Where's the jobs

I'm one of those older guys who really got into computers, was the first one I knew of who bought a computer way back in 1986, an Atari. I was one of the first to buy a Hi-8 camcorder and later a DV camcorder. I learned how to edit on Final Cut Pro and made DVDS with color labels. Right now I have 5 computers, 3 laptops and 2 desktops.

I use a 6-year old XP and have a 13-inch Dell laptop for traveling, the other laptop has a black screen and I rarely use it. I have two Mac's, an old G4 and a new iMac.

What this leads to is this; I have shot and edited several short documentaries, adding music I created in Garageband and sold DVD's I made. But there was something I forgot to think about until my non-digital friend reminded me.

He told me that, in doing what I described above, I was taking away the jobs of at least 5 people; editors, camerapersons, musicians and a few others. I laughed but then thought about it, he was right.

Some time ago I needed to get a PAL dvd which plays in Europe and I called my usual dubbing studio who make dvds in different formats. PAL dvds can't play in North America and I had to get a copy of a trailer I made to send to Italy for a festival.

My usual company had 3 offices, Burbank, Hollywood and Santa Monica. When I called I discovered that Burbank and Santa Monica offices were closed, and only Hollywood remained. Why? Not enough business.

Go back to what my friend said, I was killing the industry. Okay, not just me. Imagine 1000 of me, or even better, 100,000 of me, each filming, editing, creating music and titles and generally everything we need to make a film... all by ourselves.

Today the LA Times ran an article titled, "Dreary picture of TV, film job sector".

In the article they describe the loss of jobs by almost 8%, the lowest since 2001. At the same time normal jobs rose 1.8%.

The problem is that it's not only technology that's killing jobs, it's tax incentives. Canada started with the tax incentives by giving production companies up to 35% tax credits for coming to Canada. Basically it means that for every million dollars spent, a Canadian province would give back $350,000. It's a bit more complicated but that's the general idea.

So Hollywood began to lose business and then several states like Louisiana and New Mexico began offering their tax credits and it became a race between Canada and US as to who gave the most or the best.

Which leaves Hollywood in the lurch. 

And this means less TV shows (although that might not be bad :), but the future doesn't look bright as technology kills jobs, not only in the film business but every business. 

And how's this for a real problem, there is about an 85% unemployment within the Writer's Guild of America. That means that only 15% of us are working. Our membership is anywhere from a few thousand up to 10 thousand guild writers. Nobody really knows how much as the guild keeps this a secret.

But it's always been that way for writers so we learn to take it in stride.

Like my book, which is now finished and will be out in 2 weeks.  It ain't a movie but it's  writing.

And I'm already working on a new 30 minute doc that I can sell on Amazon and iTunes.

How the internet changed screenwriting

As many of you have read, I'm more of a filmmaker than a writer although most of my efforts go towards selling my screenplays or trying to get them financed. In fact this blog which began in August 2009 was about my efforts to make Travel Day, a feature that unfortunately fell apart. 

But I have done almost every job there is on a movie, from being a P.A. who drives actors around or carries out the trash right up to director and producer. But again, most of my earnings came from writing.

There was a good article in the LA Times a few days ago which described the heady years of "spec scripts". I was thrown into that world around 1992 wherein my agent would "auction" my latest spec. Translated it means he would offer my speculative screenplay to whomever would buy it first. 

This all sounds good and it was at a time when spec scripts were auctioned as the agents would announce that the script is up for sale on Monday and will close on Friday so if a producer wanted it, they had to make up their minds.

My auctions weren't really ever bought, but I did get meetings which would give me work later on. The big stars of this bidding war were mainly two guys, Shane Black and Joe Eszterhas and a handful of others. Joe wrote Flashdance and Basic Instinct among others and Shane wrote the Lethal Weapon movies with rising star Mel Gibson. These guys made millions on their spec scripts.

Up till then screenplays were either based on books or ideas from studios or producers but the spec business went overboard. I did sell two specs but nowhere near the money those two guys got. Actually The Town That Christmas Forgot was a spec as well but I got WGC scale fees.

This spec function depended on different producers or studios bidding for the screenplay and since it was passed by courier (email still hadn't arrived fully yet) there was a gradual buildup of energy to see who would get what and for how much. Joe is believed to have written down a story on a napkin in a restaurant and sold it for somewhere between $2-$4 million.

But that all changed after the internet came up and made the process more democratic and less expensive. I still remember sending screenplays to producers and my agents couriering them to studios but when email and attachments arrived, it was faster.

So fast that when a spec was put up for auction everyone knew instantly about it and also who was interested and who wasn't.  This changed the rules in favor of the buyer. Gone were the days when it took a week to decide and not know what your enemy was considering to pay. Now everyone knew it as Deadline Hollywood began to print daily information, often refreshing the information as well

Now, it's very rare to get a spec sale in the millions, in fact the writer of the LA Times said a spec can bring around $100 thousand and even that's not always the case. Who wins - probably the studios and producers and since stars now don't really get as much as they used to either, prices are falling in Hollywood. 

The actor's story is interesting also, we're now in a situation where, as my friend Paul Lynch puts it, there are no more real stars that guarantee big money for studios and producers.

But that's the next blog.

Today I start my new spec screenplay just to test the water.
  
    

The Week-ender... "Tonight show"

There's been some talk this week in L.A. that NBC is going to take the Tonight Show with Jay Leno back to New York. For those of you who didn't know, the Tonight Show is the longest running entertainment show in history, starting around 1950.

Steve Allan was the first host in New York, Allen had a great sense of humor and was accomplished as a comedian, host, song writer and almost anything else. He left the show and Jack Paar took over. 

Paar was more intellectual than Allen and often would make fun of sponsors, Timex watches in particular. To show how strong the watches were he took a hammer and smashed the watch to pieces. Needless to say Timex was not happy. Again, the show was broadcast from NYC.

Then came Johnny Carson who held onto the show for 30 years, a record in TV. Other talk show hosts tried but nobody could match him in the ratings. Eventually the network decided to move to Los Angeles where there were many more celebrities. The show moved and after Carson retired Jay Leno got the show in a bit of backstabbing Letterman. Carson wanted Letterman to host but Leno got it.

Other late-night shows came, Leno was replaced by Conan O'Brian, who lasted a short time until Leno wanted back. Then came the Jimmys, Kimmel & Fallon and a few more, some who failed and some like Craig Ferguson stayed on.

But NBC isn't happy and wants bigger ratings so they are considering going back to New York. Remember why the show moved to L.A.? 

Because there are more celebrities here.

NBC is in a bad position, worst ratings of the big 4, CBS, ABC and Fox are all doing better. 

Personally I think the Tonight show format, originally started by Steve Allen, has too many competitors and frankly, a little boring with the often lame monologue, followed by guests plugging movies and a band at the end. It's pretty much all the same and what is needed is a new way to do these shows.

But I don't really know how it could be done.

Until then, I watch Letterman simply because he's a lot more comfortable in his job, the old pro who is so much better as an interviewer than any of the others. Then there's Ferguson who's slightly crazy, and you never know what he's gonna do.

You can find great clips on YouTube with Steve Allen, Jack Paar and of course... "here's Johnny".

 Anyways, have a good week-end. I get my book proof next Wednesday...  excited.
 

Kate Mack Paris is Haute

If you love travel, fashion and fun... check out these amazing pieces from French Fashion Designer Kate Mack! She's an extraordinary talent with an eye for detail and all things fierce! 

Fashion is not only about looking good or different... it's about showing one's personality, one's identity, your ID! It should never only be a narcissistic reflection. ~Kate Mack

How to get the public to pay for a movie

I've talked about crowd-funding in the past but something interesting happened that could change the way movies are made. Or at least some movies.

Several years ago there was a TV series called Veronica Mars. It was about a young girl and her father, who was a cop in a small California beach town. It starred Kristen Bell. The show ran on what was then called UPN and is now called CW. It's the channel that has all the young and beautiful people. But that's another story.

Anyways, the show was cancelled after three years and was gone. But there remained a pretty good fan base who would watch and rewatch the show wherever they could find the old episodes. 

Apparently there were a lot of fans.

The show's creator, Rob Thomas, came up with an idea. What if the fans paid for a movie based on the TV show. But, as we all know, it costs money. And Warner Brothers owned the rights. And they weren't about to pay for a movie on a TV show that was cancelled, dead and gone.

So Thomas went to Kickstarter.com.

What is that, you might ask? I'm sure a lot of you know already.

Kickstarter and IndieGoGo are just two crowd-funders and there are dozens more. And what they do is raise the money for you. But not from themselves.

They get it from people like me and you and your uncle and anyone else, and in this case, the fans who continued to like Veronica Mars.

How it works is simple; you put your idea for a movie on either of the above websites and then they open it to the public. In short, the crowd and the funding.

Does it work?

It does work but it is up to the "crowd", meaning anyone who goes to those websites. There is a time limit, 30 days or 40 or whatever the deadline is. People "donate" $10 or more, there is no real limit. One Canadian businessman put in $10,000. 

While each "crowd-funder" is different, they all keep the donations until either the amount is raised or the time limit ends. And not all applicants get their money. Many of them don't make it to the amount they need.

Many of the applicants are asking for as little as $5000 to make their movie, others like Paul Schrader, writer of Taxi Driver (in the 1970's) raised around $400,000 to make his movies. 

So what does the donator/investor get for putting in their $10 or $10,000?

They can get a copy of the screenplay, or a t-shirt, or have a small part in the movie, or whatever the producer can think of. But they don't get their money back.

Still, they can say they helped finance a movie.

And they're not all movies; there are short films and artistic efforts. In fact crowdfunding can be for anything. And Obama even made it bigger for small business and anyone who wants to startup a business.

And yes, I have considered crowd-funding for the last 4 years or so but can't find the right project. Yet.

So how much money did the Veronica Mars site bring in? Well Thomas was asking for $2 million. He got it by the end of the first day.

So far he's exceeded that amount to a total of $3.5 million. And his deadline is still open.
                 

Le Bar at Plaza Athenee Glows

Just a few images from the haute Plaza Athenee in Paris... my friend Kate and I love photography. She's a fashion designer who once lived with her professional photographer boyfriend for years; and I just love to create. But this time I was her subject.

My London Apartment in Chic Mayfair

There are so many things that I love about London; and my apartment in Mayfair is at the top of the list. After spending a week in Paris, I took the Eurostar over to London to connect with friends. I checked into the historic, 5 Star Athenaeum in West London. When I walked into my apartment, I instantly felt a connection. I loved it!

It was a Haute Travels’ girl dream! The mirror furniture and accents, the space and fashionable influences gave me life. I was in love with the mirrored vanity table and glowing ball of light that hung over my bed; it was gorgeous.

The living room and kitchen offered everything that a girl who is out and about in London needs when it’s time to retreat back into her private enclave.

The townhouse is nestled among a row of homes in Piccadilly and just around the corner from the Four Seasons London at Park Lane. The location is fabulous, everything is close by including Harrods and Buckingham Palace. Bond Street is just a stone’s throw away along…with nearby theaters, Soho and Canary Wharf.

More Images of my London Apartment:

When it comes to fashionable accommodations, The Athenaeum nails it. They even offer complimentary Wi-Fi, breakfast and unlimited snacks and beverages in the apartment along with maid service. You only live once so make the most of it!