Tag: Harry Potter

Nobody Knows Anything #4: Rethinking Franchises and Sequels

Post author By Charles Peirce
Post date February 12, 2014
66 Comments on Nobody Knows Anything #4: Rethinking Franchises and Sequels

By Charles Peirce

It would seem, to the eyes of Hollywood, the high form of film has become the franchise. It satisfies the two poles of conventional business wisdom: limiting risk as it promises more of the same, maximizing profit as it entices investors with that self-same prospect.[1] The Hobbit is stretched out to encompass three movies, hordes of young adult novels are on the horizon, and Bob Iger suggests Frozen will now be a franchise after its huge success, but it’s hard to imagine that wasn’t always the plan. Strangely, though, two of the pioneers of the form, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, both predict doom for what they helped create. And the recent failure of The Lone Ranger (and John Carter before that) suggest they might just be right.

Tags Alice in Wonderland, Archetype Theory, Archetypes, Avatar, Batman, Battleship, Before Midnight, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Bladerunner, Bob Iger, Breaking Bad, Charles Peirce, Christopher Nolan, Clerks, comic books, Comics, Danger Diabolik, Dark Shadows, Disney, Fantomas, Franchises, Frozen, George Lucas, Guest Post, Harry Potter, Hasbro, John Carter, Johnny Depp, Judex, Kevin Smith, Lacenaire, Louis Feuillade, Maldoror, Marvel, Michael Arndt, Nobody Knows Anything, Orange is the New Black, Pirates of the Caribbean, Punch, Robert Downey Jr, Robin Hood, Scream, Sequels, Sons of Anarchy, Sony, star wars, Steven Spielberg, Superheroes, Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Terminator, The Clown, The Fool, The Hero, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, The Joker, The Long Ranger, The Matrix, The Monk, The Outlaw, The Ruler, The Trickster, Toy Story, Transformers, Zorro

Truly Free Film

What Can Indie Filmmakers Learn From….

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date January 8, 2014

With Careful Observation And Construction, We Can Build It Better

It’s time for a collection of posts on what we can gain from others’ experiences in different fields. Last week, we examined the Music Biz, but why stop there?

Tags Beyonce, Bob Dylan, Charles Bukowski, Damien Hirst, Harry Potter, Matthew Barney, Miley Cyrus, Music Industry, physical media, Picasso, venture capital, zero revenue model

Truly Free Film

You Will Never Make Any REAL Money With Hollywood

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date December 31, 2013
547 Comments on You Will Never Make Any REAL Money With Hollywood

how do you expect to get your money from Hollywood?

Why did Mike DeLuca leave an incredibly successful producing career to return to the executive suite at Sony? After leaving the reigns of New Line, he produced Moneyball, The Social Network, and Captain Phillips among others. It’s hard to match his track record. Yet he too has given up producing. Why?

One can only assume the autonomy of producing is more pleasurable than the pressures of running a studio. One can also assume the confines of Sony are a hell of a lot more secure. Rarely does one gets paid their value for producing a film, and if it is a project you love and is even a wee bit challenging you are going to watch that diminished fee take another cut or five. If you want financial security or wealth, don’t be a producer.

But there’s always the back end, right?

Tags Don Johnson, Harry Potter, Harvey Weinstein, Napoleon Dynamite, Nash Bridges, sustainable investor class, The Walking Dead, vertical integration, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

Truly Free Film

Towards A Sustainable Investor Class: Deliver Risk Appropriate Returns

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date November 14, 2013
63 Comments on Towards A Sustainable Investor Class: Deliver Risk Appropriate Returns

The Film Industry has historically sought out “dumb money”, people willing to make the sucker bet. This is akin to basing the global transportation system on fossil fuel — at a given time ,you run out the resource and have the joy of having destroyed your planet or culture in the process. Why are we doing this? Isn’t it time this process stopped? Can we just find the photos of those responsible now, put them on the wall, and say “These people destroyed what we once loved?”

It is as if The Studios make sport of trying to make sure that the creators and their supporters don’t earn their fair share. By now everyone knows both the tales of

Tags film finance, film financing, George Lucas, Harry Potter, Investors, Napoleon Dynamite, profit statements, sustainable investor base, sustainable investor class, The Hunger Games

Truly Free Film

The Really Bad Things In The Indie Film Biz 2012

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date December 26, 2012
479 Comments on The Really Bad Things In The Indie Film Biz 2012

I can’t always be optimistic. My apologies.

I did start this HopeForFilm / TrulyFreeFilm blog in the hopes that community action could improve things for us all. My original lists of 75 problems of indie film remain relevant, alas; and with this latest addition we are almost at 100 such challenges.

But don’t be bummed, every problem is an opportunity, right? To quote the great Walt Kelly of Pogo: “We are surrounded by unsurmountable opportunities.” We just need the will, the strength, the hope, and the power to change them. 12 Steps to progress?

I admit, even blessed by my last name, even I can’t be always be optimistic, at least not if I want to also speak the truth. Sometimes throwing a brick is an act of love; you know what I mean? And granted I’ve thrown a lot of bricks at this indie film thing. What can I say? There’s a great deal really wrong with our culture these days and a hell of a lot that can hurt our business. We have to work together if we want to build it better.

Let’s get started and call these “opportunities” out (in no particular order); maybe they are not so unsurmountable after all:

Tags Dark Horse, Harry Potter, Napoleon Dynamite, net profits, proportional gender representation, Starlet, sustainability, sustainable film culture, Terry Zwigoff, The White Hare, Virtual Print Fee

Bowl Of Noses

Mrs. P Puts Potter Back In Bowl

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date December 28, 2010

Mrs. P returns with another guest post!

While this is an older piece, it is timely with the release of the latest Harry Potter movie. Puppets make great story telling vehicles. The homemade look and feel of this I think is inspiring in that with a camera on a tripod you can come up with something pretty imaginative. It’s good to remember that you don’t need a lot of special effects to make something fun and entertaining.
“Potter Puppet Pals: The Mysterious Ticking Noise”

MrsP.com, honored with the American Library Associations Great Site for Kids distinction, creates and publishes free video stories read and performed by acclaimed T.V. actress Kathy Kinney. The site has no advertising and offers interactive games, coloring sheets, and activity guides along with “show me the words” options on every story to help early readers, and ESL students. http://www.MrsP.com

Tags Harry Potter, Mrs. P

Bowl Of Noses

Vacation time? Put Your Imagination To Use!

Post author By Ted Hope
Post date December 27, 2010

In order to celebrate a week of no school, we are honored to host Mrs. P in our Bowl. Okay stop with the guffaws already. Mrs. P’s got a website of her own. Check it out here. But she’s volunteered to come on over and look after ours all week. Ain’t that something? Lucky birds that we are, we are going to hand our nest over to her.

One of the goals of my own storytelling site is to encourage kids to use their imaginations. I love seeing young people write and act in their own work. This one has the added twist in that they figured out how to use a free technology like YouTube to make an interactive game and distribute it tagging onto the success of the Thanksgiving opening of the new Harry Potter movie. Instead of waiting around for an agent to call, these young actors are putting themselves out there in a fun and interesting way. “Harry Potter Interactive Mystery Game” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imbRp9PX6Kc&feature=spotlight

Tags Harry Potter, Mrs. P

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