A short time ago, the following message was sent to me via Twitter:

“@TRLocke– Morning! I need your feedback. What are your expectations and/or objectives when attending a film festival?”

With one of the world’s top four film festival, Sundance, right around the corner (January 21-31st), I thought the answer to that question would be helpful to the readers of this blog as well.

I have to admit that my initial answer to this question was less than favorable. I’ve attended about 20 film festivals in my life—only four of them intentionally.

The first film festival I attended was as a student reporter for my high school newspaper. It was a foreign film festival in Cleveland Heights at the Cedar-Lee Arts Theater. There I saw an amazing film shot in Port-Au-Prince Haiti with English subtitles. My memory of it tells me it was similar to a French version of Slumdog Millionaire without the game show device. Despite my flattering review, I doubt seriously anyone from my high school went to see it.

The other three film festivals I attended because I had a screenplay in contention (Chicago) or because a friend had a film in contention (Hollywood), or because I’d scored free tickets to the L.A. premier of an a movie that won the prize at another bigger film festival (Los Angeles—to see Hustle and Flow with Craig Brewer, John Singleton and Stephanie Allain ).

The rest were by happenstance–usually simply the result of living or working in some artsy district like River North and Wicker Park in Chicago or The Heights in Cleveland, or Burbank (and nearby NoHo—North Hollywood) now. The scenario often plays out like this—I’m walking down the street with family or friends, only vaguely aware a film festival is running, when some young filmmaker pops out of a near-empty theater and desperately begs us to come in and watch his movie for free. We look at each other, check our watches, ask what the film’s about and how long it is and then… sometimes we go. Sometimes we don’t. Suffice it to say, not all film festivals are created equal.

Although film festivals are primarily the domain of directors and producers, there are a few objectives that can be gained by anyone looking to attend. What you can gain is related to whether you’re a film director, producer, writer or actor, etc. Either way, having a plan and reasonable expectations definitely helps.

What follows is a list of what you can expect. The information is gleaned from my own experience as well as a number of other artists and books I’ve read over the years. I’m presenting this information in no particular order.

Contacts.  Regardless of what role you play in the movie business, film festivals are a place to meet people who share your interests and professional goals. These people often show up later at different places along your career path. Networking and meeting different people may help down the line. There’s no real guarantee it will help, but I’ve never seen it hurt.  You may have the opportunity to meet and befriend someone just before their film or yours blows up. Such a person could prove invaluable to helping you in your career. It would be rare—namely because people blowing up as the result of film festivals is rare, but it could happen. Actors and writers particularly stand to gain by meeting directors and producers who may be looking to hire you. The same can be said of cameramen, cinematographers, make-up artists, etc..

Parties. If you’ve been cooped up in an editing room cutting your film for the last six months, a party could do you a lot of good. When liquor’s involved anything can happen.

Education.  There are usually a lot of great panel discussions during film festivals. You can learn new ways to finance your film, new routes to submitting your screenplays to production companies, new ways filmmakers are making money through distributing their films in various markets around the world, cheaper methods of production, new insights into the latest technologies, how the business is changing, what to expect in trying to get your film into Hollywood, etc.. Writers can learn about trends affecting the types of screenplays that are being purchased and new avenues for writing in emerging media.  According to a friend on Facebook, Nickelodeon and other studios often present discussion panels at film festivals in hopes of finding new talent for their writing programs or even to staff their shows.

See a Few Good Movies. Though you will likely see some films that make you wonder how in the world someone would put their time and energy into making it, you will probably see a few good films as well. If you’re really lucky, you might get to see the premier of a breakout film and maybe even meet the creators before they become famous and you have to go through their assistants.

Meet an Occasional Celebrity.  Most likely the ones you may meet would be of the B, C, and D-List variety. You likely don’t know their names, but you recognize them, right?  A-Listers are usually kept in a separate room/section/party—popping out to promote their pet pro-bono project (the film that will likely go on to win the top festival award) just before it premiers. But here’s a good chance to get some pics and impress some friends back home.

For those who actually get accepted into a film festival, here are some additional ways you can benefit:

Distribution. This is the grand prize of any filmmaker attending a film festival. “The winner gets a distribution deal.” That’s why most filmmakers enter. But because it’s only a prize for the winners, it’s not really something most should necessarily expect. In fact, even winners are finding the distribution channels for independent films are bottlenecking, according to the festival director at Sundance.

Get Your Movie Seen. Exhibition is another major goal for those entering film festivals. If your film is selected to be shown at a festival, you have the opportunity to be seen by industry professionals and audiences, which could end up opening doors for you. The key here, though, is that you must know that the festival itself is not going to hype and promote your movie for you. Just because your movie is showing in a festival does not mean people will see it. You have to promote it like mad. You went through all the work to make a movie and get it accepted to a festival. Don’t drop the ball now. Finish the work of packing out the house.

Prizes. You may not win the distribution deal, but if you get any kind of recognition to your film, you could use that recognition to help drive promotion later. Any type of prize at any festival looks good on the one-sheet—even if your prize was nothing more than a new Blue-Ray player.

Publicity. Local news media is sure to cover most film festivals in some form or fashion. If your film was selected for a film fest, use that opportunity to score an interview in local press or TV that might help lead to more exposure for yourself or you film.

These are all fairly reasonable goals you can have when attending or having your film in a festival. On top of these direct benefits, sometimes being in an atmosphere with other creative people can really get your juices flowing. Maybe you’ll meet someone who will become your producing or writing partner on your next film. Or maybe you’ll make a connection with someone who has equipment or an editing suite you can use on the cheap. If nothing else, perhaps you’ll meet someone who’s going through the same struggles as you and you’ll realize you’re not as alone as you may have thought.

Most importantly though, look not only for the benefit others can be to you, look for the benefit you can be to others.

Good Luck,

T. R. Locke

“Does that say Toy Story 2?” my daughter asked me as we passed a bus stop sign here in Burbank today.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, it’s in 3D… They already did Toy Story 2, but they’re just putting it back in theaters in 3D?”

“Yeah, that’s how they do it here.” I responded. “They resell the same movie over and over to new audiences as soon as they figure there’s a new market.”

I can’t say that I blame studios. If we’re stupid enough to go to theaters to re-view the same movie we could view at home, then they should keep releasing the same movies. Milk us for all they can get from us. Why not?

As I mention in my book, a few years ago I was in negotiations with Fox to write the sequel to the Omen. Fox wanted my take on how to keep the franchise moving along. They suggested that they wanted to begin to remarket movies they already had in their vault along the lines of what Universal had been doing with the Beethoven series. “You don’t have to buy ads for those movies. You just put it out on the shelf and it rents because everyone already knows the series. The series is the star.”

That is the highest goal of any studio—to own a series that never fails to draw an audience. Fox wanted to do that with The Omen. At the time, I hadn’t realized they’d already done four Omen movies. I was only familiar with three. At the end of the third, Damien, the Antichrist, was killed.

Apparently, Fox tried to resurrect this franchise once before. They decided a little girl would be born this time and would have the same evil in her. You didn’t see The Omen 4 because it sucked. It took me more than a week to find a video store that even carried it. By the rules in play at the time, I told the executives at Fox that the franchise was dead. That, even though Omen 4 left a definite opening for a sequel, no one would ever want to see it because the series now officially sucked. It had “jumped the Shark” as they say. The original Omen had birthed the soundtrack of operatic Latin that would go on to haunt nearly every film concerned with the devil or demons since. Omen 4 turned the greatest evil on earth into a hop-scotching joke.

So how did Fox solve this dilemma? The same way so many other studios have been quietly resolving it. They simply released the same movie they released in the seventies. Really? Yeah. Why not? The 18-34 demographic Hollywood aims at never saw the original, so all it takes is a little updating and a small budget and voila! What used to be reserved for Miracle on 34^th Street every 30 years or so gets applied to everything. But now it’s no longer called “an updated classic,” it’s simply released as if it’s never been released before.

Halloween gets redone and re-released, then Halloween 2. I believe they took that franchise to seven films—ending with “Halloween H20—Twenty Years Later.” Next? Halloween 3D. It’s in the works—just like The Final Destination—the latest incarnation of that series that sits atop the weekend box-office. Toy Story 2 comes out in 3D too. I’m waiting on Jaws 3D… Oh, wait… they did that one. I guess we see where this is going. Or maybe we don’t.

How many times will people pay money to see the same film over and over again? That’s the question studios want to answer. So far it seems the answer is endless numbers of times for the right film franchise. What’s great for studios now is that it longer takes the passage of years to re-release films. It seems they can re-release them within a year or two and still draw a crowd. It is, after all, what Hollywood does—sell us what we want—or at least what we’re willing to pay for.

T.R. Locke

Hey!

Thanks for dropping by. Whether or not you’ve read my new book,  I Followed my Bliss to Bankruptcy–What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved to Hollywood, I invite you to make comments or ask questions about Hollywood or the book here.

Your questions aren’t limited to the book. If there’s anything you want to know about the business of Hollywood, I’ll do my best to answer it–and if I can’t, I’ll find an expert who can. I also hope to begin posting blogs, vlogs and interviews in the other section called, “Making it in Hollywood.” Check back often or even join, to get more information and advice from successful guest contributors.

Thanks,

T. R. Locke

Mmm. The first real tip. Let’s see. How’s this…?

Develop a very thick skin.

I just happened to see the job listings from UTA (United Talent Agency). The job listings are supposed to be internal openings that agents and their assistants browse to learn what production companies, or their own clients, are looking for in terms of support staff. Most of the listings are for agent assistants, celebrity assistants, interns/trainees and other lower-level studio executives. They are the kind of jobs many people who come to Hollywood hope to land in order to get a foot in the door.

These lists get swiped and passed around through email. Join almost any creative support group and you’re likely to come across one or more from a major agency. They all have them. And some of the jobs pay decent wages, too. You can be a celebrity assistant for instance and earn “$48K/year–no benefits.” However the reply link was via a country music company, so it might not be enough money.

What traits do many of the jobs look for? Well, along with, “must be willing to work flexible hours and be utterly committed to the job,” one very telling request was as follows: “Must have thick skin.”

What makes someone put that in a job posting? Not sure, but I would guess they lost their prior assistant because they cussed them out one too many times.

Thick skin. It’s not only good for assistants working for agents and celebrities, but it’s a must for any creative person who puts their talent up for judgment.

In fact, thick skin might be too soft a term–try armor plating. “Must have armor plating.” Armor is better than skin for repelling the knives that often fly at you. “Must be bulletproof.”

Whatever dreams you might have in Hollywood, unless you’re extremely lucky, you’ll encounter lots of rejection before you find it.  Not letting that rejection penetrate,  not taking the harsh comments to heart–letting them bounce off your thick skin will definitely help you stay on track and give you a better shot at reaching your goals.

Keep at it,

T. R. Locke

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