Category: Let’s Make Better Films

Don’t settle. There’s always more to do.

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Let's Make Better Films

Hey! Whachagonnado Today?

Got no plans this weekend?  Why not save the planet?


J. Hoberman has a nice article in the Village Voice equating the summer Hollywood releases with the different candidates and their world view (WALL-E as community orgainizer, THE DARK KNIGHT as the man that believes we should have no rules).  It provides a nice historical perspective on how cinema reflects the politics of the times, is totally worth the 3 minutes of reading required, but may be a tad too easy and misses the bigger point in the equation as I see it.

What’s remarkable about the time we live in and how the political drama has played out, particularly against the backdrop of this week’s self-inflicted collapse, is how we in a battle of participatory culture driven by the citizen/audience vs. corporately molded and fed arrogance.  This can be seen easily from Obama’s triumph and incredible citizen backed finance and the True Indie Film Scene’s paradigm shift to a DIY model.

We get a great opportunity where ever you live this weekend to vote with your dollars for the culture you want. Seriously. If you don’t vote early and often, you will soon lose the opportunity to truly chose that type of culture.  Power comes to those who participate and is denied those that don’t — okay, it’s not that simple, but nonetheless. Those that already have the power are mobilized and will soon deny the rest any opportunity to determine the films that are scene (read up on the battle to maintain NET NEUTRALITY now, if you haven’t already).


What I am trying to say is that this weekend, and for a couple more to come IF WE GET OUT AND VOTE WITH OUR DOLLARS, there is a wonderful embarrassment of riches of True Indie films in the theaters being Self Distributed.  Of course we can also just sit back and watch what happens when we allow the power that is to permit greed to go unregulated, and then we can just fiddle as the economy burns down to its last dying ember.

I got a chance earlier this year to see Stuart Townsend’s BATTLE IN SEATTLE early this year and was completely taken in by it’s kinetic energy.  It captured the thrill of participation and action for the things you believe in.  Stuart’s bringing the film out himself and he’s taking his incredible cast directly to the theaters here in NYC.  It’s at the Angelica if you are in NYC.

 For those of you in LA, I forward you an email from Michael Tully, who is the editor of Hammer To Nail, the blog I co-founded that is committed to building the home for ambitious film.  If you haven’t checked out the site, and all the great reviews for True Indies, do yourself a true favor and do so now.  Here’s Tully’s pick of the week:

Hello friends,

An incredible no-budget film called Take Out is opening on five screens in LA this weekend and they really need all the help they can get. I’ve never actually met the director, Sean Baker, but I am a HUGE fan of this movie, as well as his newest movie, Prince of Broadway, so i’m trying to spread the word in my own tiny way. Go see it, or spread the word to LA folks who might be interested. Here’s my Hammer to Nail review of the film:

http://www.hammertonail.com/?p=80

Thanks!

Mike


It’s also worth marking your calenders now too, because there are two truly great works that the filmmakers are personally bringing to you soon (or if you are NYC based did in the former case), Chris Smith’s THE POOL and Lance Hammer’s BALLAST.  You can not miss these movies.  At least you can’t miss these films and claim to be a True Indie Film Lover and Supporter.

And then back to the here and now of whachagonnado this weekend, no matter where you are, you also have a chance to see Alan Ball’s TOWELHEAD, which I had the pleasure of producing.  We are not self-distributing, but are the final release for the old guard upstart Warner Indie.  This is a film that embodies the reasons why I wanted to make films.  As Albert Berger, a friend and producer of many great films just emailed me: “It was provocative, unpredictable and infuriating (everything I want and expect from a This is That Joint).”  And the promise I made last week still stands: If you go and aren’t convinced that it was worth your time and money, I will refund your money (and if I was Dr. Who, I’d give you back your time too!) — upon proof of purchase.


Finally, despite protests to the contrary, I have always found inspiration and some workable analogies from the music industry.  If there was to be a True Indie Superstar (make that #4) we all need to look no further that Ian MacKaye, front man for both Minor Threat and Fugazi.  These bands self-distributed their work.   They priced their shows for their audience’s pocketbook.  Their methods informed their work.  To this day, I just have to hear their chords to have my adrenaline pump and my mind race with the possibility of a true audience driven culture, and then comes this connecting the dots: Sir Ben as Ian M. (thanks MC Indie!):


Sir Ben Kingsley STOMPS into the shoes of Minor Threat’s Ian MacKaye from Mean Magazine on Vimeo.

And if you have never seen Jem Cohen’s INSTRUMENT, don’t delay (True Indie Film Hero #5).
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Let's Make Better Films

Why The Hysteria?

The hysteria of the last six months in Indieville is built partially on our collective relunctance/slugishness to abandon an old model which has long been recognized as being inapplicable to most filmmakers work, but also out of the slow drip of the inevitable.  For fifteen years we have all heard of the dawning of the new era when we will have instant crystal clear downloads of everything under the sun on every screen everywhere anytime.  And we are waiting and waiting and waiting.  And still waiting.  The reality is the core audience could give a hoot about that future.  They like the here and now just fine (and granted most are old and grey and bald like me — or two out of three). Reality check: the glorius future is still a long way away still: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2008/09/reports-of-dvd.html.

Have you wondered why though?  Who’s keeping you pleasure at arm’s length?  Did you know that in the last three years the US had dropped from 3rd to 16th in terms of internet penetration among countries.  I just got back from Asia.  South Korea has 80% Broadband penetration!  Imagine what that could do for all of us.

We can’t drag our feet any longer.  We are on the precipice.  Truly.  For the first time in our cultural history, we have the opportunity to truly have the culture we want — whatever it is, in it’s multi-headed truly glorious diversity.  Once all filmmakers had to consider mass audiences.  Now, if you reach them, you can create for niches, even niches that once never existed.  It’s hard to even fathom what this means.  But it’s also on the verge of being taken away from us.  Truly.  The phone companies, cable companies, the Hollywood Studios, and the MPAA have banded together to take away the first utility to promote democracy (and innovation, participation, and free speech).  On Monday I got to speak up about The Key Issue In The Entire History Of Independent Film at IFP’s IFW Filmmaking 2.0 panel: NET NEUTRALITY.  The theater was 33% full at best (ugh), and only six people in the audience said they knew what “Net Neutrality” meant (UGH!)  It’s nothing to be embarassed about, but it is something to take action about.  I am going to be writing more about it on my blog INFO WANTS TO BE FREE (one of my many, mind you… please check them all out), but you can get super clear info on it now from both SaveTheInternet.com and PublicKnowledge.org.  On the panel with me was Art Brodsky from the latter entity, and I was completely impressed with him.  Follow that blog, that man, that issue.  We need to get active on this.

I should point out that the presidential candidates have incredibly different views on this subject.  If you want to endorse the candidate that supports Net Neutrality — and thus by extension truly supports true independent film — click and give here.  And if you are in NYC next Monday, you know where you should be (or will when you click there).

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Let's Make Better Films

True Indie Film Hero #3

Peter Broderick, who has been preaching the DIY Distro gospel longer than anyone I know (and thus is also on TIFH chart), has written a great two part article on the benefits of living in the real world aka the new world for IndieWire.  It’s REQUIRED READING.

Part One.

Part Two.

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Let's Make Better Films

The Future Is Here! almost…

It’s INDEPENDENT FILM WEEK here in NYC. Although I haven’t participated in many events, the activity and others efforts are benefiting me and everyone else greatly. The intense focus on and embrace of the coming reality is completely inspiring.

Instead of the negative view towards a changing paradigm, people are recognizing that the benefits of being part of a audience driven (the crass like to say “consumer”) model and the abandonment of the gatekeeper/limited supply past. Somehow I find it ironic that this recognition of the change from a top down to a bottom up (or push vs. pull) film industry structure is occurring simultaneously with an economic collapse and hopeful presidential power shift. The current financial crisis in America has been compared to the collapse of the Berlin Wall, in that unregulated capitalism is literally bankrupt, like authoritarian states with communist run economies previously collapsed. The film industry paradigm shift is not of the same seismic shift, but it is the biggest change we’ve had in our little corner.

On Monday night, I had the good fortune to be invited to a dinner put together by Lance Weiler and Arin Crumley & Susan Buice. These filmmakers have not only embraced the new world but have been inspiringly innovative in their efforts to reach, build, and motivate audiences. The dinner was a spin off of their DIY Days. I have been making films for twenty years now and the business model has never truly worked for the films I make and want to make. Yet, this was the first time that ANYONE has pulled together a brainstorming session on what to do about that, and for that alone these folks are elevated to True Indie Film Heroes on my chart. More on this dinner later (they filmed/recorded it), but check out everything you can about what these filmmakers are doing (if you haven’t already) and you can watch the future arrive.