Chris Jones Blog

2010 Oscars Shortlist Announced... and only one British film again!

It’s Oscars time. Last year, I had just got word from the Academy that ‘Gone Fishing’ was shortlisted, which I blogged about here.

Last year the shortlist was kept secret, but this year it appears to be public (you can see the complete list on the Academy website here).

And there is just one short film from the UK – Sidney Turtlebaum – starring Derek Jacobi. I just received a call from the producer, Daniel Jewel, asking for advice as he had found the blog. We chatted for 20 minutes, about sales agents, Oscars strategies and gigs in LA, and I am sure we will meet up in the new year. I haven’t seen his film yet but the reviews are all very good.

You can see his trailer and website here… more on Sidney Turtlebaum when it’s announced.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

A ‘declassified’ blog from 2008! The Oscars Short Film Shortlist is announced!

 Occasionally, I have written a blog that, as soon as is posted, I have had to pull. This is one such blog I wrote last December at the Bahamas Film Festival, when I got an email from the Oscars saying we were shortlisted… I have included the entire blog entry (we were told to pull it as the shortlist last year was not public). And for less than ten short film makers, somewhere in the world, this is about to happen all over again – it’s what our online workshop is all about too, turning your great ideas into short films worthy of an Oscars nomination, and even win! More on the course here… Anyway, enjoy a ‘declassified’ blog from 2008!

---------------------

Dear everyone… it’s GETTING VERY REAL! Here’s what we just received from the Oscars people…

** High Priority **
** Reply Requested by 9/12/2008 (Tuesday) **
 
Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that your Live Action Short film, Gone Fishing, has advanced to the second round of voting from which the nominees will be determined.  At this time, we will need one additional film print to facilitate the remaining rounds of voting.  The print is due at the Academy no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, December 29.  Please confirm receipt of this e-mail and let us know if you will be able to provide the print by the deadline.
 
Awards Office
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

WOW! We followed up and asked how many films are on that list and they said…

I cannot let you know the exact number of films but as it explains in the rules, it is between six and ten.  These films with go through one more round of voting, the results of which will determine the nominees.

WOW AGAIN!

OK so what does this really mean? In short, we have been selected from a ‘long list’ of what we estimate to be between 150 and 300 short films, all of which MUST have either won one of the hundred or so Oscars Qualifier festivals (an AA festival - which we did in Rhode Island). Or they must have screened commercially in LA for three days, which means they must have a 35mm print. So the competition will have been very high indeed.

We are now officially up against a maximum of ten films, minimum of six, for a nomination for the 2009 Academy Awards – the Oscars to you and me! We find out, with the rest of the world, on Jan 22nd at 5.30am Eastern Pacific Time. If we do get the nomination, Ivan and I will be going to the Oscars on Feb 22nd 2009, red carpet and all! HOLY TOLEDO BATMAN!

To be clear, we are NOT nominated now, but we are on a very short list for that nomination – I have heard this list referred to as ‘The Oscars Short List’ and also ‘In consideration for the nomination’. Both make me grin like a 12 year old.

So the adventure continues! And I am delighted that so many of you have chosen to stick it out with me. 18 months ago I set out on this seemingly impossible dream, and was humbled that 175 of you chose to put a small amount of cash into that dream… Then 60 or so cast and crew members tirelessly worked to bring that dream to the screen… We all gathered last January at BAFTA for the premiere, and it became clear at that point that what we had made really did connect and move audiences.

And as we continued through getting the film ‘out there’, many more of you joined by choosing to help in your own ways too, be a little assistance with marketing, posters, printing, DVD making, a chat to a personal but powerful friend who could open a door for us, or by simply contributing to the campaign by buying a DVD for someone special at Christmas…

Thankyou.

OK, so we have got this far which is amazing, but there is still a way to go to get to the summit of Mount Oscars! We are now strategising about LA based publicists, an awareness trip to LA and the likes… If you want to help now, buy a DVD or tell all your friends about it so they can buy a DVD too.

Share the loooooove!

Blimey, blimey and thrice blimey!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Request from Down Under for Oscars Insider Tips...

Yesterday, I got an email from an Australian film maker who is now in the running for the Oscars, just as I was this year with Gone Fishing. As I have had a numbe5r of querries this week regarging the Oscars, I thought I would share his thougts and my response. Here’s his email…

My name is Ben Phelps, a Writer/Director from Sydney, Australia… I recently took part in your online workshop for Gone Fishing. It was inspirational and exciting to hear about your adventures during the Oscar shortlisting.  I've recently gone back to re-watch the Oscar video because... we had some great news last week. Our short film, Nice Shootin’ Cowboy, won the Narrative Short Jury Award at Austin Film Festival, USA.  Just like Gone Fishing, we’re now eligible for an Oscar nomination with another 80 films from around the world.  Given that we have to wait until the next deadline on 1 Oct 2010, it will be an anxious wait!
 
If you have any advice or further insights (from your own experience or from your informative contact, ‘Deep Throat’, at the Academy) please let us know!
 
Ben

And my response…

Hi Ben – as you have done the online workshop, I think you will know most of what I know, regarding the process of getting on the long list, then going to the short list, and hopefully to final nominations. I would recommend you consider setting up a commercial screening in LA through Laemmle theatres (I wrote about this on the blog last year). The main reason is that if your film appears on TV or on DVD between now and the Oscars 2011, it might disqualify you from the awards – the win at Austin, as my understanding has it, does NOT protect you from this possibility, but screening commercially for three days in LA will (note – please check Academy rules as they may change from year to year). I know of one film maker whose film was short-listed and the sales agent screened his film on late night TV without his knowing. Someone grassed them up and his Oscar ambitions vaporised. You do not want to have to drown those sorrows!

Also, I would use your time between now and the ‘long list screenings’ (which will be around November 2010) to write a killer script, then head out to LA around the time of these screenings, and start seeing agents and managers and tell them ‘hey my film is long listed for an Oscar… we find out about the shortlist and then the nominations in the next few weeks…’ That alone should get you some traction in meetings. You would be amazed at how few film makers actually use this amazing ‘heat’. This gives you an edge.

Of course you need the killer script too – but then you do have a year from now to get that baby cookin’.

Remember in Hollywood, it’s not how ‘good’ you are, it’s how ‘hot’ you are, and how ‘talented’ you are perceived to be. Work on getting a powerful advocate between now and then so that they can introduce you to Hollywood as being both talented and hot. It may be an agent, a manager, a lawyer, a director, a connected festival judge, a writer, an exec… As long as they are perceived as being powerful and connected, their advocacy will work wonders. Good luck and see you at the Oscars! ;-)

And I just got this response...

Thank you for such a detailed reply.  I honestly didn't expect an answer so I really appreciate it.  From one passionate filmmaker to another, it means a lot.  I'll keep you posted as our Oscar journey unfolds.  We have two feature scripts ready to go so we'll do our best to take advantage of the 'heat' generated by the win at Austin. FYI, see this link. Ted Hope is incredibly inspiring and a true film futurist:

Fingers crossed for Ben and his team then. If you want to see more of his work, you can check out his site here.

If yu want to see all my posts on the Oscars, click here (remember they are in reverse order as they are form the blog).

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Oscars Shortlist Screening Programme...

I am still suffering with my tooth abscess, getting only a few hours sleep a night, and only getting a few hours relief four times a day as I get the sweet spot with the pain killers, before the pain returns. Of course this would all happen over a bank holiday! (and I am writing this blog entry at 3 am while the pain killers are just starting to kick in)

I have taken this opportunity to add more content to the Online Gone Fishing Masterclass, including a whole new 45 minute video with Eddie Hamilton on what HD really means to you and me as film makers. I have also added more stuff to the Oscars section – you may not know it but getting into the Oscars race is actually quite easy for a short film maker, but you MUST jump through some specific hoops or you will be disqualified. I know of several world class shorts that fell foul of the Academy rules, so make sure you don’t!

I also added the programme for the screening of the ten shortlisted live action films and animated films. This screening took place in LA (one of three from which votes are drawn to make up the five nominated films) and it shows which ten films we were up against.

I know from feedback from five seperate parties who were at that screening that Gone Fishing played very well, but this one screening was only part of a series of three screenings. Again, the whole process is outlined in the online masterclass (the main part is winning an accredited festival, which we did in Rhode Island, or by commercially screening, whcih we also did and I wrote about on the blog here). If you want to see the Oscars Shortlist Screening Program, you can click here to view it (at least if finally provides documented proof that we were Oscars shortlisted).

We have had a flurry of feedback for the online masterclass too, and it’s still getting extraordinary comments… You can check out the last batch of feedback here.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

The Oscar Goes To...

The Oscars are over and Spielzeugland (Toyland) won best short film. It’s a story about the holocaust which by all accounts is very powerful, and of course, it’s subject matter is always going to play well to Hollywood folk.

Slumdog swept the board, and I am particularly delighted that my old film school buddy, Chris Dickens won for editing Slumdog. Chris cut my film school graduation film (Captain Zap – a half hour narrative about a kid who draws Conan the Barbarian style comic strips), and then did the sound editing on my first feature The Runner. He is an incredibly nice chap and it was good to see him up there on stage collecting the little gold chappie. Well done Chris! I am sure in due course I can convince him to come and chat to us about his experiences and what it was like going to the Oscars!

As the parties continue into the night, I get on a plane to LA to start building a whole new chapter of possibilities… I must admit I have very mixed feelings. Sadness that we got so close, fear that LA may just be a big dreamy bubble that could not just burst, but deflate, anxiety over the long haul flight… But I am very much awake. Focussed. And determined to make the most out of the opportunities that Gone Fishing has created…

Right… Calling the cab now…

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

First contact after the announcements...

Over the last 8 hours, I have received an enormous amount of texts, calls and emails. They were from across the whole planet, some from cast and crew, some from friends, other from people who have been following our adventure, and a surprising amount from professional film makers, writers and directors.

So many emails in fact, I simply can’t answer them all. So please accept this group Thank You… your words were all a comfort on a tough day. Here are just a handful of these emails…

I really am gutted to see Gone Fishing wasn't nominated. The disappointment of that aside though, you only have to look at the blog to see how many people the film has touched and inspired, which is a huge and admirable achievement in my humble opinion!

On a personal note, you've been a massive inspiration to me, and done a hell of a lot for me, and I'll always be hugely grateful to you for that. You really inspired me to kick my life off in an entirely new direction, and if you are feeling a little bit rubbish at having not been nominated, I hope you can take a bit of solace in the fact that you can affect people in that way.
James Barham, Editor

Chris, before the general storm of the day began yesterday, I wanted to tell you that your regular emails are one of the few regular mailouts that have real value in this world.  Yesterday's email came as the creative waters were "still" momentarily (not a bad thing), and I marvelled at what a great service you do by keeping us connected.  It helps us all (including you, I hope).  No time right now to go into details, but your blog is value-full and your journey important, noted, and inspiring.  Thank you for your leadership!  Let's continue to sail the ship together, Monsieur le Capitain!
Leslie Diamond, Annapolis, Maryland, US

My dearest Chris...a quick, twinge of utter disappointment but then in a flash it's 'YES, ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!!!! Winning is fun and glorious in it's own odd way and the feeling of exhilaration lasts for 4 minutes... I asked Josie McAvin, after she won the Oscar for Best Set Decoration for Tom Jones, what it was like, what was the feeling....  she said "It felt wonderful for 4 minutes, but then I wondered what and where my next job would be".  I never forgot that....

Always, always, always it's ONWARD AND UPWARD!!!!! 

A good rule after ANY loss is to open the champagne!!!!!!  Will be opening up a bottle here and cheering you! Arms are wrapped around you with a huge squeeze......... M
Marlyn Mason, Actress, USA

This has brought a tear to my eye. You so deserved to be nominated with Gone Fishing. I am truly sad today. I heard the nominations coming through and went straight to the Oscar site to see. I kept checking and rechecking in case I had missed it. I just can’t believe it. I sat all my family down to watch the film on Christmas day and they loved it. It brought a tear to many of their eyes. I am really sorry you did not clinch this.

Good luck with all your future projects! It’s been a fantastic journey and I shall be watching your future activities. You are truly an inspiration. There are not many film makers out there who would share their journey in the way you have done. We have all been with you on this and I am sure we will all be with you on your future exploits.
Paul of Herne Bay, Kent

I just wanted to say jolly well done. You made and ran a stonking campaign, became an even more inspirational filmmaker than you were already (not an easy task) and for a while you enabled people to believe in a dream. With so much politics involved, so much money thrown at campaigns, brunches and industry screenings for recognition, it's a tribute to you that you made the final selection. Bloody well done!
Ray Brady, Film Maker, London

Right, it’s time to put the news in the past, and focus on the present and future. Over the coming weeks I will be announcing the new projects we are rolling out in 2009.

OK, so Gen and Zee are about to take me to their favourite Curry House in Santa Monica for what promises to be an extremely over indulgent dinner. Great! ‘Cos I am starving!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

So the nominations are in.... 6.20am local time...

After watching live around the globe, many of us dashed to our computers to get to Oscars.com… If you don’t know by now, Gone Fishing was not nominated.

We were in the official shortlist of ten films from which the five nominations were drawn. But the judges placed us somewhere between film number six and ten. We got notification about this Official Shortlist last December, but we were told that we could not announce it or tell anyone.

It’s a sad day for us all, but let’s not linger here, let’s regroup and see what new horizons await Gone Fishing and what new and exciting projects await us all… As the Oscars chapter closes, a whole new chapter of Exciting Possibilities has just opened, and I just can’t wait.

Onwards, and if ever there was a time to say this, UPWARDS!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

T minus 146 minutes and counting...

It’s 3.00 am in LA and the Oscars are announced in 2 ½ hours from now. I am feeling rather calm all things considered. What will be, will be I guess.

I have had a cacophony of text messages ringing in my ear all night, from well wishers and nervously excited collaborators too. The same on email. All of them are appreciated.

I am staying with Genevieve in LA, who I made my features with and wrote the books. My fitful sleep was made more interesting by her two Doberman dogs, Crispy and Crunchy, who decided that the English guest would make an excellent bedfellow.

As the announcement is 5.30am here in LA, it has a strange Christmas feeling – it’s dark, quiet and overwhelmingly exciting. If you are in the UK, and at work, I think you can watch live on your desktop with the BBC news feed here

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Counting down in the hours now...

I am sat here at Terminal Five, Heathrow airport and about to board a plane for LAX. Officially, I am flying over to attend the Santa Barbara Film Festival where Gone Fishing is playing. Unofficially, I am also going to LA to be as close to the Oscars as I can get, for the nomination announcements on Thursday. We all find out then, if Gone Fishing has been nominated or not.

And I am looking at the newspaper, with a new American President that fills the whole planet with hope for the future.

I feel like I am in some kind of dream.

I am currently in ‘hour two’ of a fifteen hour journey. All I can do over those thirteen remaining hours is sit around and think… and I can’t help but be reflective of the journey we have all been on over the last 18 months. It’s truly extraordinary.

Whatever the outcome on Thursday, I am so very proud of all of us - everyone involved in ‘Gone Fishing’.  And I know from the emails I have been getting, many of you are also very proud of our achievement too. Together we created something that has its own life, it reaches out and touches people across the globe. It makes peoples lives better. That is wonderful.

Last night, quite out of the blue, an old friend from school contacted me via Facebook. I had not spoken to her in 25 years, and it was great to get in touch. Really great. But she also told me of a few friends who I had lost touch with over the years, had died. It was a shock. People who I went to school with were no longer here. And it was a stark reminder to me, to live in the moment. The here and the now. Even if it is in an airplane seat. Life is a gift never to be squandered.

The Oscars will come, they will go, maybe we will get the nomination, maybe we wont… But whatever the outcome, the film will still live on, continuing to reach the hearts of those who choose to spend 13 minutes of their life watching it.

This is the real prize.

We did it. We really did. We made something extraordinary.

Thank you for choosing a seat on this roller coaster...

So hold on tight, 'cos the BIG one is headed our way VERY FAST!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

UPDATE - I got into LA and hooked up my laptop to find literally hundreds of 'Good luck' emails. I won't have time to respond to them all just yet, but thank you. I am Jet lagged and feeling really ill right now, so very nervous. Less than 12 hours... Blimey!

Watching Past Oscar Shorts on DVD

I have been watching a lot of the Oscars short film winners and nominees from the last few years. They are available to buy on DVD and I also believe via iTunes, though I haven’t checked that yet. I just wanted to see what they were really like, in terms of quality, style, feel etc. The DVD’s are available on Amazon and released by Magnolia Home Entertainment. 

To say this is an eclectic film collection would be an understatement…In the last few years, winners have included..

The Mozart of Pickpockets (watch a clip here)– a very European comedy about pickpockets who end up having to look after a young boy.

West Bank Story (watch here)– a full blown musical (yes singing and dancing too) set in the West Bank, spoofing West Side Story.

Six Shooter – dark comedy which led onto director Martin McDonagh making ‘In Bruges’.

Here’s my impressions after watching about 15 nominated films.

1. All are very good. I liked some, didn’t like others, but what I didn’t like was a matter of taste and not quality.

2. All were very well produced, with high production values and good sound etc.

3. I may be wrong, but I didn’t see anything shot on lower end digital formats. Most looked like 35mm film to me, perhaps some were Super 16mm? I suspect a few were HDCam. Also, I didn’t watch every film.

4. Off beat humour and feel good endings seemed prevalent, though Wasp, a Brit hard hitting social realist film did win a few years back.

5. Most were on the longer side, 15 minutes and over.

6. None were let down by poor acting, photography or editing. All were excellent.

7. Personally, I feel many shorts are a tad too long. To my taste, most of what I saw here was not at all over long.

8. I didn’t watch the animated shorts of doc shorts.

9. The hard hitting social realist films, which were few, were very good and not at all self indulgent. They felt well researched and truthful, but still depressing to me. 

All in all, stiff competition for any short film maker.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author

www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Thousands of miles in 27 hours...

The print has arrived at the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. Right now, Gone Fishing is being considered for an Oscar nomination…WOW!

And there is still so much work to do.

But for now, thank you Kerry for yet again stepping into the breach. You have made a big difference to everyone involved as we can at least rest assured, it didn’t get lost in transit!

For a recap on the Oscars... read previous blog entries here, on how the voting works... and here about the rough timescales between now and the awards...

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

How does the Academy voting work?

I just got an email from Derry at Network Ireland (who we are going to sign with to represent the film for sales). We have been discussing the Oscars tactics and here’s what he has come back with…

I have been doing business with another distributor who has had a few recent Academy Award nominees for the short films in his catalogue. He is personally based in L.A. so he knows the local scene well. I asked about a campaign to try to guarantee a nomination.   He said that it is extremely difficult to orchestrate as the film, generally, are selected on merit. He also clarified:

1. Between October and December the Academy holds in house weekly screenings to adjudicate on the short film nominees. There could be anything from 150-200 films eligible, that have been entered. The Academy won't provide outsiders with any details of how the selection process is conducted, what juries are involved etc. However, once they have selected a final short list of 10 films approximately in the Live Action category, soundings are made about the availability of a second print. The last 5 are ultimately informed.

2. The Academy hold a number of screenings for their members, to expose them to the short films nominated. There are a couple of theatrical screenings in L.A., one in New York and one in San Francisco.

3. The Academy don't send screeners of the shorts to their members for them to review.

4. Members have to attend the official screenings. There they review the films and are given the ballot papers on which they cast their votes. You have to be an Academy member to get into the screenings in the first place.

5. The Academy members (5-6,000 approx) are very much in the older age group, as a demographic. Some are not even in the industry any more or are retired.

I think the nostalgic theme of your film would be a big advantage from the point of view of the Academy members' age profile etc.

All good stuff… I also found this BBC interview with the guys who oversee the actual votes - you can read it here...

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

The print goes to the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

HOLY TOLDEO BATMAN... Just say it out load, 'we are sending our movie to the Oscars!' Yes I know we are not nominated and only 'in consideration', but... ' we are sending our movie to the Oscars!'

Phew! Let me take a moment.

So the print for Gone Fishing is now packaged up and will be shipped by FedEx in the morning. All our papers are in order, all our photos prepared and the print has been checked and viewed… There was a little heart stopper today when under close scrutiny of the rules, we wondered when on the form it says…

…Everyone with a DIRECTOR or PRODUCER credit on the motion picture and the COPYRIGHT HOLDER must read the following and sign below and agree…

Does that mean ALL the Associate Producers too? If it did, we would have an enormous problem as we would need to get 175 contracts out ASAP! Producer Ivan Clements called the Academy and the confirmed that it’s only the named Producer that needs to sign (along with the director and copyright holder).

So just for due diligence, we thought we would get it in writing…

Ivan wrote… Hi Michelle, Thanks for talking. Can you please confirm that you only need the 'producer' to sign and not Exec Producers or Assoc. Producers. Sorry, it's our first time and we want to get it right.

And Michelle replied…

That is correct, only the director and producers need to sign.
Regards, Michelle Ayala

So off it goes, to Kerry Finlayson in LA, who will hand deliver it for all of us, all the 175 people who funded the movie, the 200 crew who made it happen, the 20 actors involved… When stacked up, there are a lot of people who have chosen to invest in this journey with me.

I dearly hope the next chapter will be the most exciting yet!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

The Oscars Form Is Filled Out

Today is the day.

I am filling out the application for the Oscars 2009, for ‘Gone Fishing’. Once it’s sent off, not much will happened for the next three weeks or so, but then, a whole new PR machine will begin to roll out, both here and in LA.  I will be in touch about his in the coming weeks.

It’s getting very real now, with all sorts of crazy, ambitious and outlandish PR campaigns and stunts being considered. What these are and when they will happen will unfold in due course, but for now, I don’t want to show our cards publically…

So here is the rough timeline.

1. Some time before Feb 22nd (probably in Dec), we may get a call to say we are in the final shortlist (which according to rumour could be between 10 and 20 films). This shortlist has been ‘judged’. Effectively, the Academy is saying, don’t book a holiday in Feb! At that point we need to send a second 35mm print over. If we don’t get this call, we are not shortlisted and will not get nominated. 

2. On Jan 22nd, we watch TV and find out IF we are in the final five and have a nomination. If we ARE nominated, WE ARE GOING TO THE OSCARS! If we are not, it’s been a rollercoaster for sure, and it’s time to regroup for the next campaign.

3. If we do get nominated, we step up our PR campaign in LA and we go to the Oscars on Feb 22nd… Hearts will be pounding for sure.

In due course, I plan to write up an explicit timeline of events for film makers who follow after, as it’s been hard to piece together exactly what happens and when and by who. 

So again, the dark night of the soul for me… Some demons are being faced…

I must admit, I do feel considerable fear and trepidation. I have got his far, but what if we don’t even get into the final few? What if we stumble at the first hurdle? I feel under prepared, under funded, a stranger in a strange land… But I also know that all of these feelings are in fact my allies, they remind me that I am playing the game to win, that the game I am playing is THE BIG ONE… What fun is there in a game where you know the outcome because you have mastered it before? Or a game that you can ‘buy’ into through personal connection and wealth? Better a game where the odds are stacked against you, that way, even in defeat you also win.

But make no mistake, I am going to play this one as hard as it can be played…

And so, I also just reflect on that fact that the fish in Gone Fishing is called Goliath… rather apt.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Oscars Research...

I am leaving today for the Oldenburg Film Festival, and who knows what internet connectivity I will find, so it may be a couple of days before my next blog entry. I just wanted to let you know that the Oscars deadline as at the end of this month, and we are furiously researching tactics and best practices. When we have our information, we will post it.

But for now, I though I would just share a PDF interview from the Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, with a previous Oscars Short Film Nominee, Ashvin Kumar, director of The Little Terrorist. It’s pulled form the recent green UK book and makes for a fascinating read.

You can download the interview here…

Finally, I just had a long chat with Kerry Finalyson, Brit film maker and actress, on the ground in Hollywood. She has already helped out on Gone Fishing by being an associate producer, but she has also helped by attended screenings and other stuff in LA. She has now agreed to spend time researching and interviewing film makers, academy members, PR people and the like, in order that we formulate a better Oscars strategy.

This is great news as Kerry is both determined, charismatic and very persuasive – I am certain she will uncover a wealth of information that we will all find invaluable – so thanks Kerry! (pic here from the Premiere for which she flew over from LA for!)

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

The Road To The Oscars

The road to the Oscars is now truly underfoot. I put out a call to my list today, to get help on this journey, and I have been overwhelmed with incredible offers of support for the film and our attempt at the awards. And the offers have come from all over the globe too! I even got an offer of help from a Police Officer in the LAPD Video Unit! You never know…

Also, I got an email from Oli Lewington, who came on one of my courses a few years ago, who also wrote to me last year when it was hitting the fan on the movie, and hitting the fan for him too…

'I've followed Living Spirit since the days of the very first Handbook and would have loved to have got involved with Gone Fishing when it was shooting, but was a little busy dying at the time.  Now I'm not (yippee!), I'd love to be a part of such an exciting and driven company…'

Yes he really was dying, but he got the operation! You can read his post from last year here.

I have added an ‘Oscars Nomination announcement’ clock to the blog, on the upper left, and as I write this we have just over 157 days left BEFORE the nominations are announced. Set your watches now…

Of the sixty or so Oscar Qualifier festivals that are left, only 12 are left with deadlines that we can meet. But why bother you may ask, as we already have an Oscars qualifier win with Rhode Island? There appears to be a huge amount or rumour and speculation about how the films get shortlisted and then selected for nomination – should I try and win more festivals? Should I run a campaign in LA?  Should I go to the screenings personally? Everyone has an opinion and I am listening intently to them all. You can be sure though, we will do anything and everything to make this happen, and in line with Rhode Island, where possible we will video blog it all to take you on the ride with us.

Now it’s time to hit Withoutabox and get submitted to those last 12 festivals!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Gone Fishing... The Final Awards... Did we win BEST FILM?

WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST!

So it’s all over. What an incredible journey. And we won! We are now officially in the race for the nominations for the Oscars 2009. Can you believe it? I certainly can’t. After the awards, I went back to my room and crashed out for 2 hours, I had burnt up so much energy during the event!

I am back in the UK now, jet lagged and phased,but  with a whole new agenda stretching out in front of us. Now we really need to ramp things up as getting the nomination for the Oscars is also about being visible in Hollywood, and that’s going to take some magic.

George, director of the Rhode Island Film Festival, has agreed to advise us on strategies for this, and I am sure he will be a fountain of knowledge, and hopefully a partner on that journey…

Blimey. I mean really. Blimey!

I need to sleep.

PS - Finally, if you have been watching these webisobes, drop me a line to tell me what you have thought of them, what you have got from them.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Laemmle Letter for The Academy Arrives

Today I got the emailed letter from Laemmle theatres confirming that Gone Fishing screened in LA – this is needed for the application to the Oscars. A copy has been forwarded to AMPAS (the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and you can read the letter here is you are interested. Now we need to fill out the Oscars application form too, a copy of which is here (again for those interested).

Producer Ivan Clements also suggested we supply a 35mm print for screening to the Academy, and not a DVD – this will mean that Gone Fishing must be screened in a theatre for judging, and can’t just be viewed at home. Of course, I hope that does not mean that some people who need to see it, just don’t get to see it as they don’t make the screenings. We need to look into this further.

The BAFTA’s are looming too, and we will need to make our application for the 2009 awards between 1st Sept and 31st Oct. You can read their full rules and regs here.

We are making final arrangements for the Kodak Awards, the main award being an audience award, and so it would be great to see you all there. More on this in the coming days.

Onwards and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

LA Screenings Video

Film making colleague Andrew Zinnes managed to make it to the screenings in LA this weekend, just to check them out, and he shot a very short 1 minute video, which you can watch here.

We have been in touch with the Leammle guys who have told us that they will write us an official letter that we can now present to the Academy when we apply for the Oscars – that letter will guarantee our place in the running for the Oscars nomination. I am glad that we have gone through this whole process as now I know exactly how to do it, should there be a next time or if anyone else wants to know.

On another note, it looks like Rhode Island is going to screen Gone Fishing as part of their opening night gala, which is a prestigious event in of itself! You can see just how lavish the gala screening is from the picture here. They also may screen Gone Fishing on HDCam, which is great news as it will look and sound immaculate, and even better, I can FedEx it to them for £15 instead of the £100 it would cost to ship a print – that is assuming I don’t hand deliver it by going out there - and frankly, I am tempted as I need to get cracking on my screenplay… and a few days away in a hotel room could be the catalyst I need – writing during the day, with screenings in the evening. Heaven.

Onward and upward!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]

Gone Fishing Plays Hollywood Baby!

This weekend, Gone Fishing has been playing in Hollywood! I KNOW! How amazing is that. It played six showings at the Laemmle theatre on Sunset Boulevard. This was a paid for screening as part of the Oscars qualifying procedure, so we wont get any money back, and in fact it cost us $500 to put it on. Normally there would have been a further £100 to get the print over there, but Genevieve was visiting the UK and was able to pack it into her bag when she returned to LA last week. (Pic right – Genevieve with her daughter Casey Mae, dropping off the 35mm print with the projectionist at the theatre last week)

So now we are GUARANTEED to be eligible for a nomination for the Best Short Film Oscar 2009 - the next hurdle is going to be the short listing. From what I know, the procedure is something like this… in the next few months we send the film in with our application. We then get told if we are shortlisted or not. We then find out live (when the 2009 nominations are announced) IF we have been nominated (that will be later this year or early next year). Crikey. It's quite amazing to be in this place of possibilities.

I have had a few reports back from people who went. Andrew Zinnes, Genevieve’s husband went and called last night after the screening and told me how ‘Awesome and amazing it looked and sounded…’ Both Andrew and Genevieve are now working on a similar project to Gone Fishing, but this time a horror film called Mothers Helper – watch this space!

Andrew also bumped into one of the Associate Producers of Gone Fishing, Brit film maker Kerry Finlayson, who now lives in LA. She was beaming when she exited the theatre and later emailed me to say…

‘Seeing 'Gone Fishing' again was great, especially as it was at a Movie Theatre on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. Having a film that you were part of, up on the big screen in Tinsletown is a wonderful feeling. I love the film and believe that it will go far in what ever festival, screening or promotion it does. I for one will be promoting it in La La Land!!!!!’ (right - pic is of Kerry and me at the GF premiere at BAFTA earlier this year).

Kerry has also made her own film recently, but in Hollywood. Incidentally, she is featured in British Film Magazine in the same place as Gone Fishing – you can read about that here…

I only wish I could have been in LA for the screening!

Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]