You know how I feel how important it is to bring your audience early into the process. You know how I think it is critical to let people know what is that you love and appreciate. You know that I believe that it is no longer about just the film, but about the ongoing conversation. And of course it is obvious that I think that none of us can afford to just make good work, but that we need to make better films.
I was really excited to learn of Australian-based filmmaker Rhys Graham's blog The Bouy Archives. It is simple but great (maybe it is great in part because it is simple). Beautiful photographs. Great quotes. Passionate discussions on the work he admires. And refreshingly free of business chatter. It makes me want to see his films -- and isn't that the goal?
I got to read and consult on Rhys' project "The Warmth" at Aurora Script Conference this spring. It's going to be a good movie. I had no hesitation "following" this blog. I suggest you do too. I am going to follow it right into the theater.
Can you spot the difference? (You actually might be wondering, Is there even a difference?!)
Well, one is the name of our movie. And the other is not.
Jakob is the name of our protagonist. Jacob is not.
This movie is based on a true story. And yes, the character of Jakob (played by Jeff Stewart, probably best known for his role as PC Reg Hollis on the ITV hit show The Bill) did indeed spell his name with a "k"...
(While from Ukraine, Jakob belonged to a minority group called the Germans from Russia. His ancestors settled in Ukraine after Catherine the Great issued her manifesto and invited settlers to cultivate the land, kind of similar to the pioneers in the United States settling the American west.)
So, you see, there is a difference. Even if it is just a difference of one letter of the alphabet. And just in case you haven't been paying attention, or you're new to this blog, the title of our feature film is Under Jakob's Ladder.
That's Jakob... with a "k".
P.S. If you've been following this blog and you're waiting for more photo updates regarding our film shoot, don't worry! Next blog post, we'll put up more photos from Film Week 3...
Today's post is again brought to you courtesy of Jon Dieringer, and is part of continuing series of cheat sheets from prior TFF posts.
WE NEED TO UNLEASH THE POWER OF THE DVD.
There is a great deal more that we can do with the technology.
A few thoughts on what should be included and done differently:
-A Different Cut: usually this is the "Director's Cut" but in TFF this would always be the same version. Sometimes this is an "Unrated" cut when changes are made for ratings purposes. Can more be done with though.
-Commentary: This is often just the director and other crew collaborators. There has been an increased openness to having other directors make commentary too. Sometimes they have been using opposing critics which can get kind of fun. -Additional Scenes: This is usually limited to scenes that were shot to include in the movie and later removed in the edit process. -"Added Value" Content: Generally this is elements used in the filmmaking process: script, storyboards, preliminary visual effect mock-ups. -Publicity & Marketing Elements: Trailers, Posters, Stills, Electronic Press Kits (interviews). -Behind The Scenes/Making Of Documentary: so-called B-roll of filmmaking process. -Hyper-chaptering (allowing for tagging and greater commentary).
We filmed a few different scenes on this day. But one of those scenes was the one that takes place in the schoolroom -- flashbacks to when Jakob was a teacher.
Here's a snapshot of Jeff Stewart (role of Jakob) preparing for a take with the schoolkids.
Another angle on Jakob (Jeff Stewart) and the students.
One thing we had to be very aware of on this date was making sure we got all of Oigen's scenes filmed before 4:00 pm. So, we had quite an early start this day. (Not only did we have to wake up when it was still dark outside, but it was also raining!)
The reason for the early start? The actor playing Oigen had to be back in the City for his call-time for a theatre production.
Oigen (played by Ken Jennings) confronts Jakob at his schoolhouse.
School is dismissed! (Actually, we filmed this shot before the school interiors...)
This was not one that you do for the paycheck. I think I got paid for Tadpole about what I got paid for Secaucus Seven. But I was very drawn to the script; I liked Gary Winick very much when we met. And with that cast, it was hard to say no, and I didn't want to say no.
The scenes that I was in were shot in Gary's mother's apartment in the city -- and I guess it's safe to say this now, because they can't come after here -- the day before my first day of shooting I got a call from an AD saying, 'Don't come to the apartment. There's a Starbucks across the street, and someone will come meet you, because you have to be snuck up the service elevator,' because the Condo board would not give them permission to shoot in her apartment.
It was sort of like a CIA operation; I waited at the Starbucks and an AD came over and said, 'Are you Adam?" I said, 'Yeah.' He said, "Then come with me,' and we went up to the room.
How was the experience, shooting this as a digital movie?
ADAM LEFEVRE: This was the first digital movie I'd worked on, and it had very much the same kind of feeling as working Secaucus Seven. The budget was very limited and the script was tightly written. And it was great fun.
There were no trailers to go into between shot. When I was waiting, I sat on the couch in Gary's mother's apartment and chatted with Bebe Neuwirth. There were no frills; hair and make-up were done in one of the bathrooms.
When everyone is doing that, it's clear that they're there for some reason other than the paycheck, and sometimes that can be very helpful. There's less of a hierarchy that you feel on a big-budget movie with big stars.
In this case, everybody is basically working for peanuts and suffering the same kinds of lack of frills. You're doing it because you believe in the project, and, quite frankly, because it's fun.
What are the advantages of working in the digital realm?
ADAM LEFEVRE: One of the advantages of digital is that you don't have to wait for it to be developed. You look at it and see what you've got, right then.
The pressure that you have to get it right the first time is a terrible, paralyzing thing to foist on oneself or have anyone else foist on you. As an actor, what we learn to do -- both on stage and screen -- is to be as prepared as you can be, in terms of knowing who this person is that you're playing. I don't exactly know what 'getting it right' means. You don't want to fuck up your lines, but if you are honestly in the moment and just go with that, trust your own instincts as an actor and be just as authentic and present in the moment, you can't really fuck up.
Even if you're working on a film where you may get only one take, if you are playing it honestly and comfortably in the moment, that's maybe all you need.
Today's post is again brought to you courtesy of Jon Dieringer, and is part of continuing series of cheat sheets from prior TFF posts.
Jon Reiss’ web marketing list:
1. Go to Godaddy.com and purchase a domain name. Get one that ends with .com. Get your movie title. If it is unavailable add “movie” or “themovie” or “film” to the end. (You don’t need to purchase any other services during check-out.) 2. Sign up for WordPress.com. Make your blog the title of your movie/ domain. Start posting press releases and other articles, such as reviews. 3. Sign up for Youtube.com. Make your username title of your movie/ domain. Post your trailer, or you can do a video “pitch”. 4. Sign-up for an account on Facebook.com. 5. Sign-up for Flickr. Get your username title of your movie/ domain. 6. Sign up for an account at del.icio.us. Bookmark your domain, facebook page, blog page and you tube page. 7. Sign up for a google account, to use their alerts, place connect with people who talk about you. 8. Sign up for Box Office Widget. Place this on your website and on your blog. Use it as your signature on forums. 8. Sign up for Spottt. Place this banner code on your myspace page, blog, and the thank you page from Box Office Widget. 10. Go to Yahoo! Groups and find all the groups that may have interest to your film and join. Participate in the group, rather than just spam the group.
Over in the UK they have a state-backed initiative to try to figure out this new digi-film culture universe. Here in The States of course we are asked to sink or swim on our own.
Luckily we can crib some of the insights The Brits generate.
The UK Film Council and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) is calling on the film industry to expand digital distribution, seek new sources of funding and work with online audiences as publishers not just viewers, as part of series of findings from their digital innovation programme.
Some of their initial recommendations are:
Film companies should see online audiences as participants, authors, contributors and publishers as well as just viewers, and use this to their advantage
Directors, writers and actors should be encouraged to write a blog or Twitter, to engage audiences in the film-making process
Free tools such as Google Blog Search and Twitter should be used to track the performance of campaigns by monitoring site visits and bookmarks. But popularity should not be mistaken for financial success.
Companies should be wary about giving away potential revenue in return for digitisation costs, and instead look into getting it done themselves.
The aim should be to sell content to as many platforms as possible and to keep the deals non-exclusive or for short exclusive periods.
Film-makers should look to new sources of funding. Brands and content creators are potential sources, as in the case of Shane Meadows’ Somers Town, which was financed by Eurostar.
Companies should think about what would make audiences pay for content, and the principle of ‘added value’ in the form of quality of experience.
The whole industry is still learning and there is no perfect online campaign, so experimenting is the key.
If you aren't following these recommendations, you are not living in the world of today. Indie Film culture's survival depends on the majority getting with the program.
1. Some festivals will pay you 2. Maybe they can do a PAL dub for you 3. Foreign fests could supply you with translation that you can use later on DVD 4. Connection to local theaters
Dates: Wednesday, April 29 to Friday, May 1, 2009 Location: Interiors -- Prison Film: Under Jakob's Ladder
Finally, we're inside the prison. Actually, a good portion of the film takes place inside these walls. This location was pretty cool, temperature-wise; but it was also quite dusty -- Dirt floors and straw didn't help matters much. The poor Red camera didn't like the dust at all. (Who ever heard of a camera with a dust allergy?!)
Let's see... The main things we filmed on these three days? A couple of arrivals (including the arrival of Jakob [i.e. Jeff Stewart] at the prison cell)... a disappearance... a thunderstorm... an argument involving a spoon.
Here's Bruno (played by Sal Rendino), our prison bully, "welcoming" Jakob (Jeff Stewart) to his new life in prison.
In a later scene, Bruno does what he does best... cause trouble for his fellow inmates.
Here we are, preparing for the shot. We measure focus to Ivan (played by Philip Willingham) as he sits at the chess board.
We watch the monitor during a quick rehearsal of a scene with Yasha (Quentin McCuiston) and Karl (Matthew R. Staley).
Note: Just one more day left in Week 2 of our filming schedule. And the next day -- Saturday, May 2nd -- we have an early morning start. Plus, we have another location change. But, not to worry! We'll be back in the prison before you know it.
Jon Dieringer, my former assistant on ADVENTURELAND -- and who was a lot of fun, did good work and you should hire --, recently did a "cheat sheet" distilling a lot of the information from this blog. I think he did a very nice job and I will be funneling his work to you over the next few days. Feel free to provide any suggestions on how to enhance it further.
I am starting if off with what started off the blog: Film Festival Strategy
Festival Goals
Plan A has got to be that you will need to be the leading force in the distribution of your film. This is the DIY model.
Plan B is that various experts will all want to work with you on Co-Distributing your film, albeit for a fee.
Plan C is that buyers for different media will want your film and you need to be able to evaluate how to mix and match these offers -- or even accept those offers at all.
Plan D is that someone will make an offer of such an amount that it is worth considering giving up all your rights to your film for the next twenty years.
You've directed a lot of great TV shows. I tried to narrow down just one of the shows you've worked on. And since I'm such an Aaron Sorkin fan --
LESLI: Oh my God, so am I. Then I hope you'll indulge me and talk about your experiences on The West Wing.
LESLI: I think the reason The West Wing was amazing to do, on a directorial level, was because the producing director on the show -- Tommy Schlamme, a fantastic director and a wonderful person -- encouraged directors to come in and make it their movie.
There are many people who work in TV who want it to look like everybody else's show. But I really think the best shows do what Tommy did. To say to filmmakers, "Come in and make it your movie." And that's what he did.
That's very evident on that show. They're all different.
LESLI: They're all different. As a director, you were encouraged to do what you wanted to do. If you wanted to put five scenes together and do it as one shot, you could. It was great.
It was very intimidating the first time I got Aaron's script and I looked at the first scene I was going to be directing on my first day. It was a seven-page scene, with about ten or eleven characters, and the only stage direction was "He enters."
I just thought, "Oh my God." I had to read it about ten times to figure out what the scene was about: What's the subtext, what's the text, what's really going on underneath here.
It was thrilling and terrifying and exhilarating and amazing.
What is your preparation process like in a case like that? You get the script and then what?
LESLI: The first thing I do in any prep process is I start breaking the script down in terms of what is the theme? What is this really about? Once I figure out the theme, I start to figure out how I'm going to deal with it visually. But until I really know what it's about in a deep way, I can't even begin to figure that out.
How long does that take?
LESLI: That's ongoing. The first couple of days I focus on the script as much as I can. You're going to have to deal with production stuff no matter what. You have to start the casting process and have a concept meeting about if there have to be huge sets built. A lot of The West Wing episodes I did were really big, so there were tons of locations, so there was a lot of scouting. Plus half of the show shoots in Washington, DC, so there were all sorts of production issues and decisions.
Usually what I would do in terms of actual shot lists is that I would come in on the weekend. And I still do that, even though I'd love to have my weekends to myself. I find that during the week, with a TV pre-production schedule, I don't have time to do that. So the weekends are my creative time.
If it takes place on a set, I'll go to the set. I'll walk around, I'll imagine the scene, I'll figure out the angles, I'll see the scene.
For me, it's completely about standing in the space. That's what I do.
I have a lot of director friends who wouldn't even consider going in like that. They think I'm insane. But for me, that's my process. For other TV shows, they just want you to come in and fulfill what they've set up. That doesn't seem too interesting to me.
In the case of The West Wing, how much rehearsal time did you get with the actors?
LESLI: You only get it on the set. That was a show where they would rehearse a lot. This is unusual in TV. You'd get probably an hour. That is considered a long rehearsal. It's not like doing a film.
But then, these actors know the characters. So you have to direct them in the scene, but they're not figuring out who their characters are. They're figuring what their behavior is. So that is a different process.
During post, how involved were you in the editing?
LESLI: Very involved. You have a certain amount of time, per the contract with the Directors Guild, to go in and edit. I didn't have my cuts changed very much. Ultimately, the final cut is Aaron's and Tommy's. When the buck stopped, it stopped with them. But they were respectful. I think they want you to come in having done it well, so that they don't have to re-do it.
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Location: Exterior -- Cemetery Film: Under Jakob's Ladder
We had to make a quick location switch in the middle of the day to film these cemetery scenes. Fortunately, the location for the Jakob house interiors and the cemetery were relatively close together... in fact, just down the road from each other.
Jakob (played by Jeff Stewart) speaks words of comfort to Emma (Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff) who is mourning the death of her brother.
It's so hot on this day in April... Does Jeff Stewart really want to wear this winter coat in this weather?!
Oh, and by the way, it was quite windy that day -- a very warm wind, we might add. However, because of the wind, the footage actually looks like a cold day. (And partly thanks to some great background actors who kept those shawls wrapped around them pretty close!)
Marta (played by Chloe Roe) is supposed to be watching the funeral from a distance, hiding behind these tombstones.
Like most folks out there, I get excited with every new list. MovieMaker has put together their 50 Best Websites For MovieMakers. It's a good list and will provide something fresh for virtually everyone out there.
But alas.... I was surprised not to see FilmmakerMagazineBlog on it which I read religiously -- oh wait, they are their competitor. Now I get it.
And let me admit it, I was truly bummed not to see Truly Free Film there. Or HammerToNail. I guess I just have to try harder. Or you could do me a favor (give me the strength to go on...) and stage a write in campaign to their blog and encourage them to add TFF & HTN to the list! Thanks!
And if you ever have a thought about what will make this blog more useful, or even what you would like some discussion on, don't hesitate to write in and let me know.
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Location: Interior -- Jakob's House Film: Under Jakob's Ladder
Ah... Tuesday. After our two days "off". We begin a new week of filming. In another new location. And this day, of all days, was hot. In fact, they were predicting close to 95 degrees. And what did we have planned for the day? A nice cool prison set to film in, perchance?
Just our luck that the location for this day had to be on the second floor. (Heat rises, right?) So, not only were we working in stifling hot weather, but our camera had to work in the heat. And the Red camera didn't really like the added degrees in temperature. So, we had to have a fan on the camera between takes to keep it cool.
Rachel (Victoria Bundonis) speaks with her father Jakob (played by Jeff Stewart) in this flashback scene in the house.
Here, Emma (Alexandra Tejeda Rieloff) is speaking with Rachel (Victoria Bundonis) in her kitchen.
Enter Jakob's granddaughter, Marta (Chloe Roe), to the surprise of poor Emma.
And finally, darkness fell. Out came Eyepatch (played by Igor Litwinowicz) and our NKVD secret police, all ready for the big arrest scene. And while it was a bit cooler for this particular scene, it was still warmer than we would have liked.
Who would have thought a day in April would be such a hot, hot day? (Air conditioning would have been nice...)
P.S. We even haven't told you of the scenes we filmed in the cemetery on this day. Oh well. We'll deal with it in the next post...
Where were you in your career before you wrote Tape?
I was not highly far along. I had just quit my day-job to work on The Laramie Project. It was the year that we were researching the murder of Matthew Shepard. I was going out to Laramie every couple of months and then coming home. So I was just starting to get paid. I had been writing plays for a long time, I'd come out of the Playwright Fellowship program at Julliard, but I was sort of adrift and not sure.
And then Tape came along. It was not one of the big plays I was planning on writing or was working on. It was something were two old friends of mine came along and they wanted to showcase themselves as actors in the New York theater world, and they said, 'Can you write us something that can really show what we can do?"
So I really wrote it for them and then one of the actors was dating this girl, so I added her because it got boring with two guys after awhile. So it wasn't like, "I'm going to write this big play." I was just doing it because I liked these guys and I liked their work and it was fun.
What was your day-to-day writing process?
I guess I'm pretty intense when I come across an idea and I don't sort of do an hour a day. My wife is French and we were living over in France, in these guys' apartment while they were out of town. She was working on a job, and I was transcribing tapes for Laramie. And as soon as I got done with my current load, I dove into this.
I remember trying to describe this idea: A comedy about date rape was how I was forming it at the time. And she sort of laughed me off and said I should come up with a different idea. But I was able to keep writing; I remember starting over at one point, fairly early on and scraping what I had when I came up with the idea that she might show up. I was writing by hand at that time. I like to get really into it when I'm writing and get a first draft done as soon as possible, and then go back in and work on it.
And you're able to do that even if you don't know exactly where you're going?
Yeah. I had, at the time, a philosophy that when you're dealing with those types of tight friendships, where you don't know yourself where the conversation is going, that it would be truer and more genuine to write within that vein and to have a general goalpost that you were headed for, but to let the turns happen.
If you're writing quickly enough in your mind, and keeping up with your pen, let those twists and turns come at you, almost as quickly as they're coming at the characters. At least for this type of play, where it's sort of down and dirty.
When you were adapting it into a film script, was there ever any talk of "opening it up"?
There was briefly talk about it. That would be the first instinct for any filmmaker. That's the great thing about Linklater. We talked a little bit about opening it up, but his inclination was definitely not to, that it was going to be more interesting to keep it enclosed.
The problem was how do you not repeat the theatrically that comes when you try to film a play, because so often it doesn't work. Because of the DV cameras that were sort of new at the time, which allowed you to go into a motel room or a soundstage that really felt like a motel room, that he was going to be able to capture a cinematic way of telling the story. So, very briefly only did we talk about doing some exterior stuff, which made me delighted, because I was worried that they were going to ask me to write stuff that didn't fit this play.
What I love about the movie is that it raises more questions than it answers, and most movies aren't willing to do that.
Well, that's the golden rule is to tie it up and provide those answers. And even in playwriting, I think, it's a very fine line. Audiences will feel ripped off if you're intentionally ambiguous for the sake of it. If ambiguity serves a purpose, at the risk of sounding pretentious, it's to turn it around and challenge them to ask themselves, 'What would I do in that situation? What have I done in past situations? And what have I done about those things?' That does seem to serve a purpose, and if nothing else the movie does poke it back at you, and it's so pointed at a particular generation were the words date rape just became a phrase.
My wife translated it into French and there is no expression for date rape there in that country yet. And it's relatively new to America. So I think the people who respond to this movie are people who have grown up with those words.
So, in terms of adaptation, it sounds like you basically handed Linklater the script to the play and said 'Have at it.'
Yeah, he was great that way. It was the opposite of what you expect the Hollywood machine to do to your work. Basically, the put it in Final Draft form. Robert Sean Leonard's character was originally Jewish; he makes a crack about himself being Jewish, but we didn't think we could pass off him as that. We also changed his name. There were also one or two cultural references which we thought would potentially date the film, so we cut a couple lines, one about David Hasselhoff.
Do you ever put a script in a drawer for a while?
Oh, absolutely. I have about twenty-five things in a drawer right now.
I think if I had put Tape in a drawer at that point I would never have gone back, because it's not the heftiest play. But I know that it hit a chord with people, because it was compact. I always complain when I see plays that are successful that they aren't as deep and profound as they should be, but that's not what audiences necessarily want or connect to. It has a tightness that is very satisfying and a compactness, and at an hour twenty, it definitely had that.
Did you learn anything from this process that you've taken to other projects?
Yes. I think letting a degree of spontaneity into my writing, which was something that I had excised at Julliard. Learning to let that back in. And knowing that that makes for better writing.
I learned that there is a market and an audience out there for dialogue-heavy films and character-driven films, and that this fast give-and-take actually can work. Everyone says it's so theatrical that it doesn't work, but if you put it out there, an audience will follow it. It's not particularly complex, it's not Tom Stoppard. But we're used to it and we can be conditioned, as filmgoers, to follow and like it.
And that drama doesn't come from just visuals. Drama comes from classic dramatic structure and shifts in emotions.
Dialogue that's fun and appropriate to the contemporary world is something that audiences will respond to.
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2009 Location: Interior -- Bunker Film: Under Jakob's Ladder
The final day of our first week of filming. Yet another location change. Which means packing everything up once again.
This whole day pretty much concentrated on this one scene, which involves a chess match. Back in January, we were looking for someone to create a chess end-game for this very scene. We sent an email off to chess grandmaster (and former world champion) Susan Polgar... Not knowing if she'd even get back to us.
But, guess what! She did and it's a pretty cool end-game that she gave us, too. (Details of which we can't give away, of course, since that would be giving away too much of the movie! But we can tell you that it does involve some kings, and queens, and pawns, and rooks, etc.)
The empty set, complete with tripod, and camera/lighting equipment. Okay, we're ready to starting filming here!
The prisoners come together behind Jakob (played by Jeff Stewart).
And on the opposite end of the room are the NKVD guards behind Nikolai (played by Christopher Elliott)... (Plus a whole bunch of equipment that we need to keep out of frame when we shoot this angle. You can even see the boom mic in the shot.)
Quite a few people have been asking about how things are coming along and how long it will take until the movie is finished. Well... if our last feature film is any indication, that took one and a half years to edit! (Of course, we're hoping for a little quicker completion date on this project.)
We're currently in the middle of editing the rough cut. Things are going as well as can be expected as we piece together each scene from the raw footage. We must say that we're particularly impressed with the images we got from the Red camera.
Once the rough cut is finished, though, the movie will go through several more cuts until we're happy with the result. And there's still the sound mix, foley, and soundtrack. Plus, we're working on a movie trailer...
Stay tuned...
P.S. If you haven't watched our pre-trailer yet, check it out here. Although, like we mentioned above, we are working on a new one.
Date: Friday, April 24, 2009 Location: Exteriors -- Jakob's House Film: Under Jakob's Ladder
On to yet another location in the first week of shooting.
As you can see by the photo below, the weather was quite a bit warmer. No need coats on this day!
Here we are, setting up the shot with Jeff Stewart (Jakob) and Victoria Bundonis (Rachel)...
Also, on this day, we had to film a scene, without one of the actors present. Victoria Bundonis (Rachel) and Chloe Roe (Marta) stand in the doorway. The crew checks to make sure the lighting will be okay. After all, we have to match this look for another day when we shoot the reverse of this scene!
ROGER CORMAN: As a result of various complications in a contract, Boris Karloff owed me several days' work. So I wanted to do a horror film, starring Boris Karloff, in which he would only work for those days.
Peter Bogdanovich had been my assistant. (My assistant before that was Francis Coppola and after Francis had worked for me on a few films, I gave him a chance to direct.) I did the same thing with Peter. I said, 'Here's the problem: The picture must star Boris Karloff, but he can only work for these days.'
And Peter came up with the idea of Boris as an actor doing a traditional horror film, and in that way we could take some footage out of some of the horror films that Boris had done for me before, and also cut away to the boy and tell a parallel story.
The film has a couple of really long, continuous takes, which seem to go against your rule of getting proper coverage.
ROGER CORMAN: It goes a little bit against my rules, but on the other hand, all rules are made to be broken. I do like to get coverage, to get as much coverage as possible. Yet, at the same time, when you're on a very tight schedule, sometimes you have to sacrifice coverage. And when you do that, sometimes you can make a virtue out of necessity.
What was it that made you feel Bogdanovich could pull off this directing debut?
ROGER CORMAN: Peter is highly intelligent, and he had a great knowledge of film. He had written some added scenes for me on previous pictures, and had directed some second unit, so I was aware of his ability as a second unit director and his ability as a writer.
This month's answer is the actors whom have benefited so much by indie film -- which is not to say that the Indiewoodland has not benefited even more by these actors' presence. It has. But why were there so many super talented actors in the indie sphere ten years ago, and now the list of "names" seems so depleted or recycled?
We need to come up with ways to promote the work of "undiscovered" actors. There is probably no better judge of talent than the acting community itself. Similarly there is no better promotional magnet and promotional bullhorn than the acting community itself.
I am completely confident that there are as many good actors emerging now as there were back ten years ago, but there is a problem when even working filmmakers like myself don't know the new folk. I have always felt that one of the real draws of indie film was the discovery of new talent, both behind and before the camera. When we are not as familiar with an actor, it is easier to see them as the character they are portraying than the star they may later turn out to be. But the joy of discovery would lead you to think that audiences would be served a virtual parade of new faces, yet that parade has not materialized as of late.
Check out what ten years ago had to offer out of NYC alone: Steve Buscemi, Kevin Corrigan, Billy Crudup, Hope Davis, Rosario Dawson, Vince D'Ornofrio, Martin Donovan, Edie Falco, Paul Giamatti, Peter Green, Jared Harris, Phillip S. Hoffman, Michael Imperolli, John Leguizimo, Laura Linney, Julianne Moore, Rosie Perez, Parker Posey, Tim Robbins, Sam Rockwell, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schrieber, Campbell Scott, Chloe Sevigny, John Turtoro, Jeffrey Wright.
These are just the actors I thought of off the top of my head. And I only put the ones that popped first (to my knowledge) in Indie film, not Hollywood, and those that really came of age in the last decade or decade and a half. And were from NYC. I know I have left a bunch off and I apologize for the slight. Remind me who they were and I won't do it again (or I will at least try not to).
But who represents the here and now? It's hard to have the same legnthy list: Jessica Chastain, Mark Duplass, Jesse Eisenberg, Ryan Gosling, Zoe Kazan, Anthony Mackie, Michelle Williams.
And I had to cheat to get to seven. Some aren't really even NYC anymore. Or ever were. And some have been working a long time already, not just emerging now. If I take it back ten years or so I can add Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emily Mortimer, Alessandro Nivola, and Peter Sarsgaard.
I think I had twenty seven on the old school list. That's pretty much a romp in any book: 27 to 7 (or maybe 11) Whassamattawiddis? Surely it can be fixed. I want to know who the new school is. Where can we find them? How can we make sure they get the good parts that launch them?
I think it is going to start with the old school really stumping for the new school. Not to put pressure on them, but it's time. The IFP's Gotham Awards has a Breakthrough Performance category, but why doesn't SAG? How come actors don't suggest other actors when they get cast (okay some do)? I don't think it is bad form; we need to know who will make all of our work really shine. How come there isn't some sort of organization that promotes the new wave?Damn, it doesn't even have to be organized; it can be personalized. The whole industry would benefit from this, even Hollywood. Here's hoping...
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009 Location: Interiors -- Prison Hallways Film: Under Jakob's Ladder
Our third day of filming. Our third change in location.
This time, we had to haul all our equipment across the river (to an old monastery) where we were scheduled to shoot our interior prison hallways.
No weather troubles this day. Due to the fact that we were at a monastery also meant it was very quiet. The greatest disturbance was a group of tourists who walked through the set to get to the dining room. Fortunately, we weren't shooting quite yet.
Below is a sequence of photos; Jeff Stewart (playing the role of Jakob) is working out the details of the best way for the NKVD guard (Jim) to escort him down the corridor...
Next... on to Day 4... with yet another location change!
Producing is all I do and the only credit I get. The meaning and value of that credit erodes all the time as financiers and packagers and directors seek to share it. I do something very specific though that none of those other collaborators do. I am there from the very beginning until the very end doing my best to make sure that the best team assembled, best environment created, best film made, full potential realized, best release and marketing strategy conceived, and maximum revenue (within those other considerations) achieved. It is my role to make sure that all options are considered and the ramification of each choice considered in advance.
I contribute to the script but take no credit -- yet people comment how "my body of work" has common themes and threads. I help design the production, from the look, to the cast, to the crew, to the rhythm, to the tone, to the marketing -- yet people don't think my credit is a creative one (because it has been undervalued by all those that glom on to it). I strategize how to make the film go from an idea or concept into reality -- I make the film inevitable, with attachments, with financing, with distribution, with an audience, yet somehow the industry thinks producers are interchangeable. The industry encourages that I do a volume business so that they can "service" their clients, yet they give me no support, be it financial or just reinforcement (if a project is not ready or a collaborator not a financial asset, I am the one that must deliver the news -- and even if they agree with me, they take the side of the client).
Six years ago I was one of two key witnesses in the successful anti-trust suit against the MPAA and Studios' Screener Ban. One of the reasons we won was that the judge recognized that my livelihood was dependent not on singular films, but on the perception of my key creative role in a string of films that had a critical, commercial, and cultural impact (and how the added boost screeners gave my films was essential). Since that time, I have witnessed the devaluing of the producer credit as never before.
We are in incredibly tough times for "quality" projects. Fewer get released. Fewer get financed. The budgets come down, and with them come lower fees. It has never been this hard over the last twenty years. When I ask myself "how am I going to survive making the kind of films I do, the kind of films I love?" my one real hope is a deepening understanding of what I bring to a project. And to me that is a deepening understanding of what it is to produce.
Producing for me is not contributing to the producing process -- it is doing the entire process. If someone needs to receive additional credit because of their contribution it should not just reflect their contribution, but it also should not diminish the contribution of others. It is my job to do a lot of other people's job, but it is not my place to take any credit for that. When someone takes producer credit and is not there from beginning to the end, involved in all aspects of the development, funding, prep, production, post, marketing, and distribution, they diminish my work and the value of my credit. When the producer credit is devalued, it becomes harder to get movies made and to respect the process by which good movies are made.
I also firmly believe that the producer is in service to both the director and the film. The producer and director are both there to make the best film within their means and circumstances, and hopefully they have a mutual understanding as to what that means. I have been surprised by those out there who pitch themselves as "filmmaker friendly" but don't have faith in their team's vision. Similarly, I am surprised by those who go looking for "collaborators" but truly don't want to engage in the discussion about how to make the best the film within the context of their project. To produce means to be in a collaborative environment in service to a filmmaker's vision.
If we are now involved in a cultural war to protect ambitious film, then who is the enemy?
