The Young Executive

Ticket prices are higher than ever. It’s no surprise that the bar continues to be raised for highest grossing film. Back when Titanic hit the record tickets were roughly between $5-$9. Nowadays its upwards of $15 a ticket. Therefore is it fair to call Avatar the most successful film ever? There’s a great article in the LA Times today that discusses how box office records should be based on ticket admissions rather than dollar gross. I would have to agree.

Check it out: LA Times Article on Avatar Number One Record

Every now and then young people from around the industry learn how to centralize information to make it easier to look up. A recent one popped up around town that helps you keep track of the latest specs being shopped around town or open writing assignments (OWA). As for open directing assignments (ODA) that changes very frequently around town. These are projects already set up at studios that need a writer to come in for a rewrite. Really good resource if you want to know what new specs executives are reading around town.

Check it out:  Its On The Grid

This group called La Blogotheque in France has the most interesting music video project. They basically film spontaneous concerts from a wide variety of groups. It definitely feels fresh! Looks like they will be getting signed to William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Check it out:  LA BLOGOTHEQUE VIDEOS

It’s a time for Hollywood to descend upon the snowy town of Park City, Utah. For those who are not familiar with Sundance, it’s a festival that began in 1978 with the help of Robert Redford in order to attract American filmmakers to film in Utah. Over the decades it has grown into one of the most famous film festivals around the world. The most notable indie filmmakers from around the world premiere their work in this week long festival. It’s transformed into a bidding ground for studios and mini majors to acquire films. It’s also a great place for agents and managers to scope for new talent. The majority of the festival can be described as non stop partying, films, and great skiing. I’d recommend making plans early if you plan to try to attend because this little town gets flooded with people.

Most notable movies to watch out for are THE RUNAWAYS, BLUE VALENTINE, ANIMAL KINGDOM, BURIED, and ABEL. I’m sure people will hear the echoes of these titles after the festival is over.

It’s important to understand box office grosses. What does a movie that cost $30 million in production need to make overall to turn a profit? Well something important to remember is that a studio doesn’t just calculate the production budget, but as well as what the film costs in marketing and distribution.This can easily make that $30 million budget into $60 million.

Let us take for example the Universal film Public Enemies. It had a physical production budget of at least $110 million. The marketing of the film cost roughly another $75 million. Finally to distribute it worldwide cost another $70 million. At the end of the day this film costs $255 million. So in order to turn a profit the film would of course have to surpass this number to be considered a box office success. According to Box Office Mojo, Public Enemies made $214 million worldwide. It’s safe to conclude this was a loss for Universal.

Now a common misconception of film budgets are that people only look at physical production costs. It’s a little known fact just how much costs goes into marketing and distribution. Therefore if you would like to roughly assess what a film is going to cost just double the number of what you believe it would cost in physical production alone.

There’s a lot of aspiring young directors around the world. Everyone tries to create their calling card with a really cool short. It’s a new generation of filmmaker out there that now has the capability to make visually stunning shorts. No company will just hand over a film to a director whose never made one before. Therefore a method people take is to be “godfathered” by a trusted creative player in the business. Consider Niell Blompkamp and Peter Jackson. Another is  Shane Acker who had Tim Burton and Guillermo Del Toro. The latest, Federico Alvarez has Sam Raimi. It’s important to know the cool shorts out there that are getting people excited.

• Neill Blompkamp had this short, Alive in Joberg that blew Peter Jackson away and of course as you know, the rest is history.
• Federico Alvarez created this short, Panic Attack! that caught the attention of Sam Raimi and now has a million dollar deal to create his feature debut.
• This guy has been described as a young Zack Snyder. Check out Gary Shore’s Cup of Tears Trailer.

Now the bar has been set by guys like these. It’s clear that when you look at these visually stunning shorts these guys know what a commerical movie should look like.

Ataque de Panico

Cup of Tears

Here is something that is getting people around town pretty excited. Check out here Adidas Star Wars by director Nima Nourizadeh. Keep an eye on this guy; he’s going to get some heat. Check out the other one he did with probably the coolest house party there is Adidas House Party

People always wonder what makes someone successful. I think about it all the time.

What separates the successful from the unsuccessful?

The answer is actually quite simple: it’s all about motivation and determination. Those who want it the most and are willing to stick to it for as long as it takes will eventually win. Most people will settle for second best or the “backup plan.” It’s not that any goal is impossible, it’s just about how long a person is willing to pursue it and how hard. We’re trained as kids to think that if we follow this road map of success we’ll become rich and famous (go to school, get good grades, go to college, get a good job). Those of us who’ve been slapped with reality came to the realization that this is simply not true. All of the sudden, when people step out into the real world they find themselves lost.

You have to ask yourself, what is it that you really want? Money, family, love, power, or nothing? The only way to answer this question is to go and experience life. See what works and what doesn’t. A person can never truly discover the right answer to that question just sitting around and thinking about it. The next thing you know, years have passed and you’re still in the same place. To truly succeed, one must pick a direction and run with it. Opportunities open up along the way. The important thing to remember is that nothing is set in stone. Everyone has the capability to change their life; it just gets harder the longer you wait.  The point is always to keep your eyes on that target. Needless to say it will require sacrifice and overcome obstacles that are daunting, but these are the moments that separate success and failure.

Very interesting article in the New York Times regarding the downfall of MGM and how film divisions aren’t as big as they used to be. Check out the article here.

Enjoy

Specs are original script ideas by writers. Not too long ago when the business had been flourishing, specs were sold every week. In today’s market this happens only very occasionally. The recent trend of pre-branded awareness has scared studios away from taking risks on original ideas anymore. Seems depressing news to hear as a writer right?

Scripts that have sold recently are those that adapt some sort of intellectual property that people recognize. Companies deduce that this method can be a safer bet when looking at the success of films such as Transformers. Now companies are developing for “known brands” such as Battleship, Space Invaders, ViewMaster, Asteroids, Lego, and Candyland. It’s a method of filmmaking that is more like reverse engineering.

There are a limited number of brands that can be bought or rebooted, therefore writers hold on to that hope. Eventually original ideas will have to be produced in order to ensure sustainable content for the future. Remember that movies like Star Trek, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or all these comic book adaptations are original ideas from the past.

The spec market won’t flourish as it once did since fewer productions are being made every year. Therefore it wouldn’t make sense to continue a high level of development. Less output means less input needed, pretty simple. The key is how to extend the life of original ideas among different mediums. Not just think about the film, but the TV show, video game, webisodes, etc. Strategize for bigger success then just one market.