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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with director Peter D Marshall

October 10, 2014 rexsikes 1 Comment

Peter Marshall so far has had a 35-year career and has worked as a PA, dolly grip, electrician, assistant cameraman, commercial production manager, first assistant director, TV series creative consultant, television producer and director.

He has worked on many different types of productions, from industrial films to documentaries; television commercials to music videos; Emmy Award nominated TV series to Hollywood feature films.

Peter has directed over 30 episodes of Television Drama and written, directed or produced over 50 hours of documentary and educational programs. His documentaries and dramas have won, or been nominated for, 14 International film awards.

UPCOMING LIVE: Thursday Dec 4, 2014 11aE 10AC 8aP TO LISTEN CLICK THE BOLDED LINK BELOW:

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Director Peter Marshall Pt 30

Peter has some incredible products for the director and 1st AD a his website. He also organizes thoughts and materials in an incredible easy way for filmmakers to use and apply. I asked Peter to discuss the criteria necessary to be a good director. In this series we go over elements and priciples critical to apply when preparing to direct and when directing. Enjoy this nuts and bolts Director Series with Peter D. Marshall.

***The Directors Series on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat is listed in descending order from first aired to last episode.***

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Director Peter Marshall Pt 1

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Director Peter Marshall Pt 2

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Director Peter Marshall Pt 3

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Director Peter Marshall Pt 29

As a First Assistant Director he’s worked on 12 Feature Films, 15 Television Movies, 6 Television Series, 4 TV Pilots & over 20 Commercials. He’s worked for directors such as Zack Snyder, John Woo, Ed Wick, Phillip Noyce, John Balham, Roger Adam, Anne Wheeler, Bobby Roth & Kim Manners.

He has worked with talented actors including Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Mel Gibson, Kathy Bates, Adam Sandler and Peter O’Toole.

He has co-ordinated huge WW1 battle scenes, planned complicated visual FX scenes, managed large groups of extras & directed intimate emotional scenes between two actors.

His first major series as 1st Assistant Director was Steven J. Cannel’s “Stingray” in 1986 after having been the 1st AD on a Canadian TV series called “Hamilton’s Quest”.

Thereafter he worked on several more TV series with Cannell and became 1st AD on “Wiseguy.” which he worked for two years. He got his directing break on this series & directed a couple of episodes.

“The Fly 2.” was his move into feature films as a 1st AD. Other credits include “Happy Gilmore”, “Dawn of the Dead”, “The Butterfly effect”, “Lizzie McGuire Movie”, “Look Who’s Talking Now”, “Bird on a Wire”, scores of television series as 1st AD & as a director.

Peter Marshall Official Web Site Peter has incredible learning products, ezine, workshops, blog and services. Check into these.

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Stay up to date with the live shows on Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat. You can join us and listen live as the show records. You can hang in chat and ask questions. All shows are recorded and archived at the official site.

Updates will be posted at this blog, at the official site, on the RSMB Friends page on FB, through twitter and elsewhere. When you can’t join us live you can still listen to archived show from official site, from blogtalk radio and you can subscribe to the podcast at itunes.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

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The Surface starring Sean Astin and Chris Mulkey Premieres at Milwaukee Film Fest.

October 10, 2014 rexsikes Leave a comment

“Cast and Crew, Friends and Fans and Film Goers made the World Premiere of producer screenwriter Jeff Gendelman’s and director Gil Cates Jr. ‘The Surface’ a big success!

The feature starring Sean Astin, Chris Mulkey and Mimi Rogers was the closing night movie at the Milwaukee Film Festival. Jeff, Gil and cast and crew had reason to celebrate and to feel proud as the Oriental Theater was completely sold out.

The Surface was shot entirely in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and mostly on Lake Michigan during August of 2013.

It is about the chance meeting of two men with nothing in common. However, the two discover that is not true while struggling to survive. Mulkey, portrays Kelly, a small aircraft pilot whose plane went into the lake and Mitch, played by Asitn, happens upon him in a small boat. Why and how and what happens I will leave to you to go find out when the movie opens at area Marcus Cinema Theaters October 31st.

Gil, Sean and Chris arrived from Los Angeles to attend the premiere. After the showing they joined Jeff and cinematographer producer Jimmy Sammarco on stage to answer questions from the audience led by festival director Jonathan Jackson.

It appeared to be a fun evening for all at the theater. Cast and crew and and others proceeded to an after party.

For me it was good to see friends from the coast and the local area. It made me feel good to witness Jeff’s and everyone’s hard work make this dream come true. Mr. Gendelman has been working for 18 years to bring his feature to the screen and succeeded.

It is exciting that an area film got the financing it needed to become a reality so kudos to all those who helped make it happen. I wish he and everyone a successful run with this fine film.

While shooting last summer I visited the set a number of times, prior to returning to L A during the later half of August and I could see, first hand, the difficult conditions, working 12 hours or more, on the water was for all. Despite that hardship and needing the weather to cooperate what I witnessed pleased me. The crew and cast were all dedicated and happy. When conditions are tough it is easy to get discouraged and grumbly but these fine filmmakers kept spirits high and made it through it all.

Jeff and Gil’s film has raised the bar on Wisconsin area filmmaking. Everyone involved can feel very proud to have been a part of it.” Rex Sikes

Visit: The Surface Official Web Site

I’ll try to post some pictures soon.

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site

crowdfunding, film education, film financing, film producing, film production, film school, filmmaker, filmmaking, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, motion picture business, movie business, movies

TO CROWDFUND OR NOT TO CROWDFUND? IS THAT THE QUESTION? PT 5

October 8, 2014 rexsikes 1 Comment

Depending on the type of traditional money raising approach you attempt you may be reaching out to some strangers and qualifying them or you may be reaching out to qualified investors whom you have a relationship with according to specific guidelines. You may be reaching out to friends and family for dollars.

However you raise money it is a lot of work and not everyone is interested in getting involved. Whether you choose crowdfunding or raising money by other means you still need to understand your ‘target money’ people’s interests .

You will have to qualify, pitch, and in some cases negotiate, broker the deal and collect the funds unless you have qualified representative do it for you. In all cases you have a responsibility to your money people (investors, contributors or relatives and friends who loan it to you) and to the government. You must be above board and reliable. Being honest and ethical is important.

I am going to lump two different examples together here to illustrate a point. One example is about investors the other about locations. I discuss filmmakers dealing with investors (and crowdfund contributors) and location owners to make a point.

I put these two together because bad guy movie people have taken advantage of both. Some investors and contributors have been burned just as some cities and set location owners have been burned by filmmakers who make promises but don’t keep them.

Filmmakers have lost investor’s money, gone way over budget or have not completed the film (unless a bonding company steps in) Crowdfunders have not deliver the perks or the goods or finished the films as well.

Filmmakers should leave a location better off not worse than when they found it. They should restore it to the original condition and if possible leave it better than when they found it. Instead, some filmmakers have left messes or have damaged the location. They make promises but don’t deliver. They pay for damages with bad cheques.

Some people have been burnt badly and think ‘never again’. There are those who don’t ever want to invest and those who run when they see a film crew coming down their street.

Some others, have tried the movie business and simply found it not to their liking for whatever reason.

As a filmmaker, but more importantly, as a person, I think it is important to keep your word and deliver on your promises. The first rule of medicine AND I THINK of business should be to DO NO HARM. We should honor our commitments and strive to leave people in a better condition than when we found them.

IF we can do this, if we can add value or dollars to these people and delight them in some other ways we will have supporters for life OR for at least as long as they are able to invest or let us use their home, or office or store location.

The goal is to leave people and the places we utilize improved, better off, because they did business with us! It is always easier to ask someone to do something who likes doing business with us than to find a new person to have to ask. Keep this in mind and honor those you do business with.

Sadly, those who have burned bridges make it tougher for all others who follow after them. There are filmmakers who have turned off potential investors and contributors for your project and those who might have rented or let you use their facility.

For these reasons perhaps new areas for investing and Crowdfunding will need to be mined. Filmmakers need to locate new sources of money. We need more avenues for funding because sources are abused, or lose interest and dry up.

The cool thing about Crowdfunding is that it represented an opportunity for some filmmakers to make projects they might never have had the opportunity to make.

For whatever reason some filmmakers choose not to go the traditional route. So it is a good thing crowdfunding has come along especially when quality projects get funded that otherwise might never have been made.

As I have mentioned earlier traditional financing is a lot of work. So is Crowdfunding. Typically, one is not able to raise as much money through CF as from other means.

The bottom line is to raise money however you are able to legally so you can fund your efforts and pay your cast and crew living wages. That should be the goal.” Rex Sikes

More next time!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

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‘MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH’: ‘LORD OF THE FLIES’ 70S STYLE’ reprinted

September 20, 2014 rexsikes Leave a comment

It’s great to come across these reviews. I reprinted it from dangerousminds.net for you below. Enjoy! —

There is the old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same.Cliched? Absolutely. Trite? Perhaps. Accurate? Sadly yes and nowhere is it more apparent than in Rene Daalder’s brilliant and bleak 1976 film, Massacre at Central High. It is considered to be a huge influence on Michael Lehmann’s Heathers, but while the darkness of that film is cushioned by some exquisitely played gallows humor,Massacre at Central High is truly the unrelenting real deal.

The film begins with a young nerdish hippie type, Spoony (Robert Carradine), who is painting a swastika on the locker of one of his bullies. In fact, the bullies of Central High, Bruce (Ray Underwood), Craig (Steve Bond) and Paul (Damon Douglas), referred to by one character as “the little league Gestapo,” are more than just your garden variety jocks and mean kids. They rule the roost, complete with exclusive use of the student lounge and the more cherry part of the parking lot. The adults are neutered and the kids are all too scared and beaten down to challenge them. (Sound familiar?)

A young Robert Carradine being bullied.

Their harassment of Spoony is interrupted by David (Derrel Maury), the new kid at school, who is trying to find the student lounge. (Not knowing yet that it is alpha-douchebag territory.) The guys tell him to all but get lost and other students ignore his query until the sweet-faced, flaxen-haired Theresa (Kimberley Beck) offers to walk him there. He is then greeted by his old friend, Mark (Andrew Stevens), who is telling him how “he’ll never have any trouble again.” As if on cue, the asshole trio saunter in and let Mark know that they all have already met. They soon leave and sensing the already growing tension, Mark warns David “to drop the loner shit” and that this could be like their own country club.

Turns out that David once did Mark a favor at their old school. The exact specs are never quite told, but enough is said to infer that basically, David protected Mark from the same exact kind of cretin that he is now hanging out with. Except that David didn’t even know him at the time. Speaking of cretins, the five of them hang out after school and go out for a joyride until they spot poor Rodney (Rex Steven Sikes),driving along in his sputtering, barely running vehicle. Considering his car’s existence within their vicinity a personal affront, they end up stopping and all pile into his vehicle, where they proceed to wreck it until it is as dead as Rodney’s sense of self-esteem. David’s quiet but Mark senses that he is not pleased about this incident.

This feeling builds, as David witnesses the trio kicking and brutally tormenting chubby Oscar (Jeffrey Winner), during gym class. Mark tries to excuse it, saying that they are ultimately helping him. David starts asking the same question a lot of viewers may be thinking, which is why isn’t anyone stopping these guys? The have-nots far out number them, but yet much of the student body walk around like whooped animals, lest they be the next targets for abuse. To hear Jane (Lani O’Grady) and Mary (Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith) tell it “they get to everyone sooner or later.”

The bullies hassle the student librarian.

David begins actively talking to their assorted victims, starting with Rodney and offers to help him fix up his car. He also helps Arthur (Dennis Kort), the partially-deaf student librarian, after the gang shove him around and tear apart the library. Appreciating his friend’s act of kindness, Mark tells David that “he is playing with fire.” David’s response? “You tell them the same thing.” None of this endears David at all to Mark’s buddies, though he is temporarily spared, for the time being, due to Mark’s pleading. The really heartbreaking thing about all this is Arthur telling David that he is “breaking a long school tradition.” There’s the really terrifying thing, the fact that bullies are not just a school institutional trope but in fact can be a multi-generational culture.

Things continue to fester, with Paul, Craig and Bruce, after observing Alice and Mary earlier in the film, calling them “dykes” and stating “that all they need is a couple of good fucks,” decide to “teach something” to the two unwilling girls, dragging them in an empty classroom. Mark meets with Theresa in the parking lot while this going on. He gets pissy with Theresa’s lack of being social and suggests that maybe she would rather go “party” with the boys, just like her friends Alice and Mary. Sensing something is foul, she immediately goes on the run, looking for the girls. She manages to find them and starts chastising the boys, with things escalating from verbal to physical. One the bullies ends up restraining her, while the other two are still trying to execute the rape. Hearing commotion, David bursts in and efficiently pummels the three attackers, before anything can get even worse. Theresa runs off and Alice and Mary, looking stunned, turn down his offer of a ride home.

David and Theresa

Worried, he follows Theresa, who is at first disturbed by his violent actions, but ends up being glad that he stood up to the terrors of the school. They go down to the beach where David reveals that he has a lot of inner rage, stating that “anger just builds up inside.” But his fix for it is going for a run. Meanwhile, Bruce, Craig and Paul are beaten and foaming at the mouth for some revenge. Mark tries to save things, stating that if David was able to single-handedly kick their collective asses, that he could be a good ally. Grudgingly they agree, but only if Mark can talk some sense into him. Seeing David’s jeep near the beach, he goes down there only to see his friend and girlfriend skinny dipping in the ocean. Hurt, he goes back to his “friends” and lies, saying that David said no. Being the complete coward that he is, Mark all but okays their retaliation, just as long as he is not directly involved.

Mark realizes something bad is on the horizon.

The result is the gang harass David while he is working on Rodney’s car. One of them kicks the carjack in, propelling the blunt force of the car onto one of his knees. The “accident” ends up leaving David with a permanent limp and having him return to school looking like a veteran of the psychic war. What ends up resulting is a series of violence that turns out in ways that are both expected and completely unexpected, with the ending leaving you with the a taste of one grim Lord of the Flies meets La Ronde experience.

Massacre at Central High is one of the best films about high school life and what happens when no one looks out for the students. It is absolutely telling that you do not see one adult in the whole film until the climax at the school dance. Even then the adults are just there, as ineffectual in presence as they were absent. Which is part of the real life problem with bullying is that the adults that should be there to help guide, educate and protect students either turn a blind eye, especially if it’s just a “boys will be boys” kind of situation or even worse, aid and abet it. (I actually had a teacher in junior high snicker as some kids picked on this one boy who was both dirt poor and developmentally disabled. Sartre said hell is other people, but I would argue that junior high is right next to it.)

Mark and Theresa at the Dance.

The film is almost forty years old and yet all the same problems are there. The only real difference is if Massacre at Central High was made nowadays, one of the bullies would be shooting video of their various attacks on their cell phones and uploading it to YouTube and Twitter. The ghosts of Steubenville are still omnipresent and bully culture thrives long and strong.

One of the many smart moves that director Daalder made with this film is that the reactionary violence is neither condemned nor endorsed. It is there, all for you as a viewer to soak in and process and think about. With a film like this, cliché and heavy-handedness would be the easiest twain approach but Daalder skillfully avoids both. The only real misstep is the awful MOR theme song which sounds like something David Soul would have expectorated out. No surprise that this was a powers-that-be decision, reportedly making Daadler not being able to stomach seeing his own film for three decades. The film is too solid to be ruined by such a trite song, but it is bad enough to where one can completely sympathize with the director.

The fracas with the music was only the beginning, between a weird print of the film being released as Sexy Jeans (?!?) in Italy with hardcore inserts that are visibly not the actual actors and the fact that the film remains unreleased on either DVD or Blu Ray in America. (Though cross your fingers, since there is word that Cult Epics, who have also released Daalder’s incredible apocalyptic, post-punk musical Population 1 as well as his more recent feature, Hysteria, are prepping to release it later this year.) There was a DVD release in the United Kingdom with the cover art looking like something out of a bargain basement slasher film, which is beyond misleading.

Awful UK DVD release Cover Art

Further proof of the film’s punch is that while it was originally scheduled to air on Turner Classics Movies “Underground” segment back in 2009, it ended up getting pulled, reportedly due to it being excessively violent. While there is undoubtedly violence in the film, it is no more brutal than some of the other films that have gone on to air on “Underground,” including Blue Velvet and Herschell Gordon Lewis’ gore classic, Blood Feast. One cannot help but suspect that the subject of school related violence has made this film more taboo now than it was back when it was theatrically released. And it’s a taboo that needs to be broken, not just because this is a smart, strong film, which it is to the nth degree, but also because the less we communicate as a culture, the more we are damned to repeat what hurts us. Art is considered a mirror for a very good reason. Massacre at Central High is one of those reasons.

Posted by Heather Drain (Reprinted from Dangerousminds.net)

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Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

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acting, actors, directing, directors, film directing, film education, film festival, film producing, film production, film school, filmmaker, filmmaking, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, motion picture business, movie business, movies, producer, producing, storytelling, television business

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Producer Director Gil Cates Jr

September 19, 2014 rexsikes Leave a comment

Director Producer Gil Cates Jr will be attending the Milwaukee Film Festival Premiere of ‘The Surface’ shot entirely in Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. The movie stars Sean Astin, Chris Mulkey (both will be in attendance) and Mimi Rogers. Tickets are on sale now for the Thursday October 9th Premiere at the Oriental Theater on Farwell Avenue.

GIL CATES, JR. , Director / Producer has produced and directed many films and documentaries. His motion picture directorial debut was the 1997 short film Screening. With an ensemble cast including Morgan Freeman, the film played at numerous film festivals and was subsequently purchased by Showtime and The Sundance Channel.

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Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with producer director Gil Cates Jr.

Following up on the success of the short, Gil wrote and directed his debut feature film $pent, a serio-comic look at life, love, and addictions. The film stars Jason London (“Dazed and Confused”) and was distributed by Regent Entertainment in the summer of 2000.

In 2002, Gil wrapped the twisted comedy The Mesmerist, based on an Edgar Allan Poe short story. The film, released by Seventh Arts Releasing, stars Neil Patrick Harris and Jessica Capshaw, and was Executive Produced by Barbara De Fina (“Casino”).

In 2003, Gil completed the ensemble A Midsummer Night’s Rave, released by THINKFilm. “Rave” features Andrew Keegan (“10 Things I Hate About You”), Chad Lindberg (“The Fast and The Furious”), Sunny Mabrey (“XXX 2”), and Carrie Fisher.

In 2005, Gil shot the documentary feature Life After Tomorrow, which follows the girls that were in the original productions of Annie on Broadway. The film won Best Documentary and Best Director at the Phoenix Film Festival and had its premiere on Christmas Eve of 2006 on Showtime.

In 2006, Gil directed the feature Deal, which he co-wrote with Marc Weinstock. The film stars Burt Reynolds as an ex-gambler who is sucked back into the popular game of Texas Hold’em. The film, shot in New Orleans, also stars Bret Harrison, Shannon Elizabeth, and Charles Durning, and was released by MGM in the spring of 2008.

In 2008, Gil produced the indie feature Order of Chaos, starring Rhys Coiro, Milo Ventimiglia, Samantha Mathis, and Mimi Rogers. The film, directed by Vince Vieluf, was released February 12th, 2010.

In 2010, Gil directed the feature Lucky. The film, a dark comedy about a serial killer who wins the lottery, stars Colin Hanks, Ari Graynor, Ann-Margret and Jeffrey Tambor and was released by Phase 4 Films in the summer of 2011.

In 2012, Gil co-produced the feature film Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher, Matthew Modine, Josh Gad, Dermot Mulroney, and J.K. Simmons. The film, which tells the story of Steve Jobs’ ascension from college dropout into one of our most revered creative entrepreneurs, was released by Open Road in the summer of 2013.

In 2013, Gil directed the feature The Surface, starring Sean Astin, Chris Mulkey, and Mimi Rogers. The indie drama, about two strangers who meet in the unpredictable waters of Lake Michigan, recently completed post-production and will be released in the winter of 2014.

Gil also made his TV directorial debut in 2007 with an episode of the NBC comedy, Joey,starring Emmy winner Matt LeBlanc.

**** NEWS NOTE: Gil will be attending the Milwaukee Film Festival Premiere of ‘The Surface’ shot entirely in Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. The movie stars Sean Astin, Chris Mulkey and Mimi Rogers. Tickets are on sale now for the Thursday October 9th Premiere at the Oriental Theater on Farwell Avenue.

Subscribe and Follow Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Blog! Visit often & please share with others!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

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actors, directing, film festival, film production, filmmaker, filmmakers, filmmaking, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, motion picture business, movie business, movies, westerns

Peter Sheryako |Actor | Author | Historian | Westerns | Tombstone | Yellow Rock | and more

September 18, 2014 rexsikes Leave a comment

Peter Sherayko, Actor, and owner of Caravan West a supplier of horses, tack, artillery, costumes, props, Prod. Designer, Art Director, Prop Master, Wranglers, and Sets for movies. Peter portrayed cowboy Texas Jack Vermillion in Tombstone staring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe and Michael Biehn. He worked as the film’s technical advisor and is the head of The Buckaroos, a group of specialized western background performers. On Tombstone, as well as other movies. Peter and The Buckaroos provide horses, guns, props, extras, experience and equipment for many of the cowboy scenes.

Peter played ‘Farley’ in ‘Yellow Rock’ a feature film we have been discussing in some depth on Movie Beat. “Yellow Rock’ stars Michael Biehn, James Russo, and the film’s writer and producer Lenore Andriel,

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Rex Sikes Movie Beat chats with Actor Author Peter Sheryako PT2

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat chats with Actor Author Peter Sherayko

Peter created his company to bring quality to the Hollywood Western and provide today’s demanding film audience with the most authentic product possible. In the process, Sherayko has become recognized as historian and author, appearing in numerous Wild West Tech episodes for the History Channel and as technical consultant and supplier to both the History and Discovery Channels.

His first book, Tombstone: The Guns and Gear is lauded in Flayderman’s Guide to Antique Weapons as one of the 100 books every collector should have on their bookshelf, the book grew out of his work on the Western film classic, Tombstone. Peter researched the weaponry of every character as he designed the firearms he provided.

His company Caravan West Productions coordinated the saddles and the Buckaroos, and Peter portrayed the character Texas Jack Vermillion, one of his better known roles.

The Fringe of Hollywood is his second adult nonfiction book. The taped version of his one-man show, Cody…An Evening with Buffalo Bill was performed in a chataugua and was among the top finalists in the Santa Clarita International Film Festival when produced.

He also released a CD At Your Service and hosted Varmint Media’s The Guns of Billy the Kid. The State of Nebraska awarded him the Buffalo Bill Award for Achievements in Family Entertainment.

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*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

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acting, actors, casting, crowdfunding, directing, directors, film directing, film education, film festival, film production, filmmaker, filmmakers, filmmaking, independent film production, indiefilm, motion picture business, movie business, movies, producer, producing, screenwriter, screenwriting, storytelling

Behind The Scenes Of “Full Circle” – reprinted from Project Famous

September 8, 2014 rexsikes Leave a comment

BEHIND THE SCENES OF “FULL CIRCLE”

Posted by Project Famous on Sunday, September 7, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Written by Karla S. Bryant | Photography by Peter Langeness

It may be the only time someone at the Déjà Vu Martini Lounge in Appleton, WI was in conversation with another person when the words that popped into their head were, “This may be the priest I’ve been looking for.”

But that’s what happened when I was talking with actor, producer, and broadcaster Rex Sikes. My short story, “Full Circle,” had recently been published in a literary quarterly. The film production company I’m involved with, Madison-based Living Storm Productions, was planning on adapting it as a short film. Jeff Blankenship, who had been directing films for them, was on board from the start to direct it.

But there was one thing that worried all of us to varying degrees: whoever played the lead character of Fr. Kmichik would have to carry the film. Its success, to some degree, would depend on who was cast in the role. There were a few people in mind and we knew we’d hold auditions, of course. But at the moment, a number of Living Storm Productions members were at the Déjà Vu Lounge after-party for the Wildwood Film Festival, where their film, Freud (also directed by Blankenship), had been an “Official Participant.”

As I sipped my neon blue martini, I listened more closely as Rex talked. In my mind, he was already wearing a priest’s collar and making the no-nonsense, yet empathetic character come to life. I knew the casting decision wouldn’t be up to me, the writer. Still, a writer knows the characters she’s written better than anyone else.

But, that’s in the middle of the process of my story becoming a film. I’d initially meant to write “Full Circle” as a traditional ghost story. But, as the story and characters developed, it turned into something else. It turned into a story focused on forgiveness and redemption, not necessarily in the strictly religious sense, but still on a deeply spiritual level. In fact, in the story, the spiritual world behaves like an attention-seeking toddler… moving objects and throwing things and making noises to catch the attention of those currently living. Or, at least, the attention of one person currently living. I firmly believe that the truth always has a way of fighting its way to the surface. That, perhaps, is at the core of the story.

Just before moving to Madison last September, I received word that “Full Circle” had been accepted for publication in Dappled Things, a literary quarterly. I knew it was primarily a visual story and, with one short story already optioned by a film studio, I thought this one would also work well in a film adaptation. Things began to dovetail. Not everyone is aware that I went to high school with Blankenship in Eagle River, WI. The shy guy who sat next to me in American Lit and Drama class noticed on Facebook that I did some screenwriting and was moving to Madison. He had lived in the area for some time and was directing films for Living Storm Productions. He suggested I meet some people from the group.

Thirty-some years since we’d last seen each other, Jeff and I met and spoke about “Full Circle.” He was very interested in the story and he told me he’d love to take it on. As a director, Jeff wanted to know more and more about the characters’ back stories and motivations and, over the fall, we spent hours in discussion over it. Finally, he was satisfied that it all pieced together for him in a way that he could now envision just how the film would feel and look.

By spring, because of the unique situation I was in as a new member of Living Storm Productions, I was fortunate to sit in on the auditions. For the first time I heard strangers speak the words I’d written for characters whom had been my imaginary friends for months. As different actors auditioned for the roles, I was fascinated by the varied interpretations of the characters. Really? I wondered. The paralegal had that kind of a personality? Well, she could and it could actually make her a more interesting character. It is eye-opening and humbling to see your characters develop beyond your own imagination.

We had a number of video submissions as well. One actress, Joette Waters, was so convincing as the elderly Helen Waldowksi that when we were making arrangements for her to take the bus from Chicago, I cautioned it shouldn’t be too late in the evening because of her age. Glancing then at her head shot, I was shocked she wasn’t elderly at all, just a very talented actress who had excellent make-up on for her audition tape. Yes, she got the role. We were fortunate to find gifted actors and actresses for all the supporting roles.

And then came the auditions for Fr. Kmichik, the lead actor. In spite of my instinct about Rex Sikes being the man for the role, I tried to keep my mind open. In particular, there was another wonderful actor who auditioned, but he was much better suited for a role as an Anglican vicar in a BBC drama. Fr. Kmichik, the main character, is a Polish-American, earthy priest with a strong insight into people. Not a priest who would be troubled by protocol or talk about the weather. Not a priest who would be frightened by something unexplained, but a man who would take on the challenge to find the reason behind supernatural events.

When Rex auditioned via Skype, we ended up with one technical problem after another. Jeff’s audio didn’t work. At one point, he had to communicate with hastily written Post-It notes held up to the screen. Rex had a difficult time hearing me. Fortunately, we had no problem hearing or seeing him. Still, it was frustrating and distracting for everyone. Just as we were wondering if we should set something else up, Jeff gave Rex specific direction and, when he read the lines again, in spite of all the technological problems, Rex’s expression, pacing, and inflection were spot on. My gut instinct had been correct.

Early scenes for a teaser trailer were shot in June and right now, most of the filming is done for the actual film.Living Storm Productions co-owner, actor, and producer, Bryan Royston, is juggling multiple roles throughout the production, along with managing the IndieGoGo campaign (which is bringing us much-needed funds for fixed expenses). Kelly Lajter is working tirelessly and creatively as Project Manager and Script Supervisor, along with Craig Olson as Assistant Director. Another Living Storm Productions co-owner and producer, Alex Contreras, is keeping everyone updated on details through emails and weekly meetings. Steven Dean brings his formidable talent as a cinematographer to the project. Experienced lighting expert, Justin Propp and audio technician, Ryan Meunier, are also on board. The production is fortunate to have a gifted make-up and hair artist, Joshua Harrison, to transform young actresses into elderly women and have it look completely believable.

What I’m learning as a writer on set for the first time is that, just as they say at award ceremonies, there are too many people in the cast and crew to thank them individually… each one of them is critical to the success of the film.

Getting a few peeks at the monitors, I saw for myself that Full Circle is beautifully shot and the acting is outstanding. Right now, even though there are a few scenes that remain to be filmed and the post-production work lies ahead, I’m restless to see the finished project.

The last of filming is being scheduled. Full Circle will start post-production work this fall. The release date is currently TBD. Keep up with Full Circle and Living Storm Productions on Facebook.

Category: BEHIND THE SCENES · Tags: bryan royston, Craig Olson, Full Circle, Jeff Blankeship, Karla S. Bryant, kelly lajter,living storm productions, madison, Madison Film Industry, madison wi, project famous, Steven Dean

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2014 Milwaukee Film Festival Entire Line UP – Check it Out!

September 5, 2014 rexsikes Leave a comment

If you are a film fan you have been waiting for this Milwaukee! The entire 2014 film festival line up is announced. As you know, the festival begins Thursday Sept 25, 2014 and ends October 9. There is a great bunch of Milwaukee surprises during this festival for you to enjoy!

Opening the festival is the riveting documentary, 1971, about eight brave citizens who took matters into their own hands in order to expose government corruption.

“The last time we opened the festival with a documentary was in our inaugural year. 1971 is one of the most important documentaries of 2014 – if not the most important – exemplifying the power of the individual. It’s expertly crafted and has significant parallels to today’s political and social climate. I feel the story will resonate with our audience and simultaneously provide Milwaukee with the incredibly unique opportunity to engage in-person with the film’s director and subjects,” explains Jonathan Jackson, Artistic and Executive Director for Milwaukee Film.

Oscar-winning Milwaukee native, John Ridley, to screen his Jimi Hendrix biopic for Centerpiece

Fresh off of the unanimous critical acclaim and Oscar glory received by his screenplay for 12 Years a Slave, Milwaukee native John Ridley brings an intimate portrait of rock legend Jimi Hendrix to the screen in his newest film, Jimi: All is By My Side – the festival Centerpiece. Written and directed by Ridley, Jimi is an electric biopic following a year in Hendrix’s life, magnetically portrayed by Outkast’s André Benjamin.

Closing the festival is the thriller made entirely in Milwaukee by local crew, The Surface. Daringly filmed on Lake Michigan, the film stars Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings, Rudy, Goonies), and is a fitting bookend to the festival as a celebration of local filmmaking.

The Surface is one near and dear to my heart since I know much of the cast and nearly all of the crew members. I am eager to see this movie.

This year’s festival will screen a total of 276 films (36 more than in 2013) – 119 features (16 more than in 2013) and 156 shorts (19 more than in 2013) – from 63 different countries (19 more than in 2013). Among the features are 56 documentaries and 63 fiction films, including four world premieres, and one silent film (Man with a Movie Camera–voted the greatest documentary of all time by the prestigious British Film Institute) featuring live musical accompaniment from the world renowned Alloy Orchestra.

Program Books for the 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival will be available to the general public beginning Saturday, September 6 from 9 AM – 8 PM during both the East Town Farmer’s Market and the WMSE Backyard BBQ in Cathedral Square Park. This will also be the last day to purchase festival passes and ticket 6-packs in person at an early discount rate.

So here it is:

The complete 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival lineup:

SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATIONS

Opening Night Film
1971 USA / 2014 / Director: Johanna Hamilton

Festival Centerpiece

Jimi: All Is By My Side United Kingdom, Ireland, USA / 2013 / Director: John Ridley

CLOSING NIGHT FILM

The Surface USA / 2014 / Director: Gil Cates Jr.

Alive Inside USA / 2014 / Director: Michael Rossato-Bennett

Dear MKE

All in the Family (USA / 2013 / Director: Sam Macon

BuildMoto (USA / 2013 / Director: Matt Mixon

Come Sail Away (USA / 2013 / Director: Jack Davidson

Cooking with Kumar (USA / 2013 / Director: Frankie Latina
High Art (USA / 2013 / Director: Chris Thompson

Lo with the Fro (USA / 2013 / Director: Jessica Farrell

Mondo Lucha (USA / 2013 / Director: Sam Macon

The Right Ingredients (USA / 2013 / Director: Matt Mixon

Rory: Milwaukee’s Most Famous Cab Driver (USA / 2013 / Director: Frankie Latina

To See What You Can Do (USA / 2013 / Director: Jack Davidson

Tour de Space (USA / 2013 / Director: Blyth Renate Meier

The Truck Driver (USA / 2013 / Director: Matt Mixon

Underwater Harvey (USA / 2013 / Director: Steve Farr

Family United Spain / 2013 / Director: Daniel Sánchez Arévalo

The Imitation Game USA, United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Morten Tyldum

Life Partners USA / 2014 / Director: Susanna Fogel

Man with a Movie Camera USSR / 1929 / Director: Dziga Vertov

Revival Czech Republic / 2013 / Director: Alice Nellis

Secundaria USA, Cuba / 2012 / Director: Mary Jane Doherty

TRIBUTES

Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys France, Germany, Romania / 2000 / Director: Michael Haneke

Point and Shoot USA / 2014 / Director: Marshall Curry

Stray Dog USA / 2014 / Director: Debra Granik

Street Fight USA / 2005 / Director: Marshall Curry

Top Secret! USA, United Kingdom / 1984 / Directors: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker

Winter’s Bone USA / 2010 / Director: Debra Granik

COMPETITION

Bad Hair Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Germany / 2013 / Director: Mariana Rondón

Cairo Drive Egypt, USA / 2013 / Director: Sherief Elkatsha

Don’t Leave Me Netherlands, Belgium / 2013 / Directors: Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Niels van Koevorden

Of Horses and Men Iceland, Germany, Norway / 2013 / Director: Benedikt Erlingsson

Still Life United Kingdom, Italy / 2013 / Director: Uberto Pasolini

The Tribe Ukraine, Netherlands / 2014 / Director: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky

The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga USA, Ukraine, Russia, Poland / 2013 / Director: Jessica Oreck

Zero Motivation Israel, France / 2014 / Director: Talya Lavie

PASSPORT: MEXICO

The Amazing Catfish (Los Insolitos Peces Gatos) Mexico, France / 2013 / Director: Claudia Sainte-Luce

Club Sandwich Mexico / 2013 / Director: Fernando Eimbcke

Heli Mexico / 2013 / Director: Amat Escalante

Last Call (Tercera llamada) Mexico / 2013 / Director: Francisco Franco Alba

Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border (Purgatorio: Viaje al Corazón de la Frontera) USA, Mexico / 2013 / Director: Rodrigo Reyes

Que Caramba es la Vida Germany / 2014 / Director: Doris Dörrie

We Are the Nobles (Nosotros los Nobles) Mexico / 2013 / Director: Gary Alazraki

Workers Mexico, Germany / 2013 / Director: Jose Luis Valle

RATED K: FOR KIDS

AninA Uruguay, Colombia / 2013 / Director: Alfredo Soderguit

Ernest & Celestine France, Luxembourg, Belgium / 2012 / Directors: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner

Felix South Africa / 2013 / Director: Roberta Durrant

Mary Poppins Sing-A-Long USA / 1964 / Director: Robert Stevenson

Windstorm Germany / 2013 / Director: Katja von Garnier

Kids Shorts: Size Small

Cloudy Goats Iran / 2014 / Director: Hamid Karimian

The Delirious Tales: The Chicken, the Elephant and the Snake France / 2012 / Director: Fabrice Luang-Vija

Goose Trouble Poland / 2013 / Director: Monika Dovnar

I Want My Hat Back USA / 2013 / Director: Galen Fott

Into Spring Netherlands / 2012 / Director: Udo Prinsen

My Little Chicken Canada / 2011 / Directors: Jeremy Diamond, Alex Hawley

My Mom is an Airplane Russia / 2013 / Director: Yulia Aronova

The Numberlys USA / 2013 / Directors: William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg

Sky Color USA / 2012 / Director: Peter H. Reynolds

Slowly but Surely USA / 2012 / Director: Eli Balser

Winter Has Come Russia / 2012 / Director: Vassiliy Shlychkov

Kids Shorts: Size Medium

At the Opera Argentina / 2010 / Director: Juan Pablo Zaramella

Beep, Beep, Beep Canada / 2012 / Director: Jeremy Diamond

The Dam Keeper USA / 2013 / Directors: Robert Kondo, Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi

The Mole at the Sea Russia / 2012 / Director: Anna Kadykova

Monster Symphony Germany / 2012 / Director: Kiana Naghshineh

Mushroom Monster Norway / 2013 / Director: Aleksander Leines Nordaas

The New Species Czech Republic / 2013 / Director: Kateřina Karhánková

Gnarly in Pink-Featuring the Pink Helmet Posse USA / 2014 / Directors: Benjamin Mullinkosson, Kristelle Laroche

Rabbit and Deer Hungary / 2013 / Director: Péter Vácz

The Whale Bird France / 2011 / Director: Sophie Roze

Wombo Germany / 2013 / Director: Daniel Acht

Kids Shorts: Size Large

Cootie Contagion USA / 2012 / Director: Josh Smooha

Dancing with Style Netherlands / 2012 / Director: Xander de Boer

Girl with the World in her Hair United Kingdom / 2011 / Director: Debbie Howard

Hedgehogs and the City Latvia / 2013 / Director: Evalds Lacis

Matilde Italy / 2013 / Director: Vito Palmieri

My Strange Grandfather Russia / 2012 / Director: Dina Velikovskaya

Sniffles USA / 2013 / Directors: Jeremy Galante, David Cowles

Sweet Love Netherlands / 2012 / Director: Albert Jan van Rees

Twins in Bakery Japan / 2013 / Director: Mari Miyazawa

BLACK LENS

25 to Life USA / 2014 / Director: Mike L. Brown

CRU USA / 2014 / Director: Alton Glass

Evolution of a Criminal USA / 2014 / Director: Darius Clark Monroe

Freedom Summer USA / 2014 / Director: Stanley Nelson

Hollywood Shuffle USA / 1987 / Director: Robert Townsend

Things Never Said USA / 2013 / Director: Charles Murray

Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People USA / 2014 / Director: Thomas Allen Harris

‘Til Infinity: Celebrating 20 Years of the Souls of Mischief USA / 2014 / Director: Shomari Smith

CREAM CITY CINEMA

Hamlet A.D.D. USA / 2014 / Directors: Bobby Ciraldo, Andrew Swant

The Milwaukee Show I

The Death of Corey Stingley USA / 2014 / Director: Spencer Chumbley

An Evening at Angelo’s USA / 2014 / Director: Kara Mulrooney

Glider USA / 2014 / Director: Junehyuck Jeon

The Harpist USA / 2014 / Director: Erica Thompson

The Kenny Dennis USA / 2014 / Director: WC Tank

Little America USA / 2014 / Director: Kurt Raether

New Planet USA / 2014 / Director: James Tindell

Settlers USA / 2013 / Director: Nathaniel Heuer

The Milwaukee Show II

Balloons USA / 2014 / Director: Sitora Takanaev

Geoffrey Broughe Handles Confrontation Poorly USA / 2014 / Director: Jon Phillips

MECCA: The Floor That Made Milwaukee Famous USA / 2014 / Director: Chris James Thompson

One Week Vacation USA / 2014 / Director: Brendan T. Jones

Smoky Places USA / 2013 / Director: Michael DiMilo

This is Jackie. USA / 2014 / Director: Anna Sampers

‘Tis the Season USA / 2013 / Director: Kirsten Stuck

To Hold In the Heart USA / 2014 / Director: Pang Yang Her

The Waystation in the Stars USA / 2013 / Director: Brandon L Morrissey

The Milwaukee Youth Show

200,000 USA / 2014 / Directors: Gavin White, Tyler Matthews, Jeremy LeCleir, Scott Meade

Assist Bhopal USA / 2014 / Director: Megan Sai Dogra

The Autumn Vignette USA / 2014 / Director: Serbata Tarrer

Counting the Dead USA / 2012 / Director: Alexandra Van Den Heuvel

Dreaming USA / 2014 / Director: Felicia McGowan

Get Real People USA / 2014 / Directors: Griffin Anderson, Mitch Dykstra, Tanner Dykstra, Ronnie Al-Ramahi

Iero USA / 2014 / Directors: Gabriella Avila, Alexia Jaso

If You Weren’t Here USA / 2013 / Directors: LaVarnway Boys & Girls Club workshop participants

La Decisiones de Tu Vida USA / 2014 / Directors: Alondra Mercado, Ana Ornelas

Let the Children Live USA / 2014 / Directors: Clarke Street Boys & Girls Club workshop participants

Media and Mental Illness USA / 2014 / Directors: Eden Raduege, Mikayla Bell

Protect Yourself USA / 2014 / Directors: Youth from Townsend CLC Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee

Wake Up and Pay Attention USA / 2014 / Directors: Youth from the Daniels-Mardak Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee

The Other One USA / 2014 / Director: Josef Steiff

Pester USA / 2014 / Director: Eric Gerber

Psychopath USA / 2014 / Director: Manny Marquez

Serial Daters Anonymous USA / 2014 / Director: Christopher Carson Emmons (I have a special place in my heart for this movie, there is some history here. I am happy it is screening in the festival.

SOUND VISION

20,000 Days on Earth United Kingdom / 2014 / Directors: Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard

The Ballad of Shovels and Rope USA / 2014 / Director: Jace Freeman

Finding Fela USA / 2014 / Director: Alex Gibney

My Prairie Home Canada / 2013 / Director: Chelsea McMullan

Revenge of The Mekons USA / 2013 / Director: Joe Angio

Stop Making Sense USA / 1984 / Director: Jonathan Demme

Take Me to the River USA / 2014 / Director: Martin Shore

This May Be the Last Time USA / 2014 / Director: Sterlin Harjo

ART + ARTISTS

Advanced Style USA / 2014 / Director: Lina Plioplyte

Art and Craft USA / 2014 / Directors: Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman, Mark Becker

Born to Fly USA / 2014 / Director: Catherine Gund

Crumb USA / 1994 / Director: Terry Zwigoff

Hairy Who & The Chicago Imagists USA / 2013 / Director: Leslie Buchbinder

Living Stars Argentina / 2014 / Directors: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat

Nan Goldin: I Remember Your Face Germany, Austria, Switzerland / 2013 / Director: Sabine Lidl

Sol LeWitt The Netherlands / 2012 / Director: Chris Teerink

CINEMA HOOLIGANTE

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb USA, United Kingdom / 1964 / Director: Stanley Kubrick

Mood Indigo (L’ecume des Jours) France / 2013 / Director: Michel Gondry

Patema Inverted (Sakasama No Patema) Japan / 2013 / Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura

The Raid 2 Indonesia / 2013 / Director: Gareth Evans

This Is Spinal Tap USA / 1984 / Director: Rob Reiner

Time Lapse USA / 2014 / Director: Bradley King

Wetlands (Feuchtgebiete) Germany / 2013 / Director: David Wnendt

Witching and Bitching (Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi) Spain, France / 2013 / Director: Álex de la Iglesia

SHORTER IS BETTER

Shorts: The Best Damn F*#@ing Midnight Program Ever. Sh*t.

Box Room Ireland / 2013 / Director: Michael Lathrop

Fool’s Day USA / 2013 / Director: Cody Blue Snider

The Gunfighter USA / 2014 / Director: Eric Kissack

I Love You So Hard United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Ross Butter)

Invasion France / 2014 / Directors: Hugo Ramirez, Olivier Patte

Kekasih Malaysia / 2013 / Director: Diffan Sina Norman

Kids and Explosions – Swear Words France / 2012 / Directors: Thomas Vernay, Yann Wallaert

Not Funny (No Tiene Gracia) Spain / 2013 / Director: Carlos Violade

The Obvious Child United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Stephen Irwin

Shorts: Date Night

2 Girls, 1 Cake Denmark / 2013 / Director: Jens Dahl

Best United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: William Oldroyd

Life’s A Bitch Toutes des Connes) (Canada / 2013 / Director: Francois Jaros

Love. Love. Love. Russia / 2013 / Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram

Oi, Meu Amor (Hi, My Love) USA / 2014 / Director: Robert G. Putka

Peepers USA / 2014 / Director: Ken Lam

Queenie New Zealand / 2014 / Director: Paul Neason

Scent of a Woman USA / 2013 / Director: Lauren Savoy

Send USA / 2013 / Director: Peter Vack

We Keep On Dancing Australia / 2013 / Director: Jessica Barclay Lawton

Where were you when Michael Jackson died? (T’étais où quand Michael Jackson est mort?) France / 2013 / Director: Jean-Baptiste Pouilloux

Shorts: Let’s Get Animated

365 United Kingdom / 2013 / Directors: Greg McLeod, Myles McLeod)

Coda Ireland / 2013 / Director: Alan Holly

Grace Under Water Australia / 2014 / Director: Anthony Lawrence

Love in the Time of March Madness(USA / 2014 / Directors: Melissa Johnson, Robertino Zambrano) Marilyn Myller (USA / 2013 / Director: Mikey Please

The Missing Scarf Ireland / 2013 / Director: Eoin Duffy

Phantom Limb United Kingdom, Australia / 2013 / Director: Alex Grigg

A Recipe for Gruel United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Sharon Smith

Symphony No. 42 Hungary / 2014 / Director: Reka Bucsi

Through the Hawthorn United Kingdom / 2014 / Directors: Anna Benner, Pia Borg, Gemma Burditt

White Morning United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Paul Barritt

Shorts: Modern Families

Baby Mary USA / 2013 / Director: Kris Swanberg

Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak) France, China / 2013 / Director: Hu Wei

Condom Australia / 2013 / Directors: Igor Coric, Sheldon Lieberman

Cruising Electric 1980) (USA / 2013 / Director: Brumby Boylston

The Cut (La Coupe) Canada / 2014 / Director: Genevieve Dulude-De Celles

The Hunger De Honger) (Belgium / 2013 / Director: Benoit De Clerck

I Think This Is The Closest To How The Footage Looked Israel / 2013 / Directors: Hameiri, Michal Vaknin

Krisha USA / 2013 / Director: Trey Edward Shults

Pony Place Netherlands / 2013 / Director: Joost Reijmers

Shorts: Out of This World

Bernard the Great (Bernard Le Grand) Canada / 2013 / Directors: Marie-Hélène Viens, Philippe Lupien

Democracy (Democracia) (pain / 2013 / Director: Borja Cobeaga

The iMom Australia, USA / 2013 / Director: Ariel Martin

The Kármán Line United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Oscar Sharp

Orbit Ever After United Kingdom / 2013 / Director: Jamie Stone

When You Were Mine USA / 2014 / Director: Michelle M. Witten

Shorts: Sports Shorts. Shorts about Sports.

Cadet Belgium / 2013 / Director: Kevin Meul

Gnarly in Pink – Featuring the Pink Helmet Posse USA / 2014 / Directors: Benjamin Mullinkosson, Kristelle Laroche

The High Five USA / 2014 / Director: Michael Jacobs

The Immaculate Reception USA / 2014 / Director: Charlotte Glynn

Strike: the Greatest Bowling Story Ever Told (SA / 2014 / Director: Joey Daoud

Tennis Elbow France / 2012 / Director: Vital Philippot

Untucked USA / 2013 / Director: Danny Pudi

Shorts: Stories We Tell

The Chaperone Canada / 2013 / Directors: Fraser Munden, Neil Rathbone

CRIME: The Animated Series Marcus McGhee) (USA, Canada / 2013 / Directors: Sam Chou, Alix Lambert

Funnel USA / 2013 / Director: Andre Hyland

Maikaru USA / 2014 / Director: Amanda Harryman

One Is Listening Anymore! Australia / 2013 / Director: Romi Trower

One Year Lease USA / 2014 / Director: Brian Bolster

Person to Person USA / 2014 / Director: Dustin Guy Defa

Yearbook USA / 2013 / Director: Bernardo Britto

You Won’t Regret That Tattoo Canada / 2013 / Director: Angie Bird

Shorts: Stranger Than Fiction

The Chilean Elvis Chile / 2013 / Director: Marcelo Kiwi

The Last Days of Peter Bergmann Ireland / 2013 / Director: Ciaran Cassidy

A Paradise (Un Paraíso) Cuba / 2013 / Director: Jayisha Patel

Stumped USA / 2014 / Director: Robin Berghaus

The Supreme (Najwyższy) Poland / 2013 / Director: Katarzyna Gondek

Taxidermists USA / 2012 / Director: Nicole Triche

Pre-Feature Shorts

3 Acres in Detroit USA / 2013 / Director: Nora Mandray

Anchovies USA / 2014 / Director: Annabelle Attanasio

Carnival of the Animals USA / 2014 / Director: Sitora Takanaev

David Hockney In the Now USA / 2013 / Director: Lucy Walker

Dinosaurs and Sea Hawks USA / 2014 / Director: Linas Phillips

Eleanor Ambos Interiors USA / 2013 / Director: Andrew Michael Ellis

Give It Up for the Girl USA / 2014 / Director: Carol Brandt

I Was a Teenage Girl USA / 2014 / Director: Augustine Frizzell

MeTube: August sings Carmen “Habanera” Austria / 2013 / Director: Daniel Moshel

Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution USA, Syria, Turkey / 2013 / Director: Matthew VanDyke

One Picture (Kay Pacha) Peru / 2013 / Director: Alvaro Sarmiento

Sker Iceland / 2013 / Director: Eytor Jovinsson

Supervenus France / 2013 / Director: Frederic Doazan

This is It USA / 2013 / Director: Alexander Engel

Years USA / 2014 / Director: Rose Curley

FILM FEAST

Cesar’s Grill Germany, Ecuador, Switzerland / 2013 / Director: Darío Aguirre

Paulette France / 2012 / Director: Jérôme Enrico

Slow Food Story Italy, Ireland / 2013 / Director: Stefano Sardo

Soul Food Stories Bulgaria, Finland / 2013 / Director: Tonislav Hristov

Soul of a Banquet USA / 2014 / Director: Wayne Wang

The Starfish Throwers USA, India / 2014 / Director: Jesse Roesler

A Year in Burgundy USA, France / 2013 / Director: David Kennard

Zone Pro Site: A Moveable Feast Taiwan / 2013 / Director: Yu-Hsun Chen

DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL FAVORITES

Big Men USA / 2013 / Director: Rachel Boynton

The Case Against 8 USA / 2014 / Directors: Ben Cotner, Ryan White

Dancing In Jaffa USA, Israel / 2013 / Director: Hilla Medalia

The Expedition to the End of the World Denmark / 2013 / Director: Daniel Dencik

The Green Prince Germany, Israel, United Kingdom / 2014 / Director: Nadav Schirman

Happiness France, Finland / 2013 / Director: Thomas Balmès

An Honest Liar USA, Spain, Italy, Canada / 2014 / Directors: Tyler Measom, Justin Weinstein

The Immortalists USA / 2014 / Directors: David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg

Kids for Cash USA / 2014 / Director: Robert May

Meet the Patels USA / 2014 / Directors: Geeta V. Patel, Ravi V. Patel

The Missing Picture Cambodia, France / 2013 / Director: Rithy Panh

The Overnighters USA / 2014 / Director: Jesse Moss

Particle Fever USA / 2013 / Director: Mark A. Levinson

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry USA / 2014 / Director: Mary Dore

Vessel USA, Tanzania, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Pakistan, Netherlands, Ireland, Indonesia, Ecuador / 2014 / Director: Diana Whitten

Watchers of the Sky USA / 2014 / Director: Edet Belzberg

WORLDVIEWS

1,000 Times Good Night Norway, Ireland, Sweden / 2013 / Director: Erik Poppe)

Charlie’s Country Australia / 2013 / Director: Rolf de Heer)

The Forgotten Kingdom USA, South Africa, Lesotho / 2013 / Director: Andrew Mudge)

Horses of God Morocco, France, Belgium / 2012 / Director: Nabil Ayouch)

Human Capital Italy, France / 2014 / Director: Paolo Virzì)

In Bloom Georgia, Germany, France / 2013 / Directors: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Gross)

The Liberator Venezuela, Spain / 2013 / Director: Alberto Arvelo)

Life Feels Good Poland / 2013 / Director: Maciej Pieprzyca)

Life’s a Breeze Ireland, Sweden / 2013 / Director: Lance Daly)

Like Father, Like Son Japan / 2013 / Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Living is Easy With Eyes Closed Spain / 2013 / Director: David Trueba)

Manuscripts Don’t Burn Iran / 2013 / Director: Mohammad Rasoulof)

May in the Summer USA, Qatar, Jordan / 2013 / Director: Cherien Dabis)

Monsoon Shootout India, United Kingdom, Netherlands / 2013 / Director: Amit Kuma

Mystery Road Australia / 2013 / Director: Ivan Sen)

The Nightingale China, France / 2013 / Director: Philipe Muyl)

The Priest’s Children Croatia, Serbia / 2013 / Director: Vinko Bresan)

Those Happy Years Italy, France / 2013 / Director: Daniele Luchetti)

We Are the Best! Sweden, Denmark / 2013 / Director: Lukas Moodysson)

Young & Beautiful France / 2013 / Director: François Ozon)

Well there it is. Hope to see you and say hi to you while at the festival. Enjoy

The 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival runs September 25 – October 9, 2014 at the Landmark Oriental Theatre, Landmark Downer Theatre, Fox-Bay Cinema Grill and Times Cinema. Passes and ticket 6-Packs for the 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival are currently available at discounted rates exclusively online at mkefilm.org/tickets.

Tickets for individual screenings will be available through Milwaukee Film Festival Box Office starting September 10 for Milwaukee Film Members and September 11 for the General Public.

Subscribe and Follow Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Blog! Visit often & please share with others!

*** Please also visit Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Website.

Over 400 hours of professional filmmakers share their expertise and tips and secrets with you. All discussion may be listened to live and archived from the Official Site too! Check the INTERVIEWS

Rex Sikes’ Movie Beat Official Site

acting, actors, casting, casting directors, directing, directors, film directing, film education, film festival, film producing, film production, film school, filmmaker, filmmakers, filmmaking, independent film production, indiefilm, low budget filmmaking, motion picture business, movie business, movies, producer, producing, screenwriter, screenwriting, storytelling

Milwaukee Film Festival: Marshall Curry; Debra Granik; Wesley Morris; Zucker, Abrahams, & Zucker, In Attendance

September 3, 2014 rexsikes Leave a comment

It makes a film festival much more enjoyable when one can listen and learn from the filmmakers. This year Milwaukee Film Fest is bringing in some fine filmmakers for panel discussions. Marshall Curry; Debra Granik; Wesley Morris and Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker will be present to discuss some of their films. You will not want to miss out. I know I will be there. Read on to learn more.

Two award-winning directors, a Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, and Hollywood comedy legends will be in attendance!!!

The 2014 Tributes lineup: two-time Oscar-nominated documentarian, Marshall Curry (Racing Dreams, Street Fight), Oscar-nominated director and writer, Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone), Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, Wesley Morris, and the three Hollywood comedy kingpins who originally hail from Milwaukee, David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (also known as “ZAZ”).

The Milwaukee Film Festival’s annual tributes celebrate the work of individuals who have contributed greatly to film culture through efforts in differing areas of the film world. Each tribute includes both a live appearance from the tribute’s recipient(s) and a screening of a film. In the case of Granik and Curry, their latest film is paired with a past one, exemplifying the scope of their work.

Each honoree will participate in an extended question and answer session following their featured films(s). Granik will also lead the panel “Working with Actors” in which she will discuss and demonstrate her process for auditioning and working with actors on set.

“We have a spectacular group of diverse honorees this year: two of the greatest film storytellers of our time–Marshall Curry and Debra Granik–whose documentary and narrative films have been vastly influential, along with the Pulitzer Prize winning film critic and presenter of our State of the Cinema keynote lecture, Wesley Morris, and finally, the legendary comedy team Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker,” explains Jonathan Jackson, Artistic and Executive Director for Milwaukee Film.

Returning to the Milwaukee Film Festival this year with his outstanding new documentary Point and Shoot, is director Marshall Curry. Curry’s Racing Dreams was the Opening Night film at the first Milwaukee Film Festival in 2009. Both Curry and Granik come to Milwaukee having just received major awards at two of the nation’s best film festivals: Curry’s Point and Shoot won the Best Documentary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival while Granik’s Stray Dog received the jury award for Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Jackson continues, “It is exciting to have such a high-profile filmmaker as Marshall Curry return to our festival. We have grown quite a bit since that 2009 film festival and I can’t wait for him to come back and see what he helped inaugurate.”

2014 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL TRIBUTES

MARSHALL CURRY

Marshall Curry is one of the most important documentary filmmakers of our time, and he is an important person to Milwaukee Film. In 2009, his film Racing Dreams was the first to grace our festival screens on Opening Night at the inaugural Milwaukee Film Festival. Curry made his directorial debut in 2005 with Street Fight, a documentary that followed the campaign of the then-unknown Cory Booker, garnering his first Oscar nomination. Since that time, Curry directed If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front which tells the story of a radical environmentalist who faced life in prison for burning two Oregon timber facilities and won Curry his second Oscar nomination. Point and Shoot, Curry’s latest offering, is a documentary about a young Baltimore native who sets off for adventure and finds himself as part of the Libyan rebel army fighting dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Of Curry’s films, S.T. VanAirsdale (Movieline) said, “From vérité campaign-trail flashes in Street Fight to intimate dinner-table powwows in Racing Dreams to the candid, point-blank interviews in If a Tree Falls, his films take keen and unique advantage of both access and timing… getting down to the business of communicating without distraction, discrimination or guile. At heart, the films seek to detail the spectrum of grace.”

Marshall Curry is scheduled to attend selected screenings.

Point and Shoot

(USA / 2014 / Director: Marshall Curry)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/k8DUYyl1ods
Matthew VanDyke’s incredible personal odyssey from restless Baltimore native to Libyan rebel taking up arms against dictator Muammar Gaddafi is chronicled in the newest film from Oscar-nominated director Marshall Curry (Racing Dreams, MFF 2009). From his status as a young man diagnosed with OCD fresh out of graduate school, to his momentous international travel (a self-described “crash course in manhood”) that led him on a motorcycle trip across Northern Africa and the Middle East, to his eventual placement smack in the middle of the Arab Spring and Libyan revolution, VanDyke’s camera was always on—up until his capture and terrifying half-year spent in solitary confinement. This is a remarkable, sweeping story Curry tells in full.

Street Fight

(USA / 2005 / Director: Marshall Curry)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/fNrT2utrpAA

One of the greatest political documentaries of all time, Street Fight chronicles the very first political campaign of now-U.S. Senator Cory Booker as his grassroots campaign takes on the deeply entrenched political might of four-term incumbent Sharpe James for the mayoral seat in Newark, New Jersey. With the poverty-stricken streets as their battleground, 32-year-old Rhodes scholar/Yale Law School grad/Star Trek nerd Booker remains decent and straightforward despite the intimidation tactics and dirty politics (including claims that Booker’s background somehow makes him “less black”) employed by Sharpe. An edge-of-your-seat thriller even if you’re familiar with how this race ends, Street Fight is a wildly entertaining, modern-day Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

DEBRA GRANIK

Debra Granik is the Academy Award-nominated director and co-writer of Winter’s Bone, which was

nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Granik’s first feature film, Down to the Bone, was awarded the Best Director prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. She is known for her amazing work with actors, essentially launching the careers of both Vera Farmiga and Jennifer Lawrence. Her work is known for an instinctive, collaborative style that Granik describes as “late-breaking global neorealism.” Granik’s most recent offering, the documentary Stray Dog, began with a chance encounter while scouting and casting Winter’s Bone. Granik met Ron “Stray Dog” Hall in the Biker Church of Branson and cast him as the film’s estranged father, Thump Milton. Of her work she says, “The question I’ve had for most of my life is, ‘How are you coping?’ Some people have these small, positive schemes for survival, a kind of strength that I am attracted to, maybe because I’m prone to the blues.” In Hall she found a worthy subject—one whose humor and lack of self-consciousness had the potential to make the plight of Vietnam vets accessible to a broader audience.

Debra Granik is scheduled to attend selected screenings and events.

Stray Dog

(USA / 2014 / Director: Debra Granik)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/5UKrOhJ0NRw
Ron “Stray Dog” Hall, Harley-Davidson biker, Vietnam veteran, husband, and father, receives a portrait every bit the equal to his substantial personality from Debra Granik, director of the Oscar-nominated Winter’s Bone. Defying expectations at every turn, Stray Dog tells a story of rough edges that give way to an expansive and tender heart as we see Ron equally at home shooting the breeze with his battery mates as they sip moonshine as he is opening up to his therapist or traveling to military funerals to pay respect to those he never met. A welcome corrective to rural stereotypes, Stray Dog is a slice of unforgettable Americana.

Winter’s Bone

(USA / 2010 / Director: Debra Granik)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/5O8F8JtSVmI
Winter’s Bone is an Oscar-nominated pitch-black slice of Ozarks noir following a young woman’s journey to protect her family no matter the cost. Seventeen-year-old Ree (Jennifer Lawrence, in her breakout role) discovers that her father has skipped bail, threatening the house he used as collateral, and leaving them homeless. Armed only with the knowledge of his involvement in the local crystal meth trade, Ree and her Uncle Teardrop (the mesmerizing John Hawkes) aim to find him despite the ever-increasing resistance to their inquiries. Told with incredible authenticity, this tale of family loyalty features a heroine for the ages, with minimalist setting and dialogue that add to its mythic flavor.

***(I think anytime a filmmaker has the opportunity to explore the casting process and working with actors in set the filmmaker should take it. Auditioning and working WITH talent is one of the most critical aspects of a director’s job. It is equally important for others to understand and appreciate as well. I will see you there – Rex)***

Working with Actors
Access the process of one of today’s foremost directors as Oscar nominee Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone, Stray Dog) discusses and demonstrates her process for auditioning and working with actors on set. This is not to be missed by any filmmakers who plan to cast actors or actors who want to get into films.

WESLEY MORRIS

In 2012, upon winning the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, Wesley Morris explained his attraction to film as an artistic medium with the following words: “Movies are visual, aural, they involve people, and life, and ideas and art, they are so elastic. They can hold anything, withstand everything, and make you feel anything. Other arts can do that, but movies are the only ones that can incorporate other media into cinema.” With those words, one can see easily why Morris earned this award—his writing is effortless, yet whip-smart, exuberant, yet precise. He is able to write about mainstream films as well as art house cinema, always compelling the reader toward a more nuanced understanding of the work at hand. Since 2013, Morris has been a cultural critic for the website Grantland; prior to that he wrote film criticism for The Boston

Globe (where he received his Pulitzer), San Francisco Chronicle, and San Francisco Examiner and contributed to Slate, Ebony, NPR, and Film Comment. Milwaukee Film is honored to present this tribute to Morris for his distinctive voice and remarkable career as a critic. As part of his visit, Morris will deliver our annual keynote address on the “State of Cinema,” followed by a presentation of Michael Haneke’s film Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys.

Wesley Morris is scheduled to attend the following:

State of Cinema

Join us for our annual lecture on the “State of Cinema.” Each year we host a distinguished member of the cinematic community to reflect on the current position of the industry and possible futures for the medium. This year we host Wesley Morris, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism while at the Boston Globe, who now writes on film and culture at Grantland.com. The panel will conclude with a brief Q&A, after which patrons are invited to join Morris for a screening of Michael Haneke’s 2000 romantic drama, Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys.

Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales of Several Journeys

(France, Germany, Romania / 2000 / Director: Michael Haneke)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/lNnwk7DSKb8

One of the many masterpieces created over the course of Michael Haneke’s career (Caché, Funny Games, the Oscar-winning Amour), Code Unknown chronicles the fleeting intersection of lives on a bustling Paris street corner. We see the fallout from this brief connection through an actress (Juliette Binoche), her photojournalist boyfriend, a young teacher of African descent, and a Romanian illegal immigrant. Able to wring unbearable amounts of tension from his frequent long takes, Haneke spins an emotionally complex tale of the simple ways in which we misunderstand one another on a daily basis. He spells nothing out and challenges viewers to decode these stories for themselves. Our 2014 Critic Tribute recipient, Wesley Morris, has selected this film to screen at our festival and is scheduled to participate in a Q&A with the audience after the screening.

ZUCKER, ABRAHAMS, ZUCKER

The filmmaking team Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker began their fortuitous union at Shorewood High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After college at UW-Madison, David Zucker, his brother Jerry, and their friend Jim Abrahams created the Kentucky Fried Theater in the back of a bookstore in Madison with a borrowed videotape deck and a camera. In 1972, they moved the show to Los Angeles, where the trio that would come to be known as ZAZ became the most successful small theater group in Los Angeles history. Their groundbreaking style of outrageous sketch comedy was later immortalized in their film The Kentucky Fried Movie, and a new brand of comedy was born. This style featured hairbrained dialogue delivered by dramatic actors with deadpan sincerity and would earn the trio recognition as Hollywood comedy kingpins. In their illustrious careers, the ZAZ team has worked with actors such as Lloyd Bridges,

Robert Stack, and Leslie Nielsen, to name a few, and cultivated a whole new genre of film. Together, they have been responsible for ‘80s comedy cult classics Airplane!, Ruthless People, and The Naked Gun. Their streak of successful movies included the secret agent spoof and now cult classic Top Secret! starring Val Kilmer. This year Milwaukee Film honors these local legends by screening this 1984 film and welcomes them home with a tribute. The trio recently returned to their native roots by creating commercials in their signature style with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism in conjunction with Laughlin Constable.

Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker are scheduled to attend the following screening:

Top Secret!
(USA, United Kingdom / 1984 / Directors: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker)
Trailer: http://youtu.be/mKHLPtH2I30

After the wild success of their comedy classic Airplane!, the anarchic trio known as ZAZ (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker) set their sights on spy films and rock’ n’ roll musicals with the outrageous spoof Top Secret! In this film boasting the screen debut of Val Kilmer as a young secret agent tasked with crossing the Iron Curtain to rescue a scientist, ZAZ packs the proceedings with terrible puns, absurdist sight gags, and all the anachronism and political incorrectness that a breakneck 90-minute run time could contain. We proudly present this comedy classic on its 30th anniversary, in celebration of a film every bit the equal of its predecessor.

Note: All screening and panel times will be announced Saturday, September 6 at the Program Book Launch located at Cathedral Square Park from 9am-6pm.

Tickets for individual screenings will be available through Milwaukee Film Festival Box Office starting September 10 for Milwaukee Film Members and September 11 for the General Public.

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To Crowdfund Or Not To Crowdfund? Is That The Question? Part 3

August 28, 2014 rexsikes Leave a comment

“…Consider this: Movies get funded and made every day. I repeat: MOVIES GET FUNDED AND MADE EVERY DAY!Sure, it is tough but it happens. Projects get green lit from the studios, independent films find their funding, crowdfunded pictures get their money to move forward, and more. These happen all the time. It all boils down to a simple thought: If others can do it so can you! Keep the faith.”

Crowdfunding Part 3

“In my book the single most important ingredient for hoping to get a project launched IS to have a great movie to make. It makes it much more likely you will be able to move ahead when you start with something that has incredible value. You should have an excellent script. Top of the line!

First and foremost here is what you need to consider and ask yourself: Do you have a film project worth investing your time, money and energy in? Do you have a film project worth another person investing their time, money and energy in? Do you have a film project worth an audience investing their time, money and energy in? Well, do you? Be honest.

These are important questions. Do you have something great that is worth making? If you can honestly answer yes, you may be on your way. If you cannot, keep looking for a great project.

No one wants mediocre or just okay? Everyone wants to be captivated, they want their attention grabbed and they want to go on a two hour roller coster ride. They want to laugh or cry or both. They want to be involved and live through the characters.

Movies are supposed to be for escape so people can forget the drudgery of their circumstances for a while and be transported somewhere more fun, enjoyable or even terrifying. They want to be entertained and not wonder why they wasted minutes of their life. Make sure your film project is worthy of you, your funders and the people it is intended to please – your audience.

It is true that even with the best script, the best director and the best available cast, the movie still may not get made. There are many factors in getting a movie produced and all need to line up for it to go. That is the art of juggling a production. There are so many things to work on all at once it IS like trying to keep a number of balls in the air. Some productions will make it some will not. This is critical whether crowdfunding or using more traditional methods.

It is important to put together the best possible project so start with. You start with the best script. You seek the best producing team, the best cast and the best crew. You may or may not need any of these ‘attached’ to seek funds but ultimately you want to have the best to work with regardless. Often, you raise seed money first to be able to launch your LLC, set up a bank account and hire on the others.

It is important to have a good entertainment attorney who can advise you when and how to certain things. For example, when DO you launch you LLC,? Some say that should come first, (as I just described) get some money and incorporate. Others advise that you wait, you don’t need to set up an LLC until you have funds coming from your sources. Investors understand the LLC will follow.

Savvy investors know the all the steps you should too. Seek wise, legitimate, experienced legal counsel. This is not an area you want to skimp on.

Even though some movies do not get made the money out there for movies is still plentiful. The proof that there is more than enough money to go around IS this: even mediocre and terrible movies get funded and released. Haven’t we all wondered, ‘how on earth did this ever get made?’

Whatever the reasoning behind the financing of a ‘bad movie’, which may have reasons, (often tax shelters) the movie still got made and released. Most of us like to think that filmmakers don’t set out to make a bad movie but that is simply not the case, there are those who do.

My point is funds can be found! Money is plentiful! Bad movies are part of the proof that the money is available if the conditions are right.

What are the right conditions that got the movie made regardless of whether it was a good or bad. It was the ‘deal’, the tax shelter, a vanity project, it was for any other reasons that some people invested. Apparently, it was to make money or to lose money but it was not to release a great movie. Funny, you wouldn’t think it to be the case but bottom line rules. Good or bad movies are financed because the investors saw fit to invest.

Funds exists. You just have to tap into them. You are better served if you do everything smart and right from the get-go. Aim high! Make a really good movie. Make a great movie. If you are going to put all this time and work into it you should absolutely love it.

The attitude a filmmaker needs is to maintain is a positive attitude. You should have a great script you are passionate about, that you believe in 1000 per cent. If you absolutely believe in it and are passionate about it others can jump on board because the believe in you and trust in your commitment. If you have a great script and great package it makes it more likely others will be interested too.

So chose something you will still be passionate about years from now because it could be a long road. It can be easy but it usually isn’t. Raising money is an art and a science that you should learn to do well if you want to produce your own projects.

Once you have your budget and your producer package together you need to plan how to get financed either by traditional means, crowdfunding, both or by some new novel approach.

The bottom line is that you will have to be dedicated and you will have to know where to look. Fund raising can begin anytime you have a legitimate project to fund raise for.

You will need to know where to look for your money. Perhaps, your investors will be those who are in the field, or interested in the field you movie is about. Perhaps, they are medical people. law enforcement, attorneys, scientists, bankers, who have money and are interested in your topic. Perhaps, they are financial people who have no actual interest in your topic but like a well put together project that has potential.

You could piece them together from all over or it could mostly come from a few or even from one source. You will have to do the leg work to find out who and from what walks of life your investors come from. This is another area where a smart entertainment attorney may be of some help. Sometimes attorneys know people whom they can put you in touch with who are looking for investments. The entertainment attorney may be a useful resource in this area.

Besides a great script/project you REALLY need to know and understand people. You need to understand why and how people invest. You want to get inside the investor or contributor mindset. You need to understand them to know how to approach them, to pitch them and to sell them. You not only have to know how to do these things you have to know when and how to close them.

Your first thought should be about getting to know these people and understanding their wants and needs. You need to learn how to create rapport with others and how to add value to them.

If you know why they invest and in what they invest you help yourself out in many ways. As a producer you will spend more of your time raising money than making movies so you ought to understand how the people think that you are trying to get money from. This may be more important than anything else for you to appreciate and know.

Savvy investors, if they even give you the time of day, will see you coming miles away. They will size you and your project up within seconds of first contact. This is the world of finance! It is not art. This is the world of business. No one cares about you as much as they care about their bottom line. So be prepared. Be professional! You must have something they want. Be able to speak to them in the language that they speak (finance – not their native tongue) and in the world they understand.

At the very same time understand if you have a great project you may have something of value others will want. YOU also have to qualify investors just as investors will qualify you. Not everyone you approach or who approaches you is worth your time. You will want to learn how to separate the legitimate investor from the person who will waste your time because it makes them feel good to act the big shot around town. Getting legitimate investments is a two-way street.

You have to understand the laws and the rules too. You do not want to violate any in this area. Trust me, you don’t. Do your homework.

As filmmakers we all want to just make films. In order to do that and make and pay living wages we need to finance our projects. You would be best served to read everything you can. Find someone who will mentor you in the art of financing or fund raising.

Today, filmmakers may be better off getting an MBA and going to business school than going to film school. At the end of the day it is the business part of show business that rules and that determines who is successful and who isn’t.

Crowdfunding, at least for the time being, may be a way around all the legalities of traditional investing. Still, you have a responsibility to the funding platform, your ‘funders’, your team to be ethical, honest, and completely above board. Be transparent so people know who you are and what you are all about.

Remember, HOWEVER, you raise funds it takes an enormous amount of energy, planning and working the process. It is a lot of hard work. The people best suited for it may be the people who already have a passion for it. Perhaps, if this is not an area that you are drawn to you can partner up with someone who is. It requires dedication, passion, know-how and commitment. It requires being both smart and wise.

DO NOT EVER use the funds except as specified and when specified. They should be in escrow or considered escrowed in the case of crowdfunding. You owe perks to you funders always make sure you raise enough for what you intend to do and then some.

So when it comes to getting funded you have to do your homework More about all this next time.” Rex Sikes

Enjoy your day!

(Disclaimer: I do not purport to be an expert in crowdfunding or traditional means of financing. Nor am I able to dispense legal advice. Filmmakers are best served by finding a qualified entertainment attorney to work with and guide them in these areas. I bring up the topic to share a viewpoint and to encourage thinking and discussion).

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BEHIND THE SCENES OF “FULL CIRCLE”

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