Avoiding Disaster

Public, Private: A Need-to-Know Guide

People are eternally fascinated by the lives of others. Drama, drama, drama. We love it, can’t get enough of the sordid details. I like to think of myself as a sophisticate—but I just can’t get enough of Jon Gosselin!!! Despite the wide dissemination of such "tabloid" stories, there is one crucial question that could be easily overlooked when it comes to creating a documentary or independent film based on someone’s life.

Can someone make a documentary, biopic, historical or narrative film about a famous person without their permission? The answer is complicated at best.

topics: diy, legal issues

Avoiding Disaster

What's in a name?

Usually, in the afternoons, I go to the Walgreens near my office to pick up a Red Bull, and I’m often amused by the jumble bin of $5 DVDs near the checkout counter. Most of them are ridiculous action movies with washed up B-listers. I remember a couple of years ago, when Snakes on a Plane was out in theaters, I looked into the DVD jumble bin and saw a title called Snakes on a Train. It looked like a ridiculous, opportunistic ripoff. Such an opportunistic rip off, I bought it!

topics: diy, film history, hollywood, legal issues

Avoiding Disaster

What's in a name?

Usually, in the afternoons, I go to the Walgreens near my office to pick up a Red Bull, and I’m often amused by the jumble bin of $5 DVDs near the checkout counter. Most of them are ridiculous action movies with washed up B-listers. I remember a couple of years ago, when Snakes on a Plane was out in theaters, I looked into the DVD jumble bin and saw a title called Snakes on a Train. It looked like a ridiculous, opportunistic ripoff. Such an opportunistic rip off, I bought it! (Note: It’s still somewhere in my office, wrapped in plastic) Beyond very general plot similarities and a similar title, the two films are different, and only a fool would confuse Snakes on a Plane and Snakes on a Train. That being said, it is clear that the producers of Snakes on a Train were trying to cash in on the perceived popularity of Snakes on a Plane (the producers of Snakes on a Train also brought you the Transformers -like Transmorphers and The Day the Earth Stood Still -like The Day the Earth Stopped!). These films bring up some interesting copyright questions, but the question I am going to focus on is one of the film’s title.

topics: diy, film history, hollywood, legal issues

Avoiding Disaster

A challenge to filmmakers

Usually I use this column to address specific legal problems that come up when producing a film. I’m not going to address a legal concern this time, but instead, speak to a larger issue that I feel is rarely discussed: the lack of quality independent filmmaking today.

topics: authors, bay area, distributors, diy, film festivals, filmmakers, independent film, legal issues

Avoiding Disaster

A challenge to filmmakers

Usually I use this column to address specific legal problems that come up when producing a film. I’m not going to address a legal concern this time, but instead, speak to a larger issue that I feel is rarely discussed: the lack of quality independent filmmaking today.

In addition to being an entertainment lawyer, I’ve ended up acting as a sales rep on a number of films. In that role, I’ve spent the past couple of years going to a lot of film festivals, becoming intimately aware of the current downward trend in the independent film industry. It is true that the sky is falling, that the industry is downsizing, and the economics, which never made too much sense to begin with, make even less sense today. What a terrible time to be an independent filmmaker! Fewer buyers paying less! A shrinking audience! A digital world that no one knows how to utilize effectively, and is not meaningfully monetized! So what’s a filmmaker to do?

The answer may be the one no one wants to hear: Make better films.

topics: directors, distribution, film festivals, legal issues

Avoiding Disaster

Fine points on festivals

If you’re an independent filmmaker, odds are your plan is to submit to a major film festival in the hope of getting discovered. Festivals are a good way to have your film discovered by distributors, to build buzz and to build an audience. But as all filmmakers know, you’re probably going to get rejected from more festivals than not.

topics: directors, distribution, distributors, diy, film festivals, how-to, legal issues, sundance

Avoiding Disaster

Fine points on festivals

If you’re an independent filmmaker, odds are your plan is to submit to a major film festival in the hope of getting discovered. Festivals are a good way to have your film discovered by distributors, to build buzz and to build an audience. But as all filmmakers know, you’re probably going to get rejected from more festivals than not.

topics: directors, distribution, distributors, diy, film festivals, how-to, legal issues, sundance