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Universal Film
ISSUE
ISSU
IS
SUE
SU
E 1,
1, 2
2012
012
01
2
ISSUE 1 of 2012
WWW.UFMAG.ORG
NAZI INVASION
INTERVIEW
ACTOR AND CO-OUNDER OF
LA COMEDY FESTIVAL GARY
ANTHONY WILLIAMS
MAD FRANK
CHRIS ODELL
P.11
P.47
P.41
Issue 1 - 2012
Intro UFM
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editor
Universal Film
Magazine
Editor TYRONE D MURPHY
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Proofing Editor TODD VOLZ
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Contributors IVOR BENJAMIN DGGB
CHRIS O DELL DOP
J.R. BEARDSLEY
DANIEL E SPRINGEN
CHRISTOPHER MOORE
EDWARD SUMMER
DAN NUXOLL
MARTHA SHANE
DON AND KATHA CATO
MARGARET DANE
FREDERICK MONTGOMERY
ROSEMARY FEBBO
PAULA BRANCATO
JARED FELDSCHREIBER
T REED
CHRISTINA KOTLAR
SCOTT ROSENBERG
TIM WASSBERG
ZOE MOON
Tyrone D Murphy
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Contents
FEATURES
Final Draft
no budget movie
Tyrone Power IV
Iron Sky
P.7
200 years.
FILM FESTIVALS
13
P.11
P.5
Putins Kiss
P.47
Film Festivals
LA Comedy Film Festival
37 Interview
with co-founder and artistic direc-
MORE STUFF
31
41 Swashbuckling
J.R. Beardsley talks about Swashbuckling on
the silver screen
6 fatal errors in screenwriting
Putins Kiss
47Lisa
Birk Pedersens film Putins Kiss reviewed
by Jared Feldschreiber
Time VS Technology
49 Has
digital media content a limited life-span,
by T.Reed
www.ufmag.org
g g
Please Contribute
Universal
JANUARY 2012
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
www.ufmag.org
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
www.ufmag.org
19. Kevin Smith on Tim Burton (in response to I would never read a comic
book):
Which, to me, explains fucking Batman.
20. Kevin Smith on Paul Thomas Anderson (specifically, Magnolia):
Ill never watch it again, but I will
keep it. Ill keep it right on my desk,
as a constant reminder that a bloated
sense of self-importance is the most
unattractive quality in a person or
their work.
21. David Gordon Green on Kevin
Smith:
He kind of created a Special Olympics
for film. They just kind of lowered the
standard. Im sure their parents are
proud; its just nothing I care to buy a
ticket for.
22. Vincent Gallo on Spike Jonze:
Hes the biggest fraud out there. If
you bring him to a party hes the least
interesting person at the party, hes
the person who doesnt know anything. Hes the person who doesnt say
anything funny, interesting, intelligent Hes a pig piece of shit.
23. Vincent Gallo on Martin Scorsese:
I wouldnt work for Martin Scorsese
for $10 million. He hasnt made a good
film in 25 years. I would never work
with an egomaniac has-been.
24. Vincent Gallo on Sofia (and Francis
Ford) Coppola:
Sofia Coppola likes any guy who has
what she wants. If she wants to be a
photographer shell fuck a photographer. If she wants to be a filmmaker,
shell fuck a filmmaker. Shes a parasite
just like her fat, pig father was. (funny
cause you had no problem starring in
Francis last movie)
25. Vincent Gallo on Abel Ferrara:
Abel Ferrara was on so much crack
when I did The Funeral, he was never
on set. He was in my room trying to
pick-pocket me.
26. Werner Herzog on Abel Ferrara:
I have no idea who Abel Ferrara is. But
let him fight the windmills Ive never
seen a film by him. I have no idea who
he is. Is he Italian? Is he French? Who
is he?
27. David Cronenberg on M. Night
Shymalan:
I HATE that guy! Next question.
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
Final
Draft
by Tyrone D Murphy
CEO of Final Draft Marc Madnick developed the software in 1986 to help aspiring screenwriters because he found as a
screen writer himself the studios rigid
formatting regulations made screenwriting difficult
www.ufmag.org
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
www.ufmag.org
Universal
U
niversal Film
Film
Issue
Iss
ue 1 of
of 2012
2012
Iron
Sky
by T
Tyrone
Tyr
yron
one
e D Mu
Murp
Murphy
rphy
hy
rron
on SSky
ky iiss a sc
scie
science-fi
ienc
ncee-fi
fiction
ctio
ct
ion
n
comedy
comedy
come
dy fillm
m di
dire
directed
rect
cted
ed b
byy Ti
Timo
mo
Vuorensola.
Vuor
Vu
oren
enso
sola
la.. Se
Sett in 2
201
2018
018
8 tthe
he fillm
m
tells
tell
te
llss a story
stor
st
oryy of the
the 1945
194
1
945
94
5 Nazi
Nazi defeat
def
d
efea
ef
eatt
and
an
d a handful
hand
ha
ndfu
full of scientists
ssci
cien
enti
tist
stss wh
who
o fled
to tthe
he M
Moon
oon
oo
n wh
wher
where
ere
e th
they
ey b
built
uilt
ui
lt a fl
fle
e
eet
et
of space craft. They are now ready to
conquer Earth.
The film comes from the makers of
Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning and was
produced by Tero Kaukomaa of Blind
Spot Pictures. Samuli Torssonen was
responsible for the computer generated effects of the film. The film was
financed by Energia Productions, Blind
Spot Pictures, New Holland Pictures
and 27 Films Production.
The cast includes Julia Dietze (112
Ritter), Gtz Otto (Schindlers List,
The Downfall), Christopher Kirby (The
Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions, Daybreakers, Space: Above and Beyond),
Udo Kier (Dogville, Dancer in the
Dark), Peta Sergeant (Satisfaction),
Stephanie Paul (Separation City, Film
School Confidential) and Tilo Prckner
Flscher),
(The
(T
he Neverending
Nev
N
ever
eren
endi
ding
ng Story,
SSto
tory
ry,, Di
Die
e F
Fls
lsch
cher
er),),
screenplay
sci-fi
with
wi
th a sscr
cree
eenp
npla
layy by acclaimed
aacc
ccla
laim
imed
ed ssci
ci-fi
-fi
writ
wr
writer
iter
er Johanna
JJoh
ohanna
ohan
na Sinisalo
SSin
inisal
inis
alo
o (Nebula
(Neb
(N
ebul
ulaa Award
Awar
Aw
ard
d
nomi
no
nominee
mine
nee
e 20
2009
2009,
09,, Fi
Finl
Finlandia
nlan
andi
diaa 20
2000
2000)
00)) an
and
d
Mich
Mi
chae
aell Kalesniko
Kale
Ka
lesn
snik
iko
o (Private
(Pri
(P
riva
vate
te Parts).
Par
P
arts
ts).).
Michael
In tthe
he fillm,
m, a ssec
ecre
rett Na
Nazi
zi sspa
pace
ce p
pro
ro-secret
space
program
gr
am lled
ed b
byy Ha
Hans
ns K
Kam
amml
mler
er aand
nd a
Kammler
grou
gr
oup
p of G
Ger
erma
man
n scientists
scie
sc
ient
ntis
ists
ts make
mak
m
ake
ea
group
German
brea
br
eakt
kthr
hrou
ough
gh in
in anti-gravity
anti
an
ti-g
-gra
ravi
vity
ty rres
esea
earc
rch.
h.
breakthrough
research.
From
Fr
om a secret
ssec
ecre
rett Nazi
Nazi base
bas
b
ase
e in the
the AntAnt
A
nt-arct
ar
ctic
ic the
the group
gro
g
roup
up evade
eva
e
vade
de ccap
aptu
ture
re aand
nd
arctic
capture
dest
de
stru
ruct
ctio
ion
n by fle
eei
eing
ng tto
o th
the
e da
dark
rk side
ssid
ide
e
destruction
eeing
of tthe
he M
Moo
oon,
n, w
whe
here
re they
tthe
heyy es
esta
tabl
blis
ish
h th
the
e
Moon,
where
establish
mili
mi
lita
tary
ry base
bas
b
ase
e Schwarze
Sch
S
chwa
warz
rze
e So
Sonn
nne
e ((Bl
Blac
ackk
military
Sonne
(Black
Sun)
Su
n).. Th
Thei
eirr fien
endi
dish
sh p
pla
lan
n iiss to b
bui
uild
ld
Sun).
Their
endish
plan
build
a flee
eett of advanced
aadv
dvan
ance
ced
d sp
spac
ace
e craft
craf
cr
aftt
space
and
an
d re
retu
turn
rn to
to conquer
conq
co
nque
uerr Earth.
Eart
Ea
rth.
h.
return
The
Th
e Na
Nazi
ziss pr
proc
occe
ced
d to
Nazis
procced
cons
co
nstr
truc
uctt
construct
a flee
eett of spacecraft
sspa
pace
cecr
craf
aftt an
and
d a sp
spac
ace
e
space
fort
fo
rtre
ress
ss.. In 2
201
018
8 th
they
ey rret
etur
urn
n to conccon
on-fortress.
2018
return
quer
qu
er EEar
arth
th w
wit
ith
h an ar
arma
mada
da of
of flyi
ying
ng
Earth
with
armada
sauc
sa
ucer
ers.
ers
ss.
saucers.
27 FFil
ilms
ms
Films
Prod
Pr
oddu
duct
ctio
ions
ns..
Prodductions.
The Am
The
Amer
eric
ican
an astronaut
ast
stro
rona
naut
ut James
Jam
ames
es WashWas
ashhAmerican
ington (Christopher Kirby) lands his
At the 2010 Cannes Film Festival Iron
Lunar Lander a bit too close to the
Sky signed a co-production agreesecret Nazi base. The Moon Fhrer
ment with Australian production
(Udo Kier) realizes that the glorious
company New Holland Pictures who
moment of retaking the Earth has
brought in Cathy Overett and Mark
arrived sooner than expected. WashOverett as co-producers of the film.
ington claims the mission is just a
publicity stunt for the President
Filming began in November
of the United States (Stephanie
Paul), but the Nazis believe
Worldwide 2010, location in Frankfurt
in Weseler Werft or Tauthat the astronaut is a scout
theatrical
nusstrae, and in January,
for an imminent attack by
release in
2011,
in Australia for studio
2012
Earth forces. The Fourth Reich
shooting.
must now act!
Two Nazi officers, the ruthless Klaus
Adler (Gtz Otto) and the idealistic
Renate Richter (Julia Dietze), travel
to Earth to prepare for the invasion.
When the Nazi UFO armada darkens the skies, ready to strike at the
unprepared Earth, every man, woman
and
an
d nation
nati
na
tion
on , m
mus
ustt re-evaluate
re-e
re
-eva
valu
luat
ate
e th
thei
eirr
must
their
prio
pr
iori
riti
ties
es..
priorities.
Pr
Prod
oduc
ucti
tion
on o
off Ir
Iron
on SSky
ky b
beg
egan
an iin
n ea
earl
rlyy
Production
began
early
2006
20
06.. Th
The
e pr
prod
oduc
ucti
tion
on ttea
eam
m to
took
ok a
2006.
production
team
teas
te
aser
er trailer
ttra
raililer
er tto
o Th
The
e Ca
Cann
nnes
es
teaser
Cannes
Film
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lm Festival
FFes
esti
tiva
vall in M
May
ay 2
200
008
8
2008
seek
se
ekin
ing
g co
co-fi
-fin
nan
anci
cier
ers.
s.
seeking
nanciers.
They
Th
ey ssig
igne
ned
da
signed
co-p
co
-pro
rodu
duct
ctio
ion
n
co-production
agre
ag
reem
emen
entt
agreement
with
wi
th
Universal
U
niversal Film
Film
Issue
Iss
ue 1 of
of 201
2012
2
Fan
Fa
n Participation
Part
Pa
rtic
icip
ipat
atio
ion
n
The
Th
e fans
fans ccan
an ttak
take
ake
e part
part in
in ma
maki
making
king
ng IIro
Iron
ron
n
Sky th
Sky
through
thro
roug
ugh
h a co
collaborative
coll
llab
abor
orat
ativ
ive
e film m
mak
makak-ing
in
g platform
plat
pl
atfo
form
rm called
ccal
alle
led
d Wreckamovie.com
Wrec
Wr
ecka
kamo
movi
vie.
e.co
com
m
Finland - 3.972.720
Germany - 1.704.956
Australia - 1.823.503
Total
7 501 179
52,96 %
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24,31 %
100 %
si
site
tes,
s, Facebook,
FFac
aceb
eboo
ook,
k, TTwi
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YouT
uTub
ube
e an
and
d
sites,
Twitter,
YouTube
help
he
lp tto
o spread
spre
sp
read
ad the
the word
wor
w
ord
d about
abou
ab
outt the
the
movi
mo
vie
e through
thro
th
roug
ugh
h their
thei
th
eirr ow
own
n so
soci
cial
al ccir
ircl
cle.
e.
movie
social
circle.
An iint
nteg
egra
rall pa
part
rt o
off th
the
e Ir
Iron
on SSky
ky
integral
publ
pu
blic
icit
ityy campaign
camp
ca
mpai
aign
gn is
is a system
syst
sy
stem
em called
cal
alle
led
d
publicity
Demand to See Iron Sky, which can be
The fans and followers can take part
found in www.ironsky.net/demand/.
in Iron Sky by offering the following:
It enables the visitors to demand to
ideas, funding and publicity.
see the movie in cinemas in their
home city. The fans validate their
The fans can take part in making Iron
demand with their e-mail address,
Sky through a collaborative film makwhich makes it easy for the filmmaking platform called Wreckamovie.
ers to reach their fans in certain
com. In Wreckamovie the film
city or geographical area. The
1 Milmakers can give their followIron Sky community can also
lion euros
ers tasks, which can be simple
take part in creating movie
in crowd
(come up with a name for a
funding by merchandise. The fans will be
character) or quite complex
able to download a Design
fans
(build a 3D model of a starKit, which includes Iron Sky
ship).
themed graphics, fonts, pictures
and other materials, with which they
CROWD FUNDING:
can create their own suggestions for
Iron Sky merchandise. The best sugOut of the 7.5 million euros that is the
gestions will be added the official line
budget of Iron Sky, one million euros
of Iron Sky merchandise, which is disis fan funding. It is based on the active
tributed globally by EMI. The designers
merchandise sales of Iron Sky (store.
will be rewarded with movie tickets,
ironsky.net)
cash,
tickets
iron
ir
onsk
sky.
y.ne
net)
t) and
and notable
not
n
otab
able
le fan
fan investiinv
nves
esttcash
ca
sh,, ti
tick
cket
etss to the
the Iron
IIro
ron
n Sky
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prem
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followers
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ment
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nts.
s. TThe
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d in other
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er ways.
way
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s.
investments
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inve
in
vest
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ment
ntss st
star
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ting
ng ffro
rom 10
rom
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smartphones
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e Ir
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ky 7
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covered from Finland, and the rest
from Germany and Australia.
contact
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ures
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are growing
gro
g
rowi
wing
ng d
day
ay
after
afte
af
terr day.
day.
Universal
Universal
Film
JANUARY 2012
Issue 1 of 2012
Gtz Otto (Klaus ) - A German actor most famous for his portrayal
as Mr. Stamper in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.
His roles include films such as Schindlers List, Der Untergang and
the UK comedy Alien Autopsy.
www.ufmag.org
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
Get ready
the Fourth Reich is here..
www.ufmag.org
10
Universal Film
www.ufmag.org
12
Issue 1 - 2012
Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012
UFFO
Universal
Film &
Festival
Organization
FEST-COP
ADOPTED BY
OVER 120 FILM
FESTIVALS
13
www.ufmag.org
Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012
www.ufmag.org
14
No 10: All Festival organizers should declare any conflict of interest that may arise
from any film submitted to or invited to
participate in the festival
Universal Film
JANUARY 2012
Tyrone Power IV
The Powers The acting dynasty that spans 200 years
yrone Power is a
name we are all familiar with and many
of us have seen his
movies.
by Tyrone D Murphy
Tyrone Power II
15
www.ufmag.org
www.ufmag.org
Universal Film
JANUARY 2012
16
Tyrone Power IV
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
WHO IS B
UGGING T
A US court handed
down a one-year prison sentence
to Hollywood director John McTiernan for having his producers phone
tapped and then lying about it to the
FBI. This is just one of a number of
bizarre criminal case that highlight the
mistrust in the film industry.
John McTiernan was one of Hollywoods most celebrated film directors. He shot action films such as Die
Hard, The Hunt for Red October, and
The Last Action Hero. He worked
with stars like Bruce Willis, Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Sean Connery.
His movies grossed more than $1 billion at the box office.
This bugging incident may well have
remained a mere footnote but for the
fact McTiernan hired private investigator Anthony Pellicano who worked
regularly for the Hollywoods elite.
Pellicanos previous clientele included
names like Michael Jackson and Tom
Cruise. What McTiernan didnt know
at the time was that he was involved
in one of the biggest wiretapping affairs in US history.
The McTiernan case began in 2000
while he was directing a remake of the
1970s Rollerball in Montreal. The production became embroiled in a row
between producer Charles Roven (12
Monkeys and City of Angels) and
McTiernan. The director wanted to
make a modern Spartacus, in which
a slave rebels against an inhumane
system. But Roven insisted the movie
be an action adventure.
Shortly after shooting began a fire
broke out and destroyed the set,
and the movie went completely off
the rails. The films main producer
was the MGM studio, but McTiernan
was worried Roven wanted to take
control by buying up the studios.
He also suspected the fire had been
started deliberately. McTiernan hired
Pellicano, who used a hardware-and
software-based system that secretly
records telephone conversations.
FBI agents discovered a recording of
a conversation between McTiernan
and Pellicano during a search of the
private investigators offices.
In December 2008, Pellicano was
given a 15-year jail sentence for 76
counts of illegal wiretapping, and in
October 2010 McTiernan was sentenced to one year in prison.
HE INDUS
TRY?
by Tyrone D Murphy
Goldcrest
Offices Bugged?
A few years ago Goldcrest Film & TV
had serious concerns that their offices
in central London were being bugged.
A counter surveillance sweep team was
brought in to sweep the building at the
Dean Street in Central London.
After an extensive sweep of the building, the Sweep Team discovered a covert transmitting device hidden inside
a common household UK-style mains
adaptor. The device was found in the
directors boardroom.
Technology has changed much in recent years with cellular networks being
utilised to listen in on conversations. A
miniature device can be disguised and
contain a camera or listening device
and can be hidden in anything.
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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
Whither
Film Festivals
and Wherefore?
There are no easy answers to the
Film Festival Question. Not one.
There are now so many film festivals
that, if one could teleport, it would be
easy to spend 24/7/365 in a theatre
somewhere on earth watching movies
without eating, sleeping, or relieving
oneself.
Even if I had mastered teleportation, I
wouldnt attend that many screenings.
But the opportunity is clearly there. So
what are we to do? And what, really, is
the question?
The question has, vaguely, to do with
how to make your own film festival
successful and, at the very least, pay
for itself. Thats not easy, especially in
the second decade of the 21st Century
where the economics of the world
have transmogrified into a surreal playing board worthy of Alices Wonderland.
In the United States, especially, the film
festival landscape -- long supported
by charities, foundations, and the attendance of interested viewers -- has
become barren and dodgy.
Add to that formula the general collapse of theatrical motion picture
exhibition in Europe and, especially,
North America because of the rise in
ticket prices and home theatres, and
by Edward Summer
www.ufmag.org
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6
Edward Summer
Executive Director
Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo and Western New York State,
United States
Issue 1 2012
Universal Film
Film Festiv
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY...
by Tyrone D Murphy
ome film
festivals are
set up solely
to con and rip off the
filmmaking community.
With the recent explosion of film
festivals all over the world it was inevitable that the scammers would consequently follow. This was highlighted
recently with a number of film festivals
around the world including the Swansea Bay Film Festival in the UK. The
Swansea Bay Film Festival was set up
by Binda Singh, a charismatic character
with a silver tongue by all accounts. He
managed to secure the patronage of
actors Catherine Zeta Jones/Douglas
and Michael Sheen for the festival and
he was raking in the cash.
All seemed to be going well for Singh
who had expanded his operations and
was now running up to sixteen film
festivals through the AMRISTA organization Academy of Media, Recording,
Interactive, Television & Stage Arts
a grandiose name I am sure you will
agree, but grandiose in name only?
AMRISTA was operating film festivals in
countries such as Australia, Egypt, USA,
Ireland, Thailand, the Caribbean, South
Africa and many more. Business was
booming for Singh. If a film-maker submitted their film to a festival throught
the AMRITSA organization, they would
also be accepted into 10 other AMRISTA festivals. How good can it get for
an aspiring filmmaker?
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Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012
val Stories
Another festival
that has been a
cause of concern
is LALIFF, which
is directed by Edward James Olmos.
every filmmaker who submitted a film to his festival
telling every one of them
that they were nominated for
an award.
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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
Queen of Scams
Documentary on the Queens International Film Festival by Dan Nuxoll & Martha Shane
She has been sued countless times and
accused of fraud under many different
names, relating to four different film
festivals in three different cities. There
is an elderly egg farmer who claimed
he gave Marie and her husband his life
savings to make a gangster movie, and
there is a single mom who says Marie
took her last dime. And all that is just
the beginning. Everyone we spoke to
said that Marie could be charming,
sweet, vulnerable, and captivating.
Yet everywhere we looked there were
accusations of fraud, piles of unpaid
bills, and people whose lives had been
left in disarray. The deeper we dug, the
more we wanted to know.
ver since 2007, we have been chasing the enigmatic Marie Castaldo,
convicted criminal, alleged con artist
and proprietor of scandal-plagued film
festivals. Directed by Martha Shane
(Producer and codirector of Bi The
Way) and Dan Nuxoll (Program Director of Rooftop Films, coproducer of
Kiss My Snake), The Mystery of Marie
Castaldo and the Queens International
Film Festival will take the audience on a
voyage of discovery from Africa to Paris
to L.A. to Queens to Rikers Island, and
finally to the small apartment in London
where we finally met Marie face to face.
In the end, we hope to come to a better understanding of what truly drives
Marie Castaldo.
The Story
My name is Dan Nuxoll, and I am the
Program Director for Rooftop Films, an
outdoor film festival in New York. Its a
great job and I really enjoy it, but right
now I would like to tell you about a different sort of project that I am working
on. In 2007, a festival director named
Marie Castaldo called me up and said
she was looking to rent some equipment for her Queens International Film
Festival. We rented her some gear, but
never got a deposit, and after the festival was over, Marie disappeared without
paying a dime. A year later, when I discovered that Marie was presenting the
festival again, I decided to take action.
I called the festival, left a message, and
was subsequently contacted by Marie,
who threatened that if I showed up at
the festival, there would be men there
who would make me regret it. As I soon
learned, however, Rooftop Films wasnt
the only company that Marie hadnt
paid over the years.
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Issue 1 - 2012
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KZFR 90.1 FM
http://www.kzfr.org
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
A NO BUDGET MOVIE?
by Tyrone D Murphy
The film tells the story of Mick Barrett, a drug addict in his 20s who is
caught in the world of crime and the
consequences of his addiction. Unlike
the dark seedy world portrayed in the
film, where the majority of the characters are taken to the edge by heroin
and never come back, McCarthy has
escaped that faith and has used his
experience to create The Vein Within.
The person who inspired McCarthy to
write the screenplay was a young man
who he had met while in recovery, who
helped McCarthy overcome his demons, but, sadly couldnt overcome his
own. The struggle he had fighting the
heroin addiction just blew me away,
said McCarthy.
The production is about as far from a
big budget film as you can get; and as
such, the production has faced a great
number of setbacks, particularly when
it comes to securing filming permits
and locations to shoot in. McCarthy
explained the struggle he faced with
getting past the red tape: Well to be
honest, were still in that position now.
Were planning shooting a scene in a
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Issue 1 of 2012
Basic $ Considerations
for Filmmakers
When an independent film is successful, it is the
result of the creative, networking and business
abilities of all those involved. It is important for the
filmmaker to receive sound legal advice and be
aware of how and why distributions are made.
Most films pay participants a flat fee. These payments are usually apportioned based on the
planned number of weeks for production. Except
for those production members actively involved
in pre-production, payments will not begin until
principal photography.
Cast and crew members may be paid per diems,
as well as salaries. These Per diems are modest
payments based on the number of days worked
and are designed to assist with personal expenses
(such as food and travel).
When shooting an independent film, cash flows
are a major issue. By deferring expenses, filmmakers can shoot a movie with less money than would
normally be required. This allows budget expenses to be paid from the films future revenues.
It is often not possible to defer all expenses, but
participants are often willing to defer all or part of
their salaries. As the salaries are budgeted costs,
they must be paid before any capital is returned to
investors or profits are paid.
The other form of payment to film participants is
from profit participation in the film. Definitions of
profit participation are open to manipulation.
However, many independent filmmakers do not
have the studio overhead or other charges that
major studios have. As a result, there is more likely
to be legitimate profit distribution.
Profit must always be defined in legal documentation. Profit is what is left after all expenses are
paid, all investment is returned to investors and a
reserve fund is made for the ongoing operations
of the film company. Except as provided in profit
participation agreements, all profits belong to the
film company. Due to the importance of profit
participation agreements, they should be referred
to in the offering documents for the film company.
Profit participation agreements should stipulate
when profit is earned. This should be when an
employment task is successfully completed, as opposed to when an employment contract is signed.
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The filmmaker should ensure that their legal counsel negotiates all contracts to maintain sufficient
leverage in situations where actors decide to walk
away from a project.
by Gene Goodsell, Esq.
Entertainment Lawyer
contact: gene@bselaw.com.au
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Filmmaking ...
by Tyrone D Murphy
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Universal Film
CHERRY
PICKING
Issue 1 2012
Over the past year we (UFFO) have seen many fraudulent activities
by disreputable film festivals from all over the world. Most of these
festivals recieve 200 to 400 submissions annually and are considered
small in comparison to the bigger film festivals that have 10,000 to
20,000 submissions every year. However, fraudulent activity is not limited to the small film festivals. We were astounded to learn recently from
a respected film festival director in the USA about a major festival in the
US that sets up its entire screening programme with films invited in from
other festivals. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Well, there is with this
festival. After the screening programme is completed in its entirety, only
then does a general call for submissions then go out to the filmmaking
community.
Films that are submitted to this festival are just trashed/binned without
ever being opened. The staff simply look at the tracking number on the
outside of the package, look it up on the computer , verify payment has
been received through the online submission provider and then toss it in
the trash. The submitted films are never opened, never screened, never
looked at.
This story gave us cause for grave concern (where does all this end?) we
began looking into some of the bigger film festivals around the world to
see how they conduct business. From what we have seen, the little guy
has little or no chance competing in the big festivals. Why would you
submit your film to a big festival when there is little or no hope your film
is going to be chosen or selected? Most of the films that are in competition in the bigger festivals have the support of major distributors
and studios with millions in campaign funds. Not only that, most of
the films are invited to take part in the festival are big budget films or
already have distribution in place.
As a filmmaker you can conduct your own due diligence by researching the bigger festivals to which you are thinking about submitting
your film. Look at the numbers, contact the festival and ask them
how many films are invited to take part in their festival. What
percentage of these films wins awards? What percentage of newcomers films are selected or win awards? What percentage of
these films does not have distribution? If the festival refuses to
answer your queries, then we suggest you pass them by.
To try to establish a level playing field we have written an
open letter (opposite) to all the big festivals around the
world asking these important questions. We will be publishing their replies as soon as we receive it, if we ever do!
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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
UFFO
Do not give out your private financial details unless you are sure
about a festival.
Do not submit a film to a film festival if the awards are going to the
festival directors own films or their friends films.
If a film festival is charging a submission fee and giving you a guaranteed screening for your film but there is no real festival, just a screening event, we suggest that you pass them by.
There are a lot of one man band film festivals out there, many of whom
provide a very valuable service to the local community and to the filmmaking community. However, if such a festival is not in your local community, does it really make good sense submitting your film to a festival half
way round the world to compete with local filmmakers who can bring their
own audience and can canvas the area prior to the festival?
IMPORTANT! Do not rely on any of the online submission providers to weed
out scam festivals. They are in business to take a percentage of your submission
fee and not to make sure your submission fee is protected from fraudsters.
This is about to change as we (UFFO) are currently working toward this
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Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012
THE ETHICS
of Changing the Distribution Model of Films...
t wasnt too long ago that consumers read their news exclusively
from newspapers, and audiences
watched movies at the theatres. All
that seems to be changing as technology takes on a new lead. A report
in the New York Times discussed the
alarming decline of movie-goers in
North America for 2011, which saw
ticket sales at 500 million dollars
behind last year.
As technology is increasing at a
rapid rate, critics are wondering how
this will impact the film industry. One impact is ethics. The film
industry has always been against
new technology, such DVDs, VHS,
or even television sets threatening movie theatres in the 1950s.
While the technologies have proven
to be undisruptive and - wait for
it-marketable, the film distribution
model doesnt have enough room
yet for new digital distribution.One
consequence of this new technology
is piracy, or the copyright infringement of audio-visual works. While
piracy poses a big threat to the
movie industry, the unethical behaviour of pirating films nowadays
seems almost normal. As with the
technology of high-speed internet,
downloading or streaming movies
is as easy as a few keyboard strokes.
Digital distribution has proven itself
A TRAILER FESTIVAL?
The original idea of The Trailer Festival seems to have been welcomed by the industry who, like the Festival Director, is all hoping the next Paranormal Activity is
going to turn up in the Trailer Festivals screening room! The first two events were
attended exclusively by film industry and included executives from Paramount,
Fox, Disney, PBS and many other high profile companies. All the trailers that are
accepted are uploaded into an Online Screening Room and for a year following
the event executives from production, management and distribution companies
login to take a look and request DVDs and scripts for trailers that they like. The
festival now has a database of over 700 industry professionals, which include
Universal, Warner Bros, HBO, ABC and Lionsgate.
If a trailer is good, and they think they can sell it, they put it in, their goal being
to keep the screening room brimming with great projects. The trailers are all
divided into categories, so even if they have 100+ trailers, each category on average would contain 20, which would take viewers about 50 minutes to watch. The
festival is able to monitor when audiences log in, what they look at, if they skip or
click off during viewing, and it seems most executives will spend an hour online,
looking for the jewel in the crown.
www.thetrailerfestival.com. by Tyrone D Murphy
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Issue 1 - 2012
Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012
FoPe Fest performs traditional and contemporary arts and cultures of countries and
people from all around the World. A multi-arts festival including music, dance, film, literature sections,
visual arts, from folk to street art.
Come and join us online soon!
Antonietta Ciarniello
Founder & Director
FoPe Fest - International
Festival of Folk & People
Arts and Cultures
E-mail: antonietta.fopefest@gmail.com
Skype: antonietta.ciarniello
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Issue 1 - 2012
FLICKERS:
Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF)
has secured its place in the global community as
the portal for the best in international independent
cinema.
The Reggae Film Festival -April 1721 in Kingston, Jamaica showcases films
featuring Jamaicas Reggae music culture.
The event includes World Cinema, Caribbean
Programme;
visit www.RIFilmFest.org.
www.jamaicafilmacademy.org
www.chicoindependentfilmfestival.org
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Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012
Since 2006 CU -The European Independent Film Festival has been Europes
premier arena for independent filmmakers to
screen their films to large audiences, to network
with industry pros and interact with other indie
filmmakers.
The festival will give away awards in the Best Short Film,
Best, Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Actor,
Best, Cinematography, Best Editing,
Best Musical Score and Three
Special Mentions categories.
www.ecufilmfestival.com
www.imphalfilmfestival.org
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Issue 1 - 2012
www.shorts2012.co.uk
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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
UNIVERSAL
FILM
MAGAZINE
Our magazine is written by industry professionals and filmmakers. We need your stories and
contributions for the next edition.
We aim to create a reputation of telling the hard stories no one else will
ever dare.
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Issue 1 of 2012
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
ntering into its 4th year, the LA Comedy Shorts Festival, under the auspice of co-founder and artistic director Gary Anthony Williams, also known for his acting
stints on series such as Boston Legal and Weeds, continues
to bring together a intrinsic cross section of filmmakers and
industry alike in a fun, close-quarter confab that truly brings
about possibilities by literally placing the players in such proximity that deals cannot help but happen.
UFM: Has the mission of the festival changed at all as you enter
this year?
GAW: Our main goal really is, stands and remains to be, introducing new comedy talent to the industry...and weve been
fortunate. Funny Or Die came on early for us and they still
continue to be strong with us every year. On opening night,
we will do a celebrity block of their films and then they are
hanging around there all week, looking for people to steal
which is a great thing. And then Atomic Wedgie, another big
one, thats Freemantles internet arm, they were also with us in
year one. And I believe that year, Tom Hoffman [from Atomic
Wedgie] picked up 4 different people they made deals with.
Tom will be there again this year. But, in that first year, he saw
literally every single film that we played at the festival.
UFM: As one of the few festivals that specifically focuses on
shorts and more specifically on comedy, what is the current
importance of this form to the industry?
GAW: I truly believe that now, the ability to make a comedy
short, is such a great calling card. It will always be a great calling card but now people are actually making a nice living and
have a foothold in the industry off comedy shorts. There is
such an outlet for them now, whether it be [places like] Funny
Or Die or Atom Films. Everyone is moving into them. Even
Yahoo is running comedy shorts. It is a great way to get into
the industry. What we still need though is talent. Everybody
has a video camera...and everybody can make a short but not
everybody should (chuckling). Those who can, and do it well,
really stand out. I mean there is some new talent which we
stumbled upon this year that we cant wait for people to meet.
Theres one group, a group of guys, who have four films in [the
festival]. We kept looking at their stuff in disbelief and were
like these guys are just just amazing! And once people see
them, they will be blown away by the variety of stuff theyre
doing. Something that you and I couldnt have done ten or
eleven years ago...we couldnt have afforded to do...these guys
are doing.
UFM: What is necessary when it comes to programming these
films in terms of seeing the funny?
GAW: That the beauty. You just said the magic. We look for the
funny. Sometimes we will even let the quality, as far as the
look...well let that slip a little if its really good funny stuff. At
the end of the day what we like is strong visuals and strong
comedy but comedy wins overall here.
GAW: We have agents [attending]. We have production companies [attending]. And even if the agents arent there, we
set up the winners with them. But the festival is not just for
the winners. All the filmmakers there, guaranteed, will get a
chance to be seen by somebody who can help their career,
by somebody who might be interested in what theyre doing.
The ability to put all these people in one place for four days
in kind of a summer camp lets them meet each other and exchange ideas and see each others goods. Something good
always happens. Every single year. Someone has gotten a job.
Someone has gotten meetings. Interviews. Somebodys working with someone. And that is just filmmaker to industry and
industry to filmmaker. Then, on the other hand, we have these
filmmakers who have met each other. They team up and send
in a film in that they worked on together from just meeting
previously at the festival.
UFM: What is the key to making this community within the festival work?
GAW: The way we have set it up...heres what we have done
right. There is probably a million things we have done wrong
but what we have done right is we still keep our films all on
one screen. Everyone is there for the films at the same time.
That goes for my friend from the State Tax Credit Exchange
or anybody from any big agency or production company. Everybody is there. If you want to meet someone, you can meet
someone and there are people interested in meeting you. And
the little steps Ive seen...one of the scripts that was one of the
finalists last year came in this year as a movie. Last year it was
just a script, and this year they shot it. Now it is a movie and
it got in [to our festival] and its fantastic. I can only guess that
they are going to take the next step and try to make this into
a feature.
UFM: So there is also a competition element as well within the
festival...
GAW: The script competition, that Movie Magic does with
us, they are one of our major sponsors...what happens with
that competition is we have different categories: Theres student. Theres pilot. Theres short. Theres feature. All comedy of
course. The scripts dont have to be shorts. They can be any
length. We have a four-page script that is absolutely hilarious
that is being considered right now. Since the writers cannot
get their stuff seen on screen, they get a little different special
treatment. We actually pay for them [the finalists] to fly in and
put them up in our guest hotel, the Kyoto Grand, across the
street. We honor them on awards night just like anyone else.
It is a great thing (for the writers) because I have seen writers
hook up with directors at the film festival as well. And then
we get them meetings with different literary agencies around
town.
UFM: What is the most gratifying part of the process for you?
UFM: But the key also needs to be having the right people at
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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
CINEMATOGRAPHY
ODell BSC
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Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
CHRIS O'DELL
CHRIS O'DELL
Two weeks into the shoot the
laboratory managed to cook the
rushes from an expensive night
shoot involving principal artists. The
re-shoot cost a fortune, much more
than had been saved by the choice of
a cheaper laboratory. The production
immediately switched back to the
lab that I had nominated in the first
place, but at what a cost!
* La Rgle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game) A wonderful satirical film by the master Jean Renoir 1939
About Chris ODell
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Chris ODell BSC is a photographer and cinematographer, a graduate of the London International Film
School, currently working in the area of television
drama. He travelled widely in the 80s and 90s filming documentaries and current affairs programmes.
He ran a successful production company making
arts and music programmes for the BBC and other
clients. Since 1990 has photographed many very
successful TV drama series including Agatha Christies Poirot, Sharpe, Hornblower, Inspector Morse,
the Morse sequel Lewis, and many single dramas.
He lives in West Cork, and was chairman of the 2009
Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival.
* La Rgle du Jeu
(The Rules of the Game)
A wonderful satirical film
by the master Jean Renoir 1939
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SWASHBUCKLING
When
reviewing the history of film swashbucklers, foremost is Douglas
Fairbanks, probably the Granddaddy of swashbuckling and stunts as
well as an amazing athlete.
He created his stunts, performed all his
own sword fight and action sequences
and was no slouch with a whip. He
was the source of my fascination with
the whip which led to my becoming a
master of its study and use.
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The Greats
Issue 1 of 2012
Rod Colbin (1923 - ) was the first swashbuckler/actor I met professionally when I arrived in Hollywood.
Although not as known for his sword as much for his
acting during the 60s, 70s and 80s, he was a go-to
man for sword fighting in Hollywood, especially in television, and he was a great supporter of instruction in
the sword for many young actors during that period.
Bob Anderson (1922 2012) who sadly passed away
recently, was and is a true inspiration to all past,
present and future swashbucklers. He was an English
Olympic fencer and a renowned film fight choreographer with a cinema career that spanned more than
50 years. Included are films such as Highlander, The
Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and
Die Another Day. He was regarded as the premier
choreographer of Hollywood sword fighting.
Patrick Paddy Crean (1900-2003) was a professional
actor and theatrical fight director who was one of the
most influential figures in the art of modern stage
combat. Crean, who had a background in competitive
fencing, began choreographing fights in 1932 when
he was working in his native England as an actor in
The Legends of Don Juan. He and his partner Rex
Rickman were frequently hired to stage fight scenes
for theatrical productions as well as in motion pictures
such as The Master of Ballantree and The Sword of
Sherwood Forest.
Michel Carliez, fencing master of the French cinema,
has staged some wonderful duels in Le Bossu (aka
On Guard,) DArtagnan and the 3 Musketeers, Fan Fan
la Tulipe, Julie, Chevalier de Maupin and Lagadare
(French) with the latter two as mini-series . He has
also choreographed the thrilling sword fights for a
40--minute special at the theme park Puy de Fou in
Vende.
William Hobbs (1939) was with Laurence Oliviers
National Theater at the Old Vic for nine years. He has a
great portfolio of 20 film credits from 1962 to 2005. A
small, slight, even-tempered gentleman, he was leaning more towards directing at that time. One of his
films that stands out in my mind is Rob Roy, the final
duel between Tim Roths smarmy fop Cunningham
and Liam Neesons Rob. Neeson creates a real man in
Rob Roy and is excellent.
Oscar Kolombatovich (1919), the elegant and demonstrative fencing master known as The Grouch, was
instrumental in the opera world in New York, for many
years maestro at the Met. Well-known in the fencing
world, he moved to Spain where he built fine, historical, technically sophisticated weapons. He designed
state-of-the-art edged weapons of international
repute and taught countless swashbucklers throughout Europe.
David Boushey (1942) is an actor, American stuntman,
stunt coordinator and stunt trainer with countless
theatre and film credits to his credit. He is the founder
of the United Stuntmens Association, the International Stunt School, the Society of American Fight Directors and is a member of The Hollywood Stuntmens
Hall Of Fame.
J.R. Beardsley continues to work with creative artists in
search of challenging projects. He offers Swashbuckling for
the Silver Screen Workshops for film festivals as well as produce, direct and act in independent productions.
J.R. BEARDSLEY
www.toucheinternational.biz
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Contact J. R. Beardley
Universal Film
Issue 1 - 2012
g
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By Daniel E. Springen
DGA Director / independent producer.
These days it seems that with the economy declining, careers encountering elimination, and marketing dollars being cut along with
long term employees, the freelance gigs that we normally take to pay
the pocket have become far more scarce than in previous years.
This directly effects our ability to pay the soul or in other words, take on pet
projects. We see commercials on-air now created by companies that have reduced
their costs by using low-budget video techniques in order to cut the bottom line down
considerably; however, they are effectively derailing the memorable commercial moments
that keep consumers talking about their products for weeks on end if not decades. If someone
green-screens another non-union semi-actor and posts them against a white background to sell
their pharmaceutical, insurance, or mortgage product, I may just end up needing some of the antidepression, cant die without, low-interest-rate garbage, thats become a unfortunate part of our social
vernacular; (results may vary, use as directed). What has happened is that a gateway has opened for delivering ultra--low budget marketing messages to the clamouring lambs of branding that we have all become.
Thanks to the hand held, home-video style of so-called marketing gurus, the need for skilled technicians has declined
dramatically and has caused a riff in the very fabric of filmmaking communities that once supported their families and
paid back that good fortune by shooting projects that furthered the careers of aspiring artists and delivered common side
effects such as the warm and fuzzy feeling associated with true creativity. Just because you may be pulling focus on a multi--million dollar film today doesnt mean that you wont be sitting on your couch a month from now wondering if youll ever work again.
Two weeks of dealing with that type of uncertainty will guarantee your hoping that an independent project pops up so you can
remind yourself of why you became a filmmaker in the first place. It happens to all of us who choose to live the no-guarantee,
gypsy-like lifestyle of an independent filmmaker. A select few have the rock-steady paycheck associated with an ongoing television series or even the unlikely good-fortune of being in the stable of a sought after producer or production manager, but the
majority of filmmakers work catch-as-catch-can. So the next time you see a static, single-camera, green-screen
commercial with no location scouting, no art department, no special effects, and possibly no crew other than
some recently graduated marketing prodigy and his iPhone, think about the qualified filmmakers that are at
home going through stacks of bills and wondering if theyll ever be able to pay their past due mortgage
let alone have the financial freedom to once again pay their filmmaking souls.
re
a
e
p
s
Scholarship - International Shakespeare Project in Russia ke sia!
2012
a
Sh us
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a nR
n
o ti
i
t
a jec
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r ro
e
t
In P
There are several ArtUniverse scholarships available for filmmakers, film directors, arts managers and performers from different countries.
IUGTE & ArtUniverse hold a series of introductory labs in Austria,
Italy and Russia. Participation in the introductory labs will be free
of charge for admitted candidates.
The introductory labs open the door towards the new
collaboration project in Russia in autumn 2012: the
six-week period of performance creation in a Russian
repertory theatre together with Russian actors and performers from different countries! The working language is
English.
For more details, please send your CV/resume with
cover letter to
Ivan Rosenthal, Project Coordinator
iugte.projects@gmail.com
www.iugte.com
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Universal Film
1st Issue - 2012
Ivor Benjamin
Script
change
Okay, lights camera action!
skills?
There was a time when film studios, ad
agencies and TV companies had slack
for trainees, had room to develop their
directors and wanted to do just that. The
same is true in theatre. Some of the UKs
greatest film directors have come from a
theatrical background: Sam Mendes, Phyllida Lloyd, Danny Boyle, Roger Michell, to
name just a few. But that time was over
twenty years ago, and todays leaner,
meaner and cash-strapped workplace
means few trainees and fewer mentors,
and little place for learning on the job
outside the realms of self-funded shorts
and the occasional small grant.
And that means no
[BuzzwordGenerator=ON] Continuous
Professional Development.
Its an ugly phrase, but it says it all. To a
greater or lesser extent, it is true the world
over. Most directors dont develop in a
formal sense - development is what you
read and watch and try out as you work
and it has never been truer to say that
by Christopher Moore
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Universal
UniversalFilm
Film
Issue 1 of 2012
THE
SIX
FATAL
ERRORS IN
SCREEN WRITING
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In my career as producer and script developer, I have read over 5000 screenplays.
So many promising concepts fall by the
wayside because of errors that a knowledgeable screenwriter can easily avoid.
The errors screenwriters make are always
the same, whether the writer is a novice
or a professional.
Most of all, keep writing!
Paula Brancato
Full-time Lecturer,
University of Southern California
Mobile: 310-429-5181
Oce: 212-249-0255
http://www.thewritersplace.org/script_
consultation.shtml
TWPBrancato@aol.com
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Morality is
Putins Kiss
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s Subjective
Morality Tale about Contemporary Russian Politics
But as the film progressed, I realized how the film also
became this very symptomatic story of the bad political
climate we find in Russia these days The film seeks to
explore relevant and timely observations about contemporary Russia and its politics, however fails to deeply delve into
the complex relationships among politicians, journalists,
protest movements and citizens. However, the film succeeds
in hinting at the shifting loyalties and political manipulation
rampant in todays Russia.
As for the current anti-government sentiment within the
country: I hope the protests are the beginning of something
bigger. And yet as a journalist, it is unfulfilling, Khvostunova
sighs, describing the deep psychological and philosophical
strain on those in this profession.
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by Jared Feldschreiber
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
TIME VS TECHNOLOGY
ith Eastman Kodak filing for bankruptcy, the writing seems to be on the wall for the future of film as
the primary medium in an increasingly digital world.
But before we get too excited about a digital future,
there are some valuable lessons to be learned from the last
one hundred plus years of film history.
The recent pronouncement from the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture
limited
Arts & Sciences about the limited lifespan of digital
lifespan
media may have come as a surprise to some filmof digital
makers, but this has been pretty common knowlmedia
edge to people in the music industry, where digital
has already taken a solid foothold.
Long--term storage of digital media is a complex problem that has not yet been resolved. At its core: bit preservation and the ability to monitor for bit loss. Currently, the
most reliable digital archiving relies on a complex system
of multiple back-ups on multiple systems which need to be
repeated regularly to prevent bit loss and to keep adjusting
for emergent digital storage media and formats.
In the short term, the digital revolution has been so focused
on workflow, it has overlooked this serious issue. Without
significant attention, cost and effort, the current crop of digital filmmakers projects will not survive the duration of their
own copyrights! (In fact, bit deterioration can compromise
digital data in less than two years.) But this wouldnt be the
first time that the film industry has had to face this kind of a
realization.
Remember the days of the Silver Screen? That term derived from the silver nitrate stock used on all films until 1950.
This highly flammable and unstable medium is extremely
sensitive to environmental conditions, and has rendered
eighty to ninety percent of all silent films to ash and dust.
Fifty percent of all films shot before 1950 have already disappeared. The acetate stock used after 1950, while more stable,
still deteriorates and is subject to irreversible color fading
(Vinegar Syndrome). The tapes that were used for broadcast television were often recorded over and suffered wear
over time. As a result many old movies and television shows
have been lost forever.
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Such is the story of most of the DVDs on release; its DVD encryption is ripped within months of its release using software
created by the same company who created the DVD protection in the first place. One particular company has decided to
sell software to the general public that can rip through its own
protection with ease, and allows a complete novice to copy
DVDs to blank discs and hard drives.
Again, he was correct. In my research I came across numerous big-name companies all using the same type of encryption system, all of which used the old method of creating keys
and storing them somewhere. But Xelleons technology didnt
do that; their encryption is defined and created at the time a
single file is encrypted, then destroyed. This is done by a computer-sitting in the cloud. Dale also explained that by layering
the encryption it made the decoding run as quickly as with
256-bit encryption but protected with over 5020 bits of true
brute strength, one of the reasons the technology received a
Stealth certification. Im not very technically savvy, so when
Dale was discussing the eleven technical issues their company
has solved, most of it really went over my head. But I will vouch
for the fact that social issues that are not being answered by
any other technology have been hindered by the general acceptance of any new DRM system by the public at large.
I couldnt leave without seeing the technology work for myself, and they were proud to point me to a couple of companies using the technology, and even downloaded a full length
HD video right to my MacBook. I was actually surprised I had
no problem whatsoever running the film. The video opened
up to a screen, with my name on it, which kind of took me
back at first, but its understandable since its mine. Had I purchased the movie myself it would have completely passed me
by. I entered my secret code, and the movie began playing full
screen. There was a chapter menu where I could jump from
one chapter to the next, the HD was smooth and crisp, as it
should be, it had all the controls I would expect from a movie,
and some extra things Id never seen before.
When I minimized the movie, lo and behold there was a BUY
button, and a share button embedded on the player. It was
only then I realized that the file I had was only a three day rental ,and if I clicked that button I could actually buy the movie.
What I really liked was the share button; apparently upon signing up to download the movie, I was automatically added as
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Forget it!
The reality of the situation is a 24/7,
sleepless job, where you get to watch
lots of mostly boring/awful movies, deal
with some really great but often really
egotistical people that work in the film
industries of the world ,and youre so
exhausted at the parties, you cant eat or
drink or have any fun. Being a director
of a festival is a physically and mentally
exhausting job I know, I am (was)
the director of the recently shuttered
Phuket Film Festival.
PART ONE
My long tragic story begins back in 1995
while working for the Board of Investment of Thailand as a consultant. I convinced then Secretary General Staporn
Kavitanon to add a bit of culture to his
gigantic, industrial BOI Fair at Lamchabang.
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PART TWO
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The high-end demographic living on the island would certainly appreciate the stimulation of interaction with audio/
visual artists from around the world. There is also a number
of property developers on the island that would appreciate
the opportunity to showcase their exclusive properties to the
Hollywood types and other A-listers that would attend a
Film Festival on Phuket.
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Issue 1 of 2012
What a fiasco that hotel was!. Aside from rotten sewage odor
seeping into most rooms, two, TWO guests on different floors
awoke to find more people (one a woman, another a man) in
their rooms. An oversight on the part of someone at the front
desk in making key cards? Who cares, what extremely poor
security. And what about two of our film-makers observing a
man and woman fornicating in the first floor swimming pool
at about 11:30 at night? Film makers were loving it - envisioning movies that could be made of the experience. But come
on, what a representation of Thailand! Why didnt staff tell the
fornicators to go to their rooms? Okay, okay Thai staff are shy
and reluctant to intervene. Training is the operative word here.
Why arent staff trained better? Shall I throw in the problem of
the lock on my door which kept me locked out of my room for
45 minutes, or of the hotel Assistant Front Desk Manager that
entered my room without my permission and had staff empty
a can of aerosol deodorant in my room to cover up the foul
odor, destroying open food, my toothbrush and about 2,000
baht worth of medication in my bathroom?
And if thats not enough, how about the continued knocking on my staff s door and finding no one there when they
checked through the peep hole, and the refusal on the hotel
Assistant Managers part to rectify or acknowledge the situations. When asked to write a letter apologizing to the Festival
VIP guests that had odor problem in their room, the Assistant
Manager admitted that the oder had been a problem from the
start of operation of the hotel, and asked that I provide email
addresses of the VIPs. I asked the guests, prominent directors
and producers who told me that they did not want their private email addresses given out - I told him No. So he refused
to write a letter.
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I later found out from another hotel staff person, that the email
addresses would have been used for marketing purposes, the
Assistant Manager denied it only to be confronted at a later
conversation in which the staff member made the marketing
claim in front of the Assistant Manager, who told him to shut
up (in Thai). Like I said, what a fiasco!
PART THREE
After taking a year off to gear up for a bigger, better event
in 2009, AMW International Co., Ltd. moved to organize the
Phuket Film Festival in a more strategic time frame in June
situated right after the Festival des Cannes and right before
the Shanghai International Film Festival, offering film festival
professionals an opportunity to visit Phuket between the two
major film festivals. Many film festival professionals plan a circuit over a short period of time we know that film professionals come into the spas of Thailand after Cannes, and we
hoped to capitalize on this. And, in fact, this turned out to be
true, as the Shanghai International Film Festival was going to
play Cadillac Records after we did and have Adrien Brody
travel to the fest after visiting Phuket. We would split the cost
of Adrien coming out - same with Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), who is chairman of the Shanghai jury. We were negotiating with his people for him to visit Phuket a couple of
days before flying off to Shanghai.
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Thai Air Asia, Aleenta Resort Spa, have sponsored a VIP welcome or, post-flight Rest and Recovery package in the beautiful island of Phuket. Celebrities will be treated with spa and
health treatments as well as Phuket Marina Boating trips.
Smack in the middle of the Phuket Film Festival they were
bringing their VIPs down to Phuket? I dont understand, EXCEPT we were planning a yacht party for our VIPs on June 7 th
(to be paid for out of TAT sponsorship). Was TAT trying something sneaky here? Dont know, and now that we are closed,
dont care. Anyway, we had begun to gear down over that long
weekend (May 8th -11th) and Wednesday, May 13th, I mailed
out over 1000 press releases. Fifteen minutes after the last
press release left my email box, Khun Dumri, a reporter from
the Thai Post, called and said, Hey, have you heard? The government has postponed the ASEAN meeting until October?
The next few words that came out of my mouth are not quotable. I felt like I was in a high powered chess game and I had
just been check-mated. Id like to believe that the letters we
sent to the Thai Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the
ASEAN Secretariat had some effect and caused them to move
the ASEAN meeting, but they should have done it sooner. We
contacted them in late April.
Why not go on with the fest and recall the press release, some
have asked. How stupid would that look? We already lost our
Hollywood contingency; certainly we could go on without
them, but would our funders be happy with that? For now,
I am going to sit back, decompress and not worry about the
Phuket Film Festival. It is a shame! The people of Phuket, the
people of Thailand deserve more than the bungling way that
TAT and the central government operate. For them, it is politics above cultural activity which helps educate and entertain
the populace.
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Fast forward five years. Ive yet to sign any great distribution deals nor have I had any big offers to finance my next film.
Yet, I have made several other micro-budget films in the past five years, and I have had over 30 other film festival screenings. So yes, despite my lack of filmmaker dream fulfillment, I continue working on more films and entering more festivals.
I just cant seem to stop myself. I guess I always knew that having films in film festivals and even winning festival awards
doesnt guarantee any financial success. The fact that I find deep satisfaction in producing and directing films seems to be
enough success for me, and I know that filmmaking is something I will do until I am no longer physically capable of doing
so. From what I have seen, being an independent filmmaker means that either you are a filmmaker who is independently
wealthy or you are a filmmaker who works a regular 40-hour-week job and makes films in his spare time. I am the latter.
As an independent filmmaker, the ultimate success for me would be creating films without any funding concerns or limitations. Im pretty certain I have a better chance of winning the lottery than fulfilling that dream. So it must be the film
festivals that keep me going. Having one of my films shown in a theatre before a paying audience is thrilling, and I am so
grateful that so many film festivals have given me that opportunity. Film festivals are to filmmakers what art museums are
to painters and sculptors, and without them I might have given up as a filmmaker several years ago. So I really just want
to take this opportunity to thank all those festivals that have honored me by screening one of my films.
by Ray Robison
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
Within the idea of the Miami International Film Festival, this cultural balance
is necessitated in the programming
which highlights both American art
house possibilities in the historic Gusman Theater as well as Spanish-tinged
foreign film entries so relevant to this
area of the country, in Little Havanas
Tower Theater.
With the festival headquarters located
at the Standard Hotel on Bell Isle, the
intermingling of filmmakers within the
community is less manic than at other
festivals with the quiet lapping of the
bay playing host to intrinsic cocktail
hours meant to burgeon relationships
without having to shout over them.
As for the films, while Europe/USA coproductions dominated the galas, the
best narratives came in under the radar,
melding classicism with magical realism.
Id Receive The Worst News From Your
Beautiful Lips, a Brazilian film directed
by Beto Brant and Renato Ciasca, tracks
the tempestuous nature of a woman
saddled by sexual possibilities she cannot control.
The linear path of the picture follows the
notions of an addict who herself does
not know how she arrived on this path.
The paradoxical use of both intense sex
scenes contrasted with an utter
Id Receive The Wo
ensemble cast, including Marcia Gay
Harden, Stephen Lang (Avatar),
Lucy Liu and Ellen Burstyn boosts
the pictures credibility while still
keeping the idea both intimate and
contained.
Darling Companion, having already
locked distribution with Sony
Pictures Classics, offered the most
dexterous landing, with star Kevin
Kline and director Lawrence Kasdan,
a heralded pair, introducing the film
to a packed house. The film, a love
letter of sorts that Kasdan wrote
with his wife Meg, on the surface,
plays as a canine story with the lead
character Beth (played with sardonic
idealism by Diane Keaton) focusing
all of her energy on her pet after her
children leave home and her relationship with her husband (Kline)
becomes more distant. The wedding
of her daughter at their mountain
home, and subsequent disappearance of the dog, provide possibilities
(while searching in the woods) to
address their inevitable shortcomings. While this could become
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Citadel
Two other films of note, each completely different (but nonetheless interesting) in its approach, simply because of their
dichotomy of words and silence.
The Student, from Argentina, uses the aspect of universitybased politicking as a springboard to notions of revolution.
The verbiage, despite the language barrier, comes fast and furious, using notions of crime and corruption as power against
the student body, masked as progress. The pinpoint direction
of Santiago Mitre shows an inherent understanding of the
danger of information, depending on how it is skewed.
The Last Christeros, by comparison, is a quiet and methodical journey that follows Mexican Christian Freedom Fighters
in the Badlands of their country in the 1930s. Peppered with
homages to Spaghetti Westerns and minimal sound design,
the film depicts the isolation and determination of these men
balanced by their undying faith - a vision both inspiring and
disconcerting.
The Miami International Film Festival tries to balance these
different worlds while continuing the themes that progress
through their selected films. The festivals penchant for providing a cultural gateway remains constant... and growing.
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The intent of agoraphobia shown within a pseudo-supernatural structure works to certain advantages in Citadel [Dir.
Ciaran Foy/Midnighters/SXSW 2012]. However, the reality
of the underlying supernatural elements reveals some plot
holes, both actual and perceived. The narrative follows a
newly single father whose would-be wife is injected in cold
blood by supposedly feral-looking creatures. What transpires is a journey of faith, resolved in the lead character of
Tommy (played with sunken aplomb by Anuerin Barnard)
,who transports himself through a barren wasteland in urban Ireland, that may or may not be only in his mind. Director Foy, using his own experiences after being attacked and
suffering some of the same circumstances that his lead character, goes through, creates an atmosphere of claustrophobia that works well. The eventual resolution involves returning to the scene of the crime, almost as if it is a journey into
Purgatory, aptly signified by a tall, dark building. Tommy,
aided by a rather dark-minded priest and his blind, child cohort, must come face-to-face with his fear, which points back
to a simple human connection that he might have missed.
Employing a minimum of visual effectss and make-up, Foy
imbues the film with a Did I see that? mentality and his dexterity with visual cues incorporates both American and Asian
film influences. However, it is Barnard, clutching his young
daughter, pushing a stroller through burned out landscapes,
who draws the audience, emotionally into his characters toil.
Universal Film
Issue 1 of 2012
by Patricia J. Pawla
Getting There
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Movie
on
Britains
Most
Dangerous
Criminal
by Tyrone D Murphy
Killed 40 People
Certified Insane 3 times
42 years in prison
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www.madfrankiefraser.com
Mad Frank
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DVD
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Issue 1 of 2012
GSFF just finished its four day event from Thursday, March
22nd through Sunday March 25th, celebrating ten years
of a regional New Jersey film festival. It was not an easy
feat, especially during the past four years where economic
development was practically abandoned in Asbury Park.
However, the Jersey shore area comes alive this time of year.
Over a nice-weather weekend a destination film festival such
as GSFF draws crowds of up to 30,000 for its homegrown,
independent range of programming.
It started as a brainchild between two friends, Diane Raver
(executive director) and the late actor Robert Pastorelli
screening films at a then deteriorating Convention Hall
complex containing the Paramount Theatre and Convention
Hall designed by New York architect Whitney Warren in a
decorative Beaux Arts style. As renovations continued over
the years, the festival expanded to a total of seven venues
spread out among local businesses to make GSFF a happening film festival, with a diverse downtown area amid surrounding historic, residential neighborhoods.
With a tribute to Pastorelli, in place on Thursday, the official
Opening Night was a red carpet Gala Cocktail party for just
about everybody in the Grand Arcade of the Convention
Hall. The rest of the weekend was packed with screenings at
seven venues, with panel discussion events on topics ranging from Reel Jersey Girls: A Century of Women Filmmakers
celebrating the centennial of first woman filmmaker, to Alice
Guy Blaches Solax film studio, built in 1912 in Fort Lee, New
Jersey, birthplace of the motion picture industry, to the Real
History of Hip Hop in New Jersey.
Its a balance between nostalgia honoring Ed Asner with a
Lifetime Achievement Award and the new I Want My Name
Back, a story of Hip Hops original, break-through artists, The
Sugarhill Gang, behind the scenes of the cutthroat world of
music, trying to reclaim their identities, and legacy in music
history. Following the screening, Wonder Mike and Master
Gee performed in a concert event, featuring their renamed
band, Rappers Delight. An eclectic mix to be sure, but it
worked, and the many awards given out at an Awards Dinner
on Sunday, March 25th ended in a love fest in Point Pleasant,
New Jersey.
On the other hand and across the bridge (you can take the
Verazzano if coming up from the Jersey shore), theres the
Tribeca Film Festival running for twelve days, April 18th
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Fest COP
arrives