Film Strategy

Stardate: 1.10.15 Two top film festivals have ended and we are in the beginning stages of a third top fest & film market (Berlinale). I study the news of the film festivals in a bipolar fashion; my left brain analyzes what kind of films made deals to get a pulse on the market and my right brain what films have the potential to inspire, impress or interrogate me.  ~~ Danny Indio SUNDANCE Sundance 2015 lineup ~~ MUBI Notebook SUNDANCE AWARD WINNERS: U.S DRAMATIC Grand Jury Prize Me and Earl and the Dying Girl  (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon) Audience Award Me and Earl and the Dying Girl  (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon) Directing Award The Witch  (Robert Eggers, U.S./Canada) Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award The Stanford Prison Experiment  (Tim Talbott) Special Jury Award – Excellence in Cinematography Diary of a Teenage Girl  (Brandon Trost) Special Jury Award – Excellence in Editing Dope  (Lee Haugen) Special Jury Award – Collaborative Vision Advantageous

I have recently started a  series  for HOLA (the Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors) on  El Blog de HOLA  based on business and legal questions actors have. “If I choose to work in a nonunion film (one that is not SAG-AFTRA), what key contract terms or clauses should I look out for to protect myself?” Here’s something that any working actor can tell you: there are many more nonunion roles than there are SAG-AFTRA roles. So, actors, in a quest to build their credits, gain experience, make themselves visible and hone their craft will take on a nonunion role if they find it in their interest to do so. Whether they should or not is another story but assuming they do there are some things an actor should look out for to protect themselves from unscrupulous or sleazy producers. • Put it in writing. While it is true that oral agreements are enforceable, if it’s not on paper, your job to prove you were promised something for your work in a production becomes that much harder.

Filmmakers have a frustrating love/hate relationship with money; they love spending it and hate the stress of getting it. The frustration is understandable as filmmaking is one of the most expensive art forms to pursue. In many other countries, filmmaking is not a purely capitalist enterprise . Instead, they are largely subsidized by the government because they find them culturally important. While some American filmmakers prefer a lack of government involvement, it's no secret that American productions are subsidized to some extent in the form of production incentives.   Production incentives are tax benefits provided by the states on state-by-state basis as a way to bring the film business to the states. These programs began as a response to Canada's cheap production incentives in the 90s that lured many film productions. As a result, the US states adopted progressively generous incentives to bring them back. Hollywood and government officials tend to be big boosters of

The Hollywood Reporter recently interviewed French producer, Nicolas Chartier . You might know him for the Oscar-winning films (The Hurt Locker and Dallas Buyer's Club) his company, Voltage Pictures , has produced. Or you might know him as the guy who went on a tirade about union workers. Or you might know him because he sued you for illegally downloading The Hurt Locker and his other films. Love him or hate him, in The Hollywood Reporter's recent interview with him he speaks clearly about the success and difficulties of filmmaking including how he has charted a path producing both indie dramas and action films, why a union-worker should not be paid so much and why piracy has made him have to shoot 5 films instead of 10.  +++++++ Nicolas Chartier  has an issue with impulse control. The 40-year-old France-born president of Voltage Pictures — which, since it opened nine years ago, has been releasing a steady stream of Oscar-nominated dramas ( Dallas Buyers Club ), scrapp