Summer 2010 - Producers Guild of America

Transcription

© Kodak, 2010. Kodak and Vision are trademarks.
HIGHER
DEFINITION x3
CONTENTS
24
12
38
FEATURES
Voila!
PGAIC and APC sign on the dotted line.
Case Study: Richard D. Zanuck
He’s seen it all. And then some.
Night of the Producer 2010
Denis Leary, Jonathan Demme, and a
truly staggering number of swear words.
As our family grows, so do the possibilities of filmmaking. The KODAK VISION3 Film family has raised
the bar for high-definition capture — with unrivaled highlight latitude, reduced grain in shadows, flexibility in
The Ali Paradigm
Mr. LeRoi is betting on himself.
post, and of course, proven archival stability. Now with the addition of KODAK VISION3 200T Color Negative
Film 5213/7213, we’ve developed a film that performs superbly in both controlled interiors and in challenging
high-contrast exteriors. It’s time to look forward to the future with more options and no compromise.
Produced By Conference 2010
The producing community comes together at Fox.
Learn more at kodak.com/go/200t
“You’ll Never Get This Movie Made”
With The Beaver, Steve Golin
prevails once again.
The PGA Credit Definitions for
New Media Producers
Finally!
8
12
24
32
38
48
54
Cover photo: © 1999, Los Angeles Times photo by Lori Shepler
8
DEPARTMENTS
6
62
64
66
68
69
70
From the Executive Director
Changing the Guard
Going Green
Curtailing the Battery Scourge
The Picture of Health
PGA Bulletin
New Members
Member Benefits
Sad But True Comix
The XXX Files!!
Summer 2010 Produced by
3
producers guild of america
Presidents HAWK KOCH
MARK GORDON
Vice President, GARY LUCCHESI
Motion Pictures
Vice President, Television HAYMA “SCREECH”
WASHINGTON
Vice President, New Media ALISON SAVITCH
Vice President, AP Council JEFFREY LERNER
Vice President, PGA East JOHN HADITY
Treasurer LAUREN SHULER DONNER
4YVRa¿TRfdVhVÀcVcVRUje`hYVV]R_UUVR]H`c\hZeYfdR_UeYV
DeReV`W>ZTYZXR_hZ]]XZgVj`ffae`%#TRdYcVSReVJ`fÀ]]^R\VR
deVR]`_acÙfTeZ`_T`ded2_Uj`fÀ]]XcRSRTTVdde`R^Vec`RcVRhZeY
Uj_R^ZTScVReYeR\Z_Xd`^VeZ^VdVgV_dY`T\Z_XgZdfR]cVWVcV_TVd
6Rdj¿TRfdV7Z]^5Vec`ZehZ]]fdV`fcT`__VTeZ`_de`XVej`feYc`fXY
eYVcVUeRaV?`3DHVÀ]]YV]aY``\faj`fcTcVhhZeYUZXdhYZ]VZ_
e`h_R_UhVÀ]]dY`hj`feYVdhVVedaède`È]^¼hYVeYVcj`fÀcV
Z_eèYVSVReU`h_`ceYVScR_U_VhZ__VcTZej`c`feVcdfSfcSZR
Z_UfdecZR]`cZ_daZcReZ`_R]¼hYReVgVcHVÀ]]YV]a
7`c^`cVZ_W`c^ReZ`_T`_eRTe7Z]^5Vec`ZeRe)((%()())$
`cgZdZehhh7Z]^5Vec`ZeT`^
Secretary of Record GALE ANNE HURD
President Emeritus MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ
Executive Director VANCE VAN PETTEN
Board of Directors DARLA K. ANDERSON
JEROME CALIMERI
BRUCE COHEN
KATHLEEN COURTNEY
SHOSHANNA R. EZRA
JAMES FINO
TIM GIBBONS
RICHARD GLADSTEIN
GARY GOETZMAN
BRIAN GRAZER
SARAH GREEN
VANESSA HAYES
RJ HUME
AMY JACOBSON KUROKAWA
RACHEL KLEIN
CHRISTINA LEE STORM
MARK MARABELLA
LORI McCREARY
CHRIS PFAFF
DAVID PICKER
LYDIA DEAN PILCHER
CHRIS THOMES
PAULA WAGNER
WENDY WALLACE
A CLEAR PATH THROUGH POST
Format
SxS cards
Direct to Edit workflow
Tape-based workflow
Honorary Board Members STEPHEN C. GROSSMAN
GEORGE A. SUNGA
Publisher VANCE VAN PETTEN
Format
HD
Tape
Format
HD
On-board recorder
File-based workflow
On-board recorder
ARRIRAW workflow
Editor CHRIS GREEN
Associate Editor RAE CONTRERAS
Format
Design & Production INGLE DODD PUBLISHING
Art Director GILDA GARCIA
Production Manager JODY INGLE
Production Coordinator MIKE CHAPMAN
Designers ERICA RUTER
RUTH KAPLAN
Advertising Director DAN DODD
(310) 207-4410 ex.236
[email protected]
=:<6E@>66EH:E97:=>56EC@:EÀD=@D2?86=6D>2?286C
<2C=2>FCC2J0
D6?52?6>2:=E@<>FCC2J17:=>56EC@:E4@>
@CE6IE 42==$"!%")&&&&
DZX_fae`cVTVZgV7Z]^5Vec`ZeÀd^`_eY]j6?Vhd]VeeVc
½EYV8cVV_=ZXYe¾ReÈ]ÛVec`Ze1ÉVZdY^R_T`^
Vol. Xl, No. 3
Produced by is published five times a year by the
Producers Guild of America
8530 Wilshire Blvd.
Suite 450
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 358-9020 tel.
(310) 358-9520 fax
ALEXA gives you a choice of ultra fast workflows.
give you instant access to dailies and the freedom
Whichever of the ALEXA output options you go
to start an off-line edit immediately. If you choose
for, our Direct to Edit feature will speed up your
an HD workflow, the Apple ProRes codecs will
workflow. When recording uncompressed HD or
allow you to begin your on-line edit simply by
ARRIRAW, the Apple QuickTime proxy that is
removing the memory card from ALEXA and
simultaneously recorded to onboard SxS cards will
slotting it into a laptop: nothing could be easier.
100 Avenue of the Americas
11th Floor
New York, NY 10013
(212) 894-4016 tel.
(212) 894-4056 fax
www.producersguild.org
More details on www.arridigital.com
4
Produced by Summer 2010
from the executive director
by Vance Van Petten
Our Producers Guild General Membership Meeting on June 4 was a great opportunity to take stock of where our Guild stands and of its plans for the future. And
in looking back, I was faced, first and foremost, with this truth: The PGA has been
incredibly fortunate to have Marshall Herskovitz as its President for the last four
years.
It’s sadly become boilerplate to refer to leaders as “inspirational”; it robs the word of
its impact in the rare instances where it does apply. Marshall is one of those cases.
His passion for his profession and vision for what the Producers Guild could be
have served as a personal inspiration to me on countless occasions. His committed involvement in programs as diverse as the Produced By Conference, the PGA
Green Initiative, and our fight to secure better working conditions for producers at E!
Entertainment Television speaks to the depth and breadth of that passion. Marshall
has the gift that all great producers share: he makes you want to believe in his
dream. And thankfully for us, one of his dreams has been a stronger and more vital
Producers Guild.
Changing
the
Guard
That said, no one who was at that General Membership Meeting can doubt the
incredible energy that our new Presidents Hawk Koch and Mark Gordon are bringing to the office. They are contributing their own passion in support of Marshall’s
legacy, building on his work even as they signal a willingness to shake things up. (A
colorful example: Why does Hawk’s name appear ahead of Mark’s on the masthead
of this magazine? Embracing the egalitarian spirit of their shared Presidency, Mark
offered to flip a coin for the honor.) Hawk and Mark are determined to make the
Producers Guild into a true force in this industry, and possess more than enough
will, vision and energy to make it happen.
For instance, Hawk and Mark grasp the full potential of the PGA’s new website,
and have made it their first priority to turn www.producersguild.org into the premier
employment resource for members of the producing team. Once a critical mass of
members have created their online resumes on the site — a key first step — look for
a major marketing push both inside and outside the Guild, highlighting the deep and
diverse talent pool of the PGA and providing employers with easy-to-use staffing
tools to reach out to our members.
Likewise, Hawk and Mark have a new plan of approach on the issue of credits, one
that has required almost a decade to gestate, developing slowly as the Guild has
grown during the Presidencies of both Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. I can’t say
any more than I have already, but when it’s made public, the entire industry will
know — as we have for the past two months — that the PGA is playing a whole
new ballgame.
6
Voila!
by Karyn Benkendorfer
PGAIC and APC Sign on the Dotted Line
Photos by Kayvan Mashayekh
Background photos by Adam B. Fogelman,
Sacred Space Photography
Right: (standing, from left) APC member/
producer Catalaine Knell, APC General
Secretary Frederic Goldsmith, Ile-deFrance Film Commission Executive
Director Olivier-Rene Veillon, APC
President Eric Altmayer, Film France
Commission Managing Director Patrick
Lamassoure, PGAIC French Representative
Antoine De Cazotte, PGAIC Co-Chair Bill
Stuart, PGAIC Chair Stu Levy
Left: Stu Levy, Eric Altmayer,
Frederic Goldsmith, Antoine
De Cazotte, Catalaine Knell
Stu Levy (center) addresses the delegation,
alongside Antoine De Cazotte and Bill Stuart.
8
Amidst the buzz of the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival, with the old
town of Cannes Le Suquet in sight, an historic event took place for the
PGA. On May 16, 2010, the PGA International Committee (PGAIC)
celebrated the signing of an agreement between the Producers Guild
of America and the French union Association des Producteurs de
Cinema (APC). The signing of this agreement will facilitate and support
cooperation between the two guilds, opening lines of communication
and encouraging the exchange of resources and ideas. “This partnership took four years to materialize,” said Antoine de Cazotte, the PGA
International Committee’s French Country representative. A native of
France, de Cazotte nurtured his existing relationships with the film community in his home country to assist in making this come to fruition. De
Cazotte most recently was a production supervisor on Jacques Perrin and
Jacques Cluzaud’s Oceans.
“The PGA has a truly special relationship with the French Film
Commissions, as shown by the tremendous hospitality we received at
Cannes this year,” said PGAIC Chair Stuart Levy. “Now we also have an
exciting affiliation with the French producers’ organization, the APC.
I’m looking forward to our producers working with theirs to hedge risk,
double-down on creativity, and co-produce amazing projects together.”
The PGAIC also would like to give special thanks to Kodak for their
hospitality in hosting informal drinks for PGA members aboard their
yacht on May 18, 2010.
See you in 2011 at the 64th Annual Cannes Film Festival.
The PGAIC will be there!
Eric Altmayer and Stu Levy formalize the agreement.
9
Produced by Case Study
It’s difficult enough to forge one producing career in the entertainment
industry. Richard Zanuck is on something like his fourth.
As he’ll be the first to admit, he enjoyed something of a head start. As
the son of legendary producer and studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck, he all
but grew up on the studio lot of 20th Century Fox. After honing his early
producing skills on such films as the Orson Welles classic Compulsion,
Zanuck took the reins at his father’s studio in 1962, in the wake of Fox’s
legendary Cleopatra debacle. As President, Zanuck — in today’s parlance — effectively rebooted the entire studio, a process which came to
fruition in 1965 when The Sound of Music revived Fox’s fortunes.
With the end of his executive days in the late 1960s, Zanuck partnered
with his close friend and associate David Brown and subsequently
embarked on one of the best runs this industry has seen. Zanuck/Brown
presented the instant classic The Sting in 1973. The following year,
they produced The Sugarland Express, the feature debut of a promising
young director, one Steven Spielberg; the team re-grouped two years
later to invent the modern blockbuster with Jaws. The 1980s brought
the team Oscar recognition for such films as The Verdict and Cocoon,
and in 1989, Zanuck (now partnered with his wife Lili Fini Zanuck) took
home the Best Picture Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy.
Of late, Zanuck has become perhaps best known for his ongoing collaboration with visionary filmmaker Tim Burton, who describes his
colleague as “unlike any producer in the film industry. His unique
background gives him a rich experience from which to draw… Our first
collaboration was Planet of the Apes — the original version of which he
had worked on while serving at Fox. He has come full circle and gone
beyond. It’s an honor and pleasure to work with someone who has
experienced so much and still loves making films.” Since Planet of the
Apes, Zanuck and Burton have produced four more films together, Big
Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd and this year’s
blockbuster success, Alice in Wonderland.
Richard D. Zanuck (left) on set with
Steven Spielberg (center).
(Photo courtesy of Richard D. Zanuck)
12
This is the 47th in Produced by’s ongoing series of Case Studies of successful producers and their work, and the first repeat cover subject in
the magazine’s history. (Zanuck sat for a cover story along with his son
and fellow producer, Dean Zanuck, in the spring of 2003, following the
release of their film Road to Perdition.) This time, Produced by editor
Chris Green joined Zanuck in his beautifully appointed personal library
for a conversation that ranged from the painful process of restarting Fox,
to the guidance he provided to the Clash of the Titans creative team, to
the studio notes that he makes sure Tim Burton doesn’t hear.
13
o’ clock every morning and nobody saw him
that much and he’d been gone a very long
time. So it wasn’t a shock within the studio
gates. He made the announcement, and I
came back on the lot and read all the scripts
that they were preparing. I didn’t realize at
the time what really bad shape they were in.
I read everything they had in development,
and there wasn’t anything worthwhile. They
hadn’t made a picture since Cleopatra. They
had one TV show, Dobie Gillis, which was on
its last legs. So I moved that off the lot, down
to Western Avenue Studios and literally closed
down the Fox lot. A couple of thousand people
were let go. I even let go my closest friend at
the studio, David Brown. I spoke personally to
everybody who had been there more than five
years and said, “We’re going to open again.”
But nobody believed that in this whole town;
they thought it was the end of Fox. I kept a
couple of lawyers and I hired a few writers.
We put some pictures in development, and
our first three pictures were all hits. We made
one with Doris Day, one with Jimmy Stewart
and one with Shirley MacLaine. Then we got
The Sound of Music going, and we reopened
the studio four months later, on a very small
basis, almost picture-by-picture. We got the
television operation going and after a year,
we had six or seven shows on the air, Peyton
Place, Daniel Boone … and so we were really
back in business again.
Zanuck (left) on the set of The Verdict
with (from left) Paul Newman, Sidney
Lumet, Lili Fini Zanuck.
(Photo courtesy of Richard D. Zanuck)
It’s a pleasure to sit down with you again.
I don’t want to go over too much of the territory we covered in our first interview, but
I wonder if you could talk a little bit about
what it was like growing up Zanuck, as it
were.
It was a privileged upbringing, unlike my
father, who came from Wahoo, Nebraska,
without any money. For him it was worse
than starting from scratch. But he was very
determined and worked harder than anybody
else. My early years were entirely different
from his, obviously, in terms of where I lived
and how I grew up. I spent my days after
school, on many, many occasions, playing on
the backlot of 20th Century Fox, which is now
Century City. We’d play cowboys and indians,
capture the flag, hide and seek, etc. And all
through high school and college, every summer I worked in different departments at the
studio. I started out breaking down sets, then
one year in the cutting room, another in the
story department, and so on. While I was still
in college at Stanford, my father decided he
had had enough of living the life of a studio
head. He’d been there for over 20 years. So
he left, and he really moved everything, his
entire life, to Paris and lived there, made films
there. He only came back here, I think, once,
in order to set up his own Darryl F. Zanuck
Productions. I graduated from Stanford and
after a short stint in the Army, I came back
here and joined the company. He was making pictures in Europe; I was his contact and
I represented DFZ Productions at the studio.
When I was 24, I produced Compulsion with
Orson Welles, and it was very well received. All the actors,
Orson, Bradford Dillman, and Dean Stockwell, won at the
Cannes Festival that year for best actor, and so it was a nice
start for me. And I made a couple of other pictures, one out
at Warners, that Fox didn’t want to make, but which did very
well, The Chapman Report. And at that time, Fox was really in
trouble because of Cleopatra, so much so that they had to sell
the entire backlot to stay afloat. My capture the flag days were
over! My father was busy making what he considered, and
what I agree was his best film, The Longest Day. In those days
you would roadshow an important picture, selling tickets in
advance in three or four major cities. You didn’t just dump
pictures into hundreds of theaters. You only did that in those
days if you were worried about a picture; if you had a dog,
you’d put it out in as many theaters as possible, hoping to hit
and run. They had a plan like that for The Longest Day and he
14
got wind of it and came in to New York to address the Board
of Directors. I sat in the corner of the boardroom, and he talked non-stop about The Longest Day. Nobody had seen a frame
of it. And by the time he got through, which was three hours
into the meeting, he not only had gotten The Longest Day a
roadshow release but he had taken over the company and was
its new Chairman and CEO. That night — he was leaving the
next morning for Paris — we went out and got loaded (everyone drank a lot in those days) and he asked me who should
head the studio. He hadn’t been there for 12 years. He didn’t
know anybody and he wanted me to make a list of candidates
for him. So I just said, “Me.” It was a one-name list. And he
said, “Oh God, we’ll get killed.” But I said, “What you need is
somebody you can really trust, and who can you trust better
than me? I could give you the names of people that could do
the job but you don’t know them from Adam.” And knowing
that he wanted to spend most of his time in Paris, that far
away from the studio, he had to have somebody that wasn’t
gonna try to stab him in the back. So by the time the evening
was over, he said, “I’m going to make a few key calls, and we’ll
announce that you’re going to head the studio.” So that’s how
I got the job. There was luck in my timing.
How old were you at the time?
I was 27. Funny thing is, when I became head of the studio,
there were a lot of eyebrows raised around town, but not at
20th Century Fox, because the people there had known me
most of my life. You know, in fifth and sixth grades, I was
selling the Saturday Evening Post in front of the commissary
and I had worked every summer there for years and had made
three pictures on the lot. I was such a familiar face, maybe
even more than my father, because he worked until two
“There’s not anything
that happens today that I
haven’t been through in one
form or another. Because
of that, I cannot be bluffed
by either side, by the studio
hyperbole or by the people
making the film.”
It seems like that would be a wrenching process, to have
let go all of these people that, you had known and grown
up with. You were effectively closing down your home.
Yes, it was very difficult. But I had total confidence — maybe
it was just recklessness at the time — I had no doubt that we’d
open again. But there was a lot of skepticism in town. Had my
father not come back to save The Longest Day the company
15
the biggest picture of all time. And I
fell into the trap of trying to repeat
that phenomenon. And other studios
fell in as well, because Mary Poppins
was also a big hit, and everybody said,
“Oh, musicals are back!” I made that
miscalculation with Hello, Dolly! ,
which I thought was a sure thing. It
was the biggest Broadway show ever.
And we had Streisand, who was hot
as hell, but we spent way too much
money on the picture and it was disappointing. I got the team from The
Sound of Music — Robert Wise, Ernie
Lehman and Julie Andrews — back
for a picture called Star: The Gertrude
Lawrence Story . Bomb. And then,
what really finished off the whole
cycle of musicals was Dr. Dolittle .
Audiences had had enough. So those
were three big, expensive pictures and
they all bit the dust. I had, in a way,
made my own Cleopatra. And so then,
we had to try to reverse everything
and put on the brakes and cut back
all over again. And in the course of it,
Richard and Lili Fini Zanuck proudly display their Oscars for Driving Miss Daisy
alongside Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty. (Photo courtesy of Richard D. Zanuck)
I got fired. Although at the same time
that all of this was going on, we had
may have gone down because the banks were going for foremade Patton, M*A*S*H*, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
closure. I mean, they had driven themselves into such a hole.
Kid, The French Connection, Planet of the Apes, Fantastic
Cleopatra would be considered a cheapie at today’s prices,
Voyage … we had a lot of really good hits, but I couldn’t
but at the time, it brought the studio down, completely
withstand the consequences of those three big bombs. I had
down. And there hadn’t been any effort by the prior manpulled the trigger and I was responsible.
agement to take the drastic-but-necessary steps to bring the
Well, that blockbuster mentality is certainly still prevalent today. You recently came out on the “plus” side of
the equation with Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the
Titans.
I was asked to go on this last one, Clash of the Titans, by
Warners primarily because they wanted my experience. It
was a big picture and the producers who were already there
didn’t have a lot of pictures behind them. I think my general
contribution these days is providing a larger perspective. For
years, I’ve been a blend between the filmmakers and the management, the studio executives. I used to be one of those guys.
I know their needs and I’ve been a producer all these years so
I understand both sides. There’s not anything that happens
today that I haven’t been through in one form or another.
Because of that, I cannot be bluffed by either side, by the studio hyperbole or by the people making the film. And so both
overhead under control. Yes, it was a painful process. When
sides have confidence in me. I don’t bullshit people, because
we reopened, I hired back as many people as I could. As we
it’s just too transparent and they know they can’t bullshit me.
became more successful, more people came back and the
My association with Tim [Burton] over the last five pictures
studio really thrived … particularly with all the television.
has been a perfect example of how I function. He’s a freeWe had nine hours on the air at one time. But in the end, we
spirited and sensitive guy, who’s truly an artist. He doesn’t
started falling into the same trap that everybody else had.
understand the studio system at all, and he doesn’t like it. So
We thought we were infallible. We had this incredible sucI try to bridge his world and their world, and I deal with them
cess with The Sound of Music, which became at one point,
so that he doesn’t have to.
“He wanted me to make a
list of candidates for him.
So I just said, ‘Me.’
It was a one-name list.
And he said, ‘Oh God,
we’ll get killed.”’
16
Michael Condon, SOC
VP Digital Division
Andree Martin
VP Technical Services
CREATIVITY!
Your Mind, Our Tools - Let Us Help You Choose!
Film or digital, we’re here for you. Let us help you pick the right
Above all, we offer you personalized service and the desire to
tools for your job.
put together a camera and lens package that can deliver your
We own a vast variety of 35mm film cameras, available in 4,
creative visions, all while working within your budget.
3 or 2-Perforation, as well as 16mm cameras. We have an
We invite you to visit our website to see our streaming video
extensive selection of lenses and specialty accessories for
demos, our hot items —new and vintage— plus exclusive
just about any application.
Clairmont specialty items. We also have 2-perforation footage
Our Digital Division began ten years ago and has continued to
available for screening at our office.
stay at the forefront of technology. Today, our digital inventory
Please give us a call, send us an e-mail, or drop by our office
includes the amazing Weisscam HS-2 high speed digital
to get a hands-on demonstration. We are always here for you.
camera, Alexa, Arri D-21, Sony F23 and F35, Red, Iconix and
Panasonic cameras. All of our digital cameras are supported
Sincerely,
with the latest in monitoring and DIT control equipment.
Your very own Clairmont Camera Family
www.clairmont.com
Hollywood
818-761-4440
Vancouver
604-984-4563
Toronto
416-467-1700
Albuquerque
505-227-2525
Montreal
514-525-6556
Can you give me an example of ways in which you might
translate his concerns into a language that a studio would
understand on one of the pictures you worked together
on?
It’s more an attitude of how you go about making a picture,
how much freedom you give to the filmmaker. I represent
Tim, really, in making sure that he has that freedom. The
average director making a picture has to experience a lot
of requests and commands from the studio, not only financially, but creatively. What I try to do with Tim is shield him
from as much of that as possible. In the case of the average
director, the studio just calls the director and issues orders.
There’s really very little of that, if any, with Tim, because
they know they have to go through me. At this point, after
five pictures, everybody understands that now. I filter out
what’s important and only then present it to Tim. Sometimes
the studio loses sight of the fact that everybody and everything is depending upon the director, especially the studio
itself. His mind, particularly with a director like Tim, has to
be free of all the traffic that goes on between a studio and the
people who are actually making the picture. He has to think
about how to make his picture. He has to have a firm grip on
how he’s going to do it; day by day, scene by scene, vision by
vision. And so my job with Tim is to keep his brain — I call
it his laboratory — free and clear as much as I can. He must
not be frustrated by daily studio business. That’s my job: to
deal with the studio. I understand their needs as well.
What sort of things do you find yourself filtering out?
All the nonsense and clutter that’s not directly essential to the
making of the film.
How is your role different with other directors, with whom
you might not have that same kind of long-standing relationship?
Well, with Clash of the Titans, I came on board only 3½ weeks
before the picture started shooting.
Really?
Normally, most of my work is preparing a picture, for months
and months before the start of production. Thorough preproduction planning is essential. So in a way, Clash was like
stepping on a moving train for me. I didn’t take producer
credit because there were two producers already there, Basil
Iwanyk and Kevin De La Noy, and they’d been on it for a year
and had done all the work … very well, I thought. I didn’t
Maximize your budget with our 30% tax credit.
We know what keeps you up at night. That’s why in Georgia you
won’t have to worry about a thing. Our deep crew base, diverse &
unique locations, and production service suppliers will support your
project every step of the way. All you need to bring is your suitcase…
To learn more, call the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment
Office at 404.962.4052 or visit www.georgia.org/entertainment
Mia Wasikowska with Zanuck on the set of Alice in Wonderland. (Photo: Leah Gallo ©Disney Enterprises, Inc.)
18
Oh, and did we mention 30%
3F imeless
8 ilming6 estination
Zanuck (left) with Johnny Depp on the set of Alice in Wonderland. (Photo: Leah Gallo ©Disney Enterprises, Inc.)
The Langham Huntington, Pasadena has been a favorite filming destination for decades. Set on 23 acres of lush
grounds and gardens offering multiple vignettes, the hotel features two historic ballrooms and a large
11,000-square-foot ballroom offering unobstructed views and direct auto access. Eight cottages are situated
throughout the property, providing a diverse selection of suites.
Book a location with a room block of 10 rooms or more and receive complimentary office space.
For more information, dial 626.585.6415 or email [email protected]
7 nchanting 7 ncounters.
since 1865
pasadena.langhamhotels.com
1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91106
T (626) 568 3900
F (626) 568 3700
want to come in and suddenly be heavy-handed, so I took an
executive producer credit and operated as a daily overseer.
Louis, the director, had only made two or three pictures. He
hadn’t had the experience, certainly not on a picture of this
scope, with locations all over the place, and with logistics and
effects on this scale.
What were some of the things that they would ask you and
where would they draw on your experience?
I spent some time trying to guide Louis a bit. I thought he
was moving the camera too much, and even though that’s not
my forte, it’s something that I know about. He had a strong
belief that to update and to modernize the film, that was the
way to go. So there were a lot of cranes and camera movement and after the first couple of days, we talked at length
about the difficulties in editing when you do that, and I urged
him to go in tighter, and shoot more conventionally, which
he eventually did. So it was mostly my offering up guidance
more than anything else. And, there’s always questions of
how much leeway you give the actors in terms of discussions
on the set. Ideally, most all questions should be addressed in
rehearsals prior to shooting. You know, you’re on a set and
you’re up on a volcano location and the sun is going down
and you have to be able to monitor the time you spend talking
about an interpretation of a scene or a piece of dialogue. So I
tried to do what I could to keep things moving along each day
before we were all standing there still talking in the dark. A
director has to understand how to manage his time, not only
with the actors, but with bringing in heavy equipment and
how long it’s going to take to move that crane 100 feet, etc.,
etc. You have to have some knowledge of that, time-wise, and
whether there are alternatives. Also, I think I was helpful in
21
keeping the studio informed but at the same time a bit at
bay. I was virtually representing them, in a way, and they
gave me their confidence. They didn’t put a lot of undue
pressure on us and they were at times very forgiving. And
I think I kind of made it a bit easier. Had Louis, Basil and
Kevin been alone, I think they might have felt more studio
pressure. But, look, I’m delighted to see the picture is doing
very well at the worldwide box office. The figures I’ve seen
are fabulous. All’s well that ends well.
Have things changed so much? I mean, you’ve been
doing this for 50 years now and the studios have
always liked to have their fingers in production. Is it
worse now? Is it the same? Are the expectations different?
Well, the two huge changes have been the mentality and
background of the studio executives, and the economics.
And they’re very closely knit. In the days of my father,
the studio heads were real showmen … they invented the
business. Now there are more business types in those positions, mostly because of the economics. Because this is a
business, they’ve tried to bring their business techniques
and acumen to the process. I mean, you have, by far, more
people as studio heads from business backgrounds than
you have from picture making. There’s very few, if any,
picture makers at the helm of studios. And the further up
the chain you go, the less is understood. In some cases, the
major executives, the parent corporate CEOs … they don’t
even like the business. They think it’s a terrible business.
They have to deal with it, but it doesn’t make any sense to
them. If they didn’t have to deal with it, they’d get rid of it.
The studios are a very small portion of bigger conglomerates, but one that feeds their ancillary interests. So they
can’t just dismiss or get rid of it, but that doesn’t mean they
have to like it. And they think that the people out here for
the most part are all crazy. And they may be right. [laughs]
But it’s unfortunate, because when the studios were run by
picture people, there was an obsession to make great films.
When I was running Fox, we didn’t think about potential
grosses, we thought about a film’s potential quality. I mean,
we obviously wanted every picture to be successful, but that
wasn’t a first consideration when we chose subjects. When
I would chose material, I’d never think, “Well, how’s this
going to play outside this country?” We never thought in
those terms. We just thought, “Oh, this is a great idea for a
movie.” Period. If we made a great film, audiences would
come. When we made pictures like Driving Miss Daisy or
even in my studio days, with pictures like M*A*S*H*, I just
liked the stories and thought they would make very good
films. If M*A*S*H* and Driving Miss Daisy happened to
become hits, that was all great, but that wasn’t the primary
motive for the green light. I mean, you don’t make Driving
Miss Daisy figuring it’s going to make more than $100 million domestically. It never enters your mind. And that’s
why it was so tough for Lili and I to get anyone to agree to
make it. We’d go in and say, “We’ve got a picture with an
old lady and her black chauffeur…” and you can just see
22
the studio head’s eyes glaze over. They’d take little peeks
at their watch, thinking, “How can I get these people out
of here without being rude?” And we went to every studio
a couple of times until we literally shamed Warners into it
because it was only a $5 million investment. I mean, today I
have a better chance if I walk into a studio head’s office and
say to them, “You know, coming up the elevator, I asked
myself why I was coming to see you guys. Because I have
“I happen to think we’re
guilty, because most people
don’t know what they like.
You have to tell them.”
an idea that I don’t think you have enough money to make,
but now that I’m here, if you want to hear it…” and you’ll
see them all lean forward. Automatically, I’ve got them! But
if I come in and say, “I’ve got a little picture, I can make
it for $5 million, and it’s about an old lady and….” That’s
when the same people’s eyes glaze over within 30 seconds.
If it’s too big for them, you’ve got their attention. If it’s
small, no matter how great the idea, you’ll never hear them
say, “Oh, that’s a great idea! We want to make that!” It’ll
never happen. You have to beg and plead and go on bended
knee. But that’s what the business is today, because we
have weaned an audience that only knows these big, and in
some cases stupid, extravaganzas with a lot of action, a lot
of explosions, and they know nothing else. Ever since they
were little kids, that’s all they’ve seen. They have no exposure to something like The Verdict, Twelve Angry Men, real
dramas. They only know from their own life experience,
these gigantic films. The little ones, the ones that my father
won Academy Awards for, they aren’t on those top-grossing
of all-time lists, but they’re great pictures. All About Eve,
Gentleman’s Agreement, The Razor’s Edge, I Am a Fugitive
From a Chain Gang … all those kind of pictures wouldn’t
get made today. It wouldn’t be possible. The audience today
isn’t required to think. So it’s our fault. We’ve been led by
the grosses. It’s like the chicken and the egg: Did we point
the audience in this direction and is it our fault? Or did the
audience simply tell us that these are the pictures they like?
I happen to think we’re guilty, because most people don’t
know what they like. You have to tell them. That’s our job.
You have to give it to them, and then they like it. If you ask
the guy on the street, “What kind of picture would you like
to see?” he’ll reference some other picture he’s seen. He
won’t give you a fresh idea. He’ll say, “Oh, I want something
like Iron Man.” But then, the business is always changing,
and ultimately, that’s what makes it so interesting. That’s
why I’m still around.
NIGHT OF THE
PRODUCER 2010
Photos by Katie Osgood
by Leslie Converse
PGA members including (center, from left) Harvey Wilson,
Kay Rothman and Chris Pfaff greet the guests of honor.
PGA
MA
This article contains
adult language and is
intended for mature
producers only.
Energy is king: Denis Leary fairly crackles with it, while Jonathan Demme
flings his own brand out with startling acumen when you least expect
it. Energy is what’s most important on
a set, and it’s the reason that film is
dead, even for the creatives.
Denis Leary, Jonathan Demme & moderator Kit Golden.
24
25
Honorees Denis Leary and Jonathan Demme
Such was the wisdom offered to PGA members at this year’s
Night of the Producer: an alternatively raucous and insightful conversation between Jonathan Demme and Denis Leary,
moderated by Kit Golden.
Demme and Leary come at producing from different
angles and histories. Demme is obviously best known as an
Oscar-winning director, whereas Leary is first and foremost,
a writer and actor. The connective tissue between the two
men is the late Ted Demme, Demme’s nephew and Leary’s
longtime friend and collaborator.
It was Ted who helped Leary out of stand-up as his own
star was rising at MTV, and who followed his uncle’s advice to
learn to produce. Ted shared this advice with Leary, who took it
to heart. Ted and Leary ended up making several films together,
including The Ref and Blow, the latter of which Leary also produced.
Demme didn’t remember giving his nephew much
advice beyond telling Ted not to go to broadcasting school.
“I said that was a terrible idea… You’re in New York... Be a
page at NBC or something. I think that kind of advice led to
him showing up at MTV.”
What Demme did remember was seeing No Cure for
Cancer, the first film Ted and Leary made together, loosely
26
based on Leary’s one-man show of the same name that had
run at the Actor’s Playhouse. Seeing that made Demme realize,
“Holy shit, Teddy is really something, and this guy — this is quite
a team.”
“Let me tell you how insane Teddy was,” Leary began,
recalling the shoot. Ted’s only direction to Leary was to walk
back and forth, while Ted yelled subjects out for Leary to
expound on. Not long into it, Ted grabbed the camera from
the cameraman and started shooting Leary from all kinds of
angles. Leary was confused: “I went, ‘Teddy, how the fuck
is any of this shit gonna cut together?’ And he said, ‘Don’t
worry about it. I got it, I got it.’ I really thought he was crazy
with that stuff. But then when he cut it together, he had the
vision in his head.” Demme concurred, “It was fantastic. So
fantastic.”
Demme’s origins are even more colorful. As he put it, “I
kind of fell backward into [the film industry]. I was writing
little movie reviews for extraordinarily obscure shopping
guides in Florida.” His first job at a “real movie company”
was as a publicist at United Artists while David Picker was
running the company. Then Demme moved to England; UA
called and asked if he wanted to be the unit publicist on
a Roger Corman film that was shooting there. “I said yes!
Roger Corman! …My God, I grew up on the Poe movies at the
drive-ins and everything … he was so prolific, you’d see a new
movie every week.”
At the interview, Corman liked Demme’s previous press
releases, and asked him if he’d ever thought about writing a
screenplay. Demme laughed with the audience and continued, “I hadn’t, but I said ‘yes.’”
Corman hired Demme on the spot to write a motorcycle
movie. Demme teamed up with his good friend, Joe Viola.
They wrote a motorcycle version of Rashomon . Corman
thought it was “pretty good,” and suggested that Viola, being
a commercial director, direct the film and that Demme produce it. As Demme recalls, “Joe starts to go, ‘Gee, Roger …I
don’t know…’” Demme shut Viola up with a kick under the
table and said, “Yeah, we could do that.”
“I knew nothing about producing,” Demme confessed. As
the shoot neared, Demme found himself awash in anxiety. To
cope, he sat down every night and made a list of all the production concerns that were making him anxious. “And then that’s
what you’d do tomorrow … try and cross things off [your list].
And the next night you make a new list, and eventually, hopefully, you’ll end up with nothing because everything’s ready and
off you go. So that’s how I learned to be a producer.” The movie
was called Angels as Hard as They Come and released in 1971.
“So how does it go from you producing that one to deciding, fuck Joe; I can direct.” Leary wondered. “Not that I’m
saying that you said, ‘fuck Joe.’ I’m projecting.”
“Oh, but I did,” Demme admitted and explained: Next,
Corman wanted to make a film that combined two genres; “the
Philippines-action-new-world genre and the nurses genre.”
Leary jumped in, “I can just imagine watching a nurses movie
wondering, why can’t this be involved with some Philippine
action shit?” Demme rejoined, “Denis, my whole position was
that I can’t believe nobody’s done this before.” Amidst the laughter, Leary acknowledged, “That’s the visionary part of you.”
Viola came up with The Hot Box : a story about four
American nurses working in a third-world country who are
kidnapped by revolutionaries. They shot in the Philippines,
Demme producing, with a hard-working local crew, including “a stunt contingent of 40 people who would do anything.”
They went way over budget and schedule and needed a sec-
ond unit. So Demme “went out and starting directing second
unit, and I fell in love with directing… And when I went back
I said, ‘Hi Roger. Fuck Joe; I want to direct.’”
Golden brought the conversation to documentaries;
Leary is just completing his first, In Search of Ted Demme,
while Jonathan has made numerous non-fiction films over the
course of his career.
Demme was quick to assert
that he is not against film: “I
get it. I get the poetry, the majesty, everything. I love film so
much, but I think digital looks
great.” Golden spoke for many
when she asked, “But can you
get those David Lean shots?”
Demme was confident: “Yeah, if
Declan Quinn is shooting it.”
Demme’s first documentary was born out of his first trip
to Haiti, “an extraordinary country.” Very excited by what
was going on there at that time, Demme wanted to capture
it on film. He connected with his friend and documentary
filmmaker Jo Menell, who was established enough to secure
a budget. They went and shot the film, and that’s when “the
magic of captured reality really struck me.”
Now Demme’s constant temptation is to shoot documentaries “all the time … every day — especially in New York
— everywhere you turn, there’s a great documentary waiting
to be filmed.” It’s the one arena where you really are able to
actively produce, too. You may be seeking funds — isn’t every-
PGA East Chair John Hadity, Denis Leary, Kit Golden, Jonathan Demme, PGA East Chair Emeritus David Picker
29
one? — but “if you have a little camera and a computer, you can
edit it, and I love that.”
As for Leary, he’s wrapping up the last two seasons of
Rescue Me. He is a producer on the show, but he’s quick to
point out he’s not the only one. “Really, I’m mostly a writer and
an actor, because my producing team and my business partners
… those guys really run the ship.”
Corman thought it was “pretty
good,” and suggested that Viola
direct the film and that Demme
produce it. As Demme recalls,
“Joe starts to go, ‘Gee, Roger…
I don’t know…’” Demme shut
Viola up with a kick under the
table and said, “Yeah, we could
do that.”
get it. I get the poetry, the majesty, everything. I love film
so much, but I think digital looks great.” Golden spoke for
many when she asked, “But can you get those David Lean
shots?” Demme was confident: “Yeah, if Declan Quinn is
shooting it.”
Leary agreed. “ On Rescue Me, we have severe looks
because we have firehouse lighting and we have big fire ceilings. But … sometimes you look at it and you go, ‘fuck, this
looks great!’” Unless you have a huge budget, why not shoot
digital and “get more shots and get more locations?” The
actors love it, and it looks great (if you have a great DP).
Demme summed it up brutally: “Film’s dead, y’all.”
The conversation turned to new media outlets; Demme
recalled a recent meeting with a New York company that
boasted they had Sally Potter’s new film, and that it was actually premiering that Friday on cell phone. “Don’t ask me how
[or] what that revenue flow consisted of.”
“Holy shit,” marvelled Leary. Though having watched
kids today “stacking” (watching television, while on their laptop, and texting on their phones), he’s not surprised.
Demme said his children would rather watch something
on the computer than on a bigger screen. And more: “…You’ll
find time and again when you ask young people, teenagers …
they love watching stuff on their computer.” The small screen
can be propped on the teen’s chest, and they watch whatever
they want in the privacy of their own room. Demme said
when he asks teens if they miss seeing a film on a huge screen
with great sound in a theater full of people, the response is
invariable: ‘“With all those strangers? That’s awkward.’”
The evening’s final question was about how to deal with
being on a project that seemed like it was “headed for disaster.”
“Get out,” Leary responded. “Get the fuck out as fast as
you can. Operation Dumbo Drop: I should have gotten out of
that thing. About one week in I was like, ‘This movie’s about
a big fucking elephant!’ But as a producer you’re kind of
locked in, you have to finish it, right?”
Demme agreed on the producer’s role. He cited the
example of Ilona Herzberg, one of his favorite producers, with whom he’s made four films. She cut her teeth on
Waterworld. The audience laughed knowingly, but Demme
continued, “Ilona knew that was problem-ridden. But you
know what? She hung in there, and she produced it. …And
the filmmakers were totally grateful to her because somehow she kept it going; the studios, the financiers loved her
because they knew that, given the circumstances, that the
money was being spent as best it could be… And what could
have been a horrendous, laughable credit, proved to be a
fantastic testimony to Ilona’s abilities.”
As for the quality of a project, you never know how it will
turn out. As Leary put it, “Every time you start out, you think
you’re going to make something … that’s gonna be good.” But
there are no guarantees.
Happily, it takes more than uncertainty to stop a producer with a story to tell.
Golden opened the discussion to questions from the audience. David Picker asked about the state of the industry; what’s
it like for Demme these days, being an established filmmaker
with a proven track record?
“Oh, God,” were the first words out of Demme’s mouth.
“Aren’t we all struggling like crazy? …People just aren’t spending money the way they once did, and we understand why.”
The new mentality has created a real need to focus completely
on one idea. “It’s easy to develop things,” Demme said, to end
up with 10 good ideas and hoping that someone with financing
would pick one. But what’s important now is the “wisdom and
the courage to commit to whichever is the best idea of them
all.”
According to the duo, digital technology helps. “We can
shoot faster and cheaper than we’ve ever been able to shoot
and still have it look good.” Demme shot Rachel Getting
Married digitally. And if you don’t have a $13 million budget,
you can still go old school: jump out of a van, shoot, get back
in and drive away. “It’s tough and we wish we all had the
money but, if you really want to get it done, you can get it
done.”
That spurred a nervous question for Demme: “Are you not
considering making a film on film anymore?”
The answer was heartbreaking for many. Demme said, “I can’t
imagine shooting film anymore.” Not only is film more expensive
but it’s time-consuming. With digital “you just keep going. Things
don’t have to unravel every 10 minutes. It’s incredible.”
Leary agreed. Film looks beautiful, but when the mag runs
out, you’ve got to get the energy back up. “And just like anything else, people run out of energy.”
Demme was quick to assert that he is not against film: “I
30
31
Ali
radign
by Chase Adams
Ali LeRoi, television producer and writer, is probably best known now as the co-creator and executive
producer of the comedy Everybody Hates Chris, but
before he’s finished, he just may be known as one of
the men who changed the paradigm by which television shows are created and released. Exhibit A: his
latest project, the sitcom Are We There Yet? starring
Ice Cube and breakout actor Terry Crews.
Essence Atkins and Terry Crews
rehearse during the episode,
“The Rat in the House.”
Executive Producer/Director Ali LeRoi
32
When we caught up with him in his downtown office, the experiment with
his partners — Joe Roth of Revolution and Ice Cube of Cube Vision, whose movie
Are We There Yet? serves as the inspiration for the TV show — was in full swing.
“The television world has adopted a lot of what has happened in the film
world,” says LeRoi, “most notably, how TV has started to put such an emphasis
on how a show opens. It’s just like what you saw happen in film, where suddenly,
people who live in Missouri know what a film’s opening numbers are. And films
live and die by that opening weekend. We’re seeing that now in TV, where a show
has to connect immediately to survive.”
While the emphasis on those opening numbers may be an easy way for
networks to gauge how a show is doing and garner some free marketing to boot
(“The No. 1 New Show Thursdays at 8!”), LeRoi points to several television classics that took time to build an audience.
“Seinfeld, Cheers, Everybody Loves Raymond, those shows opened low and
built on word of mouth. People told other people, ‘This is a good show.’ There’s
a reason Chuck Lorre’s shows stay on TV, it’s because people watch once and
recommend it to other people.
“Keep in mind that studios and networks are in two different businesses,”
LeRoi continues. “Studios are in the distribution business; they want to build
a library of content that they can sell today, tomorrow, for the next thousand
years. Networks, on the other hand, are in the business of selling advertising. And
advertising is something that you’re either selling — or not selling — in the here
and now, which puts increased emphasis on those opening numbers. At a certain
point, networks are asking, ‘Are we selling advertising on this?’ If the answer is
no, well…” LeRoi trails off, leaving that dire fate to the imagination.
33
“So what you get is what you see on the TV today: a lot
For the network, it’s a smart play because they’ll get 10
of reality programming and fewer traditional multi-camera
episodes at a very friendly cost. The financiers will break even
sitcoms. And reality programs are a good business for the
with their license fee — and if the show is a go, they’ll get to
networks to be in; they’re cheap and they deliver eyeballs to
sell 100 episodes to syndication at a profit. For the executive
sell advertising. But it’s a terrible business for studios to be in,
producer, like LeRoi, the main difference is not receiving fees
because no one wants to watch reruns of The Biggest Loser in
up front, meaning that he holds a true partnership back-end
position.
Las Vegas or whatever.”
“We’re not reinventing the wheel with regards to the conWithin this tightening spiral, where does the studio that’s
tent of multi-camera sitcoms; we’re reinventing how they’re
looking to produce content go? Presently, they are literally
made.” He summarizes, “Boiling this down to its purest
taking million-dollar shots on shows that get 22 minutes to
essence: We’re betting on ourselves here.”
connect or be put out to pasture — it’s an expensive gamble.
Obviously, the rewards are high, but so are the risks — if
Here’s where LeRoi and his partners have attempted to
the show doesn’t catch on after 10 episodes, LeRoi gains only
change the manner in which new shows are brought to market.
the experience. But in his opinion, the potential is worth it.
“After the success of House of Payne by Tyler Perry,” he
“The multi-camera sitcom is part of the lifeblood of
explains, “Debmar-Mercury [the distributors] were looking to
American television. And they’re gold mines for their syndireplicate that model. Together, we came up with a different
cators. A hundred years
way of doing things, a
from now, people are
way that I think is betstill going to be watching
ter in terms of letting a
show develop and givSeinfeld . If you look at
ing the studio greater
the environment today,
odds that their investthere’s not a lot of them
ment won’t be gone
to choose from — it’s
after just one show.
all reality this and realIt works like this: We
ity that. So there’s a real
brought the financing
space to fill.
in to film 10 episodes.
“On top of that,” he
We’ll do an on-air test,
observes, “you’ve got a
meaning that they’ll air
generation coming up
10 episodes of Are We
that’s been living in the
multi-camera-sitcom
There Yet? If it meets a
world their whole lives
certain predetermined
— I’m talking about the
rating, it triggers an
kids who’ve been weaned,
automatic pickup of 90
Keesha Sharp, Ali LeRoi, and Essence Atkins work in new dialogue.
literally, on iCarly, That’s
episodes.”
So Raven, The Suite Life,
etc. — and so while the idea [of
multi-camera sitcoms] might seem
retro to us, to them, it’s the world
they know and love.”
Changing the business model
has changed the creative process
as well. LeRoi feels for the better.
“TBS has been fantastic. They gave
us some very easy-to-hit and broad
‘musts,’ and from there on out, for
us, it’s really been live by the sword
or die by the sword. But whichever
way it turns out, it’ll be truly the
best sword that we, the creative
team, could have produced.”
LeRoi, who also directed all 10
initial episodes, feels that as a true
partner in the business of the show,
he was given more freedom creatively. “With a network in a typical situation, they give you notes for certain
Keesha Sharp, Ali LeRoi, DP Bill Berner and Terry Crews set up a scene.
34
Crews and Atkins from the episode, “The Day Off.”
things because they’ve seen those certain things work before.
That tends to drown out the singular voice that anything good
needs to rise above the mediocre. But if you watch this, you’ll
see that we’re not copying what Tyler Perry did. I think my
voice really comes through; I think Ice Cube’s voice really
comes through. I think these important voices come through
on Are We There Yet? because we’ve set things up this way. It’s
funny, when we were doing Everybody Hates Chris, Chris Rock
used to joke with me that you always get notes from an executive about the character that the executive relates to the most!
We didn’t have to deal with things like that on this show.
“Even the way we shot it was different than anything
I’ve ever done. One of the prime concerns was shooting the
initial 10 episodes as cheaply as possible — but doing it well.
Toward that end, we shot in Connecticut to take advantage of
the tax credits that they’re offering. A lot of states are offering
these, but you can get out there and find that there’s not an
established field of talent or crew to put the show together.
But when you’re shooting in Connecticut, you’re just a train
ride from New York City, which means we had access to all
the crew we needed and were able to get really great actors
who happened to have some time to swing by between
Broadway shows.
“And before shooting these episodes, I met with people that I’ve always looked up to, directors who shot The
Jeffersons, A Different World, and a few others, and I asked
them what we needed to do to make this show work visually on a budget. Based on those conversations, I built the
stage [primarily a large, open living room] so that there are
all of these spaces within it to move over and have mini-
36
scenes. There’s the entranceway,
the couch, the place where the kids
play video games — it’s all on one
set, which creates both an ability to move around and a change
of scene and you don’t get that
crampedness that I think some
sitcoms fall prey to.
“On Everybody Hates Chris,”
he notes, “we were doing eight
scenes in 22 minutes; using these
mini-areas, we’re at about 16 per
show. I think it creates a nice
flow.”
All of LeRoi’s preparation has
paid off. The show itself does not
at all come across as “done on a
budget”; the production values are
comparable to any other sitcom
out there. Terry Crews’ family
on Are We There Yet? is AfricanAmerican, but they feel like any
family in America trying to deal
with stepchildren, money concerns
and relationship issues.
“Like I said,” LeRoi states,
“we’re not copying what Tyler
Perry has achieved. And back in the late ’90s, there was a big
issue about subdividing audiences into white and black. But
the problem with subdividing is that eventually you’re carving
some pretty thin slices of the pie. If you’re saying someone
has this niche of the black audience and we’re going for that
niche of the black audience … well, I’d rather make shows
about and that appeal to people out there trying to make their
mortgage, trying to make their marriage work, trying to raise
kids. That’s what’s interesting to me. That’s what I want Are
We There Yet? to be about.”
Obviously, when watching a multi-camera show about an
African-American family whose problems are more familybased than race-based, a comparison to The Cosby Show is
inevitable.
“Some people have said that, after watching a little of Are
We There Yet?” he confesses. “But for me, even to compare
anything to that is almost a sacrilege. Bill Cosby is the greatest family comedian America has ever produced. I think for
people to see this and say, ‘Hey, they’re operating in that field,’
that’s fine by me, but you know, when people say that after
seeing this show, I’m honored, but like I said, to me, that’s a
little too much.”
Are We There Yet? is currently airing on TBS, where it will
enjoy a 10-episode run. Initial reviews have been very positive
and Terry Crews indeed seems to be an actor on the edge of
breaking out. If the show catches on, it seems only logical that
more potential series would replicate this model rather than
betting everything on a single pilot episode. Here’s wishing Ali
LeRoi and his partners the best.
ABC STUDIOS SET INVENTORY WAREHOUSE
HAS EVERY OPTION...FOR EVERY SCENE
ORIGINALITY • QUALITY • 16,000 PRE-BUILT UNITS
- Spanning history from the turn of the
century (1900s) to futuristic sets
- Unparalleled variety: from the Oval
Office to a school room, the Supreme
Court to a garage
- Complete sets and individual pieces
are available, all individually itemized
11260 Hartland St., North Hollywood CA 91605 818.506.6560 Mon-Fri 7:30am-4:30pm
ABCStudiosSets.com
Coming this Fall ABC Studios is proud to announce new Residential and
Business District backlot sets located at the famed Golden Oak Ranch
PRODUCED BY CONFERENCE 2010
Conference attendees pack the Ninth Street Exhibition Area.
Photos by Michael Quinn
Martin and Cindy Cafferty
IN ITS SECOND YEAR, THE PRODUCED BY CONFERENCE WAS ONCE
AGAIN ONE OF THE BIGGEST WEEKENDS IN ENTERTAINMENT.
New Presidents Mark Gordon and Hawk Koch address the crowd at
the PGA General Membership Meeting.
Ted Turner (right) shares his insights with Conference attendees.
Left: Moderator Timothy M. Gray.
Mark Cuban (right) holds forth to moderator Dawn Chmielewski.
Simpsons producers (from left) Matt Selman, Al Jean,
James L. Brooks.
38
The event took place June 4–6 and got a change of scenery at the iconic Fox
Studios. Attendees were inspired by stellar speakers — Ted Turner talked about
the producer’s relationship with a global audience; Richard Zanuck gave attendees the ins and outs of producing blockbusters; Mark Cuban shared his thoughts
on producing from an entrepreneurial perspective; and James L. Brooks and
the team from The Simpsons discussed how they keep the legendary series fresh
after two decades. Meanwhile, the Pixar team built on their appearance at last
year’s Conference, treating the audience to a sneak peek at Toy Story 3, while
Larry Gordon, Bruce Cohen and Doug Wick talked with David Picker about the
producer/director collaboration. Other sessions discussed topics like working
with 3D, social issues, transmedia, mobile technology, and more.
39
Some special events made a return engagement — guests networked at Friday’s kickoff party at Culver Studios, found out all
about state and international incentives at Saturday’s Breakfast With the Film Commissioners and mingled later that night at the
Martini Shot Mixer, sponsored by the LA Street Food Festival and featuring some of L.A.’s hottest gourmet food trucks. And filmmakers once again competed in the Producers Challenge film festival. But there were also new opportunities, like the CoProShow,
in which five international producers were selected to build creative partnerships and assemble global financing, and Industry
Insights, a series of workshops featuring hands-on advice from leading entertainment companies such as Avid, Texas Instruments,
Movie Magic and Cinedigm Entertainment Group.
We Are Marshall
Top: Conference attendees are welcomed to the Martini Shot Mixer. Above: The Martini Shot Mixer’s gourmet food trucks
serve up some delicious fare.
40
PGA Vice President of Motion Pictures Gary Lucchesi talks technology
with a staffer at the AT&T Showcase.
Moderator David Picker (right) prepares for the “Creative
Alchemy” session with (from left) producers Larry Gordon,
Doug Wick and Bruce Cohen.
Thanks to presenting sponsor AT&T, the AT&T Showcase ran all weekend and gave attendees a taste of new mobile technologies,
like a groundbreaking social networking app offering a single login for Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, RSS feeds from more
than 35 news sites, and the ability to update and interact with all of your social networks simultaneously. The company also demonstrated speech recognition, touch controls and laser projection–enhanced mobile devices of the future.
The Pixar team shares the secrets of Toy Story 3.
Producer Paula Wagner (center) leads a mentoring roundtable.
This year’s Conference also featured a more personalized experience — producers had questions answered by established entertainment lawyers at ProLAW stations, and attendees sent their production-related queries to the Producers Wiki session. Last
year’s mentoring roundtables returned with such mentors as Sarah Green, Ali LeRoi, Mark Johnson and others. Additionally,
the conference boasted an incredible array of exhibitors including the United Nations, Entertainment Partners, Raleigh Studios,
Kodak, Joe’s Jeans, Citibank and countless state and national film commissions, to name just a few.
Mark Gordon meets with producers at his mentoring roundtable.
42
Hawk Koch (left) and Marshall Herskovitz welcome attendees to
the Produced By Conference.
43
T
he beauty shots you expect,
with the diversity of locations you don’t.
Executive Director Vance Van Petten addresses the membership at Friday’s General Membership Meeting.
Ali LeRoi (right) mentors an attendee over
lunch on Ninth Street.
Members Kimberly Austin, Melissa Friedman,
Conference Co-chair Rachel Klein and Julie
Janata at the Producers Challenge screening
at the Darryl F. Zanuck Theater.
Jonathan Deiner accepts the award for
Best Short Film at the Producers Challenge
screening.
-PSTPUNPU[OL<:=PYNPU0ZSHUKZPZVUL\UILSPL]HISLZOV[HM[LYHUV[OLY@V\»SSÄUKHKP]LYZP[`
VM SVJH[PVUZ MYVT Y\YHS MHYTSHUK S\ZO YHPU MVYLZ[ HUK YVSSPUN OPSSZ [V X\HPU[ ,\YVWLHU [VÛZ
JVZTVWVSP[HU ZL[[PUNZ HUK JVSVYM\S *HYPIILHU HYJOP[LJ[\YL 5V[ [V TLU[PVU WPJ[\YLZX\L
ILHJOLZ @V\»SS HSZV MPUK HU L_WLYPLUJLK MPST JVTT\UP[` ^P[O ,UNSPZOZWLHRPUN JYL^Z
HUK [OL JVU]LUPLUJL VM <: J\YYLUJ` -VY TVYL VWWVY[\UP[PLZ PU :[*YVP_ :[1VOU HUK
:[;OVTHZJHSS
Marshall Herskovitz steps down as PGA President at the General
Membership Meeting.
©2010 United States Virgin Islands Department of Tourism.
Attorneys Elizabeth Zee and Harold Brook of The Point Media man
the ProLAW booth.
45
Fred Baron (left of center) mingles with fellow PGA members at the
Conference Kickoff Party at The Culver Studios.
Drinks flow freely at the Produced By Conference Kickoff Party.
Panelists for “New Voices, New Stories, New Audiences” conference
session (from left) Ali LeRoi, Darlene Caamano Loquet, moderator
Tracey Edmonds, Lee Daniels, Mara Brock Akil
PGA International Committee Co-chair Bill Stuart (center)
introduces the participants in the International Co-Production
Showcase.
The PGA made every effort to “green” the Conference this year. The PGA Green Committee provided vegetable-based and compostable “plastic” containers for the event, while all attendees got snazzy aluminum water bottles in their Conference bags.
In all, the Produced By Conference 2010 was a bigger success than last year and demonstrated once again that producers can
work together to strengthen their community. Produced By has been the definitive industry conference for producers and the PGA
hopes to continue the tradition and make each year better than the last!
If you missed the Conference or just feel like being inspired all over again, be on the lookout for videos from this year’s Conference
at www.producersguild.org.
The Producers Wiki “Live” session, featuring (from left) moderator Vance Van Petten, facilitator Chris Thomes, panelists/PGA members
Marshall Herskovitz, Hawk Koch, Bonnie Arnold, Fred Baron, Lori McCreary, Cathy Schulman, Hayma “Screech” Washington and Tim Gibbons.
46
47
“YOU’LL
NEVER
GET THIS
MOVIE MADE”
WITH THE BEAVER, STEVE GOLIN
PREVAILS ONCE AGAIN
by Collen Wassel
Steve Golin knows what he likes. Over the past 25 years, he’s produced
some of the era’s most quirky, challenging, acclaimed and ultimately,
enduring films, marked by narrative and visual styles that demand an
intellectual as well as emotional investment from the audience. This fall,
he’ll do it again with The Beaver, a typically atypical Golin production
directed by Jodie Foster that tells an engaging, funny and disturbing story
of a man losing his mind.
“I just have a certain taste,” Golin explains, relaxing in
an armchair in the Culver City headquarters of Anonymous
Content, the production house he established in 2000. “I
gravitate toward a certain type of material, and it becomes
a little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, because once people
can kind of figure out what your taste is, then generally you
get material that goes along with that.”
With credits ranging from Wild at Heart to Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to Babel , Golin’s taste is
clear, yet not easily defined. The shelves to his right mix
Criterion edition Truffaut and Fellini with commercial hits
like Gladiator and The Departed. He praises the blockbuster
Bourne trilogy as thoroughly as he does the French independent A Prophet. There’s no video-store category for Golin’s
taste, but there are distinct common elements: visual styles
that are new and compelling, and stories that explore one’s
48
humanity through layered, inventive and at times, even
absurdist plots.
Growing up in suburban New York, the producer and
PGA member didn’t get to see the kinds of movies he now
makes. Before video stores and on demand, his viewing
experience was limited to the wide-release, mainstream
pictures shown at his local theater. When he went to New
York City to study photography at NYU, however, that all
changed. He recalls seeing Bicycle Thieves, Casablanca, The
400 Blows and others for the first time. “Suddenly it was different,” he says. “Movies meant something else.”
It was the stories of these films that captured Golin’s
interest and led him in 1981 to leave a young photography
career in New York to enter the producer program at AFI
in Los Angeles. Five years later, he and classmate Joni
Sighvatsson founded Propaganda Films, the now legendary
Steve Golin in
Alaska, locationscouting for
Everybody Loves
Whales, his
upcoming movie
for Universal.
(Photo by and
courtesy of Nelson
Coates)
production house known for setting a new creative standard
for commercials and music videos. The company’s awardwinning projects were marked by engaging narratives told
through brilliant, creative visuals, a defining style made possible by Propaganda’s gallery of previously unknown visionary directors that included David Fincher, Michel Gondry,
Spike Jonze and many others.
As he transitioned into features, Golin’s sharp eye for
talent and close collaboration with directors enabled him
to build a career distinguished by successful, important
independent pictures that many would write off as too difficult to make. Key to Golin’s success is his enviable ability
to pair inventive scripts with the creative minds capable of
realizing them on the screen.
“Propaganda was a real director-driven company, so I
think he’s always going to come at it from that perspective,”
says Spike Jonze, whose first feature, Being John Malkovich,
Golin produced in 1998. At the time, Propaganda was being
sold by PolyGram to Seagram, a tricky transition that
threatened the future of several Golin projects, including
Malkovich. “I think every time it came up, they would just
laugh at him in the corporate Board meetings or however it
was,” Jonze continues. “They just saw it as this really weird
script with some music-video director, so it wasn’t high on
their list of priorities. The only reason that movie got made
was because Steve really pushed and pushed and ultimately,
really stuck his neck out in that company.”
Being John Malkovich went on to gross more than
$22.8 million in domestic box office and win more than
a dozen awards each for Jonze and screenwriter Charlie
Kaufman. “That movie was really fun because everyone
was like, ‘You’ll never get this movie made,’” Golin recalls.
“But with Spike and Charlie, we somehow figured out how
to make it.”
“Now I realize he’s kind of an old-school producer, in a
way,” Jonze continues. “It’s about the material, the art, the
director. Whether it’s popular or not, if it’s something he’s
interested in, he commits to that and commits to that director. And once he’s behind you, he’s behind you, and that’s
never going to waver.”
49
Far left: Steve Golin (right) with Jon Kilik and
Ann Ruark on the set of Babel.
(Photo by and courtesy of Mary Ellen Mark)
Left: Steve Golin
Below: Golin (left) on the set of The Beaver,
with Jodie Foster and Rob Friedman of Summit
Entertainment. (Photo by Ken Regan and courtesy
of Summit Entertainment)
WE’LL EXCEED YOUR
EXPECTATIONS
NOT YOUR BUDGET
Alejandro González Iñárritu calls that commitment one
of Golin’s defining traits. “There are two types of producers: studio producers and director’s producers, and Steve
is clearly, 100% a director’s producer,” he says firmly. Five
years before their 2006 Best Picture nomination for Babel,
González Iñárritu and Golin met when the director was asked
to create a spot for BMW’s commercial series The Hire.
González Iñárritu was hesitant to accept the job, doubtful
that his raw dramatic style was what the client wanted. “My
story was very bloody, very tense and not a happy ending for
a car commercial,” he laughs. Golin assured him that BMW
knew who they were hiring and that he would be free to create
the ad he wanted. The resulting work, a thought-provoking
11-minute short entitled “Powder Keg,” was an acclaimed
success.
“I was really amazed because he delivered what he
promised,” González Iñárritu says. “With Steve, there’s never
a moment of bullshitting. I would say one of his signature
qualities is honesty. And in that, you have the possibility to be
one of the few giants in this business.”
Golin’s steadfast support of directors is tempered by his
own artistic insights and a natural business savvy that guides
each production from concept to screen. He knows what first
attracted him to a script and endeavors to maintain that for
the audience. “You’re not there necessarily to protect the
director. You’re not there necessarily to protect the studio,”
he says simply. “You got to keep your eye on the movie and
keep your ego in check. It’s not about being right, it’s about
doing what’s best for the movie.”
“He’s extremely human yet very strong of opinion,”
begins Michel Gondry, director of the 2004 breakout Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Renowned for his innovative,
experimental visuals, Gondry credits Golin for keeping his
50
style iin check.
had
these visual
h k “I h
d created
t d all
ll th
i
l ttransitions
iti
tto go
o
from memory to memory,” he says. “They were so complex,
and at some point, I remember Steve sort of laughing because
he realized it was probably impossible.”
During shooting, Gondry found it difficult to achieve
the shots he envisioned while maintaining the emotions of
the story. “Steve said, ‘just make the scenes simpler,’” the
director recalls. “He comes from a real place of understanding — of people working on the film, of people watching the
film — and that translates into a humanity the audience can
understand. I think by not buying into every single idea that I
had, he made it better, because I needed to be better guided.”
Throughout his career, Golin has served as a bridge
between the business and the art of filmmaking, in fairness
turning producing into an art form itself. He knows this business intimately, having learned his way through years of making hits, flops, Oscar winners and cult favorites. To talk with
him is to go on an intelligent ride of thought from remake
strategy to marketing spend to the demise of the specialty
label. He segues from the upside of VOD for catalog owners —
“If I want to see Casablanca and it costs $2, I’m probably not
going to bother to pirate it.” — to questioning the industry’s
focus on fourth-quarter release dates — “I think it’s a mistake.
I’m sitting around in May thinking, I want to go to the movies,
but there’s nothing I want to see.”
These insights are offered with a candid, casual air that
can only come with the confidence of experience, and his
measured approach to filmmaking as a whole makes him an
ideal collaborator not only for directors but also studios and
distributors. “You know, a lot of it’s common sense,” he says,
“but as you accumulate a certain amount of experience and
make almost every mistake possible and try not to make them
again, you become a little more valuable.” He points out, how-
30 STAGES ★ 9 BACKLOT STREETS ★ LIGHTING ★ GRIP
TRANSPORTATION ★ SIGN SHOP ★ WOOD MOULDING/MILLWORK
SPECIAL EVENTS ★ POST PRODUCTION ★ CATERING
MANUFACTURING ★ SPECIAL EFFECTS ★ OFFICES
F
rom single services through the entire production process, The Studios at Paramount
is your one-stop shop from development to post. Our expert professionals in every
department are committed to helping you create your project on time and under
budget. With almost a century of cutting-edge excellence under our belts, The Studios at
Paramount continues to provide the finest production services. By combining your vision
with our vast experience and trendsetting technology and talent, together, we can embark
on a new phase of making history.
5555 Melrose Avenue • Hollywood, California 90038
TheStudiosAtParamount.com
323.956.8811 • [email protected]
51
Below: Steve Golin (right) with Jon Kilik (left)
and Alejandro González Iñárritu at the 2007
Producers Guild Awards
Right: Golin receives
the Franklin J. Schaffner
Alumni Medal in 2008.
Be Judged.
Best original story wins $2,500.
First Entertainment Credit Union already serves over 60,000 industry
pros, but we want everyone in the biz to join. That’s why we’ve cooked up
this storywriting contest. We’ve got $2,500 and 3 iPads to award to the
best original stories, fact or fiction, that somehow involve or include the
credit union. To enter the contest, simply join the credit union, write a killer
short story, and then go to www.firstentertainmentwriteoff.com to
upload it for consideration. While you are there, you can check out your
competition, read up on our judges, drool over the prizes, collaborate
with the other aspiring writers and more – it’s a full-blown social network
set up just for this contest. Learn more about the industry’s leading
financial institution at www.firstent.org.
Save $80!
Join
*Winning story will be published in the form of a special
advertisement in major trade publications. **Once you become
a member of First Entertainment Credit Union, you will receive
a discount code for specific products at www.finaldraft.com. For
complete contest details, visit www.firstentertainmentwriteoff.com.
the credit
union &
get the
discount!**
Nancy Cartwright – Emmy
award-winning actress and the
voice of Bart Simpson.
John Reed – Best-selling
author and National Book
Critics Circle Board Member.
Kirk Ward – Screenwriter,
actor, producer and comedian.
Get Noticed.
Winning story will be published in major
trades for all the world to see.*
ever, that a good reputation doesn’t make the business any
easier, particularly for the kinds of movies he makes.
The Beaver begins with a man on the verge of a serious
mental break and follows him and his family through a journey of healing that is both humorous and unsettling — and
aided by a beaver puppet that the main character, in a sense,
lives vicariously through. “It has a pretty absurd concept,
obviously,” Golin admits. “The challenge was convincing
people that it could be commercial and accessible. There’s a
pretty dark element of the movie, and that was a big hurdle to
get people over.”
“It was an undeniably beautiful script — witty, smart,
the characters fully complex,” says director Jodie Foster. “But
The Beaver was not the easiest sell in the world. There was
a crucial detail in the script that every indie studio in town
demanded cutting in order to even discuss financing. Steve
never wavered.”
In the end, Golin secured distribution with Summit
Entertainment, and over the course of production, Foster
benefited from his unique style to help realize her vision for
the movie. “He’s all about letting the director be free to create
a visual style and a language for the film,” she says. “He sort
of watches from the sidelines until he sees something that
might derail the narrative. Then he steps in with very few
words to challenge the director to come up with the answers.
“Steve’s greatest gift is his instinct, his gut,” Foster continues. “He knows instantly whether something feels real to
him or not, whether it’s right for the characters. This means
he can make a decision quickly and with guerrilla stealth.
That’s why he’s the consummate independent producer.”
When asked about his instincts, Golin shrugs. “I think
there’s a really mysterious element to it,” he says. “I mean,
when we were making Being John Malkovich, I was really
scared it was going to be a disaster. We laugh about it now,
but even John was asking, ‘Are you sure this is going to work?’
And I said, ‘No! I’m not sure. This is pretty frightening.’
“I think the biggest thing in producing is you have to have
such a thick skin,” Golin continues. “Woody Allen said 80% of
it is just showing up, but I think he underestimated that. You
just got to be tenacious.”
Yet there’s something more fundamental than tenacity
behind Golin’s success: his movies resonate with audiences
because he is the audience. He makes the movies he wants to
see. “He’s very smart and very successful, but the business is
not what drives him,” explains González Iñárritu. “He makes
film because it’s something that he loves.”
Over the course of 90 minutes, Golin has run through
a long list of recent favorites, praising Snabba Cash, An
Education, Up in the Air, Inglourious Basterds and plenty
more that don’t fit neatly into a set genre or style, making it no
surprise to hear that his future projects won’t either. “I want
to expand. I want to do different things,” Golin says. “There’s
a bunch of big movies I feel like I could do a good job on, like
Bourne or those types of movies. I haven’t done a movie like
that yet, but I want to.”
As he finishes post on The Beaver , Golin is prepping
Everybody Loves Whales, a family-friendly feature based on a
true story of dissimilar people coming together for a common
cause. He details a handful of projects he has in development,
which include a romance, a biopic, a mob drama and a family
adventure — a variety that’s very much in line with the casual
eclecticism of his output.
“It always begins with the material,” Golin says. “And you
have to go from there. I feel like there are pluses and minuses to
the way I do it, but I don’t have any desire to change it. I enjoy
my life. I’m doing okay, so I’m just going to continue to do it.”
53
new media
The PGA CREDIT
DEFINITIONS for NEW
MEDIA PRODUCERS
While film and television have enjoyed official accreditation for decades, new media producers have been the new
kids on the block; not until now have their credits had the
official endorsement of the Producers Guild of America. On
April 5, 2010, the PGA’s Board of Directors officially ratified a clearly defined set of job descriptions and guidelines
covering producing titles in new media. The result of three
years of research and careful drafting by the PGA’s New
Media Council, these new credit guidelines cover a variety
of different and discrete new media platforms ranging from
broadband to game development, and the cutting-edge
transmedia credit.
New media producers are in the vanguard of storytelling
via digital platforms and are proud to have the Producers
Guild’s acknowledgment of the importance of their contribution to entertainment. These guidelines, like those for film
and television credits, set an important stake in the ground,
allowing for consistent and fair accreditation in new media
across all platforms. Credits represent and reflect the body
of work, the reputation, and the creative personality of any
accredited producer. With objective and consistent credit
standards, new media producers can present themselves
more effectively to potential employers, and appropriately
recognize the work of their teams on projects they oversee.
And of course, proper accreditation serves as an essential
CREDITS FOR THE
NEW MEDIA COUNCIL
yardstick for membership in the Producers Guild.
This groundbreaking work represents yet another phase
in the development of new media as art and commerce.
No longer will new media platforms utilize a “Wild West”
mentality when it comes to credits, inventing new credits
one day and then discarding them the next. As the industry
continues to embrace digital platforms, not only as marketing and social networking tools, but as storytelling vehicles
unto themselves, we are proud to see the PGA taking a
leadership role in recognizing and codifying these essential
contributions.
Challenges still exist. For instance, where do new media
credits get displayed? That question, and others, are ones
that the New Media Council, the Producers Guild and the
industry at large will grapple with in short order. We encourage you to look to the new, robust PGA website, which will
serve as the long-term home to these definitions, and will
soon provide a formal and searchable database of new media
producing credit listings.
We are well into the new century. The Producers Guild
of America continues, like so many of its members, to look
forward. Storytelling is, after all, agnostic of platform; the
PGA recognizes and celebrates all of it, continuing to keep
its eyes on the horizon.
MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY
Producers Guild members in the New Media Council must be credited as Executive Producer, Producer, Coordinating
Producer, Associate Producer or in accordance with platform-specific titles as indicated below. In all cases, individuals
must take responsibility for significant producing responsibilities in the initiation, coordination and supervision of the
creative and financial elements through all the phases of production on at least two (2) qualified new media productions
that have had broad domestic or verifiable international consumer release within the content categories and distribution
platforms as follows:
Content Category: Digitally-enabled interactive storytelling productions; game productions; digital visual effects; animation; Internet entertainment productions; and special venue productions.
Distribution Platforms: Broadband (Internet/Online); DVD/Blu-ray/CD-ROM; Game Console; PC; Wireless; Set-Top
Box; Interactive/Enhanced Television; Special Venues (e.g., museums, visitor centers, amusement parks, location-based
entertainment); and broadcast or theatrical release.
54
PLATFORMS
BROADBAND
Executive Producer
The Executive Producer credit for broadband productions
is given to the person(s) most completely responsible for a project’s vision, storytelling, audience experience and production,
exercising significant decision-making authority over a majority of the producing functions across all phases of the project.
An individual receiving the Executive Producer credit will
typically conceive of the underlying premise of the production
or select the material. S/he also will select the project’s writer
and secure the necessary rights and initial financing, and
supervise the development process.
In pre-production, the Executive Producer typically will
select the key members of the creative and technical teams,
including (where applicable) the director, co-producer, cinematographer, unit production manager, technology video and
encoding experts, and principal cast. The Executive Producer
also will approve the final shooting script, production schedule, and integration/encoding plan of the final broadband
material so as to maintain the highest possible quality, even
when compressed or modified via frame rate, color depth or bit
rate for digital distribution.
In the case of series-based broadband productions that are
heavily writer-driven, the Executive Producer may undertake
significant production responsibilities in addition to his/her
writing services and responsibilities. Frequently, the Executive
Producer may be responsible for the creation of the series,
including its concept, format and characters. In this special
circumstance, the PGA gives considerable weight to such a
seminal contribution, and supports the Executive Producer
credit for such creators who remain engaged in a supervisory
capacity with an ongoing or serialized broadband production.
Because of the multifaceted and volatile nature of
broadband production, an individual receiving the Executive
Producer credit may also hold a corporate or executive title
such as (but not limited to) VP of Digital Media, VP of Digital
Strategy, VP of Content, or Product Executive. While an
Executive Producer may hold such a title concurrently, simply
holding such an executive title does not entitle an individual to
an Executive Producer credit as a matter of course.
Supervising Producer
The primary role of the Supervising Producer is to
execute on predetermined projects assigned by the Executive
Producer(s) while staying on budget, fulfilling business unit
and ad sponsor needs, and delivering product on time. The
individual fulfilling this role is sometimes simply given the title
“Producer”; the New Media Council prefers and endorses the
title “Supervising Producer” for such individuals.
The Supervising Producer will typically act as the liaison between the Executive Producer and Production Team.
The Supervising Producer will serve as the “point person” for
the overall project and is thus responsible for connecting the
appropriate teams working on the project.
A given broadband project will typically utilize a single
Supervising Producer throughout its production.
DVD/BLU-RAY
(BD LIVE)
Produced By
The “Produced by” credit for a fully DVD production is given
to the person(s) most completely responsible for a DVD production’s full life cycle, exercising significant decision-making authority over a majority of the producing functions across the four phases of DVD production’s life cycle. Those phases are: Development,
Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production.
Within the development process, the “Produced by” will
typically conceive of the underlying premise of the production,
or select the material, s/he may also select the project’s writer(s),
secure any necessary rights and initial financing, and supervise
the development process.
In pre-production, the “Produced by” will typically select the
key members of the creative team, including the director, cinematographer/technical director, co-producer, supervisor, production
manager, production designer and principal cast and/or voice
talent. The “Produced by” also will participate in vendor selection, and approve the final production script, boards, production
schedule, and budget.
During production, the “Produced by” will supervise the dayto-day operations of the producing team, providing continuous,
personal, and usually “on-set” or “in-studio” consultation with the
director and other key creative personnel. S/he also will approve
weekly cost reports and continue to serve as the primary point of
contact for financial and distribution entities.
Within post-production, the “Produced by” is expected to consult personally with post-production personnel, including the editor and composer. S/he is expected to consult with all creative and
financial personnel on the edited master, and can be consulted
with the marketing and distribution plans for the production.
Executive Producer
The credit of Executive Producer shall only apply to an
individual who has made a significant contribution to the DVD
production and who additionally qualifies under one of three
categories:
Having secured an essential and proportionally significant
part (between 25%–50%) of the financing for the animated production; and/or
Having made a significant contribution to the development
of the source property or the conception of the production, typically including the securing of the underlying rights to the material on which the production is based; and/or
Is an executive working with the studio/financing entity who
is directly responsible for the production and title.
Co-Producer (or Line Producer)
The credit of Co-Producer is to be granted to the individual
who reports directly to the individual(s) receiving “Produced by”
credit on the production. While this individual may be credited
as “Line Producer,” the New Media Council endorses and encourages the use of the “Co-Producer” title for the individual fulfilling
this role on a DVD production.
The Co-Producer is the single individual who has the primary
responsibility for the logistics of the production, from pre-production through completion of production; all department heads
report to the Co-Producer.
The Co-Producer/Line Producer carries the responsibility of
managing and adhering to the budget.
55
new media
VIDEO GAMES
Produced By
The “Produced by” credit for a video game production
is given to the person(s) most completely responsible for
a video game production’s full life cycle, with significant
decision-making authority over a majority of the producing
functions across the four (or five) phases of a video game’s
production life cycle. Those phases are: Pre-Production,
Production, Testing, Gold Mastering and — for onlineenabled or connected-platform games — Maintenance. The
following considerations would be taken into account in
determining “Produced by” credit in a video game production:
Within the development process, the “Produced by” will
typically conceive of the underlying premise of the video
game production, or select the material, as is best suited
to the relevant particular hardware console platform(s) or
online/connected media distribution method(s). S/he also
will select the project’s lead game designer(s), secure the necessary rights and initial financing, and supervise the development process.
In pre-production, the “Produced by” will typically
select the key members of the creative and technical teams,
including the creative director, senior level designer(s),
art director(s), lead engineer(s), copy writer(s), actor(s) or
voice talent if applicable, and consult in the selection of any
required third-party vendors that will co-develop components of the production, including traditional film or video
production, if applicable.
The “Produced by” also will approve the final production plan and game design, concept board, prototypes or
any other related concept material that clearly outlines the
scope and conceit of the video game production schedule and
budget. The “Produced by” will also participate in choice of
technology(s) and technology selections and guidance.
During production, the “Produced by” will supervise
the day-to-day operations of the producing team, providing
continuous, personal, and usually in-person consultation
with the game designer(s), creative director, technical director, and key creative and technical personnel. S/he also will
approve weekly cost reports and continue to serve as the primary point of contact for financial and distribution entities.
For the final phases of production (load testing, qualityassurance testing, gold mastering, maintenance and marketing), the “Produced by” is expected to consult personally with
testing personnel and those involved in the development of
the gold master and final deployment details (and mastering
if applicable). S/he is expected to consult with all creative
and financial personnel on the gold master, and usually is
involved in a meaningful fashion with the financial and distribution entities concerning the marketing and distribution
plans in both domestic and foreign markets.
56
Executive Producer
The Executive Producer credit in video games is given
to the individual(s) who manage Producers and other production personnel across multiple projects, and supports
the senior company executives in managing the associated
product. Typically, the Executive Producer secures an essential and proportionally significant part (between 25%–50%)
of the financing for the animated production; and/or makes
a significant contribution to the development of the source
property or the conception of the production, typically
including the securing of the underlying rights to the material on which the production is based.
An Executive Producer may be involved throughout all
phases of production from inception to completion; including coordination and supervision. Executive Producers may
work on simultaneous multiple projects in various stages of
production. Such work can be executed independently or
by way of a studio. It is the responsibility of the Executive
Producer to mediate any problems and make sure the project
is running smoothly.
Additional responsibilities include account and project
management for both internal and external studios, ensuring
that the “Produced by” delivers quality product on time and
on budget.
Senior Producer
The Senior Producer credit in video games is given to the
individual(s) who lead or participate in the development of
the strategic and product plans for a product line or group of
products. They manage staff of two or more Producer(s) and
are involved with the coordination of team leads including
Software Engineer(s), Marketing Manager(s), Lead Artist(s),
Content Lead(s), and Project Manager(s) in order to develop
and ensure adherence to a specific product development plan
for each assigned product. This includes the development or
oversight of developing comprehensive plans for each product and product line that fully consider content, characters,
technology, market positioning, and profit.
Producer
The Producer credit in video games is given to the
individual(s) who participate in the development a product
line or group of products, working with both creative and
technical staff, managing the day-to-day operations of a
video game production. The Producer will clearly articulate
the game design in technical design documents and functional specifications. The Producer will collaborate with other
departments to develop the game’s initial concept and refine
its design and game balancing from prototype through alpha,
beta, to final release candidate or “gold master.”
Associate Producer
The Associate Producer credit in video games is given to
the individual(s) who assist the Producer in the production of
video game projects. The Associate Producer will be responsible for maintaining the details of daily game production and
coordinating efforts between various development teams.
57
We think California production incentives
are a good idea. Ask about ours.
The Huntington
GARDENS | LAWNS | ARCHITECTURE
626 405-2215 www.FilmHuntington.org
Think globally,
film locally
34855 Petersen Road • Agua Dulce, CA 91390
Phone: (661) 251-2365
Fax: (661) 268-7680
www.sosfilmworks.com
Doing our part to stop runaway production
MOBILE
Producer
The Producer credit for a fully mobile production is given
to the person(s) most completely responsible for a mobile production’s full life cycle, requiring significant decision-making
authority over a majority of the producing functions across the
four phases of the mobile production’s life cycle: Development,
Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production/Marketing.
Within the development process, the Producer will typically
conceive of the underlying premise of the production, or select
the material, as is best suited to the mobile platform. S/he may
also select the project’s writer(s), secure the necessary rights and
initial financing, and supervise the development process.
In pre-production, the Producer will typically select the key
members of the creative team, including the director, cinematographer/technical director, co-producer, supervisor, production manager, production designer and principal cast and/or
voice talent. The “Produced by” also will participate in vendor
selection, and approve the final production script, boards, production schedule, and budget.
During production, the Producer will supervise the dayto-day operations of the producing team, providing continuous, personal, and usually “on-set” or “in-studio” consultation
with the director and other key creative personnel. S/he also
will approve weekly cost reports, and continue to serve as the
primary point of contact for financial and distribution entities.
During post-production and marketing, the Producer is
expected to consult personally with post-production personnel,
including the editor and composer. S/he is expected to consult
with all creative and financial personnel on the edited master,
and usually is involved in a meaningful fashion with the financial and distribution entities concerning the marketing and
distribution plans for the production.
Executive Producer
The credit of Executive Producer shall only apply to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the mobile
production and who additionally qualifies under one of three
categories:
of the source property or the conception of the production, typically including the securing of the underlying rights to the material on which the production is based; and/or
Is an Executive working with the Studio/Financing entity
who is directly responsible for production and title.
Co-Producer/Line Producer
The credit of Co-Producer/Line Producer is to be granted to
the individual who reports directly to the individual(s) receiving
“Producer” credit on the production.
The Co-Producer/Line Producer is the single individual who
has the primary responsibility for the logistics of the production, from pre-production through completion of production;
all department heads report to the Co-Producer/Line Producer.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects Producer
The Visual Effects Producer credit is given to the
person(s) most completely responsible for a film’s visual
effects budget and schedule. The individual(s) would have
significant decision-making authority over the business and
administrative visual effects duties across at least two of the
three phases of a motion picture’s pre-production, production, and post-production process. With today’s large-scale
productions, it has become common to have more than one
individual who fulfills this role. Furthermore, individual
facilities will likely have internal Visual Effects Producers
assigned to particular projects, fulfilling a similar role, though
specifically for the facility. These facility producers will work
generally under the project’s Visual Effects Producer and
Supervisor. To earn the credit, the individual(s) must exercise
decision-making authority across the phases of Development/
Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production. An exception may be made for the individual(s) who joins a project
during the Post-Production phase and assumes a substantial
proportion of critically important functions.
Visual Effects Co-Producer
The title of Visual Effects Co-Producer is given to the
individual(s) who either oversees several Visual Effects
Coordinators or assumes many of the day-to-day tasks of
the Visual Effects Producer, or both. The Visual Effects
Co-Producer generally requires very little direction in prioritizing the project’s needs and is expected to exercise independent judgment in informing the Visual Effects Producer
of potential problems. This title is most commonly utilized
in motion pictures, but may be utilized be on a television
program in which the Visual Effects Producer assumes other
major responsibilities, such as overseeing Post-Production.
This individual may also be credited as Visual Effects
Production Manager or Visual Effects Production Supervisor,
though the New Media Council endorses the Visual Effects
Co-Producer title.
Executive Producer of Visual Effects
An Executive Producer of Visual Effects initiates and
supervises the visual effects in the motion picture and/or
television production. They work closely with the Producers,
Directors and studio in the visual effects production process;
including creative, financial, technological and administrative. An Executive Producer can be involved throughout all
phases of production from inception to completion; including coordination and supervision. Executive Producers may
work on simultaneous multiple projects in various stages of
production. It is the responsibility of the Executive Producer
of Visual Effects to mediate any problems in the VFX sphere
and ensure that the relevant component of the project is running smoothly.
59
new media
ANIMATION
Produced By
The “Produced by” credit for a fully animated production
is given to the person(s) most completely responsible for an animated production’s full life cycle, requiring significant decisionmaking authority over a majority of the producing functions
across the four phases of an animated production’s life cycle:
Development, Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production/
Marketing. The following considerations would be taken into
account in determining “Produced by” credit in a fully animated
production:
Within the development process, the “Produced by” will typically conceive of the underlying premise of the production, or select
the material, as is best suited to the particular media platform(s) on
which the animated production will be exhibited. S/he also will
select the project’s writer(s), secure the necessary rights and initial
financing, and supervise the development process.
In pre-production, the “Produced by” will typically select the
key members of the creative team, including the animation director, cinematographer/technical director, co-producer, animation
supervisor, production manager, production designer, including
backgrounds and characters and associated department leads,
and principal cast of voice talent. The “Produced by” also will
participate in vendor selection, and approve the final production
script, boards and animatics, production schedule, and budget.
The “Produced by” will also participate in media platform(s) and
technology selections and guidance.
During production, the “Produced by” will supervise the
day-to-day operations of the producing team, providing continuous, personal, and usually “on-set” or “in-studio” consultation
with the director and other key creative personnel. S/he also will
approve weekly cost reports and continue to serve as the primary
point of contact for financial and distribution entities.
For the last phase, post-production & marketing, the
“Produced by” is expected to consult personally with post-production personnel, including the editor, composer, and media
platform specialists. S/he is expected to consult with all creative
and financial personnel on the answer print or edited master,
and usually is involved in a meaningful fashion with the financial
and distribution entities concerning the marketing and distribution plans for the animated production on the particular destined
media platform(s) in both domestic and foreign markets.
With today’s productions often being hybrids of live action,
animation, and visual effects, it is rare to find one individual
who exercises personal decision-making authority across all four
phases of animation production. However, the PGA requires that
in order to earn the credit of “Produced by,” one must have taken
responsibility for at least a majority of the functions performed
and decisions made over the span of the animated component of
the four phases.
Executive Producer
The credit of Executive Producer shall only apply to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the animated
production and who additionally qualifies under one of two
categories:
60
of the source literary property or the conception of the production, typically including the securing of the underlying rights to
the material on which the animated production is based.
Co-Producer/Line Producer
The credit of Co-Producer/Line Producer is to be granted to
the individual who reports directly to the individual(s) receiving
“Produced by” credit on the animated production.
The Co-Producer/Line Producer is the single individual who
has the primary responsibility for the logistics of the production, from pre-production through completion of production;
all Department Heads report to the Co-Producer/Line Producer.
Animation Producer
The credit of Animation Producer typically applies to producers who work on animated segments within projects that are
not themselves 100% animated.
The credit of Animation Producer shall apply for the
individual(s) most completely responsible for creating animated
sequences and have significant decision-making authority over
the creative direction, budget, and schedule of the sequence(s).
The individual(s) would take on the majority of the job functions,
spanning Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production
(with the exception of sound or music), specific to the animated
sequence. The Animation Producer often reports to the Visual
Effects Producer if the animation is an element of a visual effect,
to a video game Producer if the animation is utilized in that
arena of production, or the Co-Producer/Line Producer if the
completed animation sequence will be incorporated into the
larger non-animated production.
Producer may be responsible for the creation of the
series, including its concept, format and characters. In
this special circumstance, the PGA gives considerable
weight to such a seminal contribution and supports
the Producer credit for such creators who remain
engaged with a series-like iTV production in an ongoing supervisory capacity.
During the development and production phases
of a project, the Producer will supervise or participate
in story or script meetings, approve all storylines,
and supervise the creation of the production “bible.”
The Producer will select or approve the hiring of all
directors, as well as the casting of all series regulars,
providing in-person consultation with such personnel.
S/he will similarly select or approve of the hiring of
key members of the producing team, such as the production manager, director of photography, and composer or the selection of a production music service,
if music is licensed. The Producer must supervise or
approve the series budget and production schedule.
Within the post-production/marketing phase, the
Producer will continue to consult with the Executive
Producer(s) at the network, studio and/or production
company regarding such delivery requirement issues
as final cuts, distribution dates and platforms, and
standards & practices relating to the ancillary content
access such as video, graphics, etc., and voting/polling and text. S/he will typically select and/or approve
the choice of post-production facilities and editors,
providing in-person consultation with them. The
Producer should view and provide consultation on the
dailies, and should view and appraise all cuts shown to
the network or distributor. S/he will approve the final
cut of each final production piece, including titles,
graphics, and ancillary iTV content for each distinct
platform version, and is typically consulted regarding
publicity and promotional campaigns.
Executive Producer
ITV (INTERACTIVE
/ENHANCED
TELEVISION)
Producer
The Producer credit is given to the person(s) most completely responsible for a single project’s vision, storytelling,
audience experience and production, and exercises significant
decision-making authority over a majority of the producing
functions across all phases (Development; Pre-Production;
Production; Post-Production & Marketing) of the project. The
Producer has final responsibility for the creative and business
aspects of producing the series. S/he will have direct authority over a majority of the producing functions throughout all
phases of the series production.
Within the development process, the Producer will typically conceive of the underlying premise of the production or
select the material. S/he also will select the project’s writer and
interactive strategist, secure the necessary rights and initial
financing, and supervise the development process.
In the case of series-based iTV productions where the
ancillary content access such as video, graphics, etc., and voting/polling and text are heavily writer-driven, the Producer
may undertake significant production responsibilities in addition to writing services and responsibilities. Frequently, the
The Executive Producer is typically a company executive with overall responsibilities for multiple company productions. Like the Producer, the
Executive Producer typically exercises significant
decision-making authority over a majority of the
producing functions across all phases of the project,
though direct responsibility for those duties typically falls to the Producer. An individual receiving the
Executive Producer credit for iTV productions may be
referred to by one of several titles, including but not
limited to: Executive Producer; VP, Digital Media; VP,
Digital Strategy, VP Content, Product Executive. To
avoid confusion with other producer credits, we refer
to this individual as the Executive Producer.
Co-Producer
An individual receiving the Co-Producer credit for
iTV productions typically undertakes direct responsibility for a major subset of the platform(s) and media in the
overall project, such as video production, ancillary content access, voting/polling and text, etc. Because iTV by
its nature represents a synthesis of platforms, direct
responsibility for those platforms may be distributed
among a Producer and Co-Producer(s). All Co-Producers
report directly to the Producer.
SPECIAL VENUE
PRODUCTION
Executive Producer
The credit of Executive Producer shall apply to an individual who has
made a significant contribution to the creation of media for attraction
films and/or special venue media installations. Specifically, the Executive
Producer of a special venue production will have:
Made a significant contribution to the development of the property;
and/or
Been responsible for managing and interfacing with the Owner or IP
holder.
In all cases, the Executive Producer(s) would exercise significant
decision-making authority over the creative, budgetary and schedule functions across at least two of the three phases of a project’s pre-production
(including development), production, and post-production process.
Producer/Project Manager
The credit of Producer shall apply to an individual who has the primary responsibility for the logistics of the special venue production, from
pre-production through the completion of the production. The Producer
credit shall apply to the individual who takes direct responsibility for the
project budget. In all cases, the Producer shall exercise significant decisionmaking authority across at least two of the three phases of a project’s preproduction (including development), production, and post-production process. The Producer may sometimes be referred to as the Project Manager.
TRANSMEDIA
Producer
A transmedia narrative project or franchise must consist of
three (or more) narrative storylines existing within the same fictional
universe on any of the following platforms: Film, Television, Short
Film, Broadband, Publishing, Comics, Animation, Mobile, Special
Venues, DVD/Blu-ray/CD-ROM, Narrative Commercial and Marketing
rollouts, and other technologies that may or may not currently exist.
These narrative extensions are NOT the same as repurposing material
from one platform to be cut or repurposed to different platforms.
A “Transmedia Producer” credit is given to the person(s) responsible
for a significant portion of a project’s long-term planning, development,
production, and/or maintenance of narrative continuity across multiple platforms, and creation of original storylines for new platforms.
Transmedia Producers also create and implement interactive endeavors
to unite the audience of the property with the canonical narrative and
this element should be considered as valid qualification for credit as long
as they are related directly to the narrative presentation of a project.
Transmedia Producers may originate with a project or be brought
in at any time during the long-term rollout of a project in order to analyze, create or facilitate the life of that project and may be responsible
for all or only part of the content of the project. Transmedia Producers
may also be hired by or partner with companies or entities which
develop software and other technologies and who wish to showcase
these inventions with compelling, immersive, multi-platform content.
To qualify for this credit, a Transmedia Producer may or may not
be publicly credited as part of a larger institution or company, but a
titled employee of said institution must be able to confirm that the individual was an integral part of the production team for the project.
61
going green
Curtailing the Battery Scourge
We’ve all seen it on sets, both large and small: bundles if not buckets
of batteries being thrown away on a daily basis. Often these batteries
get pitched into a garbage can, winding up in the landfill where their
harmful contents, including cadmium, lead and mercury, can leak
into the environment. According to the NRDC, in this country alone,
3 billion disposable batteries are thrown away on an annual basis, an
environmental mess that most experts agree needs to be curtailed.
Production mixer Frank Stettner
A typical TV show can use upward of
three dozen batteries per day for its
nine-month production cycle. Multiply
that over thousands of film and television productions and it’s easy to see
that our industry is a major contributor
to the battery scourge. While disposable
batteries still provide critical functions on
most sets, forward-thinking productions
are slashing their numbers and taking
care to dispose of them safely — and
there’s more good news on the way.
The audio department is the biggest
consumer of the AA and 9Volt disposable batteries most commonly used on
a set. Their tiny transmitters, the size
of a pack of cigarettes or smaller, are
power-hungry devices that drain a battery in just a few short hours. A transmitter behaves like a mini–radio station:
The further it has to broadcast, the more
62
power it requires to send a broadcastquality signal. If you’ve ever handled
a working transmitter, you know what
I’m talking about. They’re hot! While
rechargeable batteries can be used in
them, audio departments are wary. Their
chief concern is interfering with the production; no one wants a blown take due
to a dying battery. Charles Hunt, production sound mixer on Law & Order:
SVU, underscores this point: “Everyone
wants to be green, but no one wants
to be caught with their pants down.”
Nonetheless, two years ago, Hunt cut
his dry cell battery use 70% by using
rechargeable batteries for his audio
receivers and belt pack Comtek listening
devices that enable other departments
to monitor the audio feed. The secret to
his success is planning. “You’ve got to
be very organized with small rechargeable batteries [9Volt and AA varieties].
We take great pains to number them
and monitor their usage. When you do
this, you can really see the benefit.”
Rechargeable batteries that mimic disposable versions come in a few different varieties, but the ones that seem to
work the best are Lithium Ion (Li-ion),
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lithium
Polymer (LiPo). Used properly, they can
work effectively and save a production a
lot of money while reducing its environmental impact. A typical high-end 9Volt
disposable battery can run $10 a piece,
while rechargeable batteries range from
just a few dollars more to $20-plus, but
can be used over and over again. iPower
has been producing and marketing LiPo
9Volts since 2005. In the last two years,
they’ve produced a p9Volt battery for
professional applications, including
audio transmitters. The company also
has made strides in extending their batteries’ dependability and life between
charges. According to Richard Lintlop,
sales manager with iPower US, “The
main problem was people not knowing how to use them. They need to be
charged as frequently as is convenient
and they’ll provide good steady power
and up to 200 to 400 charges. That
works out to less than a quarter per
charge.” In this economic climate, savings like these can be very welcome,
even beyond the added environmental
benefit.
Jones is especially optimistic about
the direction rechargeable technology
is heading. “[The batteries] can handle
higher current demands of modern digital equipment, including DSPs (digital
signal processors) which require a lot
of power and a lot of features.” Jones
likes 9Volt lithiums by Eveready and LiPo
rechargeable batteries made by iPower,
because company research shows
that they last longer than an alkaline.
Lectrosonics provides detailed battery
power data on their website for both disposable and rechargeable batteries. For
example, it states that a wireless transmitter can last four hours running at full
power with just a single AA lithium ion
rechargeable battery made by Energizer.
That’s still two hours short of a lithium
“Advanced” disposable but a full 2 1/ 2
hours longer than an alkaline.
Lectrosonics, the manufacturer of wireless microphone devices most commonly used for film and television productions in the United States, has been
working diligently to make their products
work effectively with consumer and
professional grade rechargeable batteries. Special adapters are available
for the larger receiver and transmitter
units, allowing them to work with most
basic camera batteries, including those
used in camcorders that are inexpensive and provide a lot of energy and a
lot of uses. According to Bruce Jones,
VP of Marketing, “We’re not in the battery business, but we certainly adapt
to what’s out there.” In the case of the
adapters, Jones maintains that “you can
get these batteries just about anywhere
and they’ll give you four hours of uninterrupted power. They’ll also last anywhere
between 500 to 600 charges.”
Frank Stettner, veteran production
mixer of productions that include Oz,
Law & Order and The Sopranos, uses
rechargeable batteries when he can
and makes sure he never throws away a
disposable battery until it is fully drained.
He uses AA lithium disposables in his
Lectrosonic transmitters. In his opinion,
they provide for longer, more predictable power. Stettner still maintains a
position of conser vation. “With our
disposable batteries, we get every drop
of power out of them before they get
thrown out.” When Stettner’s on a film
set (unlike most ENG or documentary
scenarios), he’s behind a computer that
professionally monitors all aspects of
his audio equipment, including battery
life. Once they’ve drained down in the
power-hungry transmitter, they move to
other less critical devices, such as the
Comtek units and flashlights. “After that,
I’ll even send them to hair and makeup
to be used in portable fans or home with
cast and crew, who use them in remote
controls or portable radios. They get a
lot of use, for sure.”
The Big Green Box
www.biggreenbox.com
Call 2 Recycle
www.call2recycle.org
Once batteries are spent, either dry cell
or rechargeable, care should be taken to
dispose of them properly. It’s important
to check with your state to see if there
are mandates or incentive programs for
recycling or hazardous material removal.
Some states prohibit the disposal of
rechargeable batteries and federal law
requires the recycling of Ni-Cd and lead
batteries, although this is very difficult to
enforce. At the moment, it’s basically up
to each individual production to make
sure a system is in place. The good
news is there are a lot of resources for
getting your batteries recycled and discarded properly. The Big Green Box is
among a number of recycling companies
that will send you empty boxes for you
to fill up with spent disposable batteries;
they include pre-paid, self-return labels
for the added convenience. The average
cost will run between $50 and $60 for
a box that will accept 40 lbs of spent
power cells.
Call 2 Recycle is a company that provides
free disposal of your dead rechargeable
batteries that go in everything from
cameras, cell phones, power tools or
remote control devices. The company
advertises 30,000 drop-off locations in
the United States and Canada and has
an easy locater ZIP code prompt on their
website for you to find the closest one to
your production.
While disposable batteries will be with
us for the foreseeable future, their numbers and impact on the environment will
dwindle as technology improves and
productions become greener. Proper
planning will save the day and that’s why
producers should discuss these issues
with department heads and make a plan
in pre-production to adopt a system that
works best for the upcoming production. In the end, it’s teamwork that will
end the negative environmental impact
caused by disposable batteries.
–Chris Perera
iPower Batteries
www.ipowerus.com
63
the picture of health
Your PGA Health Benefits
Self-Pay Plans: Atlantis and Producers Health
PGA members have a variety of healthcare options available
to them. While none of them represents a “perfect plan,”
many members will be able to improve their coverage or
In a perfect world, every PGA member would qualify for employer-paid
coverage. For those who do not qualify, the PGA offers two self-pay
options which, because of our group status, are likely to offer better rates
than what members can find on the open market.
the cost of their coverage through their PGA membership.
Members may take advantage of two options: Employerpaid coverage and self-pay coverage.
Qualifying for Employer-Paid Coverage Through the Motion Picture Industry Plan
Am I eligible?
To be eligible for the program, you must…
• Be credited as an executive producer, producer, associate producer or postproduction supervisor;
• Work for a company that is an AMPTP signatory, or signatory to Motion Picture
Industry Health Plan;
• Work on a theatrical motion picture or primetime network television program;
some primetime cable and syndicated series also quality, as do productions for
which an AMPTP member agrees to make contributions; and
• Work on a production that utilizes a West Coast IA Crew.
Questions? Contact:
The Atlantis Health Plan is available only to New York-based members of
the PGA East. The Producers Health Plans are available nationally, including in New York. If you’re currently without health insurance, we encourage you to call immediately to see if you qualify for a plan that suits you.
Even if you currently have coverage (particularly other self-pay coverage),
it would be worth your while to investigate the options you may have
through the PGA self-pay plans.
Employer-paid Plan
Kyle Katz (310) 358-9020 x101
Self-pay Plans
Scott Brandt (888) 700-7725
PGA HEALTH BENEFITS: STEP BY STEP
START
How many hours do
I have to work to qualify
for coverage?
I’ve determined that
I qualify; how do I get
my coverage to start?
My company isn’t an
AMPTP signatory. Am I
out of luck?
To qualify for the Industry Health Plan, a producer must be credited with 600 hours
(automatically computed at 56.5 hours per week) within a six-month qualifying
period. To maintain coverage, he or she must be credited with at least 400 hours
for each subsequent six-month period. If a member becomes ineligible, his or her
eligibility for benefits will be reviewed every month until he or she accumulates
enough contribution hours within a six-month span to re-qualify for benefits.
Contributions are not automatic; they must be directly requested by the producer.
Producers request contributions by signing and submitting a participation form
within 60 days of starting eligible employment. If the producer does not submit a
signed participation form, he or she will be deemed to have waived his or her right
to contributions with respect to the job. Participation forms should be provided by
the employer upon request. If you have difficulty obtaining a form, contact PGA
Executive Director Vance Van Petten at (310) 358-9020 x104.
Not necessarily. If you are employed by a company that is a signatory to both the
IATSE Basic Agreement and the Motion Picture Industry Health & Welfare and
Pension Plans, you can request that they make voluntary contributions, even if they
are not members of the AMPTP. This request has been granted many times, but
can be difficult to secure. A good way to know if your production has signed on to
the IATSE Basic Agreement is to check if the camera, grips, or sound
providers are union.
Do you have health insurance?
Is it employer-paid?
no
yes
yes
no
Are you typically credited as
Producer/Produced by,
Executive Producer,
Associate Producer or PostProduction Supervisor?
yes
Congratulations.
You’re one of the
lucky ones.
You should sign
up for the PGA
plan. The more
members sign up,
the lower the
average costs,
and the better the
benefits.
no
yes
Do you work for an AMPTP
signatory?
Is the coverage equal to or
better than your current
coverage?
Call Scott Brandt at (888) 700-7725.
Request a quote for Producers Health
Insurance or Atlantis Health Plan
(New York–based).
no
Stick with your
current plan, but
consider getting
another quote
next year, or if
your current
coverage
changes.
no
yes
Do you work on a theatrical
motion picture, primetime
network program, or
primetime dramatic first-run
syndicated program?
Contact your payroll or labor
relations department. Request
the MPIH participation form to
give to your employer.
no
yes
Does your production
utilize a West Coast IA
crew?
no
no
Employer
didn’t
know
how
yes
If I qualify, is my
employer required to
approve my coverage?
Unfortunately, no. However, the cost to the employer is reasonable enough that
many employers will approve the coverage.
Additionally, standard practice has dictated (though again, not required) that once a
production begins making contributions to the Health Plan for one producer, it will
make those same contributions for any eligible producer on the show, provided
coverage is requested in a timely fashion.
64
Have you been credited
with 600 hours of such
work over the past six
months, assuming a 56-hour
workweek?
no
yes
Request that your
employer make
contributions into the
Motion Picture Industry
Plan on your behalf.
Did your employer make
the contributions?
yes
Congratulations, you’ve got
employer-paid health coverage.
You must work 400 hours over
the next six months (assuming
a 56-hour workweek) to
maintain your coverage.
65
pga bulletin
2010 Election Results
Produced by is pleased to congratulate the newly-elected officers and delegates of the PGA.
Presidents:
HAWK KOCH
MARK GORDON
Vice President - Motion Pictures
GARY LUCCHESI
Vice President - Television
HAYMA “SCREECH” WASHINGTON
Treasurer:
LAUREN SHULER DONNER
Producers Council Delegates
BRUCE COHEN
DONALD DE LINE
RICHARD GLADSTEIN
SARAH GREEN
MARK MARABELLA
ERIN O’MALLEY
LYDIA DEAN PILCHER
CATHY SCHULMAN
JOSH SCHWARTZ
KAREN SPIEGEL
ERIC TANNENBAUM
MIKE TOLLIN
New Media Council Delegates
KENDALL ALLEN
JAMES FINO
JOHN HEINSEN
SOPHIA KIM
CHRIS PFAFF
CINDY POUND
JOE RUSSO
CHRIS THOMES
DEBORAH TODD
FELICIA WONG
AP Council Delegates
Production Coordinator:
JEN HAIRE
JOHN PETERMAN
Visual Effects:
MITCHELL FERM
Segment/Field Producer:
REBECCA GRAHAM FORDE
Associate Producer/Production
Manager/Production Supervisor:
SUZETTE BROWN
RACHEL KLEIN
CHRISTINA LEE STORM
STEPHEN MARINACCIO
Post-Production:
TERRA ABROMS
DAVID NEGLIA
Introducing the PGA Co-Production Showcase
Created and presented by the PGA International Committee, the
made its debut this
Co-Production Showcase (or CoProShow)
CoP
year at the Produced By Conference.
Conference This was not only the first coproduction showcase competition to be held at our Conference,
but (our sources tell us) the first to be held in Los Angeles. Five
submissions made by international
projects were selected from subm
(non-U.S. resident) film producers. The selected producers travprojects in hand, not only to take
eled to Los Angeles with film proj
part in Produced By 2010, but also to attend meetings set up by
member/volunteers:
their assigned PGA International Committee
C
Edwards, Bonnie Kanner
Karyn Benkendorfer, Sierra Choi, Rona
R
and T.J.
T J Mancini.
Mancini The Committee arranged several one-on-one
meetings for each participant, and introduced these talented international producers to the PGA membership and attendees of the
Conference.
66
“I am proud of the CoProShow winners and our International
Committee volunteers, who made this inaugural event a fantastic
success,” said PGA International Committee Chair Stuart Levy.
“This proves our Guild is forward-thinking in our approach toward
this rapidly-changing industry and the necessity of thinking globally
when considering opportunities.”
We are happy to share responses and reactions
to the CoProShow from each of the selected productions: (see opposite page)
“Being part of this first
PGAIC CoPro Showcase was
a fantastic opportunity. It
opened lots of doors and
offered a rare opportunity to
network with the world’s best
producers.”
Matt Hearn, The Fourth Knot
(Australia)
“All of the members of the
PGA that we encountered
went out of their way for
us, and the connections we
made (and continue to make)
because of the Conference will
certainly help our project.”
Eric Finkel, Somebody Else
(Canada)
Products and Services.
That makes banking just a little easier!
Here at MICU we’re showing off our talent and letting our creative
side shine through, by finding ways to bring you simple banking.
* Limited time - New Auto Loan rates as low as 3.99% up
to 60 months.
* Free access to over 28,000 CO-OP Network ATMs and 800,000
ATMs worldwide through links to the NYCE, STAR, Cirus,
Pulse and Plus networks.
* Car buying services through Autoland, Redbook, & Executive
Car Leasing.
* Our free checking account offers you both ATM and free debit
cards with REWARDS.
* We also offer CURewards™ for our VISA credit card
* Free Online Teller and Money Maestro Audio Teller.
* Real Estate loan services through West Coast Realty (personal
service). If we can’t fund the loan we’ll help you find a lender
who can help you.
“The CoProShow was an
amazing event and afforded us
the incredible opportunity to
meet with some of the finest
and revered producers in the
world.”
Richard Scobie, 66 Degrees
North (Ireland/Iceland)
“Over a few short days, I was
able to meet with independent
producers and executives at
the highest level and gain the
benefit of their wisdom and
advice.”
Nicholas Cole, Under the Black
Flag (Australia)
We offer guaranteed lowest loan rates for all consumer loans.
We’ll MEET or BEAT other approved rates from
other financial institutions.
Hollywood Branch
Studio City Branch
817 N. Vine Street, Suite 200
Hollywood, CA 90038
11440 Ventura Blvd, Suite 101
Studio City, CA 91604
Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833
Phone: 323 / 462-6447
Fax: 323 / 462-4411
Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833
Phone: 818 / 763-7005
Fax: 818 / 505-8407
Cuadpro® Marketing 10-35
Officers
“The CoProShow gave us a
unique opportunity to meet
and network with dozens of
other U.S. producers.”
Tim Baker, The Adventure of
Kokochin (Australia/China)
67
New Members
Member Benefits
The Producers Guild is proud to welcome the following new
members, who have joined the Guild since April, 2010.
PRODUCERS COUNCIL
ALLISON ABBATE
PHILIP AROMANDO
LORRIE BARANEK
GREG BARKER
CHRIS BAVELLES
ALEXANDRA BENNETT
DAVE BOGOSIAN
TODD BREAU
EVOLYN BROOKS
ALEX BULKLEY
LINDA BURNS
MARK BURTON
COREY CAMPODONICO
TOM CAPELLO
ROB CARLINER
KELLY CARMICHAEL
JASON CLARK
YOLANDA COCHRAN
CAROL CUDDY
KEVIN DE LA NOY
MARK DOCTROW
CAROL DONOVAN
DANNY DRAVEN
JEFFREY ERB
WOLFGANG ESENWEIN
NATALIE FELDMAN
CLARA GEORGE
BRUNSON GREEN
NORMAN GREEN
JULIANE HARE
JOSEPH HARTWICK, JR.
KATHRYN HAYDN
KARIN HAYES
DAVID HIGBY
TERRY IRVING
KENNETH KAMINS
GAYLE KIRSCHENBAUM
DAVID KNEEBONE
DAVID KOHNER ZUCKERMAN
JASON LAU
68
EDISON LAYNE
KATHRYN MAVRIKAKIS
MOLLY MAYOCK
CINDY MILLER
TROY MILLER
KEN MOK
ALEXANDER MOTLAGH
VANCE OWEN
MELISSA PALMER
PAMELA PEACOCK
VICTORIA PEARMAN
SITARAH PENDELTON
BRAXTON POPE
RAYMOND QUINLAN
BONNIE RADFORD
ELLEN RAPHAEL
BRETT RAPKIN
ROBERT RIESENBERG
ROBERT ROSEN
TIMOTHY RYDER
JEFF SAMMON
RICHARD SAMPSON
SUZAN SATTERFIELD
CONNOR SCHELL
ROBERT SCULL
RON SENKOWSKI
BRYAN SEXTON
SIGURJON SIGHVATSSON
HOLLY SORENSEN
CHRISTOPHER STOUT
EZRA SWERDLOW
TAKIS KATHRYN
CARA TAPPER
SCOTT THIGPEN
EMMA THOMAS
TOMMY TURTLE
WILLIAM VANDERKLOOT
JUDITH VERNO
BRENT WILSON
MICHAEL WINTER
JULIE YORN
AP COUNCIL
Associate Producer/Production
Manager/Production Supervisor
STACEY ADAMS
SUZANNE AKULLIAN
RENA BARUCH
KATE DIMENTO
KRISTOFFER EBER
SHANNON FOGARTY
ADAM GONZALEZ
KELLY HELSTROM MAXWELL
TANYA HOFFLER
MAXWELL KAUFMAN
CLINT KOLTVEIT
JOHN MAGENNIS
CARLOS MARIMON
JOE McLAUGHLIN
ABRAHAM PARK
JASON PINARDO
DAVE SCHULZ
TARYN TEIGUE
Segment/Field/Story Producer
MICHAEL BRIDENSTINE
GWEN CASSIDY
GRAHAM FLASHNER
PATRICK FRIEND
KEITH GELLER
DAVID JACOBS
KRIS JOHNSON
AMY McCARTY
CHRISTOPHER PEGG
MONICA RODMAN
NATHANIEL (NATE) STARCK
Production Coordinator
MARIA CEBALLOS-WALLIS
JENNY CHAN
STEVEN DOUGLASS
CHRISTOPHER GAIDA
LINDSAY MYERS
MAIRE NI ROCHAIN
JASON THOMAS SCOTT
Post-Production
SEBASTIAN ATTIE
ANDREW BALEK
KEVIN BRAUSS
DREW DALEA
BRITON ERWIN
GRAHAM GREENLEE
JESSICA LEVIN
JUSTIN LIGEIKIS
JEFF MACVITTIE
ROSS MATHY
CHRISTOPHER MOLNAR
JEFF ROBINSON
MATTHEW SCOTT
MINDY WEISSMAN
GRACE WHITEHOUSE
Visual Effects
KIMBERLY ADAMS
CASEY CANNON
JULIE GROLL
AMBER KIRSCH
ADAM LAGATTUTA
• Access to PGA employment
listings online résume search,
employment tools and job
forums
• Full access to PGA website
including events, calendar,
social networking tools
• Eligibility for individual, family
and small business healthcare
options through Producers
Health Insurance Agency
• Discounted registration for
Produced By Conference
• Participation in the Motion
Picture Industry Health, Welfare
& Pension Plan
• Eligibility for PGA Mentoring
Program
• Admission to special PGA
pre-release screenings and
Q&A events
• Free attendance at PGA
seminars
• Listing of contact and credit
information in searchable online
roster
• Arbitration of credit disputes
• Wide variety of discounts on
events, merchandise, travel
• Complimentary subscription to
Produced by
• Vote on Producers Guild
Awards and receive discount
tickets to the event, as well as
DVD screeners for awards
consideration
NEW MEDIA COUNCIL
ALICIA ARINELLA
CAITLIN BURNS
DIANE CHARLES
ERIC EDMONDS
LISA GOLDBERG
ANDY HOFFMAN
CHRISTOPHER KAMINSKI
LISA KORS
KEVIN LEZAK
BRIAN MANSUR
EMMA McGUINNESS
SCOTT MURRAY
ROXANNE REID
BRIAN SAVOIE
STEVEN STONE
AUTUMN TARLETON
CARRI WAGNER
JAY WILLIAMS
MICHAEL YUEN
69
In one of her many career adventures, Wendy Miller is currently heading up development at a certain TV network for adults only.
That’s as explicit as we can be.
70

Summer 2010 - Producers Guild of America

Transcription

Similar documents

sistas are doin` it for themselves

News/Talk/Sports Aircheck- June 2007

A film by

Press Kit - Indiecan Entertainment

The Flipside Newsletter Spring 2014

press release

hdtv producer

SOJ Rel V7 - Thompson Communications