The UBS Evening Movie News 05.01.08
Posted by George H. Sirois on 05.01.2008
The “Creativity Comes Cheap” Edition…
Welcome everyone to the latest edition of The UBS Evening Movie News. I'm George H. Sirois and before I start, I'd just like to respond to 411 colleague and friend Bryan Kristopowitz when he commented on my rant from last week. Yes, the days of Drive-In theaters are long gone, but I think if they're marketed properly, a limited theater run that caters to the intended audience followed by a DVD release almost immediately after will help their chances for success. If there's only so much money invested into each film, then that lowers the risk factor that causes each movie to attempt to appeal to everyone and push for a bigger return.
I'll be getting into that more in this week's Mad Prophet of the Airwaves, but first we got some news…
TOP STORY
A Writers Guild of America strike and a gubernatorial scandal each could have put a damper on New York's film and television production community. But did it? Fugghedaboudit.
In early March, early word from Gov. Spitzer's proposed budget plan had the industry buzzing: It would up the already-generous state initiative (a 10% giveback on qualifying production, which is often coupled with an additional 5% from New York City) to compete with neighboring Connecticut, raise the benefit cap, and cover above-and-below-the-line costs. Then Gov. Spitzer ignominiously became ex-Gov. Spitzer, which could have scotched the whole initiative.
But it took less than a month for the State Assembly to agree on an increase in the incentive, which now ups below-the-line tax rebates for qualifying productions to 30%, increased the program's budget to $575 million, sped up the rebate's waiting period (now just a year rather than two) and extended the program to 2013, with yearly cap increases. Above-the-line rebates are still a pipe dream, but this again makes New York one of the most attractive, and potentially affordable, locales in the country.
"It's not easy to get tax credits," says Steiner Studios head Doug Steiner, who was a force behind the passing of the original incentive, along with Silvercup Studios' Alan Suna. "I think (the state legislature) has tested us and wanted to see results."
Before all this, production in the state and the city had taken a significant downturn during the WGA strike. During the three-month-plus work stoppage that concluded Feb. 12, production in New York City came to a virtual standstill. The impact on the industry was immediate.
"It was very disappointing," says Katherine Oliver, commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. "We had a record number of television shows that had started production in the fall."
There were some exceptions: Miramax's Doubt, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, kept its lights on during the strike. But on the television side, most productions wound up in limbo. Oliver's office estimates that New York-based television projects with WGA contracts would have spent $96 million during the work stoppage.
Today, Oliver remains optimistic. "It's starting to pick up," she says. "It looks good for the next few months, which is exciting."
Duplicity, Tony Gilroy's new corporate spy thriller for Universal starring Clive Owen, Julia Roberts and Paul Giamatti, is one of those films that gives Oliver reason to believe. The project has been shooting throughout the city for weeks, just the sort of lively star vehicle that reminds other locales that New York City remains a shooting destination on par with Hollywood.
"We love shooting in New York," says producer Jennifer Fox. "We don't see it as a challenge at all. New York is the most vibrant and fun city in the world. If you know the city and work with people who know what they're doing, it's very easy."
As a New Yorker, I can't begin to say how excited I am to see so much attention given by the film industry. Of course, it's nothing new to see something being filmed or screened here, but considering both the state and city initiatives, we're going to see this happening for a very long time. Even better, plenty of production companies have set up shop here and Mayor Bloomberg has been nothing but generous to the many different studio productions that are constantly shooting here.
Sure, there are still plenty of friends of mine making the move to LA and nothing seems like it's going to stop being the number 1 area for the film and television industry, but I'm thrilled to see New York City thriving and keeping a good strong grip on the number 2 spot. The SmackDown to their RAW, if you will.
So Bloomberg, whatever you're doing to keep building the film industry over on this coast, keep it up. And by the way, loved your line at this week's press conference at Yankee Stadium when you got your own official All-Star Game jersey. "When nobody's looking, I'm going to bury this at Fenway Park." Great stuff.
Credit: Hollywood Reporter
SYBIL THE SOOTHSAYER
UPCOMING FILMS
Iron ManWhen wealthy industrialist Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil.
I'm incredibly psyched to see this. The trailers look great, the suit looks dead-on accurate, Robert Downey, Jr. looks like he's having a blast, and the early buzz I'm hearing is pretty damn good. Plus, I'm anxious to see what Jon Favreau has in store for fans. I'm fairly confident this will deliver, and will satisfy me long enough before The Dark Knight comes out.
Made of Honor: A guy (Patrick Dempsey) in love with an engaged woman (Michelle Monaghan) tries to win her over after she asks him to be her "maid of honor."
I've been a big fan of Michelle Monaghan ever since seeing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but… sorry, Michelle. There's no way I'm spending money on this. What was the pitch meeting like? "Think My Best Friend's Wedding." "My Best Friend's Wedding meets what?" "Nothing else. Just My Best Friend's Wedding." "Well, they already did My Best Friend's Wedding." "Then the lead's a guy." "GENIUS!"
Credit: TheMovieBox.net
DVD NEWS
Now here's a Double-Dipping I didn't expect. Almost ten years after New Line Platinum Series released one of its best DVDs, now we're getting information about an upcoming Director's Cut of Alex Proyas' film Dark City, which comes to DVD and Blu-Ray Disc this summer.
With a running length of 111 minutes, this new cut of the movie will arrive in widescreen with 5.1 Dolby Digital audio and plenty of never-before-seen footage. The only extra that has been revealed so far is 3 different commentary tracks, but that's the same amount of commentaries that were in the original disc. And one of them – by Roger Ebert – is one of my personal favorites.
Some more news should be heard before Dark City hits stores on July 29 for $19.97 on DVD or $28.99 on Blu-Ray.
Credit: DVDReview.com
MOVIE POSTER OF THE WEEK: The Dark Knight
Come on, you really thought this would be anything else other than these three character posters? July can't come soon enough for me…
Credit: Yahoo! Movies
JIM WEBBING AND HIS IT'S-THE-HONEST-TRUTH-DEPARTMENT
So this is what happens when people listen to their audience: Last year should have been triumphant for Tribeca Film Festival founders Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff. The event they launched to help revive post-9/11 downtown Manhattan in 2002 expanded throughout the city, drawing in more than half a million people.
Instead, 2007 turned out to be a Tribeca kvetch fest: New ticket prices were too high, people complained. Added uptown theaters made the fest too hard to navigate, with some missing tightly scheduled screenings due to travel delays. The volume of films (157 features) and the quality of many got slammed. Film execs carped it wasn't commercial enough to work as a market -- while others called the lineup too commercial.
So in the months that followed, De Niro, Rosenthal, Hatkoff and their staff did what some never thought would happen: Instead of continuing to grow what critics called the "festival that ate Manhattan," they listened.
"We started so quickly and tried a lot of different things," Rosenthal says. "As people brought up constructive criticism, we addressed it."
For 2008's event, which runs from April 29 through May 4, Tribeca has cut back its lineup by nearly 25% (to a more selective 121 features), eliminated those uptown venues and set up just two screening hubs, in Union Square and Tribeca. Ticket prices that jumped from $12 to $18 last year have been cut back to $15, and many weekend and midnight shows are now just $8.
"One of our growing pains was learning how to say no, condense and hone in on the best films," explains Nancy Schafer, recently promoted to share executive director duties with new hire Paola Freccero.
With a fest that cost an estimated $13 million last year and ran a $1 million annual deficit in its first five years -- money that comes from the founders' pockets -- getting out of the red would appear to be another goal. "That would be nice, but it's clearly about putting on the best festival," Rosenthal says.
She expects the final budget to also be more reasonable. "One would hope," she says. "This is the most expensive city in the world."
If and when the for-profit fest (run by the for-profit Tribeca Enterprises) makes money, those funds will go to the Tribeca's independently run sister, Tribeca Film Institute, which absorbed fellow nonprofit Renew Media in March. Finding a permanent home for the fest is one of TFI's primary goals, a dream that was slightly deferred when plans for a Pier 40 complex for TFF and other organizations were scotched in early April over a lease disagreement.
This ties very neatly into the top story, as everyone seems to be pitching in to make New York the best possible second home for the film industry. The independent market's been very comfortable here for many years now, and the Tribeca festival's been doing great for itself. (I still have to make a trip there. I swear, there is so much going on here and I suck for not taking full advantage of everything. I sense a half-year resolution coming on.)
But this also ties well into my previous reports about the Ziegfeld Theater showcasing the different Hollywood Classics. They're giving the best possible viewing experience for their audiences and lowering their ticket prices as an added incentive to get the people in. In the case of the Tribeca festival, we're seeing the top execs actually taking into account a previous poor experience and doing what they can to keep the festival from losing its impact. Kudos to everyone involved for taking the initiative.
Credit: Hollywood Reporter
FILM MUSIC NEWS
* PRS Announces Largest Ever US$216.7m UK Royalty Distribution
* Vienna Symphonic Library Announces Price Increases
* David Fleming Recipient of BMI Film Composing Fellowship
* Carolyn Bienstock Joins NMPA Board
* The Scoreboard: Hundreds of Composers and Their Projects
* Signings and Projects: Steve Edwards, Atli Orvarsson, and more
* The Chart Doctor - by Ron Hess, "Anatomy of an Arrangement Part 5"
* Music Technology and You - by Peter Lawrence Alexander, "64-Bit Answers"
* Soundtrack Review - by Daniel Schweiger, "Heavy Metal: The Score" by Elmer Bernstein
If you haven't heard this score, by all means get this album! It's one of the great undiscovered gems in movie score history! (Well, don't everyone get this album. I still need to get a copy for myself…)
Here's another aspiring model, courtesy of DJ Stealth: presenting Teresa. Enjoy!
Remember, guys. I'm leaving this section in your hands! Feel free to send me any suggestions, just as long as they're an up-and-coming model or actress. I want fresh blood here, people! Thanks again to DJ Stealth for doing his part, and to Teresa for submitting her pics.
So everyone's wondering how we can get the creative juices flowing again in Hollywood. So few stories are being put together that are original screenplays. It's either a novel or comic book adaptation, a sequel or – more often now than ever – a remake. There just doesn't seem to be much incentive to do something innovative lately, so what's a studio to do?
Here's one suggestion. Sew the purse-strings shut.
We're in the age of film nowadays that whatever you can imagine can be put on the screen with little effort. Visual effects have evolved so much since the early days of Industrial Light & Magic when those artists had to create the techniques possible to create the effects for Star Wars. Now, all it takes is for some extra money to come pouring in and, voila! Optimus Prime lives!
What we need to see happen more these days is for the budgets to get severely cut. Why? Because this will force the filmmakers to be creative with getting their vision on screen. We've seen it happen many times in the 70s and 80s, and even a couple times in the 90s. You don't need to look any further for proof that creativity comes cheap than John Carpenter's early filmography. The original Halloween budget was $350,000, so instead of spending so much money on makeup effects, he upped the suspense factor. Over $50 million later, it held its position as the top-grossing independent film for over a decade.
But that's not even the best example of how Carpenter has used his tight budgets to his benefit. One needs to look no further than the two adventures of Snake Plissken. First, look at Escape from New York, which had a budget of only $7 million. Now, how could John have pulled off a story about a futuristic burned out metropolitan city using the Hollywood equivalent of 4 bucks and a piece of string? By simply filming in a city – St. Louis – that just recently had a fire and getting a young artist by the name of James Cameron (you might have heard of him) to create some matte paintings of the city background during the Central Park scenes, Carpenter was able to use a combination of location scouting, matte paintings and models to tell the story that he wanted to tell. The film wound up being a big hit and a cult classic, establishing Kurt Russell as a new action hero.
Fifteen years later, Carpenter was given the opportunity to co-write, co-produce and direct the sequel, Escape from LA. Here, he was given a much larger budget and more creative "freedom" and the result was almost a remake of the original with only a fraction of the effectiveness. And the second Snake Plissken adventure came and went from theaters with very little fanfare or critical acclaim.
But it's not just John Carpenter who has proven that lower budgets equal more creative thinking. Hell, Robert Rodriguez got his career going with a mere $7,000 when he wrote and directed El Mariachi. The Blair Witch Project cost, what, about 30 grand? Remember the returns that came from that film, even after everyone realized that the film was fiction??? I'm sure you remember a little less about the sequel that got much more money and made much less.
Trust me on this, Hollywood. Stop throwing money at every project that comes your way. Sew the strings shut, force your filmmakers to get creative. Just because it's a studio picture doesn't mean that you have to risk the entire studio on it.
And that's a wrap for Chapter 63 of The UBS Evening News. I'm George H. Sirois, and I'll see you next week!
I totally agree with your idea about lowering budgets. Hell, the film Primer was in the can at a cost of $7,000 complete. It's now made millions, and by watching it, you can't even tell. The production values are top notch.. Ebert equally praised the film.
Here's to hoping they put more story into film, instead of money for CGI and big name stars. Some films can make it on their own...just from the story...not the person doing the acting. (although sometimes the actor is what gets you into the story...but that's another posting.)
Posted By: Rhuin (Guest) on May 01, 2008 at 03:24 AM
