Over at The Workbook Project, Saskia Wilson-Brown continues her thoughtful consideration of the role of film festivals and how to improve it. She provides a good bullet list precisely about what festivals can do to better serve both filmmakers and their communities. Read it. Absorb it. Adopt it. Spread it.
Author: Ted Hope
Broadband is not an information service like Google or Amazon. It is a communication service like telephony. Thusly, we need a government agency, like the FCC, to regulate it and protect consumers and all the other diverse interests involved. This is going to require the US Congress to get involved to fix the way it is currently misclassified. There is a good op/ed in the New York Times about it. But it warrants calling your representatives and telling them how you feel.
Okay, the robots are lit a bit better than us, but who’s complaining? I had fun at last night’s discussion with Chris Hyams and Sharon Waxman.
Check out: http://www.livestream.com/thewrap Tonight 6PM EST. Sharon Waxman, Chris Hyams, and me, chatting about two things that go together better than peanut buttter and jelly.
By now you’ve probably heard that the US Congress has approved two different film future exchanges, (i.e. commodity exchanges). Variety, among others, have been covering the story in what we have to recognize as an inflammatory way (then again, why should they not be like the rest of the media).
The press has uniformly been very biased in the way the story is told, always positioning the exchages as “a gamble” and a haven for speculation. Sure, I suspect that these exchanges will prove to be a very disruptive influence, but that does not mean they are shouldn’t be allowed. And yes, I am all in favor of far greater government supervision of our financial industries, but again that does not mean new mechanisms shouldn’t be given a chance. There is a great deal more to the story of these exchanges that needs be put on the table, as they offer us many benefits beyond what the press would have us understand is a simply another opportunity to gamble.
I am grossly disappointed in the lack of action from film industry leaders to do anything to help to establish a sustainable investor class for the entertainment industry.
If I had to state one of the most crucial things we need to focus on in the indie film world right now, I would say that working to establish a sustainable investor class ranks right at the top. If only it did not take a bit more than simply stating it…
I have made over sixty films in about twenty years. Each film is a new start up with a new structure and new investors. It is not a very efficient system. Folks from The Business Community often express interest in trying to bring some greater reason to our world. I hope they succeed and I am available to help, but it is not so easy a mission.
One of the reasons that each film has it’s own financial structure is that every film has its own needs. We are not making a standardized product, but we are working with artists who have developed unique talents for getting their visions and emotion up and out there. Filmmakers need a protected environment to work in.
At the same time, Investors need access to the process to trust their needs are being taken care of. These needs are most often quite different from the filmmakers’. How to provide trust, confidence, and comfort is part of what makes producing such a challenge (and pleasure).
Today we are pleased to present a conversation between Keith Bearden and Jordan Horowitz, the first-time Director and first-time Producer of MEET MONICA VELOUR, starring Kim Cattrall, about what it was like to make the film, the lessons they learned, and expectations for the future. The film will premiere at the Tribeca International Film Festival on Sunday April 25th, and other screening times can be found here.–
Keith Bearden: I have to start by saying that having done well with short films and commercials, the important parts of feature filmmaking were there when I started (when I hear about writers jumping head first into feature directing I wince in sympathy pain). But of course, there were still a lot of challenges ahead.
My biggest lesson was learning what you don’t need in a screenplay.
