by John Broderson, Alumnus
So you wanna be a filmmaker? You’ve been working on a feature script and you know that it’s a winner, but getting a feature off the ground is a huge undertaking and quite frankly shouldn’t be the first project that you attempt. A great way to get your feet wet as a filmmaker is to Continue reading
By Lisa Loop, Adjunct Faculty
Tianna Langham and her partner Chris Bessounian received the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting last November in Beverly Hills.
Lisa Loop: You spent your formative years in the Northwest. How did you get from there to where you are now?
I moved to Port Townsend from England when I was 12 years old and attended junior and high school there. I feel fortunate to have landed there; it was an incredibly safe, nurturing and creative place to grow up, so full of history and interesting people from all over the country. But being such a tiny town, I was ready to leave and see more of the world after I graduated. I attended the University of Redlands in California during which I studied and explored many different countries (India, Kenya, Mexico, Austria, etc.). Continue reading
Sometimes I wonder if filmmaking is a rich kid’s business. This worries me because I am pretty sure the rich don’t always tell the best stories (they have good stories, they just won’t tell them). Art is often created by the uncomfortable, the angry and the hungry, as artists talk about what no one else will. Films cost a lot to make, and those with the money and the connections to raise money have a huge advantage. But then I look around at the sheer number of films being made and know that a lot of these are created not by the rich, but by every day people who come hell or high water are going to be heard. A lot of these people may not have money, but what they do have is essential to good art: authentic voices, passion and innovation.
Independent movies are a gag reflex to the formulaic drivel we are forced fed by the mainstream entertainment industry. This instinctual reaction our body has to something it shouldn’t swallow, however, has produced an incredible number of independent films: 3,812 features were submitted to Sundance last year. That is amazing, fantastic, and depressing. Depressing because only 118 of those were screened at Sundance and only about 40 of these got any kind of distribution. Few will remember the 3,772 movies that didn’t get sold or distributed, some of which were very, very good.
There are too many films, not enough theaters and no viable distribution for most of this inspiring effort. In the U.S., about 500 movies get released each year, and studio movies play on 95% of the 39,233 screens. Hollywood essentially produces three different categories of films: the Big Budget Blockbuster, which we all know all too well; the Art House, which is produced by Hollywood conglomerate indie studios like Miramax or SearchLight; and the Genre Specialty films coming from true indie studios and producers who make the majority of films being submitted to festivals each year.
Yet, Hollywood has begun to reduce the amount of Art house and Specialty films in favor of producing more commercial Big Budget films because they are, in their minds anyway, safer commercial fare.
But who wants safe? If I wanted safe I would go lock myself up in the bedroom, which I do quite often to escape my teenage sons, actually. We want thought provoking, we love new talent, we seek authentic voices, and we demand better. And independent films are often better – why do you think they increased the Academy Award nominations to 10 pictures – indie flicks were driving out the studio pics.
TheFilmSchool’s mission is to “elevate the art of cinematic storytelling”, and we are all about nurturing filmmakers to make better stories. But those stories have to be told and in the film world that means they have to be seen, which means all of us have to do something the studios are not very good at, but artists are – we have to innovate.
This year the movie industry made $30 billion (1/3 in the U.S.) from box-office revenue. But the total movie industry revenue was $87 billion. Where did the other $57 billion come from? From sources that the studios at one time claimed would put them out of business: Pay-per view TV, cable and satellite channels, video rentals, DVD sales, online subscriptions and digital downloads. Why was the movie industry consistently wrong? And why do they continue to fight new technology? Because they don’t know how to innovate.
But artists do. That’s what artists are particularly good at. We have to come up with new platforms for our films, new ways to market, and new ways to distribute. We need a distribution revolution! We need to get braver; we need to not only dream but to execute; filmmakers must create new waters, and lead the public to the well; and audiences need to get loud – very, very loud. With proper distribution, indie movies do make money and in the process, get seen, build artists’ careers, and shape our culture by delivering authenticity and quality. Until we create better and new distribution methods, indie movies will be all dressed up with no place to go, no matter how rich the filmmaker.
- John Jacobsen
Cornelia Moore wrote and directed CAMILLA DICKINSON (just finished post-production). She adapted from a novel by Madeleine L’Engle. It boasts an impressive cast including Cary Elwes (THE PRINCESS BRIDE, GLORY) and Samantha Mathis (GREY’S ANATOMY, PUMP UP THE VOLUME). She’s also producing JourneyQuest Season Two which will begin shooting this March.
Kristi Simkins was hired by Stairway Studios out of Florida to write the screenplay for a feature film which is scheduled to go into pre-production in early 2012. She’s also busy working as an editor for faculty member Rick Stevenson on his documentary series, The 5000 Days Project.
Steven Schardt screens yet another picture he produced at this year’s Sundance: YOUR SISTER’S SISTER, filmed on San Juan Island and starring Golden Globe Winner Emily Blunt.
Elena Hartwell adapted Ivan Doig’s Prairie Nocturne for Book-It Repertory Theatre. (book-it.org). Her short play, Endless Sea, premieres with MadLab in Columbus Ohio in May as part of their Theatre Roulette play festival. Elena will lead three workshops at the Whidbey Island Writer’s Conference in March, applying dramatic techniques to fiction. She will also lead the workshop “Write Dialogue Like a Playwright” with the Unicorn Writers Conference in MA in April. She’s currently writing a play for ADWAS, an organization supporting victims of sexual and domestic abuse in the deaf community, which will perform in April in ASL, but voiced over for a hearing audience.
Margie Slovan is directing RIVER ICE, a new play by Olympia writer Scott Timmons. The play begins a 3-week run at Richard Hugo House in March.
John Harden’s screenplay OCCUPANT made it into the quarterfinals of the Nicholls Fellowship for Screenwriting. He also recently wrote a fundraising short for the Sonoma County YWCA.
Andrew Iseminger’s short LITTLE PRICKS has advanced to the semi-finals at the Vail Film Festival Screenplay Contest.
Heather Hughes’ film, Amazing Gracie, was optioned last summer and is in pre-production.
George Thomas, Jr. wrapped up two competitive internships doing doing industry coverage for production companies in L.A.
Heather Hughes and Kate Wharton have optioned their “tween” musical Habit Forming and it is now in pre-production
And in other news …
John Jacobsen recently consulted on a new book that’s all abuzz in the legal community. “Twelve Heroes, One Voice” by Carl Bettinger explores hero-centric storytelling methods, to help trial attorney’s understand how to show the jurors that they must be the heroes, and “save the day” with a verdict that speaks not just for their clients, but for the cause.
TheFilmSchool is throwing its fourth annual Oscar Gala February 26th at The Triple Door, co-chaired by Patrice Auld and Julie Tokashiki. It’s one of the chicest evenings all year with dinner from Wild Ginger, bidding on auction items, mingling with great filmmakers and some of Seattle’s movers and shakers all while watching the Oscar broadcast. Come support TheFilmSchool!
Aron Michael Thompson and TheFilmSchool are proud to co-present with The Seattle Art Museum: Forever Young, The Films of François Truffaut. The films of French writer-director François Truffaut (1932–84) are forever young. In their sunny country lanes, Parisian boulevards and intimate bedrooms, the films surge with the French New Wave spirit of freshly discovered life and cinematic expression. Come see what this master filmmaker is all about. SIFF, NWFF and TFS members may purchase a series ticket (10 films) for only $59.
Be sure to attend the pre-screening cocktail mixer at TASTE restaurant and bar in the Museum. Taste’s Inga Walker has created a special cocktail for this film series: ”Paris Grey”, a blend of Wood Aged Voyager gin, Benedictine, Creme de Violette and Aztec Chocolate bitters. Event details can be found on our website or Facebook Events page.