Categories
My Films

If The Art Of The Samurai Is Not Having To Draw One’s Sword…

IMG_9072Gary Meyer’s blog EatDrinkFilms captures three of life’s great pleasures in a single dose. I am very pleased to have one of my favorite tales from my book excerpted there now.

Picture this: it is the first film you’ve financed yourself. You and your team are in a foreign land. Your money has been cut off and your financier picks you up, refusing to speak, and takes you up into the mountains where you are required to disrobe.

“One trait that helps producers is an imagination that can take you to the worst-case scenario, so that you can guard against it. I am prone to many dark thoughts, but I hadn’t anticipated this.”

Categories
Truly Free Film

The Really Good Things In FilmBiz 2014

Let's look at the bright side!
Let’s look at the bright side!

Some rituals help keep us focused throughout the year. This marks the 4th time I have looked back at all the good things that occurred in the film biz and listed them out for all of us. Tracking them through year, keeps me from abandoning hope. Sometimes they may just be the silver lining in the storm cloud, but nonetheless they keep me going, keep me convinced that in fact we truly are: building it better together. I hope they do something close to that for you. It’s been a good year, and I have thirty two morsels to tempt you with. And of course the year’s not through yet, so perhaps you have some to add to this too. 

If you’ve encountered elements of this list earlier on my postings in Film Comment and on Keyframe, pay careful attention as I have weaved some new points into all for your reading pleasure. And if you like a little of the bitter to wash down the sweet, don’t forget the list of 30 Bad Things In 2014’s Film Biz here.

Categories
Truly Free Film

30 Really Bad Things In FilmBiz 2014

IMG_9903It is now time for my complete list of The Suck In Today’s Film Biz. Earlier this week, I’ve dropped some bits on Keyframe and Filmmaker Mag. IndieWire picked it up. There’s so much that is wrong, it is easy to share the wealth. But here is all of those combined lists  plus many more. Can’t you hear everyone screaming “OMG, there is so much too fix! It is time we made this really work for ambitious and diverse film once and for all!”?  We wish, right?

I have been chronicling the negative in our film industry for sometime now — six years in these type of posts, but my original rant goes back to 1995 for Filmmaker Magazine.  Much of what I have stated in years’ passed remains still in need of getting done. Dig in to my past lists and when you combine them you will have well over 100 things that we could be doing better.  You’d think with so much wrong, more people would stand up and say “this has got to change!”. Where is the film industry’s national leadership? For the first time I believe we are capable of conceptualizing what an entire systems reboot could be — and one that looks out for ALL the stakeholders.  Isn’t it time for a international summit on this?

I have been also chronicling the good too, but today that’s for another day. Come back tomorrow for my comprehensive list of 30 Good Things In The Film Biz 2014.

By detailing what we have failed to do, done wrong, or continue to ignore, we build a road map of how we can improve things for the future. Here’s my contribution to that map for 2014.  Let’s build this better together.

  1. The “Winners Take All” Blockbuster Model Has Stomped “The Long Tail” Flat (in Hollywood). And as much as I hoped people would try to resist
Categories
Issues and Actions

Get Your Next Fix Of More Good And Bad FilmBiz2014

Your cup runneth over.  So much happens you barely can determine if it is half full or half empty.  To capture this abundance, please turn to our friends at Keyframe for ten additional good things, and our pals at Filmmaker Magazine for ten additional bad.

Categories
Issues and Actions

The Good And The Bad In FilmBiz2014: Initial Dose

We are trying something a wee bit different this year. Instead of launching with a massive list of either the good and the bad, I’ve teamed up with some partners to help distribute the news.  What’s good or bad in the film biz in 2014? Well check out Film Comment for ten good (complete with swell photo selection) and check out Keyframe for ten bad. Tomorrow, Keyframe will break with some more, and Filmmaker Magazine will join for good measure. And then come the end of the week, I will add to each of the lists here.  Woo hoo!

Categories
Truly Free Film

Want To Know What Is Wrong With The Film Business?

This chart does a pretty good job explaining it.

Granted this

Categories
My Films

Happy Thanksgiving!

"The Ice Storm"
“The Ice Storm”