Even Wesley Snipes would want to bitch slap Reverend Wright-
by Shannonn Kelly
Barack Obama spiritual mentor, Reverend. Jeremiah Wright Jr., preaches last sermon at…. “Polls show Barack Obama damaged by link to Reverend Jeremiah Wright
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At Variety, they wondered what it took to make something into a true, four-legged industry. With film festivals, the fitful birth of its own tradeshow was a sign, mentioned in this fest-stress article.
Now the industry has its first major federal indictment - Gerald and Patricia Green of Film Festival Management were arrested on bribery charges. They tried to payoff a Thai official so they could land a contract managing the Bangkok International Film Festival.
“Really? They wanted to manage Bangkok fest that bad?” Surely there are countless other more worthy festivals that could use some bribe cash, something other than the usual corporate payola.
But then Grady Hendrix put it in perspective:
I never met anyone who took the Bangkok International Film Festival seriously. It was an excuse for the well-connected industry folks to get flown to Bangkok, eat great food, do some shopping and go out with other people on the film festival circuit all on the Thai government’s tab. (I was never invited. Can you tell I’m a little bitter about it?)
From beginning to end it was something of a joke, with few foreign films being subtitled in Thai for local viewers and a line-up usually consisting of leftovers from other fests. It was run by a company in Los Angeles called Festival Management who seemed only to exist to run the Bangkok International Film Festival and they never seemed to do a particularly good job of it.
And yet, every year, the Thai government sunk millions of dollars into the fest.
by Shannonn Kelly
For the couple of years it’s been a kick to see what’s floating around in Hollywood for the most buzzed about screenplays up for production and or option in the annual Black List list of the “Hottest Unproduced Screenplays”.
Some interesting and unusual standouts this year are
Curveball - Eastern Promises screenwriter Steve Knight’s adaptation of award-winning Los Angeles Times reporter Bob Drogin’s book Curveball: Spies, Lies, and the Con Man Who Caused a War, about an Iraqi informant code-named ‘Curveball’ who gave “flawed information about biological weapons that the U.S. government used to justify the war in Iraq.” The book cover reads “an inside story of intrigue and incompetence at the highest levels of government.” Project is set up at Focus Features.
The Wrestler - Robert Siegel’s tale of a 1980’s-era pro-wrestler, now down and out, who decides to make a possibly fatal comeback. Darren Aronofsky will direct Mickey Rourke
Get Back - Chris McCoy comic screenplay about two die-hard Beatles fans who time travel back in time to “prevent John Lennon from ever meeting Yoko Ono, as they blame her for the Beatles’ demise.”
The Human Factor - Anthony Peckham’s (Don’t Say A Word) Nelson Mendela biopic starring Morgan Freeman. Matt Damon is in talks to star at Warner Bros
I Want To F- Your Sister - Lawyer-turned-screenwriter Melissa Stack’s high-concept comedic spec screenplay about “a young man goes to great lengths to protect his younger sister from guys just like him.” MTV Films pre-emptively bought the screenplay for $300,000 against $600,000.
Stack quit her job as a Lawyer after the sale….
by Shannonn Kelly
The WGA strike has had a “lights out’ effect on all late night talk shows. Due to the lack of content being supplied by writers and every program now in reruns, the strike has had a devastating effect on ratings across the board.
For instance, ”The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”, (which we’d rather have chickenpox than watch), ”Late Night With Conan O’Brien”, the “Daily Show With Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Report” being hit the hardest.
The ”Late Show With David Letterman” and the “Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” are being hit as well with poor ratings. All shows are crucial for advertisers marketing to that all important 18-34 year old demographic.
Many people may not know but Craig Ferguson formulates his own monologue and could easily host his show sans writers.
We miss Jon and David and would love to see them come back without writers so they could just be their wonderful witty selves, just like Johnny Carson was back during the ’88 strike.
Read more about the ratings effect on late night talk shows at Variety.
by Shannonn Kelly
Check out the videos at Scab Writer a new spoof/satire site about the Hollywood Writers Strike
by Shannonn Kelly
Paul Haggis, the Canadian director of the film “Crash,” has filed a lawsuit against his partners in the production of the Oscar-winning picture, alleging a financier owes him nearly five million dollars.
Bobby Moresco, who shared the Oscar with Haggis for Best Original Screenplay for the movie that focuses on racial tensions in Los Angeles, are accusing co-producer Bob Yari with breach of contract.
Cathy Schulman, another co-producer for the film, alleges Yari also owes her money. Her case is due to start on April 21, 2007.
Read more about this story here.
by Shannonn Kelly
With all our Democratic leanings one would think we’d be hitting the theaters in droves to see “the other side of the story” when it comes to war in Iraq.
But it’s just the opposite when Hollywood looks at the latest figures for their A-list cast films that focus on Iraq:
Those figures leaves Hollywood and the film distributors very worried about new releases such as “Lions for Lambs” directed by Robert Redford starring Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep and Redford.
Here at ReelHeART our odds on favorite for the film to be seen and to reap ticket sales well over it’s production budget is Brian De Palma’s Venice Film Festival winning film ”Redacted”.
We think the story is hard-hitting and timely enough that despite its gut wrenching subject matter, it’s the “proven” film that movie-goers will want to see. Possibly if only for clarification of events surrounding this true life story of a 14 year old girl who was brutally raped and murdered by US soldiers.
If anything it’s the film you need to see before heading to the election polls-
Please go out to see and support “Redacted” if only because it’s extremely fact based. Something that De Palma himself is fighting against as he’s under constant pressure from his distributors to censor the ”real life” events and perpetrators names and faces in his film.
To read more about “Hollywood Films Being A Casualty of War”, click here
by Shannonn Kelly
Most actors and actresses have two choices of where to go to follow their dreams. New York City or Los Angeles. Well, the same goes for writers and really anyone in the creative arts.
A recent study on the Writers Guild of America strike suggests New York would fair better in a longer strike. With the majority of TV and film production concentrated in the West, Los Angeles has the most to lose during the strike.
According to the study, 6 out of 10 jobs in the industry are related to film and video production in Los Angeles. Whereas in New York, the number is much lower as many writers write for print and hard copy materials.
It’s an interesting study from the Beareau of Labor Statistics and you can read more about their findings by clicking here.
By Shannonn Kelly
What does the Hollywood writers still being on strike mean for you and me?
It can mean a few things:
By the way, point # 4 is what the Hollywood writers strike is really about-
According to Jake Coyle at Associated Press (AP): “The Writers Guild of America wants a percentage of the revenue generated online from writers’ work, but the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers claims it’s too early to know how the TV and film industries will substantially capitalize from online platforms.”
Jake has written a pretty good snapshot article at Associated Press on the surge in visitors to the Internet to be mostly entertained, beating a virtual path to sites such as YouTube, and smaller niche sites like Joey and David, MediocreFilms.com and CollegeHumor.com
There’s a lot of articles out right now on what the strike means and how it will affect other media such as book to movie deals, as well as content on TV.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, we will be seeing a rash of reality shows. Keep in mind though; we’re not seeing them because reality shows don’t employ writers as erroneously stated at The Scotsman.
We’re seeing reality shows because the the majority of the content is provided by the “contestants”. The structure, tone and feel is however provided by staff writers.
These staff writers on most (if not all) reality shows are not currently covered in the Writers Guild of America (WGA) where they would get union pay and benefits.
To learn more about this distinction between writers, check out the essay by Nancy Miller in the August 2007 issue of Wired.
To go to websites other than Youtube where you can learn a thing or two and have a great web experience, I invite you to check out three of my favorites Meta Cafe, The Daily Show and Best Documentaries.
My only upset during the strike: Law & Order running out of shows already in the can…
I would love to hear your comments and your experiences during the Hollywood Writers Strike.
by Shannonn Kelly
The sale of DVDs and how much revenue it generates for the writers of any and all content appears to be the main sticking point between Producers and the Writers Guild of America.
More than 12, 000 writers will go on strike if told to by WGA as a result of Hollywood talks breaking as their contract expires. Many writers are packing up their belongings as they leave their offices and at the end of Thursday November 1, 2007.
The last Hollywood writers strike was in 1988 and the longest in history. The strike lasted for 6 months and centered around another technology at the time, VHS sales and rentals. In that strike, the writers lost.
Knowing how much they will lose this time around (writers got 5 cents on each VHS sale) as technology advances the sales of content in general, will be a sticking point and if the writers do strike this time.
So, be prepared for a much longer strike, actors and actresses without wages and a barrage of some really awful reality shows.
Read more about what others have to say on this topic in magazine such as Variety, AFP, and ABC News and Nikki Finke’s column at Deadline Hollywood Daily.
Roger Ebert @ SunTimes NYT > Movie Reviews CBC News
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