How Important is a Movie Title?

Some movie titles stick with us, many are meant to grab our attention and all should give us some sense of the story we are about to see.  But what's in a title?  How important is a title really?  If you ask a studio executive, the best title would be one that has a “2” after it.  Meaning a follow up to a highly successful film property.

That's a given, but what about those first movies, and the thousands of independent movies that get produced each year?  To properly study this, we have to go back to the 50's, 60's and 70's.  This was the height of the drive-in era, which led the way for exploitation films.  That is when independent companies like American International Pictures and producers like Roger Corman would make low budget movies that often promised more in the poster and title than the movie delivered.

Movie's with titles like The Beast With A Million Eyes (1955), I Was A Teenage Werewolf (1957) And The Fast and the Furious (1954). Yes, you read that right.  Long before the massive Universal Studios franchise, that title raced across movie screens.  That was one of the many movies Roger Corman made that was released through American International Pictures (AIP).

Neal Moritz, one of the producers of The Fast and the Furious (2001) was planning this full throttle car movie and he said “We need a title like AIP would have done in the past.”  That old title from the 50's jumped out at him.  The next step was to work things out with Roger Corman so they could use the title.  They were able to trade top quality stock footage in exchange for bringing back that title in a big bad way.(1)

It did not take long for AIP and Corman to earn a solid reputation with exhibitors and movie theaters.  They were eager to screen their next hit movie.  Sometimes they would just start with a great title and poster campaign and then write the movie around it.  

Famously, Roger Corman pre-sold War Of The Satellites (1958) based on the the title alone, largely do to the space race in America that was making headlines.  With the deal freshly inked, he scrambled to have a screenwriter write the script in a few weeks and then quickly produced the movie.

The modern day equivalent of starting with a perfect title and poster is using SEO (Search Engine Optimization.)  Basically, this is using analytics to pick a title that yields high internet search results. Having a title and subject that ranks high for SEO is a big advantage. That is what the producers and distributors I worked with on my first feature Cam-Girl were well aware of.

People tend to search the term “Cam Girl” or "camgirl" on the internet, go figure.  This certainly helped generate over three hundred thousand views for our movie trailer and encouraged people to watch Cam-Girl for free on Tubi, Youtube or to buy the Blu-Ray/ DVD on Amazon.  Being aware of this new form of marketing is essentially for filmmakers and creatives alike.

This was part of my consideration when I wrote a new Action/Comedy screenplay titled Rage Moms.  Not only is this a buzz term that grabs attention, it fits the story and the turbulent times of the year 2020.  I'd want to see a movie titled Rage Moms, wouldn't you?  

While the free wheeling Drive-in theater days are long gone, independent production companies like The Asylum continue to carry the torch.  The example we all know about it Sharknado (2013), a wild, two million dollar smash hit which spawned a franchise for The Asylum and SYFY network.

Sharknado started on the strength, or some would say absurdity of the title.  There was a circuitous route to get it made however. Several years prior, Anthony C. Ferrante pitched Sharknado to The Asylum, they passed on this initially.  But Anthony still loved that title, it stuck with him.  So he wrote a reference to a “Sharknado” into the dialogue of Red Clover (2012), AKA Leprechaun's Revenge. When an executive at SYFY watched that movie and heard this line they thought it would be a great idea foe a movie.

SYFY eventually talked with The Asylum about their desire to make a movie titled “Sharknado.”  Now that money people had the idea, it is no surprise that The Asylum wanted to move ahead.  They went out to actors such as the leads Tara Reid and Ian Ziering with the title of “Dark Skys.”  

This came back to bite them one day on set when some of the actors heard the title would actually be Sharknado.  It briefly shut down production because they did not want to be in a movie with that title... at the time.  From there, the rest is history.  For more great incite you can read my interview with Thunder Levin, the screenwriter of Sharknado on OCmoviereviews here.

Similar to Sharknado, another way to know you have a winning title is if it grabs your attention and tells you what the hook of the high concept movie is.  Examples would be Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Death Race 2000 (1975), Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Snakes on a Plane (2006).  That last one in particular has a very interesting story behind the title.

The original draft of Snakes on a Plane was sent around town with the title of “Venom” in 1995.  Legend has it, the title became Snakes on a Plane when studio executives were joking around after hours talking about the craziest scripts that were making the rounds in Hollywood.  The project eventually landed with New Line in 1999 and was pitched around as Snakes on a Plane.

Famously, Samuel Jackson agreed to star in the movie as soon as he heard the title.  Later, Jackson insisted that title not be changed after he was attached.  This is the exact opposite of the Sharknado title conflict.  It begs the question, would these movies still have been hits without these shocking titles? We'll never truly know, but one thing's for sure, the people involved with these movies do not want to go back in time to find out.

- Curt Wiser is a Writer/Filmmaker living in Los Angeles.  He also works in Visual Effects and writes Movie Reviews/Journalism for OCmoviereviews.com.  

(sources: 1: Entertainment Weekly 5/25/2016 by Darren Franich)  

SUICIDE - By Curt Wiser

     

     High School is a prison, the only difference is you have weekends and evenings off.  No matter how bad things are, even if the bleakness is bone crushing and out of your control, know this.  High school does come to an end.  When it does, things change for all of us overnight.  That is when lives are truly lived, and more on our own terms.  The rich possibilities of life are endless, you just have to stay on that train.

     Made up of brick and glass with separate cells, each with over a dozen cell mates.  Routine sets in.  You may become institutionalized to accept the bad, to let it get worse, it’s hard not to.  We inmates all deal with it in our own way.   But you must never resort to excessive violence, the kind that anyone may not return from.  Life is far too important to ever feel you can hold it in your hands, even if that life is your own.

     Me, I’ve been to prison and I came out the other side.  I know how it feels to fight, to cry, to feel love unanswered, to be used, discarded or ignored.  To feel pain everlasting, to believe you cannot trust those close to you, to not want to let anyone in.  To lose control in the face of anger, to become lost in the void.  To be heavy with guilt, or sorrow, and to take it, to feel weightless, if only for one night.  To feel shapeless among the contrived geometry of the world.   To socialize through media or fall victim to media that is far from social.  But you can’t let it, them or those ruin you...... because.......

     Perspective changes with each passing year, setting sun or rising action.  I am now a 38 year old man.  Never better.  Never healthier.  Emboldened and fully alive.  The offenders, the allies, the worst of best friends, what those of my past will never know, because they are excised from my life, is that I’m just fine and thank you very much.  Because what I believed then and know to be true now, High School is a prison.  Just wait until you get released.

NETFLIX BANDERSNATCH - The birth of the interactive movie

     We all remember those choose your own adventure books and when the Sega Saturn gave us interactive narrative games in the 90’s, but 2019 may be remembered as the year interactive media took a bold step forward.  I am referring of course to Bandersnatch, the latest installment of the Black Mirror franchise on Netflix.  Why was this a milestone?  How does producing this new media differ from conventional movies?   What could the future hold? (Continue) - (Stop Reading).....

     You chose to continue, let’s begin.  The team behind Bandersnatch said this project took 18 months of planning and production.  It all starts with the script.  For interactive content such as this, the first thing that is made is a flowchart.  This document looks like an upside down tree, with descriptions for each story path which branches off based on the choices the viewer makes. 

                       This is one of the many fan made flowcharts which went viral.

     Just a flowchart seems like a daunting task.  It should be mentioned that at first the producers of Bandersnatch were not interested in taking this challenge on.  In May, 2017 when they were approached by Netflix they said no at first.  Executive Producer/Writer Charlie Brooker said “I thought, well, they’re often really clunky and I can’t see how that’s going to translate into Black Mirror.” Thankfully, weeks later they came up with an idea of a video game programmer in the 80’s and began a journey into development.

     In this video you can hear two actors from the movie, Will Poulter (Colin) describe the Bandersnatch script as a cumbersome one foot tall document and Fionn Whitehead (Stefan) say he was told to “just wait for the Twine.”

                                                            Source:  IGN - Youtube

     “What the hell is a Twine?”  That is what I was asking when I first heard the interview above.  I was happy to go down that Reddit hole.... and surprised with what I found.  Twine is a software that lets you pregame interactive fiction.  This was primarily used to make interactive web based prose, but for this project it became the perfect way to present the screenplay.  Thanks to doing a final output through Twine, the reader of the Bandersnatch script are given clickable choices that take them down a different narrative path like the final movie itself does.  Brooker says this interactive script was made through a combination of Twine, Scrivener and Final Draft.  This makes sense to me, given that Final Draft is great for screenplay formatting, while Scrivener is known for being an ideal non-linear way to edit text.  After all this work the project had a green light and then the real challenge lied ahead.

     Production was described as shooting a Black Mirror episode only taking three times as long.  When you take into account all the scenes that had to be shot to connect the dots on that sprawling flowchart, it is like making three movies in one.  I was thrilled to learn that Bandersnatch was directed by David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) he also directed the “Metalhead” episode of Black Mirror, which is why you see posters for a metal head video game in the movie.  They have said one session of watching Bandersnatch is meant to last anywhere from 60 to 120 minutes. That is for the first time you watch it, which brings us to our next topic, analysis and what is the future of this medium.

     Netflix knew what they were doing here, and they did it right. Many people did not know that Netflix made several interactive programs before this Black Mirror hopeful hit the scene.  It was under the radar because it was content for kids.  Why start with that audience?  Here is what Netflix Head of Production Todd Yellin had to say about it:

“We felt that if it didn’t succeed in the kids space, it wouldn’t succeed with grownups.”  He added: “Kids don’t know how something’s supposed to be, they just know how it is.”

     That’s sound logic, children are also more open to new experiences.... and less critical.  These early entries were a way to put this new technology to the test, it is safe to say it passed. Because this was a new format, Bandersnatch starts with two innocuous choices to ease the audience into the concept.  These low stakes choices, what cereal to eat for breakfast and what music to listen to, are called back later in the story, but do not affect the path you are on.  I see this being a common way to start Interactive media as we move forward.  Another thing they did very effectively was to let the audience go back to a pivotal crossroad, after a chose they made led down one of the stories multiple endings.  This way the viewer does not feel let down by the experience, think of it as a save state in a video game.  This of course, also encourages the viewer to keep going.  For that same reason I believe Interactive movies like Bandersnatch are here to stay.  These days steaming services are in strong competition with each other, and Interactive content is another draw at their disposal.  They will be happy to add titles like this to their service because it will prompt multiple viewings and word of mouth.

     I strongly believe the real tonal shift will happen once a John Wick style movie gets made with this technology.  Or it could be a Horror or a Thriller with high production value and A-list actors. Bandersnatch was a mixed genre experience, one section felt like a haulucenagenic nightmare, other moments delivered action or scares, in that way Bandersnatch was a solid base hit, meant to appeal to a broad adult audience.  A straightforward genre movie with high production value is the next step here, and that is right around the corner.  The thumbnail image for Bandersnatch has a starburst looking symbol in the top right corner, this indicates that it is interactive media.  Here is a quote from Todd Yellin that gives a tease at what Netflix plans to do with I.M.

“We're just beginning to scratch the surface of the kinds of stories that can be told this way.”

     We will certainly see more of these, Netflix developed what they call a branch manager, a technology that saves data like past choices and distributes interactive media in a standardized way. Bandersnatch already has broke new ground, they included an Easter egg, a secret path if you select to “pick up the family photo” twice.  They also included an audio cue that can be transcribed into a QR code that led to this Bandersnatch themed website:

https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/30/bandersnatch-play-nohzdyve-game-black-mirror/

     One final observation, these interactive movies can be fun to see as a group.  Couples will enjoy it (as long as they do not fight over choices made).  It is fun to have gone through a session or two and then watch someone else panic over making these choices for the first time.  Believe me, I put this to the test at the end of a date and had a great time.  These are all just my opinions, I encourage you to make up your own mind and see Bandersnatch if you have not yet. One thing is for sure, while we cannot predict the future, it looks bright for Interactive media.

- Curt Wiser is a Filmmaker, Author and he writes for www.ocmoviereviews.com

UNITED STATES OF FREE

     Remember person to person sharing sites like Napster?  It is clear now that this concept of free media going mainstream was ahead of its time.  This is the age of celebrities hosting free podcasts, and advertising based free TV and movie streaming services such as Pluto TV, Tubi and Crackle.  With piracy looking like an insurmountable problem, movie studios, film producers and music recording artists have adapted to stay alive.

     This is the United States of free, and yes it has cut into profit margins, but it does give power to the consumer, which in turn will bring people to these platforms in droves.  How does a filmmaker continue in this new climate?  Glad you ask, the following is case studies that should help you find the answers.

- Give for free then you’ll get back, you’ll see.

     There are many cases of artists giving away free content in order to earn a living from related work.  Filmmakers Adam Green (Hatchet, Frozen) and Joe Lynch (Everly, Mayhem) host one of the most popular podcasts on filmmaking called The Movie Crypt. This podcast started as a temporary way to promote their TV series Holliston, but it was such a hit they kept doing it for two years now. They make money off of the podcast by having a Patreon where loyal fans subscribe to get secret episodes and perks like getting to ask questions of their guests on the show.  They sell the bundle of their first 200 episodes since those are no longer on I-Tunes.  This podcast of course, also promotes the career of these two indie filmmakers, so it is a win-win for everybody.

     Filmmaker Ashley Scott Meyers has his weekly podcast, Selling Your Screenplay to drive traffic to his website to promote services he offers such as script consulting or an email blast to over 1,000 producers on his mail list.  Full disclosure: I was a guest on Selling Your Screenplay and worked with Ashley Scott Meyers doing some Visual Effects for his movie The Pinch.

     Alex Ferrari produces a mountain of free material under his Indie Film Hustle brand, including two weekly podcasts, a YouTube channel and a blog.  All this to promote his own script coverage service and Indie Film Hustle TV “The first streaming service designed to help Indie Filmmakers”.  Alex also makes money by having sponsors that he promotes during his podcasts and the two features he made, This is Meg and On the Corner of Ego and Desire occasionally becomes part of the curriculum he gives his large filmmaker audience.

     Many artists and creators have found ways to make their free content profitable.  For example, The guys at Red Letter Media have a popular youtube channel where they drink beer and give entertaining movie reviews.  Yes, they make money from Youtube advertisements but they also sell pint glasses, bottle openers and shirts with their logo on them through their website.

     Famous podcasters and youtubers sell tickets to live performances of their shows or even fan events.  The sponsors of the show also pay to be promoted at these events.  I Heart Radio, the largest radio/music streaming App put on one of the largest live music events each year, the I Heart Music Festival.  If you build the audience, they will come.

- Making the promise of free.

     This one is unusual, but no doubt has worked for some artists. When filmmakers Jeremy Gardner, Adam Cronheim and Christian Stella finished their ultra low budget, survival comedy Tex Montana Will Survive, the first thing they did was not let people see it! What!?  You see, they had been disappointed with the results of traditional distribution with their first movie The Battery.  So they launched a kickstarter showing clips of the new movie and said it will be released everywhere for free once they reach their goal.  It was a huge success, they raised $53,889 from 759 backers.  Within days, Tex Montana Will Survive was up on YouTube, websites and even uploaded to torrent sites by the Filmmakers themselves!  They knew if they reached their kickstarter goal it would mean a good profit from the movie right away.  Being an indie filmmaker myself, I can say it can take a while collecting royalties each quarter, chipping away at what was invested in the movie.  There is something poetic about getting one big lump sum from your audience and then releasing it out into the world like a baby bird.

- The Proof of Concept

     For Paul Solet, strapping a doll made up like a demon into a baby Bjorn and wearing him on was the smartest thing he ever did.  He did this when he attended major film festivals where his short film Grace premiered.  That visual ploy and the quality of the short film got a lot of buzz going.  Filmmaker Adam Green eventually saw the Grace short and then Produced the feature.  Paul Solet had the feature script all ready to go and made the short to create an opportunity just like this.  Making a short film or trailer for a feature not yet made is a common thing.  They call it proof of concept.  If you have a script you feel is the one, and you haven’t tried this method yet..... you really should.  It worked for Evil Dead, Office Space, Boogie Nights, Saw, Bottle Rocket, Hatchet and Napoleon Dynamite.... just to name a few.

     The proof of concept can take many forms.  For example, the hit novel Warm Bodies and the movie based on the novel all started from a blog.  Author Isaac Marion published the short story I am a Zombie filled with love, the story went viral and the rest is history.

• The future of free

     The path is clear, it has no sign of stopping.  It is a buzz word that makes your ears perk up.... say it with me.... FREE. That word gets almost as much attention as sex, and the industry knows it.  So what does the future hold for movies and television?  Television will eventually go a-la-carte.  I know Sling TV is getting close, but I mean you will not only be able to buy packages of channels, but each channel will have it's own price if that is all you want.  As the bottom line shrinks enough, the major networks and cable providers will have to adapt to the demands of the consumer. Obviously, they will delay this happening as much as possible. With Disney launching their own screaming service, ESPN and their other channels can be an exception to this and always bundled together.

     All of this means more power to you the consumer.  This sea change is a good thing, we should embrace it.  There will be a proliferation of these different streaming platforms, some will die off, many will thrive.  The reason these platforms will last is because they fill a nitch in the market, like Shudder is all things Horror or how Crunchyroll draws people in by being a one stop shop for Anime.  Other companies will flourish because they offer a huge library of movies or TV shows.  This means it will be harder for small indie films to stand out, but it also means more viable options will be there for filmmakers to distribute their movies.  Self distribution through aggregators like Distribber will grow stronger and never go away.

     Once the devices we use to watch all these platforms can search them all within one second and show us what our options are, that will be a game changer.  Apple TV and the Amazon Fire TV are very close to this, it will be no time at all.  I see most of these channels also existing two ways, one that is free with ads, and one that consumers pay for in exchange for not having to see ads.  A growing number of content will only be available exclusively on certain platforms, because these companies will pay a premium for it.  One thing is for sure, the future of this United States of Free looks bright, so sit back and enjoy.

What are your thoughts on this?  Please comment below.

Curt Wiser is the writer/director of the suspense movie Cam-Girl. He is also an author and writes movie reviews for OCmoviereviews.com

HOW MOVIEPASS MAY HAVE SAVED THE MOVIE THEATER

     

     I am writing this on September 2, 2018.  Things have been changing rapidly with MoviePass and other Theater subscription plans lately, so I thought giving this a time stamp was important.  For the moment, things have balanced out and we can think about what lies ahead.  Starting August 15 of this year, all MoviePass Subscribes who wanted to continue (even those who were on the Annual payment plan) agreed to a 3 movie limit per month at only $9.95 a month.  If you remember, that promotional rate of $9.95 Moviepass introduced in the middle of 2017 really made waves.  Prior to that, Moviepass had plans ranging from $25-$50 a month, and with the surging ticket prices, it seemed like a deal too good to be true.  But it was true, people were going to the movie theater again, we were reminded how great it is to be part of that communal atmosphere, to experience a story along with a large group of people.  Even though Moviepass was still paying full ticket price to the movie theaters, the large cineplex chains rallied against Moviepass.  They were afraid that Moviepass would decrease the value of a movie ticket..... (let me hold back my single tear)..... I think we all can agree that the prices needed to be lower.  I liken it to when ride share services threatened the transportation industry and brought prices down for the good of the consumer.  For proof of the finances behind the box office, look no further than this recent study by the-numbers.com.  You can read their full article here. https://www.the-numbers.com/market/

     As the chart above shows, since 1995 ticket prices kept going upward regardless of when ticket sales were on the rise or falling.  Now look at the very end of that graph, the last half of 2017 saw a big increase in tickets sold, I think it is obvious that the Moviepass $9.95 promotion being in full swing had to be a big factor with that.

     One thing is for sure, the movie theater industry could not continue on the path that chart clearly shows.  Eventually enough people would say.... “25 bucks for a movie ticket! Let's wait until we can see it at home honey.”  This chart below from that same article shows the actual ticket price increases over that same time period.

     There you have it, even during the 2008 economic recession movie theater companies raised the price of a ticket.  Yes, it was time for a change, and when the Moviepass deal came around, people embraced it, 3 million people in fact!  In response to this, the theater chains started their own ticket subscription services.

     Cinemark Movie Club offers 1 (one) 2-D movie per month at $8.99 with 20 percent off their concessions.  Oh boy, I get to do basically the same thing as paying for a single ticket... but I get to give the theater more money by paying for their popcorn at a 1,275 percent markup from actual cost. No thanks.

     AMC A-List lets you see 3 movies per WEEK, in any format for $19.95 plus tax per month.  I have to admit, if I had a lot of extra cash to give away, this would be more appealing to me than the current Moviepass offer.  But, like many of Americans out there, all these different monthly bills and services I pay for add up.  So $20 ends up being too costly for me when I rationalize that before Moviepass, I rarely wanted to pay to see two movies in the theater each month.  In other words, the AMC plan is making me pay more than I normally would, while the $10 Moviepass deal is at very least how much I would be spending on trips to the movie theater annually.  There is a reason why the basic Netflix streaming service has stayed below $10 a month all these years.  There is strength in numbers, and people want value for their buck.  The other aspect to this is, these other movie plans have the primary goal of having more people see movies only in their theaters.  While one of the things that makes Moviepass so great to me is the variety of theaters it is available at, Indie theaters and major theater chains in flagship locations alike.

SO WHERE IS THE PROFIT?

     You may be wondering, how can Moviepass continue to offer up to 3 movies a month at the $9.95 price?  The answer can be found at the top. Moviepass is owned by Helios and Matheson, which is an analytics company.  Like many other highly successful companies, such as Amazon and Google, this Moviepass parent plans on selling data they retrieve for marketing purposes.  They are already using that data, that is how they decided on the 3 movie per month limit, that amount would keep the majority of their subscribers happy, while also preventing the small percentage of people who saw an excessive amount of movies, in a way, abusing the system.  This statement from Moviepass CEO Mitch Lowe speaks to that:

Mitch Lowe blamed the service’s instability over the past year on “a small number” of subscribers who “have used our business model to a point where it was compromising the business’ long-term stability.”  The new model, he said, should remove the drag on the service caused by “the small number of subscribers who imposed undue cost on the system by viewing a disproportionately large number of movies.”

You can read the full article that quote came from HERE.

     But wait there's more.  The Moviepass App has advertising, not too much at all, just a trailer for a movie that plays on its home page.  With millions of subscribers however, that gives them some advertising clout.  Moviepass has way more subscribers than any of these similar services.

     Another way to monetize this service is through partnerships with movie studios and theater chains.  By offering a selection of movies to its subscribers, Moviepass can have studios willing to strike a deal to have their movies available.  Even better, by even selecting what days certain movies are available, Moviepass can drive up ticket sales on a slow business day... like any given Tuesday.  The list of movies available through Moviepass are updated on the website every week, you can see it HERE. 

     This way I'm listing last, because it is the most risky.  Moviepass Ventures is a film finance company that has started to co-finance major motion pictures.  One of those movies is the highly entertaining and unique heist movie American Animals.  They picked that movie up after it was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, and I can see why.  They did take a hit on the John Travolta movie Gotti.  Next is a Crime Thriller called 10 Minutes Gone starring Bruce Willis.

      Will ticket subscription services be the thing that turns everything around?  Will it revitalize the movie going experience that used to be a treasured, weekly institution?  Of course piracy is a big part of all this.... I feel the best way to combat this is to give people a reason to see more movies in the theater again.   Foreign box office sales now account for almost three times as much sales in America.  In 2017, the global box office hit a record of $40.6 Billion, while domestic sales fell to $11.1 Billion, the lowest it has been for 23 years.  This used to be the opposite.  Will services like Moviepass drive more Americans to the theater, which in turn will enable the studios to make a wider variety of movies again?  I sure hope so.

Curt Wiser is the Writer/Director of the Suspense movie Cam-Girl.  He is also an author and writer for www.ocmoviereviews.com

HOW TO TAKE REJECTION AS AN ARTIST

     The most important thing we all learn as artist of any form, is that rejection will be part of the deal.  Near constant rejection in fact.  An understanding of this harsh reality is the first step, dealing with it properly is the other.  Even the biggest names and best works have to carve through an avalanche of rejection.  Here are a few examples that will put your mind at ease.

     We all know of Sylvester Stallone and his breakout performance (and script) from Rocky.  What is less publicized is that the executives at Warner Bros. at the time loved the script, it was a go picture but...... Stallone said he had to play Rocky, he wrote the part for him to play, and the Studios said no (go to 1:28 in the video).  They not only said no to him as an actor over and over, but they offered him more money in return for making the movie without him playing the lead.  This former Rambo star stuck to his guns and the rest is film history as we know it.   Now, can you imagine another actor playing Rocky? Just look at the career Stallone has as well.  

     Take the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black.  At one point you could have taken it because nobody else would.  One of the shows Executive Producers, Jenji Kohan has said that she pitched the series to every network in town before it landed on the office desk at Netflix.  This is a long running, Emmy Award winning show here.  I can’t speak for them but I have a feeling Netflix is happy Kohan faced that rejection before the show was produced with them.

     Dr.Seuss, as the story goes his first book was rejected by 27 publishers before one said yes.  I am sure his estate is glad that he pressed on with the submissions to publishers and made it 28.

     Lordof the Flies, before it was made twice as a movie it was a WilliamGolding novel.  This brilliant piece of literature was treated like the pig on his fabled island, his novel was rejected 20 times before it was published.

     Being an Artist, I liken it to a bull rider.  Oh yeah, you will be thrown off, crashing to the ground with a face full of dirt, but to make it you must get back in the saddle.  I endured six years of rejection until Cam-Girl, my third screenplay was the right script that was read by the two produces it took to believe in it and make it happen.  Before that I even wrote a non-fiction book that was rejected everywhere, and that is good because that Work was substandard.  For some of you this will be hard to accept, but there are many reasons for constant rejection in the Entertainment field, and one of them is because approximately 90 percent of the scripts that are written, or people who ever attempted acting are just not good enough.  That is exactly why you need to keep at it if you ever want a chance to succeed.  You should get better, you will get better, but you must be fully dedicated and have a hunger to learn about your craft.

     Some other things that make rejection a necessary part of the Entertainment world include, all the agents, producers and star actors out there are just too busy to consider every pitch that floods their email and social media every day.  Rejection is the industry’s way of thinning out herd for them.  It is a vetting process, also, it only makes sense that they would be more interested in a project that was referred to them by a friend or have prominent people already involved.  Besides that and the time factor, the other other reason is legality.  It goes without saying that lawsuits are very common these days, so professionals and business entities need to shield themselves from that.

     Okay Curt, I get it, now how do I deal with the rejection?  The answer is simple... and complex.  It has to be something you find on your own.  There are many ways people rise up from adversity, some work even harder, some let off steam at the gym, some vent about it through their art, others find comfort talking about it with loved ones or friends who also work in that field.  There are plenty of film groups, writers’ meet ups and Acting schools that can be your outlet for this.  Find what works for you, because much like rejection itself, the art of dealing with is a part of the deal if you want a career.

-Curt Wiser is an author and the Writer/Director of the suspense movie Cam-Girl now on DVD and Amazon Prime.

CREATING SALES ART FOR YOUR MOVIE OR BOOK

     An image speaks louder than words, we've all heard that expression.  I feel that is mostly true.  After all, an image can be seen and processed by your brain in less than a second.  In this ultra fast paced on-demand world, a second is all you may get to grab someone's attention.  

     Over the course of having my first feature Cam-Girl released worldwide and a few distributors involved to give input, I've learned a lot about what goes into making sales art that gets their mouse buttons clicking.  First, it must be said that every case is different.  What is the genre of your movie or book?  Look at examples of other sales art similar to your product to get ideas.  

     If it is a movie, do you have a well known actor in it?  If so, it is a smart play to put that actor's face as the prominent subject on your sales art, even if they were only in one scene.  This is done all the time, in that case the actor is the sales incentive, the element that will bring attention to your movie.  If you do not have that in your favor, you will need to have a striking image that best represents your story and what the viewer should expect.  For example, the poster of a Psychological Thriller should look much different than that of a violent Horror film.  If you have an action movie, the image should capture a moment in the middle of an action scene.  If it is a teen sex comedy, you better believe that a teenager and an attractive woman would be on the sales art.  

     In our case of Cam-Girl, we had several story elements to consider.  Here is the logline: 

A single mother who works as a webcam stripper, is pushed to her limit when held hostage by an unknown gunman.

     So we have the single mother character motivation, the sex appeal of her job as a cam girl and the home invasion suspense plot.  How do you hit all these points home with one image?  I went to work and here is the poster I designed:

     We have the title big and at the top, the four images that highlight those story beats of sex, violence and motherly love.  Also the tag line, "One phone call will turn this stripper into one bad mother" those words separate each image relating to the one below it. 

Here is the full art for the North American DVD release:

     
     Not bad right?  Well, when I signed with a distributor for foreign territories, they said they would want new cover art made.  Not a problem I said, this distributor Leomark Studios has been distributing content worldwide since Video On Demand sales started.  I would have been a fool to think I know more than they do about streaming sales and what image would be likely to bring in a return.  

When they sent me the artwork they want to use, I instantly knew they were right.  Here is the foreign release sales art for Cam-Girl:

     Again, the title is big and at the top.  The image is high contrast and sells these two main story elements, an attractive cam girl who has a stalker.  But most importantly...... it is told all in one big image.  This is a must these days because your cover art not only needs to spark interests as a full sized poster, but also when it is a mere thumbnail image among a catalog of competing images in a video queue.  Take this for example:

 
     Take a look at my original poster on the far right.  Those four images do not read at all at that size.  Now, see the new art which is the center image, that still stands out even at this diminutive scale.  As filmmakers we do not have control over how these Video On Demand platforms display our poster.  Instead we need to make that sales art work even in the worst case scenario such as the one illustrated above.

     For a Novel, you can take more liberties with the image because that format plays into the imagination of the reader.  A book cover could be an illustration instead of a photograph, just as long as it best represents the story and the tone of the prose.  The same rules apply, but you are not pinned down by the images the same way you are for a movie.  It still needs to be a high contrast, evocative image that will make them want to know more, discover what lies behind the image. 

     Cam-Girl is about to be released in the foreign territories with the new art, so I do not yet know how big of a difference this will make.  What I do know, much like the sales art itself, the future looks bright.    I hope this helps, happy filmmaking.

Curt Wiser is an author, filmmaker and writes film reviews for www.ocmoviereviews.com  

HOW TO BECOME A FILM CRITIC OVERNIGHT.

     To be fair, the title is referring to how quickly I went from not really pursuing writing reviews for film, to being a critic for a popular review outlet.  In a way I have been working towards it for years by being a writer and filmmaker, but at the same time it feels like it just happened in a flash.

     All it took was reading a post on Twitter from OCmoviereviews.com saying they are looking for writers.  A sent an email with samples of my work and a brief pitch for why I would be a good addition to their team.  Within two days I was writing for them and feel happy to share great movies that may be overlooked.  That was my way in, that was my reason for wanting to do this. If you want to do it for the glory or the perks, that will most likely not be a good experience.  If your heart is not in it, the work will suffer.  So that is the first tip:

• Figure out why you should be writing reviews.

     Another good example would be saying, I am a filmmaker and I would like to bring that perspective into my analysis.  That was something I said in my email, that is a unique perspective, it is something of value that you have to offer.  I wrote and directed a suspense movie called Cam-Girl which is available on Amazon DVD and multiple VOD platforms.  Yes, part of my incentive for writing reviews is to get more exposure for Cam-Girl by making that part of my bio.  Also, do not get me wrong, the perks of getting a press badge for a film festival or seeing movies in advance for free is great, it just should not be the primary thing that motivates you.  The other thing I had going for me was I have been blogging for around three years.

• Have strong samples of your writing.

     These should be movie reviews, not short stories or poems.  They need to know you can do the job and writing reviews is a different kind of discipline.  I had some movie reviews I wrote for this blog, most of the posts I make here are helpful (at least I hope) guides for writers and indie filmmakers.  Of course, I only sent the link to the review posts and the link to a review show I made with my friend and Editor Curtis Norton on YouTube.  It has good production value for being a YouTube review show.  It is called VS, you can watch it here:

     My purpose for writing these blog posts was also to spread word about our movie, because these days filmmakers need to create a steady stream of engaging content that subtlety promotes the thing you are trying to sell.  In other words, you are giving valuable information or entertainment for free, in exchange for the hope people respond to your ask, whatever that may be.  The point is, when opportunity knocks, you need to already be prepared to answer the call.  I never intended these blog posts to be writing samples, but I am sure glad I had them.

• Define your voice as a critic.

     As soon as you can, land on a writing style for your reviews.  The same can be said for any writing type.  Review writing can take many forms, it can be straight forward and analytical or it can be causal, like having a conversation with the reader.  You could add details about your film going experience or tell how some of these movies relate to you on a personal level.  Whatever style you end up, it should be something you embrace, it should feel like it chose you.

     The voice is what makes the writing fun, it is your signature.  In my case I write reviews with an organized structure, yet it is also free-form, like a conversation but also give my thoughts on it as a filmmaker.  I never give entirely negative reviews, because every finished movie is a victory, a major accomplishment.  Also, I am well aware that cinema, as with any art form is open to interpretation.  You may find aspects of a movie to be a fault, while your reader will see it as a strength.

• Learn the rules of the format.

     Once I knew I had the gig, I asked my contact at the company what length the reviews were expected to be, how often a new review should be written and what their editing process is like.  These things are all very important and can vary from one media outlet to another.  For example, will they want you to list the other movies the actors you mention are associated with or will they fill that in?  Those other titles are important because they are extra search tags that can bring more traffic to the web site.  Also, they might want to pick what other movies are mentioned so they can link to other reviews found on their site.  Will they want you to send photos that would go well with the review?  Should you have an author bio at the end?   

• Share, enjoy, rinse and repeat.

     Celebrate the movies you are proud writing about, share those reviews on your social media and with people you meet in the real world.  It feels good don’t it?  Well you earned it.  Remember reaching the end of any review is an open invitation to discover a new movie and write another.  My reviews on OCmoviereviews.com can be read here.  Thanks for reading, I hope this encourages you to write, watch a movie or even share a story with a friend.   

  

Curt Wiser is an author and filmmaker, he Wrote and Directed the suspense movie Cam-Girl.

A GUIDE TO USING VOICE OVER 

IN YOUR SCREENPLAY

Written by Curt Wiser

     American Beauty, The Usual Suspects, Sunset Boulevard, Network and All the President's Men; what do all of these films have in common?  They all have won Academy Awards for either Best Picture or Best Screenplay.... and they all use voice over.

     Many of my favorite films have voice over and that is usually one of the things that I really love about them.  Over the years writing voice over has gotten a bad wrap, as if just daring to type [V.O.] is the death knell of any spec script.  This is probably because it is used improperly in sloppy ways by many writers as a short cut, an easy out.

Well I would like to set the record straight and give writers the ability to write voice over with confidence and not worry that it has a bad stigma associated with it according to some.

     So far every spec script I have written has had voice over in it and one of those, Web-Cam (2011) landed financing and was produced with the voice over left in tacked.

Web-Cam is a Thriller about a web cam stripper who is pushed to the limit when held hostage by an unknown gunman.

     I decided to tell this story with voice over because the film revolves around Gessica, a cam girl.  Using voice over lets me bring the viewer into what it must be like to work such a strange job and how it could affect them.  If it is something your character cannot put it into words like that, then you can say it with voice over.

The first question you should ask: Is this story one that would be better told if it had voice over in it?

     Think about a classic film like Taxi Driver.  If it did not have voice over it would just be a quiet DeNiro siting alone in a cab.  What about Danny Boyle's 127 Hours?  If it was for the voice over or those video tape messages that the character made, the whole movie would be James Franco caught under a rock screaming.

The next question: Is dialogue/voice over your strong suit as a Writer?

     If not, then you can force yourself to have a better ear for it.  Go to a party and just listen to all the different conversations around you.  The other option is you could find a writing partner to write it for you.

     I know what you are thinking.  The main mantra has always been show don't tell, so why should I put voice over in my new masterpiece?  I agree that you should show and not tell but that refers to the stories plot and inciting incidents.  That is way I say:

NEVER USE VOICE OVER AS EXPOSITION.

     That means do not tell why something is happening or has happened or explain why a character is doing anything with voice over.  I will not list some titles but there have been some major motion pictures that managed to get produced somehow with poorly written voice over exposition.  Those films have flopped hard at the box office and maintained one star ratings on NetFlix.

NEVER SAY ANYTHING IN VOICE OVER THAT IS CLEAR TO THE AUDIENCE OR SAID ALREADY WITH DIALOGUE.

That one goes without saying, you do not want to be repetitive or waist a single word in your script.

So how should voice over be used?  Here are some examples from films that I admire and writers that are a force to be reckoned with.

• CONVEY WHAT A CHARACTER IS FEELING.

     This is the most common way voice over is used. It is also the most likely form that can be miss-used.  So make sure there is no alternative to using voice over this way, then make sure it is not overtly stating how the character is feeling.

Here is the immortal Taxi Driver as an example:

Travis Bickle (V.O.)

Damn, the days go on and on, they 

don't end. All my life needed was 

a sense of some place to go. I 

don't believe one should devote 

his life to morbid self-attention.

(a beat)

I believe that someone should become 

            a person like other people.

     What Paul Schrader is implying here is that his character Travis is so isolated and disillusioned in his pathology of loneliness that he does not even feel like a real person, he does not feel alive.  Now the character could have just said “I'm lonely, it's like I'm not really here, I think it is because nobody loves me” but that would be nothing compared to Schrader's prose.

     Remember, a good actor should be able to convey any emotion or feeling with just their eyes.  But not even the best actor in the world can put a feeling into words that hit you in the gut or sound like pure poetry the way great voice over can.

• REVEAL SOMETHING IMPORTANT ABOUT A CHARACTER.

     This would be some internal detail, like the character's point of view, their hidden intelligence or private thoughts.  Take Frank Darabont's sleeper break through film The Shawshank Redemption for example.

Red (V.O.)

I must admit I didn't think much 

of Andy first time I laid eyes on 

him, looked like a stiff breeze 

would blow him over. That was my 

              first impression of the man.

Notice how the line “That was my first impression of the man” subtly says that there is more to Andy than appearances, he should not be underestimated.  That is good writing.

It could also be used to show how a character lives a double life.  Look at American Psycho, One Hour Photo, Mr. Brooks and Secretary for examples of that.

• DRAMATIC IRONY.

     This is the classic writing term that means the audience has knowledge about something before the character(s) in the story do.  This technique is a great way to create suspense.  I chose Alan Ball's brilliant script American Beauty as an example of this.

Lester Burnham (V.O.)

I'm 42 years old, in less than

 a year I'll be dead. Of course 

I don't know that yet. And in 

               a way I'm dead already.

That was the opening of the film.  It leaves us wondering how this poor guy meets his end as we grow fond of him over the course of the film.

• COUNTERPOINT OR COMIC RELIEF.

     Well placed voice over can completely break the tension or change the tone of a scene by showing what a character would say if it was appropriate.... but it is not.  It could also be a funny non-sequitur like in Diablo Cody's Juno.

This is what Juno is thinking when she sees the high school track team run by as she breaks the news to her teenaged friend that she is pregnant and he is the father.

Juno (V.O.)

When I see then all running like 

that with their things bouncing 

around in their shorts I always 

picture them naked even if I try 

not to. All I see is pork swords.

Now that breaks the tension and how can you not laugh at “pork swords”?

• SCENE TRANSITIONS.

     One of the staples of good writing is how well one scene transitions into the next.  If it plays well, the voice over at the end of the scene could be the start of the spoken dialogue at the beginning of the scene that follows.  This can make your screenplay more concise by keeping things moving and it can show how the two scenes relate to each other.

My example for this would be the operatic ending to The Usual Suspects, the film that put the screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie and the Director Bryan Singer on the map.

     The film ends with an iconic montage that strings all of Verbal Kint's interrogation together as voice over along with quick cuts that reveal it was all a lie and that he is the notorious Keyser Soze.  The last line of the film is Voice Over.

Verbal Kint (V.O.)

... and like that, he's gone.

• FORESHADDOWING.

Lastly, voice over can plant a seed in the viewers mind.  By that I mean to hint at but not fully explain what will happen or what the scene is really about.

See how this one single line from Fight Club is not given much thought at first but speaks volumes by the end of the film.

This voice over takes place during the scene when Edward Norton's character is beating himself up in his bosses office so he can extort money from his employer.

Jack (V.O.)

For some reason I thought about 

my first fight... with Tyler.

     With that screenwriter Jim Uhls makes a clever hint to the film's big reveal at the end, that Edward Norton's character and Tyler are the same person.  If an audience can pick up new things in your film on the second of third viewing, that is good writing.  Such is the case with Jim Uhls adaptation of the groundbreaking iconoclast novel Fight Club written by Chuck Palahniuk.

     Good screenwriting is all about structure and if you use voice over, that needs to have a structure too.  It should be consistent. If you have 30 minutes worth of voice over in the first act only that will come off as bad structure.  The viewer will get used to hearing that voice over and then you would be taking it away.

     Most scripts that use voice over have it mostly at the beginning and then at the end. American Beauty is a good example of this. Juno begins with the voice over “It all started with a chair.” Then the closing echos, “It ended with a chair.”  Now that is symmetry, that is good writing.

     I hope I have let you think about voice over in a different way. So that maybe your characters will be able to make us laugh, cry, be inspired or even experience something new through the well crafted thoughts in their voice over.

Curt Wiser (V.O.)

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