AN OVERWHELMING SENSE OF.........

I got some great news this week!

The last film I produced, The Good Neighbour, finally got selected for a film festival. The Blue Mountains Film Festival to be exact.

It has been a long journey.

We shot the film almost a year ago now.

We completed all of the post production by January this year, and finally we had a finished film.

Then we started distribution; sending our pride and joy out to film festivals around the world, in order to get our work seen by as many people as possible.

Since then, it has been many long months with many rejections.

While the feedback for the film has been positive, our two sticking points kept undermining our film festival selection chances.

'Length' and 'Subject Matter'.

The Good Neighbour is 15 minutes long, well over the optimum 7 to 10 minutes festivals want. The Good Neighbour also thematically covers the physical abuse of a child. Hard to program in a festival, apparently.

And so the months passed.

Every so often, I would hear something oddly inspirational that kept my motivation up. Like a random Facebook post from a friend:

"Met crazy man out the front of a court building this morning. He babbled something vaguely psychotic. I backed away. As I walked off I wished him luck. He called out: "remember, there's no winners and losers. Just winners and learners." quite profound. Even for man who smelt of wee..."

Nine months passed. I got so sick of the inside of the post office, mailing DVDs to the corners of the globe to be judged.

The rejections kept coming. They were polite. The one from Korea was the funniest.

And finally, this small breakthrough.

I thought I would jump 5 feet in the air if we finally got a breakthrough.

Instead, faced with a small piece of long awaited good tidings, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of...............relief.

Yes, relief. Such a strange reaction, but true.

Success, small or big is highly mythologised.

In truth, from personal experience and also from talking to people who have enjoyed far greater successes than I, the cliche actually happens to be true.

The journey really is the most rewarding thing. By the time any sort of reward or recognition comes around, you are more likely to be overwhelmed by relief that the hard work paid off, than obscene levels of joy.

That's why the first thing an athlete, public figure or oscar winner does when they win is stop and take a deep breath.

Relief.

Then, after some form of alcoholic drink, happiness.

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A PREDICTION

Though my formal training is in interpretive dance, not prognostication, I am going to make a prediction.

There have been many secret meetings, in secret back rooms, between secretive people, recently.

First, the U.S.A. makes a deal, after heavy lobbying by the movie studios and music labels, where 'pirates' (i.e. regular illegal downloaders of copyrighted movies and songs) will be penalised. The deal, struck between the studios, labels and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), will see the offenders warned and have their internet speed slowed down to an irritating crawl if they continue to offend.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/technology/to-slow-piracy-internet-providers-ready-penalties.html?_r=3&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25

Then, New Zealand actually passes a law that enacts a similar system to the USA, but it will not be voluntary for the ISPs to participate.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/4885041/Controversial-internet-file-sharing-law-passed

In Australia, meanwhile, we have truly awful anti-piracy adds inflicted upon us. It's ironic really, given they are produced by a consortium of movie studios, the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT).

Recently, however, AFACT has ramped up their campaign against piracy in Australia. They took iiNET, the Australian ISP, to court, claiming iiNET was responsible for allowing their users to download pirated content. iiNET won with the ruling clearly stating that "an Australian Internet provider is not responsible for illegal movie downloads by its customers.".

AFACT, however, have appealed.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/movie-studios-appeal-against--iinet-piracy-ruling-20100225-p4vx.html

And finally, last week, new data comes out of the The Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation (IPAF) that states, (*sarcasm alert* - shock and horror) that in Australia, "almost three-quarters of consumers would stop illegally downloading files if they received a notice from their internet service provider (ISP)."

http://if.com.au/2011/09/09/article/IPAF-begins-new-anti-piracy-campaign-releases-consumer-research/YDAKVHMFKT

How very convenient!

Looking into my crystal ball, although it could be a cataract, I predict that a very similar law will be coming to Australia in the nearish future.

The case is being built, and lobbying will almost certainly be happening behind the scenes.

Mark my words.

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CLOAK AND DAGGER

Secrets are well hidden and the truth is subjective.

In short, never believe what you read.......unless you wrote it.

I was planning on giving you an update on a prediction I gave you some time ago, but something odd happened along the way.

I was in the Opening Act Cave, slaving over a hot keyboard for your amusement and information. An article came across my desk about the Film Piracy attitudes of regular Australians, citing "new research".

I read the press release from the Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation (IPAF) and jumped onto their bandwagon, with my flaming torch and pitchfork ready.

As I typed my fingers down to the bone, I thought, "Wonderful! What masterful prose! Just the topic they would be interested in!"

And then, as my third fingernail popped off, due to my ferocious typing, a tiny light bulb flickered in the back of my head.

I hadn't read the actual report, just the press release.

So I started looking for the actual "new research" they were trumpeting.

I clicked on the link provided by the press release. It simply took me back to the IPAF home page.

Odd.

So I looked into the research company. It was conducted by the mysterious Sycamore Research and Marketing (Sycamore R&M).

I Googled them.

Strangely, the only mentions of Sycamore R&M are by news articles quoting the press release or from blogs associated with IPAF.

Manufacturing their own press? Even more curious.

Two names do appear, the mysterious "Mrs and Mrs X" - Linked in Profiles for the Owner, Sycamore R&M and Director, Sycamore R&M.

Dead end there.

And what about the company?

Well, they have a website listed in an obscure motivational e-book, where the Director, Sycamore R&M, is quoted giving her insight into starting out in business. The website for Sycamore R&M is listed as www.sycamore.com.au

I typed in the website address and hit enter. When you go there, however, it simply says "sycamore.com.au is a parked domain". No website.

I was starting to feel like Julia Roberts in 'The Pelican Brief'.

"So what!? You say, they are probably a new company and haven't had time to set up a website!"

EXCEPT, I found a Screen Australia submission that states that Sycamore R&M was commissioned by IPAF in August 2008 to conduct research on Australian Consumer Attitudes to piracy.

It seems EXTRAORDINARILY strange to me, that a Research and Marketing firm, in existence for at least 3 years, does not even have the basics of marketing, i.e. a website.

It is also interesting, given that their research is commissioned by an anti-piracy agency, that Sycamore's research is VERY strongly in favour of similar anti-piracy laws that were enacted in the U.S.A. I even talked about these new laws, involving Internet Service Provider (ISP's) "warning" downloaders, in a previous newsletter: http://openingactfilms.blogspot.com/2011/07/pirate-stole-my-livelihood.html

Is there a perfectly normal explanation to all of this?

Probably. I did eventually find the research.

But it was strange.

And I wonder, how many people writing stories and commenting, read more than the press release.

Everyone has an agenda.

Leave the flaming torch and pitchforks. Do the homework instead.
_____________________

For those who are interested, the piracy attitudes research:

http://www.ipawareness.com.au/images/stories/pdf/IPAF_2011_Research_Summary.pdf

http://www.ipawareness.com.au/images/stories/pdf/2011_09_11_MediaRelease.pdf

http://www.ipawareness.com.au/index.php/the-facts

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RELIABILITY

Why do you wear old pyjama pants even though new, shinier and less tattered varieties are available?

One word: reliability.

Reliability is an underrated commodity.

Reliability makes millionaires, creates household names and builds empires. Lack of reliability destroys brands, companies and careers.

Woody Allen coined it best: "90% of success is just showing up."

In speaking to producers, I have often heard them say variations of the same theme: they would hire someone who is competent and reliable over someone who is freakishly talented yet completely flaky. 9 out of 10 times.

If you are reliable, people want to help you in return. Similarly, if you let people down badly, they tend to have elephant-like memories.

For example, a small crew and I were shooting a key interview for a short documentary last Sunday. Our cinematographer had booked and confirmed a set of lights we needed for the interview.

Nothing too exciting so far.

Sunday rolls along. It's a beautiful day, our interview subject is recovered from an unpleasant looking facial infection (true story), the location in Bondi is ready to go and we are enjoying a wake-up coffee.

Seems harmless.

Then the cinematographer arrives. Apparently, the guy with the lights had lent them to someone else at the last minute. No problem, we just had to pick them up from the person who had them.

This person, however, was either either hung-over, still drunk, in a coma or dead. Perhaps a combination of a few of these.

"So what?", you say. "It's just lights! Don't be so over dramatic!"

Wrong.

No lights means we can't shoot our footage, unless we want the interview subject to look like he is in witness protection and having his identity protected (i.e. a completely black silouhette).

Reliability issues, no matter how trivial, are not victimless crimes.

In order to fix the problem and track down new lights, we lost 3 hours. That 3 hours cost us proper breaks for the crew; made the interview much tougher on the interview subject; and eventually meant that we could not cover all the information we needed in the interview. This now means we will now need another shoot day to complete the interview.

One small poor decision had a drastic flow on effect. That's why reliability is a commodity. That's why unreliability is a major risk to any Producer trying to build a business.

I don't pretend to know why some people are unreliable. It could be something locked deep within their genetic code, or it could be a choice.

I do know, however, that I will not give those people an opportunity again, if I have a choice.

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THE FINE LINE BETWEEN CRITIQUE AND BULLYING

In a previous newsletter, I told the story of Ray Park, the guy who would be famous if he didn't keep getting cast as a character with no head.

http://openingactfilms.blogspot.com/2011/08/many-hidden-faces-of-ray-park.html

Ray's story is relevant, because, in the world with so many artists and so much content, he shows you can be successful without being famous.

Ironically the idea of being successful without becoming a household name seems offensive to some people I meet but, as Ricky Gervais said, if you want to become famous...murder a prostitute.

In any case, as it turns out, the opposite is also true, you can be famous without being a success. Just ask Rebecca Black.

Ms Black became an internet sensation for the utterly horrible song "Friday" with poetic lyrics such as:

Yesterday was Thursday Thursday
Today it is Friday Friday
We we we so excited
We so excited
We gonna have a ball today
Tomorrow is Saturday
And Sunday comes afterwards
I don't want this weekend to end

Shakespeare is turning in his grave.

But the world has changed. Cynicism (or good judgement?) is making a comeback. In today's film/TV/music world, you have to be good. The public are savvy enough to spot a manufactured music/film/TV star a mile away.

Unfortunately for Rebecca Black, the old rules don't apply any more. Sales numbers aren't the only way for the public to tell you they dislike your work.

They get to speak to you.

Directly.

Worse still, they get to tell you, everyone they know, and anyone else that will listen. That's the socially connected world we live in.

It's part of the reason why films are releasing worldwide, at the same time, more frequently. Online word of mouth in America can make or break a film's chances in the rest of the world, literally overnight. Google "The Green Lantern Movie" for proof.

As for Ms Black, her music has been universally panned, she has become the subject of ridicule online, and now she has had to withdraw from school because of constant taunts and bullying.

Let me be clear: I am not saying Rebecca Black deserves to be bullied.

I am saying that more time spent rehearsing and songwriting, perfecting the craft, would have given her a better chance of success.

With success, fame, the kind based on respect and admiration, can follow. This fame lasts.

But Rebecca wanted fame before success.

Be careful what you wish for.

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/friday-singer-rebecca-black-bullied-out-of-school-20110811-1io6l.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BI0szjpxJs = if you really MUST watch the song.

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R.I.P. BROADCAST TELEVISION

Dear friends, we are gathered here today to farewell a friend we have all known and loved for some time. Some of you knew this friend from birth, others have only been lucky enough to be friends in recent years. This friend has been there, through relationships, break ups, births, deaths, good times and bad.

Some us haven't always agreed with the choices this friend has made, but in the end our relationship has always endured.

And so my friends, it is with great sadness that we commemorate the passing of our cherished companion, broadcast television.

You will be missed.

(cue Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and the laying of roses)

Morbid imagery I know.

But this is a glimpse into the future.

One of the reasons this newsletter is late this week, is that I was struggling with how to explain the lessons I learned at an Industry seminar on Tuesday. The seminar was "SPAA Masterclass 3: Digital - Where's the money?". It was supposed to be about how to make money (known as "monetising") from digital/online media.

It ended up being about how traditional media companies, especially broadcasters, were attempting to catchup to the revolution (and I use this word deliberately - it is a revolution!) that is happening in the Film, TV and Media Industry. I won't bore you with details, although feel free to email me if you would like to know more, but there were a few key sentiments that came out of it. They are:

1) The explosion of the internet has changed the world, forever.
2) The next era we are entering is the era of consumer power (i.e. the revolution). This is already true in key consumer areas like shopping (ebay), news (Google), and music (Napster/File sharing).
3) The existing major companies in these areas suffer the most from the revolution, see the major papers closing and major music labels crumbling for evidence.
4) Film, TV and media is next, as broadband speeds get faster.
5) We either evolve or starve.

Being in the room with representatives of the big media companies was a strange experience for me. It was like I had mistakenly stepped into a meeting of the rich and powerful. Like Michael Moore at a gathering of BP, Shell and ExonMobil. The film, TV and Media Establishment live in person.

And me, wondering how they kept missing the point so badly.

Do you want to know what the film, TV and Media establishment talk about?

How to stop evolution.

The film, TV and media establishment talk about how to keep up with the revolution and, as much as possible, keep things the same. For their own survival.

Survival! Not growth, SURVIVAL!

They are "experimenting" with online video under duress. They believe that whatever happens online should direct people back to the "primary platform", which is Television.

The idea of online media consumption becoming the new normal, and telling great stories that engage an audience, was only mentioned by one of the speakers. His name is Ricky, the Head of Video Media at Fairfax Digital. How ironic that a guy from a newspaper/magazine company is leading the way in online video?

I chatted to him after his presentation, and found out that he worked in music, when they were hit by the revolution. Then he worked in Newspapers, when they were hit by the revolution. Now he is in video media, when the revolution is coming. Poor guy.

But Ricky gets it. He is monetising videos on-line already, with a profit sharing arrangement with Producers. He is trying to get a head start on what's coming. He's seen it too. Currently it takes 8-24 hours to download the average pirated movie online. With the broadband speeds proposed in the next 3-5 years, the average time to download a pirated movie will reduce to just 11 minutes. At that point, the film, TV and media industry becomes the music and newspaper industry. Unless we evolve.

In the very-near future, consumers will NOT ACCEPT television channels telling them what to watch. They will watch the shows they want, when they want, online. Hell, they are already doing it with entire TV show seasons on DVD and single episodes online.

And when the audience's TV is web-enabled, so they don't have to use their computer, with high speed broadband plugged into it, the TV broadcasters better have ALL their shows online, on demand.

The consumer is KING again. Don't give us what we want, and we go online and get it somewhere else, possibly for free.

No more channel surfing to find something worth investing my precious time in watching. The broadcast TV Channels will be responsible for 3 things: Commissioning new content (i.e. pay creatives to make shows); curating their catalogue of programs (e.g. channel 7 will become the home of reality television, channel 10 the home of cooking and dancing shows); and uploading their shows online. In a world of infinite choice, they had also better make sure the shows are good, or the audience will go somewhere else.

From what I saw, sipping my free coffee and listening to them speak, the traditional media establishment don't get this. Not completely, anyway.

It's actually the start of a FANTASTIC time for creatives who want to tell good stories (you will be in demand!), and terrible for big established media companies.

Broadcast TV is already dead, it just doesn't know it yet.

The revolution is coming.

You have all been warned. Start creating.

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THE MANY HIDDEN FACES OF RAY PARK

Heard of Ray Park?

Some people have. Most haven't.

He's a martial artist from Glasgow, Scotland. This makes him unintelligible in conversation, but handy in a bar fight.

Still not ringing bells?

What if I told you he was a featured supporting actor in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Nope?

What if I added that he was in the first X-Men movie in 2000?

Your trivia is terrible.

Last clue, he was one of the main characters in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, starring opposite Johnny Depp.

A mental blank. Terrible.

Funnily enough, Ray Park has been a major player in 4 films which have grossed a total of $1,730,165,371 worldwide.

You don't know who he is because he plays characters that have heavy make-up, obscured faces or, in one case, no head. (In order they are: Darth Maul from Star Wars EP1; Toad in XMen; Snake Eyes in GI Joe and The Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow).

To add a pinch salt to the wound, when his character did finally have a head in 'Sleepy Hollow', they substituted him.....for Christopher Walken.

Ask him, and I doubt he'll complain though. He is living the Hollywood dream.

But it's worth noting: success doesn't always equal fame.

RAY PARK - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0661917/

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SHARING MY CONFUSION

One main reason that Film so appeals to me, more than the other storytelling mediums, is that you can walk out of a cinema and talk about it. It's communal. Its something we have over Music, which is far more niche and internalised.

Call me nostaligic, but some of my best memories are walking out of the "movies" with my family or friends still talking about what we just saw. It's my post-modern version of the "good old days".

When I was a kid, my Dad took my older brother Matt and I to one of the Sydney premiere screenings of Independence Day at midnight in Penrith. The old cinema was packed with people and the whole place cheered when the Opera House appeared with the crashed alien spaceship in the background. There was almost a live theatre atmosphere. True story.

I hope you are lucky enough to have a similar memory.

Great filmmakers make you feel something. Their film sticks with you for days, months, even years. That's why there are some movies we love, even though there is some part of them that are equal parts confusing and frustrating. We love them, but we hate them, like fast food.

One of these films, which I love, is 'No Country for Old Men' (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477348/)

You don't have to take my word about it being good, a little golden man named Oscar agrees with me (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/no_country_for_old_men/)

The frustrating thing about No Country for Old Men film is the ending. It has spurred no end of debate. One online forum alone, mentioned in the NY Times, has over 400 individual opinion comments about the ending (http://meetinthelobby.com/debate-no-country-for-old-men-ending.html).

I won't spoil the ending for you, save to share one monologue from Tommy Lee Jones's character, about this father:

I had two dreams about him after he died. I don’t remember the first one all that well but it was about meetin’ him in town somewheres and he give me some money and I think I lost it.

But the second one it was like we was both back in older times and I was on horseback goin through the mountains of a night. Goin through this pass in the mountains. It was cold and there was snow on the ground and he rode past me and kept on goin. Never said nothin’. He just rode on past and he had this blanket wrapped around him and he had his head down and when he rode past I seen he was carryin’ fire in a horn the way people used to do and I could see the horn from the light inside of it. About the color of the moon. And in the dream I knew that he was goin’ on ahead and that he was fixin’ to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there. And then I woke up.

I have mulled this over for so long.

He is contemplating mortality, I know that much. That his father is waiting for him.

After months, I thought I had it: life is precious. That's why there are so many people in the world today, because we nurture life so much more. But the more people there are, the more expendable life is and the less it means to kill because we become almost like cattle. In a sense then, the modern world, with more people and with life more expendable than ever, is no country for old men, who remember the way life was when people knew each other and killing someone meant killing someone you knew.

Now, I could be wrong.

But that's not the point.

I felt something.

That's what we filmmakers should aspire to. Producing something so good that people want to share the experience with friends and family. Releasing a film that makes people want to tell you about the time they saw it with their Dad and Brother 15 years ago. Giving people a film that makes them think about it months and years later.

Forget marketing and money. For Christ's sake, make me feel something.

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24 HOURS TO LIVE

You can lead the horse to water, but you can't keep your foot on it's submerged head for more than 30 seconds. It's dangerous.

Put more simply, I am all about family and friends. Fortunately, or unfortunately for some people, I am like herpes - once you have me, I'm a friend for life.

Friends and family have the ability to encourage and also frustrate you more than anyone else. If they would just listen to me, everything would be ok!

The hardest thing about life is realising that we have control over very little. That fact can be empowering if you embrace it by learning to adapt. Adaptation is actually a great skill to have and essential for filmmakers in the changing landscape.

Its troubling, though, in the context of loved ones.

My younger brother Jack is a Type 1 diabetic. Though he is frustratingly stubborn for a 19 year old, he is his own character, and I love him dearly.

He was diagnosed over a year ago with diabetes and, given he is 19 and thinks he is invincible, he has not been managing his condition properly. But mismanaging a permanent chronic illness is like playing Russian roulette. You can get away with it for a while, but eventually....

On Saturday, he had his first major diabetic crash since he was diagnosed.

We had pleaded with him to check his blood sugars. We demanded he monitor his insulin levels.

He didn't.

On Monday, the doctor told us Jack was 24 hours of non-treatment from death. He said that once a person goes into a diabetic coma, they are only a 50-50 chance of coming back.

Jack was lucky.

Loving someone makes you vulnerable, be they a friend, a partner, or even a brother. It would be worse, however, to feel nothing at all.

I'm just glad he's alive.

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FIGJAM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIGJAM_(disambiguation)

Maybe I am having a bad run, but lately I end up in less and less conversations where people want to really converse. Not in the biblical sense, but the old-fashioned sharing of ideas, arguing perspectives and eventually agreeing to disagree (but that we are both better off having had the discussion).

What people most want to discuss....it seems.....is themselves.

Self promotion is a genetic trait. Developed in the womb and deployed when the user is fully formed. You can spot these people by the unnecessary self-adulating detail they add to a simple story.

For example, as well as making films, I am also the chairman of the Alumni Board at the Sydney Film School (SFS). Emile Sherman, the Oscar-Winning producer of the King's Speech is on the Governance Board of SFS, by the way. So, in my role as chairman, I organised a free panel discussion on film distribution basics, including distribution experts from Flickerfest, Hopscotch, AFTRS and SFS. The event was really well attended and a big success and I met the Chairman of SBS, by the way. In the midst of really productive and informative discussion, one particular person on the panel repeatedly talked about all of their wonderful achievements and how it meant they were on their way to stardom. It was the closest thing I have ever seen to showbusiness induced asbergers syndrome. Despite that, the event was a big success and I made loads of great contacts and received lots of praise from important people, demonstrating how great I am and what a big success I am going to be, by the way.

Insufferable, isn't it?

The worst part is that the above kind of interaction with people normally leaves you feeling kind of.....used. A good shower and a stiff drink are usually needed afterwards, meaning they have probably caused more damage than good with their foray into self-promotion.

Everyone else strategises to make self-promotion work.

With the advent of technology, Facebook, Twitter and the rest, self promotion is easier to distribute than ever. In fact, there is so much self-promotion now, that the only way to be visible in a crowded marketplace is....more self-promotion. That's what the experts say, anyway.

I'm not convinced.

I think you do need to have a way for people to find you, if they're looking. A conduit to communicate with you.

If all I will find when I discover this conduit, however, is a person who seems to be trying VERY hard to convince me how great your achievements are and how much better you are than most people.....I'm not interested.

It's the difference between "self-promotion" and "self-adulation".

In this day and age, what people want...no.....demand, from you is that you must have something to say. If you jump into the bullpen with all the other filmmakers and artists vying for attention, then you had better be organic, you had better be unique and, most importantly, you had better be writing the updates yourself. 50 Cent and Britney Spears found that out years ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/technology/internet/27twitter.html?_r=2&hp

If you approach self-promotion as a way to "sell" people on the image of yourself that you have crafted, it can go very badly.......

Jeff Skilling was an intelligent, but reportedly arrogant, young man from Pennsylvania, U.S.A. When applying for Harvard Business School, he was asked the question "Are you smart?" by the admissions board.

He replied: "I'm fucking smart".

When Enron collapsed in 2001, Jeff Skilling became the face of the biggest corporate fraud in history. When interviewed in prison in 2010, serving his 24 year prison sentence, Skilling suggested one of his main failings was not "going on the PR (Public Relations) offensive" when all the trouble started.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/14/news/newsmakers/jeffrey_skilling_prison_interview.fortune/index.htm

I will leave it to you to read, but there are six pages of angry comments that suggest all the PR in the world wouldn't help.

On the other hand, when Amy Winehouse died, the overwhelming response was that we had tragically lost an artist who had a unique talent and a unique voice that made her visible in the crowd of wannabees. Amy had something to say. She let her work do the promotion. She connected with the humanity in her audience.

Then she was gone.

We live in a golden age if you actually want to connect with people; with your audience. The catch, and there always is one, is that you have to be in it for the long haul. You have to be committed to a lifestyle of connecting with people whatever way you can, not just to promote your latest film, perfume, song, sex toy (google "Kevin Smith Fleshlight"), etc etc etc

"The reason that self-promotion works and self-adulation doesn't is because self-promotion is the art of spreading ideas, concepts and a greater vision. Self-adulation is just the promotion of accomplishments, deeds that have already been done."
- Nathan Hangen ( http://www.copyblogger.com/shameless-self-promotion/)

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WWSMD?

I finally bowed to public opinion.

Overwhelmingly I was told I needed to get healthy. To exercise. To lose some weight.

So I joined a basketball team.

Two months later and I felt a slight difference, even though my pants told me that very little had changed. It turns out, you need to eat better too.

And then, last Sunday, I sprained my ankle during a game. Badly.

Now, I can't even take the stairs.

The worst part is that the injury happened against the worst team in the competition, who acted at times like they believed they were the best team in the competition. These days, anyone with a basketball and enough spare time can convince themselves they are good at the sport.

It is the benefit and curse of the post-modern age: the 'democratisation' of dreams.

It started many many years ago with sports, the most democratic of all. All you needed was a ball and the right playing area and you could dream that you were on the way to being Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, etc etc etc......

Now, with the pace of technology, even the 'unreachable' dreams have become democratic: film and music.

There is an abundance of cheap cameras that shoot cinema quality films (google "Tiny Furniture", shot on DSLRs), cheap editing set-ups and software (thanks to Apple), crew and actors willing to work for free to get a break, and even direct to consumer video-on-demand services popping up (making it ever easier to reach an audience directly).

The result?

A sea of content. A media tidal wave that leaves the modern time-poor consumers bamboozled by options. Some of this wave of films is very good. Others very very.......very.......bad. Anyone for a screening of 'The Human Centipede'?

But that's the point. There are no gatekeepers anymore. The new wave couldn't find a way in, so they forced their way past the gates instead.

Is this necessarily a bad thing?

A friend and I chatted about what this glut of films means for our future as filmmakers. The answer, for me, is a simple one. I wish I had come up with it myself, but the credit very deservedly belongs to actor/comedian Steve Martin:

"Be so good they can't ignore you."

(He says it, 52:10 into this interview http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/8831)

So many people worry about what it means to have the tools of filmmaking democratised and their number of competitors dramatically increased. I keep reading this theme in blog posts and comments on indie film news articles. The truth is, though, that for years anyone could pick up a basketball and start playing. Despite this, there is still a world famous professional league and only a handful of players who have become household names, in spite of the millions who try.

Anyone can buy a camera and call themselves the second coming of Kubrick. Then there are the ones who work harder, sweat the little details and make tougher sacrifices to be considered the best at what they do. They race to the top instead of diving for the bottom.

Those are the kind of filmmakers that get noticed, that build an audience. Those are the kind of filmmakers we gravitate towards.

Except me. I'm at home. Icing my ankle.

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A PIRATE STOLE MY LIVELIHOOD

You may have noticed a delay in sending out this latest newsletter, but in my defence, it took a little extra time to research. Research, you say? That's right, I am not just another whiny guy with a keyboard. I am a whiny guy with a keyboard who reads.

And so, my friends, we come to that ever divisive topic of piracy.

The arguments for and against, practical and emotional, optimistic and defeatist, are widespread.

Starting with my own bias, I must admit I am against piracy. While I understand the emotions that drive it, stealing is stealing. Perhaps it is my Irish Catholic upbringing, or perhaps I have something against Icelandic computer experts. We'll never really know.

Interestingly enough, the arguments against doing anything about piracy seem to be spurred by resignation, while the arguments for piracy seem to be based on a pseudo-punk-rock idealism: "screw the world; they earn millions; nobody says anything nice about Iceland, so we'll show them.....", etc etc etc.

The pirates come at you from all sides: emotional, economic and Somalia.

In a single, albeit long sentence, they will say something to the effect of: "If the movie industry would make it easier and quicker to get the movies I would pay (EMOTIONAL), but they don't because they are all millionaires and why do they even deserve to get paid so much for what they do when teachers get paid so little (ETHICAL), and I shouldn't have to pay $22 to see a crap movie (ECONOMIC), and if I wasn't doing it someone else would so what I do doesn't have an impact anyway (ECONOMIC)."

DEEP BREATH.

It is very easy to respond to all of these arguments in one go: "If you don't like film professionals being paid for what they do, vote with your feet, that is, do not consume the content they produce. No demand means less money for the content providers and more for teachers. End of story."

Don't get involved in arguments about waiting times, or economic arguments, because the only statement they make that is rational is the above ethical argument. Which you have just answered in one sentence.

You don't believe their economic or patience arguments are irrational? If you walk into McDonalds and there is a wait for your burger, can you go behind the counter and take it for free? And if you eat the whole burger can you go back and say you don't feel you should pay for it? And if 30% of McDonald's U.S.A. customers were stealing like this, will it have an impact on their business?

In America, just two years ago, peer to peer (P2P) file sharing accounted for approximately 30% of America's Broadband Internet usage. Think about that number - 30% How long would any business stay solvent when a huge percentage of their product, accounting for an approximated $16Billion in U.S.A alone, is being stolen?

So, you know the problem. You are on your yacht on the Somali Coast, and the boatload of wayfaring gentlemen heading your way look a tad on the unfriendly side. Do you open the caviar and get the Brie to room temperature, or grab the nearest spork and prepare to make your last stand?

Perhaps a bit of both.

What if, instead of the current polar debates on piracy (e.g. they're all criminals!!!! VS don't bother policing it, we should tolerate it and try and make money off of piracy!) we had a middle ground, a blend of both perspectives?

The battle to win the hearts and minds (such a wonderful American platitude) of the world regarding piracy will be fought over CONVENIENCE. These days, the population of developed world is not necessarily financially poor when it comes to spending $20 on a movie. They are, however, TIME POOR. Allow the public to easily and conveniently consume the content when and where THEY want, and watch them come to you like Lepers at Lourdes.

How do I know? Because it is already happening.

In America, the over 30% P2P broadband usage pre 2009 has been significantly reduced (with some reporting as low as 8% of Broadband now being P2P), and the majority of what is left in P2P is believed to be music. What changed?

Netflix.

I will not spend a huge amount of time on this, but Netflix for the uninitiated is a subscription film and television content provision service in the U.S.A. They provide TV shows and films via DVD mailing and, in their booming business, "instant internet streaming".

Netflix, and especially their internet streaming, has given internet-savvy Americans a simple, convenient and relatively cheap way to get movies online. They pay one subscription fee ($7.99 a month) and can access over 75,000 movies. Americans have responded in droves with Netflix going from 10 Million subscribers in 2009 to 23.6 Million subscribers in 2011, and over $3Billion in revenue in 2011.

Instead of fighting the pirates' way of doing things, Netflix instead did it better, and charged a reasonable price. They now have 3 billion reasons to suggest they are right.

The "they are all criminals" side of things are innovating too. In the last week, a new approach has been created: INCONVENIENCE the pirates into compliance via a deal between the Internet Service Providers (ISP's), the music industry, and the film industry. This new deal, ironically inspired by the cooperation with ISPs on the war on child pornography (far be it from music and film professionals to miss a good opportunity), means that ISPs will WARN their users who are regularly downloading pirate content. If the user ignores the warnings and continues to download pirated content, their internet speed will be slowed down to a crawl. Can you imagine the frustration of an Icelander trying to watch pornography on super-slow dial-up internet? This new accord will replace the previous media/entertainment industry policy of direct, harsh prosecution of pirates.

Can you see the sense yet of blending the approaches?

Make a web service that makes it RIDICULOUSLY EASY to pay for your content, ironically pretty much using the same model and ease of usage of the old pirate websites (e.g. Napster if you remember it before Metallica brought the wrath of god on them).

Then, make it so INCONVENIENT to download pirate content that paying becomes the easiest option.

Ignore the 2% who will keep fighting on their skewed pseudo-punk principles. They will be fighting their ethical battle on internet speeds slower than you had in the 1990s.

Get everyone else hooked on the convenience.

Wave goodbye to the smiling Brie and caviar smeared faces of the Somalian Pirates and sail your yacht to the land of the sustainable film industry.

Live happily ever after.
_______________________

P.S. Just so you don't have to take my word for it, a sample of my background info.....

ISPs placing penalties on pirates:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/technology/to-slow-piracy-internet-providers-ready-penalties.html?_r=3&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25

Netflix growth startling many
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/07/why-content-isn-8217-t-king/8551/

Netflix Broadband usage growing
http://www.dailytech.com/Report+Netflix+Will+Clobber+US+Internet+Bandwidth/article20075.htm

Netflix reducing P2P?
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/04/is-netflix-reducing-illicit-file-sharing-depends-on-which-stats-you-believe.ars

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FOR THE TIMES, THEY ARE.....

It finally happened. The conversation I knew would come eventually.

My Irish Catholic Grandfather got on the other end of the line: "Happy Birthday!" in his most enthusiastic geriatric.

Pleasantries were exchanged.

Then, "So, you're heading into middle age now..."

For the record, I just turned 29, and the average life expectancy of men in the "Western World" is 73. I digress.

"So, you're heading into middle age now. When are you going to settle down and stop with all this film stuff. You don't want to be having kids when you're 50".

He's probably right about the last part, I mean, who wants to be changing baby nappies while a nurse changes yours? The majority of his points though, I just can't stomach.

When is the right time to let go of your dreams and start procreating?

Aren't we over populated? Most certainly.

Are we perhaps over-populated with people who want to be "filmmakers"? Probably.

Either way, he may have a point. But he is making the case to the 90% who place stability over chasing the life they want. The real estate over the raconteur.

Then again, how long is too long? Willie Nelson didn't have hist first hit until he was 51.

Grandpa may be right. But not about me.

__________________________

P.S. I was flicking through an old notebook, as you do when you get a year older, and thought I would share something I found scratched on a page in my barely legible handwriting. I think it was my attempt at an opening line for a stand-up comedy routine:

“I have a good friend named Walt. He grew up in a naval family. He’s a deaf mute but he speaks using semaphore. I like him but I hate it when he talks during the movie.”

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GREAT EXPECTATIONS

I am an Australian, which means different things to different audiences.

Australia has many elements it holds proudly, and just as many that give us a bad case of self-consciousness.

Interestingly, the arts continue to be considered one of our weak points.

Not that we don't have exceptional artists, but our national appetite for our own work is low at best. These days, it's commonly known as our "cultural cringe".

Our own stories aren't interesting enough for us. The Australian accent, so popular throughout the world, in our films makes us uncomfortable.

But are we being too hard on ourselves? Has our rapid growth and success in certain areas...cough....sport....cough.....given us unrealistic expectations of ourselves?

Often the wisest words come from the unlikeliest places, like a bearded lady. In my case, last week I was on my way to a preview of Hairspray the Musical (sidenote: it's brilliant by the way) chatting with a taxi driver who had immigrated from Bangladesh a number of years ago.

His take on Australia sheds a lot of light on the root cause of our cultural cringe. For him, he said, it was a matter of ego vs reality.

In Australia, our pride makes us suggest we are an advanced developed nation. We deserve to be players on the world stage!!!! This is despite us having only around 200 years of history as compared to the hundreds (and thousands) in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

My Taxi driver's suggestion, over a large wry smile and an even bigger moustache, is that all the evidence suggests we are a DEVELOPING nation.

Our public transport and infrastructure is slowly catching up; our economy is based on mineral commodities; as recently as 10/15 years ago we were having 'national identity' discussions; we are way behind the developed world on broadband and technology infrastructure; we were insulated from the financial crisis in part by the relatively low penetration of modern large transnational financial institutions; and we struggle to develop a sustainable arts sector due to the slow pace of embracing broader tenets of cultural achievement beyond sport.

Sound developed to you?

Perhaps we need to take a deep breath. Perhaps part of success is realising that it takes time to develop a cultural palette and therefore an industry to service it.

Perhaps we should just focus on producing good work and realising that the audience is there, with money to spend, and they will come. But only if it's good.

Perhaps we should relax and focus more on reality rather than our ego.

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A 3D MOVIE WARPED MY BRAIN

I read something interesting today about the limits of human imagination. The writer was mulling over whether Airbus' proposed "see-through" plane of the future was a good idea. Just because we imagine it, he said, does that mean we should build it?

My first thought was: "I hope The Mile High Club gets disbanded".

Technology today means imagination no longer has to just live in our heads. Superheroes are real! At least on screen, anyway.

The imaginary world seems to coexist with ours. All it needs is time, we are told, for the real world to catch up.

It left me pondering the "responsibility" debates of the future. It seems like only a blink ago that Marilyn Manson's music was being blamed for the Columbine High School Massacre. If sound can inspire such arbitrary savagery, what about the hyper clarity of blue-ray, 3D media or the eventual 'immersive holographic entertainment'?

And the reality show craze, creating a generation of people famous because they're...famous.

Could we be warping the supple minds of the future?

In the superhero world, for example, the most famous heroes have their powers bestowed by some sort of awful accident or tragedy: Spiderman was bitten by a radioactive spider; Batman's entire family was murdered in front of him; The Hulk was a scientist named Bruce Banner, exposed to Gamma Radiation from an atomic blast; and Superman's planet exploded. You know, everyday stuff.

I have wondered how would the great Superheroes have really ended up in the real world:

"Peter Parker, a mild mannered photographer is bitten by a radioactive spider...the resulting wound becomes horribly infected and eventually gangrenous, leading to amputation...."

"Bruce Banner, a US Army scientist, is suddenly caught in the wake of an American atomic test. The resulting Gamma radiation infuses his DNA....resulting in a number of tumors which become inoperable. He was 41."

"In the wake of last night's unexpected meteor shower, police have discovered a large impact crater in a cornfield in Smallville, USA. The meteor appears to have been destroyed on impact, with the only remnants discovered being a charred scrap of red fabric with what looks like an "S" on it....."

You get the point.

With what modern technology in movies and TV can accomplish, the imaginary is closer to looking "real" than ever. Just ask Robert Pattinson, who gets Twilight fans begging him to bite them. The debate will come, one day, where creators will have to argue whether they have a duty of care to the fragile minds in the world.

Someone, someday, will argue that a "3D movie made me do it".

At the same time, a conservative politician will blame videogames, music and/or movies for turning this person into a ruthless criminal. "Just because you can imagine it", he or she will say, "doesn't mean you should make it."

Should we just be telling stories, or making something that elevates the perception of our audience?

I honestly don't have an answer but, then again, I did always want to be Batman.

THE LAST WORD ON AMERICA

Leaving America is like leaving a bio-dome.

While you are there, the only news you hear is American. It is so large and diverse that it generates its own news 24/7. At the same time as there are Tornadoes in middle America, there is a fine art exhibition on the East Coast, a cholera outbreak in the South and a celebrity filled movie premiere in the West.

This all happens within the space of a day and more news develops constantly, all within their own borders.

As an outsider, I felt cut-off from the globe, but for Americans, it explains to some degree why they are blissfully unaware of the world around them. That enduring statistic is still true: in 2011, only between 20-30% (depending on where you get your figures) of Americans have a passport. In other words, if you were in a room with five Americans, only 1 of them is likely to have ever seen outside their own borders.

It is a truly unique experience, being in a first-world country which is the human equivalent of a fishbowl.

For example, I was chatting to a cab driver in NY, hoping that by empathising with me as a person, he might think about driving in a manner less likely to end in my death. It didn't work, but life is like that sometimes. I survived, however, and was struck by one particular part of the conversation. We were talking about American politics and Economics, and he was utterly surprised at how aware I was of the domestic political situation in the US of A. When I asked him what he knew of recent major events in Australia, his answer was hilarious and sad at the same time.

His example of a major event in recent Australian history? The death of The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin.

So, for any filmmakers, distributors, or even actors out there looking to appeal to 'The American Mainstream' remember: 4 of the 5 Americans in that room are unlikely to share your worldly, non-American, perspective.

Why else do you think Mel Gibson ended up with an American accent?

AMERICA

This is a little later than usual, but I am still on my jaunt overseas. It has given me some tidbits to share.

NY is an interesting place. LA is downright strange.

America is full of Americans, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Overall, the experience has been so varied, so I am really not sure what I think of the USA.

They are capable of so much and so little at the same time, e.g. they can find a single person in a world of billions, yet they can't master basic world geography.

They are obsessed with pretense, yet can produce some of the world's greatest thinkers and scientists (google Jonas Salk)

Is it dumb luck? Is it a numbers game? One in a milion here creates 250 to 300 'special' people after all.

After talking with quite a few of them, in a variety of random situations, I realised that the key to understanding Americans is the idea of the 'Niche'

Americans are not about breadth of understanding. They are about 'depth', that is, deep focus and understanding on a single (or very few) subject. Talk to an American and they will bamboozle you with words that show how little they know about things generally. But hit on their niche subject and they will tell you EVERYTHING about it, with a richness and depth of detail that seems beyond belief.

On a normal hot day in LA last week, I had a conversation with a guy who led me, inexorably, to the conclusion that he was missing one (or more) chromosomes. But when the conversation inevitably turned to the comic book universe, his pupils widened and he spoke with detail that even a savant would struggle with. He even knew about how certain storylines in the comic book world were an allegory for events in the real world. When this part of the conversation finished, however, the familiar glaze returned and he went back to using phrases like "Y'now ya?"

I realized then, that for those of us trying to tell stories that have appeal in America (and can therefore sell - it is the biggest film market in the world, after all) you need to be extremely skillful in your craft, in order to tell a story that appears to be simpler than it is. Americans need a high concept story that fits their niche, in order to appeal to their singular focus. That doesn't mean it can't have more layers, but in the end the story needs to be about...well....the story, not the social point you are trying to make. That's not to say that you can't make your indie gem and sell it in the North American Territory. But it will be difficult, and your story telling skills will need to be razor sharp to make sure it has enough of that overarching story 'niche' to make them see it.

Think I am over-intellectualising? Look up: Xmen (racism), and The Matrix (corruption in 'the system'). Even Pirates of the Caribbean (the corrupted empire/accepting who you are), had these elements. If I'm wrong then why is Johnny Depp's character the good guy; the one we sympathize with?

According to www.the-numbers.com (worldwide totals in $US):

XMen - $334,627,820
XMen Origins: Wolverine - $374,825,760
XMen: The Last Stand - $459,359,555

The Matrix - $460,279,930
The Matrix Reloaded - $738,576,929
The Matrix Revolutions - $424,259,759

Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - $653,211,224
Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - $1,060,615,812
Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $960,996,492

Determine your high concept. Know your craft. Preach in the subtext only.

Find the niche.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

I love good customer service.

It makes you feel like a VIP, even when it is just a few less pickles on your cheeseburger. You ask for something different from the masses, and you get it. With a smile.

We all know the opposite. When someone treats you like a faceless, nameless whine at the other end of a telephone.

On a related note, I am writing this from my desk in Sydney, though I should be sitting in LA. Tired, but in LA none the less. United Airlines called me on Friday to let me know that my Saturday flight had been cancelled and rescheduled 24 hours later. They gave only one reason: "adverse weather".

I looked outside at a beautiful May day.

I am no expert on planes, but blue skies, no storms and no wind seems fairly benign. I never did finish that degree in aeronautical engineering, though.

Their response to this point is not worth repeating, safe to say I got a very clear brush off. So I called our travel agent. Another brush off. You see, travel is a 'defer responsibility' culture these days. Why else do you think there are so many travel insurance agencies?

I was left thinking, have they forgotten who keeps them employed?

It reminded me of a Director who asked a question at a Michael Hague seminar I attended. Hague was talking about his experiences providing High Concept script consulting for the big players at the major Hollywood studios. The Director felt compelled to pipe up:

"Does this mean that to use your High Concept method I have to make American-type movies?"

Hague answered it wasn't about being American, but about your story having enough universal appeal to reach the largest possible audience. A diplomatic answer, but an answer all the same. She replied:

"Well that's not the type of movies I want to make"

The audience grumbled their disapproval, but it's a point that I still think about. Is she right?

In Australia, I have heard this same point made by a number Filmmakers. The usual statement is: "I make movies for me".

It begs the question, should an artist create something in response to the will of the mob? Or will the mob follow the artist?

The answer really depends on you. Can you innovate within the paradigm? Can you reinvent the paradigm altogether? Either way is a path to success. More importantly, either way you can keep sight of your "customers", whether they exist today or when they flock to you when they realise how good your work is.

For me, I only know how I felt when United talked to me like a noise that needed to be turned down. I also know I will never fly United again, if I have a choice.

So, the one rule I am sure of is: lose sight of your audience at your peril.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!!

Government Budget announcement time just finished in Australia.

The time of year when everyone has their hand out has come and passed. Wayne Swan broke a glass, Tony Abbott delivered another incomprehensible tirade about nothing in particular, and Julia Gillard delivered a speech in her most stirring rendition of Kath (from the "Kath and Kim Show") yet. The world moved on.

An interesting update came into my inbox, however:

http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/news_and_events/2011/mr_110510_budget.aspx

It explains in great detail, the lowering of the qualifying level for the Producer Offset; the new direct cash incentive for low-budget documentaries and the expansion of items which account as qualifying expenditure (the wonderfully titled 'QUAPE'); among other things.

What does this have to do with you?

The answer (even if you are a filmmaker) is: very little.

And that is exactly the point. Something has disappeared in our society. Everything has become so granular.

Nobody talks about vision, direction or future anymore. They talk about micro-level tax incentives.

The only people who talk about the future are the ones trying to sell you something. The only ones who have a vision are the people developing new consumer technologies or thinking about how many shekels you will have when you retire.

The already established players care about this announcement. Hell, their powerful lobbying made it happen. But we don't get to play in their sandbox. The rest of us are left begging for change from the people we used to call "leaders".

I'm not saying that these tax incentives don't help people get their film projects off the ground, but if your entire business model is based on handouts from the government, you are in the welfare business, not the film business.

Nobody talks about constructively about the future anymore, least of all the ones who shape it: the storytellers.

Except you. Right?

AN ALTERNATIVE THEORY OF CREATION

Many years ago, in an office block far far away from here, a non-specific, non-demoninational deity who went by the name God (but was also known as Allah around the office) had just finished compiling his weekly reports for his boss, Zues. By 10am God had completely finished all his work for the day, and was now meandering around the office looking for something to entertain him. Buddha, his colleague, was in the staff kitchen as always. God gave him a polite nod on the way to the kettle, made a cup of generic brand tea, and returned to his desk to while away the rest of his day.

By 10:07, God had completely run out of ideas on how to maintain interest, and possibly consciousness, for the rest of the day. Luckily, he had completely finished his tea and the liquid had swiftly made its way down to his bladder.

As God relieved himself in the office men's room, he realised exactly how filthy the toilet cubicle was, and made up his mind to report it to the facilities manager. He read some dirty limericks scribbled onto the wall above the toilet roll holder, and gave a purile smirk at an obscene yet utterly comical doodling on the back of the door.

As he squeezed off the last few drops, he concentrated a little harder to push out his customary fart. Suddenly, at the height of his concentration, a lightning bolt shot out of the end of his 'ahem' and made a direct hit on the toilet bowl in front of him. After a moment to reclaim his senses, a quite stunned God leaned over and looked into the toilet bowl.

Apparently, the sudden jolt of electricity had catalysed whatever microbes were swirling around in.....well...you know. The result was a kind of instant primordial soup (for the soul).

God stood amazed as tiny creatures began to form and multiply. They swam around in the primordial soup, looking at each other and asking poignant questions like - "what am I?" and "Why am I here?".

God stood in awe, admiring his marvellous creations.

His creations looked up in reverence and gratitude for their omnipresent and benevolent creator.

After seven minutes, God realised he had to be back at his desk or Zeus might notice his absence. Buddha would probably tell on him. He was always making trouble.

God looked down one last time on his creations, flushed, and never gave it a second thought.

Just to put things in context.

SPOT THE BARBARIANS.....

The events that have unfolded in the last twenty-four hours have cast a horrible light on us as a civilisation.

I am just sad. Not for him, but for the world.

We have reduced ourselves to the masses, baying for blood. Like the Romans at the Colosseum, cheering the burning Catholics.

He was a psychopath, and he earned the consequences of the life he lead. But what have WE lost in this war on terror and what does it mean that we call killing someone an "achievement". How did we lose our way so badly?

Insetad of celebrating, could we not just acknowledge the chance for the wounded to heal and turn the page? Show our dignity instead of our barbarism?

The whole thing plays out as a tragedy to me. And everyone loses.

OAFILMS NEWS - New project....

And it even has a Facebook page...

.....http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/The-Good-Neighbour/131722040230896

PRODUCING...PRODUCING...EATING...PRODUCING....

The last six months have gone like a FLASH as I keep myself involved in some really interesting and high quality projects.

Producing one short is work enough, but then I am also co-producing another and gearing up in the production of a $20K funded short - with a fantastic script!

Time goes quickly, that's for sure, but I'm still smelling the roses. Every once in a while anyway.

OAFILMS NEWS - CHASING MEL won't be silenced!

Chasing Mel screened in the SKANC FILM FESTIVAL, in St Kilda, on the 4th February 2010. I thought that would be the last time.

I am big enough to admit I was wrong.

Apparently, someone in Victoria liked it, and the film has now made the final on the 25th February 2010!!

I couldn't make it for the last screening, but I'll be going for this one. A good start to the year, no doubt.

OAFILMS NEWS - Chasing Mel's retirement and my new project

The end of 2009 has been crazy!

Chasing Mel had its penultimate screening at the Coasties Film Festival, and its last festival screening (at this point, anyway) in the Boo Hoo films competition final. It didn't win, but was very well received.

My latest film 'Untitled at a Bus Stop' had its first screening this week. Again, it was very well received and will get a bit more of a polish before I start sending it to festivals.

I have three other projects planned at this stage - a first cut of a short I recently shot called 'De-Sensitised', a short script about the consequences of a lothario lifestyle, and a first cut of a 30 minute documentary on Indonesia (from 42 hours of raw footage!). That should keep me busy for the next couple of months.

Thanks to all who have made 2009 a special year. It has been rewarding, challenging, heartbreaking, inspiring, sorrowful and joyful. I have learned, been burnt to the ground and rose from the ashes.

All my usual supporters have been there, doing the subtle things that make them the amazing people that I love so dearly; I have lost one person who took a piece of my heart with them, forever; and I have made new friends and connections that I will take with me forever.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Bring on 2010.

OAFILMS NEWS - Chasing Mel screened in the Czech Republic!

Chasing Mel was selected and screened at the 9th Pisek Film Festival in the Czech Republic. I wonder if my jokes translate from sarcastic Australian to Czech?

OAFILMS NEWS - Chasing Mel in Competition!

Chasing Mel will be screening in competition at Boo Hoo Films! The audience will vote on the best films on the night and the winner goes through to the final in November.

The screening starts at 7am on Monday 31 August at Madam Fling Flongs in Newtown. All ae welcome, as long as they vote for me....

For more details, go to http://www.boohoofilms.com.au/

OAFILMS NEWS - Chasing Mel has an IMDB Page!

After it was considered for a festival in the U.S., Chasing Mel was granted its own webpage on the world's most trafficked movie site - IMDB.com!

Check it out on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1463134/

or go to IMDB.com and search for 'Chasing Mel'

OAFILMS NEWS - Chasing Mel keeps screening!

Chasing Mel has had another successful screening, after being officially selected for the 'Katoomba Short Film Festival' and the 'Caught Short Shorts Festival' at the TAP Gallery in Darlinghurst.

The crowd response at Katoomba was terrific and I am getting ready for the TAP screening this Thursday, 2nd July.

I will be answering questions in a filmmaker Q and A on the night at the TAP Gallery. For more info, go to http://www.filmcaughtshort.com/?m=200906

WHAT'S NEXT?

Well.....maybe not.

It has been hectic of late, but I am loving it. My next projects are:
- 1st Assistant Director on a 16mm short titled 'A Flaw In Perfection'. We have shot 3 days and have 1 more day to go.
- Writing a short film script (working title: 'Dead Man Walking')
- Miscellaneous helper (editor? story consultant? fluffer?) on my talented friend Mark Tipple's documentary on Indonesian poverty.
- Writer/co-director with my uber-skilled pal Chino on an untitled short film.

That should keep me busy for the next few months at least.

Chasing Mel Screening - 23rd May 2009

Chasing Mel screened at the Newtown Film Festival to a majority unbiased crowd (i.e. minority friends and family). I was a nervous wreck before hand, but the crowd reaction was brilliant! They laughed in the right places and in a few I didn't expect.

I didn't win the 'audience favourite' award for my session, but I was not overly bothered given the crowd was STACKED with the people who featured in a particular documentary. I was pleasantly surprised, however, that, during the voting, one of my friends overheard the following conversation:

Person 1: "Finished your vote form?"
Person 2: "Not yet. I know I am supposed to vote for our one, but I really liked that Mel Gibson one"

I am sure that person would have eventually voted for the other film. The moral is, if I made one person second-guess their guaranteed vote for a friend, I must be doing something right.

Thanks to my friends and family who came along, it was very special with you there.

Chasing Mel in Newtown Flicks 2009

I have entered 'Chasing Mel' into the Newtown Flicks Film Festival 2009. It will have a screening at the new theatre in Newtown on either the 22nd, 23rd or 24th of May 2009. One of the judges is Academy Award winning writer and director Bruce Beresford. Here's hoping he likes documentaries about stalking celebrities.

For more details visit the festival website at http://www.newtownflicks.com.au

And I Would Like to Thank.....

We won!

Chasing Mel won best Documentary and Best Sound in a Documentary at the Sydney Film School Awards. The awards were judged by a panel of industry professionals, and the film was selected from a field of 8 very good documentaries.

The after party was the stuff of legends.....

Chasing Mel Screening - 17th December 2008

My short doco, Chasing Mel, screened on Wednesday the 17th December. It was without a doubt the most nerve wracking experience I have had - and I've been skydiving.

The screening went really well, and the audience reaction was fantastic! It was such an amazing experience and the adrenalin took a long time to wear off.

Chasing Mel

My first project will be a short documentary called Çhasing Mel. I developed and then pitched the project,along with 11 other people, and mine was one of four selected for production!

We are in production right now for 4 weeks and will be in post from 13 Ocotber onwards. The final film will be ready for screening in December 2008.

For further details go to http://www.sydneyfilmschool.com/films/film-database.aspx?film=6289

I am also working in a supporting role on Mark Tipple's 16mm film: 'Dirt' (http://www.sydneyfilmschool.com/films/film-database.aspx?film=6278)