Vaughn On Movies – The World's Toughest Movie Critic™

If you are reading this there is a strong likelihood that there was a time (if not still) when you believed you would be a famous movie star/director. By now you’ve either changed your mind, given up (a better phrasing of the first option), or are still working on it. There is a reason why you are struggling.

Outside the United States there is a fear of Hollywood. Just about every country, with a state interest in the arts, restricts the number of American films that can be shown in theatres during a year. These countries also provide financial assistance to their citizen’s cinematic efforts, in some cases matching the raised budget of a feature film. I personally met a Canadian producer who told me how The National Film Board of Canada bumped his movie over the million-dollar mark. Domestically, Hollywood is seen as a friend—it’s the place where dreams come true. Here, Hollywood has total control over its image; it’s always glamorized and the occasional talent discovery keeps the door open for the millions who aspire to become a star, allowing these people to have their lives put through the ringer for the false promise that a better tomorrow awaits.

Distribution is overlooked. It is just as important as having a star, having a script, or even having a camera. Distribution is the traditional source of profit. Without a profit there is no logical way to pay the talent, and the filmmaker will soon find himself or herself absorbing debt. Young filmmakers are oft times naïve enough to assume their film will be such a smash that they will have distributors lining up in droves. So, if these independent productions are so good, why are these deals never made?

I have no stake in either verdict and this has afforded me the luxury of expressing total honesty. I can tell you that as of this moment the average Hollywood film is greatly superior to the average American independent feature. Again, there are convenient economic limitations that make this a truth. I’ll use my hometown of Wichita, Kansas to illustrate. I can’t begin to tell you how many times a week someone approaches me with the notion of working on his or her concept for a feature length film. It usually involves a subject matter that can be quickly written off as schlock and even more often they don’t have a script. This is the typical birth of an American independent film. The reason: the digital age has everyone who can buy a camera and computer (a large percentage of Americans) thinking that he or she can become a big shot.

Finding people with a strong enough support system that they can work for a month or longer without pay is no small task in most states. These turnkey producers don’t understand that talent has a price and that the lack of talent helping them will most assuredly result in their “movie” gaining a steady dose of “suck”. They turn to me because I’m available and assume that since no one else will pay me that they can at least match that price. I then recruit you as one of many assistants filling an array of roles in the production process. We assume everyone else is volunteering, and we question their motives. People don’t put time into activities like this for the sake of being polite. The truth is that each of them hopes the movie takes off and that they can be discovered or appreciated, again this is the fantasy that Hollywood reinforces.

Lets allow our imaginations to run wild and pretend that our movie is finished, that it meets my standards for 3 stars, and is ready for festival entry. Why is it going to festivals? Regardless of however great this movie is, it can’t start off with a nationwide theatrical release. We are nobodies—we need a somebody to see it, attach their name, and put it into theatres so we can pretend to pay our volunteers and anyone stupid enough to make an investment. We hope that the right person catches it at a film festival and we again imagine that we can afford to put jobs on hold while we run the circuit promoting our work. Chances are it won’t get into the big festivals (Sundance & Tribeca). These outlets want star power from the start. Sadly I can’t name a bankable actor or actress anywhere near my state. If we can’t make our film marketable within our own backyard, we become uninteresting to the somebody we are courting. You may have noticed that there are many studio films eating up the prime slots at these festivals. They are Hollywood studio films, made by pros for the masses, and they are offered these coveted slots because they bring stars to town and with the celebs come the media attention. Our Wichita production could never do that.

Humor me and lets continue our fantasy. So we have our big premiere at Sundance, now what? Sundance has distributors on hand. Surely one of them will want to meet us. Yes and no. Even on its best day our Wichita production would never impress an audience raised on millions of dollars in celebrities, CGI, 3D, IMAX, and the like—at least not an audience big enough to justify the cost of making hundreds of prints or convincing theatres to show it. Most Americans are interested in the movies they see advertised through nationwide TV campaigns. If it’s not on TV, they don’t make arrangements to see it. Yeah, we aren’t going to have a substantial advertisement budgets.

If our little movie made it this far, that’s where it will stop. Our best hope is that we made some valuable contacts along the way. It’s not defeat for your first movie to be a financial disaster. You have to be ready to accept that this isn’t going to make you into a star overnight; this is only an exhibition of skills. If you did your best, you have the tiniest glimmer of hope that someone important noticed and that person wants to cash in on your next effort. As of this moment that’s all most American filmmakers (those who can’t afford $250,000 in student loans for USC film school) can expect. You went through all of this to show your value.

Whether or not the dream was worth it is up to you to decide. Hollywood studios do not want you grabbing a piece of their pie. That’s why they put you through hoops and those hoops are getting tighter. Studio heads have found that perceived talent doesn’t need to be discovered—it can be grown. If you don’t believe me then maybe you should take a look at the ancestry of the latest batch of stars. Discovery is so easy for some, but so impossible for the rest. Jim Crow would be proud.

There are a number of solutions to even things ups, all of which require a mixture of luck and coordination. The easiest would require laws to fund independent film productions and guarantee their distribution. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to force movie theatres into setting aside time for local productions and I promise it would be a good deal for both. Heard of Uwe Boll? He takes advantage of such German laws, assuring himself a profit regardless of his film’s gross or lack thereof. Trust me when I say this, the US government is not afraid to take a loss on art. The only thing stopping such measures is Hollywood’s network of lobbyists. Think about it. Favorable national cinema rulings are passed outside of the United States because Hollywood studios can’t dictate the law abroad. Here however there is no one to stop them. Unless you can hire an army of lawyers for the heck of it, nothing is going to change. Another tactic would be to force yourself to view independent cinema. There is a good chance that you view more than your share, but turning your neighbors eyes onto what you’ve discovered would be a crucial step in granting exposure where it is likely due. At first they may be tuned off by the lack of stars, the shoddy editing, the digital cameras, and the plot holes. Revolutions aren’t painless.