You Gotta Watch This Movie: Gone With The Wind (1939)

There really is nothing as spectacular as seeing a movie on the big screen.  All our new technological conveniences are just that, conveniences.  Being enveloped in that full screen cinematography, that dark, cavernous room filled with people who become non-existent once you become hooked on the story, that sound surrounding and booming with warmth and excitement...ahhh, yes.  It's the best.

And about two weeks ago I saw the best of the best on that gorgeous screen..."Gone With The Wind".  Yep.  American Cinematheque blew my mind yet again with a screening of "Gone With The Wind" at the Aero Theatre.  When that projector rolled and the opening credits came on, the classic '39 movie music played, and the theater went dark, it was all I could do to keep from crying tears of utter joy.

I spent many repeated days as a kid/teen watching and re-watching that epic film on TV.  I have no idea how it was introduced to me...I vaguely remember it as a two part special on ABC or something...but I do know that as soon as I saw it I was in love.  In love with the South, those massive hoop dresses, the Civil War, the romantic notion of plantations, Scarlett's brash nature, and Rhett Butler.  I L-O-V-E loved that character, that man, that idea of a man.  Virile, handsome, scoundrel and sensitive, a man of smarts and survival.  I became obsessed with Clark Gable. Obsessed.  I scoured the TV guide every week, reading page by page, section by section, piece by piece...searching for all the films between 1920 - 1960 looking for his name, underlining, circling and scheduling myself to watch.  There weren't a lot but there were a few.  At least one every couple weeks.  I was so disappointed when there was no Clark Gable for the week!  To this day and since that first day of GWTW, I look for the Rhett/Clark combo in every man I've ever been attracted to.  It's nuts, but it's true.  And I find bits and pieces of him in almost every guy I've dated but never the full package.  No wonder I'm single...!  Anyway, getting way off topic here.

Gone With the Wind has been such a pivotal movie in my life.  The crane shot over the wounded soldiers lying on the Atlanta train tracks was the first cinematographic moment that I was ever consciously aware of.

The massive flames behind Rhett and Scarlett as they ride past the ammunition set on fire and ready to blow was my first conscious journey into special effects.

Janet Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, Hattie McDaniel, and Ona Munson gave me my first taste for acting, talent, celebrity.  They set me on a path to try it myself (needless to say, I failed drama class miserably) and turned me into a scrapbooking, picture clipping fool...another reason I scoured the TV guide...for pics of my favorite actors/actresses.

And how about epics?  I love epics thanks to this movie.  Sweeping grandeur, intermissions, endless amounts of flowing landscape filled with earthy tones, crane shots, aerial shots, long tracking shots.  Fantastic!  I devoured North & South, The Far Pavillions, Ghandi, The Jewel In The Crown, The Thorn Birds, Ben Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, Doctor Zhivago as if they were the last feast I would ever lay my eyes upon. 

Being an impressionable kid who questioned all those impressions I was never won over by the romantic ideal of the slave running South, though.  I did a lot of reading and researching from a very neutral place.  But I respected the story aspect of it all.  So many angles, so much meaning, so much division portrayed from the agrarian culture of the U.S.  Yet, while I respected the story I missed the main plot in this particular movie. 

As I watched "Gone with The Wind" up on that big screen for the first time ever in my life I became attached to that main plot, that main character, that main reason for this film to exist, like never before.  Scarlett O'Hara, for the first time in dozens of watching times, stood out on that screen like I'd never seen her.  It hit me like bricks...this was a truly strong female lead role in a major motion picture that I had completely overlooked!

By now it's well known that I am a supporter of the strong woman to the utmost.  Not a feminist, but a supporter of that which is the pillar in life.  At the Aero that evening I realized how so many people, including myself, had "Gone With The Wind" totally wrong.  They called it a movie about the South, about gallantry, about loss and destruction, North and South, divisions, slavery, plantations, and about a love story.  While it is all that, it is so much more about the journey of a woman who's circumstances force her to be as strong and uncompromising as steel.  Those other elements were her supports, our subplots. 

We start off seeing Scarlett as a spoiled Southern Belle teen.  She wants only one man and that's Ashley Wilkes.  She is determined to get him.  How could he not love the belle of the ball?  How could she not possibly get everything she wants?  She learns he is marrying his cousin Melanie (Olivia De Havilland) and decides all she has to do is tell Ashley she loves him and he will be hers instead!  So, already we are seeing the strong will of our lead female character come to light.  It continues with an angry tantrum and her first meeting with Rhett Butler...her male equivalent.  It goes even further when she callously accepts Melanie's brother Charles' proposal at the start of the war, taking revenge on Ashley's passionate kiss goodbye to Melanie.  Charles dies of pneumonia and Scarlett is forced to be a mourning widow.  She sobs to her mother, "My life is over! Nothing will ever happen to me anymore!"  The solution is a trip to Atlanta to visit Melanie and we see Scarlett's wheels spin as she realizes that's where she'll be able to connect with Ashley again as well.  She immediately shocks Atlanta at a benefit bazaar when the mourning widow she is, accepts blockader Rhett Butler's invitation to dance. Later, as the city falls to the Yankees, Scarlett is faced with delivering Melanie's baby amidst explosions and gun fire then getting herself, Melanie, the baby and Prissy back to Tara.  She commandeers Rhett for a moment but is abandoned by him as he takes off to join the army for one last 11th hour stand against the Union.

Arriving at Tara, Scarlett is confronted by a county destroyed, Tara ravaged, her mother dead, her father gone insane, and her needy family looking to her to save them.  And save them she does...bedraggled and worn, a sobbing Scarlett falls upon the ground to pull up a lone carrot that she ravenously devours only to gag it back up again.  Right here is the turning point.  The spoiled child Scarlett O'Hara is gone.  She now becomes a woman who must beat all the odds.  "As God is my witness, as God is my witness, they're not going to lick me, " she declares. "I'm going to live through this.  And when it's all over I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill, as God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"

Things progress at Tara...A stray soldier is shot and killed by Scarlett when he comes in to pillage and rape; beaten Confederate soldiers return; Scarlett and family till the fields, building a bit of income to feed the family and the soldiers; overseer Jonas Wilkerson comes back to buy out Tara after finding out the taxes are too high for Scarlett to pay; and Scarlett's father dies when he rides out after Wilkerson and gets thrown from his horse.  Ashley returns and Scarlett goes to Atlanta to charm money from Rhett only to find him locked up in a jail by the Yankees who are either going to hang him or take his money.  Rhett, of course, doesn't help and Scarlett is forced to find another solution.  She bumps into her sister's beau, Frank Kennedy, who is prospering with a lumber store in Atlanta and within days they are married.  Tara is saved by Scarlett's quick thinking and shrewd maneuvers and the family slowly begins building their wealth again.  Scarlett leaves her sisters behind and, after a puddle of crocodile tears used to convince Ashley and Melanie to head back to Atlanta with her, she gathers the remaining house servants and sets out on a path to become business woman extraordinaire.

Atlanta becomes a series of Scarlett strengths, mistakes, falls, and pick-herself-up-again scenarios.  She rides past the shanty town alone and is attacked; her husband dies (quite the story unto itself as this is where the rise of the KKK is mentioned); she expands the lumber store into a mill; she finally marries Rhett, obtaining loads of money and a massive house; she has a daughter;  she gets caught in a tender moment at the mill with Ashley, destroying her marriage to Rhett in the process; she falls down the stairs and loses her unborn baby; she loses her first born daughter to another horse riding accident; Melanie dies; and Rhett leaves her.

Yet Scarlett still manages to muster the strength needed to carry on. Throughout the film we constantly hear her say, "I won't think about that right now.  I'll think about it tomorrow."  It's her way of pushing any guilty conscience to the back of her mind but as Rhett disappears into the fog Scarlett knows there will be no tomorrow if she doesn't deal with today.

Ask anyone who's seen the movie once or twice what the last line is and they'll probably give you this (1:08):

Check again, friends. Start at about 03:35.  Just as strong but so glanced over as Scarlett once again pulls up her bootstraps and formulates another plan for survival.

Yes. That's right, "After all, tomorrow is another day!" And one I hope that will reveal a return to Hollywood's heyday of fine storytelling and strong roles for women and men alike. - TKS

Pitching to the Most Disinterested Person in the World

Your head is in the minutia, in the scenes, the characters, the dialogue, the setting, the visual charisma of the thing, and then someone asks you "So what's your movie about?"...

For a screenwriter (and just about anyone else hocking their Hollywood wares to People of Influence) the place where unbridled belief in one's self meets the wrecking ball is the pitch.  Ask that ultra-confident filmmaker how he or she feels after that pitch.  Either the listener was unfair and mean, or that filmmaker is at the onset of an existential crisis... maybe both.

"I know," you console them, "talent is what really matters."

Of course it does.  But how does talent help when you're pitching to the most disinterested person in the world?  (Who you will inevitably pitch to).

Me, and almost everyone seeking some fated place in the film industry will say talent trumps everything.  It relieves the swelling, relieves the itching, and it relieves the pain.  It brings a Cinderella element of fairness and order to the process.  Here I toil and nobody sees that secretly, underneath it all, I am indeed a princess.  The only problem is everyone who says this assumes they have that talent, so in spite of a limiting statement like "talent above everything," everyone must have talent.

We're not walking bags of haloed talent, we're storytellers. Screenwriters, producers, actors and directors alike.  Regardless of the medium or the historic era, story-tellers tell stories to people, and fundamentally this takes guts and bravado; interrupting someone's attention and commanding their imagination with the power of your technique, your style and your personality, until hopefully they thank you for the experience.  It's an illusion to think that you have the luxury of anonymity in the me-space of the darkened corner of your room behind your desk.  You're a storyteller mate, act like one. 

So your head is in the minutia, in the scenes, the dialogue, the setting, and then someone asks you "What is your movie about?"

Scenario #1:
Uhhhh... (You're using this time to remember some semblance of a pitch you've put together.). -- ok -- you've got something.  And you begin sputtering, but their eyes are already dead.  They no longer care.  Most of all, you haven't lived up to your image.  They see the truth of the thing, and they're wondering if she's such a story teller, why can't she tell a story? -- maybe that's what they're concentrating on while you're playing hopscotch with your plot.

Scenario #2:
You start reading some script you've developed in your head with pinpointed, monotonic accuracy.  The listener senses an advertisement and they tune you out.  They try to contort their face with half-hearted interest, busier thinking "Holy shit, this person is actually trying to pitch me right now...  I can't believe this is happening.  Are they embarrassed?" than they are actually hearing anything you say.

A storyteller is a leader, and leaders lead with confidence.  If guts and bravado are the traits of a storyteller, confidence is his mark.  A lack of confidence distracts attention away from the story.  Confidence leads the listener into thinking whatever this guy says must be great.

What do I mean by confidence?  Take Scenario #3:
You're prepared and you're not reading a script.  Now your listener is the problem, because your listener doesn't give a damn about movies and they really don't give a damn about your story.

Why pitch someone who clearly isn't interested?

--How is it any different than hitting line drives and loading up the bases when you're already down two outs?  Or any different than trying or even doing well in the face of a hard or unlikely situation?  It's Tiger Woods playing his greatest first round at the Masters when everyone wants him to fail, and everyone expects him to do poorly because he really ought to be playing distracted.  But he's not distracted.  He's MORE focused.  Imagine if that's how you pitched?

That's where impressions are made, where Cinderella stories are born.   Embrace the disinterested listener.  Lead them.  Don't let them lead you to soft spoken timidity, embarrassment, or shamed apologies.  Lead with your confidence!  They won't do the work for you, nor should they.
 
Know what movie your movie is.  Don't hesitate to be a storyteller.  Act like you're in control and they will follow.  Leave the talent for everyone else.

Charles Rhoads

The Plight Of The Good Story

Ah, networking...Can anything else be so discouraging as a simple networking event can be?  I mean, I'm sure there can be, at least on an equal level anyway, but hear me out for a moment.  Seminars, panels, parties, and screenings.  Sometimes they're really great.  Sometimes they make me feel like I'm truly doing the right thing but sometimes they make me wish I'd gone into a more simpler industry...like brain surgery or rocket science maybe.

After a 5 hour session of seminars and panelists at the first iHollywood event in Santa Monica I felt like someone had gagged and bound me then thrown me in a trunk.  It started out innocently enough.  A couple hours of two speakers discussing financing and business plans while promoting their books at the same time.  I have to admit it was a little dry but if I listened closely I realized I was able to pick up some fine points.  John Reiss, author of a book called Think Outside the Box Office was the first speaker and Louise Levison, author of Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents was the second speaker.  They gave us some pointers on the changing world of film distribution, what to put in a business plan and, well, ok, I think I tuned out after hearing them discuss a couple things I was already doing based on just plain common sense.  I recorded it though and at some random moment I suppose I'll go back and listen again as I do recall muttering a couple hmm's and huh's.  It's those classroom type situations that tend to force my mind into wander mode.  Never was good at absorbing a lecture unless it allowed me a dialogue and interaction as it went along.

Anyhow, we then broke for some networking and dinner.  Nick and I attended this one together and we parted at this point to schmooze with the crowd at separate tables.  I found myself with a man from Florida looking to distribute a comedy and a sci-fi he had just finished, a guy with a company that offered internet to TV programming, and an ex-wildlife cinematographer now somehow involved with the WWF.  I liked the latter guy and his charisma quite a bit.  Definitely social and easy to talk with.  Having always had a desire to do camera work for Discovery & National Geographic and being a big fan of "Planet Earth" I couldn't resist drilling him on some of his camera experience.  I got an interesting story or two on arctic shoots he had been on.  The Florida guy was a bit tough to get a flowing conversation going with but he was friendly enough and the internet guy offered a down to earth kind of sense of humor and demeanor.  My table was ok.  Nick, on the other hand, was across the room being questioned on why he didn't have his badge on, being tortured by IT guys, and having to fight his way into a conversation with a lady from Paramount.  He eventually came over after I texted him about the cinematographer.

We moved from dinner to a workflow presentation that lasted about 20 minutes.  By now it was just about endurance for me.  Find a little gem of info wherever I could was the goal.  But then the panel came up.  Oh the panel.  Six studio guys in black suit coats.  This whole panel changed the entire mood and seemed to start a small fire under my seat.  They all discussed the ever distracting new world of James Cameron's god forsaken 3D pioneering.  They seemed to praise 3D, big budget filmmaking and 2009 movie going like they'd struck Texas tea.  They asked the audience who we were..."Post production?" About 5 people.  "SAG, DGA, PGA, WGA?"  About 5 people. "Technology?"  About 5 people.  "How many people watch the Oscars?"  "Hahahaha"....The rest of us indie filmmakers were left out and on our own.  This should have tipped me off to the fact that I was in for an hour of frustration.

They started out saying movie ticket prices were going up this weekend.  Yay!  How much more money will the world demand from me for the simplest of things?  They moved into the gigantic success of 3D filmmaking and how "Avatar" helped everyone.  They backed that statement with numbers based on the big success of the opening weekend of "Alice In Wonderland".

Oh man.  Really?  I began to clamp down on my tongue.  Did they not realize that "Alice in Wonderland" did so well because it was and is a well known, classic work too many of us grew up with and loved?  Did they not know that had it been in 2D most of the same people would have gone to see it simply for Johnny Depp and Tim Burton?  The 3D was just a strange perk that added to the wild ride of that crazy story.  That's all.  That's it.  3D wasn't the driving force.  And actually turned out to be not so impressive to this movie goer or her companion when they ventured down the rabbit hole.

They continued on, saying thanks to the awesome 3D movement gigantic budgets would be the norm, less movies would be made, so less work for everyone.

Hurray!  Great for the thousands of us currently clamoring for jobs in the industry as it is now.

They continued on, praising big studio works and went so far as to state EVERYTHING would be in 3D sooooooonnnnnn!!!!!

Are they nuts?  I wondered.  Do they not realize the group of people they're talking with have not even one finger nail in the door of big studio production?

One little guy I'd seen before at some other panel and certainly filling big shoes, made the comment that the wrong movie had won the Oscars after another bashed the boredom of the entire show itself.

Boring?  Really?  Didn't they say the same thing last year?  Maybe it's award shows that are really not too thrilling to watch...Wait.  Did he just say?  Did he just say the wrong movie won the Best Picture Oscar this year?  Now I was squirming in my seat, teeth firmly on tongue, lips cemented together.  First of all, not one of the nominees was a best picture in my opinion.  Not one gave me that fulfilling feeling I get after seeing a masterpiece.  Not one.  BUT of them all the one that came close was the one that actually won, "Hurt Locker".  Damn good ol' boys.  Enough already.  It's 2010.  Granted the little guy was heavy on the marketing side of "Avatar" but come on.  Integrity? Art? Film?  Is it only business now?  Is it only how much money a movie makes that matters?  I guess so if you're going to be spending $200 million and up on each film...big hole in the joy of that amazing 3D trend I'd say.

So, after about a half hour of big studio ass kissing they suddenly turned around and said ultimately it was about story.  Concept.

Eh?  "Clash of the Titans"?  "Avatar"?  "Footloose"?  Remakes??  Where's the story there?  I looked around the room several times to try and read the faces of the audience.  Were they in agreement here?  Nick pronounced a bullshit at one point so I knew he was struggling as much as I was with the opinions of these men.

Then a lady spoke up and I knew we weren't alone...."So, so you're telling me I'm going to want to see "Sex In The City" in 3D?"  She informed the panel they were in a room of indie filmmakers and threw the SAG guy on the panel a bit of compassion for the magnitude of talent that would be struggling for work with this new technological advent.  Another lady, somewhere in the end, asked the question,  "How will digital media benefit me as an indie filmmaker?"  They questioned whether it was theatrical release or general exposure she wanted.  Her response was that she didn't know yet.  So what did she get?  A pat.  A patronizing pat on the head.  She was informed self distribution and marketing would be an opportunity as she would have a plethora of new media and internet at her fingertips.

Ha!  Right.  I've personally tried the internet distribution and grassroots marketing measures for someone else's feature film and no indie filmmaker has the money or manpower for it.  That is a super saturated world.  Try to find your demographic in a sea of invisible Youtube and Netflix watchers.  Damn near impossible at this moment.  And theater is where we all want our films shown.  Big, bold and beautiful.  Not on an Ipad, Iphone or computer monitor.

They went on to obliterate celluloid filmmaking.

I'm sorry but I love film.  I love the richness of it.  I love the artistry of it.  I don't want it to be obsolete any more than I want vinyl to be obsolete.  I completely understand the financial savings and ease of production and post production with digital but if I had the funds and had the choice 35mm would be the direction I'd go in every single time. Why turn our backs on it completely?

As we neared the end the panel emphasized how important good story was as much as they could and it was all I could do to wish nothing but evil on the Hollywood conglomerates.  I hoped 3D would be their downfall  not their success.  How quickly they did a 180 once they knew what the audience in front of them wanted to hear.  We left that building bursting with complaints and full of animated conversation as we drove up the 405.

My solution for those of us who need to keep our industry open to everyone interested in good visual storytelling is to create an equally powerful and competitive indie film community.  Fill it with independent film investors, distributors, filmmakers, and exhibitors.  And collaborate, collaborate, collaborate.  Come together and operate together.  Stop scrambling to be the next big blockbuster director if what you enjoy is crafting story based, intelligent and/or artistic movies.  Stop stepping on each other to get to the tiny top.  Start listening, talking, engaging other like minded movie makers and build a part of the industry that benefits everyone rather than just the Hollywood studio system.  New media may be good but seeing your creation on a large screen is great.  There's nothing that says independent film can't be out there competing with the giant machine currently way too overly impressed with 3D technology. - TKS

Welcome & Intro to Ebony Harding

So, welcome to the Sunspot Pictures blog.  I never thought blogging would be something to do for our production company and certainly didn't think adding another task to the infinite list would be prudent but after many networking events and discussions with other more savvy social networkers I figured, ok, it's time.  Essentially, you'll get to know our personalities and skills, triumphs and disasters through here.  We're looking for just as much advice as we may offer and would love to connect with many other bloggers in our industry.  All that aside, I'd like to just say that in regards to blogging, the final nail on the coffin so to speak, came from meeting another screenwriter and industry pro by the name of Ebony Harding. 

We have spent the last year attending about a million networking events of varying levels and purposes.  One in particular we follow is Indie Producer's Schmoozefest.  I believe they happen every month or two.  The last one was at a venue in Beverly Hills, an area I do my best to avoid for many reasons, that turned out to be less of an event than the last two I'd attended.  Why, you may ask?  See, these networking events tend to be filled wall to wall with film folk desperately looking for something to boost their career and rightfully so.  But it's a whole lotta gimme at these things and very little co-op or friending.  People judge each other by appearance and for the most part only talk about themselves.  I'm a conversationalist.  Granted, yes, I'm attending these things to achieve something for myself as well but I never step into a conversation with anybody asking only the question, "What can you do for me?"  I enter into conversation hoping to make a friend first and foremost, have a really good industry related discussion...well, any kind of discussion, actually...and find a way to collaborate, scratch other peoples backs while they scratch mine.  When you hear from any of Hollywood's greats they always bring up their circle of friends during their time of humble beginnings and that circle usually always consists of other successful names.  That's what I'm looking for here with this past year mainly being about introducing people to the Sunspot name and logo, our personalities, and our skills as well as connecting with potential crew members and possible money people.  We've been looking to impress and be impressed.  This particular night, however, felt less friendly and open than the others...not a whole lotta impress going on.

Until Ebony.  We were introduced by a close film connection, Crystal Callahan, who had just met Ebony herself.  Ebony mentioned she was a writer and I instantly wanted to have that discussion with her.  Finding talent in the industry, believe it or not, is almost as hard as finding money to make your film.  I wanted to hear her take on it all but was pulled away for some reason and didn't get the chance.  I told her I'd be back and got caught up in another huddle of people.  Some point later I turned to find Ebony at my side.  Instantly I knew this was a potential collaborator.  She didn't forget me and made it a point to come over to talk when most people would have just went about their business and ignored my interest.  We discussed the art of film, among other interesting topics, and I could have done back flips of excitement.  At last!  A film person willing to converse and share opinions!  And it wasn't just regurgitated trade news.  Ebony was all information and boldness.  She managed to squelch a bit of my networking cynicism that nite and I couldn't have been happier.

Some weeks passed and I found myself at Gower Studios attending New Filmmakers short film screenings.  The first batch of films had sold out so I sat inside drinking wine and chatting with the people behind the scenes of the event.  Very cool people, by the way.  Ebony was there when I walked in and we reconnected.  She gracefully watched the second batch of shorts with me and then we headed home.  That evening we covered all kinds of topics...everything from social issues to politics to film to life in LA...and I again was beyond happy to have a person willing to discuss anything and everything.  It helped tremendously that Ebony was clearly schooled in life and travel and had a great calming energy and intelligence about her.

Just the other day Ebony interviewed me for her blog.  We sat for two hours at a coffeeshop in Hollywood focused on film industry topics but also having the usual stimulating conversation.  I was honored that she'd even want to interview me in the first place so it turned out to be a great experience.   By the time we parted ways Ebony had a few pages of my opinions in her notebook and we had the beginnings of a possible writing group in the works.  (I say possible simply because time moves faster than the Road Runner in this city so I'm sure we'll have to find a way to beat that race to make our group come together).  I set up a blog for Sunspot based on this almost instant sort of trust I had in Ebony's taste.  If she was blogging then maybe we should too.

Now we're up and running and it's refreshing to have somewhere to expose my thoughts.  I look forward to collaborating with Ebony in the future and staying connected through our blogs at the very least.  Finding one gem in the middle of a pile of coal, I really have to say, makes the mining worth the hardship. - TKS

Ebony's blogspots:

http://newwave-film.blogspot.com/
http://thewayoftheartist.blogspot.com/