Fellini and Sports

The film blog Hammer to Nail recently commented on the polarizing qualities of the art film and popular sports. Most people prefer one over the other and are often diabolically opposed to the other.

Sports fans checking box scores on their mobiles generally aren't found in revival art-houses.

Hammer to Nail is a wellspring of publicity for high-quality indies still finding their audiences. I recommend it for the strong film criticism and for its unwavering commitment to championing small but vital filmmaking. The kind of movies that will eventually occupy more Netflix queues in the years to come.

In their review of ZIDANE, A 21ST CENTURY PORTRAIT, the subtleties and complexities of the filmmaking are praised. ZIDANE is for "those of us who love both sports and art".

How many of us out there love both? More specifically, what percentage of U.S. art-house movie-goers regularly tune in to Sportscenter?

This question is on my mind because CALVIN MARSHALL is a sports film turned on its ear. I wouldn't want to speculate if it qualifies as an art film or not -- but people wanting RUDY might be disappointed.

The industry will probably view CALVIN as a tweener -- a subject which I'll post on in the future. A tweener isn't always the kiss of death. While some slip through the cracks, many go on to box office success and critical acclaim. Others do moderate business and discover an audience on cable/dvd.

Wow and Flutter

A lot of people ask me where they can see our 17 minute short film.
You can download a hi-res Quicktime (200 MB) of the movie here.
http://www.brokenskyfilms.com/wf/

Picture Lock

According to our post-production schedule we stop cutting on November 7th and turn over the negative.

It felt like we had all the time in the world but now it is running out. Thankfully we don't need more time.

I am lucky to be working with a world class film editor over the next few weeks. He's showing me cutting tricks. Trimming a little here and a little there -- a few frames at a time.

In the end CALVIN MARSHALL will be about three minutes shorter. For the most part people who know the movie won't realize what was cut -- but they'll sense the tighter pacing.

Negative cut, ADR, final score, sound mix, etc. will keep us busy the rest of the year. If all goes well we will strike festival prints before 2008 is over.

Do People Really Change?

In AUTO FOCUS, Paul Schrader's take on Bob Crane is a little callous.

When the movie was released in 2002 Schrader said, "I don't think people change that much...Bob Crane was the same creepy guy at the beginning as he was at the end..the only thing that really changed in his life was the level of hypocrisy."

This is fascinating to me because filmmakers are usually compelled to show how a character changes throughout a story. It's a compulsion that can be both good and bad.

How much can a person change in real life? At worst we're like Bob Crane, the same person in different circumstances. At best, our changes are measurable but happen far slower than we would like.

Filmmakers should also consider how an audience feels about these questions. I'd like to think most people hope we're capable of significant change.

And remember, people go to the movies to be entertained, inspired, challenged. They crave to see characters evolve and grow.

This leaves the filmmaker in a difficult position. We must show realistic and measurable change in a two hour narrative even though deep down we know people don't really change very much.

If the change feels false -- your audience will see through it and the narrative will suffer. And if there's too little change you'll leave your audience unsatisfied.

As usual we're walking a tight rope. No one ever said filmmaking was easy.