OC Screenwriters Association

I'm still working on uploading pictures from the 2012 Newport Beach Film Festival, but in the mean time check out some pictures from opening night!  Tom Arnold and Jaime Lynn Sigler were some walking the red carpet for Jewtopia...

If the link above doesn't work, check it out here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/113281282356827183170/NewportBeachFilmFestival2012OpeningNight?authuser=0&feat=directlink

After a great production Trigger, a short action film, has entered the post-production phase. The story revolves around a highly classified and lethal weapon that lands in the hands of a notorious criminal and the FBI agents assigned with recovering the weapon. If the production is any indication of the skill and acumen of the cast and crew, the post-production is not going to disappoint. 

The editing process has began, as well as work on the sound and scoring. I have to say the acting looks top notch, great direction; just outstanding material to work with. Victor displays great leadership in organizing the post production stage of this project, bringing together a great team with a tremendous amount of knowledge, as well as the necessary resources to bring this project to fruition. 

April 26, 2012, L.A. Memorial Sports Arena.

Millions of words have been written about Bruce Springsteen.  I doubt if I will bring anything new to the discussion of this amazing musician and poet but the transformative nature of his work impels and propels me to say something.  

I will echo those who who have said that nothing (nothing!) compares to his live performances.  As my friend Kevin said on the way to the concert at the Sports Arena in L.A. - "it's like a old-time revival."  Yep.  

Not one to be overly, physically expressive at concerts I was up and screaming in a matter of the first few minutes.  Most stood immediately and never sat again for a nearly three hour show in which the master musician and his group of hand-picked sidemen wowed us through hits from the 1st album (back when vinyl ruled) to the newest material from his "Wrecking Ball" release.  I nearly cried at how amazing the music and musicianship was and I truly, nearly lost it when a moving tribute to Bruce's friend and sideman Clarence Clemons, who passed away last year of a stroke, was triggered by the lyric in an old song "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" ("...and the big man joined the band.") Clemon's son played in the horn section and did all of Clemons' solos which was amazing in and of itself - although he still isn't The Big Man, but potential looms large.

I can't properly describe the experience - you really just have to be there to realize that you're experiencing the brain and soul of a master storyteller who either moves you with his incredibly crafted rhythms or his poetry of words  - mostly combined to make whatever he's playing at the time irresistible.

In January 1973 Springsteen was already a veteran of the garage band/club musician scene when his "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." album dropped to good reviews but not much commercial success.  Perhaps everyone should have known then that that unique voice and downbeat-influenced sense of rhythm would be the presage to decades of success and controversy. Springsteen's politics mix, at times, unevenly with his musical sensibilities when he gets overtly dramatic and preachy.  There is no doubt that Bruce considers himself a protest-type singer at his core; his anthems against greed and poverty are legion.  But its his messages of hope, slyly written into the heartbeat of his American-themed toe-tappers that most impact his audiences.  In other words, Bruce may write about injustices but he knows what moves and sustains us is his god-given, sweat-ridden, feel-good songs about riding in a top-down convertible in the night or dancing with your best girl in the dark on the edges of whatever town you live in.

Being a former professional musician (who still bleeds music of all types) I understand how difficult it must be to make these performances look effortless.  I also understand that only a visionary could make them look that way and Springsteen is always, has been always, a true visionary.  Anyone interested in the arts needs to study and comprehend that Springsteen did exactly what he was supposed to be doing by chanelling his truths back in 1972 and continuing to channel them to this day.

His songs may have become a bit darker, more chiding and overtly political, but at the core is a message of hope that we can love and support each other as Americans, as people, in an increasingly complex world.  That message he was singing in the early 70's is still ringing like a bell today. 

Bruce has never apologized for his music or his attitudes but he has always adapted it to his world and his decade - whatever decade that currently is  He mentioned last night how we were having a lot a fun but there were those who needed help desperately given the current economic climate.  He played plenty of music (including his new music) supporting that sensibility and mentioned the L.A. Food Bank and other causes supported by his concert at points in his show.  I could easily imagine this troubadour of rawness riding the rails into the dustbowl of the 1920's and singing on the back of a stake-bed truck like his predecessors Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie did.  The dichotomy of the Springsteen who sings both "Dancing in the Dark" and the "Ghost of Tom Joad" is vast but kudos to those like him who can make those worlds work together somehow in one venue.  Of course, his rabid and unrelenting fans (me included) wouldn't care much if he was singing a database of phone numbers as long as it was in that growling, indicting voice of his and featured guitar gods like Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren and Tom Morello from "Rage Against The Machine" who did one of the most incredible guitar solos I've heard on "The Ghost Of Tom Joad."

When I mentioned the new CD and the fact that the single is "We Take Care of Our Own" (an anthem against the current trend of greed and self-serving attitudes prevalent in this country these days) to a friend of mine he dismissed Springsteen as a man who "takes care of himself and never had a job that didn't involve a pick."  Sure.  That's easy to say (and also untrue) but the reality is taking that plunge into the arts isn't a clear or easy choice.  As those of us who have pursued the dream understand, it requires an outsized ego that allows you to be constantly brutalized by everyone with an opinion.  It also involves hard, unrelenting sweaty and agonizing work to get noticed, stay noticed and continue to grow when most occupations allow you to simply glide along once you're established. 

Many are called but few are chosen, as the saying goes, and fewer still maintain the level of excellence and musical growth that Springsteen has for over five decades.  Working with a pick (the kind that breaks ground) is tough, grinding, un-rewarding and honest labor; working with a guitar pick is perhaps easier on aching muscles but it is by degrees harder than anyone can imagine and most times is not any more rewarding than digging a ditch.

I get the criticism because Springsteen's politics engender it; but I also get that at some point we all turn around, look behind and say "what was I thinking?"  We grow more aware, more in tune with our times, more hungry to do something that has a lasting impact.  For most of us, that means a house, family and kids.  For musicians like Springsteen it meant that he stopped dancing for a time and started yelling at himself and others.  He went through a dark period of serious introspection and came out angry and upset at what he saw and had previously ignored.  He yelled, he ranted and then he realized exactly what I did last night... 

For three hours at the Sports Arena I forgot my age, my socio-economic status, schedule and everything else connected to my life and I lived in a world that Bruce created for me personally - I know this because as he sang his truths, he sang mine.  He sang the joy, the pain, the guilt and regrets of my life.  He sang my hopes, my fears, my anger.  And as I looked around every single person in that audience felt exactly the same way.

Bruce brings a special blessing to this world through music that transforms us for however short a period of time we are engaged with him.  And thank God he's out there because there is a darkness at the edge of town and we sometimes need a flashlight of truth, like this master musician, to banish it.

Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted

Well the dogs on Main Street howl 'cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister I ain't a boy, no I'm a man
And I believe in a promised land
And I believe in a promised land
And I believe in a promised land

~Promised Land, Bruce Springsteen

LET THERE BE LIGHT! ACTION! CAMERA!

Day 3 at CinemaCon was perhaps the wildest yet, and one with promise for not only excitement on the screen, but two revolutionary technology breakthroughs that will change the way we watch film in theatres forever.

How do you say, Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry? One of the funniest men on the planet opens a witness protection program to hide a suburban couple from the mob and the laughs keep coming in the hilarious culture clash. But Perry isn't finished, he also comes up as Det. Alex Cross, the roll made famous by Morgan Freeman from the best sellers by author James Patterson.

LionsGate takes chances on new filmmakers and the result has been a love affair by America with their product.

And we were also treated to lunch with directors Ang Lee and Martin Scorsese, who shared on why they made their last movies in 3D. Two film heavyweights with big credentials were both so impressed at the edge it gave them to shoot a film. Surprising it was, as if they needed anything to lean on, and they didn't. Scorsese said it made the film, "Hugo", very real, and Lee said when he shot a scene and looked at it flat and then in 3D, he knew he had done the right thing as it brought realism to a level he desired.  And neither wanted it as a gimmick, but as a tool to enhance and further their storylines. Scorsese took "Hugo" to an Oscar nominated roll, and Lee has the upcoming and already critically acclaimed, "Life of Pi", which most people felt the story could never be filmed, but he did, in glorious 3D in the story of of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean. It looks so great!

DISNEY ALIVE AND WELL, AND DEPP, BRUCKHEIMER, BURTON PROVE IT

The Walt Disney company showed everyone that it I alive and well, with a slate of great films, great stars, and great directors and producers working on some amazing work for the coming year.  And Uncle Walt would be proud of the variety and style of all that is happening at Disney.

Next was one of the biggies, "Oz, the Great and Powerful", directed by Sam Raimi, and starring James Franco, Milla Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams, who all shared the stage and spoke of their love for great story. Oz is the backstory to the Wizard of Oz, and we learn who the heck was the Wizard and where did he come from, as well as who was Glenda the Good Witch as well as why were they all there. What a plot, we were hooked from the first words, and sure enough,. Raimi and Franco discussed the story and the script, and how the story is thrilling, exciting, and romantic, as well as having characters with problems that we can relate to well and having them grow into something better than they thought they could do. Franco said, "A selfish man becomes a selfless man." Scenes and story were outrageous, as can be expected from this crew. And Disney's got them.

This day showed that great ideas are springing up all over town, as each movie today was a very special story and screenplay, and all were not typical, but outrageous in each special way, with great plots and fresh ideas.

CINEMACON
DAY 1

And there is a trade show so large it is probably bigger than 50% of the towns in America, featuring everything from the latest in digital technology, which is moving up to 48 frames and 60 frames per second, to popcorn poppers, soda companies, and anything and everything to do with movie theatres.

 

And of course, being Las Vegas, the entire week is celebrated with top shelf everything. Studios put on huge events, attended by thousands, and all are fed fantastic food and offered wines, beers and alcohol from the entire planet. Everyone comes to CinemaCon, and many deals are made, meetings are forever ongoing, and the fun never stops. Today was Day 1, and it was spectacular.

 

Paramount Pictures celebrated and kicked off its 100 year anniversary of becoming a studio at the annual movie industry convention in Las Vegas, CinemaCon.

 

Paramount is the only movie studio actually still in Hollywood, and still at 5555 Melrose Avenue, and if you drive by you can see the famous Melrose Gate that was featured in many of their films. Paramount set a studio record last year with $5 billion in revenue, according to Rob Moore, of Paramount.

 

At CinemaCon, it was a love fest, as the studio presented its product lineup for the year with 20-30 minute glimpses of what was coming. And Paramount has all winners, that is for sure and all will be huge at box office, that is how good they are.

 

First, directer John Choo brought out "GI Joe- Retaliation," and what an epic this is! Scenes that will blow you away and a plot that was so original for such a tentpole movie were all there. Choo said he played with GI Joes as a child, and had so many times where he was saving the entire world, and this was an extension of that where he created a whole new word that needed to be saved

 

And then the star, Duane "The Rock" Johnson appeared, set the crowd ablaze when Choo referred to him as Franchise Viagra, as he "brings everybody's game up, no matter what." Johnson was also given an award as Best Action star of the past decade.

 

The Rock referred to himself as a Bamf, which you can guess what it stands for, and the film is just spectacular. Johnson shared how he grew up in Charlotte, NC, and how the first story that made an impression on him was Indy Jones, and he wanted to be Indy, so full of adventure, so everything, and he said he had an emotional connection to Indy Jones and in this film, his own dreams as an eight-year-old boy came to life and he made them even bigger than they were then.  

 

A great line from the film was "The world ain't saving itself - we are." And my god wait till you see what is prepared in this film, It definitely will blow you away. And... the surprise was the appearance in the film of Bruce Willis!  As a teammate of the Rock! And he was at his best. 

 

Chris Rock and Jeffery Katzenberg appeared and presented "Madagascar 3 - Europe's Most Wanted" and Chris Rock was hilarious in saying he was "pissed off about the Rock winning". Chris Rock did a piece on how great M3 is, and compared it to Spiderman, and every other "piece of garbage" he joked. 

 

Let me assure you that Madagascar 3 was hilarious, with a great story of some animals trying to get out of Europe and take offs on everything from Steve McQueen to Casablanca to the best take-off on Rosa Klebb, of James Bond fame in "From Russia With Love."

 

Katzenberg also presented, "The Guardian", a Christmas film in 3D, starring Sandman, St Nick, Easter bunny, Tooth Fairy and Jack Frost as the stars with voices by everyone from Alec Baldwin to Hugh Jackman. This one was so great it was unreal, a story of hope, and how it is stolen by the Bogeyman, and how it is restored by the rest of the gang,  and was a treasure.

 

But when Tom Cruise cruised in and showed about 20 minutes of his Christmas time film, Oblivion", where he plays Jack Reacher, the psycho-action detective, the place blew apart. Cruise said in the book the character is 6'5", and though he wasn't that height, the director "thought I was the right guy to drive four cars and kick the shit out of the bad guys." 

 

And drive he does, in a red SS, with better driving scenes that "Bullet" and any other car movie you can think of. This film may be the biggest of the year.

 

But the absolute highlight was the appearance in full regalia of Sasha Baron Cohan, who took the audience by storm with hilarious jokes and remarks in character to his role in the film. This one I can't explain. It is over the top, it is outrageous, but it is perhaps the funniest film in history, and the dialogue and plot are so great, this guy is a genius! And there is not one PC line in the film and he offends everyone with such amazing dexterity that the entire audience laughed for half and hour before the move.

 

In the film he plays an arab-type dictator who kills anyone around. Now that's a character arc to work with! In character, Cohan said, "Roger Ebert loved the film and gave it two thumbs up, and he pulled two thumbs up out of his pocket. And that was the tame portion of the show!

 

Tomorrow brings several more studios. And the excitement continues. And the fun.

 

Mark Sevi contributed to this report.

The Pudgilist, a series that follows the events at a Mixed Martial Arts training gym, the owners and the fighters, that work hard towards personal and professional success, has gone into post-production. 

It is a privilege to work with Victor Phan and everyone else involved in this project. One can sense right away that they are professionals of the highes caliber, with the ability to call on many people and necessary resources to make things happen, and happen the right way. 

The content in editing shows great potential. It offers a peek behind the scenes at one of the fastest growing sports, the ups and down involved in their daily struggles. The story lines offer great impact on the viewer, and in the hands of Victor it's shaping up to be a guaranteed success. 

Robert Rollins Pictures (link) is announcing the production of Robert Rollins’ anthology feature film Dream Country.  

Currently in active pre-production with a locked script,  location scouting and actor auditions being held in L.A., shooting the Dream Country interstitials brings to a close a long term goal.  Rollins said "I've been working on this for the past several years.  Finally going into production last week made me realize just how long I've been waiting to make this a reality.  We've opened the production offices and we're knee deep in the craziness of getting everything ready to roll cameras."  Rollins declined to elaborate on a specific date for principal photography but said it was going to be "Fallish 2012."  The company is awaiting approval of permits before it commits to a hard date.

UPDATE:  Permits have been approved.  The date is set in October 2012 according to Rollins.

Dream Country was born out of Robert’s love for Rod Serling’s classic television show The Twilight Zone.  Dream Country follows The Twilight Zone pattern by creating a framing device of using foot bridges that transport the viewer or journeyman from awake to asleep, from conscious to unconsciousness, from reality to fantasy, from past to present.

Cross a bridge to enter a dream....  

The mysterious and enigmatic Elias introduces the featurettes while standing on a bridge much the same way Rod Serling had done in The Twilight Zone.  

The “dream country” itself is not presented as a tangible plane, but rather a metaphor, for strange circumstances that befall the protagonists, thus allowing unrelated stories depicting science fiction, paranormal, time travel, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each featurette features a surprising plot twist or ends with some sort of message.

Welcome to a land that Elias calls Dream Country...
A place where it is always turning late in the year.  A land where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist… where noons go quickly,   dusks and twilights linger and midnights stay.  Remain as long as you like… or dare.  

The trip home happens in the blink of an eye, though the journey may take considerably longer… in the Dream Country. 

We are not endorsing this film festival - just passing on info we received from them - always be cautious with your intellectual property.  Mark

SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CITY, LA – Phenom Film Fest announces the launch of their First Annual International Film Festival and the open call for film entries, for the 2012 season. 

The Phenom Film Fest (PFF) was created to offer exposure and advance public interest in independent films without distribution, that might never be seen by the general public and to showcase the local region of Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana as a major film center for its' filmmaking resources and talent. We strive to support the spirit of independent filmmaking on a local, national and international level in all genres of film to include Drama, Comedy, Documentaries, Animated, Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy, GLBT, Action/Adventure and their related subgenres.

The festival will be held in the Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana area from Sept. 6 - 9, at various venues around town. PFF will be joining the Bossier Arts Council sponsored Digital Arts Festival and Career Fair in creating an incredible multimedia and interactive experience for filmmakers and fans.

No stranger to filmmaking, the region has experienced a major boom in recent years, with numerous studios calling the region home. Since Louisiana offers one of the top tax incentive programs for filmmaking nationwide, it's no wonder it's been referred to as "Hollywood South."

While major film studios have used the locale to serve as the backdrop for numerous cities and countries worldwide, the Phenom Film Fest serves to draw interest, support and attention to independent filmmaking locally and internationally. The festival will show roughly 40-60 features and shorts while showcasing fun, interactive and innovative talk panels. Juried Awards will given in categories from Best Picture to Audience Awards.

 In support of the filmmakers, PFF is waiving the entry free for Student and LA Filmmaker Shorts through the Earlybird Deadline of April 7, 2012, as well as waiving the entry fees for the festival's unique screenplay and short film competition, One Vision, Three Stories. Visit www.phenomfilmfest.org for entry rules and information.

For those of you who do not know who Roger Corman is and are vivid fans of monster movies, action sci-fi and all around pop-corn entertainment, I have three words: Shame on you! He has been the producer that has launched a million careers and continues to do so at the ripe age of 86!

This documentary is way more interesting that I thought it would be and although it barely reached the theaters (like many of Corman’s productions these days) I got it through my Netflix cue. This movie also hits home for me right now because I’m involved in my first production as a writer/producer and the story still rings true today on all the crazy things you have to do to get a movie done.

Any kind of movie.

Roger Corman like many producers started out as an actor and of course wasn’t that good but somehow he was fun, charming and a great talker and he managed to get people to do crazy stuff, so he got some money together got a movie crew and did his first monster movie. He sold it to a small outfit that rented movies to drive-in chains and the rest is history. Being crafty and not spending anything extra was one of Corman’s chief assets.

One actor remembers that he was probably the only actor in history to have killed HIMSELF in a movie… TWO TIMES in the same film! Corman was the first person to give Jack Nicholson his first roles (and also refused to pay him $125 extra for script writing), as also Peter Fonda, William Shatner,Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper and Robert De Niro. Directors he gave them their first reel were: Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdonovich , Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, as  also Ron Howard and James Cameron. If you look at most people of who’s who in Hollywood many are graduates of the Corman University of filmmaking, where it’s alma matter is: Dirty, Fast and save the monster suit for the next movie!

In the early 1950’s monster movies were bad, cheap and genre no reputable studio would touch. They had the most horrible stories, actors and props ever used but they were fun and entertaining and put the scares where teens loved them. And this audience of young people were at the core of Corman’s legions of fans. They didn’t care if the main character’s arc was not that great or that the monster/creature or thing from outer space had a reason to attack the people in the story. They just wanted some fun or a reason to make out with their girlfriends at the drive-in. Specials effects? What’s that?... Realistic creatures? Go read a science book!... Corman movies were the product of mad genius of a producer who just needed a new movie EVERY WEEK for the kids at the drive in.

During an interview with one the early monster creators, he mentioned that him and Corman made a movie in 3 days! And that included all the creature creation!… Of course it was the cheesiest thing you can find this side of a Wisconsin farm. The monster was a disguised lamp shade with some bad tentacles attached to it and it floated around (with fish wire) and attacked people in the face (now you know were the FACE SUCKERS form Aliens REALLY came from!)… Everything thing was done to make a buck and entertain if possible… Art? If you wanted that go to a museum. Corman had a rule, if it moves it had to be crashed, and when it crashed it had to explode! Throw some nice breast in the air and you got yourself a teen hit! Roger Corman has made over 600 movies and says he never lost a dime on any of them. Of course when your budgets are less than a used car and your audience didn’t really care about content you have a gold mine.

One of the interesting points of the movie is when “big studio” Hollywood understands the genre of teen/ action thrillers that Corman was after and starts doing it with incredible budgets. JAWS was the first salvo in that war, a very “Cormanesk” concept.. A Shark eating people… But throw in some heavy weight money and acting, then you have a fun movie. When STAR WARS came out, Corman new the game was over. Hollywood had discovered action sci-fi and was throwing the “money hose” at it. He knew he couldn’t compete with them anymore, so as an eternal survivor, he jumped into the exploitation genre that was being ignored by the major studios and made over 30 films in the Philippines, from CAGED HEAT to CRAZY JUNGLE WOMEN ON FIRE (yeah that’s a real title) and those crazy PAM GRIER guerilla in the jungle movies, If it had breasts, guns and explosions Corman was the man!

The movie business right now is going through one of it’s many re-inventions. The bad economy has made it a proving ground for mini and micro budget movies that with some interesting content are making their way out to audiences. Of course they will never see a theater but DVDs and the internet are growing markets that voraciously needs content every day. There is a thirst for movies like always. If not look at the corner REDBOX every week,  after only ONE O.K. studio movie is there you see TONS of B movies available for rent… Why? because nobody is making anything else! And Kids want to be entertained or have an excuse to invite their little girlfriends over. People will be people and there will always be a market for your movie, remember don’t worry if your first movie is bad, you can always make a better one the next time… Just follow this one golden rule: NEVER LOOSE YOUR INVESTORS MONEY and you’ll have a long happy run.

You don’t believe me? Here’s a little trivia question… Who directed the SHLOCK FEST of a movie called PIRANHA 2 ???... Anyone? Anyone?... It was James Cameron, and he’s not doing so bad these days.