Chris Jones Blog

Six weeks away and Cannes fever kicks in!

I am just organising my pass for the Cannes Film Market / Festival right now. This year I am going in through the Short film Corner, which is basically a way to ‘buy’ your way in very cheaply (75 euros). All you need to do is sign up, pay, and send your film in. You can also do this all through Without A Box, which is great and a headache saver.

So we are now strategising about how best to use the Cannes event. First off, we don’t know if we are in competition yet, and we won’t know for about a month. There will be thousands of films competing for just a few slots, so competition is fierce. There is just no point in speculating.

The second thing to consider is, do we really want Gone Fishing in the Short Film Corner? If it is, Cannes will digitise the film and allow it be viewed via there computerised system, but that means anyone can see it in far from ideal conditions. But that also means that anyone CAN see it, at any time, including people who may play a part in its future, such as other festival organisers. The jury is out until nearer the April 18th deadline.

We hope to have a major PR push for the film, with a strategic push for Rocket Boy at the same time. We have all sorts of crazy ideas, and I am not going to reveal a single one just yet, but hopefully, post Cannes, we will be able to see just how successful each strategy was.

Our goals are this…

1. Get major international film festival programmers to see the film, meet with them and get a commitment.

2. Get players in the UK film business to see that the film is terrific and that we really mean business.

3. Make contacts with international film players, using the film as a way to state that we are serious players too.

We are hopefully going to have a 35mm print in time too, but I will also be fascinated to see how many films are being screened digitally off BluRay. My guess is there will be some – think about it – five reels of 35mm print or one disk? It’s a no brainer really.

Right, loads of PR stuff to start getting ready!

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Final DVD – death and resurrection!

I had just about mastered the final DVD’s for Gone Fishing, in both PAL and NTSC, with both Dolby Digital and DTS sound, with perfect picture (even the NTSC thanks to a great system trascoder called Canopus Procoder 3)…

And then I got the dreaded email. We had missed a person off the credits. And it was one of the actors! How could this possibly happen? Well it does on low budget films. The problem is that it’s no-ones particular job to deal with making a credit list. During the shoot, a credit list is very low on the crisis management list. So this happens.

The good news is that as I am writing this, After Effects is rendering a new end roller which I will drop into the various edits later today, and then I will rebuild the DVD’s and BluRay disks. As for the HDCamSR master, I am doing some clones at the weekend and hope that I can drop them onto those tapes then. It should all be fine.

There is a hidden gem here too. After doing all the DVD’s yesterday, I was struck by an obvious idea which would have meant remaking all the DVD’s anyway. I was wrestling with ‘All that work to remake the DVD’s for this damn idea I should have had weeks ago…’ when I got the email about the missing credit and I am now obliged to rebuild the DVD’s. My good friend Johnny Newman made a film a few years ago which I edited for him, called ‘Foster’. It’s a touching tale about fostering young kids, and it won a few festivals. Last week, Johnny got a call from Walden Media (the guys who made among other things, ‘Bridge to Terabithia’) as they had a DVD of ‘Foster’ and liked it. It occurred to me that if this was gong to happen with ‘Gone Fishing’, I ought to have something on the DVD about Rocketboy. I already have a short promo made up of the concept art, so now I am going to include that as a button on the menu saying something like… The Next Project – ROCKETBOY…

So like everything in life, where you lose, you gain! Sure I have to remake all the DVD masters and stuff, but I also get a better crack at getting the message of Rocketboy out there.

You can view the short Rocketboy promo here…  (it's 5mb H264 encoded MOV, so give it a moment to load).

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

The mountain lies ahead and my feet feel heavy...

With dread in my heart, I approach now, the writing of the next project…

And I take the first step...

While I can write, I find it very hard. Much harder than I think many other writers do. I find it extremely draining, emotionally and physically. And there is a maximum of about three to five hours a day I can write creatively.

I have three main projects on which I am working.

First and foremost is of course Rocketboy. While the script is in very good shape, it does need a massive overhaul to tackle some tonal issues, to reduce the length, and add a few more character and plot ‘things’. It’s about saying more with less.

Second is the horror movie Transplant, which is still at a very detailed treatment stage. I suspect I will spend two days or so on this, getting it into much better shape. Again, shorter, sweeter, tighter. Everything about the story is working well, it’s just baggy. Once this is done, it’s ready to go out as a detailed treatment.

Finally, there is my undisclosed Hollywood blockbuster. This is a very high concept childrens film, and without doubt, it’s the film that pitches the best. I can’t say any more as it’s under wraps. All will be revealed in due course.

So I am going to start this new journey by enrolling myself, as it were, on Jeff Kitchens one say screenwriting seminar. I sold this course last year on DVD, and now it’s my turn to have a day long session with Jeff. Eddie Hamilton just read his book, and gave it a thumbs up, so I am looking forward to this.

I use DVD seminars and audio courses to get myself into the zone. Most of the time I feel myself nodding in agreement with what I am hearing or watching, and for me, the DVD’s and audio courses are like going to have coffee with an old writing friend and script guru. It fires me up. It reminds me of what I know, and blows away the cobwebs.

There are also some movie soundtracks that I listen to ONLY when working on a script. This music can then have a Pavlovian effect on me, getting me juiced up in moments. It’s actually a really powerful tool that I use regularly. You have to be quite disciplined though, and only listen to that specific music when writing or brainstorming a specific project. For Transplant it is ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’ and ‘Seven’. For Rocketboy it’s ‘Braveheart’ and the three ‘Free Willy’ films.

Onward and upward.

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Rocketboy redraft in the Rockies

Having just completed the Masterclass in Vancouver, I decided to head up to the hills (Rocky Mountains actually, and nothing like a hill) and rest before starting work on my redraft of Rocketboy – with a view to possibly resetting the film in North America.

My redraft is the second part of the ‘Gone Fishing’ proposal for Samuelsons – I agreed to make a great short film AND redraft the Rocketboy script.

For rest and inspiration, I booked in for a night at the Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel. As luck would have it, the skiing world cup is taking place and all the cheap rooms were taken, including the one I booked, and so I got a free upgrade to the Gold Pass level – and boy am I living in the lap of luxury! The pic here is the view from my window. Blimey.

The new draft of Rocketboy will be based on several pages of really excellent script notes that I got from Samulesons over the summer, and also on my own ideas too. I have a whole new subplot based around the British Space race and the ill fated Black Arrow project that was abandoned in the sixties. The challenge is going to be – how do I add the 20 or so new ‘things’ into the story suggested by Samulesons, and also add the whole new Black Arrow subplot, while making the script 20 pages shorter! For me this is now all about turning something that is good into something that is world class and truly excellent.

I have a yellow post it note on my PC that reads – SAY MORE WITH LESS… This is now my motto for this draft.

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Onward and upward!

Guerilla Film Maker in Vancouver

I flew into Vancouver, BC, Canada a few days ago, with a dual remit. First off, I am running my two day Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass here at a film makers conference called FTX West. Second, I am location scouting for Rocketboy and plan to spend a week looking for amazing places to shoot the movie – as well as getting the lowdown on the Canadian film industry.

First off, the course. I am running this one as a hybrid, building a large new section in from Gone Fishing, and what I learned making the film. This is in part a semi dressed rehearsal for the UK course I will be running in January. And I am really looking forward to it. I met with film maker and FTX Organiser, Rob Nielson, last night for dinner and we discussed the course and the state of the Vancouver film business. Vancouver is being hit hard by the writers strike with huge shows closing down completely in the next few weeks. Rob made the point that he understands why there is a strike, but often, those who are striking don’t really understand how far reaching and devastating it can be for other people involved in the film process and business.

FTX is also carrying some other seminars, including Genevieve and Andrews Guerilla Film Makers Documentary Masterclass which I hosted for them last year in Ealing, (where it was an amazing success). I am also looking forward to the FTX convention where all the cool new hardware will be on show. I will report back on anything particularly cool that I find.

Right… got to go and collect Genevieve and Andrew from the airport!

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Producer Ivan Clemmenst AFM report 2

Here is the second and final part of Ivan Clemments report from the American Film Market… I like the picture here, it’s Ivan, a producer (left), being a grip! (from Gone Fishing).

I'm now back at LAX waiting for my flight and half rack of ribs to stuff my fat face with if I have time. I've just spoken to Chris to tell him the news that the market was tough. The writers strike, far from me thinking it would mean that all the sales agents and distributors would be hungry for new product, simply went into overdrive to sell as much product as possible. Which pretty much left me out in the cold.  I did manage several meetings but because of the mayhem, people were only taking in maybe a tenth of what I was talking about.

A meeting that I was particularly exited about, with the Bank of Ireland, turns out to be on of those 'when you have finance in place, a major star attached, finished the movie, won an Oscar and are totally bankable, then we'll give you some money'... YAWN.

I had several very productive meetings with Charlie and it looks like we're on track to have him as an Exec Producer for Rocketboy! Had a hilarious meeting with a guy from a company called XXXXXXX (Chris has edited this for discretion!) Pictures. They are in the business of 'forward P&A' (Prints and Advertising). On the face of it, it sounded interesting. They will guarantee a certain level of P&A budget based on your project (up to a mil). You can then use that to raise some finance for your movie. Charlie was in on this meeting. As it progressed, I could barely keep a straight face as the guy proceeded to tell us that as producers, we would have to put up 1% of the P&A budget to 'secure' it. Then they get a 10% management fee, 25% interest pa, and 10% of the movie. I won't bore you with anymore details but it was a scream…

Dashing for plane now…

Blimey. Onward and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Producer Ivan is at the American Film Market

Gone Fishing is still coming along well, but now I must turn my attentions to the BIG project, on eof the main reasons Gone Fishing was made. That is Rocketboy. Producer Ivan Clemments is now at the American Film Market working with a friend of mine, who for political reasons, has to remain anonymous. We will call him Charlie. Ohh how this sounds even more exciting. Here’s Ivan’s report so far…

As I write this it's 7am. I've been up since 4am.

AFM is a funny beast. It's not like any other place on the planet that I've ever visited. Imagine a gigantic covered meat, veg and fruit market packed with people only they are peddling movies not tomatoes, and you've pretty much got it. I've been coming here now for 4 years and you'd think I'd be used to it by now.

I arranged meetings before I came. My sales agent for my previous film, January 2nd, said that I use his day passes to access the market, saving me a whopping $750 that I would have otherwise have to pay. So it made sense to attend the market again. I would probably not have otherwise.

This AFM is different for me though. I'm here with four projects: ROCKETBOY (RB), TRANSPLANT (Both written by Chris), THE MIX and now I've just acquired the life rights to a football story. So there's a lot going on. My angle is different. Chris and I have decided that we want several projects (slate) on the go. I mentioned to Chris the possibility of slate funding and we are agreed on that course for now. But you know the film business....

I land at LAX at 4pm on Tuesday. I'm off the plane and through customs within about 20 mins as my bag is one of the first out. That hardly ever happens. Then what would normally take 30 mins to get to Santa Monica takes 2 hours because of an accident. LA grinds to a halt. On route I text Charlie, a good friend of Chris' and possible Exec Producer for RB. I can't give too much away as he plans leaving the company he is with right now. Because of his unique position, he's had access to A list producers, directors and talent. And because he's arranging the music side, he's no threat to them creatively. What does this mean? He's their FRIEND!

I arrive and my luxury hotel, Pacific Sands motel. It has 1 star! I don't know how it achieved that status. Even the fleas have moved on. It's like some hick town hotel that you would normally only pay $40 a night for but because of AFM, it's the only one I can afford and the rates are through the roof.

Charlie arrives at 7.45. He's a very unassuming English bloke and I warm to him straight away. I show him the cut of Gone Fishing which he loves. We head out for drinks and a snack and end up at sushi Rocku, a mid ranged sushi bar. Charlie is very excited about Rocketboy potential. He's on our wavelength as well re RB being
translated into an American story and then going after talent and finance with a new script. We also discuss slate funding which he is also very interested in. Charlie is already quietly Execing other projects and in a years time, plans to start up a production company with a backer from the internet business. In the meantime, he's happy to help out on RB.

WEDNESDAY
Up at 4am, what joy. After trying fruitlessly to sleep again, I start ploughing through HCD online (Hollywood Creatives Directory) to fire out emails and make more meetings at AFM. 8am, I'm showered and eating Steak and eggs at a diner 2 blocks away.

9am I go see my sales agent, Phil Gorn. First major bummer is that I can only have the day pass for short bursts as he needs it for other people as well. The other thing I have to keep reminding myself is that all the companies are here to sell, not to acquire projects in development. Those guys are around, but not at the early part of the market.

Most meetings I have are 'pushed' meaning 'go away and come back towards the end of the market when we have time'.

I don't know why this still surprises me. Time for a new outlook. But I'm off to go and irritate people again. Will keep you up to date. There's only real point in reporting interesting news.

One of the biggies is that there is an impending writers strike which means that Hollywood, so it's reported in Screen and Hollywood Reporter, is trying to stock pile projects. But trying to find these execs  milling about is proving tough. Have to find a new angle. VERY FRUSTRATED!! But will keep digging away.

Due to meet up with Charlie again today for more strategy on RB.

Ivan
-----------------

How EXCITING!

Onward and upward

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Rocketboy rewrite begins

I am working on the screenplay for Rocketboy today, and going over my notes from the reading last weekend. Two further things have since struck me. I can’t express just how valuable it was to hear my dialogue read out loud. It really does take on a new life – on the page and in my head, it’s always performed perfectly, BUT on the day, it’s re-interpreted by humans, and sometimes it just didn’t work as well as I hoped. What I thought were meaningful and sincere lines sometimes turned out to be clunky and unwieldy. Rewrite! Rewrite! Rewrite!

Another point which really took me off guard – which is obvious if you think about it – is that there is a dog in the story which is often used for comic effect. This went down very well. So well, I need more of it in the third act. I am reminded of the old Hollywood maxim of adding an animal to an average screenplay to turn it into a better script with a better trailer.

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Rocketboy Readthrough

Yesterday we did an actors read-through for Rocketboy – organised by my good friend, casting director Cathy Arton, it was a long but revealing and emotionally overwhelming day. At Ealing studios, around 15 actors of all ages, sat in a large circle and performed the script. One actor read the ‘narration’ (descriptions and slug lines) while others read their characters.

So what was learned about the script?

1. It is still too long. Hearing it performed in one hit made the slower bits drag. Much like the experience in the cutting room in post production, so I need to get to work on reduction or the screenplay.

2. One or two characters where much better than expected, and as such, I think they will end up with a few more lines. This mainly relates to Doris and Glenda, a kind of Laurel and Hardy double act in the story.

3. Grandad, the main driving force behind the rockets, felt a little thin – mainly as he does not resonate off the page. This I already knew and have begun fixing in the next draft.

4. Numerous lines of dialogue became redundant the moment an actor breathed human life into the words. This will lead to a script reduction of around 3 pages – that’s three pages that won’t get to set to be cut out in the edit! All more money up there on the screen.

5. Perhaps most importantly, EVERYONE loved the script, the characters and the pace. This wasn’t just people getting all ‘group huggy’, I could sense that Rocketboy had touched and moved people. I am more convinced of it’s excellence than I have ever been! So I got a terrific shot in the arm there.

6. I had planed to record the performance on audio, but it soon became apparent that this would not work unless the whole script was reworked in places, into what would be effectively a radio play. It would also have needed more rehearsal and lot’s of microphones. I decided to get a few actors back in the future and work on a key scenes and do those properly.

On a separate note, some of the actors present told me that they had done this kind of read-through before and that usually, the scripts were very poor with thin characterisation and dialogue.

Overall, this was a very worthwhile exercise that I suspect would be even more use earlier in development. You really should think about it if you are working on a feature screenplay or project.

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

The Sky Is The Limit

I have been researching into private rocketry for Rocketboy and saw a wonderful doc about Burt Rattan and his SpaceShipOne, and how he won the $10m X prize. This was a privately funded group of dedicated experts who built the first private spaceship, got it into space and then brought it, and it’s passengers back safely.

It was an awesome documentary that really touched and inspired me, not only because they had passion, but also because they were out there, taking huge risks and pulling it off.

At the end of the doc, one of team said, paraphrasing, ‘we often think it takes huge multi national companies or governments to do something enormous – but we did it with just 20 people!’

This soooo resonated with my whole ethos on the film making front. Rutan studied making aircraft all his life, and this has been his greatest success to date. Maybe if we all study filmmaking all of our lives, and we put that knowledge into practice, we too will achieve wonderful things without the help of a major corporation. Boy oh boy, the sky really is the limit!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

First script notes truly worth their weight in gold!

I got my first set of notes on the screenplay for Rocketboy, from Marc Samuelson today. I suspect this is an amalgamation of thoughts from himself, associate producer Jessica Parker and a number of readers. It’s five pages in length and very detailed. I was somewhat overwhelmed by the incisive, detailed and empathetic content of this document as I am used to vague or petty likes and dislikes in a script report. But for the first time in a long time, I know I am working with people who really know their stuff. This is VERY EXCITING!

I must admit I was waiting in dread for their script notes. Now I can’t wait to have a meeting with them, nail down a plan, and get my teeth into the next draft.

Of course these notes present one major challenge. There are five pages of great ideas and enhancements to make, BUT we need the script to be 20% shorter! That’s a major challenge considering that I know the script is already very tight. But hey, I also know from experience that there is always room for improvement and reduction. More with less is printed on a note above my monitor.

I am also gearing up for a cast reading of Rocketboy next weekend. Not the final cast, but a group of experienced actors nonetheless. The idea is really just to hear the script out loud, to find what doesn’t work, what could easily be cut and where it’s dragging. I am really looking forward to this and will post a clip of the final performance when done.   

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Count down to Rocketboy begins!

And so it begins…

I can’t say with who just yet, but my long term movie project, Rocketboy (previously titled Rocketman and Vampire Girl) has shifted several gears and I am much closer to it being made than I have ever been.

Essentially, we have a serious and credible offer to make the movie, at a very serious and credible budget, with a major UK player, and shot in the UK -  Great!

The only downside is that they don’t want me to direct, as I am not a ‘bonded’ director and my credits are for very low budget films that were made more than a couple of years ago. While I want to rant and get angry about this, I have chosen to see the problem from their perspective. And I can see the problem quite clearly.

I need to give everyone involved in the finance as many reasons to hire me as the director as I can possibly muster. And I may be asking for your help in due course too.

So what do I need to do?

I am going to spearhead a multi pronged attack, starting with a short film, on 35mm, produced to the highest possible standards. Quite simply, I need to get Oscar nominated at the 2008 awards. That’s the goal. It’s called ‘Gone Fishing’ and I will be writing more about it in the coming weeks.

I will also be shooting some key scenes from Rocketboy, to prove I can work with kids and draw out wonderful performances. I will also be producing animatics, and more artwork…

This blog, for the next few months, is going to follow my journey to convincing EVERYONE that I am the right man for the job.

So strap in and prepare for Blast Off!!!!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

ROCKETBOY may be fuelling for take off!

As many of you will know, I have spent many years working on a project called Rocketboy – and yesterday we had the best meeting yet with a very serious possible producer who just loved it. This has kicked me into MASSIVE ACTION, which is a terrific feeling. Already I have knuckled down and penned a short script for a short film that I may have to produce in order to get various parties happy, such as completion bonds and the like. So far the feedback on this short is good. Also, I am getting the concept art polished, and we have begun work on casting. Very very exciting. Watch this blog!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com

Rocketboy Concept Art Gets Investors Excited

I am working on my film Rocketboy with concept artist, Matt Allsopp, and have again been struck by much impact large colourful and imaginative images from the story can have. We are talking to film companies and we often get ‘WOW, let’s do a meeting…’ after they see it. But the biggest impact comes with private investors. This artwork tends to make the movie ‘real’ in their heads.

I am working now with another film maker friend, on a huge trilogy, and again, this artwork just gets people excited. The lesson? A small investment upfront can make all the difference to getting your movie funded.

You can see the art at www.livingspirit.com/rocketboy-conceptart.htm

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
mail@livingspirit.com