Frustration! Intense frustration!

The hardest part of filmmaking is the Catch-22. You need a great story, key actors or distribution in place to attract accredited investors. However, you can’t get key actors without money for a “Pay or Play” contract, and you can’t get a distribution contract that an investor would love without a film.

That leaves us with the screenplay being the only thing to work with, which we have. Unfortunately, no investor has time to read, nor do they know how to read a screenplay, as it’s far from the process used to read a novel. But they do have time for a synopsis.

I’ve been told that our story has such great layers that make it an amazing read for those who have time to get through the screenplay, but when summarized into a simple paragraph, the magic disappears. Thankfully some are willing to read a one-page treatment and others a three-page treatment. Those who are really willing to dive deeper into the story are happy to read a 12-page treatment and a few will read a 40-page treatment that’s packed with detail.

Argh! The amount of writing and rewriting to create all these various forms of the story to have an investor consider supporting the film is insane, especially since our expertise is writing screenplays, not novels. There is a completely different writing style employed to write something a filmmaker can understand versus an investor.

Screenplays are written visually on a shot by shot basis. It’s a string of moments, rather than a telling approach, that allows the story to surface through a process we call “show, don’t tell.” Writing prose is more of a story telling, not too dissimilar to sharing a story to campers sitting around a campfire.

These techniques are diametrically opposed and frustrate the best of writers who attempt to cross over from books to the screen or visa versa. And yet, many inexperienced film investors demand the skilled screenplay writer to write in the same style as a book.

I’m not sure people are aware that most books written after a film releases is done by a writing specialist whose main skill is translating the visual word to the written word. These are people who can’t write books or screenplays, but have found their niche in the translation process.

However, most people are aware of the translation process that takes a book to the screen, as most attempts are complete failures in the eyes of the original author. Disney’s new film Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks, deals with this very issue when Disney made Mary Poppins. The film was a huge success and changed the motion picture industry, but the author was so upset by how her story was destroyed that she refused to give Walt Disney the remaining books in the series.

So here I am with an incredible screenplay, thanks to the creative team who helped me develop the story, and I’m frustrated that I have to develop other documents to convince investors that the screenplay is excellent. It’s like being a manufacturer of a great car that no one will test drive until they watch a cool commercial that suggests the car will make them look cool.

What if the manufacturer makes a less than cool commercial because they are great makers of cool cars, not commercials?

It’s too bad that we face these types of Catch-22s. Even stars have little time to read, so they let others tell them which scripts to read and avoid. I have to hope that the star’s reader has the same taste in order to move the star to the negotiating table, or I have to offer them a contract, which I can’t do until the investors are in place, which they won’t do until the actor is in place. Argh!

It’s time for a miracle!

© 2013 by CJ Powers

We’re in the information age and everyone seems to need access to the right information at the right time, which means they also have to provide the right story about their own services to others. However, few people choose to become a publicist themselves and even fewer know when to hire one.

Having run a marketing communication company and having worked in the entertainment industry, I’m often asked, “When do I need a publicist?” The answer is obvious when watching for the warning signs. If three or more of the below warning signs appear during a project, it’s time to hire a publicist.

1. Can’t Think like a Reporter: Journalists need attention getting and entertaining stories regularly. They also need stories that are focused on their area of news. The best way to prep a press release is to imagine standing in a reporter’s shoes and asking the question, “Will this interest my readers?” By using an objective and unbiased perspective we can obtain greater objectivity on what we’re promoting, which will provide greater access to the media.

2. Don’t Know the Rules: Capturing the media’s attention with great news is only a small part of the puzzle. Knowing what to pitch, when to pitch it, and how to pitch it is almost an art form in of itself. A publicist knows these things like the back of their hand and takes specific actions to constantly prep and update the detailed information. This develops open communications with the press and avoids the disasters associated with reporters who have little time for amateurs.

3. No Time to Read Outside of Market: Great publicists continually read outside of their market to stay up on the latest trends in other industries. This gives them a creative advantage when they turn their focus back to their own industry. This discipline helps them to understand how changes affect the target markets and empowers them to design campaign changes that can take advantage of the trends before they peak.

4. Don’t Receive Media Alerts: Following every social media discussion on a topic of expertise is difficult, let alone knowing when and where it was published. To stay on top of who is being quoted, many publicists employ a tracking service to gather the information. The more popular services include Newsie.com, Talkwalker.com, and Mention.net.

5. Don’t Understand Value of Local Media: Local media generates area attention, which generates regional press. If done properly, regional press generates statewide and national press, which in turn can generate international press. All news stories start at the local level and swell outward like a grassroots movement. Each step requires a fanning of the PR flames into a blaze. Those who attempt to start at the national level typically fail.

6. Not Creative with Subject Line: Since email and social media have become primary channels of contact with the press, it’s critical to make sure the subject line in the correspondence is pithy and sells the press. The words chosen must generate a newsworthy feel for the press to consider it. Otherwise the notice may never be read and considered.

7. Struggle to Build Strong Relationships: The stronger the relationship with the press, the more opportunities surface for getting a message out. This can be extended with “thank you” notes following interviews and published stories. Staying in touch also increases visibility and brings opportunities only given to reliable sources of news.

The goal of the publicist is to go beyond the accumulation of great mentions, features and reviews. They’re job to is create news and facilitate its dissemination in various media, while building trusted relationships that can be called upon in times of new and big releases.

© 2013 by CJ Powers

Collaborations with the Chinese will continue to increase in the coming years since China now represents the second largest film industry in the world. According to Forbes, in 2012 the U.S. saw $10.8 billion in revenue (6.5% increase over 2011) and China saw $2.7 billion (30.2% increase over 2011). The Chinese film industry is in its infant stages and is on pace to exceed U.S. box office by 2020.

In the U.S. there is one movie screen for every 9,000 people, suggesting the market is saturated. In China, the market is far from saturation with one screen for every 220,000 people.

Master Han, the “godfather” of the Chinese movie industry is looking for more industry professionals to collaborate and help improve their industry. “We must try and attract more foreign technologists, expertise, producers, investors, distributors, directors, actors and artists, to come and collaborate with us on high-quality co-productions. And then learn from them.”

With a large readership of international filmmakers from over 100 countries, I thought it might be helpful to post a link to the Chinese American Film Festival (CAFF). The deadline for entries is September 30, 2013, which is just around the corner.

CAFF is an independent organization that demonstrates to the world how effectively the Chinese and American cultures can join together to create great film. The festival also serves as a platform for international dialog and collaboration in film education, financing and production.

Events are held in Hollywood, Los Angeles and San Francisco. It includes the Golden Angel Awards, movie screenings, and forums. Hundreds of industry professionals attend from the U.S., Europe and Asia. The events are also a great place to improve brand awareness to Asian Americans and to those international decision makers in attendance.