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Many of the 5,000+ visitors to the Loews Hotel during the AFM aren't wearing any badges. They aren't AFMA members and they aren't film buyers. They are producers, consultants, schemers and dreamers who converge on the AFM with one-sheets, business cards, private placement memoranda, post-cards, costumes and spirit. Lots of spirit. Badge wearers can escape the throngs piling into the entryway of the grand marble lobby of the 8-story Loews Atrium by climbing stairs or squeezing into an elevator. Why escape? Because they fear the one-sheets, business cards, private placement memoranda, post-cards, costumes and spirit . . . ESPECIALLY THE SPIRIT of those badgeless multitudes occupying the entry level floor space confident that their time at the AFM will be well spent if they just do one more pitch, meet one more person, hand out one more one-sheet.
Hardy lot these badgeless ones. Top level security (or at least, very large security) guards chase down those badgeless ones daring enough to be indiscriminately leafleting anyone who walks by. Security either confiscates the goods, or more likely, scolds the badgeless one and says "you can't hand that stuff out in here." The badgeless ones obviously took their cues from the leggy, tee shirt clad leafleteers posted by the major trade papers at the entryway to the lobby, a virtual gauntlet of media representatives whose sole purpose appears to be shoving "today's issue" into the free hands of anyone walking through the door. (Do they get paid by the number of issues dispensed?) Alas, the badgeless ones have no clout like the trade papers. Let's face it, the badgeless ones are spending zip, nada, cero, zero, nunca at the hotel that goes to AFMA coffers, so they shouldn't be able to willy nilly, no holds barred, pass out to everyone who puts out their hands, a one-sheet to the next Citizen Kane.
So here it is, my chance to contribute to the overall efforts of tons of wanna-bees in tinseltown. These people have passion, even if they don't have product (yet). They know their film will be a hit. They've done the research. They've worked out the budgets and, in some cases, they've actually shot the movie, or shot until they ran out of money. For better or worse, here's a sampling of some of the products you didn't see advertised in the AFM versions of the trades. Mark my word. You WILL SEE some of these movies in a theater near you . . . eventually.
Stonefield Productions' John Vaughan made daily appearances at the AFM. Working in tandem with his executive producer Herbert Long, Vaughan worked the lounge, lobby and party circuit like an AFM veteran and, by Wednesday, plunked down the cash for a day pass and turned his many phone contacts into personal meetings with buyers, distributors and development executives. A former television executive, Vaughan has spent the last few years doing budgets and boards for a number of huge studio productions while his own company has been developing a number of scripts. After a few years at the AFM, Cannes and Sundance, Vaughan finally has some hot properties ready to be whisked away into production by the right company. Two impressive one-sheets identify two of his current projects. The Quicke Brothers is identified by a limerick of sorts. "There once were two brothers named Quicke, separated when they should have been thick, but one found the other, now both have a brother (one, however does have a chainsaw), but living together's the trick!" The quirky romantic comedy finds two long lost brothers -- one an irrepressible Irishman and the other an urbane, upper-crust American architect -- who are now forced to reconcile their family's secrets when they are reunited as adults in the 90s. Reveal follows the story of six friends stripped of inhibitions in one night of good champagne and a board game about secrets. What's the harm in a few personal questions? Is it still a game if it changes your life? Reveal will feature the music of George S. Clinton and will be directed by longtime Zalman King (Red Shoe Diaries ) editor, James Gavin Bedford. Both projects piqued distributor interest and both Vaughan and Long were swamped with meetings throughout the end of the market, even using the otherwise desolate Friday to get in front of those with the power to sign checks! Move quickly on these projects for they will see screen time soon!
"The day he betrayed the mob was his lucky day" reads the subtle one-sheet for Trigger Finger, a suspense thriller by writer/director Gabby Gruen who currently has projects in development at two studios, including Class Clown at 20th Century Fox, scheduled for a fall 1996 release. The script is the thing and Gruen's ingenious caper woven with friendship, betrayal, love and death has already been embraced by Marg Helgenberger (Species, The Cowboy Way, Bad Boys and TV's China Beach ) and Alan Rosenberg (After Midnight, Impulse, The Last Temptation of Christ, and series regular on TV's Civil Wars and L.A. Law ). According to Gruen's business plan, the story takes place in the tonier suburbs of Detroit, where Billy Pearl was a part of a group of middle-class oddballs. They craved respectability but they lived for the hustle. Despite the strong imprint of their families' values, they moved easily between crime and legitimate business. They were brash, funny, resourceful and entertaining. But now, Billy wants out. He has to do one more favor for the mob: kill his friend's wife. Trigger Finger is a raw, funny thriller about a gangster who goes head-to-head, face-to-face, toe-to-toe with the Detroit mob. It's a wild ride in the Motor City filled with unforgettable characters and outrageous surprises. Despite the onslaught of urban thrillers, Gruen promises that his film is "funnier than Get Shorty and more exciting than Pulp Fiction " because it "employs more classic dramatic elements to ratchet up the pressure on an appealing hero in a fight for his life and the woman he loves." [With Marg Helgenberger attached as the wife ordered whacked, I told Gruen I'd give him my $7.50 admission price on the spot. He's looking for more serious investors at the moment.]
The Layperson's Guide to Modern Living is a series of slices of life, in the form of five short films tied together with some repeat characters. Producer Thom Pawlowski stood smiling in the lobby, ready to ply his quaint post-cards to anyone half-interested. The five segments of the film were directed by three different people. Pawlowski can be reached at (213) 845-0994 and the film's other producer, Martin Della Valle can be reached at (213) 663-3730.
Producers Christopher Berger and Ron Valpey have recently teamed to form Stoneguard Development Company. Though not pushing any Stoneguard products, Berger visited the AFM daily with a non-exhibitor's pass, attending every seminar and luncheon and visiting exhibitors with whom he has established relationships. Stoneguard has employed a number of interns to handle the vast quantity of script submissions coming through its doors and Berger brought the interns to the market one by one in order to introduce them to the business part of show business that few witness first hand. Berger thinks "it's not enough that you simply read scripts and fantasize about attaching this actor or this director. The only way to understand the importance of those decisions in today's international marketplace is to come to the AFM or go to MIFED or Cannes and find out what buyers are paying and why." Berger and Valpey started Stoneguard in hopes to set up a number of feature projects with studios and major independents through the next twelve months.
California native and current New York resident actor/writer/director Dan Demorest flew out to the AFM with an actor and a lawyer/rep in tow ready to do whatever it took to get his partially finished film Forever Yours in front of buyers or distributors. Demorest arrived filled with energy but no real plan. On the day he arrived, Demorest (and his partners) scoured the AFM trade issues, identified the companies most likely to nibble at his 5-minute trailer bait and meet with Demorest or, in the fantasy world of Hollywood, write him a big check right then and there. Demorest hit the phones for an entire afternoon, trying to set up meetings for the end of the week when all the good AFM product has been picked over and exhibitors and buyers are traditionally open to look at new product from the badgeless minions. Demorest actually pulled it off (see related profile of Nu Image, whose President, Danny Dimfort, watched the trailer, chewed on an unlit cigar and said "have him send me his whole movie") by setting up a number of meetings with Los Angeles based companies in the week after the AFM. The movie itself started out as a comic thriller set in the backdrop of the seedy massage parlor world where a serial killer is stalking young women. After shooting and assembling about 90 minutes of film, Demorest and his writing partner, Dan Fessman, decided that the two lead actors who play brothers in the film are very, very funny. Demorest got together with his crew and lawyer and decided to try to raise enough capital to return and complete the film by toning down the massage parlor murders and instead focus on the parlor-owning brothers. The brothers emigrated to the United States without doing much research on where to settle down. One saw a reference to the "Garden State," thought it would be pretty and they ended up in New Jersey. Toward the end of the picture Demorest wants to complete, the brothers plan their western escape. In a hurry to get there, they choose Oklahoma because the Sooner they get there, the better. Demorest's first 90 minutes was shot in 11 days. If his meetings go well in Los Angeles, he may well complete this film sooner than you think.
AFM savvy David V. Gregory is pushing to see his Scorpions brought to the screen. His black and white one-sheets proclaim: "They've been asleep for millions of years. Now they're awake . . . and hungry . . . RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY" and conclude "Pinchers to seize you, stingers to freeze you, jaws that will tear you apart!" Filmmaker and special effects man Gregory (FX camerawork on such classics as Star Wars, Three Ninjas, Lawnmower Man 2 and others) is determined to make this sci-fi thriller designed to recapture the fun of the "giant bug" films of the 50s and propel the genre into the 90s. Vacationing in the west, a man and his family camp in a desert park. An earthquake opens an underground cavern, freeing a nest of prehistoric scorpions. Now awake after eons, these twelve-foot monsters ravage the countryside. The campers must overcome their differences and work together to fend off the hungry creatures. Gregory has more than just a one-sheet in his little bag of tricks. He's actually assembled a 5-minute action sequence adapted from the script and has a copy at the ready. A handful of other badgeless producers describe the impressive detail of the 5-minute teaser. As Dave walks off to a pre-scheduled meeting with a foreign buyer ("I don't waste my time with the exhibitors here. I've already spoken to them and they just don't get it") the badgeless producers who've seen Dave's 5-minutes say, "He'll get it made. You just watch." Watch we will. (Maybe we'll even get a sneak peek at the tape?)
Best of Times Productions was formed in 1995 by screenwriter, playwright, producer and Columbia Screenwriting Professor, Loren-Paul Caplin and his partner, publishing executive Joshua Gaspera, after the two attracted capital investors ready to bank on their collective experience. Caplin came to the AFM with a few one-sheets of projects currently in pre-production but came primarily to say hello to some old friends and talk to a number of distribution executives in his new role as producer, as opposed to writer. Caplin has written numerous screenplays including originals for Laura Ziskin at Columbia (Love, Fame and Money ) and Jaffe/Lansing at Paramount (Kit and Nevada ). Caplin's plays have also been extensively produced and his partner was formerly co-chairman of Reader's Digest Young Families and former President and CEO of Harlequinn Books. With money to back up its efforts, the company has a three tiered plan of studio fare, mid-budget, and low-budget literary toned films that it calls "New York Originals" which will be the company's initial focus. Best of Times will produce six to eight unique pictures in the $1 million range, all inspired by early French cinema and to be put in the can with efforts similar to companies like New York's Good Machine and The Shooting Gallery. The first "New York Original" is Charlie's Eye, a fast-paced, quirky, eccentric, offbeat comedy about a blues lover's 48-hour pursuit of what he thinks is a winning lottery ticket in his mother's possession. Caplin says its a "bluesy Wizard of Oz " that will feature the music of Little Milton, B.B. King, Etta James and Bobby "Blue" Bland. Caplin thinks he and his partner will distinguish themselves with their strong, experienced-based screenwriting, creative and literary business experience. They're looking for a sales agent ready to cater to Best of Times' every need and who understands the company's entire slate of projects.
The Writing Team of Randall Rubin and Tim Jarvis sold itself to everyone at the AFM as The Jew and the Brit. The shtick was you had to guess who was who. You don't see many writing teams at the AFM and maybe that's why they got so much attention. They pitched a little project they teased as "A Very Jewish Christmas" and had most everyone guffawing at least once during the story pitch that became more streamlined with each passing day. These guys write every single day of the year and when you eventually meet them or hear a soundbite from them (and, you will) remember that you read it here first.
Boomtown Productions from Maplewood, New Jersey, sent a representative to the AFM, promoting Boomtown, a feature-length documentary focusing on the explosive economic growth of the area around Branson, Missouri, the country music mecca in the Ozark Mountains. Set in the world of contemporary country music, Boomtown will follow the lives of several Branson residents over the course of a single tourist season, and use their stories as a springboard for examining a number of social issues that affect all Americans. Shooting will begin in April 1996 by director/producer Chris Boebel and producers Peter Brooks and Jim Calabrese. The project already has a commitment from Nota Bene, a Belgium-based production company, to sell the project in all foreign markets. Ricoh Corporation has agreed to provide some photographic products for the documentary.
AFM veteran financial consultant, Jo Ann King held court in the lounge of the Loews throughout the early days of the market. She has previously pieced together financing for both low and high budget projects and is in the process of lining up investors for a project of her own. She offers a seminar for producers seeking to get a handle on the best way to promote their projects and lure investors. Each AFM she gives her badgeless students tips and keeps them motivated to work the phones and the floor and secure meetings with both international buyers and distributors who are exhibiting projects at the AFM. She is available for personal consultations and welcomes your fax inquiries at (310) 397-2503.
Henrietta 'Potamus and Her All Girl Chicken Band. In case that name isn't descriptive enough, imagine a blues singing hippo, professional wrestlers and the hottest chicken band ever assembled! These animated characters in Jim Aitken's $3.2 million family feature go on a cross-country romp in search of fame, fortune and everlasting love and give you fourteen original songs while they do it. Ru Paul has committed to lend her voice to the villain. Contact Jim Aitken at (310) 823-1642.
Finally, this producer and producer's rep promised to look at a number of scripts. Feel free to e-mail a logline and synopsis only to vegables@earthlink.net ATTN: Sharrell Ables. Do not send entire scripts.
