I’ve been buried in a couple of new screenplays, and they’ve been eating up most of my writing time. On top of that, I’ve been running my production company, Midnight Road, full-time while gearing up to roll out my latest film, Violent Ends.
With husband, dad, producer, director, reader, and watcher time all competing for the same precious hours in my day, Cinesthesia has been moving a little slower than I’d like.
So, in an effort to post more consistently—and to have a space for the occasional thought-vomit—I’m starting a new weekly piece called Rushes.
Here goes:
Best Efforts
I’ll write a bigger piece on this in the future, but I recently learned a valuable lesson the hard way—one that might be helpful for anyone trying to sell their film to a distributor.
I’m talking about the phrase “Best Efforts.”
What does it mean? Well, “Best Efforts” is a vague, slippery term you might find buried in a clause in your distribution deal, looking something like this:
Licensor agrees to use Best Efforts to secure talent participation in the form of press for any theatrical and ancillary releases, as well as social media activity around any theatrical and ancillary releases.
If possible, NEVER agree to “Best Efforts” language in any contract you sign. It’s a broad, meaningless catchphrase that leaves too much room for interpretation.
Case in point: My film, The Send-Off. Our distributor sent us a letter refusing to pay the minimum guarantee they contractually owed us, claiming we didn’t use “Best Efforts” to promote the film. Feel being the keyword there—because feelings are subjective, and a contract should never be.
Oh, and never mind the fact that they released The Send-Off smack dab in the middle of the SAG-AFTRA strike, when our actors legally couldn’t promote the film. I’m sure that was just a coincidence.
Either way, we’re now locked in a fight over a vague piece of language to get the money we’re rightfully owed—something that didn’t need to happen.
Don’t let it happen to you.
Be warned.
Stuck in the Middle with You
If you’re looking for some solid perspective on where “The Middle Class” of filmmaking stands these days, check out this recent video from Luc Forsyth. While Forsyth’s channel leans toward cinematography, there are some broadly applicable insights here for filmmakers of all kinds.
I especially like his discussion with Patrick O’Sullivan, who you might know as the Wandering DP.
I wasn’t familiar with Forsyth or O’Sullivan before, but this video offers some great points and practical advice for starting a filmmaking career in a world that feels more uncertain than ever.
“The barrier to entry for anybody is — can you do cool stuff? If you’re not doing cool stuff, no one will want to hire you.”
- Patrick O’Sullivan
Artrepreneur
Check out this great piece from Sam Widdoes on reframing your mindset around the sweat equity you put into your creative work.
I’ve long used the term “artrepreneur” to describe what it means to be an independent filmmaker—balancing artistry with the hustle of running a business. If you want a real-world example, look no further than Brady Corbet’s recent conversation with Sean Baker for Variety.
“You’re sort of required to be a broker, a therapist, a car salesman, a poet and a hustler.”
-Brady Corbet
Friendship
A24 just dropped the trailer for Friendship, a new film from writer/director Andrew DeYoung, starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd.
I wasn’t familiar with DeYoung’s work, but a quick look at his credits shows an extensive career in comedy TV, directing episodes of Dave, Pen15, and Our Flag Means Death.
If you’re a fan of Tim Robinson’s uncanny ability to push absurdity to its most uncomfortable extremes, this one looks like it’s right up your alley. Definitely keeping an eye on this.
Kid Wisdom
The other day, my seven-year-old son, Jack, pulled me aside and asked if I could help set up a table and chair in his treehouse so he could sit and draw comic books.
“Of course!” I said.
We got him set up, and I snapped a picture of him because I was proud. Later that night, Jack pulled me aside again.
“Dad, I learned something today.”
“What’s that, pal?” I asked.
His face lit up with bottled-up excitement, and then, almost bursting, he let it all out in a rush:
“I learned that if you want to make a comic book, you just have to start right away. Because if you sit and try to think about exactly what you want the comic to be and what the characters are doing and saying and what they look like, then after a minute, you realize you don’t want to make it anymore because it’s too hard. So you just have to do it. And pretty soon, you’ll finish the comic book. You have to just do it so you don’t quit before you start.”
That floored me.
It brought me back to a lesson I often preach to myself but don’t always practice: to get anything done, you must do. Jack’s little nugget of wisdom applies to almost every creative endeavor. Sure, there’s a time for thinking, planning, and setting a course. But in my experience—Jack is absolutely right.
If you want to make something, you have to get off your butt and start before you talk yourself out of it.
Go, Jack. Always be bold, and never hold back!
Listening/Looking/Reading This Week
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