Revisiting the Classics with a Kindle

Owning a Kindle has made it easier for me to revisit some of the so-called “classic books.” And, this time, I am actually reading them all the way through to the end.

For more than 30 years, I have collected and stuffed my bookcases with hardback and paperback copies of many old and ancient books. These have ranged from Aesop’s Fables and Aristotle’s Poetics to Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, Shakespeare’s plays and poems, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, to name just a few.

The volumes have looked very good and very scholarly up on my shelves. Sometimes they have even provided handy sources of quotes for some of my writing. But I have not actually read most of the books, at least not completely. Most of them I bought and promptly shelved with every intention to read them someday, later, maybe, when I had the time.

My wife gave me a Kindle as an anniversary present recently. When I discovered (1) that Kindle editions of many of the “classics” are available for free and (2) that a Kindle will hold more than 3,000 books, I made three decisions.

First, I downloaded a few of the $0.00 public domain classics and read them. The first ones I finished included John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress and Aristotle’s Poetics, books I had long ago started in hardback but never completed. Somehow, they just seemed easier to stick with on the Kindle screen.

Then, I downloaded another dozen or so free classics. And I pulled the corresponding hardbacks and paperbacks from my book shelves. I gave away some of the books and sold a few of them to a used book store.

Now, suddenly, there are a few open spaces on my once-crammed bookshelves – spaces for some photographs, plants and curios, as well as esteemed books.

Owning too many things, I believe, can drain away valuable psychic energy. This includes owning too many physical books that spend most of their time gathering dust and cobwebs in my office.

Of course, many of the books I treasure do not have Kindle editions. So those I will keep, read and continue to display in hardback or paperback editions.

But I intend to replace most of the classics I own with free or inexpensive Kindle editions and gravitate toward buying Kindle editions of new books, when possible.

My Kindle could hold nearly ten times as many books as I currently own. But it is not the size of the digital library or physical library that matters.

What matters is that I actually read the books I possess.

I really can’t explain why I now enjoy reading some of the world’s oldest books on some of the world’s newest digital reading technology.

I just do.

Now excuse me. I hear my free copy of The Divine Comedy calling.

-- Si Dunn

'Machete' Incentives Whacked by Texas Film Commission

This was bound to happen under Texas' flawed production measures that offer state incentives to producers of movies, television shows and game programs.

As reported by Charles Ealy in the Austin 360.com movie blog, Robert Rodriguez's controversial 2010 movie "Machete" -- which took a fictional whack at some of Texas' and Austin's images -- has had its state grant application rejected by the troubled Texas Film Commission.

The film commission's head recently announced his resignation, and Texas' production incentives will be easy political targets early in 2011. That's when the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature returns to session and faces a massive $24 billion, two-year state budget shortfall.

Specifically, "Machete" was hit by the "negative fashion" clause in the incentives statutes. A Republican-ramrodded clause enacted into law in 2007 forbids Texas state incentives to any kind of film, TV or game project that contains "inappropriate content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion, as determined by the [Texas Film Commission] office, in a moving image project."


Apparently, Utah is the only other state that takes a similar, thin-skinned approach to try to "protect" its image and how its people and places are portrayed in movies, TV shows and electronic games.
 
Charles Ealy reported that Rodriguez's Austin, Texas-based Troublemaker Studios could have reaped a refund of about $1.75 million on the estimated $10 million spent in Texas to make "Machete."  

For more background on the "negative fashion" (also known as "negative light") controversy, here are links to my previous blog posts about the flawed and troubled state production incentives in Texas:

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2010/04/texas-production-incentives-will-they.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/07/texas-needs-to-rework-its-movie-tv-game.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/06/fiction-is-as-fiction-does-waco.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/06/censorship-issue-remains-alive-in-texas.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/05/waco-movie-controversy-takes-new-texas.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/05/texas-movie-incentives-censorship.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/05/texas-movie-incentives-texas-movie.html

http://datelineoblivion.blogspot.com/2009/05/waco-production-company-on-texas-we.html


-- Si Dunn

Fake Blood 101 (and how to clean it up!)

The Quick Fake Blood How-To Guide


By ErinJennifer Dunn

No matter if it is Halloween or just a simple fight scene, fake blood is popular! Back in early cinema, they would use molasses as fake blood. When cinema turned to color, they often used pigs blood. The movie Carrie features a scene where they used more than 50 gallons of pig's blood.

Many people have ethical and moral objections to using animal blood of any kind in movies or on stage for special effects, so here are some easy ideas for your special-effects needs, including Halloween!

Fight scene: Nightstalker blood is used for vampire effects, but it works well for a bloody nose, bloody lip, cuts and bruises because of how well it oozes and how well it shows up on HD cameras.

The alternative choice is usually Karo syrup and baker's strength food dye, but if you are using HD and you zoom in on the blood, you can see the air bubbles in the syrup.

Full gore: The best blood to use for a full gore effect, is a mixture of the Nightstalker blood and Karo syrup. But, if you are going for puss and oozing, like in Aliens, then use KY Jelly and your choice of food dye color. If you are making a scene where someone's arm gets cut off and you want a fountain of blood, use a spray bottle filled with water and red Kool-aid.

For low-budget movie squibs, there are many affordable options. For a fight scene where someone's lip gets busted up, use a blood capsule. These are manufactured for Vampire and Zombies and will work fine in the actor's mouth. You just have to coordinate their mouth with the punch.

For gunshots, use a snack-sized Ziploc bag. Poke a tiny hole in it above the blood fill line. When impacted, it will explode, causing the fake blood to go everywhere.

No matter what kind of blood you are using, never wear any article of clothing that you do not want to get stained. Even Tide Acti-Lift formula cannot lift the fake blood off of clothing! If you are shooting a scene with fake blood and know that you will need to do several takes, buy more than one of the piece of outfit that will see the most blood, like a shirt.

Fake blood does stain the face but washes off with hot water and Dawn soap. If you are shooting the blood scene from a different angle and need to re-apply the blood, please keep in mind that your makeup artist will have to first clean up the actor, re-apply their makeup and then re-apply the blood. Really think out your shots to save time and to stay on budget.

Fake blood can be found year round at most costume supply stores either online or in your city. There is no right or wrong way to make blood, so experiment! If it looks real to you, then use it and have fun!


Makeup Artist Resource, Austin, TX:ErinJennifer Dunn: http://www.rawkstarglam.webs.com/

Makeup Artist Resource, United States:
http://www.slatecast.com/

Fake Blood Resource, Austin, TX:
http://www.lucyindisguise.com/
http://www.costumeworld.com/

Fake Blood Resource, United States:
http://www.costumesupplyhouse.com/

#

Movie Project Update: "Criminal Conversations"

Actors Wes Studi, Maura Dhu Studi and Anthony Arkin are now attached to star in my screenplay, Criminal Conversations.

Logline: A man meets up again with his ex-wife while his current spouse is dying and his ex-wife's current husband is suing her for divorce and trying to prove she is guilty of adultery.

California-based movie distributor FilmWorks Entertainment, Inc., has delivered a letter of intent (LOI) to distribute the movie, which will be directed by Stephen Jules Rubin.

The character-driven romantic dramedy is seeking additional funding and donations, and the movie is scheduled to be shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in January, 2011.

The one-sheet is available here. A recent draft of the script can be read here.

Donations of any size can be made via Paypal to si@sagecreekproductions.com.

Donors will receive on-screen thanks in the movie's ending credits. It is not necessary to have a Paypal account to donate.

For more information on this project and how to become involved in it, please contact:

Si Dunn
Sagecreek Productions, LLC
3800 N. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 730-131
Austin, TX 78756
sidunn@hotmail.com

#

Poetry & the Recession

I retired just before the Great Recession steamrolled the national economy. Now I am back at work, self-employed, selling off some of my unneeded stuff on Amazon and eBay while also writing two books and several screenplays and waiting for producers to find enough money to shoot some of my optioned movie projects.

Almost nobody buys poetry, even in good times. In the midst of a recession, it is an even harder sell.

Yet millions of us write it and try to get it published and wish someone would pay us for it.

I actually made a few bucks from poetry a number of years ago. Rolling Stone paid me $10 each for a couple of poems when Joe Esterhaus was still their poetry editor. Equally long ago, the Denver Post paid me a few dollars for a couple of poems used as fillers.

There were a few other small sales, and sometimes, someone passed the hat when I did a reading in a bar or coffeehouse. The biggest take, I recall, was $6.

Over a period of 40-plus years, I would estimate that I have made about $300, at most, from writing poetry and selling copies of my poetry books. That averages out to about $7.50 a year, or maybe enough to buy a hamburger and eat my words.

On that note, I would like to announce that I still have available three autographed copies of my first poetry book, "Waiting for Water." Want one? You can use Paypal to send $1.25 plus $1.75 shipping and handling ($3.00 total) to si@sagecreekproductions.com.

If I sell all three and bring in $9, I'll consider this a banner year for poetry. And, once again, I'll probably buy a meal and eat my words.

Thanks!

-- Si Dunn

#

PTSD and the story behind my novella

I saw some combat during the Vietnam War. Saw some.

"Saw" is the key word. There is a big difference between witnessing combat up close and actually taking part in it.

I saw some death. I saw some destruction. And I saw several scary situations while I was in the middle of events that could have gotten me killed.

Yet, my tour of duty in the Vietnam conflict was a calm Sunday family picnic compared with what our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq have been experiencing and are still experiencing.

I came home from the Vietnam War with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It affected me strongly for many years afterward. It still affects me sometimes today. And mine was just a mild case.

With the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq still dragging on and on, we now have thousands upon thousands of veterans - men and women -- who are experiencing, or who soon will experience, PTSD and the various, unnerving ways it can affect individuals, families, co-workers and others.

There are no easy solutions or quick "cures" for PTSD. Most of those who have it now likely will need assistance of some kind, possibly for years to come. You don't just take a pill and return to "normalcy" after you've been to war.

One way I have dealt with PTSD is by writing: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, screenplays, articles, reviews, blog posts.

I recently wrote a book that, at one level, has been another way for me to confront and deal with the PTSD ghosts still floating around inside my head. It is fiction, but many parts of it are drawn from real events in my life during and after my time in the Vietnam conflict.

The book, a novella titled Jump, recently has been featured in "The Spark," the Harvard University Extension School's blog. Here is the link: http://harvardextension.wordpress.com/2010/09/08/si-dunn-story/

The posting explains some of the background behind the book's creation.

-- Si Dunn

#

Almost (Poem and Photographs)

Almost

(Near 92 Champs-Élysées, Paris)

Thomas Jefferson lived here

And slept here, it is rumored,

With a slave (not commemorated).

But wait, there’s more!

Corporal Robert Birlinger died here

Just two hours before Paris’ liberation.

The fireman turned soldier

Dared to cross

Avenue des Champs-Élysées

Leading a squad to fight

Blazes and German snipers.

Always a bad combination.

He almost made it.

Shot in the leg, he

Gave up too much blood

For France,

While those who could help him

Were pinned down.

Some critics of Birlinger's small plaque

Tell a less heroic story:

A tank shell simply

Blew him apart.

But this all avoids the essential question:
Just before Corporal Birlinger died here,

Had he read the plaque above

What later would be his,
And realized that

Thomas Jefferson always

Made it across the street?

                   -- Si Dunn



From the forthcoming book of poems and photographs by Si Dunn:
The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower
(Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.)

The Story Behind the Criminal Conversations Screenplay

By Si Dunn

The screenplay for Criminal Conversations explores several areas that intrigue me. (Here's the logline: A man meets up again with his ex-wife while his current spouse is dying and his ex-wife's current husband is suing her for divorce and trying to prove she is guilty of adultery.)

First, I am interested in what can happen when two people who have had a previous, unhappy history together suddenly need each other again, yet they are constrained by forces both inside and outside their new circumstances.

The youthful marriage of Ted and Alexandra ended badly several decades ago, and the two of them moved on to separate, successful lives and new marriages.

Now, they are in their fifties, and happenstance has brought them back together just at the time when their current lives are crumbling.

They could try to be friends or lovers again. They both need someone who understands them and they are increasingly are aware of their own mortality and how time is beginning to run out in their lives. But both of them are still married. There are strict limitations on teacher-student relationships. They have the feelings of their own families to consider, and they are being spied on Alexandra’s estranged husband, Frank.

One wrong move could cause them both to be sued for “criminal conversation,” an old legal term for adultery.

How can they be close again and helpful to each other while maintaining what the law and society would consider a “respectable” distance?

Secondly, I am interested in exploring how two people who once loved each other can find enough forgiveness to overcome the transgressions that tore apart their marriage. They cannot go back and change the past -- anyway, they would not want to give up their children and the careers they have formed since they went their separate ways.

Yet, their new circumstances have thrown them together in a way that causes them both to face a choice: Can the one who was wronged forgive the one who bears the most blame? And, can forgiveness, contrition and the healing passage of time lead to a renewed relationship--one that can succeed this time?

In a third area of interest, the Criminal Conversations story examines how sudden new realities in peoples’ lives can turn their lives in unexpected – and sometimes unwanted – directions that ultimately prove beneficial. At the same time, these changed directions may be limited or misinterpreted or exploited by others outside the new relationship.

Fourth, Criminal Conversations also explores greed and deceit in a divorce setting. It looks at student-faculty relationships in a college or university setting. And it deals with the process of teaching and imparting knowledge.

 As all of this unfolds, the major characters in Criminal Conversations confront matters that include their feelings about life, life after death, faith, courage, and love in the face of death.

I think you’ll be surprised at how it all turns out.

#

For more information:

The project's one-sheet is available at: http://bit.ly/9JNu6N.
A recent draft of the script can be read at: http://bit.ly/c4VEAX.
A video about the screenplay can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sPZasOf1o.

Donations of any size can be made via PayPal to si@sagecreekproductions.com. Donors will receive on-screen thanks in the movie's ending credits. It is not necessary to have a PayPal account to donate.

#

Movie Project 'Criminal Conversations' Gains Distributor

California-based movie distributor FilmWorks Entertainment, Inc., has delivered a letter of intent (LOI) to distribute the movie project Criminal Conversations, which will be directed by Stephen Jules Rubin. The screenwriter is Si Dunn.

Logline: A man meets up again with his ex-wife while his current spouse is dying and his ex-wife's current husband is suing her for divorce and trying to prove she is guilty of adultery.

The character-driven romantic dramedy is seeking additional funding and donations, and the movie is scheduled to be shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico, sometime this fall.

New versions of the movie's one-sheet and business plan are now available.

The one-sheet is available here: http://bit.ly/9JNu6N. A recent draft of the script can be read here: http://bit.ly/c4VEAX.

Some of the story behind the screenplay can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sPZasOf1o.

Donations of any size can be made via PayPal to si@sagecreekproductions.com. Donors will receive on-screen thanks in the movie's ending credits. It is not necessary to have a PayPal account to donate.

For more information on this project and how to become involved in it, please contact:

Si Dunn
Sagecreek Productions, LLC
3800 N. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 730-131
Austin, TX 78756
sidunn@hotmail.com

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1918688/

#

On-Set Security? Even No-Budget Movies Need It

The first time I worked on a movie set, I was a featured extra in two crowd scenes. I played a photographer in one scene, and I got to use my own cameras. It was a friendly set, and I was able to get some pictures of the stars. The next scene, however, did not require my cameras. So I left them in the big "extras holding" room where we were supposed to stash our personal belongings.

That room was unguarded and unlocked, of course. And someone who was assumed to be one of the hundreds of extras entered it while the new scene was being shot. All of the set's security personnel were busy protecting -- or gawking at -- the stars. Meanwhile, the room-entering "extra" just happened to have a criminal record for thefts and burglaries. He grabbed my camera bag, plus numerous wallets from coats and purses, and left the set unchallenged and unnoticed. The thefts were not discovered for almost two hours.

The police later caught him trying to pawn my cameras -- I had kept track of the serial numbers. But people's money and most credit cards and identification documents were not recovered.

I remembered this disturbing incident the next time I worked on a movie with crowd scenes. In this production, I was a different kind of extra. My headshot was used as the photo of a murder victim. So I was given a day's pay, but I could not appear in the movie at any other time. With plenty of hours on my hands, I volunteered to help a friend -- one of the casting assistants -- as an assistant's assistant. I sat in and guarded the room where extras stored their personal belongings. All day long, cell phones rang and pagers beeped in coats and purses. And some of the real extras periodically entered to check messages, grab something, put something away, or find new wardrobe items for the next shot.

But the real extras and crew members were not the only ones who entered. I sat in a corner where I could not be noticed at first. Twice that day, people I did not recognize as extras or members of the movie crew suddenly slipped in. Just as they started to poke around, sizing up what was accessible, they realized I was watching them, cell phone in hand.

"Sorry, wrong room!" the first one said. He didn't ask where the "right" room was as he hastily departed.

The second one just said "Shit!" and ran out the door.

Movie production companies are notorious for disdainful and rude treatment of extras and featured extras. Yet even on a no-budget movie set, there is no excuse for failing to secure the belongings and identification papers of cast, crew and extras, when necessary. You expect and need people to bring certain items when they report to the set. But they can't watch over their belongings once they are in camera rehearsals and scenes that are being shot.

Someone you implicitly trust should be given this important (and hopefully paid) security job. Various PAs can take shifts, if necessary. But whoever is room guard, he or she should be supplied with an accurate list of who is authorized to store items in the location and retrieve them. Brief notes on what each person is storing -- purse, make-up bag, laptop computer -- also could be helpful.

And if there is a question, the room guard should be able to quickly contact someone by radio or cell phone and verify that Extra X is indeed Extra X, not some ex-con looking for unwanted ways to make some money off your movie. A little attention to this simple security detail can help minimize some potential major headaches for your production.

-- Si Dunn

Low/No-Budget Movie Makeup Tips

By ErinJennifer Dunn

Looking to make that next indie hit? And suddenly realizing you’ll need makeup for your actors? You frantically look at your budget, and you only have maybe $100 to put toward the makeup/hair/wardrobe department. Is it possible to make your actors look the part with $100 or less? Of course! These few easy tips and links can help you meet your makeup needs on a low-to-no-budget project.
First, figure out how many actors you have. Male actors usually require little to no makeup. Women, however, do require makeup. If your movie is set in a certain era, you'll need to add about $50 more to your budget to help get the right looks. It is always important to match makeup with skin tone. Most female cast members will have their basic foundations that match their skin tone. But if you are going for a classic look and a cast member has dark eye shadow for a dramatic clubbing look, you'll have to invest in lighter tones.

Consulting with a makeup artist before buying anything is a good approach. Offering a small fee or buying them lunch can be an easy way to get a good consultation out of the deal. A makeup artist can take a look at the headshots or photos of your actors and suggest what products to get for each look, depending on time period your movie is set in. For special-effect makeup such as bullet holes and gore, fake blood is a must, along with molding wax and liquid latex. These items are easy to find online and at good prices. A little bit of each goes a long way.

To create a custom makeup kit at a reasonable price, check out:

http://www.youravon.com/edunn

http://www.cinemasecrets.com/

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/Default.asp

Key items to include are: (1) a gentle cleanser and moisturizer; (2) face primer, and (3) translucent powder.

For special effects makeup kits:

http://www.mehron.com/default.asp

http://www.fxsupply.com/

Ben Nye Special Effects foundations are widely used, but some may find them overly oily. They often are highly recommended for Halloween makeup and photo shoots.

Special-effects kit essentials are: (1) molding wax; (2) liquid latex; and (3) translucent powder.

More and more moviemakers are shooting in HD, and there are many HD makeup items out there, but they can be expensive.

http://www.makeupforeverusa.com/runaways/
Look for their High Definition line of products, which run about $40 apiece.

http://www.smashbox.com/
Smashbox's Photo Finish FX is the best HD coverage. However, all Smashbox products should work well in an HD environment.

http://www.maccosmetics.com/
Supplies many HD products, but at A-list prices.

For makeup artistry consultation:

Austin, TX:
http://www.rawkstarglam.webs.com/

National:
http://www.nomausa.com/artists_please.htm
http://www.makeupartistdirectory.com/country/33/United_States/
http://makeupmag.com/web/

When putting together your makeup/hair/wardrobe department, remember that it is best to simplify your looks and use what your actors may already have. You don't have to hire a makeup artist or a hair specialist to get the looks you want. (But you definitely should if you can afford it!) Check with your cast and your friends to see who has a willingness to help out. Always be sure to credit people for their help, including any kind of consultation you may get. Never forget the “little people.” Even with just a hundred-dollar budget for makeup and the help of your cast and friends, your indie movie could become the next hit on the big screen.

ErinJennifer Dunn is a makeup artist, consultant, writer and actress in Austin, TX.

#

The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower (poem and photograph)

The One-Trillionth
Picture of the Eiffel Tower

Yes, I took it.

This is it. Look

at it. What do

you mean “Give

or take a few

hundred billion”?

This is it. This one

image. I swear it:

The one-trillionth

picture. How do I

know? Because

all of my life, and

well before it,

I have been keeping

very, very, very

careful count.

                   -- Si Dunn







From the forthcoming book of poems and photographs by Si Dunn:
The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower
(Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.)

Still Life with Life Still? (Poem and Photograph)

Still Life with Life Still?

Not for long. The blossoms
Soon will discover their blood

Miraculously has changed

Itself to tap water. And their roots

Have voted to remain
Behind with their own kind.

The fruit, fortunately,

Does not yet know how to scream.

Yet, if you listen very carefully,

You may hear it attempt

To sing.

                        -- Si Dunn



From the forthcoming book of poems and photographs by Si Dunn:
The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower
(Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.)

Now at the Louvre (Poem and Photograph)

Now at the Louvre

What does art see

When it stares back at us,

Sculpting its own blindness

With framed eyes?

Are we the vision

Or merely the stone?

The murderous paintbrush

Or the reticent chisel?

What does art see

When we blink? When

We think we understand

Yet never listen

To the endless shapes

We incessantly create?

               -- Si Dunn

From the forthcoming book of poems and photographs by Si Dunn:
The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower
(Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.)

Heading into Notre Dame (Poem and Photograph)

Heading into Notre Dame

Some days,

It's the best you can do.

Indeed, it's all you can do:

Grip your head

In your hands

And wonder

What the holy hell

Just happened?

                   -- Si Dunn

 
 

From the forthcoming book of poems and photographs by Si Dunn:

The One-Trillionth Picture of the Eiffel Tower

(Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.)

Mumble, Mumble, Mumble...Mumblecore!

"It's just Mark and me against ourselves and the universe."

That's how Jay Duplass (on right in photo) described the working process that he and his brother Mark Duplass (left) follow when creating a movie. They were the star presenters at a 2010 South by Southwest film festival panel titled "The Kids Are Alright."

Some of the Brothers Duplass's movies include the 2010 release, Cyrus, starring John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, Jonah Hill and Catherine Keener, and a number of more specifically "mumblecore" features such as The Puffy Chair and Baghead.

"There is a lot of improvisation in our movies," Jay Duplass said. "We don't do a lot of planning." And even when a movie has comedic elements, "it's a drama first."

Yet, added Mark Duplass, "Jay and I have a rule: to write as funny and light as possible."

Despite all of the improvisation and creating movies more from outlines than from scripts, "Mark and I are obsessed with plot and story," Jay Duplass insisted. But they also remain "open to risk and chance."

They also follow a particular procedure while shooting their movies. "We shoot in story order," Jay Duplass said. And they aren't afraid to re-shoot scenes that have been improvised. "The rule of thumb is: If you're wondering if you got it or not, you definitely didn't get it."

-- Si Dunn

#

Ready for Your Closeup? Filmmaker Networking at SXSW 2011

Memo for those who plan to attend SXSW 2011: If your goal is networking, go early to South by Southwest’s filmmaker panels and sit as close to the front as possible.

Panelists often arrive a few minutes before the start of their sessions, and it is sometimes possible to engage them in a little bit of conversation from the first couple of rows while they are getting settled. Don’t try to pitch them a project unless they ask what you are doing or what you have. But you may get an opportunity to exchange business cards and the chance to follow up with them after SXSW.

More opportunities for networking often occur right after the end of a panel. But be forewarned: The first few people who rush forward and get a panelist’s attention may eat up all of his or her available time.

Also, some of these “first responders” may be friends or acquaintances of the panelist. Indeed, they may expend all available time catching up on each other’s news or arranging to meet later for a drink.

Or, the panelist may not be in a mood to socialize and may have pre-arranged for a couple of friends to sit up front and serve as buffers when the session ends.

If you don't get to meet your hero, you will at least get some good information during his or her panel session. Indeed, some of the other panelists may share things that are more interesting and helpful than what you were hoping to learn from the panelist you can't talk to. And while everyone else surges forward, hoping to talk to the panel's "star," you may be able to connect with one or more of the other speakers.

--Si Dunn

Texas Production Incentives: Will They Be a 2011 Legislative Target?

Recent budget shortfalls in several states have caused legislators there to try to repeal the tax breaks that entice movie, television and game productions to temporarily set up shop inside their borders. Indeed, the supposedly nonpartisan Tax Foundation has issued a report arguing for the "immediate discontinuance" of all such tax-funded programs nationwide.

Watch for an incentives-related battle in the Texas Legislature when it returns to session in January, 2011.

Thanks -- or no thanks -- to several factors, including Gov. Rick Perry's signature on a no-new-taxes pledge, legislators will have to deal with a shortfall of $11 billion to more than $15 billion in the state's 2012-2013 budget.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, "[b]udget cuts are already in the offing..." and "[s]tate leaders are expected to pull the trigger soon on about $1 billion in spending trims...." The cuts may mean layoffs of prison guards and smaller payments to Medicaid providers, including doctors and hospitals.

Meanwhile, some observers of the state budget's woes are predicting the Texas legislators will not be able to "cut their way out of the hole" starting next January, the American-Statesman reports.

Paranormal Inactivity on Taxes?

More revenues will have to be raised, which will be tough to do since Gov. Perry, a strong sympathizer with the Tea Party movement, has signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge that supposedly requires him to oppose "any and all tax increases."

Legislators will be left with few options except to increase some fees and look for any tax credits, tax exemptions and tax exclusions that can be reduced or eliminated. Also, they will face decisions on whether or not to allow more gambling choices in Texas.

In the face of the massive shortfall, Texas' production incentives could look like just one tiny plum ripe for picking out of the budget -- unless movie, television and game producers can convince the lawmakers that a lot more state revenue is generated than is spent on the program. Many legislators will be on the lookout for anything they can eliminate or shrink without raising taxes or fees.

The Incentives Hurt Locker?

The state production incentives progam -- if it survives the budget cutters next session -- will need to be given stronger funding. And many low-budget moviemakers say that it needs to be revised. At a time when non-studio movie budgets are trending lower and lower, often down to $100,000 or even less, Texas still wants moviemakers to spend at least $250,000 in the state before tax breaks will be granted. Many indie movie makers feel frozen out of the state's incentives program. The budget levels need to be made lower, and additional provisions need to be created to encourage the development of low-budget, "indigenous" Texas movie, television and game productions.

The state program also needs to be revised to get rid of its ridiculous "negative fashion" clause highlighted in the news last year. The Republican-ramrodded clause, enacted into law in 2007, forbids Texas state incentives to any kind of film, TV or game project that contains "inappropriate content or content that portrays Texas or Texans in a negative fashion, as determined by the [Texas Film Commission] office, in a moving image project." This clause puts the Film Commission in a censorship position and leaves the doors wide open for neighboring states such as Louisiana and New Mexico to keep getting "Texas" projects that can't get past the "negative fashion" restriction.

Gearing Up for the Fight

On the Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA) website, the organization's president, Don Stokes, recently posted both praise for the state's current incentive program and strong cautions that the program will need to be expanded and justified during the 2011 state legislative session.

Stated Stokes: "I am happy to report that our Moving Image Incentive Program is proving its effectiveness at bringing jobs and dollars to Texas. Since the enhanced incentives were signed into law in April 2009, applications which account for over $225 million in new in-state spending. These projects have created over 12,300 industry jobs equating to over 1,800 full time jobs. All of this has been achieved with a commitment of just over $24.8 million in grant funds. I am unaware of any other program which has delivered these levels of results with an equivalent cost. These projects come from across the State and cover all segments of the industry. This is tremendous news and will be a vital part of our message going into the 2011 Legislative Session."

He continued:

"We cannot afford to let this positive news make us complacent. Now is the time to remobilize and renew our efforts. We will have to battle for continued funding of the program in the upcoming Legislative Session. News reports from the Capitol inform us that all State agencies have been asked to reduce their budgets and cut current and future spending. We have been lucky since our friends in the Governor's office have trimmed in other areas in order to keep our current funding intact. They believe in the value our industry brings to Texas but we will have to make our case anew in 2011. To complicate matters further, we will not simply be asking to retain our current level of appropriation, we will be seeking an increase. At current application levels we will exhaust our funds for this fiscal year well before the next appropriation year begins in September 2010. Those funds will most likely also be exhausted before our next appropriation is in place. The positive side is that we have shown that if the incentive program is funded we can bring in the work. What we will have to prove is that the jobs we create benefit the State enough to justify the funding."

Fade Out?

A prediction from Dateline: Oblivion. Looking at the negative numbers surging into the $11 billion to $15 billion-plus range, Texas legislators will be primed to cut first and ask few questions later. State representatives and senators who don't understand the production business (and that will be just about all of them) will again demand to know why Texans should pay Hollywood anything to bring (or "brang") their "terrible" projects here. With angry constituents and Teabag Rick haranging them about taxes, they won't be receptive to listening to promises and predictions, nor reason.

The pro-incentive lobbyists need to be out in force already, reaching everyone they can possibly reach. The fiscally small but positive news from the Texas incentives program must be clearly heard and understood well before the budget-cuts drumbeat starts pounding everything -- and everyone -- into submission.

--Si Dunn

-30-