Knife in the Heart of Canadian Film and Television

From the Globe and Mail today:

The Conservative government has drafted guidelines that would allow it to pull financial aid for any film or television show that it deems offensive or not in the public's best interest – even if government agencies have invested in them.

The proposed changes to the Income Tax Act would allow the Heritage Minister to deny tax credits to projects deemed offensive, effectively killing the productions. Representatives from Heritage and the Department of Justice will determine which shows or films pass the test.

The proposed Bill C-10 would be a devastating blow to Canadian culture.

The bill would allow the Government to pull financing after the money has been spent. You go and make your TV show, and then if a politician thinks he can make a name for himself by calling your show "degenerate," for example, you now owe the Government all the money they gave you. What producer is going to take a chance on bankruptcy by producing anything that might be the slightest bit offensive?

What shows could be considered "offensive" by a Conservative Heritage minister? Oh, JUNO, I imagine (teen sexuality and pregnancy). NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (violence). THERE WILL BE BLOOD (violence, inappropriate parenting). Um, what were the other Oscar nominated pictures again?

Could you guarantee to a bank that BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN wouldn't get its financing pulled, what with the onscreen gaysex?

Realistically, the bill would mean almost no Canadian content will get made at all. No bank will cash flow a film or TV show if up to 25% of its financing can be yanked back. No bank is going to want to take a bet whether a given show will be made an example of by politicians.

The American stereotype of Canadians is "boring but nice." If any TV shows or movies get made under a Bill C-10 post-hoc censorship regime, they are guaranteed to be nice and boring.

Is that the kind of culture the Tories want? Not really. They watch violent and sexy movies too. They just don't want to pay for Canadian ones. They're happy to watch Bond movies from the US. And if Canada becomes a cultural backwater of the US, they're cool with that.

If you don't think that's a good idea, then write the Prime Minister. And the Minister of Heritage.

And the Leader of the Opposition.

And write your local Member of Parliament too; you can find him or her at http://canada.gc.ca/directories-repertoires/direct-eng.html.

He hinted then that the government was considering a “public policy” criterion for tax credit certification and a definition of what would be “contrary to public policy” that would make a production ineligible for film and TV tax incentives, as well as funds directed to sound recording and book publishing.

Awesome. So expect a lot more Céline Dion in your future, and a lot less Alanis Morissette.

More at Dead Things on Sticks here and here.

Oh, and here's a Facebook Group that Karen Walton started.

Presentation

Q. On the title page of the script I have the title, the by-line, and then the month/year and 'early draft'. Is it wise to put 'early draft' on there?

So not. I don't want to read your early draft. I want to read your best draft.

Anyway, it doesn't matter what draft it is. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad, it's bad. Don't put dates or number of draft on your script. That's for the production to do, if you get that far.

Q. Should I say anything of note in the e-mail besides, "I appreciate the response, here's the script."?

I'd say, "Thanks for asking to read my comedy GO POSTAL about a deranged postal worker who massacres his co-workers. I hope you like it. I look forward to your thoughts."

That's it. The script speaks for itself.

While You Were Waiting

I am wondering about what I will do while I wait for my screenplay to sell. I love writing. ALL WRITING. It doesn't have to be glamorous or witty or dramatic for me to enjoy writing it.

So the question is this: Is it easier to break in by writing industrial videos? I would love writing that too. How does one go about getting that sort of work?

I don't think it's any easier. It is its own line of work. Most people who shoot industrial videos write their own scripts; there isn't really need or money for a writer. Nor will writing industrials teach you much about narrative fiction.

What you do while waiting for your screenplay to sell is to write ANOTHER screenplay. Keep writing. That way if they sort of like one script, and ask what else you have, you have something else to show them.

Swapping Script

I've been looking for a long time for somewhere online for people who have produced scripts to trade with each other for speccing purposes. I still haven't found one, so I just started one. It's Script Exchange. I hope it works!

Lemme know how that works out!

Creativity

Adrian Saker has a new blog about creativity. Household Name is about how to become one. He has a nice couple of thoughts about where ideas come from (and here's part 2).

Oh, and a very nice post about why you should buy my book. Thanks, Adrian!

I met Adrian when he hired me to story edit a very cool screenplay about a firehouse dog. If you're a producer, ask to read it.

MBA, m'kay

Q. Do you see the value of doing a Masters in Business for someone who wants to end up in broadcasting and/or producing?

I know a couple of people who came out of UCLA's Anderson School of Management who went on to careers as studio execs, e.g. Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Presumably they got a leg up on the competition because of their MBA. My roommate from when I was in film school went to the ASM, and he's done a lot of serious number crunching for Fox, which is something he learned in his MBA program. I imagine there must be other jobs at networks -- e.g. in programming -- where number crunching comes in handy.

I also know some women who in those days, I suspect, got MBA's purely as a credential, so they wouldn't be perceived as "girls." I hope no one is doing that any more.

If you want to produce, then an MBA is probably useless. Not much statistical analysis in producing. The best thing you can do if you want to produce is go to work in the mailroom of a major agency, if you can get a job there. (The MBA might help you there, though the debt load probably won't help.) The second best thing would be to go work as a producer's assistant. If you absolutely must spend large sums of money, then you can go to the Stark Program at USC, or similar producing programs at NYU and UCLA.

Another Web Screenwriting Tool

Zhura.com is a brand new totally free Web-based, screenwriting tool that lets writers easily create ideas or complete scripts of all kinds, in a professional, industry-standard format, either privately, with invited friends of a group, or in a public forum. With Zhura, writers can collaborate and seek comments on their scripts, and finally say goodbye to expensive software and to the hassle of downloading uploading and backing up files. No more emailing colleagues for comments and edits, only to wonder which version of your script is the most recent.

Has anybody checked this out? What do you think?

How does it compare with Scripped?

I Wonder if the Fix Is In?

Playback synopsizes:

Heritage minister snatches [the decision of what to do with the CTF] away from the CRTC, telling Prime Time delegates that Ottawa, not Gatineau, will rework the troubled fund. Barrett to step down as chairman

In other words, the CRTC wasn't political enough, even though its commissioners obviously were not interested in the point of view of Canadian content creators. Now it is purely a Conservative Party decision.

Gee, I wonder, will they support Canadian content? Or tell Jim Shaw he can now have government protection for his business without having to give anything back?