Ticking Clock

Those avid followers of the episodic serial 'The Interminable Moon' will know that things have hotted up as tension builds with a countdown. The plot thus far has the production funding application to NZFC ruled out on a technicality. In an act of heroic stupidity, our protagonist producer (moi) manages to negotiate an extension until 5.00pm Monday 3rd August, by which time a signed-up distribution deal needs to be produced.

Emails and papers are flying in all directions. The deadline looms. Our heroes dig deep as they face the challenge. In a meeting in a secret cafe yesterday, deals are talked, figures debated, but no money changes hands. The gallant distributor offers us terms. But he is off to southern pastures over the weekend. Can he get his ducks lined up, and the deal documentation produced in time for the deadline? Will the application make it to the Board? Will the Board be convinced enough to make an offer? Will this blog and its author self-destruct in ten seconds? Stay tuned, folks, for the thrilling outcome.

The clock is ticking...

Once More Unto The Breach

Well a week may be a long time in politics, but it's an aeon in filmmaking. Without going into the details of how it happened, a conference call with the New Zealand Film Commission yesterday has resulted in us being given a partial reprieve. We now have until 5.00pm Monday to come up with a distribution deal. If we can produce that, then our application will be allowed to go forward to the Board.

Negotiations are well advanced on that front, and we're hopeful of being able to make the deadline - but it'll be something of a scramble. Even then, of course, there's no guarantees that we'll receive funding. But at least we'll have a chance to present our case.

If you want certainty, become a tax collector or an undertaker - but don't even think about producing a movie. We have so many balls in the air at the moment that we're in danger of being knocked out by a stray one!

As Shakespeare put it in the mouth of Henry V:

"Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height."

Making It Happen

Interesting article about Tom Scott (NZ satirist and cartoonist) in the Sunday papers, in which he talks about his 25 year journey to getting his script made into the feature film Separation City. The film will finally open on August 6th. That's endurance.

Scott talks about some of the difficulties he's faced getting his creative work into production in the article.

'There was the battle to get Separation City made: "they blocked it and blocked it and blocked it and blocked it." And there was the play he wrote earlier this decade about his childhood, The Daylight Atheist, which was rudely rejected by Circa Theatre. Scott went ahead and organised a production himself and it opened to ecstatic reviews in Wellington, and again in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.'

So there we have it - Scott's long shadow (see previous post). And the gutsy determination to push back against all the obstacles which people put in the way. Tom is a funny guy with an original voice, and I look forward to seeing the movie. Meanwhile, we've got one of our own which needs making...

The Long Shadow

We have a world obsessed with fame and success. The most telling thing about this global disease is that when asked what they want to be famous for, most people haven't got a clue - they just want to be famous. I translate this as a need to be noticed - to have one's life recognised as being significant and of value. It's a particular malady of the highly individualised and materialistic West.

There may have been a time when it was sufficient to have a place within one's own family or small community. Without getting soppy and idealistic about it, earlier tribal systems at least provided a place of belonging and valuing. It seems to me that the collapse of this and the rise of the media means that we are all seeking recognition in a realm where by definition only a very few will achieve it.

Those who do find a place in the public eye, particularly in the artistic realm, often cast a long shadow. By this I mean that their 15 minutes of Warholism is built on years and years of struggle, pain, endurance and rejection. No one is interested in this period because it doesn't make good copy. It's not the path to instant success that so many are seeking. It's the dark elephant in the room of achievement.

Another feature film I'm co-writing on explores the issues of fame, and their destructive effect on people who are 'lucky' enough to find it. When I hear people interviewed on the back of their artistic success, the thing I listen for these days is evidence of that long shadow.

Man on the Moon

"Well we all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun..." (John Lennon)

40 years since the shining moon was troubled by human footprints, demystifying it somewhat but not completely. I've always been fascinated by the pull of the moon - the way it affects tides of the sea as well as tides of the psyche. For those who only experience it as a hunk of orbiting rock, you have my sincere sympathy.

Ironic that we should be celebrating the anniversary of the moon landing at the same time that the NZ Film Commission has demonstrated its determined resistance to supporting The Insatiable Moon. Aspiration meets obfuscation.

But the moon shines on...

Pressing On

"Well I'm pressing on," sang Bob Dylan in his gospel phase. I often find that phrase running through my head as we readjust to the news that the NZFC won't allow our funding application to go to the board.

It's not like I haven't been here before. In 2003 I was producing the play Jerusalem, Jerusalem that had a wildly successful tour of NZ theatres. We were accompanied by superb reviews and full houses. I applied to Creative NZ for a grant to help us take the play to the Edinburgh festival, and was astonished to be turned down. But we decided to press on, and within the space of a week an art auction took us by surprise and made up the funding shortfall. We took the play to Edinburgh (where it was shortlisted for a Fringe First), Ireland and England.

I learned two things from that experience. The first was to be very cynical about the staff and agendas of funding bureaucracies. But the second and more important lesson was that it never pays to depend on them. The success of an artistic project lies in its inherent merits and ability to find an audience, rather than in the approval of people who are paid large salaries and generally have never taken a significant risk in their lives.

So it's onwards and upwards. We're rejigging the finance plan, adjusting the budget, scheduling our preproduction tasks and moving forward. Watch this space.

NZF*C*-UP

You might think that a film project which was an adaptation of a NZ novel, entirely set in NZ, starring one of NZ's leading film actors, supported by an international cast which includes Timothy Spall, James Nesbitt and John Rhys Davies - not to mention award winning director Gillies Mackinnon - might be of interest to NZ's primary film funding body. A film which has been 7 years in development, which has attracted a conditional offer of $1m from Screen West Midlands in the UK and another $1m in private equity - that sounds like it might be worth a second look.

But no. Not according to the NZ Film Commission, who yesterday informed us that they would not allow our funding application to go to the board for consideration. It's not that we have been tried and found wanting - we're not even to be given the chance to present our case. Why, you might ask? The explanation provided is that they have changed the rules - something notified to us 2 days before the application cutoff date, and when a month's work in preparing the application had been completed.

The requirements of a funding application include having a NZ distribution deal in place and a sales agent attached. We have been in negotiations for both, and assured NZFC that we would provide the documentation within the framework of 10 days before the board meeting - which the application guidelines say is the deadline for extra documents. But now the rules have changed, and there is no room for flexibility. Our application will not be heard. This is what we have come to expect from a box-ticking bureacracy which has forgotten what its statutory mandate is, let alone its reason for existence.

So, we who believe in this story and this film will press on. We will make it without assistance from NZFC, even though it is a NZ film. As they say in this industry, success is the best revenge. We will make a film which will shame the NZFC. And it will shoot in November, as we have always said.

Race against the Sun

Around this time last year we were very close to having a UK distributor signed up. They were enthusiastic about the script and the whole project. But because we had a few other irons in the fire, we decided to delay a little - thinking maybe we could play a few off against each other. And then... the UK summer intervened. If not the whole nation, then at least the whole film industry seems to close down from mid-July through to the end of August.

By the time those lazy hazy days had finished, the head of acquisitions in our friendly distribution company had been promoted within the firm. We needed to deal with her newly-appointed replacement. In the time-honoured tradition of the industry, no one ever takes on the projects that have been inherited. If they succeed, the predecessor gets the glory. If they fail, the incumbent gets the blame. And so our new man cried off the deal.

Now, as the sun beats down upon England's green and pleasant land, we are in another desperate race against the sun. Industry players are beginning to vacate their offices, or else showing signs of that soporific state common to holiday mode. We're up against the summer shut-down. Everyone heading off to pasture - everyone, that is, except our UK producers who are busy as beavers getting the final documentation we need. Caveat helios - beware the sun!

Oh When the Saints...

There's been a few things happening in recent days which need solutions, as is the case with pretty much every day in the process of filmmaking. I was feeling a bit gloomy while brooding over a late night whisky with my wife. She put it all in context by recalling the origins of the story of Arthur, and summoning up the names of the saints - those who might be lending their support from the far side of life.

Arthur himself, of course - the gentle giant of a man who wanted to tell the world of his divine status. Tania, the bright-eyed innocent who managed to combine her child-like wonder with a life of prostitution and drug addiction; before jumping to her death from Grafton bridge. Roger, the Elvis-mimic who loved nothing more than crooning to a crowd. Allan, wild-eyed with madness, a former NZ cricket player. Norvel, who lived in a van parked outside the boarding house, and who my son shared his Christmas pay with. Taffy, whose much despised wife turned up at the funeral to try to claim his body .

All of them dead now, but participants in the story which we want to bring to screen. I invoke the names of these saints, and hope they might put their shoulder to the wheel in our days of difficulty.

Asking for Millions

I was recently flicking through a mag while sipping a flat white and trying not to look like a nigel nobody in a trendy cafe, and came across an interview with Matthew Metcalfe - talking about the role of film producer. The article was entitled somewhat whimsically 'How to Ask for Millions and Get It'. Yeah right, as we say in this part of the world. Makes the job sound like something between a con man and a gigolo. On second thoughts...

He made the point that a producer must have a balance between creative and business abilities. Fair call. As a writer, my heart always lies with the creative side of a project. But in my temporary role as a producer, I've been bringing to bear a few things I've picked up through such escapades as founding a major housing trust, running several businesses and being on countless boards. At the same time it's been a learning curve in terms of the specifics of feature film production.

As Metcalfe said, no one owes a filmmaker anything, no matter how good we might feel our material is. When you're asking for other people's dosh, you need to build a convincing case for it. It's where inspiration meets realism. When it works, it's brilliant. But that's not as common as any of us would like.

A Few Bits of Paper

Look out NZFC - coming ready or not... Arthur in yer inbox!

High Road or Low Road?

NZFC application, all 8 copies of it, sitting here waiting to go. Just need to finalise a few details in the cover letter, and tomorrow it's off to the courier with it. I still have mixed feelings about it all. On the one hand if we get our funding, everything becomes easier in terms of more money to spend, higher production values etc. On the other, there's a whole lot more levels of complication in the process. More people peering over our shoulders.

Low budget means back to the struggle. But with it the kind of grass roots artistic activity which generates that little extra bit of mojo.

Whichever way it goes, as from next week my attention turns to pre pre production tasks. The shoot will happen in November anyway, which gives us - let me see - four months till principal photography and counting. There's the odd thing needs doing before then...

Soft Shoe Shuffle

I had a great experience yesterday, pitching the project to a group of people who can potentially bring money to it. These are people in the industry, who have learned to be cautious about enthusiastic pitches. We began with the soft shoe shuffle which is a normal part of sussing each other out.

But then they asked to see the promo DVD, which had been done when we took the project to Cannes last year. It features interviews with Gillies Mackinnon, Rawiri Paratene, and moi. But more importantly, it has stills and shots of Rawiri in role as Arthur, against the backdrop of Ponsonby scenery.

It's just a little 5 minute taster, but after it everything had changed. The eyes of the people across the table moistened. They instantly got it, and were totally enthusiastic about what they had just seen. While it still needs to be signed off, I'm pretty sure we nailed the deal. It's greatly encouraging to have a group of NZ industry people showing the sort of excitement that we've previously had only offshore.

London Pix with Rawiri

Pix by Dave Cawley, Blue Hippo Media

Run, Rabbit Run

Well the rabbit is well and truly out of the hat, and skipping nonchalantly toward the day of reckoning. Two major applications were dispatched yesterday, and have found their furry way to the NZ Film Commission. The third, the central application for production funding, is being assembled on the floor of the studio. In the last two days I've spent $300 on photocopying, despite the fact that the first two applications were in electronic form.

What can you say? You take your best shot, and hope to convince a group of people that there's magic in this project - a mojo that all of us involved with it over the last 7 years know about. But when it comes down to it, the fate will be decided by a group of people making a decision over a few hours, with all sorts of factors to use as guidelines. It's the way it has to be, when you're spending other people's money, and I don't begrudge this process of testing.

Nervous, a little apprehensive - yes. But also confident that we've put everything into making a convincing case, and now it must stand or fall on its merits. In about a week's time, and long before the mid-August decision is made, we begin to turn our sights to pre-production.

Go, bunny, go!