FilmCrafts.com

Jesse Johnson: Lessons Learned

In July 2004 I delivered my low budget feature film "Pit Fighter" to Regent Entertainment, the financiers of my film.   A company that has produced such films as "Gods and Monsters", "Brittanica" and "Tom and Viv."  They in turn promptly secured a domestic (US) distribution agreement with 20th Century Fox.  My film has is being marketed first to the niche audiences where it has received an outstandingly positive response and will shortly be sent out to mainstream media, with the full weight of the Fox publicity machine behind it.  So, I am happy, I have a studio picture, albeit a small one, getting excellent reviews, the studio has approved me as a director and writer and I have a number of tasty projects in development.

What factors may have contributed to this?

Jesse conducts his symphony of mayhem. (on set of Pit Fighter) CDM 01/25/04
FigaroPictures.com

In 2000, I made my own film, I paid for my own feature, I had made a handful of short subjects to get in shape, then just jumped in.  After a year or so's trench warfare, I completed the film, "The Honorable."  Selling it to DVD and video; primarily because of it's action content it made a few bucks back.

 From that grueling experience came my script for "Pit Fighter."

The following are some of the lessons learned:

1. Create economically viable solutions to story problems, coming up with dynamic, but not dialogue heavy acting scenes.  Action is usually expensive, but not always, martial arts and gymnastic scenes can be done cheaply.  Guns and bullets (blanks, squibs) are expensive, car explosions are not as expensive as you'd think (the actual explosive involved is the same price as a blood squib).  A car chase on city streets is very, very expensive, permits, police and stunt men.  Gore is not expensive. 
>Anything, action or not, with animals or children is horrifically complicated and can be expensive, handlers, teachers, short days -- the list goes on, the point being there is a way to do a film with action and vitality, and changing locations and crowd scenes and adrenaline and thrills even stunts, without spending millions, but it takes imagination and for me at least, it took going out there and doing it, to learn.

Producers will catch on instantly to your economically savvy story line, believe me!

2. "Name" actors are the element that will make your film a contender.  Write the script so it looks like you wrote it for them individually (even without knowing who you are writing for).  And when you get one interested do everything short of stalking them to have them sign on board your script, camp on their lawn.  I've spent my last savings time and again taking out wealthy actors to talk them into reading my work, remember to never appear desperate.  They're the magical content that will get your script made, over anything else.  Make them love the work, love you.  Embrace the character and work for you, I'm lucky enough to have had actors help raise my finance, get me meetings.  Support and embrace them, understand their fears, their desire, create your work, your characters accordingly.

3. Script readers and financiers are fickle, tired and overworked.  Write the script so they enjoy the read, too.  They have to work through so many terrible scripts, don't write something that becomes interesting at page 10, get 'em by the nose from the first paragraph.  This is a competition, a challenge, do not think of it as anything else, no one cares how long it took to write, or how personal it is, hook 'em from page one.

4. Visiting the film markets with a film for sale is a sickening, depressing experience, but valuable beyond description maybe even comprehension.  It is a business, it is not glamorous!  It's a business run on cast and/or content and sales ability, period.  There is a dangerous (costly) myth out there about the value of quality alone.  I hear so often; "We'll make a great movie, all unknown cast, we won't pander to the genre crowd, just a good story and good acting..."  -- Good luck, cowboy, there are hundreds, probably thousands of well acted, well written scripts and complete movies out there, without distribution, without representation, languishing on their respective creators credit card bills, or book shelves.  It's a brutal, sometimes ugly business, but visit the AFM, learn that side, and be prepared for it.  You can still make great, personal, and well-acted movies, but you must give the salesman his edge if you want someone to make your film.

If your script receives good coverage, the producer will show it first of all to his sales people, to decide whether they can sell it, if they decide that it is a hard sell, that will usually be the end of your story with that project at that company.
>They have to get a foreign buyer who doesn't speak much, if any English into a darkened theater to sit still for two hours, and he's on a tight schedule anyway, why should he?-- Sell your reader and sell him quick.
>These lessons learned will affect the way you write your script, and they should, they won't make it worse, or cheapen it, at least not if you're a writer worth your salt.

I love the poetry possible within film.  If it isn't natural I keep away, if you find that natural rhythm, the structure is usually there.  I work hard to meet people who have lived adventurous lives, listen to their anecdotes, watch them speak, listen, when they chose to speak, when they don't.  Avoid movie references if at all possible, I don't want to know when I'm watching a film that the creator is a film buff, it takes me out of the experience -- I used a lot of real life anecdotes in "Pit Fighter."

Most importantly for me, I love dark characters and violent situations, but if the final film isn't rooting for the good in human nature I'm disappointed, there must be a poignant sign of the hope for mankind.  I loathe bad for the sake of bad.  All the truly despicable people I have known had a streak of goodness to them, somewhere.

The film must in some way serve towards the betterment of mankind.

I know this sounds maudlin but think of any of the films that truly stay with you, violent, brutal or comedic, and analyze why that film stayed with you.

Try above all to write a lot.  But take time off to see "Pit Fighter." 

Jesse Johnson.

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