So I went back and watched my animatic from the fresh perspective of having my pitch be poo-poo'd by "Hollywood". Dan, a commenter on the blog (you can find Dan's work here: www.goofygraffix.com) was confused as to my ultimate goal. He writes: "I had no idea you were shopping it around... I thought this was a personal project that would be available on DVD..."
Thanks Dan for making me realize I was probably confusing my audience with pitching. Also thanks to Matt (author of www.houseofmove.com) also for the encouraging words last week. He did seem to dwell on the backstory and not ask about the actual story... but I also admit I think I pitched the wrong story.
I've discovered that a pitch is a difficult thing to craft.
In this week's podcast, I address some of the comments and give special mention to those who sent me encouraging comments.
I've been reading a very extraordinary book: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. It is an eye opening look at the historical connection between myth, religion and our story's heroes. Part of solving the pitch (to Hollywood) is to understand the Hero's journey, and use that journey to pitch the story.
The encouragement alone could have been enough to keep me going with this. The pitch seminar taught me that I must be a good salesman, and package my product in a way that makes it appealing for the buyer. But it also told me that I was learning how to pitch it a very narrow market, and that there are those of you out there who would see this thing because it is NOT hollywood, and to you folks - you are the audience in my head; the audience I am ultimately pitching this to, and who will ultimately "buy" this thing. And by "buy", I mean believe it, like it, watch it.
My progress report this week reveals that I'm getting a bit of help with the project. Love it or hate it, I hope you don't think I'm cheating here, I know you're gonna be wowed next week when you get a peek at Marcus and Corben as they are looking right now.
I'll be taking a brief hiatus after next week's post, but there's a couple of real-life issues I can't avoid and need to pay attention to. But when I return in mid-October, I am endeavoring to wow you with a quantum leap in progress. In the meantime, if you wish to comment, or get in touch with me at all, please feel free to email me at: flawedprefect@gmail.com I am always happy to hear from you.
Cheers,
Paul C
Originally published September 17th 2008
5 comments:
Great Podcast as usual. I am glad you reached the conclusion you did. The McDonald's line was hilarious.
I am also happy your bringing more people into the project. I have just started bringing more artists and animators into my own little project and it really feels like a great weight has been lifted off my back haven done so.
WALL-E is an interesting film to consider. If Andrew Stanton were just one of us pitching his film around Hollywood, he may never had gotten it made because of Hollywood's closed mindedness. It seems it takes the "big clanging ones" of a major player such as Pixar to get any little bit of art and intelligence Up on the silver screen.
-Matt
I believe the advice you got at the pitch session is advice on basically how to make a bad movie. You're right to say "Screw You, Hollywood", because if the hero gets everything he wants, if the hero goes away unchanged at the end, then I don't need to see the film. Why bother?
Plus, I would say that the advice is cynical and wrong. Not only wrong-headed, but absolutely wrong. The best stories are where the hero comes away changed and doesn't get what he wants. There are ways to spin even those two things into a happy ending. See 3:10 to Yuma and especially Jim Mangold's commentary on the character arcs and positive/negative nature of What The Hero Gets.
But beyond that, we've had 75 years of formulaic cheesy overly-happy Hollywood endings, and I say that's enough!
Make your film your way, Paul, for your own enjoyment, or for sale to TV series or movie, direct to DVD, or whatever. There are other markets out there for films, and the Hollywood ending isn't the only bar of quality.
Geez, I hate to think of people out there giving that sort of advice. No wonder so many films suck these days.
Matt - Yes, the films that break the rules are the ones which usually get made because someone attached has clout. If Spielberg walks into a room, all he has to say is "I want to make a movie" and the immediate reply is "Ok, how much do you need?"
But back on track... that's great that I'm not the only one who is getting others involved! It makes me feel less apprehensive about trying to make this project, which I thought was being followed cos it was a solo thing.
Citing Wall-E is a perfect example of how the Suits many times don't see the forest for the trees. I wouldn't say so much that Wall-E is the exception that proves the rule. I think Wall-E is part of a new moviemaking and entertainment philosophy that's been around for 5 or 6 years now, and the suits haven't caught up yet.
Battlestar Galactica and Firefly are examples of wildly popular entertainment set in dark settings (yes, they're TV shows, not movies, but I think on analysis, they bear much more resemblance to film than TV, both in terms of subject matter and production value). They both concentrate on story and character and have done well despite their dark settings. It can be done, but any suit that still clings to the old Hollywood formula hasn't caught up to the 2000s yet.
Hey Steve - I ONLY JUST got a "1 comment needs moderation" warning, so to give everybody context, I read Steve's first message second.
I apologize if I gave you the impression I was actually halting any freedom of speech - I take all criticism on board, here.
I could argue about the point: "the hero always gets what he wants" on both sides, but I tend to lean towards the notion that character development (lower case - the phenomenon, not the title of my movie) is far more interesting.
Basically, Mr Hollywood's rebuttal to that notion is that "the Hero always had the power in him, and only his world view changes".
Therefore, we perceive the hero changing, but everyone from Luke Skywalker to Wall.E prove this point - Wall.E was special: he had quirks no other Wall.E had - it is why he survived, endured, and ultimately why he hitched a ride to the Axiom. He had a gift no other hero had to enable him to bring forth the changes he did.
I did see 3:10 to Yuma. I want to see it again with commentary.
Personally, I believe our understanding of certain processes and the acceptance that they have gone before give us the power to either perpetuate the past or move on from them.
But again, cheers Steve, for the point of view. I really appreciate it.
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