another fifteen minutes
A few quotes from me in the Village Voice article about Porn n’ Chicken.
busy bee
I cannot yet divulge the new developments at work, but I am exceedingly excited about them, to the point of being unable to sleep. While I’ll hopefully be able to post more in the next couple of weeks, allow me for now to simply fall back on metaphor in saying: we’re grabbing the bull by the horns, kicking back into high gear, and jumping into the deep end without water wings.
[Addendum: Following writing that paragraph, the dangerous combination of the power of Google and an overly inquisitive mind led me here. ]
[Addendum to the addendum: My inner eight year old is endlessly amused by this one: “I’m shooting from the seat of my pants.”]
Holy ill-informed digital rights policy, Batman!
This morning, taking advantage of another day at home, I worked my way through the pile of Daily Variety (the film industry’s trade rag) that had accumulated on my desk over the past few weeks. And, in particular, I was struck by the ever increasing number of film-industry-driven inane digital media bills, lawsuits and corporate initiatives that seem to have sprouted up recently.
As an industry member myself, I find it all a bit embarrassing. Isn’t there even one senior studio exec who remembers how ill-conceived this whole anti-tech song and dance was 20 years back, when the VCR was first introduced? At the time, MPAA prez Valenti testified to congress referring to the new technology as “the Boston Strangler of the American film industry,” apparently slightly underestimating video sales & rentals eventual role as a significantly larger revenue stream to the movie biz than theatrical distribution (video currently represents a whopping $16.9 billion market vs. box office receipts’ still quite healthy $8.4 billion). Undaunted by facts or history, Valenti’s doing it again, now painting digital technology as, I suppose, the “Washington Sniper of the American film industry.” Worse, he still seems to be receiving equally unanimous film industry support.
Of course, when I’m wearing my tech hat, chairing the newly formed Paradigm Blue foundation, I’ll be working hard to piss in Valenti’s eye, lobbying for more level-headed digital rights bills based on a better understanding of the underlying technologies and their likely consequences. But I’m a bit worried as to how whole-heartedly I’ll be able to throw myself into that task. Valenti and the MPAA have significant power over the other half of my professional life, providing the all-important G/PG/PG13/R movie ratings for Cyan’s films. And, similarly, I don’t want to piss off any studios to the point where they’ll be less likely to distribute something that Cyan produces.
Quite a dilemma, and one with rather significant impact on my professional life. For the first time, the whole Batman / Bruce Wayne secret identity plan is starting to make a whole lot of sense.
the business of film
Though it’s likely tacky to cross-post between one’s own sites, my entry this morning on cyanpictures.com about fundraising for film and the fiscal basis of moviemaking is pretty damn good.
the truth, revealed
1. Comedy Central’s debut foray into made-for-TV-movie-making, Porn n’ Chicken, premiered this past Sunday.
1b. Frankly, it sucked.
2. However, if you’re a regular reader of this site, and you missed that premiere, you’ll probably want to catch the replays this weekend (Friday @ 11:00p, Sat @ 11:30p).
3. That’s because the movie is about me.
3b. And I don’t mean that in some vague, figurative sense. I mean I sold my life rights to Comedy Central for the film.
3c. Along with three fellow Yalies, I founded PnC, and served as a member of the elusive ‘Tri-Colored’ Council.
4.. The truth of PnC is, by and large, much funnier than the fiction.
4b. Therefore, I highly reccomend that diligent readers attempt to gain access to ongoing PnC events.
5. To assist in that quest, I will now disclose some heretofore closely guarded secrets of the brotherhood.
5b. First, the Logo, to assist in locating the week’s secret meeting place:
5c. Second, the password exchange, to secure entrance:
Chicken 1: We are Unconcerned but not Indifferent.
Chicken 2: For five dollars I will give you the Reach Around.
5d. Nota Bene: As in Eyes Wide Shut, there is no second password.
6. Porn n’ Chicken is Yale
three… two… one… liftoff!
Yes, Cyan Pictures’ site has gone live. Head over, add a comment to the first post, and bookmark the site so you can return regularly once it officially launches a week from Monday.
Oh, and if you find any errors or bugs, let me know.
to blog or not to blog
Yesterday, as I was laying out a rough version of Cyan’s upcoming weblog, I received an email from my mother suggesting I scrap the whole idea. Films, she pointed out, are likely similar to the proverbial laws and sausages; if you like them, you should never watch them being made. And, reluctant as I am to admit it, she has a point. We’re a young company, likely to make all sorts of embarrassing mistakes in the process of creating our first few films. Hide the interim from the world, only show off the polished end products, and we’re certain to come across looking savvier, more competent than if people had watched us through the whole messy process.
Still, a Cyan blog provides at least one very powerful advantage – it establishes a direct line of communication between us and the people for whom we’re creating films. And by incorporating their suggestions at each step along the way to a final cut, I suspect we’ll end up making substantially better movies than we would going it alone.
So, sorry mom, it looks like we’ll be doing a Cyan blog after all. Feel free to say I never listen to your advice; apparently you’re right.
lights… camera…
Countering yesterday’s vitriol, some happy notes of film-related progress:
1. As sort of a warm-up for feature making, Cyan will be producing a fifteen minute short later this summer. Tentatively titled “Coming Down the Mountain,” the film will be shot in the small mining towns of the Appalachian Mountains, centering on the family of an unemployed coal miner addicted to the prescription pain-killer Oxycontin.
2. At the completely opposite end of the spectrum, TriBeCa’s Porn n’ Chicken, on which I’m serving as Associate Producer, will begin filming next week, barreling towards an October premiere on Comedy Central.
3. No doubt riveted by these two developments, you’re likely asking, how can I learn more about the ongoing progress of these and other future projects? Well, good news! Cyan’s web site (hopefully to be completed shortly) will now include a production blog, allowing you to voyeuristically experience the ins and outs of these and other future misadventures in filmmaking great daily depth.
i’ve found my calling
A quick quote from The Hollywood Rules indicating why filmmaking might, in fact, be a perfect match for me:
Anyone who thinks he has a story that’s worth spending $50 million or more to tell, who believes his vision is so compelling that tens of millions of people worldwide will be eager to give up $8 and two hours of their lives to share it, who has the guts and confidence to command an army of thousands and create an entire world from the ground up, is not likely to be a paragon of humility and self restraint.
phone a friend
Yes, it’s audience feedback time! Before I officially lock in the name of my nascent movie production company, Cyan Pictures, I wanted to solicit a second opinion.
Personally, I like the name. It’s explicitly filmographic (cyan, along with yellow and magenta, is one of photography’s primary colors), and unusual enough to be memorable.
But I’d like to know what you think. Click the comments link and let me know.