Road Notes & Music Rights

September 21, 2008

Hey Everybody,

Greetings from the road!  I was at the Rappahannock Independent Film Festival this weekend and boy was it a good one.  This was the first film fest they have done and I was real impressed.  I saw lots of good films and met a lot of terrific people.  My hat is off to Ryan Poe and Paul Lewis for putting together a quality festival.  Everything ran on time, and talk about hospitality, if you were a filmmaker and were there you know what I am talking about.

My work shop went great and I had a lot of people turn out and some great questions.  I am looking forward to coming back next year.  If you are on the east coast, mark this festival down on your calendar, and submit your film next year.  This festival is starting small, but it is going to grow.  Get in on this one early, it is run and supported by people who love independent films.  It doesn’t get better than that.

A special shout out to my weekend host John Hollinger.  Thanks for making Moses and I feel so welcome.

Book news…

I have parted ways with my publisher so my book is going to take a bit longer to get out.  I am working on it and hopefully will be making an announcement soon about when it’s going to come out.

Let’s talk music for a minute…

Now I don’t know where this rumor got started, but you can NOT use other people’s music in your film without permission!  I keep hearing of these stories about how you can use a certain amount of music without paying for it.  That’s bullshit!  If you use music someone else has copyrighted, you have to pay for it, or at least get their permission, and the length doesn’t matter.  Talk to a lawyer and they’ll tell you the same thing.

If the music is public domain, that’s fine.   But if it’s been recorded, then the performance is probably NOT in the public domain!  You will have to pay for the performance rights. You can rerecord it yourself and then you should be okay.

Now I don’t want to get into rights, clearances and all of that stuff here, that’s not what this column is about.  If you have music questions, talk to a lawyer who specializes in this crap!  If you want to know who owns rights to various songs then call BMI or ASCAP.  They should be able to tell you not only who wrote a tune, but who owns the rights and how to contact that person or their agent.

There is also a trend now not to clear music for your movie if you’re going to send it to film festivals to find a distributor.   Then WHEN it’s picked up for distribution, you get the distributor to pay for the music rights.  If anything, WHEN should read IF, because the odds are, it’s not going to happen.  A lot of distributors won’t pick up a film if the music rights aren’t cleared.  Music can cost a lot, and some distributors expect you to pay for the music.  It’s not going to come out of their share.

I think it’s a bad practice, because if you don’t get a distributor, then what?  You can’t really sell the movie to video stores, NetFlix, or places like that.  You’re kind of stuck, unless you go in and change the music and then remix the whole movie.  That’s not a great idea for a lot of reasons.  It costs more money, it takes energy to go back in and redo a finished movie, and the movie sits around on your shelf not doing anything for you until you get it done.  And between you and me, most of the time these movies don’t get done.

Find a musician who is willing to write music for your movie.

We’ll talk about that later.

Other stuff….

I still have dates available, so if you are interested in having me come to your college, university, media art center, independent book store, or even to your house for dinner, drop me a line (angryfilminfo@aol.com) and let me know.

I am thrilled that Film Baby (www.filmbaby.com) is a sponsor on this tour.  If you haven’t checked out their site and their services, you need to do it.  They are a great group of people dedicated to helping you get your films out.  Also check out my other sponsors, Pollard Design (www.pollarddesign.com), Zoom Studio (www.zoomstudio.com), The Indy Film Co-op (www.indyfilmco-op.org) and Cheezy Flicks (www.cheezyflicks.com).  All great people and great companies.

The first two Workshop DVDs are up on my site, www.angryfilmmaker.com, (and Film Baby’s) and they are ready to fly off the shelves.  They are selling pretty well out here on the road.  Also check my site for my Internet Specials.

It’s time to hit the road again.

Talk later.

Kelley

www.angryfilmmaker.com
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com/theangryfilmmaker
www.youtube.com/theangryfilmmaker
www.filmbaby.com

Notes from the Road.

September 16, 2008

Notes from the road…

I finished mixing Last Breath a week ago in Lawrence, Kansas.

I stopped by Franklin, Indiana to drop off a 35 mm print of Birddog for some theatrical screenings that are coming up in that area. I spent the night at Bill Devers place (Bill runs the Indy Film Co-op) and we stayed up late talking about filmmaking, distribution, and politics. One of the things I like about being on the road is re-connecting with good friends. Thanks Bill for great conversation and a wonderful meal. I was still full most of the following day.

I surprised my publishers (Dog Ear Publishing) by dropping in on them and asking where the hell my book is. It was supposed to take 12 – 16 weeks we are now in to month 7. Right now I have no respect for these people, they have messed up so many things and when I ask for a production schedule they keep telling me it’s all up to me? If it was up to me the book would have been out 4 MONTHS AGO!!! They wondered why I was there and I told reminded them I was on my book tour. Oh yeah, and I still didn’t have any books! Maybe I’ll have books by the end of this tour, but right now I kind of doubt it. Morons is the nicest thing I can think of to say right now.

From there it was off to Baltimore and Creative Alliance for a screening of my short films and my workshop on Marketing and Self-Distribution. The attendance was wonderful for both events and I had a terrific write up in City Paper in Baltimore. Thanks Kristen for making everything run so smoothly.

The most recent DC Shorts Film Festival concluded last night and I have to say that it was FANTASTIC! Jon Gann puts together an amazing film festival. DC Shorts is the most filmmaker friendly festival I have ever been to. If you get in to this festival you need to go! You have so many opportunities to meet other filmmakers, talk to audience members and eat amazing food. All of the films I saw were of a very high caliber. Whether I personally liked some of the films or not, they were very tight, most of them were well shot and acted. This is a festival I would come back to again and again. (That’s a hint Jon…)

I want to thank Jon and everyone who worked on the film festival for making me feel so welcome, and taking such good care of me and Moses.

A special side note to the staff at the Hotel Monaco in DC – Thank you for taking care of Moses and treating him as if he were you own. I have stayed in “dog friendly” hotels before, but you all went above and beyond what I have ever seen. You all are the best and I will tell everyone I know about your hotel whether they have pets or not! A special thanks to Kimberle Reid and Awet Sium, you two are the best!

I am in Connecticut tonight for a work shop and then the next stop will be the Rappahannock Film Festival in Virginia. This is the first year of this festival and I am looking forward to it.

It has taken me a little longer than normal to adjust to the road again. I am somewhere between west coast and east coast time so my sleep schedule is kind of erratic. Since I am in Pennsylvania right now the time thing is not really helping me. Moses is having a tough time adjusting as well. I think this week we are finally back in to it.

That’s it for right now. Starting this weekend the schedule will really start to pick up.

Other stuff….

I still have dates available, so if you are interested in having me come to your college, university, media art center, independent book store, or even to your house for dinner, drop me a line (angryfilminfo@aol.com) and let me know.

I am thrilled that Film Baby (www.filmbaby.com) is a sponsor on this tour. If you haven’t checked out their site and their services, you need to do it. They are a great group of people dedicated to helping you get your films out. Also check out my other sponsors, Pollard Design (www.pollarddesign.com), Zoom Studio (www.zoomstudio.com), The Indy Film Co-op (www.indyfilmco-op.org) and Cheezy Flicks (www.cheezyflicks.com). All great people and great companies.

The first two Workshop DVDs are up on my site, www.angryfilmmaker.com, (and Film Baby’s) and they are ready to fly off the shelves. They are selling pretty well out here on the road. Also check my site for my Internet Specials.

It’s time to hit the road again.

Talk later.

Kelley

www.angryfilmmaker.com
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com/theangryfilmmaker
www.youtube.com/theangryfilmmaker
www.filmbaby.com

Screenwriting Conversations #2

Hey Everybody,

Sorry I am really slow on this post, I have been doing a lot of driving since we last talked.  I am in Baltimore at Creative Alliance, the tour has definitely begun.  I will try to be better about posting weekly while I am out on the road.

So here is part two of my conversation with William Akers.  I keep screwing up the name of his book, it is, Your Screenplay Sucks!  100 Ways to Make It Great!

What hit movie do you think really has a lousy screenplay?

Can’t be done.

Well, the public (and some producers!) thinks movies don’t need great scripts.  Dim bulbs that they are, they don’t realize that the actors don’t make up the words as they go along.  Ha.  You want to see how important the script is to an actor?  Watch the Oscars.  See what happens when an actor decides to deviate from the TelePrompTer!  They fall smack on their ass.  It’s pretty funny.  Yet, actors almost never thank the writers.  Ingrates.

You have to have a great script.  I was on the board of the Nashville Film Festival and it was staggering how many terrible movies were submitted.  Independent filmmakers work so hard to raise the money, and when they get their financing, they think, “Hey, we can make the movie now!” when what they should do, is ten more drafts.  I feel so bad for the actors and crew, standing in the cold, making a movie that no one will see because the writer / producer / director didn’t take the time to make the script bulletproof.  I have an all day seminar I do for filmmakers, about how to get their script in shape to shoot.  Just because you have the money, doesn’t mean you’re ready.

What advice do you have for people who want to write a screenplay?

1.)  Don’t.

Teddy, the rock ‘n roll arsonist in BODY HEAT, said it nicely…

TEDDY
I got a serious question for you. What the fuck are you
doing? This is not shit for you to be messing with. Are
you ready to hear something? See if this sounds familiar.
Anytime you try a decent crime, there’s 50 ways to fuck up.
If you think of 25 of them you’re a genius. And you’re no genius.

Later on, he says…

TEDDY
I hope you know what you’re doin’. You better be pretty damn
sure about it. If you ain’t sure, don’t do it. Of course, that’s my
recommendation anyway — don’t do it.

2.)  Spend all that time wasted on writing, in bed, screwing your spouse.  Imagine how much happier everyone will be.  The world won’t have to read another screenplay and your honey will be smiling constantly.

3.)  Buy my book.  Seriously, it’s worth the money.  One guy told me that the table of contents was worth the price of the book.  The book is a checklist, and it will keep you out of trouble and improve your writing.

What advice do you have for people who want to sell a screenplay?

Write something that someone will want to pay to SEE.  Just because you think your stupid, asinine, dumbass idea is a swell idea for a movie, doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to sell the puppy.  It’s the entertainment business, after all.  It’s not creative unless it sells.  Try to find something that satisfies your inner need to create, but that is also something that you can get money for.  It’s much more difficult than you suppose.  A poor idea is like dry rot, as you can spend all kinds of time putting trim on the house, but if the framing is no good, the thing is going to collapse and you will have wasted your time.

And you have so little time.  So incredibly little time, you can’t waste much of it going down the garden of forking paths.

After I write my screenplay, how much should I sell it for?  (I have really been asked this question a number of times.)

Whatever they will pay.  Seriously.  Take the money.  Write another script.  Be happy someone wanted to buy what you wrote.  You’re lucky as can be, so don’t be a snobby jerk and refuse because the money is not good enough.

Guild minimum to get the health insurance is around $32,000.  Try to get paid enough to get the insurance.  But, if they want to give you $1,500, take it.  Just let them make your movie.  Buy my book.  All this is in there.

If so many people are writing screenplays how come we don’t see better movies in the theaters?

The wonder is not that we have so many bad movies, the wonder is that we have any good ones at all.

It’s really, really, really hard to make a good movie.  I had a teacher in film school, Art Murphy, who said that if you have a perfect script, give it a “1.”  A perfect director, also gets a “1.”  Same for cinematographer, editor, actors, marketing plan, etc.  So, the formula for a movie is: 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 = 1… you end up with a really good movie.  But, if, somewhere down the line, someone falls down on the job, say, the editor, and he turns in a .5 piece of work… well, the formula changes a bit.  1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x .5 = .5  And you have a crummy movie.  Basically, it’s not easy.

It’s easier to marry money.  You can make more money in seven minutes than you can earn in your entire lifetime.

Have you gotten any fan letters yet from your book?

It’s been incredibly satisfying to hear that people are finding Your Screenplay Sucks! to be helpful.  I’m a teacher by nature, and I wrote the book to help people.  One guy in Toronto wrote that he’d read every screenwriting book there was, and mine was one the best.  That was lovely.

Any mail telling you you’re full of shit?

So far, no.

Why should we buy your book?

It will help you get laid.

On that note…

Other Stuff.
It’s great to be back on the road again.  I am promoting my new book, The Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide: Making the Extreme No-Budget Film, now if only the publisher would get me a few copies…

It looks like I’ll be appearing at 35-50 venues which will translate to 4,000 – 5,000 people on this tour.  Over the last 5 years I would estimate that I have been in front of well over 25,000 film students, filmmakers, and film enthusiasts.  I think that’s pretty good.

I still have a few dates available, so if you are interested in having me come to your college, university, media art center, independent book store, or even to your house for dinner, drop me a line (angryfilminfo@aol.com) and let me know.

I am thrilled that Film Baby (www.filmbaby.com) is a sponsor on this tour.  If you haven’t checked out their site and their services, you need to do it.  They are a great group of people dedicated to helping you get your films out.

Also check out my new sponsor, Cheezy Flicks, they have some wonderful stuff on their site www.cheezyflicks.com.  If you are a fan of some of the cheesiest movies ever made, you have to check this site out.  I mean where else are you going to find titles like The Day of the Triffids and G-Men VS The Black Dragon.

My first two Workshop DVDs are available on my site, www.angryfilmmaker.com, (and Film Baby’s) so what are you waiting for, buy them!

Talk later.

Kelley

www.angryfilmmaker.com
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com/theangryfilmmaker
www.youtube.com/theangryfilmmaker
www.filmbaby.com