The American Film Market, part 1

I wake up every morning grab my phone and do 3 things:
1) check the weather (it's 74 everyday)
2) check my email (ooh the top deals from Travelzoo)
3) check my horoscope (I'm a Pisces)
My horoscope this morning told me that today would be a good day to have sex. Seriously. That, sadly, hasn't happened yet but I did catch up on my DVR as I recouped from AFM - it was kind of exhausting. Here's how my American Film Market experience went down:

Day 1

The entire event takes place in 3 hotels on Santa Monica Beach: The Loews (pictured above - headquarters and where all the attendees keep their offices), Le Merigot, and The Fairmont. They have shuttles going back and forth as well as valet of course. Blazers are in full effect. This is a classy affair. I however am wearing sneakers and a shirt that looks like I slept in it. Whoops.

Attended an orientation seminar. Before the seminar began a man wearing a grass skirt got up and encouraged us to attend the screening of "the most significant documentary on the Samoan people ever!" As I was silently questioning the competition in this particular subject matter, his compatriot with the silicon chest passed out some new age water that was supposed to make you feel like the word printed on the bottle (love, compassion, harmony). She said it was the only completely environmentally friendly bottled water company of its kind. I declined my free single use plastic bottle of said environmentally friendly product.

The ensuing seminar rehashed everything I had already read on the AFM website: Get the trades, target your companies, call them up at their main office and find out who is the executive in charge of Development, call their AFM office and see if you can grab some time to chat, if no stop by and see if they are free, if not grab a card and follow up. Simple enough. Then there was a Q&A and I asked about the decorum at AFM. I mean these people’s office are hotel rooms after all and I don’t want to be unseemly. I was told that the doors are wide open and that everyone is welcome to walk right in.

Day 2
Didn't feel well and was so paranoid about the damn swine flu I spent all day in bed.

Day 3
See day 2

Day 4
Got my Marc Jacobs cotton pin stripe blazer dry cleaned. Oxfords. Ray Bans. Classy.

Finally feeling rested and healthy I attended a seminar on pitching and watched 11 films get pitched. One of which was the winner of a contest sponsored by Netflix whose grand prize was $400,000 and guaranteed distribution. In their pitch these filmmakers likened their film to Brick and Elephant and I silently wished them luck on making any money off another one of those. Overall I felt pretty confident about my pitch after the seminar, I felt I had all the basics covered: be concise, tell the story through action, stay relaxed, start a conversation, don't worry about the sale, build a relationship.

Of course I happen to sit next to the guy, a friend of a friend actually, who got food poisoning from the continental breakfast and spent most of the seminar in the bathroom (poor guy). Meanwhile all I can think of are the 4 people I know who in the past week have had a flu bug that kept them vomiting all night. So when said guy came to say goodbye to me after the seminar I froze up not wanting to touch him. It may have been rude, and he in fact said he was offended by my rejection, but this was a big week and I couldn't take any chances.

Then it was off to The Loews for a meeting with a branding company to (what else) talk about getting a snowboard brand attached to my movie. I had decided that I would just bike from location to location, but this time I decided to walk, underestimating how far it really was. I arrived late and sweaty – two things I hate. Regardless they were very nice, escorted me from the elevator, plied me with Grey Goose (don't mind if I do). It was my assumption that this company would help to secure branding for movie projects they feel are best suited for their services and then take a percentage of the monies raised through these brands. In truth they take $20,000 up front and then go from there. So the meeting ended with a handshake and me feeling like I could've gotten all of that in an email.

Then it was the Location & Film Commission Reception at the Le Merigot where I ran into an old friend I did Shakespeare in the Park with several years ago. Since doing that little show he had stumbled into producing for Broadway, been nominated for a Tony, and was now about to start producing movies. He's really one of those people who make you question what the hell you've been doing with your life. At this point I was a zombie and feeling pretty over stimulated form the whole day, so after some cheese cubes and a couple of business card trades I bailed.

Day 5
By Sunday I was no closer to having any meetings set up with the people I had come to this affair to see. So after an incredibly boring seminar on Indie Distribution in which I took one note:
Publicist very important
I headed to my office, sat down with the trades and spent a few hours researching the attending companies and finding out whom I needed to talk with and when I could do it. By the end of day 5 I had made a list of 6 AFM offices I had to visit by the end of day 6, starting with the offices on the top floor of The Loews and working my way down (if you have 20 minutes to spare try waiting for the fucking elevator in that place - trust me, take the stairs.) That night I dreamed of concise pitches and a magical convertible driven by Alyssa Milano that saved us from a tidal wave.

After all

In 2003 I agreed to produce a film that my mom, Alana Cash, had written and wanted to direct called Tom's Wife. Loosely based on the story of my great grandparents, Tom's Wife was about a lonely woman named Annie who, along with her husband Tom, and new born son, is struggling to make it through the Great Depression, until a traveling salesman named Jake comes along and shows her there is more to life than struggle.

My mom was obviously very passionate about making the film, it was a story of feminism and grit, but I knew she wouldn't be able to make her production start date if she continued to go it alone. I was 25 years old and about to produce my first feature film.

We hired a DP out of Los Angeles with the desire to get the best looking images we could, to capture a mood that communicated the feelings of Annie as well as the era. We scoured antique shops and garage sales for period props, furniture, and costume pieces. We shot on practical sets in Elgin, Texas, dealing with rain, hornets, cows, cars, wild horses, angry neighbors, and bored housewives. With our bare hands we turned a farm house built in the 1900s into a working farm, a dilapidated gas station into a vibrant general store, and a new church house into a period one. With the exception of Tom, we cast all local actors knowing that Texas folks knew how to be Texas folks on screen. Tom was played by Kit Wannen who I had met the year before when we were on tour with the National Theater for the Performing Arts. Our search for Annie, however, was the toughest. After a long search we were blessed to find Meredith May, a very talented trooper of an actress who had to be on set every day, all day, barefoot. We couldn't pay anybody upfront, but everyone from cast to crew had a contract that we took very seriously, I had to fire one excessively tardy actor halfway through shooting. It was at one time liberating and traumatizing.

After 23 days of never ending fires to put out we finished under schedule and under budget. It was a very efficient set that ran like clockwork (except when actors no-showed or 1 of a kind props were misplaced or broken), but in the end very few lasting friendships were made. All along I felt as though everyone thought they could do a better job than I did, as if they had all made bigger movies with much fewer resources. There was very little compassion from anyone even passively involved, but that is what I signed up for and I own that. Being a producer can be very thankless, and at the end of the day all I wanted to do was make a good movie and I did. Granted I was pretty green, kind of a trial by fire, but my mom and I did our best and it never seemed good enough for the other folks involved.

My mom went to Los Angeles and hired Robb Sullivan to cut the film. He and his team were a god send, and through the magic of post turned every one of our missteps into cinematic beauty. We were left with a quiet, moving film about a woman trapped in her own life who finds liberation in her solitude. After post my mom began submitting to film festivals like crazy. Our festival circuit ended up consisting of 11 global festivals and 11 awards. We had a good movie on our hands. Then we found out that members of our cast and crew had bootlegged copies of the film and given them to friends, family, and online reviewers. It was a disaster that ended with more burned bridges and cease and desist orders. The entire experience had taken its toll and we were done. We had offers from online distributors, but for all the sweat and heartache we had been subjected to for our little movie we just weren't willing to take any of them - it didn't feel right. So we "shelved" it. Until today.

Today I signed with Echelon Entertainment to represent Tom's Wife as our sales agent. It always seemed like a tragedy that the world might never get to see the fruits of our labors, and it turns out some folks out there felt the same way. After a friend sent us the lead we contacted Echelon to see if they might be interested in our film. After a month of negotiations I met with them today in their offices in Glendale to finalize our deal. I had an hour long chat with the president of Echelon from everything from the miracles of sound design to my current film project in development. I am very happy about my relationship with them, not only does it feel great to have someone out there who believes in my work but also I look forward to garnering whatever I can from their experience and understanding of distribution and foreign sales.

I am deeply grateful for all of my experiences on Tom's Wife. It was very gratifying to work alongside my mother, a woman whose knowledge and intuition continue to astound me on a daily basis. I look back on my days on set hauling craft service in the back of my jeep, yelling at actors, cigarettes dangling from my mouth, watching my mom tensely sleep through lunch, with just a hint of nostalgia. Because even after all that drama I still had a good time, and now I may get the chance to share that good time with the world after all.

I love making movies.

Career Crimes

The American Film Market is less than a month away. I will be attending to pitch Carvaholic to the hundreds of studios, production companies, and distributors that will be in attendance. Lots of independent projects, such as District 9, started out as pitches at the AFM so I'm feeling pretty good about the hefty ticket price I had to dole out for my market badge.

Before I arrive at the market I have to revamp my business prospectus. So many things have changed about this film project since last January, from the title to the creative team to the budget, a revamp is a must. I originally worked with Thomas Whitfield this time last year to create the original prospectus in preparation for the Sundance Film Festival. He really did a fantastic job and I reached out to him to see if he would be interested in doing the revamps, but I never heard back. There is of course no money for this, just the promise of money later when I am able to secure financing so I don't blame him one bit. I hate having to ask people to do things for free, but unfortunately that's where I am right now and this is a great project so hopefully that makes it at least a little worth while.

Anyway, I then decided to reach out to some of my networks and to post an ad on Craigslist. My ad was pretty straight forward, I very intentionally laid all of my cards on the table so that no one would think I was a scammer - "there is no pay." The first response I got was a very terse email that insinuated how arrogant I was to expect someone to email a cover letter and resume when I wasn't even offering pay! Like I'm some cigar smoking fat-cat who won't let the factory workers unionize. Then I got 3 more replies that included cover letters, resumes, links to reels, AND rate cards. Then my posting was flagged! I had no idea why, so I reposted. After more emails that included rate cards (no one was gonna do this for free apparently) and having to repost 2 more times because of flagging I got this message from a one R. Butler:
You have been flagged. Soliciting for unpaid jobs is illegal. CL labor gigs are for PAID jobs. Read the LAW below. Do not post this ad again please.
http://laborlaw.typepad.com/labor_and_employment_law_/2007/11/unpaid-internsh.html

Mind you Craigslist gives you the option to select paid or unpaid when creating there ad so "this was entrapment your honor!" Basically unpaid internships are illegal unless the work that is being done does not aide the business in anyway, like you're just practicing. Who knew??? The "LAW," as R. Butler types it, is apparently a blog, but I took it at face value and immediately removed my ad. I don't want to break the law (even though I and everyone I know in this town and at every school, magazine, newspaper, government office, blah blah blah are doing it all the time - Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!)

I found someone to help me though, a friend who is [ahem] practicing his graphic design skills and IS NOT my employee. I also had a great filmmaker in Colorado approach me about interning for the production so we're working out the details, but he seems great and I really look forward to having someone on the ground in Denver. And it's totally legal because he approached me, "I didn't solicit anything officer!"

So long story short, everyone on Craigslist is a greedy freak except for me and everything I needed was in my own backyard.

This Is Not A Diary (2 lames do not make a right)

I officially do not live in New York.

When I lived in New York City I had the chance to go to some pretty cool fashion events: fashion week, store openings, shopping events the list goes on. At some of these events I was working, so I rubbed elbows with various PR folks and their VIPs, and I learned a lot about how events work and how to deal with people. These were opportunities to pull out all the stops in your wardrobe choices or to go to the complete opposite end and look so casual everyone thinks you must be filthy stinking rich. Either way though, you looked incredible no matter what - suits to sneakers, it was all fabulous. I usually went for the more conservative end of the spectrum with a just little touch of the unexpected. It was fun.

Last night I went to two events here in LA. First was the menswear launch of the new Tung label. Now admittedly, I'm an idiot for not taking a peek at his website. I took the name, Tung, in its pink hip font on the invite that this was going to be a fun line, maybe cool tee-shirts, some underwear, what have you. The event was held at Lisa Kline in Beverly Hills, again I'm a super moron for not knowing a thing about the merchandise at that store, but my first red flag should have been when I saw this guy. Long story short the party was a douche fest. Me and my +1 roll up in skinny jeans and combat boots (I wore a blue carnation boutonniere for that touch of the unexpected I mentioned), and made it all the way to the bar before we realized these were not our people. Most of the guys were in suits, I was in a tank top, there was nothing fabulous about it. We stuck out so badly the PR Girl came over to "introduce" herself by saying, "Well hello, you guys aren't in suits. I'm _____ from _________ PR and I know everyone here except for you two. Who do you guys know here?" Mind you this was an event I was invited to and RSVPd for, and yet there was no one checking names at the door, we just walked right in. We really could have been crashers, and with my "sexy Jesus" look I'm sporting these days I don't blame her for getting nosy. BUT there is a way to approach people to make them feel welcome and there is a way to approach people to make them feel unwanted. So I politely explained I was invited by a friend of the designers (which I was), and after I complimented her on her harsh bangs and what a "bitchin" job she did creating the event I made a bee line for the bathroom so that we could split. As I stood in line being watched by some not-so-subtle sales girls (either because I'm smoking hot or because I could be a shop lifter) I eavesdropped. Among the convos in line about things like fantasy football and hair extensions, I heard this little gem:
Man: Man this is taking a long time. Someone must be taking a shit in there.
Woman: (laughs) I wish there was somewhere I could put down my bag.
Drunk-ass sales gilr: So how long have you two been together? 5 months?
Man: Years.
DASG: Oh my god. Years? I just got married so everything is months to me right now. You could put your bag down in our office, it's right next to the bathroom.
Woman: Oh, thanks.
Man takes bag and goes into office, sales girls watching me now go on HIGH ALERT. There is a commotion as they freak and try to get the attention of their manager without leaving their posts. Oh my gawd Lisa, this is a total crisis! I don't know what happened because then the bathroom door opened and I went in. It was a really nice bathroom.

The next event was the October issue release party for Instinct Magazine. There is very little to say about this party except again we stuck out but this time because we weren't wearing untucked polo shirts over boot cut jeans and trendy sneakers. If you didn't know better you wouldn't even have known there was a party at all - I mean there were a lot of people there, but the magazine was hardly visible (I found one on the floor by accident). After I was regaled by a chat about how computers are a "fad" and we were offered 20 bucks to go dance with someone's drunk girlfriend (no money exchanged hands) we called it a night.

There is a part of me that just has to admit that I wasn't dressed appropriately and that kind of made me lame and not the parties. I like to dress for the occasion, but I didn't do my research and I suffered...not really I had a great time, my +1 has some great stories and we were kindred spirits in those crowds. If I had done my research, however, and dressed accordingly it probably would have been a lot more comfortable, but then I wouldn't be writing this blog would I? If these parties had taken place in New York we would have been the belles of the ball, instead we were more like the ugly step-sisters...who are neither ugly nor sisters.

Oh LA, you're so jejune.

This is not a diary (or How SAG is Screwing Me)

Have you ever taken a shit and then turned to flush and there was nothing in there? Or been on the freeway, zipping along, and then suddenly everyone slows to 20 mph for like 2 miles and then it all speeds back up again for no reason? And then you say "why?" What was the point of that? I've been asking myself that a lot this week.

I got the part in "Priest." WOOOHOOO!!! FINALLY! Not the one I auditioned for, but its still really awesome and I have a scene with Paul Bettany, so there is a lot to be grateful for. I had it fixed in my mind that this would be my opportunity to join SAG. The Screen Actors Guild. I would be a member of the same guild as such luminaries as Tracy Lords and Sean Young. I could hold my head up high as I walked the streets of Los Angeles and finally be able to say I'm in a union! But this was not to be the case.

After I finalized the points of my deal and alerted IMDB to add the credit (because let’s face it, if it's not happening online it's not happening), I gave SAG a jingle to talk about when I should come on down to the office and be validated. That was when I was informed that in order to join I had 3 options:
1) I could pay my $2335 initiation dues in full by credit card or money order.
2) I could work as an "Ok 30" which permits me to work for 30 days after production alerts SAG that I have been hired without having to join at all. However at the end of the 30 days if I book another SAG job my initiation would be due in full with no option for a payment plan.
3) I could start a payment plan with $935 down, and $467 a month for the next 3 months.
So I immediately called up my good friend Major Nelson and asked him if I could "borrow" Genie for a sec to pull $935 right out of my ass.

I'd like to meet this actor who is just joining SAG who happens to have a spare 935 bucks lying around, let alone 2335, and then a spare 467 every month as well. I'm not going to go into what I am being paid for my work on "Priest," but I will say that it is an excellent salary and it's a little shy of that down payment. If this were a commercial it would be a different story, but this is a feature and unfortunately SAG does not have payment plans in place that are appropriate for the salary tiers that they have regulated.

When I let out the slightest intimation of my frustration with their "payment plan,” the woman on the phone very kindly informed me that until this year SAG didn't even have a payment plan. Well let me be the first to say thanks a lot for taking the economy into account for the incredibly unaffordable payment plan! I mean who came up with this? What did these people pop out of high school and right into a starring role in the latest summer blockbuster??? No! Looking at the roster of SAG's Hollywood Board of Directors (Maybe I should write Scott Bakula or Nancy Sinatra and ask them if they could spot me the money to join), one can only assume there must be a vast disconnect between the lives of these people and the reality of the struggling actor and that they have no concept of what a "payment plan" is supposed to be for. It's meant to make things more affordable, and if that's not the reason then what's the point?

So in the end I have decided to take my chances with "Ok 30" status. I know there will be a next job, but hopefully it will cover the dues. I really do want to join SAG, I can't deny what they have done to guarantee work conditions and pay, and it does say a lot about you professionally, but I'm not going into debt to do it. It's gotta be worth it, there has to be a point!

the quick and the cool

Just a couple of quick cool updates, some I can be specific about some I can't:

Shut Your Eyes has changed its title (again) to Carvaholic. Originally a bar in the story, the word "carvaholic" comes from ski slang and means someone who is addicted to skiing. I felt it was a better title because it captured the culture of the film and intimated its gruesome overtones.

We have officially reached out to Mike Vogel to play the lead in Carvaholic. I have it on direct recommendation that he is terrific to work with and I am very excited to hear what his camp thinks of the script.

The script is now in the hands of a very prolific Executive Producer who is interested in financing projects other than the ones he is directly attached to.

I am in early talks to attach a snowboard clothing line for product placement, this will hopefully lead to more credibility within the snowboarding community and interest from a snowboard sponsor.

I will give more specific details as things solidify.

I Swear There Should be Some Kind of Rules Against That!

So I finally got on the horn with the PR rep at the office of film and television in the office of the Governor of Colorado, also known as OFTVOGC (just kidding). It was not exactly the conversation I was hoping for.

One of my biggest challenges has been getting a snowboard manufacturer in Colorado to pick up the phone. I'm not sure why, but for whatever reason it would seem they are incapable. No matter how much tenacity I show, no matter how awesome the idea I want to present, no matter how badly they probably need something innovative and fresh to attach themselves to in order to reach a larger group of potential consumers - they just can't be bothered. It would seem with all this talk of "the economy" many companies would be salivating for new ideas to increase business, particularly ones that would cost them practically nothing, but alas... So it was my hope that my talk with the OFTVOGC would lead to some solid connects in that arena. But, although they continue to be very supportive, it would seem they have very few contacts with the snowboarding industry...for now. I'm sure something will develop out of our conversation, it just wasn't the instantaneous gratification I'm feeling the pressure to receive. You see I have a deadline in my head to get this whole movie in order, but if it isn't by that deadline I'm gonna have to table this whole project and the very idea of that makes me sick. I'm still feeling on track, things can change over night, but as the clock ticks...well you get it.

On a lighter note, my casting directors and I have settled on a new choice to play the lead and are in the process of sending out an offer. I'm not going to say who he is until we have officially reached out to his representation, but I think he is terrific and I am very hopeful.

Another boon to the project will be that I have been cast in a major feature film from Sony Entertainment. Everything is still really unofficial, so again I have to keep details cryptic, but here's the whole story:
About 2 months ago a producer I am very close with contacted me to say he had passed my head shot and resume to his Casting Director for consideration. A few days later I got a friendly call from said Casting Director saying he didn't really think I was right for any of the roles, that I was "too good looking" (there are worse things, right?), but that he would send along the script and to let him know if anything caught my eye. I read the script, it was pretty riveting, a fast paced actioner about cowboys and vampires, and then I called to give said CD my thoughts. Now it should be noted that this is very out of the ordinary, actors at my level don't typically get to choose the parts they audition for as much as others choose for them, so I was and continue to be incredibly grateful to be put in this kind of position. Said CD agreed there was one part I might be right for and I said if he could give me a few weeks I would grow a beard and try and make my self less "good looking" (as if that were possible). I then threw away my razors and hired an amazing acting coach because I wanted to make sure my looks or my theatricality did not get in the way of my performance. Well, 6 weeks later I looked like a young Santa Claus and I was called in to audition. First, said CD was shocked by my transformation, and second, blown away by my audition. He said "I'm so happy that you're actually good!" He even followed up by email the next day to reinforce what a great job he thought I did. About 2 weeks later I got a call from my producer friend to say that the director had also loved my audition, then I got an email from said CD to schedule a call back audition with the director. Once again I got raves, the director said "That's why you are here, no one has read it the way you do!" So I left feeling like I nailed it and that the part was basically mine. Well a few days went by and then I got a call from said CD to explain that there had been a change of plan. Apparently Sony had made the executive decision in the 11th hour to offer the part I had been dedicated to for almost 2 months, that I hired a coach for, that I grew a freaking full on caveman beard for, to a better known/older/more expensive actor to do a cameo. An actor who didn't even audition (I swear there should be some kind of rules against that, but unfortunately there aren't). But if this "actor" turns down the cameo then the part is mine. But if he says yes, the director has specifically ordered said CD to find a part for me no matter what - that's how awesome he thinks I am, so that makes me feel awesome too. So I'm in the movie, just not sure who I'm playing yet. But I have a good feeling it's going to be the right part.

So yeah, things are still on track for Shut Your Eyes. The pot is stirring and eventually all the right stuff will bubble to the top. Keep your fingers crossed for me.