Tara Ariano September 26, 2014 Share September 26, 2014 Casting dilemmas impact the final weeks of preproduction, while table reads leave questions about the readiness of scripts. Link to comment
Primetimer September 28, 2014 Share September 28, 2014 John put on his producer hat to talk to Sarah about The Chair's latest episode. Read the story Link to comment
Tara Ariano September 28, 2014 Author Share September 28, 2014 Apparently Shane wrote a scene in which the word "blog" is used to mean "blog post" and thus he is dead to me forever. 2 Link to comment
Gregg247 September 28, 2014 Share September 28, 2014 I thought Shane was kidding when he started talking about playing one of the "mean girls" in drag, in addition to playing the main character. He's not REALLY doing this, is he? Why wouldn't the producers step in and put a stop to this? This isn't a skit on Saturday Night Live, this is an actual, professional-level motion picture. Aren't there any rules on this production? My growing problem with this show is that it appears these chowder-head directors can do literally anything they want, no matter how unprofessional and un-commercial it may be. The producers just stand there and let them have their way. Is this some sort of big tax-dodge for these guys, or are they planning on making any profits they may get from the TV show (where the drama of a train wreck could bring in ratings)? I have to be honest here; the lack of oversight by the producers is making this show less entertaining for me. I want to see how "real" movies are made, not self-indulgent over-budgeted student films. 1 Link to comment
wrestlesflamingos September 28, 2014 Share September 28, 2014 My growing problem with this show is that it appears these chowder-head directors can do literally anything they want, no matter how unprofessional and un-commercial it may be. The producers just stand there and let them have their way. Indulge me a little.. When producers are hands off with talented directors, we absolutely love it. We get weird and wonderful stuff like Requiem for a Dream and True Romance. I'm sure there were plenty of raised eyebrows over the concept and filming of those movies. In the end, the producers were rewarded for taking the risk in letting creatives create. The same thing is happening here except there's less confidence and more scrutiny in the end result with the addition of the audience. We judge. We aren't entertained and we require more than mediocre. That's cool, that's part of tv's social contract. However, I don't think the producers should be the target. At some point, an artist, a creative, needs to have their own editor. They need control of the result and the overall image. My convoluted point is the producers have done their part, it's Shane that's failing. No one is required to save him from himself. Link to comment
Gregg247 September 29, 2014 Share September 29, 2014 I would agree with your point except for one important thing: Shane's not spending his own money on this effort. In fact, he's not even spending Chris Moore's money. It seems like this show involves a LOT of fundraising activities that we aren't really privy to. The Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce has put money into this, as have other local booster clubs, in order to jump-start a local film industry. Local businesses like American Eagle are involved. The movies/documentary are getting tax credits, so the state taxpayers are involved. Chris mentioned multiple wine-and-dines that he and the other producers have attended, so that tells me that individuals in the community are being actively encouraged to invest in these films (and not just the blue-bloods, I'll bet). Everyone is investing in this project because the producers behind it, mainly Chris Moore and Zachary Quinto, have their names attached, and they're the real deal in the movie industry. These aren't some fly-by-night guys trying to make a quick buck. As such, these guys have a duty to make sure that the funds raised are handled with care and not thrown into the toilet. Back in the day, during Project Greenlight, the funds involved belonged to the Weinstein brothers, and you'd better believe that Chris Moore was all over his first-time directors on that show. If they wanted to do something stupid, Chris shut them down--hard. He has the same duty on this project. Instead of having 2 bosses whose money he needs to protect, he has many. The rules of the show, as I understand them, are that both movies must be no more than R-rated, at least 85 minutes long, and be "releasable" movies. I'm sure that "releasable" is defined in incredible detail somewhere in the contracts. I can't believe that a movie that "looks" as bad as Shane's (up through episode 4) and has the reviews its now getting would probably NOT meet that requirement. The producers' hands-off approach makes no sense to me for the above reasons, but also for one more. Shane has been making his little short videos for YouTube for 8 (?) years now, doing his best to gross out 12 year olds around the world. Obviously, someone saw SOMETHING in his work that showed promise. Maybe he could be the next David Lean or Steven Spielberg. The problem is that no one is taking him under their wing and teaching him how to take whatever innate talent he has and use it "correctly". By that I mean, show him how to make movies the traditional way, let him master that, let him get some success, and then let him start to find his own voice in his films. Teach him how to make movies, and THEN let him make movies. After this movie comes out, he may never get another chance. The producers have failed him as much as they've failed their investors and the city of Pittsburgh. TL;DR version - If it's Shane's money, let him film as much projectile vomit as he wants. If it's investor's money, the producers have a financial duty and responsibility to rein him in. 1 Link to comment
John Ramos September 29, 2014 Share September 29, 2014 Yeah, this is an interesting discussion, but it does seem like, for example, when Quinto was out raising money (as he said he did, although I'm still unclear what that really meant), he was selling his endorsement of the directors. If the investors had gotten to meet Shane and been able to judge for themselves, I think that would be somewhat different. Then again, if the producer has a relationship with the investor, his endorsement can still count for a lot. Ultimately, so much about the financing is opaque that I'm really not clear what I'm watching, which seems avoidable, maybe? 1 Link to comment
Al Lowe September 29, 2014 Share September 29, 2014 Chris Moore has sleep apnea, I'm diagnosing it. The poor man. I have the weirdest crush on him, and I am afraid he's going to have a heart attack. The two "sharelines" (whatever that is) from that LA Times review made me LOLLLLL. 1 Link to comment
Tara Ariano September 29, 2014 Author Share September 29, 2014 "SHANE 'REGIONAL DRAG' DAWSON" 1 Link to comment
John Ramos September 30, 2014 Share September 30, 2014 (edited) @Tara Ariano <3 Edited September 30, 2014 by John Ramos Link to comment
wrestlesflamingos September 30, 2014 Share September 30, 2014 Yeah, this is an interesting discussion, but it does seem like, for example, when Quinto was out raising money (as he said he did, although I'm still unclear what that really meant), he was selling his endorsement of the directors. If the investors had gotten to meet Shane and been able to judge for themselves, I think that would be somewhat different. Then again, if the producer has a relationship with the investor, his endorsement can still count for a lot. Ultimately, so much about the financing is opaque that I'm really not clear what I'm watching, which seems avoidable, maybe? Thanks for the excellent counterpoints here and by Greg247. Link to comment
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