The Blog Is Moving! (Sort Of)

I’ve been invited to become a Skirt!setter on Skirt.com. If you’re not familiar with Skirt! Magazine, I can tell you that it’s a really fun and uplifting magazine for women. More than just fashion and home, Skirt! explores all the topics of a feminine full life. I’m their movie & film blogger. One of the requirements there is that I post blogs at least twice a week. Yeah. As you can see, my post frequency here has been FAR less than that. So, for the most part, my personal blogging will be hosted there. If I totally geek out on something indie-film related, I’ll post that blog here. But I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Come check me out on Skirt!

Revealing The Resources: Finding Movie Budget and Sales Numbers

This past summer, one of the paying film gigs I had was helping to complete a film business plan with sales comparables and projections. I tell ya, that was one of the toughest tasks I’ve had in film so far! Filmmakers are always flapping their gums about their projects, but there are two things they never want to tell you.

1. Where the money came from to make to make the film.

2. How much money they made (or didn’t make) with the film.

So, in order to dig up that data, you have to turn yourself into a virtual Sherlock Holmes, looking under rocks and asking the same question different ways until it becomes elementary. I can’t offer to make that task much easier, but I can tip my hand and show you the richest resources I found for this kind of information.

Before  you get too excited about it, let me warn you that most of these resources are not free. The information you’re looking for is valuable. It’s not going to come easy or cheap. Here they’re listed in pretty close to the order of helpfulness.

Baseline: This company has box office and dvd numbers for most films. They were $20 per title when I used them, five title minimum.

IMDb Pro: Subscription-based service. Totally worth it for researching potentially obscure titles.

FilmSpecific: Also subscription-based. Great resources for all things indie film, including sales numbers and topical conference calls. You can sign up for the teaser emails for free. Those actually have some nice tidbits of info in them from time to time as well.

The Numbers: Sometimes they have an idea of how much a film was made for when no one else does. And it’s free!

Box Office Mojo: Ditto. But a very cluttered and tough to use site, in my opinion.

The Law Office of John Cones: Very specific, very limited, very free legal commentary. Ask John a question in the forum and he’ll answer you.

Movie Money: This site has a lot more great links on the resources page. But overall, it’s pretty much a big commercial for the book. Get the book. It’s full of great information. It’s a little overstated and full of its own merit, but there’s still plenty to be mined there.

So, with those tools in your box, get to researching. Good luck with your movie!

And the Nominees Are…

I’m so excited by the Oscars. I think I’m fascinated by them because a big part of me feels it’s the last bastion of quality in film. Cinematically, we live in a world where profitability outshines artistry, and even profitability is standing on shaky legs. The Oscars are our opportunity to forget about that and just be glad that there is yet true art and beauty in our craft.

That said, I can be just as snarky as the next person when I disagree with a nomination and I think we can all agree that’s a big part of the fun. So let the festivities begin!

Best Picture

“Avatar” (Yikes! But hey… it was really pretty…)
“The Blind Side” (I enjoyed it. But Best Picture? That’s a stretch)
“District 9″ (Haven’t seen it yet. But a lot of the crew are alums of my own alma mater, Vancouver Film School. So, yay! District 9! Go! Go!)
“An Education” (Haven’t seen it)
“The Hurt Locker” (Directed by a chick. Hooray! Good stuff.)
“Inglourious Basterds” (Haven’t seen it. Not a huge Tarentino fan, except for his brisk dialogue.)
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (It’s a long shot here. But so worthy of placement on this list)
“A Serious Man” (Didn’t go see it. Still mad at the Coen Brothers for “Burn After Reading”)
“Up” (This is about a house that gets lifted in the air by balloons. Right?)
“Up in the Air” (Amazing work. As of now, gets my inconsequential vote.)

Best Direction
“Avatar” — James Cameron (Does this guy need another ego stroke? I think not.)
“The Hurt Locker” — Kathryn Bigelow (I kinda hope she doesn’t win. See previous blog post.)
“Inglourious Basterds” — Quentin Tarantino (Gotta check this flick out. But the Roy Orbison get-up on the Grammys totally turned me off.)
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” — Lee Daniels (I wish.)
“Up in the Air” — Jason Reitman (I’ve loved everything this guy has done so far. Somebody give him a statue, already.)

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” (I heart Jeff Bridges. Haven’t seen the movie)
George Clooney in “Up in the Air” (I don’t heart George Clooney. But heart his work in this film. I won’t be mad if he wins.)
Colin Firth in “A Single Man” (Unbelievable work. Horrifically disjointed and depressing movie. I still won’t be mad.)
Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” (Doubtful)
Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” (I believe he’s crazy. That’s gotta count for something.)

WHAT?! My man Tobey Maguire didn’t get no Oscar love for “Brothers”? Is this because he did those cheesy Spider-Man movies? C’mon. Forgive and forget.

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” (I think this is a stretch. But the movie made lots of money and was a good, linear story. I can get with that.)
Helen Mirren in “The Last Station” (This woman is fearless. Gotta love that.)
Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (So deserving. So on the outside. Long shot, but great choice, imho)
Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” (I think playing a real person with such a large personality is cheating. It’s more imitating than acting.  But she is Meryl, so I won’t be mad.)

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon in “Invictus” (The accent makes me a little nuts)
Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” (Give this guy an award.)
Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz in “Nine” (Surprise! Didn’t think this would happen. But very happy it did!)
Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air” (I didn’t know who she was before this role. Now I want her in my movie!)
Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” (Love her)
Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” (Not so much)
Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Shoo-in. No one else needs to prepare a speech. And rightfully so.)

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
“District 9” — Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell (VFS alums!)
“An Education” — Screenplay by Nick Hornby
“In the Loop” — Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche (Have I even heard of this movie?)
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” — Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher (Not sure if the writing was Oscar-level. Bucket of chicken, anyone?)
“Up in the Air” — Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (I dunno about this one. I loved the movie. But the backpack thing was weird.)

Writing (Original Screenplay)
“The Hurt Locker” — Written by Mark Boal (Sharp and quick-witted. I liked it. And it’s the only one I’ve seen.)
“Inglourious Basterds” — Written by Quentin Tarantino
“The Messenger” — Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
“A Serious Man” — Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Up” — Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Animated Feature Film
“Coraline”
“Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“The Princess and the Frog” (Black princess. Yay! She’s a frog for most of the movie. Boo.)
“The Secret of Kells”
“Up”

Art Direction
“Avatar” — Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair (I’ll give ‘em this one, fer sure)
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” — Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
“Nine” — Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim (Oh, how I wish…)
“Sherlock Holmes” — Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Young Victoria” — Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray (This one might take it. The Academy loves period.)

Cinematography
“Avatar” — Mauro Fiore (I’d have to give ‘em this one, too.)
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” — Bruno Delbonnel
“The Hurt Locker” — Barry Ackroyd (Hells, yeah.)
“Inglourious Basterds” — Robert Richardson
“The White Ribbon” — Christian Berger (This film being honored is exactly what I’m talkin’ ’bout!)

****

I shall refrain from comment on the rest of the categories. These are the folks who get the shiznit done. And I bow down before them all.

Costume Design

“Bright Star” — Janet Patterson
“Coco before Chanel” — Catherine Leterrier
“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” — Monique Prudhomme
“Nine” — Colleen Atwood
“The Young Victoria” — Sandy Powell

Documentary (Feature)
“Burma VJ”
“The Cove”
“Food, Inc.”
“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
“Which Way Home”

Documentary (Short Subject)
“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant”
“Music by Prudence”
“Rabbit à la Berlin”

Film Editing
“Avatar” — Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
“District 9” — Julian Clarke
“The Hurt Locker” — Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
“Inglourious Basterds” — Sally Menke
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” — Joe Klotz

Foreign Language Film
“Ajami” — Israel
“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” — Argentina
“The Milk of Sorrow” — Peru
“Un Prophète” — France
“The White Ribbon” — Germany

Makeup
“Il Divo” — Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
“Star Trek” — Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
“The Young Victoria” — Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Music (Original Score)
“Avatar” — James Horner
“Fantastic Mr. Fox” — Alexandre Desplat
“The Hurt Locker” — Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
“Sherlock Holmes” — Hans Zimmer
“Up” — Michael Giacchino

Music (Original Song)
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
“Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Short Film (Animated)
“French Roast” Fabrice O. Joubert
“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” Javier Recio Gracia
“Logorama” Nicolas Schmerkin
“A Matter of Loaf and Death” Nick Park

Short Film (Live Action)
“The Door” — Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
“Instead of Abracadabra” — Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
“Kavi” — Gregg Helvey
“Miracle Fish” — Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
“The New Tenants” — Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Sound Editing
“Avatar” — Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
“The Hurt Locker” — Paul N.J. Ottosson
“Inglourious Basterds” — Wylie Stateman
“Star Trek” — Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
“Up” — Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Sound Mixing
“Avatar” — Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
“The Hurt Locker” — Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
“Inglourious Basterds” — Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
“Star Trek” — Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” — Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Visual Effects
“Avatar” — Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
“District 9” — Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
“Star Trek” — Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

2010: Why I Hope This Isn’t The Year for a Female Best Director Academy Award

I just watched Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” last night. It’s one of those movies that I really should’ve worked harder to see on the big screen. The film is full of tension and fury that’s difficult to immerse yourself in with a house cat dozing on your lap. I rooted and cheered for Bigelow when she won her Critics’ Choice and Director’s Guild Best Director Awards, simply because she was the first woman to ever win those awards. But that was before I saw the movie.

I don’t mean to imply for a single second that those awards were undeserved. On the contrary, “The Hurt Locker” was full of interesting and complex characters, a challenging and constantly moving plot, and razor-sharp dialogue that was never too much, never too little. But it was also a total immersion in a bubbling-hot bath of testosterone, down to a sucker-punching competition. The sole female character who ever appeared on screen was saddled with the stereotypical long-suffering wife/mother role and limited to two very short lines. “Hello? Will?” and “Ready? Get some cereal and I’ll meet you at the checkout.” This role was probably about a half-day’s work for LOST’s gorgeous Evangeline Lilly. Maybe a full day if you toss in a location change.

I’m still over the moon that Bigelow has won these unprecedented awards for her outstanding work on this film. But when it comes to the Academy Award, which can be as much a political statement as an acknowledgement of outstanding work,  I’m hoping this isn’t the picture that finally brings Oscar home for a female director. When Halle Berry was the first Black woman to win the Best Actress Oscar for Monster’s Ball, a lot of Black folk threw back their heads and howled that she won  for a film with such graphic sex depicted on screen. They felt that it reinforced sexual stereotypes forced on black women. I actually loved that film and felt that those scenes were more than warranted in context. I was and am glad that she received that award for that film. And if Bigelow takes home Oscar this year, I’ll be glad that it went to someone deserving. But I’ll also be worried about what it means for female perspectives in film. If a woman’s work is only rewarded when she produces work that looks like a man could have done it, what message does that send?

There have only been three women nominated for Best Director in the Academy’s 81-year history. They are Lina Wertmüeller in 1976 for “Seven Beauties”, Jane Campion for “The Piano” in 1993, and Sofia Coppola for “Lost in Translation” in 2003. Unfortunately for Coppola, that was the year that Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” vacuumed up all the awards. I haven’t seen “Seven Beauties”, but the other two films were great expressions of filmmaking. They deviated from the male gaze we typically see in modern cinema and brought real life and beauty to the screen. That’s the sort of film I hope will eventually land Oscar gold for a woman–something that shows the female voice is deeper than Carrie Bradshaw’s. I’m looking forward to Sex and the City 2 as much as the next chick. But I’m also craving something richer. Something that shows the depth and richness of the human experience. Something where half of the human race doesn’t appear silly, irrelevant, or worst of all, as a footnote.

Faith and Avatar

Saturday morning I was watching The Soup on E! and Joel McHale made some off-handed joke about how people are experiencing depression after seeing Avatar. They are lamenting that the beauty of the planet Pandora is something they can never truly experience. I laughed at the joke, but wondered if the idea behind it was true. A quick Google search told me it was. I found an article on CNN that detailed how people have become suicidal after seeing the film and truly in despair at how their own lives pale in comparison.

Did these people see the same movie I did? There were scenes of breathtaking beauty, I admit, but they were punctuated by long stretches of a woefully boring story told by woefully boring characters. The story is essentially an alien Pocahontas tale. The foundation is laid for interesting characters, but they unfortunately never become nuanced people. The bad guys are all proud and greedy, the good guys all full of personality and virtue. The primary difference here is the influence of a supernatural force bigger than both. That, to me, is where the story holds merit.

I’ve read a lot of reviews, including excerpts of one from the Vatican that proclaims Avatar to be anti-religion, anti-corporate, anti-military and even anti-Western culture. I didn’t get a feel that the movie was supposed to be anti-anything. Rather, it was praising some basic tenets of life that we have forgotten in our homogenized, commercialized, microwave lives. While the romance featured in Avatar is a thin storyline, the entire film itself is a love story to nature, faith, fidelity and community. The blue catlike aliens, called the Na’avi, lived tribal lifestyles at one with nature, sure of who they were and what they believed. In fact, who they were and what they believed were really one and the same. Their word was their bond, down to their mating rituals. The things they held sacred were always respected.

The most sacred place on the planet Pandora was a tree called the Tree of Souls. The tree was the link to their ancestors and the goddess Eywa who was comprised of all living things.*  This tree was a place where prayers were raised, and joint worship went up. Essentially, it was a living altar. The Na’avi lived a lifestyle of worship to their god. They expressed their worship by showing honor to all living things, by always allowing their word to be their bond, including in choosing a mate. Even the ability of the Na’avi to allow a new person to earn entrance to their ranks was born out of worship to Eywa. By acknowledging the supernatural and always being guided by that faith, the Na’avi turned their inhospitable planet into a place of paradise.

There’s no reason why the most beautiful things about life on Pandora can’t be ours right here on Earth. But we’d have to respect ourselves, each other, and the environment. We’d have to cling to faith in a God who is larger than ourselves and larger than any foe. And when that faith is pitted against logic or common sense or monetary gain, we’d have to allow faith to supercede. We’d have to remain faithful in our marriages and respect the community as more important than the individual. It’s almost a picture of the early Christian church as described in the Book of Acts. But Christianity has wandered a long way from its infancy, as have most established religions. Divided by denominations, sub-denominations, church splits and petty arguments, unity among Believers has been sacrificed to selfishness and the need to be right.

I’m a non-denominational Christian. After being raised Baptist and educated in Catholic schools, I’ve attended casual Charismatic churches since my early teens. I see glimpses of things in each denomination that others have lost by the division of the Body of Christ. The Catholics are tremendous at revering the sacred. The Baptists excel at evangelism, welcoming others into the fold. The Episcopalians maintain social awareness and responsibility. The Charismatics love to stay connected to a personal God through intimate prayer and worship. Methodists are incredible at examining and analyzing the scriptures. We all need each other.

The movie itself is a staggering achievement in art and technology. Pandora truly did come alive in the images. But maybe it isn’t the scenery people are really longing for. Depressed after seeing Avatar? Maybe there’s an app for that.  Explore your faith.

–

*(You can call her Eywa, you can call it the Force. Potayto, Potahto.)

Atlanta CARES for Haiti

The Internet is One Giant Spoiler!

Remember going to the movies and getting surprised? Seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it? I remember going to see Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and gasping a little bit when Sean Connery turned up in the end as Richard the Lionhearted. Today, I realize that I have been officially robbed of the gasp.

On the way to work yesterday, I heard on the radio that Miley Cyrus has a cameo in next year’s Sex and the City 2. Seeing Miley in that movie would be much more likely to elicit an eyeroll than a gasp, but still I didn’t want to know about it ahead of time. Then later I visited my Twitter page and clicked this MyStyle tweet:  “mystyle Kim Cattrall and Miley Cyrus Heart Sex and Sequins http://bit.ly/42RNC3” Which led to the above photo.

And then on my way home, I heard a different radio station say that the scene is one in which Samantha is working the red carpet and Miley Cyrus arrives wearing the same outfit. Sam’s assistant tells her, “You’re wearing the same dress as Hannah Montana.” Now when I see that movie, it won’t be a surprise. It probably won’t even be funny because I already see it coming months in advance.  (And you do too, thanks to me. You’re welcome.)

It might seem like this info is a combination of radio and internet, but really DJs are just part-time entertainment reporters who are gathering their information from gossip and entertainment websites. I’m not someone who enjoys knowing everything about a story before I see a movie or a show. I want the full  storytelling experience to be intact. I don’t even read film reviews before I go to the theater because they include too many spoilers. Now it seems I can hardly avoid it.

If the Sixth Sense were released today, I wonder how long it would be before the “secret” was broadcast on Twitter or Facebook.  Filmmakers today are having conversations about distribution, about the dilution of the craft, about how to make money. Most of the time, the answers being floated involve a greater online presence, more connection with audiences, and more information available through social networking. I’m not sure that’s the right path.

Obviously, I think the biggest and first step is better storytelling. After that, I think we need more mystery in the movies, not less. We need to figure out how to reclaim some of the movie magic that had audiences gasping not that long ago. I realize that’s easier said than done. And I realize that maybe the days of billionaire movie makers are over. But that’s ok so long as cinema remains true to itself.

And yes, I do admit to liking Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. That’s with Costner’s flawed, intermittent accent notwithstanding.

Wrapped!

This past week, we were in production on a promo piece for “Something Worth Waiting For” a film I’m producing with writer/director Avril Speaks. We had a great time and captured some fantastic footage. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be assembling that trailer, beginning the hunt for investors and trying to get this feature film project made.

“Something Worth Waiting For” is a faith-based romantic comedy that honestly and frankly discusses singleness and celibacy in the Church.

My Art Direction

This is a film I art directed, which in indie world means if it’s in the frame and it isn’t a human being, I had to make it, buy it or build it. It was nice of God to take care of the outdoor stuff for me. I didn’t put any of it on my reel because it’s a producer’s reel. But that doesn’t mean I’m not real proud of it! It’s only ten minutes long and it’s really well written and directed by my pal Jennifer, so I suggest kicking back and checking it out.

Have fun!

Film Festin’ It

My first film short, Sleep Keep Wake Take has been accepted for screening at the Peachtree Village International Film Festival! If I get to go to the screenings, it’ll be great because my friend Savvy also has a film screening in the fest.

Coincidentally, the festival is the same weekend we’ll be shooting the promo for Something Worth Waiting For, so I may not get to go.

Either way, festival exposure is a good thing!