outta the clear blue

The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film

by Sheila Seclearr

Here's a look at a wonderful collaborative effort by filmmakers across America to capture the evolving story of the Occupy Movement. This project is funded on Kickstarter and it's not too late to get involved. Please take a look at the trailer. I have a copy of the DVD coming when it's completed for showings in Taos and Santa Fe. Stay tuned!

 

On Oct 1, 2011 a few award-winning filmmakers in NY teamed up to make a collaborative film about the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  They called and wrote to their filmmaker friends, and they to theirs.  Soon, there were over 60 people across the country who had come together to join the collaborative film.

It started with a few filmmakers in NY, but within a couple weeks people were joining in Denver, Portland, LA, Boston, Seattle, Philly, DC, Kansas City, Miami, Pittsburgh, Austin, Dallas, Rhode Island, Nashville, Chicago, San Francisco, Oakland, in short: it took off all over the country.  Skilled editors got onboard, PR people, producers, post production supervisors, a supervising editor signed on, post production services were donated by Metropolis Post, Duotone contributed library music, and everyone started pitching in what they could.

Please help support this project in any way possible.

Hollywood Producer Meetings Update

by Sheila Seclearr

I survived my week in Hollywood so well that I almost want to stay forever. I’ll give a glimpse for now, but after I’ve gone over my notes, I’ll attempt a more detailed summary. Before going into three days of producer meetings set up by Gary Shusett of Sherwood Oaks Experimental College and Hal Croasmun of ScreenwritingU, I had a few private meetings that I arranged for myself. I’ll keep those private for now, but the results were like setting an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. I mean that in a good way. Both served me well throughout the rest of the meetings. Lesson learned: when going into the intense unknown, it’s good to consider the best case and the worst case scenarios and be prepared for anything.

Gary Shusett (middle) seems to know everyone in Hollywood, but didn't introduce me to either James Cameron (left) or Quintin Tarantino (right).

Even so well prepared, I really couldn’t have imagined such tremendous support and encouragement in this economy or in this town. On the other hand, there were plenty of voices saying it’s impossible right now to produce anything without jumping through the proverbial rings of fire, wearing a magic shroud while swooping at money with a butterfly net and screaming at the top of your lungs.

I was with a group of twenty writers, all of us seasoned enough to meet with top producers and show up as professionals. We impressed the producers with our international mix. Though most of us were from the continental U.S., there were a handful of Canadian writers, one from the U.K., one from France and one from Australia.  Some had representation, some had major contest wins and some like me were already getting assignments from industry pros.

We only pitched to a handful of producers on the last day but nearly all of the others received a one-sheet about everyone’s current script or project. I’m working on a baseball biopic and the little devil on my shoulder reminded me that it’s tough to name many successful sports pics in the last decade. But the little angel provided a midweek Variety headline that Legendary Pictures will begin the long-awaited biopic on Jackie Robinson this year.

Hollywood can easily entertain a group of writers for a week. The bonus was a day of meetings in Venice and afterward, a few of us took a walk at Venice Beach that could inspire and amuse a curmudgeon on crack. Not that any of those were around… ahem.

I head back to Taos with a few script requests so let me work for awhile, okay? More to come…

Preparing for Los Angeles Producer meetings

By Sheila Seclearr

Even though, on most days, I enjoy the Taos mountain vista and clear New Mexico air, I also can't wait for my visits to Los Angeles. But of course, my first stop is at the beach. We don't have many of those in New Mexico.

I've had the pleasure of being part of several great, positive, film industry networks in LA and I'm eager to meet with old friends as well as new. Hal Croasmun is the instigator for this trip. He's put together three days of meetings with Hollywood producers who are open to new ideas and working with new writers. I'm not a new writer but I may be new to them. In any case, it will be a fun week of hearing what other creative people are doing.

Hal Croasmun heads up ScreenwritingU, which Script Magazine lists as #1 in the upcoming July/August issue in an article titled "Top 9 Online Screenwriting Courses, Plus One." Part of the ongoing support of ScreenwritingU is the network called The ProSeries Alumni, made up of serious writers who offer to trade reads with each other, give feedback, listen to pitches, etc. It's these writers Croasmun taps to sit down with Hollywood producers who'll discuss how they like to work with writers and what they're currently looking for.  The list of PSA writers who have been optioned, sold or produced grows nearly every week. My first screenwriting assignment came directly through one of Croasmun's introductions.

So check back here next week and I'll give an update of how the meetings went, who I met and hopefully a few pictures. Have a great week!

Taos, New Mexico featured on Good Morning America Weekend

by Sheila Seclearr

Taos, New Mexico was featured on the weekend edition of ABC’s Good Morning America.Take a look and maybe understand why I call Taos home. Oh, you do too? Or you've visited Taos Pueblo? Skied at Taos Ski Valley? Well, you might want to send this to friends and family who try to do interventions to get you back down to their altitude.

The Good Morning America segment concentrated on Taos Pueblo, Taos Ski Valley and the scenery. They interviewed Taos, New Mexico Mayor Darren Cordova and Public Information Officer Cathy Connelley, Taos Pueblo Tribal Secretary Antonio Mondragon and Adriana Blake of Taos Ski Valley.

By the way, Taos Ski Valley reports a foot of fresh powder this morning!

Here's the YouTube version with commercials edited out...

Come for a visit.

 

 

The New Mexico debate on Film Industry Incentives

By Sheila Seclearr

It astonished me that a newly aligned New Mexico government pounced immediately ~ first week in office ~ on the film industry, one of the state's growth industries. Looks like that's largely due to the self-proclaimed "crusade" of state representative Dennis Kintigh. After this week's debate in Albuquerque, Alton Walpole made public his brillliant letter to Rep. Kintigh. I suggest we flood Kintigh's office with similar letters and phone calls. Kintigh can be reached at:

askdennis@denniskintigh.com or Capital phone: 505-986-4453

Basically, raising the costs of doing business now in New Mexico equals jobs lost, in film, in tourism and in businesses across the state, and that's the opposite of what these politicians promised in order to to get themselves voted into office.  

Hold them accountable.

Representative Dennis J. Kintigh,

Thank you for taking part in the New Mexico Film Tax Incentive Debate.

From your opening remarks your assessment of the film incentive program in New Mexico was that it is "bad economic policy" and that you have been "on a crusade for years" to end the program.

During the debate you noted the following:
1. The accounting procedure is "shrouded in secrecy".
2. The NM film rebate should be eliminated because the estimated amount of the rebate is "not adequately projected" each year.
3. It is "time to re-evaluate" the program.
4. The film industry is a "privileged" industry. 
5. The LFC has been presented with a Tax Expenditure Budget.
6. Working in the film industry is an addiction, like being "hooked on heroin".
7. The definition of a successful program is when "it is no longer subsidized".
8. There is "abuse" in the film rebate program (especially residency).
9. You propose to "build roads" rather than make films.
10. Do not spread tax credits like "tinker dust".
11. It is the only industry with "favorable status".

I would offer the following:

A. The accounting procedures are not clouded in secrecy. Actual production company procedures for accounting are extremely detailed, precise and diligent. All projected expenditures are fully and carefully examined with Purchase Orders and multiple approvals before payment. Upon completion of any specific production and prior to any rebate the accounting records are thoroughly audited and examined by New Mexico Taxation and Revenue. The process is as transparent as state law allows. The NM Film Office has gone a step further by "breaking" down the aggregate expenditure in to categories (labor, rental, etc). If you are having difficulty in accessing these records I suggest that you log on the nmfilm.com site and examine the category expenditure records of production companies. If you are having difficulty in getting expenditure records from NM Taxation and Revenue, please contact me. I will be glad to obtain these records for you from New Mexico Tax & Revenue and deliver them to you. It is important that you have precise data in order to make intelligent decisions.

B. I agree that the program should be examined and re-evaluated. I think that you will find it is one of the best economic incentive programs currently in existence in the State of New Mexico. It has created jobs, careers, additional taxes and substantial revenue from outside of the state. With regard to your claim of "abuse", it is true that the original residency requirement was less than perfect. Perhaps you are unaware that in the past year the residency requirements have been better defined and modified to insure precise accuracy. No one can be a resident in multiple locations. In order for any employee to qualify for the rebate, they must sign a residency document and provide proof of residency in New Mexico (no longer just a Driver's License or Post Office Box).  Abuse of this qualification results in perjury. I am also glad to forward the form and the qualifications to you if you do not have time or are unable to access this information.

C. The film industry is not a "privileged" industry and not the only industry with "favorable status". I would offer that the oil & gas industry is far more privileged and has a more favorable status that the film industry. I do not wish to demean the oil & gas industry, that along with tourism, has been the "backbone" of New Mexico economy. The film production incentives (originally designed during Republican Governor Gary Johnson's administration) were developed in an attempt to stimulate and support an additional industry in New Mexico and support growth. It is working.

D. I am not certain that "subsidy" is the correct definition of the film incentive program. The rebate program was originally designed to bring income back into the United States (primarily from Canada). Canada offered a rebate, so the United States needed to offer a rebate to compete. It is now a competition between states. I agree with you that the definition of a successful program is a program that "is not subsidized", but in the current economy and competitive marketplace, a rebate is necessary to even compete for revenue. The rebate has been increased to remain in a competitive position. New Mexico's program was well thought out, precisely drafted & defined and has been extremely well managed. It is not the "highest" state rebate available, but it is simple, fair, competitive, relatively easy to navigate and does allow rebates for "out-of-state" goods or services . Unlike oil and gas (which exist in our state) where the extractor and exporter must go to the existing source in New Mexico, film production companies have choices of "where to shoot their film". The rebate amount is the primary factor that attracts film production; if the rebate is diminished, reduced or eliminated, production companies will not select New Mexico as the location where they will spend their money. Capping the rebate amount (per fiscal year or per production) will also destroy the current successful industry. It will alter an option that is currently "certain" to "uncertain" (Do I have to shoot at the beginning of the year? Is my budget too large to consider New Mexico?)

E. Many states have attempted to "copy" the New Mexico program or create their own in order to have a "quick financial gain" for their economy. We, in the film industry, have always projected that many of the other state programs would be abandoned. The state programs that are being eliminated were not properly designed or managed, allowing for extreme abuse and failure. The New Mexico program is the opposite. I thank you and the Legislature for designing and implementing a successful program. Please do not allow New Mexico to follow the path of states that have failed in their foresight, ethics and sound economic principles.

For your information I am a native New Mexican (raised in Torrance County). I work as a Unit Production Manager and Line Producer (I manage other people's money and assist with hiring & location decisions). Because of the film incentive program I am now able to work primarily in my home state. I most recently was the Production Manager on "Crazy Heart" and "The Book of Eli" (and assisted Denzel Washington in making a large donation to the Boy's Club of Roswell). I deeply care about our state, I am concerned with the deficit we currently face (I applaud your efforts to balance our budget....it is a much more difficult job than mine) and I feel that we should respect the Legislative process and make certain that you have all the factual information necessary in order to make the difficult decisions you have to make.

I do not know exactly how to offer "proof" or "data" that supports the proposition that "if the film incentive program is reduced or eliminated, film production in New Mexico will generally not exist". I am glad to assist with gathering information from studio and production finance executives (in the form of letters) to "confirm" or "deny" this premise if you require absolute data. I can assure you that the multiple phone calls I receive daily from these financiers (with the information that a reduction or elimination is even being proposed) has created considerable anxiety. And I am already being informed that New Mexico may no longer be considered.

I understand your opening comments at the debate that you have been on this "crusade" for many years, I offer that being on a crusade may be a form of addiction.  I do not agree that the film incentive program is "bad economic policy". My question is why are you on this crusade?

Thank you,
Alton Walpole

FYI: Alton Walpole is the owner of Mountainair Films Inc. in Santa Fe and was both UPM and Line Producer on recent Academy Award winning Crazy Heart ~best actor, Jeff Bridges~ plus professionally crucial to the production of many more New Mexico films. Thank you, Alton!!

 

Eclipse This! Allegra Huston's “Good Luck Mr. Gorski” has Liftoff

by Sheila Seclearr  Dec. 20, 2010

Is it only by chance that Allegra Huston chose tonight, the night of the Winter Solstice full moon eclipse,  to announce “liftoff” for her short film, “Good Luck Mr. Gorski?” The film was inspired by the urban legend around Neil Armstrong’s 1969 moon landing during which he supposedly made the mysterious comment of the movie title.

Who was Mr. Gorski? Huston’s film captures the essence of the most famous tale, that of the Gorskis as Armstrong’s boyhood neighbors and the titillating sexual promise to be fulfilled “when the boy next door walks on the moon.”

The film is written and produced by Huston and directed by Arron Shiver. It was shot this fall in Albuquerque and Santa Fe with Gary Houston and Fran Martone as Mr. and Mrs. Gorski (shown here watching Armstrong's landing in their pjs). A longtime resident of Taos, New Mexico, Huston plans to premiere the film at the Taos Shortz Film Festival the first week of March, 2011.

Says Huston, “We used a RED camera, which is digital 35mm - the highest quality camera available. We built sets inside the old hospital in Santa Fe, and we've got a top Visual Effects Supervisor, whose credits include the second and third Matrixes, compositing in the archive footage and all kinds of other stuff too. Nobody will believe that we made the film for such a low budget.”

Still, she wants to raise another $5000 to cover costs of post-production, festival screenings and an Academy campaign. “Yes,” says Huston, “I’m going for it.”

Huston thanks her launch crew of 810 supporters so far for helping send Mr. and Mrs. Gorski to their own personal moon. More photos and information on crew, screenings, the shoot and donations can be found at GoodLuckMrGorski.com. 

Rippamatic lesson in copyrights

by Sheila Seclearr

I once told a filmmaker friend that sometimes it's easier to ask forgiveness than ask permission.

So I'm putting it to the test. Today's date is Nov. 22nd. I'll get back to the date in a moment. Today I was on hold with a project, waiting on info from someone else. Of course I got sidetracked with email. But among the junk was this great bunch of photos. Gorgeous. Sweet story. And obviously someone has made an effort to get them out there. So I figure I'm helping out a little by putting them into a slideshow with great music. Okay, that's now two copyright questions. They're copyrighted photos and it's a copyrighted song by India Arie. I'm not selling this or getting any benefit -- but still I should ask for permission to use it.

Of course.

Here's where the forgiveness test comes up. Back to the date: Nov. 22nd. I'm writing to India Arie's label -- Acoustic Soul was recorded by Motown. And I'll write to the photo folks also, but I'm sure they'll love it. So I'll post again when I get permissions and we'll see how long it takes. Until then, the show is not public on YouTube. You'll only find it right here... Outta the Clear Blue.

 

 

 

Fireworks! Horn Tooting! Announcements!

by Sheila Seclearr

We're excited to announce a great new writing assignment for Outta the Clear Blue associate, J.J. Ramo.

J..J. Ramo has been hired by Ray Zimmerman and Tamee Smith Zimmerman to do the rewrite for their upcoming film, The Fine Art of Living. Bruce A. Block is also interested and may direct the feature film set in New Mexico.

The Zimmermans are both former executives from Sony Pictures and between them have worked in production and post-production on hundreds of films (Jerry Maguire, As Good As it Gets, etc…) Now living in Taos, New Mexico, Ray is currently part of the production team for Cowboys and Aliens which begins filming next week.

J.J. compares the rewrite job with doing an adaptation. “I started with an already amazing story, but had to make it my own vision. Now with producer and director notes and meetings, I’m seeing the story come alive in a true collaborative effort.”

J.J. had the previous job of adapting Derek Hart’s novel Secret of the Dragon’s Eye to screen, another project which is making progress. J.J. has done networking trips to L..A. to meet studio executives, but credits Taos magic with meeting Tamee Zimmerman. “She was sitting next to me at The Adobe Bar listening to a friend play music, when someone introduced us. You just never know in Taos town.”

Stay tuned here for news on all the projects at Outta the Clear Blue Productions. And have a happy and safe Independence Day!

Yale's Antidote for New Mexico Brain Drain: Yale Bulldogs in Santa Fe

New Mexicans have complained for many years about how the best and brightest students tend to go outside the state for higher education, seldom returning upon graduation. The Yale Alumni Association of New Mexico has a plan to combat the phenomenon, known as "brain drain." Last summer, fourteen undergraduates from Yale University, took intern posts with New Mexico associations or companies. The Yale Alumni have sponsored intern programs across the country. Santa Fe is the tenth city to adopt "Bulldogs Across America." Others include Louisville, KY, Cleveland, OH and the San Francisco Bay area. The mission of Bulldogs Across America is to create and support alumni sponsored internship programs that are sustainable by the local community.

Many of the fourteen New Mexico interns are Yale students from New Mexico. Other students came from Colorado, Texas and New York as well as other areas.

Among the sponsoring organizations are the New Mexico historian's office Digital History Project, THINK New Mexico, a non-profit think tank, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Outside Magazine, the International Folk Art Market, the Georgia O'Keefe Museum and Amigos Bravos, a non-profit environmental protection agency in Taos. 

For more information, contact Bulldogs Across America Program Coordinator, Ann Curtis, ann.curtis@yale.edu , 502-459-3876, or Bulldogs Founder & Director Rowan Claypool '80, rowan@aya.yale.edu , 502-599-5061.

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Hugo Munsterberg: Original Film Theory

by Sheila Seclearr

Taos, New Mexico

(bumper sticker for Taos Ski Valley:

TAOS is a 4-letter word for steep)

I’ve had a steep but fun learning curve since The Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe and especially since The Mentor Academy with Kirk Ellis in June. Ellis not only taught a phenomenal and info-loaded class but he gave us a reading list to continue our exploration of cinema studies. Interestingly, our group of screenwriters was offered a list of books heavily geared toward psychology and film direction.

According to Emmy award-winning Ellis, he wanted to help us achieve a sophisticated level of writing that was cinematic and multi-layered. I’ve been studying several of these books since we completed the class and I’ll probably refer to them often in the coming months. And yes, not only have I signed up for Ellis’s class again next year, but I’ve also been invited to join the staff of SCSFe (more on that soon.)

One of the most brilliant guides that Ellis pointed out has been around the longest, but is a lesser-known film study. It’s called “The Photoplay: A Psychological Study” and is included with other writings in the book, Hugo Munsterberg on Film (Routledge, London, 2002, edited by Allan Langdale.) Editor Langdale offers an informative background for Hugo Munsterberg, one of the leading figures in psychology when he first published “The Photoplay” around 1916. Many regard it as the first serious piece of film theory and the first to argue for cinema’s potential as an independent art form.

Munsterberg completed his M.D. in Heidelberg and was a professor at the University of Freiburg during the late 19th century. At the First International Congress of Psychologists in Paris in 1889, he met the American psychologist, William James, who was instrumental in wooing him to Harvard as Professor of Experimental Psychology. Munsterberg became notorious in America for his outspoken German perspective on American culture in the early 20th century.

As a devoted critic of the theatrical stage, Munsterberg’s forays into motion picture exploration were focused on the impact of the new medium (at that time) on psychology and perception. His “Photoplay” offers insights along the lines of his other famous business related psychological analyses. His observations of the fledgling industry still ring amazingly true as they relate to the psychology of the cinematic spectator.

I'll list a few favorite passages:

(Referring to another new medium, illustrated magazines) “… the masses of today (1916) prefer to be taught by pictures rather than by words.” Have we learned?

From his fascinating chapter on Attention, here is perhaps the best sentence I’ve ever read on film theory. Munsterberg refers to accompanying images with a wealth of ideas:

“They must have a meaning for us, they must be enriched by our own imagination, they must awaken the remnants of earlier experiences, they must stir up our feelings and emotions, they must play on suggestibility, they must start ideas and thoughts, they must be linked in our mind with the continuous chain of the play, and they must draw our attention constantly to the important and essential element of the action.”

His chapters on Memory, Imagination, Emotions and the Aesthetics of the photoplay are rich with insights, even nearly a century later. As a fan of the stage drama, Munsterberg was adamant about the benefits of film to take the spectator beyond his own limits of experience and “show” worlds, times and visual perspectives that were previously unimaginable.

Even though early cinema advocates heralded film’s ability to show and imitate the real world, Munsterberg championed the transformation of reality through film. He compared our appreciation for a white marble statue as opposed to a realistic looking colored wax figurine. Of film he said, “It is artistic just in so far as it does not imitate reality but changes the world, selects from it special features for new purposes, remodels the world, and is, through this, truly creative.”

Additional writings include several magazine articles and an interview with Hugo Munsterberg conducted by Paramount Pictures. All are more than historically interesting.

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Summer Fun: Bobbing for Kong

by Sheila Seclearr

Happy Summer! I’ve been so busy since last month's Screenwriting Conference in Santa Fe, I've neglected the blog. Sorry! I have J.J. preparing a video testimonial about Gary Goldstein's screenwriting marketing class -- that will be coming up next week. I made a little film for Yale Alumni in New Mexico who are hosting 15 interns here this summer. I'll show that later in the summer. Also, in addition to spending a week with my family in Chicago, I wrote a first draft for a feature film script in ten days! Now do you forgive me for not posting on the blog? More on that project soon as well!

For now, it’s time for a little fun in the sun. Our puppy, 11-month-old Pancho, a black Golden Doodle, learned to swim this month at Deborah Williams' Taos Dog Camp. She took this photo of his eager diving form. 

Since this big developmental leap, Pancho is so much more brave and adventurous – not that he was ever meek! He now has a new prank: dropping his Kong^TM toy into a water bucket. He’s obsessed with this toy and plays with it all day long. We don't even have to stick treats in it. This Kong^TM doesn’t float, however, so when it sinks in the bucket, he’s in a real quandary. Here’s a great little video – 38 seconds – of Pancho figuring out how to get his adored toy. Enjoy our precocious puppy.

Starring Pancho as himself...(Just watched the Antonio Banderas HBO film, "Starring Pancho Villa as Himself." Quite good!)