Thank You, Mr. Whitaker!!

Congratulations Forest Whitaker! I don't normally cry at the speeches, but he had me in tears. He's such a beautiful soul.

Reno 911: MIAMI and HOT FUZZ

Just came back from the movies. I saw Reno 911 with a friend of mine and laughed my ass off. This movie has so many great moments in terms of the comedy, the use of the medium, and the aesthetic of the genre -- the Robert Altman-esque motel sequence with the upstairs-downstairs floating camera was freaking brilliant, funny and was set to orchestral music with a music-visual pun that as awesome. Go see this movie. It's based on a Comedy Central series that I enjoy.

Also, I'd been meaning to link to this movie, HOT FUZZ, by the makers of another film I've seen at least 10 times, SHAUN OF THE DEAD. I love these guys so much. They are hysterical. The trailer looks really funny and there are so many great British comedians in it to enjoy. Can't wait for it. It comes out April 13.

Being There with the Christian Right

Reading the news online and came across this New York Times article about the Christian Right and their search for an '08 candidate.

"A group of influential Christian conservatives and their allies emerged from a private meeting at a Florida resort this month dissatisfied with the Republican presidential field and uncertain where to turn. The event was a meeting of the Council for National Policy, a secretive club whose few hundred members include Dr. James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family, the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Liberty University and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. Although little known outside the conservative movement, the council has become a pivotal stop for Republican presidential primary hopefuls, including George W. Bush on the eve of his 1999 primary campaign. But in a stark shift from the group’s influence under President Bush, the group risks relegation to the margins. Many of the conservatives who attended the event, held at the beginning of the month at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island, Fla., said they were dismayed at the absence of a champion to carry their banner in the next election."

It reminded me of that Hal Ashby film BEING THERE. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, put it in your netflix. It's adapted from a Jersy Kosinski book (he also wrote the controversial novel THE PAINTED BIRD, a precursor to the James Frey scandal).

I love Peter Sellers in this movie. It's dated now, but still very funny.

Funny Funny Funny

Randomly on the internet and found this Jimmy Kimmel skit by George Takai in response to Tim Hardaway's asinine homophobic admission. H/t to Da Blog and Editthis. Enjoy people.

LAT: Server Unavailable

Los Angeles Times : Server Unavailable

Is this a sign of the apocalypse? What gives? Anyway, I got great notes back from a TV director-type friend of mine on the one hour drama spec pilot. I have to do a pretty major restructuring to the teaser, but otherwise just character adjustments to smooth it out for the next big submission which will be to a friend of mine who works for one of the networks (she works in Current, not Development, darn it). Wish me luck. This week should be absolutely nutty.

Daybreak Online!!

For those of you who were fans of DAYBREAK, ABC finally has the other episodes up online. I'm going to catch up on my HEROES right now and then dive right it.

This one is just for you, Will!

Richard Abate Is at Endeavor

For some reason over the last week 80% of the searches have been for a post I wrote months ago about Richard Abate. I've never met Mr. Abate, but he does represent two good novelist friends of mine, and, apparently, this last week he has changed agencies. Starting this week he is now a proud member of the Endeavor family having ditched ICM. In the interests of those of you looking for dirt on Richard's move, here is a little link courtesy of Media Bistro.

Please remember, I have no feelings about this one or the other. Do not shoot the messenger. :-)

Fund Your Film: Grant Money

Just skimming my emails quickly and I came across one from the IFP New York. I don't have any idea who is where in the funding process, but if you are shooting at least 60% NYC, IFP has a grant to pay for a newbie. Up to 10K, I think, to hire a crewmember who has never served in a particular job-title before. For example, a grant like this could be used if you have an art director stepping up to Prod designer or a PA stepping up to AD, etc.

The film's budget has to be under $3 Million.

This may be worthy of a post on its own, but independent film financing can come from any combination of sources. Financiers who specialize in it like Newmarket Capital or Deutsche Bank, "angel" investors who are typically individuals or groups of individuals, loans, self-financing, and whenever you can dig one up, grants. I think New York is smart to put these kind of film dollars on the table because it increases local production which spreads loot all over town, and it also could potentially help to build up local talent. I hope some other film commissions pick up on this idea or similar ones. Reminds me of that Canadian Content tax break (is that even still available?) which made it mandatory for productions to hire Canadian nationals in above-the-line positions in order to get money from the film commission. The details escape me, but as I remember it the money came in the form of a tax "rebate" which essentially added 10-30% of the budget back into your film. All those movies shot in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal took advantage of this -- which explains why New York and Detroit look so much cleaner in movies. :-)

When you are putting together your film, assuming it isn't something that is locale specific (e.g. MY SUMMER AT GRAND CANYON probably can't be shot in Minnesota), the process benefits from a producer with her/his eye on tax breaks, grants and incentives all over the world. Some of these are publicized, some can only be found through word of mouth. A solid working line producer is worth his/her weight in gold when you are rooting around for this information.

I'm always encouraging folks to get out there and put those words you type up on the screen. The best way to learn how to make movies is by making one. So, here's some loot. No more excuses. And then drop a note by the old bloghouse so I know what happened. Good luck.

What About the Writers????

I read an article in the New York Times this morning that made me want to scream. Yet another non-filmmaking journalist whose closest brush with cinema was at a Blockbuster video store has written an article about what's wrong with Hollywood. I guess if I stop reading them maybe they'll stop writing them....

Anyway, the thesis of the article is that because studios indulge talented directors rather than challenge them, there has been a decline in said directors output and, subsequently, in quality films. As if the answer is stop blowing the director. How about the fact that flash and dash writing has been on the rise since the (not so coincidental) rise in the spec market??? Or the fact that it's easier to get a promotion as an exec if you have the "right" relationships because your boss has less taste than tepid water? Or that agents care more about perk packages than they do about the quality of the material they put their clients in, or.... well, I'm sure you can see where this ends up.

Anyway, it always and in all ways goes back to story. And to telling a good one, well.

Another Heroes Post (UPDATED)

I'm a big fan of directors. I spent the first part of my time in Hollywood working for a seven-figure earner, chatting up the A-list DPs he wrangled into working for him, and in general, geeking out over every aspect of the craft. So, a little shoptalk from Mr. Beeman's excellent HEROES blog. *****SPOILERS******* below. Nothing major, but if you are a diehard maybe read this one after the show.

****UPDATE**** and these guys would be: Greg Beeman, and Jeannot Scwarcz, director.

GB: How does your personal visual style mesh with the HEROES style?

JS: Well, I’d like to think it does very much so. I prefer bold angles. Not boring, tepid over-the-shoulders. I hate to be at eye level.. Nate (the director of photography) said I fit in perfectly..


GB: Let’s talk about the Japanese sequence, with Hiro and his father. It fits into the HEROES “look” very well, yet it is also different.

JS: Nate, the D.P. is a real film buff, as am I. We had a lot of conversations about taking that sequence into a Kurasowa style. Meaning that we played with depth and composition. Besides being spoken in Japanese, the scenes had a very Japanese content and conflict. They were formal in nature with lots of changes in the power dynamics between characters. So, beyond the dialogue, Nate and I said, “let’s do a Kurasowa style.” A very full frame. Not much camera movement. Instead the characters walk into their close ups. People move within the frame as the power dynamics change. Whoever has the power in the scene in any moment is also the largest in the frame. As the dynamic switches the composition switches. Also we used a lot of negative space, meaning the space between the characters and to the left and right of the characters. Nate and I were both very versed in this film language. We discussed it in prep, and we had shorthand about it on the set. At the end of the day, I think the sequences work well because they are supported by the very Japanese theme.

GB: Very much so.

I'm still busting my tail on these scripts, but I will eventually start posting on the regular again. I promise.

Another Heroes Post

I'm a big fan of directors. I spent the first part of my time in Hollywood working for a seven-figure earner, chatting up the A-list DPs he wrangled into working for him, and in general, geeking out over every aspect of the craft. So, a little shoptalk from Mr. Beeman's excellent HEROES blog. *****SPOILERS******* below. Nothing major, but if you are a diehard maybe read this one after the show.

GB: How does your personal visual style mesh with the HEROES style?

JS: Well, I’d like to think it does very much so. I prefer bold angles. Not boring, tepid over-the-shoulders. I hate to be at eye level.. Nate (the director of photography) said I fit in perfectly..


GB: Let’s talk about the Japanese sequence, with Hiro and his father. It fits into the HEROES “look” very well, yet it is also different.

JS: Nate, the D.P. is a real film buff, as am I. We had a lot of conversations about taking that sequence into a Kurasowa style. Meaning that we played with depth and composition. Besides being spoken in Japanese, the scenes had a very Japanese content and conflict. They were formal in nature with lots of changes in the power dynamics between characters. So, beyond the dialogue, Nate and I said, “let’s do a Kurasowa style.” A very full frame. Not much camera movement. Instead the characters walk into their close ups. People move within the frame as the power dynamics change. Whoever has the power in the scene in any moment is also the largest in the frame. As the dynamic switches the composition switches. Also we used a lot of negative space, meaning the space between the characters and to the left and right of the characters. Nate and I were both very versed in this film language. We discussed it in prep, and we had shorthand about it on the set. At the end of the day, I think the sequences work well because they are supported by the very Japanese theme.

GB: Very much so.

I'm still busting my tail on these scripts, but I will eventually start posting on the regular again. I promise.