It's About Franken Time

Last year, my boyfriend looked up the closest House and Senate races in "winable" states and donated to the Democratic candidates. He donated enough to get invited to all the fancy parties and two nights ago, we went to a Los Angeles victory party for Al Franken, the junior senator from Minnesota. It was hosted by Skip Brittenham, one of the most powerful entertainment attorneys in the business, known for his acquisition and merger deals (like Pixar/Disney) but who also still represents stars like Tom Hanks. His lovely wife Heather Thomas is best known for her starring role on the TV show "The Fall Guy" with Million-Dollar Man Lee Majors.

Their house is on a tree-lined street in Brentwood (between Westwood and Santa Monica) behind an unassuming wall that unless you really thought about it, would never suspect was the entrance to park-like gardens and an iconic and beautifully appointed Hollywood mansion. After depositing the car with one of the dozen valet guys, we went inside. The theme was a country fair. The tables were covered with red and white checkered tablecloths and held jars stuffed with sunflowers. There was cotton candy, popcorn and fried chicken. Clusters of red, white and blue balloons rose from ribbons tied to the ground. A clown on stilts juggled balls and a temporary tattoo artist awaited customers.

We got a couple of beers and decided to explore the grounds. Big beautiful dahlias and bright geraniums lined the lawn while huge trees canopied above. An ivy covered fence revealed the entrance to a tennis court. I snapped a few photos of us there but had decided that it wouldn't be kosher to photograph the whole house and lawn – even though I desperately wanted to! We decided to make our way towards the house. As we approached, we recognized our host who we both had looked up on the Internet. "There he is!" my guy said and Skip turned to shake our hands. We thanked him for having us and asked about the back gardens. He said "go on through the house, there are more people back there."

As we went through the door, we were asked by a man if we had wristbands – obviously the demarcation of who is allowed entry to the VIP party – and my boyfriend simply replied "Skip told us to go on through." And so we did. The house was amazing! Although we could only see a small portion, it was immediately recognizable as one of the Spanish Colonial Revival mansions that were so popular in the 1920's and 1930's. It was magnificently understated with its terra cotta tile floors, arched doorways, vaulted ceilings with rustic wood beams and Moorish detailing in the columns and windows. It was decorated in reds and yellows, Persian carpets, Mission revival furniture and filled with paintings and Chihuly sculpture. Absolutely gorgeous!

It opened up onto a tiered garden in the back. Umbrellas at tables and flowers were reflected in the swimming pool and beyond, the hills of Santa Monica and the ocean. We walked towards the small group of people gathered around tables on a small lawn. We immediately recognized Kevin Nealon (also of Saturday Night Live fame) and Jason Alexander (from Seinfeld). Looking at name tags, we picked out several big-time industry players including Thomas Schlamme (more commonly known as Tommy Schlamme) – a ubiquitous TV director and producer of The West Wing. Then, standing by himself at a table, I saw Martin Sheen.

Being a huge fan of The West Wing, I walked over and said hello, told him I was a fan of his and loved the show. We must have chatted with him for about twenty minutes. He even offered to get us drinks at one point! He was sweet and gracious and interesting. I always suspected that he was given his anti-war convictions and political activity, but he was truly delightful. He asked where we were from and when my boyfriend said he was Kurdish, he told us about accompanying a UCLA professor to Syria on an archaeological dig – he found a dog's jaw bone – and all the lovely Kurdish people he'd met. He then told us how he met Al Franken 30 years ago on Saturday Night Live. He was the guest host, Apocalypse Now had just come out, and Al Franken was a regular writer and performer on the show. Interestingly enough, the governor of California at the time was Jerry Brown who is running for the office again in the upcoming election. Martin says he's endorsing him.

We eventually excused ourselves to allow other people to talk to Martin and discussed which other celebrities to meet. None seemed nearly as alluring nor as approachable. As we were sitting there, I recognized a woman I'd had in an acting class many years ago who is now on SNL as well. I said hello and she introduced us to her party, Ariana Huffington and her daughter! My boyfriend was now officially starstruck. Finally, we were ushered back out front. Al was eventually going to give a speech and needed to mingle a bit with the non-VIP crowd. Still marveling at our good fortune, we were able to meet Jason Alexander and his wife, who borrowed a pen from me, before recognizing Garrison Keillor (Prairie Home Companion), Lawrence O'Donnell (MSNBC political analyst) and late-comer Conan O'Brien.


We joined the crowd around Senator Franken for photos and snapped one with him. Then, the speeches began. A few friends told funny anecdotes about his long road to Capitol Hill and one made a pointed observation that Franken is the only senator (who isn't married to a former president) to win on his first run. Martin read a speech prepared by Norman Lear who was there momentarily but must have decided he was too old to stand around for three hours. Before he started, Martin stammered a bit for effect and then said "I want this house!" to a big applause.

Then Al told a good story about being criticized by his opponent for taking "Hollywood" money. He noted that his opponent was taking money from big oil and big pharma and big tobacco and how all of these industries wanted something, nay expected something, in return. The Hollywood money, by contrast, was coming from his friends. People who wanted nothing in return, just to support a man they believe in. Then, he shared some of his time on the Hill so far and how he's made inroads with Republican senators by telling stories about the Hollywood people he knows. Turns out, no one is immune from being starstruck. Lastly, he promised to fight for health care reform and a public option. The number one cause of bankruptcy in America is health care and 2/3 of those people have health insurance.

After the speeches, there was a raffle and we won an autographed picture of Senator Franken being sworn in by Joe Biden. I took a picture of Franken autographing it. I turned around and saw another actress friend of mine. What a surprise. We chatted for a bit and then she took a picture of us with Martin Sheen who was now being mobbed by fans. At some point, Martin asked what kind of food there was. People pointed and asked him what he wanted. He said "all of it!" But he couldn't leave, he was mobbed. I took off and grabbed a Caesar salad, a box of popcorn, plate of fried chicken and corn on the cob and brought it back to Martin. He said he need a soda and as I spun off, he shouted "Coke, with ice!" I brought back two. He was very grateful. We said our goodbyes and said had been a pleasure to talk with him. He agreed. On the way out, we took a caramel apple for the road. The party was over. Now, as the buttons said, "It's finally Franken time."

Five years and no pay day

The writer of my short film has just had his first feature made. He almost got screwed out of a credit and had to take the directors to arbitration, twice, but at least he got shared credit. It went to Sundance and got rave reviews and now is being released on a thousand screens in August. The trailer is really good and you can watch it here and read a bit about the film. I read this script a couple of times and made suggestions to develop the characters and story, so I was a big fan. The directors, of course, took out the good stuff and made it Hollywood bland but they got the job because they were able to cast name actors like Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman.

See, the studios still control distribution and still rely on theatrical to develop a buzz. They figure it takes $20 million to market a movie and that is the sole determinant for whether to distribute one. Is it worth $20 million? If there are no name actors, the answer is no. If the actors are recognizable but not bankable, like a movie my friend Steve is in called Plumm Summer with William Baldwin and Henry Winkler, the answer is still no. Sure, people know who they are but they won't go to the theaters to see them. It's to the point where no matter what the film or the budget, you better have at least one bankable name in the film or no one wants it, not even for cable.

What happens, then, is independent filmmakers can't make a film without a star in it, shunning their friends - fantastic actors who may have even originated the role - and other talent struggling for exposure. To attract top talent, it can't just be a fun romp, the script has to be really good or different or the characters have to be really interesting; requirements that no Hollywood film has to fulfill. And, the journey is a grueling five years for a movie made with independent financing; Little Miss Sunshine being the pinnacle of success.

Over the fourth, I met a couple - an actress/producer and a writer - who just finished making an independent film. They both spent five years on it and were involved in every detail of production and independent distribution. In the end, it sold and the investors almost broke even but they got no major distribution and didn't make a dime on it. It got rave reviews at festivals and in the press but it doesn't have any bankable talent in it. Now they're talking contingency plans and day jobs and these are two people that, to most of the struggling talent in Hollywood, are "making it." Stories like these make it very difficult to motivate oneself to make a feature.

We've all seen what's happened to film since the acceleration of visual effects. Basically it's all that films are about these days. People going to the theater expect to see something pretty spectacular. You can watch a good story on TV or get a laugh on YouTube but the cinema experience has to be eye-popping and better have one or more big stars. I expected that with On Demand and digital distribution, the field would have expanded. Instead it has contracted. Because all the Hollywood movies are soulless, empty effects extravaganzas, the name talent are starving for more substantive roles. They take the indie parts and push lesser known talent out of the running but still don't guarantee success of the film or the filmmaker. Filmmakers and investors are so worried about making their money back that they don't take risks that might make a better movie.

I know there's a huge demand for independent film. My mom will buy or rent a film from Blockbuster because she likes the cover and the title, even if she's never heard of or recognizes any of the actors. Some of them, she really likes. I read an article recently about how the record industry was digging out all these out-of-print recordings to distribute on iTunes. It said that the low cost of digitizing music made it possible to sell music that is obscure or rare and might have a small audience but they are sales they wouldn't otherwise be making. I was really excited by that; it sounded like the entertainment executives were finally realizing that there is big money in niche audiences. Just like Chris Anderson says that the way to make money on the Internet is to target a meganiche, because point one percent of Internet users is still a million, I think there is money to be made in film from the meganiche audience. So far, though, no one has tapped that potential because the greed and ego in the business has everyone stalking big game instead of catching the thousands of smaller animals running around. Too much work they say.

Imagine something like a game console with a sophisticated interface designed just for this: an On Demand platform just for independent film. Not the Sundance variety of stars in "small" 15-25 million dollar films, but real independent films. We could program our interests, rate films, browse titles, watch trailers, read synopses and get recommendations: It's like Xbox and Tivo met Netflix and Apple Trailers for a cocktail and they got crazy. These films could be $.99 instead of $3.99 On Demand charges for the Hollywood titles. If you don't like it, you could just turn it off. It's only ninety-nine cents! Or if you liked a film by a certain director, you could easily find more. The database would match talent too. If you enjoyed the guy in one film, you could watch everything he's in and rate him.

People think that the reason we don't already have this is because of some technical limitation. It's not true. 2 million people all over the world are playing massive multiplayer online roleplaying games, together, on XBox Live. On Demand is already bringing instant titles to people's TVs and Netflix to their computers. You can only watch one film at a time, so the selection does not slow down the system. The selection is limited because it is controlled by the studios. They don't want you to have more choices, they want you watch their third-rate film that bombed in the theater and they honestly don't care what you want.

If filmmakers could make movies without worrying about name talent and studio distribution, there would be many more stories to watch. They could make movies that some people will love without trying to please everyone. As it is, we're all watching the films that make the biggest box office, movies made for the slow moving masses. I hear people sigh and say that the entertainment industry is a business and that's just the way it is (and that I should stop complaining). But this business, like every other business in this country, is actually operating as a monopoly; the big guys work together to squeeze the little guys out by making it impossible for them to make a living doing it and then force feed us their mediocre product. In some countries, film is considered vital to freedom of expression and subsidized by the government. In this country, we shrug our shoulders and shell out $13 to see the latest superhero movie.

A place worth fighting for

I've been asked by so many people since I've moved here why I gave up acting. They ask the question as if talking about something I loved to do and got to do all the time but just grew tired of, like drawing. In Los Angeles, no one asks you why you're giving up acting, and I doubt any really believes you until you move away. See, it's not ACTING that anyone gives up, it's the PURSUIT of acting, which is really a completely different animal.

The pursuit of acting is like gambling. It requires a huge investment, over a long period of time with very poor odds that it will ever pay out. The more money and support an actor has from their family (and you'd be surprised to learn how many are being supported by husbands, wives and parents) the better their chances. They can make more bets, bigger bets and can afford to stay in the game longer. But that doesn't take into account the enormous emotional toll being in the game takes.

Some don't have the courage to play at all and just sit on the sidelines waiting for someone to discover them, or for the right moment. Those who do throw in their chips, eventually win but the wins are usually small and only justify the playing. If you gamble $50 in an hour but win $5 back, you keep playing because you've proven that you CAN win. I remember thinking it was funny when I first met someone in L.A. who described herself as a recovering actress. I had no idea what she meant.

People who haven't lived it find it to be funny and I guess it is in an ironic sort of way. At its best, it's exhilarating. An entire town of people with stars in their eyes, singing, dancing and acting their hearts out day after day, hoping to hit the jackpot. At it's worst, it's a town of junkies so desperate for a fix that they'll do anything to get it. So surrounded by their own kind that they don't notice their condition. The masses of those who accomplish nothing are so thick that a couple of lines on a little watched TV show for a few hundred bucks are enough to garner great accolades and envy from one's friends.

I "quit acting" because I couldn't afford to play any more. It just wasn't fun. Those little victories, a few bucks after a year of gambling for two lines on a TV show, were depressing instead of thrilling. And the promise of bigger fortune seemed more and more like the bright lights, air conditioning and lack of windows at the casinos in Vegas that keep you gambling all night because you lose track of time. How much time was I willing to lose for this jackpot?

So around the same time that I was fielding this question from well-meaning new friends, I read an article in National Geographic. I love that magazine for publishing an article around Christmas about what a disaster Bethlehem is and about how few Christians are left in the birthplace of Jesus. One family that's leaving has been there since before the birth of Christ and can trace their ancestors to the Bible! The ones that have stayed describe themselves as punching bags in between Israel and Palestine.

The Israelis talk about their children tucking their legs under them on the bus to keep from being blown off like a school friend of theirs, or finding their teenagers bludgeoned to death in a cave. The Palestinians complain of a twenty foot wall that divides their city, and of two-three hours lines they must wait in to be allowed to get to the other side and tend their own land. Encroachment, violence, bankruptcy, and more violence and yet when asked why they don't leave, they say "because I love it," or "because this is where I belong."

It's amazing to me that "place" can have such a draw. I couldn't help but make the comparison to Hollywood. I know it's not the same, I know actors aren't getting their legs blown off in Hollywood and yet, despite so many perils, so many obvious reasons to leave, to go somewhere else, to do something else, they don't. Thousands of people from all over the world move to Hollywood every day to pursue their dream and while some of them eventually leave, many never leave. They just can't. No matter what humiliation or poverty they suffer, no matter how they are taken advantage of, they still love it. Even celebrities, the lottery winners, who can afford to leave - Gene Hackman lives a secluded life in New Mexico, Clint Eastwood runs a ranch in Carmel - still, overwhelmingly stay in L.A. They're as much a part of the game as anyone. They just high-rollers now - the stakes are higher and they're treated a hell of a lot better while they're winning.

Getting screwed in Hollywood (it's true!)

About a week ago I got an email from the writer of a short film I produced and directed. His first feature had been accepted into Sundance and he was so excited. I’d heard about this project since the inception, it was something he would have loved for me to direct but it would have been a difficult sell: a novice director managing a 5-10 million dollar movie written by a first-time writer. (When a writer’s first feature is produced, she/he is called a “first-time” writer because it’s their first time being produced - not writing as the term implies).

In hindsight, had I been more aggressive, I could have probably secured a meeting with the producers and they may even have liked me. I helped the writer with a couple drafts of the script and I had a certain passion and vision for it. Ultimately, though, the job of directing went to a husband-wife team that had the connections to cast the film with people you’ve heard of and in Hollywood, casting is everything. I got frequent updates from Ross. He had a feeling from the beginning that he was going to get screwed in some way. The dynamic duo fancied themselves writers and took turns ruining his script. They turned a totally interesting character, for example, a Mexican-American descended from migrant workers who secretly produces a great wine while working for another vintner, into a petty thief. The stories made me ill but all along, his feeling was give a little, get a lot. His first feature was being produced after all and he was thrilled!

A few days after the email about Sundance, I was on the phone with him and found out that the Writer’s Guild had just arbitrated against him and he’d lost writing credit on his own script! He was absolutely outraged. Years of work, completely erased. His friend who produced the project sided with the directors because he was afraid of retribution even though all along, his script was preferred by the producers but they apparently felt powerless against the people with the connections. His producers were independent money folks and not seasoned industry producers but my friend is an attorney and comes from an industry family! His father is the creator of several classic sitcoms and the writer of hundreds of TV shows.

How is it possible for a guy with that kind of background to get screwed? I think it’s because he was willing to be screwed a little. You give an inch and they’ll take a mile. He didn’t fight because he wanted his movie made, and his instincts were right. It’s not easy to get a movie made and not uncommon for writers to be taken advantage of, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the credit. Credits lead to bigger and better projects. Without a writing credit, it’s like it never happened. If you get another chance, you’ll still be a “first-time” writer. This is why you hear stories of people suing a studio, becoming a drug addict or going into hiding after an experience in Hollywood. Let's hope he sticks it out, live and learn my friend!