Today I was taken for a wonderful ride called 'Saving Mr. Banks'. I wasn't the first to see it or the last, but I do want to be the latest to praise it for the many fantastic things that happen in between its titles, including the construction of the twin story line. Nothing this inspiring could have happened without the highest performance from the writers (Kelly Marcel, Sue Smith), director (John Lee Hancock), and editor (Mark Livolsi), and they deserve as much praise as the duly praised cast. But that is not the main point of todays entry.

My entries to this post are primarily meant to bolster, support, and comment on the plight of the indie filmmaker. So I would normally not want to use a comparison with a film maker who's personal name and company name are one, who rivaled Bing and Bob for owning California real estate, and had a Midas touch when it came to migrating to and through technologies and distribution channels. But something caught my eye during 'Saving Mr. Banks' and it instantly made me want to usher Mr. Disney into my struggling filmmaker fraternity, posthumously.

It's a simple equation. Basically, (spoiler alert) He wins over Mrs. Travers in 1961, and she finally signs the movie rights to Mary Poppins into Walt's hands that year. The book is twenty years old, the script has been reviewed and approved, and casting (or at least pre-casting) has actually begun. Then right up there upon the big screen came the numerals 1964, moving the story forward to the film's premier. Three years! Three more years of pre-production, production, and post. After the period of time in which he wrangled with the now much more well known Mrs. Travers. This from a guy who owned the lot, and the distribution company, and was printing money over in Anaheim. (I credit the film for this quip)

Patience. Perseverance. These are well worn phrases from and for those of us waiting for a break, but I want to be the first to say that I sure have been moaning lately about a lack of light at the end of the tunnel, and the simple math that I mentioned in the last paragraph gave me pause. If the man with the keys to the magic kingdom could make it through three years of pre, production, and post, so can I.

And so can you.

What we have here...

On March 10, 1876, the Words "Watson - come here -  I want to see you."  were heard for the first time via telephone.  The 3D printer of its era, The Western Union company turned down the rights to the invention, claiming that "the telephone is nothing more than a toy".  (As of February 2006, Western Union no longer provides telegram service either, did you know that?)

As of this morning I have several potential cast and crew who could easily become the CEO of Western Union.  They will not employ the telephone as a means of bi-directional communication.  And here comes the theorem of today's rant:  Two PDAs on the table while you and another dork pretend to have a date may be cute, but it won't cut it in the biz.  No one over the age of fifteen is going to hire you via tweet.  So, ever bighearted, I offer some communication tips that, obviously, have not materialized within the curriculum of 'big wind' film school, or ANY MFA program in north america:

• Sign EVERY email with your phone #, and repeat your email at the bottom.  Not everyone wants to create an email chain that dates back to 'Watson - come here".  The phone # thing - how should I address this delicately?  Do you think you may not want everybody that receives an email from you to have your phone #?  Get out of the business. 
• You can't 'kind-of' put yourself out there.  Spread your contact info daily and vociferously.
• The goal is to get into conversations.  These are jobs, for which you want an interview.  Prefer to ask 300 questions via 75 emails, BEFORE you read the script?  Get out of the business.
• Don't say that you've been too busy to: read a script (see above), respond to email or voicemail, or the like. Feature film projects require weeks of 12 hour days, and you haven't had time to get to your email?  Hmm...

And here's a freebee for the actors:  Get that professional headshot done, NOW.  I just reviewed some submissions for "detective" and discovered a whole lot of "detectives" who suffer from gas buildup.  Go to LA or New York. (it's where the best deals are, anyway)  You don't need a 'good' photographer, you need a HEADSHOT PHOTOGRAPHER.  Don't think it's worth the time or money?  Get out.

Here's hoping for a fantastic 2014 for you and your upgraded communication regimen.  Don't get out; get communicatin'.

- Tom

@tsk111director

Suck. It. Up.

I'm embarrassed.  As you may have guessed, I'm going to tell you why.

Bruce Dern, who is now 77, is a classically trained actor. (Strasberg, Kazan, etc.)  He made his name as a bad cowboy and a bit of a weirdo, and was finally critically acclaimed in the fantastic 'Coming Home'.  But he never felt that he really got the big role, the one that could showcase his training, his talent, his craft.

Well, that's over.  Mr. Dern received the best actor award at this year's Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Alexander Payne's 'Nebraska', and he is a shoe-in for Oscar nomination.  So you're thinking, this little diatribe of mine is about 'it' finally happening for him at the age of 77 right?  Wrong.  Wow, I hope none of us has to wait for 77.

The statistic that blew my mind about Mr. Dern and this particular project, is the fact that he received the script TEN YEARS AGO.  Ten years it took Payne to get the project into and out of production.  The film's reception at Cannes and pre-release buzz confirms that everything certainly came together in the right way at the right time.

So, I repeat:  I'm embarrassed.  Compared to Bruce Dern, I have not shown enough patience or spent enough time honing my craft to assume that I should have had 'the big break' by now.

I'm gonna suck it up.  I hope you will too.

- TK

Tom Kennerly's 'Not Love' is filming in March 2014.

You Blew It

Well, how better to get back into the swing of blogging than to pull some angry off the shelf, spit shine it, and run it up the flag pole. 

Artists, you're shooting yourselves in the foot.  Two distinct things happened in this past week, which generated this post.  ONE.  I have been asked to write/direct a series of promotional videos for a hair product company.  Like a good indie film maker (pied piper) I went through my e-rolodex to see who (whom?) I could throw some work.  Four beautiful actress/models are on board.  Great! 

The fifth WAS on board.  She would only communicate via fb, but responded in a timely fashion.  When the client approved her pic, I typed the good news into a message, which included a request for her contact info and address. (all models were immediately shipped an assortment of product)  Ms. Fifth did not respond.  It took me a few days, and then I realized that she juuuuuuust couldn't give out the personal info.  By the way, this person's profile describes her 'job' as model.  We found a new model with an address.

TWO:  I'm lucky enough to also be in pre for a budget feature.  I posted some trolling adds to the usual boards, and got a bite from a film school grad.  Her vocabulary was paramount.  Her 'message' was compelling.  I sensed the hunger, drive, and borderline insanity that every indie film set needs.

She signed her message to me; Ms. Grad, Union City, NJ.  The message was sent by the job board's autobot.  No way for me to reply.  Oh well.

Peeps, I want you to be safe.  I want you to be cautious.  I want you free from Nigerian scams and junk mail.  But you have to be found.  It's part of being professional.  YOU have to figure out a way to communicate.  Addressing situation one, should Ms. Fifth ever get a real modelling job, she will need to give ALL her contact info AND her social for the W9.  Addressing Ms. Grad, get a seperate email address.  A pay as you go cell.  Something.  I'm not going to search Union City (not her real town) for you.

Question.  What if you do make it?  You don't want to give out your address - what are you gonna do when they take your picture getting out of the limo without panties, when they go through your trash for contact info, when they dig up your DUI arrest from your youth in Ohio?  You can't handle giving someone who want to hire you your mailing address, how are you goiong to deal with actual fame?  It's sad, but real.  You are your own business, and you have to be found, and simultaneously safe.  I'm sorry about the freaky world we live in.  But I have professional cast and crew to book.

Reciprocity - It works

The best negotiable in the world is one that also works in real life: You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. I'm bringing this up because it can sometimes be hard to get behind someone else' project when one (or more) of yours is languishing on a back burner. No pay. Long days. I understand. Suck it up.

Reciprocity can only help your film career! Worried about this possible project not fitting your high standards, or not being what you want to be 'known for'? No one knows you anyway! When two alpha artists meet, why not take turns being second banana for each other? Be script supervisor on my film, and I'll grip on yours. Everybody gets to go to the set. Twice! Twice the experience, twice the networking with other new cast and crew. Besides...

...No one can predict the success, or lack of success, that will come from a film project. Famous examples:

Francis Ford Coppola (then relatively unknown) was DYING to make a film called 'The Conversation'. The only deal he could cut was to make one for the studio from a best selling novel, and only then would the studio fund 'The Conversation'. Coppola said okay. The film he 'had' to make? 'The Godfather'. He did make 'The Conversation'. Both are great movies. Which do you consider more 'successful'?

Steven Spielberg, after initially being excited about the project, was also reluctant to work on turning a certain best seller into a 'movie'. He told the studio that he wanted to makes 'films', not 'movies'. David Brown, The Universal Pictures executive famously told him, 'If you make this 'movie', you'll be able to make any 'film' that you want. David Brown was right. 'Jaws' became the highest grossing picture ever (at that time) Fun fact: Spielberg wanted to drop 'Jaws' for the project 'Lucky Lady'. Wow. Fun fact number two: The term 'Blockbuster' was first used to describe the runaway success of 'Jaws'.

Summary: At this point in your career, lend you shoulder to any project which you possibly can, and encourage your 'circle' to do the same. You never know...

Tom Kennerly is the author of 'On The Lot: An Addiction' an Amazon ebook.

The Borrowers

If this is the first little diatribe of mine that you have read, you need to know that I am a champion of no budget film making.  Not low budget, and not zero dollar, but moving through the process of film making by minimizing costs, and absorbing the necessary costs as they accrue.  For you see, my young film maker, there was a time when you could not shoot a no budget feature. Really. Did you know that the film stock alone necessary for a feature film shot in 35mm format comes to more than $20,000?  Incredible. We live in the wondrous age of data cards and hard drives, making the barriers to entry into feature film making, well, low enough. The only downside to the festering cornucopia of alternatives out there is that equipment geeks get themselves caught up in what to shoot on. Do not be a slave to technology. Make it work for you! If your background is in video technology for some reason, or you already have a strong camera body, and want to surf the net for lenses, adapters, and so forth, I'll ask you to do this:  Price out your wish list, add $100 to it, and offer that to a DP on productionhub. (www.productionhub.com). You'll get the DP AND the equipment you were going to buy, or pretty darn close to it, for one low price.  Look, I just got you a DP  for ten days, for $100!  Nowadays, any director of photography or cinematographer either has his own camera, knows five guys with rigs who will loan them out for favors, or has an ‘in’ to a ridiculously cheap rental. Certainly you should have some serious meetings regarding why he is recommending his specific choices, as well as check out examples of that combination’s footage by the artist you are considering, but please let this expert contribute where his knowledge exceeds yours.

From here, the choice of camera, a review of the script by the DP, and a review of your confirmed locations will dictate the lighting package. Again, borrow if possible.  Why not?  There are other equipment freaks and geeks out there who have already laid out the cash, dying to get onto a set.  Believe me.  Now, I do spend some money for lights because I shoot long days for a SHORT period of time, and therefore my daily rental doesn’t add up to that much. Also, I've been using the DSLR platform, and most of these cameras have crazy low light capabilities.

Next time:  How to borrow pizza. (that's a little joke)

Tom Kennerly will be directing 'Not Love' the summer of 2013...

Casting Isn't For The Weak

I made my decision to become an independent film maker  for the same reason that I have made most of my life's decisions - to meet girls.  One would think that of all the components that are necessary for one to be a competent indie film maker, casting would therefor be high in the enjoyment range.  Not so.  Today's post is a brief discussion of the pitfalls and recommendations which represent the scars I've received while casting film parts.

1) Beware the MFA!  A Master's in Fine Arts degree shows that someone has taken the time (and money) to invest in themselves and their career.  They toss their degree into the back of their Volkswagen, and head to LA or NYC.  They find no work, and turn to alcohol, licking toads, or worse, acting for nothing in independent film.  They will come onto your set, tell you what you don't know (this may take some time) and display much angst.  BONUS: If you can catch this angst on film, you may win a Spirit Award.

2) Beware of the gainfully employed!  Schedule your auditions on weekdays between 9 and 5.  Think about it.  If the actor can't make the one hour audition, how are they going to make a ten hour shoot day?  Here's to the economy staying in the toilet. 

3) Don't audition friends!  Doesn't that sound terrible?  It does, until you have to tell them they didn't get the part.  Just give them the part, or don't.  Unless you're trying to get rid of your actor friends, which is a whole other post.

4) Having read the above, if you're now thinking that you may just want to hire a casting agent, you are well down the path to enlightenment.  There's a reason there are two or three in the credits of every film you have ever seen in the theatre.  As for me meeting girls, is there an existing phrase for blog-groupies?

Tom Kennerly will be directing '...And The Radio Still Plays' in June 2013.