Tag: Ang Lee

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Issues and Actions My Films

Read Some Excerpts From My New Book

I know what you are thinking. You are wondering “why should I go buy a book when I can just download a movie illegally for free?” right?  Well there is a price to pay for everything.  One of the reasons I wrote this book is to advance and preserve the film art and culture that I love — and that other option certainly does not do that! I wrote the book “Hope For Film” (with Anthony Kaufman) because I wanted to share some of the many lessons I have learned producing indie film.

Two recent excerpts give you

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Truly Free Film

What I Learned Producing Ang Lee’s 1st Breakout Hit

The Wedding BanquetOne of the pleasures of writing my book “Hope For Film” was examining many of my films for the lessons I’ve learned. The book is structured around ten core lessons although most of them include many different films.  I learned a lot more than I could ever fit in one book. In going back and looking at my notes I realize of all my films, I might have learned most from Ang Lee’s 2nd film “The Wedding Banquet”.

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Truly Free Film

What I Learned About The Film BUSINESS From Working With Ang Lee

(And I have a lot more on the creative lessons I learned from Ang in my upcoming book — which you can preorder now at: http://bit.ly/HopeForFilmBook)

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Truly Free Film

10 Ways Technology Altered My Filmmaking Process

I am not sure cell phones have really helped because I used to be able to always be on set.  When cell phones came along, the producer was always on the phone.  Sure schedules used to be done by hand.  Nothing was wireless.  But what was it that helped make movies more efficiently or creatively?  What were the big advances that I can recall?  Did they all actually help? Did some hurt?

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Truly Free Film

Who Did What For Me When: Introductions

None of us would ever get anywhere if our friends didn’t look out for us.  Our lives are not of our own making.

Milton Berle said “If opportunity does not knock, build a door.”  But the reality is you need some tools to be able to build; your bare hands won’t suffice.  Certain tasks too really are to big to tackle on your own. Someone sometimes has to hand you that hammer.  Fortunately, I have had some generous people in my life, who have helped me to connect the dots.

This is a time for giving thanks. Perspective comes with offering gratitude.  We need to be reminded of our good fortune.  We did not make it on our own.  Our lives are complicated habitrails, where others build our ramps, rooms, and wonderballs.

I have hesititated in my life fearing that if I displayed thanks, I would inevitably make a mistake and leave people out.  Like me, this is a work-in-progress.  I will make a mistake.  I will leave people out. But we have gratefully left that analogue world of completion and perfection, and here in the land of digital, everything is constantly evolving.  We are free to fuck up. So….

Thanks (in alphabetical order by the introducer’s first name):

Ann Goulder put me in touch with

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My Films

THE ICE STORM: Casting The Locations

 It was a rare opportunity.  And virtually everything went right.  True, the gunk we used to make the icicles (a mix of hair product and other fine elixirs) did not come off trains so easily.  And yes, it was before they had invented texture mapping software so a few CGI additions of snow cost way too much.  But  I was very fortunate to get to produce Ang Lee’s THE ICE STORM.  It’s great to see that Criterion is now putting some of the video extras up on the net.

We hired Mark Friedberg as our production designer.  Mark was just starting out then.  We were impressed with the western town he had done for THE BALLAD OF LITTLE JO.  He had been the art director on the first Good Machine production, Claire Denis’ short KEEP IT FOR YOURSELF.  His work was good but mostly we hired him because he was someone we felt we could trust — and he could communicate very well.  In many ways, he and I had come up together.  We both had been canvassers for MassPIRG back when, and some of our production philosophy had been shaped by that experience.  His first Production Design credit was for a comedy compilation film I production managed.  Whether we were going to succeed or fail with THE ICE STORM, I did not know, but either way I wanted some friends around me that I could trust.

As this video clearly demonstrates, Mark was the right person for the job.  For this video, he speaks quite well about the intent behind the selection of the locations.  When your budget is tight, locations are perhaps the biggest choice the Designer makes.  It always frustrates me if people take those chases lightly.

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Truly Free Film

How Skateboarding, Cooking, and Boxing Taught Me To Make Films

Guest post by John Zhao

Riding skateboards, boxing with the locals and cooking up a storm were the fun and affordable things I grew up enjoying. Film school I avoided because it wasn’t as affordable and I was paranoid it would take out the fun. After I eventually experienced making a first feature, I couldn’t help realizing a list of pastimes that seemed to inform me of how to go about being a first-time filmmaker. I’m sharing this list from my journal and hope to hear what other filmmakers do in between the cuts.

 

1. SKATEBOARDING (AND FILMMAKING)

Former Skaters Spike and Harmony

That public location essential to your performance will try to kick you out. Have a getaway plan or a good lie.

There’s a lot of fun to be had even if your wallet’s near empty. The world is your playground.

Skate videos are absent of narrative and plot. They’re a cornucopia of rhythms, textures, music, and poetry that can keep me intrigued for hours. How can a feature film do the same?

A general disrespect for money and authority is healthy.

Enjoy feeling pain over and over again. It can take a dozen drafts to find your film’s soul and a twenty takes to nail your best move. See failure as slapstick, not sad.

Skateboarders bail and crash the second they become self-conscious of where to land, or intellectualize their movements mid-air. Take a leap of faith when you’re “almost ready” and WILL IT into existence. Staying delusional like this while making films seems to work out.

Every skateboarder dances their own style. Finding your own style and voice, and being completely yourself can be a challenge. But you can make someone lonely in their world feel less lonely for being who they are. You can teach something new and push things forward.

It’s an athletic art form. Develop a great sense of space, timing and balance. Being physically fit is essential for the ride.

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