William Keenan spent 13 years in NYC making independent films before relocating to LA in 2003. Once categorized as “the hardest working man at Sundance” by the Hollywood Reporter, Mr. Keenan was an actor, stuntman, writer and director before realizing that his greatest passion is producing. He’s been an invited participant in numerous film festivals around the world, as well as The Cannes Producers Network and The Sundance Institute Film Labs.
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March 7, 2009
Menon, Keenan launch India-US consultancy Nuclear Mango
Variety votes:Hot on the heels of the Academy Awards and commercial success of Slumdog Millionaire, Bollywood producer Govind Menon and US independent executive William Keenan have launched the Indian-US production consultancy Nuclear Mango.
Mango ripe for biz
Menon, Keenan launch Nuclear
The duo took the sobriquet Nuclear Mango in homage to President Bush’s 2006 comment after the U.S. and India signed a nuclear accord and a trade deal — “The U.S. is looking forward to eating Indian mangoes.”
Some interesting projects coming soon from the Indo-American new wave:
…Mickey Rourke meets Mr. Chopra?
UPDATED
Wall St dumps film deals on Hollywood investors
The next big round of financing for Hollywood will likely come from overseas or via deals that are backed by assets, such as film libraries, to minimize risk, bankers say.
February 6, 2009
HOT OFF THE PRESSES:
A Passage to Hollywood
Hollywood and India join up to create a new genre of movies
And some Un-Announced Announcements:
Along with some partners, I’ve been packaging a project for a Spring shoot. Of course, financing was contingent upon the elements in the package and in this economy — we got real creative with out-of-the-box ideas for production and stunt-casting. We first found a great script (originally written for Jack Black) and used our recipe to attach the following; (bonus points for correct guesses in the comments):
1) A bombshell actress/international star
2) A seasoned-vet American “name” director responsible for some classic films
3) A top global comedian with lots of fans debuting in a lead role
4) A superstar internet sensation whose “name” is a household phrase
…stir & Voila! — We’re making a movie:)
(IMO, stunt-casting works great as long as the talent-in-question can actually do a good job, or preferably, knock it outta the park;)
I’ll blog more about it at a later date, as we haven’t officially announced yet. I wouldn’t want to be accused of scooping myself, ya know.
But I can say this: indie films (in this case a rom-com) need all the help they can get to break free from the clutter in the marketplace as well as be able to tough it out during this economic crisis.
So in packaging this project, which will be considered a “global film,” we chose Above-The-Line players that will get us the most bang for our buck, especially when it comes to press hype and internet buzz on a global level.
These elements, combined with a smart business model, give us a pretty good chance at making a great film with long-term success potential; and in the short term give some jobs to people in the City of Los Angeles. Which reminds me, a project like this could not be done without a genius production manager like the one we have:)
You’re Invited:
If you’re in LA March 15th and wanna hang with me and some of my associates, head on up to Malibu Family Wines for a rollicking good time in the Santa Monica mountains in support of the Indian Los Angeles Film Festival– Hosted by my friend Mallika Sherawat, Bollywood’s Brigitte Bardot. Besides the aforementioned good time, there’ll also be a sneak peek at exclusive clips of Mallika’s new film Hisss.
These days, everyone’s gotta have a Bollywood/Hollywood collaborative project in their slate. This is a great event in which to get your crash-course.
Download the invite: ifflafundraiser.pdf
In other news:
I thought the YouTube deal with the William Morris talent agency was interesting. We’ll see how that works. Nice to see WMA step up to the viral video plate. United Talent Agency’s been in on the viral action for awhile now (the first agency to do so, I believe), but seems to have kept it all in-house.
Lots of different things will be tried with corporates and user-generated content providers, and now, at the very least, it looks like some of these agencies will try to get some exposure (and ad money) for their up ‘n coming players and existing star clients. Before, it was people on the net trying to get agents and gigs. Now, it’s the agencies trying to get their clients famous on the net; round and round it goes til someone figures out how to monetize the web woes…
Producer pursues a digital future
HuffPo:
“He’s creating an environment where he has the maximum opportunity to fulfill his creative vision within the economic boundaries he has,” Wright says.
…
“What all of this does is support the democratization of filming,” says Devlin. “We will see beautiful work coming from unexpected places.”
January 23, 2009
Aw, man. I begged and pleaded then threatened my friend John Sullivan who was going to Sundance to regularly send me reports from the festival so I could post them here, kind of as a man-on-the-scene blog special. Well, he did his job. I, on the other hand, did not. I was quite caught up working on a new project that is coming together very nicely, which I will announce next week on this blog. Til then, I present to you indie filmmaker John Sullivan’s musings whilst at Sundance in their entirety:
Sundance ‘09
1/15
Whew! Finished revisions of two scripts over the holidays. Feels great to get everything DONE! And hit the road! Driving with Ron, friend from NYU, listening to music (M83, Miles Davis, Neil Young) as our eyes drink in the expansive vistas along route 15. We caught up, Ron (Ceballos) recently opened his own photographer’s representation agency, Bureau Los Angeles. We arrive in Park City at 12:30 AM, meet his photographer Sinisha Nisevic (images on Bureas’s website). We’re guests of Elliot Kotek, editor of Moving Pictures magazine. Sinisha, reminds me of Viggo Mortinson in “Eastern Promises”, gave me his script to read… Might need a rewrite? Awesome!
Moving Pictures has a photo salon set up all week on Main Street and they’re shooting everyone with films in the festival, celebrity highlights include Billy Bob Thornton, Kevin Spacey, Lenny Kravitz and Leelee Sobieski, etc…. Sinisha’s book is beautiful.
There was a bit of a problem with the photo assistant Charles, early 20s, studies at The Brooks Institute, shows up without a call-sheet. Ron says, “Always print the call sheet.” We load up and he was supposed to sign the paperwork at Calumet, the camera rental house, and leave LA right after us. We left a little after 10AM. But Charles… Goes home to get his sleeping bag just in case he needs it and ends up taking a F&^ng nap! …For 8 hours! He didn’t leave LA until 8 PM! He had to be put up in Las Vegas for the night, and has since become the butt of many jokes, “I bet his mom told him he had to take the nap…” The fact that he has braces didn’t help. They’re all stressed about the arrival of the equipment and of course the kid is going to be very tired after driving all night; it’s10 hours from LA to Park City! This is not spring break! Everyone’s sure it will all work out, what choice do they have, but… Long story
short, for all you aspiring photographers and/or photo assistants – Sinisha needs a new LA photo assistant.
We stayed up and watched a DVD, “Finding Bliss”, because Elliot has copies of everything in the festival. A few funny lines for sure, but the film suffers from some awkward moments, tone problems, and I’m not sure it’s premise even works… Good cast, Leelee is charming and genuine as the lead and Denise Richards is good to serviceable as the porn star/unknown actor… It’s about a recent film school grad. (Sobieski) trying to “make it” in the legit entertainment business (…I know) and make her own movie that’s NOT a porno. while working a day job at a porn studio (‘Daily Grind’, get it?) as an editor/writer – secretly using their equipment and talent (Richards)! OMG! How Clever! Suffice to say, it’s no “Boogie Nights”. And apparently I’m not suppose to not say porn., “It’s adult entertainment. Porn is passé.” The film tells us. I think “porn.” is fine, more accurate. Basically we suffered too –
through it.
1/15 – 1/16
Charles arrived. Sinisha is happy and setting up the Moving Pictures Magazine salon on Main Street. Everyone is really excited to see how the photos come out, should hear some reports once things get rolling tomorrow.
Moved to my entertainment attorney Jonathan Gray’s house, a massive palace he’s rented for the second year, in over fifteen years coming, nestled in the nape of the mountain. I feel like I’m in a resort! Took pictures of the sunset, incredibly picturesque, can’t wait to enjoy the hot tub! We’re enjoying some grog which I prepared, made mostly with beer and port wine, apple baked with brown sugar; warm, intoxicating, yummy… Lots of folks rolled in late from NY, plane down in the Hudson caused all kinds of delays… We waited up with the grog and the fire making sure everyone arrived safe and sound.
Day one of the festival, managed to snag a few tickets at the main box office. Saw “Toe to Toe”, Emily Abt’s apt film about two very different High School senior girls who play lacrosse. Jesse (Louisa Krause) is a rich, spoiled, white girl with issues, and Tosha (Sonequa Martin) is a highly disciplined black girl doing anything and everything she can to get into Princeton. The characters felt real and specific, the story was very moving… One scene in the end when Jess’s workaholic mother leaves her daughter crying out for her in the driveway was absolutely stunning. Noah Bushel’s “The Missing Person” plays like a series of punches in the stomach. It’s an effective portrait of loneliness, I’m still beaten up, about what it is to miss someone and leave someone. Michael Shannon goes deep, utterly naturalistic, playing a private detective who make you laugh and cry with sardonic observations about himself and the world as he
spirals into graceful oblivion.
“PUSH, by Saphire” premiered at Eccles and enjoyed SEVEN standing ovations. Wow. Directed by Lee Daniels, “PUSH” looks to be THE hit of the festival, believe it or not I’ve heard several people already talking about Oscar nominations for the cast; is this Sundance? The party, officially entitled “The Island Def Jam House of Hype late night Ultra Lounge” competing with “The Vitamin Water 50 Cent House” and “Axe/Fix with DJ AM”, lived up to it’s singular name. Cuba Gooding, Russel Simmons, Sundance’s elite were (somewhere) in that House of Hype, but the long space and a three floors made people wander and explore to find them… And the bouncers! Prodded everyone like sheep, a zone defense protecting “vital” walkways. Bad enough getting into these places, but once inside bouncers yelling at folks to “MOVE!” is a buzz kill. House of Hype indeed.
1/17
Went to the NYU Alumni party on main street, actually a good time, saw a lot of familiar faces… B.Ratner was in the house, with a stunning, bored blond; great pout… He was kind enough to tell the lovely director Sabina Vajarace I was talking to I was the most eligible bachelor in the house. Thanks Brett, pot calls the kettle black.
“The Vicious Kind” lives up to it’s name. The film, about a wounded, misogynist (Adam Scott) who despite being a complete bastard almost every second on screen, manages to seduce his young brother’s (Alex Frost) girlfriend (Britanny Snow), was received well by the audience into silence at the start of the Q and A. The film definitely manages to chart the dark corners of these sad, twisted human’s lives, and uncomfortably poses the question of how much of ourselves can we see in its tortured characters.
The first Sundance sale, “Brooklyn’s Finest”, was announced by Indie.wire, but no figures were quoted. We’re all waiting for a big sale/announcement with gigantic numbers, ideally for the festival darling, underdog, no name cast, director nobody’s heard of, etc… Come on Indie. financiers and distributors – we need you! Hope springs eternal, even in this economy.
1/21
What a tremendous day! Celebrations lined Main Street and there was a renewed feeling of optimism and pride everywhere you went and within everyone you talked to. Everyone is so F^%ing happy to see Bush and Cheney (looking like a cross between Dr. Evil and Mr. Potter from “It’s A Wonderful Life”) leave Washington forever and our amazing new leader Barack Obama assume power and the presidency. Simply, a great day to be an American. Amen.
Obama said we faced challenge and were going to have to PUSH to rebuild America, and “PUSH by Safire” screened again at Eccles. What an incredible film. What an incredible film! What a cast! My God! Winning THREE standing ovations, the film expressively and impeccably directed by Lee Daniels “PUSH” deserves to be the hit of the festival and is the must see film to come out of Sundance ’09.
Been hearing all week that Mariah Carey is in town, knew she was in the film… But even though I was staring at her face, I didn’t realize who she was until the end credits. She disappears into her character, totally awesome! Mo’Nique should be nominated for an Oscar (next year) for her role as Harlem’s worst mother, Lenny Kravitz is low key and charming as a male nurse, and Gaboure ‘Gabby Sidibe is perfect in the leading role Clareece “Precious” Jones. Phenomenal!
Lee was generous, humble and emotional in the Q and A, obviously going deep making this film… Where was Safire? Where was Oprah? Harvey was milling around after the screening and John Sloss from Cinetic looked like he was holding all aces. This is exactly the type of film best served at Sundance, now all we need is a great film to come from some complete unknowns and ’09 will be considered a total success.
But the greater success would be if all these films find an audience. On that theme… Went to a panel discussion yesterday, moderated by Geoff Gilmore, with Michael Barker, James Shamus, Ted Hope, Jonathan Sehring, Marcus Hu and Peter Broderick that was not terribly inspiring, though Broderick tried, fighting the good fight… Sehring laid out some rather depressing statistics and tried to shake the rumors he pays pennies on the dollar for films. Shamus, also fighting the good fight but as the reigning heavyweight, said theatrical was a loss leader and the only reason people see movies in theaters is because when you meet someone and want to have sex, you don’t have to ask them to your dorm room. Hope made a comment about how the only films that get made are made by the rich and the young, who don’t mind blowing their credit (Linklater, etc…) or donating their bodies to science (Rodriguez).
Broderick closed mentioning “The Secret”, the highest grossing DVD in the US last year which sold with no theatrical release thanks to – there’s the name again, Oprah. I mean when you think about it… Obama, “The Secret”, “PUSH by Safire”. Oprah is ubiquitous, really the most powerful woman in the world.
It’s been 5 days and nights of films and a few too many late nights of the grog at the Gray Krauss house. The Moving Pictures photo crew is just about finished, shot Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Madsen, list goes on and on… Looks like Sinisha and I may be working on his film “Stranger at the Palazzo D’Oro by Paul Theroux” and I think I found someone to help develop “Polly Baker Pattern Maker”. Well worth the trip, productive, inspiring, exhausting.
January 5, 2009
From the “flamboyant accidents waiting to happen” dept:
Real Life Superheroes
Inspired by comic books, ordinary citizens are putting on masks to fight crime
Articles in Rolling Stone and The Sunday Times introduce us to real life superheroes, basically vigilantes in spandex with names like Terrifica, Mr. Invisible, Master Legend, and The Ace. - Boingboing
(One of these guys has GOT to be good-to-go for a kick-ass doc.)
The World Superhero Registry - They are anonymous, they are legion. Hollywood, you’ve created a monster army. They call themselves, “Reals.”
related:
10 People with Incredible Abilities
The End of ALL Top Ten Film Lists:
indieWIRE & Industry Top 10s for 2008
He knows which way the wind is blowing:
Will Smith embraces India
Star aims to marry Hollywood and Bollywood
Hollywood starts ‘09 with little to celebrate
Industry executives contend that the steep downturn will force Hollywood to fundamentally change the way it does business.
Join the new indie revolution:
HOW TO Do Almost Anything With Social Media
Art House Theaters Unite!
Pocket Projector
5 Trends That Will Change Media in ‘09
This is what people are watching instead of your indie filmz:
My Day, Yesterday
The upcoming Norwegian horror film Dead Snow (aka Død Snø) has all the elements - zombies, Nazis, and of course, sexy students - for the makings of a great horror film. - Buzzfeed
Hoverground Vid ‘o the week:
2008 Movies Montage
Best Political Videos Of 2008
One Year In 40 Seconds
Culture Buzz A simple, beautiful time-lapse video of four full seasons from photographer Eirik Solheim. With ambient sounds mixed in and seamless transitions, this quick video captures the ineffable passage of time. -Buzzfeed
January 2, 2009
Michael Soares has been an entertainment news producer with NBC’s Access Hollywood over twelve years now. He’s covered premieres and interviewed filmmakers and stars at major fests and awards. He’s also seen every movie ever made, or so I claim. He knows where all the bodies are buried, and where all the minds went lost.
So, Michael. If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could only bring one studio movie…
I’m reminded of what Paul McCartney said when asked, what is your favorite Beatles song? He answered, depends what day it is... or something to that effect. Today I will answer Almost Famous… but my answer can and will change tomorrow.
…and one faaaaav indie film:
Without going through the McCartney mumbo-jumbo again I will answer Hedwig And The Angry Inch.
…A book:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens followed by Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.
A song…
Honky Tonk Woman by The Rolling Stones
…One quote on a scrap of paper:
“What fresh Hell is this?” - Dorothy Parker
…with a few words of wisdom:
Don’t sweat the small stuff and climb in your time machine, dial back to 1981 and buy lots of Apple stock.
…A personal philosophy to live by:
Don’t ever have regrets.
…A professional philosophy to pass on:
…One interview you did:
Dustin Hoffman, Sundance 2003
…and had to give advice to indie filmmakers:
Please… Keep it under 100 minutes.
