Why BEING SOLD wasn’t selected

I had an interesting email today from a film festival in the states. As you know my comedy/drama BEING SOLD is doing the festival rounds. We submitted it to quite a few festivals and we were selected for some (and won some nice awards!) and a few others rejected the film. This can be for a number of reasons… the film is shockingly awful, the film isn’t the right “type” or, in some cases, they didn’t even watch it (there are a few bad festivals out there!). Comedy is a hard sell for festivals. A lot of programmers like the hard hitting vomiting-babies-and-social-comment type dramas instead of films that entertain. Comedy is always seen as “less intelligent” as, say, a thriller or costume drama. The truth is that a good comedy is bloody hard to make.

So, the e-mail. Most festivals just reject you and send you the standard response but some actually send you the notes that the selection committee made when watching the film (which I think all festivals should do… I mean, you’ve paid your $10-$200 submission fee so why not?). I received one of these emails about the reasons why BEING SOLD wasn’t selected and I thought I’d publish it. I think this is from three different people. Brace yourselves…

1. I thought the film’s premise was interesting, “how much is a life worth?”. It did a good job capturing today’s media frenzy and everyone trying to capitalize by any means possible. There were some compelling issues about fame and it’s consequences raised.

2. This was a clever comedy that hit upon many relevant, contemporary themes—unemployment, instant Internet fame and the callousness of the media.  I thought the film was entertaining and the cast was very good. I think more character development and back-story on John would have added to the film’s impact.

3. A high energy British farce about the desperate times we live in, where a depressed unemployed man would try to sell himself on Ebay. I thought the film did a great job showing the power of the media to take what should be insignificant “news” and blow it out of proportion to generate better ratings. The actors did a good job of keeping this unrealistic situation believable as the story ranged from over the top comedy to the deeper question of what is a man worth and the price of fame.

…umm, answers on a postcard?! I just can’t handle all this negativity… ;)

iPad for Directors | Part 1 | Introduction

I bought an iPad for two reasons. One, I’m a bit of a Mac geek and (as my partner says) would probably buy anything with an Apple logo on it and, two, I could see the potential for the iPad to be a great tool for Directors on set. I’m always nervous taking my MacBook Pro on set for fear of scratches and damaging it (I told you I was a Mac geek) so the opportunity to have a Mac in the form of a very portable tablet that can be tailored as an invaluable tool to store scripts, storyboards, video references, images, make notes on and (so I’ve discovered) can be used as a portable monitor from the camera is a dream come true. I usually carry my laptop and a large folder on set - basically I have an artificial brain on paper. If I lost it, I’d be in trouble. The iPad allows everything to be stored (and more importantly) backed up in one very mobile device. Goodbye heavy folder.

Well, that was the excuse I gave myself to buy it. Now I’ve got to make that happen.

Having searched around on various sites, I couldn’t really find a place that went into specific detail on how an iPad could be used for Directors. There’s the awesome Hand Held Hollywood that has a great directory and it’s podcast is always a good watch but wasn’t hitting the mark. So, here is iPad for Directors. I’ve been doing the legwork, using apps, reading reviews to see what would be useful for me and I’ve decided to share. As I’m about to start pre-production of my next feature film CRASHING WALL STREET this is very much a baptism of fire for the iPad. I’ll keep updating this section as I find stuff that’s useful to me.

So, without further ado, move onto: iPad for Directors | Part 2 | The Apps

If you find anything, please share in the comments box below.

interviewed by cittàgazze

The French Philip Pullman site Cittagazze have just published their interview with me about The Butterfly Tattoo. They’ve been a great supporter of the film before we’d even shot it… so thanks guys! It’s in French and you can read it here.

The english version is below:

So, at last is the Butterfly tattoo released in UK. What is your feeling about this ?

Relief and excitement… it’s been a long journey frustrating journey trying to get the film in released in the UK. We were lucky enough to be bought up after the New York Independent Film and Video festival in the US for cinema and DVD which happened in April. The UK distribution companies were slower on the uptake which was very surprising considering the film was a British story! After the more conventional distribution channels failed, I took it upon myself to start contacting cinemas directly and offering a good partnership in order to release the film. Showcase Cinemas loved the film and really picked us up and, in the end, released the film in selected cities. It was a relief because I knew the film deserved to be seen by a cinema audience instead of going straight to DVD. I also felt that I owed it to the very talented actors and technicians who gave their time to create the film.

Is there any hope to see this movie in France/Belgium/Switzerland in any way (DVD/theater) ? Is there any release date for any other country ?

I know the film has been sold to various European cities but because I’ve been concentrating on the UK release I’m a bit out of the loop on release dates! I know there are plans for it to be released in these territories soon but they’ve not announced when. Keep you eyes on our website and it’ll be updated as soon as we know.

For people who are not familiar with the long way of the movie to the screen can you give a short overview of the process since shootage ?

Well, after a 5 week shoot the film went into post-production. I was the main picture editor on the film but I was lucky enough to have a great assembly editor cutting while we were shooting so there was already a very rough cut in place. It took about three months for me to do my first cut and then there were a couple of months of tweaking, then about two months mixing the sound and about a month just colouring/grading the film. In the meantime we had another company doing the FX on the film (a lot of which you won’t notice as FX shots!). After then it was a case of getting the film into as many film festivals as possible to premiere and screen the film in order to get attention from sales agents and distributors to get the film to cinemas.

You said in some interviews you first thought producers wanted you to direct The Golden Compass. Wasn’t there some temporary disapoitement to “only” direct The Butterfly Tattoo after that ?

Ha! No disappointment at all. Before I was signed to the film the producers were just being careful to reveal which book they were getting the rights to. I only knew it was a Pullman novel and my mind immediately jumped to “Northern Lights”. When I found out it was “The Butterfly Tattoo” I ran out, bought the book and loved it.

Did you already read/knew Pullman’s work (TBT or other books) prior to this project and what was your first feeling when reading this particular book ?

I knew of Pullman’s work… a lot of my friends were big fans of the His Dark Materials series. I’d also seen a couple of his TV adaptations. I loved the book when I read TBT for the first time. It had everything in it that I wanted to make as my next feature. Great characters, romance and a thriller undertone… I knew it would make a great movie.

Was it difficult to adapt such a book as a movie ? Why this necessity of adding cellar phones in the script? (Why didn’t this film take place in the 90’s, like in the book?) Is there any other modifications you thought necessary ?

There are a couple of modifications that we had to make in order for the book to work for screen. The first was that I wanted to make it a little darker and allow the story to “grow up” with the times and especially with the attitudes of modern day teenagers. The book was originally written in the early 90’s and a lot has changed since then. We really needed to address this in the adaptation in order to make it appeal to today and not come across as naive. Secondly, the advances in technology needed addressing. The biggest problem was to figure out how to make two young people loose contact - which is a big plot point - in a world of mobile phones, Facebook, the internet etc. I had some initial ideas on how we could make this work but Stephen Potts (the screenwriter) took this problem and ran with it and came up with some very dramatic sequences involving technology that the book didn’t have. It was important for me that technology - such as mobile phones - become a part of the story instead of making the characters just loose or break a phone. It’s too much of a cop out and the audience wouldn’t have been with us. Stephen did a great job… it’s hard to imagine the film without mobile phones because it worked so well!

In which extent was P. Pullman involved in the project ? Was he of any help in the writing process ?

Philip was involved in reading each draft of the script. It was important for us all that he was happy with the way we were updating and adapting things. I even involved him in the casting. He was very happy with the adaptation. I think it’s because although we’ve modified and updated the book in the film, the essence of the characters are exactly the same as the book. You can watch the film and read the book and find out more about the characters through a lot of the original backstories.

What was your degree of liberty during shootage ? Did you or the actors changed in part the content of the scenes in comparison to script ?

I was very closely involved with the development of the script so when we got to shooting we were all pretty happy. I changed the odd line here or there in rehearsals and during shooting because sometimes what is great on the page doesn’t translate to the screen perfectly. These were all minor additions though. The structure of the film in the editing room compared to the script has changed though. We ended up cutting a few scenes - which will be on the DVD - and changing the order of some sequences to make it work better. This is pretty normal though.

What motivated the choice of indie music band of Oxford’s area?

It was inspired by the book. I think there’s a part where Jenny and Chris and going to go to the Jericho Tavern but they are late and miss the band. I decided to make sure - in the film version - that they did see the band! It worked for the characters. I really wanted to give the film an interesting soundtrack by the use of indie music and contrast it with the beautiful piano lead score we had. I’m also a big fan of indie music so that’s probably a reason too!

The movie presented some educationnal purposes in its creation process. Can you explain us in what it consisted and what are your feelings now that the movie is released ?

There was an educational scheme running during the film (although that term makes it sound a little too formal!) Basically, the film embraced new talent in front and behind the camera. It gave people the opportunity to do a role/job that they wouldn’t normally have the chance to do. It allowed us to be able to train people on the shoot into the jobs that they wanted to do. It great because a lot of people who started in the industry on our film are now continuing to work in it! It also allowed me to find and cast two brilliant new actors - Jessica Blake and Duncan Stuart - who really are the heart and soul of the film. They’re the big stars of tomorrow.

In the movie, there is a scene when Chris goes faster with his bike than other (professionnal ?) bikers. Was it a reference to Jacques Tati’s “Jour de Fête” ?

Ha ha! I think it’s probably more of a unintentional homage… but I can’t speak for Stephen (Potts).

In the Chris-is-cooking scene, I had the feeling you filmed your character’s failures with some kind of amused compassion rather than only in a comic way. Was it intentionnal ?

I just wanted to make the characters feel human. I wanted people to love these characters so when we get to the heart wrenching and tragic elements of the story they are totally involved with the film. These little humorous points are all designed to allow the audience to get the know the character more and also keep lighter moments in what is quite a tragic story.

What’s next for you ?

My next feature is another romantic thriller! But, it’s on a bigger scale. It’s called “Crashing Wall Street” and is based amongst the Wall Street Crash of 1929 so it’s a big period epic number. We should have some great actors onboard too!

If you have any message to send to your audience, in France or anywhere else, feel free to do it !

I’d just like to say thank you for all your support of the film and especially at Cittagazze. The fans have been really great and it’s allowed us to take the film further in terms of exposure and distribution. Thanks a million! I just hope I’ve not been one of those directors who have “ruined” the book!

Interview by cittagazze.com

Featured in MovieScope Magazine

The folks over at MovieScope Magazine (thanks Nikki and Liz!) have been good enough to make me their ‘one to watch’ director for their “Director’s Issue” of the magazine (and also feature me on their talent watch website). There’s also an article about me and THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO in their section “Almost Famous” (really? gosh!) which profiles six feature film directors. I really recommend getting a copy of the magazine (and not just because they’re writing about me!) - it is a great resource for filmmakers… and, well, also I’m in it. Enjoy! Get the magazine here.

casting: respecting actors and performance

Casting is a funny thing when you really think about it. We’ve all seen reality shows based on the casting format such as The X-Factor et al and they’re entertaining. Sometimes casting can be as well. I have seen people who come in absolutely convinced that they’re right for the role but are really quite bad. I’ve known some directors who would instantly dismiss a person after a few seconds and thank them for coming while opening the door for them. I think that’s wrong. I try not to think about how far people have travelled to my castings or how much they really want this job because it can’t effect your decision but they have made the effort to turn up. Even though they’re wrong for the particular job I’m casting for, I still conduct the casting in a normal way. Hopefully they’ll learn something from the experience of working with a director one-on-one for five minutes. It would be very easy for me to just say thanks, skip through it too quickly to let them leave. I wonder, given the choice, what the actor would think? Would they rather me tell them that they’re not right even thought they’ve prepared and turned up or would they prefer the director to continue in a respectable way. I hope that it doesn’t create false hope. I guess there’s a fine line.

I write this after just being casting for a commercial all day. I’ve just seen 52 people in a day and I’m absolutely knackered! Every director has a different approach to casting; I try not to let my energy or concentration drop whether you’re the first or the last person I see in a day. I respect the people who enter my casting room. I give people exactly the same pieces of information about the commercial and what they’re about to do. I think that’s fair - even though it involves me saying the same time 52 times. I even get into a routine of where I’m standing in the room when I say something - this isn’t planned, it’s just automatic. I feel like I’ve been performing all day to keep this up and that’s why I’m tired as I write this. Let me point out that commercial and drama casting are very different beasts. Commercials can be very repetitive because you’re - most of the time - looking for reaction performances; “Look at this, pretend this is the best deal you’ve ever seen…” whereas drama castings (my obvious favourite) are never a chore. You’re working with actors on a character and on a more naturalistic dialogue performance and they can be very inspiring and exciting. 

I think it’s all about respect. I don’t think a lot of directors respect actors these days. We’re under the illusion that there are “so many of them” - and thats true, but that doesn’t mean we should take advantage of them. When it comes down to it, the director is in a position of power. We chose whether they get the job or not. We create the experience they have in the casting room. Acting is a very difficult profession and hardly anyone can make a living from it. Even getting an audition is a big challenge for a lot of actors. I don’t know how anyone does it, to be honest. My girlfriend is an actor… I’m constantly amazed by her energy and the hard work she puts into just “being noticed”. I know I couldn’t do it… your work and success is completely in the hands of other people. The agents, directors, casting directors, producers, clients… the actor has no control. If a director wants to go and make a film, they make that choice and go and make it. If an actor wants to be in something, they have to wait for somebody to call them. That’s a scary position to be in.

Jess - my girlfriend - told be about a horrid audition once. She was up for a part in an independent feature film and was called to an office in London somewhere. She arrived in what was a busy office environment expecting to be lead into a quiet room somewhere… instead she was told to begin the audition - in the office. Phones were going off, people were chatting and talking during it. Even the “director” and “producers” (which I put in quotations because they’re an unprofessional joke to the industry - I’d name and shame them if I could remember their names) were playing with phones. They even let the work experience crowd watch the audition. I was disgusted and furious when I heard about this. How can they not respect the actor and the performance? How can the actor deliver the best in this environment? It’s a complete joke and I can guarantee that it’ll have some awful performances if this is how they think they should work with actors.

I think my obsession with respecting actors must stem back to a memory that’s just come back to me. I used to think I was going to be an actor. I even had an agent when I was younger… I remember one casting. I was about 14 years old. I took the trip into the city centre by myself to this grand hotel where it was taking place. It was for a Lego commercial and they were looking for a kid to play with some new toy. After waiting a while, all of the kids were lined up against the wall. A woman - who was either the director or the casting director (either way, she was scary) - walked up and down us as if we were soldiers up for inspection. She pointed saying “You, You, You and… You” then left the room. And that was it. The kids who weren’t selected - who were utterly disappointed -  were just told to go home. I was amongst them. Annoyed, I left the room thinking that this was no way to be treated. I felt like nothing.

If I ever made an actor feel like that, I’d never forgive myself.

tumbleweeds…

Yep, a few have been gathering over the past few months on the blog (few? more like five!). Lots to update the blog with - shooting FIFTH GEAR for FIVE and FIFTH GEAR EUROPE for Discovery, more talks with students and filmmakers, international film festival screenings of THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO, awards (woo!) and more! It’s been busy… obviously too busy to update the ol’blog! Words and text coming soon!

- Philm