1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:45,045 --> 00:00:47,960 GUILLERMO DEL TORO: Making movies is beautiful. 4 00:00:48,004 --> 00:00:51,529 Prepping them, raisingthe money, selling them is horrible. 5 00:00:51,573 --> 00:00:52,574 Horrible. 6 00:00:52,617 --> 00:00:54,619 And I think Ican make movies 7 00:00:54,663 --> 00:00:56,273 the rest of my life. 8 00:00:56,317 --> 00:00:58,449 Selling them, you grow impatient, 9 00:00:58,493 --> 00:01:03,106 you see it for what it is more and more with every year. 10 00:01:03,150 --> 00:01:04,803 JUSTIN McCONNELL: It's been said that there are three things 11 00:01:04,847 --> 00:01:06,544 you should never do when making a film. 12 00:01:06,588 --> 00:01:09,504 Make a film about yourself, make a film about filmmaking 13 00:01:09,547 --> 00:01:11,723 or open the film with a quote. 14 00:01:22,473 --> 00:01:23,692 Test. 15 00:01:23,735 --> 00:01:24,910 MAN: Record. 16 00:01:24,954 --> 00:01:26,086 McCONNELL: Yes. 17 00:01:27,522 --> 00:01:28,871 Okay. 18 00:01:30,742 --> 00:01:31,917 Here it goes. 19 00:01:31,961 --> 00:01:34,746 I'm Justin McConnell and uh... 20 00:01:34,790 --> 00:01:36,444 [CHUCKLES] Welcome to the documentary 21 00:01:36,487 --> 00:01:38,272 currently entitled, um... 22 00:01:38,315 --> 00:01:40,361 See you can tell it's a current working title, 23 00:01:40,404 --> 00:01:42,450 because the name doesn't jump to my mind 24 00:01:42,493 --> 00:01:44,016 the second I have to say it, uh, 25 00:01:44,060 --> 00:01:46,106 but right now it's called Slate and Gain. 26 00:01:46,149 --> 00:01:48,586 No, Slate and Game. See? 27 00:01:48,630 --> 00:01:50,327 It's gonna happen. It's gonna need a title change. 28 00:01:54,462 --> 00:01:56,507 McCONNELL: I've wanted to make films since I was very young, 29 00:01:56,551 --> 00:01:58,466 but not since I was a little kid. 30 00:01:58,509 --> 00:02:00,685 At first, I wanted to be a paleontologist 31 00:02:00,729 --> 00:02:02,992 or a criminologist, but eventually I realized 32 00:02:03,035 --> 00:02:05,951 I just lovedJurassic Park andThe Silence of the Lambs. 33 00:02:05,995 --> 00:02:08,128 I absorbed everything I can get my hands on 34 00:02:08,171 --> 00:02:10,173 and aside from a few stop-motion experiments with toys... 35 00:02:10,217 --> 00:02:12,175 [WHIRRING] 36 00:02:12,219 --> 00:02:14,177 McCONNELL: I started seriously making my own movies at the age of 15. 37 00:02:14,221 --> 00:02:15,787 Documentaries for class at first. 38 00:02:15,831 --> 00:02:17,137 Have you ever wondered what it would be like 39 00:02:17,180 --> 00:02:18,399 to make a movie? 40 00:02:18,442 --> 00:02:19,835 Well, in this video, I'm gonna tell you 41 00:02:19,878 --> 00:02:21,489 what the roles of screenwriters and directors are, 42 00:02:21,532 --> 00:02:25,449 from big to small budget, from commercials to major films. 43 00:02:25,493 --> 00:02:28,452 Then short films and even my first feature when I was in high school. 44 00:02:28,496 --> 00:02:29,845 [COCKS GUN] 45 00:02:29,888 --> 00:02:31,586 Open the fucking cash register! 46 00:02:31,629 --> 00:02:33,283 McCONNELL: Consumer video tech was just then cheap enough 47 00:02:33,327 --> 00:02:34,850 that I could save up and buy a Handycam 48 00:02:34,893 --> 00:02:37,940 that wasn't great on quality, but served its purpose. 49 00:02:37,983 --> 00:02:41,073 Just a question here. How do you expect to get away with this? 50 00:02:41,117 --> 00:02:42,597 McCONNELL: Growing up in the '90s, 51 00:02:42,640 --> 00:02:43,902 my generation of filmmakers were raised in the wake 52 00:02:43,946 --> 00:02:45,252 of the independent film movement. 53 00:02:45,295 --> 00:02:46,688 The working-class success story, 54 00:02:46,731 --> 00:02:48,211 the self-made kid who worked outside the system 55 00:02:48,255 --> 00:02:49,734 and then broke in, 56 00:02:49,778 --> 00:02:52,302 the Sundance darling, the director as a rock star. 57 00:02:52,346 --> 00:02:54,435 So I grew up dreaming of when I might get the big break, 58 00:02:54,478 --> 00:02:57,264 that moment I made a film that would break into the public consciousness 59 00:02:57,307 --> 00:02:59,004 in a way that my career would be set. 60 00:02:59,048 --> 00:03:00,354 The dream of making it. 61 00:03:00,397 --> 00:03:01,877 A dream worth working toward, 62 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:03,357 for that one day when lightning strikes. 63 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,185 [GUNSHOT] 64 00:03:05,228 --> 00:03:08,144 McCONNELL: But who was I and what chance do I really have? 65 00:03:08,188 --> 00:03:11,582 I came from a small town in Canada, starting with zero contacts in the business 66 00:03:11,626 --> 00:03:13,280 and just a dream. 67 00:03:13,323 --> 00:03:15,499 Now, it's over 20 years later since the dream was born 68 00:03:15,543 --> 00:03:17,893 and the business is not what you dream it'll be, 69 00:03:17,936 --> 00:03:19,982 the industry is not the same as the hope, 70 00:03:20,025 --> 00:03:22,027 the reality does not match up to the dream. 71 00:03:22,071 --> 00:03:23,246 How could it? 72 00:03:23,290 --> 00:03:26,684 Okay. Mmm-hmm. Uh, okay. 73 00:03:28,338 --> 00:03:30,297 Film has always felt like the most important part of my life, 74 00:03:30,340 --> 00:03:32,342 my whole identity. 75 00:03:32,386 --> 00:03:34,344 My family and friends matter to me greatly, but for most of my life, 76 00:03:34,388 --> 00:03:36,477 I've had this feeling that if film was stripped away, 77 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:38,609 I wouldn't be much of a person. 78 00:03:38,653 --> 00:03:41,917 I'd be a rudderless ship drifting in open seas with no hope of direction. 79 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:43,875 But I can't deny that it's taken its toll 80 00:03:43,919 --> 00:03:45,442 in more ways than I can count. 81 00:03:45,486 --> 00:03:47,662 A few years ago when I was at my lowest point, 82 00:03:47,705 --> 00:03:49,925 I began to question why I'm even trying. 83 00:03:49,968 --> 00:03:51,709 The doubt began to creep in. 84 00:03:51,753 --> 00:03:53,407 I had tragically lost my best friend 85 00:03:53,450 --> 00:03:54,886 and writing partner of a decade, 86 00:03:54,930 --> 00:03:57,585 the co-architect of my strategy for breaking in, 87 00:03:57,628 --> 00:03:59,804 and it hit a big reset button. 88 00:03:59,848 --> 00:04:01,937 I gained weight and hit nearly 300 pounds. 89 00:04:01,980 --> 00:04:04,461 None of the projects was trying to get made were getting off the ground. 90 00:04:04,505 --> 00:04:06,855 I'd had a no-budget feature horror movie released around the world 91 00:04:06,898 --> 00:04:09,553 that while some people really enjoyed, enough people hated it 92 00:04:09,597 --> 00:04:12,034 that I started to really doubt my own abilities. 93 00:04:12,077 --> 00:04:15,820 I was in a slump and the business didn't seem to be doing any better. 94 00:04:15,864 --> 00:04:17,996 I, uh, find myself second-guessing 95 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:19,346 myself a lot, lately. 96 00:04:19,389 --> 00:04:22,131 And it sort of feels like, um, the opportunity 97 00:04:22,174 --> 00:04:23,393 happened for other people more, 98 00:04:23,437 --> 00:04:24,612 way more than you know, it happened for me 99 00:04:24,655 --> 00:04:25,917 And I'm wondering... 100 00:04:25,961 --> 00:04:27,615 I'm always wondering why that is. 101 00:04:27,658 --> 00:04:29,007 I question it sometimes. 102 00:04:29,051 --> 00:04:32,446 I question, you know, my place in a business 103 00:04:32,489 --> 00:04:35,884 that is tough enough to get into on its own, uh, 104 00:04:35,927 --> 00:04:39,279 and even more difficult when people 105 00:04:39,322 --> 00:04:40,671 have written you off. 106 00:04:40,715 --> 00:04:42,630 The film business that existed when I was growing up, 107 00:04:42,673 --> 00:04:45,415 the one that I dreamed of working on is long dead. 108 00:04:45,459 --> 00:04:48,723 It died before I had a chance to even get to the proverbial locked door, 109 00:04:48,766 --> 00:04:50,202 much less walk through it. 110 00:04:50,246 --> 00:04:52,292 In its place is a Wild West of competing ideologies, 111 00:04:52,335 --> 00:04:53,815 a greater gulf between mainstream 112 00:04:53,858 --> 00:04:55,643 and independent cinema than ever before, 113 00:04:55,686 --> 00:04:57,427 more product than the population can handle, 114 00:04:57,471 --> 00:04:58,950 and more new types of media entertainment 115 00:04:58,994 --> 00:05:01,301 to compete with film than the business can sustain. 116 00:05:01,344 --> 00:05:04,869 The possibility of having a career actually creating content is there, 117 00:05:04,913 --> 00:05:06,741 but the competition is fierce. 118 00:05:06,784 --> 00:05:10,353 The market's oversaturated, only the very best breakthrough. 119 00:05:10,397 --> 00:05:12,442 But in that, there's hope I think. 120 00:05:12,486 --> 00:05:15,489 There's a reason to keep trying and there's more reason than ever before 121 00:05:15,532 --> 00:05:17,534 to try and become a self-made creator. 122 00:05:17,578 --> 00:05:20,537 The doors to getting your work seen are wide open now. 123 00:05:20,581 --> 00:05:22,539 The ability to make money off your work 124 00:05:22,583 --> 00:05:24,889 is what's much more difficult, which means, 125 00:05:24,933 --> 00:05:26,761 as I've learned the hard way countless of times, 126 00:05:26,804 --> 00:05:28,153 you have to be smart. 127 00:05:28,197 --> 00:05:30,199 You have to keep learning. 128 00:05:30,242 --> 00:05:33,158 You have to work hard enough and survive long enough to get your chance 129 00:05:33,202 --> 00:05:34,508 and know that your chance, 130 00:05:34,551 --> 00:05:36,814 your lightning strike moment, may never come 131 00:05:36,858 --> 00:05:39,034 and you have to be okay with that. 132 00:05:39,077 --> 00:05:40,992 That's a form of insanity, isn't it? 133 00:05:41,036 --> 00:05:42,516 I think it might be to be a dreamer, 134 00:05:42,559 --> 00:05:44,126 to live for a dream, 135 00:05:44,169 --> 00:05:46,215 but it's a form of insanity everyone trying 136 00:05:46,258 --> 00:05:47,825 to be a filmmaker shares 137 00:05:47,869 --> 00:05:49,523 and somehow I take comfort in that. 138 00:05:49,566 --> 00:05:51,220 I decided to make this doc, 139 00:05:51,263 --> 00:05:54,919 because I've been working in the film industry now for 15 years 140 00:05:54,963 --> 00:05:57,400 in an actual, somewhat professional capacity, 141 00:05:57,444 --> 00:06:00,795 but I also don't want to show a biased opinion 142 00:06:00,838 --> 00:06:02,666 of who I am, because I'm not... 143 00:06:02,710 --> 00:06:04,538 I'm not really anybody yet. 144 00:06:04,581 --> 00:06:07,105 I moved to Toronto in the year 2000, just a fan with a dream. 145 00:06:07,149 --> 00:06:08,716 Slowly built a career in post-production, 146 00:06:08,759 --> 00:06:11,196 made a bunch of short films and music videos, 147 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,895 amassed a lot of debt, made a lot of mistakes. 148 00:06:13,938 --> 00:06:16,550 The first film I made that did any sort of real distribution, 149 00:06:16,593 --> 00:06:18,726 the documentary Working Class Rock Star, 150 00:06:18,769 --> 00:06:20,423 I made zero money on after being conned 151 00:06:20,467 --> 00:06:23,165 by a predatory producer's rep, having one distributor 152 00:06:23,208 --> 00:06:25,341 go bankrupt before I was paid out and another's releases 153 00:06:25,385 --> 00:06:29,214 get lost in the shuffle when their sub-distributor sold to a bigger company. 154 00:06:29,258 --> 00:06:31,260 I made a horror film calledThe Collapsed 155 00:06:31,303 --> 00:06:34,176 on basically pocket change, but sold to 13 territories 156 00:06:34,219 --> 00:06:37,222 and some sizable companies, and made a tidy profit. 157 00:06:37,266 --> 00:06:38,876 And then another documentarySkull World, 158 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:40,487 which has a few distributors on board, 159 00:06:40,530 --> 00:06:42,837 but was partially self-distributed, 160 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,274 and not very profitable. 161 00:06:45,317 --> 00:06:48,277 Around 2009, I started trying to get a bigger feature, 162 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:50,584 The Eternal, made with little luck. 163 00:06:50,627 --> 00:06:54,022 Despite having a really cool attached cast of people who I grew up watching, 164 00:06:54,065 --> 00:06:57,242 the recession and a lot of bad luck led to that one going on the shelf. 165 00:06:57,286 --> 00:07:00,115 But in 2012, that project and my client work for Anchor Bay 166 00:07:00,158 --> 00:07:02,726 connected me with a prolific producer, Avi Federgreen, 167 00:07:02,770 --> 00:07:05,468 who I joined forces with to continue the development of my slate 168 00:07:05,512 --> 00:07:07,775 and help his distribution company IndieCan Entertainment. 169 00:07:07,818 --> 00:07:10,647 In 2013, I started working as a film festival programmer 170 00:07:10,691 --> 00:07:14,390 at Toronto After Dark and in various capacities for a bunch of distributors. 171 00:07:14,434 --> 00:07:17,828 I am really not anybody, you've probably never even heard of me. 172 00:07:17,872 --> 00:07:20,048 I'm one of thousands of people trying to do this, 173 00:07:20,091 --> 00:07:22,180 but I do think my experiences are a good jumping-off point 174 00:07:22,224 --> 00:07:25,096 to examine the business further to try and understand it more, 175 00:07:25,140 --> 00:07:28,186 and figure out how to keep a career building in the modern film industry. 176 00:07:28,230 --> 00:07:30,319 But there's no point in going it alone, 177 00:07:30,362 --> 00:07:32,974 so I've gradually collected the opinions of dozens of knowledgeable figures 178 00:07:33,017 --> 00:07:36,412 from across the industry who've graciously given their time, offer collective insight into 179 00:07:36,456 --> 00:07:38,327 such a complicated business. 180 00:07:38,370 --> 00:07:39,720 To be successful as a filmmaker, 181 00:07:39,763 --> 00:07:41,243 you have to be a fucking masochist. 182 00:07:41,286 --> 00:07:43,288 [LAUGHING] 183 00:07:43,332 --> 00:07:46,378 You have to, um, be a little bit insane. 184 00:07:46,422 --> 00:07:50,295 Independent film has never been something that you go into to get rich. 185 00:07:50,339 --> 00:07:52,515 I mean I guess in a sense in the '90s when people 186 00:07:52,559 --> 00:07:54,604 were getting rich off the Sundance sales et cetera, 187 00:07:54,648 --> 00:07:57,912 it created this illusion that there was this world out there 188 00:07:57,955 --> 00:07:59,870 that you could get rich making art. 189 00:07:59,914 --> 00:08:02,569 Um, you know, I think that was always kind of 190 00:08:02,612 --> 00:08:04,092 a bullshit assumption. 191 00:08:04,135 --> 00:08:06,834 If you are entering this business in order to be 192 00:08:06,877 --> 00:08:09,532 rich or famous, you're in the wrong place. 193 00:08:09,576 --> 00:08:12,927 If you can get distribution, most of that comes after the fact 194 00:08:12,970 --> 00:08:14,755 after you've made your movie. 195 00:08:14,798 --> 00:08:17,758 I get so discouraged sometimes, I go, "I'm gonna quit," you know? 196 00:08:17,801 --> 00:08:20,412 At least, twice during the... 197 00:08:20,456 --> 00:08:23,720 Last months right before we're green-lit, 198 00:08:23,764 --> 00:08:26,157 and it's so hard, and it's just not coming together, 199 00:08:26,201 --> 00:08:28,943 and you get a piece, but you lose a piece, and you're, "Oh, my God." 200 00:08:28,986 --> 00:08:30,074 [SPEAKING IN JAPANESE] 201 00:08:57,711 --> 00:09:03,064 Problem we now have is we a tsunami of product. 202 00:09:03,107 --> 00:09:07,416 We have much more product than it is possible to watch. 203 00:09:07,459 --> 00:09:11,333 JORDAN FIELDS: There are definitely more films made today than ever before, 204 00:09:11,376 --> 00:09:12,595 completely saturated. 205 00:09:12,639 --> 00:09:14,379 It just makes a job like mine a little harder, 206 00:09:14,423 --> 00:09:18,819 because I have to weed through so much to get... to find the gems. 207 00:09:18,862 --> 00:09:21,604 Nobody complained when there were thousands of paintings, 208 00:09:21,648 --> 00:09:24,389 and drawings, and comic book illustrations. 209 00:09:24,433 --> 00:09:26,827 Why should anyone complain about too many movies? 210 00:09:26,870 --> 00:09:29,917 Uh, the problem is there are too many great movies 211 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:31,745 that nobody gets to see. 212 00:09:31,788 --> 00:09:35,357 I mean you can make wonderful film and never, it never gets seen. 213 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:37,011 That's the problem today. 214 00:09:37,054 --> 00:09:39,317 I mean, that's happened to me several times, 215 00:09:39,361 --> 00:09:41,581 even with, even with the studios. 216 00:09:41,624 --> 00:09:44,018 CAROLYN MAURICETTE: I'm finding now if you're really active on social media, 217 00:09:44,061 --> 00:09:46,890 getting a big following, that actually helps your chances. 218 00:09:46,934 --> 00:09:48,239 It's all about money. 219 00:09:48,283 --> 00:09:50,720 That's why you get the Aliens 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 220 00:09:50,764 --> 00:09:52,635 Terminator 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 221 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:54,898 Fast and the Furious 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 222 00:09:54,942 --> 00:09:58,162 It's very telling that the fact that people now use 223 00:09:58,206 --> 00:10:03,211 terms of "content" and "pipeline" to describe stories. 224 00:10:03,254 --> 00:10:06,257 We need a content to feed our pipeline. 225 00:10:06,301 --> 00:10:10,653 That's sewage language or oil language. 226 00:10:10,697 --> 00:10:12,350 It's flow. 227 00:10:12,394 --> 00:10:16,528 It's only content for as long as it lasts in the pipeline 228 00:10:16,572 --> 00:10:22,404 and then it moves to the ocean of forgiveness and forgetfulness both, you know? 229 00:10:22,447 --> 00:10:23,840 It's air. 230 00:10:23,884 --> 00:10:25,407 McCONNELL: At this point, I was working with Avi 231 00:10:25,450 --> 00:10:27,801 to try and get a horror film calledTripped made. 232 00:10:27,844 --> 00:10:31,282 I had just optioned the film rights to a novel calledKane and had a dozen or so 233 00:10:31,326 --> 00:10:33,371 other projects on my slate. 234 00:10:33,415 --> 00:10:37,332 I just got an email stating that an actor I really respect, Michael Eklund, 235 00:10:37,375 --> 00:10:39,203 he wants to doTripped, which is a movie 236 00:10:39,247 --> 00:10:41,075 that I wrote with Kevin before he died. 237 00:10:41,118 --> 00:10:42,642 Uh, it's kind of about us. 238 00:10:42,685 --> 00:10:44,469 I always get excited whenever an actor 239 00:10:44,513 --> 00:10:47,472 that I like, uh, wants to do one of my projects, which is great. 240 00:10:47,516 --> 00:10:50,867 It's always great news, um, but I still have to get the bloody movie made. 241 00:10:50,911 --> 00:10:54,436 I've been down this road before while trying to get The Eternal made. 242 00:10:54,479 --> 00:10:56,743 I'll tell you what was uncomfortable in your situation 243 00:10:56,786 --> 00:10:59,310 is that you faxed me a contract. 244 00:10:59,354 --> 00:11:00,616 McCONNELL: I faxed you an LOI... 245 00:11:00,660 --> 00:11:03,227 Well, but you know, when you get to that point... 246 00:11:03,271 --> 00:11:04,968 -McCONNELL: Yeah. -It gets a little confusing. 247 00:11:05,012 --> 00:11:06,491 I mean if you really wanna know, 248 00:11:06,535 --> 00:11:08,450 before you start talking about money 249 00:11:08,493 --> 00:11:11,018 to any actor or any... or anybody else, you really 250 00:11:11,061 --> 00:11:13,411 should wait until you actually have 251 00:11:13,455 --> 00:11:16,327 cash or money in the bank or you, 252 00:11:16,371 --> 00:11:19,635 or you have a production, uh, office. 253 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:21,506 Where you have some money, 254 00:11:21,550 --> 00:11:23,247 that doesn't mean the film's gonna get made. 255 00:11:23,291 --> 00:11:25,510 it doesn't mean anything, but you know, you wanna wait 256 00:11:25,554 --> 00:11:27,861 as long as you can so that you can move quickly. 257 00:11:27,904 --> 00:11:29,601 MICHAEL BIEHN: We never got to a point where it's like, 258 00:11:29,645 --> 00:11:31,603 "Okay, here's how much money you're gonna make," 259 00:11:31,647 --> 00:11:32,953 and so on and so forth. 260 00:11:32,996 --> 00:11:34,519 I know you were just tryin' to put it together, 261 00:11:34,563 --> 00:11:38,219 but I thought it was an extremely well-written script. 262 00:11:38,262 --> 00:11:41,570 Uh, the action was just like fantastic and if you 263 00:11:41,613 --> 00:11:44,791 ever had the, you know, time and money 264 00:11:44,834 --> 00:11:46,793 to make that movie the way it's scripted, 265 00:11:46,836 --> 00:11:48,142 I think it would do very well. 266 00:11:48,185 --> 00:11:49,447 McCONNELL: Eklund is definitely interested. 267 00:11:49,491 --> 00:11:50,840 Uh, he liked the script a lot. 268 00:11:50,884 --> 00:11:52,102 What do you think Tripped could get in terms 269 00:11:52,146 --> 00:11:54,278 of a Canada presale with Eklund attached? 270 00:11:54,322 --> 00:11:56,019 Well, that was a promising call. 271 00:12:01,068 --> 00:12:04,419 So the way it's working is that we need cast attachment 272 00:12:04,462 --> 00:12:05,725 to be able to go to Super Channel, 273 00:12:05,768 --> 00:12:07,770 so that we can get a presale out of them 274 00:12:07,814 --> 00:12:09,380 and a presale out of Anchor Bay, 275 00:12:09,424 --> 00:12:12,122 and uh, go and finance the tax breaks 276 00:12:12,166 --> 00:12:13,602 and that puts the movie together. 277 00:12:13,645 --> 00:12:15,386 But in order for that to happen, we need to get 278 00:12:15,430 --> 00:12:17,388 Michael Eklund to sign a letter of intent to appear, 279 00:12:17,432 --> 00:12:19,826 which is a legally non-binding document 280 00:12:19,869 --> 00:12:22,698 that just simply states, "I'm interested in this." 281 00:12:22,742 --> 00:12:23,917 That's it. 282 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:26,049 But they're not gonna give us an LOI 283 00:12:26,093 --> 00:12:28,443 they said, "We're really interested, 284 00:12:28,486 --> 00:12:31,620 "but we don't want you to come back until it's a fully-financed film 285 00:12:31,663 --> 00:12:32,926 "and there's an offer to be made," 286 00:12:32,969 --> 00:12:34,928 which to me is like... 287 00:12:34,971 --> 00:12:36,103 [CHUCKLES] 288 00:12:36,146 --> 00:12:37,408 It's like everything else. 289 00:12:37,452 --> 00:12:38,888 You need to have the money first, 290 00:12:38,932 --> 00:12:39,976 but then in order to get the money, 291 00:12:40,020 --> 00:12:41,282 you need everything else in place, 292 00:12:41,325 --> 00:12:42,718 but in order to get everything else in place, 293 00:12:42,762 --> 00:12:44,285 you need the money, so in order to get the money, 294 00:12:44,328 --> 00:12:46,026 you need to get everything else in place. 295 00:12:46,069 --> 00:12:48,550 And it's just this big fuckin' circle of bullshit 296 00:12:48,593 --> 00:12:50,204 and it just... it's endless. 297 00:12:50,247 --> 00:12:52,641 It's absolutely fucking endless and it seems 298 00:12:52,684 --> 00:12:54,817 like how does anybody get anything made? 299 00:12:54,861 --> 00:13:00,431 I spent 10 fuckin' years tryin' to figure out how this thing works. 300 00:13:00,475 --> 00:13:02,477 If somebody had just been able to just walk down, 301 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:04,348 "Oh, here's how you, you know, finance a movie. 302 00:13:04,392 --> 00:13:06,611 "You get this and then you go do this." 303 00:13:06,655 --> 00:13:08,396 You know, duh. 304 00:13:08,439 --> 00:13:09,919 You know, instead of just sitting there. 305 00:13:09,963 --> 00:13:12,356 Like, I think a lot of filmmakers 306 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,794 before they've gotten the experience, 307 00:13:14,837 --> 00:13:17,361 think there's like, it's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory 308 00:13:17,405 --> 00:13:19,146 where you just get the golden ticket, 309 00:13:19,189 --> 00:13:21,888 and then you're making movies, and that's not what it is. 310 00:13:21,931 --> 00:13:24,064 It's this business that's pieced together 311 00:13:24,107 --> 00:13:27,981 by these very defined components and if you get 312 00:13:28,024 --> 00:13:30,374 an understandin' of how those components work together, 313 00:13:30,418 --> 00:13:31,941 and you get an understanding of... 314 00:13:31,985 --> 00:13:34,378 of how to focus your energy, 315 00:13:34,422 --> 00:13:36,467 how to maximize the results from it, 316 00:13:36,511 --> 00:13:38,948 then it's much easier to make a movie. 317 00:13:38,992 --> 00:13:41,211 It's not a mystery, it's not a lottery, it's a... 318 00:13:41,255 --> 00:13:44,084 It's a sort of, you know, a formula. 319 00:13:44,127 --> 00:13:46,390 When I look at a project, I analyze it 320 00:13:46,434 --> 00:13:49,872 as if I were investing in real estate and I have to look at 321 00:13:49,916 --> 00:13:53,571 the package and, you know, what assets are in place. 322 00:13:53,615 --> 00:13:56,661 Obviously, the first, money in is always 323 00:13:56,705 --> 00:13:58,707 the hardest to find, but it's so much easier 324 00:13:58,750 --> 00:14:00,752 if you have a director that believes in your project 325 00:14:00,796 --> 00:14:02,711 and is willing to put his name on it 326 00:14:02,754 --> 00:14:05,192 or if you have a brand that really loves it. 327 00:14:05,235 --> 00:14:08,282 And there are lots of different aspects that are... 328 00:14:08,325 --> 00:14:09,849 that are more approachable than others. 329 00:14:09,892 --> 00:14:11,720 So maybe don't start with talent, 'cause that's 330 00:14:11,763 --> 00:14:14,288 a little scary and you wanna have some dollar signs 331 00:14:14,331 --> 00:14:17,508 before you go out there, but definitely 332 00:14:17,552 --> 00:14:20,642 flesh your concept out, definitely if it has any 333 00:14:20,685 --> 00:14:22,426 tie to a video game, reach out to video game. 334 00:14:22,470 --> 00:14:24,559 Like, you know, all that you can do to bring in 335 00:14:24,602 --> 00:14:27,127 more players and make it a more appealing asset. 336 00:14:27,170 --> 00:14:29,259 The old way, it used to be, you had a good script, 337 00:14:29,303 --> 00:14:31,174 you had a good mood board, maybe you cut together 338 00:14:31,218 --> 00:14:32,872 like a mood reel like you would take footage from 339 00:14:32,915 --> 00:14:34,351 other stuff and you would put it together sayin' 340 00:14:34,395 --> 00:14:35,831 you know, "It's gonna kind of feel like this." 341 00:14:35,875 --> 00:14:37,093 And that used to get it done. 342 00:14:37,137 --> 00:14:39,008 That doesn't get it done anymore. 343 00:14:39,052 --> 00:14:42,229 You have to have a really great, what people perceive, as a great pitch. 344 00:14:42,272 --> 00:14:44,274 I mean it is a bit unfortunate that, you know, 345 00:14:44,318 --> 00:14:45,972 you kind of think, "Oh, I could just get 346 00:14:46,015 --> 00:14:47,582 really good actors and it doesn't matter, 347 00:14:47,625 --> 00:14:49,497 like it'll be an amazing film." 348 00:14:49,540 --> 00:14:53,936 But uh, for people trying to select good films 349 00:14:53,980 --> 00:14:55,938 and put them on a platform where everyone can see them, 350 00:14:55,982 --> 00:14:57,853 it's like looking for a needle in a haystack, 351 00:14:57,897 --> 00:15:00,725 so it really helps to have, yeah, 352 00:15:00,769 --> 00:15:02,205 a cast in your film. 353 00:15:02,249 --> 00:15:04,077 If you're doing this, you know, fully independently, 354 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:06,557 you're working with people who are even recognizable, 355 00:15:06,601 --> 00:15:09,821 but not necessarily like valuable names, 356 00:15:09,865 --> 00:15:12,563 least amount of money for the best quality product. 357 00:15:12,607 --> 00:15:14,391 JENN WEXLER: The other thing that really draws us in 358 00:15:14,435 --> 00:15:18,395 is when people have lookbooks, because just receiving a script 359 00:15:18,439 --> 00:15:20,963 is, it's a little bland and it's, ah, 360 00:15:21,007 --> 00:15:22,660 from a producing perspective, 361 00:15:22,704 --> 00:15:24,488 it's just like, "Oh, I have so many 362 00:15:24,532 --> 00:15:27,143 "things to do and now like reading the script." 363 00:15:27,187 --> 00:15:29,885 Um, but if a script is accompanied by a lookbook, 364 00:15:29,929 --> 00:15:32,322 then you're like, "Oh wow, I'm pulled in by this aesthetic, 365 00:15:32,366 --> 00:15:33,845 "this is so cool." 366 00:15:33,889 --> 00:15:35,108 Are we meeting about Tripped or are we discussing 367 00:15:35,151 --> 00:15:36,718 the option of a bigger film? 368 00:15:38,285 --> 00:15:41,288 [PLATO FOUNTIDAKIS SPEAKING] 369 00:15:41,331 --> 00:15:44,465 Have they specifically said that they're interested in making Tripped? 370 00:15:44,508 --> 00:15:46,728 [PLATO FOUNTIDAKIS SPEAKING] 371 00:15:48,904 --> 00:15:52,908 I'm really shitty at the financial end of movies of moviemaking, you know? 372 00:15:52,952 --> 00:15:55,606 I've been fortunate that most of the work I've been done 373 00:15:55,650 --> 00:15:58,435 has either been network or studio or, you know, things. 374 00:15:58,479 --> 00:16:02,613 Even my original stuff has been done within a system that funds itself. 375 00:16:02,657 --> 00:16:09,359 I have done some independent film work and it's, I think, it's more difficult than ever 376 00:16:09,403 --> 00:16:12,145 to find funding if you're not doing something entirely 377 00:16:12,188 --> 00:16:18,064 on your own, because it's so much more difficult to make a profit at this. 378 00:16:18,107 --> 00:16:20,544 So getting the funding to do a film that requires 379 00:16:20,588 --> 00:16:23,199 more than just homemade guerrilla filmmaking 380 00:16:23,243 --> 00:16:25,462 is excruciating and I, 381 00:16:25,506 --> 00:16:27,247 I wouldn't have a clue how to do it, 382 00:16:27,290 --> 00:16:29,379 you know, other than going through 383 00:16:29,423 --> 00:16:33,035 production companies or through agents or managers, things like that. 384 00:16:33,079 --> 00:16:36,299 Apparently, the investors he's talking to are actually really interested 385 00:16:36,343 --> 00:16:37,518 and they wanna raise the budget. 386 00:16:37,561 --> 00:16:39,128 Is there anything dishonorable with that, 387 00:16:39,172 --> 00:16:40,521 'cause I'm already also talking to Eric... 388 00:16:40,564 --> 00:16:42,131 [AVI FEDERGREEN SPEAKING] 389 00:16:42,175 --> 00:16:43,350 Okay, all right. 390 00:16:43,393 --> 00:16:44,960 I just, I wouldn't want Eric to get pissed, 391 00:16:45,004 --> 00:16:46,831 'cause I'm talkin' to someone else, too. 392 00:16:46,875 --> 00:16:48,442 But I think that's the... 393 00:16:48,485 --> 00:16:50,487 [FEDERGREEN SPEAKING] 394 00:16:50,531 --> 00:16:52,446 Yeah. Yeah, exactly. 395 00:16:52,489 --> 00:16:54,665 -It's the game, right? It's the way it's played. -[FEDERGREEN SPEAKING] 396 00:16:54,709 --> 00:16:57,016 -All right. -[FEDERGREEN SPEAKING] 397 00:16:58,843 --> 00:17:00,497 Yeah, exactly. All right. 398 00:17:00,541 --> 00:17:01,716 Okay then. 399 00:17:01,759 --> 00:17:03,979 Well, still seems promising on either end. 400 00:17:04,023 --> 00:17:06,547 MIKE MENDEZ: It's always an adventure when it comes to financing, you know? 401 00:17:06,590 --> 00:17:09,637 A, how you're gonna finance the movie is always a different thing. 402 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:13,815 Currently, I'm in a project that is supposed to shoot six, seven months ago. 403 00:17:13,858 --> 00:17:19,560 Well, honestly three years ago, but lately we're supposed to do seven months ago and it... 404 00:17:19,603 --> 00:17:20,996 it, you know, the money wasn't closed 405 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,259 when we were on set and it had to collapse. 406 00:17:23,303 --> 00:17:25,305 I'm supposed to leave at the end of next week. 407 00:17:25,348 --> 00:17:27,002 I don't know if I'm going. 408 00:17:27,046 --> 00:17:31,050 I never feel good when someone says, 409 00:17:31,093 --> 00:17:32,964 "We almost have the money." 410 00:17:33,008 --> 00:17:35,445 It's... "Next week, the money should be closing." 411 00:17:35,489 --> 00:17:37,056 I have never had a good experience. 412 00:17:37,099 --> 00:17:39,406 That is never followed by something positive. 413 00:17:39,449 --> 00:17:44,802 It's tough enough to find money,but to certainly find money that's not gonna weigh you down, 414 00:17:44,846 --> 00:17:46,021 you have 16 producers. 415 00:17:46,065 --> 00:17:48,545 I mean look at, look at movies certainly, 416 00:17:48,589 --> 00:17:53,028 at film festivals now, there's usually a whole list of credits, of producers. 417 00:17:53,072 --> 00:17:54,812 12 different executive producers. 418 00:17:54,856 --> 00:17:56,466 And that's where money starts to get expensive. 419 00:17:56,510 --> 00:17:58,729 It's like well, for every one of those people, 420 00:17:58,773 --> 00:18:02,255 they have their own needs, they want to pump up the budget 421 00:18:02,298 --> 00:18:04,648 but with that comes their perk package, 422 00:18:04,692 --> 00:18:07,695 and with it comes their, wife that needs to be in the movie. 423 00:18:07,738 --> 00:18:10,089 I mean it's a really, it can be a complicated process. 424 00:18:10,132 --> 00:18:15,181 My strategy is get a job, work, save your money, 425 00:18:16,182 --> 00:18:18,793 get a nice little, like, nest egg of cash, 426 00:18:18,836 --> 00:18:21,274 and then produce your movie yourself. 427 00:18:21,317 --> 00:18:25,756 Keep it simple, keep your movie small, get your own budget, 428 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:27,584 and just keep it. 429 00:18:27,628 --> 00:18:31,458 The more insular you can keep your production, I think the better. 430 00:18:31,501 --> 00:18:33,242 I'm supposed to do the entire movie, 431 00:18:33,286 --> 00:18:36,027 initially based on plan for $275,000, 432 00:18:36,071 --> 00:18:39,335 which is really low for how many effects and how big a movie it is. 433 00:18:39,379 --> 00:18:44,166 And luckily, these guys, they're, they're more talking like 1 to 1.5 million. 434 00:18:44,210 --> 00:18:46,734 And I never, I've never seen Trippedas a big film. 435 00:18:46,777 --> 00:18:48,257 I have to choose the right partners 436 00:18:48,301 --> 00:18:52,087 and I have to make sure, like, they're not gonna sign it 437 00:18:52,131 --> 00:18:55,090 and then immediately replace me as director, which is not what I want. 438 00:18:55,134 --> 00:18:58,093 Or, you know, no matter what I need to be... 439 00:18:58,137 --> 00:19:00,095 I need to have some creative control on the project 440 00:19:00,139 --> 00:19:02,053 and if that means that I do it for cheaper, 441 00:19:02,097 --> 00:19:03,620 then so be it. 442 00:19:03,664 --> 00:19:06,406 Don't go into it goin', "Here's the movie I wanna make. 443 00:19:06,449 --> 00:19:08,799 "Here's the movie I wanna make. "Here's the movie to make." 444 00:19:08,843 --> 00:19:10,061 The first question should be, 445 00:19:10,105 --> 00:19:12,586 "What are the movies you're lookin' for?" 446 00:19:12,629 --> 00:19:14,065 You know? 447 00:19:14,109 --> 00:19:16,024 And ask that question to as many people as possible 448 00:19:16,067 --> 00:19:19,201 who are in a position to release movies, finance movies, 449 00:19:19,245 --> 00:19:21,334 you know, fellow producers. 450 00:19:21,377 --> 00:19:25,773 Just listen and get a sense of what type of material works for them. 451 00:19:25,816 --> 00:19:27,166 It's tough, right? 452 00:19:27,209 --> 00:19:28,558 You're, you're, you're, you're building yourself, 453 00:19:28,602 --> 00:19:30,125 building your name, and building who you are, 454 00:19:30,169 --> 00:19:31,866 and you don't really have a lot of bargaining power 455 00:19:31,909 --> 00:19:33,302 at this point in your career. 456 00:19:33,346 --> 00:19:35,130 This is the hardest business, all aspects of this, 457 00:19:35,174 --> 00:19:38,873 and it's not good enough to justbe one thing anymore. 458 00:19:38,916 --> 00:19:43,138 I'm a writer, I'm a director, I'm a producer. 459 00:19:43,182 --> 00:19:44,313 No, not good enough. 460 00:19:44,357 --> 00:19:46,881 I need you to be more than that. 461 00:19:46,924 --> 00:19:49,666 I need you to be all of those things and I need 462 00:19:49,710 --> 00:19:51,929 you to have legal skills, I need you to understand 463 00:19:51,973 --> 00:19:53,366 what legal jargon means, you need to know 464 00:19:53,409 --> 00:19:56,238 how to use QuickBooks, how to file your taxes properly. 465 00:19:56,282 --> 00:19:59,110 Like you cannot just say, "Well, I'm a director." 466 00:19:59,154 --> 00:20:00,808 Fuck you. 467 00:20:00,851 --> 00:20:03,419 I think this is a year where I, I start to grow the fuck up. 468 00:20:03,463 --> 00:20:05,247 A time for me to realize that I might not know as 469 00:20:05,291 --> 00:20:07,771 much as I think I do and that's the first step 470 00:20:07,815 --> 00:20:09,817 towards learning the things I need to know, 471 00:20:09,860 --> 00:20:11,645 to really survive in this business. 472 00:20:11,688 --> 00:20:13,821 I'm not as effective a producer as I think I... 473 00:20:13,864 --> 00:20:15,170 I want, I am. 474 00:20:15,214 --> 00:20:17,128 I mean I'm still pretty green in a lot of ways. 475 00:20:17,172 --> 00:20:18,739 I've always kind of done it myself every, 476 00:20:18,782 --> 00:20:22,917 everything, a lot of the jobs myself, a lot of the work. 477 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,094 I put on multiple hats just to save money, 478 00:20:26,137 --> 00:20:28,575 but I need to learn how to work with a team. 479 00:20:28,618 --> 00:20:32,013 I'm currently working on the script for Kane, 480 00:20:32,056 --> 00:20:34,276 which Serena Whitney and I are co-writing. 481 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,148 Around the same time I met Avi, I also met Serena Whitney, 482 00:20:37,192 --> 00:20:39,150 a writer who was working for Dread Central at the time, 483 00:20:39,194 --> 00:20:41,805 but quickly displayed real talent for screenwriting. 484 00:20:41,849 --> 00:20:44,504 We became friends and started working together on a couple of projects. 485 00:20:44,547 --> 00:20:47,681 Kanewas something I discovered when I was 12 years old. 486 00:20:47,724 --> 00:20:51,772 it was on my mom's bookshelf and I decided to read it one night, 487 00:20:51,815 --> 00:20:55,950 and I actually read it in an entire night, because it was terrifying. 488 00:20:55,993 --> 00:20:58,953 I told myself, by 30 I would try to get the rights to it. 489 00:20:58,996 --> 00:21:02,086 And that's when we got the rights to the, the film. 490 00:21:02,130 --> 00:21:04,698 McCONNELL: Having a female writing partner's pretty cool, because, 491 00:21:04,741 --> 00:21:06,395 [CHUCKLES] I've been criticized 492 00:21:06,439 --> 00:21:09,311 in the past for not writing great female characters 493 00:21:09,355 --> 00:21:12,488 and I'll be the first to admit that was the case for The Collapsed, for sure. 494 00:21:12,532 --> 00:21:14,447 Uh, hey, Dad? 495 00:21:14,490 --> 00:21:15,665 Yes, Rebecca. 496 00:21:15,709 --> 00:21:16,840 Can I head off for a bit? 497 00:21:16,884 --> 00:21:18,799 I need some privacy. 498 00:21:18,842 --> 00:21:21,541 McCONNELL: Yeah, I'm distinctly aware of how stupid this scene is 499 00:21:21,584 --> 00:21:22,890 during the apocalypse. 500 00:21:22,933 --> 00:21:24,544 In this case, we've got, we've got... 501 00:21:24,587 --> 00:21:27,764 This really tough task of taking this big-ass book 502 00:21:27,808 --> 00:21:30,506 and turning it into a movie that's tight, 503 00:21:30,550 --> 00:21:34,510 and still is true to the book and people will like. 504 00:21:34,554 --> 00:21:36,773 The press went out last week first that 505 00:21:36,817 --> 00:21:39,254 we optioned that bookKane by Douglas Borton. 506 00:21:39,298 --> 00:21:40,777 You know, we released the press 507 00:21:40,821 --> 00:21:42,779 and obviously they talk about the team's last projects 508 00:21:42,823 --> 00:21:45,304 and I guess my last one is The Collapsed, 509 00:21:45,347 --> 00:21:46,957 which was about 50/50 split. 510 00:21:47,001 --> 00:21:48,872 Half the people hated it, half the people liked it. 511 00:21:48,916 --> 00:21:51,179 But immediately as soon as the new press comes out, 512 00:21:51,222 --> 00:21:53,834 you've got people commenting and saying things like, " The Collapsedsucked." 513 00:21:53,877 --> 00:21:55,662 I always hate going into a project with a feeling 514 00:21:55,705 --> 00:21:57,838 like I have to win back the public or win back 515 00:21:57,881 --> 00:21:59,405 the audience, when, you know, 516 00:21:59,448 --> 00:22:02,190 the difference between a movie that costs $40,000 to make 517 00:22:02,233 --> 00:22:03,757 that we wrote in three weeks and the difference 518 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:05,715 between a movie that's probably gonna cost 1 million, 519 00:22:05,759 --> 00:22:10,372 1.5 million that's based on a book that was written 25 years ago, 520 00:22:10,416 --> 00:22:13,636 that is a solid fucking book, is night and day. 521 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:18,162 STEVE KOSTANSKI: I love reading the Amazon reviews forManborg, 522 00:22:18,206 --> 00:22:21,296 because one of them, a guy actually says, 523 00:22:21,340 --> 00:22:24,125 "This director should, like, quit filmmaking, 524 00:22:24,168 --> 00:22:25,605 "never make a movie again." 525 00:22:25,648 --> 00:22:27,911 The fact that any movie ever gets made is a miracle. 526 00:22:27,955 --> 00:22:31,393 So even like the... whatever piece of garbage movie you think is, like, 527 00:22:31,437 --> 00:22:34,091 the worst piece of shit you've ever seen in your life, 528 00:22:34,135 --> 00:22:37,007 that was somebody's life for like many years. 529 00:22:37,051 --> 00:22:40,489 And they worked really hard to make it. 530 00:22:40,533 --> 00:22:43,100 And it were, and it was really hard just to get it 531 00:22:43,144 --> 00:22:45,581 in front of you, and so I find that 532 00:22:45,625 --> 00:22:48,932 there's a certain amount of respect for the filmmaker that 533 00:22:48,976 --> 00:22:51,979 you can afford them that's just finding 534 00:22:52,022 --> 00:22:53,937 something good about it. 535 00:22:53,981 --> 00:22:56,462 KOSTANSKI: Reading stuff like that makes me feel really horrible, 536 00:22:56,505 --> 00:22:59,769 but at the same time it makes you wanna work hard 537 00:22:59,813 --> 00:23:01,205 and do a better job. 538 00:23:01,249 --> 00:23:03,904 If you get discouraged when people tell you 539 00:23:03,947 --> 00:23:05,471 that something isn't up to snuff 540 00:23:05,514 --> 00:23:07,951 or they don't believe in you or support you early on out 541 00:23:07,995 --> 00:23:10,258 or early out, then, [CHUCKLES] 542 00:23:10,301 --> 00:23:11,781 you might as well just give up, 543 00:23:11,825 --> 00:23:15,219 'cause there's no point in living a life 544 00:23:15,263 --> 00:23:17,787 where you always feel like you're less than worthy. 545 00:23:17,831 --> 00:23:19,223 All of us suck. 546 00:23:19,267 --> 00:23:21,400 [CHUCKLING] You know, like, we're all bad 547 00:23:21,443 --> 00:23:23,793 and the minute you think you're good, you should quit. 548 00:23:23,837 --> 00:23:25,316 You know what I mean? 549 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:28,363 I'm sure Spielberg sits there and he's like, "I suck. 550 00:23:28,407 --> 00:23:29,451 "I could be better. 551 00:23:29,495 --> 00:23:30,931 "I can make better." 552 00:23:30,974 --> 00:23:33,629 You need that doubt so you can hopefully improve on, 553 00:23:33,673 --> 00:23:35,109 on the next project. 554 00:23:35,152 --> 00:23:37,154 And some of it's just fun to laugh at, too, 'cause 555 00:23:37,198 --> 00:23:40,984 like seriously Internet commenters are just ridiculous. 556 00:23:41,028 --> 00:23:45,902 DAVID GREGORY: It's definitely more of, "It's awesome or it's shit" world now. 557 00:23:45,946 --> 00:23:49,602 It's definitely more of a star-rating world now than than it used to be. 558 00:23:49,645 --> 00:23:52,735 But it's definitely more democratized as well. 559 00:23:52,779 --> 00:23:55,390 I mean everybody can have an opinion and, 560 00:23:55,434 --> 00:23:59,873 and influence the way people see movies, 561 00:23:59,916 --> 00:24:02,789 influence the movies that people want to see, I should say. 562 00:24:02,832 --> 00:24:05,008 Take it with a grain of salt, 'cause people are nasty. 563 00:24:05,052 --> 00:24:07,489 It's one of the reasons why I don't like social media. 564 00:24:07,533 --> 00:24:11,711 They will, you know, they're just hiding behind their keyboards, 565 00:24:11,754 --> 00:24:13,887 so they're gonna say whatever they wanna say. 566 00:24:13,930 --> 00:24:17,673 DAVE ALEXANDER: People do not act in a civil or polite manner often 567 00:24:17,717 --> 00:24:19,632 if it's in a virtual world. 568 00:24:19,675 --> 00:24:21,764 There's no reason to act like that. 569 00:24:21,808 --> 00:24:23,462 You wouldn't act like that if we were sitting 570 00:24:23,505 --> 00:24:25,202 in a room having a conversation, 571 00:24:25,246 --> 00:24:27,074 so why the fuck do you think it's okay 572 00:24:27,117 --> 00:24:28,554 that you can act like that online? 573 00:24:28,597 --> 00:24:31,818 ZACK BERNBAUM: Criticism is part of the business, 574 00:24:31,861 --> 00:24:35,038 no matter what, it'll happen. 575 00:24:35,082 --> 00:24:36,953 I think you have to have a thick skin. 576 00:24:36,997 --> 00:24:41,001 A film critic/reviewer is gonna look at a film 577 00:24:41,044 --> 00:24:43,351 the way that they're gonna look at it and I think 578 00:24:43,394 --> 00:24:45,745 the best thing we can do is just sort of let it go. 579 00:24:45,788 --> 00:24:48,399 In some cases I got savage reviews, but they always just, 580 00:24:48,443 --> 00:24:50,358 there was always good ones intermixed with it, 581 00:24:50,401 --> 00:24:51,881 but it all changes. 582 00:24:51,925 --> 00:24:55,189 It's strange how... 583 00:24:55,232 --> 00:25:00,455 a decade or two makes the difference of how people see your work and stuff 584 00:25:00,499 --> 00:25:02,326 that was... [SIGHS] 585 00:25:02,370 --> 00:25:03,937 Like a film like Frankenhooker was, 586 00:25:03,980 --> 00:25:05,765 "Oh my God, it's just tits and ass. 587 00:25:05,808 --> 00:25:07,462 "Just I mean, it's, that's nothin' there. 588 00:25:07,506 --> 00:25:08,942 "It's not a horror film, just tits and ass." 589 00:25:08,985 --> 00:25:11,814 Now, I read these reviews that say, "Oh my God, 590 00:25:11,858 --> 00:25:13,990 "it's, you know, it was so ahead of its time." 591 00:25:14,034 --> 00:25:15,339 Well, which is right? 592 00:25:15,383 --> 00:25:16,602 Which review was right? 593 00:25:16,645 --> 00:25:19,300 The contemporary review or the review today? 594 00:25:19,343 --> 00:25:21,563 I mean, the answer is none of it. 595 00:25:21,607 --> 00:25:25,132 McCONNELL: Last week, we had a meeting for gettingTripped made. 596 00:25:25,175 --> 00:25:27,134 they said they'd have contract to us on Monday. 597 00:25:27,177 --> 00:25:29,397 Nothing came on Monday, nothing came on Tuesday, 598 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,486 it's Friday now, so I enquired to Plato, 599 00:25:31,530 --> 00:25:32,835 "What's up?" 600 00:25:32,879 --> 00:25:34,358 and it sounds like they don't want to proceed. 601 00:25:34,402 --> 00:25:36,665 MAN: [ON RECORDING] Now laid out our mission. 602 00:25:36,709 --> 00:25:38,449 I expect you to fall in line. 603 00:25:38,493 --> 00:25:39,581 [RINGTONE] 604 00:25:39,625 --> 00:25:41,322 McCONNELL: Hey, Plato. 605 00:25:41,365 --> 00:25:45,805 [FOUNTIDAKIS SPEAKING] 606 00:25:48,329 --> 00:25:49,417 Right. 607 00:25:49,460 --> 00:25:51,985 [FOUNTIDAKIS SPEAKING] 608 00:25:54,465 --> 00:25:56,598 [CHUCKLES] So it did come down to me. 609 00:25:56,642 --> 00:26:01,429 You know, I, I've only ever produced at the bare minimum of a budget like ever. 610 00:26:01,472 --> 00:26:02,735 Ever. 611 00:26:02,778 --> 00:26:04,650 Except the one, that one video fact video, 612 00:26:04,693 --> 00:26:06,652 but mostly everything I've ever done was really, 613 00:26:06,695 --> 00:26:10,264 really, really little budget and it's part of 614 00:26:10,307 --> 00:26:14,529 the reason, you know, I don't have footage that looks like Scorsese. 615 00:26:14,573 --> 00:26:16,836 Today, you can take a camera and go out and shoot, 616 00:26:16,879 --> 00:26:18,228 make a movie for no money. 617 00:26:18,272 --> 00:26:20,491 Now, it may suck, and it may not be a good movie, 618 00:26:20,535 --> 00:26:22,145 but you can actually look at it, 619 00:26:22,189 --> 00:26:24,539 and project it, and it looks pretty damn good in HD quality, 620 00:26:24,583 --> 00:26:26,280 and you can manufacture a disc, 621 00:26:26,323 --> 00:26:29,022 and put a little wrap on it, and look, "Hey, I got a movie." 622 00:26:29,065 --> 00:26:31,111 And that works until people have to sit and watch it, 623 00:26:31,154 --> 00:26:33,635 then it, kind of, that plan usually falls apart. 624 00:26:33,679 --> 00:26:35,681 There's lots of more, people more talented than me, 625 00:26:35,724 --> 00:26:37,378 and there's lots of people less talented than me, 626 00:26:37,421 --> 00:26:39,728 and I've seen less talented get more successful, 627 00:26:39,772 --> 00:26:41,687 and I've seen more talented get successful, 628 00:26:41,730 --> 00:26:43,645 and they all get, they all get there 629 00:26:43,689 --> 00:26:44,994 for different reasons and they all get their 630 00:26:45,038 --> 00:26:46,735 finance together for different reasons, 631 00:26:46,779 --> 00:26:48,694 but at the end of the day, 632 00:26:48,737 --> 00:26:52,741 I have just as much chance as anyone else, I believe. 633 00:26:52,785 --> 00:26:55,004 There are millions of footnotes in the history 634 00:26:55,048 --> 00:26:58,529 of Hollywood of projects that someone said, 635 00:26:58,573 --> 00:27:01,054 "You know, I would rather put this in a drawer 636 00:27:01,097 --> 00:27:03,317 "than, say, sell it." 637 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:06,276 Um, but at the same time when you think about it 638 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:08,670 if someone, you know, you hear these stories 639 00:27:08,714 --> 00:27:10,672 about someone saying, "Oh, they offered me all this 640 00:27:10,716 --> 00:27:13,675 "money if I walked away as the director and, 641 00:27:13,719 --> 00:27:17,070 and I think if, if that were a client or if, 642 00:27:17,113 --> 00:27:21,291 even if I were that writer or that filmmaker, 643 00:27:21,335 --> 00:27:23,816 I would think, "If somebody's willing to offer me money 644 00:27:23,859 --> 00:27:27,558 "to walk away, I can find somebody to offer me money 645 00:27:27,602 --> 00:27:29,430 "to stay as, as well. 646 00:27:29,473 --> 00:27:32,302 "If I'm getting this kind of interest in the material now." 647 00:27:32,346 --> 00:27:33,913 And now, I know. 648 00:27:33,956 --> 00:27:36,089 Right now, I'm, now, it's the material's being validated, 649 00:27:36,132 --> 00:27:39,701 this story that I want to tell is being validated. 650 00:27:39,745 --> 00:27:43,618 DEL TORO: The only way that you do it is you try to stay 651 00:27:43,662 --> 00:27:46,055 faithful to yourself and do movies that, 652 00:27:46,099 --> 00:27:48,101 that really need to be made. 653 00:27:48,144 --> 00:27:50,364 That really you think, for whatever reason. 654 00:27:50,407 --> 00:27:52,758 It doesn't matter if it's an intimate little story 655 00:27:52,801 --> 00:27:55,064 or giant robots and giant monsters. 656 00:27:55,108 --> 00:27:57,414 A part of you needs that story told. 657 00:27:57,458 --> 00:28:00,722 You know, my 10-year-old with my Godzilla on one hand 658 00:28:00,766 --> 00:28:03,638 and my Iron Giant and my Iron Man 659 00:28:03,682 --> 00:28:05,684 on the other are clashing. 660 00:28:05,727 --> 00:28:07,555 That's the guy that doesPacific Rim. 661 00:28:07,598 --> 00:28:10,601 The, the, super lonely melancholy kid, 662 00:28:10,645 --> 00:28:12,560 doesPan's Labyrinth, but it's, 663 00:28:12,603 --> 00:28:14,257 It's both equally me. 664 00:28:14,301 --> 00:28:17,565 So that's the only thing, it, it just tells you, 665 00:28:17,608 --> 00:28:21,395 You wanna fight for the stuff that is a lost cause. 666 00:28:21,438 --> 00:28:22,657 You know what I'm saying? 667 00:28:22,701 --> 00:28:24,833 A lost cause is the only one worth fighting. 668 00:28:24,877 --> 00:28:27,357 It's cool, because we're in the Frontieres Market. 669 00:28:27,401 --> 00:28:28,924 McCONNELL: Oh, my God, it's coming. 670 00:28:28,968 --> 00:28:30,709 -Oh, no. -[CORK POPPING] 671 00:28:30,752 --> 00:28:31,753 -McCONNELL: Look at that. -Yay! 672 00:28:31,797 --> 00:28:33,276 -Look at that. -[LAUGHING] 673 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:34,713 From around the world over 100 projects are submitted 674 00:28:34,756 --> 00:28:38,281 and usually they're all pretty legitimate projects, 675 00:28:38,325 --> 00:28:40,719 because Frontieres is not just... you can enter, 676 00:28:40,762 --> 00:28:44,766 anyone can enter, but you... You really gotta have 677 00:28:44,810 --> 00:28:46,420 your shit together to even have a hope 678 00:28:46,463 --> 00:28:49,728 and we were among the 20 chosen, so that's awesome. 679 00:28:49,771 --> 00:28:51,947 We set out on a marathon of work getting a draft 680 00:28:51,991 --> 00:28:53,862 of theKane script ready to show in less than a month 681 00:28:53,906 --> 00:28:55,298 at the upcoming Market with the help of 682 00:28:55,342 --> 00:28:57,300 our consulting producer George Mihalka. 683 00:28:57,344 --> 00:29:00,826 WHITNEY: It's exciting because I've never done something like this, 684 00:29:00,869 --> 00:29:02,392 I've never been a part of a film market, 685 00:29:02,436 --> 00:29:04,786 it's kinda cool to be on the other side, 686 00:29:04,830 --> 00:29:06,570 uh, this is where I've always wanted to be, 687 00:29:06,614 --> 00:29:10,792 not just reviewing films but to have my, my film reviewed, 688 00:29:10,836 --> 00:29:13,403 which is what you should want. 689 00:29:13,447 --> 00:29:16,015 Um, so yeah I'm really excited. 690 00:29:16,058 --> 00:29:20,106 I feel like, I feel like it's, it's like 691 00:29:20,149 --> 00:29:22,282 a lifelong dream coming true. 692 00:29:22,325 --> 00:29:24,675 McCONNELL: I know that Serena's really excited and she's very optimistic. 693 00:29:24,719 --> 00:29:26,939 I've been down this road before 694 00:29:26,982 --> 00:29:28,418 where I thought things were coming together, 695 00:29:28,462 --> 00:29:29,768 and that the movie was gonna get made, 696 00:29:29,811 --> 00:29:31,726 and I was ready to almost celebrate, 697 00:29:31,770 --> 00:29:33,075 and then it didn't happen. 698 00:29:33,119 --> 00:29:35,251 And I am somewhat concerned 699 00:29:35,295 --> 00:29:37,688 that development's gonna take a long time, 700 00:29:37,732 --> 00:29:39,038 which, that's why 701 00:29:39,081 --> 00:29:40,256 you take the rights for four years. [CHUCKLES] 702 00:29:40,300 --> 00:29:42,215 The best thing you can hope for is 703 00:29:42,258 --> 00:29:46,306 for some investors to buy, 704 00:29:46,349 --> 00:29:50,876 but that is not the primary reason why I wanna go. 705 00:29:50,919 --> 00:29:53,313 It's to make the connections, 706 00:29:53,356 --> 00:29:55,184 learn more about film markets, 707 00:29:55,228 --> 00:29:57,230 and hopefully have something 708 00:29:57,273 --> 00:29:58,927 to show for it at the end of the day. 709 00:29:58,971 --> 00:30:00,842 Oh, wow! 710 00:30:00,886 --> 00:30:02,670 Look at it. 711 00:30:02,713 --> 00:30:03,889 It's real. 712 00:30:03,932 --> 00:30:05,194 McCONNELL: I think we're ready. 713 00:30:05,238 --> 00:30:06,456 I feel like we're ready. 714 00:30:06,500 --> 00:30:08,850 We put a lot of effort into the package. 715 00:30:08,894 --> 00:30:12,201 We've got a package, then a lookbook, 716 00:30:12,245 --> 00:30:14,290 then a printed lookbook, then flyers, 717 00:30:14,334 --> 00:30:16,292 and the posters, some concept art. 718 00:30:16,336 --> 00:30:19,382 We got the script to the point 719 00:30:19,426 --> 00:30:20,993 where we were really happy with it. 720 00:30:21,036 --> 00:30:22,429 I guess we're ready. 721 00:30:22,472 --> 00:30:24,126 ROSS DINERSTEIN: I think film markets are great. 722 00:30:24,170 --> 00:30:27,173 I think a big part of the job is to meet people that are, 723 00:30:27,216 --> 00:30:28,478 you know, shared similar interests, 724 00:30:28,522 --> 00:30:29,915 but are from all over the world. 725 00:30:29,958 --> 00:30:31,438 It gives you an idea of, you know, 726 00:30:31,481 --> 00:30:33,832 what your peers are doing, and what's coming up, 727 00:30:33,875 --> 00:30:37,879 and just kind of keeps you freshand keeps it competitive. 728 00:30:37,923 --> 00:30:40,882 McCONNELL: [ON PHONE] If you were in our shoes, and doing these meetings, 729 00:30:40,926 --> 00:30:43,667 how would you approach them? 730 00:30:43,711 --> 00:30:45,365 Like, from a creative perspective? 731 00:30:45,408 --> 00:30:47,019 What do they rather hear? 732 00:30:47,062 --> 00:30:48,759 Do they wanna hear about the money they're gonna make 733 00:30:48,803 --> 00:30:51,588 or do they want to hear about this great vision we've got? 734 00:30:51,632 --> 00:30:53,939 FEDERGREEN: They know how to do their job. 735 00:30:53,982 --> 00:30:57,072 They wanna know on the creative side what it looks, 736 00:30:57,116 --> 00:31:00,336 what it feels like, what would you compare it to? 737 00:31:00,380 --> 00:31:03,252 Because then once they hear all those things, 738 00:31:03,296 --> 00:31:05,298 they wrap their heads around that and go, 739 00:31:05,341 --> 00:31:08,083 "Okay, yeah, so I remember how successful that movie was. 740 00:31:08,127 --> 00:31:10,825 "If this is gonna be like that, then we can make X amount of money, 741 00:31:10,869 --> 00:31:13,610 "and we can market it in an X sort of way," and all that kind of stuff. 742 00:31:13,654 --> 00:31:15,786 McCONNELL: Yeah, all right man. FEDERGREEN: All right, talk soon. 743 00:31:15,830 --> 00:31:17,701 McCONNELL: Okay, take care, bye. 744 00:31:17,745 --> 00:31:21,357 STEPHANIE TREPANIER: Over the years, we saw how the community aspect 745 00:31:21,401 --> 00:31:24,317 of Fantasia was really important 746 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,233 and was actually getting new films made. 747 00:31:27,276 --> 00:31:28,930 Filmmakers would meet. 748 00:31:28,974 --> 00:31:32,368 Creating the Market at Fantasia was an extension of that, 749 00:31:32,412 --> 00:31:35,023 but makin' it real, makin' it serious, 750 00:31:35,067 --> 00:31:38,070 and it went from 220 to 280, 751 00:31:38,113 --> 00:31:41,073 to 350 participants straightaway, 752 00:31:41,116 --> 00:31:46,034 and people from top production companies, sales agencies. 753 00:31:46,078 --> 00:31:48,167 LINDSAY PETERS: In contrast to some of the larger markets, 754 00:31:48,210 --> 00:31:51,648 we know that one of the key qualities of Frontieres 755 00:31:51,692 --> 00:31:54,347 is the fact that we create a relatively small 756 00:31:54,390 --> 00:31:57,480 intimate atmosphere that actually allows people to get to know each other. 757 00:31:57,524 --> 00:31:59,743 PETER KUPLOWSKY: I think after going through a co-production market 758 00:31:59,787 --> 00:32:01,789 or any kind of production marketplace, 759 00:32:01,832 --> 00:32:04,313 you're able to better assess the movie you're making. 760 00:32:04,357 --> 00:32:07,099 So I've had a project, which after going through 761 00:32:07,142 --> 00:32:09,188 meetings at a co-production market, 762 00:32:09,231 --> 00:32:12,800 I've then realized maybe this isn't the right project for this marketplace, 763 00:32:12,843 --> 00:32:14,280 because I've spoken to distributors, 764 00:32:14,323 --> 00:32:16,412 and exhibitors, and producers, 765 00:32:16,456 --> 00:32:18,762 and I've realized this isn't the kind of movie 766 00:32:18,806 --> 00:32:20,851 that people are making right now, 767 00:32:20,895 --> 00:32:25,204 and so maybe this is movie two, not movie one for this particular filmmaker. 768 00:32:25,247 --> 00:32:27,293 ANNICK MAHNERT: Having all these people together in one room 769 00:32:27,336 --> 00:32:29,295 for four days is really amazing, 770 00:32:29,338 --> 00:32:32,820 because you get all these ideas of how they would do the things off 771 00:32:32,863 --> 00:32:35,692 or maybe you might meet someone who has a project 772 00:32:35,736 --> 00:32:39,000 but he lacks funds and someone will say, 773 00:32:39,044 --> 00:32:41,655 "Well, this is great. I can help you with the fundings," 774 00:32:41,698 --> 00:32:44,049 or someone could help with post-production. 775 00:32:44,092 --> 00:32:48,183 They give you the opportunity to talk to people in a relaxed, 776 00:32:48,227 --> 00:32:50,185 informal kind of environment 777 00:32:50,229 --> 00:32:55,321 and that's really what this kind of event is all about. 778 00:32:55,364 --> 00:33:01,414 Otherwise, when you're back out in the big bad world, and you need your lawyers, 779 00:33:01,457 --> 00:33:03,764 and your managers, and your agents to open those doors for you. 780 00:33:03,807 --> 00:33:06,506 McCONNELL: We currently have 30 meetings definitely on the books, 781 00:33:06,549 --> 00:33:08,856 but there could be more, there should be more, 782 00:33:08,899 --> 00:33:11,859 and hopefully we get some traction with Mark of Kane. 783 00:33:11,902 --> 00:33:13,861 I'm cautiously optimistic. 784 00:33:13,904 --> 00:33:17,212 I think it's important to attendif you're interested in kind of going for it, 785 00:33:17,256 --> 00:33:18,518 for that world, 786 00:33:18,561 --> 00:33:20,172 and to be aware of who all the players are, 787 00:33:20,215 --> 00:33:23,044 and what each company is really there to do, you know? 788 00:33:23,088 --> 00:33:24,915 Are you talking to a financing producer, 789 00:33:24,959 --> 00:33:28,049 you know, production company, are you talking to this distributor 790 00:33:28,093 --> 00:33:31,270 and a lot of it is just communication and following up 791 00:33:31,313 --> 00:33:35,578 and figuring out how to match your project 792 00:33:35,622 --> 00:33:39,756 with the best collaborators that's gonna really get you what you want. 793 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:41,628 When you look at an artist, you're like, 794 00:33:41,671 --> 00:33:44,631 "Can I be making movies with this person for the next 15, 20 years?" 795 00:33:44,674 --> 00:33:47,547 It's just too much effort to just do a one-off. 796 00:33:47,590 --> 00:33:50,724 It's too much effort if this is that person's one story 797 00:33:50,767 --> 00:33:51,855 and once they're done with that, 798 00:33:51,899 --> 00:33:53,422 they might just be done with film. 799 00:33:53,466 --> 00:33:55,381 I need someone who's going to be a director 800 00:33:55,424 --> 00:33:57,426 that needs me just as much as a producer, 801 00:33:57,470 --> 00:34:00,647 and we're gonna spend our career making films with each other 802 00:34:00,690 --> 00:34:04,129 and that's what you look for in someone you wanna collaborate with, you see a future. 803 00:34:04,172 --> 00:34:07,915 BRYAN BRUCKS: The biggest first-time filmmaker mistake 804 00:34:07,958 --> 00:34:14,008 is someone trashing that executive producer's movies. 805 00:34:14,052 --> 00:34:17,446 The first thing you should do is look on the wall, see the movies they produced, 806 00:34:17,490 --> 00:34:19,535 and, you know, don't shit on 'em. 807 00:34:19,579 --> 00:34:21,711 METTE-MARIE KONGSVED: If you're talking about being 808 00:34:21,755 --> 00:34:27,195 a filmmaker deciding which producer or financier or sales agent to work with, 809 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:32,505 I mean, I'd say meet with them and see what your chemistry is and then do some due diligence. 810 00:34:32,548 --> 00:34:33,984 Ask around. 811 00:34:34,028 --> 00:34:35,812 Do you know anybody that's done business with them? 812 00:34:35,856 --> 00:34:39,251 Do you know anybody that has any experiences with these people? 813 00:34:39,294 --> 00:34:43,211 If they've been around, chances are people will have worked with them, 814 00:34:43,255 --> 00:34:45,474 and they'll have opinions. 815 00:34:45,518 --> 00:34:48,477 WHITNEY: I think it really went well, the Market. 816 00:34:48,521 --> 00:34:51,480 I think we were all really prepared, 817 00:34:51,524 --> 00:34:56,659 and that was one of the notes that we received that we were really prepared, 818 00:34:56,703 --> 00:35:00,533 and that was a good feeling to know that we could have stood out. 819 00:35:00,576 --> 00:35:03,579 We met with people that I never thought I'd get a meeting with 820 00:35:03,623 --> 00:35:05,494 at this stage of the game. 821 00:35:05,538 --> 00:35:08,236 Um, the producers of Driveand Only God Forgives, 822 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:09,672 the Weinsteins. 823 00:35:09,716 --> 00:35:11,761 I know, I know, but nobody was talking about 824 00:35:11,805 --> 00:35:13,763 that particular scandal when I recorded this. 825 00:35:13,807 --> 00:35:15,025 I've got a lot of hope at this point. 826 00:35:15,069 --> 00:35:16,723 I'm gonna knock on wood. 827 00:35:16,766 --> 00:35:17,898 [KNOCKING] 828 00:35:17,941 --> 00:35:19,160 Knockin' on wood big time, 829 00:35:19,204 --> 00:35:20,770 'cause you never know, 830 00:35:20,814 --> 00:35:24,165 you never know until you know, but, uh, holy fuckin' shit. 831 00:35:24,209 --> 00:35:26,080 The fallout from the Market ended up being good 832 00:35:26,124 --> 00:35:28,474 in terms of building a network, learning some new things, 833 00:35:28,517 --> 00:35:30,389 and meeting potential future collaborators, 834 00:35:30,432 --> 00:35:32,217 but the response toMark of Kane 835 00:35:32,260 --> 00:35:34,741 wasn't as immediate as we'd hoped, so development continued. 836 00:35:34,784 --> 00:35:36,786 I filled my fall that year with client work 837 00:35:36,830 --> 00:35:38,614 and shot a zero-budget comedy short for fun 838 00:35:38,658 --> 00:35:41,095 calledDamned Selfie, but something was weighing on me. 839 00:35:41,139 --> 00:35:43,445 Despite some added interest that hadn't paid off, 840 00:35:43,489 --> 00:35:46,448 I started to realize I've been hitting a brick wall trying to getTripped made. 841 00:35:46,492 --> 00:35:48,842 The decision was made to put it on the back burner 842 00:35:48,885 --> 00:35:52,193 and focus on a lower-budget project that has more chance of getting to camera sooner. 843 00:35:52,237 --> 00:35:54,761 Maybe I suffer from having too much of the split focus, 844 00:35:54,804 --> 00:35:58,373 but I find that when one thing stalls, 845 00:35:58,417 --> 00:36:00,506 it's good to have something else to do. 846 00:36:00,549 --> 00:36:04,118 Every day, I am trying to move the pieces 847 00:36:04,162 --> 00:36:06,425 on my board forward, you know? 848 00:36:06,468 --> 00:36:09,906 It's an eternal chess game. 849 00:36:09,950 --> 00:36:14,607 So I have a few knights, and a couple of bishops, and many pawns, 850 00:36:14,650 --> 00:36:17,479 and occasionally a pawn can become a queen. 851 00:36:17,523 --> 00:36:22,789 I am obsessed with doing work and I love family, 852 00:36:22,832 --> 00:36:25,052 I love my personal time when I'm not working, 853 00:36:25,095 --> 00:36:28,098 but, you know, I've always been somebody 854 00:36:28,142 --> 00:36:32,233 who has felt the need to do my own thing, 855 00:36:32,277 --> 00:36:34,366 so I don't work a nine-to-five. 856 00:36:34,409 --> 00:36:38,283 I always say, working for yourself is like working 24/7, 857 00:36:38,326 --> 00:36:43,505 because your hours are basically what dictate your output 858 00:36:43,549 --> 00:36:45,594 and what you end up accomplishing. 859 00:36:45,638 --> 00:36:47,901 You push as many things forward as you can, 860 00:36:47,944 --> 00:36:52,862 and, well, as they say, you throw as much mud at the wall and see what sticks. 861 00:36:52,906 --> 00:36:55,125 I've been trying to figure out an idea 862 00:36:55,169 --> 00:36:57,606 for a low-budget feature or something I could do for Collapsedmoney or cheaper. 863 00:36:57,650 --> 00:36:59,391 Um, 50 grand would be ideal. 864 00:36:59,434 --> 00:37:02,220 So I had this idea a while back I was gonna call Shifter, 865 00:37:02,263 --> 00:37:05,571 and it was just gonna be basically, 866 00:37:05,614 --> 00:37:07,094 vaguely, it was about a shapeshifter, 867 00:37:07,137 --> 00:37:09,096 someone who takes on a new face 868 00:37:09,139 --> 00:37:12,839 every little bit of time, um, and they are the same character, 869 00:37:12,882 --> 00:37:15,320 but someone else is playing the character throughout the movie. 870 00:37:15,363 --> 00:37:17,496 Now, I'm making a much more simple idea. 871 00:37:17,539 --> 00:37:20,368 I'm gonna call it Lifechanger instead of Shifter, 872 00:37:20,412 --> 00:37:22,544 'cause "Shifter"has been taken a ton of times. 873 00:37:22,588 --> 00:37:26,156 [MAN ON PHONE SPEAKING] 874 00:37:39,648 --> 00:37:41,650 McCONNELL: Are there character flaws that I have 875 00:37:41,694 --> 00:37:45,045 that you could point out things that might have pulled me back 876 00:37:45,088 --> 00:37:46,829 or things that I've had to overcome? 877 00:37:46,873 --> 00:37:49,963 If you had an idea in your head, it was right, 878 00:37:50,006 --> 00:37:52,531 you wouldn't take criticism very well. 879 00:37:52,574 --> 00:37:54,620 [MAN ON PHONE SPEAKING] 880 00:37:54,663 --> 00:37:55,969 Nope. 881 00:37:56,012 --> 00:37:58,711 The rule, the basic rules of the transformation 882 00:37:58,754 --> 00:38:01,366 is it can't use its power, 883 00:38:01,409 --> 00:38:03,803 it can't transform until it starts deteriorating. 884 00:38:03,846 --> 00:38:06,762 If we thought maybe it was something else 885 00:38:06,806 --> 00:38:09,896 or something you could do better, 886 00:38:09,939 --> 00:38:14,117 you really sort of got mad about it, you know? 887 00:38:14,161 --> 00:38:16,772 That's just the way you were or are. 888 00:38:16,816 --> 00:38:18,383 You probably are the same way right now. 889 00:38:18,426 --> 00:38:19,819 McCONNELL: [CHUCKLING] No. 890 00:38:19,862 --> 00:38:22,169 But yeah, you have to take criticism, you have to. 891 00:38:22,212 --> 00:38:23,649 -McCONNELL: Yeah. -Only way to learn. 892 00:38:23,692 --> 00:38:25,041 McCONNELL: My parents are right. 893 00:38:25,085 --> 00:38:27,261 I need to learn how to take criticism better. 894 00:38:27,305 --> 00:38:28,871 Somethin' to work on. 895 00:38:28,915 --> 00:38:32,179 So that's why it's able to touch people normally when... 896 00:38:32,222 --> 00:38:34,573 [MAN ON PHONE SPEAKING] 897 00:38:41,231 --> 00:38:42,581 If you're established, 898 00:38:42,624 --> 00:38:46,324 a successful writer, yeah, you have a, you know, 899 00:38:46,367 --> 00:38:48,195 justification to kind of push back. 900 00:38:48,238 --> 00:38:53,374 But if you're starting out, I mean, be open, hear out, you know? 901 00:38:53,418 --> 00:38:56,334 Think about it, mull it over, 902 00:38:56,377 --> 00:38:58,727 because the last thing you want to have happen 903 00:38:58,771 --> 00:39:01,774 is basically the movie gets made as-is, your vision, 904 00:39:01,817 --> 00:39:04,037 and then you just read in the reviews all the notes. 905 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:06,605 Suck up your ego for a second and understand 906 00:39:06,648 --> 00:39:08,824 that, like, generally, 907 00:39:10,435 --> 00:39:12,828 all somebody's trying to do is help you. 908 00:39:12,872 --> 00:39:16,615 You don't ever have to agree with whatever anybody is saying, 909 00:39:16,658 --> 00:39:18,617 but it's very important, 910 00:39:18,660 --> 00:39:21,402 I think, to pay that person proper respect 911 00:39:21,446 --> 00:39:23,230 in terms of listening to it. 912 00:39:23,273 --> 00:39:25,275 In terms of applying those notes to the movie, 913 00:39:25,319 --> 00:39:27,103 I mean it just depends on who they're coming from. 914 00:39:27,147 --> 00:39:29,976 McCONNELL: I really have to start draftingLifechanger. 915 00:39:30,019 --> 00:39:31,673 I've got to start writing that script. 916 00:39:32,457 --> 00:39:33,806 Title page is laid out. 917 00:39:35,851 --> 00:39:38,506 So now, here's the first location. 918 00:39:38,550 --> 00:39:41,596 MICK GARRIS: The script is by far the most important thing. 919 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,991 I would rather see a well-written, well-acted story 920 00:39:45,034 --> 00:39:50,518 about interesting characters that looked shitty or cheap or undistinguished 921 00:39:50,562 --> 00:39:55,001 than a big extravaganza with special effects 922 00:39:55,044 --> 00:39:57,395 and beautiful shots that was empty and nothing. 923 00:39:57,438 --> 00:39:59,614 You can make it look gorgeous, 924 00:39:59,658 --> 00:40:01,747 you can get it acted brilliantly, 925 00:40:01,790 --> 00:40:03,836 you can get really cool shots, 926 00:40:03,879 --> 00:40:07,013 but if it's just a weak story or it's boring, 927 00:40:08,580 --> 00:40:10,495 it's hard to fix that. 928 00:40:10,538 --> 00:40:12,105 I need to write. 929 00:40:12,148 --> 00:40:13,889 I need to turn around the first draft of Lifechanger 930 00:40:13,933 --> 00:40:17,676 if I hope to hit the plan that I wanna hit of shooting by March, 931 00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:19,460 early April at the latest kind of thing. 932 00:40:19,504 --> 00:40:21,680 If you don't have a deadline, you tend to go on forever. 933 00:40:21,723 --> 00:40:23,595 I know I certainly do. 934 00:40:23,638 --> 00:40:26,162 So, in a lot of ways, having a deadline is an extremely useful thing, 935 00:40:26,206 --> 00:40:30,036 because creativity, I mean, the kind of mystery of where creativity comes from 936 00:40:30,079 --> 00:40:31,951 is... You know, I can't answer that question, 937 00:40:31,994 --> 00:40:36,608 and in terms of feeling inspired when you're under a pressure, 938 00:40:36,651 --> 00:40:38,523 I find there's a lot more pressure 939 00:40:38,566 --> 00:40:40,829 that comes out of not having a deadline. 940 00:40:40,873 --> 00:40:42,440 The hard and fast rule is... 941 00:40:42,483 --> 00:40:44,050 I don't know who came up with this. 942 00:40:44,093 --> 00:40:47,357 Where I saw it was on Warren P. Sonoda's Facebook wall. 943 00:40:47,401 --> 00:40:50,099 When I'm writing and when I'm trying to come up with stories, 944 00:40:50,143 --> 00:40:53,102 I have a saying that I keep trying to hammer home, 945 00:40:53,146 --> 00:40:55,583 "Don't get it right, get it written. 946 00:40:55,627 --> 00:40:57,498 "Get it right in the rewrites." 947 00:40:57,542 --> 00:40:59,239 Which makes total sense to me. 948 00:40:59,282 --> 00:41:01,502 You get it down and then... 949 00:41:01,546 --> 00:41:04,113 I've got scripts that I'm on my eighth or ninth draft. 950 00:41:04,157 --> 00:41:05,724 You know, the first draft is the easy one. 951 00:41:05,767 --> 00:41:08,335 I used to think, "Boy, wouldn't my work be great 952 00:41:08,378 --> 00:41:10,816 "if it took me six months to write a script?" 953 00:41:10,859 --> 00:41:12,644 No, it would be labored and shitty, 954 00:41:12,687 --> 00:41:14,297 is what I discovered. 955 00:41:14,341 --> 00:41:18,519 So I would much rather just sit down and write a script, 956 00:41:18,563 --> 00:41:22,262 than outline it, and pitch it, and do all those things, 957 00:41:22,305 --> 00:41:23,916 and go through... 958 00:41:23,959 --> 00:41:25,526 That to me is agonizing. 959 00:41:25,570 --> 00:41:28,268 The writing process is exhilarating, 960 00:41:28,311 --> 00:41:29,878 and exciting and fun to me. 961 00:41:29,922 --> 00:41:33,316 Yesterday, I finished the first draft of Lifechanger, 962 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:35,710 which is a pretty good accomplishment. 963 00:41:35,754 --> 00:41:38,191 I worked my butt off on it over the holidays. 964 00:41:38,234 --> 00:41:40,715 I used to look at life where I would think, 965 00:41:40,759 --> 00:41:41,934 "This is the year for me. 966 00:41:41,977 --> 00:41:43,936 "This is the year it's gonna hit. 967 00:41:43,979 --> 00:41:46,416 "This is the year where I'm gonna break out 968 00:41:46,460 --> 00:41:49,594 "and my career's gonna explode,"and all this. 969 00:41:49,637 --> 00:41:51,465 And I've stopped looking at life that way. 970 00:41:51,509 --> 00:41:54,773 I now look at it more like, "This is another year 971 00:41:54,816 --> 00:41:57,993 "where I'm gonna put more bricks on the wall that will support my career" 972 00:41:58,037 --> 00:42:00,953 or, you know, whatever lame metaphor you wanna use, 973 00:42:00,996 --> 00:42:04,043 "Plant the seeds," you know, whatever... 974 00:42:04,086 --> 00:42:06,132 "Climb the ladder" or... You know? 975 00:42:06,175 --> 00:42:11,485 I now look at it as a process as opposed to a big bang. 976 00:42:11,529 --> 00:42:13,922 Here's to next year.[SIGHS] 977 00:42:23,366 --> 00:42:26,456 It's incredibly important to fail in one's business. 978 00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:29,285 People that have had very little failure in their lives, 979 00:42:29,329 --> 00:42:30,939 I don't trust them. 980 00:42:30,983 --> 00:42:34,552 McCONNELL: I just made an update to the Facebook page 981 00:42:34,595 --> 00:42:36,597 ofThe Eternal andThe Eternal official site 982 00:42:36,641 --> 00:42:40,209 basically stating that the film is officially shelved. 983 00:42:40,253 --> 00:42:42,734 At a certain point, I just started to realize 984 00:42:42,777 --> 00:42:44,213 that this thing is not getting made 985 00:42:44,257 --> 00:42:46,999 and it's not getting made with me as the director, 986 00:42:47,042 --> 00:42:49,088 and I think the main reason is 987 00:42:49,131 --> 00:42:51,177 that I haven't really proved myself yet. 988 00:42:51,220 --> 00:42:53,614 At least, not to the point where people 989 00:42:53,658 --> 00:42:55,921 are taking a risk on a larger budget for me. 990 00:42:55,964 --> 00:42:57,836 I never used to have backlog of scripts, 991 00:42:57,879 --> 00:42:59,925 but now, I finally do, and it's very sad. 992 00:42:59,968 --> 00:43:02,492 They sit there saying, "What's wrong with me?" 993 00:43:02,536 --> 00:43:06,584 And then, I've also tried for many filmmakers to get their movies made, 994 00:43:06,627 --> 00:43:08,803 and though we do have a roster of films, 995 00:43:08,847 --> 00:43:11,850 I have a whole graveyard 996 00:43:11,893 --> 00:43:15,331 of sad, beautiful movies that lived in my mind 997 00:43:15,375 --> 00:43:17,638 and that we, over drinks, would be like, 998 00:43:17,682 --> 00:43:19,205 "This one's gonna be great." 999 00:43:19,248 --> 00:43:21,468 So it's, really, a tiny percent gets made. 1000 00:43:21,511 --> 00:43:23,383 It's one of the great tragedies. 1001 00:43:23,426 --> 00:43:26,255 If you're a shoemaker, you make the frickin' shoes, 1002 00:43:26,299 --> 00:43:28,867 if you're a filmmaker, you dream about the shoes. 1003 00:43:28,910 --> 00:43:30,869 It's just a sad state of affairs, really. 1004 00:43:30,912 --> 00:43:33,306 I always thought I was a reasonably smart person, 1005 00:43:33,349 --> 00:43:35,482 and I'm good at figuring out how things work, 1006 00:43:35,525 --> 00:43:37,484 and I've been making films for almost 30 years, 1007 00:43:37,527 --> 00:43:39,007 and I still don't know how they get made. 1008 00:43:39,051 --> 00:43:42,358 I mean, you know, by fate. 1009 00:43:42,402 --> 00:43:44,186 PAUL SCHRADER: I wouldn't want to do it all over again 1010 00:43:44,230 --> 00:43:46,580 because I don't think I would get as lucky a second time. 1011 00:43:46,624 --> 00:43:48,930 [CHUCKLES] 1012 00:43:48,974 --> 00:43:51,019 You know? And then luck 1013 00:43:51,063 --> 00:43:55,458 has played a large part in this. 1014 00:43:55,502 --> 00:43:58,331 You know, obviously life only happens to the prepared, 1015 00:43:58,374 --> 00:44:00,550 but you can be prepared and not lucky. 1016 00:44:00,594 --> 00:44:07,732 And so you have to have some fortuitous things happen. 1017 00:44:11,474 --> 00:44:14,303 McCONNELL: I applied to the Producers Network at Cannes, 1018 00:44:14,347 --> 00:44:19,004 which is essentially, each year they select or they allow in 300 producers 1019 00:44:19,047 --> 00:44:21,223 from around the world. They cap it at 300. 1020 00:44:21,267 --> 00:44:23,095 Um, I got in. 1021 00:44:23,138 --> 00:44:25,663 I decided a couple of months ago, 1022 00:44:25,706 --> 00:44:27,708 I was gonna go to Brussels for the Frontieres Market there 1023 00:44:27,752 --> 00:44:30,580 because we were in last summer's one. 1024 00:44:30,624 --> 00:44:31,843 They have one in Brussels, 1025 00:44:31,886 --> 00:44:34,019 one in Montreal each year, 1026 00:44:34,062 --> 00:44:35,629 where I'm allowed to go to the Brussels one 1027 00:44:35,673 --> 00:44:37,675 and get free accreditation and take meetings. 1028 00:44:37,718 --> 00:44:39,720 These two trips are gonna cost me a fair bit, 1029 00:44:39,764 --> 00:44:41,940 but I found online accommodation, 1030 00:44:41,983 --> 00:44:44,290 I booked all my flights, and I'm good to go. 1031 00:44:44,333 --> 00:44:46,509 [INDISTINCT CHATTER] 1032 00:44:46,553 --> 00:44:48,903 MAHNERT: What Frontieres achieved, really, is the fact that 1033 00:44:48,947 --> 00:44:53,299 you have this gathering of professionals of the industry 1034 00:44:53,342 --> 00:44:56,563 who concentrate on genre film, and who know what they're talking about, 1035 00:44:56,606 --> 00:45:00,698 and who constantly have to try to find new ways of financing genre film, 1036 00:45:00,741 --> 00:45:02,961 because it's really not something that is easy. 1037 00:45:03,004 --> 00:45:07,487 It's not easy in the US, it's not easy in Canada, and it's not easy in Europe. 1038 00:45:20,630 --> 00:45:23,895 I'm alone in a canal boat in Amsterdam right now. 1039 00:45:23,938 --> 00:45:26,767 Baked out of my mind after being at this 1040 00:45:26,811 --> 00:45:28,421 coffee shop called Baba. 1041 00:45:28,464 --> 00:45:29,857 It's been an amazing trip. 1042 00:45:29,901 --> 00:45:33,208 And I think it was the absolute right choice 1043 00:45:33,252 --> 00:45:35,254 for a lot of different reasons. 1044 00:45:35,297 --> 00:45:38,257 I met some people that are 1045 00:45:38,300 --> 00:45:40,650 potentially gonna be allies 1046 00:45:40,694 --> 00:45:42,783 in the path to getting these movies made, 1047 00:45:43,653 --> 00:45:44,872 people that can make 'em happen. 1048 00:45:44,916 --> 00:45:46,439 So we'll see what happens. 1049 00:45:46,482 --> 00:45:49,485 I've never been to the Cannes Film Festival before 1050 00:45:49,529 --> 00:45:54,055 or the Marche du Film, the Cannes market, which is why I'm going. 1051 00:45:54,099 --> 00:45:58,233 It's a flea market of film at the end of the day. 1052 00:45:58,277 --> 00:45:59,931 It's a bunch of little booths. 1053 00:45:59,974 --> 00:46:01,889 You go booth to booth to booth to booth 1054 00:46:01,933 --> 00:46:04,762 and buyers can walk around and see what the new product is, 1055 00:46:04,805 --> 00:46:06,633 and just make deals right on the spot. 1056 00:46:06,676 --> 00:46:08,156 A whole bunch of deals get made. 1057 00:46:08,200 --> 00:46:09,288 FEDERGREEN: This is the biggest game in town. 1058 00:46:09,331 --> 00:46:10,724 There is nothing bigger than Cannes. 1059 00:46:10,768 --> 00:46:15,163 Sales world is EFM, Berlinale and Cannes. 1060 00:46:15,207 --> 00:46:17,383 Cannes is most of the sales agents, 1061 00:46:17,426 --> 00:46:19,777 50% of their global business is made there. 1062 00:46:19,820 --> 00:46:22,301 What you can get done in a day in Cannes, 1063 00:46:22,344 --> 00:46:25,173 would take you two years to get done in Toronto. 1064 00:46:25,217 --> 00:46:27,654 COREY MOOSA: It's a place for sales agents 1065 00:46:27,697 --> 00:46:31,527 to basically try and sell pre-sales on their film 1066 00:46:31,571 --> 00:46:35,575 and to gauge interest from different foreign territories. 1067 00:46:35,618 --> 00:46:39,448 BRIAN YUZNA: When I first saw the first film market, 1068 00:46:39,492 --> 00:46:43,496 my eyes opened and I thought, "Oh, so you make the movie, 1069 00:46:43,539 --> 00:46:46,325 "you take it to the market, you have a little stand, 1070 00:46:46,368 --> 00:46:48,240 "and then people come from other countries, 1071 00:46:48,283 --> 00:46:49,632 "and they buy it from you, 1072 00:46:49,676 --> 00:46:51,939 "and you end up with more money than you start." 1073 00:46:51,983 --> 00:46:54,028 The whole thing made sense then. 1074 00:46:54,072 --> 00:46:58,206 FEDERGREEN: And you're in one place that the entire industry collects 1075 00:46:58,250 --> 00:47:00,339 for basically ten days 1076 00:47:00,382 --> 00:47:03,733 to help you realize possibilities. 1077 00:47:03,777 --> 00:47:06,780 There is so much content right now 1078 00:47:06,824 --> 00:47:10,871 that at these film markets, it's insane. 1079 00:47:10,915 --> 00:47:13,700 And so it's like, yeah, the film markets work for some people, 1080 00:47:13,743 --> 00:47:18,574 but it's like there's just more stuff at these markets now than there is room for. 1081 00:47:18,618 --> 00:47:21,055 FEDERGREEN: It's clear that without having a sales agent 1082 00:47:21,099 --> 00:47:23,231 come on as early as possible, 1083 00:47:23,275 --> 00:47:26,713 the opportunities for you to sell your film is less and less. 1084 00:47:26,756 --> 00:47:28,628 GRAHAM SKIPPER: It's just a whole different side of stuff, 1085 00:47:28,671 --> 00:47:30,369 'cause if you're an artist, you're sitting 1086 00:47:30,412 --> 00:47:33,981 in your dream world and you're just writing your ideal movie. 1087 00:47:34,025 --> 00:47:37,071 The business aspect is its whole own art form. 1088 00:47:37,115 --> 00:47:39,857 KEITH LEOPARD: You have to have an art and a commerce hat on 1089 00:47:39,900 --> 00:47:41,554 and I would just say to guys, 1090 00:47:41,597 --> 00:47:43,861 take the time to learn the business side of it 1091 00:47:43,904 --> 00:47:45,775 so that you can make an intelligent decision, 1092 00:47:45,819 --> 00:47:47,603 because there may come a time 1093 00:47:47,647 --> 00:47:51,738 when there aren't gonna be a ton of sales companies that can help you 1094 00:47:51,781 --> 00:47:54,219 and you might be out there on your own going, 1095 00:47:54,262 --> 00:47:55,698 "I gotta figure this out." 1096 00:47:55,742 --> 00:47:57,135 McCONNELL: Is this your first time at Cannes? 1097 00:47:57,178 --> 00:47:58,527 How many people have been here before? 1098 00:47:58,571 --> 00:47:59,659 -[CHUCKLING] -Yeah. 1099 00:47:59,702 --> 00:48:01,530 [LAUGHING] 1100 00:48:01,574 --> 00:48:04,185 -MAN 1: Yeah, come on. -And counting and counting. 1101 00:48:04,229 --> 00:48:06,535 You know, it's my 21st year in a row. 1102 00:48:06,579 --> 00:48:08,102 McCONNELL: Twenty-one years? MAN 2: Yeah. 1103 00:48:08,146 --> 00:48:09,930 -I got some news, guys. -Yeah. 1104 00:48:09,974 --> 00:48:12,106 I just got off the phone, all right? 1105 00:48:12,150 --> 00:48:14,152 You guys got Sony. 1106 00:48:14,195 --> 00:48:15,370 -MAN 2: Sony? -[CHUCKLING] 1107 00:48:15,414 --> 00:48:16,763 MICHELANGELO: Sony, it's a Sony. 1108 00:48:16,806 --> 00:48:18,025 Yo, bro. [CHUCKLING] 1109 00:48:18,069 --> 00:48:19,287 MAN 3: Yeah. 1110 00:48:19,331 --> 00:48:20,506 McCONNELL: This week's been crazy. 1111 00:48:20,549 --> 00:48:22,943 The opportunities that have arisen, 1112 00:48:22,987 --> 00:48:26,512 the possibilities for real dealsthat may happen. 1113 00:48:26,555 --> 00:48:27,905 I had meeting after meeting after meeting 1114 00:48:27,948 --> 00:48:29,732 after meeting after meeting after meeting, 1115 00:48:29,776 --> 00:48:33,214 and many of them were really promising 1116 00:48:33,258 --> 00:48:38,219 to the point where if any one of them happens, that's huge. 1117 00:48:38,263 --> 00:48:39,960 I sat within meeting today with a guy 1118 00:48:40,004 --> 00:48:41,788 who just wants to do the whole slate, 1119 00:48:41,831 --> 00:48:43,616 all eight to ten movies, 1120 00:48:43,659 --> 00:48:45,139 which... [CHUCKLES] 1121 00:48:45,183 --> 00:48:46,749 Hell, if I can get The Eternaloff the ground, 1122 00:48:46,793 --> 00:48:48,360 that'll be fuckin' incredible, 1123 00:48:48,403 --> 00:48:49,883 because I've been working so hard. 1124 00:48:49,927 --> 00:48:52,799 Even The Eternal is a possibility now again, 1125 00:48:52,842 --> 00:48:54,888 'cause of this. 1126 00:48:54,932 --> 00:48:57,499 So basically, I should be able to walk out of this and be set for life. 1127 00:48:57,543 --> 00:48:58,936 That's what it seems like. 1128 00:48:58,979 --> 00:49:01,373 It seems like that's what I've just done for myself. 1129 00:49:02,417 --> 00:49:05,072 So, you know, there's hope out there. 1130 00:49:05,116 --> 00:49:08,510 You just gotta work your balls off and it'll pay off. 1131 00:49:08,554 --> 00:49:09,859 I believe it'll pay off. 1132 00:49:09,903 --> 00:49:11,513 I think it's gonna pay off. 1133 00:49:11,557 --> 00:49:13,428 I hope it does, 'cause if I've got this, 1134 00:49:13,472 --> 00:49:15,387 and that catalogue of 1,000 companies in there, 1135 00:49:15,430 --> 00:49:17,258 and I can't make that work for me, 1136 00:49:17,302 --> 00:49:19,304 then I don't belong in this business. 1137 00:49:24,135 --> 00:49:27,573 I'm a little on edge right now for a few different reasons. 1138 00:49:27,616 --> 00:49:29,270 I mean, this is the week where I've been waiting 1139 00:49:29,314 --> 00:49:31,229 for a lot of answers to come back on Mark of Kane 1140 00:49:31,272 --> 00:49:33,448 and Lifechanger and all this stuff. 1141 00:49:33,492 --> 00:49:37,017 I'm gonna hear from MPI today or tomorrow, 1142 00:49:37,061 --> 00:49:39,454 apparently, about if they're coming on board for Lifechanger, 1143 00:49:39,498 --> 00:49:42,631 so that could be big news or it could be bad news. 1144 00:49:42,675 --> 00:49:46,548 Earlier today, I got a rejection, or a pass email from MPI. 1145 00:49:46,592 --> 00:49:48,333 They're passing the Lifechanger 1146 00:49:48,376 --> 00:49:50,683 after evaluating the project for about five weeks after Cannes, 1147 00:49:50,726 --> 00:49:53,642 and then shortly after that, like a couple hours later, 1148 00:49:53,686 --> 00:49:55,688 I got an email from the investors 1149 00:49:55,731 --> 00:49:58,038 that Avi and I met with two weeks ago and we pitched Lifechangerto 1150 00:49:58,082 --> 00:49:59,822 and it was another pass. 1151 00:49:59,866 --> 00:50:03,348 Constant rollercoaster, just ups and downs, and ups and downs. 1152 00:50:03,391 --> 00:50:07,047 [FEDERGREEN ON PHONE SPEAKING] 1153 00:50:07,091 --> 00:50:11,095 Phew! Every fuckin' bit of blood from the stone, man, 1154 00:50:11,138 --> 00:50:12,661 every bit of blood from the stone. 1155 00:50:12,705 --> 00:50:15,273 When you're dealing with a low-budget movie, 1156 00:50:15,316 --> 00:50:17,492 you have to be able to roll with some punches. 1157 00:50:17,536 --> 00:50:19,233 WHITNEY: I think it would be even better this year. 1158 00:50:19,277 --> 00:50:22,149 I think last year, we were very new to the... 1159 00:50:22,193 --> 00:50:23,846 Well, at least, the Frontieres film market, 1160 00:50:23,890 --> 00:50:25,892 I know I was new to the film market world. 1161 00:50:25,935 --> 00:50:28,329 Um, it felt more like speed dating, 1162 00:50:28,373 --> 00:50:31,593 whereas now you've already had that date, 1163 00:50:31,637 --> 00:50:34,640 and now you can actually make good contacts, 1164 00:50:34,683 --> 00:50:36,990 and be more confident in the meetings. 1165 00:50:37,034 --> 00:50:38,818 We're still promoting Mark of Kane 1166 00:50:38,861 --> 00:50:43,692 quite intensely, but I brought an entire slate, 1167 00:50:43,736 --> 00:50:46,304 so right now, what I'm doing is putting together a slate document, 1168 00:50:46,347 --> 00:50:50,221 which is basically a small binder of all of the projects 1169 00:50:50,264 --> 00:50:55,095 and films that I currently have in some stage of development. 1170 00:50:55,139 --> 00:50:56,966 FEDERGREEN: We've got a lot of projects in development. 1171 00:50:57,010 --> 00:51:00,579 I mean, I think, you know, the slate is so long, we could actually, 1172 00:51:00,622 --> 00:51:04,974 if you strung it out, we'd probably reach the Arctic Pole with it. 1173 00:51:05,018 --> 00:51:07,107 Uh, we'll see how it plays out. 1174 00:51:07,151 --> 00:51:09,588 We will see how our meetings go 1175 00:51:09,631 --> 00:51:11,503 and hopefully, we get some results out of them. 1176 00:51:11,546 --> 00:51:15,115 But long story short, I'm trying to be as prepared as possible. 1177 00:51:15,159 --> 00:51:16,812 ♪ Step up, step... ♪ 1178 00:51:16,856 --> 00:51:18,988 McCONNELL: When you've been to enough genre festivals, 1179 00:51:19,032 --> 00:51:21,687 you start to realize karaoke is kind of a secret handshake with this crowd, 1180 00:51:21,730 --> 00:51:23,732 so you better work on your chops. 1181 00:51:23,776 --> 00:51:26,257 There is a certain subculture, strangely, 1182 00:51:26,300 --> 00:51:28,128 and I think it's accidental. 1183 00:51:28,172 --> 00:51:31,131 I mean, we started doing it in 2007 1184 00:51:31,175 --> 00:51:33,220 and it just turned out that so many people 1185 00:51:33,264 --> 00:51:36,919 were closet karaoke fiends. 1186 00:51:36,963 --> 00:51:39,879 It's a fun time for people to relax and unwind. 1187 00:51:39,922 --> 00:51:44,144 I think a lot of people that are on the festival junket have seen a lot of films, 1188 00:51:44,188 --> 00:51:46,059 maybe they're here more to socialize. 1189 00:51:46,103 --> 00:51:48,453 GIGI SAUL GUERRERO: Maybe that's how filmmakers really connect. 1190 00:51:48,496 --> 00:51:49,758 With Josie Man? 1191 00:51:49,802 --> 00:51:51,717 I thought it was just with beer and drinks, 1192 00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:53,110 but karaoke? Really? 1193 00:51:53,153 --> 00:51:54,937 SHANE McKENZIE: That's how minors connect. 1194 00:51:54,981 --> 00:51:56,287 [ALL LAUGH] 1195 00:51:56,330 --> 00:51:58,115 GUERRERO: Karaoke seems to be what brings 1196 00:51:58,158 --> 00:52:02,336 the true inner filmmaker out of people and be like, 1197 00:52:02,380 --> 00:52:06,427 "I wanna see your films. You sing good. You must make good films." 1198 00:52:06,471 --> 00:52:11,345 We did a couple dozen meetings, and it was all very promising. 1199 00:52:11,389 --> 00:52:15,654 Everybody we wanted to take meetings with absolutely took the meeting. 1200 00:52:15,697 --> 00:52:18,178 Everyone's gonna look at our material. We'll see what happens. 1201 00:52:18,222 --> 00:52:19,875 So I just got the phone call from Avi. 1202 00:52:19,919 --> 00:52:21,442 Telefilm called Avi. 1203 00:52:21,486 --> 00:52:22,835 So they've greenlit 12 films 1204 00:52:22,878 --> 00:52:24,576 in this latest round of applications 1205 00:52:24,619 --> 00:52:26,317 and Lifechanger was not one of them. 1206 00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:28,101 I put a lot of work into that application. 1207 00:52:28,145 --> 00:52:29,711 It's not happening with them, 1208 00:52:29,755 --> 00:52:32,932 so that means I'm probably not shooting in November at all. 1209 00:52:32,975 --> 00:52:35,326 So, um, shit. 1210 00:52:35,369 --> 00:52:37,284 It's not that I was overly optimistic 1211 00:52:37,328 --> 00:52:39,895 that we were gonna get it, because it was a long shot to begin with 1212 00:52:39,939 --> 00:52:43,856 being how weird, and risky, and different the project is, 1213 00:52:43,899 --> 00:52:49,035 but once they called us in and had us present them with additional materials 1214 00:52:49,078 --> 00:52:52,865 and told us, "If you did this, we'll consider it more," 1215 00:52:52,908 --> 00:52:54,693 definitely, I started to get my hopes up 1216 00:52:54,736 --> 00:52:56,738 because they were actually taking it seriously. 1217 00:52:56,782 --> 00:52:58,479 Of course, those hopes were dashed. 1218 00:52:58,523 --> 00:53:00,829 The big issue is that [SNIFFLES] 1219 00:53:00,873 --> 00:53:03,092 I'm just unsure of myself these days. 1220 00:53:03,136 --> 00:53:06,357 I needed to clear my head, so I decided to take a trip to Fantastic Fest. 1221 00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:08,054 As far as genre festivals go, 1222 00:53:08,097 --> 00:53:09,882 it's one of the top destinations in North America 1223 00:53:09,925 --> 00:53:12,319 and having wanted to go for over a decade at that point, 1224 00:53:12,363 --> 00:53:14,234 I thought maybe the trip would inspire me. 1225 00:53:14,278 --> 00:53:16,367 -[POP] -[CHEERING] 1226 00:53:16,410 --> 00:53:17,629 [CLAPPING] 1227 00:53:17,672 --> 00:53:19,718 McCONNELL: I flew home from that 1228 00:53:19,761 --> 00:53:21,720 with a sole desire to produce something of quality as soon as possible. 1229 00:53:21,763 --> 00:53:23,156 I'm gonna drop a bunch of money 1230 00:53:23,200 --> 00:53:26,855 and make a short film on November 21st and 22nd, 1231 00:53:26,899 --> 00:53:29,031 mostly 'cause I haven't been behind a camera in a long time 1232 00:53:29,075 --> 00:53:30,729 and I need to get the juices flowing, 1233 00:53:30,772 --> 00:53:33,558 but also because I feel like we're going into these meetings 1234 00:53:33,601 --> 00:53:37,736 and we've got all this very strong creative material, 1235 00:53:37,779 --> 00:53:39,651 but we don't have a combined proof of concept 1236 00:53:39,694 --> 00:53:42,567 that both Serena and I have worked on that says, "Here's what we can do." 1237 00:53:42,610 --> 00:53:43,611 Everybody, if you have 1238 00:53:43,655 --> 00:53:45,004 the opportunity to do it 1239 00:53:45,047 --> 00:53:46,658 without breaking the bank, 1240 00:53:46,701 --> 00:53:48,790 shoot an actual couple minutes, you know? 1241 00:53:48,834 --> 00:53:51,924 An original proof of concept that says, "Here's what it is," 1242 00:53:51,967 --> 00:53:53,839 'cause then you can sit down with these people 1243 00:53:53,882 --> 00:53:55,667 and they're still aware of the obstacles and things. 1244 00:53:55,710 --> 00:53:58,147 But if you sit down and say, "I wanna make this," 1245 00:53:58,191 --> 00:54:00,324 and you've actually got a piece of it, 1246 00:54:00,367 --> 00:54:04,284 and they can look at it and say,"Well, that's kind of awesome. 1247 00:54:04,328 --> 00:54:05,503 "How do we help?" 1248 00:54:05,546 --> 00:54:07,679 So I'm gonna put in not a ton of money, 1249 00:54:07,722 --> 00:54:10,290 I mean, like, five grand, which is still a fair bit, 1250 00:54:10,334 --> 00:54:12,205 and make a ten-minute short. 1251 00:54:12,249 --> 00:54:16,122 You can leap and do a feature straightaway, 1252 00:54:16,165 --> 00:54:20,126 but obviously, it's much better to do a short first 1253 00:54:20,169 --> 00:54:24,652 because one, it's cheaper, it takes less time to do, 1254 00:54:24,696 --> 00:54:30,354 and it's a good way to get a lot of learning in terms of screenwriting, 1255 00:54:30,397 --> 00:54:33,444 in terms of pre-production, in terms of production, 1256 00:54:33,487 --> 00:54:36,098 but also learning in terms of the film industry. 1257 00:54:36,142 --> 00:54:39,101 The reality is most short filmmakers are taking a loss 1258 00:54:39,145 --> 00:54:40,581 when they make a short film, 1259 00:54:40,625 --> 00:54:42,540 because they're investing time and money on a project 1260 00:54:42,583 --> 00:54:45,630 that is not gonna see any substantial box-office return. 1261 00:54:45,673 --> 00:54:47,371 The best thing to do is to try and make something 1262 00:54:47,414 --> 00:54:49,460 that's a statement of yourself as a filmmaker 1263 00:54:49,503 --> 00:54:50,852 that can get you the next project, 1264 00:54:50,896 --> 00:54:52,898 that can get you the paid gig. 1265 00:54:52,941 --> 00:54:56,989 Be it a music video, be it a feature film, be it a commercial. 1266 00:54:57,032 --> 00:54:58,991 McCONNELL: I've been running a monthly short film festival 1267 00:54:59,034 --> 00:55:00,819 called "Little Terrors" since 2011, 1268 00:55:00,862 --> 00:55:03,430 and one thing I've learned from playing over 600 short films 1269 00:55:03,474 --> 00:55:07,173 is they tend to be very wise first steps toward getting feature films made. 1270 00:55:07,216 --> 00:55:09,349 I've lost count of the number of people 1271 00:55:09,393 --> 00:55:11,786 who made notable feature films in the years following me playing their shorts. 1272 00:55:11,830 --> 00:55:13,135 If you can do it, just do it 1273 00:55:13,179 --> 00:55:15,181 because even if you do something over the weekend, 1274 00:55:15,224 --> 00:55:17,314 and it's you do it for no money, 1275 00:55:17,357 --> 00:55:19,054 and it's not gonna get you anywhere, 1276 00:55:19,098 --> 00:55:20,578 at least you have something that people could look at to say, 1277 00:55:20,621 --> 00:55:22,362 "Okay, I see the way this person works, 1278 00:55:22,406 --> 00:55:24,582 "what their vision is." 1279 00:55:24,625 --> 00:55:26,366 KEVIN KOLSCH: If you've done stuff before and you've finished projects, 1280 00:55:26,410 --> 00:55:27,802 if you've done projects, 1281 00:55:27,846 --> 00:55:29,238 and you've actually got them completed, 1282 00:55:29,282 --> 00:55:30,892 -and out there. -Yep. 1283 00:55:30,936 --> 00:55:34,069 And you did it all on your own or with no budget or no money, 1284 00:55:34,113 --> 00:55:36,985 then they go like, "Okay, if I give this guy a budget and some money, 1285 00:55:37,029 --> 00:55:39,379 "he's gonna finish a product." 1286 00:55:39,423 --> 00:55:41,599 The most important thing about a short film is 1287 00:55:41,642 --> 00:55:43,383 is that you're making it with the idea 1288 00:55:43,427 --> 00:55:45,777 that you're gonna use this as sort of a calling card 1289 00:55:45,820 --> 00:55:49,171 to steer you into making your first feature and you can use those. 1290 00:55:49,215 --> 00:55:52,044 Telefilm, when you're going to apply for production money, 1291 00:55:52,087 --> 00:55:54,873 likes to see a sample of your previous work. 1292 00:55:54,916 --> 00:55:56,701 So if you've done two or three short films, 1293 00:55:56,744 --> 00:55:58,659 they're gonna ask to see those short films 1294 00:55:58,703 --> 00:56:01,532 when you submit your application for production financing, 1295 00:56:01,575 --> 00:56:04,622 so they can see, do you have the chops 1296 00:56:04,665 --> 00:56:07,538 to direct actors and make a good quality film. 1297 00:56:07,581 --> 00:56:09,278 That should be a close-up, right? 1298 00:56:09,322 --> 00:56:10,454 Of what? 1299 00:56:10,497 --> 00:56:12,412 Of when when you see the aftermath of it, 1300 00:56:12,456 --> 00:56:13,674 -when you move. -Yeah. 1301 00:56:13,718 --> 00:56:15,328 Yeah, well, it'll probably be like you wanna 1302 00:56:15,372 --> 00:56:17,156 be able to see Steve move and the blood to spray. 1303 00:56:17,199 --> 00:56:19,463 -So it's gonna be like medium close-up. -Okay, so, medium close-up. 1304 00:56:19,506 --> 00:56:22,814 -So he heads that way. -The killer isn't there, is he? 1305 00:56:22,857 --> 00:56:24,293 No, the killer's in the bathroom, this way. 1306 00:56:24,337 --> 00:56:26,426 -In the bathroom and comes suddenly. -Yeah. 1307 00:56:26,470 --> 00:56:28,036 McCONNELL: It's been stressful. This has been one of the more stressful 1308 00:56:28,080 --> 00:56:29,516 pre-production processes I've done. 1309 00:56:29,560 --> 00:56:31,257 Because I'm putting in all that kind of money, 1310 00:56:31,300 --> 00:56:33,651 I'd rather not rush a product and then just dump it online. 1311 00:56:33,694 --> 00:56:35,566 I think it's probably better if we take the time, 1312 00:56:35,609 --> 00:56:38,351 make it the best short film it can be in editing and post, 1313 00:56:38,395 --> 00:56:40,701 then release it as a proper festival short, 1314 00:56:40,745 --> 00:56:43,661 get the proper festival sort of traction, 1315 00:56:43,704 --> 00:56:46,533 and then release it online down the road, 1316 00:56:46,577 --> 00:56:49,231 'cause there's no point in just "blah" and then it's out there. 1317 00:56:49,275 --> 00:56:51,973 -So are we seeing him coming from downstairs there. -Yeah. 1318 00:56:52,017 --> 00:56:53,627 McCONNELL: We're gonna shoot that afterwards. 1319 00:56:53,671 --> 00:56:56,151 McCONNELL: Ready for action? MAN 1: I'm ready for action. 1320 00:56:56,195 --> 00:56:58,806 McCONNELL: Action! WOMAN 1: Get back! Get back! 1321 00:56:58,850 --> 00:57:00,634 Get back, Jessica! 1322 00:57:00,678 --> 00:57:01,940 [YELLING] 1323 00:57:01,983 --> 00:57:04,159 -Get back! -[MAN GRUNTING] 1324 00:57:04,203 --> 00:57:05,509 -[WOMAN 1 PANTING] -That's great. 1325 00:57:05,552 --> 00:57:07,336 -[WOMAN 1 YELLING] -It's enough. We'll cut it. 1326 00:57:07,380 --> 00:57:09,251 Now let it drop. 1327 00:57:09,295 --> 00:57:10,427 -[GRUNTING] -McCONNELL: Oh, shit. 1328 00:57:10,470 --> 00:57:11,950 -Whoa! -McCONNELL: Oh, dude, that's it. 1329 00:57:11,993 --> 00:57:12,994 WOMAN 2: Fuck. MAN 2: That was way too much. 1330 00:57:13,038 --> 00:57:14,474 McCONNELL: How did that happen? 1331 00:57:14,518 --> 00:57:15,867 Holy shit. 1332 00:57:15,910 --> 00:57:17,346 You know how gore gags are. 1333 00:57:17,390 --> 00:57:20,567 They always take longer than anyone plans for them, 1334 00:57:20,611 --> 00:57:22,743 but that's why you have to be patient with them. 1335 00:57:22,787 --> 00:57:25,442 GARRIS: You have to budget enough time to do it right. 1336 00:57:25,485 --> 00:57:28,401 If you're doing a decapitation or something, 1337 00:57:28,445 --> 00:57:31,709 some sort of body horror thing, it's gonna go wrong. 1338 00:57:31,752 --> 00:57:36,583 Chances are, nine out of ten, that you're going to need to do it more than once. 1339 00:57:36,627 --> 00:57:38,629 KOSTANSKI: Everybody talks about, "Oh, practical effects! 1340 00:57:38,672 --> 00:57:41,849 "We gotta have a creature or a gag in our movie," 1341 00:57:41,893 --> 00:57:44,809 and then they expect you to show up, 1342 00:57:44,852 --> 00:57:47,464 and basically walk on, the thing happens, 1343 00:57:47,507 --> 00:57:48,987 like you come out like a magician like, 1344 00:57:49,030 --> 00:57:51,032 "Oh, look at this cool thing. Bye." 1345 00:57:51,076 --> 00:57:53,078 And you walk off and everything's perfect. 1346 00:57:53,121 --> 00:57:56,037 But the problem with practical effects that people don't realize 1347 00:57:56,081 --> 00:57:59,388 is that they don't work 90% of the time. 1348 00:57:59,432 --> 00:58:01,782 PAUL JONES: A camera has been prototyped, and tested, 1349 00:58:01,826 --> 00:58:03,567 and it worked, and everything's fantastic. 1350 00:58:03,610 --> 00:58:05,351 You plug it in, you switch it on, 1351 00:58:05,394 --> 00:58:07,962 you move the lights around, it's gonna work every single time. 1352 00:58:08,006 --> 00:58:12,053 The severed hand gag or the disemboweling gag 1353 00:58:12,097 --> 00:58:15,579 that's been created for your movie was built once, 1354 00:58:15,622 --> 00:58:17,755 hasn't really been tested that well, 1355 00:58:17,798 --> 00:58:20,497 and God knows what it's gonna do on camera. 1356 00:58:20,540 --> 00:58:23,543 So the best advice I can give to anybody starting, 1357 00:58:23,587 --> 00:58:26,677 who wants to incorporate prosthetics into their production 1358 00:58:26,720 --> 00:58:29,636 is A, insist on camera tests. 1359 00:58:29,680 --> 00:58:33,422 Have somebody film it working before they bring it to set. 1360 00:58:33,466 --> 00:58:36,600 Be careful that you have a good stunt coordinator. 1361 00:58:36,643 --> 00:58:39,820 The thing about stunts is you can get hurt. 1362 00:58:39,864 --> 00:58:42,997 MENDEZ: One of my tricks that I at least try 1363 00:58:43,041 --> 00:58:44,869 is to have a second unit that I trust 1364 00:58:44,912 --> 00:58:48,786 that takes care of special makeup effects, takes care of stunts, 1365 00:58:48,829 --> 00:58:52,267 takes care of any sort of practical special effects 1366 00:58:52,311 --> 00:58:56,184 just 'cause it's you know... My AD calls it a "Time Vampire." 1367 00:58:56,228 --> 00:58:58,796 These things are time vampires and time is the one, 1368 00:58:58,839 --> 00:59:00,754 the most precious commodity that we have. 1369 00:59:00,798 --> 00:59:02,930 JONES: John Landis once said to me, he said, 1370 00:59:02,974 --> 00:59:04,628 "You know, a director's job 1371 00:59:04,671 --> 00:59:08,109 "is to listen to everybody's opinion and then make yours." 1372 00:59:08,153 --> 00:59:11,765 So if you're gonna hire any prosthetics guy, make sure, 1373 00:59:11,809 --> 00:59:14,072 especially somebody more experienced like myself, 1374 00:59:14,115 --> 00:59:15,943 listen to what they have to say. 1375 00:59:15,987 --> 00:59:18,076 Don't come in with, "Well, I need this from you" and that's it. 1376 00:59:18,119 --> 00:59:20,600 I think the consideration is largely overlooked 1377 00:59:20,644 --> 00:59:22,341 because if you're sitting in a trailer 1378 00:59:22,384 --> 00:59:23,951 and you're doing a makeup on somebody, 1379 00:59:23,995 --> 00:59:27,389 and an AD or an assistant comes in, 1380 00:59:27,433 --> 00:59:29,087 "How long is it gonna take?" 1381 00:59:29,130 --> 00:59:30,958 You say, "Half an hour," 1382 00:59:31,002 --> 00:59:32,612 and then they come in five minutes later, 1383 00:59:32,656 --> 00:59:35,746 "I told you, you know, half an hour. It's gonna take..." 1384 00:59:35,789 --> 00:59:38,705 And they keep coming in trying to get you to the set. 1385 00:59:38,749 --> 00:59:43,101 So if you hire me two days before you start shooting, 1386 00:59:43,144 --> 00:59:45,973 I only get 48 hours to build something. 1387 00:59:46,017 --> 00:59:48,236 I know it seems obvious, 1388 00:59:48,280 --> 00:59:51,065 but I'm finding with more and more projects, 1389 00:59:51,109 --> 00:59:52,937 regardless of the budget, 1390 00:59:52,980 --> 00:59:57,985 that the preparation part is being cut shorter and shorter and shorter. 1391 00:59:58,029 --> 00:59:59,944 McCONNELL: Are we ready? MAN 1: Okay, you ready, Justin? 1392 00:59:59,987 --> 01:00:01,119 McCONNELL: I'm ready, I'm here. 1393 01:00:01,162 --> 01:00:02,207 Action! 1394 01:00:02,250 --> 01:00:05,340 [SCREAMING] 1395 01:00:06,254 --> 01:00:08,474 -McCONNELL: Oh! -[WOMAN GIGGLING] 1396 01:00:08,517 --> 01:00:10,824 McCONNELL: We finished the sound mix and the final mix 1397 01:00:10,868 --> 01:00:12,478 onDo You See What I See?, 1398 01:00:12,521 --> 01:00:15,655 our short film, Serena and my short film, yesterday. 1399 01:00:15,699 --> 01:00:19,616 So now what we're doing is we're emailing it as a Christmas card 1400 01:00:19,659 --> 01:00:26,187 to every single producer, agent, studio person, festival person, financer, 1401 01:00:26,231 --> 01:00:28,233 etcetera, that we met in the last two years. 1402 01:00:28,276 --> 01:00:31,192 It's really just a proof of concept for us as a team 1403 01:00:31,236 --> 01:00:33,194 and just a way for people to see 1404 01:00:33,238 --> 01:00:34,631 that we're not just talkers, 1405 01:00:34,674 --> 01:00:36,154 we're not just there taking meetings, 1406 01:00:36,197 --> 01:00:37,459 we're actually making things. 1407 01:00:37,503 --> 01:00:39,636 Filmmakers today really have to do the hustle. 1408 01:00:39,679 --> 01:00:41,420 They have to get out there, 1409 01:00:41,463 --> 01:00:44,466 they gotta pound the pavement, they gotta hit the Internet, 1410 01:00:44,510 --> 01:00:46,512 they have to really canvass the markets, 1411 01:00:46,555 --> 01:00:48,688 and get to know the festival programmers. 1412 01:00:48,732 --> 01:00:52,692 It's so key, because there's such a glut of product out there now. 1413 01:00:52,736 --> 01:00:56,653 It's tough to get noticed, so you really have to put a lot of effort into it. 1414 01:00:56,696 --> 01:01:00,308 DEAN CUNDEY: There was quite a bit of hustle on my first films 1415 01:01:00,352 --> 01:01:03,572 because, you know, you need to make yourself desirable. 1416 01:01:03,616 --> 01:01:07,576 But one of the things I always tried to do was, 1417 01:01:07,620 --> 01:01:09,404 on those low budget films, 1418 01:01:09,448 --> 01:01:11,929 give them quality, whether they wanted it or not, 1419 01:01:11,972 --> 01:01:16,977 providing the producer, whoever, with a a quality product, 1420 01:01:17,021 --> 01:01:21,242 something that, you know, fulfils their expectations or exceeds them. 1421 01:01:21,286 --> 01:01:23,331 McCONNELL: So how does it feel to have a finished short film? 1422 01:01:23,375 --> 01:01:26,900 Good. Well, I'll feel better once we know the reactions to it. 1423 01:01:27,684 --> 01:01:29,511 Um, but I feel good. 1424 01:01:29,555 --> 01:01:32,079 McCONNELL: I'm realizing that 2015 was a really banner year 1425 01:01:32,123 --> 01:01:34,125 in terms of making things happen 1426 01:01:34,168 --> 01:01:37,650 and travelling to a lot of these markets and festivals for the first time. 1427 01:01:37,694 --> 01:01:40,827 I have a really good feeling about 2016. 1428 01:01:40,871 --> 01:01:44,091 I took an arrow to the head from a guy standing five feet away from me 1429 01:01:44,135 --> 01:01:45,832 and it wasn't the arrow that hurt me, 1430 01:01:45,876 --> 01:01:48,356 but it hit the mask and then drove the mask into my forehead, 1431 01:01:48,400 --> 01:01:49,923 so I have a gash. 1432 01:01:49,967 --> 01:01:52,491 This is Freddy. How's it going? I adopted this guy. 1433 01:01:52,534 --> 01:01:53,840 Hey, buddy. 1434 01:01:56,277 --> 01:01:58,627 We're here for the world premiere of Do You See What I See?, 1435 01:01:58,671 --> 01:02:00,717 the short film we shot just before Christmas. 1436 01:02:00,760 --> 01:02:02,196 So are you nervous? 1437 01:02:02,240 --> 01:02:03,763 Oh, little bit. 1438 01:02:03,807 --> 01:02:06,374 But you know, it's a short, so we'll see. 1439 01:02:06,418 --> 01:02:07,549 [CHUCKLING] We'll see. 1440 01:02:07,593 --> 01:02:09,203 I don't think anyone's gonna boo. 1441 01:02:09,247 --> 01:02:13,164 HOST: Um, Justin and Serena um, was the idea initially 1442 01:02:13,207 --> 01:02:17,342 to subvert and make a mess of a Christmas movie? 1443 01:02:17,385 --> 01:02:19,300 I don't think the Christmas thing came up first... 1444 01:02:19,344 --> 01:02:22,782 SKIPPER: There's nothing like sitting in an audience with people, 1445 01:02:22,826 --> 01:02:25,698 and hearing the sound booming around you, 1446 01:02:25,742 --> 01:02:30,268 and seeing this beautiful image up on the screen 1447 01:02:30,311 --> 01:02:32,487 looking the way that you intended it to look. 1448 01:02:32,531 --> 01:02:36,448 Young emerging filmmakers should see their films with an audience 1449 01:02:36,491 --> 01:02:38,319 and see how the audience is reacting. 1450 01:02:38,363 --> 01:02:42,497 Flaws become really apparent when you're seeing them with a crowd. 1451 01:02:42,541 --> 01:02:44,456 I think when you're looking at it on a monitor 1452 01:02:44,499 --> 01:02:47,981 and you're with it and you're too close to it, you can't see them. 1453 01:02:48,025 --> 01:02:51,768 When jokes aren't working or if tension doesn't build right 1454 01:02:51,811 --> 01:02:53,465 or if it's too slow, you'll see that, 1455 01:02:53,508 --> 01:02:56,250 because people aren't reacting like you think they should. 1456 01:02:56,294 --> 01:02:57,904 I did feel the premiere was frustrating 1457 01:02:57,948 --> 01:03:00,994 and I was pissed off 1458 01:03:01,038 --> 01:03:02,779 that the short had a lesser impact 1459 01:03:02,822 --> 01:03:05,956 than I was hoping it would because of the tech issues. 1460 01:03:05,999 --> 01:03:08,175 And there's other stuff, too. 1461 01:03:08,219 --> 01:03:11,309 I mean, I know some people don't get the ending that clearly. 1462 01:03:11,352 --> 01:03:13,615 They see it as a they-live thing 1463 01:03:13,659 --> 01:03:15,966 and that the people at the party are demons as opposed to the opposite. 1464 01:03:16,009 --> 01:03:18,055 It's an augmented reality game 1465 01:03:18,098 --> 01:03:22,102 where the game replaces living people as visual representations of demons 1466 01:03:22,146 --> 01:03:23,756 to make it easier to kill them. 1467 01:03:23,800 --> 01:03:25,453 You're not gonna sell your short. 1468 01:03:25,497 --> 01:03:30,458 I mean, you may, but don't plan this. 1469 01:03:30,502 --> 01:03:34,854 But if it's good, it's gonna do the festival circuit. 1470 01:03:34,898 --> 01:03:36,203 If it does the festival circuit, 1471 01:03:36,247 --> 01:03:37,944 then it gives you an opportunity 1472 01:03:37,988 --> 01:03:40,207 to travel through the festival circuit, 1473 01:03:40,251 --> 01:03:43,820 to meet festival programmers, to make friends around, 1474 01:03:43,863 --> 01:03:46,126 to build that community that you're really gonna need 1475 01:03:46,170 --> 01:03:49,216 when you do your feature film. 1476 01:03:49,260 --> 01:03:51,871 Film festivals are hugely important to filmmakers, 1477 01:03:51,915 --> 01:03:55,135 mainly because it's a chance to develop the audience, 1478 01:03:55,179 --> 01:03:57,877 it lets distributors and salespeople know 1479 01:03:57,921 --> 01:03:59,923 that there is an audience for your film, 1480 01:03:59,966 --> 01:04:03,361 and it's basically a way of getting publicity and interest in your film. 1481 01:04:03,404 --> 01:04:06,843 It is another way for an independent filmmaker 1482 01:04:06,886 --> 01:04:09,497 to have that sort of audience-building, 1483 01:04:09,541 --> 01:04:11,891 and just to see whether your film's actually working. 1484 01:04:11,935 --> 01:04:15,373 You have to kinda get the lay of the land 1485 01:04:15,416 --> 01:04:17,941 and kinda figure out, well, what film festivals are valuable 1486 01:04:17,984 --> 01:04:20,508 for what it is, what film you're doing, 1487 01:04:20,552 --> 01:04:22,032 and what it is you want your film to do. 1488 01:04:22,075 --> 01:04:23,772 If you wanna sell your film, 1489 01:04:23,816 --> 01:04:25,774 then there are certain film festivals you should be pursuing. 1490 01:04:25,818 --> 01:04:28,821 If you want to get critical acclaim, there's other film festivals. 1491 01:04:28,865 --> 01:04:31,128 If you wanna just have a good time, and meet people, 1492 01:04:31,171 --> 01:04:33,086 and, you know, party, 1493 01:04:33,130 --> 01:04:34,871 then there's another set of film festivals. 1494 01:04:34,914 --> 01:04:36,873 MAURICETTE: You shouldn't just cast a wide net. 1495 01:04:36,916 --> 01:04:38,918 Just kind of focus on film festivals 1496 01:04:38,962 --> 01:04:42,661 and make sure you read the film festival mandate, 1497 01:04:42,704 --> 01:04:46,317 because that will tell you what the film festival's looking for. 1498 01:04:46,360 --> 01:04:49,189 A film festival, the buzz that comes out of it is, well, free. 1499 01:04:49,233 --> 01:04:50,451 For one, it's free publicity. 1500 01:04:50,495 --> 01:04:52,584 Well, how else are you gonna do that? 1501 01:04:52,627 --> 01:04:56,240 Build buzz on a bad movie, like, without film festivals, what are you gonna do? 1502 01:04:56,283 --> 01:04:59,330 So, yeah, I mean, film festivals, 1503 01:04:59,373 --> 01:05:02,463 it's absolutely critical if your movie's good. 1504 01:05:02,507 --> 01:05:04,335 All I can say is continue to make films. 1505 01:05:04,378 --> 01:05:05,727 I mean, there's one producer 1506 01:05:05,771 --> 01:05:08,861 that I've been dealing with for ten years. 1507 01:05:08,905 --> 01:05:11,168 He's been submitting films for ten years, 1508 01:05:11,211 --> 01:05:16,173 and finally in 2013, he had a film that worked, 1509 01:05:16,216 --> 01:05:17,609 and I selected it. 1510 01:05:17,652 --> 01:05:18,784 And it was great. 1511 01:05:18,827 --> 01:05:21,352 Like, it was a great feeling, 1512 01:05:21,395 --> 01:05:23,267 and I'm so glad that he kept on persevering. 1513 01:05:23,310 --> 01:05:25,399 I mean, his films went and played other festivals, 1514 01:05:25,443 --> 01:05:31,014 but people thinking that TIFF or Cannes or Sundance is the be-all and end-all, 1515 01:05:31,057 --> 01:05:33,059 that's the wrong way to do it. 1516 01:05:33,103 --> 01:05:34,974 You know, more and more now, 1517 01:05:35,018 --> 01:05:37,455 I'm seeing these situations where a film will get one festival date, 1518 01:05:37,498 --> 01:05:39,283 then a day or two later, you hear, you hear, 1519 01:05:39,326 --> 01:05:41,111 uh, an acquisition announcement, 1520 01:05:41,154 --> 01:05:43,548 which is always exciting, and then two days after that you 1521 01:05:43,591 --> 01:05:45,680 see a VOD date, and it's like, "Whoa! 1522 01:05:45,724 --> 01:05:47,291 "You've just strangled it in the womb." 1523 01:05:47,334 --> 01:05:49,162 Like, "Why in the world?" 1524 01:05:49,206 --> 01:05:50,729 You know, there's so many titles that are 1525 01:05:50,772 --> 01:05:52,557 being made now and they're being rushed to 1526 01:05:52,600 --> 01:05:54,428 marketplace quicker and quicker. 1527 01:05:54,472 --> 01:05:56,430 [EXHALING] 1528 01:05:56,474 --> 01:05:59,346 I still, I don't feel artistically fulfilled. 1529 01:05:59,390 --> 01:06:02,697 Every step of the career so far has been planting seeds 1530 01:06:02,741 --> 01:06:04,786 and hoping they bear fruit, and sometimes they do 1531 01:06:04,830 --> 01:06:08,834 and sometimes they... I don't even know. 1532 01:06:08,877 --> 01:06:11,619 I don't know what the root structure looks like yet. 1533 01:06:11,663 --> 01:06:13,752 I just haven't seen the fruit there. 1534 01:06:13,795 --> 01:06:16,320 All right. Okay, talk to you later. Bye. 1535 01:06:18,844 --> 01:06:20,889 [EXHALES] 1536 01:06:20,933 --> 01:06:23,588 McCONNELL: We... Looks like we have a green light forLifechanger, 1537 01:06:23,631 --> 01:06:25,198 these investors out west. 1538 01:06:25,242 --> 01:06:26,939 I have to now call Raven Banner and make sure 1539 01:06:26,983 --> 01:06:29,072 they'll take the pre-sale deal for it to offer 1540 01:06:29,115 --> 01:06:31,770 international rights like they agreed to before, 1541 01:06:31,813 --> 01:06:33,815 but if they take the deal, according to the terms 1542 01:06:33,859 --> 01:06:35,992 the investors want, we have a film. 1543 01:06:36,035 --> 01:06:39,256 I'm now looking at the uh, final co-producer 1544 01:06:39,299 --> 01:06:40,822 agreement for Lifechanger. 1545 01:06:40,866 --> 01:06:45,305 It looks like at this point set... you know, 1546 01:06:45,349 --> 01:06:47,568 if, if the other producers are legit, 1547 01:06:47,612 --> 01:06:49,701 and the money is actually there, which they say it is, 1548 01:06:49,744 --> 01:06:52,051 um, I, Lifechanger's a go. 1549 01:06:52,095 --> 01:06:54,532 At that point, ifLifechanger was going to camera that year, 1550 01:06:54,575 --> 01:06:56,099 it wouldn't be for many months. 1551 01:06:56,142 --> 01:06:57,752 So I planned and shot a micro-budget, 1552 01:06:57,796 --> 01:06:59,537 single-take style film calledRed Mile 1553 01:06:59,580 --> 01:07:01,104 in order to have something new to put into the market 1554 01:07:01,147 --> 01:07:03,019 and build the track record further. 1555 01:07:03,062 --> 01:07:04,759 TOM HOLLAND: If there's a mistake to be made, I've made it. 1556 01:07:04,803 --> 01:07:06,761 You have to keep producing constantly. 1557 01:07:06,805 --> 01:07:08,676 You know, get out your four-minute shorts, 1558 01:07:08,720 --> 01:07:12,463 get out your two-minute, you know, blackout curtain things. 1559 01:07:12,506 --> 01:07:14,987 You see, you cannot... 1560 01:07:15,031 --> 01:07:18,512 you cannot ever stop. 1561 01:07:18,556 --> 01:07:21,080 So this is the best advice, really, for young filmmaker. 1562 01:07:21,124 --> 01:07:24,431 Look around you, you are a storyteller. 1563 01:07:24,475 --> 01:07:26,912 Write a story that you can make a movie 1564 01:07:26,955 --> 01:07:29,088 with the means which are around you, 1565 01:07:29,132 --> 01:07:30,568 and just go ahead and make it. 1566 01:07:30,611 --> 01:07:33,179 And even if the first one is not the biggest success, 1567 01:07:33,223 --> 01:07:35,268 go and make the next one. 1568 01:07:35,312 --> 01:07:37,705 FRANK HENENLOTTER: I'm very happy working with as few people as possible. 1569 01:07:37,749 --> 01:07:39,533 I really enjoy it. 1570 01:07:39,577 --> 01:07:42,232 I mean, when I'm... when I'm shooting something on the streets, 1571 01:07:42,275 --> 01:07:44,843 I never have permission, and that's fine, 1572 01:07:44,886 --> 01:07:46,323 because nobody pays attention to it. 1573 01:07:46,366 --> 01:07:48,107 They assume it's a news crew or something. 1574 01:07:48,151 --> 01:07:50,631 So, nobody, nobody gives me... 1575 01:07:50,675 --> 01:07:54,287 any interference, whatsoever. It's what I prefer. 1576 01:07:54,331 --> 01:07:56,115 So I've got a really busy few days ahead of me 1577 01:07:56,159 --> 01:07:58,900 if I wanna have a cut of Red Mileready to view 1578 01:07:58,944 --> 01:08:00,728 as a screener for Cannes. 1579 01:08:00,772 --> 01:08:02,556 It's not gonna be a finished version of the movie. 1580 01:08:02,600 --> 01:08:05,603 Well, I love the editing. Editing is similar to writing. 1581 01:08:05,646 --> 01:08:07,605 When you're editing, you're really rewriting 1582 01:08:07,648 --> 01:08:10,086 the picture as... visually, 1583 01:08:10,129 --> 01:08:13,654 and tightening, and suddenly you realize you don't need this scene 1584 01:08:13,698 --> 01:08:16,092 or the material in this scene is repetitive. 1585 01:08:16,135 --> 01:08:19,660 GARRIS: Knowing how to edit, you know, and to be concise, 1586 01:08:19,704 --> 01:08:22,228 because there is a sure sign of amateurism 1587 01:08:22,272 --> 01:08:24,100 when you're masturbating with a camera. 1588 01:08:24,143 --> 01:08:26,972 To feel that every moment of your grand epic 1589 01:08:27,015 --> 01:08:30,106 is worth capturing, and... and feeling the pain. 1590 01:08:30,149 --> 01:08:33,152 You have to be ruthless when you're finally making your film. 1591 01:08:33,196 --> 01:08:36,068 I'd rather see a great, brisk 80-minute movie 1592 01:08:36,112 --> 01:08:37,896 that covers all the bases 1593 01:08:37,939 --> 01:08:40,159 than 120 minutes of navel-gazing. 1594 01:08:40,203 --> 01:08:42,466 McCONNELL: I showed the film last night to the cast and crew, 1595 01:08:42,509 --> 01:08:43,902 and they all seem to love it. 1596 01:08:43,945 --> 01:08:46,600 I know a lot more work needs to be done on post. 1597 01:08:46,644 --> 01:08:48,689 I'm still gonna bring this version to Cannes, 1598 01:08:48,733 --> 01:08:51,736 and try and get early talks going. 1599 01:08:51,779 --> 01:08:53,868 Leave for Cannes tomorrow. 1600 01:08:53,912 --> 01:08:56,393 I am still a little nervous about the heightened police state 1601 01:08:56,436 --> 01:08:58,134 that Cannes is gonna be under, 1602 01:08:58,177 --> 01:09:02,181 and the... the threats that, you know, beaches in Europe are, 1603 01:09:02,225 --> 01:09:05,532 are under right now, but... [EXHALING] 1604 01:09:05,576 --> 01:09:07,317 If something like that happens 1605 01:09:07,360 --> 01:09:08,970 and I am taken out of this world, 1606 01:09:09,014 --> 01:09:11,147 I feel like I've still lived as a good human. 1607 01:09:11,190 --> 01:09:13,540 This time last year, I sat on this exact balcony 1608 01:09:13,584 --> 01:09:16,456 and I did a self-interview, but I remember 1609 01:09:16,500 --> 01:09:18,110 talking and saying that I felt like 1610 01:09:18,154 --> 01:09:19,981 I was finally ready for this business. 1611 01:09:20,025 --> 01:09:22,854 I see a change coming and I hope it's a big one. 1612 01:09:22,897 --> 01:09:25,509 I hope that all the work, and all the groundwork, 1613 01:09:25,552 --> 01:09:27,380 and everything, all the effort that has been put in 1614 01:09:27,424 --> 01:09:29,252 over the years pays off. 1615 01:09:29,295 --> 01:09:31,297 The good news is that it looks like Lifechanger'sgreenlit. 1616 01:09:31,341 --> 01:09:34,213 I just have to... It has to be the best it can possibly be, 1617 01:09:34,257 --> 01:09:36,955 'cause that's what's gonna elevate me to that next step, 1618 01:09:36,998 --> 01:09:40,741 is making a quality film that people enjoy, 1619 01:09:40,785 --> 01:09:42,265 and putting enough thought into it, 1620 01:09:42,308 --> 01:09:44,397 and time and effort to do it right. 1621 01:09:44,441 --> 01:09:47,618 We actually struck out twice. 1622 01:09:47,661 --> 01:09:49,707 Once with the traditional funding, 1623 01:09:49,750 --> 01:09:51,535 and then once with the private funding. 1624 01:09:51,578 --> 01:09:54,625 It's a few hours after I got the email that 1625 01:09:54,668 --> 01:09:56,279 the investors were pulling out of Lifechanger. 1626 01:09:56,322 --> 01:09:57,802 This was gonna be my first movie 1627 01:09:57,845 --> 01:09:59,543 where somebody actually invested in me, 1628 01:09:59,586 --> 01:10:05,113 and my work, where, you know, aside from my parents or myself. 1629 01:10:05,157 --> 01:10:07,899 Still hasn't happened. [SIGHS] 1630 01:10:07,942 --> 01:10:10,815 I don't know what that means. [SNIFFLES] 1631 01:10:10,858 --> 01:10:12,904 I know the business is tough, but it isn't that tough. 1632 01:10:12,947 --> 01:10:15,298 There's shit being made all the time, so am I shit? 1633 01:10:15,341 --> 01:10:17,474 Is the stuff I do shit? Or is it just... 1634 01:10:17,517 --> 01:10:20,259 Yeah, it's a ladder and a rung just broke. 1635 01:10:22,000 --> 01:10:24,307 As much as the business feels difficult for me to navigate, 1636 01:10:24,350 --> 01:10:27,484 I'll fully admit I have no idea how difficult it must be 1637 01:10:27,527 --> 01:10:30,791 for people who are even more marginalized than myself to break in. 1638 01:10:30,835 --> 01:10:33,229 Even coming from nowhere and working my way in bit by bit, 1639 01:10:33,272 --> 01:10:34,752 I'm still a white male in a business 1640 01:10:34,795 --> 01:10:37,058 dominated by the same, and I'm not facing the same 1641 01:10:37,102 --> 01:10:38,973 systematic bias that others are. 1642 01:10:39,017 --> 01:10:40,932 The toughest job right now for women in the industry 1643 01:10:40,975 --> 01:10:42,760 is being a director, 1644 01:10:42,803 --> 01:10:47,286 because a woman's vision is not the same as a man's vision, 1645 01:10:47,330 --> 01:10:50,246 and we need to work so much harder 1646 01:10:50,289 --> 01:10:52,073 to convince buyers 1647 01:10:52,117 --> 01:10:54,119 and distributors that it's worth it. 1648 01:10:54,162 --> 01:10:57,165 Lloyd Kaufman recently called it the "blood ceiling" 1649 01:10:57,209 --> 01:10:58,906 in the horror genre, you know. 1650 01:10:58,950 --> 01:11:00,386 He actually said it was despicable, you know, 1651 01:11:00,430 --> 01:11:02,910 how few opportunities there are for women. 1652 01:11:02,954 --> 01:11:06,305 The stories are just, you wanna scream. 1653 01:11:06,349 --> 01:11:08,307 I have to prove myself a lot harder. 1654 01:11:08,351 --> 01:11:11,658 I'm also very bubbly and so at times, like, 1655 01:11:11,702 --> 01:11:13,704 "You make horror films? You sure? 1656 01:11:13,747 --> 01:11:15,053 "You're wearing pink right now," you know? 1657 01:11:15,096 --> 01:11:17,490 It's like you don't get... 1658 01:11:17,534 --> 01:11:19,492 I'm not taken seriously right away. 1659 01:11:19,536 --> 01:11:21,625 Part of what makes the world, and narrative, 1660 01:11:21,668 --> 01:11:23,714 and the stories that we... that we tell is that we tell, 1661 01:11:23,757 --> 01:11:25,933 that we have the voice of everyone. 1662 01:11:25,977 --> 01:11:30,721 That we have the voices of men and female, transgender, 1663 01:11:30,764 --> 01:11:32,810 all races, all colors. 1664 01:11:32,853 --> 01:11:34,986 That's why I have a very interest as a producer 1665 01:11:35,029 --> 01:11:38,642 to do cross-cultural projects, because again, 1666 01:11:38,685 --> 01:11:42,428 looking at the specifics of cultures that are not necessarily mine, 1667 01:11:42,472 --> 01:11:45,910 there is a universal quality that brings us all together. 1668 01:11:45,953 --> 01:11:48,129 VUCKOVIC: Look at the average filmgoers, you know, 1669 01:11:48,173 --> 01:11:49,827 more than half of them are women. 1670 01:11:49,870 --> 01:11:52,569 We know this is a fact, we know this to be true, 1671 01:11:52,612 --> 01:11:56,834 and yet the numbers are staggeringly low. 1672 01:11:56,877 --> 01:11:59,053 The numbers of women directing films, 1673 01:11:59,097 --> 01:12:01,055 producing films are staggeringly low. 1674 01:12:01,099 --> 01:12:02,927 MAURICETTE: I don't think powers that be have 1675 01:12:02,970 --> 01:12:08,106 a lot of faith still in having marginalized people 1676 01:12:08,149 --> 01:12:10,021 starring in their own film. 1677 01:12:10,064 --> 01:12:12,371 And I don't know what that is, because, you know, 1678 01:12:12,415 --> 01:12:15,374 I mean, everybody knows Jordan Peele sold millions of dollars, 1679 01:12:15,418 --> 01:12:17,376 and broke records, and Black Panther, 1680 01:12:17,420 --> 01:12:19,160 and the whole nine yards. 1681 01:12:19,204 --> 01:12:24,470 So that still hasn't really, I feel like, settled in. 1682 01:12:24,514 --> 01:12:26,298 OLIVIA SAPERSTEIN: I can point the finger as much as I want, 1683 01:12:26,342 --> 01:12:28,518 but how can I take responsibility for my career. 1684 01:12:28,561 --> 01:12:32,086 And if you're not doing the work and you have nothing to show, then... 1685 01:12:32,130 --> 01:12:34,393 -You're part of the problem. -You're part of the problem. 1686 01:12:34,437 --> 01:12:37,918 So, like my whole mentality now, it's just like, 1687 01:12:37,962 --> 01:12:40,921 "Okay, then I'm gonna write something that no one can refuse." 1688 01:12:40,965 --> 01:12:43,228 People say you can't tell new stories. 1689 01:12:43,271 --> 01:12:44,708 I don't think that's entirely true, 1690 01:12:44,751 --> 01:12:47,145 because I think there's a lot of stories out there 1691 01:12:47,188 --> 01:12:51,105 that haven't had the voice in the past. 1692 01:12:51,149 --> 01:12:55,980 So it's exciting that we're starting to get to see those stories. 1693 01:12:56,023 --> 01:12:58,199 McCONNELL: With Lifechanger stalled again, 1694 01:12:58,243 --> 01:13:00,158 I at least had the festivals and the release ofRed Mile to focus on. 1695 01:13:00,201 --> 01:13:02,334 We premiered in December at the Whistler Film Festival 1696 01:13:02,378 --> 01:13:04,118 and I managed to secure distribution, 1697 01:13:04,162 --> 01:13:06,686 which influenced the title change toBroken Mile. 1698 01:13:06,730 --> 01:13:08,732 We played another sizable fest in Toronto, 1699 01:13:08,775 --> 01:13:11,561 and a couple in the US, and the film was released in early summer 2017 1700 01:13:11,604 --> 01:13:13,389 in a rather limited capacity, 1701 01:13:13,432 --> 01:13:16,087 which is to be expected for a micro-budget film like this. 1702 01:13:16,130 --> 01:13:18,002 The reviews were mixed but skewed positive, 1703 01:13:18,045 --> 01:13:19,351 and the film did all right, 1704 01:13:19,395 --> 01:13:22,006 but didn't exactly set the world on fire. 1705 01:13:22,049 --> 01:13:24,487 Like before, I kept focusing on what was coming next, 1706 01:13:24,530 --> 01:13:26,271 the next rung on the ladder. 1707 01:13:26,314 --> 01:13:27,968 In addition to the constant client work, 1708 01:13:28,012 --> 01:13:29,883 I keep filling my days with little and big steps forward 1709 01:13:29,927 --> 01:13:32,408 and developing my slate, three projects in particular. 1710 01:13:32,451 --> 01:13:34,279 Mark of Kane, the feature-length version 1711 01:13:34,322 --> 01:13:36,020 of our short Do You See What I See? 1712 01:13:36,063 --> 01:13:38,457 and, of course,Lifechanger are the current priority. 1713 01:13:38,501 --> 01:13:40,894 Between all the meetings, markets, conference calls, 1714 01:13:40,938 --> 01:13:42,940 email chains, and rewrites, 1715 01:13:42,983 --> 01:13:45,464 they're all proving development is more of a marathon than a sprint. 1716 01:13:45,508 --> 01:13:47,684 Time keeps passing and hope keeps going 1717 01:13:47,727 --> 01:13:49,555 up and down like a roller coaster. 1718 01:13:49,599 --> 01:13:52,210 Oh, no. [CHUCKLING] 1719 01:13:52,253 --> 01:13:55,169 What I've learned so far, in the past couple of years 1720 01:13:55,213 --> 01:13:57,476 of trying to get this picture off the ground 1721 01:13:57,520 --> 01:13:59,913 is that you really need people to believe in your project. 1722 01:13:59,957 --> 01:14:02,742 You can't really take everything you hear from people 1723 01:14:02,786 --> 01:14:04,701 that can help you seriously 1724 01:14:04,744 --> 01:14:08,139 until the contracts are signed or deals are made. 1725 01:14:08,182 --> 01:14:10,968 I'm hoping this year is a year that we at least know 1726 01:14:11,011 --> 01:14:12,535 that it's going somewhere, 1727 01:14:12,578 --> 01:14:14,275 it's gonna be in pre-production by the end of the year. 1728 01:14:14,319 --> 01:14:16,190 I have a good feeling about that. 1729 01:14:16,234 --> 01:14:19,237 I met Justin a few years ago at Cannes and he told me about the project. 1730 01:14:19,280 --> 01:14:22,806 Um, I was really excited to have a read of the novel, 1731 01:14:22,849 --> 01:14:24,764 and then after doing that, 1732 01:14:24,808 --> 01:14:27,593 it was a case of just seeing what we could put together 1733 01:14:27,637 --> 01:14:29,813 to be able to finance it and make it happen. 1734 01:14:29,856 --> 01:14:31,815 At this point, we've built up a really solid project. 1735 01:14:31,858 --> 01:14:34,905 We've got Serhat, who's a fantastic director, on board, 1736 01:14:34,948 --> 01:14:36,602 we've got several major investors, 1737 01:14:36,646 --> 01:14:39,475 and we're just waiting on the final piece to kind of kick in 1738 01:14:39,518 --> 01:14:41,302 to cover our post-production. 1739 01:14:41,346 --> 01:14:44,958 Fingers crossed, we should be shooting within the next 12 months. 1740 01:14:45,002 --> 01:14:47,308 McCONNELL: I'm in a nice restaurant right now 1741 01:14:47,352 --> 01:14:49,310 and I'm marking this moment, because we just sat 1742 01:14:49,354 --> 01:14:51,487 with Keith at Uncork'd and I might have a green light for Lifechanger. 1743 01:14:51,530 --> 01:14:53,184 [PEOPLE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] 1744 01:14:53,227 --> 01:14:54,620 Uh, yeah. 1745 01:14:54,664 --> 01:14:57,101 I remember the steak was excellent that night. 1746 01:14:57,144 --> 01:14:59,930 [CHUCKLING] And so was the wine. 1747 01:14:59,973 --> 01:15:02,889 Took a lot of work, but we might be here. 1748 01:15:02,933 --> 01:15:04,543 Let's see. 1749 01:15:04,587 --> 01:15:08,199 We basically, at the end of that whole conversation, 1750 01:15:08,242 --> 01:15:10,723 before the main course arrived, actually, 1751 01:15:10,767 --> 01:15:13,857 we had solidified the agreement verbally. 1752 01:15:13,900 --> 01:15:16,381 What the structure is looking like is Raven Banner 1753 01:15:16,424 --> 01:15:18,122 coming on board for part of the finance 1754 01:15:18,165 --> 01:15:20,167 and selling international sales rights, 1755 01:15:20,211 --> 01:15:22,126 Uncork'd in the US coming on board 1756 01:15:22,169 --> 01:15:23,693 for more than half of the budget. 1757 01:15:23,736 --> 01:15:25,477 I got a very busy fall ahead of me. 1758 01:15:25,521 --> 01:15:27,523 I gotta shoot Lifechanger, and I've got tons of client work, 1759 01:15:27,566 --> 01:15:30,003 and then we have to get Mark of Kane 1760 01:15:30,047 --> 01:15:31,701 fully together and packaged, 1761 01:15:31,744 --> 01:15:34,399 and hopefully start shooting that in January. 1762 01:15:34,442 --> 01:15:37,271 So what we did is we hired a casting director named Ashley Hallihan, 1763 01:15:37,315 --> 01:15:40,448 who went out and got self-tapes from tons of different people. 1764 01:15:40,492 --> 01:15:43,582 We're talking like dozens, and dozens, and dozens of people. 1765 01:15:43,626 --> 01:15:46,498 You know, the minute that a casting director is hired, 1766 01:15:46,542 --> 01:15:51,938 it translates to the agents and managers that there's money, 1767 01:15:51,982 --> 01:15:53,810 the project's moving forward, 1768 01:15:53,853 --> 01:15:57,161 that the production is going to be working in a professional manner. 1769 01:15:57,204 --> 01:15:58,379 I've been going through these self-tapes 1770 01:15:58,423 --> 01:16:00,294 and then tomorrow, I'm going to the Carlton 1771 01:16:00,338 --> 01:16:03,471 to do one-on-one meetings with the finalists, I guess you could put it. 1772 01:16:03,515 --> 01:16:05,212 We're doing... I'm doing 15-minute meetings. 1773 01:16:05,256 --> 01:16:06,953 Every 15 minutes I meet with a new person 1774 01:16:06,997 --> 01:16:08,346 just to get a feel for who they are as people. 1775 01:16:08,389 --> 01:16:10,435 There's many actors for one role, 1776 01:16:10,478 --> 01:16:13,612 but there's only the one actor that's the best for the role. 1777 01:16:13,656 --> 01:16:17,050 And then simultaneously, I've been working with Sasha, the DOP, 1778 01:16:17,094 --> 01:16:19,531 to, you know, talk through the script, 1779 01:16:19,575 --> 01:16:21,751 and figure out the shot list, and all that sort of thing. 1780 01:16:21,794 --> 01:16:23,274 I'm excited about it. I'm happy about it. 1781 01:16:23,317 --> 01:16:25,319 I mean, I... This is what I've been working towards. 1782 01:16:25,363 --> 01:16:27,234 Having something where I can actually pull off 1783 01:16:27,278 --> 01:16:29,802 something on a... like with a budget. 1784 01:16:29,846 --> 01:16:31,412 Hell, I've got David Scott working on this movie, 1785 01:16:31,456 --> 01:16:33,501 who's like one of the best effects people in Toronto 1786 01:16:33,545 --> 01:16:35,852 for, like, prosthetics, and we're doing an animatronic. 1787 01:16:35,895 --> 01:16:39,812 Like these, these are things I dream of and I'm finally gonna get to do. 1788 01:16:39,856 --> 01:16:44,164 I'm looking now at our full cast list, minus one tiny role, 1789 01:16:44,208 --> 01:16:46,253 forLifechanger, 1790 01:16:46,297 --> 01:16:47,951 and we've got all the roles filled, 1791 01:16:47,994 --> 01:16:52,520 so we can now start setting up table reads, 1792 01:16:52,564 --> 01:16:54,435 and start rehearsing, and it's get... 1793 01:16:54,479 --> 01:16:56,568 Like, we're five weeks away from shooting now. 1794 01:16:56,612 --> 01:16:57,961 It's really soon. 1795 01:16:58,004 --> 01:17:01,747 So what I wanna get out of this meeting today 1796 01:17:01,791 --> 01:17:04,881 is put everything on the table, anything you're concerned about. 1797 01:17:04,924 --> 01:17:07,100 McCONNELL: You know, there are 148 scenes in the film, 1798 01:17:07,144 --> 01:17:10,277 and a countless number of shots. 1799 01:17:10,321 --> 01:17:13,759 And it's just... this is gonna be the biggest thing I think I've ever done. 1800 01:17:13,803 --> 01:17:16,544 136, 137, and 138 are all kind of... 1801 01:17:16,588 --> 01:17:18,808 -McCONNELL: They're all together... -Together and continuous. 1802 01:17:18,851 --> 01:17:22,115 -Yep, so we can shoot the bathroom stuff for sure. -Yep. 1803 01:17:22,159 --> 01:17:24,291 I'm a little... little stressed out right now 1804 01:17:24,335 --> 01:17:27,338 largely because we shoot in less than two weeks 1805 01:17:27,381 --> 01:17:29,166 for Lifechanger, and there's still a lot to do. 1806 01:17:29,209 --> 01:17:31,081 And we've got the fight choreography going, 1807 01:17:31,124 --> 01:17:34,171 I'm gonna go look at the makeup tests on Thursday. 1808 01:17:34,214 --> 01:17:36,347 We're getting as much rehearsal as we can done, 1809 01:17:36,390 --> 01:17:39,176 which I wish it was more, I mean, I always wish it was more. 1810 01:17:39,219 --> 01:17:43,746 PATRICIA CHICA: The acting process is so important in my way of making films 1811 01:17:43,789 --> 01:17:48,664 that I would invest a lot of energy and time rehearsing 1812 01:17:48,707 --> 01:17:52,493 and work-shopping the script and the characters with my actors. 1813 01:17:52,537 --> 01:17:54,800 Everything I've been working toward for the past 1814 01:17:54,844 --> 01:17:58,978 couple decades in film, since I was about 15, you know, 1815 01:17:59,022 --> 01:18:02,503 all those dreams and everything kind of cumulate with this. 1816 01:18:02,547 --> 01:18:04,505 All these people are working right now 1817 01:18:04,549 --> 01:18:09,554 alongside me as a team to recognize one vision 1818 01:18:09,597 --> 01:18:12,296 that came out of here a couple years ago. 1819 01:18:12,339 --> 01:18:14,124 I'm doin' this. 1820 01:18:14,167 --> 01:18:15,603 This is a big move for me. 1821 01:18:15,647 --> 01:18:17,214 MAN: And action! 1822 01:18:17,257 --> 01:18:19,216 BARBARA CRAMPTON: Film and... 1823 01:18:19,259 --> 01:18:24,221 and telling a story reminds us who we are, 1824 01:18:24,264 --> 01:18:26,397 and that's never going away. 1825 01:18:26,440 --> 01:18:29,269 Even the cavemen were painting in their caves. 1826 01:18:29,313 --> 01:18:32,577 We've always loved to tell stories 1827 01:18:32,620 --> 01:18:35,449 and always loved to tell stories with images. 1828 01:18:35,493 --> 01:18:39,279 I think that's why we created film, so we could make the images move. 1829 01:18:39,323 --> 01:18:42,979 Film is storytelling and... and we love a good story. 1830 01:18:43,022 --> 01:18:44,763 I've got like a full effects body in this trunk 1831 01:18:44,807 --> 01:18:47,418 of the... my parent's car right now 1832 01:18:47,461 --> 01:18:49,159 that we're tryin' to cover up in case somebody 1833 01:18:49,202 --> 01:18:51,117 sees it from a distance and thinks it's real. 1834 01:18:51,161 --> 01:18:53,816 Um, so it's almost like hiding a real dead body. 1835 01:18:53,859 --> 01:18:55,295 [CHUCKLES] 1836 01:18:55,339 --> 01:18:56,427 'Cause you don't want someone to get the wrong idea, 1837 01:18:56,470 --> 01:18:58,081 and call the police, and be like, 1838 01:18:58,124 --> 01:18:59,691 "There's a body in the back of that car in that garage." 1839 01:18:59,735 --> 01:19:01,084 Thank you. 1840 01:19:01,127 --> 01:19:02,302 We've done three full days of production now. 1841 01:19:02,346 --> 01:19:04,565 It's weird, I still get this surreal pang 1842 01:19:04,609 --> 01:19:08,918 when I'm looking at the slate, clapping for the shots, 1843 01:19:08,961 --> 01:19:11,268 that actually says"Lifechanger." 1844 01:19:11,311 --> 01:19:13,487 That... that the movie's actually being made right now 1845 01:19:13,531 --> 01:19:15,925 and I'm actually shooting it. [CHUCKLES] 1846 01:19:15,968 --> 01:19:17,927 It's, uh, I guess it's a win. 1847 01:19:17,970 --> 01:19:22,714 Just today, for example, I got to shoot an animatronic melt head. 1848 01:19:22,758 --> 01:19:24,455 I've never worked with animatronics before. 1849 01:19:24,498 --> 01:19:26,892 It's kind of a childhood dream, and I got to do it. 1850 01:19:26,936 --> 01:19:28,372 There's the first phase, is always that 1851 01:19:28,415 --> 01:19:30,113 you're pushing this project, 1852 01:19:30,156 --> 01:19:31,810 and pushing it, and pushing it, 1853 01:19:31,854 --> 01:19:34,334 and you'd give your life or your soul for the thing to happen, 1854 01:19:34,378 --> 01:19:36,772 you would sacrifice your firstborn 1855 01:19:36,815 --> 01:19:38,861 or do anything to close that deal 1856 01:19:38,904 --> 01:19:41,907 and get the movie to the screen. 1857 01:19:41,951 --> 01:19:43,866 And then, yeah, phase two, if you're lucky, 1858 01:19:43,909 --> 01:19:46,825 is the point where the project actually starts to move 1859 01:19:46,869 --> 01:19:49,045 and you find suddenly you're no longer having 1860 01:19:49,088 --> 01:19:50,437 to push it, and push it, and push it, 1861 01:19:50,481 --> 01:19:52,265 and the thing is actually moving along 1862 01:19:52,309 --> 01:19:56,095 under its own momentum and you're having to run to keep up with it. 1863 01:19:56,139 --> 01:19:58,837 Action. 1864 01:19:58,881 --> 01:20:00,360 Shake. 1865 01:20:00,404 --> 01:20:02,928 Tooth. Shake, tooth. 1866 01:20:02,972 --> 01:20:04,843 -Scream. -[MAN SCREAMING] 1867 01:20:04,887 --> 01:20:06,497 First. 1868 01:20:06,540 --> 01:20:07,672 Second. 1869 01:20:07,715 --> 01:20:09,108 [MAN GRUNTING] 1870 01:20:09,152 --> 01:20:11,328 When it comes to feature films, and you're on set, 1871 01:20:11,371 --> 01:20:13,156 and you're doin' this scene and you, 1872 01:20:13,199 --> 01:20:16,550 you say to yourself, "I've seen this scene 100 times," don't do it. 1873 01:20:16,594 --> 01:20:18,378 Do something different. 1874 01:20:18,422 --> 01:20:21,425 Find a way to take that scene, because you can't just throw it out, 1875 01:20:21,468 --> 01:20:23,340 and do something different with it. 1876 01:20:23,383 --> 01:20:26,734 We have a few really, really complicated days, 1877 01:20:26,778 --> 01:20:30,173 which I'm sure we'll get, but holy crap, man. 1878 01:20:30,216 --> 01:20:33,872 WEXLER: From a filmmaking perspective, it's important 1879 01:20:33,916 --> 01:20:37,310 to be loose enough that you can adapt 1880 01:20:37,354 --> 01:20:41,053 to the things that happen through every stage of production 1881 01:20:41,097 --> 01:20:43,490 and that you're prepared enough, 1882 01:20:43,534 --> 01:20:47,451 but you also have an eye out for happy coincidences. 1883 01:20:47,494 --> 01:20:49,670 DON MANCINI: It's an organic thing, filmmaking, and you... 1884 01:20:49,714 --> 01:20:53,631 you can't hold on to your original plan too tightly, 1885 01:20:53,674 --> 01:20:57,940 because I think, I think that will fuck you over in a whole other way. 1886 01:20:57,983 --> 01:21:00,725 So it's just... it gives it this combination 1887 01:21:00,768 --> 01:21:03,510 of planning it out to a tee, 1888 01:21:03,554 --> 01:21:08,037 but being open to other people suggesting, 1889 01:21:08,080 --> 01:21:10,213 "Well, maybe I have a better idea." 1890 01:21:10,256 --> 01:21:12,345 McCONNELL: We've just, as of last night, 1891 01:21:12,389 --> 01:21:13,912 wrapped our 11th day of production on Lifechanger. 1892 01:21:13,956 --> 01:21:15,871 It's gone by really quick, 1893 01:21:15,914 --> 01:21:18,525 yet at the same time, you know, each day doesn't feel like it's quick. 1894 01:21:18,569 --> 01:21:20,832 You're always racing the clock to try and get 1895 01:21:20,876 --> 01:21:22,965 your shots in, your day in, and hope that, you know, 1896 01:21:23,008 --> 01:21:25,619 you've had enough time to make the performance work, 1897 01:21:25,663 --> 01:21:26,925 which looking at the dailies, 1898 01:21:26,969 --> 01:21:29,101 I've got some editing challenges ahead of me. 1899 01:21:29,145 --> 01:21:31,234 No matter how much in love with the project you are, 1900 01:21:31,277 --> 01:21:34,498 phase three always arrives, which is the point on the project 1901 01:21:34,541 --> 01:21:36,848 when you'll do anything, when you will give up your life, 1902 01:21:36,892 --> 01:21:39,938 your soul, your firstborn just to have nothing more to do with it. 1903 01:21:39,982 --> 01:21:43,811 To not have to get up in the morning and deal with it. 1904 01:21:43,855 --> 01:21:46,423 It's only the director, maybe the producer also, 1905 01:21:46,466 --> 01:21:49,687 which are responsible for the fact 1906 01:21:49,730 --> 01:21:51,689 that everything we are making, anything we are making now 1907 01:21:51,732 --> 01:21:54,822 will end up as a movie, as a story, as a... 1908 01:21:54,866 --> 01:21:57,651 comprehensive idea. 1909 01:21:57,695 --> 01:22:00,741 And that is a consuming process. 1910 01:22:00,785 --> 01:22:03,353 It all starts with the concept, the script, 1911 01:22:03,396 --> 01:22:04,745 and putting in the right amount of pre-production work, 1912 01:22:04,789 --> 01:22:06,443 and the right casting and all that. 1913 01:22:06,486 --> 01:22:07,923 All that's the backbone of the movie, 1914 01:22:07,966 --> 01:22:09,620 but then you get into production 1915 01:22:09,663 --> 01:22:12,405 and, you know, you have to deal with people. 1916 01:22:12,449 --> 01:22:13,929 [CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY] Lots and lots of people. 1917 01:22:13,972 --> 01:22:17,062 And in this case, we're talking like 25 cast, 20 crew, 1918 01:22:17,106 --> 01:22:18,498 a whole bunch of extras. 1919 01:22:18,542 --> 01:22:20,283 Every single one of them's a personality. 1920 01:22:20,326 --> 01:22:22,067 JESSICA CAMERON: You have to make sure when you're hiring crew 1921 01:22:22,111 --> 01:22:24,548 that you get crew that are not only the best that you can 1922 01:22:24,591 --> 01:22:26,550 for the budget you're working within, 1923 01:22:26,593 --> 01:22:28,552 but that those specific department heads 1924 01:22:28,595 --> 01:22:30,423 and the people within those departments 1925 01:22:30,467 --> 01:22:33,774 all work well together and with those certain types of personalities. 1926 01:22:33,818 --> 01:22:35,776 ALEXANDER: You know, I had three kids before I made my first movie. 1927 01:22:35,820 --> 01:22:37,648 So I knew how to navigate personalities, 1928 01:22:37,691 --> 01:22:41,043 I knew how to damage control a lot of insane situations 1929 01:22:41,086 --> 01:22:42,958 that would crush lesser mortals, I think. 1930 01:22:43,001 --> 01:22:44,394 GREGORY LAMBERSON: The director is not just a person 1931 01:22:44,437 --> 01:22:46,352 who picks camera angles or locations. 1932 01:22:46,396 --> 01:22:49,225 A director has to know how to juggle 1933 01:22:49,268 --> 01:22:52,184 many different personalities and egos, 1934 01:22:52,228 --> 01:22:54,317 and know how to work with them, 1935 01:22:54,360 --> 01:22:56,667 and not bully them and get the best out of them, 1936 01:22:56,710 --> 01:22:58,408 and make them wanna do their best. 1937 01:22:58,451 --> 01:23:00,758 They all have needs, they all have wants, they all have quirks, 1938 01:23:00,801 --> 01:23:02,803 they all have flaws, they all have strengths. 1939 01:23:02,847 --> 01:23:05,023 If you have enough confidence to hire somebody, 1940 01:23:05,067 --> 01:23:06,503 then you should have the confidence to know 1941 01:23:06,546 --> 01:23:08,331 that they know what they're doing. 1942 01:23:08,374 --> 01:23:12,335 Whether it's Jim Cameron or Billy Friedkin or Michael Bay 1943 01:23:12,378 --> 01:23:16,774 or Quentin Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez, 1944 01:23:16,817 --> 01:23:21,039 these are people who have a lot of confidence in themselves, 1945 01:23:21,083 --> 01:23:23,607 and when they have confidence in themselves, 1946 01:23:23,650 --> 01:23:28,742 they're much more likely to listen to your suggestions 1947 01:23:28,786 --> 01:23:31,876 and think about it. "Is this gonna make my film better?" 1948 01:23:31,919 --> 01:23:34,487 I think the directors with the most confidence, 1949 01:23:34,531 --> 01:23:36,968 which are usually the ones that are the most successful, 1950 01:23:37,012 --> 01:23:39,536 are the ones that are most likely to listen to ideas... 1951 01:23:39,579 --> 01:23:41,320 Collaborate with actors. 1952 01:23:41,364 --> 01:23:44,149 ...and collaborate with actors and change things in their movie 1953 01:23:44,193 --> 01:23:45,977 to make the movie better. 1954 01:23:46,021 --> 01:23:48,588 They can identify a suggestion, 1955 01:23:48,632 --> 01:23:51,200 whether it comes from me or a prop guy, 1956 01:23:51,243 --> 01:23:54,768 or it comes from an actress or anybody, 1957 01:23:54,812 --> 01:23:57,423 "Oh, that's gonna make my movie better. Do it." 1958 01:23:57,467 --> 01:23:59,904 I think the only thing you need to do 1959 01:23:59,947 --> 01:24:02,907 to survive telling stories is to be yourself. 1960 01:24:02,950 --> 01:24:04,343 That's the one thing. 1961 01:24:04,387 --> 01:24:06,867 I mean, how you leader a group of people... 1962 01:24:06,911 --> 01:24:11,176 Everybody... Some of them are hard, some of them are nice, 1963 01:24:11,220 --> 01:24:12,830 some of them make a family, 1964 01:24:12,873 --> 01:24:14,919 some of them make an army, 1965 01:24:14,962 --> 01:24:16,877 some of them like to be generals, 1966 01:24:16,921 --> 01:24:18,749 some of them like... but the only thing 1967 01:24:18,792 --> 01:24:22,796 that people will respond to is if it's you leading. 1968 01:24:22,840 --> 01:24:24,320 You. 1969 01:24:24,363 --> 01:24:26,887 Not a character you invented a director should be. 1970 01:24:26,931 --> 01:24:28,193 It's you. 1971 01:24:28,237 --> 01:24:30,630 They see that you are high on your own supply. 1972 01:24:30,674 --> 01:24:34,112 I get a lot of pushback and it's like... 1973 01:24:34,156 --> 01:24:37,115 Sometimes you just wanna say, "Do this." 1974 01:24:37,159 --> 01:24:40,249 You want a collaborative atmosphere on set, that's the ideal scenario. 1975 01:24:40,292 --> 01:24:42,903 I just hate hearing "No." Let's just fuckin' try it. 1976 01:24:42,947 --> 01:24:44,775 I don't care if you've got 20 years behind you. 1977 01:24:44,818 --> 01:24:46,733 There's nothing to be gained by going, 1978 01:24:46,777 --> 01:24:49,606 "Well, that didn't work in the past" or being like, 1979 01:24:49,649 --> 01:24:53,305 "I've got all this experience, so I know this." Well, fuck that. 1980 01:24:53,349 --> 01:24:55,829 Steven Spielberg, if you see E.T., 1981 01:24:55,873 --> 01:24:59,616 notice that every camera angle is about this high off the ground. 1982 01:24:59,659 --> 01:25:01,879 That's how tall you are when you're 12 years old. 1983 01:25:01,922 --> 01:25:04,273 The cumulative effect of "you're one of the kids." 1984 01:25:04,316 --> 01:25:06,710 He made you one of the kids simply because 1985 01:25:06,753 --> 01:25:08,929 you're seeing from where they were seeing. 1986 01:25:08,973 --> 01:25:12,150 You know, keys in your face. That's what a director does. 1987 01:25:12,194 --> 01:25:14,935 It's not just pointing the camera at the action. 1988 01:25:14,979 --> 01:25:16,676 All right? 1989 01:25:16,720 --> 01:25:19,549 McCONNELL: I'm hoping that the film does well 1990 01:25:19,592 --> 01:25:22,160 and that the end result of it is worth all this effort, 1991 01:25:22,204 --> 01:25:24,031 because it's a lot of effort 1992 01:25:24,075 --> 01:25:25,424 and a lot of different people working on it, putting in that effort 1993 01:25:25,468 --> 01:25:27,557 to make it just incredible. 1994 01:25:27,600 --> 01:25:29,254 The only thing you really got going for you 1995 01:25:29,298 --> 01:25:31,082 in an independent film is the acting. 1996 01:25:31,648 --> 01:25:32,866 Who is it? 1997 01:25:32,910 --> 01:25:34,651 HOLLAND: Good actors are everything, 1998 01:25:34,694 --> 01:25:37,654 because finally for all the... for all the ego and everything, 1999 01:25:37,697 --> 01:25:40,091 it's about who's in front of the camera. 2000 01:25:40,135 --> 01:25:41,832 This is what's holding the audience. 2001 01:25:41,875 --> 01:25:46,184 If your actors will make or break you, casting is everything. 2002 01:25:46,228 --> 01:25:48,839 I cannot underline that enough. 2003 01:25:48,882 --> 01:25:50,928 Directors should take acting classes 2004 01:25:50,971 --> 01:25:53,104 to understand the actor's process, 2005 01:25:53,148 --> 01:25:57,935 to give clues to an actor about where you want them to go 2006 01:25:57,978 --> 01:25:59,893 in a particular scene. 2007 01:25:59,937 --> 01:26:03,070 Having people who can act, you save... you save money, 2008 01:26:03,114 --> 01:26:06,987 you save... If a guy blows a line, that's a big take. 2009 01:26:07,031 --> 01:26:09,860 That means that whole... that scene's gotta be shot over again. 2010 01:26:09,903 --> 01:26:11,514 Take. 2011 01:26:11,557 --> 01:26:13,037 Action! 2012 01:26:13,080 --> 01:26:15,735 I have one week left of shootingLifechanger. 2013 01:26:15,779 --> 01:26:19,217 We've shot 15 days already, there's five days left to go, 2014 01:26:19,261 --> 01:26:21,828 one really big week ahead of us, 2015 01:26:21,872 --> 01:26:24,614 including the first sex scene I've ever shot, 2016 01:26:24,657 --> 01:26:28,313 a serious fight scene with breakaway glass, breakaway tables, 2017 01:26:28,357 --> 01:26:31,969 and a whole bunch of effects stuff and prosthetics, 2018 01:26:32,012 --> 01:26:33,797 and a really big, 2019 01:26:33,840 --> 01:26:37,017 fully prosthetic pod effect thing we're doing on Wednesday. 2020 01:26:37,061 --> 01:26:39,629 -Awesome. Here we go. -MAN: And set. 2021 01:26:39,672 --> 01:26:41,239 McCONNELL: Action! 2022 01:26:41,283 --> 01:26:43,154 But I think we're getting really good stuff, 2023 01:26:43,198 --> 01:26:45,896 and I'm... I'm proud that I've been able to get to this point, 2024 01:26:45,939 --> 01:26:49,682 and I do feel like I've got a future in this. 2025 01:26:57,124 --> 01:26:59,649 I'm about to start watchingLifechanger 2026 01:26:59,692 --> 01:27:03,522 from front to back as one complete, edited film for the first time. 2027 01:27:03,566 --> 01:27:06,830 -There's a part of it. -[WOMAN SPEAKING ON SCREEN] 2028 01:27:06,873 --> 01:27:09,528 Uh, yeah, I think it's pretty good. 2029 01:27:09,572 --> 01:27:12,618 Tomorrow morning, I've booked the Carlton Cinema 2030 01:27:12,662 --> 01:27:15,491 to test screen an earlier cut of Lifechanger. 2031 01:27:15,534 --> 01:27:18,233 I've got a survey for people to either fill out 2032 01:27:18,276 --> 01:27:20,278 in person while there or online, 2033 01:27:20,322 --> 01:27:22,019 there's a link at the top of the sheet, 2034 01:27:22,062 --> 01:27:24,674 and then I've been collecting people associated with the project 2035 01:27:24,717 --> 01:27:26,632 and close friends' opinions as well. 2036 01:27:26,676 --> 01:27:28,939 The testing process is agonizing for me, 2037 01:27:28,982 --> 01:27:32,203 even when it's just showing the film to my friends. 2038 01:27:32,247 --> 01:27:35,337 It's... it's horrible, because first of all, 2039 01:27:35,380 --> 01:27:39,297 all of your mistakes are there to be seen and commented on, 2040 01:27:39,341 --> 01:27:41,343 and then, very often what I discover 2041 01:27:41,386 --> 01:27:43,867 are the things that I thought were problems for people are not 2042 01:27:43,910 --> 01:27:46,130 and the real slap in the face are there... 2043 01:27:46,173 --> 01:27:50,047 there are things that I've never even thought twice about 2044 01:27:50,090 --> 01:27:52,354 that are... create huge problems for people. 2045 01:27:52,397 --> 01:27:56,445 Sometimes you see filmmakers that get really big, 2046 01:27:56,488 --> 01:28:00,971 and then they start making thesekind of bloated movies, 2047 01:28:01,014 --> 01:28:04,148 and you feel that somebody stopped telling, you know, 2048 01:28:04,191 --> 01:28:05,889 somebody stopped telling them "no," 2049 01:28:05,932 --> 01:28:07,630 and they don't hear the word "no" anymore, 2050 01:28:07,673 --> 01:28:10,328 and now they kind of, kind of go on their own whims, 2051 01:28:10,372 --> 01:28:12,852 and people just go with them, because they're that name. 2052 01:28:12,896 --> 01:28:14,767 I don't know if that's healthy. 2053 01:28:14,811 --> 01:28:18,336 I actually do welcome and encourage 2054 01:28:18,380 --> 01:28:19,859 producers to give you notes. 2055 01:28:19,903 --> 01:28:21,948 It's nice to have a little bit of resistance, 2056 01:28:21,992 --> 01:28:25,082 it's nice to have someone kind of second-guess you. 2057 01:28:25,125 --> 01:28:27,824 When you hear something that's consistent, 2058 01:28:27,867 --> 01:28:29,782 like, that's the most important thing, right? 2059 01:28:29,826 --> 01:28:32,350 You might disagree with something somebody says, 2060 01:28:32,394 --> 01:28:34,918 but if you hear another person say it, 2061 01:28:34,961 --> 01:28:38,356 and you hear another person say it, and another person say it, 2062 01:28:38,400 --> 01:28:41,620 whether or not you agree with it or not, 2063 01:28:41,664 --> 01:28:45,885 you really need to understand that an audience is 2064 01:28:45,929 --> 01:28:47,365 seeing that that way, though. 2065 01:28:47,409 --> 01:28:49,367 That's how something is being perceived, 2066 01:28:49,411 --> 01:28:51,195 whether that was your intention or not. 2067 01:28:51,238 --> 01:28:52,849 We did a test audience and we got back 2068 01:28:52,892 --> 01:28:54,459 a bunch of notes from that. 2069 01:28:54,503 --> 01:28:56,722 We... I've got back a bunch of notes from people I trust 2070 01:28:56,766 --> 01:28:58,637 and now the main core team of the film, 2071 01:28:58,681 --> 01:29:03,076 the producers, the distributors,they're all compiling a set of notes. 2072 01:29:03,120 --> 01:29:05,252 But the one thing I've noticed is that 2073 01:29:05,296 --> 01:29:06,602 nobody is saying the same things 2074 01:29:07,254 --> 01:29:08,473 and me as the director, 2075 01:29:08,517 --> 01:29:11,389 I still have to be beholden to the wishes 2076 01:29:11,433 --> 01:29:13,696 of the team, to an extent, 2077 01:29:13,739 --> 01:29:17,395 because they are the team 2078 01:29:17,439 --> 01:29:18,831 or they are the investors, you know? 2079 01:29:18,875 --> 01:29:20,529 They have a stake. 2080 01:29:20,572 --> 01:29:23,967 But I'm also, I gotta go with my gut 2081 01:29:24,010 --> 01:29:27,187 and like I... I already believe it's a good movie the way it is. 2082 01:29:27,231 --> 01:29:28,928 I'm gonna make more changes. 2083 01:29:28,972 --> 01:29:31,714 The problem I've got is like, which changes do I make? 2084 01:29:31,757 --> 01:29:33,672 You have to make everybody happy. 2085 01:29:33,716 --> 01:29:36,066 So find a way. 2086 01:29:36,109 --> 01:29:39,156 Hopefully, you know, everyone understands 2087 01:29:39,199 --> 01:29:43,813 the kind of film that it is, or the nature of the cast 2088 01:29:43,856 --> 01:29:45,771 that was assembled. 2089 01:29:45,815 --> 01:29:47,686 And so, you know, it's... 2090 01:29:47,730 --> 01:29:52,169 You have to judge every situation individually. 2091 01:29:52,212 --> 01:29:55,172 I've just picture-locked Lifechanger and I'm proud of it. 2092 01:29:55,215 --> 01:29:56,826 I think it's a fuckin' good movie. 2093 01:29:56,869 --> 01:29:58,741 It feels like it's a good movie. 2094 01:29:58,784 --> 01:30:00,177 I found out yesterday morning that 2095 01:30:00,220 --> 01:30:03,398 Lifechanger'sworld premiere is gonna be 2096 01:30:03,441 --> 01:30:04,834 at the Fantasia Film Festival, 2097 01:30:04,877 --> 01:30:07,053 which is a huge accomplishment in my mind. 2098 01:30:07,097 --> 01:30:10,100 I've wanted to play that festival forever. 2099 01:30:11,536 --> 01:30:13,103 Back at Fantasia. 2100 01:30:15,235 --> 01:30:17,237 With a film playing this time. 2101 01:30:20,197 --> 01:30:22,112 [INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING] 2102 01:30:22,155 --> 01:30:23,940 [INDISTINCT CHATTER] 2103 01:30:23,983 --> 01:30:25,768 -If you look at everyone in that picture... -Yeah. 2104 01:30:25,811 --> 01:30:27,117 Wait till you get inside. 2105 01:30:27,160 --> 01:30:30,903 -[LAUGHING] -[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] 2106 01:30:30,947 --> 01:30:33,950 McCONNELL: So, enjoy the movie and if I break your brain, don't sue me. 2107 01:30:33,993 --> 01:30:37,170 -Have a good one. -[LAUGHTER] 2108 01:30:37,214 --> 01:30:41,044 -[CLOSING THEME SONG PLAYING] -[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE] 2109 01:30:41,087 --> 01:30:42,872 Movies are like children. 2110 01:30:42,915 --> 01:30:45,222 Um, after the... 2111 01:30:45,265 --> 01:30:47,659 The birth is always absolutely frantic, and insane, 2112 01:30:47,703 --> 01:30:50,836 and painful, and confusing, and horrible, 2113 01:30:50,880 --> 01:30:53,317 but then they grow up and they, 2114 01:30:53,360 --> 01:30:56,538 they go out into the world and as they grow up, 2115 01:30:56,581 --> 01:30:58,496 they make their own friends. 2116 01:30:58,540 --> 01:31:00,150 People meet the movies 2117 01:31:00,193 --> 01:31:02,413 who don't meet you, and come to love them 2118 01:31:02,457 --> 01:31:05,460 on their own, on its own terms. 2119 01:31:35,490 --> 01:31:36,882 [CROWD APPLAUDING] 2120 01:31:36,926 --> 01:31:38,797 ANNOUNCER: Please welcome Justin McConnell... 2121 01:31:38,841 --> 01:31:40,407 [ALL CHEERING] 2122 01:31:40,451 --> 01:31:41,974 ...fromLifechanger. 2123 01:31:42,018 --> 01:31:44,803 -[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY] -[LAUGHTER] 2124 01:31:44,847 --> 01:31:46,326 This is fuckin' crazy. 2125 01:31:46,370 --> 01:31:48,067 ANNOUNCER: Please welcome Mr. Johnson... 2126 01:31:48,111 --> 01:31:50,200 I've never played to audiences this big, 2127 01:31:50,243 --> 01:31:52,768 or had reception like this, or had my work 2128 01:31:52,811 --> 01:31:56,206 programmed or showcased at a festival this important, 2129 01:31:56,249 --> 01:31:58,774 and it feels like a really major step in my career. 2130 01:32:08,610 --> 01:32:11,308 -Muchos gracias. -[CHEERING] 2131 01:32:22,667 --> 01:32:23,755 [INAUDIBLE] 2132 01:32:39,858 --> 01:32:40,946 [INAUDIBLE] 2133 01:32:47,736 --> 01:32:49,999 McCONNELL: It still blows my mind, 'cause I've been coming here 2134 01:32:50,042 --> 01:32:52,262 to see movies for, fuck... 2135 01:32:52,305 --> 01:32:55,221 2001. So it's 17 years. 2136 01:32:55,265 --> 01:32:56,788 In this case, we are in the big... 2137 01:32:56,832 --> 01:32:59,356 one of the biggest theaters and it sold out somehow, 2138 01:32:59,399 --> 01:33:00,749 which is fuckin' awesome. 2139 01:33:00,792 --> 01:33:02,925 Just means a lot to me, 2140 01:33:02,968 --> 01:33:05,667 'cause people actually wanna see the stuff I make, 2141 01:33:05,710 --> 01:33:07,669 which is part of the reason you make it. 2142 01:33:07,712 --> 01:33:10,367 And it's been a long road to here. 2143 01:33:10,410 --> 01:33:12,108 KUPLOWSKY: So this is a special screening. 2144 01:33:12,151 --> 01:33:15,285 The... You know, I've known the director of this film 2145 01:33:15,328 --> 01:33:18,070 for maybe more than a decade at this point. 2146 01:33:18,114 --> 01:33:20,464 I've programmed his short films. 2147 01:33:20,507 --> 01:33:24,120 I've worked together on his... on some of his feature films. 2148 01:33:24,163 --> 01:33:28,254 He's made... This is not his first feature, 2149 01:33:28,298 --> 01:33:31,214 and... but this is a really, really special movie 2150 01:33:31,257 --> 01:33:33,303 and I remember when he shared the script with me, 2151 01:33:33,346 --> 01:33:35,914 I was so excited just at the ambition 2152 01:33:35,958 --> 01:33:38,395 and the ideas he was packing into the script 2153 01:33:38,438 --> 01:33:40,092 and so impressed with what he pulled off. 2154 01:33:40,136 --> 01:33:42,660 And to see Justin travel the world with this movie 2155 01:33:42,704 --> 01:33:44,270 -that's played many festivals... -MAN: Oh, yeah. 2156 01:33:44,314 --> 01:33:45,750 -...to great acclaim. -[AUDIENCE CHEERING] 2157 01:33:45,794 --> 01:33:47,665 And he really, really deserves all of it, 2158 01:33:47,709 --> 01:33:49,841 so a big, big round of applause for my friend... 2159 01:33:49,885 --> 01:33:51,321 [AUDIENCE CHEERING AND APPLAUDING] 2160 01:33:51,364 --> 01:33:53,105 ...writer/director, Justin McConnell! 2161 01:33:54,454 --> 01:33:56,152 McCONNELL: I thank all of you for coming out. 2162 01:33:56,195 --> 01:33:58,676 One thing you should know about this, it was shot in Toronto. 2163 01:33:58,720 --> 01:34:00,199 Can you raise your hand or stand up 2164 01:34:00,243 --> 01:34:01,984 if you were on the cast and crew? 2165 01:34:02,027 --> 01:34:04,856 -There's a bunch of you in the crowd. -[CHEERING, APPLAUDING] 2166 01:34:04,900 --> 01:34:07,772 I wanna thank all of you for coming out and doing a sold-out screening. 2167 01:34:07,816 --> 01:34:10,949 It's been over five years since I started making this documentary. 2168 01:34:10,993 --> 01:34:12,603 A lot has happened in the... [CHUCKLES] 2169 01:34:12,647 --> 01:34:14,561 in those five years, a lot has changed. 2170 01:34:14,605 --> 01:34:18,087 I was going to Cannes every year since 2015, 2171 01:34:18,130 --> 01:34:20,045 taking meetings there. 2172 01:34:20,089 --> 01:34:23,875 I went to my first Berlin, European Film Market last year in February 2173 01:34:23,919 --> 01:34:25,137 and took some meetings there 2174 01:34:25,181 --> 01:34:26,965 and got to see how that market was different. 2175 01:34:27,009 --> 01:34:28,924 I've been going to Frontieres every summer 2176 01:34:28,967 --> 01:34:30,839 and things are moving forward, but one... 2177 01:34:30,882 --> 01:34:33,189 I've noticed is with Lifechanger, 2178 01:34:33,232 --> 01:34:35,844 it has made the doors open more and more. 2179 01:34:35,887 --> 01:34:37,584 People are willing to approach me about 2180 01:34:37,628 --> 01:34:40,457 possible projects or take meetings about the stuff 2181 01:34:40,500 --> 01:34:42,024 I've got on the slate. 2182 01:34:42,067 --> 01:34:44,461 When it actually started being distributed in the US, 2183 01:34:44,504 --> 01:34:46,985 it did fairly well, but then Netflix picked it up 2184 01:34:47,029 --> 01:34:48,421 for a bunch of territories and we even hit 2185 01:34:48,465 --> 01:34:50,946 number one trending for a short period of time 2186 01:34:50,989 --> 01:34:53,078 with the film, this tiny little movie. 2187 01:34:53,122 --> 01:34:54,471 It blows my mind. 2188 01:34:54,514 --> 01:34:56,734 I've learned most of all that the thing that 2189 01:34:56,778 --> 01:35:00,738 I can't be as passive, and I have to make things happen for myself, 2190 01:35:00,782 --> 01:35:02,479 and bring in the right team 2191 01:35:02,522 --> 01:35:05,656 to help launch that, collaboratively. 2192 01:35:05,700 --> 01:35:09,268 Just listening to people, and letting go of my ego a little bit. 2193 01:35:09,312 --> 01:35:11,531 The future is potentially bright 2194 01:35:11,575 --> 01:35:13,664 and full of lots of things 2195 01:35:13,708 --> 01:35:16,885 that I don't know are coming yet. 2196 01:35:16,928 --> 01:35:18,756 I mean, anything could fall apart, 2197 01:35:18,800 --> 01:35:21,324 and given that the film business, the way it is, I fully expect 2198 01:35:21,367 --> 01:35:24,719 things to fall apart or take longer than they're going to take, 2199 01:35:24,762 --> 01:35:26,024 but I'm not gonna give up. 2200 01:35:26,068 --> 01:35:28,026 I look at my life in sections sometimes. 2201 01:35:28,070 --> 01:35:30,768 As I age, I get a tendency to reflect, compartmentalize. 2202 01:35:30,812 --> 01:35:34,206 There was my life before film was my mission and my life after. 2203 01:35:34,250 --> 01:35:35,904 That's further broken down into when I was just 2204 01:35:35,947 --> 01:35:38,297 toying with the craft, learning and getting my feet wet, 2205 01:35:38,341 --> 01:35:40,865 to when I got really serious about it as the thing I was going to do, 2206 01:35:40,909 --> 01:35:42,954 to the marathon that's felt like the last decade or so 2207 01:35:42,998 --> 01:35:45,174 when I started seriously making features. 2208 01:35:45,217 --> 01:35:48,133 Tons of missteps along the way, tons of deviations from the path, 2209 01:35:48,177 --> 01:35:51,310 experimenting, trying things, hoping something will stick, 2210 01:35:51,354 --> 01:35:54,009 and now withLifechanger, it feels like the start of a new section. 2211 01:35:54,052 --> 01:35:55,967 And whether I continue toward my ultimate goal, 2212 01:35:56,011 --> 01:35:58,274 whatever that is, or crash spectacularly 2213 01:35:58,317 --> 01:36:01,843 or just fade away remains to be seen. 2214 01:36:01,886 --> 01:36:04,062 You may hate everything I do and that's your right, 2215 01:36:04,106 --> 01:36:06,586 but it doesn't really matter, because I'm doing it 2216 01:36:06,630 --> 01:36:09,676 and I've been doing it for years and years now without fully realizing it. 2217 01:36:09,720 --> 01:36:12,114 I've been chasing a dream so long, it took me ages to notice 2218 01:36:12,157 --> 01:36:14,029 that I was already living it. 2219 01:36:14,072 --> 01:36:16,161 I don't think there is a top to the ladder when it comes to film. 2220 01:36:16,205 --> 01:36:19,991 There's just the ladder, just the climb, endlessly, rung to rung. 2221 01:36:20,035 --> 01:36:21,950 If a shark stops swimming, it dies. 2222 01:36:21,993 --> 01:36:24,430 As a filmmaker, swimming is all there ever is, 2223 01:36:24,474 --> 01:36:25,910 forward to whatever that brings. 2224 01:36:25,954 --> 01:36:27,346 You may fuck up along the way, 2225 01:36:27,390 --> 01:36:29,261 you may never reach the top of the business, 2226 01:36:29,305 --> 01:36:32,090 but as long as you keep trying, keep learning, keep striving, 2227 01:36:32,134 --> 01:36:33,613 -it has to be enough. -[APPLAUSE] 2228 01:36:33,657 --> 01:36:35,137 Just survive. 2229 01:36:35,180 --> 01:36:36,834 The rest will come. 2230 01:36:47,845 --> 01:36:49,716 I always got cheated. [CHUCKLES] 2231 01:36:49,760 --> 01:36:51,893 I know I always should have gotten more money, 2232 01:36:51,936 --> 01:36:54,286 I should have had more time, I should... 2233 01:36:54,330 --> 01:36:59,291 but all in all, when you look back over 60 years, 2234 01:36:59,335 --> 01:37:01,598 I figure I had a ball. 2235 01:37:01,641 --> 01:37:03,600 I really did, I enjoyed it. 2236 01:37:03,643 --> 01:37:07,299 To thine own self be true, but if you want the Oscars, 2237 01:37:07,343 --> 01:37:10,999 and the mansion, and the limos, and the drugs, 2238 01:37:11,042 --> 01:37:13,915 and hookers, and all that, I think you have to go 2239 01:37:13,958 --> 01:37:15,917 to Los Angeles. 2240 01:37:15,960 --> 01:37:18,006 And if you've got any talent, 2241 01:37:18,049 --> 01:37:20,356 and if you're driven and obsessed by it, 2242 01:37:20,399 --> 01:37:22,184 you probably will do all right. 2243 01:37:22,227 --> 01:37:25,100 And there are great people, about 1/10th of 1% 2244 01:37:25,143 --> 01:37:28,886 of the movie industry are the best people in the world. 2245 01:37:28,930 --> 01:37:30,975 The rest are scum of the earth, 2246 01:37:31,019 --> 01:37:34,718 whether they're independent or whether they are in the mainstream, they are 2247 01:37:34,761 --> 01:37:36,154 scum of the earth. 2248 01:37:36,198 --> 01:37:37,852 So if you sign a contract with them, 2249 01:37:37,895 --> 01:37:39,636 you have to assume in your head 2250 01:37:39,679 --> 01:37:41,116 that the other guy... You may, 2251 01:37:41,159 --> 01:37:43,727 you may do what the contract says. 2252 01:37:43,770 --> 01:37:45,511 But you have to assume in the contract 2253 01:37:45,555 --> 01:37:48,775 that the other person isn't going to do what the contract says. 2254 01:37:48,819 --> 01:37:51,996 And make arrangements for the worst-case scenario, 2255 01:37:52,040 --> 01:37:54,433 so that you don't lose your house and your business 2256 01:37:54,477 --> 01:37:57,219 and decide to blow your fucking brains out. 2257 01:37:57,262 --> 01:37:59,264 That's good advice. 2258 01:37:59,308 --> 01:38:02,615 But if you want the golden ring, 2259 01:38:02,659 --> 01:38:05,053 go to the mainstream in Hollywood, 2260 01:38:05,096 --> 01:38:06,968 which is where the projects are green-lit. 2261 01:38:07,011 --> 01:38:08,970 And if you are happy 2262 01:38:09,013 --> 01:38:15,063 being a broken-down old drunken filmmaker like Uncle Lloyd here, 2263 01:38:15,106 --> 01:38:17,892 whose probably next move, career-wise, 2264 01:38:17,935 --> 01:38:19,937 will be in a refrigerator carton 2265 01:38:19,981 --> 01:38:22,331 under the Route 95 2266 01:38:22,374 --> 01:38:24,376 with the other crack addicts, 2267 01:38:24,420 --> 01:38:26,378 then you become an underground filmmaker, 2268 01:38:26,422 --> 01:38:28,467 which is basically what I've always been.