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Just a couple of notes. I've been living well off options for 15 years. (27 options during that period...not counting the film I made from my own script, You Are Alone.) 1. Take all the money up front. 2. Producers credits are worthless. 3. Participation/Percentage of the back end is worth...

But in doing that you risk never getting permission, and having wasted your time writing the script. And if you're basing your script on characters in the song...you ABSOLUTELY need permission...whether you use the music or not. Personally I would contact the artist...most musicians are...

The short which won is...

Easily his best film in many years. Very well written, and Will Ferrell is surprisingly wonderful in the, well, Woody role. And Chloe Sevigny is MUCH better looking in person than on screen.

As stated, yes, larger fests give priority to films that are premiering. They don't exist on exclusivity, just seem to bully you into it...because they can. My reason is that one of my shorts won best short at this fest. It has a great rep. Chris Gore listed it as one of the top 10...

Yeah, the advance word is great. I'm definitely a huge fan. I think this makes me understand the way people are looking forward to the new Star Wars. Woody is my Lucas! But yeah, it's been a LONG time since I've loved one of his films. I "liked" Deconstructing Harry, but haven't loved one...

OK...a small but very cool film fest wants to program my feature, YOU ARE ALONE. But 1. we still need to do the mix, and 2. I've been protecting the "virginity" of my "premiere" for the larger fests with markets where we can hopefully find a distributor, etc., and so on... I'm thinking...

Just got an email invite from the Writers Guild of American to attend a screening of Melinda & Melinda with Woody and the cast! Hell, I'm shaking with anticipation. Never RSVPed so fast in my damn life! Any other WGA members who might be going? YouAreAlone.com

An addition to mine, the film which I actually owe the most to at this point in my career, and can't believe I forgot: Chris Marker's La Jetee

Look at it this way...you get "festival rights'...you finally get a distributor for your film...they give you a small but decent advance...but you still have to deliver the music...and guess where that advance goes? For the music! As for finding composers/bands...start with some cool indie...

Hmmm...my number one never changes, but everything else...depends on my mood. 1. The Seventh Seal 2. Manhattan (or Annie Hall) 3. 8 1/2 4. Amelie 5. Psycho (or Strangers on a Train, can never decide) 6. The Conversation 7. Modern Times (or City Lights, Gold Rush, etc) 8. The Third Man 9...

Or make friends with the bands. I have 16 tunes in You Are Alone...7 of which are original to the film, and all of the artists (except one) have recording deals. Offer to make a music video. Or talk to local bands. Most have demos, and would like nothing better than to get a little exposure...

Here we disagree. If you're spending millions you have to worry about making back millions. When you've got that sort of cash on the line, the ego of stars, etc., and so on...that's not indie. Independent of Hollywood perhaps...but so what? Now you're indebted to some foreign venture...

No. In my eyes, anything with a budget of over a couple of million starts falling out of the "indie" categorie. There ain't nothing "indie" about millions of dollars. That said, I don't think "Sideways" should have been eligible for the Independent Spirit Awards. $17.5 million is NOT...

and you would be correct.

It has a similar tone. And I will say SAVED was one of my favorite films of last year. The moment when Jenna Malone stands in front of the tall Jesus, with her hands spread wide, and she mutters "f**k." was my single favorite film moment of the year. I cried, it was so perfect...

On YOU ARE ALONE, with a $150K budget, and coverage for 4 weeks, the policy which covered liability and property damage (both at $1 million), equipment rental of $150K, and faulty camera/damage to the original tape (negative)...cost us a hair under $2500. We used www.shorttermproductions.com...

I needed a copyright for both the script and film of YOU ARE ALONE...both took about 2 1/2 months from the day mailed until I received the certificate. I also always register my scripts online with the Writers Guild before submitting (that's enough initial protection)...and I've never had a...

Mike, thanks for the poster comments... ...and when I talked about THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST...I'm very specifically speaking about the movie and its director. I don't dislike Gibson because he believes in Christ. I dislike him for his anti-gay, anti-female beliefs. And that he never (at...

Like I said...I'm definitely blinded by Gibson's personal politics... But I've honestly never talked to anyone who like the movie....of course, I've never really talked to anyone who took it seriously. The general consensus by the few who saw it (again, these are only people I've talked to)...