film independent blog

FIND Interview: Writer/Director Raymond de Felitta on City Island (Part 2 of 2)

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:41:22 -0400

Writer/director Raymond de Felitta and actor/producer Andy Garcia were brought together by their matchmaking agents at Paradigm. After their first introduction they agreed to work together on de Felitta's romantic comedy, City Island. Set in City Island, an obscure little island next to the Bronx, Garcia plays Vince Rizzo, a middle aged prison warden who secretly dreams of becoming an actor. It turns out he is not the only person in his family harboring a secret. As layers of secrets slowly reveal themselves, it becomes clear the Rizzo clan has been living in deception for years. But City Island is not a family drama; instead de Felitta wanted to give the story a light touch, with comedy and romance making it an uplifting story in the end. However well the final project turned out, it was a challenging project to initiate, plagued by difficulties in casting and funding. De Felitta chronicled his journey in a blog, moviestilldawn.blogspot.com. The cast, which includes Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, and Dominik García-Lorido (Andy Garcia's daughter), finally came together a few weeks before shooting was scheduled to begin. De Felitta says the film is his proudest achievement. He has enjoyed hearing how audiences connect to the film. Garcia, who was born in Cuba and grew up in Florida, says becoming a City Islander was almost second nature. As de Felitta put it--since Garcia was in The Godfather, he may as well be an Italian.

By Lorenza Muñoz

Interview with Raymond de Felitta...

How did you come up with Andy Garcia for the part?

Originally, because Vince is an Italian-American, I thought either Robert DeNiro or James Gandolfini. But they were not available. And so for a long time I struggled. I thought, do I change his nationality? I went through a long process. But then my agent came up with Andy and I thought, Andy is like an honorary Italian-he is in the Godfather so he is an Italian. He is an everyman.

And he really committed himself to the movie...

He and I co-produced it. A lot of actors, when they work for less than their price, want a producer credit. But he fully co-produced this movie. We sat in his office and teamed up to do this. And we utilized all of our resources. He did a lot in terms of getting the talent for the movie. He is a great advocate if he is excited about something.

Are you a mussel sucker or a clam digger?

I am neither. They need a term for someone who goes there to film. My family is from the Bronx but I had never heard of City Island until I read a New York Times

article about it and I thought how weird. When people have filmed there, they usually don't call it City Island-they call it Connecticut. It became an obsession with me.

Did you move there to get a good sense of the place?

You can visit a few times and get the hang of it. It is a colorful and intricate community.

How did you have time to write a blog on the process of filming the movie?

I started the blog because I was writing about other stuff and I thought I would have to stop. But now it's like my third arm and I can't seem to get rid of it.

By reading your blog, it is clear this was a struggle!

I don't think filmmaking is too different from marriage. We all think everyone else is doing it right and we are doing it wrong. But we are all doing it to the best of our ability. It is very hard to piece the puzzle together when you are making a movie without a major company behind it.

Andy noted how much harder it is today to make film than a few years ago...

You can look at some of the best movies in the early ‘90s and those are studio movies that would not be made by studios today.

How is it being the writer and the director? Do you leave the writer at the door when you start directing?

For me it is easier-I have also directed stuff that I haven't written and that is harder because I feel a responsibility toward the writer. I find it easier to do both. I am not the kind of writer that wants actors to say every word a certain way. I always think that good actors will improve on it and make me look better. I want actors to feel empowered. Writers who don't direct don't understand what allows a director to take the movie to the next level. Directors who have never written don't know how to respect what they do. Whenever I hear of the stratified arguments between directors and writers I take it with a grain of salt. They both need to learn from each other.

Despite all the casting difficulties, you ended up with a great cast. Things seem to happen for a reason, no?

I have to trust that they do. I got the right actress and right actor and the money came together. This is the proudest I am of anything I've done. It seems to connect with audiences in a strong way and that is very satisfying. I can see why people get addicted to making movies that have audience appeal.

The theme of the movie, about realizing your dreams and not hiding from them, would seem to be a universal theme...

We are all scared of what everyone thinks of our dreams and the process of exposure is so painful. What I sense is that the audience's pain and laughter comes from the fact that Vince can't stop being exposed. There is this moment in life when you become who you are.

So what is next for you?

I just wrote a script called Married and Cheating. I watched Love, Actually and I thought if it were on steroids, it would be very, very good. I felt like marriage and fidelity and infidelity are so much a part of everyone's crappy life right now. I just thought 'let me write something that is out there and honest and yet, that can be framed as a romantic comedy that has optimism.' I am making it with the people who produced City Island.

As you say, in these stressful times it is probably timely...

It has probably been timely for 1,000 years.

Be sure to join us at the FIND Film Series screening on City Island on Thursday, March 18, followed by a Q&A with actor/producer Andy Garcia.

Before joining Film Independent, Lorenza Muñoz was a staff writer with the Los Angeles Times. For 14 years at the paper she covered news, politics, business, and entertainment. She recently completed her first novel, The Weight of Flight.

FIND Interview: Atom Egoyan, Director of Chloe

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:00:00 -0400

Director Atom Egoyan is best known for artistic film endeavors like The Sweet Hereafter and Exotica that delve into complicated emotions and human frailties. While his latest feature, Chloe, deals with those issues as well, it is perhaps one of his most commercial films yet. Starring Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried, Chloe lurks into the hidden worlds of a strange love triangle where infidelity, eroticism, fantasy, and attraction collide with tragic results. The film, based on the 2003 French drama Nathalie, was written by Erin Cressida Wilson, the playwright and screenwriter behind the 2002 independent hit, Secretary. The film's producer is Ivan Reitman, a director known more for such crowd pleasing pictures as Ghostbusters and Dave (and this year's Oscar nominated Up in the Air) rather than intimate and sexy studies of human nature. Egoyan said he was intrigued by the story and the challenges of re-igniting passion in a long time relationship.

By Lorenza Muñoz

This was based on the French film Nathalie. What was the impetus for re-making it?

I saw Nathalie when it came out six years ago, but it would have never occurred to me to do a remake. Ivan Reitman [producer] bought the rights and approached me. He loved Exotica. I read the script by Erin Cressida Wilson and really loved it. It is the study of a marriage. There are a lot of challenges in terms of being able to keep things alive and there is a point when that initial sense of what attracted you to a person dissipates and you begin to take them for granted. What Julie's character does is reactivate an erotic connection to her husband through a surrogate. What she doesn't expect is that Chloe has her own narrative, and these two women kind of clash.

This seems like a novel film for Ivan Reitman's production company...

He was drawn to this and he wanted to direct it, but realized he was not the right person to direct it. It is odd to think of Ivan as being the glue to making this film, but if you look at the film Dave, it is also a study of a marriage. He is a very complex person and while his movies tell a certain type of comedy, his interests are wide ranging.

Where was the movie set?

The huge stumbling block was that the film was set in San Francisco, but to make it real for me I had to set it in Toronto. In San Francisco I was overwhelmed with the fact that I was a tourist. I had never lived inside the social milieu of David and Catherine in San Francisco, but I knew that milieu in Toronto. There are two huge decisions that a director makes: how you cast and where you locate it. Is the film based on familiarity or from an outsider's point of view? I didn't think the outsider's point of view would work in this. I wanted to make use of the city and the streetcar lines and the ravines that flow through Toronto. They are a real part of the topography of the place, and they served as a metaphor for the film with final and natural forces intruding in David and Catherine's ordered life.

How big of a stumbling block was it to re-locate it?

I had to sell that idea. They wanted the feeling of the city to be seductive and I don't think Ivan saw Toronto in that way. This is a Toronto that did not exist when he was growing up there. So as I showed him around he began to see that.

Did you know each other through your Toronto connection?

In 1984 I was being nominated for Next of Kin and he was honored for Ghostbusters (at a Canadian ceremony). I went up to him and congratulated him and he was very attentive. Now 25 years later, he says has no recollection of the meeting.

So he left Canada and you stayed...

If you want to make films that are commercial you leave. If you want to make something more quirky then there is a place here that will support that. Yet, for all of Tom Pollock and Ivan Reitman's connections in L.A., most of the money for Chloe came from France. It really was funded mostly by Studio Canal.

The whole family seems totally detached from each other, as cold as their house. Is that the feeling you meant to invoke?

Yes and to evoke Catherine's need for control. It is about order and control and glass, and living in a house as we look through it, like an aquarium.

When you were filming this, Natasha Richardson died. How was it working through the tragedy with Liam Neeson?

When he came back we were so grateful. The crew was so attentive to him and gave him the protective place he needed to be. Everyone was very sensitive about not telling anyone in the press that he was back in Toronto. That circus was kept away from him. I suppose it all worked out as well as it could given the horrific circumstances. He is an extraordinary man able to make the best out of the most inexplicable tragedy. It just seemed like she just slipped, like she just fell. We don't understand sometimes that it might be more dramatic...

Amanda Seyfried really captured this rather sad but manipulative call girl. She really seems to have grown as an actor...

I saw her during an open audition before she became a star, before Mamma Mia. She came in and she was amazing. I never do this but I told her right there that she had the part. At the time she wasn't a big enough name to finance the film, but this is probably the last film where she will get cast just because she is a great actor and not because she is a big name. She was nervous about working with Julie, but Julie was great with her. The two of them really connected. We didn't want to turn Chloe into a psycho. When you fall for someone and you need to be with this person and you fall into this craziness, it seems so real.

In your personal life, you and your wife Arsinee Khanjian broke up. It was strange not seeing her in an Atom Egoyan film...

She was so much in my mind as we were making it. We had this incredible relationship. I realized that in my own writing I make an actors' job really tough. With a movie like Chloe, you identify with the characters in a real way. I have put Arsinee through some incredible hoops.

Will you keep working together?

Oh yeah. She could have played Catherine but she can't finance a film. That is the brutal reality of the business we are in.

What are you working on now?

I am writing and reading a ton. Nothing definite. I will do opera and an installation for the new home of the Toronto Film Festival. What was very eye opening was seeing how hard it is to get a film like Chloe made. Those adult dramas are now being made for TV...I am reading three thick Swedish crime novels that are in vogue. They are up my alley, the really dark psychologically motivated thrillers. But it is a bit overwhelming.

Be sure to join us at the FIND Film Series screening of Chloe on Wednesday, March 17.

INDIE FILM Q & A with Heidi Van Lier: Did the Spirit Awards Suck-It This Year?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:43:59 -0400

Q: Did the Spirit Awards suck-it this year?

A: Um - NO! Not even sure that is possible, but since everyone on the indie planet has asked me about my little adventure last week, I thought I'd come up with a timeline to explain all that went down...

5:15

Realized I was already 15 minutes late for something I had heard I should be there for at 5. Carolyn Cohagan calls and informs me that I don't have to be there till 6:30, at the earliest.

6:17

On the road. Realize I forgot to bring cash, but no need, I have a parking pass.

6:32

Get in parking lot line and into parking structure and am informed that I have to pay $20 for parking and will be escorted to the exit immediately. I ask where there is an ATM, the parking girl tells me on Figueroa. I ask her if it's safe. She looks at me funny and then says, "No."

6:40

Get to gas station on Figueroa. Ask where the ATM is. Told it is out of service. Ask where there is another one. Told, "I don't fucking know."

6:50

After driving around the Staple Center in concentric circles, I spot an ATM sign and illegally park and run into a tattoo parlor where I quickly get cash while being told, "Use of the ATM costs 100 push-ups." Gross. I think he was going to say something even more frightening after that.

7:04

Back in parking lot, still alive, pay the $20. Park. Hike my way toward where everyone else seems to be headed.

7:09

Get in line with pass at the ready. Told no, I have to go the "press route."

7:30

After going back and forth 4 times, someone takes pity on me and walks me to the stairs I've been told to look for. I pause to see Pierce Brosnan getting out of his car. I still love you, Remington Steele.

7:34

Told that my pass is for the Press Tent and the Cantina. I ask the girl with the headset about access to the Event Tent where the Spirit Awards are actually happening and she just says, "No." (Hmm, I'm not good with the word "No.")

7:35

I ask the security dude in the red jacket, at the entrance to the Sponsor Lounges, if he can let me in to get to the Event Tent. Nope. I ask him if he can find someone with some authority who can let me in. Nope. Beefeater-trained guy just ignores me after that.

7:36

A cool guy recognizes me from the blog and tells me to come in. Yay! I'm in the lounge/backstage area and I have a personal bodyguard! (Yep, he's already my Facebook friend, he's my savior!)

7:37

I have a glass of wine in my hand.

7:40

I run into Fix director Tao Ruspoli who insists it would be ok to sneak me into the Event Tent, and that it would be fine for me to sit AT HIS TABLE IN THE THIRD ROW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM without a ticket, because his wife, Olivia Wilde, is presenting an award.

7:41

Flashes of what it would be like to be "That Indie Film Girl That Got Kicked Out of the Spirit Awards" race through my head as he simply walks me right in and seats me at his table with the Jameson reps.

7:55

Right after Emile Hirsch chats with Tao, gorgeous Olivia Wilde arrives at the table looking phenomenal and regal as always, and I nervously stand there thinking I'm about to get kicked out.

8:00

Eddie Izzard makes me lmao and I want to snuggle him under a blankie.

8:10

Precious wins lots of awards and everyone gets up to hug Lenny Kravitz. I plot how to win an award so that I can hug Lenny Kravitz too.

8:40

Bathroom run and Amy Dotson from IFP New York and The Gotham Awards chases me down to sit in the backstage lounge and chit chat. The second of my attorneys, the ever-cool Linda Lichter stops by with encouraging words about my indie career.

9:00

Back at the table, in the middle of everything: Elton John, Pierce Brosnan, and Laura Dern to the right. Robert Duvall on my left. Jeff Bridges in front of him. The entire Precious cast and crew in front of him, Lenny Kravitz within hugging distance right in front of us. Gemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords next to them. And those are just the ones I could see.

9:18

Johnny Weir walks by during a moment of calm and I actually yell out, "I love you Johnny Weir!" He looks at me like he isn't as annoyed as he should be. (We're best friends forever now.)

9:30

The Jameson crew starts pouring shots of Jameson and I start drinking them.

10:00

(Not actually sure if it was really 10:00 due to the Jameson.) Something else happened, oh, the awards ended after Eddie Izzard made me lol and lmfao.

10:00

After Party! Finally met Orem Pell, director of Paranormal Activity, thanks to Drea Clark. Introduced Orem to Kay Schaber of the Writers Guild. Found Carolyn Cohagan, who then introduced me to more people that I'm pretty sure I annoyed to tears. Ran into Larry Fessenden who doesn't remember me at all, just like most of the people I ran into. Congratulated Kyle Patrick Alvarez (Easier With Practice), and Lynn Shelton (Humpday) on their wins. Talked to Tom Quinn and Ben Kasulke long enough for them to ditch me on the way to the after-after thing. I met Johnny Weir a couple more times and just like shouted stuff at him about how great he is. Took pix of Kyle Patrick Alvarez with him, and Marta Palley. (no one offered to take my picture with him, frown.) Watched Folayo Lasaki dancing in a groovy dress and have to smile.

12:00

Or somewhere near that...Finally met DAWN HUDSON! And guess what? She actually knew who I was! (Note to self: Grow up to be Dawn Hudson.) (Note to self about note to self: Don't let Dawn Hudson know you want to grow up to be her.)

1:00

Off to the Standard to recuperate with the Film Independent crew, and then magically home and in bed by 5am.

Get your films done and out there. Let's all get to hug Lenny Kravitz next year!

Don't forget Stu Pollard's Indie Film Business Plan Primer! We all need it!

**Please send all your questions to heidi@indiefilmrulebook.com. If I can, I will try to answer them in this blog. Otherwise, buy my book (www.lulu.com/indiefilmrulebook) and once you've read it you can use your email access to send me more questions that I will answer in a private email.

Heidi Van Lier is an indie filmmaker living in Los Angeles. She has made 3 feature films, Chi Girl which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival, Monday which screened as a special screening at the Slamdance Film Festival, and American Decaf which will make the festival rounds soon and she is currently shooting her 4^th feature, Ice Cream Cake. Heidi now programs for the Slamdance Film Festival and continues to counsel 20-30 filmmakers about festival strategy every year. Her new book, The Indie Film Rule Book, is available at lulu.com and is a strategic guide for indie filmmakers. Go buy one now!

FIND CASE STUDY: CHILDREN OF INVENTION

maint — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:09:12 -0500

Written and Directed by Tze Chun (Film Independent Fellow 2008) and produced by Mynette Louie (Film Independent Fellow 2009)

After premiering at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Children of Invention began an exciting year on the festival circuit where the filmmmakers engaged in active promotion and DVD sales, which included a streaming window on YouTube during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. As part of their DIY (Do It Yourself) and DIWO (Do It With Others) distribution strategy the film is now having a limited theatrical run in Boston, Los Angeles, and New York. Film Independent conducted a case study of the film in October of 2009 and will publish a follow up with the filmmakers after their theatrical run in late March. As more and more filmmakers are embracing new distribution solutions -trying different new ways of getting their films to an audience-- Film Independent will be following their experiences and sharing them with our members through these written and live case studies once a month.

Case Study: Children of Invention

Narrative Feature

Director: Tze Chun

Producers: Mynette Louie, Trevor Sagan

Budget: Under $500,000

Financing: Private Equity

Production: 25 days in July-August 2008

Shooting Format: HD on P2 Cards and HDCAM Tape media (Panasonic HVX-200 with Letus 35mm adapter and Panasonic HDX-900)

Screening Format: HD Cam

World Premiere: Sundance 2009

Awards and Nominations:

15 Awards: Grand Jury Prizes for Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 Newport International Film Festival, Independent Film Festival Boston, and Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival; Grand Jury Prize for Best Film and Best Narrative Feature Prize at San Diego Asian Film Festival; Best Narrative Feature at the Ojai-Ventura Film Festival; Special Jury Prizes at the 2009 Sarasota, Nashville, Indie Memphis, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, and San Francisco International Asian American Film Festivals; Honorable Mention for Editing at the 2009 Woodstock Film Festival; the George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award at the 2009 DC APA Film Festival; the Puma Emerging Filmmaker Award at the 2009 Hawaii International Film Festival; and the Visionary Award at the 2009 Austin Asian American Film Festival.

Development and Financing

Tze Chun was working in Los Angeles as a writer on the TV show Cashmere Mafia (and simultaneously participating in Film Independent's Project:Involve) when the Writers' strike hit. Finding himself out of work, he moved back to NY and began to work on the screenplay for Children of Invention. The idea originated from a plot thread in his short film Windowbreaker, in which two children, left alone by their mother, are forced to fend for themselves. That short was well received at Sundance and Tze wanted to expand the idea of two children forced to fend for themselves into a feature. He wanted to write something that could be shot locally and cheaply, with non-actors.

It took Tze four months to complete the first draft of the script (Nov 07-Mar 08). As soon as the draft was completed, he sent a copy to Dan Cogan from Impact Pictures, whom he'd met at IFP's No Borders market the previous September when Tze was pitching his feature project You're a Big Girl Now; if Dan liked the script, Tze would ask him to be a reference for his Sundance Labs application. About two weeks later Dan responded, saying he loved the project, and felt it was something he wanted to be involved with and that he thought he could raise money for it easily.

Tze also sent the script to a friend of his, Trevor Sagan, who runs Sasquatch Films, a film financing company in San Francisco. Trevor liked the project and wanted to be involved. Together Impact Partners and Sasquatch Films co-financed the film. The filmmakers split the profits 50:50 with their investors, once the investment is recouped and deferrals are paid.

Realizing that the film might actually be getting made sooner than he'd expected, Tze began approaching producers. He sent Mynette Louie the script, and that night, she'd already broken it down and drawn up a detailed budget. Tze was impressed; he needed someone who could move fast and clearly Mynette had already proven this. She agreed to come on board as a producer. They quickly pinpointed the 2009 Sundance festival submission date as the date they should begin working backwards from, and thus slated production to start three months after their first meeting.

Production Highlights

Children of Invention is set in Boston, but the filmmakers decided to shoot New York for Boston wherever possible. They shot for 25 days in July 2008; 20 days in New York, and 5 days in Boston (for exterior work). They used parts of Queens and New Jersey doubling as Boston. It was a local, non-union crew, though the film was produced on SAG and WGA agreements. In order to make the Sundance application deadline, they hired editor Anna Boden (Writer/Producer/Co-Director/Editor, Half Nelson, Sugar) to cut the film while they were still shooting, like most studio films.

The post-production schedule was tight, but thanks to a generous three-week extension from the Sundance Film Festival programmers, Tze and Mynette were able to complete a cut, and submit it to the festival. Sundance accepted Children of Invention, programming it in the Spectrum section of the 2009 festival. The total time from first draft to premiere was 10 months.

Festival Preparation and Strategy

In preparing for Sundance, Tze and Mynette hired Glen Reynolds and Zac Reeder from Circus Road Films to rep the film.

They also hired David Magdael & Associates to handle publicity for Children of Invention's Sundance run. The film received great coverage during the festival, including a great feature in The Boston Globe.

The film's investors technically had final say on business decisions, but they allowed the filmmakers to lead the charge on finding, negotiating, and assessing deals. Both investors went to Sundance with the film (Impact had three other films there that year).

Tze and Mynette went into Sundance with realistic expectations about the possibilities of a sale, instead thinking of the festival as a launching off-point for a ‘slow burn' on the festival circuit. As the film wasn't playing in competition and had neither stars nor a genre hook, it wasn't one of the titles that received a lot of press attention at the festival. The filmmakers and investors felt that the film would need to build buzz over a longer period of time in the festivals that followed. They knew that everyone responded well to the kids' performances and they would become festival discoveries, so they decided to exploit that angle. Tze designed a poster with both children on it, and Magdael approved the design and the two young actors were brought to Park City and were in attendance at every screening.

At Sundance there was interest from several buyers, but no sales. However the filmmakers received many invites from other festivals--the film will have played at over 40 film festivals and non-theatrical venues worldwide by the end of 2009. As is customary with these solicitations, the filmmakers had the submission fees waived and even secured screening fees from some of the festivals. In total, Tze and Mynette have submitted or been invited to submit the film to over 100 festivals, and have only paid four submission fees. They tried to submit to the most high profile festivals in each state and major city.

Children of Invention has won fifteen awards and has received only positive reviews on the festival circuit, leading to good word of mouth and indie film and niche audience buzz.

Festival Circuit and DVD sales

While touring the festival circuit, Mynette and Tze decided to sell DVD copies of the film themselves after consulting with Peter Broderick and Ted Hope, and getting encouragement from their investors. They designed and made DVDs (for around $1 each) to sell after festival screenings. Additionally, Mynette designed an online store on the film's website (www.childrenofinvention.com) to help push DVD sales. Ever committed to keeping costs low, their DVD sales efforts remain a two-person operation.

At festival screenings, sales of the DVD have been steady: Usually between 10% and 17% of the audience buys a copy of the film after they have watched it. In the first three months of selling DVDs, the filmmakers have made back 10% of their budget from their own DVD sales. In fact, their profit from DVD sales has exceeded the typical distributor advance offered to films like "Children of Invention." They hope that with the proper release strategy, they can make back the entirety of their budget over the next three-five years, while retaining most of their rights.

Mynette and Tze are now investigating the upside of self-distributing Children of Invention theatrically. They have drawn up a budget for a NY/L.A./Boston release. To them, a theatrical release is important to help promote a proper DVD and VOD release, but the numbers have to make sense.

Internationally, they are represented by foreign sales agent Forward Entertainment. They were also made offers by several other foreign sales agents, including one with a small Minimum Guarantee, but ultimately they decided that it did not make sense to tie up their rights so long for so little, especially given the rapidly changing distribution landscape.

Advice from the Filmmakers

Check www.childrenofinvention.com in a few months when we have more results from our DIY efforts!

Watch the movie at the L.A. Downtown Independent or the BIG Cinemas Manhattan from March 12-18, and stay tuned for more on the distribution of the film later this month! For more information on the film including screening times and links to purchase tickets, or to purchase the DVD, go to http://childrenofinvention.com/screenings.htm.

FIND INTERVIEW: Actor and Producer Andy Garcia of City Island (Part 1 of 2)

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:19:28 -0500

Director Raymond de Felitta and actor/producer Andy Garcia were brought together by their matchmaking agents at Paradigm. After their first introduction they agreed to work together on de Felitta's romantic comedy, City Island. Set in City Island, an obscure little island next to the Bronx, Garcia plays Vince Rizzo, a middle aged prison warden who secretly dreams of becoming an actor. It turns out he is not the only person in his family harboring a secret. As layers of secrets slowly reveal themselves, it becomes clear the Rizzo clan has been living in deception for years. But City Island is not a family drama; instead de Felitta wanted to give the story a light touch, with comedy and romance making it an uplifting story in the end. However well the final project turned out, it was a challenging project to initiate, plagued by difficulties in casting and funding. De Felitta chronicled his journey in a blog, moviestilldawn.blogspot.com. The cast, which includes Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, and Dominik García-Lorido (Andy Garcia's daughter), finally came together a few weeks before shooting was scheduled to begin. De Felitta says the film is his proudest achievement. He has enjoyed hearing how audiences connect to the film. Garcia, who was born in Cuba and grew up in Florida, says becoming a City Islander was almost second nature. As de Felitta put it--since Garcia was in The Godfather, he may as well be an Italian.

By Lorenza Muñoz

Interview with Andy Garcia:

How did you meet Raymond?

We are both repped by Paradigm and he got his script to my agent through his agent. I read the script and was very charmed by it. So we met and we hit it off. He asked me if I would want to join him in the process and produce the movie as well. It is one thing to say I like the part and tell me when you start filming and another is when you decide to get this involved in the process.

What about the film appealed so much to you that you wanted to take your involvement a step further?

I was completely smitten by it. I felt the script could reach a large audience and I knew it would attract good actors. I smelled it right away.

And you helped a great deal with the casting, correct?

Emily Mortimer and Alan Arkin are personal friends of mine. I suggested them to Raymond and he thought they would be fantastic. But you know, even if they are friends, if the material doesn't stimulate them they wouldn't do it.

But I understand that casting a few of the other actors was challenging...

Yes. Well, sometimes if you don't have a lot of money, people get other jobs and things fall out. It is not easy to put these things together.

How did you finance it?

We did pre-sales, private equity and tax incentive from the state of New York. We had to have a deferment in salaries. Bring our own lunch...

Really?

Yeah. It's funny now but...

I am not from City Island, but you seemed to capture the spirit of the working class folks who live there and yet, you are not a so-called clam digger (City Island native) or a mussel sucker (newcomers) right?

The screenplay itself captured the family so beautifully. I needed to identify with the character, with what his dreams were and his inadequacies and guilt, and I needed to find the parallels that I could tap into for that. But that is my path with any part. That is one level of it and the emotional center of the character. The other aspect is technical. What does he look like? What does he sound like? I broke it down with a dialect coach but the sound of the Bronx is not unfamiliar to me. I have lived in New York for many years. But you have to be careful because those with a discerning ear will know.

Your improv scene was very funny--I bet that was fun to do.

No doubt. That was one my favorite scenes.

How was it working with your daughter? And how do you feel about her going into showbiz?

This was our third time working together. She was great. She is a great actress. Both Dominik and Daniella have been acting since they were five. They have been training and doing theater. I have no anxieties about it. They are very well trained and very ready to go. I don't need to look out for them. They are professional. I knew it would be a difficult path to choose but I never discouraged them. I supported their dreams. I told them, 'if you want to do this then you have to prepare and study. I can only open a door but once you get in the door, you are on your own.'

Do you think there could be more films made about themes that involve Latinos or are we at a point now where a film is a film and there is no need to a movie exclusively about a particular ethnic group?

I think there are only two kinds of movies. Good movies and bad movies. I don't have to be an English patient to see The English Patient. I think studios tend to marginalize stories about certain ethnic groups. I don't have to have been a product of the Holocaust to appreciate Schindler's List. If the movie has resonance you can market it as a great movie. I don't like to hyphenate films or actors. I don't like hyphenation at all.

You co-wrote the movie, Hemingway and Fuentes, with Hilary Hemingway, the author's niece, how was that?

I have been thinking about that story for many, many years. Fishing is part of my life and having gotten to know some of the people from Cuba who fish and who knew Fuentes, I have always had a curiosity about their story. I had a dream about making a movie based on the last years of Hemingway's life but then I was side tracked by The Lost City. When I cleared my plate, I started writing the story.

You have said you won't return to Cuba while it's still a dictatorship, so where will you be filming Hemingway and Fuentes?

It will be Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, where I shot The Lost City. But the exact location is yet to be determined.

Is it harder to make independent films today than it ever was?

Yes. It is harder than it has ever been. You used to raise money on a poster without a script. It is much, much tougher now. The pre-sale market is very weak, the state of the world economy doesn't help and studios are into a particular style of movies. The studio movies of the 70s would be independent movies now.

At one point in your career, you were not working at all--how did you keep your dream alive?

I think that part of the struggle that creeps into your life is to find a way to break through the door. It is like a cloud that hangs over your head when you are not moving forward at the pace you would like to be moving forward in. You want to be making a living at the thing that you love to do, not as a waiter, mover, or driving trucks. There are tremendous pressures that loom over you. That pressure weeds some people out of it. Other people wear it on. The light is very invigorating. And once you see it, it re-energizes you.

Be sure to join us at the FIND Film Series screening of City Island on Thursday, March 18.

LEGAL EASE: Can I take details from a non-fiction book without worrying about copyright?

maint — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:23:18 -0500

Q: Let's say I'm writing a script for a film on the life of Mister X, a public, historical figure. In the process of doing my research, I run into interesting details about the life of Mister X in a non-fiction book (let's call the book The Real Life of Mister X), and I want to use some of these details for my story. Do I need to contact the writer of The Real Life of Mister X and ask for his permission?

A: You'll be happy to know that facts are not protected by copyright. I'm the only entertainment lawyer to climb Everest. That's a fact. But it's not protected by copyright. You can use it in your script, free of charge and without my permission. The interesting details you discovered about Mr. X are nothing but facts about him that you can freely use.

I don't know Mr. X well, but let's say he was a famous orthodox rabbi and you unearthed the fact that Mr. X had a flowery tattoo on his chest that read: "Don't **** with Mr. X." (This is a blog for the whole family, and many of our readers are very young children, including pre-schoolers, so pardon a bit of censorship.) That's a very interesting detail (particularly under the circumstances, including orthodox Judaism's ban on tattoos), and it's also a fact about Mr. X that you can (and really should) freely use in your script. In fact, you should use it as the working title of your script.

In a little legal aside, if Mr. X actually had this tattoo, the tattoo itself might be protected by copyright, just like any other artwork. So if you wanted to replicate the tattoo in the film, that could be a copyright problem. But of course, you could simply create a different artwork with the same text to avoid any possible copyright problems.

So facts are not copyrightable. Barbara Roberts is Barbie's full name. President Obama is the 44th president, but only 42 men had been president before him. Israeli stamps use kosher glue. These are all important facts, and you can use them freely.

What you can't use freely, however, is the expression of facts. Let's say I wrote a poem (as I have) about Barbara Roberts learning about the misnumbering of U.S. presidents while visiting Israel and sending a letter home about it using a kosher stamp. While you can use all the facts from my poem, you cannot use the poem itself. Similarly, while you can use the details about Mr. X from The Real Life of Mister X, you can't copy the way these facts are actually expressed in the book.

But here is another thing to be careful about. Just because it's in some book doesn't mean it's true. For all I know, The Real Life of Mister X is full of lies, untruths, fabrications, distortions, and typos. Mr. X might very well be Howard Hughes, and The Real Life of Mister X might very well be Clifford Irving's fake autobiography about him. Interestingly, and potentially painfully relevant to what you're doing, fabricated "facts" are not real facts, and they might be protected by copyright precisely because they are not facts. In other words, fabricated "facts" (or, as some vulgarly refer to them, lies) are fiction. Truth can be stranger than fiction. But fiction is protected by copyright; truth is not.

Of course, copyright would not protect small fabricated "facts" - for example, if the author of the book fabricated Mr. X's height and you used that "fact," you probably wouldn't have copyright issues. But if the author of the book fabricated an entire chapter of Mr. X's life - for example, he fabricated a long, torrid series of affairs Mr. X had with his dentist's wife, sister, and daughters, and you used the details of these affairs, you might be infringing the author's copyright.

By the way, all of this assumes that Mr. X is dead. Of course, if he is not dead yet, you also need to worry about not defaming him. Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. So if you use facts about Mr. X, defamation is not a problem. But if you use fabricated "facts," defamation is a possibility; defamation is more than just a lie about someone - for example, except in some unique circumstances, lying about someone's shoe size - saying it's 10.5, not 10 - is not defamation, even though it is a lie (but this is a subject for an entirely different blog). And just because you're repeating what you read in some book doesn't get you off the hook on defamation, either - repeating a defamatory statement is still defamation.

Finally, if you use sources to write your script, it's important to keep good records so you can create an annotated version of the script indicating what was used and from which source. This would be important if a potential financier, for example, wanted to evaluate the legal risks for himself.

LEGAL EASE is FIND's weekly advice column on legal matters pertaining to the entertainment industry. To see other LEGAL EASE columns please click here. If you have a question for our lawyers, Jesse and Matt, please send them to Folayo at FLasaki@FilmIndependent.org

© 2008 Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP (“Greenberg Glusker”). All rights reserved. This Blog contains information of a general nature that is not intended to be legal advice and should not be considered or relied on as legal advice. Any reader of this Blog who has legal matters involving information addressed in this Blog should consult with an experienced entertainment attorney. This Blog does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader of this Blog. Greenberg Glusker does not represent or warrant that this Blog contains information that is true or accurate in all respects or that is the most current or complete information on the subject matter covered.

Matt Galsor and Jesse Saivar are attorneys in the entertainment transactional department of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP.

INDIE FILM Q & A with Heidi Van Lier: Why the hell wasn't I nominated for a Spirit Award?

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:14:45 -0500

A: As it was prom weekend in LA, I thought I'd make a little list to explain what exactly has to happen for you to get nominated for a Spirit Award.

1. Make a movie.

You can't really be jealous of the nominees if you haven't even made your film yet.

2. Make a movie that people like.

It doesn't even really need to be a film that everyone enjoys, just enough that film festival programmers enjoy it and program it so that the Spirit Awards nominating committee has a chance to hear about it and/or see it at those festivals.

3. Actually fill out the application and submit your film to be nominated.

4. Lobby people you know who know the people on the nominating committee.

I watched Kyle Patrick Alvarez (Easier with Practice) ask Elvis Mitchell how to get nominated for a Spirit Award while we were in Memphis. He thought he struck out by asking, but clearly that was all it took to put him on the radar of the nominating committee. That, and making a film that Elvis really liked.

5. Don't be an a-hole.

I'm not sure the Spirit Awards nominating committee wants to have to hang out with a-holes at their biggest bash of the year.

6. Work your tail off.

People are much more likely to want to give you stuff if they see how hard you work. This goes for watching you on the festival circuit, showing up for all your interviews on time for press, being at all the events the festival holds to support the festival, being at all your Q & As when possible, poster-ing and flyer-ing yourself, even when you have a publicist, and having at least one other film ready to go.

7. Keep your bad habits to a minimum in public.

I can't tell you how many times I've watched filmmakers completely ruin their shot at a sale or award based on their bad habits. We all have them; just try and keep it cool while you're working. And if your bad habit needs rehab, get some.

8. Make sure you're actually eligibile for a Spirit Award before you submit.

There are rules about the budget and length of your film as well as how and where you have to screen before you submit. Make sure you know these rules before you even make your film, as it's best to always make sure your film has the best potential possible, right?

9. Watch the Spirit Awards, and get to know the players.

10. Go to the Spirit Awards if you can swing it.

If you and your team can figure out a way to get a table, or become a Spirit Circle member, you're set.

11. Follow me on Twitter.

Also follow the LA Film Festival, Spirit Awards, and Film Independent. All of them will let you know about deadlines, screenings, and opportunities that you really shouldn't miss!

12. Are you a member of Film Independent yet?

Yeah, it's about time. Join!

13. Watch all the movies that win and are nominated.

These are the best films of the year; you need to see them just so you can have a conversation with all the people you want to work with. When a distributor tells you they picked up The New Year Parade, they will expect you to know what that means, and it will only help you to know all about Tom Quinn, how he made that film, that it won Slamdance two years ago, what a nice guy his is, and all that, because you'll have more to talk to the distributor about and an easier route to making him/her understand you and your film.

14. Celebrate!

Be happy for the winners! If you're bitter and angry it will only make it harder for you in the long run. Those filmmakers worked just as hard as you did, they had just as hard a road as you did, and we should celebrate them, not tear them down or rip their films to shreds. Even if you don't particularly like the film that won, doesn't mean it didn't take them selling their parents into slave labor to get where they are today. The happier you are when someone else succeeds, the easier it is for you to allow yourself to be that person later. Hm, that's so self-helpy, and I'm not even sure it makes sense, but go with it.

Please send all your questions to heidi@indiefilmrulebook.com. If I can, I will try and answer them in this blog. Otherwise, buy my book (www.lulu.com/indiefilmrulebook) and once you've read it you can use your email access to send me more questions that I will answer in a private email.

Heidi Van Lier is an indie filmmaker living in Los Angeles. She has made 3 feature films, "Chi Girl" which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival, "Monday" which screened as a special screening at the Slamdance Film Festival, and "American Decaf" which will make the festival rounds soon and she is currently shooting her 4^th feature, "Ice Cream Cake". Heidi now programs for the Slamdance Film Festival, produces and directs Slamdance TV (Slamdance.com click Slamdance TV), and continues to counsel 20-30 filmmakers about festival strategy every year. Her new book, The Indie Film Rule Book, is available at lulu.com and is a strategic guide for indie filmmakers. Go buy one now!

www.twitter.com/heidivanlier

FIND Interview: writer and director Tina Mabry and producer Morgan Stiff of MISSISSIPPI DAMNED

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:47:03 -0500

Writer/director Tina Mabry and producer Morgan Stiff met in 2003 at USC School of Film and Television's graduate program. Although Mabry had been thinking of going to law school, she changed her mind after watching Gina Prince-Bythewood's Love & Basketball and Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry. Stiff, who was a dramatic writing major at NYU, also opted for film and television when she realized most of the audience she wanted to reach were not avid theater-goers. Their first feature film, Mississippi Damned, is Mabry's semi-autobiographical tale about a deeply dysfunctional family that, despite all of their hardships, somehow seem to survive and find strength in each other. The film was such a passion project that Stiff and Mabry financed it themselves. Graduates of Film Independent's Project: Involve, Directors Lab, and Producers Lab, both Mabry and Stiff say they are deeply gratified by Film Independent's support and guidance. Although Mississippi Damned has yet to find a distributor, the pair have not lost hope and determined to find a home for their movie.

By Lorenza Muñoz

The film is based on a true story--which happens to be yours. Tell me about that...

TINA: I always had the idea to put some of the things that happened to me on paper. But I had to talk to my family and see if they would be ok with it. And even though they were, I had to make sure that I could do it. I made the decision that I was, and writing this film made it easier for me to cope with it and not have any shame associated with it. It is why I am who I am today.

MORGAN: From the reactions we have seen from people as we travel around with the film, it frees people to speak. It helps other people not feel alone. At Outfest, a woman stood up and said 'this is my story.' She had been molested and she said it in front of all these people.

How did you convince your family to allow you to put this out there for everyone to see?

TINA: When we knew we were going into production we told them that we were going to shoot it. I took it home with me at Christmas and we sat down and watched it. I wanted them to enjoy it and be engaged and from a personal level, I wanted to see it on screen. We had some tears and some laughter and it was great. At the end they really enjoyed the film and felt it was authentic.

How did you two meet?

MORGAN: We met at USC Film School. We worked on Tina's short Brooklyn's Bridge to Jordan and from there we started a production company. Mississippi Damned is the first film that we have released as a company.

But the film has not found a distributor yet, right?

MORGAN: It doesn't have a star so when you are talking about a black drama without a star in it then it becomes a challenge. We do believe there is a home for the film. When you are looking at black cinema there is not a lot of opportunity for blacks to showcase their talent. How do we recognize the new talent that will take the place of Denzel Washington and Will Smith?

How was your first experience as a feature film director?

TINA: There is always a certain level of fear. But then you break it down to the mechanics and being able to work with actors and bring out performances. The most challenging thing about doing this project was the personal thing. I recorded conversations with my family members so the actors could hear their voices. We didn't have the money for a vocal coach! It helped them to connect to the characters and understanding the background. We didn't get much rehearsal time. We cast the right people and that was a really big thing.

MORGAN: Tina is great at developing a language to communicate with the crew as well. We shot this in 21 ½ days. We had a tornado on the first day. There is a lot of prep time involved and she was able to communicate ahead of time to get things to run smoothly.

So who financed the film?

MORGAN: I took the film to the Producers Lab at Film Independent at the AFM. I pitched it and they loved it but they said 'Oh, it's great but you will need Beyonce as your lead.' We cut our budget to a quarter of what it was. We had to get creative about how we made it. So we funded it through loans-we funded it ourselves--which no one should ever have to do. But it was such a personal story that we wanted it done in a certain way and we wanted it done right.

TINA: This was not something I wanted someone else to direct. I wanted to get the intricate details of the life and the time period and I don't know that someone else would have gotten that. We got a great grant through Film Independent and Kodak and that helped us tremendously in the budgeting.

In what other ways has Film Independent helped your careers?

MORGAN: For me, the most valuable thing I got from Film Independent was the Producers Lab. We had Ram Bergman as a producer and he said 'this is your passion project...do what you need to do to make this happen.' We took none of the money out of the budget to pay ourselves. We paid everyone the same amount. When you show the crew and the cast how grateful you are they really appreciate it. And by paying everyone the same it limited the ego.

TINA: Film Independent has been helping us a long time. They have been instrumental in shaping who we are as filmmakers.

MORGAN: To this day it continues to be a great resource for us and of community support for us.

What are you working on now besides finding a distributor for Mississippi Damned?

MORGAN: I am an editor and Tina is developing a new script, and we are pitching TV show ideas.

TINA: I am working on County Line, a suspense film. But I just finished writing a supernatural thriller for a British director. I like to mix it up.

Join us at the Project:Involve screening of Mississippi Damned on Wednesday, March 10.

INDIE FILM Q & A WITH HEIDI VAN LIER: Am I a douche if I ask for a fee waiver from film festivals?

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:04:42 -0500

A: Unfortunately, yep, even though I know you don't mean to be, it is a little douchey, and here's why: the festivals are basically broke in the off season, so when you call them and say, "Hey, can I get this for free?" you're basically saying, "Hey, I don't think you deserve to get paid," and, "Hey, I don't think your festival is worth the fee that you're asking." Both explanations would have the festivals asking why exactly they would want you at their festival to begin with. Sure, if you know someone at the festival (very well), you might feel comfortable asking them. But also understand when they say no. Slamdance has made me pay every year I've submitted to them, even after I won, by the way, and they still do.

Here are some other douchey things to avoid when submitting to film festivals during the rest of the 2010 season. (And I know I'm repeating myself a little here, but I think some of it needs to be repeated.)

Calling the festival more than twice to ask questions, even if you have some.
Emailing the festival more than twice to ask questions, even if you have some.
Sending gifts to the smaller festival that you want to get into is cool, but it's douchey if you think it's going to actually get you in.
Getting mad at the festival for not responding to you during the programming months. Um, they're busy watching your film; leave them alone so they have a chance to actually like it.
Sending in 800 copies of your film. Most of them are thrown away, unfortunately, as they already know your film is there, and they don't need any more copies.
Asking for a reason why you didn't make it into any given festival can be pretty douchey, especially if you get upset when they don't have an answer. Frankly, they normally don't have one, as it comes down to numbers in the end. No one can explain exactly why other people assigned a certain score to your film, it just happened that way.
Making a snazzy cover for your DVD may look cool to you, not so much to programmers who have to see it. Statistically speaking, a DVD box that has a scrap piece of paper with the title scribbled out on it just has a better film in it than a DVD box with crazy cover art. Luckily, for bigger festivals, they'll never even see your box anyway, but better to just play it low-key.
Giant press kits, trailers, commercials, and DVD extras really don't need to be included. Usually no one sees them anyway during the first stages of the process, but if they do see you've gone overboard, it can't really help in the end - especially if there's not much press-worthy info to go overboard about.
Telling people you've gotten into a festival because you know a programmer or two never goes the way you want it to.
Showing up at the festival office and asking to speak to a programmer always ends with there suddenly not being any programmers in the office. There's nothing they can do to help you until you've actually gotten into the festival; wait until then to bug them. (I'm mostly speaking to myself here, as I usually know who all the programmers are at festivals and still magically don't get accepted.)

Sprirt Awards just seven days away! Don't forget to tune in next Friday!

Also, there's a super cool educational series coming up at Film Independent, in March, that we all need to attend! Stu Pollard is teaching the Indie Film Business Plan Primer and you need it as much as I do. Here's the link http://filmindependent.org/node/2366 - see you there!

www.twitter.com/heidivanlier

LEGAL EASE: Is there a difference between optioning to an individual versus a company?

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:02:44 -0500

Q: A producer is forming an LLC to produce a script I've written. He wants me to option my script to him, but I wonder if I'd be safer optioning it to the LLC. Is there a difference between optioning to an individual versus a company?

A: The answer to your question lies in the words covered by the acronym "LLC": Limited Liability Company. As you can probably guess, the producer is not forming this company to limit your liability, he's trying to limit his own.

One of the principal benefits of forming an LLC is that the principal members of that LLC can, subject to some exceptions, be shielded from personal liabilities that may arise due to the actions of the LLC. If a court finds that the LLC owes someone money, that money can only come from the assets of the LLC and not the personal assets of the principals. Therefore, while the LLC may get cleared out, the producers who formed it get to keep their faux-modern McMansions and sweet Bluetooth gear for their iPhones.

Back to your situation: this producer wants to option your script, meaning that if all goes well, you're going to be owed some real money (e.g., the purchase price and, hopefully, some backend). If you're unlucky and happen to be the first person in the history of Hollywood to get screwed out of money, would you rather go after the producer personally or the LLC? While you may think a company would have the deeper pocket, in this case, it almost certainly doesn't. This is just a cute little baby LLC that was just born; it likely has almost no assets or money, and any that it does have will be spent on costs necessary to produce the movie. Therefore, the LLC is not the ideal candidate to sue for your payments. If, on the other hand, the producer is on the hook personally, his liability for not paying you would extend to his personal assets (e.g., bank accounts, house, car, etc.). Before deciding to screw you, he may take a look at that yellow convertible in his driveway and think twice (unless, of course, it's leased like most luxury cars in Los Angeles).

Now that we've settled that, you should be optioning it to the individual, you should look to see if he's included an assignment provision in the option agreement. Since he's forming the LLC, we can assume that he's going to want the script held by the LLC eventually, which will be accomplished through an assignment. The producer may include language in his assignment provision indicating that he's essentially off the hook after it's been assigned. You don't want this. Therefore, you should require language in the assignment provision stating that an assignment will not relieve the producer of his obligations under the agreement. If he resists, you can add that he's only relieved of his obligations if he assigns the agreement to a "major or a mini-major studio or other similarly financially responsible party that assumes (the producer's) applicable executory obligations in writing." This ensures that the entity acquiring it (1) has money (that you can get your hands on if you get stiffed) and (2) is contractually obligated to pay you what you're due.

One disclaimer: please do not take this as a directive that it's always better to contract with an individual over a company. Individuals are some of my best friends. Several of them only have a few empty beer cans and an Xbox to their name. If any of them breached an agreement with you, trying to make yourself whole by going after their assets would be about as fruitless as trying to get James Cameron to remake Wendy and Lucy. The key to your situation is that the LLC is newly formed and therefore lacking any real assets. If this were a major production company, this would be a different answer.

Matt Galsor and Jesse Saivar are attorneys in the entertainment transactional department of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP.