The Genre Director - DEAD END DRIVE IN is a favorite of Tarantino’s

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Melbourne International Film Festival, where I am currently having a blast, is also showing DEAD END DRIVE IN. It’s my ROAD WARRIOR meets EXTERMINATING ANGEL cocktail. Moody, fruit forward, with a wry finish,

DEAD END DRIVE IN is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino’s. El Q  is forgotten cinema’s National Gallery, a film maker whose idiosyncratic sense of wicked fun pulses from the screen. Quentin loves all the movies showing in the Ozploitation section of this festival.

Quentin first saw DEAD END DRIVE IN at a downtown LA grindhouse in its first week of release, and his affection for it has continued for 22 years. Indeed, US critics had a higher opinion than their Australian counterparts.

 

” …That increasingly rare surprise: a piece of schlock that turned out to be exciting and offbeat. It’s one of those strange grindhouse classics worth looking for… Violently kinetic action, sometimes amazing visual style, density and energy…It’s one of those movies, which apparently promising little, ends up giving you a lot, a  comic nightmare made hellishly real. “

 - Michael Wilmington - Los Angeles Times.

A critic who shares my taste for genre cocktails is a rarity. Thank you, Mr. Wilmington. There are too many self vaunting critics,  mostly in the increasingly flatulent blogosphere, who behave like eunuchs at the orgy; they can’t do it, so they bitch about people who can.

Ned Manning and Natalie McCurry, the teen runaway and her boyfriend, who get imprisoned in a drive in movie theatre.

DEAD END DRIVE IN had the temerity to be socially critical of its target audience’s appetite for junk culture, while reveling in junk culture movie tropes. It’s my socio-political-retro-future-action-exploitation flic adapted by Peter Smalley from acclaimed writer Peter Carey’s short story ” Crabs”. Producer Andrew Williams had the foresight to recognize its movie potential; I took it in a direction and style Mr. Carey did not care for. Sorry, Peter. Indeed, it lacks subtlety. Quite deliberately. I lack subtlety. I had a particular vision in my head and this is how it came out, but the movie has developed a cult following lasting 23 years so far, and may point people back to the original source of inspiration. Because, in the beginning was The Word. Raise a glass to writers. They are under-appreciated.

I added a series of titles to set the scene for DEAD END DRIVE IN, projecting a distopic future. WHAT IF Mururoa Attol experienced a nuclear test accident poisoning our Pacific fishing grounds? WHAT IF South Africa collapsed into bloody inter-racial war, causing gold and mineral exports to cease? WHAT IF there was another Wall Street crash, destabilizing the interlocking economies of the entire world, propelling urban crime into overdrive? These were valid questions in 1985. I wanted to ground Peter Carey’s surreal story in socio-political foundations relevant to world audiences in the Reagan era.  Then make a moody surreal punk movie out of it.

So imagine then, if these disasters had come to pass, our Australia as it might have been in in the late 90’s. Unemployment is rife. Manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas to cheaper labor markets. The Automobile has become a sternly guarded possession. Karboy gangs compete with tow truck operators to  roam the highways, pirating vehicles, leaving the occupants dead. WHAT IF one response from the beleaguered government to social and economic decay was to transform regular drive in movie theatres into benevolent youth concentration camps, the scrap heap for society’s cast-offs, where the weak, the unemployed and unemployable are lured by DISCOUNT TICKET PRICES (!) and literally imprisoned? Elite society is now safe.

We see these inmates adjusting quickly, content to be supplied with free junk food, all night exploitation movies, loud meaningless music, drugs, contraceptives, everything their junk value system has conditioned them to desire. With life on the outside an increasing battle, things could be worse. And from the government’s point of view, the arrangement reduces the cost of law enforcement and the prisons. Into this hedonistic dead end comes an unsuspecting young man, who quickly decides he will not play ball. But his girlfriend thinks it’s better than a teen runaway’s life. Our hero’s crisis of conscience comes when the government start shipping in Australia’s unwanted Asian migrant community. This was an element in the story I wanted to expand further, but was unable to. The US distributor even edited some moments depicting racism from the finished film. They felt those moments cut a little too close to the bone.

35 split day/nights of shooting in and around Sydney’s abandoned Matraville Drive In was a glorious experience I will never forget. The design of the Star Drive In by Larry Eastwood and Nick McCallum is nothing short of genius, beautifully lensed by Paul Murphy. This 1985 film demonstrates the high professional standard all departments of the Australian Film Industry had reached in the 15 years of its renaissance. Stunt co-ordinator Guy Norris performed the record breaking climactic truck jump stunt, and earned himself a well deserved international career.

My most bizarre memory of the shoot occurred when, at 3 am, a car full of drunken hoons, whooping and hollering, their testosterone stimulated by sounds of  motorized mayhem, skidded round the entry barriers and roared into the drive in at high speed, perhaps hoping to join in the fray. We were about to do some gunfight scenes, so there were a couple of M 16s loaded with blanks on set. Someone - who shall remain nameless  (!) - fired a burst in their direction, prompting a fast U turn and exit. I think they got their desired adrenalin rush. Perhaps they needed a change of underwear anyway.

Subsequently, a European resident of a neighboring Matraville street took out a writ in the New South Wales Supreme Court to shut down the film because  the nightly sounds of gunfire and explosions were giving him World War Two flashbacks. Indeed, gunfire at 3 am is grounds for complaint.  ( Personally I enjoy that sort of thing, but I guess it’s not for everybody.)  Co-producer Damien Parer handled this potential disaster with great expertise. He hired a barrister ( attorney) and headed to court to request the right to discharge firearms  until midnight. But when the complainant’s counsel stated that his client was a decorated war hero, it looked like we were sunk. Then the judge asked what the decoration was. “ The Iron Cross “ was the answer. It is said the judge’s face hardened. We were allowed our requested firearms curfew. We finished those scenes in a couple of nights. But it was a lesson to me to be more sensitive to environmental impact on the civilian population.

The wrap party, commencing when shooting finished at dawn, offered an unique activity: playing dodgem cars with the few remaining working vehicles in the drive in. T-Bone that Fairmont! Rear end that Mazda!.. Without damage insurance consequences! Woo Hoo!

Those were the days, my friend.  We thought they’d never end…

Tags: Movie, Filmmaker, Filmmaking, Actor, Director

The British Film Director - My first Film Industry Blog…

At last I’m blogging. I launched FilmIndustryBloggers, with some very good friends whom you can check out here, in February but have been so busy getting the site up and running that there was no time for me to blog. But here I am. Richard Janes. The British Film Director. …

Tags: Actor, Television, Director, Oscars, Movie Blog

The Dreamer - Roller skating, Signing, and Auditioning to be a movie extra

Sunday night I got an email from a woman at a casting company looking for extras to audition for a movie called “Youth in Revolt.” They were having an actual audition for the extras, because some of them would be needed for close up shots. Monday …

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

The Reality TV Producer - IS THAT A SHOWREEL IN YOUR POCKET?

“Oh boy”, drools my agent, eyeing the DVD in my hand, “Is that Tape for me?”

My agent loves ‘tape’ – those five minute, well crafted ‘mini-shows’, (on DVD – but are still referred to as the old VHS version of them), which introduce your new pitch to the world in the most TV friendly way; on TV.

Wow, does he love tape. He loves it more than writing the words ‘packaging fee’ in a contract. Tape is perhaps his favoritist thing in the whole wide world.

The reason he really likes tape, though, is that on tape your idea is already plain to see - it’s developed, clear and above all - especially for my agent - it doesn’t need any explanation. Most production companies now shoot ‘tape’ for their pitches. It saves time, confusion and can really leapfrog a whole bunch of that killer time they call ‘development’, (which can be defined as ‘the period of time it takes for your network executive to understand the idea’).

So, when do you shoot tape and how do you do it?

If it was possible I’d say shoot tape for every idea, and shoot it as soon as soon and as quickly as you can. Now, unless you’ve been prescribed the Fountain of Cash drug - or if you’re ON some form of drug - this is almost impossible.

So how to decide WHICH ideas to shoot tape for?

This week I have to make that decision myself. I have two ideas; one is a big, blow-em-up science show, the other a tough talking ‘Intervention’ type format. In the case of the ‘Intervention’ show I have ‘talent’ (IE a person who I think will make a great host). I don’t yet have faces for the science show, but the idea is more complicated to ’sell’, and could benefit from a good tape to make it clear.

So, why have I decided to make the tape for the ‘Intervention’ type show? Well, the primary reason is that it’s much closer to being a tv show. It’s a clear, simple new twist on a familiar format, (and that’s a total bonus!), and it has great talent attached, so will be that much clearer for the execs to ‘get’.

More importantly, as a production company I’ll see return on this idea much faster than the science show which we still would have to cast - even if it is the most Mythbustingtastic idea ever.

The final, vital reason I’ve gone this way is that I know for almost no money we can produce a great looking reel that looks at least as good as comparable shows on tv.

But, there is one DOWNSIDE to shooting tape.

No matter how many caveats you give, no matter how much benefit-of-the-doubt the execs give you, whatever you show them, it WILL look like the show you’re trying to sell. So, if you’ve got your mate to shoot it for you, it’s badly lit, you stole some shots from a VHS tape you found dangling from a tree - THIS IS what the execs watching your tape will believe is not only your idea of the show, but also a demonstration of your very best work.

I cannot tell you the number of times people show me horrible pieces of tape with bad/no sound, crappy edits and terrible music choices - and the young producer looks up at me when it’s finished and says something like, “oh, of course, it will be BETTER than this”… Er… No, it won’t, because as far as I can tell this IS your show. You haven’t had networks mess with the idea, or deadly time constraints. This is your best version of it.

So, only ever shoot tape if it HELPS your show. And if the finished tape doesn’t live up to the show in your head - dump it. Quickly. It’s actually better to go to a pitch with no tape at all if it’s anything less than good.

But, finally, another great reason for shooting good tape is because, as my agent found out this week, if execs don’t want the show your pitching, they might still love what you do. And this week alone, we’ve already had two calls from networks who know us only through our tapes… and they’re calling US wanting us to pitch for shows they’re developing in house.

And my agent REALLY loves that.

Tags: , Hollywood, Oscars, Movie Bloggers, Director

The British Film Director - Introducing a new blogger

Richard Janes started in the film industry at the age of 14 working as a child actor for Children’s BBC Dramas. During film school he worked at commercial company @Radical where he got to soak in cinematic masters including Tarsem and Terry Gilliam as they worked on spots for global …

Tags: Filmmaker, Movie Theatre, , Filmmaking, Oscars

The Editor - You Don’t Need A Resumé!

The horrible reality of the film industry, like any sought-after career, is that there are always 100 people out there for every job that you might want. So, part of what film schools should teach (and only a few do) is how to go about looking for a job.

I’m going to pass some of that film school wisdom onto you now, and I won’t even charge you private school tuition (though small unmarked bills can be sent to me in care of… no, never mind, I’d better not go there).  And, in the process, I’m going to explain just why I’m kinda-sorta fibbing with the title of this post.

The first thing that everyone will tell you is that this is an industry based on connections. That’s not a horrible thing, unless you’ve just lost a job to the producer’s kid. In reality, however, that really doesn’t happen for editors because the job is just too damned exacting and difficult to entrust it to someone who can’t deliver 150% to you each and every day. But it does lead to the truism that most people would rather work with someone they can trust, rather than someone who they have to take a chance on. When you’re dealing with someone-else’s hard-earned money (or even not so hard-earned), that someone-else wants to make sure that they have a fighting chance of bringing the project to a successful completion. That’s why many of my students end up hiring friends who they’ve worked with at USC when they get out of school and are looking for people to help them on a job that they’ve landed. Simply — you know that that person gets it, that he or she understands your needs and your artistic concerns.

Frankly, I’d rather work with someone who I  have a verbal shorthand with, rather than someone who I constantly need to explain myself  to. The work is just too hard and with too much pressure to give up any sort of comfort zone.

So, the first thing you need is the ability to expand your circle of people who trust you. That means networking. That means participating in things like 48 hour film competitions, volunteering at local film clubs, offering your services (long-distance if need be) on places like Craig’s List or Mandy. If you’re good and if you work hard, people will notice. You want more and more people to know this about you.

Next is that you should know how to market your skills and develop new ones. This is no small thing. You’ve probably already figured out that I value storytelling abilities over Photoshop skills, but there’s no doubt that knowing how to do compression, being comfortable with After Effects, and being able to build simple DVDs, are some traits that many directors and producers value. If you don’t know a particular technology, go out and learn it. And then let people know about it. Keep in touch with your friends and previous collaborators. Advertise or market yourself at conferences, on the web, at indistry events.

There’s another type of knowledge that way too many people ignore — the zeitgeist, which means something like “the spirit of the age.” That means that it is helpful to speak the language of anime, stutter effects, Crank Yankers,  jump cutting and jerky camera (though those last two are actually from an earlier era, aren’t they?). Go see art in your city. Read books and blogs from a lot of people. Listen to new music, not just the tunes from your teens and early twenties (of course, if you’re still in your teens and early twenties — go for it!).

Get into this era!

Finally, and this is where my little lie in the title of this post comes in, you don’t need a resumé. What you really need is –a whole bunch of them. My wife, who is a career consultant, says that you should have a different resume for every job you go up for. That makes sense to me, because every job that you are putting yourself up for will be sought after by many many other job seekers. The big question for you, then, is: how can you separate yourself from all of them?

As an example, let’s say you’re going up for a film that’s set in Toronto. If you speak some French, wouldn’t it be great to have that higher up on your resumé than you would on one that you were submitting for a documentary on medical procedures? If you’re looking for a gig on a film that has a lot of music in it, wouldn’t it be better to tailor your resumé (and your reel) to reflect that you’ve organized and cut a film with a music emphasis?

You’re only going to get one shot at a first impression. Make that one count. Before you send a resumé and cover letter off for any particular job, do some research. What is the project about? Who are the people involved in it? Do you know anyone who has worked with them before? What are their backgrounds? And then, once you know as much information as you can get about that particular job, tailor your resumé to it and those people. So long as you suit their basic needs, that targeted resumé will at least get you moved to the top of the resumé stack. You might get the job, but you’re more likely to get an interview.

And, in this business, that’s no small feat.

Next time, I’ll talk about a documentary that I’m editing now — and why dox are fantastic for professional and personal growth.

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

The Documentary Producer - My week in Documentary Film - The “Pickup”

This week was a wild ride that started at 4:30am on Monday. I was on my way to Utah to do the much needed pickups for the documentary on Kaziah and I had less than 48 hours to do it…

My morning started off in line at McDonalds desperate to try their new Iced Coffee everyone has been raving about. Yes, this might seem like an easy/simple thing to be so excited about but remember, I still have a little one expecting wholesome milk from my breast.  He/we prefer the decaffinated version  :0).  Today and tomorrow I will be pumping and dumping.

So there I am slugging down my coffee, coming to terms with the fact that this beverage is no better than one would expect coffee to be coming from McDonalds. Enough sugar to supersize me. I digress…

On the plane I go over my notes. Having been sorting through over 15 hours of tape I realized there were some big story holes in the doc. This is my last chance to get everything I need to not only make a great film, but also hit the much covited Sundance deadline. How am I going to incorportate myself into the media gracefully? How can I get Kaziah to talk about her painful past which she wouldn’t do on our first trip?  If she looks different, how will I make that work? High on caffine, questions are buzzing through my mind.

One thing comforts me, the idea that this is a very blessed project. Kaziah May Hancock has painted over 500 hundred fallen soldiers as gifts for the families. She is a true Christian and has enough grit and grizzle to feed the entire US military. I will get what I needed if I trust myself, keep my ears open and press -gently of course - but the full court press is indeed the move to make.

So the PICKUP begins…

I arrive in Utah to be met by producing partner Kathleen. “Kathleen Dolan, please pick up a white courtesy phone” comes over the airport loud speaker. Trouble?! Already?!! Can’t be. Please, no.

I get out of the terminal to find that our ride, Kaziah, is lost in the Salt Lake Airport.  Small town girl lost in the chaos of the big city. She is at the other terminal and having trouble finding ours. We come to learn that until this year, a sixty year old Kaziah had only been to the airport two times.  After a few minutes she found us. Kaziah was frizzle fried but super happy to see us. Our journey began.

Her life has changed drastically since 9/11. She found the need to adopt a nation and started sharing her gift of painting with those in desperate need. In the past year she has been on a plane over six times to receive awards for her work as an artist. (This is an example of her work.) At least 10 news crews from all over the country have been to her farm to document her as an artist. In fact, one news station won the nation Emmy on her piece! The world wants to thank Kaziah and know more about her. So do I…

“So Kaziah,” I start on the two and a half hour drive back to her goat farm, “we are going to have to ask you some really tough questions this time to make our story work. We need people to know you and love you as much as we do. The good and the bad.”

A recent aquantance of hers had brought some suspision into her head. Kaziah realized that this all was going to go on her permanant record. And not all of her life was made up of roses.

This is the main catch with documentary subjects - gaining trust and remaining trustworthy. I found myself at a point where I had to prove myself again. I couldn’t risk having a closed subject. I don’t have the time or money.
Kathleen brough Kaziah into my life quite a few years back, in fact, before the war. We have been working together to get a narrative film mounted on Kaziah’s life. Proving difficult and being doers, we started working on our documentary one year ago. Up until this point she has been very trusting and lovely, and we wanted to keep it that way.

So since I knew I had a rough road ahead of me, I decided to do something I rarely if ever do, show my subject some footage. Now this time I felt great doing it because the footage is good, if I do say so myself. There is one take where Kaziah speaks about what it is like to paint so many fallen soldiers. Her passion and soul are bare naked on the screen left open for the world to judge and the gavel can only fall on the side of pure beauty and kindness.

Needless to say, she was blown away by herself and the delicate nature of the camera work. “Hell”, she said, “at least it is honest. Fat ass and all. At least it is honest”.  A filmmaker couldn’t ask for a nicer comment and a subject couldn’t feel any better than that.

I got her back in my court and the clock continued to tick.

 Come back next week for more…

 But in the meantime, check out STEVIE by Steve James and let me know what you think. One must look at (and question) the relationship of filmmaker and subject in this film.

Tags: Movie Blog, Director, Filmmaking, , Hollywood

The Web Producer - Randomly on the front page of NY Times !

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/realestate/20COV.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

That picture is a loooong story, much too drama-ridden to fully disclose here- but I will give you the short version, along with names changed to protect…well, ME! It was a late-night shoot in a swanky apartment in Harlem - you know the type: new building, doorman with high-priced …

Tags: Oscars, Hollywood, Movie, Movie Blog, Film

The Documentary Producer - ATTENTION FILMMAKERS… Tax Incentives for CA!

Over the weekend, California artists and execs met with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger about the problem of runaway production.  Schwarzenegger pledged to push for statewide tax breaks.

If you live or work in California, do your bit by thanking the Governor for his support. And spurring him on. gov.ca.gov/interact

Thank you for your time!

Tags: Director, Television, Filmmaking, Movie, Movie Theatre

The Producers Development Executive - How can I beat the title of last week’s post?

Dear FIDPER,

Today we are going to stop delving into my personal history. There’s a time and a place for everything and I’ve decided that today is both the time and the place to talk about meetings. Meetings are an integral part of every D-Girl and Boy’s life. …

Tags: Movie Bloggers, Movie, Movie Theatre, Movie, Filmmaker

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