Movie Monday: Super-Exhausted

I think I’m suffering from Superhero anxiety. I’m not Team Captain or Team Stark or whatever! I’m sort of meh about the whole Superhero thing. Disney is banking on the fact that they have all this pre-vetted material in the Marvel Universe. Their slate is stock full until 2020 with Superhero films. But like the Musical and Zombie movie before them, I think we’re all super exhausted with Superhero films.

Last night my husband and friends went to see Captain America: Civil War. They offered to let us geeky moms have a night at the theater to see it ourselves, it was after all Mother’s Day… but us moms looked at one another and sighed that mom sigh of “do I have to?” We decided it was better to stay back with the kids.

WHAT?! This geek mom denying a night out to see a super geek movie! I’m such big a nerd that I have a Portal gun and companion cube, I am currently wearing an Inigo Montoya t-shirt from a loot crate and my kids coloring book is from a galaxy far-far away. This isn’t some feeling of thing like I’m a girl and don’t understand or like super hero movies. I do, I REALLY do. But lately I’ve been so inundated by them I just. Don’t. CARE! 

I went to the highly anticipated Batman vs. Superman. Ben Afleck was fine. I really enjoy anything Jeremy Irons is in. Sadly my favorite part was the 2.5 seconds I got to see Wonder Woman. If I need more Henry Cavill in my life, I’ll watch The Man From U.N.C.LE. At least it’s different. I even recently gave the reboot of Fantastic Four a try, just to see what all the internet fan-boy rage was about. You can actually see where the studio took over and it stopped being a movie by the director and becomes a studio jumble of poop. It was still unimpressive. Felt the same way about the most recent Avengers Age of Ultron- even with some of my absolute favorite actors taking center stage.

Superhero movies have changed the face of cinema. We were so awed by the original Spider-Man in 2002, but by the time The Amazing Spider-Man came out no one cared, I certainly didn’t. Batman has been reimagined so many times that I’ve lost count, but it went from being uniquely dark in 1989 with Direction by Tim Burton (no, Chris Nolan was NOT the first to go dark) to the what-the-hell-was-that Batman & Robin in 1997. It took less than 10 years for the studio to squander what had once been awesome and new and turn it into a ridiculous money grab of a train wreck- that didn’t make the money they wanted it to.

I’m exhausted of these movies. Because while they are often accompanies by innovations that break barriers for film and cinema, they are also a lot of the same old thing different wrapping paper. Just a glance at this Wiki page on American Superhero movies and you can see how many we’ve made since the first Spider’s Web series in 1939. 

Bet you didn’t realized we’d been making and seeing super hero films that long, but we have. 

I counted 86 superhero movies from 2002 to 2016. Eighty-six.  I count 4 that can clearly be labeled as original material if we ignore the fact that they are largely inspired by the genre as a whole. I love a good action movie. I’ve written two myself and know countless other writers who have original content. The excuse that there isn’t quality material is ludicrous. Studios need to own up to the fact they are either scared shitless or run by MBA’s without a creative bone in their bodies. Either would suffice. I’m still left standing here in line at the movie theater wondering what I’m going to watch because I just can’t sit through ANOTHER superhero movie.

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UPDATE May 11, 2016 : Ok, I saw it was awesome. There was the wonderful filmmaking, colorful characters, the works. Disney knows how to make a solid super-hero movie. The thing is, I went in in a sour mood, hoping it would lift my spirits. It only sort of did. My favorite moments were actually the moments with the age appropriate Spiderman and the extremely under utilized Black Panther. I enjoyed the film, don't get me wrong. But I still feel left wanting. I think what I want more than anything is something new. A new voice, a new talent. That's why Spiderman and Black Panther were so special. They were new and it was awesome. Still hoping, but not holding my breath.

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Movie Monday: Just Say No to Whitewashing

Me in the short form western I wrote.

Ok, I get that it's Tuesday but I was filming yesterday so there you go. Here it is, this weeks Movie Monday!

I think I need to preface this by stating two things. One: I'm a ginger-glow-in-the-dark white girl. I write screenplays, sometimes with myself in mind because they are roles I want to play. It is the only role I write with a particular race in mind because, as mentioned before, I glow in the dark. Two, I strive for diversity in my films as much as humanly possible. As I've grown as a writer and producer, I make a point of seeking actors I may not know at first to fill every role. I write full back stories for even the most minor of roles and honor the heritage of whomever we cast- don't believe me look at this cast I've assembled for my next feature. 

That's said, here we go.

There are some people who believe that a great actor can play any role. I disagree. A gifted actor can play any role...except when the character's race or gender is explicit to who they are. Audiences would not accept a white actor playing Martin Luther King Jr.- a stage production recently learned that the hard way. Nor would they accept a person of color playing Abraham Lincoln or Princess Diana.

While these are historical figures, the problem remains when a popular work of literature- let's say Ghost in the Shell- is a Japanese story but being made by an American studio. By casting a different race, you ignore the history behind the character that defines them.

So, let's talk about the whitewashing that is Hollywood. We all know who the big culprit is. The studios, for whatever reason- Freddy Wong has a good guess- decide that they need a star to fill their title role. They don't do a simple Google search to find a few of the zillion results for "Top 40 Asian Actresses" or anything like that. That's too hard. Let's cast someone "recognizable" which is studio code for white... also, Max Landis can bite me. 

Forget for a moment that a fan favorite like Ghost in the Shell is even being made in the first place BECAUSE of the fan following. That is to say the bankable reason it will make money is because of the fans it already has- fans who love and understand that it is a Japanese story. And the studio KNEW that, because they did this horrible thing.

We know this sin, because we've seen it time and time again. We can get angry and rant about the studios all we want. Yet they still sit comfortably behind iron gates in ivory towers, laughing at us while they count their money. You're still all going to see the movie so they don't care if you're pissed about casting.

So let's talk about someone who CAN be held account for it. Someone who CAN tell the studios this is wrong.

The actors.

The actor has a responsibility to themselves and to the fans to ask the question "am I right for this role"? Because that is the way this stops. That is the only way the studios figure out that there are talented actors of all colors and shapes and ages. When the actors they approach to play beloved roles say, sorry I don't think that I'm right for this role.

I get it, I do. The studio offered you $10 million to take the role. That would be hard to pass up. Except you're an actor, a pretty good one at that. You likely got into acting for the craft or fun of it. Because lord knows most actors never make the kind of money being offered here. Most actors decided to get into acting because they enjoy the art of telling a good story through crafting a character that is so real your audience forgets the actor and believes.

So if you're taking the $10million it's not for the art of it. You're in it for the money which is fine. But don't lie to the fans- or yourself- and tell us it's because the role was so special for you. If that were true, Scarlett, you would have politely told the studios something like this:

 "I'm honored you would think of me, but I really feel Koyuki Kato or Keiko Kitagawa would be better suited for this role- they are Japanese after all. Hey, Keiko was in Fast and the Furious, I'm sure your marketing team could use that. Or event better, what about Rinko Kikuchi? She was in Pacific Rim and did an amazing job! But if you really need a "face" Americans will recognize- though I should mention she's Chinese, not Japanese- Ziyi Zhang would be great! Remember her in Memoirs of a Geisha? We totally did this cross casting an Asian actress for a face Americans knew thing before. Call her up!"

Seriously, ANY of these fabulous women would have been a better choice.

But until you do that actors, I'm calling you out Scarlett. You should have said no to the role. You too Emma Stone. Please do not try to explain it (Cameron Crowe). If you have to justify it, you have to ask yourself why you went with that casting in the first place. Don't think I forgot you Tilda. Or you Gerard Butler and Nikola. ESPECIALLY you Johnny Depp, I don't care how much "native" blood you have. You're on my list. There are too few studio films- and even fewer quality roles- that go to minorities, particularly Asian or Native actors.

You do the whole industry a disservice by taking roles that were NOT meant for you.

Studios don't tell me you can't find one because you didn't look hard enough. It took me 5 minutes to compile my list. Five. Minutes.

Actors it's your turn. Stand up for your fellow actors. Say no to whitewashing.

INDIE FILM DISTRIBUTION LESSONS WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY (AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT) - PART THREE

A sample of content originally written as guest content for Smarthouse Creative.
(see the original three part series here)

IN A LAND FAR FAR AWAY...

Most filmmakers fantasize about seeing their film on the big silver screen in their hometown. If you're smart, that's something you can accomplish on your own. We rented out a theater at AMC Pacific Place for our backers, cast and crew, but we didn't make a dime off that screening. We spent a lot, but didn't get anything back. So how do you get it to a screen near you? The answer: you may not.

You may never see your film distributed in your home country. We accepted that after many tears and bottles of whiskey. Sometimes, you simply can't sell what you have made in that market.

The truth for all films is that foreign distribution is where they can ultimately make the bulk of their money back. We're talking studio films, so let's get back to indie film. Every territory is broken down by region and sometimes territory.

Run. Hide. Die.

The UK is its own territory. Germany is its own territory. Taiwan is its own, Japan is its own, Brazil is its own. But then there is the "whole of South America" which doesn't include Mexico. Confused yet? These are all potential places you can sell your film, and I bet that wasn't something that even crossed your mind yet if you're in the market. Each market has a different buyer and a different set of rules. Germany for example must have a dubbing, but France, Japan and South America can use subtitles.

Horror film, which again, is a very specific type of product, is super popular in European markets. And the more abstract your film is, the better. The first territories we secured were the UK and Germany. But as I mentioned just moments ago, we had to have it dubbed into German. Which means an additional cost that was taken out of our initial return. The distribution company paid for it, leaving our payment to be much less than initially estimated. Then, if Germany likes it, they can renew the contract and maybe next time around we will actually see something out of it.

Your foreign territory is every it as important as your domestic audience. Neglecting them means neglecting any potential your film can achieve. It may not be millions, it may be only thousands, or hundreds, at a time. But the next time you go to pitch yourself as a filmmaker, how much more seriously do you think people will take you when you can say you have a feature film in distribution? The answer is very.

Two critical tips for preparing your film for foreign distribution:

1. Have the music and effect tracks (also known as M&E tracks) separated from dialogue. It is incredibly difficult to dub a film in German if the music track is attached to the English dialogue.

2. Have a script that is verbatim what you cut into the film. If you reworked a scene so the word order is flipped, the script must reflect. This is all to ensure that the dubbing and subtitle team are translating exactly what happens on screen.

INDIE FILM DISTRIBUTION LESSONS WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY (AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT) - PART TWO

A sample of content originally written as guest content for Smarthouse Creative.

(see the original three part series here)

AGENTS ARE YOUR FAIRY GODMOTHER

It's a well-known fact that actors of a certain caliber have agents. Writers have agents. Directors, and even producers often have agents. But a movie? That's just weird, right? Wrong. We knew so very little when we went to our first AFM in 2013. We were barely out of post-production and had just screened at our first festival. We decided that rather than spend thousands of dollars on the gamble that festivals can be, we'd skip that step and move directly past go to collect our $200. Boy, were we in for a hard lesson.

We went down to the largest North American Film Market around with no badges, no experience and no idea what we were doing. We were very lucky and still managed to snag several meetings with distributors, including After Dark Films. They all listened to our pitches and every last one of them took the one-sheet and DVD copy we had of the film. Some of the people we met with were actually sales agents, though they often heralded under a company name that sounded a lot like a distribution entity. The major difference here is the role each plays.

An agent is the liaison between the filmmaker and the distribution company. The distribution company is the team that actually puts your film in front of viewers either as a DVD, VOD or theatrical release. We did not meet our agent that we would soon sign with at AFM. We met some great ones, but they were all looking for something very specific. On the tail end of the success of Gravity, the thing we were asked most often was, "Do you have any sci-fi?" They didn't even know what sci-fi was, they just knew that it made a lot of money and was about to win a few Oscars. Suffice to say, we weren't quite what they needed.

Rather than get discouraged, we came back to Seattle and hit the drawing board. We started looking at other films that had been released, even in small form on VOD platforms. We compared them to our film to see if we would be a good match and then our director cold-called all of them. Some considered us, some never returned the call. In the end, Ultimately Ruthless Pictures (our agent) picked us up.

It took our agent two years to get the distribution agency to really consider our film, leading to the principal reason as to why your agent is your fairy godmother: they will do anything for you as long as your contract is valid. Your agent doesn't get paid until you do, so much like an actor's agent, they need to sell you. If your film doesn't suit the distributors' needs, they shelve it or dump it because they don't have the time or the money to stick with you. Our agent stuck by us through all of this and found new ways to pitch the same movie to thesame distributor. Every pitch was different until he found the one that finally worked.

TRAILERS ARE A FILM'S BEST FRIEND

Have you ever gone to see a movie based entirely on the trailer? Me too! Pretty much everyone I know has. It was our trailer and poster that got our agent's attention. He saw something in what we created originally. He saw that we had done our homework and that we had a project he could work with. Other indie filmmakers who saw it at festivals got pumped to see the film. You know who didn't? Distributors. They yawned and passed.

We had spent a lot of time on our trailer and spent $500 on a poster design from a specialist who crafts hand painted posters specific to vintage '80s horror. It broke our hearts when the agent said he was going to cut a new trailer and make a new poster. The first poster we had was awesome. The second one he gave us was meh. The new one, well... I know if I was searching on iTunes for a horror movie for Halloween, it would stand out and at least make me watch the trailer.

Think about that for a moment. How do you choose a film, especially one you've never heard of before? Your first impression is the poster. Then you base your judgement on the trailer.

Our original trailer with music from our composer was radically different from the one our agent cut (seen below), which featured music from one of the 17 bands we signed for our soundtrack. The major difference between the two is the energy. The trailer our agent put together simply moves. It moves like a horror trailer - it moves like a movie trailer. It hits every beat that you expect a trailer to hit and it makes you want to see the movie. Which is the entire purpose behind the trailer and poster magic combo: get people to watch your product, I mean, film.

Long Distance Vision

When I sit on a panel at the Seattle Film Summit or any film festival, I often feel like I’m talking at the air. Hopefully something I say has weight and sticks. I mean I really hope someone in the audience will glean useful tips towards making their own films. This week I spoke to 9^th graders in Walla Walla, WA, a place largely untouched by the film community. If teaching teenagers is difficult on a regular day, trying to impress upon them how every classes they’re currently in can relate to film was a challenge.  But the take away, for them and for us, is the long-term investment.

For kids in high school, their goals are simple: take enough classes to graduate, get marks high enough to get into the college of their choice, begin the steps towards a career in something that interests them. I guarantee none of them think of their day to day like that. And even fewer filmmakers do. But that’s exactly what I have learned over our last five years as an independent filmmaker.

I cannot tell you how many green filmmakers come to us with an “idea”.  It’s usually a grand idea for them, and often very personal. It’s also not a very interesting story to a wider audience. Two people in a coffee shop is super easy to film, it’s also super boring. My husband and I partnered in film about five years ago. Since then, we’ve seen dozens of shorts and one feature through. We made a pact that we would only make films we wanted to see. So when a filmmaker comes to us with a dull story the first thing we ask them is “why do you want to tell this story?” If they can’t answer that question, we pass. If their answer is blasé, we pass.  If they have no intention of putting in any of the work to make it happen, you guessed it, we pass.

Filmmaking is not a quick turn around. Often there are long hard hours in development, pre-production and post can drag on for months or even years. The production- actually filming- is probably the most exciting phase but it’s also the shortest. For our first feature we were in development and fundraising for five months, shot for 18 days and post for a year. Three years later and a lot of tough-love-learning as we went, we have a UK and US distributor and are finally seeing fruit of our labor. 

Think about that for a minute. Over a year and a half to actually MAKE the movie. Another year and a half to see the film into distribution. That’s the equivalent of spending the whole of your high school or college years with a single goal in mind.  If you are not interested in the film your making, or it’s a dull story, can you imagine pouring 3 years of your life into it? My guess is no.

We also never stopped. Even though our feature was in post, we kept going. We made three more shorts and a music video to follow up. My husband snagged a feature and a short film in post and we both worked on a couple dozen commercials. All while continuing to pursue a course for our first feature. It’s paid off. This fall we will see our first feature film in distribution, and have the road paved for our next feature.

There were three points we left our students with and I’ll share them with you here.

1. Learn Everything You Can.  Every class you take can relate to a career in film. It’s impossible to tell a student whose favorite class is gym that they have a career in film, but they do. Ever seen a Marvel movie? Able-bodied individuals with a passion for athleticism are going to have healthy careers making movies. I reexamined my US History courses writing my last screenplay and I am constantly in needed of people who excel in math to help me budget our films. The student with a passion for cooking is able to cater my film and the student who really only cares about computers can program my special FX.  I’m constantly reading books and blogs from those who have gone before and I learn something new from all of them. Never stop learning, and always embrace the little things. You never know when you might need that course you once took on geometry to measure the distance and angle from your camera to your subject.

2.  Define Your Success.  The allure of the red carpet and an Academy Award is difficult to resist. It’s also not the truth for the majority of filmmakers. But success can be. I’m reading a book currently by a filmmaker you’ve never heard of, who earns a comfortable living making and selling films.  There’s a documentary on Netflix titled I Know That Voice about actors whom you probably know but couldn’t pick out of a line up.  Filmmakers in my hometown have screened their films at Sundance and Toronto and Cannes. They’ve sold those same films to Netflix or you can watch them on any of your digital devices. I know them- but you probably do not. My husband and I are full time filmmakers, and it’s probably this is the first time you’ve heard of me.  What we all have in common is that we work as filmmakers, and have done so for several years.  Success is not defined by how famous you are. It is defined by the quality of work you have created that allows you to continue providing for yourself and your future.

3. The Long Road. We were very naïve as filmmakers when we set out. We made a single short film our first year. The second year we made 3. The next? Eight shorts and one feature. It took time to plan them all. It took time to see them finished. It took time to see any sort of return on them. But we kept working, kept pushing and continued to follow through to the end of each goal.  It’s been a three year process to get our first feature into distribution. The short films all ended up online, and we’ve made some money off of all of them.  It took patience and perseverance to follow through. If you give up after the first rejection letter or the first project that falls through, you’ll never see the end of the road. The writer/director of The Fifth Element had that script for fifteen years before it became a reality.  Now he has 56 writing credits and 21 directing credits. Kathryn Bigelow directed for thirty years (some pretty amazing films) before the Academy recognized her work.

The same thing I told those 9^th graders is what I’d like to leave you with.  Find your passion, find your voice and keep going. The future belongs to those who move forward.

It's a Full Time J-O-B

My typical work day.

Let's get something straight.

What I do for a living is FUN. I enjoy it. If I did not I would work at a law firm and be the best damn office services manager you've ever met. I did that for a long time, working 40 hours a week in the corporate world while I came home and worked another 40 hours on film so that I could keep building my path towards the career I actually wanted.

When my daughter was born, I had to make a change. I didn't have 80 hours a week to devote to two jobs, because 75% of my time was consumed by family obligations. So I left the law firm and made a full-time commitment to working as a freelance filmmaker.

Some people say I'm crazy. How can you do that to your family? It's so unstable. You'll never make a living.

Location scouting on our anniversary with our daughter.

I actually do. It's not a luxury filled living. But it is a living.  I have set rates, and expectations to deliver certain product based on those rates. They vary slightly, from project to project because I'm not unreasonable. I understand that you are a small business just trying to build you brand, so I make an exception and tell you the bare minimum I can work for, typically my overhead cost for living that month. I mean even attorney's will work Pro Bono if the case is a good reflection of the lawyers morals (or it makes them look good to the public, but I digress).

My point is this. Filmmaking is not your typical "day-job." The hours fluctuate. The work is in constant evolution, and the likelihood that you will be booking the next gig while on vacation is high. Workaholic is a common label slapped on us, because we rarely turn off. And to be honest, my vacation is a day I haven't booked where I get to take my daughter to the zoo.

Filmmaking feeds my soul and feeds my family.  It might be a creative, but it's still a job. You wouldn't ask an architect to design you a new home for free. You couldn't justify asking a master carpenter to build you an ornate cabinet out of oak for free. You certainly wouldn't solicit a marketing firm - a HIGHLY CREATIVE JOB- to market your business for free.

So the next time you ask a filmmaker to work for you please consider this: This is not a hobby. This is my J-O-B.

Directing my actor on a short film.

Want to see what I do? Visit our website and take a  look. We make dreams come true.

www.faithvsfateproductions.com

Actors Beware

To say I've been in this business a while is a long stretch.  I was 6 months old in my first film. The little one in pink, that's me in the opening sequence for "Mass Appeal" staring Jack Lemmon. Now, as an adult I write, produce and one a good week I get to act too. So I've been doing this some time.

I preface this with that because I don't want to give the impression that this post is by some poor no-expereince soul who was swindled by a scam artist. Oh no. I've been around a while and I've seen this dog and pony show before.

Recently I was contacted by a local management company. They had messaged me on my profile through Stage32.com which by some miracle I saw (I'm never on the damn thing).  So I set up an audition with them, prepared my monologue/headshot/resume and made a trip to their office. Remember it's important to note that they invited me to audition for them.

It was a terrible audition. The monologue was fine, not as funny as the film it's from but neither is the scene. But the commercial audition... Oh my lanta! It was not for a real product, it was a generic one off of their website they asked me to memorize. It was poorly written but my performance was no excuse. I gave a BAD audition. And much to my surprise the Manager asked me to sit, and discuss my future.

She asked what I noticed most about them. The first was that they were a faith based company if their logo and the cross by the door were an indication. The second was that they had a fair amount of resources for prospective talent on their website- even if they didn't list a single talent person but a lot of "clients" they've worked with.

She told me a I needed new head shots (which was true) and that in three weeks there was a New Faces mandatory meeting before they signed anyone. Ok, I'd never heard that one before but the industry is evolving so quickly right now a sort of staff meeting seems like a good way to establish expectations between new talent and the management company.

My red flags flared when they suggested one, and only one, photographer. I went to the photographers website and it was "under construction." That's all well in good, but it's still under construction. It's been that way for weeks and I can't find this photographer anywhere else.  Hmmm.

I'd like to use my own photographer please.

We don't like Seattle photographers. They don't understand LA style.

Well, here's a link to her work, I would really like to at least consider her.

We don't like Seattle photographers.

lisasquaredphotographing.smugmug.com

At this point I insist on using my photographer. Mostly because if they refuse it's a complete red flag, see you later thanks for you time situation. I mean Agents and Mangers can and will suggest photographers they trust but they by no means should insist on one, and only one. The second because I want to give paid work to a local I trust over an out of towner whose website is down.

I checked in with some of the casting directors I have a personal relationship with about LA style, photographers and their thoughts. Yes there is an LA style. And  a NY style. And an "everywhere else" style. A good photographer will know that. No your manage/agent should never insist on only one but rather make suggestions and work with you on decisions.

Suffice it to say that I worked with my photographer. But once they saw the proofs, they couldn't find anything nice to say. Mind you, I'm not yet signed. My resume is full of current work and expected work shooting over the summer and I had just fulfilled the one thing they had requested: Get new head shots. I'm confirmed for the mandatory meeting and ready to hear their pitch on why they are the company I should work with.

Then I get an email. It talks about trust, and relationships. How they don't feel a need to do things on my terms. Basically it was an it's our way or the highway letter.

After a lifetime of film work both in front of and behind the camera I have learned a thing or two. Most importantly when to walk away. I politely thanked them for their time, and walked away.