Joni eccentricproductions.com.au

I feel I have gotten into a pattern of reviewing movies that I attend. Consequently, I would not want to miss reviewing ” Hidden“. The film is by french director Michael Haneke and stars Daniel Auteuil (who plays Georges) and Juliette Binoche (in the role of Anne).

I must place a warning at this point. Although it is not a film that would classically be considered interactive, no need to SMS your answer at any point, it does require a great deal of audience participation. Not since “Memento” starring Guy Pierce have I been so intrigued by a film. The difference is that I felt Memento had very real and clear answers where as I believe the analysis of Hidden is less obvious and more open to interpretation.

The film begins with an opening shot of a typical middle class area, focused on a particular house. The opening credits role through slowly and seem to be more intriguing than anything else happening in the scene. Suddenly lines appear, and voices start speaking over the image. We soon realise that we have been whatching a video tape along with the two characters. The couple found the tape outside their door and are whatching it. The tape appears to be a surveliance of their home. They are not able to make much sense of the tape, nor are we. This is the first of sevral tapes sent to the home by an anonymous stalker, some of the tapes are also accomponied by scary child like drawings.

At first glance we are led to beleive this is a suspense film, a film belonging to the “who dun it” genre. This would be a mistake, a possible trap set by the film maker to weed out those who consideres “not on the same level”. There is almost a beaguie attitude to his film making. He wants you to understand that films are about thinking and possibly shedding light on world circumstances.

As the film progresses we realise the question of “who dun it” is insignificant. What is importnat is the character study and the apparent break down of the family unit in the film. Many questions arise with few concreat answerws. There is a brief scene where Anne seeks comfort from her friend and boss. She confides in him at a coffee table and he embraces her. That is all we see. However, her son then accuses her of having an affair. Are they? More questions arise.

Gearges is the centreal character, and through his interaction with child hood demons, issues of racisim and political conduct we are forced to really look into his character and actions. Are we guility of some similar transgressions in our own lives.

My only problem with the film was the marketing. The poster tells you that all is revealed in the final scene. A big hoo haa is made about the last scene and looking to the left side of the screen( I was actually sitting far right in the cinema and missed it). My point however is, that the marketers are trying to indicate there is an answer, they are trying to say it is a “who dun it” film. Whether you see the magic in the last scene or not does not change the story one tiny bit!!!!

Recently my masters class had the CEO of Madman Entertainment, Paul Wiegard, come and discuss independent film distribution in Australia. Firstly, I should note that as a filmmaker one of the most important elements of a project is securing distribution deals. With so many hopeful filmmakers it seems to be an after-thought, but the truth is distribution should be one of the first elements looked secured when starting a project.

Ewan Burnett from Burberry entertainment highlighted briefly how when putting together an idea he secures distribution from the start. Lack of distribution is one of the primary issues many new film makers run into. So why is it that distribution is often so much of an afterthought?

Madman is a distribution company that deals specifically with Niche film markets. I have to admit when Wiegard mentioned this was “Madman’s” driving concept, I was not sold. For those of you, who know Madman and are reading this, please excuse my prior ignorance.

I could see clearly how dealing with Niche markets in the US would be a great idea. But, I did not think there would be enough movie goers in Australia and New Zealand to make this sort of business venture “down-under” viable. I was clearly wrong, because after the lecture I came home and did a little research into Madman and discovered they have an excellent turnover every year and are constantly expanding and keeping up with technological changes. This is not bad for a ten-year-old niche market company. What I also thought about is how the whole world is really made up of niche markets. Sure, we have our so-called blockbusters but what they really are, are big niche markets. We have the Jews, Italians, French, Asian, young, old….etc, all of whom compromise their own niche markets.

Upon further research I also discovered Madman was one of the first distribution companies to realize how DVD’s were going to revolutionize the entertainment industry. They not only taped into an unseen market but they also understood the concept of technological growth in the industry.

The film industry is not simply about producing good films. We are currently in a technological renaissance period for films. Technology is rapidly changing both the way we view films, interact with films and what films we choose to view.

Madman is an example of a company who had foresight into the industry and the possibility of change in the industry. I think part of the foresight producers and film makers now need is securing their marketing and distribution before a film is commenced.

I would also like to share some quotes that I took from the lecture that I found very enticing:

“ everyone has to be a sales person of some kind”

“Know who your market is?”, it is amazing how many film-makers have no idea about who their intended audience is.

“Never watch your film with buyers, they are all pretending not to be interested…even if they love it”

The End

“Live and Become”

In a new era of film making it is important to understand how to get projects off the ground. Producers are now looking to have work financed by multiple entities. Live and Become is a joint Israeli/French production. Furthermore, what I found interesting about this partnership is that France is well known for being an anti-Semitic country. Thus, it is interesting the Government would choose to co-finance a film about Judaism.

The Story is about “Shlomo”a Sudanese refugee. In a Sudanese refugee camp which is sheltering Ethiopians who have been displaced by civil war and famine in 1984, the Israeli secret service started a secret mission to airlift thousands of Falashas/Ethiopian Jews, to Israel. Shlomo and his mother are not Jewish but Shlomo’s mother convinces a Falasha woman whose own son died, to allow Shlomo to assume his identity. The story is about Shlomo’s internal struggle to live a lie, and how the so called Promised Land turns out to be rife with racism.

Although I loved the film and felt very close to its subject matter, I did feel that it was often too emotional. And, I did not like the end, clichéd!

However, as previously stated the partnership between Israel and France to create the film was what initially sparked my interest. I know I have already dealt with this topic briefly in my entry “Burberry Productions”, but now that I am aware of how many deal structure are associated with producing a work I am noticing this same structure in many productions. Even if one company gets a deal off the ground they involve so many other production houses and people. Of course the advantage is that the risk factor is reduced for all parties involved. However if a film is a success everyone is still able to make money.

For instance “Memoirs Of A Geisha” was financed by Spyglass, Sony, DreamWorks, Columbia and Amblin entertainment. Each entity takes credit for the film. However, if the film had not been successful none of the studios would have had to worry about to much of an economic loss. In this case they were all successful.

Kate Dennis has an impressive resume and a good attitude to her job-TV/Film Director. She has clearly taken a few knocks but has not let these get the better of her. Her first piece of advice for working on a set was “never sit down and learn when to shut up”. Okay learning when to shut up has never been my strong point!

The majority of her talk was a timeline of her career. She started as a clapper loader, then worked as a continuity person and directed second unit’s on films. She is now receiving job offers as a both a writer and director. Gosh, the truth is the more she talked the more I realized how much I would not want to direct.

At the moment on the little projects I am doing for Uni I am directing my work because I am enjoying the control it gives me. But, lets be honest I do not want to direct. The way Kate talked about it, it sounded so tedious. And, continuity would bore me. I wish I was good at jobs I dislike but unfortunately when I am intellectually un-stimulated I am not good at my job.

Kate also alluded to the glass ceiling that exists for females in the industry. From what I have seen it is still predominantly a boys industry. People such as Sherry Lansing have certainly paved the way, but I think men are still preferred in this industry.

I admire Kate for her ambition and constant up beat attitude to the industry. Regardless of her setbacks she has continued to reach for her goals. An interesting point Kate mentioned was that she thought she might have been too cautious at times. She mentioned some in the industry who take a “don’t care attitude” and just leap in not knowing everything but simply with a desire to achieve. I think I have also been too cautious in the past and would prefer to be a person who jumps and looks later.

So Carpe Diam!

Lawyers are often considered a dirty word. If they are any good you know you will not be able to afford their services. As a student starting out in the industry I have already needed to procure their services and after only a few moments of their precious time I parted with two weeks worth of pay. However, as a Producer I think it is important to align myself with great entertainment lawyers as soon as possible. I think even a blossoming career can be cut short due to some silly issue, which might have been negated had a lawyer been involved.

Dan Pearce is one of the Partners at Holding Redlich and he deals primarily with entertainment law. Pearce spent an hour of his time (which I was not billed for), explaining the in’s and out’s of some important legal technicalities related to producing original work. The two most important pieces of information I garnered from Pearce was 1) Detail is what makes a work original. For example Romeo and Juliet has been recreated in many different formats e.g. West Side Story, Dirty Dancing. However, it is the detail of West Side Story and Dirty Dancing that made it original. Neither story could be accused of copywriter infringements.
2) Secondly, Pearce mentioned many Producers when starting out simply run with ideas, and only formally put together contracts once money is put into the idea. I always assumed Producers armed themselves with as many lawyers as possible from day one. It’s good to know some issues can be corrected after the fact, although I do also understand this is not the desired practice.

Pearce also briefly discussed the issues of pitching unsolicited work to TV channels and studios. Due to the nature of the entertainment industry and the difficulty in protecting ones ideas, it is easy for people to choose not to buy your idea but to then re-create is somehow on their own terms. With out sufficient evidentiary support that a project is your idea, you are at risk of having your idea stolen and produced. This can also be witnessed in the current legal issues surround the making of the “Da Vinci Code”.

We recently had a well known Australian Producer Ewan Burnett come and speak to us about both his career and the ins and outs of the entertainment industry. Ewan started his career producing Documentaries and corporate video’s, I have to admit I have never given much validity to people who are involved in corporate videos so it was interesting for me to hear that this is where Ewan’s career began. After a well rounded career for almost twenty years Ewan decided to start Burberry Productions in 1999.

I found most enticing Ewan’s little pieces of advice interspersed in his lecture. Although it was not the first time I have heard this phrase it never looses its importance, the entertainment industry is “the business of creativity”. Despite how exciting the entertainment industry can be, and the “artistic” nature it is associated with we can not forget that it is a “business”. It should be treated as a “business”.

Business is not always something associated with the entertainment industry when people are starting out. However, it is apparent that the people who do well in the industry are very business savvy. The three main areas that Ewan highlighted as being a big part of his job were Marketability, Distribution and Contracts. Its not good enough anymore to just make a great film or TV show you should try and have all your business agreements arranged before the completion of the project. Contracts must be scrutinized and signed before production begins, distribution deals should be entered before production and the marketability of a film or TV show should be thought about before you even decide to take on a project. What still separates small independent films from big budget, big box office success is the marketing that is involved and thought of. It is almost impossible to find a film nowadays that does not have a behind the scenes documentary attached, which is used to market the film with a host of over products and items

Ewan’s latest project “Anamalia”, appears to involve a number of complex deal structures. The Animation for the production will take place in Queensland, the voice over work will be produced in the US and further production work will take place in Scotland. To raise the funds for such an ambitious project Ewan has involved many Australian as well as international companies. He has already secured the broadcasting and distribution rights. I must admit it is fascinating to me the work and networking that is involved in organizing such a deal structure.

The second point that Ewan highlighted was the “collaborative nature” of the entertainment industry. It is imperative to be able to both communicate and get on with people if you want to work in the entertainment industry due to its collaborative nature.

Finally Ewan commented that Producers should “surround yourself with people more talented and empower them”. One of the most difficult parts of producing a project is letting it go. Micromanaging is never a productive policy. In order to create a truly collaborative, communicative and creative piece everyone must be able to add their expertise. A producer must not let go of their vision, but they must be able to allow others to enhance their vision.

For a city which is economically battling to produce a few TV shows we have one of the newest purpose built studio complexes in the world! We have an amazing complex but it’s empty. The dilemma that arises is we better with or with out it?

If we prescribe to the Hollywood Philosophy of “Build It and They Shall Come” by Bill Norin, we might have the right idea. The concept makes sense, with out the facilities we would not have the opportunity to bid for international films to be made in Australia. One needs to have the right tools to perform a job adequately, and in such a technologically savvy industry it is paramount we have the most up to date facilities.

Last year Ghost Rider was filmed in Melbourne. It was the first international big budget feature film to be made in Melbourne. It also pumped millions of dollars into the industry. At the same time “Charlottes Web” with Susan Sarandon and Dakota Fanning was filmed. In 2005 over $94million dollars was contributed to the economy through filming. Not to mention the hundreds of jobs which arose from the various projects?

I left in 2000 to live in Los Angeles and work in the Entertainment Industry because I knew at the time, only a few months after university, that I would not find a job in the entertainment industry in Melbourne. Moving to LA afforded me the opportunity to work with many of Hollywood’s elite at only 22years old. It was a tremendous opportunity which I am grateful for. However, at 28 I can not help but start to prescribe more to the philosophy of “No great man ever complains of want of opportunity.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson. With Central City Studios now in place, we can not continue to make excuses. It’s been built, and now it’s our responsibility to film!