Moviescope 32

movieScope 32

Movies From An Insider’s Point Of View

32 32

Jan/Feb 2013

Digital Innovation New methods of content delivery Home Entertainment Embracing the at-home audience Paul Andrew Williams The realities of the writing process

9 771751 135006 Jan/Feb 2013 £4.95

The Following

2013 Preview

Our guide to the next 12 months on the big and small screens

www.moviescopemag.com

THE

Kevin Bacon’s new show is further proof that TV is giving cinema a run for its money

FOLLOWING

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Issue 32 January/February 2013

Contents

24 Fps 06 Products & Services

Our guide to the exhibitors who will be attending BVExpo 2013, which takes place at London's Docklands ExCel Exhibition Centre from February 26-28.

08 Accessories

From LED light units to camera enhancers, we look at the best filmmaking accessories currently available for your smartphone.

10 Location Focus

Fiji may be a popular holiday destination, but it also offers a wealth of opportunity to international productions-including one of the largest tax rebates in the world.

14 Industry Insider

Analyst Michael Gubbins explores the issues the film industry must face if it is to stay relevant in the digital age.

16 Trainee Diary

Hair and make-up trainee Samantha Kininmonth explains how the Skillset Film Trainee Placement Scheme has helped to kick-start her career.

18 Script Talk

Screenwriting expert Danny Munso presents his guide to navigating the potentially rewarding world of script writing contests.

20 Finance and Funding Dave Morrison, of entertainment accountants Nyman Libson Paul, looks at tax incentives in this age of austerity, and what we can expect to see in 2013.

22 Distribution

Mick Southworth and Martin McCabe examine the role that home entertainment will play in future distribution models.

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48 THE FOLLOWING

“About three or four years ago, I realised there was a trend towards great writing for television."

Star Kevin Bacon 1

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Contents Issue 32 January/February 2013

Features 26 2013 Preview

Another year, another slate of films to pick from. To help you navigate your next 12 months of viewing, we present our guide to the big-and small-screen gems coming your way in 2013.

34 Sony F65

Cinematographer Ben Smithard discusses shooting period feature Belle using Sony's new F65 4K digital camera.

38 Oscar Scores

With all eyes on the Academy, we delve into the Best Score category to discover just what makes a winning soundtrack.

44 The Rise of TV

With A-list stars heading to the small screen in their droves, Elaine Pyke, Head of Sky Atlantic, discusses why modern television is just so damn good.

52 Women in Genre

With women under represented in all aspects of the industry, horror directors The Soska Twins and Jennifer Lynch explain why they are determined to make their mark.

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Insider's P.O.V

Reviews

24 Paul Andrew Williams

56 Theatrical

As his new film Song for Marion comes to cinemas, the filmmaker writes exclusively about the-often brutal-realities of the screenwriting process.

32 Juan Antonio Bayona The Spanish director tells us why realism was such a challenge in tsnumai drama The Impossible.

36 Paul Dano

The For Ellen and Ruby Sparks star explains why he has to have a personal connection with all of his roles.

42 Monte Swann

The video engineer (Star Trek, Cabin in the Woods) writes about his fascinating day job.

50 Rob Walk

The founder of the Digital Innovation Group gives us an insight into how digital is transforming content delivery methods.

54 Justin Weyers

We go behind the scenes of A Liar's Autobiography with its animation coordinator.

Editor Nikki Baughan and critic James Mottram discuss the adaptation of David Mitchell's sweeping novel Cloud Atlas.

Plus reviews of Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Django Unchained and many more.

You can find more and extended reviews on our website, www.moviescopemag.com.

“There comes a time [when I'm writing] most scripts where I want to burn the computer and the house down in frustration."

Writer/Director Paul Andrew Williams www.moviescopemag.com

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Editorial Issue 32 January/February 2013 Another New Year invariably brings with it a new set of resolutions. Whether they are realistic or the imaginings of a fantastic, and whether or not they are broken by the end of January, the making of them is as much a part of the new year as taking down the tree.

I won’t divulge what mine are—needless to say most of them involve my wine intake, and most will have been forgotten by the time you read this—but, as you may already have spotted from our cover, movieScope has made one big change for 2013. After five years of focusing on cinema alone, the team has decided to open the doors to small-screen production as well.

It’s a decision that, while not taken lightly, is entirely sensible. We only need glance at our Twitter feed to know there’s a huge appetite for top quality TV drama like Games of Thrones, Homeland and Breaking Bad—all shows we discuss in the office on a daily basis. Add to that the fact that production values of some of the greatest modern shows are on a par with the movies, and we realised that to set our sights on the talented people behind them would be to delve into exciting new areas that will enhance the magazine. As well as giving us the inside track on some of our small screen favourites, of course… Speaking of favourites, I can personally recommend the new show that graces our cover, Kevin Bacon-starring FBI drama The Following, when it comes to screens this January. We’re all going to be talking about it this year.

While we are busy making resolutions that will benefit our readers, perhaps the film industry should also be thinking about taking steps to better engage with its audience.

Whether it’s accepting that cinema needs to appeal to a wide range of people, rather than a privileged elite (as discussed by columnist Michael Gubbins on page 14), or embracing the new opportunities afforded by digital (as explained by Digital Innovation Group founder Rob Walk on page 50), it’s clear the industry must demonstrate greater flexibility as we move into 2013. Particularly as it’s likely to be a momentous year—one which sees the demise of 35mm, the pervasion of digital and the wider adoption of film streaming and downloads—and content makers, owners and distributors simply must adopt if they are going to survive.

One thing is for sure; whether it’s big or small-screen related, 2013 is going to be packed full of fascinating debates and discussions about the future of the global creative industry.

And we can’t wait to see what that future holds.

Nikki Baughan, Editor

movieScope magazine Ltd Bridge House 105 3 Mills Studios Three Mill Lane London, E3 3DU United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 845 094 6263 Twitter: @movieScopemag www.movieScopemag.com Publisher & Editor-In-Chief Rinaldo Quacquarini Editor Nikki Baughan Senior Reporter Tom Seymour Sub Editor Naila Scargill Art Director Simon Edwards Cover Photograph The Following © Warner Bros International TV

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Creative Consultant Jaime Biazotti Litho Pensord Press www.pensord.co.uk Subscriptions +44 (0) 845 094 6263 or visit www.movieScopemag.com

Contributors Nikki Baughan is the editor of movieScope. @rollcredits Anton Bitel is a film writer and academic. @AntBit Charlie Brigden is a freelance writer, with a passion for film scores. www.lostinthemultiplex.com Simon Edwards is a freelance film critic and movieScope's art director.

Michael Gubbins is a journalist, consultant and chairs the Film Agency for Wales. @michaelgubbins James Mottram is a freelance film writer and author of four books on film. @JamesMottram Danny Munso is a screenwriting expert. @dannymunso Dave Morrison is a partner of accounting firm Nyman Libson Paul and an expert in entertainment tax advice. www.nlpca.co.uk Chris Patmore is a film journalist and the editor of www.filmandfestivals.com @krisht Rinaldo Quacquarini is the publisher and editor-in-chief of movieScope and shareholder in EnderLegard.com. @movieScope Limara Salt is a freelance film writer. @yourturnheather Rob Savage is the writer/director of independent drama Strings.

Naila Scargill is movieScope’s sub editor and editor of Exquisite Terror magazine. www.exquisiteterror.com @exquisiteterror Tom Seymour is a film critic and movieScope’s senior reporter. @TomSeymour Monte Swann is the supervising engineer at LA-based video production facility Cygnet Video.

Hugo Wilkinson is a freelance film critic.

Paul Andrew Williams is the writer/ director of Song for Marion.

Advertising Media Pack available online at: www.movieScopemag.com or by calling +44 (0) 845 094 6263 movieScope is published bimonthly in January, March, May, July, September and November by movieScope Magazine Ltd. Subscription: 6 issues for £20.79/$37/€30 plus shipping. movieScope is available from all good newsagents across the UK, Europe and USA. Visit movieScopemag.com for an interactive map to locate an outlet closest to you. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without the express written permission of the publisher.

The opinions expressed in movieScope Magazine articles and advertisements are those of the individual authors and advertisers respectively and should not be considered in any manner as expressions of the management or official policies of movieScope Magazine Ltd. For information on reprints and syndication, please contact Editor-In-Chief@movieScopeMag.com The title “movieScope” and logotype are registered trademarks and service marks of movieScope Magazine Ltd. Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved.

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24 Fps Announcements

Products & Services: BVExpo 2013 BVE 2013 returns to London from February 26-28, at Docklands’ ExCeL Exhibition Centre. Here’s our guide to some of the event’s exhibitors.

ARRI GB Headquartered in Germany, Arnold and Richter Cine Technik (A&R) is the world’s largest manufacturer of professional motion picture equipment.

Known for its industryleading ALEXA digital acquisition camera system, the company

is also involved in other areas. including engineering, design, manufacture, production, visual effects, postproduction, equipment rental, laboratory services and studio lighting solutions. www.arri.com / @ArriChannel Location: Hall/Stand E38

Northern Film & Media As the UK’s largest broadcast and production technology event, BVE gives visitors an early look at the latest developments in technology for content production, management and delivery. Over 350 exhibitors will showcase a wide range of products and services, from cameras and lighting to asset management and workflow solutions. Also included this year are two new showfloor sections; Production Services@BVE (formerly known as The Production Show) will be aimed at those planning or currently in production, and Connected@BVE which will focus on all aspects of multi-device digital content delivery.

The event also provides an extensive programme of free educational and training content, with over 220 hours of sessions from 300 speakers scheduled over the three days. These will cover a wide variety of topics delivered by key representatives of major broadcasters, production companies and post-production houses To view the detailed exhibitor list or see a timetable of all available seminars, visit www.BVEXPO.com or follow @BVExpo on Twitter. Event registration is free if completed in advance online, or £15 on the day without a badge.

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As investors in production, creative businesses and talent, Newcastle-based Northern Film & Media’s commercial investments span film, TV, digital media and music. In addition to having backed a wide range of productions including Vera, Inspector George Gently and Joe Maddison’s War, they also work with a range of public bodies including ERDF, Arts Council England and Local Authorities to deliver growth, develop knowledge and expand networks through various event and talent development initiatives. www.northernmedia.org / @NFMProdService Location: Hall/Stand: PS-B03

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Hardsoft Computers

Blackmagic Design

Established in 1984, Hardsoft are authorised suppliers and leasing agents of computer hardware, software and peripherals from a wide range of leading manufacturers including Toshiba, Sony, HP, Samsung and Apple. Their unique Flexi-Lease agreement offers individuals and businesses the cash-flow and tax benefits of leasing their equipment, as opposed to outright purchase.

Hardsoft is also an authorised supplier of JVC professional HD solid state camcorders and HD /3D LCD monitors. www.hardsoft.co.uk / @HardSoft_ Location: Hall/Stand PS-A03

Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading innovators and manufacturers of creative video technology, Blackmagic Design creates high quality video editing products, converters and monitoring solutions, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Key products include DaVinci Resolve colour correction software and Blackmagic digital Cinema Camera. www.blackmagicdesign.com @Blackmagic_News Location: Hall/Stand F24

Ianiro UK

Film Hampshire Supported by Hampshire County Council, Film Hampshire is a free location finding service, with over 350 film locations across Hampshire to choose from including over 40 historic country houses and 25 parks and forests. With an extensive network of contacts and unparalleled

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local expertise, Film Hampshire has assisted numerous film and television productions including Downton Abbey, Quantum of Solace, Gladiator and The Da Vinci Code. www3.hants.gov.uk/ filmhampshire @filmhampshire Location: Hall/Stand PS-A03

Ianiro manufactures professional lighting equipment for studios and field production. Their catalogue includes portable field, on-camera and hand-held lighting units for single operators or small production teams as well as lightweight LED, fluorescent and halogen studio lights. The company also has an extensive

portfolio of LIBEC camera support systems, ABC Products Cranes, Tracks, Pedestals & Dollies and Oyster Cases. www.ianirouk.com Location: Hall/Stand D2

Sony Europe Sony has been the driving force behind innovative new technologies including 3D, 4K, OLED, 35mm and digital cinematography. BVE 2013 will see Sony exhibit the full breadth of its broadcast solutions covering corporate and live event production, ENG and EFP, live production and digital cinematography.

Visitors to the Sony stand will also be able to see firsthand the latest additions to its F Series CineAlta 4K range—the PMW-F5 and PMW-F55—which join Sony’s NEX-FS700, PMW-F3 and F65 cameras to provide filmmakers and production companies with the widest range of large sensor acquisition tools in the industry. www.pro.sony.eu @sonyproeurope Location: Hall/Stand C38

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24 Fps Announcements

Accessories

movieScope's guide to the best portable filmmaking accessories currently available for your smartphone.

Manfrotto KLYP ML240 LED light unit for iPhone

mCAMLITE iPhone Camera Enhancer Action Life Media, designers of the original camera enhancement kits for the iPhone, have updated their popular mCAM range of products and accessories to accommodate the increasingly popular use of the iPhone by videographers, reporters and low-budget filmmakers as a portable, cost-effective HD imagecapture tool. Shaped from a single piece of aluminium, the mCAMLITE’s design and weight offers a stabilising frame for shake-free shots, while simultaneously protecting your iPhone when shooting on the go.

Also included in the kit is: a set of interchangeable lenses (a 37mm wide-angle and macro lens combination); a silicon case for fitting the device into the mCAM frame; a 180-degree external microphone for directional sound capture; four 1/420 mounts for third-party accessories (monopods, tripods, dollies); and a single cold shoe mount for attaching lights or a professional quality microphone such as the RØDE Stereo VideoMic Pro. Additional accessories, including lens adapters, mounts and dollies, are available online.

Available for: iPhone 4/4S, iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy 3.

RRP: £79 www.actionlifemedia.com

Manfrotto, a name synonymous with professional video-support systems and camera-stabilising products for the motion picture industry, has made a foray into the lucrative iPhone accessories market with their solution to poorly-lit iPhone photos and videos. Built around a specially designed two-part polycarbonate iPhone case featuring Manfrotto’s proprietary rail system, the KLYP makes it easy to either attach a variety of accessories to your iPhone—including Manfrotto’s own LED light units and pocket table tripod—or for it to be fitted to a third-party tripod or other camera support.

Available for: iPhone 4/4S RRP: From £24.95 (case only) to £94.95 www.manfrotto.co.uk

olloclip 3-in-one lens system for iPhone An easy-to-use, hugely popular multi-lens attachment which fits over the corner of an iPhone to offer three capable lenses (macro, wide-angle and fisheye) in one lightweight lens system. Switching between lenses requires no more effort than sliding the unit off the corner of the iPhone, flipping it over and

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then reattaching it. Lenses align automatically with the camera and remain snugly in place until removed.

Available for: iPhone 4/4S or 5, in black, red or white.

RRP: From £59 www.olloclip.com

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24 Fps Location Focus

Fiji: A Filmmaker’s Paradise

Fiji may be one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, but it also offers a great deal of opportunity to international productions.

Fiji is an archipelago of more than 332 islands, ringed with over 500 islets scattered across the ocean. It’s a paradise for holiday makers, but for filmmakers there’s another very big reason to make the trip to the South Pacific—a 47 per cent tax rebate for commercials, TV shows and feature films shot in the country. Just as the islands have caught the imagination of travellers ever since the explorer James Cook discovered them in the 1770s, filmmakers have also been falling for their charms since Mr Robinson Crusoe was shot there in 1932. Other classic features shot in Fiji include Frank Launder’s 1949 British version of The Blue Lagoon, 1953’s His Majesty O’Keefe, which starred Burt Lancaster, and 1973’s The Dove, starring Gregory Peck. In 2000, director Robert Zemeckis used Fiji as the location for his award-winning Cast Away, which stars Tom Hanks as the lone survivor of a plane crash.

Fiji is keen to see more filmmakers come to its shores, and the country certainly has a great deal to offer those who make the trip. With an abundance of forest, mineral and fish resources, as well as spectacular coral reef, the country also boasts one of the most developed economies in the Pacific island realm.

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Top: Fiji offers stunning landscapes

Above: Film Fiji's Acting CEO Florence Swamy

Left: British director Stuart St Paul took full advantage of Fiji for his film Bula Quo!

In addition, the national film organisation Film Fiji (formerly Fiji Audio Visual Commission) administers that huge 47 per cent tax rebate offered by the Fiji Government—one of the highest anywhere in the world.

This can net any qualifying film production spending a minimum of FJ$250,000 (US$140,000) shooting on the islands a rebate of up to FJ$11.75 million (US$6.7 million) Film Fiji has also launched a package of further incentives, each of which targets different productions from commercials and TV series to high-end features. These include a waiver or reduction of taxes payable by foreign crews and tax-exempt ‘Studio City Zones’, which offer tax free income to productions operating from an established studio city zone or technology park in Fiji.

For qualifying productions looking to raise additional production finance locally, Fiji also has the F1 and F2 Audio Visual Production (AVP) incentives. This allows Fiji taxpayers to claim an attractive tax deduction of either 125 per cent (F2 AVP) or up to 150 per cent (F1 AVP) against their tax liability, depending on the eligibility of the qualifying production expenditure.

The numbers of productions that take advantage of all these incentives is rising exponentially; last year 49 TV shows and documentaries and seven feature films—six from India and one from the UK—were shot on the islands.

Many more are planning to make the trip in 2013, including productions from both Bollywood and Hollywood.

“Film productions provide the opportunity for local people to acquire experience in film,” says Florence Swamy, Film Fiji's Acting CEO, of why such incentives are so important to the local economy. “The incentives were put in place to attract productions here in the hope they would hire local crew members, and utilize local infrastructure, goods and services. As a result of the opportunities presented by these productions, local Fijians can up-skill themselves appropriately to meet the various needs of productions.

“Local people now have knowledge of equipment and an understanding of protocols and other requirements of a highly competitive international industry, and have been able to deliver as required. An increasing skills base is also growing in various areas like production, accounts, IT support, drivers, locations managers, art department, construction, grips/ electrical, unit staff, hair and make-up, wardrobe, camera, catering, cable and junior artists.”

And it’s not just incentives and skills that can be found on Fiji; with around 100 of the islands inhabited by less than a million people, the country also offers a pristine array of locations. Away from the coastline, Fiji’s main city Suva has doubled for locations as diverse as New York to Chennai in India, while timeless British colonial buildings are perfect for period dramas. Inland on the largest

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islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, there are impressive mountain ranges, while Fiji’s sand dunes can be used for a range of desert locations. All locations approvals and permits are provided through Film Fiji.

One individual who has taken full advantage of Fiji’s charms is the British action movie director and stunt coordinator Stuart St Paul, who started out in the stunt department of the Bond films and whose career includes operating the Queen Alien during the shoot of James Cameron’s Aliens.

St Paul decided to make his latest

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directorial feature Bula Quo!, an action comedy starring Status Quo duo Rick Parfait and Francis Rossi, in Fiji.

“I’ve travelled a lot all over the world and I didn’t expect Fiji to be any different from any other tropical island,” says St Paul, a 40-year veteran of the film business. “I expected it to be similar to islands in the Caribbean or some of the places I’ve been to in South Asia, but Fiji provides a hugely colourful backdrop, fantastic sunlight and images that you just cannot replicate shooting in London or anywhere else in Europe.

Right: Status Quo's Rick Parfait and Francis Rossi survey the Fijian landscape in action comedy Bula Quo!

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One To Watch

24 Fps Location Focus

Mark Sneddon Focus Puller

“Setting up to film in Fiji was incredibly quick,” he continues of the experience. “Once we’d been greenlit, I drew up a profit and loss sheet with my financier, flew out to Fiji to do a location scout and then called my crew to tell them the shoot was starting. And once we’d got rolling, you realise what an incredible place it is to shoot a film.

“Shooting a film is an expensive business. You have to be convinced you are getting that value back visually. I could stay in England and use that money very differently, but I was brought up working on big movies and I wanted to make a big feeling movie with great light, and Fiji provided that. It’s a beautiful place with great light and the people are wonderful.

And while there’s always going to be a cultural divide, you have to remember you’re in a different country and you can overcome that and make it work for everyone.”

In fact, St Paul found the shoot (below) so rewarding that he is already planning to make another film in Fiji.

“I have another comedy, which again shows off the island, and is with a

After graduating with a BA in Film and Video, Mark has worked his way through the camera department from trainee to his current role as a Focus Puller. Over the last 12 years he has worked on a variety of programmes from features (All Stars 3D, Cleanskin, In the Loop), TV drama (Episodes, The Inbetweeners, Taggart) and commercials. Mark is also a member of The Guild of British Camera Technicians.

well know comedian who has his own huge built in audience,” he says. "I hope to be back there in the middle of 2013." And, considering the wealth of opportunities the islands have to offer, he undoubtedly won’t be the only filmmaker taking advantage of Fiji as filming location.

For more information on Fiji's Film Tax incentives, visit www.film-fiji.com ●

What training have you received?

For me university was a good basic training in cinematography, allowing me to shoot several short films on 16mm. Most of my training, however, has been through on set experience. I’ve been lucky enough to work with Skillset, completing both the Level 2 Clapper Loader qualification and the Level 3 Focus Puller accreditation. Most recently I attended the NFTS Camera Operators Course.

What kind of projects attract you?

It’s normal to follow the DoP from project to project, if you are lucky enough to be first choice. The format chosen for the project can be appealing when you’re shooting on film or more recently 3D. I like working on a diversity of programmes, as each one brings it own challenges and rewards.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a Focus Puller?

I was told as a trainee that focus pulling is the hardest job on set… and now I believe them! It is unforgiving and you can’t really have a bad day. I worked and trained under very talented people who were always calm under pressure, very organised and, in terms of focus, did what felt right. I’d like to think I’ve inherited these traits.

Tell us the most significant moment in your career so far.

Taking the first steps from clapper loader to focus puller and doing my first feature film. Knowing that I have the full support of the DoP and camera operator made it such an enjoyable experience.

You’ll die happy when….

I’ve been able to develop my knowledge of the craft into art and knowing that I’ve always done my best.

Supported by the Skillset Craft and Technical Skills Academy (www.craftandtech.org)

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Advertorial Media Mobile Manager

Media Mobile Manager

AppQuartz CMO Reda Djamil explains how their Media Mobile Manager is changing the face of traditional marketing and presentation techniques.

Every year, thousands of film industry professionals head to the endlessly busy and increasingly competitive film markets around the world, including Berlin, Cannes and AFM, hoping to share their latest project with fellow professionals.

Producers and rights owners can now use a groundbreaking new alternative to traditional marketing and presentation; Media Mobile Manager (M³), a cloud-based cross-platform media management, distribution and marketplace solution from Frenchbased company AppQuartz.

“Media Mobile Manager is the first purely online promotional platform for film professionals,” explains AppQuartz CMO Reda Djamil. “That’s important to us, because our aim is just to provide for this niche—only movie distributors and producers.”

Designed to specifically answer the sales needs of media rights owners, M³ is designed for film sales, promotion and acquisitions and enables users to create and manage a single catalogue of audiovisual content.

“We started this project in early 2011 for the Cannes Film Festival,” continues Djamil. “Our first customer was the French distributor EuropaCorp, which is owned by Luc Besson. During our early discussions with EuropaCorp, we realised they needed a solution which is specifically catered for business to business film professionals. Markets have more and more visitors and fewer and fewer exhibitors, so we wanted to create an online marketplace for distributors to meet buyers remotely.”

Available through the AppStore, and Google Play for Android devices, M³ is made-up of three integrated parts: a secure, cloud-based administrative platform for content uploads and playlist management;

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an online screening room for new content on PCs or Macs and tablets and smartphones; and totally secure mobile access to all synchronised media files.

“We worked closely with EuropaCorp and Universal to design a solution that would meet the needs of the industry,” says Djamil. “We doublechecked every function and feature with them. We have competitors who share video and media management, but there is nothing else that specialises in film promotion.

“A team of 11 people worked for about eight months to develop the solution. We hope it’s going to be the first platform people use when dealing movies, and we hope we can be essentially for film viewings for both independent film companies and studios.”

M³ allows users to track their contacts, and provides precise analytics on their activity—such as who has watched your lineup, which part has been watched and how many

Above: AppQuartz CMO Reda Djamil says that Mobile Media Manager (top) "is the first purely online promotional platform for film professionals."

times—while keeping your content completely secure.

“Security is important to our customers,” Djamil says. “So we asked Fox and Universal to test our solutions—we asked them to hack into the software and take some content, but they were unable to do it!”

Media Mobile Manager is already used by some of the biggest studios in the world, but AppQuartz has made their technology available to independent content producers as well.

“We have sold our enterprise solution to the majors, but we have also recently launched a cloudbased solution, which is very affordable,” Djamil explains. “We’re able to do that because we share the same app, the same administrative website and the same screening room for all distributors, because it’s not dedicated or branded. It can work for independents as much as it works for majors.”

For more information, visit www.mediamobilemanager.com ●

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24 Fps Industry Insider

The Emperor’s New Clothes

Michael Gubbins explains why the film industry needs to face some serious questions if it is to stay relevant in this digital age.

A jarring dose of realism crashed into the annual conference of the Europa Cinemas network, which took place in Paris last November. Saskia Walzel, policy manager at the UK’s Consumer Focus, suggested in blunt terms that European film was basically a middleaged pursuit out of touch with the realities of young audiences, and that cinemas were failing to impress young people. She also warned that the attempt by the cinema industry and policy makers to ‘educate’ the digital generation was destined to failure.

Her words rang true in a number of areas, not least on ticket prices, release windows and copyright and, while one should be wary of those who talk for a whole generation, her thinking was based on a lot of research on consumer behaviour. And, with Universal Pictures reaching a record $2.9bn in global theatrical grosses in 2012, it is fair to ask whether young audiences are now expecting those spectacular Hollywood experiences that digital technologies have made possible.

A wave of innovations have made it possible to open up sensational alternative worlds in faceless out-oftown multiplexes. From The Hobbit to Life of Pi, the supposedly unfilmable fantasies of literature are now being brought to life. Really successful films on that scale will probably remain rare, and are dependent on the few directors and visionaries capable of truly harnessing technology to the scope and scale of that kind of storytelling.

There is a genuine fear, however, that digital is redefining cinema in terms of spectacle. And it is one of the ironies of film that the art-house tradition of intimacy and dissection of the human soul is considerably more effective on a big screen than a laptop.

Walzel’s warning that there is a real danger the art-cinema tradition will be

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With large-scale event films like

Life of Pi (above) and The Hobbit: An

Unexpected Journey (opposite) drawing big audiences, there is 'genuine fear that digital is redefining cinema in terms of spectacle.'

lost should not be lightly discounted.

There was a faint echo in her words of François Truffaut’s criticisms of the ‘cinéma de papa’ in that confident period of post-war reawakening that we still call the New Wave. Given the powerful hold of the judgements and hierarchy of film still exerted by that wave and the auteur theory it spawned, it is surely a fair question to ask: what happens when the critics of the cinéma de papa become papas?

One might argue that the Walzels of this world are irrelevant. How much energy and time does the industry need to expend on people who really just don’t like films? There is still a sizeable population of cinema lovers and, in the developed world, people now live longer, meaning that there are simply more mature adults to keep tradition alive. But cinema surely cannot be allowed to become an ageing art, like jazz, shorn of its relevance and radicalism. The road from preservation to atrophy is not a long one.

There is something very telling in the lack of movement in the canon

of great movies, selected by the various film institutes around the world. The Sight and Sound 2012 selection, for example, chosen by critics and directors, pretty much reorders the same choices every time it is published, with classics such as Tokyo Story, Citizen Kane, Vertigo and the like still there somewhere at the top of the pile. Perhaps the suspicion that the charts of all-time great films are more a reflection of what people think they should like and see, rather than any actual taste, has more than a hint of truth. Yet the very existence of a canon of work that we think we ought to have seen reflects a collective experience.

Film lovers brought up before the Internet achieved its dominance will almost certainly have found their enthusiasm through a small number of routes. Only a few countries, led by France, will have been exposed to classic film in the classroom. For the rest, a combination of public-service broadcasting, the power of newspaper critics and ‘expert’ commentary will have

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One To Watch Daisy Aitkens Actress

influenced the sense of what stands up as worthy film.

Most importantly of all, the domination of the theatre has cemented the collective sense of a ‘good’ film. The whole independent value chain is built on this tradition: from production— which is generally removed from any direct link with the audience or indeed any incentive to create one—through sales and distribution largely doing business in markets at great festivals dedicated to the art of film, such as Berlin and Cannes, and finally to the theatres playing the limited programme made available by distributors, run by enthusiasts steeped in the art-house tradition.

It is one of the biggest concerns for most developed societies today that film is an educated, self-perpetuating and thoroughly insular hierarchy in society. A well-documented lack of social mobility in many countries means that an elite of critics and filmmakers, policy-makers and academics, public funders and publicly-funded institutions end up in a narrow definition of art and culture.

It is therefore valuable that people like Walzel dare to ask the Emperor’s New Clothes questions. And the film establishment ought to be asking itself the same questions; the British Film Institute, for example, is embarking on an ambitious programme of education and digitisation of some 10,000 films from the back catalogue, but success relies on a fresh dynamic and interactive approach, not simply handing down tablets of stone from an elite. Yet a sense of hierarchy and a canon of film can have genuine value particulary, perhaps, at a time when there is such a vast wealth of content. The classics are a means of opening doors to the potential of film, that may lead to more adventurous choices in the future and perhaps even encourage some to become filmmakers.

Art without tradition is no more able to attract new generations than art that is trapped in its elitist traditions.The greatest films in cinema history helped invent a language that can be used to tell many stories in the future. But Walzel has done well to remind us that film itself cannot educate a generation to love film; that appreciation must be won. ●

Daisy is a familiar face on the small screen thanks to her regular roles in the BBC comedies Watson & Oliver and Fear, Stress and Anger. She has also played characters in the likes of Casualty, EastEnders and Doctors. Daisy makes her leading feature debut in Magpie, Marc Price’s follow up to his cult hit Colin (in which Daisy also has a role). Daisy has also written for the two comedies My Family and Shelfstackers.

What training have you received?

I went to endless Saturday drama schools growing up and then was lucky enough to get into the brilliant LAMDA straight after school. My first job was playing 12 roles in the space of 14 weeks at traditional weekly rep at Frinton Theatre. I had great playwrights' lines whirling through my head 24/7, I could hardly see straight. It was a true baptism by fire into the acting world, and utterly brilliant.

What kind of roles attract you?

I really, badly want someone to put me into a corset.

I am desperate to be in a period drama, wear ringlets and ‘take turns about the room’. Aside from that minor obsession, any well written roles that make me laugh, cry and gasp I will gladly work hard for.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

‘Do your homework then throw it away.’ My writing partner gave me that little nugget. I love to really create a character, study their physical traits, their thoughts, their feelings towards all around them. Then I like to throw it all away, trust it’s still there somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind, and be in the moment. I guess it’s called instinct.

Tell us the most significant moment in your career so far.

I can honestly say it was filming Magpie with Marc Price.

It’s a rare opportunity to have such faith in your director when he's taking you and your character to hefty emotional places. Even if the film was never seen or heard of again, and remained in Marc’s sock drawer, I’ll never forget that experience with all of the Magpie team.

You’ll die happy when...

Lena Dunham asks me to be in Girls and then between takes, while we’re chatting and having tea, Woody Allen walks by and asks if I’m free for his next film. I’m just giving Woody my schedule when Danny Boyle pops his head in with a little offer too. It would be about the time Mike Leigh calls my mobile that I’d be happy to check out.

Find out more about Magpie at www.nowherefast.tv/magpie

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15/01/2013 15:33:49

Promotional Feature Creative Skillset

Trainee Diary: Hair and Make-up

Trainee Samantha Kininmonth takes us behind the scenes of the Skillset Craft and Technical Skills Academy’s Trainee Placement Scheme.

The film trainee placement scheme, managed by the Skillset Craft and Technical Skills Academy, provides young filmmakers with paid work experience on a current film that has contributed to the Skills Investment Fund.

Here, hair and make-up trainee Samantha Kininmonth explains how her time on Richard Shepard’s Dom Hemingway, working alongside makeup designer Wakana Yoshihara (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), has given her an invaluable start to her career.

How did you get involved with the Skillset trainee placement scheme?

After finishing training, I researched any route into work on a daily basis; it was virtually a full-time job! Through doing this I came across the Skillset Academy. As I was aware that they ran a trainee placement scheme, I kept a close eye on them on Twitter and Facebook. When an opportunity came up I applied straightaway, and was fortunate to get through to the interview stage. I was absolutely thrilled when I was offered a position on the scheme.

What department are you working in?

I am working as a trainee in the hair and make-up department.

Who do you work most closely with, and what have they taught you?

I am working very closely with the makeup designer of Dom Hemingway, Wakana Yoshihara. She has taught me so much and is always prepared to go out of her way to ensure that I get as much out of the placement as possible.

I feel incredibly lucky!

What are your main responsibilities?

My main responsibilities are looking after continuity files for the duration of the film, on-set duties, helping with taking make-up off at the end of filming and maintaining a tidy and clean make-up bus! I will just generally

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Right: Hair and make-up trainee Samantha Kininmonth has found her experience invaluable

help out wherever I am needed, including helping the main team make-up artists and the crowd if they need me.

How would you say your skills have developed during this placement?

I feel that I have taken so much from this placement; even just watching how the make-up artists work has been a huge help to improving my skills and learning new ways of doing things.

Is the placement scheme what you expected, and has anything in particular taken you by surprise?

The placement is exactly what I expected, and more. I was fortunate enough when I trained to get a realistic view of what it is like to work on a film and what to expect. I wouldn’t say anything in particular has taken me by surprise, other than how easy it is to get up at three a.m. and work extremely intense hours when you are enjoying something so much!

What has been the most exciting, inspiring or positive moment you have experienced during the placement?

It would be really difficult to pinpoint one moment from this whole experience as I think as a whole it was so inspiring!

What is the most important piece of knowledge you’ve taken from the placement?

How to behave on set and within the make-up bus. You have to be very good at reading people, and Wakana is amazing at this. I feel from watching how she was with the artists and on set has taught me an invaluable lesson.

What are your career plans now that you have this experience?

This placement has just increased my desire to work within the film industry even more, and I will keep working as hard as possible to achieve this.

I also have a second placement with the Skillset Academy, so am very much looking forward to that starting and having a whole new experience!

Find out more about the Skillset Craft and Technical Skills Academy at www.craftandtech.org ●

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15/01/2013 21:16:48

24 Fps Script Talk

Healthy Competition

Danny Munso presents his guide to navigating the world of screenwriting contests, and how to make them work for you.

Every day, thousands of unproduced writers are struggling to get their work to stand out from the pile. This is simply the reality of the business of writing screenplays. So, how do you attempt to get your script to distinguish itself from the others? Some avenues have already been explored in previous editions of this column, but you may also wish to consider entering a screenwriting contest.

If you are a screenwriter, you can probably name a dozen of these contests off the top of your head. In reality, there are over 100 held every single year; some are stalwarts with built-in fan bases within Hollywood, some are start-ups looking to find great material and some are worth avoiding entirely. There are several websites, including the fantastic MovieBytes.com, which can tell you the pros and cons of each individual competition. The question is, what happens if you win or place highly in a screenplay contest? What can you expect from such an honour and, most importantly, how much do contests really help unproduced writers?

It’s important to note that no contest guarantees untold riches to competing writers. For the most part, winning one garners you the following: a cash prize (the size of which can vary greatly); some sponsored gifts (screenwriting software, for example); and a promise to send your script, synopsis or log line out to that contest’s particular set of industry contacts.

Those are the tangible benefits of winning a contest. First and foremost, you get well-deserved money for your writing. It may not be a check from Universal Studios, but it’ll do just fine.

And you get your script publicised and pitched to production companies and agencies—many companies that you otherwise would not be able to get to

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Right: Transformers screenwriter Ehren Kruger and Erin

Brokovich writer Susannah Grant have both won the Academy's prestigious Nicholl Fellowships (Image © Matt Petit /

A.M.P.A.S.)

read your material. Admittedly that all sounds impressive, but what do all of those things mean for you? The answer is… complicated.

Before I continue, I want to point out the differences between screenwriting contests and fellowships. Contests are what we will be covering here because there is no debate about fellowships; you should apply to all of them. Most screenwriting fellowships are offered by actual film studios like Disney or Nickelodeon, who offer several each year; all involving large cash prizes that allow you to take time out from your ‘day job’ and write full time.

The biggest fellowship of all is, of course, the Nicholl Fellowships.

Given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Nicholl is the most prestigious honour an amateur screenwriter can obtain.

Past winners include Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich) and Ehren Kruger (Transformers), among others.

The Nicholl is looked upon with such honour that even making the quarter or semi-finals can often result in agents and managers trying to contact you. If you deem yourself ready for a career in screenwriting, you should be applying to the Nicholl every year. The competition is fierce, but the rewards are massive.

While the benefits of fellowships speak for themselves, however, the waters of screenwriting contests are

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One To Watch Russell Owen Writer/Director

rather more murky. The harsh reality is that winning one does little for your writing career. Winning a competition and having your script fast-tracked by a studio is a road that no one has travelled; yours is unlikely to be the first. So if you enter a contest, do so with realistic scenarios in mind.

Let’s get back to the lists of production companies, agencies and management companies that most contests promise to pepper with your winning screenplay. It’s usually a mixed bag. Most contests post the companies on their websites, so be sure to check for quality. If they aren’t posted, that’s a major red flag. I used to work for a company that ran two major competitions. There was one film studio on our list, about a dozen major production companies (meaning these companies had deals set up with one of the major studios), and the rest were independent companies who are less picky when it comes to submissions.

Most contests will have similar lists.

There isn’t one out there that is likely to reach all the major studios or get you in the offices of the big agencies like CAA or William Morris. So, once again, it’s all about your expectations.

If that’s what you are hoping to get for your $50 entry fee, then you’re better off keeping it in your pocket.

Here’s a possible—and realistic— outcome if you win or place highly in a contest: you will get meetings. The content of those meetings will probably include some form of the sentence, ‘your script is not commercial enough’.

But that’s nothing to get discouraged about; that’s just a sad reality of being a screenwriter. Not every idea is a golden one. Before you deem contests unworthy based on just getting a few meetings, ask yourself this: how many meetings did you have scheduled before you entered that contest?

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So, are screenwriting contests ultimately worth it? To me, they are—but do your homework. In the unlikely event that you have enough spare money lying around to enter every single competition under the sun, you will need to pick and choose a few that best fit your story. Some contests are clear about that: they are genrebased. If you’re looking to just enter the big ones like BlueCat, PAGE or Scriptapalooza, that’s fine-but also know that those are the ones with the most entrants.

The bottom line is this: though nothing is guaranteed, and you should proceed with managed expectations, don’t allow that to be a deterrent from entering contests.

It all goes back to standing out. If an executive has to go through a pile of scripts and one of those is your winner, which do you think he will gravitate towards? Your story still needs to pass a myriad of litmus tests from there, but your contest win gives you that little bit of clout that everyone is searching for. This is Hollywood.

Every little bit helps. ●

“A contest win gives you that little bit of clout that everyone is searching for. This is Hollywood. Every little bit helps.”

Russell has been in the film industry for over eight years as a storyboard and concept artist and also a production manager. Having worked for everyone from the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV to independent and Hollywood film companies, in 2009 he made his first 35mm short Anglesey Road, which won awards on the festival circuit.

This year sees his debut feature Welcome to the Majority hit the screens.

What training have you received?

I actually studied illustration and screen writing at art college, but my real training happened after I graduated and got a job as assistant to the producer on An American Haunting with Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek. The DoP was the legendary Adrian Biddle, and the film looked incredible. I watched his technique closely and learned a lot, and also about the logistics of production. I went on to storyboard other people’s films and worked with some great directors, which taught me everything I needed to know about staging and visual story telling.

What kind of projects attract you?

Anything that keeps me (and hopefully an audience) on the edge of my seat, whether emotional or gripping.

I’ve written several scripts already and they’re mostly thriller based.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a director?

Story and performance are everything. The rest is a bonus.

Tell us the most significant moment in your career so far.

I think the most significant moment so far was finally wrapping on Welcome to the Majority. We had very little money and time and I was told repeatedly it was near impossible but, with an incredible team, we pulled it off and I had a small mad laugh moment when we finished.

The quality of the final piece is something I’m extremely proud of, and it was a culmination of everything I’d ever learned about film production.

You’ll die happy when…

I’ve finally completed my big three projects I’ve been developing for many years. I think more than being a filmmaker I’m a storyteller and if those three stories hit the screens and are out there, regardless of red carpets, awards and box office receipts, I’ll die a very happy man. www.castlevalleyfilms.com

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15/01/2013 15:47:25

24 Fps Finance and Funding

Post-Apocalyptic Finance

Dave Morrison of entertainment accountants Nyman Libson Paul looks at the state of tax incentives in an age of austerity.

On the basis that you are reading this in early 2013, the Mayan predictions forecasting the end of the world in December 2012 did not materialise, and I am pleased to wish all movieScope readers a happy new year.

In the absence of a post-apocalyptic world, it is fairly safe to assume that at least one post-apocalyptic movie will be made during 2013; what is less predictable is exactly how many might be financed. The plight of Western economies is well documented, and things are likely to be uncertain for some time as politicians appear to crave short-term electoral impact rather than any long-term structural change. Film finance is, along with the wider economy, facing a potentially unpredictable 2013.

Despite such gloom and cynicism we may, nevertheless, be about to receive a political gift with longterm benefits; we are on the cusp of witnessing the introduction of TV Tax Credits in the UK. Similar in structure to the existing UK Film Tax Credit, it is designed to encourage further audiovisual production in Britain.

The workings of the UK Film Tax Credit have been well documented in movieScope but, as a reminder, the key points are that any film that qualifies as British can claim up to 20 per cent of UK production expenditure back from the government through the tax system. In future this should also apply to high-end TV drama and documentaries (with production costs of at least £1m per hour), animations and, err... computer games. Now you may not think that computer games are relevant to movieScope readers, but we are in a world where convergence is becoming a key driver in the way we deliver and consume content.

In order to qualify for the extended tax credit, a TV production or animation needs to be ‘British’ (post apocalypse

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The new TV Tax Credits scheme should encourage more high-end small screen productions like Game of

Thrones (starring Peter Dinklage,

above) to the UK

or otherwise). As for Film Tax Credits, the draft legislation requires that a production must either gain 16 points in a British Cultural Test or be produced under an official co-production treaty.

At the time of writing final details of the cultural tests are not available, although the indications are that the tests will be expanded to deem European, as well as British, culture as valid. This may seem counter-intuitive but, as I am constantly reminded that the average person from the Netherlands probably has a better grasp of English grammar than many ‘Brits’, it is perhaps not as left-field as one might first assume.

Given that most of the draft legislation published in December 2012 is clearly modelled on the existing Film Tax

Credit system, it is no surprise that the proposed cultural tests are similar, too.

Nevertheless, the animation and video games tests have raised some eyebrows.

For example, points may be awarded if a game or animation is set in the UK (or another EEA state), the lead characters are British (or from the EEA) or the story is from the UK (or EEA); recognisable characteristics from the Film Cultural Test, but it is questionable whether characters and locations in many computer games represent anywhere in particular. This is, therefore, acknowledged by granting some ‘cultural’ points towards qualification if the locations, nationalities, species, etc., are indeterminate; an interesting concept. This is not replicated in the high-end TV drama cultural test, but neither is the requirement that six points are required from Section A, in which these locations, nationalities and species tests are contained. So are we beginning to see a divergence, with films and high-end TV drama sharing characteristics, while animations appear to be leaning towards the computer games end of British/ European/indeterminate culture.

The alternative qualification criterion is, of course, that the production is made under an official co-production treaty. There are a number of official co-production treaties between the UK and various countries (but not the USA), as well as the European Convention on Cinematic Co-Production (ECCC). The only problem is that some of the treaties don’t cover TV productions, including the ECCC, so, for example, if you are planning a co-production with an Irish producer and want to double up with the Irish Section 481 incentive, then you may need to think very carefully about how things are structured.

We should not look a gift horse in the mouth but, as 2013 unfolds, there

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One To Watch David Chidlow Writer/Director

is still time to voice opinion before the new TV Tax Credits come into effect on 1 April. But enough of the future; how about an end-of-term report on the new EIS regime during 2012?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and, when we get to an appropriate juncture, I will be delighted to give my opinion. Yet it is a little difficult to assess the position at the moment.

Raising finance is difficult in this post ‘banking crisis’ apocalypse; maybe because we are also in a post ‘sale and leaseback’ (Section 48) apocalypse too. Not only is the media still reporting on cases concerning the old regime from pre-2007, we have recently seen organisations such as Future Capital and Ingenious Media savage Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee over what is increasingly looking like a political witch-hunt, as the public are softened up for the introduction of a General Anti-Avoidance Tax Rule. This is unhelpful for film producers because the good guys are not, seemingly, being distinguished from the bad ones. Going out to raise finance in a climate where our industry’s

“Going out to raise finance in a climate where our industry’s reputation is being tarnished makes life difficult.”

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reputation is being tarnished makes life difficult, even with the enhanced EIS tax reliefs on offer to investors.

The effectiveness of EIS has also been hampered by the introduction of some anti-avoidance legislation known as ‘disqualifying arrangements’, which is rather vague and gives HM Revenue and Customs potential latitude in applying the rules. This is great for tackling tax evasion, as it gives HMRC flexibility to adapt to new ‘schemes’, but the price being paid is the uncertainty for those trying to raise finance. This uncertainty is likely to have delayed a number of EIS launches during 2012, as has the fact that investors are able to get better tax breaks, particularly during 2012-13, through investing in smaller SEIS schemes. At the same time the FSMA/FSA regulations provide further red tape, obstructing the raising of finance, and the implementation of the Retail Distribution Review by the FSA could have further impact on the ability to raise finance.

Is it just the idiosyncrasies of government and politics that means that, although incentives are offered through tax credits and EIS, great energy is spent discrediting tax planning and making it ever more difficult to market EIS raises due to FSA regulation? Perhaps we should all consider relocating to one of those indeterminate places that count towards the TV animations and video games cultural tests? Or maybe a post-apocalyptic world free of politicians is actually desirable?

Cynicism aside, those of us who are optimists will see that the glass is half full. So, don’t panic; keep calm and relish the Film Tax Credit. Film does have a future in the UK and movieScope readers have roles to play.

Please hold on, your contribution is important to us. ●

David is the writer/director of L’Histoire de nos Petites Morts, an intimate French language relationship drama and his debut feature. He has previously written and directed a number of short films and music videos, as well writing and co-writing for Australian television and an off-Broadway musical. With the support of the BFI, he’s now developing his second feature film with producer Margaret Matheson.

What training have you received?

My training has been in the act of art directing, writing and directing commercials, shorts, theatre and now my first feature. Along the way, I’ve been fortunate enough to collaborate with some outstanding, generous and talented souls from whom I’ve learnt a great deal. Aside from that, Skillset helped me attend the 2012 Rotterdam Producer’s Lab, which had an enormous impact on how I completed my debut feature and how we’re approaching the next one.

What kind of projects attract you?

Whether it’s writing, directing, or adapting, I look for something that emotionally connects with me, and then hopefully an audience. That ultimately means a great character—something that everyone from me to the actor and the costume designer can sink our teeth into.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given as a director and/or writer?

Ask for criticism as then you should always get honesty— and meaningful praise.

Tell us the most significant moment in your career so far.

The one that stays with me is the last night of shooting on L’Histoire. It had been an incredibly tight, micro-budget shoot in Geneva and everyone was exhausted, but on the last night I found myself leading a final rehearsal with our wonderful actors—really working the scene together—as around me our small crew quietly got on with preparing for a tough shot. Even at that late stage, with no money and little fuel left in the tank, we had an extraordinary atmosphere of collaboration, creativity and camaraderie. It’s something I still feel very proud to have had a hand in nurturing, and was a moment that confirmed I’d found my calling.

You’ll die happy when…

Do I really have to? If so, when my beautiful boys are grown up—and I can look back with pride on a rich body of work.

Supported by the Skillset Film Skills Fund, as part of A Bigger Future 2 (www.abiggerfuture2.co.uk)

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15/01/2013 15:58:52

24 Fps Distribution

The Third Screen

Mick Southworth and Martin McCabe examine the role that home entertainment will play in future distribution models.

What does a foul-mouthed, middleaged stand-up comedy genius have to tell us about the future of global feature-film distribution? Quite a lot, as it happens. Late last year, US comic Louis C.K. spent $170k of his own money recording his live performance before a sold-out theatre audience.

He then made it available online as a DRM-free video download for $5 and, in just 10 days, he grossed $1m in sales. As an experiment in independent distribution it proves that if one forward-thinking gagster can buck the system, then so can anybody.

Though we can’t see it, the battle for the future of film and homeentertainment distribution is currently being fought not by the megalithic entertainment conglomerates who have successfully controlled the routes to market for decades, but instead in a series of proxy skirmishes by new technology companies born in the 80s and 90s. These companies pay no fealty to the entrenched systems of our business, but see the future of filmed entertainment both in terms of the ubiquity of its access and as the key driver for new software platforms and hardware. Amazon, Apple and Netflix are the mischievous new incumbents that are slowly but surely upending the traditional exhibition model and, with their new technologies and sales platforms, serving to determine how, where and—to a more significant degree—what we watch in the future.

Naturally, theatrical exhibition remains a cornerstone in this new ecology, but largely only as a driver for further consumption via tablets, smartphones, set-top boxes, smart TVs, etc. And though our existing marketplace is built upon systems that don’t embrace change well, the emergence of this ‘third screen’ points to a clear paradigm shift to a position

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where the customer is in charge, and both existing and new companies must reach out and engage with consumers on these new terms. As the economics of studio and independent production change, these new methodologies may offer us the best hope of delivering a wider range of filmed material to increasingly selective and diversified audiences.

Sure, the big guns have seen disruptive models of distribution mounting a challenge before: firstly with the global rise of television in the 50s and then again with the introduction of domestic video recorders in the late 70s.

In both instances the studios fought unsuccessfully against these changes, before grudgingly embracing them to become the most significant drivers of their business models over the ensuing decades. But today’s digital distribution models are far more complex and varied.

Recent global economic upheavals have coincided with or, to some extent, hastened a move by consumers away from a culture of owning physical homeentertainment products to subscribing, renting and streaming.

This revenue decline in disc sales has paralleled a concomitant reduction in the quantity and range of theatrical output of most of the major studios.

Amidst this economic ‘perfect storm’, Netflix and other subscription videoon-demand services (SVoD) have arisen with a largely online-driven offering that has significantly redefined the price and convenience of home entertainment.

Amazon has similarly embraced this new opportunity with its US-based Prime SVoD service and acquisition of the comparable rental service LoveFilm in the UK and Northern Europe.

The sleeping giant in all this remains Apple, which has long promised to upend the market for film consumption in a similar

Above: US comic Louis C.K. has had success with independent distribution

manner to which it redefined the music industry. Given the broad range of high-level players and the diversified opportunities for profit streams in this sphere, however, it is looking increasingly unlikely to repeat that impact in terms of the film and television industry. Yet its existing, and affordable, Apple TV set-top box shows great potential. Apple sold some 1.3 million of these devices in the quarter through to June 2012—more than its computer sales for the same period—a figure up 170 per cent on the same period a year ago. If and when they open this close-walled system up to third-party apps and suppliers, it could represent a significant new market for incumbents and challengers alike.

So does all this foretell the inevitable decline of the traditional distribution business as we know it?

To some degree yes, but this might not be such a bad thing. Video games, comedians and musicians are already utilising direct distribution methods and platforms, and film practitioners have so far been surprisingly slow to adapt. To counter this shift in audience consumption patterns, the studios and smarter independents are beginning to adopt different methods for balancing existing models with new digital opportunities. Protectionist strategies, which have endured for decades, are slowly adapting to the realities of this new order. Although the spectre of day-and-date release for major studio productions seems to have temporarily receded, new windows for new release feature-film product are emerging and beginning to be monetised.

The promise of simultaneous limited theatrical platforms alongside VoD is beginning to pay off. The recent US debut of the Richard Gere starrer Arbitrage represented the highest grossing release to date in this new

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arena, while similarly successful titles such as Bachelorette and Margin Call are beginning to shift the perception of VoD as a dumping ground for busted theatrical releases. An increased transparency in box-office reporting for such releases, plus the entry of canny specialised distributors such as Magnolia, Roadside and Radius in the US and Revolver and Metrodome in the UK, are beginning to show the profit potential in this market, and attracting a range of product and talent that would have previously been the purview of the majors.

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Above: Arbitrage had a successful simultaneous VoD and theatrical release

Aligned alongside this is the rise of new distribution methodologies largely informed by social media and networks to identify and engage new audiences outside of more traditional theatrical demographics. VHX and Tugg are two companies successfully employing direct distribution and communication models from games and music, which offers artists and filmmakers a route to market often previously denied them in the traditional world of film marketing and distribution. This isn’t necessarily a one-way street either, with studios dipping a toe in crowd-sourcing

and alternative exhibition. Summit recently used Tugg to develop a talker screening programme for Sinister, which saw it debuting to $18m in its first weekend of release, while Fox saw some £1m in theatrical grosses from the Secret Cinema release of Prometheus in the UK. And new sources of production funding arising from the entry of SVoD players keen to acquire product at the front end (cf. Netflix and David Fincher’s House of Cards), and crowd-sourced funds such as Kickstarter, represent a further step change in the existing business model. ●

15/01/2013 16:10:30

01

Insider's Point of View Paul Andrew Williams: Writer/Director

Chaos Theory With films like London to Brighton, The Cottage and Cherry Tree Lane, writer/director Paul Andrew Williams has become one of Britain’s most exciting new filmmakers. As his latest, Song for Marion, heads to cinemas, he gives us an exclusive—and honest—insight into his screenwriting process.

‘Aaagggh, what the fuck am I supposed to do now? I don’t know where this is going. I have no ending. Not only that, I am shit, I can’t spell, my grammar is terrible. I wish I wasn’t doing this piece-ofshit career…’ And so on and so on.

This is how I can feel about writing; not always, obviously, but there comes a time in most scripts where I want to burn the computer and the house down in frustration.

When I write, I do my damnedest to not go back and reread what I have written. I speak to a lot of young writers who do this, and they end up with 32 pages of extremely wellwritten script but don’t venture much further than that. I find that if I can reach the end of a screenplay, I can always go back and do fixes. It also depends on how broke I am, and how quickly I need to hand something in…

Writing Song for Marion was no different; there were moments of

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chaos but fortunately, as with all scripts, there were many moments of clarity. Getting the commission was one of the easiest pitches I have made, and I probably have London to Brighton to thank for that. It was during that film’s release that the words ‘hot shit’ were being bandied around, and it was easier to get my ideas commissioned. I never believed the ‘hot shit’ branding, by the way, but I was totally skint at the time, so the fact that someone would pay for my services was super-duper.

Song for Marion has many personal moments, and so there were always going to be parts of the script that came more easily to me. The main problem was trying to take the conventional— even predictable—elements of the script, and make them not so conventional and predictable that the audience would start throwing up in their laps.

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Below: Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) spends precious time with her son James (Christopher Eccleston) and granddaughter Jennifer (Orla Hill) in Song for Marion

Bottom: Writer/director Paul Andrew Williams (opposite page) on set with star Gemma Arterton

I had to write the screenplay quickly, as I was due to start filming The Cottage and wanted to put it out of my mind. So I sat down with my usual outlook: a rough idea of the plot but no concept of the flesh. One scene would hopefully follow the next with some sort of clarity, each giving me an idea for future scenes and how to tie situations up. In the first draft there were many different characters, as well as characters that survived until filming that then changed age and sex. I remember there being scenes in an Indian karaoke restaurant and a bank where Arthur’s daughter worked. I initially wrote the part as a female because I was desperate to get Kathy Burke in the film; many things changed, not least the part becoming Arthur’s son James (played by Christopher Eccleston), but not the desperation to work with Kathy Burke.

That first draft of the script, commissioned by the BBC, got the attention of other companies, and people were desperate for me to get working on the next draft now that The Cottage had finished filming. That was five years ago and I have forgotten lots of the notes that were given to me at the time, but I do remember that, throughout the whole process, a lot of the notes were absolutely brilliant and a lot of them I hated. It’s always a case of working through the good and the bad. But even the notes I hated were always useful, in terms of making me think that when something is wrong—even if the note is also wrong—it can be used as a guide to make the

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script better. But if I was very passionate about something that people wanted to change, I would ask if it was a dealbreaker; if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t change it. If it was, then we would keep working.

I can say that the difference from the first draft of the Song for Marion screenplay to the version that was filmed was massive.

That was because of me, notes, budget changes, changes in financiers, distributors and locations—this is the reality of the life of a film from script to screen. Now it is over, would there be much I would change? I am not sure, and I’m still wondering whether audiences will throw up.

Once the film is out there, only the audience will tell you if what you have done is shit or not.

Song for Marion was nominated for three British Independent Film Awards, and is released in UK cinemas on February 22 ●

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Feature 2013 Preview

2013 PREVIEW

movieScope’s guide to the films, TV shows and talent you should be looking out for in 2013. Obvious blockbusters not included...

After Earth

Carlo Carlei

Jack Ryan

Kick-Ass 2

M. Night Shyamalan directs this big-budget sci-fi, starring father and son Will and Jaden Smith as travellers who crash onto Earth years after it has been abandoned.

UK & USA June 7

Kenneth Branagh showcased his action director chops with Thor, and they will be on display again as Chris Pine portrays CIA analyst Jack Ryan, one of novelist Tom Clancy’s best loved characters.

UK December 26 USA December 25

The Italian director returns after almost two decades to helm this latest version of Shakespeare’s love story, adapted by Julian Fellowes and starring Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld.

UK October 25 USA TBC

This sequel to 2010’s superhero comedy sees Aaron Taylor Johnson and Chloe Mortez return as Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, who join forces with a group of normal citizens who are fighting crime.

UK July 19 USA June 2

Elysium

Three years after the release of District 9, writer/director Neill Blomkamp returns with another foray into the scifi genre. With a bigger budget and a cast including Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, this story of a future in which the wealthy live on a space station while the rest of mankind reside on a ruined Earth is likely to be one of the year’s visual spectacles.

UK September 20 USA August 9

The Great Gatsby

It may be almost 90 years old, but F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel remains a beloved classic of American literature. Baz Luhrmann’s lavish retelling is the latest in a long line of onscreen adaptations, and stars Tobey Maguire as Midwestern transplant Nick Carraway, who becomes fascinated by his Long Island neighbour Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Audiences will be given the chance to watch the film in 3D but, if the trailer is anything to go by, that extra dimension will not be necessary to appreciate the gorgeous production design.

UK May 17 USA May 10

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Stoker

Chan-wook Park’s psychological thriller, starring Mia Wasikowska as a young girl who becomes infatuated with a mysterious older man, should be one of the year’s visual treats.

UK & USA March 1

Ender’s Game

Tsotsi and X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood brings us this story set 70 years after an alien war, starring Asa Butterfield, Abigail Breslin and Harrison Ford.

UK October 25 USA November 1

Armie Hammer

Having appeared in films like The Social Network (2010), in which he plays both Winklevoss twins, and J Edgar (2011), Armie Hammer will next be seen as The Lone Ranger in Gore Verbinski’s telling of the classic story. The role, which teams him star alongside Johnny Depp, who plays Tonto, should shoot him firmly onto the A list.

UK August 9 USA July 3

Saskia Rosendahl

Although German actress Saskia Rosendahl only began her career in 2012, she’s already made a dramatic impact on the industry. Her role in Cate Shortland’s Lore (UK February 22 USA TBC) earned the Best Actress award at last year’s Stockholm Film Festival, and she has been selected as one of European Film Promotion’s 2013 Shooting Stars.

Find out more about Shooting Stars at www.moviescopemag.com

The Counselor White Elephant Teaming director Ridley Scott, writer Cormac McCarthy and stars Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Penelope Cruz, this tale of drug trafficking is one of the must sees of the year.

UK TBC USA November 15

Ariel Vromen

The young Israeli director looks set for global acclaim with The Iceman (UK June 7 USA May 3), the true story of contract killer Richard Kuklinksi. James Franco, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans and Winona Ryder star.

Joseph Kosinski

The director follows up 2010’s Tron: Legacy with Oblivion, his adaptation of his own comic book, set on an alien-war ravaged Earth.

Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman star.

UK & USA April 12

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Four years after his absolutely stunning, Palme D’or-nominated Lion’s Den, Argentian writer/director Pablo Trapero brings this story of life in the slums of Buenos Aires.

UK April 26 USA TBC

Captain Phillips Tom Hanks takes on the role of real life sea Captain Richard Phillips, in Paul Greengrass’ telling of the 2009 hijaking by Somali pirates of US-flagged ship Maersk Alabama.

UK & USA October 11

The Seventh Son

Starring Julianne Moore as Mother Malkin, the most dangerous witch in the land, along with Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges and Olivia Williamson, this adaptation of Joseph Delany’s novel tells of an 18th century apprentice learning to fight evil. That it’s directed

by Mongol: The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan director Sergey Bodrov suggests an interesting take on a well-worn genre.

UK & USA October 13

The World’s End

Director Edgar Wright teams once again with stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for this apocalyptic comedy, in which five friends unwittingly become humanity’s last hope for survival.

UK August 14 USA October 25

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Feature 2013 Preview

Rob Savage

The writer/director of upcoming teen romance Strings writes exclusively about making the award-winning film that’s causing major waves on the independent film scene.

Strings began as a five-page short, written when I was 16; a Richard Linklater pastiche about the post-coital small talk between two characters. The world was saved from ever having to see that film by an ill-timed power surge, which reduced my laptop to a steaming paperweight. Utterly defeated, I headed to the London Film Festival for consolation, where I saw the small German drama Requiem. It utterly floored me, thanks largely to the Silver Bear winning central performance from Sandra Hüller.

Watching that film recharged me, and I started to rewrite Strings as a longer piece. I found Sandra’s email address, and sent a semicoherent message thanking her for the inspiration; to my surprise she emailed back and, over the course of 2008, we became good friends. I was invited to see Sandra in a play in Munich, and was introduced to some of her friends, including young theatre actress Philine Lembeck. We spent the evening talking about Strings, and on the flight back to the UK I filled a notepad with ideas of how to adapt the film to star Philine in the lead role of Grace and Sandra as her estranged mother.

The reason the film got made at all, however, is the decision that co-producer Nathan Craig and I made that on July 22, 2010—my 18th birthday—we would begin 30 days of shooting. We announced the date before I had even finished a draft of the screenplay, and began getting people on board before we had anything resembling a budget or plan of action. Knowing that I would face ridicule by aborting was the driving force behind our pre-production.

Our primary challenge became securing enough budget to create even the thinnest veneer of professionalism, both in terms of the visuals and of feeding and housing the cast and crew. With £1,000 raised and camera equipment secured from a neighbour, we went to the local council to request the funding to fly over our lead actress—and were promptly refused. We decided that at least another £1,000 was needed to make the film feasible. At the exact moment we were donning our balaclavas, I was informed that a film I made in college had won an international competition with a prize of, yes, £1,000. The next day I returned to the local council with ‘award-winning director’ in front of my name and £2,000 under my belt; my application was approved and the money was in my account before the week was out.

As we were shooting, we would often recall something Lars von Trier said while making Europa. Von Trier had decided that Europa would be a masterpiece before he had even shot a frame, and that a masterpiece is created through design and resolve, not by accident.

Strings is by no means a masterpiece, but every day we would wake up determined to capture something special. We would spend the nights discussing the following day’s scenes and, as DoP, I would light each scene to give maximum freedom of movement to the actors. After reviewing our footage, we would sometimes reshoot with a different approach if we felt the scene could be pushed further.

After a lengthy editing process we had our world premiere at the Raindance Film Festival, where we were nominated for Best Debut Feature, and also submitted the film to the British Independent Film Awards. Sound designer Tom Whetmore and myself had been through 75 hours of sound-mixing just days before the first screening, and practically stumbled into the Apollo cinema to find

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it completely sold out. We then had our European premiere at the Rome International Film Festival, and were picked up by Vertigo Films for cinema release shortly afterwards. A month later, I found myself walking to the stage of the British Independent Film Awards to collect the Raindance Award. Surrounded by some of the heroes that inspired me to pick up a camera in the first place, all I could think of was the wonderful chaos of making Strings; of shooting in my kitchen until 5 a.m., of recreating the Tiny Dancer scene from Almost Famous on the way to set, of our cheap lights exploding and scarring my arms with shrapnel. It’s been a hell of a journey.

Strings will be released by Vertigo Films in 2013.

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Pacific Rim

While Guillermo Del Toro may be one of the busiest men in the industry, taking writing and producing roles on myriad projects, he hasn’t directed a film since 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Anticipation is, therefore, particularly rife for Pacific Rim, the high-concept story of humans using giant robots to fight off an alien attack. And with a synopsis like that, what’s not to love?

UK & USA July 12

Yaron Zilberman Zilberman makes his feature writing/directing debut with A Late Quartet (UK April 5 USA Out Now), which stars Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman Catherine Keener and Mark Ivanir as members of a troubled string quartet.

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Byzantium

Almost 20 years after he directed Interview With the Vampire, Neil Jordan returns to the genre with this shadowy tale of bloodsuckers staring Gemma Arterton and Sam Riley, Twilight, it aint.

UK May 3 USA TBC

The Place Beyond the Pines

The dream team (well, according to movieScope editor Nikki, anyway) of Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper team up with Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance for this story of a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to crime to support his family, and the copturned-politician on his tail.

UK April 12 USA March 29

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Feature 2013 Preview

Tobias Lindholm

Tobias Lindholm is undoubtedly one of the greatest modern Danish screenwriters, having penned TV show Borgen and films like Submarino and the multi award-winning The Hunt. 2013 sees the release of The Hijacking (UK April 5 USA TBC), written and directed

by Lindholm, which tells of a Danish cargo ship which is hijacked by Somali pirates, and which has wowed at festivals across the world.

The Company You Keep

Robert Redford directs, produces and stars in Lem Dobb’s adaptation of Neil Gordon’s thriller about a former Weather Underground Organization political activist who goes on the run after a journalist discovers his identity. Shia LaBeouf, Richard Jenkins, Anna Kendrick, Stanley Tucci, Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon also star.

UK June 7 USA April 5

Beyond the Hills

Romanian director Cristian Mungiu follows up 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (2007) and Tales From the Golden Age (2009) with this drama inspired by the non-fiction novels of Tatiana Niculescu Bran. It tells of the friendship between two young orphans, one of whom has settled at a Romanian convent and one who lives in Germany.

UK & USA March 15

Haifaa Al-Mansour Regarded as Saudi Arabia’s first female director, Haifaa Al-Mansour has overcome huge cultural obstacles to make her highly-regarded debut Wadjda.

UK April 19 USA TBC

Trance

Filmed at London’s 3 Mills Studios, Danny Boyle’s latest is the story of an art auctioneer who teams with a hypnotherapist to find a lost painting. James McAvoy and Vincent Cassel star.

UK March 27 USA TBC Our 2013 preview continues at www.moviescopemag.com

TV Highlights of 2013

As well as returning shows like Justified, The Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and Luther, 2013 sees the debut of many unmissable new series. Here’s a few highlights.

Hollywood star Kevin Bacon is an FBI agent on the hunt for serial killers in The Following (UK Sky Atlantic USA FOX) • Connie Briton is a fading country star in Nashville, created

by Thelma and Louise writer Callie Khouri (UK More4 USA ABC) • Holly Hunter and Peter Mullan star in Jane Campion’s detective thriller Top of the Lake (UK BBC USA Sundance Channel) • Kevin Spacey takes the role of the Majority Whip with his eye on the Presidency in House of Cards (UK & USA Netflix) • Ryan Murphy’s The New Normal sees a single mother become

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a surrogate for a gay couple (UK E4 USA NBC) • Mads Mikkelsen takes on the role of infamous Dr Lecter in Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal (UK TBC USA NBC) • Michael Sheen is human sexual science pioneer Dr William Masters in Masters of Sex (UK TBC USA Showtime) • Chris O’Dowd teams with Christopher Guest for new comedy Family Tree (UK TBC USA HBO) • Gabriel Byrne is a pathologist in 1950s Dublin in Quirke (UK BBC USA TBC) • The Fall stars Gillian Anderson as a police officer investigating murders in modern day Northern Ireland

(UK BBC USA TBC) • Dreamworks’ The Americans centres on Russian sleeper agents in the 1980s (UK TBC USA FX) • A magazine editor is pulled into a huge conspiracy in Zero Hour (UK TBC USA ABC) • Red Widow stars Rhada Mitchell as a widow who must carry on her late criminal husband’s work (UK TBC USA ABC) • Comedian Louis C.K’s self-titled show Louie finally comes to the UK courtesy of FX (USA FX) • Stephen Poliakoff’s Dancing on the Edge follows a black jazz band in 1930s London (UK BBC USA TBC)

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Insider's Point of View Juan Antonio Bayona: Director

Keeping it Real

With The Impossible, director Juan Antonio Bayona has captured the human horror of the 2004 tsunami with unerring intensity. Here, he explains how he ensured the film was as true to life as possible. Interview: James Mottram Back in 2007, Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona captivated horror fans with his creepy debut The Orphanage. Five years on and he’s back with The Impossible, this time focusing on a very real horror: the tsunami that devastated coastal regions of South East Asia on Boxing Day, 2004. The film stars Ewan McGregor and Oscar-nominated Naomi Watts as parents caught up in the tragedy.

Barcelona-born Bayona talks to movieScope about the challenges of making the film, in particular recreating the moment the wave struck with such unerring realism.

How do you remember the tsunami when it struck in 2004?

I was in Barcelona at home. It was Christmas and I watched it on TV. So you feel like you’re very far

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away. The whole concept of the film was to make the people who felt the tragedy was very [distant]… to make it feel like it was very close to them, and to make them feel the experience of being there.

What was the biggest challenge in making The Impossible?

Everything was a big deal. Every day of shooting. Everything was crazy. It’s easy if I said all the technical stuff was very hard to do.

But the very difficult things were the emotional things: how to not go too far, and to be all the time very respectful to the people who were there. The intention all the time was to put the audience into what happened there, and to let them feel what was there. So that was the big challenge.

Still, the recreation of the tsunami is remarkable. Did you study

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Director Juan Antonio Bayona (below

left) on the set of The Impossible with Naomi Watts (below); the film also stars Ewan McGregor (opposite)

what Clint Eastwood did for the opening sequence of Hereafter?

Yeah, sure. We were preparing at the same time. Coincidentally, I had a meeting with Frank Marshall, the producer of Hereafter—I was in LA doing the pre-visualisation [for The Impossible] and he was coming to the meeting from watching the pre-visualisation of Hereafter. Theirs was a very impressive scene, although our scene is kinda different.

The tsunami was very different, depending on the area that it struck. And our tsunami was very specific, the way the water moves.

Did you study YouTube footage that was shot at the time?

Definitely, yeah. We had a lot of footage. The Internet is full of that. But we had to find how the tsunami was exactly in the area where we shot. We shot in the same hotel where the tragedy happened, and we had to find the videos that were recorded closer to this area, to see how the tsunami was there.

How long did you prepare for your tsunami sequence?

We were for a year talking about that with key members of the

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crew, from the cinematographer to the production designer and the people from visual effects. Talking for months about these 120150 shots. And then we spent a month shooting that.

How did you set about actually shooting it?

We put the actors into water. We created this huge channel for this strong current in this big water tank in Spain and then we had to do the wave, and we built up a huge miniature—it was all the time a process of mixing several techniques. We didn’t want to rely only on CGI or miniatures or digital composition. It was about mixing up a lot of techniques at the same time, so there is a moment where the audience watching the scene gets lost. They don’t know what they’re watching—visual effects versus the real. And it had to be like that. Being a movie based on a true story, it had to feel very, very real.

Why didn’t you use CGI to create the water?

CGI water is so expensive. So, we said it’s going to be with real water! But the truth is that one of the main reasons we decided to go with real water is that CGI water doesn’t look real.

We didn’t want to do a CGI show in the middle of the action. So, we went with the real stuff, which was also a crazy, crazy idea because it meant we spent a year in development.

When you built the set in the water tank in Spain, given all the debris that is floating in it, wasn’t it a very dangerous place to put the actors?

Everything was controlled. All the water had to be prepared for infections with chlorine. And

the debris they were walking on was fake. It’s so big, though; you cannot control a set like that, but at least the areas where the actors were walking were prepared.

How intense was it to shoot a film like this?

Very. The intensity that we tried to portray in the film was definitely there all the time. There were some moments that Naomi was telling me, ‘Do you think people will be able to stand all this intensity on the film?’ And I was thinking we will see. But it’s been the most rewarding, intense experience I have ever had on a set.

You worked with the real family, whose story inspired The Impossible. How traumatic was it for them to revisit this horror?

We had to go very slowly. They never wanted to be the centre of

the story. They wanted to avoid that because it’s very difficult for people to deal with that. From the very beginning, we had our first meeting with them and they trusted us. They felt it was the right moment to tell the story, to let us tell the story, and they were very collaborative.

Are they happy with the film?

They love the film. And they were there all the time in order to put our feet on the ground, as a reminder of what happened there, and that was very helpful. In a film like this, because there are so many technical complications, there are some things that can go out of focus. It was great to have them all the time to say, ‘Hey, remember, I was there…’

The Impossible is now on general release. ●

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Sponsored Feature Sony F65

Digital Delights Cinematographer Ben Smithard (Cranford, I, Anna, My Week With Marilyn) has recently completed shooting Amma Asante’s period feature Belle in 4K using Sony’s F65 digital camera. He spoke to movieScope about the experience. Interview: Chris Patmore When you knew you were shooting Belle on digital, what made you choose the Sony F65?

I’d heard about the F65 and thought it would be the right camera, so I had to test it. To be honest, it looked the best of the lot; closer to film and much less digital.

There’s nothing else out there that looks like it. It’s a much softer, more pleasing image, which is what film does. Film is very subtle, whereas digital is a bit harsher. When the tests came back we knew it was the right choice.

Does it shoot RAW? Yes. It’s a very large file-based camera that records RAW images.

You end up with a flattish image, which gives you a lot more freedom to manoeuvre around, just the same as you would with film. You just need to dial in a bit of contrast and exposure, then you’ve got what we call a normal image.

Belle was shot in 4K. Is there a real advantage to shooting

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4K given there are few cinemas with 4K projectors?

True, and the workflow through post is always going to be 2K, but there is an advantage because everything gets compressed and compressed and compressed. The more information you’ve got going into the final part—which for me is the grade—even though it’s a 2K environment, the better it is.

One of the selling points of these new digital cameras is they are better in low light; was this one of the benefits of the F65?

A lot of Belle (right) was shot with available light, but there was plenty that was shot with lights to make it look like available light.

The lighting’s not there to jump out at you. I’m not there to make pretty pictures, I’m there to serve the story. On a film like Belle, with very good actors, I have a responsibility to make them look

good within the realms of that story. You want to make it look as interesting as possible and put the audience into that scene, so you show them where to look. That’s what good lighting’s about. Does the camera help with that? Sure.

The general consensus is film has much better latitude than digital.

How does the F65 compare?

The Sony is better than a lot of other digital cameras and is probably the closest to film that I’ve ever seen. I really hope that the F65 becomes a standard because it’s a great camera and it would be good for the film

industry to settle on something, because there’s a lot of money swilling around the pot that could be better used somewhere else.

Did you get the look you wanted from it?

That’s difficult to say because I haven’t graded it yet. At the moment, my guess is it will be the nearest to film I’ve shot on a digital camera. I still think film has the edge for origination because it’s tried and tested, but we still need to do side-by-side comparison tests, and do them more regularly.

But the F65 is the closest to film, it’s as simple as that. www.pro.sony.eu/cinealta ●

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Insider's Point of View Paul Dano: Actor

Gut Instinct

With performances in There Will Be Blood, Looper, For Ellen and Ruby Sparks under his belt, actor Paul Dano has certainly had a diverse career. But, as he explains, he has a personal connection with each and every role he chooses. Interview: Tom Seymour

Few actors announced themselves like Paul Dano. At the age of 22, after bit parts in TV and low-budget romcoms, he starred in Oscar-winner Little Miss Sunshine, which he immediately followed up with a stunning turn as the timid preacher nemesis to Daniel Day-Lewis’

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Daniel Plainview in Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, possibly the only true masterpiece of noughties cinema.

As well as leading roles in Steve McQueen’s Twelve Years a Slave and Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, 2013 sees the release of For Ellen, in which he plays a

struggling musician fighting for custody of his young daughter, and the DVD release of Ruby Sparks—his collaboration with girlfriend Zoe Kazan—which sees him star as the reclusive writer who magics up a girlfriend straight from the pages of his latest work. The actor managed

to find the time to sit down to lunch with movieScope, to discuss how he chooses his roles, what he learnt from his time with Day-Lewis and his future ambitions.

How did you find working with your partner Zoe Kazan on Ruby Sparks?

I would be lying if I told you it didn’t have its challenges. Zoe and I are inherently collaborative, and we help each other. She’s the first actor I’ve dated, and it works because we respect and inspire each other. It was, more than anything, fantastic to live the thing we’d been daydreaming about together. To put the film out there feels great and it’s been a wild experience. But going home and switching off together after a 14-hour day wasn’t always easy.

How have you picked your parts since There Will Be Blood, and do you let your agent suggest your roles?

If I left it to my agent I’d be making a lot more money right

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Paul Dano in For Ellen (opposite page) and with girlfriend and Ruby Sparks collaborator Zoe Kazan at the 2012 Locarno Film Festival (below)

now. I definitely do not leave it to my agent, and any actor who does is just avoiding responsibility. It’s a tough thing to navigate and sometimes I feel what I want changes by the week. I’m still a young man trying to find work that’s challenging. I try to read as much as possible to find something exciting. The script and the director matter most. I worked with some very inspiring directors early in my career and while that’s exciting, it’s also spoiling.

How quickly can you assess a script?

The best barometer is if you want to read it again; if you’re compelled to try and figure it out, that’s a good script. Sometimes there’s very generic material; you already know what it is before you’ve read it. I don’t want to spend months of my life on films like that. You look into a filmmaker’s work, you judge it, and sometimes it’s a no-brainer.

This year Steve McQueen asked me to do a part in his new film Twelve Years a Slave and that’s exactly what I want to do. That’s about as good as it gets.

Are there factors you consider beyond the script when you plot your next part?

As much as you think about something—be it money or a career reason, or you have a personal relationship with the people making the film—it always circles back to your gut reaction.

That’s the most lasting thing.

I want to do a certain type of work right now, because I’m working towards helping films get made and helping projects to be developed, and I want to

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get to the stage where I’m able to work with the people I want to work with.

How did performing opposite Daniel Day-Lewis influence the way you work on a part?

You’re continually figuring out how to perform. That’s probably the thing that keeps me going the most—that learning curve.

Working with Daniel meant a lot to me because he’s a singular and special actor, and I’ve got a lot from his work, but you have to learn it’s an each-to-his-own job and work out what works best for you. Daniel has a totally unique way of preparing for a role and you can’t jump to that process. It takes a lot of time to discover it.

Film sets require a lot of stamina. As you’ve become more experienced, have you built up your endurance when it comes to remaining creative on set?

It feels as if the more experienced you become the more you end up putting into it, and the more exhausting it becomes. You hope to leave it all out on the floor every time, so I often feel completely depleted at the end of a day.

How do you handle life between film shoots?

I often feel very uninspired after making a movie, and then have to go through a period of refilling.

I read a lot about directors and artists, I go and see films and plays. I try to protect that.

Sometimes you see bands that are always on tour because that’s the only life they know. I feel the need to go back to real life, to family and friends and

spending time alone, instead of just acting. Those periods inform the acting.

What ambitions do you have beyond acting?

There’s still a lot to do as an actor.

There are people I want to work with and parts I want to do that I know now will push me and get something out of me that hasn’t been discovered yet. But I want to move into getting financing for films. Even for great filmmakers, financing movies is very difficult.

I want to help foster work that I care about or get something from as an audience member. I want to develop films, and I will definitely make a film at some point.

Have you tried to write a screenplay yet?

I’ve got things on the go, but I don’t know whether anything will ever see the light of day. I’ve made a short film for myself in an attempt to put myself through a kind of personal film school.

Were you happy with it?

Yeah, I think it was alright. I want to make things that are personal to me and I can control, because no matter what happens with the things I can’t control, if the intent is there then I feel OK. I can’t determine the fate of Ruby Sparks or For Ellen, but nothing can take away from the mindset with which we made those films.

For Ellen is in cinemas from Friday 15 February, and Ruby Sparks is released on DVD on 11 February 2013 ●

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15/01/2013 17:00:49

Feature Oscar Scores

The Sound of Success As all eyes turn once again to the Oscars, film music writer Charlie Bridgen takes a look at the nominees for Best Score, and reveals why 2012 was such a great year for movie music.

Well, it’s that time of year again.

Christmas has been thrown out with the turkey and we’ve barely pulled on our new socks before the awards season has arrived.

Amidst Versace dresses and Gucci gift bags, the season gives us new things to argue over and something other than football to bet on and, on February 24, we’ll be confronted with the big one: the 85th Academy Awards.

While popular focus may be on the big awards for best film, directing and acting, our focus here is on the Best Original Score category. From Argo to Zero Dark Thirty, it’s been a very good year for film music-and that means a cracking Oscar race. So who will take the little gold guy this time and follow in the footsteps of Newman, Herrmann, and Moroder?

The Voting

The final decision is down to the 6,000 or so members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with a diverse delivery system for the eligible works including Hollywood screenings and the infamous

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screener discs. With film scores, the music is similarly sent out on a disc or streamed via a website, with the presentation usually different to the released soundtrack. Often featuring the complete score as featured in the film versus the traditional ‘highlights’ album, these promotional discs are highly sought after. Indeed, a recent eBay auction saw an Oscar CD for Avatar sell for over $3,000.

As the music is sent out separately to the film, there is certainly a question of exactly how the effectiveness of the score is evaluated. Without doubt, the primary function for a score is to support the film and, while it may be one of the elements that can be enjoyed as a separate entity, it must be judged in view of how it serves the film. Whether or not the voters are taking this into account or just judging based on the quality of the music supplied via audio delivery, only they can say.

Before discussing the nominated scores and their chances, it’s worth taking a look at some of the year’s other great works that didn’t make the

nominations list to demonstrate the wealth of fantastic film music we’ve been privy to in the last 12 months.

John Carter Michael Giacchino has become one of the go-to Hollywood composers thanks to his energetic scores for films such as Star Trek and the Oscarwinning Up. John Carter’s reputation sadly precedes it; due to its marketing missteps and massive budget, it was never really given a chance.

But while the film admittedly has issues, the epic score is not one of them; it infuses the picture with a sense of adventure and excitement, with gorgeous themes in a swashbuckling vein.

The Master Expected to be a critical sure thing, Paul Thomas Anderson’s drama was met with a surprisingly divisive response. Jonny Greenwood’s music had no apparent eligibility issues, but has possibly borne the brunt of the disappointment in the film despite being a fiercely unique and unsettling work. Greenwood’s love

of esoteric composer Krzysztof Penderecki shines through, with some beautiful and evocative cues that also leave you feeling a little bit disturbed.

The Dark Knight Rises While Christopher Nolan’s Bat finale divided critics, it made a hell of a lot of money and capped off a series that has seen the superhero film elevated as a genre. Hans Zimmer’s music provides an intense backdrop, using the figurehead of Bane to inspire its terrifying quasi-religious chanting, while Batman’s character arc spirals to an explosive and emotional conclusion. It’s not a massive surprise it didn’t garner a nomination as, while Zimmer’s sound for Gotham City is effective, it’s barely changed over three films.

Rise of the Guardians A surprising success, one of the driving factors behind the positive reception to the DreamWorks film is Alexandre Desplat’s score. It’s brash, bold, melodic and thematic— undoubtedly as a result of being animated—which generally allows

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composers to spread their wings.

His case is helped by a rollercoaster ride that mixes the usual action beats with an interesting take on childhood myths, allowing for some dynamic cues with a sense of whimsy. It would likely have made the grade in a less competitive year.

Zero Dark Thirty Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial thriller about the takedown of Osama Bin Laden has been getting the kind of word of mouth that previously won her an Oscar for The Hurt Locker and the same goes for yet another Alexandre Desplat score; his best of the year.

There’s a level of intensity that seems entirely appropriate for the subject material, but it doesn’t ignore ideas of melody, even with the stripped-down sound it voices. Here, he makes the London Symphony Orchestra at times sound like chamber music, or even blues. It’s a work that demands attention, not only for the music but also for just what a fantastic composer Desplat has become. It should have easily gained a nomination.

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The Nominees Skyfall Usurping David Arnold as 007’s composer after five films, Thomas Newman had a job on his hands to ensure Sam Mendes’ foray into the world of Bond was at least musically successful. And while he didn’t compose the title song, his score work lends an assured feel, deftly swerving between percussive action material and characterised melody to help round off one of the best films in the 007 canon. One of Skyfall’s best qualities is that it brings an emotional edge to a character—and world—that is often just one step away from a superhero, and Newman’s assistance in emphasising this cannot be understated. A surprise nomination, but one that could easily and deservedly win.

Argo Alexandre Desplat returns once more with his score to Ben Affleck’s incredible true story, another film that has the critics’ hearts aflutter. Desplat’s

 Thomas Newman's score for

Skyfall (above) and Alexandre

Desplat's score for Argo (below) are both Oscar nominated

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Feature Oscar Scores score is ethnic but not clichéd with enthralling action material, even when it evokes that most dastardly of film score devices, ‘the moaning woman’. But while the action pieces are absolutely solid, it’s when he embraces the classical Hollywood sound that his inner John Williams shows itself; it’s this stunning work that has made him such a soughtafter composer. Considering the buzz surrounding it, it’d take a brave person to bet against Argo.

Lincoln Unsurprisingly, given the talent in front of and behind the camera, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln is getting some pretty incredible reviews, and behind Spielberg as always is John Williams. Johnny’s score holds much affection for the character and his cause, powerful yet reverential, with the kind of superb themes people expect from the most nominated living composer. Betting against Williams is a risk and, when both he and Steve are on song, it’s hard for anyone to stop them.

Williams’ outstanding Oscar record is perhaps the one thing that could stand in the way, but when someone is as good as he is, that really shouldn’t matter. The best of the nominated scores.

Life of Pi Mychael Danna’s score is an exotic ride, an evocative journey that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, and a perfect match for Ang Lee’s ambitious tale (below).

Feeling at times like it’s at one

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with nature, there’s a massive heart at the middle of the score that goes towards making it so magnificent. Danna has been making interesting music for decades and could certainly be in for some joy this year-and it would be a just reward. There is the feeling, however, that it will only really take it if the film does similarly well in the other categories in which it is nominated.

Anna Karenina Joe Wright’s lavish adaptation of the Tolstoy costume drama received some pretty mixed reviews, but Dario Marianelli’s score fits the story like a glove, with lashings of interesting orchestral colour ranging from delicate strings to full waltzes.

The orchestration is immense and the performance flawless, although sometimes it does feel like it’s just going through the motions. Marianelli has previously won an Oscar for Wright’s Atonement and, given its classical stylings and complexity, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him win again.

Our Predicted Winner Lincoln You could say John Williams is a solid, dependable soul, and I imagine Spielberg would certainly agree with that. Yet he’s also the greatest living film composer, and one of the greatest of all time, with Lincoln another example of his incredible talent. I can’t say this is an absolute lock; all of the nominated scores have a good chance—although Argo and Life of Pi look the more likely out of the

Top left: Composer Alexandre Desplat (© Richard Harbaugh / A.M.P.A.S)

Below: John Williams with director Steven Spielberg (© Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S) is nominated for his score for Spielberg's Lincoln (above)

remaining four—but there is the feeling that this is Lincoln’s year, for both film and for score.

We will, of course, find out for sure on February 24. But I wouldn’t bet against John Williams having his sixth little gold statue sitting on his mantelpiece by the end of the night.

And he would certainly deserve it. ●

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Advertorial Sohonet

Sohonet FileRunner Sohonet’s Chief Operating Officer Damien Carroll explains how their FileRunner service enables global users to share large asset files quickly and securely.

As the film and media industry continues its migration to digital production, a fast, secure way to transfer large files has become ever more important. The answer may be FileRunner, the new embedded feature from Sohonet, the tech-provider experts based in central London who manage the connectivity for some of the biggest studios in the world including NBC Universal and Warner Bros. in the US, and Pinewood and Shepperton in the UK. Based on Signiant’s Media Shuttle software, Filerunner enables the global members of Sohonet’s Media Network to communicate and share information and digital content with each other quickly and securely.

Sohonet was first founded in 1995, set up by a coalition of post-production houses who needed to find a way to start moving large bits of data around.

They later expanded across the world as the need for connections and data transfer grew, and now have over 500 customers, from smaller indie productions to big budget studio productions shooting internationally.

“We become a shared collaboration community, but we

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MS32 p041 Advertorial Sohonet.indd 41

found that—while our members were interrelated—none of the neighbours knew each other,” explains Chief Operating Officer Damien Carroll (right). “The feedback I was getting was a need for that community to be brought to the forefront, to be available on a desktop. They were asking: who else is in this community and how do I do business with them? That led us to launch the Sohonet Hub, but it was always going to be a first step.”

Winner of TVB Europe Magazine’s Best of IBC award, FileRunner is an onboard, accelerated transfer tool developed using Signiant’s Media Shuttle technology and designed as a service integrated into the Sohonet Hub, rather than a standalone piece of software.

Signiant’s Media Shuttle features patent-pending cloud connector technology which enables a convenient subscription-based file transfer service without size limits or security risks, providing an effective alternative to FTP or other file transfer products.

“We’re a small company, so there’s a propensity to build things ourselves,” Carroll says.

“When customers want to buy

a subscription from us, we’re providing a service from end to end on flexible terms. Larger scale bandwidth is becoming the norm for a lot of people in the media industry, and a lot of our customers were finding the free protocols weren’t fit for purpose, but they were being priced out of the enterprise level software. We were responding to the need of the people who are in the middle.

“A lot of studios find it difficult to plan in advance, because you can never tell what’s going to happen next week or next month.

You need to have services that can respond to the market place they’re living in. The minute they have a requirement, they need it today. That’s where we come in.”

Find out more at www.sohonet.com ●

“When customers want to buy a subscription from us, we’re providing a service from end to end on flexible terms.”

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16/01/2013 15:06:12

04

Insider's Point of View Monte Swann: Video Engineer

Full Circle

Supervising video engineer Monte Swann, who has been involved in films as diverse as Star Trek, Cabin in the Woods and The Descendants, gives us a unique insight behind the scenes of his fascinating day job, and explains why he’s come back to where he started…

It’s early in the morning. A cold draft blows across my face and, as my eyes slowly open, I find myself fully dressed, curled up in a packing blanket on a dirty concrete floor. The floor is littered with broken glass, and piles of bird droppings lie in clumps under the windows. I’m in a large semicircular concrete room surrounded with heavy steel bars, rusted and corroded from years of neglect.

In sharp contrast to this stark environment, I am surrounded by several banks of computers, their whirring processors quietly supplying a welcome source of warmth to this dark and cold room.

Two floors directly below me stands a state-of-the-art surveillance room with more than 50 flat-screen monitors showing hundreds of camera angles throughout this prison.

But, something’s not right.

If you look closely, you’ll see that the computers down here aren’t plugged into anything and the myriad keyboards and switches do nothing to control

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any of the images displayed on the monitors.

Behind the racks of equipment lies a mass of cable threaded through the bars, spiralling up two floors to where I now stand.

It’s been a really long night, but I now know where I am: on the third floor of a long abandoned former Gestapo prison just outside Prague, in the Czech Republic.

More specifically, I am in ‘video village’, the command centre for the 24-frame video playback department of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Every movie requires the cooperation of many specialised departments and 24-frame video is just one of the little known but important aspects of motion picture production.

It’s the process that enables live images to be displayed on computer or television monitors without film shutter artefacts.

The first shot of the day takes place in the surveillance room, so the crew descends on it like shoppers clamouring for free samples. After a few hours

we’ve got our first setup and we watch back the last take.

As I stand outside the bars of the control room with the head of the IMF, Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise), I feel a strange sense of déjà vu. It was 40 years ago that I stood in a makeshift prison cell in Culver City, playing the role of the then IMF head Jim Phelps, on the set of ‘Mission: Improbable’, a homemade version of the TV series my brother and I had been working on for over a year.

It was inevitable, I suppose, that I would end up working in the film industry. After all, I grew up in the ‘heart of screenland’, and, once home to Hal Roach Studios, RKO, Desilu Productions and the once mighty MGM (now Sony Pictures), Culver City has deep roots in film history. In fact, the walk home from school included a stroll past the old wooden fences surrounding MGM’s incredible backlots and, with a slight detour down La Ballona Creek, full access to the backlot of Desilu. My friends and I

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Monte Swann (bottom, with star Tom

Cruise) worked as supervising video engineer on Mission: Impossible-Ghost

Protocol (below and opposite page)

would climb over the fences and be transported through time to an amazing fantasy world; at the time I never imagined that I would end up working at these very same studios.

My brother and I had become obsessed with filmmaking several years earlier when we shot our first film, ‘Frankenswann’, using our dad’s 8mm Kodak movie camera. The acting was terrible, the lighting was bad and the story sucked, but I’ll never forget the day we projected that first reel of film. We were mesmerised by the flickering images, and were forever addicted to this amazing medium.

Never mind that we had no script, and only a vague idea of what we were shooting; we worked off a rough outline and improvisation was usually the order of the day. It worked pretty well for us, but our methods were a far cry from the reality of Hollywood.

Indeed, a feature film like Ghost Protocol can easily burn $100,000 a day, so nothing can be overlooked or left to chance.

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MS32 p042 Insider POV Video Engineer.indd 43

Long before any film is exposed, months of planning takes place.

Thousands of photographs and measurements are taken and detailed drawings are prepared and distributed. Anything that will be seen on camera must be pre-approved and cleared by production: clothing; artwork; photographs; character names; phone numbers; magazines; and even tattoos.

So, when the main film unit of Mission: Impossible finally arrives in the small Czech village, it’s like a well-organised circus just rolled into town. Long lines of heavy vehicles and trailers roll through the streets and hundreds of crew members converge on the neighbourhood where the prison stands. A base camp is set up to house all the large work trucks, and it seems that everybody has their own trailer. Gargantuan trailers with pop-out sides accommodate the actors, producers, director, production, transportation, wardrobe, hair and make-up—the list goes on. Generators and

portable lighting are set up and several giant tents have been erected to accommodate the cast and crew dining area. Everything is carefully orchestrated, the troupe is assembled, nd we’re all ready for the big show.

Then, just three days after arriving at the prison, our short sentence has ended and the warden hands us our parole papers. The circus pulls up stakes and rolls on to the next location. The abandoned prison returns to its previous form,

though looking far better than it did when we found it. And, as I leave the set, I think how ironic it is that I used to spend all my time sneaking into the movie studios and now, several decades later, here I am, spending all of my time trying to sneak out…

Monte Swann is the supervising engineer at Cygnet Video, a Los Angeles based video production facility. He recently worked on The Dark Knight Rises and just completed work on the latest Star Trek instalment. ●

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15/01/2013 17:43:13

Feature The Rise of TV

, n e e r c S all

n o i t i b m A g i B Sm

Since The Sopranos broke the mould for small-screen entertainment almost 15 years ago, TV has evolved to such a degree that it’s now challenging the cinema for audience attention. movieScope editor Nikki Baughan and Sky Atlantic director Elaine Pyke discuss how and why TV has undergone such a creative revolution.

Given that this magazine’s passion for—and singular focus on—cinema is emblazoned right there in our title, the cover of this issue may seem more than a little incongruous. Yes, despite the presence of big-screen heavyweights Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy, The Following is most definitely a television show; one that airs both here (on Sky Atlantic) and in the USA (Fox) in January. And, as the pilot episode confirms, it underlines the now undeniable fact that a huge amount of small-screen content is equal to—and, in some cases, far better than—the majority of big-screen output.

And I’m certainly not alone in my adoration of the likes of The Sopranos, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, American Horror Story and The Walking Dead; from heated debate and box-set marathons with friends

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and colleagues to the endless blog posts, articles and analysis that filter through my social media channels on a daily basis, television clearly sparks as much, if not much more, discussion, opinion and respect than a great many modern movies. Over the last few years, TV has undergone something of a creative evolution, fuelled by terrific shows that have become increasingly—dare I say it—cinematic in terms of their scope, visuals and talent.

It’s for that reason that movieScope has taken the decision to widen our remit and cover those interesting, enthralling and often groundbreaking television productions that we discuss in the office almost every day.

Simply put, to ignore modern television is to ignore content that is creatively brilliant and culturally relevant—not to mention

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hugely popular—and to ignore those who make it is to miss out on the experiences and insights of an entire group of talented and inspirational craftspeople.

“I think it’s a really exciting time for television,” agrees Elaine Pyke, when we meet to discuss the rise and rise of small-screen entertainment.

After spending seven years as head of Sky Drama, Pyke has been director of Sky Atlantic since it went live in January 2011. Overseeing the channel’s remit of acquiring the best global (though primarily American) content for British viewers, along with commissioning its own

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MS32 p044 Growth of TV.indd 45

programming, means that she is uniquely placed to follow smallscreen developments on both sides of the pond.

“Cinema is wonderful; it’s a very engrossing experience—you spend two hours in a darkened room watching something beautiful on screen—and I think television has learnt a lot from that,” Pyke says. “We’ve become very visual. We’re all about money on screen; the design is very important. When you watch something like Boardwalk Empire or Game of Thrones, it’s got a very cinematic feeling.

“The other thing that television offers the talented people

[involved] is time. We are giving them 10 hours to build up characters, build up worlds, build up stories. I’m sure that’s why Kevin Williamson took his idea to Warner [Bros. International Television] for The Following,” Pyke continues, of the drama which stars Kevin Bacon as a former FBI agent on the trail of James Purefoy’s escaped serial killer. “He had a big idea in his head that couldn’t be done in a film; he wanted it to have the space. That’s what television offers: it gives time and respect to writers, directors and creators.”

It’s telling that when Pyke speaks about great modern

Showcasing fantastic writing and creative freedom, TV dramas like The Sopranos (above) and

The Wire (opposite page) have changed the face of small screen entertainment forever

programming, she often references HBO series like Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, shows that modern audiences are flocking to in their millions, both at original broadcast and through DVD and Blu-ray box sets which are selling in their droves. (Indeed, when the first season of Game of Thrones went on sale in spring 2012, it outsold all of HBO’s prior DVD

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Feature The Rise of TV

sets in just seven days; proof that box set culture has well and truly taken hold.) In fact, the US creative giant is widely credited with breaking the mould for modern television with series like The Sopranos, The Wire, Treme, True Blood and Girls. So, being that she works so closely with them, why does Pyke think HBO continues to be so successful?

“I think what HBO do—and what we aim to do with our

“We don’t have to copy the Americans... we just need to take on the same rules about talent and quality.”

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commissions—is have quality at the very heart of the production, and the commission,” she says.

“With quality, you want talent.

In order to get talent, you need to give them the freedom to do the very best they can. I think what’s terrific about HBO is that they have empowered writers; they have encouraged creativity, and we’re seeing the results of that. They have also put money behind it, so they make their shows a visual experience as well. That’s what they have so successfully combined: the trust in talent, the funding and putting the money on screen.

“We don’t just have HBO, of course,” Pyke points out. “We also have Mad Men [from AMC] and next year we’ve got The Following [from Fox], and we’re expanding our content for customers. But it’s always with an accent on quality. Beautifully written, beautifully made pieces; that’s what we want. For me a great show is always about the writing and the craft within it, but sometimes what you need to do is take a risk. And we’re perfectly happy to do that. I feel that about

House of Lies [from Showtime], starring Don Cheadle. It’s a high comedy—though quite naughty— series about a management consultant; that’s not an easy sell! But the writing, the talent and the way it’s made… It’s just a great fit with [the rest of] our comedy on Atlantic.”

While Sky Atlantic may have made its name as the home for hit US content, it has also commissioned, developed and

produced its own programming: shows like Hit & Miss, which stars Chloe Sevigny as a transgendered assassin, as well as Julia Davis’ offbeat period comedy Hunderby.

“As the channel evolves we’re balancing our acquisitions and commissions,” explains Pyke.

“We’re looking at three areas: one is comedy, and we started that off with Steve Coogan [who brings his creation Alan Partridge to the channel] and Julia Davis, when she did Hunderby for us.

We’re now commissioning drama, and there will be announcements coming down the line very shortly on that. We’re also doing featurelength documentaries.”

While Julia Davis and Steve Coogan’s groundbreaking comedy may have plenty of fans, there’s no getting away from the fact that British creations are wildly different from the glossy US dramas that are the channel’s mainstay. For Pyke, developing a successful channel goes beyond simply scheduling great programming; it’s about creating a diverse yet cohesive identity.

“It’s really interesting… How do you get British content to sit alongside American content?”

Pyke ponders. “Two very different backgrounds to development, two very different ways of making drama and comedy. The thing we have to keep completely in common is writing and talent; again, these are the things

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that we are mirroring with HBO. Something like Hit & Miss, which is a British commissioned show with a predominantly British cast and written by British writers [Paul Abbott and Sean Conway], sat really well with the HBO shows because it had a lot of money on screen; it was very cinematic in feel, it was very bold and had great ambition.”

Something else that Pyke feels is essential is spending money on, and taking time over, the development process. “All our shows are developed first, that’s really key,” she says. “We want to make sure that the piece has something for our audience to connect to, so it’s really important to come in early. We don’t editorially guide, because we want the creatives to do that, but we’re always there for discussion.

It’s really important to be part of that development process.”

Talking with Pyke, it seems that the formula behind great television—as with great film—is

MS32 p044 Growth of TV.indd 47

simple: it’s about having the confidence, and the means, to combine great writing, great talent, great production design and creative freedom. But television also has one big advantage over cinema: the luxury of time. Time to develop characters, to build a story, to entice an audience over several weeks. And it’s those shows that take full advantage of all those elements that become absolutely unmissable: think Game of Thrones; Boardwalk Empire; Treme; The Wire; The Sopranos; Spartacus; The Walking Dead; American Horror Story; Nurse Jackie; Homeland; Mad Men; The Good Wife; Dexter; The Killing; Borgen—the list goes on. And while many of the greatest modern shows may currently hail from overseas, Pyke sees plenty of potential for British small-screen production to capture audience imaginations in a similar way. “We don’t have to copy the Americans,” she says. “We just need to take on

the same rules about talent and quality and then apply our own British genius to it.”

Look out for more features on all aspects of television production and business in future issues of movieScope ●

Sky Atlantic's Elaine Pyke feels great TV means taking risks, whether acquiring US shows like House of

Cards (opposite, top) or commissioning content like Hunderby (opposite,

bottom) or Hit & Miss (above)

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Feature The Rise of TV

TELEVISION

TO DIE FOR

Debuting on both US and UK TV this year is The Following, a drama created

by Kevin Williamson (Scream, The Vampire Diaries) and starring Kevin Bacon as a former FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer ring. Here, creator and star reveal why they wanted to tell this story on the small screen.

“I first thought about this idea when I was writing the very first Scream movie,” explains Kevin Williamson, of his hotly anticipated new drama. “I sat on it for a while, and I played around with various ideas. Is it a cop show? Is it a serial killer show? In my mind, I felt this was a different show than what was on TV. I felt like no one was going to buy it. But in the last five years we’ve seen a number of hybrid shows arrive on television.

If you look at something like The Good Wife… is that a lawyer show?

Is it an office drama? Is it a love story? Well, it’s a lot of everything— and I love it. I look at all the cable shows, and they are all hybrids.

That’s when I realised it was the right time to do The Following.”

Once Williamson had decided that the time was right to move

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ahead with The Following, he set about pursuing Kevin Bacon for the lead role of troubled former FBI agent Ryan Hardy. Getting Bacon to sign on the dotted line, however, “wasn’t the easiest task in the world,” he admits. “I was talking to my agent a long time ago, [and] I said I want someone like Kevin Bacon for this role. My agent replied, ‘He’s represented here. And he’s thinking about TV.’ However, he didn’t want to do network television. He only wanted to do 12 episodes, and that was a big sticking point for us. He wasn’t even going to read the script of The Following. Then he asked his agent, what’s the best script out there this year, and his agent said it was our script. At that point, Kevin read it and went, ‘Oh!’”

For Bacon, the idea of doing a television show was a natural progression for him as an actor.

“About three or four years ago, I realised that there was a trend towards great writing for television,” the actor says. “All of the things that I think about and talk to my friends about were water-cooler shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and The Closer. All of the shows had become really important in my world, so I said, maybe it’s time for me to throw my hat in the ring and do television. Within two weeks, I had read three of the best scripts I’d ever read—and they were all television pilots. I thought to myself, if there was another 45 minutes tagged onto this script, I would do this movie in a heartbeat!

“I decided that I wanted to do a premium cable show, so we explored that option and I kept reading scripts,” Bacon continues.

“I came to the conclusion that I was too afraid of doing 24 or 22 episodes in a season because I felt like that was going to take too long. Then I read the script for The Following and I thought it was amazing. I felt this script was a real page-turner. I read it all in half an hour. It scared the hell out of me, but I loved the character. I wanted to play a complex and damaged hero—and here he was right in front of me. I was told they were only going to do 15 episodes in the season, and I jumped on board immediately. It was a no-brainer.”

The Following debuts on January 21 in the USA (Fox) and January 22 in the UK (Sky Atlantic) ●

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05

Insider's Point of View Rob Walk: Founder, D.I.G.

New Frontiers As the industry looks to new business models, it’s clear that digital technologies are bringing content owners and consumers closer together than ever before. Rob Walk, founder of the Digital Innovation Group, explains why savvy distributors should keep their minds open when it comes to embracing new distribution platforms. Text: Tom Seymour Convergence is already an outdated word in the homeentertainment business; streaming has overtaken DVD sales as the default platform for the stay-athome film fan, while almost half of Britain’s households now have an Internet-connected TV. For an industry that—for good reason—prizes creative independence and integrity over everything, the idea of mixing media and content producers with a brand’s need for exposure has been treated with a mixture of suspicion and snobbishness.

But as the creative industry continues to piece itself together again, as it works out where the new revenue streams are and abandons those that have almost dried up, the tripartite model of a content producer, technology provider and brand willing to stump up the cash is becoming an increasingly appealing funding and distribution model.

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London-based organisation the Digital Innovation Group (D.I.G.) is a loose collaboration of 12 small companies, each of whom employ between six and 12 people, spanning three separate continents and working on 28 separate platforms. They work together to implement and launch new innovations coming to market, finding branding and content producers and helping them launch new projects.

“We pull brands and producers together in a way that makes sense, while working out what the future is for monetising and distributing content,” Rob Walk, the founder of D.I.G., explains. “I sometimes feel like a marriage guidance counsellor trying to work out how a film studio talks to a brand, while explaining to a brand how rights windows works for a film.

Sometimes there’s a disconnect, but there doesn’t need to be.

It needs people to align on the journey we’re going on together.”

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Digital Innovation Group, founded by Rob Walk (opposite), is working on a variety of initiatives, including a deal between Lionsgate and Dominos to bring films like The Hunger Games (below) and What

to Expect When You're Expecting (bottom) to pizza consumers via a dedicated platform (below left)

The technology surrounding streaming movies is improving so rapidly—and so many people are starting to access online content through their television sets—that home entertainment has exploded into a whole multitude of platforms. But Walk has styled his organisation as pioneers, even in comparison to other streaming companies like Lovefilm, Netflix and Blinkbox.

“When you look at the other services out there,” he says, “I don’t think any of them are actually making any money because of the huge amount of investment they’ve had to make in infrastructure, content costs and marketing. They’re playing

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a long game. Because we’re a group, we are able to coordinate the right companies to realise a project’s needs and requirements quicker and with more agility than traditional full-service creative agencies, and we’re able to create profit a lot more quickly because our infrastructure overheads are so much smaller than the big screening platforms.”

One such project that D.I.G. is overseeing is a deal between Domino’s Pizza and Lionsgate films, that gives customers the opportunity to stream films when they buy a pizza, so connecting content directly with the consumer.

For the project, D.I.G. used a Singularity VoD Store platform, deploying the streaming rental service into Domino’s online ordering service with a white-label microsite to host and play out movies, with more platforms to come.

“We’ve been able to set it up with speed and with small infrastructure overheads in a way that wouldn’t have been logistically possible a few years ago,” Walk explains. “Domino’s has always identified film as a natural fit with their pizza-delivery business but, until now, the logistics and costs of such an initiative had been a challenge. Now, because people can watch films online, it can be done in a way that works in terms of investment.”

But to be able to fully take advantage of online home entertainment, Walk thinks some film studios still need to get to grips with a more transient consumer trend less interested in ideas of possession.

“Most studios are looking to the download-to-own market

as the next area they need to move into because they’ve made so much money from selling DVDs in the past,” says Walk. “I think they’re expecting their DVD revenue to be replaced, and I don’t think it will.

“People won’t buy as much on digital download to own as the studios expect them to—I think they will buy digital rental.

How big will that market be? It remains to be seen. But a lot of people are pushing that market to be big because they’ve got so much money on their bottom line.

I think there’s willing there, but I don’t think there’s any stats to back that up.”

To find out more about the work that Rob and his colleagues are doing, visit www.digitalinnovationgroup.com ●

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15/01/2013 23:24:02

Feature Women in Genre

Feminising Frights Gender imbalance continues to run rife in all sectors of the industry and the horror genre is no exception, as female filmmakers are few and far between. Here, American Mary directors the Soska Twins and Chained director Jennifer Lynch discuss the gendering of genre. Text: Anton Bitel When not one female-directed film was selected for competition at Cannes in 2012, the festival became the focus of much feminist critique and industry soulsearching. To judge by the 2012 Film4 FrightFest line-up, there is currently a similar gender bias in genre cinema. Of the 24 features chosen for the Main Programme, only two were made by women: Jen and Sylvia Soska’s American Mary, released both theatrically and on DVD and Blu-ray in January, and Jennifer Lynch’s Chained, which opens in cinemas on February 1.

“There is such a misconception,” comments Sylvia Soska, “that women don’t enjoy horror. Well, 60 per cent of the audience for horror films are women, and the first director of fiction cinema was Alice Guy-Blaché, and because she was a woman, a lot of her work got attributed to males. It is just very

“There is a misconception that women don’t enjoy horror.”

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strange how many women have been working in this industry and have been working for a long time as trailblazers, but don’t get any recognition.”

The Soskas encountered similar problems when they went to Hollywood with their feature debut Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009), an energetic no-budget shocker in the grindhouse mould which the Canadian twins wrote, directed, produced and starred in. “We’d be going down to LA and having meetings with different industry types,” Sylvia explains, “these very clean-cut people who you’d think would be very normal and professional, but a lot of the time Jennifer and I were being treated as party favours rather than working women in the industry who had product they were trying to put out. It wasn’t the plan that they tell you in school: go out, do this and, if you work really hard and have a good product, this will happen for you. Being identical twins, we always found ourselves a little outcast, and people would have that first knee-jerk reaction of how to judge us based on appearance.”

Fortunately, the Soskas were able to channel their frustration and sense of exclusion into the screenplay for their second feature American Mary, a surgical satire of the American dream (and its casual offcuts) which, as Sylvia rightly insists, offers “this very odd commentary on a woman’s role in a male-dominated workplace, an emphasis on what appearances are, and understanding what people actually are like despite their outward look”. It is also one of the most dazzling, disorienting films to occupy the margins of horror in the last decade.

At about this time, the sisters became actively involved in the Women in Horror Month project.

“Jennifer and I write articles about women in horror all February long; we look for international starlets in different genres, like comic-book writers, prosthetic artists, directors, writers, actresses, producers— just getting the word out there about people who’ve made a big difference to the genre. Because there is such a spotlight on what

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Jennifer and I do, we have this ability to introduce people to other artists. It’s really just artists helping other artists, which is how the whole genre should work.” As her sister Jen adds, “It’s not reverse sexism.

Every male director that we’ve met is not only encouraging but incredibly proud of having females in this industry with them, and they’re excited about us, so it’s important to realise that there are a lot of men who are feminists as well.”

If the Soskas initially found their first film rejected for its title alone by people who absurdly imagined it “promotes violence against women”, Jennifer Lynch’s debut Boxing Helena (1993) suffered a similar fate. “Because I was a famous director’s daughter and because there was a trial from [Kim] Basinger [who had backed out of the title role], it was really misrepresented as this horrific, misogynistic, violent piece,” Lynch says. “So it didn’t have a fair shot when it was seen. It was a dark fairytale about obsessive love, and it’s a lot more than a man removing a woman’s arms and legs and putting her in a box.”

After breaking a 15-year absence from the screen with the amoral thriller Surveillance (2008),

Lynch followed with a feminist spin on the nagin myth, only to see it undermined by her Indian producers and eventually wrested entirely from her hands before she could complete it. “I had nothing to do with it,” says Lynch of the film now known as Hisss (2010).

“I think ultimately the producer should have directed it, or come to terms with the fact that hiring me meant that I was going to make the film that I wanted to make.”

Lynch is, however, very happy with Despite the Gods (2012), Penny Vozniak’s documentary on the film’s unravelling.

Lynch’s latest feature Chained has emerged from more fruitful compromise. “The producers Lee Nelson and David Buelow sent me Damian O’Donnell’s script. It was a great idea: a serial killer I had never seen before, who drove a taxi and kept this boy after killing his mother, with a twist in the end. But [originally] it was a very different killer called ‘The Dicer’, and it wasn’t really about the relationship with the boy, and the way he killed the women I thought was really awful. Not that there’s any good way to kill women, but it just didn’t appeal to me, and I couldn’t figure out why they’d come

With films like American Mary (opposite page) and Chained (above), female directors like the Soska Twins and Jennifer Lynch are making their mark on the horror genre

to me. So I proposed they allow me to do a rewrite where there aren’t detectives pursuing a killer, and he isn’t cutting off parts of their body and keeping them alive. It’s now a psychological drama where, without soapboxing, we examine how the human monster is made and what damage was done to the killer to make him the way he is, and how he tried to be good, and how does this affect a boy who had a good childhood until this happens and he sees all this stuff. So it’s a nod to the cycle of abuse in our society. A human monster is a lot more frightening to me if I realise he was born an innocent child just like myself.”

American Mary is now in UK cinemas, and is released on DVD and Blu-ray from Universal Pictures (UK) on 21 January.

Chained is released in the UK on February 1 by Anchor Bay. For more about women in film, be sure to check out our March/April issue… ●

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06

Insider's Point of View Justin Weyers: Animation Producer

Truth Be Told As the animation producer of A Liar’s Autobiography, Justin Weyers had the responsibility of coordinating the varied animated segments of Graham Chapman’s life story. Here, he tells us why he relished the challenge… Interview: James Mottram A fascinating trawl through the life of Graham Chapman, A Liar’s Autobiography brings to life the late Monty Python star, using a plethora of animators and audio recordings made by Chapman shortly before he died in 1989.

With 14 companies animating 17

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different segments, a featurelength project with so many diverse styles had never been produced before. Speaking in his Hoxton office, the film’s animation producer, Justin Weyers, talks to movieScope about how he helped the film’s trio of directors—Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson

and Ben Timlett—marshal this pioneering piece.

How did A Liar’s Autobiography come about?

One of the directors, Jeff Simpson, he always wanted to do something on Graham Chapman. He had an idea about doing a talking-heads documentary. He went to see [Chapman’s long-time companion] David Sherlock, to see if there was any information about him, and to find something else that hasn’t been released. And David said, ‘Well, there are always the tapes [of the audio recordings].’ And that led him onto an idea.

How did your role work?

I was the buffer between the directors and all the animation companies. We had to create a nice family for everyone to get to know each other. We created some ‘bibles’, like a visual bible, of Graham through the years, so there was some consistency. So when you saw the film, he always had a pipe or his mum always wore the same clothes.

How did you choose your animators?

I approached 90 different companies, initially, and then went back and forth. I did a call-out through a couple of websites—one called Motionographer, another called Stash Media—animation community websites. It was a call of interest, to see who’d be interested.

I literally approached everyone I wanted to work for, from big posthouses in Soho like Framestore all the way down to a graduate I saw last year at Kingston University. I even spoke to Seth MacFarlane!

He was doing Ted [when] I spoke to him. I phoned one office, and I was put through to another, and the next thing I know I was speaking to him—he was on set.

He said, ‘Look, I read it. It sounds fucking fascinating! But I’m dedicated to my film right now.’

Given the Python connection, were you all fans of Terry Gilliam’s animations on the show?

We all got into animation because we saw Gilliam’s early work. It was amazing to meet them all. There

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Justin Weyers (opposite page) coordinated all 17 animated segments of A Liar's

Autobiography, and his Made Visual studio also animated the Biggles segment (below).

Headshot © Gregory Davies

was a real creative ownership here.

This is a small-budget film, and there’s a lot of love in this project, and there was a lot of creative control given to each director of each section. You have three overall directors, but then each section had its own input.

Can you give us an example of how diverse the input was?

Literally, we went from one guy in his room in Oxford, called Steven Lall, who did the Eton section, to Süperfad, in New York, and they had a team of 45-50 people.

Then our segment, ‘Biggles’ took three of us, and then it was the Sigmund Freud and Cameron Diaz sequence, and that was done around the corner in a stop-motion studio, with a load of young graduates. It was completely different companies.

What made you choose a segment to animate?

For a couple of reasons; one, I wanted to know what it was like to be told what to do by the directors.

And also, secondly, the only way you learn is on the job. I had to do a stereoscopic development workflow [for the 3D], so as we were learning ours, I could share that with everybody else.

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What do you prefer, CGI or traditional cell animation?

This is a film where you can see both. I like films that are tactile. This is obviously CGI, but everything has a very stylistic approach to it. My sequence was CGI, but I love comic books so I wanted to keep it very flat. I prefer that kind of handmade animation; I don’t like hyperrealism.

The Pythons recorded some voice-over work for the film.

Did you see that?

Yes. I went in and said hello! Ten years ago, I got to London as an Aussie and I worked in an outdoor store and I sold Michael Palin his hiking boots! Then 10 years later, we walked down the red carpet at the London Film Festival [together]. And he’s still got them! We talked about boots for three quarters of an hour.

Did they have any other input?

No, they didn’t. This is very much a Graham Chapman project. Sadly, it’s got branded as a Monty Python project. That’s PR spin. But it is a Graham Chapman project. All the other Pythons had another life afterwards and he didn’t, and that’s what’s nice; we’ve been able to give him this life. Michael Palin said, ‘It’s great that Graham has been given the chance to shock everyone again.’ And he does shock you!

Did you get any other feedback from them?

Well, Terry [Gilliam] loved it. He loved the film. He went into the film, and didn’t know it was 3D, and he said, ‘I don’t like 3D.’ But he came out and said, ‘I like that kind of 3D.’ And he just went off on one—he thought it was subtle, beautiful, wasn’t in your face, that it was a gentle transition…

How did you set about working on the 3D? In the course of our research, we saw Hugo, Pina, Justin Bieber’s 3D movie! Everything we could.

What we found, [3D works best when] it makes it a little bit more immersive but doesn’t come out at you. It just keeps you interested and keeps you within the animation.

Is it true you’re about to work with Pixar?

I can’t talk about that! I’m off on Sunday to San Francisco. I’m presenting the film at an Adobe creative live event, and while I’m there I’m chatting to some people!

A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman opens in the UK on February 8. To find out more about Justin’s work, visit www.madevisualstudio.com ●

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Theatrical

Cloud Atlas: In Conversation

Directors & Screenplay Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski, from the novel by David Mitchell Stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Ben Wishaw, Doona Bae DoPs Frank Griebe & John Toll Editor Alexander Berner Locations Germany, Spain, England & Scotland Opens February 22

movieScope editor Nikki Baughan and critic James Mottram discuss Cloud Atlas, the adaptation of David Mitchell’s sweeping novel which follows six storylines across the ages.

JAMES MOTTRAM Where to begin on a film like this? It’s incredibly ambitious. I don’t think all of it works, but enough of it does to make it a very credible attempt to adapt an almost impossible book. I have to say I found some of it almost ludicrously laughable and cartoonish; particularly the segment where Broadbent is playing the publisher who ends up in an old people’s home. When Broadbent in his bumbling mode, it’s like watching him doing J R Hartley from that advert years ago.

NIKKI BAUGHAN I think the farce segment is there for a reason, which is a bit of light relief. The rest of it is very dense, with some

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big ideas and themes going on, and I think if there hadn’t been a lighter bit it might have been a too heavy overall.

JAMES I definitely found some sequences more successful; inevitable, really, as it is six stories woven together, albeit with interlinking characters and actors. I also found the vision of the far future, with Halle Berry and Tom Hanks, as quite impenetrable…

NIKKI I loved that one. I thought that really underscored the theme of the film; that love can be revolutionary. I think the themes were so strong throughout—love, friendship and revolution—that they tied the stories together. I’ve heard a lot of people say they have struggled with the different storylines, that they were confusing. I was so absorbed in it, and I think it makes perfect sense, particularly as the different timelines were pieced together beautifully…

JAMES Yes, I think the fact that it hasn’t been nominated for any Oscars, most specifically for Alexander Berner’s editing, is a real shame.

NIKKI Definitely. Each story reaches its dramatic peaks at the same time, so it had a singular pace and ran like one narrative. And the production design is astonishing; each segment is so unique and well defined...

JAMES And if you get bored of one you bounce into another one quite quickly! As a work of filmmaking, it’s technically very impressive; not just from a special effects point of view but a filmmaking craft point of view. It’s an impressive work.

NIKKI I thought it was the very definition of cinema; ambitious in scale, not just visually but thematically, and beautifully made. I utterly adored it. ● ● ● ● ● Nikki Baughan ● ● ● ● ● James Mottram

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15/01/2013 19:23:34

Flight

Django Unchained

Flight is a performance movie, constructed around its cast rather than unfolding organically. When performances are as good as those by Denzel Washington and Kerry Reilly, to make this observation might seem rather trite.

But while Flight may be a solid piece of cinema, it’s also one whose ‘Pick Me, Academy’ banner is waving furiously throughout.

Washington is by turns infuriatingly arrogant and heartbreakingly vulnerable as alcoholic pilot Whip Whitaker who, one fateful day, pilots a stricken jet to the ground with minimal loss of life. Initially lauded as a hero, the subsequent investigation soon begins to peel away the layers of his lies. A chance meeting with fellow addict Nicole (Reilly) brings the suggestion of salvation, but Whip’s willingness to face his true self threatens to bring them both down.

Even while shouldering such a weighty role, Washington soars. And yet, designed as a star vehicle to deliver Washington to Academy attention, as a film Flight is surprisingly formulaic. After a ballsy openingWhip indulging in a debauched night before piloting his plane through a spectacular crash sequence—the story settles into a by-thenumbers tale of an alcoholic on the rocky road to redemption. Sure, it hits every emotional point on the scale, but it feels more like a carefully plotted journey through Washington’s cinematic range, rather than a natural story of a man teetering on the brink. ● ● ● ● ● Nikki Baughan

Quentin Tarantino has returned with another film that gleefully revels in taboo.

His Spaghetti Western revenge drama Django Unchained is a cartoonish, exaggerated and reflexive provocation of America’s history of slavery. As a pure cinematic experience, it’s as you’d expect; insouciant and cavalier, totally unconcerned with questions of taste and utterly gleeful in its violence.

Hollywood has never looked slavery square in the eye, but Tarantino grabs us by the scruff and forces us to stare at its sheer brutality. For that, he should be applauded, but—as always with this filmmaker—there’s a nagging sense of the restless, leering nihilist at work.

Django is set two years before the American civil war, deep in the redneck South. Christoph Waltz plays King Schultz, an enlightened bounty hunter who frees the chain-ganged slave Django (Foxx), before making him a partner in his pursuit of bad white guys.

The first and by far the stronger half of the film is a sort of road movie, as Schultz and Django trek through the wilderness, bringing deadly justice to outlaws. But we soon learn Django has a history, and the film morphs into a sprawling, single-location chamber piece as our heroes attempt to buy Django’s wife Hildy (Washington) from the notorious and

Director Robert Zemeckis Screenplay John Gatis Stars Denzel Washington, Kerry Reilly, Nadine Velazquez Opens February 1

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Director & Screenplay Quentin Tarantino Stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington DoP Robert Richardson Editor Fred Raskin Locations Louisiana, California & Wyoming, USA Opens January 18 unspeakably cruel plantation owner Calvin Candie (DiCaprio), and his chillingly devout house slave Stephen (Jackson).

Every whipping, beating and sexual cruelty here is unsparing in its intimacy; two slave men must fight to the death in a drawing room, for example, surrounded

by Candie and his lackeys smoking and boozing and waving money. When we first meet Hildy, she is beaten, naked and locked in the ‘hotbox’—a metal coffin in the ground—as punishment for repeatedly running away.

But, given the film’s length, it’s astonishing how thin and faceless Tarantino’s cast of characters are; Django is an angel of vengeance, as if his lethal wrath could somehow answer for his people. Hildy is like a vision of singular feminine purity, as if that excuses the humiliations that rain down on her.

Stephen is nothing more than a graceless comic foil, an invitation for us to laugh at a man—a possession—broken down to absolute servitude.

Ultimately, then, for all its panache, for all its cool and swagger, Django Unchained is essentially a base affirmation of eye for an eye retribution. By the end, the film’s ever heightening sense of style has fatally overwhelmed any sense of meaning or purpose that may have existed. ● ● ● ● ● Tom Seymour

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Theatrical

Zero Dark Thirty

Director Kathryn Bigelow Screenplay Mark Boal Stars Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Chris Pratt DoP Grieg Fraser Editor William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor Locations Jordan & India Opens January 25

Zero Dark Thirty follows the CIA’s efforts to hunt and kill Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, following the 2001 terror attack which brough down New York City's World Trade Centre. More specifically, it is the story of one young agent’s struggle to make this happen, against almost insurmountable odds.

Maya (Chastain) has been with the agency since she left school. Despite her youth and slight appearance she is a formidable agent and, against the advice of her superiors—and, some would say, a lack of solid evidence—she is convinced that Bin Laden can be found and killed.

Over the course of a decade or so, she interrogates, hunts and harangues her way towards the elusive terrorist figurehead, placing the credibility of her department and her government—as well as her own life—at risk.

Zero Dark Thirty is unprecedented, in that it is the fictionalisation of a real covert military operation that took place less than two years before the film’s release date. Furthermore, this is not just a screenwriter’s re-imagining of what might have happened; it is based on the classified military records of the operation, released to the filmmakers by the United States government. So it is authentic—or, at least, this is what we are to believe—but the question of whether this is a public

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relations exercise for the present US administration still hovers awkwardly.

Of course, Oscar-winning director Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) knows what she’s doing, as do the cast. Bigelow’s storytelling and pacing is superb throughout, and the film’s terse climax, with the team choppering into a grimlooking compound in Pakistan in the dead of night, is gripping and never overplayed.

Chastain is absolutely magnetic as Maya, mixing grim determination with flashes of warmth. We never see her outside her work—we don’t need to—but, nevertheless, Chastain is full-blooded and compellingly human in what might have been a rather dour role.

In the abstract, the film sits awkwardly between the gravity of the subject matter and the artifice of big-budget entertainment. In practice, however, it is perfectly pitched. While some scenes wouldn’t be out of place in a Hollywood summer blockbuster—the plucky, maverick agent standing up for what she believes, or the macho Navy SEAL team tooling up and shipping out—Bigelow delivers them with even-handed and convincing skill.

With its unflinching, morally ambiguous portrayals of torture, Zero Dark Thirty is not always easy to watch, but it is a riveting and important film. ● ● ● ● ● Hugo Wilkinson

A Liar's Autobiography

Directors Bill Jones, Jeff Simpson & Ben Timlett Writers Graham Chapman & David Sherlock (A Liar’s Autobiography: Volume VI) Voices Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin Opens February 8 Subtitled ‘The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman’ this barmy biopic is narrated by Chapman himself, who recorded excerpts from his not-entirely-true memoirs before his death from cancer in 1989. It’s a breathless romp through his life, as imagined by several animation studios from across the globe, who each take a segment.

The result is a melange of different styles, from stop motion to CGI, line drawing to claymation, which tell Chapman’s story through childhood and a difficult adolescence as a young gay man, to finding fame as one sixth of Monty Python. As befits Chapman’s character, the story also varies in tone; some sequences are laugh out loud funny— including a memorable tea party with the Royal Family—while some are altogether darker, hinting at the demons (most notably alcohol) that plagued Chapman as an adult.

And while the film could be accused of glossing over the more difficult areas of Chapman’s life, such as his often tumultuous relationship with fellow Pythons, it is a fittingly madcap tribute to a comedic talent beloved by many, and a man so clearly highly regarded by those whose lives he touched. ● ● ● ● ● Nikki Baughan

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15/01/2013 19:23:52

Antiviral

Song for Marion

The bug that David Cronenberg contracted all those years ago has clearly passed on to his son. A generation after Cronenberg’s body horror masterpieces shook up a genre comes this debut from only son Brandon, a sterile and bleak thriller about the fetish of celebrity, full of sudden, churning violence and quiet moments of beauty.

Set in a near future, Antiviral’s antihero is Syd March (Jones), a hostile youth in a hostile city who sells biological material taken from those we worship; celebrity viruses, allowing fans to feel intimate with their idols by sharing in their illness.

There’s a certain causticity at play here that feels quintessentially Cronenbergian.

Brandon has cleaved so closely to his father’s themes, feel and perspective that it feels beyond purposeful. His film worships at the altar of the old man, but it’s also an address; an attack on our inability to look behind the mask of fame and stature.

Antiviral has maneuvered itself into something of a difficult position; for those unaccustomed to his father’s work, this likely won’t appeal, while fans will only see a replicant. But beyond that, a very subtle and very slick disclaimer is at work—an acceptance of legacy, and a combative challenge to complacency. ● ● ● ● ● Tom Seymour

In the six years since his astonishing debut London to Brighton, writer/director Paul Andrew Williams has made his name as one of the UK’s most exciting young directors.

Certainly, follow up films The Cottage, The Children (which Williams wrote) and Cherry Tree Lane are the calling cards of a bold new voice in genre filmmaking. Which is why his latest, Song for Marion, comes as something of a surprise. For while it may deal with the similar themes of mortality, loss and survival explored in Anderson’s previous works, it does so in a very different way indeed.

Arthur (Stamp) and Marion (Redgrave) have been married for years and, although complete opposites—she is optimistic and social, he is sullen and withdrawn-are obviously soulmates. Arthur’s life is utterly destroyed when Marion succumbs to cancer, his grief driving a bigger wedge between himself and grown up son James (Eccleston). Arthur’s only real connection is with Elizabeth (Arterton), the leader of the pensioner’s choir which had been so important to Marion during her final months.

Elizabeth is convinced that Arthur will find some peace if he joins the choir; Arthur, however, is determined to deal with his pain alone.

While terminal illness is a mainstay of melodrama, and can be unbearably mawkish, even contrived, in the wrong hands, Song for Marion is a balanced, deeply moving look at the impact of loss. It doesn’t linger on Marion’s suffering—indeed, she demonstrates an

Director & Screenplay Brandon Cronenberg Stars Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon, Malcolm McDowell Opens February 1 DVD February 8

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Director & Screenplay Paul Andrew Williams Stars Terence Stamp, Gemma Arterton, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Eccleston DoP Carlos Catalán Editor Daniel Farrell Locations Newcastle Upon Tyne & County Durham, UK Opens February 22 elegant acceptance of her fate—but rather concentrates on the impact of such seismic trauma on those left behind. In that regard it becomes an achingly personal study of sorrow, with much that will be familiar to anyone who has lost a loved one. As William’s measured screenplay observes, the raw emotions of grief are not often played out with wailing to the heavens, but by small, instinctive gestures. Arthur’s reluctance to sleep alone in his marital bed is one such deeply poignant moment; though low-key in tone, it resonates with a genuine sense of heartache.

Contrasted with Arthur’s quiet sorrow is the colourful character of Elizabeth, played with vim and vigour by a hugely endearing Arterton.

While the restorative power of music may be a well-worn cinematic trope, Elizabeth’s choir is so charming and upbeat that it’s not difficult to get swept up in their good humour They provide a counterpoint to Arthur’s grief—as well as some essential comic relief— and underscore the difficulty he is having connecting with life’s pleasures.

Ultimately, while Arthur’s road to some form of salvation may be a conventional one, Stamp is so wonderful in the role, and his journey so beautifully written, that it’s easy to cheer him on every step of the way. And when Arthur makes his climactic gesture, the crowning moment in Stamp’s exceptional performance, there is unlikely to be a dry eye in the house. ● ● ● ● ● Nikki Baughan

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Theatrical

Lincoln

Director Steven Spielberg Screenplay Tony Kushner Stars Daniel Day-Lewis, David Strathairn, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt DoP Janusz Kaminski Editor Michael Kahn Locations Virginia, USA Opens January 25 From the opening scene onwards, in which two black civil war soldiers tell Abraham Lincoln of their hopes that their greatgrandchildren might get to vote, you could be excused for expecting this to be another baggy epic freighted with all the bombast of Hollywood in its worst excess.

But Lincoln is a different sort of beast; written by Tony Kushner, directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals, this portrait of America’s sixteenth president is at first clustered and close before unspooling into magnificent spectacle.

Set over a period of four months in early 1865, the film depicts Lincoln’s seemingly impossible efforts to wrestle the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution-which would abolish slavery and involuntary servitude-through a deeply divided House of Representatives, while also trying to negotiate a peace settlement with the Confederate South to end the civil war.

The film has had a long gestation. Liam Neeson was first in line for the part, before Day-Lewis informed Spielberg he would need a year to prepare. Thank God it was deemed worth the wait: with a shuffling, stooped gait, a creased smile and cracked voice, Day-Lewis’ Lincoln shines his own boots and constantly contorts his massive frame to tend to the hearth. His White House is a shabby, gloomily lit labyrinth of

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books and peopled hallways through which he roams, a composed and commanding presence ill at ease with his stature.

The film seems less sure-footed, however, in portraying Lincoln the flawed family man. Gordon-Levitt seems uncertain how to play Lincoln’s middle son, an underwritten character, while Field overreaches in her portrayal of Lincoln’s depressed wife Mary, who is only afforded two scenes of merit in the film. The 14-year-old Gulliver McGrath, who plays Lincoln’s favourite son Tad, is given the best written moments of the President’s personal life, but his acting often betrays him—the only moments when the film breaks its spell.

But no matter. This a vital, resonant study of principle set against compromise; not just in the history it tells, but in the way it is told. As Lincoln had to temper his instincts against the cold obstacles of reality, so Spielberg, the instinctive storyteller of legend and fable, is constantly anchored to the real by Day-Lewis’ riveting portrayal and Kushner’s rigorous script.

Lincoln is, then, is a deeply felt testament to a leader of men that might lend light on America’s current president; at his best at the height of debate, a visionary of words and deeds and still in search of his own identity. ● ● ● ● ● Tom Seymour

Hyde Park on Hudson

Director Roger Michell Screenplay Richard Nelson Stars Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams Opens February 1 For such a salacious subject—the extra marital affairs of the 32nd US President Franklin D Roosevelt—Hyde Park on Hudson is a surprisingly mundane affair.

In attempting to strike a tone of rosy nostalgia, writer Richard Nelson and director Roger Michell have have made their film overwhelmingly, and inappropriately, twee.

Which is a shame, considering that Murray is endearing as Roosevelt, and Williams and Colman bring their usual luminescence to the roles of Roosevelt’s wife Eleanor and Queen Elizabeth II respectively. Linney doesn’t fare as well, however; her character of Roosevelt’s lover Daisy reduced to simpering mistress.

Yet no cast could lift this turgid material.

Although the story concerns one of America’s greatest leaders, it devotes more emotional weight to the worry that the King of England (Samuel West) will refuse a hotdog than to the inner workings of such a fascinating figure.

Even though this was likely never intended to be anything more than a whimsical piece of period drama, Hyde Park on Hudson is a misfire. It’s based on the recently discovered letters of Roosevelt’s lover/cousin Margaret Suckley (on which the character of Daisy is based), and to treat these real events with such treacly glibness is at worst tasteless and at best misjudged. ● ● ● ● ● Nikki Baughan

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15/01/2013 19:24:09

Before Dawn

Lore

Nothing quite anchors the excesses of horror like credible human drama, which is where Before Dawn, put together by emeriti of telesoap Emmerdale, stands out from the otherwise overcrowded zombie market. In its first act, the only ‘undead’ we see are husband and wife Alex (director Blunt) and Meg (cowriter Mitchell), on a weekender in an remote Yorkshire cottage as Alex attempts, hopelessly, to breathe life back into their relationship. If these sparring partners, trapped in a habitual shuffle of recrimination, longing and addictive displacement (his alcohol, her exercise) are already metaphorical zombies then, conversely, the real zombies serve equally as metaphors for a love in entropic stasis, reduced to atavistic urges that can never be sated.

The outbreak here may be described as a ‘global catastrophe’, but Brunt’s decision (no doubt informed in part by budgetary considerations) to focus on these two characters’ own claustrophobic world has the effect of wrapping hoary horror clichés in a refreshingly plausible psychology. The camerawork from Alex Nevill and Marc (Colin) Price sets the couple’s intimate squabbling amidst wide shots of stunning rural surroundings, offering a visual analogue for the film’s thematic preoccupation with alienation and isolation. “I don’t want to be on an island,” Meg complains—but in Before Dawn’s bleak vision, we are always together alone. ● ● ● ● ● Anton Bitel

Director Cate Shortland follows her acclaimed feature debut Somersault with this gripping, tense tale of five children who trek across Germany at the end of World War II after their parents are taken into allied custody. Leading her younger siblings is Lore (Rosendahl), a blondehaired, blue-eyed product of Nazi youth whose encounter with a young Jewish survivor questions the beliefs she’s had drummed into her since childhood.

Struggling to deal with Hitler’s death, and with her world changing before her eyes, Lore leads her younger siblings across a ravaged post-war Germany for a gruelling 900km journey to their grandmother’s house. Lore’s struggles are intensified when she’s forced to accept help from Thomas (Malina), a Jewish boy she sees as beneath her, but to whom she has an intriguing attraction.

The film takes its unique plot from the second story in Rachel Seiffert’s Booker-shortlisted novel The Dark Room, and Shortland should be commended for handling the difficult story with appropriate delicacy. Lore is a truly global production, with an Australian director, British writer and German story and cast, but it’s the distinctive point of view and stand-out performances from the young actors that truly separates this from other Nazi movies.

Director Dominic Brunt Screenplay Mark Illis & Joanne Mitchell Stars Dominic Brunt, Joanne Mitchell Opens February 22

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Director Cate Shortland Screenplay Cate Shortland & Robin Mukherjee, from the novel by Rachel Seiffert Stars Saskia Rosendahl, Nele Trebs, Kai-Peter Malina DoP Adam Arkapaw Editor Veronika Jenet Locations Germany Opens February 22 While those involved in the atrocities of the camps are never made to seem innocent, it’s the effect and aftermath of Nazism on the youths that drives this admittedly tough and occasionally grim film.

And leading with an astonishing central performance is newcomer Rosendahl, whose beauty, innocence and confusion radiates off the screen with a powerful resonance that requires very little dialogue.

She drives the film, pushing audiences deeper into what it meant to be a child in Nazi Germany, raised to despise a race. Much of the atmosphere is created

by Adam Arkapaw’s (Snowtown, Animal Kingdom) sumptuous cinematography, which not only zeroes in on the actor’s faces during key moments but presents the battered country as an ethereal and beautiful landscape.

Lore is certainly not an easy watch; it’s slow and painful in parts and the tension and atmosphere never let up for a moment to give the audience time to digest what’s happening. This approach may be suitable given the subject matter but, by the time the credits roll its difficult not to feel slightly ravaged. Such is the power of this film, which slowly reveals its layers without removing intrigue, that should earn Shortland even more fans and kickstart Rosendahl’s career. ● ● ● ● ● Limara Salt

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Theatrical

Side by Side

Director & Writer Christopher Kenneally Features Keanu Reeves, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Danny Boyle, Anthony Dod Mantle, Anne V Coates DoP Chris Cassidy Editors Malcolm Hearn & Mike Long Opens February 15 Over recent years, evolving digital technologies have changed the face of filmmaking. From big budget studio tentpoles that utilise the latest CGI techniques to grassroots filmmakers picking up an affordable DSLR camera, digital has both expanded and democratised creative opportunity. And, with all parts of the workflow— from shooting to effects, editing and colour timing to delivery and exhibition—going digital, it is also having a monumental impact on the business model of the industry.

Despite all the apparent advantages, there are still plenty who are determinedly clinging on to 35mm, and it’s this fascinating divide that is explored in Side

by Side. Keanu Reeves hosts a series of illuminating interviews with myriad directors, cinematographers, colourists, etc, all of whom speak eloquently and fervently about the medium, wherever their loyalties may lie.

What emerges is an overview of the ongoing battle between the two formats, an explanation of how much the industry is changing from those who understand what it really means. There is an impressive roll call of on-screen talent; an astonishing 70 participants, between them responsible for most cinematic classics of the last few decades. And while so many opinions could have created a melee, the doc has been broken down into manageable sections, such as effects and archiving—the one area in which digital is falling shockingly short.

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Importantly, the film doesn’t assume to present a definitive answer to this debate; an impossibility given the fact that technology continues to progress apace. But, while the filmmakers acknowledge that they have simply captured a moment in this evolution, it is an utterly compelling snapshot.

While it seems that the writing is on the wall for celluloid—cameras no longer being made, film stock and developing labs in decline and increasing numbers of theatres going digital—there are still plenty of influential supporters of 35mm, who are determined that it can continue to play a part in modern filmmaking. Indeed, some of these may come as a revelation; Batman director Christopher Nolan’s determination to eschew digital for the ‘purity’ of film may be a surprise, given that he is at the forefront of modern studio filmmaking.

Similarly, it’s unexpected to see so many of the so-called ‘old guard’ filmmakers singing the praises of digital.

That everyone involved has a clear love of cinema means that audiences are also granted unrestricted access to the skills, experiences and memories of some of cinema’s greatest talents—including many whose contributions to film often go unsung. This makes Side by Side hugely entertaining and accessible to even the most casual moviegoer, and absolutely essential viewing for anyone with any interest in films and filmmaking. ● ● ● ● ● Nikki Baughan

Bullhead

Director & Screenplay Michael R. Roskam Stars Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy Opens February 1 An intense affair at times, largely due to Schoenaerts’ compelling performance, Bullhead is moving yet a little frustrating due to a lack of cohesion. Still, this is a grand effort for a first-time feature, its main detractor ambition rather than ability.

At the centre is Jacky (Schoenaerts), an intimidating figure. Pumped-up and addicted to steroids, this cattle farmer and criminal’s internal anguish is palpable. It’s clear that his past holds a dark secret; this is not revealed until halfway and-the tension up until this point meted out with care-it makes for a shocking scene.

Ultimately, Bullhead is a story about perceptions of masculinity and societal placement, told via crime-thriller territory which takes us through the Belgian illegal growth hormone market. The attempt to juxtapose this with the character study of Jacky is not quite balanced, the former plot line somewhat hazy in comparison.

When the link is clear, however, the effect is powerful, and one ponders if Jacky is able to break out of his psychological prison given an unexpected connection to his past. Schoenaerts gives such an excellent performance of a man who is doomed to despair, however, and so a conclusion which feels inevitable is made that bit more tense.

If not for his portrayal, Bullhead would be a weaker experience. ● ● ● ● ● Naila Scargill

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