Taking the temperature: Section 5 – Future of the Australian screen industry

You have to be optimistic. I think as long as we are open to robust debate and see that developing this industry is something “we can all” be a part of I think exciting times lay ahead across multiple content delivery platforms. How has apathy ever solved a single thing, other than helping to not listen to a single thing Tony Abbott says?

Tony..great ideas and very encouraging..applause all round for your vision and effort.
Nobody went and saw A Heartbeat Away because it was utterly awful, should never have been funded and is a glowing example of the kinds of films we shouldn’t be making in this country. The trailer alone made most people want to vomit. Lesson learned (we hope). If what you’re saying about the producer/distributor fund is true and it can get through in the budget..then it looks like an optimistic future. The talent is here, we just need the vision.

@Tony, the NEXT Julia Leigh?
Bad enough that they concentrated on the first one.
Time to realise the whole idea of funding films hasn’t worked and to try something else.

I know the feeling, I understand the frustration, believe me, I have been here in the thick of it for 40 years. I have seen the same mistakes repeated time and again, I have heard all the bullshit and the silver tongued prattle that coaxes money out of people, but none of this makes films. You are too greedy people, starve a little, eat potatoes until you can afford to roast beef, drink water until the champagne arrives upon its own salver of success.

Stop wringing your hands and lusting after power, stop looking at the USA for inspiration and credit, where they make one good film in ten, but there is the truth of it, they make ten to get one good one. We should be making films, forget about locking people out of the elite so as to preserve the precious cream for the chosen few, just make films, make the buggers and screen them, get them to dvd sell them any way they will be sold and press on.

The French (very fine film makers for many many years) make films about people, about life, about drama, comedy, farce etc etc. They do not look for French identity, French themes, Frenchitude or Frenchness, they just , dare I say it, Make Films.

We must eventually grow up. Stop thinking of film as something very very precious and elite. Mack Sennet, Pathé Frères , Bolting Bros etc This is our “Herkunft ” we are behaving too preciously we are too elitist. Open the discussion bring in the talent and start making films. If we hadn’t doffed our hats and bent over in obedience and greed to the cinema chains, we might just have an industry we could call Australian, but now we must ask permission to screen our work. Bullshit, screen it somewhere else, screen it anywhere, but for goodness sake start making films and start screening them. I swear that you will see the industry grow like a winter-garden.

How did we win the America’s cup? we built a boat and sailed for it.

How do we get a film industry world wide? ……Start making films.

All this ‘optimism’ reminds me of the Monty Python knight who cheerfully maintains his willingness to fight as his limbs are hacked off.

I can’t claim the 40 years’ call of duty of Isaac, above, but I’ve done the best of 30. I simply don’t see the optimistic outcome evinced by the panel. And the survey supports my view: over 30% pessimistic, 41.5% ‘it’s plateauing’ and a mere quarter thinking things are looking up. Add that to ‘general Impression’ that 43% of respondents think the industry is struggling and it is plain that the optimists make up the minority. And I have an hypothesis that those optimists are mostly made up of younger people with projects they want to get made and people from government funding bodies who like their jobs. Here’s a suggestion: show us the optimism quotient by craft breakdown. I’m willing to wager that you’re not seeing a lot of optimism among editors, sound editors, composers, grips, gaffers, cinematographers, caterers, art directors and all the other crafts that make up the bones of the industry.

It seems to me that through the last decade the business has seen a lot of talking up that is essentially bravura and/or denial. Pretty much every time there is some industry forum or another, speaker after speaker gets up and tells us how vibrant and successful the Australian film industry is, and how much optimism they have, to applause that sounds to my ears dosed heavily with self-comfort.

Isaac calls for sacrifice and tells us to ‘just get on with it’. There may be something to that, but the simple fact is that for some of us the business is not a charity where we can just donate our time AGAIN to a project that promises compensation in some remote future that never comes. Or donate our energy and skills to a project that will reward the producers and the directors with kudos and intellectual property while they wheedle those things out of everyone else.

Unfortunately it seems that it’s not de rigueur to publicly air skepticism that ‘she’ll be right mate’. I’m sitting here right now, highly credentialled, highly respected (I believe), highly skilled, highly accomplished and wondering where my next job is going to come from. I don’t believe that’s a sign of a vibrant and successful industry.

In my view, you are so right Peter. ours is not a vibrant industry, it is in just the position that it deserves to find itself.I will never name anyone, but I remember certain , now accepted very big stars, one – actually two of whom, have featured very recently.

These, incredibly talented artists were pushing pooh uphill to get a gig a few years back, one of them was such a fine and accomplished artist, that it was obvious to many of us around the traps that this artist should have been headlining 15 years earlier, but no, after working like a deck sailor for many years and sacrificing the vital youthful years in this theatre and that, he finally gets a gong from the Yanks and the whole nation sings out for our own international star. The other one had only fleeting fame in a chocolate biscuit commercial, before being crowned by foreigners and joining the deserved ranks.

When I say “just make films” of course I realise that this is not just a simple matter, but it is essential if we are to have a real industry with recognisable levels, where people like Peter and the artists to which I have referred can find their level. The way it is, a drovers dog may not have as much chance as a person of background and talent, but they are forced to sit side by side in the running.

I urge a co-operative to meet and discuss the possibilities of a united motion picture producers association, which has the drive to organise money people and artists and great writers and crew members, all who will act for the cause and not for the art baggers. Secret Squirrel? If it gets a real and caring industry started; Yes!

I think Peter and Isaac both have very valid points. On one hand we need to remain optimistic and open to all ideas and potential policies, on the other hand we need to remain vigilant about the kind of industry we as film makers want to create and feel confident about expressing this to government and the private industry without the threat of being branded whingers or negative. We aren’t as an industry working at our best performance potential, we can improve massively and people looking to develop a career in the Film TV industry, whilst competitive, should be able to build that career and see their potential career escalate as their personal skill base increases. We simply need to find more effective ways to fund sustainable, diverse, engaging and innovative concepts. The pathways for discovery need to be quickened and opened up, if we can do this connected creative minds will find each other and develop quality content. I think its easy to constantly blame funding bodies, but blaming doesn’t solve the solution, debate and open dialogue working hand in hand with accessible funding that desires to fund innovation. Audiences are tired of the same old narrative bullshit we have been wheeling out..we need to push ourselves as filmmakers and think beyond the obvious..because as we all know..in this weird world of ours..there isn’t any sure bets..you run out of chances when you stop taking them and as an industry we need to take more chances.

Vision, talent, even money…all these things are able to be achieved or attained…it’s opportunity we need…how about an open door to meet people and talk about projects? A bit too “out there”? I’m very tired of feeling like I live on a desert island, cut off from civilisation.

Desert Islands? Really are an optimist – no AS – your merely marooned in a AUS designed creative void receiving the slow painful enlightenment that the overwhelming majority of people in this industry you once believed knew what they were doing really don’t.
Good luck – keep up the optimism.

I think at the end of the day you have to simply sit down and make something that is going to turn a few heads..it has to be innovative, going where maybe no filmmaker thought of, or addressing a genre that we might do poorly, like comedy..we suck at it on every level..why? Its a writing problem..and a lack of Directors who can handle comedy effectively. I’m not saying go out there and try and make a feature..although, why more filmmakers aren’t doing more of this and trying to go straight to video on demand I have no idea..I see VOD as being a huge area for filmmakers to cut their teeth on. You have to be ambitious to not be derivative Adrian, make something that pushes the envelope a little and at the same time works with some age old cinematic principles..not an easy thing to do, if you can pull it off..people might notice.

I wrote a comedy for the stage a few years ago, it was good, I video taped it and you can hear the audience laughing out loud at regular intervals from start to finish, which I reckon is the main thing in comedy…decided to adapt it to a feature…I couldn’t even send it to Aussie actors, the agents refused to let them read it and get attached to the project, they insisted it had to be a proper audition with a firm offer of paid work with shooting dates, etc. I was amazed at how stupid that response was, I thought, surely to God they must realise they sow the seeds of future work by letting writers send scripts to actors who have a name, the interest of name actors can help a producer get a project off the ground…but no, this idea, which is BASIC in Hollywood, seemed utterly alien to our agents here. I couldn’t believe it, I was stunned to think they wouldn’t let me send a script to actors and ask them to read it. Utter self-sabotage, in my opinion. This is the kind of idiocy I’ve encountered in a dozen different forms over the years. I think…well, I suspect…a lot of the people in the industry have no idea how the movie industry works. I feel bad for saying that, but it’s stunned me so many times when I’ve been told things that I know for a fact are just plain wrong. Dear God…someone at Film Victoria told me back in 1990 that no one would want to watch a show about government agents investigating UFO cases in the 1990s because, ” that’s 50s B-movie stuff”. I wonder if that fool saw The X-Files debut 3 years after he told me that comment and become a phenomenon.

Only problem in pushing the envelopes you recomend is that the current recipients are all illiterate? Hoges made a career out of it (unfortunately) – known colloquially as ‘taking the piss out of ourselves’ – a genre not appreciated in todays politically correct corridors of power. (satire).

Wow..its really ingrained in you both. All I say is ENOUGH of this poor bugger me crap. Seriously, do you honestly think just because you write something everybody should just drop everything and just come running to your screenplay because it made some people laugh..once? If you had it performed as a stage piece and it worked, why not keep those actors and refine it? Make a short, make that work, put it in festivals and see how that plays out…and then make another. I mean the quantum leap from stage-to-feature..have a serious think about that, I mean seriously think about that? Agents either didn’t want to send it to anybody because it wasn’t very good..or they saw you as a time vampire with no real end goal in place..see it from their perspective…it will help, empathy is always the key.
I cannot stress this enough…get friendly with a great DOP on the rise, find somebody who’s great with sound, has worked on a few productions, they are out there. Write a script that will attract some good actors..try and get $5,000-$10,000 together, try and limit the locations, maybe an interior and exterior. Shoot it on a Sony F3 or a DSLR. Make the story innovative, something fresh and interesting, if you can’t write, find a scriptwriter. There are so many talented people out there looking to work on something interesting. Pay your DOP and other crew what you can out of that $5,000-$10,000, get friendly with Final cut pro x and try and find somebody to mix it. Submit to some festivals, of which there are 100’s and build up a following on Vimeo. Sitting around bitching about the woes of the industry (and there are plenty and utterly focused on making a feature is a sure fire path to misery). There’s a friggin revolution going on out there and some people making some amazing stuff with nothing. I went down that path and I never regretted any of. it. People are looking for ideas an talent..calling people idiots because they wouldn’t push your script onto busy people..where’s that going to get you..where has it gotten you? As for Ford Fairlane..I’ve never understood a thing you’ve written..ever.

Is there anyone in this country who is actually looking for a good script?

Adrian..could you please do me a favour..go to the bathroom, look in the mirror and say repeatedly “Adrian am I living in reality or Adrian am I living in a reality that I have constructed and does that reality actually reflect the reality of what goes on outside the confines of my house and if those realities are working at polar opposites of either end of the reality spectrum I arrive at the last question..can I write? if you can faithfully and honestly answer the last part of that question..can I write? You’ll have no need to ask ridiculous questions like the above..no.. people want crap scripts so they can make crap films..gimme a break dude!

Dougie – could be because your whats known as a narcissist – totally fixated in yourself? Odds suggest you’ve even got a beard.

yeah that’s right Ford Fiesta..I’m handing out advice and helping filmmakers all over this country..free of charge…total ego maniac..that’s me..sorry to disappoint..I’m a bit clean shaven..unlike your opinions that seem to be consistently a fuzz mess devoid of logic and focus.

Ford, I appreciate your candid response, but while I do not think people want crap scripts to make crap films, it does not seem to automatically follow that this country contains people who are looking for good ones. If there is, I dunno where they’re hiding.