Our trip getting here was very interesting. Due to a bird getting stuck in some mechanism of the plane, our flight from Austin was delayed enough for us to miss our Denver connection. I love birds but I cursed this bird. We caught another flight three hours later and landed in Phoenix to find lines and lines of airline staff standing with white roses near our departure gate. We found out later they were honoring a fellow staff member that had recently died in an accident. Well, as we were getting our baggage, we found out his body had been sent off on the plane we were in and getting his body off the plane meant that we did not get our baggage for an hour after getting off the plane. Death had delayed us, and we were grumpy and tired, mad at death for slowing us down on our journey to Santa Monica.
Well, we are here now. The crowds are about what I expect. Suits and high heels. Jeans with jackets. The food is also what I expect. Twelve dollar hotdogs and five dollar bagels. Even the cooler weather (it’s 57 right now) I planned for. The amount of people sitting around with their dogs was not something I expected. Dogs at the American Film Market. Since mostly older men had them, and one flaunty blonde was all about leaning over to pet a particular bulldog, I guess they are used as chick magnets. Opportunities for these men to glance down curvy busts as the women lean over to pet the poochies.
As I write this, some woman’s ass is like two feel from my face. Ha ha. It’s that crowded.
We picked up a bunch of the trades (Hollywood Reporter, Variety etc.) and I spent some time looking through the various advertisements for films being screened at the AFM. Most looked pretty bad due to the ad design. It made me wonder about where the art of film poster design has gone. If I were twelve years old, I might find some of these poster designs appealing, but honestly, it looked like they had hired a high school kid with horrible Photoshop skills to create these things. Putting some paint on my cat’s paws and letting her walk around on a piece of paper would have created a more appealing visual work than these pieces of crap.
The most prevalent aspect of the AFM, as reported by these trade magazines, is the definition of a successful movie. Clearly, it is about how little money can be spent in relation to how much money a film can rake in at the box office. There is no discussion about performances, a great story, etc. I am not pretending this is any surprise after all, this is the American Film MARKET. So commerce is key here. I guess my childlike idealistic side still refuses to believe that superior craftsmanship of a film with a great unique story is not enough to make it interesting to the “paying and viewing audience,” whoever THAT is supposed to be. It is about formula within genre and being interesting within the first twenty minutes. Quick pacing, faces people recognize. Attaching a star to your film so suddenly it matters.
I am not blaming anyone for this. Hearing these people talk, and even getting the chance to meet some of these buyers and sellers, I completely understand their logic. It just makes me wonder as always about the relationship of creativity to commerce.
So can art even exist in cinema? Sure, for the rare few filmmakers that seem to have been able to navigate this torrential storm where your film becomes a package of attractive elements: producer with track-record, well known director and name cast. Just like a frozen dinner. Salisbury steak with creamed corn and chocolate brownie square. But I am not sure how these filmmakers with more creative control managed to get where they are, but it seems like a combination of luck, timing, and a bit of determination. It almost seems that if a beginning filmmaker is interested in making unique artful work but wants to also make a living at it, they may want to redirect those creative impulses into something else, and make commercial work. Either that or just make artful work and keep the day job.
I think what is even a more difficult question is, can a film be artful and still be a commercial success? Of course the answer is yes, but the issue of commerciality or creativity seem to be contrasting aspects of a film.
I think this will have to be a topic for another AFM day, written while killing some time in this Loew’s Lobby.
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