Branding yourself sounds like Blade Runner, but emerging producers are being taught these android skills in the training for Cannes. Screen Hub’s Andrew Einspruch was there, reporting this, our final bit of coverage from Cannes.

One of the keys to success at a film market is presenting yourself and your project in the best way possible. Roshanak Behesht Nedjad of Flying Moon Filmproduktion gave a lot of insights at a session called “Branding Yourself and Your Projects” at the Cannes Film Market last May. Screen Hub’s Andrew Einspruch was there, reporting this, our final bit of coverage from Cannes.

Let’s start with some numbers. There were around 12,000 film buyers, sellers, agency representatives and wannabes at this year’s Cannes Film Market. Obviously, not all of them are empowered to write a cheque.

So let’s simplify for the point of illustration. Assume there are just 1,000 sales agents there who could actually make a decision, and they are there for the five main days of the market. Now assume they only have meetings with two people on any given day (which is absurdly low – it is more like five to ten per day, at least). So, 1,000 agents x 5 days x 2 meetings/day = 10,000 meetings. If they all saw the same people, that’s 5,000 projects being pitched.

The point being made by Nedjad? At a minimum, you are competing with at least 5,000 other projects. That’s your starting point, and probably a very low number.

Sobering. Continue reading Cannes 2013 Extra: branding yourself and your projects →

The three films will be pitched at the UK’s Production Finance Market (PFM) in October following a positive response at the seventh edition of 37º South, which runs as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

New Zealand producer Tim Sanders is to pitch The Guinea Pig Club at PFM and received $1,850 (A$2,000) from sponsor Film Finances to help cover expenses.

After learning he would be heading to London for PFM (Oct 16-17), Sanders told ScreenDaily: “It is the story of a Kiwi surgeon called Archie McIndoe who restored the bodies of badly injured fighter pilots in World War II and also gave them the will to live and hope for the future.

Continue reading Melbourne’s 37º South selects best pitches →

Ivan Sen’s new film Mystery Road, which will open the Sydney Film Festival, is bypassing the established theatrical distributors in a rare departure from the usual distribution model. Producer David Jowsey and writer-director Sen have decided to release the murder mystery on August 15 via Dark Matter, a company they own with Michael Wrenn.

The rationale: If the film turns a profit, that will go to the filmmakers, not the distributor. The producers are paying for the marketing costs, avoiding the standard 25%-30% fee charged by distributors. They’ve hired the Melbourne-based Backlot Studios to negotiate terms with exhibitors for a flat fee. Distribution veteran Alan Finney is a consultant and Tracey Mair is coordinating the national marketing and publicity campaign.

The film stars Aaron Pedersen as an Aboriginal cop, Detective Jay Swan, who’s called on to investigate the murder of a young Indigenous girl and realises a serial killer is at work. The cast includes Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jack Thompson and Tony Barry.

The $2 million film was financed by Screen Australia, Screen Queensland and the ABC. Gary Hamilton’s Arclight Films has world sales rights outside Australia.

By Don Groves – INSIDEFILM – [Tue 04/06/2013 08:32:57]

More Here:

http://if.com.au

The actor has been at Cannes making a documentary, Seduced and Abandoned,
about the film festival. Here he talks about the state of his profession today

Where I’ve ended up, I’m pretty content. I see the people at the top of the movie
business today and I compare their careers with those at the top 40 years ago. I wouldn’t trade places with those that dominate today; I don’t necessarily want what they have. I want the choices they have but I look at some of the films they make and think: “You could get anybody to play those parts.”

They’ll roll out a film like Lincoln every now and again with Kushner and Spielberg and Day-Lewis – who is someone I worship. I saw him at the SAG awards and I said: “Do you realise what your career means to other actors? You give them hope that there is still some purity in acting.”

Those movies are exceptions to the rule. When I started out in the early 80s, twothirds of the movies made were very cast specific, meaning: “We need that woman to play the psychiatrist and that man to play the judge.” Now that’s down to one quarter. Now they have a line item in the budget that says: “Here’s how much money we’re going to spend for that part – get whoever you can that’s acceptable.”

Cable TV is the bastion of great acting now. This is why you have this riotous celebration of Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Homeland – all these really seminal dramas.

The motion-picture business is more and more abandoning serious acting to television. If they want a serious experience, people have been raised over the past 20 years to depend less and less on movies for that.

However, the apex of this business is still to make a great, great film. When Marty Scorsese said to me: “Come do The Aviator with Leo” – I adore Leo and I admire him, he’s probably my favourite young actor around today; and Ryan Gosling, I love Ryan – I was elated. I wept. To go and make great movies is still the ultimate. But it’s like musical chairs. They’re taking away more and more chairs but the number of people circling the table trying to sit down when the music stops is the same. And now people are fighting and fighting and fighting. Now my agent calls me and says: “I got a phone call from some famous director …” and I’ll get very excited and become so happy. “What did he say?” “Only five other guys have to die and you can have this part.” And I go: “Oh my God, thank you.”

As told to Catherine Shoard – The Guardian, Thursday 23 May 2013