From Time, a great new cover from Ai Weiwei – and check out the film too!
This week’s TIME cover story, which is illustrated by the artist-activist Ai Weiwei, examines China’s place in the world.
Read a preview of the story here.
(Art by Ai Weiwei for TIME, Typography by Post Typography)
It isn’t magic. At the end of the day, the math for filmmakers (and distributors and other artists) is pretty simple:
You can either spend a lot on marketing or slowly build a base of fans.
But you must do the second one early and it takes a lot of hard work. It can’t be bought. Social marketing never works from scratch even with a big budget (although as Psy shows, money helps a lot).
This seems simple enough, perhaps too simple to share. But I get calls and emails from filmmakers and artists, as well as big companies, all the time about this. They think they can just start marketing something on Facebook or Twitter and win. But they can’t, because they haven’t built that base of fans. They have to spend dollars instead. And all the time, I hear from filmmakers that social doesn’t work, you have to be Kevin Smith or that Eddie Burns is just lucky. But that’s not it. They did the hard work. They built their fan base, and it works.
I can now fund any movie I want made through Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. I can also set up screenings for any movie I want to see, by using OpenIndie, Gathr and Tugg. I can aggregate the news I want using gazillions of apps and plug-ins. I can in fact, live in a cultural world entirely decided upon by me. Or not just me, but me and the people who think and act like I do.
This is a pretty nice gated community. It means that until Anthony Kaufman wrote an article about it, I had no idea that some anti-abortion film was number 8 at the box office last week. I missed it altogether, because I don’t run with that crowd or listen to what they do, unless it accidentally intrudes into my world, such as when my friends start tweeting about something going on with #Komen.
I’m no anti-technology, anti-social network, can’t we have back the old system-kind-of-guy, but it seems to me this takes the whole losing of a common culture problem much further. You know – it used to be we could all gather ‘round the water cooler and talk Happy Days, or even Seinfeld, or heck…even Mad Men. This gave us some common culture to share, and arguably some commonness in our lives.
Now, however, I can do this just with my cultural-clones. I wouldn’t think this was such a bad thing, but then again….several years back, many churches started building mega-centers where they could all worship, buy coffee, shop, mingle and not be influenced by the outside world. I don’t think we’d argue that this is not exactly a mind-opening way to live. We see this with many conservative groups (from all religions), and I think we can generally agree it doesn’t make for the best situation for anyone. It’s a closed system – self-referential to the extreme, and this creates not just extremism but shitty culture.
It’s no better applied to other arenas – if I only get the liberal-minded films which I pay for on Kickstarter, Gathr to my hometown and spread to my network of like-minded individuals, all of culture will suffer as a result. In theory, all of these new tools are making things more open, but I worry about the self-referring loop syndrome of the closed system we’re building. Am I the only one?
Then again, I’m probably missing a lot of right-wing crazy shit I don’t need in my life….crowdsource on dudes.
I’ve just left SXSW to help lead some discussions around how to build and maintain a vibrant media arts culture, with Creative Albuquerque. Here’s details:
The Downtown Arts & Cultural District Steering Committee is pleased to announce a national speaker series to assist in stimulating the development of vibrant district and a strategic cultural plan. The speaker series begins with esteemed guest Brian Newman, who will lead an exploration of our community’s film and digital media assets. Brian’s expertise will be shared with the public on March 14th.
focus group for Film & Digital Media Stakeholders
A facilitated discussion on the future of film & digital media in ABQ
9:00-11:30am at Creative Albuquerque located at 115 4th Street NW.
public talk: “Creating A Vibrant Media Arts Environment”
4:30-5:30 at the Cell Theatre, located at 700 1st Street NW.
The speakers series and data gathering will continue over eight weeks with specialists in film and digital media, visual arts, music and performing arts, literary arts, culinary arts and marketing/branding. In addition to making public presentations, guest speakers will provide recommendations and assist in the development of strategies to spur vitality in the downtown district. These insights will be integrated into the district’s cultural plan, which aims to increase local and visitor engagement, foster economic growth for downtown businesses and ensure eventual recognition as a top cultural district in the nation.
To RSVP to events or for more information, email info@creativeabq.org or call (505) 268-1920.
Here’s their website.
I’m going to be doing some networking meetings this year at IFP’s Script to Screen Conference on March 17th. The line-up looks great (I’m not speaking publicly here), and I highly recommend this conference if you live in/near NYC. Check out the details below:
IFP’s Script to Screen Conference, to be held Saturday March 17 at 92Y Tribeca in NYC, is the place to explore the art, craft, and business of screenwriting and creating the next generation of independent film and media. Anchored by a conversation with Oscar-nominated director Bennett Miller (Moneyball, Capote); Script to Screen will feature a live pitch contest; writing gamesand conversations with innovators in screenwriting, TV, and new media; and a networking lunch offering the chance to connect with representatives from organizations such as Writers Guild of America East, Tribeca Film Institute, YouTube, Cinereach, and the New York Television Festival. The day-long event will explore new opportunities available to indie filmmakers and content creators.
The day will also feature a Writer’s Conversation with exciting new talents Ry Russo-Young (Nobody Walks), Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), Liza Johnson (Return), and Madeleine Olnek (Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same).Other guests include Jonathan Ames (Bored to Death); Ethan T. Berlin and Eric Bryant (“Bunk”); Dia Sokol Savage (“16 & Pregnant”); and Collegehumor.com’s David Young. Script to Screen is presented in partnership with the Writers Guild of America East, New York Television Festival, and BookExpo America. For information on how to submit your pitch, go here. For additional information and to purchase tickets, click here.
I’m moderating a panel on Cross Media Filmmaking this Thursday night for NYFA. Here’s the summary from their website:
Increasingly, independent filmmakers are telling their stories in different disciplines, and artists in other disciplines are telling their stories in film. One medium doesn’t necessarily replace another, it complements it, creating a larger context and attracting new audiences. Hollywood studios and their corporate partners do this well, using games, books, dolls, clothes, toys and fan sites to expand their stories. As the cost of filmmaking drops and filmmaking tools and skills come within reach of more people, the boundaries between independent filmmakers and other artists are falling. What are the costs and benefits of these cross-disciplinary media projects? The panel for this discussion are NYFA artists from different backgrounds who are currently making or have recently completed a film.
You can check out the full list of panelists, and other event info here. Hope to see you there.
As regulars know, I’ve helped out on the great film General Orders No. 9, and we’re proud to announce that it is finally available on DVD, Blu-Ray and VOD. If you were a fan of this film, I highly recommend buying the Blu-Ray along with the limited edition, numbered books created by the filmmaker (pictured here). Get them from his website below. Here’s the press release.
GENERAL ORDERS No. 9 AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY, DVD,
AND VIDEO-ON-DEMAND, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012
The award-winning film, General Orders No. 9 is coming to home video and iTunes February 28. It will be available on DVD and Blu-ray exclusively from the filmmaker on February 28 at shop.generalordersno9.com and select retailers through Passion River on March 20. Video-On-Demand will be offered through Apple iTunes.
A visionary film of the American South, General Orders No. 9 stunned audiences on the festival circuit and prompted Robert Koehler of Variety to describe it as, “Coming seemingly out of nowhere…a true original.” Festival awards include Best Cinematography from Slamdance and RiverRun, and Soul of Southern Film from IndieMemphis. A theatrical run with Variance Films brought the film to 20 cities in 2011, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle.
Continuing a series of accolades received through its festival tenure, a year of theatrical presentation resulted in General Orders No. 9 inclusion in several “Best” lists at the end of 2011.These prestigious mentions include Paste magazine’s 50 Best Movies of 2011 (#7), 20 Best New Filmmakers (#2), and 20 Best Documentaries (#2). In another appearance, General Orders No. 9 made the 2011 Hammer To Nail Awards, Top 14 Films of 2011, where Michael Tully said it “makes Malick look like a straight shot of Hollywood.”
The thought-provoking culmination of eleven years’ work from first time writer-director Robert Persons, General Orders No. 9 marries experimental filmmaking with an accessible, naturalist sensibility to tell the epic story of change in the American South and reaches a bittersweet reconciliation all its own.
On March 22, the filmmakers will celebrate the release with an exhibit at Gallery 515, an Atlanta art gallery. Featuring a series of drawings by noted illustrator, Bill Mayer, the exhibit will include art and photography created for the film as well as limited edition books and prints.
General Orders No. 9 (2011) was written and directed by Robert Persons and edited by Phil Walker. It features narration from William Davidson and music from Chris Hoke, Stars of the Lid, and John Tavener, among others. General Orders No. 9 is a New Rose Window production.
Further information, press stills and more can be found at www.generalordersno9.com.