The Producers Development Executive - THE PRODUCERS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE

 

As a nice Canadian girl embarking on a career in the film industry, Robyn had an irrational aversion to Los Angeles.  Robyn swore up and down that she would never move there, just wasn’t suited for it, didn’t have any interest, big movies, blah blah blah.  Instead, Robyn …

Tags: Movie Blog, Filmmaker, Movie Bloggers, , Oscars

The Producers Development Executive - Hello world!

Welcome to FilmIndustryBloggers.com. This Blogger has just joined the Film Blog Network of FilmIndustryBloggers.com. They’ll be uploading their first blog within the week so check back!!!

The Fib Team…

Tags: Hollywood, Film Blog, Actor, Filmmaker, Director

The Personal Assistant - At least they didn’t arrest me…

Thankfully, Chloe does get me out of this mess. She tells the “I told you so cop” that it’s her fault; she’s the one who told me to set up all the candles, etc. I think this is awfully nice of her, considering the fact that she did not tell me to leave burning candles unattended (even the matchbook had warned me about that) — and also considering the fact that she is taking my side, not her husband’s.) The annoying cop keeps asking if she’s sure she does not want to press charges. Shut up, already, I think. She’s sure, she says.  

Chloe then motions Dean over, but he refuses. I ask her if I should go apologize to him again. She says no, as he needs some time to cool off. “He’s trying to work on his anger issues,” she also throws in. I’d be angry, too, I think, if some assistant burned down some of my bedroom and my beloved Joe DiMaggio photo (or, in my case, Justin Timberlake poster (I was going through a phase)).  

Chloe says I should just get my stuff and have the rest of the day off. I say, “Happy Anniversary” again as I go to my car…  

I start my car, drive further up into the hills, pull over, and cry. I feel awful. I am a bad, bad assistant. How will Dean ever forgive me? Finally, my best friend calls, asking when I’m getting out of work. I tell her I’m out… maybe forever. I go meet her and cry some more, feeling sorry for my excuse of an assistant life… or a life of any sort, for that matter.

 * 

Later that night, Chloe texts me and asks me to meet her the next morning to “talk about everything.” Um… okay. 

I meet her at a local café, where she proceeds to lay me off. “Just temporarily,” she says with a smile. “Dean just needs some time to cool off.” (Guess last night wasn’t enough, I think to myself; and, again, I don’t blame him.) Fuck, though. I have rent to pay. I can’t borrow money from my nice, Midwest family… again. How will I even explain this to them? “Mom?… Hi… Ya know that personal assistant job I got a couple weeks ago?… Yeah, that one… Well, when I was out buying condoms for my boss… Yes… condoms… ultra ribbed… yes, I know what a condom is, Mom… Yes, I’m still going to church… No, I’m not having sex before marriage…” Um… no. Guess I need to find another job… fast.

Tags: Director, Oscars, Movie Bloggers, Hollywood, Movie Blog

The Digital Expert - Info on the new RED Scarlet Camera

Here’s the first bit of info out the gate from RED about their new Scarlet Pocket Pro Camera:Not confirmed but rumor is under $3,000 SRP. Take that AVCHD.

* NEW 2/3″ MYSTERIUM X SENSOR* 1-120 FPS (180FPS BURST)* UP TO 100 MB/SEC REDCODE RAW AND RGB RECORDING TO DUAL COMPACT FLASH* …

Tags: , Oscars, Television, Movie Theatre, Movie

The Digital Expert - THE DIGITAL EXPERT

 
Noah Kadner graduated from the MFA program in production at the USC School of Cinema-Television. He is an Apple Certified Trainer and is a co founder of ‘Call Box’ which provides technical and logistal support to users of digital production equipment.
 
If that and his own directing doesn’t keep him busy …

Tags: Movie, Movie, Film Blog, Actor, Film Industry

The Production Assistant - When It Rains, It Really Pours

Something you should know about me: I love Elvis Presley. Hence the title of this post, after one of my favorite songs of his. If you haven’t seen it, go out and rent his 1968 Comeback Special, it’s fantastic. Even if he’s been dead for decades, he still makes me weak in the knees. I’ve read every book that’s ever crossed my path about the guy, and I just love him to death. Hell, I even love his MOVIES, which is saying a lot if you’ve ever seen an Elvis flick. I identify with the guy, albeit on a MUCH smaller level… I might be creative, but I don’t really think I’ll be revolutionizing the world anytime soon. But this week is definitely feeling overwhelming, a bunch of my projects are hitting me at once.

Last week I started a topical comedy writing workshop and I’ve got 2 “Top Ten” lists due tomorrow… plus I’m about 7 pages from finishing my comedy pilot with my writing partner… and I had an idea the other night for a comedy sketch I want to shoot about Kat Von D, of LA Ink fame.

Think I can pull her off? THIS is how I spend my Saturday nights… alone in my apartment drawing stars on my face. I don’t think I’m too far off, minus the whole brown eyes/tattoo’ed thing.

Not to mention I promised myself this week I’m going to try to get back onstage to do some more standup. I’ve been feeling the itch lately. But none of these things are PA related… so on to that.

Guess who worked on a set for FIB’s very own Brian Trenchard-Smith this weekend? That would be moi. That morgue he’s been writing about? It’s pretty awesome…. almost as awesome as the man himself! I won’t gush too much, but it was a really great set to work, watch and observe on, my favorite kind… small, intimate, hardworking crew that moves quickly but is also laid back. BTS has definitely got a heart for the young filmmaker too, letting me sit on some of the takes and watching him work up close. I haven’t actually been around a real director in a while, so it was a nice change to watch someone who has a mastery and genuine love of their craft work up close and personal. So I really, truly thank him for to opportunity.

Alright, I need to cut it short kiddos , my brain is dead today. Maybe I’ll go make a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. And wear a wig.

Tags: Film, Movie, Film Blog, Movie Blog, Film Industry

The Genre Director - Filming a Movie in a War Zone…

Film makers are passionate obsessive folk, often oblivious to the perils of shooting in foreign parts. We are driven by the belief that each project is the Holy Grail. Let nothing stand in your way, is the mantra. In 1988 I was being taken to survey a location two hour’s drive out of Manila for my Vietnam war movie THE SIEGE OF FIREBASE GLORIA, accompanied by First AD Carding Guzman, and Production Designer Toto Castillo.

We passed a guard tower at a cross roads, its elevated platform cocooned in netting, conjuring the image of a robot bee-keeper.

“What’s the net for?” I asked.

“Grenades, sir.” was the deadpan reply from our driver.

Yes, of course. In 1988, the Philippines was still in the grip of two insurgencies, an Islamic one in the South, and the communist New People’s Army  (NPA) on the main island of Luzon where we were. So an hour‘s drive out of  Manila we were already crossing the perceived border beyond which lay NPA contested territory, and we had an hour’s driving to go.

“Don’t worry about the NPA, sir, they are the Good People.”

I mistook this for character evaluation. In fact it was an item in all Philippino movie budgets at the time. Ostensibly, it referred to security staff for locations outside Manila. Indeed, who better to protect you from the NPA than the NPA themselves? I was told that they were better than the Philippino military. They did not get drunk, or bring their cousins demanding they get paid as well.

We arrived on a hill with a good view of surrounding countryside, an ideal choice for the firebase. We discussed the lay-out of the defensive perimeter and bunkers while awaiting the arrival of the NPA representatives. A pick-up truck approached and parked. Two armed men with bandanas round their faces got out. Apart from a moment of frisson at the sight of a real loaded gun ( I was unaware at that point that two of my three Philippino companions were also armed.) I did not feel I had anything to fear. I trusted the judgment of my Philippino crew. And indeed, cordial conversation in Tagalog took place, a deal was made, and the NPA were on their way again. We would pay $5000 for each month of our stay in their territory. They would protect us, ensure that local bandits did not strip our firebase set each night, etc. They even volunteered to be in our battle scenes, and bring their own rifles. They had Armorlites, we needed AK 47’s which were in abundance in Manila. The well trained Viet Cong women you see in some battle scenes are NPA.

Their only stipulation was this - when we brought in the Philippino Army helicopter gunships for the strafing and bombing scenes, we would give the NPA notice so they could make themselves scarce. The Army were grateful for this too. They did not want an unnecessary fight either.  This was indicative of a level of popular support for the NPA, purported champions of the poor in the Philippines, where social inequality had reached obscene levels.

Although we were a little late in paying one month, the NPA honored their deal throughout. During a tough night shoot I wandered away from the lights of the set, so I could gaze at the brilliant stars in the sky, and recover some inspiration. One of  the NPA security people at our perimeter told me not to go any further.

“But you’re the Good People,” I said.

“There are good Good People, and there are bad Good People, particularly at night,” he replied in good English, “best stay back.”

OK. Got It.

But I do not think that I really Got It till the night we were relaxing having dinner in the only American style bar in the tiny town of Pagsanhan ( where a lot of APOCALYPSE NOW was shot). At the only street lit section, this bar was right next door to the police station. 20 yards walk from door to door. The Police Chief entered the bar. He wore a side arm, a sub machinegun hung from a strap around his neck, ammunition pouches and grenades  dangled from his belt. All this firepower to go 20 yards!! Grenades! Was everywhere outside of the walls of the police station a free fire zone?

Later outside the bar, two of his men monstered one of our cast Clyde Jones, who plays Shortwave.
“What are you doing in the Philippines?” they demanded.

“ I’m making a movie!” tried Clyde, with the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster. “

“What do you do?”

Clyde felt confident in his reply. “ I’m an actor.”

One cop snorted and turned to the other officer. “ An actor? Shoot him!”

For a few heart pounding seconds Clyde really thought they meant it. Two liquored up cops, thousands of miles from the US, in a town with three street lamps…who would ever know what really happened to him? At that moment life in Detroit was looking pretty good to Clyde. Then they roared with laughter, and let him go. Clyde Jones, being the ballsy guy he is, did not catch the next plane home, but continued giving a great performance and dodging pyrotechnics till we were done. Incidentally, our chief pyro guy Danny “ Boom Boom” Dominguez, as he was known locally, told me that we ultimately let off more explosions than HAMBURGER HILL!

When the army helicopters were scheduled for the strafing and bombing sequences, we duly informed the NPA, who duly melted back into the jungle. But the helicopters were 5 hours late. The Captain in charge apologized. They had been on a mission against the NPA 100 miles north.

“We will now change to blank ammunition.” he said.

“Excellent idea!” I quipped. The army guys laughed. But my quip masked a sharp twinge of guilt and sorrow. We were doing simulated war, while further north people were dying in real war, people who were compatriots perhaps of the local NPA who had treated us well. When they might easily have held us to ransom.

This strengthened my resolve to maintain the underlying theme of the movie, that wars are fought by brave dutiful people on BOTH SIDES. I had to fight the distributor on this issue who felt this point of view was “unpatriotic”. But enough evenhandedness remains in the picture, which has become a favorite of a lot of Vietnam vets. Check out their postings on IMDB. It’s a mystery to me why MGM does not bring it out on DVD. The entire US Marine Corps, to whom R. Lee Ermey is a god, would buy copies. One fan even started an on-line petition to MGM . As yet, no response.

Back in Manila one night I staged the 1968 Tet offensive attack on the US Saigon Embassy, at a run down Foreign Businessmen’s Club, a passable  match to the actual building in fact. After Take 1 of the initial assault, with Viet Cong shooting up the sentry box and driving in hurling grenades, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by police and army units. It turned out that President Cori Aquino and General Ramos were meeting in an hotel a couple of blocks away. Their immediate thought, upon hearing the explosions and gunfire, was that another revolution had broken out. We were shut down for 2 hours while I persuaded the authorities that I had no plans to overthrow the government of the Philippines.

A deep basso profundo TV announcer’s voice should now intone: “There are 8 Million Stories in the Naked Jungle. This has been one of them.” More on THE SIEGE OF FIREBASE GLORIA another time.

Tags: Movie Blog, Actor, Film, Movie Theatre, Movie

The Animation Production Coordinator - A Table Read - and then Wall E

But not necessarily on the same day.

I was able to attend a table read for an episode of The Simpsons, and it was incredible. Two days a week, since the contracts were signed, table reads of upcoming episodes are on the schedule for the forseeable future. To see the actors interact, swapping from one character to another in the space of a breath - that’s a treat I wish all could experience. I do love the Fox lot - quite the sucker for it in fact. The TV show is still ramping up to do an act of one episode entirely digitally here on our side - once the digital artwork is delivered in Korea they will have to print it out on their end in order to animate the sequences. But we’re going paperless as a test, to see how it goes. So far, so good - digital storyboards are fun.

ASIFA - the International Animated Film Society, of which I am a very grateful member, hosted screenings of Wall E at Disney this past Saturday. I was beginning to feel that I wanted to explore ways to bring some of my values regarding the environment, as well as other social issues, into what was becoming for me a mainly commercially driven animation experience. Not to say that The Simpsons Movie didn’t address environmental issues in a strong way within the parameters of its world and style - but Wall E takes it farther. Pixar is amazing - I can’t pretend they are not. I completely fell for that little robot - and this comes from a girl who despised ‘Johnny 5′ from ‘Short Circuit’ as much as any girl can despise a fictional robot character from the 80’s. These guys tell great character-driven stories, and the robot’s journey is filled with humor and danger and moments where I was truly concerned for the little guy. So hats off there. Once the lights came up, folks around us appeared to have something to say about the number of stories - or flaws in the story - or some such nonsense that I tried to block out in favor of the sound of kids everywhere shouting ‘Wall E!’ to the universe. It’s a very human story - in spite of all the robots. There was a little squirmy feeling inside when watching the depiction of the humans in this film… a kind of horror, actually, at the thought that we could end up like that… possibly with no thought.  Those who have problems with the story, I encourage you to create your own.  In the meantime, the newest Pixar film is doing more than well at the box office.  Go Wall E - Go!

Tags: Oscars, Film Industry, Film, Television, Movie Bloggers

The Reality TV Producer - I GOT A NEW BADGE or BREAD AND BUTTER

So ever heard the phrase ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’?  

Well, I’m kinda feeling a little bit that way this week.

I’ve been a producer and director of documentaries and reality tv for over ten years, but when you hop the fence and actually own the company that makes the show, you can see just how hard it is to make ends meet in TV.  

It might surprise you that with all the cigar chomping, champagne swilling fat cats you see at awards shows, everyone, from the smallest indie to the biggest multination are feeling the same.  

In the olden days a tv broadcaster would ask you how much a show was going to cost – you’d tell them some nice huge figure, and they’d give it to you… Houses for everybody.  

Then, when the tv bosses realized that Reality TV could, in effect, buy them even more houses – made as they are by non-union, fresh out of film-school kids eager to work for less and less each week – they jumped at the opportunity.  

However all this happened right about the same time that multinationals were opening up digital channels and soaking even more of the money they’d really wanted to keep for themselves.  So, what to do?  Well, make these shows cost EVEN less, of course!  

Now, it’s a bit more complicated than all this – but imagine the big decision at the networks: “Rather than giving them a chunk of cash, let’s give producers less money, let’s audit every penny and split the underspend with producers (so giving them an incentive to make the show for even less – AND we still make money), and let’s take all the international sales for ourselves while we’re at it, (because if we don’t take it, the producers will – and if we take it, what are the producers going to do? They might whine a bit – but we’ll have their money, and they’ll have a bad mood. We win again!).” 

So, now producers had a stark choice. With every revenue stream cut off for them, either they get by on the small, line-item, commission they get from the budget, or go out of business. Make tv or don’t.  The image I can’t get out of my head is of the stupid lumberjack, stuck a hundred feet up, out on a tree’s limb, sawing through the bough he’s sitting on with all his might. “Wow! This is awesome”, he says, “Think how much I’ll get for this branch!”.  

You see, from this side of the fence – I can tell you that producers are facing this extraordinary question - how to continue making tv, while still paying for our staff, paying rent on our offices, paying for the development for new shows, (another area networks used to cashflow but no longer do in any meaningful way) – and still having enough in the kitty for a birthday cake for Joan from business affairs on a Friday?  

Yes, these every day expenses are costs that you simply can’t put in the budget for season two of ‘When Trees Attack’, and until I come up with a new “WIPEOUT”, or “WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE” – I’ve just got to take from an ever shrinking well. 

You see, the saddest thing of all this week, is that while I was sitting at my desk clipping, snipping and slicing this budget, is that there IS only one place you can cut costs – and that’s by cutting the pay of your crew, the people without whom you wouldn’t even have a show. But, as I polished my new Gamekeeper Badge, part of me, if I’m totally honest, was congratulating myself on a job well done.  

I finish this week by posing a question of my own, a question I’ve been posing for myself every night – ‘When an industry is built on a formula that means we’re producing tv for less and less each year, in an environment where we can only survive by cutting costs and making tv even cheaper… how cheap can you make TV before people stop watching?’.

Tags: Movie Bloggers, Filmmaking, , Oscars, Hollywood

The Independent Filmmaker - Hard? What’s hard?

So everyone told you being a filmmaker was going to be hard, but did they ever really go into detail?  Did they ever really walk you through what it actually means to do a job which has no set ladder to climb, no set schedule to plan for and no definite pay to rely on?  No?  Yeah, well I personally suspect it might be a conspiracy to ensure people don’t go screaming for the cliffs.  Or no one wants to really admit that they’ve gone through anything but a perfect week.  I suppose I always thought the hard bit was going to be coming up with ideas but it’s really pretty amazing how quickly the ideas flow when they must. But since this site is all “I cannot tell a lie,” here’s what I think hard means… Hard means that if you think the films that make it on the big screen are crap, imagine what brilliant scripts you’re going to have access to as a young director.  Hard means realizing that you just pitched your feature to everyone you know that might be remotely interested and nobody was.  Hard means getting up to write the great American screenplay at 5am every morning before trudging off to a day job in order to pay your crushing student loan payments.  Hard means going out to drinks after work that same day in order to make a good impression with a new contact even though you’d really just like to have a nap.  Hard means scheduling dinner with your boyfriend that you’ve not seen in weeks even though you live together and then realizing at that dinner that one of you is leaving town next week for a shoot – so much for that surprise birthday party.  Hard means knowing full well that you’re going to get thrown off your picture before your talent will so fingers crossed that no one wants to have a power struggle.  Hard means seeing a colleague at a mixer and having them say to you, “Oh, you’re still working on that, huh?”  Hard means turning on the television to see a show premiere that you just spent the last six weeks developing – gotta love that zeitgeist.  Hard means seeing amazingly talented friends of yours from school start moving back east because they can’t figure out the system and don’t have the strength to keep bashing their head against a very unforgiving wall.  Hard means all of this and much more, all the while not letting it drag you down so that when you go into that next meeting that might just turn it all around, you don’t walk in with a cloud of doom over your head. Yeah, I had a bit of a hard week.  Not to worry though, next week is looking up! 

Tags: Television, Movie Bloggers, Filmmaking, Oscars, Film Blog

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