Syd is Dead

Well, this isn't film related but Syd Barrett is dead. Obit here. He was the founder and legendary "Crazy Diamond" of Pink Floyd, a band I was once a huge fan of. I still basicly am, though my fandom pretty much stops with, or really after, "The Final Cut" (other Floyd geeks out there will understand what I'm talking about.) Anyway, Syd pretty much fried his brains with drugs and drifted off into the mist leaving the remaining members (David Gilmour essentially came in to replace him) to go on to become the band that they were before "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" (which was, for all intents and purposes a David Gilmour Solo album.) He's been a kind bizarre, cult figure for years and has inspired legions - well several - mainstream artists.

In other news, being the superstitious moron that I am (or it could just be a mild case of OCD - as I always put my left shoe on first)) I have some things I may (or may not) be working on that I can't talk about yet - which makes it hard to build any kind of suspense into this riveting blog - but I am hoping to be able to reveal soon.

And - well this isn't my news, but I happy about it anyway - my friend - who I wrote about here - has gotten a writing job on a mid-season replacement show with Stanley Tucci. I should be jealous as hell, but oddly I'm not.

Apparently my Asking Price was Too high

Actually - there was no price involved. I was asked to review a film called The Edge of Outside and I said, Sure - love to! but haven't gotten a copy yet. I think it's going to run on TCM fairly soon, so I guess I'm out of luck.

I should have sold out long ago to that fetish porn production company that wanted me to provide good review snippets for their films.

Anyway there was a great article about how Chaos theory applies to Hollywood in the LA Times magazine (otherwise called, in a fit of creative genius, "West.") Read it here.

Have I sold out?

Well, not quite yet, though if someone is willing to pull out their check book, I'm more than happy to quote a price. In the meantime I've become part of the internet marketing machine - I've been asked to review a movie. Unfortunately, it's not a studio tent-pole, CGI flick - something I'd REALLY have fun reviewing (read with evil chuckle) but in fact is a documentary about Indie filmmakers, something I'm actually really interested in - which means I'll actually pay attention and won't write anything snarky and dismissive. Anyway, I'm waiting for the DVD now and when I see it you can be sure - being the Journalism Bachelor of Arts that I am - that it will be an honest and at least - capably written review. There's also a press release involved and some pictures, all of which I'll save for the review.

In other news, the Onion has published a list of 10 Movies it's OK to Hate and while I agree with some of them, Network, Caddyshack (yes - I'll admit it, I just don't like that movie) The Big Lebowski, Roger and Me, some of them seem a little picky and they downright just missed some. Of course their list seems based on popular rather than, say the AFI Top 100 - though holy crap - I went over to AFI.com to see what was on the list and it turns out they have 11 lists. There are 11 Top 100 lists - and they also list the 400 nominees for most of the list. Does it sound like someone couldn't make up their minds?

Anyway, it's an interesting list and the accompanying pros and cons are fun to read.

Struggling

I'm deep into this script I'm re-writing and I'm struggling with it. There's a lot of story waiting to burst out and there's an awkward transition I'm working with/ on, but I need to get a draft out. I need to lay the foundation before I can put up the house. The transitional problem is all mine, though I think it was inherent in the original draft. It's - and I'm loathe to use this term - a kink in the main character's "arc." Plus I feel I've veered away from something really important in the story, but I can't go back to that until I get this draft done.

How's that for cryptic.

But I'm actually really enjoying this script. I really like the characters because I see something of myself in them. Or maybe I'm just good at seeing things from their point of view.

Dave, if you're listening, you did a much better job with this than I originally thought. I hope you like what I'm doing with it.

I'm a Country Music fan - I think

Wow,

So I just got back from Las Vegas where I was shooting some behind-the-scenes-kind-of of video at the Country Music Awards. I was in a big room with a ton of radio stations set up and for two days the stars came in and walked from station to station doing interviews - and I shot it. Now, having listened to country music on a few car trips - when it was pretty much all you could get on radio - and knowing virtually no one in county music before I did this I have to say I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I had a fantastic time. The stars were wonderful - and actually looked like they were really happy to be there. And man were they working the room. There were big names who talked to 40 radio stations in about 4 hours. It was amazing. They were friendly, nice, no attitudes and no - for the most part - people. That's right - there were fairly big names cruising around with no entourages. Heck, I was standing in line at Starbucks in the MGM Grand and there were country music stars in line with me - ordering their own coffee. Astounding.

I - and a friend - spent a few minutes chatting with Brad Paisley (who's a big name in Country) about the Sci Fi show "Ghost Hunters."

So then when I got home I watched the actual award show and I have to say there was some pretty damn good music. I even downloaded a song from iTunes (Boondocks - by Little Big Town) and I'm looking for a few others.

Yee-haw!

Deep into the Re-write

I had a great meeting yesterday with the assistant of a manager I've been trying to get in touch with. She was really nice and we got along great. I'm hoping the door stays open.

In other news I'm deep into this re-write. It's funny because the more I get into it the tougher it is - not because I'm finding more problems, quite the opposite in fact, I'm finding more opportunities. This script started out with a great story and great characters and as I dug in and added structure and re-wrote dialogue the characters felt like they were jumping off the page and trying to write the thing themselves - which to me is fantastic - the hard part is containing them. The hard part is keeping them on track toward the actual end of the story. They want to spin off in their own direction, which, if I were writing from scratch would be great - but since there's an ending I have to get to with them, I have to keep them - and myself - focused.

More later.

What's up with the Brokeback Mafia?

I don't really have any comment here, but I've been watching the Sopranos and the Brokeback Mafia thing popped into my head.

The Re-Write

Wow - I'm working on a re-write. It's a first for me - not re-writing a script - I re-write mine all the time, but re-writing someone else's script. It's wild - a whole different experience but I'm really excited about it. It was written by a friend of mine and it's his true story, but he's not a writer, so while it's a great story it needs a bit of structure and some dialogue and character development. Though it's interesting because all of that's in the story already it just isn't in the script, if you understand what I mean. Or maybe I'm reading all of that into it.

Anyway it's a challenge, but a fun one. In a way I'm breaking down the script as a director would and then putting it back together with needle and thread. The big dilemma I had in starting was do I attack the actual file and cut and paste it in shape or just start out with a whole new blank page and re-type some stuff as I re-write others.

Hmmm.

The Firefox Spot Redux

So the Firefox spot is finally up.



Click on the pic to navigate to it. It's funny because I'm not sure how many people actually get the joke. They used to have comments on the posts but they seem to have removed that. Anyway - enjoy.

The Firefox ad

It's been a while but I've been busy. Firefox has been having an ad contest and I did one with my friends, Steve, Bob and Juliette. It was a lot of fun and now we're just waiting around to see it get posted on their site.

The spot was fun and it's a bit racy, but in a very subtle way. I'm curious to see what the response is once it's up. Its title is "The Way it was Meant to Be." Look for it here and check out some of the competition.

I also cut a piece for the Grammy footage I shot. That was fun because it was celebrity stuff and I'd shot some good stuff.

Well, back to the grindstone - waiting to here from an agent's assistant about a meeting and waiting for a script from a friend that I'm going to work on and waiting for an option from a writer who's short story I fell in love with. And editing and writing and just trying to have a life.

The Shield, a plea and a Hustle

I am continually impressed by "The Shield." The writing, the acting and the directing on it is superb and if there's any chance that anyone with any kind of a producing credit on that show is reading this I just want to take a moment here to beg for the chance to direct even 2nd unit. I actually fell in love with this show the first season it aired because it's about characters. In fact it's the only cop show, currently on the air where the plots focuses on characters as opposed to the killing of the week. I'm also extremely impressed with how they've taken a character who is basically a bad dude and made you root for him. The Sopranos did the same thing but the Shield takes it to a whole new level. The Sopranos also kind of fell victim to the occasional episode where you watched it and then said, "what the fuck was that about?" They also let plots drift away - or am I the only who's hoping to see the Russian Christopher and Paulie shot in the woods re-appear this season? Anyway, the Shield - Please, please, please hire me.

Also, I've been on DVD kick. We've watched recently, Crash, March of the Penguins, Sullivan's Travels (1942), Wedding Crashers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Hustle and Flow.

It's been a good run. I have great things to say about all these films though some I liked better than others. I think my two favorites were Wedding Crashers and Hustle and Flow, which was a movie I knew virtually nothing about before putting the disc in the machine, but I really related to it.

Reading and the Oscars

The Academy Awards always kill me. I have to watch them yet they're somewhat painful as a reminder of how far I still have to go. I was pretty pleased to see Crash win best picture. Not that I was rooting for it above all the others, but because it's the only one of the bunch that I've actually seen. I intend to see the others, I've just been too busy.

I did like Crash though. It was a powerful film.

Busy doing - readin' and 'riting and 'rithmetic... Quite literally. I've gotten a ton of emails pitching scripts so I'm trying to get through all of those. I'm working on one or two scripts of my own - one that I'm on a re-write of and one that's still in treatment form. AND doing my F******* taxes.

Oh - and I'm trying to prep some spec spots. Anyone know where I can get a 16 mm (preferably Super 16) for free?

A Deluge of Stories

Wow,

So the entry I included below looking for stories hasn't exactly yielded an avalanche of letters, but I posted the same notice at moviebytes.com (a site devoted to writing and writing contests) and the response have been overwhelming. I've gotten so many emails that I can't even keep up with responding to tell them that I'm swamped and it will take me a while to get through them all.

So far I haven't found what I'm looking for, but I've only read through a handful of them.

The First Movie

I took my daughter to see her first movie in a movie theater this weekend. We went to see Curious George. I think she enjoyed it, though I have a feeling I was far more excited about it than she was.

Also, I have to say it was the perfect movie for her tender age and I'm glad it was her introduction to the theater. It was also my first trip back to the cinema in quite some time, though that really has to do more with the cost of babysitters than anything else.

Is it any wonder that studios aren't making movies for people my age? Ah well, I'm sure I griped about it in the past, it just never occured to me that it was a smart move on their part.

Searching for Screenplays

By the way, I should mention here that I'm searching for screenplays. Actually I'm searching for screenplays, stage plays, short stories, un-optioned novels, anything I can turn into a movie. I write myself, but the process is sometimes slow and I'm chomping at the bit to have a script I can run with.

What I'm looking for, or at least what I tell people, is I'm looking for my Pulp Fiction. In other words I'm looking for a good script with great characters and a good story that transcends genre.

That shouldn't be too tough to find. Right?

No, seriously, what I'm looking for is something that's interesting and a little different. Genre doesn't matter, though I've been told by more than one person that the whole Horror wave has gone back out to sea in a fast, sucking rip tide.

One thing I don't want it straight drama. Unless it's twisted.

Twisted is good.

Anyway, if you have something shoot me an email at: director1229@mac.com (that's a different email address than the BLOG email.) Give me a log line and maybe a little description. Budget range should be under $10 million.

Oh and I have no money to actually pay for anything, so I'm looking for something I can option either free or very cheap in order to get it made. I'm more than willing to make up for a stingy option with a decent purchase price, should we get it off the ground.

Work

Just spent a few days doing a little press-junket style shooting backstage at the Grammys. It was pretty cool. I'm not generally over-awed by meeting celebrities, I've worked with too many to get really crazy over it, but I have to say, it was pretty cool meeting Herbie Hancock.

I also realized, after meeting Fall Out Boy (a few minutes after I first heard of them,) that I need to start hitting iTunes a bit more.

Just a Thought

Am I the only one who wonders if he'll ever make it big enough to be listed in the obituaries in Variety?

The Social Welfare State Hard at Work

Nice.

Positive Development

Well here's a positive development. According to The Independent, a UK newsrag, John Lasseter, the Pixar guru recently named as head of Disney Animation, has axed Toy Story 3. The story is that Disney had put 100 writers and animators on the job in opposition to Pixar which did not what to dillute the franchise with crappy sequels. Though I suspect those 100 writers and animators may have a different opinion, this looks like Pixar is going to stay true to course.

Pixar Crawls into the Mouse Hole

Wow. Steve Jobs on the board of Disney. Pixar employees cashing checks from the mouse.

That can only mean one of two things. Either Disney is going to start putting out remarkably better product or Pixar is going to make The Santa Claus Part 5.

I wonder when Disney will try to renegotiate contracts with Pixar employees.

The Savages are Becoming Cannibals

Well, Soderbergh and IFC have announced that they will release films simultaneously in theaters and on DVD (or in IFC's case on their channel.) Regal Cinemas, which is a major nationwide chain, has said they won't show Soderbergh's film in their theaters. Why would they? I haven't heard if they're going to do the same thing with IFC, which has said it will release it's next 24 films that way, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.

I think that a requirement for running a film studio should be that you have to spend a year running a small business. You should have to actually live in the real world of supply and demand.

Think about this - you bust your ass to get a small business loan and buy a franchise - say KFC and then bust your ass to build up your business so you can make a living. THEN KFC opens it's own store across the street and starts selling it's chicken cheaper.

I mean what do they think is going to happen????? It's called cannibalizing your market.

Producers need theaters- if not for the billions of dollars that are actually made that way each year - then for the publicity value alone. If you CANNIBALIZE your audience something's going to hurt. If Toyota made the Prius and another compact sized hybrid car for around the same price then what would happen? They wouldn't sell twice the number of cars, they'd sell the same number, but half of each. The cost of producing each line would rise (no economies of scale) and the profit margin would SHRINK. Unless they raised the price in which case that hybrid Honda makes might start looking pretty good.

It's funny the way Hollywood/ Entertainment is thought of as a unique business. In the real world if a product doesn't sell, it doesn't get put on the shelves. In Hollywood if a product doesn't sell it must be the audience that's changing and different shelves are looked for. It's really just a shifting of blame in a world where performance has nothing to do with promotion. I mean think about it - everything that's coming out of the major mouths of Hollywood these days relates to: "Ticket sales are down - DVD's leveling off - the AUDIENCE is changing." I mean even detroit EVENTUALLY figured out that no one was buying their cars because they were making crappy cars. But then there were businessmen running the car companies.

Try this one on for size: People want cars that get better gas mileage - Instead - maybe we can get everyone to live closer together so they don't have to drive as far.

Now while I'll admit that I rarely darken the doorstep of my local multi-plex it has more to do with the stage of life I'm at rather than the easy availability of DVDs (made all the more available by Netflix.) I mean home video began years ago and I think I probably watched the same number of movies on VHS as I have on DVD. Sure those DVDs look better but do I really need the 10 minutes of crap they scrape together for most of them? (Do I really NEED (really, really NEED) the director's commentary on "Stealth?") But if I could afford to go to a movie theater (meaning, baby sitter, dinner, theater tickets) I would do it every every weekend.

As it stands I still do pine for a darkened room filled with people (as long as they realize they aren't sitting at home in their living room and that pointing lasers at the screen doesn't really mean they're touching Julia Roberts...) So this news of simultaneous release saddens my heart. It will eventually cause the theatrical market to shrink causing studios to raise the price of DVDs so they can make their money and it will eventually make it that much harder for independent films to find an audience because who's going to buy a DVD without Jennifer Aniston's smiling face on the cover?? And I mean, she can only do so many films in a year.

In fact the indies are going to be the first ones that get burned by this. From a practical point of view, if I owned a theater chain, I'd tell IFC to go fuck themselves when they came knocking on my door to show their movies. And a year from now when they realize that they're not making the same money they used to, because HBO has no interest in buying a film that's played 75 times IFC and they come back to me (Mr. Theater owner, desperate for a screening time) I'm probably going to say, "Maybe it's time we sat down and talked about the percentages again..."

Currently Listening To... a Soundtrack in my head.

Sometimes when I direct scenes - or visualize scenes in my head I have a soundtrack running. I do this when I write too. I find that a song will set a mood or a tempo even if it really has nothing to do with the material at hand. It's mostly the music. It probably goes along nicely with my idea that a film is like a Symphony. It's a long an complicated theory about how each musician has his own skill that lends to the overall voice, the way individual technicians, actors etc have their own skills that lend to the overall voice of the film. There's a whole lot more too it, but being as I've had the SAME DAMN COLD for two months now, I really don't know that I can put it together coherently enough.

Oddly, though I frequently have music playing in my head, I'm not really good at writing with music on in reality - though I can tune it out, so to speak - while I'm working at Java Man - the little coffee shop I frequent at the beach. See - no coherency to this at all.

A New One and An Old Superstition

I started a new script, though I'm not going to talk about this one. I have a writing superstition that started while I was a journalism major in college. Thusly: if I talk about a story I'm writing then it's already been told and I am no longer able to write it. I used to think it was really just a cop out for when I got lazy and didn't want to write, but it seems to have a strange reality to it.

Anyway, on to other things.

Revenge of the Sith

I finally watched Revenge of the Sith.

I have to hand it to George Lucas. It takes a man with some real balls to name this film (especially after the last two) with a word that is an anagram for "shit."

And that's all I'm gonna say. As a kid who stared wide-eyed at the original Star Wars (and one who has plunged heavily into the world of Joseph Campbell, Hero With a Thousand Faces...etc...) suffice it to say that I have been VASTLY disappointed by the last three cartoons from Lucasfilm. I have a theory about why they're so bad (when the originals were so great,) but I am going to once again restrain myself from film criticism.

Cel Phone Soap

I heard on the radio this morning, though I've been unable to verify it anywhere else, that one of the networks (either CBS or ABC) is in development on a soap opera they plan to broadcast via cel phone.

Your phone would have to be able to receive video for this. They're planning 2-3 minute episodes and are going to run it like an actual series.

At least that's what I heard. Though this is essentially what I've been talking about I see two problems with this.

One: Not very many people have video capable cel phones at the moment.
Two: 2-3 minutes isn't enough time. But I could be wrong. It's my impression that character development and drama might need a bit more time than two or three minutes per episode, but then again...