Category Archives: Coming Soon

Please do feed the film crew

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According to the adage, an army travels on its stomach. And it’s no different for an indie film production.

Feeding a film crew? A few suggestions, and an idea on how to do it for free:

Sophia Harvey writes Food on Set: Do’s and Don’ts for Feeding Your Crew on No Film School and expounds on these topics:

  1. Don’t be stingy.
  2. Aim for variety.
  3. Keep it caloric, but healthy.
  4. Pay attention to dietary restrictions.
  5. Keep it hot and punctual.
  6. Crafty: no mess, no mayo.
  7. Coffee and water, always and forever.
  8. Choose bulk catering.
  9. Special touches matter.

AJ Unitas lists 8 Essential Tips for Prepping an Awesome Craft Services Table on StudioBinder that include:

  1. Keep caterers away from the craft services table.
  2. Buy supplies in bulk from wholesale markets.
  3. Account for allergies and diets.
  4. Fill your craft table with healthy options.
  5. But don’t get too crazy.
  6. Get brands specifically asked for.
  7. Turn cheese sticks into two.
  8. Keep your Production going.

How to afford what could be your biggest expense on a low-budget short?

Lacee Kloze suggests 9 Ways to Feed A Hungry Film Crew For Free on Creative Live. Her bold strategy?

  1. Create a flashy one-sheet about your project.
  2. Write a form letter.
  3. Send your form letter and one sheet combo EVERYWHERE!
  4. Don’t be afraid to ask for something small — snacks, drinks or desserts — instead of a full meal.
  5. Don’t forget to ask for staples like bagels and coffee.
  6. Hit the grocery stores, natural food markets and co-ops.
  7. Start early.
  8. Team up with a non-profit.
  9. When the yeses start coming back, follow through with your promises.

Three great blog posts to get you thinking!

My take: I like French Hours that keep your work day to 10 hours, with no meal break.

U.S. Cinema Chain Woos Indie Filmgoers

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Jill Goldsmith writes on Deadline that Marcus Theatres Nudges Patrons Toward Indie Films With Loyalty Program.

Marcus Theatres of the Marcus Corporation is the fourth-largest cinema chain in the U.S. with over 1,000 screens.

The new monthly subscription plans are MovieFlex ($9.99) and MovieFlex+ ($14.99.)

Jill quotes Marcus CEO Greg Marcus as saying, “We can’t live off just blockbusters. We cannot just live off dinner. We need breakfast and lunch too.”

“The question is, is there enough demand in the market? We just don’t know that yet. But it’s promising. We are just going to continue watching, tweaking, working with content partners. But we are seeing positive signs. We want to be a very open book and share what’s happening with the studios, and get their feedback. There’s work to do on companion tickets, and families. And once we get through that, to figure out what the demand is. We want this to be a win-win-win for everyone.”

Marcus Theatres already showcases indie movies in their Spotlight Films series.

My take: I sincerely hope this experiment works. Diversifying the cinema experience beyond comic book movies at a reasonable price is truly a win-win-win for the audience, the theatre and indie filmmakers. It will also counter the rise of streaming and keep another distribution option open.

Netflix to make less “little art films”

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Borys Kit reports in The Hollywood Reporter on the plans Behind Netflix’s Leaner Movie Mandate: Bigger, Fewer and Better.

He writes:

“Bigger, better, fewer. That is the refrain inside Netflix that feature film executives, led by division chief Scott Stuber, are grappling to operate under as the digital streaming giant changes course and confronts new realities, such as lagging subscriber growth (it lost 200,000 subs in its latest quarter) and rising competition (Disney’s bundle of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ now has 205 million subs combined, just behind Netflix’s 221 million global subs).”

With its stock price down, Netflix has cut 150 jobs and doubled down on marquee movies.

Borys continues:

“As it moves forward, Netflix wants to focus on making bigger movies, making better movies, and releasing fewer than it previously did at a gluttonous pace. ‘Just a few years ago, we were struggling to out-monetize the market on little art films,’ Netflix co-chief Ted Sarandos told analysts on the company’s April earnings call. ‘Today, we’re releasing some of the most popular and most watched movies in the world. Just over the last few months, things like Don’t Look Up and Red Notice and Adam Project, as examples of that.‘”

My take: C’mon, Netflix. $469 million for Knives Out 2 and 3? That’s almost fifty $10 million movies. And one of those could be mine. Let’s talk! (P.S. Don’t you think the reason your subscriber numbers are down is because you rightly left Russia?)

Movie posters these days be like:

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Amelia Bamsey asks on Creative Bloq: Why does every movie poster design look like this?

This spot-on superhero movie poster template was posted on Twitter by webflop.

Amelia writes:

“The post has gathered up lots of attention online and has already rounded up over 430,000 likes and 47,600 retweets on Twitter. While the original tweet was meant to poke fun at today’s movie poster designs, many users responded with their favourite posters that break away from this format.”

Here are some of the best posters of 2021 and of all time.

And here are some movie poster design templates.

My take: So funny because it’s so true! The problem I have with superhero movie posters is the same one I have with superhero movies: so many characters and so much busyness, but a dearth of ideas and anything I’m actually interested in. I have two suggestions for movie posters: one, make sure to come up with a snappy title and a killer central image while writing the script so that you can begin designing and capture that image during production, and two, put the title on the top half of the image — too often I’ve seen titles in the bottom third get covered up with extraneous material and supers.

Claim: Content is No Longer King

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Alexandra Canal reports on Yahoo FInance that Streaming has turned film financing ‘upside down’: ‘It’s VOD or die,’ says lawyer.

She quotes Schuyler Moore, entertainment attorney at Greenberg Glusker:

“Content is not king. Distribution is king.… If you go back 10 years, the studios had all the power, because they controlled the distribution…. Studios are on their knees. They got no clout at the table because anybody can produce. The whole world is upside down, particularly for the studios.”

His advice:

  1. Team up with producers known to the streamers.
  2. Have a realistic budget.
  3. Sell your film upfront (or finance the contract) to make the movie.

She quotes him:

“Most films lose money. This is a losing business, don’t do it, especially if you don’t have a pre-sale to a streamer. But if you can sell to a streamer, then you get your premium. You’re not going to get a share of the net profits. There is no back-end payment, but you’ll get a significant premium and will walk away with some cash.“

My take: it seems there’s always somebody in between my movie and my audience!

Cannes 2022: film quotas drive national production

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Scott Roxborough reports in The Hollywood Reporter that Wall Street Hits the Croisette: Why Private Equity Investors Are Bullish on Indie Film.

He claims:

“Private equity, or PE, firms are pumping money into the entertainment content, financing independent production and snatching up companies at a level never seen before in the indie industry…. Some of the biggest players packaging projects and inking deals on the Croisette have backing from private equity groups…. The bet PE investors are making is that the explosive growth in streaming services will lead to a similar demand boom for content. And that the companies that own the IP, the original films and TV shows the streamers need, will be best positioned to benefit.”

He traces this demand squarely back to government policy:

“Many see particularly strong growth potential in Europe, where European Union (EU) content quotas for SVOD platforms — 30 percent of all content on streaming services in Europe must be European-made — has created guaranteed demand for original, home-grown films and series which most streamers will be unable to fill on their own.”

As to Cannes, filmmaker Jeremy Lutter (pictured above) compares this year’s experience with previous ones:

“Cannes is in some ways the same and in some ways different. I would say it’s two thirds the size as previous non-COVID years in terms of events. But, considering the situation, it’s impressive! The crowds are smaller but it’s still busy. As for deals — people are looking — there’s been less movies made recently — everyone is hungry for movies. Oh yeah, instead of a gift bag, this year you get a PPE mask with a logo on it!”

My take: of course, quotas drive national production. We proved that with CanCon and Canadian music; witness the dozens of Canadian superstars, who, as Simu Liu points out about Shawn Mendes, Avril Lavigne and Arcade Fire, “like me have fulfilled the ultimate Canadian dream of making it in America — but to our credit, we always come back!”

Michael Korican to host Q & A at Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival

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Thursday night, May 5, 2022, at the Vic Theatre, Victoria, BC.

As you may know, I’m the current President of CineVic, Victoria’s largest media arts centre, and sound editor and co-producer of its podcast, Push In.

I’m also the Selection Committee Chair of its Short Circuit Pacific Rim Short Film Festival.

It’s in that capacity that I’ll be hosting the Questions and Answers for Thursday night’s screening.

Joining us will be:

  • Joyce Kline (Director, Cancelled Stamp)
  • Jocelyn Russell (Producer, Cancelled Stamp)
  • Tammy Tsang (Director, Lauren in the Bathroom)
  • David Lennon (Actor, Wallpaper)

The films are:

  1. A Tight Ten (California • 17 mins • Chelsea Spirito)
  2. Cancelled Stamp (Victoria • 13 mins • Joyce Kline)
  3. Fumes (Singapore • 7 mins • Dominic Graham)
  4. Wallpaper (Vancouver • 9 mins • Tanya Jade)
  5. Lauren in the Bathroom (Vancouver • 2 mins • Tammy Tsang)
  6. The Old Man Next Door (New Zealand • 15 mins • Aidan Otene Dickens)
  7. Purea (New Zealand • 6 mins • Kath Akuhata-Brown)

My take: Honoured to do this!

Truly Independent Film Distribution

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John Staton writes in the Wilmington Star-News that self-distributed Independent Wilmington film comedy ‘Birdies’ shoots for a golf-loving audience.

“Instead of going the festival route or trying to get distribution through Amazon and other large streaming sites, which are both strategies often employed by independent filmmakers, the makers of “Birdies” have employed a direct-to-the-consumer approach. It recalls a digital version of the “four-walling” of decades ago, when filmmakers would rent space in theaters across the country to ensure their movies were available to audiences.”

The feature is available to stream on demand at birdiesthemovie.com. There’s also merch for sale.

My take: this is the first time I’ve seen outtakes for sale! I could be wrong but it seems they’re using seer.la to stream the movie and pixpa.com for the store.

Apple sues filmmaker over trademark

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Apple has sued Ukrainian film director Vasyl Moskalenko, who wrote and directed the Kickstarter-backed action-comedy movie Apple-Man, for trademark infringement.

Apple’s claim is that there are “likelihood of confusion” and “dilution by blurring”.

Here’s the film’s trailer, shot in the director’s apartment during lockdown:

Folks with longer memories will remember that this is not the first time “Apple” has been involved in litigation over its name.

Way back in 1978, the Beatles sued Steve Jobs (really Apple Corps. vs. Apple Computer.) Apple Computer settled by paying the Beatles $80,000 and promising to stay out of the music business.

In 1991, after the integration of MIDI (remember the sosumi system sound?) Apple Computer paid another $26.5 million to Apple Corps.

Almost 30 years later, with the rise of iTunes, the two parties finally settled. From Wikipedia:

“As revealed on 5 February 2007, Apple Inc. and Apple Corps reached a settlement of their trademark dispute under which Apple Inc. will own all of the trademarks related to “Apple” and will license certain of those trademarks back to Apple Corps for their continued use. The settlement ends the ongoing trademark lawsuit between the companies, with each party bearing its own legal costs, and Apple Inc. will continue using its name and logos on iTunes. The settlement includes terms that are confidential, although newspaper accounts at the time stated that Apple Computer was buying out Apple Corps’ trademark rights for a total of $500 million.”

My take: still not sure anyone can own the trademark on a fruit. Apple, surely you recognize that Instant Karma‘s gonna get yah in the end! Come on Apple, grow up and just make a deal to license Apple-Man on Apple TV+.

Is streaming the only hope for independent film?

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Ryan Faughnder queries in the LA Times: “Is streaming the only hope for independent film?”

As the 2022 Sundance Film Festival goes virtual for a second year, Ryan reports:

“Film financier Jason Cloth, the Toronto-based chief executive of Creative Wealth Media, which works closely with Canadian production company Bron Studios, is now convinced that making small indie dramas for movie theaters is a sucker’s game:”

“I don’t think producers can look at these films as being theatrically released. Going forward, you’re going to have to look at these films as being produced for the streaming market. That’s the only market for them. I need to understand what everyone’s thinking in terms of exit before I’m comfortable putting up money. And now, I’m not all that comfortable seeing independent film pitched to me with a theatrical exit, and I’m quite vocal to people, telling them, ‘I think you’re delusional.’ And then they pull out films from three, four years ago, and say ‘Look at how they did.’ I’m like, ‘That was three, four years ago. This is a new world.’”

The pandemic is to blame for the art house audience abandoning theatres. The Quorum, Cultique, Fanthropology reveal in their report Exhibition At A Crossroads that viewers over 35 are the most reluctant to return, especially women.

My take: the other reasons, of course, are the rise of streaming, brought about by the digital evolution, and the corresponding splintering of audiences from one mass into many niches.