factors:   1. Distributors have learned to hang back and unite — not in a traditional collusive sense, but because they've been burned in the past and now know

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: Boyhood, Snowpiercer and The Grand Budapest Hotel

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Snowpiercer, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Boyhood are on top of many critics' lists of best films for 2014 .  So I was curious to see what I could learn about how they made them.  I chose these three because they represented the best in their genre so far this year. The Action Film - Snowpiercer Snowpiercer - Trailer Making of (Part 1) - Camera, Lighting and Grip Equipment supplied by ARRI Rental from ARRI Rental on Vimeo . Snowpiercer - Trailer Making of (Part 2) - Camera, Lighting and Grip Equipment supplied by ARRI Rental from ARRI Rental on Vimeo . Highlights from the Twitch interview with director, Bong Joon-ho Twitch - Behind the camera you pulled together so many different talents. You brought in a lot of different people you hadn't worked with before...are you just making it difficult for yourself on purpose?  Bong Joon-ho - Fortunately I had quite a long pre-production period, enough time to discuss and prepare. My cinematographer was the same

CASE STUDIES: Dealing with Chinese Censorship to Create Great Movies

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The US film industry has seen the writing on the wall and knows that it's economic survival involves China.  But shooting in China and co-producing with Chinese companies means censorship is going to affect the story that makes it to the screen.  This willingness to give in to censorship even on non-controversial matters will stifle the creative decisions and directions of the filmmakers making the movies, maybe even to the detriment of the movie's quality.  A cynic might say that in the end, who cares about that as long as you're getting that box office yuan .  But it stands to reason that the kind of movie you make will determine how much of that money you make.  Put up a great movie and people will flock to it. Put up crap and people won't (at best you'll get a cult favorite that makes its money back over a long time, if ever). Most people are inclined to think that a great movie can't be made under the censor's watchful eye but that's not true. A

PRODUCTION TIPS: Get the Right to Make Changes... Or Else

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So you're a producer with a hot property optioned from a novelist who gave you the right to shoot a film based on her novel.  You have all your agreements signed by your above-the-line and below-the-line people and your production is ready to start.  During the development of your film, you choose to make major changes to the story that you think will make it more engaging, more artistic and/or more marketable.  Then your phone is blowing up with calls from the original author on which your production is based.  She's pissed off with the changes but you're not worried because she signed your contract and she can't do anything to stop you.  Or so you think. You and your lawyer look at the contract and he notices the following: that while you did obtain the right to represent the work, you DIDN'T obtain the right to make alterations, changes or modifications to the characters, stories or text created by the original author in the first place. As Gordon P. Fi

SCRIPT TO SCREEN: The Big Lebowski

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The Big Lebowski | Ethan and Joel Coen | 1998 | USA | Format: 35mm  | 117 min I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like The Big Lebowski.  It's a funny LA noir with quotable lines and memorable characters.  The kind of legendary cult classic most filmmakers aspire to make.  And so, let's take a look at how it was made... The Big Lebowski Screenplay Screenplay analysis of The Big Lebowski by Screenplay HowTo Another screenplay analysis of The Big Lebowski by ShoreScripts Storyboards from the The Big Lebowski: The making of The Big Lebowski according to  Wikipedia : Development The Dude is mostly inspired by  Jeff Dowd , a man the Coen brothers met while they were trying to find distribution for their first feature,  Blood Simple . Dowd had been a member of the  Seattle Seven , liked to drink White Russians, and was known as "The Dude". The Dude was also partly based on a friend of the Coen brothers, Peter Exline (now a member of t