September 2011
12 posts
Committee.
Dreaded words when dealing with a studio…
“Tomorrow the head of production and the committee will analyze the project towards its ‘greenlight’.”
We will be there with bated breath.
More tomorrow.
Adios R.E.M. →
From “New Adventures In Hi-Fi”. One of the most beautiful songs in their long arsenal.
Option.
An option agreement.
That’s sort of a commitment to buy something when you really don’t want to buy it yet but might so “I will pay you something so I can actually pay you more later”. You BUY the option to BUY. Weird?
Not in Hollywood. For some people here, the sign of a good producer is the following words:
Free Option Screenplay.
I still think it’s a stupid...
Drive.
Loved “Drive” by the way. But the amazing, glaring reviews it’s getting are a little exaggerated if you ask me. People must really be craving sordid, empty characters like this.
Movie I loved this year?
“Beginners”. Very underrated if you ask me.
Lot.
Unless things actually got personal and purposefully damaging or hurtful, there’s one thing NOT to do while on a Studio Lot if you’re a director. If you’re a director who was politely “removed” from a project that is. And I really mean this:
Don’t scream from across the lot towards the producer who had to make the very tough business decision of pursuing a...
Actors.
I had a boss once who said all actors were prostitutes and that they were there to be mistreated. That it was then, when pushed, when they performed at their best. You can argue that’s why most of the bigger names will stick to the same directors more often than not.
That’s why directors are so important to getting cast for a big project. (Whatever your definition of “Big...
Darkness.
Humans feel comfortable thinking in round numbers. The number ten contains in itself a duality: everything and nothing, life and death, the number one and the number zero. Most landmarks are measured against this number, a multiplication or a fraction of.
As such, today’s tenth anniversary of September eleventh is deep in every way possible. I will leave it for each one to reflect (and...
Submission.
Almost there. Almost there.
Anybody say Per Diems? On a 16 week shoot? On what should be a small budget?
Delivering this budget proves to be a little bit nerve-racking. I SHOULD be able to make this movie for 40% less than what I’m delivering in the budget. But the main issue is TIME. I have to cover my ass. Also the ass of anybody else involved. It’s also a tricky subject matter.
...
Numbers.
This week has been all about a budgets.
We’re trying to schedule and budget a documentary project that falls under what is named “Verité” style of filmmaking. It can also be called “observational”. This means, we don’t really know what the hell will go on and when and for how long. It will depend on the characters. It’s a little disconcerting if you must...
THE WAIT
It’s been a while. I know. I thought writing here while busy would be easy. It isn’t. And then I thought the opposite would be easier -as in, when things were not as busy- would be easiest. It wasn’t. Truth is, Deadpan was started for a reason. And it must continue.
The biggest motivational hurdle here has been what has been happening since the last almost 2 years now. That one...