Eric Forsberg was born and raised in Chicago, the son of Rolf Forsberg, a successful independent filmmaker and Josephine Forsberg, a highly acclaimed improvisation/comedy instructor (who worked with such talents as Bill Murray (who reportedly paid for his lessons by painting the Forsberg family kitchen), and Harold Ramis.)
From an early age he was brought up under the bright lights of showbiz, landing his first big movie role at age 4, and worked behind the scenes in his father's company, eventually landing a job in the makeup department on "The Late Great Planet Earth" with Orson Welles.
He writes (plays, movie scripts, poetry, autobiography (his personal journal is over 200 volumes and growing), directs, sings, acts, teaches and does make-up. He is married to Producer, Karen Forsberg and his daughter Lola Forsberg is already an accomplished actress, who at age 11 has appeared in nearly a dozen features, including Eric Forsberg's latest SyFy original movie, Mega Piranha.
Eric has drawn his inspiration from a number of "personal muses" including his father, his artist friend Charles Schneider, and his wife's old dog, "who was a most foul creature and inspired much repulsive horror". In literature, Eric was inspired by authors such as JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis as well as being "driven" to "great heights" by Anais Nin, Vincent van Gogh, Wagner, Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott. Recently these heights have included "The Second City" who flew Eric and his family to Chicago to be part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. "I really felt like I had made it to the top in my home town. Each success, each step up even, is a new pinnacle, and I reach up and pull myself towards them every day. We all do - that's what makes human beings such a force - we don't give up easily. And once we ascend one peak, we look to the next."
Despite wearing so many artistic "hats", Eric describes himself as "most definitely a creator of worlds - which means a writer and director combined. I love to direct - to work with other artists to bring the world to life - it is my passion. And I have to write - I must - I have no choice. All of my life I been a writer, even on the edge of napkins or in journals or emails I constantly compose monologues and dialogues. I also make lists and charts in a constant effort to manage the details of my creative output. I will write until my hands fall off or my brain shrivels into a clump. But writing is less my passion and more my life's blood. I truly love to direct. For me, acting is just a lot of fun, but, just like painting and composing music (both of which I do), I don't need to act."
His latest feature, a "tongue in teeth", but critically successful horror, "Mega Piranha" is currently the Number One movie on the US SyFy channel; "not that it is so fine a film, but because it knows what it is without pretence and it is fun." "It was a great fun film to make - I was told - write a movie about giant piranha, so I did. And Viola! MEGA PIRANHA. Barry Williams was a super pro to work with and Tiffany was the bright light in my day. Paul Logan is an ass kicking action hero, and I had a crew that worked hard to bring it all in. I am especially fond of my first Assistant Director, Nikki Lavine - she's great. I got a lot of resistance to the campy way that I was directing the film but in the end, once the post came in, the movie was a blast to watch - just silly enough to match the subject - and jam packed with action and effects. I am nothing but grateful for the chance to have made it." Eric can be seen in the film as Ambassador Regis, a part that he improvised.
In 1979, whilst still at school, Eric and his friend Charles Schneider wrote, produced and starred in "It Took Guts". The film is about a troubled teenage boy who tries to find something to amuse himself on a summer afternoon. "It was something we came up with one afternoon when we bound and determined to shoot a short movie. We got 2 rolls of super 8mm film and my camera, I baked up a bunch or prosthetic effects from what we had in the kitchen (mostly bread dough based) - then we went out to a field and shot it. Charles and I came up with the idea as we went - he starred in it and I was behind the camera. It was a surprising cult hit back in the punk days and played all over the world (mostly in bars and clubs that I was too young to get in to)."
"I made my first few films between the ages of nine and thirteen, mostly with my chum, Scott Brown) - I did a lot of blood effects because they we cheap to make and fun to watch. In high school I continued to make gory movies with Charles Schneider - again, teenage boys killing each other and dying was a blast to make a movie about. As an adult I did a lot of other things including theatre, musicals, and plays. But when I came out to LA to make movies everybody wanted genre horror, so I was ready to go back to it." Eric has since made nine movies and only about half are horror including "Alien Abduction" and "Snakes on a Train" recently shown on the UK SyFy Channel."
He is currently weighing up his options; "and there are a lot of them. So many producers now want to make deals. So I am writing, and taking meetings, and strategizing my next step."
For someone just starting out, Eric has this advice to give; "Get a camera, make a movie, put it on You Tube, then make another and another and never look back. Don't get tied up on one project or one script, make as much as you can and do it as soon as possible - your day will come"
Monday 24 May 2010
Sunday 16 May 2010
Film 101 with Amelia Tyler
Amelia Tyler is a British actress and voiceover artist who had her first taste of fame at the tender age of five, voicing a national radio commercial. She was already a TV veteran, having appeared in both BBC and ITV dramas including 'Boon', when she was accepted into the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain at just sixteen years old, and only a year later she became ITV's youngest ever continuity announcer, hosting their children's television slot CITV. Since then she's worked in almost every area of the industry, from movies to cartoons, was the female voice of the UK's SyFy channel from 2005 until 2010, can currently be seen playing six roles in the "refreshingly different" British indie sci-fi film 'Triple Hit', and will soon begin shooting at Pinewood for her role in action/thriller 'Sure Fire Hit', starring Chris Noth, Jennifer Ellison and Rebecca Lock.
Described by directors as having "a sense of dedication bordering on obsessive" yet being "more fun than a frog on a trampoline", Amelia attributes her move into the 'acting life' to her mother. "She's an actress too so some of my most enduring memories of childhood are of being on theatre and TV sets with her, just soaking it all in. It was an awesome way to grow up and gave me a really early understanding of the whole acting process that's proved invaluable as my career has evolved.
"Acting totally lights my fire. Each role is utterly different so it's like letting a different side of yourself out to play every day! 'The actor's life' can be pretty damned unpredictable, though: one day I might be in a plush London studio recording a TV ad, the next running from zombies in a forest or sobbing my heart out in a hospital. Luckily I live for that 'whatever next?!' feeling." She doesn't believe that a 'normal' life is for her and describes herself as "one of those bizarre people who actually enjoys long, arduous night shoots, speed-learning scripts, training for physical roles or having her face covered in prosthetics. I'm a big kid at heart so to me all that's just a different kind of fun."
So for an actress who got such an early start, how did it feel to be accepted into the National Youth Theatre? "Oh, it was a huge honour. The NYT is THE name for young talent here in the UK and many of our most famous names (Sir Ben Kingsley, Dame Helen Mirren and Timothy Dalton, for example) are alumini. When I applied I'd only just turned 16 (the minimum age for full training) so as the youngest person to be accepted onto the course I couldn't believe I'd been judged to be an equal to all these other people who just seemed impossibly grown-up and talented. I think that's part of what makes the NYT so successful, though - if you have raw talent they'll see it and nurture it.
"The course was my first real time away from home so I made a point of learning all I could. The training was insane - it really opened my eyes to what I could do, plus getting praise and trust from established directors boosted my confidence no end. I suppose that was the biggest part of the whole experience for me: making me believe I could accomplish anything if I set my mind to it.
"My early TV work was very different. There's a lot of waiting around on set, then suddenly there'll be this massive burst of activity so you have to really focus on getting the job done quickly and right. Luckily I'd always had quite an old head on my shoulders and had no trouble just chatting to the adults on set or taking direction. I've got very fond memories of filming 'Boon': eating biscuits with Michael Elphick in his trailer, watching all the behind-the-scenes stuff being done... Most importantly, though, it taught me the difference between acting for stage and acting for screen. On screen everything's far more subtle and I saw it as a wonderful challenge. "Hmm... ok, how can I take what I've learned for theatre and adapt it to work here?""
And how did she get into doing voiceovers? "Again, I blame my mum! I learned a lot from watching her working so I ended up doing my first paid voiceover gig when I was incredibly young, but making the switch between child voiceovers and teenage ones was a shock. Suddenly they didn't want a cute tot to charm the listeners, they wanted ALL these words read as quickly as possible, and in many different styles, so I quickly became very good at sight-reading and doing character voices."
Things began to really happen when Amelia turned 17 and ITV called, asking her to audition to be CITV's new continuity announcer. "I thought they were joking! Live continuity work can be incredibly demanding and I'd have to write my own scripts so I never thought they'd want someone as young as me, but I went along anyway and was amazed when I got the job, becoming ITV's youngest ever announcer! I remember my producer showed me into recording booth on the first day, handed me a little black box with a red lever on it and said "pull that switch towards you and you can say whatever you want, push it away from you and the whole of the UK can hear you." I'd imagine most kids that age might go to pieces in the same situation but I loved every minute of it."
When Amelia graduated from university she was signed by "a really fantastic agency, the aptly-titled 'Excellent' in London", and from there her career skyrocketed. "I've worked for some amazing companies like Disney, SyFy and the BBC. Acting's great fun but voiceovers open you up to a whole new way of working. You have to be able to adapt your voice, to shave a specific number of seconds off a read without the aid of a stopwatch, and to convey everything an on-screen character could without ever being visible. Also, on screen I'm unlikely to get cast as a fat, middle-aged northerner, a barmy granny or a giggling baby but in voiceovers I can be anyone. The anonymity is wonderfully freeing."
Amelia's acting credits include "ass kicking heroines to evil temptresses" in both modern and period productions, but what kind of role does she enjoy most? "I honestly don't think I could choose! I was trained from a very early age in classic stuff like Shakespeare and Chekhov so I grew up with a real understanding and love of period roles (and corsets!), but on the flipside of the coin I'm a total tomboy so running around fighting men twice my size and being a general badass is a huge amount of fun!
"I have to admit that I enjoy playing baddies but I suppose what I really relish is any well-written role I can get my teeth into. Whether I'm playing an all-action ass-kicker or a serious dramatic role I like to get into the character's head and make her believable. It's a great chance to explore different aspects of your personality, plus, my mum's thrilled that I'm finally putting my Psychology degree to good use!"
But until recently Amelia was unsure of her ability to 'do' comedy. "I just never thought I was a funny person, but as it turns out I was totally wrong! In 2008 I starred in a lovely short film about vampires called 'Blood Actually' which was very subtly comedic, then last year I played the lead in a webseries called 'SatNav Lifestyle' which was TOTALLY silly, real plastacine face stuff. It was so refreshing to cast off all those worries about looking good or being ladylike and just behave like a total idiot for a few days! A lot of people think comedy is easy but it's just not true - it takes just as much skill as a dramatic role, you're just using a different rulebook.
Amelia makes no secret of her love for all things sci-fi and horror. "My dad's a huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy so I was brought up on a healthy diet of Star Wars, Bladerunner et al. - not a bad way to grow up, really! As a budding people-watcher I think it struck me at quite an early age how a well-made movie can really influence the way people think, and that sci-fi and horror are the main culprits for that. Horror is a very primal feeling, taking us back to our fears and animal instincts, whereas sci-fi opens up our minds and gives us fresh perspectives on personal, national and even global issues. That ability can be incredibly powerful. They're an absolute hoot to make, too! I've had maggots on my face, operated a futuristic CGI floating computer screen... I suppose that's what attracts me the most - they really set your imagination free and as an actor you get to experience things you never would in a typical drama.
"Also, sci-fi really was the flag bearer for feminism and sexual equality in general. It's great to see so many strong female characters appearing in movies and on TV these days, but they've been in sci-fi for decades. Ellen Ripley, Lieutenant Uhura, even Maria in 'Metropolis' way back in 1927! These were independent women with authority and ability who gave new generations of young ladies the courage to stand up for what they believe in and forge their own paths. That's something I'm 100% behind. Who wants to see some wimpy, wishy-washy girl let a man sort out her problems for her anyway? I'd much rather save myself, ta!"
Amelia's first lead role was in the award winning feature 'Wasters', which she described as "an absolute ball to film". But it was also a real learning experience. "I'd played lead roles on stage many times but on screen it's a totally different ballgame!" Due for release next year, 'Wasters' is a comedy drama about four friends who work in a bar and follows their lives over a single night as secrets are revealed and friendships betrayed. "Oooh, the mystery! I played Sarah Smith, the baddie of the piece, and playing such a nasty piece of work was a real joy. It would have been easy to make Sarah all legs and cleavage but Luke (Rufo, the director) was keen to make her someone you could hate and sympathise with at the same time so we had a lot of interesting chats about her psychology and why she did what she did."
"I'm starting to wonder if my performance was a little TOO convincing, though - a few people I talked to after the premiere were really off with me until they realised I'm nothing like my on-screen character! I'm nice in real life, honest!"
Last summer 'Triple Hit' was screening at Comic Con in San Diego, and Amelia was asked to go along and speak on the panel. "I don't think I've ever been more excited, the whole thing just blew my mind! I also did a few interviews while I was there, plus covered the event for the SyFy Channel, so I wrote a daily blog and got to interview some wonderful people, like Richard Hatch and Virginia Hey.
It's incredible who you randomly bump into at that place. I was chatting to a lovely guy in a baseball cap for several minutes before he revealed himself to be Lenn Wein and did a little video interview with me! The whole trip was just madness from start to finish. As you can imagine, it was a huge deal for a geek like me and I adored chatting to fans of the genre about the movie and my other work (and spending far too much money on things like Lego and nerdy t-shirts). Sci-fi fans are brilliant beyond words - hands down some of the friendliest, most well-informed and generally ace people I've ever met."
Amelia is keeping quiet about her upcoming movie roles, however. "I'm afraid that's one of the most frustrating things about working in this industry: all the NDAs! However, I can say that I've got an incredibly busy 12 months ahead, I'm in at least one movie shooting at Pinewood this year, and that 'SatNav Lifestyle' will be hitting the internet very, very soon. I'm working on a whole bunch of other projects at the moment too, both short films and features, plus I'm currently writing my first solo feature film script, working on an awesome secret project with the lads from Entanglement Productions, and it looks like I'll be filming in the USA sometime next year so... exciting times! I update my blog (on www.ameliatyler.com) whenever there's news to tell and I'm pretty active on twitter (www.twitter.com/ameliatyler) so hit me up on there to find out all the latest goss."
But sucess has not changed Amelia. "God no! Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have my work praised by others but that's such a tiny part of the job. I love the actual process of making a movie so anything afterwards is just an added bonus. Besides, I'm far too much of an idiot to let success go to my head. I trip over. A LOT. There's nothing like a good solid faceplant to keep your feet (and the rest of you) on solid ground!"
So, what advice does Amelia have to anyone starting off? "Ooh, where to start? Ok, first off, immerse yourself in your craft. Watch movies, plays, drama, comedy, horror... learn from everything and everyone and never assume you've got it sussed. The second you think you've got nothing to learn you might as well pack up and go home! Never believe your own hype. If you get a bad review, especially from someone who really knows what they're talking about, then don't ignore it - learn from it and resolve to be better next time. That person has just made you aware of how you could improve your skills. Brilliant!"
"Always be on time, get a good night's sleep beforehand, and be sure to treat everyone on set as you'd like to be treated yourself. When you're busy preparing for a scene it might be easy to forget to give due credit and time to people like runners, lighting technicians and makeup artists but they're usually working far harder than the actors and have a huge amount of pressure on them. These are the people who make you look good and without them there'd be no production at all.
"Above all, don't forget to have fun and if you do make it big (or even just medium) try not to take yourself too seriously or be blinded by the praise people are throwing at you. You're just you, the same as you were before all this, no better or worse than anyone else in the world. You just happen to have an exceptionally weird job!"
Saturday 20 March 2010
Film 101 with.....Richard Syrett
What makes a good show? How did it get from the drawing board and onto your screen, How can I get involved in Film, TV or Radio?
Over the coming weeks I hope to answer these questions and more. By interviewing personalities from all aspects of media; writers, directors, producers, independant film makers, cameramen, set designers, in fact everyone who is anyone in TV land. By the end of this series, perhaps you will be inspired to take up a pen, a camera or a microphone and start down the journey of media stardom yourself.
Part 1; Barak Obama and the Conspiracy of Silencing.
Richard Syrett describes himself as a broadcaster, first and
foremost. His writing, story-telling, and interviewing skills,
infectious enthusiasm and the ability to stare down chaos and
confusion with a smile made him an instant hit, even gathering a cult
following. He has been producing fresh, compelling and provocative
talk radio in Toronto, North America’s fourth largest market, for
nearly 20 years.
"I've been talking about conspiracies, cover-ups, political
subterfuge, the paranormal for about 10 years on radio. Previous to
that I was producing talk radio. It was the usual grinding work-a-day
reality stuff you hear everywhere: Scandal at the local school board,
municipal transit strike, should the Federal Fisheries Minister
resign, blah, blah, blah. Crushingly dull stuff, really, and I
couldn't take it anymore. So when I took my turn behind the mic, I
desperately wanted to do something different. I've always been
fascinated by life's big questions: Who are we? How did we get here?
What happens after we die? Who's really running the show? Is the
Queen a shape-shifting alien? I had this friend who was a student and
colleague of Marshall McLuhan who was very much into what he called
the 'top down conspiracy. One night he presented me with a copy of
Tragedy and Hope; A History of the World in Our Time. That really set
me on my path. So I made a decision this was going to be what the
show was about. It was a hit on Sunday nights. Number one show in the
Toronto market. Ten years later I'm still fascinated by those Big
Questions and I couldn't imagine myself talking about anything else on
the radio."
All was going well until a series of reports on Barak Obama that
Richard believes may have had something to do with his show being axed
in January of this year. A lucky break from a previous guest led
Richard Syrett in a new direction
Richard Gage, A San Francisco engineer who founded "Architects and
Engineers for 9/11 Truth" a non-profit organisation set up in 2006 to
demand an independant investigation into the collapse of the twins
towers, appeared on Richard's radio show arguing that the collapse ot the World Trade Centre may have been a controlled demolition.
"A few weeks after I was gassed, I get a call from Ron Craig, the demolitions expert who debated against Richard Gage on the show, asking if I'd have lunch to discuss a project. He proposed a web-based tv show about the very things I talked about on my radio show. He further proposed we shoot it at the film college. From there it evolved rather quickly. He brought writer/producer/director Phillip Jackson on board to consult. Phillip quickly determined that the concept had huge potential and we should not limit ourselves to the internet. He was confident the concept could easily be sold as a television series."
" At the same time, Ron, who is now Executive Producer, and his partner at the film college, Tony Luan had forged a relationship with a state-of-the-art, HD television studio in Scarborough, Canada, WOW TV Studios. WOW CEO Chuck Yeung and exec producer Joe Tay loved the concept and agreed to let us shoot the series there. Ron and Tony did an amazing job bringing all the key people together and in no time we had done the impossible. We completed a pilot of "The Conspiracy Show with Richard Syrett" and detailed proposal all in time for MIPCOM at the beginning of October."
The Conspiracy show will be a one hour TV studio discussion show combined with a 3 hour long "live" internet TV event. Viewers will be able to get involved and there will be acive forums on the website.
"As always, time is never our friend. We had an impossible time line to deal with. But Ron is ex military so he relishes a challenge. We had to secure a deal with WOW TV in order to have a place to shoot. We had to get a website up and running, a business plan and a proper proposal had to be pulled together. We had to incorporate, create a logo, book the show and pull a production team together in a matter of weeks. But we did it. I hate to jinx it, but this project has felt charmed from the beginning. In any undertaking the biggest obstacles are people not getting behind you or believing in you, or people with no vision, passion and imagination. We had none of that. As Ron likes to say, 'everytime I step up to the plate, I do so with the intention of hitting a home run.' Hell, at this point in my career, I'd settle for a ground rule double..."
Part 2; Bigfoots Baby and the Bildenberg Meeting.
Richard Syrett believes that he was always going to be in the media. "I was the youngest of five kids, so tv was a babysitter. I've never feigned an aversion to it or referred to it as the 'boob tube'. I love tv and always have. Same with radio. One of my earliest Christmas presents was a crystal radio set. It seems I've always been listening to the radio or watching tv. I couldn't imagine not being involved in one or the other. I'm not smart enough to hold down a regular job. Originally I thought I'd get into tv documentaries but I've never been one to plan things out, I let them happen, so somehow I ended up producing talk radio. But it's all story telling, it doesn't matter the form. But I bore easily and I got fed up producing shows about whether city council should ban plastic bags. I always wanted to be on the air but I never had the nerve to let anyone know it. Thankfully, the program director at the time took a chance and gave me a show. I was bloody awful. I tried to do comedy which is the hardest thing of all.. Then I cottoned on to the alternative views thing and here I am."
"I'm not a journalist so I'm not bound by any oath to remain objective. I can't avoid my preconceived notions but I try my best to suspend disbelief and provide a safe platform for my guests to tell their story. And short of promoting hate, I'm willing to listen to just about anything. In other words, it doesn't really matter if I believe the waitress on the phone from Olympia Washington had bigfoot's baby, as long as she tells it well.. "
"I'm in the story telling business, so the topic has to have all the essential elements of a good drama, or a good comedy as the case may be. There has to be tension, you need great characters. The guests have to be knowledgeable, passionate. And I need to be interested in it. I'm just not that talented where I can fake it. Are there any topics too hot for TV? We're about to find out, aren't we. We're not going to shy away from controversy.. We're going to rattle some cages, no doubt. But I won't allow the show to be used as a platform to promote hate. But nor will I allow people to stifle healthy debate by tossing certain terms around irresponsibly, like anti-semite, or racist. People will have to trust me on this and in time I know they will."
In the short term, Richard's plans are simple. "I'd like to become very wealthy and extremely influential, then maybe I'll get an invite to the next Bilderberg meeting. That's it, I'm being quite sincere...Oh, alright. I want to get this tv show on the air in as many homes as possible and shake things up. Get people thinking and talking and get beyond this idea that just because it appears on the front page of the New York Times doesn't make it so."
This is the first in a series of Blogs about different peoples routes into Tv and film. The final question I asked Richrd was if he could advise budding radio and TV presenters of how to get their foot in the door.
"Don't do it the way I did...which is to slip into the river, point your feet downstream and see where the current takes you. Decide early on that's what you want to do and go after it. Visualize it, Pray on it. Having something to say would also be helpful. Most importantly surround yourself with positive, supportive people and fire all the rest."
The Conspiracy Show with Richard Syrett is still shooting but you can catch a teaser trailer on youtube at;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVEJFATKoXI
Their website is:
http://www.TheConspiracyShow.com
Richard Syrett brings accessibility and encourages smart debate, with passionate guests about such subjects as: 9/11, shadow governments, forbidden archaeology and assassinations.
Over the coming weeks I hope to answer these questions and more. By interviewing personalities from all aspects of media; writers, directors, producers, independant film makers, cameramen, set designers, in fact everyone who is anyone in TV land. By the end of this series, perhaps you will be inspired to take up a pen, a camera or a microphone and start down the journey of media stardom yourself.
Part 1; Barak Obama and the Conspiracy of Silencing.
Richard Syrett describes himself as a broadcaster, first and
foremost. His writing, story-telling, and interviewing skills,
infectious enthusiasm and the ability to stare down chaos and
confusion with a smile made him an instant hit, even gathering a cult
following. He has been producing fresh, compelling and provocative
talk radio in Toronto, North America’s fourth largest market, for
nearly 20 years.
"I've been talking about conspiracies, cover-ups, political
subterfuge, the paranormal for about 10 years on radio. Previous to
that I was producing talk radio. It was the usual grinding work-a-day
reality stuff you hear everywhere: Scandal at the local school board,
municipal transit strike, should the Federal Fisheries Minister
resign, blah, blah, blah. Crushingly dull stuff, really, and I
couldn't take it anymore. So when I took my turn behind the mic, I
desperately wanted to do something different. I've always been
fascinated by life's big questions: Who are we? How did we get here?
What happens after we die? Who's really running the show? Is the
Queen a shape-shifting alien? I had this friend who was a student and
colleague of Marshall McLuhan who was very much into what he called
the 'top down conspiracy. One night he presented me with a copy of
Tragedy and Hope; A History of the World in Our Time. That really set
me on my path. So I made a decision this was going to be what the
show was about. It was a hit on Sunday nights. Number one show in the
Toronto market. Ten years later I'm still fascinated by those Big
Questions and I couldn't imagine myself talking about anything else on
the radio."
All was going well until a series of reports on Barak Obama that
Richard believes may have had something to do with his show being axed
in January of this year. A lucky break from a previous guest led
Richard Syrett in a new direction
Richard Gage, A San Francisco engineer who founded "Architects and
Engineers for 9/11 Truth" a non-profit organisation set up in 2006 to
demand an independant investigation into the collapse of the twins
towers, appeared on Richard's radio show arguing that the collapse ot the World Trade Centre may have been a controlled demolition.
"A few weeks after I was gassed, I get a call from Ron Craig, the demolitions expert who debated against Richard Gage on the show, asking if I'd have lunch to discuss a project. He proposed a web-based tv show about the very things I talked about on my radio show. He further proposed we shoot it at the film college. From there it evolved rather quickly. He brought writer/producer/director Phillip Jackson on board to consult. Phillip quickly determined that the concept had huge potential and we should not limit ourselves to the internet. He was confident the concept could easily be sold as a television series."
" At the same time, Ron, who is now Executive Producer, and his partner at the film college, Tony Luan had forged a relationship with a state-of-the-art, HD television studio in Scarborough, Canada, WOW TV Studios. WOW CEO Chuck Yeung and exec producer Joe Tay loved the concept and agreed to let us shoot the series there. Ron and Tony did an amazing job bringing all the key people together and in no time we had done the impossible. We completed a pilot of "The Conspiracy Show with Richard Syrett" and detailed proposal all in time for MIPCOM at the beginning of October."
The Conspiracy show will be a one hour TV studio discussion show combined with a 3 hour long "live" internet TV event. Viewers will be able to get involved and there will be acive forums on the website.
"As always, time is never our friend. We had an impossible time line to deal with. But Ron is ex military so he relishes a challenge. We had to secure a deal with WOW TV in order to have a place to shoot. We had to get a website up and running, a business plan and a proper proposal had to be pulled together. We had to incorporate, create a logo, book the show and pull a production team together in a matter of weeks. But we did it. I hate to jinx it, but this project has felt charmed from the beginning. In any undertaking the biggest obstacles are people not getting behind you or believing in you, or people with no vision, passion and imagination. We had none of that. As Ron likes to say, 'everytime I step up to the plate, I do so with the intention of hitting a home run.' Hell, at this point in my career, I'd settle for a ground rule double..."
Part 2; Bigfoots Baby and the Bildenberg Meeting.
Richard Syrett believes that he was always going to be in the media. "I was the youngest of five kids, so tv was a babysitter. I've never feigned an aversion to it or referred to it as the 'boob tube'. I love tv and always have. Same with radio. One of my earliest Christmas presents was a crystal radio set. It seems I've always been listening to the radio or watching tv. I couldn't imagine not being involved in one or the other. I'm not smart enough to hold down a regular job. Originally I thought I'd get into tv documentaries but I've never been one to plan things out, I let them happen, so somehow I ended up producing talk radio. But it's all story telling, it doesn't matter the form. But I bore easily and I got fed up producing shows about whether city council should ban plastic bags. I always wanted to be on the air but I never had the nerve to let anyone know it. Thankfully, the program director at the time took a chance and gave me a show. I was bloody awful. I tried to do comedy which is the hardest thing of all.. Then I cottoned on to the alternative views thing and here I am."
"I'm not a journalist so I'm not bound by any oath to remain objective. I can't avoid my preconceived notions but I try my best to suspend disbelief and provide a safe platform for my guests to tell their story. And short of promoting hate, I'm willing to listen to just about anything. In other words, it doesn't really matter if I believe the waitress on the phone from Olympia Washington had bigfoot's baby, as long as she tells it well.. "
"I'm in the story telling business, so the topic has to have all the essential elements of a good drama, or a good comedy as the case may be. There has to be tension, you need great characters. The guests have to be knowledgeable, passionate. And I need to be interested in it. I'm just not that talented where I can fake it. Are there any topics too hot for TV? We're about to find out, aren't we. We're not going to shy away from controversy.. We're going to rattle some cages, no doubt. But I won't allow the show to be used as a platform to promote hate. But nor will I allow people to stifle healthy debate by tossing certain terms around irresponsibly, like anti-semite, or racist. People will have to trust me on this and in time I know they will."
In the short term, Richard's plans are simple. "I'd like to become very wealthy and extremely influential, then maybe I'll get an invite to the next Bilderberg meeting. That's it, I'm being quite sincere...Oh, alright. I want to get this tv show on the air in as many homes as possible and shake things up. Get people thinking and talking and get beyond this idea that just because it appears on the front page of the New York Times doesn't make it so."
This is the first in a series of Blogs about different peoples routes into Tv and film. The final question I asked Richrd was if he could advise budding radio and TV presenters of how to get their foot in the door.
"Don't do it the way I did...which is to slip into the river, point your feet downstream and see where the current takes you. Decide early on that's what you want to do and go after it. Visualize it, Pray on it. Having something to say would also be helpful. Most importantly surround yourself with positive, supportive people and fire all the rest."
The Conspiracy Show with Richard Syrett is still shooting but you can catch a teaser trailer on youtube at;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVEJFATKoXI
Their website is:
http://www.TheConspiracyShow.com
Richard Syrett brings accessibility and encourages smart debate, with passionate guests about such subjects as: 9/11, shadow governments, forbidden archaeology and assassinations.
Film 101 with.....Lee Sjostrom
Beautifying The City
"Hollywood is not even a real city with a mayor, but a fantasy that has been created by the imagination of the writers that gave birth to it and cradled by the dreams of those that nurture the myth. Technically, the Hollywood area is part of the city of Los Angeles, California, the City of Angels. The "reel" people of Hollywood are very much like you, except the more famous of them hide their trash from enquiring minds that want to know." Lee Sjostrom
Lee Sjostrom has made a name for herself as a poet, writer, filmmaker, screenwriter, cartoon strip artist, columnist, actress and artist. But she primarily describes herself as an artist and filmmaker. Most recently Mayor David Miller of Toronto honored her for painting a bicycle on a Bell Box, "to help beautify the city". Lee was born in Sweden and moved to Canada as a child. As a teen model and actress, she started her foray into film and TV.
"I was literally discovered on the street by an agent", she tells me; "Despite being seen in TV commercials and newspaper ads by people who knew me, I did not really enjoy it. I didn't go into it to get attention. At that time I was very shy." Despite being recognized from the film, TV and magazine work that she did, her classmates often rejected Lee. "Acting and modeling is a tough job... long hours, hot lights. The money and royalties were good, so that kept me going". But she did see the work as being a solid footing for her chosen career path as a director. Later, after graduating College and University, she lived and worked in Hollywood for eleven years.
Get Used to Rejection (and Don't Take it Seriously)
The path to stardom and notoriety is not an easy one to take, according to Lee. "But, most people who are serious about their careers in the arts, don't make a choice. It's a need. I would consider them brave to not give up their need and their dream, despite the difficulty if they have no one helping them or no contacts. The advice I would give anyone starting out is to get used to rejection and not take it personally and do what they have to do, but make sure they also have other skills so they can have what we biz people call a 'day job'."
Lee was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adulthood and believes this is why she found it difficult to maintain an "ordinary job". But despite the diagnosis she has found it to be a definite help in her career; "It taught me how to keep a calendar diary, to self teach, to multi-task and to always give myself more than enough time to meet a schedule in case I got distracted. Also, I'm rarely late for appointments".
After graduation from a Toronto College and University, Lee turned down a job working for Disney Studios, a decision she now regrets. Not being able to get work in the film industry in Toronto at that time, she worked as a fine artist, a commercial artist and a children’s art teacher. For four years, she exhibited in several solo and juried shows in both Barrie and Toronto. Because of her successful art career, Lee moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to "sell paintings to eccentric rich people". By inexplicable fate, she found herself back in film. Through Women in Film LA, she worked for and with celebrities and eventually set up her own editing boutique. After having completed a film and television course at UCLA in 1999, she moved back to Toronto to resume her film career.
Anyone Can Be A Filmmaker
"Of course the fact that it's now cheap to get a computer, software, camcorder etcetera makes people think that anyone can be a filmmaker... And the Internet proves that fact with all their competitions, youTube and international film festivals."
Lee credits her 8th grade teacher with influencing her career choice. "My grade 8 teacher was the first big influence in my life. I wrote a play and he asked me to direct it. This was when I decided to become a filmmaker. I was already watching late night movies on TV when my parents partied on weekends... My second big influence was having Allen King, a well known Canadian filmmaker, read a screenplay of mine in College and telling me that I was very talented and to keep going. He was the one who encouraged me to send the script to Disney Studios."
When living in Los Angeles, Lee worked as an intern with Century Cable Public Access. "Century Cable played to Hollywood and Beverly Hills, so a lot of celebrities watched it and went there to try out new ideas... What I learned there was live camera work, editing, lighting and more than that, working side by side with people who were well known. It was through Century Cable that I got two sponsors for WIF/LA and life was at a definite upward swing again. My advice to others about interning at a cable station to get into TV is that it would depend on what that station has to offer."
But internship is not always the most beneficial route for any budding filmmaker; "I interned with Rogers Cable here in Toronto a few years ago, and despite my already proven talents, I was kept as a P.A. for the length of the internship... AND no job possibility."
Lee has many projects and programs in the pipeline. "I'm writing and planning to shoot several shorts for Filmaka (a platform for undiscovered filmmakers to show their work) and also writing a totally solo feature which will be made from the prize money I should soon receive from them for one of my entry level submission winners. As well, I am one of the emerging filmmakers for Howcast and will soon have my third How-To 'live' on the Internet. And I can hardly wait to start my non profit organization to help filmmakers produce films for kids which have creative solutions to violence."
"Lee calls herself a self-teaching, mixed-up media artist. Others often call her just plain mixed-up. Her various arts reflect her love of fantasy, emotion, mystery and the dramatic! She lives to create... She creates to live."
my films and videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/filmFlicka
http://www.youtube.com/user/HelpMakeMeFamousTV
"If you can't be perfect, at least be interesting..."
old website:
http://www.geocities.com/starstrom
start of new website:
http://www.geocities.com/lee_sjostrom
my films and videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/filmFlicka
http://www.youtube.com/user/HelpMakeMeFamousTV
"Hollywood is not even a real city with a mayor, but a fantasy that has been created by the imagination of the writers that gave birth to it and cradled by the dreams of those that nurture the myth. Technically, the Hollywood area is part of the city of Los Angeles, California, the City of Angels. The "reel" people of Hollywood are very much like you, except the more famous of them hide their trash from enquiring minds that want to know." Lee Sjostrom
Lee Sjostrom has made a name for herself as a poet, writer, filmmaker, screenwriter, cartoon strip artist, columnist, actress and artist. But she primarily describes herself as an artist and filmmaker. Most recently Mayor David Miller of Toronto honored her for painting a bicycle on a Bell Box, "to help beautify the city". Lee was born in Sweden and moved to Canada as a child. As a teen model and actress, she started her foray into film and TV.
"I was literally discovered on the street by an agent", she tells me; "Despite being seen in TV commercials and newspaper ads by people who knew me, I did not really enjoy it. I didn't go into it to get attention. At that time I was very shy." Despite being recognized from the film, TV and magazine work that she did, her classmates often rejected Lee. "Acting and modeling is a tough job... long hours, hot lights. The money and royalties were good, so that kept me going". But she did see the work as being a solid footing for her chosen career path as a director. Later, after graduating College and University, she lived and worked in Hollywood for eleven years.
Get Used to Rejection (and Don't Take it Seriously)
The path to stardom and notoriety is not an easy one to take, according to Lee. "But, most people who are serious about their careers in the arts, don't make a choice. It's a need. I would consider them brave to not give up their need and their dream, despite the difficulty if they have no one helping them or no contacts. The advice I would give anyone starting out is to get used to rejection and not take it personally and do what they have to do, but make sure they also have other skills so they can have what we biz people call a 'day job'."
Lee was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adulthood and believes this is why she found it difficult to maintain an "ordinary job". But despite the diagnosis she has found it to be a definite help in her career; "It taught me how to keep a calendar diary, to self teach, to multi-task and to always give myself more than enough time to meet a schedule in case I got distracted. Also, I'm rarely late for appointments".
After graduation from a Toronto College and University, Lee turned down a job working for Disney Studios, a decision she now regrets. Not being able to get work in the film industry in Toronto at that time, she worked as a fine artist, a commercial artist and a children’s art teacher. For four years, she exhibited in several solo and juried shows in both Barrie and Toronto. Because of her successful art career, Lee moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to "sell paintings to eccentric rich people". By inexplicable fate, she found herself back in film. Through Women in Film LA, she worked for and with celebrities and eventually set up her own editing boutique. After having completed a film and television course at UCLA in 1999, she moved back to Toronto to resume her film career.
Anyone Can Be A Filmmaker
"Of course the fact that it's now cheap to get a computer, software, camcorder etcetera makes people think that anyone can be a filmmaker... And the Internet proves that fact with all their competitions, youTube and international film festivals."
Lee credits her 8th grade teacher with influencing her career choice. "My grade 8 teacher was the first big influence in my life. I wrote a play and he asked me to direct it. This was when I decided to become a filmmaker. I was already watching late night movies on TV when my parents partied on weekends... My second big influence was having Allen King, a well known Canadian filmmaker, read a screenplay of mine in College and telling me that I was very talented and to keep going. He was the one who encouraged me to send the script to Disney Studios."
When living in Los Angeles, Lee worked as an intern with Century Cable Public Access. "Century Cable played to Hollywood and Beverly Hills, so a lot of celebrities watched it and went there to try out new ideas... What I learned there was live camera work, editing, lighting and more than that, working side by side with people who were well known. It was through Century Cable that I got two sponsors for WIF/LA and life was at a definite upward swing again. My advice to others about interning at a cable station to get into TV is that it would depend on what that station has to offer."
But internship is not always the most beneficial route for any budding filmmaker; "I interned with Rogers Cable here in Toronto a few years ago, and despite my already proven talents, I was kept as a P.A. for the length of the internship... AND no job possibility."
Lee has many projects and programs in the pipeline. "I'm writing and planning to shoot several shorts for Filmaka (a platform for undiscovered filmmakers to show their work) and also writing a totally solo feature which will be made from the prize money I should soon receive from them for one of my entry level submission winners. As well, I am one of the emerging filmmakers for Howcast and will soon have my third How-To 'live' on the Internet. And I can hardly wait to start my non profit organization to help filmmakers produce films for kids which have creative solutions to violence."
"Lee calls herself a self-teaching, mixed-up media artist. Others often call her just plain mixed-up. Her various arts reflect her love of fantasy, emotion, mystery and the dramatic! She lives to create... She creates to live."
my films and videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/filmFlicka
http://www.youtube.com/user/HelpMakeMeFamousTV
"If you can't be perfect, at least be interesting..."
old website:
http://www.geocities.com/starstrom
start of new website:
http://www.geocities.com/lee_sjostrom
my films and videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/filmFlicka
http://www.youtube.com/user/HelpMakeMeFamousTV
Film 101 with.....David Winning
Born in Calgary in 1961, Director, David Winning has worked on numerous films and TV
series. He made his first film aged 10, but it was his 1987 feature, "Storm" that brought
him his first taste of sucess when it was distributed by Cannon International and released
on Warner Home Video. His second feature "Killer Image" (1992) starring Michael Ironside
and veteran character actor M. Emmet Walsh received its US Premiere as a Finalist at the
1992 Houston Film Festival. Since then, David Winning has directed numerous features and
episodic television dramas including "Stargate Atlantis", "Earth Final Conflict",
"Dinotopia" and "Andromeda". He has one over 60 awards including The Directors Guild of
Canada's Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series - Drama.
The creative side of Daid Winning believes filmmaking is an art form, but he always tells
people "the process is a little like painting a picture when seven people are holding the
brush. The director is the ringleader: the job is to get creative forces working together
to get the best result. I like to create an environment that's fun for people to work in.
It's such a delicate balance, especially when you're trying to coax the best performances
out of actors, especially when the material is tough. You have to create a little cocoon
for them to work in."
M. Night Shyamalan said the he was inspired to pen "The 6th Sense" after watching "Are You Afraid of the Dark, The Tale of the Dream Girl", directed by David Winning. But who inspired David?
"My idols were and are Stanley Kubrick and John Carpenter; two complete opposite ends of the spectrum. I've modeled myself off bits of both their careers. I'm workaholic and pretty happy about it. I've been making films since I was ten, have always had a passion for it and am happy that I've been able to carve out a career doing this kind of work."
David Winning was only 9 when he started in the entertainment industry. " I actually
started out as a ventriloquist and magician. Used to do shows for schools and libraries, etc before discovering a passion for
special effects. I started making films when I was young. Dad got me a Kodak Instamatic Super 8mm camera that I was glued to for most of my teens. My first professional job was working as a dubber-loader for a sound studio in Calgary. I also got experience as a director's assistant at ACCESS Television; an educational programming channel in Alberta that produced docu-dramas. I directed my first feature STORM at age 22 in 1983. This led eventually to directing episodes of Paramount's FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES in Toronto. 13 features and 20 series later; I'm still around
When I was 10 I became obsessed with creating effects with superimpositions, double-exposures and pixilation. This is an animation technique where you use live actors and move them a bit at a time to create flying sequences or driving on the ground with an invisible car. This interest in film as stories began to develop and it just became a very serious hobby through my teens. Starting with a documentary about my parent's trip to the zoo in 1971. I struggled for a long time in my twenties working on passionate projects that took years to finish. Most of my twenties were spent making my first feature STORM; which I loved. In some ways, you realize later that if you hadn't spent years making those first films, you wouldn't have had the career that followed because STORM led to everything else I've ever done. I was asked at age 27 to direct episodes of Friday; filming in Toronto, Canada and that became my first paying job. Success in the entertainment business seems to always be a matter of good timing. When Preparation meets Opportunity, as the saying goes.
At the age of 15, David made a short super 8 film called "The Visitors" about a thief that encounters images of himself in a house he's broken into, an experienc Pretty cool for a high school student, huh? It taught me how to make films -- he describes it as "pretty cool". It was the first time he worked with a crew.
"All my work up until then had been so solitary. Then I directed another short film when I was 17 called "SEQUENCE"; kind of a precursor to "Storm". It was funded by a Canada Council grant and shot on 16mm in the summer of 79. In his early teens he made several super-8 "mini epics" which can be found on Youtube. One day he plans to preserve them on DVD.
"Some of them are pretty good too! I'll have to put them as extras on some of my features like M. Night Shyamalan does. Might be worth a chuckle."
David Winning has some words of wisdom for anyone who wants to carve out a career in film.
"Don't ever EVER give up. It's a hard job, but if you decide to give in, believe me, there are thousands behind you very eager to take your place. I believe it order to succeed in this crazy biz, you don't have to necessarily be the most creative director or the one who thinks of the coolest shots. You just have to simply want it bad enough." But it is not all plain sailing. "I worked as a tickettaker, bouncer, bartender, you name it. Raised a whole bunch of money and was all set to go to film school in LA. Shocked my Dad when I was 22: told him I was going to instead make my own feature! My own film school for four years. No better way to learn. Pretty traumatic at the time but it all worked out. I used to be asked the question; what would you do if you hit the lottery and won $20 million. Make a movie? Of course not, I'd make ten!!
Big budgets can really be overrated. The creativity on the screen does not have a dollar figure attached. In some ways, my earlier feature work was forced to be more creative because we had no money and had to cut corners. Makes you think further than "outside the box"- forget the box, there is no box. My only big budget experience to date in the feature world has been the Power Rangers Sequel for 20TH Century Fox. 23 million dollars and a 12 week shooting schedule. I was directing eight camera units; including an
underwater and miniature unit. The movie grossed nearly $170 million in video sales and was the 4th Highest selling cassette in the US in 1997.
Makes you think. All the other movies have been shot in 16 days for less than 1.5 million. A few of them are better movies too." But David is not one for resting on his laurels. "I think I'm going back to Winnipeg Canada to shoot a couple more low-budget movies over the winter. We shot Something Beneath there in 2006 with Kevin Sorbo. Minus 45 in underground sewer pipes in the winter was memorable. I've got a bunch of projects in various stages of development; always trying to keep busy. Optioned a great monster pic script from a friend last year that I've been working on called GHOSTS OF ODESSA; cross between THE ABYSS and CON AIR. A bunch of prisoners are sent down to a Russian Sub to find out what's wrong with it."
"I'm currently developing a couple of other indie feature projects for production next summer and fall; likely in Canada. Also have just been re-approached about a possible project in India being co-produced by Wes Craven. Also recently have been talking to a production company about a spy thriller shooting next summer in Hawaii. Always something coming down the road. The cool thing about the job is you really never
know where you're going to be next week. I was touring the JFK museum in Dallas a few years ago, and while there got a phone call from Hungary regarding ABC'S DINOTOPIA series - two days later I was in meetings in Budapest! And shooting there for three months!
Travel miles are very healthy in this job."
"I really got into the business because of the brilliant 1976 thriller "Marathon Man". That's really the genre I think I was meant for, but it's all drama and it's all entertainment, whether they're in spaceships or on horses." But it is scifi that David has made his own.
"I really enjoyed my stint on Andromeda the past few years and I was sorry to see it go. I can vividly remember being fourteen and running home after school everyday to watch re-runs (even then) of the original Star Trek on an old B&W television in my parent's
basement. It's very cool to come full circle three decades later and still feel like I'm contributing in some to the Roddenberry legacy. Careers seem to take funny paths. In the early 90's I couldn't get out of Children's TV (Goosebumps, Afraid of the Dark? Sweet Valley High), then the Lance Henriksen thriller PROFILE FOR MURDER abruptly threw me back into adult gruesome murder thrillers. Now I'm behaving myself in Science Fiction. It's a fun ride. It's always good to have stuff you can actually show your mother though. I just finished a trilogy of monster movies for SYFY Channel and RHI Entertainment starring Bruce Dern, Kevin Sorbo and Robert Englund."
In his career, David Winning has been an actor, writer, producer and director, but which "part" has he enjoyed playing the most?
"Probably after twenty years, I guess the honest answer would be producing and directing is where I needed to focus. I've never had the total control since my first feature that I had in the 80's and I'm finding a desire to get back to the my roots. Episodic television has been very seductive, lucrative and educational but you really hunger to get back to the reason you picked this business; independent features. That's happening now. Danny Boyle's film 28 DAYS LATER... starring my friend Naomie Harris (DINOTOPIA, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) had such a profound effect on me in the last few years, and I've been so inspired to get back to Indy features. That's were all the fun is anyway."
You can find out more about David Winning at www.DavidWinning.com.
series. He made his first film aged 10, but it was his 1987 feature, "Storm" that brought
him his first taste of sucess when it was distributed by Cannon International and released
on Warner Home Video. His second feature "Killer Image" (1992) starring Michael Ironside
and veteran character actor M. Emmet Walsh received its US Premiere as a Finalist at the
1992 Houston Film Festival. Since then, David Winning has directed numerous features and
episodic television dramas including "Stargate Atlantis", "Earth Final Conflict",
"Dinotopia" and "Andromeda". He has one over 60 awards including The Directors Guild of
Canada's Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series - Drama.
The creative side of Daid Winning believes filmmaking is an art form, but he always tells
people "the process is a little like painting a picture when seven people are holding the
brush. The director is the ringleader: the job is to get creative forces working together
to get the best result. I like to create an environment that's fun for people to work in.
It's such a delicate balance, especially when you're trying to coax the best performances
out of actors, especially when the material is tough. You have to create a little cocoon
for them to work in."
M. Night Shyamalan said the he was inspired to pen "The 6th Sense" after watching "Are You Afraid of the Dark, The Tale of the Dream Girl", directed by David Winning. But who inspired David?
"My idols were and are Stanley Kubrick and John Carpenter; two complete opposite ends of the spectrum. I've modeled myself off bits of both their careers. I'm workaholic and pretty happy about it. I've been making films since I was ten, have always had a passion for it and am happy that I've been able to carve out a career doing this kind of work."
David Winning was only 9 when he started in the entertainment industry. " I actually
started out as a ventriloquist and magician. Used to do shows for schools and libraries, etc before discovering a passion for
special effects. I started making films when I was young. Dad got me a Kodak Instamatic Super 8mm camera that I was glued to for most of my teens. My first professional job was working as a dubber-loader for a sound studio in Calgary. I also got experience as a director's assistant at ACCESS Television; an educational programming channel in Alberta that produced docu-dramas. I directed my first feature STORM at age 22 in 1983. This led eventually to directing episodes of Paramount's FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES in Toronto. 13 features and 20 series later; I'm still around
When I was 10 I became obsessed with creating effects with superimpositions, double-exposures and pixilation. This is an animation technique where you use live actors and move them a bit at a time to create flying sequences or driving on the ground with an invisible car. This interest in film as stories began to develop and it just became a very serious hobby through my teens. Starting with a documentary about my parent's trip to the zoo in 1971. I struggled for a long time in my twenties working on passionate projects that took years to finish. Most of my twenties were spent making my first feature STORM; which I loved. In some ways, you realize later that if you hadn't spent years making those first films, you wouldn't have had the career that followed because STORM led to everything else I've ever done. I was asked at age 27 to direct episodes of Friday; filming in Toronto, Canada and that became my first paying job. Success in the entertainment business seems to always be a matter of good timing. When Preparation meets Opportunity, as the saying goes.At the age of 15, David made a short super 8 film called "The Visitors" about a thief that encounters images of himself in a house he's broken into, an experienc Pretty cool for a high school student, huh? It taught me how to make films -- he describes it as "pretty cool". It was the first time he worked with a crew.
"All my work up until then had been so solitary. Then I directed another short film when I was 17 called "SEQUENCE"; kind of a precursor to "Storm". It was funded by a Canada Council grant and shot on 16mm in the summer of 79. In his early teens he made several super-8 "mini epics" which can be found on Youtube. One day he plans to preserve them on DVD.
"Some of them are pretty good too! I'll have to put them as extras on some of my features like M. Night Shyamalan does. Might be worth a chuckle."
David Winning has some words of wisdom for anyone who wants to carve out a career in film.
"Don't ever EVER give up. It's a hard job, but if you decide to give in, believe me, there are thousands behind you very eager to take your place. I believe it order to succeed in this crazy biz, you don't have to necessarily be the most creative director or the one who thinks of the coolest shots. You just have to simply want it bad enough." But it is not all plain sailing. "I worked as a tickettaker, bouncer, bartender, you name it. Raised a whole bunch of money and was all set to go to film school in LA. Shocked my Dad when I was 22: told him I was going to instead make my own feature! My own film school for four years. No better way to learn. Pretty traumatic at the time but it all worked out. I used to be asked the question; what would you do if you hit the lottery and won $20 million. Make a movie? Of course not, I'd make ten!!
Big budgets can really be overrated. The creativity on the screen does not have a dollar figure attached. In some ways, my earlier feature work was forced to be more creative because we had no money and had to cut corners. Makes you think further than "outside the box"- forget the box, there is no box. My only big budget experience to date in the feature world has been the Power Rangers Sequel for 20TH Century Fox. 23 million dollars and a 12 week shooting schedule. I was directing eight camera units; including an
underwater and miniature unit. The movie grossed nearly $170 million in video sales and was the 4th Highest selling cassette in the US in 1997.
Makes you think. All the other movies have been shot in 16 days for less than 1.5 million. A few of them are better movies too." But David is not one for resting on his laurels. "I think I'm going back to Winnipeg Canada to shoot a couple more low-budget movies over the winter. We shot Something Beneath there in 2006 with Kevin Sorbo. Minus 45 in underground sewer pipes in the winter was memorable. I've got a bunch of projects in various stages of development; always trying to keep busy. Optioned a great monster pic script from a friend last year that I've been working on called GHOSTS OF ODESSA; cross between THE ABYSS and CON AIR. A bunch of prisoners are sent down to a Russian Sub to find out what's wrong with it."
"I'm currently developing a couple of other indie feature projects for production next summer and fall; likely in Canada. Also have just been re-approached about a possible project in India being co-produced by Wes Craven. Also recently have been talking to a production company about a spy thriller shooting next summer in Hawaii. Always something coming down the road. The cool thing about the job is you really never
know where you're going to be next week. I was touring the JFK museum in Dallas a few years ago, and while there got a phone call from Hungary regarding ABC'S DINOTOPIA series - two days later I was in meetings in Budapest! And shooting there for three months!
Travel miles are very healthy in this job."
"I really got into the business because of the brilliant 1976 thriller "Marathon Man". That's really the genre I think I was meant for, but it's all drama and it's all entertainment, whether they're in spaceships or on horses." But it is scifi that David has made his own.
"I really enjoyed my stint on Andromeda the past few years and I was sorry to see it go. I can vividly remember being fourteen and running home after school everyday to watch re-runs (even then) of the original Star Trek on an old B&W television in my parent's
basement. It's very cool to come full circle three decades later and still feel like I'm contributing in some to the Roddenberry legacy. Careers seem to take funny paths. In the early 90's I couldn't get out of Children's TV (Goosebumps, Afraid of the Dark? Sweet Valley High), then the Lance Henriksen thriller PROFILE FOR MURDER abruptly threw me back into adult gruesome murder thrillers. Now I'm behaving myself in Science Fiction. It's a fun ride. It's always good to have stuff you can actually show your mother though. I just finished a trilogy of monster movies for SYFY Channel and RHI Entertainment starring Bruce Dern, Kevin Sorbo and Robert Englund."
In his career, David Winning has been an actor, writer, producer and director, but which "part" has he enjoyed playing the most?
"Probably after twenty years, I guess the honest answer would be producing and directing is where I needed to focus. I've never had the total control since my first feature that I had in the 80's and I'm finding a desire to get back to the my roots. Episodic television has been very seductive, lucrative and educational but you really hunger to get back to the reason you picked this business; independent features. That's happening now. Danny Boyle's film 28 DAYS LATER... starring my friend Naomie Harris (DINOTOPIA, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN) had such a profound effect on me in the last few years, and I've been so inspired to get back to Indy features. That's were all the fun is anyway."
You can find out more about David Winning at www.DavidWinning.com.
Film 101 with.....Philip Jackson
Philip Jackson has been a writer, editor and producer and has directed some 40 TV documentaries (ranging from science documentaries such as the 1990 climate change film "The Fateful Balance" to his newest venture "The Conspiracy Show with Richard Syrett" Philip also produced and directed a number of art house. Philip's first theatrical was Strange Horizons (1993) (aka 'Project Genesis') produced on a budget of $280,000 in partnership with Mark Terry and distributed worldwide, and recognized at countless festivals.
In his earliest years Philip was a TV writer for CBC's children's programming including his first professional gig, episodic writing on the top rated Mr. Dressup Show.
Feature Films also include "Wish You Were Dead" (2002) with Billy Ray Cyrus and Christopher lloyd, and "Falling Fire" (1997) starring Michael Pare. Most recently he has been producing "Lost On The Ice Planet" with Michael Ironside.
Philip Jackson is Head of Production and Development at Starfield Independent Studios Inc, a creative film/TV studio with offices in London (UK) and Toronto (Canada).
Philip first started on the road of film production at the age of 14, using his friend's grandparents super 8 camera. His parents didn't see the need for a TV so the world of film was alien to him. He and 4 friends started shooting silent comedies. "By about the 11th grade, a teacher in the school loaned us a 16mm camera and editing suite. We shot a silent comedy about a golf game gone wrong and sold it to a local broadcaster. The couple of hundred bucks we got from that seemed like a fortune, and in those days it was! I got the bug and I never stopped. I must have shot about 40 or 50 short films, then I moved on to features".
But it has not been plain sailing.
"Film making is either a curse or an obsession. Sometimes there can be great pleasures in seeing an actor or actress deliver a performance, bringing a character to life; when you capture THAT moment, it's terrific!" But he also gave this warning; "If you are picking up a camera with a view to becoming a film maker, it should only be done if you are powerless to stop it. It is a brutal profession."
"You must have an incredible need to express yourself. If you are prepared to make the effort, then all you need is a camera and a simple, executable idea. You will know what that is when it happens, but there are easier, less harmful passtimes".
"When we started out we didn't have high end video cameras like they do today. Everything was done on film and the cost of buying and processing 10 minutes of film was about the same as a months rent and food, so you had to really think every shot, every moment. It was a very restrictive medium but it forced discipline".
"Today anyone with a video camera and a computer can be a film maker. You can re-record on hard disc or tape and it is relatively cheap to make a movie, you can afford to play around with the shots a bit more, but it is very easy to be sloppy. You only have one chance to present your "first feature". You should consider every shot, take care with lighting, sound, casting. And be prepared for criticism."
A wise man once said that if you ever start to think of yourself as being great, look yourself up on the internet. It can be a very unforgiving place and ridicule and gossip can travel round the world twice before breakfast.
I first heard about Philip Jackson about three and a half years ago when he started to produce an original scifi series called "Ice Planet". I asked him what was happening to it now.
"Getting a TV series off the ground can be very difficult. Between the changing allignment of broadcasters and the global financial meltdown, the ability of my production company "Spaceworks Entertainment" to produce "Ice Planet" was effectively killed off. I now head Production and Development at Starfield Independant Studios Inc. and they have acquired the rights to "Lost on the Ice Planet". It charts the story of two paralell universes, the "Ice Planet" universe and the "real world" where a team of creative individuals struggle to get the show off the ground. It will be a two part mini series starring Michael Ironside and also starring the team that struggled against impossible odds to realise the series. It will merge already shot special effects, built sets, test scenes, manga, anime, storyboards; blending together seamlessl to portray battles for survival in both realities.". It is envisaged that Lost on the Ice Planet can be seen on our screens as early as next year."
"Now we are working on a 3-D horror feature called Heliosphere. There will be blood, but it is primarily a suspense film, and will feature an ensemble cast of well known scifi regulars. The film will incorporate recently discovered space phenomenum and will have an engaging level of originality working on many levels and dimensions"
In his earliest years Philip was a TV writer for CBC's children's programming including his first professional gig, episodic writing on the top rated Mr. Dressup Show.
Feature Films also include "Wish You Were Dead" (2002) with Billy Ray Cyrus and Christopher lloyd, and "Falling Fire" (1997) starring Michael Pare. Most recently he has been producing "Lost On The Ice Planet" with Michael Ironside.
Philip Jackson is Head of Production and Development at Starfield Independent Studios Inc, a creative film/TV studio with offices in London (UK) and Toronto (Canada).
Philip first started on the road of film production at the age of 14, using his friend's grandparents super 8 camera. His parents didn't see the need for a TV so the world of film was alien to him. He and 4 friends started shooting silent comedies. "By about the 11th grade, a teacher in the school loaned us a 16mm camera and editing suite. We shot a silent comedy about a golf game gone wrong and sold it to a local broadcaster. The couple of hundred bucks we got from that seemed like a fortune, and in those days it was! I got the bug and I never stopped. I must have shot about 40 or 50 short films, then I moved on to features".
But it has not been plain sailing.
"Film making is either a curse or an obsession. Sometimes there can be great pleasures in seeing an actor or actress deliver a performance, bringing a character to life; when you capture THAT moment, it's terrific!" But he also gave this warning; "If you are picking up a camera with a view to becoming a film maker, it should only be done if you are powerless to stop it. It is a brutal profession."
"You must have an incredible need to express yourself. If you are prepared to make the effort, then all you need is a camera and a simple, executable idea. You will know what that is when it happens, but there are easier, less harmful passtimes".
"When we started out we didn't have high end video cameras like they do today. Everything was done on film and the cost of buying and processing 10 minutes of film was about the same as a months rent and food, so you had to really think every shot, every moment. It was a very restrictive medium but it forced discipline".
"Today anyone with a video camera and a computer can be a film maker. You can re-record on hard disc or tape and it is relatively cheap to make a movie, you can afford to play around with the shots a bit more, but it is very easy to be sloppy. You only have one chance to present your "first feature". You should consider every shot, take care with lighting, sound, casting. And be prepared for criticism."
A wise man once said that if you ever start to think of yourself as being great, look yourself up on the internet. It can be a very unforgiving place and ridicule and gossip can travel round the world twice before breakfast.
I first heard about Philip Jackson about three and a half years ago when he started to produce an original scifi series called "Ice Planet". I asked him what was happening to it now.
"Getting a TV series off the ground can be very difficult. Between the changing allignment of broadcasters and the global financial meltdown, the ability of my production company "Spaceworks Entertainment" to produce "Ice Planet" was effectively killed off. I now head Production and Development at Starfield Independant Studios Inc. and they have acquired the rights to "Lost on the Ice Planet". It charts the story of two paralell universes, the "Ice Planet" universe and the "real world" where a team of creative individuals struggle to get the show off the ground. It will be a two part mini series starring Michael Ironside and also starring the team that struggled against impossible odds to realise the series. It will merge already shot special effects, built sets, test scenes, manga, anime, storyboards; blending together seamlessl to portray battles for survival in both realities.". It is envisaged that Lost on the Ice Planet can be seen on our screens as early as next year."
"Now we are working on a 3-D horror feature called Heliosphere. There will be blood, but it is primarily a suspense film, and will feature an ensemble cast of well known scifi regulars. The film will incorporate recently discovered space phenomenum and will have an engaging level of originality working on many levels and dimensions"
Film 101 with.....Mike West
Mike West is the driving force behind Canada's independent film company "Roadrage Films";
described as "an independent production company focusing on making top quality movies
with little to no budget."
Road Rage Films was started 4 years ago to produce low cost high quality projects. To
date they have created 2 short movies; "Just One Night" and "House of Pain". Currently
they're working on the Body Trade project along with developing a couple of other
features and shorts.
Body Trade is a new horror project from Mike West and Road Rage Films. The project, which
consists of a Web Series, Graphic Novel and Feature Script, is about a group of
prostitutes who run a brothel to cover up the true nature of their business, their
harvesting organs.
Mike has always been interested in writing. "I was always writing horror inspired stories
for writing assignments, so it's always been in my blood... no pun intended"
Mike is currently in marketing and finds his chosen career invaluable to his film making
and writing ambitions, but he would love to be a development executive "because I have
more ideas then I could ever write on my own". It was while working as a cleaner that one
of these ideas nudged Mike onto his current film-making path.
"My wife and I were cleaning at night prior to our wedding. And I HATED IT... one day, I
was carrying a garbage bag and it broke. And instead of getting mad, I laughed, and it
gave me an idea for a script. From there I started to get back in touch with my writing
roots and I've never looked back".
But it has not all been plain sailing and inexperience led to his first lesson learned.
"My first film was called HOUSE OF PAIN. It's a short we shot in Niagara Falls, Ontario,
which is about a haunted house attraction that isn't all it appears to be."
"The shoot went well, sort of, but sound really killed it. And that's my biggest lesson
learned... if it sounds terrible, no matter how nice it looks, it won't be watchable,
unless of course it's a silent film. I'm sure I learned many other lessons, but I could
write a whole book on that subject.
Apart from working on promoting "Body Parts", Mike and Roadrage Films are working on
"Beware of Dogs".
The basic premise is about four teens who find an abandoned farm while geocaching (a
treasure hunting came using GPS). "Little do they know that the barn is protected by a
ravenous pack of dogs. This will certainly put a new spin on property protection."
"Beware of Dogs will in fact be a zero dollar project. And to do this, I'm going to use
borrowed equipment, or the older consumer stuff I have laying around. I'm a firm believer
in the fact that it's not the tools but the creativity and execution that make a project
successful."
"Blair Witch" and "Paranormal Activity" are perfect examples of this. I've always edited
my projects, and will be composing for this one... so that's how I can do it for
nothing... If we end up using rubbish consumer DV stuff... then it may be a "Blair Witch"
type shooting style."
His advice is simple for those just starting of. "In the words of Lloyd Kaufman, "Make
your own damn movie" -- just go out there and make crap, bad crap, and keep getting
better. Learn to write good material. Learn what good sound is."
"Get a hold of whatever camera you can. I once use an old VHS camcorder, so no excuses.
ummmm... network for sure, and don't have too high expectations of yourself. Be realistic
and have fun."
www.roadragefilms.com
described as "an independent production company focusing on making top quality movies
with little to no budget."
Road Rage Films was started 4 years ago to produce low cost high quality projects. To
date they have created 2 short movies; "Just One Night" and "House of Pain". Currently
they're working on the Body Trade project along with developing a couple of other
features and shorts.
Body Trade is a new horror project from Mike West and Road Rage Films. The project, which
consists of a Web Series, Graphic Novel and Feature Script, is about a group of
prostitutes who run a brothel to cover up the true nature of their business, their
harvesting organs.
Mike has always been interested in writing. "I was always writing horror inspired stories
for writing assignments, so it's always been in my blood... no pun intended"
Mike is currently in marketing and finds his chosen career invaluable to his film making
and writing ambitions, but he would love to be a development executive "because I have
more ideas then I could ever write on my own". It was while working as a cleaner that one
of these ideas nudged Mike onto his current film-making path.
"My wife and I were cleaning at night prior to our wedding. And I HATED IT... one day, I
was carrying a garbage bag and it broke. And instead of getting mad, I laughed, and it
gave me an idea for a script. From there I started to get back in touch with my writing
roots and I've never looked back".
But it has not all been plain sailing and inexperience led to his first lesson learned.
"My first film was called HOUSE OF PAIN. It's a short we shot in Niagara Falls, Ontario,
which is about a haunted house attraction that isn't all it appears to be."
"The shoot went well, sort of, but sound really killed it. And that's my biggest lesson
learned... if it sounds terrible, no matter how nice it looks, it won't be watchable,
unless of course it's a silent film. I'm sure I learned many other lessons, but I could
write a whole book on that subject.
Apart from working on promoting "Body Parts", Mike and Roadrage Films are working on
"Beware of Dogs".
The basic premise is about four teens who find an abandoned farm while geocaching (a
treasure hunting came using GPS). "Little do they know that the barn is protected by a
ravenous pack of dogs. This will certainly put a new spin on property protection."
"Beware of Dogs will in fact be a zero dollar project. And to do this, I'm going to use
borrowed equipment, or the older consumer stuff I have laying around. I'm a firm believer
in the fact that it's not the tools but the creativity and execution that make a project
successful."
"Blair Witch" and "Paranormal Activity" are perfect examples of this. I've always edited
my projects, and will be composing for this one... so that's how I can do it for
nothing... If we end up using rubbish consumer DV stuff... then it may be a "Blair Witch"
type shooting style."
His advice is simple for those just starting of. "In the words of Lloyd Kaufman, "Make
your own damn movie" -- just go out there and make crap, bad crap, and keep getting
better. Learn to write good material. Learn what good sound is."
"Get a hold of whatever camera you can. I once use an old VHS camcorder, so no excuses.
ummmm... network for sure, and don't have too high expectations of yourself. Be realistic
and have fun."
www.roadragefilms.com
Film 101 with.....Ken Gord
Toronto born Ken Gord has over 30 years of TV and film production. The producer is in charge of all creative and business decisions, including casting, locations, budget and schedule and works hand in hand with the director. He has produced 17 TV movies, several mini series and TV series including the Gemini Award nominated "Highlander: The Series". But he started as a promoter, bringing, among others, "The Who" to Canada to perform their rock opera "Tommy".
"Quite frankly, I don't remember a thing about my Who concert in Toronto," he jokes. "I do remember seeing the Who on their first U.S. tour at a Murray the K show in the RKO Theatre, Manhattan. The Who and the Cream were the bottom of the bill! On day on the Highlander set, I told Roger and he asked me how they went over. I told him they were liberating. Smashing equipment, smoke, etc. That was pretty wild for those days." Ken made a point of keeping away from the bands as much as possible and describes his later friendship with Roger Daltrey on the set of Highlander as "ironic".
His change of career to producer was by personal choice. "I took up the producer mantle because it appealed to my sense of an irregular life with what I thought would be fun." His first job was to produce a feature for a friend. Then came his first SciFi feature, the 1977 film "Starship Invasion".
"Starship wasn't a Star Wars ripoff as many think. We were actually making it at the same time. It was the director, Ed Hunt's baby and I just helped him get it off the ground. Of course, after the success of Star Wars, Warner Brothers tried to exploit it but it didn't do much business because the movie kind of sucks."
His memories of "Highlander: The Series" (Ken produced nearly 100 episodes from Series 2 to its Finale) are much happier. "Highlander was the greatest. The executives, actors... everyone involved was dedicated - we all cared a great deal about what we were doing. Each show was treated as a mini-movie." He was responsible for all creative and business decisions on the show, including casting (except the regulars) and had input into the flashback scenarios and locations for fights/quickenings, etc. but little input into storylines.
His latest projects include "XIII" with Val Kilmer and his latest romance-thriller feature "Silver Cord",also with Val Kilmer, inspired by his partner's deceased brother.
"James Ordonez had already written a script. I did a page one, basically made it more cinematic. It's become a fantastic project and we're excited about making it. It's kind of Ghost meets Flatliners." It tells the story of college student Andrew Gardner who is obsessed with the love of his life, Claudia, who he can only see in the astral plane during an Out of Body Experience. The silver cord that connects his spirit to his body breaks and he is believed to be dead. In a desperate race against time his friends, Charles and Georgie, have less than 24 hours to save Andrew's soul before his body is cremated.
Ken has these words of wisdom to share with anyone interested in persuing a career in film and TV.
"There's nothing easy in this business. My advice is, try it as a P.A. or driver or extra on a no-budget film, experience the hours, the working conditions, the stress, the waiting, etc. and see if you enjoy it because if you're not into it 110%, you'll not survive. The journey is full of many twists and turns and they're not all fun - there's a lot of disappointment, rejection, hard times, etc. along the way. So, not for the squeamish or people who can't cope with insecurity (job-wise). But when the show or movie's done and you watch it on TV or in a theatre, that's a sweet pay-off. There's no better feeling than to see something you helped create up on a screen and being enjoyed by other people."
"Quite frankly, I don't remember a thing about my Who concert in Toronto," he jokes. "I do remember seeing the Who on their first U.S. tour at a Murray the K show in the RKO Theatre, Manhattan. The Who and the Cream were the bottom of the bill! On day on the Highlander set, I told Roger and he asked me how they went over. I told him they were liberating. Smashing equipment, smoke, etc. That was pretty wild for those days." Ken made a point of keeping away from the bands as much as possible and describes his later friendship with Roger Daltrey on the set of Highlander as "ironic".
His change of career to producer was by personal choice. "I took up the producer mantle because it appealed to my sense of an irregular life with what I thought would be fun." His first job was to produce a feature for a friend. Then came his first SciFi feature, the 1977 film "Starship Invasion".
"Starship wasn't a Star Wars ripoff as many think. We were actually making it at the same time. It was the director, Ed Hunt's baby and I just helped him get it off the ground. Of course, after the success of Star Wars, Warner Brothers tried to exploit it but it didn't do much business because the movie kind of sucks."
His memories of "Highlander: The Series" (Ken produced nearly 100 episodes from Series 2 to its Finale) are much happier. "Highlander was the greatest. The executives, actors... everyone involved was dedicated - we all cared a great deal about what we were doing. Each show was treated as a mini-movie." He was responsible for all creative and business decisions on the show, including casting (except the regulars) and had input into the flashback scenarios and locations for fights/quickenings, etc. but little input into storylines.
His latest projects include "XIII" with Val Kilmer and his latest romance-thriller feature "Silver Cord",also with Val Kilmer, inspired by his partner's deceased brother.
"James Ordonez had already written a script. I did a page one, basically made it more cinematic. It's become a fantastic project and we're excited about making it. It's kind of Ghost meets Flatliners." It tells the story of college student Andrew Gardner who is obsessed with the love of his life, Claudia, who he can only see in the astral plane during an Out of Body Experience. The silver cord that connects his spirit to his body breaks and he is believed to be dead. In a desperate race against time his friends, Charles and Georgie, have less than 24 hours to save Andrew's soul before his body is cremated.
Ken has these words of wisdom to share with anyone interested in persuing a career in film and TV.
"There's nothing easy in this business. My advice is, try it as a P.A. or driver or extra on a no-budget film, experience the hours, the working conditions, the stress, the waiting, etc. and see if you enjoy it because if you're not into it 110%, you'll not survive. The journey is full of many twists and turns and they're not all fun - there's a lot of disappointment, rejection, hard times, etc. along the way. So, not for the squeamish or people who can't cope with insecurity (job-wise). But when the show or movie's done and you watch it on TV or in a theatre, that's a sweet pay-off. There's no better feeling than to see something you helped create up on a screen and being enjoyed by other people."
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