Dash Shaw (Bodyworks, Bottomless Bellybutton), John Cameron Mitchell, Sigur Ros. What more could you want?
Month: October 2012
by Jon Marcus
I am a single gay man. I date, and I have sex. I’m not bipolar, or a murderer, or a drug addict, and I don’t toss snappy punchlines into every conversation. For all the groundbreaking gains that gay characters have recently made on TV, I don’t see myself anywhere onscreen when I go to the movies or flip through channels. Equality is about a lot of things for me, and in a time when I see proliferating ads for “quirky” or “unconventional” lead characters on TV, I would like to jump past the part where we fight for “gay” to be another quirk, right to the place where it’s so normal that seeing us kiss isn’t still controversial.
I didn’t get beaten up as a kid, and I haven’t faced a lot of overt discrimination in my life, but
It’s Banned Book Week. What better way to celebrate than with the Pope Of Filth himself?
NSFW
Big hat tip to Open Culture who has been delivering great discoveries on a daily basis for some time now.
There’s more from this great series produced at The City’s own City Lights Bookstore.
Joshua Mohr reads from Anthony Burgess’ A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.
Yesterday, we ran part one. All of this is courtesy of Andrew Einspruch and Screen Hub. And of course Screen Australia who brought me to Sydney for a two day lecture last month. Today: part two. (P.S. There are 98 more parts to this lecture but it requires a few more trips to Sydney before I can spit it out!)
by Andrew Einspruch
“For Hope, who is a producer is pretty simple. It is the person there from the beginning of the project to its end.” Daunting but true, and Andrew Einspruch tracked his definition for being there down to his feeling for percentages.
As Ted Hope made abundantly clear on the second day of Hope for Film, effective feature film producers have to know a lot of stuff, and have to keep at it to learn more. Here’s a brief list of things he rattled off:
– Dramaturgy and script development
– Breadth of available actors and crew
– How to maintain the line during production
– How to elevate a project during its creation
– A solid business and financial background in the media space so you can determine the value of what you are creating, and then do that evaluation.
– Who the foreign sales companies are and their reputations (Hope’s own list has 72 on it).
– The meanings of the various film festivals, and what it means to launch at one vs. another.
– How to manage the 90+ territories that are out there (generally sold as about 60).
– The different digital platforms that are out there, and how they can help you sell your film.
– Having big opinions on marketing and distribution, and the wisdom to know you are not always right.
– What brings people together to create an audience.
It is an overwhelming list of knowledge and understanding. “The nice thing is that there is probably no one out there that can answer all those questions,” said Hope. “But it doesn’t stop you from striving to hit it and to try to have the best practices available to you.”
“Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”
– Neil Gaiman (via Brainpickings).
Read Neil Gaiman’s Full 8 Tips on Writing here.
And the reason is because independent exhibition is even more seriously threatened. This is likely the last year of 35mm projection and the problem of that goes much deeper than whether you appreciate grain or not.
Sure the promise of digital projection & delivery is partially lower costs, but
The most important issue for independent filmmakers these days is survival. How do you make ends meet? Taking rent off the table, filmmakers have room to move. When we shut down our offices at This is that, and I started working out of my kitchen, I got less productive and could share less (and limited my intern use). That won’t happen to you though. Why? Because if you live in San Francisco, the San Francisco Film Society can help you with your office expense by providing you a free office.
The San Francisco Film Society is pleased to announce that, as of September 2012, FilmHouse is open once again in 4,800 spacious square feet of newly-renovated office space located in the bustling Fillmore District. With generous funding from theKenneth Rainin Foundation and additional support from the San Francisco Film Commission, the FilmHouse residency program is designed to offer free office space to filmmakers in various stages of production where they can share talents and resources with their peers.
Open to both narrative and documentary filmmakers, FilmHouse offers a residency of either 6 or 12 months to filmmakers with projects that, through plot, character, theme or setting explore social issues of our time.
| APPLICATION NOW OPEN |
| EARLY DEADLINE: October 31 |
| LATE DEADLINE: November 7 |
CONTACT
Jessica Anthony
FilmHouse Coordinator
415-561-5033
janthony@sffs.org
