Jun. 4 China
Canada Gateway for Film Script Competition: I cut out this Globe and
Mail article “It’s a giant learning experience” by Marsha Leander on Dec.
5, 2013. Here are the excerpts:
A year
ago, the Whistler Film Festival launched its China Canada Gateway for Film
Script Competition with much fanfare.
Three
projects were selected: an animated children’s movie, Butterfly Tale; a
romantic comedy set primarily in France, Blush; and The Eddie Zhao Story, based on a
real-life Chinese immigrant to the United States who fell victim to a con man and became a private eye.
But, 12 months later, all of the deals made at Whistler are off.
“You walk
out of the room thinking that your movie is finally going to get made,” says
Heidi Foss, who wrote Butterfly Tale. “It kind of sounded too good to be
true when it happened, and it turns out it was.”
Canadian
filmmakers can access development money and the increasingly important Chinese
film market as they try to get their movies made. And China, eager to become a film powerhouse, gains access to the
expertise of Canadian screenwriters and producers as they look for works
suitable for both the Chinese domestic and international markets.
Applicants
were advised in the application form that Chinese film projects are “incredibly
fast by North American standards. From concept to release in 12 months.”
But
organizers remain optimistic about the initiative, and say the main point of
the Gateway is to make connections between Canadian filmmakers and Chinese
studios.
Accessing
development financing was a problem for both Butterfly Tale and Blush.
In both cases the writers were reluctant to do work on their scripts on spec.
“Am I
going to change my beautiful little film with no money up front?” says
Montreal-based Foss, who is confident her film ultimately will be made outside
this deal. “I’m not going to do a million rewrites to satisfy a company that
hasn’t made a commitment other than sort of a handshake at the end of the
competition.”
Richard
Bell, Vancouver-based writer of Blush, says he and his producer had a
hard time contacting the studio in China, and when he was encouraged to flesh out his synopsis, he
refused. “I thought to myself: ‘My time would be better spent playing video
games on my Wii than writing this script.’”
The
number of entries is down this year – 26 compared with 110 last year – but
Milner says the proposals are stronger this time around. Twelve finalists will
pitch their projects this week. At least three will be selected for
development.
Both Bell
and Foss, in the runup to this year’s festival, say they have been approached
by other writers and asked if it’s worth their while to enter the competition.
Both said no.
But
Massey says the competition was a huge boost to his project, even if his film
didn’t end up getting made through the Gateway.
“The main
point is that Gateway provided instant feedback. It was the first time we
presented the project to any buyers or financiers and it validated immediately
that we had a good project. The fact that it didn’t work out with the party
that offered the deal is par for the course. Some of those things work out,
some don’t.”
My opinion: I have never heard of Gateway before. I guess I could look it up. I’m making The Vertex Fighter into a TV
movie. If the ratings are good, it can be a back door pilot.
What
stood out to me was this line: “My time would be better spent playing video
games on my Wii than writing this script.”
Canadian
movies: I was reading the Globe and
Mail article “Canadian movies had 2 percent share of domestic box office in
2013” by James Adams on Jan. 10. 2014.
It was
compared to 2.5% share in 2012. “The Quebec-made
francophone films dominated the domestic market.”
My
opinion: That’s kind of discouraging, but
I am aiming more for TV than movies.
Canadian
TV: I was reading the Globe and Mail
article "How Canadian TV can start thinking really big "by Kate Taylor
on Jun.
16, 2012. Here are some excerpts:
The rise
of the cable drama, expanding episodic television into long-form narratives
that represent the most sophisticated audiovisual storytelling the culture has
to offer, has no Canadian equivalent. Here, network television produces a
handful of more-or-less successful procedural dramas (Republic of Doyle,
Flashpoint, Rookie Blue), co-produces a few high-end European
entries (The Tudors, The Borgias); and often relegates what
little distinctive fare it does produce (in particular, unusual comedy, such as
Ken Finkleman’s Good Dog and Good God; and the nasty Less Than
Kind) to the relative obscurity of the Canadian specialty channels.
Canada isn’t playing television’s game of thrones. That’s partly
because it doesn’t have the big audiences and big money to compete; but also,
more sadly yet more reversibly, because its risk-averse television broadcasters
are failing to back talent in a culture that too quickly turns to airing U.S. television rather than demanding better from its own.
“Every
show that has succeeded has had people who stuck by it.”
The
notoriously expensive 2010 pilot for Boardwalk Empire cost $18-million (U.S.) according to Variety. Of course, American budgets are
bigger, typically $2.5-million to $3-million an hour-long episode versus
$1-million in Canada. While Canadian series can access more money through
international co-productions, especially for historical dramas, such
productions aren’t visibly Canadian. Bigger budgets provide the money to pay
for the fancier costumes and big-name stars that lure viewers – a Joseph
Fiennes on Camelot or Jeremy Irons on The Borgias – but, more
importantly, they pay for more writers, and more time to shoot.
Industry
insiders say shows such as Mad Men on AMC or,
previously, The Sopranos on HBO are considered loss leaders: What they
deliver is critical buzz and Emmy nominations that will build a channel’s
reputation and its subscription base. While Canadian specialty channels can
also afford to be less ratings-driven than the networks, the space for
high-quality Canadian drama in what is already a small niche in a small market
is getting increasingly cramped.
“The
problem in Canada is that there are so few networks, it’s hard to stick your
neck out and make shows that are unconventional.”
Programmers
often look to procedural dramas – always a favourite with audiences – which may
explain why Canada has had a fair amount of success in that field in recent
years, with U.S. partners signing on for shows such as Flashpoint, The
Listener and the new medical drama Saving Hope. And yet, for the
most part, the talked-about U.S. cable dramas are not programs that fit recognized genres;
they’re character-driven shows created by individual visionaries.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/how-canadian-tv-can-start-thinking-really-big/article4267928/
My opinion: It was a
good article, and I really learned how hard it is to get a Canadian TV show
produced.
Kijiji: I got this Kijiji newsletter.
I clicked on the video on how they made a commercial for their website. They called all these people who were selling
things on the site and bought the items from there.
The video looked professionally made.
Jun. 5 Whistler
Film Festival: I looked up “China Canada Gateway for Film Script
Competition” and it lead me to this website. It’s
a very big site. It has lots of info
like festival info, industry, film and events, press, box office, etc.
http://www.whistlerfilmfestival.com/
