Film Utopia

Movie Blog: Fighting For Creative Control is a Fool's Game

In last week's Euro scriptchat there was a lot of talk about creative control. It's a phrase that I hear a lot. It's also a phrase and a discussion that bothers me. It bothers me because I genuinely don't understand the mentality of "fighting for creative control."

I think people worry too much about creative control. Everyone pays lip-service to the idea that the production process is collaborative, but in terms of how people actually act, most of us seem to be paranoid about protecting our part of the process.
 
The word "fighting" is the verb most commonly used when you hear people talking about creative control. The other verb used is "losing." Neither the verb "fighting" or "losing" are ones that describe a collaborative process. Fighting is an aggressive act and losing implies fear of loss. I think that is very telling. I see a lot of territorial protection of people's creative input and a lot of paranoia born from fear of loss. This is the reason that lawyers love the entertainment industry. The legal system is primarily about territorial disputes and fear of loss. Why collaborate on a project when you can just see who has the ugliest lawyer and the most money?

It's my personal belief that the need of protect creative control is the reason that in the indie world we see so many writer/director/producer hyphenates. There is no creative control to lose, if you keep all of the toys to yourself and don't allow anyone else to play. I also believe this is the same motivation that is driving the DIY distribution and crowd-funding movement. If you crowd-fund you don't have to submit your script or casting or directorial decisions to the money people... and if you self-distribute you never have to bow to the needs or tastes of the distribution industry. Rather than being an alternative business model designed to challenge conventional industry practises, in reality, much of the way digital revolution currently does business, is designed solely to avoid any kind of loss or challenge to creative control. The closed nature of that process is something I believe people should have real concerns about. It can't be healthy for the project to be so insulated from criticism.

Inside the mainstream industry, it's not a lot better. Sure people have to work together, but it's not uncommon for creative control to be the one issue that causes endless conflict in a production team.

There is, however, another way to look at the creative control issue. It is very simple. It just involves replacing the verb "fighting" for creative control, with the verb "earning,"

If a writer wants to get their vision onto the screen without outside interference, then make sure that what you write is so badass that no one dares to alter it. Teams give notes when, for whatever reason, they don't fully believe in the script. Therefore the easiest way to lose creative control is to do a half-assed job on the script. The easiest way to gain creative control is to write a perfect script.

This is the way it works... if you want creative control you have to earn it.

I just wish that more people understood this basic principle and could get behind it. I earn my place at the table by writing the script... if I've not nailed that script to the barn door, then the script editor and producer earn their place at the table by spotting the problems and giving notes. Everyone who then adds into the process of creating the end product, from the Line Producer to the Props Master all earn their place to input creatively by bringing something to the party.

That's how it should work, really... and any time that isn't how it works, that's when projects go adrift.

For the last six years I have really pushed the idea of the writer/producer, not because I was concerned about loss of creative control, but mainly because I never met a producer who brought enough to the table to earn any kind of creative input. In all of that time I would have loved to meet a producer who understood what I was I was trying to do and was willing to go out and do their part of the job. It hasn't happened. Which is why this week, most of my time has been spent in meetings, studying figures and researching the international TV distribution industry.

The other thing I've been looking at this week, with my producer head, is the hiring of a script editor. Nobody on the creative team is asking me to do this. Nobody who has read the script has offered notes. Which as a writer is lovely, cosy place to be... but as a producer, I know that having critical eyes on the script is a necessary check and balance in the creative process.

That's the other thing about creative control... you also need to know when to step back and let someone else drive the bus for a while.

keep writing and via la revolution

Posted via email from Filmutopia's Sunday Morning Movie Blog

Movie Blog: The Day I Became a Show Runner

The only reason there is a blog article at all this week, is because I am out of bed at 6 am to take a conference call with Los Angeles and the person I'm supposed to talk to isn't around to take the call. If it wasn't for these unexpectedly free minutes, I really wouldn't have had time to write an article this week. Sunday morning (this morning, when I'm actually working) I would have dashed out a short apology, and that would have been all... simply because my life is very, very busy now.

This is my life at the moment, all early morning phone calls and international time zones. This is my life because in the middle of Wednesday I finally got the phone call I've been waiting for... and the answer was, Yes. Which is phenomenal news.

However, because this is the media industry, what "Yes" really means is more work. Not just a little more work, but a lot more work. In the course of 24 hours, I have gone from being a writer with a script and a show bible, to being an Executive Producer and show-runner.  I now have six hour-long episodes of drama to create, budgets to stick to, production logistics to sort out and a whole heap of other things that I really don't have the time or the brain power to talk about at 6 am, when I still haven't finished my first cup of tea of the day.

The experience I am having at the moment is the break that most writers dream about... and surprisingly, it has come together in precisely the way I first envisioned when I started filmutopia.

The basic premise of filmutopia was that scripts are not just creative endeavours, but that they are also the template for a product, just like any other. Fundamentally it was about the idea of the writer as entrepreneur, as opposed to writer as employee. That it was possible to combine artistic integrity and business sense, that there isn't a trade off between those two positions.

One of the reasons that I have railed against screenwriting gurus, is that I genuinely believe that writers, like entrepreneurs, have to learn to think for themselves. The script is the template for a product. That product has to be the kind of product people want to buy. However, desirable doesn't mean "just like everything else," it just means desirable. When a writer only cares about competence, they'll miss the bigger picture which is desirability.

It's like the iPhone. Ever since the iPhone first came out, I wanted one, I desired it... and, eventually, I got one. The iPhone wasn't a product like all the other phones, it was the result of one company's desire to reinvent the PDA. As far as I am concerned, script writing is exactly the same kind of entrepreneurial process. The ultimate goal is to create something everyone wants to watch. Rather than being mundane, that kind of drama is often exceptional.

Of course, like any business, it also being at the right place, at the right time, with the right product... in my case, that is exactly what has happened. Of course there are still hoops to jump through. That is the other lesson, there is no such thing as a final definitive and absolute yes, there is only "Yes, you may approach the next hurdle."

Right, this call still hasn't come through, I think I might grab a nap.

One thing I haven't worked out yet is whether now that my main work is for TV,  should I rename this "TV Blog," instead of "Movie Blog?" Presumably, if I did, I'd have to write every article whilst wearing a frock, which if I'm honest, works for me!

I've just reread this week's article, I think it can be summed up in the sentence, "Huzzah for me, I was right all along, I told you so." Trust me, I am at least as surprised by that as you are.

Oh, hello, the person I'm supposed to talk to this morning (Saturday) is free. Here we go. First meeting of the day. Fetch me more tea!

keep writing and viva la revolution

Posted via email from Filmutopia's Sunday Morning Movie Blog

Movie Blog: The Two Worst Career Mistakes You Can Make Are...

I had a long conversation with one of my new colleagues this week. We were discussing casting for the new TV series. In the course of that conversation a name was mentioned, a quite famous name... and I immediately said "Nope, I won't have him on set, he's an arsehole."  Earlier in the week, I'd been on the phone to Los Angeles, talking to the director for the pilot episode. We were also discussing casting. I mentioned that we we're going to talk to a particular actor about a role and the director said "I wouldn't, if I was you, he's hard work and he's got a shitty attitude these days."

In both cases, the director and I were excluding people from possible work, on the basis of our personal experiences of them being unpleasant to work with. However, what's interesting, is how far and quickly that kind of information spreads around the industry. Being an arsehole pretty much always costs people work, no matter how far down or high up the food chain you are.

What most unknown screenwriters and indie-filmmakers don't seem to get, is that even at that beginner levels, it is possible to mess up your career simply by acting like a dolt. All it takes is one ego fuelled outburst, one hissy fit, one tantrum, one lack of good grace and one day it will come back to haunt you. The frightening thing is, it is almost guaranteed that you'll never know when or how that outburst costs you. I can think of countless examples of producers who have phoned me up, to ask if I know anything about a particular writer, director or actor and I have had to say "I wouldn't if I was you, because when he was working on X, he behaved like a complete cock."

Of course, the flip side of that is that good reputations also travel. Again, in the conversation with the director, after we'd excluded one actor, another one was suggested. An actor I never would have thought of for that role, but who both the director and I like, as an actor and as a human being. We emailed him about the role yesterday. I'd be delighted to have him on the project.

The industry is one of the few places where the principle of karma is absolutely true: do good things and good things will happen; do bad things and bad things etc etc.

People in this industry constantly ask themselves the same question when dealing with people: is this someone I can rely on to get the job done? Will I be able to work with this person? Does this person have the right stuff? Can I trust this person to not fuck this up for me? Judgements get made and more importantly judgements are shared and discussed. Shit doesn't just happen... shit travels. These days, with instant global communication, shit travels quickly.

Of course, in the title I mentioned two mistakes and being an areshole is only one. The other one is being boring.

This ought to be an easy one of avoid, but it honestly isn't. The reason that most indie films fail and the reason most unknown screenwriters' scripts don't sell, is because they are boring. This doesn't get said often enough, in my opinion. Everyone is looking for complex answers to the question, why isn't the indie film scene making more impact? When the answer is very simply, too many tediously boring movies are being made. I can't remember the last time I was sent the trailer for an indie film I really, genuinely wanted to watch. I wish that wasn't true. It is, though.

It really shouldn't be possible to write a script that isn't a page turner. Surely that is the very least as writers that we should be aiming for. Instead of worrying about distribution, marketing, social networking or the latest cameras, writers and film makers should have the words "don't be boring" felt tipped on the back of their right hands, so they can be seen whenever you sit at the laptop.

I have a theory. No surprises there. My theory is that screenwriters who are only interested in screenwriting will write boring screenplays, film-makers who are only interested in film will make boring films. I believe it has got something to do with not having anything to say. Perhaps when someone says "I want to be a screenwriter" the question "Why, what is it you want to say?" should be a mandatory question.

My belief that many film-makers are one dimensional seems to be born out in my experiences of twitter this week, when many of the film-makers who I follow seemed to obsess about films, their careers and film-making, even when Japan is being flattened by the worst earthquake in that country's history. There is something slightly disturbing about watching the news and at the same time reading a tweet by some film-maker pimping either their new film or their kickstarter campaign. I think that is the point at which being self-obsessed or boring crosses the line into being an arsehole.

Of course, at various points in my career I have acted like an arsehole... I have also had times when I was self-obsessed and therefore boring. I have had times when I have been a both boring and an arsehole (I can multi-task)... and I am sure that there have been many occasions when I have paid the price for that, particularly with region film funding organisations.

What I am sure of, is that in order to write interesting scripts you have to have something interesting to say about something other than how to write scripts. It is called content production for a reason... the reason being, that it is all about the content.

If I were to get any new tattoos, I would have "don't be boring" tattooed on the back of one hand... and "don't be an arsehole" tattooed on the back of the other. I think they would be handy reminders of the two mistakes I see being made over and over and over again. The truth of the matter is you have to work hard to surround yourself with good people in this industry... because by and large, most of the time, you'll be surrounded by the clamouring of boring arseholes. (Did I mention that I'm mentally preparing for this years Cannes? Which may be why this topic is top of my mind, at the moment).

keep writing and viva la revolution

Posted via email from Filmutopia's Sunday Morning Movie Blog

Movie Blog: Success Feels Weird and Unreal

photo by autowitch

On a good writing day, I turn out roughly half a page of script an hour.

In terms of sheer time spent tip-tapping away at the laptop, I put about one-hundred-and-eighty hours of writing into the first draft of a screenplay. Actually, that isn't the true figure, because for every hour spent writing, I spend about two hours in research, rewrites, polishing, tweaking and pondering. I believe that realistically, every single feature length script I write, is the result of about five-hundred hours work. What this means, is if I were to pay myself the UK minimum wage for that time, it is an investment of nearly £3,000 (nearly $5K) per script.

If I were to add up all of the time that I have spent learning how to write a screenplay and all of the years I have put into understanding how stories are told cinematically, even calculating those hours at minimum wage levels, the cost would be frankly staggering. There are days when I really don't want to think about all of those hours, days, months and years spent writing without any clear indication that anyone but me cared about the outcome. I've been thinking about that investment a lot recently.

I've said many times in this past year, that for a writer or a creative, the actual act of writing or making has to be enough. In the end, the actual doing of the thing, has to be the only payment that you need. I still believe this to be true. No matter how dedicated a writer or film-maker is, there is always going to be a point in the process where all hope of seeing a reward for your endeavours has gone from the burning certainty of your first attempts, to a dull and lifeless ember which is more ash than coal. That is the point at which the vast majority of people give up, move on, grow up and do something else.

The thing is, almost every writer you meet believes they are doing this because they have to, it is their calling... and yet, almost all of them will quit when it gets too hard, too unrewarding, when the cost of what they've invested becomes so monumental they can no longer comprehend the magnitude of it.  It is only when you reach that point, I believe, that you really find out whether you are a writer, or just someone who is in love with the idea of being a writer. It's a fascinating experience. Seminal, in fact. I have been though that experience half a dozen times over the years. Times when I could no longer understand why I kept on doing this. And, ironically, every single time that happened I carried on, not out of a sense of artistic integrity or any kind of calling, but more because I couldn't think of anything else to do instead. In learning how to do this one thing, I have all but ruined myself for any other kind of work.

I've never considered myself a gambler. It's one of the very few vices I've managed to dodge. But, I can't think of any image that has suited suited me more, than that of a compulsive gambler, so deep in the hole, that only a big win can redeem him.

Which brings me to past few weeks. Apparently, the cards have finally turned in my favour.

Ever since I finished the script to the new TV series, my life has been turned upside down. My phone rings all day. Emails appear every other second. Literally everyone who reads the script, wants to be involved with it. Everyone who reads it, tells me it is incredible. As a result of that, I have been offered a job with a new company. That company has put aside the money to shoot the pilot episode of the series... and, every single actor we've approached has immediately said, "Yes, I want to be in this." In fact, even the absolutely huge star, who we wanted for the lead role, said yes within hours of his agent getting the script. Unlike any other project I have been involved with, this idea and this script just seems to resonate with people.

Personally, I don't know what to make of all it. If I am honest, I had given up on ever having a career breakthrough. I really had. I had decided that this following yearthat I would work on some novels, that I would self-publish, and some DIY films that I would give away... and that really it was time to give myself the freedom to write for pleasure.

I can't even really tell you what it is about this project that is different from anything else I've written. I really can't. Perhaps it is too soon for me to be able to figure out what I have done right, this time. I do have one idea theory though. It is to do with the difference between writing for cinema and writing for television... and also, to do with independent movie making.

I have ignored the television industry for pretty much all of my career, simply because my interest lay in writing for cinema. For all kinds of reasons, cinema is larger than television as a medium. Writing cinematically is different from writing TV Drama. One of the reasons for this is to do with budgets. Cinema, historically, has been more expensive to produce than TV. Cinema is writ large. TV is writ small. I've said for many years that one of the reason the UK film industry is in such a dire state, is because writers learn their craft in TV and when it comes time to make a movie, they write expensive television, rather than cinema.

One of the affects of the growth of indie-filmmaking, has been a growing movement of writers and film-makers who have been trying to make cinema on TV sized budgets, In fact, people like me, have been trying to make cinema on lower than TV sized budgets. I think, in the process of trying to write big enough to justify a cinema budget, I learnt how to many make TV budget drama look and feel huge. (I don't know, this just a theory)

This script, is my first attempt to write for the world of Television, since my first days of writing and pitching sitcoms, back in the mid 1990's. I can't, for the life of me, remember why I suddenly decided to write it for TV! I honestly can't remember making the decision to do that. How weird is that?

Anyway, the bottom line is, things are going well. I have no idea how long or if this will continue. It is very difficult for me to believe in success as a possibility, after so much rejection and failure. At the moment it just feels like a rather lovely game, that I should enjoy for as long as it lasts.

I guess we'll have to see how it unfolds.

keep writing and viva la revolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted via email from Filmutopia's Sunday Morning Movie Blog