Film Strategy

Film-Makers’ Co-op Press Conference, 1964 L to R: Gregory Markopoulos, P. Adams Sitney, Andy Warhol, Ron Rice, Jonas Mekas © 1964 On September 30, 1962, a group of New York filmmakers (including Jonas Mekas, Shirley Clarke, Emile de Antonio, and Jack Smith) released “ The First Statement of the New American Cinema Group ,” a manifesto by New York artists to herald in new age of cinema. Railing against current modes of exhibition, distribution and financing, this group proclaimed low-budget filmmaking as its own aesthetic: “The low budget is not a purely commercial consideration. It goes with our ethical and esthetic beliefs, directly connected with the things we want to say, and the way we want to say them.” Overall they called filmmakers to unite and storm the box office. In their vibrant last words, “we don't want rosy films — we want them the color of blood.” While few of the filmmakers became household names, The Film-Makers' Cooperative they started liv

Happy birthday, Pedro Almodóvar ( Sep. 25, 1951)!   "When you glance over the early life of Pedro Almodóvar, who turns [62] today, one can start to understand the formation of his style and preoccupations as a filmmaker. Born Pedro Almodóvar Caballero on September 25, 1949 in the country town of Calzada de Calatrava, the young auteur-to-be lived a life defined by poverty and hard work. He was one of four children being raised by his parents, who were poor peasants; his near-illiterate father’s small income came from hauling wine barrels by mule. Young Pedro, however, was intellectually curious and achieved a vaunted position within the community already as a very young child as he was able to read letters and teach literacy to his fellow visitors. At age 8, he was sent to a religious boarding school in Cáceres, with the ultimate aim of becoming a priest, an experience which informed his 2004 film Bad Education . Looking for an escape from his tough, c

Many years ago, two great films opened today, Berlin Symphony of the City (1927) and The Silence (1963).  What makes the two films equally memorable are how the directors expanded the language of cinema by focusing on a little-considered aspect of a subject (Ruttman) or doing something different from their past work (Bergman).  These works have became a source of inspiration and style for many filmmakers ever since. " Walther Ruttman’s unfurled Berlin: Symphony of a Great City on 23 September 1927 in the city for which it is named. Having entered film from the fields of architecture and design, Ruttmann saw form and shape where so many others perceived character and story. And while the film employed documentary strategies, it’s aim was more aesthetic than journalistic, trying to capture––as the musical title suggests––the rhythm of the city and the masses who inhabit it. Influenced by Soviet theories of montage, Ruttman divided his piece into five acts, a nod to s

Captain's Log. Star Date:9.18.13 62 years ago today A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE opens When Elia Kazan’s film  A Streetcar Named Desire  opened in September of 1951, those who’d read the play or seen the Broadway production, knew this was something very different. The 1947 drama, for which playwright Tennessee Williams received a Pulitzer Prize, was for the most part intact. The haughty Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) comes to live with her sister Stella (Kim Hunter), and her sister’s earthy husband Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando). But the nuances that defined William’s dramatic style were quietly erased. The Production Code Administration, led by Joseph Breen, demanded up front 68 changes (some rather major). Blanche’s dead gay husband is now simply referred to as sensitive; the rape is covered in darkness; Blanche’s sexuality is quieted down. But even this was not enough, as Warner Brothers worked out a 11th hour deal with the Catholic League (unbeknownst to either Kazan or

Captain's Log Star Date: 9.16.13 Almost 50 years ago today, A Fistful of Dollars was released in 1964. On September 16, 1964, a new kind of Western hero arrived on the scene… in Italy. On that day the first of Sergio Leone’s “Man with No Name” westerns, Fistful of Dollars, opened there, three years before it would arrive in the United States. Casting an American actor, Clint Eastwood, best known for his stint on the TV series Rawhide, Leone reinvented the American Western by not only shooting the film dubbed in Italy but also by creating an operatic style that favored wide screens and epic landscapes, emotional and unusually arranged music by Ennio Morricone, and morally ambiguous characters. At the center of Morricone’s movie was Eastwood, with his side-slung poncho, cigarette and a serenely unyielding visage. Of his star, Leone famously commented, "I like Clint Eastwood because he has only two facial expressions: one with the hat, and one without it.”

Captain's Log. Star date: 9.11.13 A sad day to commemorate, especially when one remembers the helplessness we felt as only a few could actually do something helpful and concrete while the rest of us could only watch. We, artists, came in after the fact... to provide entertainment. Or solace. Or ruminations. Or fantasy. Or revelations. Or reflections.  When confronted with the horrible reality of a tragedy like 9/11 (and let's not forget that all around the world, other people are suffering or have suffered tragedies worse than our 9/11), the artists might feel impotent to do anything compared to the rescue worker or the soldier or even the politician who can move men and mountains in response. But our response comes later after the rescue workers or the soldier or the politicians have played their part.  And we play our part by doing what we do best... providing escapist entertainment.  Or moments of beautiful solace.  Or profound ruminations.  Or scientific, h

Captain's Log. Stardate: 8.21.13 August 21 was a good day for rebels and innovators.  Today in 1932, Melvin Van Peebles, director of the politically and artistically radical film, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), was born.  Also, today in 1939, Orson Welles signed a 63-page contract with RKO Pictures that allowed him to write, direct, produce and act in two movies for the studio with an unprecedented offer: complete creative control .  This led to the production of RKO 281 better known as the innovative and artistically daring film, Citizen Kane (1941). Now that your artistic appetite has been whetted, consider this: What are some sci-fi storytelling script tips ?  What lessons can networks (and aspiring producers pitching episodic concepts) learn from Breaking Bad ? What lessons can aspiring producers learn from David Simon's pitch for The Wire ? How do you light dark skin ?  Do you want an introduction to After Effects? Then here it is. What are th

(from 2012, subject to change) Making a film is a constant battle against the odds; odds that you will finish the script, that you will get the money to shoot it; that you will actually shoot it; that you will have the money to cut it; that you will finish cutting it; that you will have the money to put it in festivals; that you will actually get it in festivals; that you will have the money to market it and get a producer's rep to sell it or four-wall it yourself; and, that you will make any money on it or just break-even. Maybe it's not all about the money but it's a damned good chunk of it. That's why getting to recoupment stage is rarefied air for filmmakers and must feel like raising the flag at Iwo Jima . Big budget films are expected to eventually make money but even a low-budget film can be made to recoup or break-even with creative financing.  Creative financing involves harnessing all the ways to raise funds for a film no matter what the budget using s

LOVE NEVER DIES... Sometimes it kills! One could say that we make films because we are so haunted by the movies we saw in our past that we feel compelled to create new ones. That might explain why director/producer Peter Szabo has been wanting to make films ever since Jaws scared the wits out of him as a little boy.  It also hints at the haunted protagonist at the heart of Peter's latest short, Love Never Dies .  Thematically, Peter is attracted to dark and tragic tales so it's no surprise that he adapted "Nona" by Stephen King for Love Never Dies after acquiring the non-commercial adaptation rights through the Dollar Baby Scheme . TITLE: Love Never Dies GENRE: horror/thriller short (35 minutes) DIRECTOR:   Peter Szabo PRODUCERS: Peter Szabo and Reese Eveneshen BUDGET: $10,000 FINANCING FROM: In-kind donations and Self-financing PRODUCTION DATES: March 13 through April 3, 2011 POST PRODUCTION DATES: April 2011 through November 2012 CA