In Case You Weren't Paying Attention

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I did my first "Ask  Me Anything" on Reddit.com this week.  I really enjoyed it.  There were over 140 comments.  Did you check it out?  If not, he you can use the time machine of the internet to travel back -- granted it won't be live anymore (but it certainly is not dead either!).  And I wasn't alone: I was joined by Jordan Gelber and Selma Blair.

What was it like?  Well...

[–]Film_Knockout 3 points  ago

In a world of overabundance, who do you look to for film recommendations? There's so much to filter through!

 

[–]DarkHorseFilm[S] 4 points  ago

One of the great institutions we have is all the various film culture support organizations. In this era of World Financial Crisis where arts funding is scarce, we need help from the film loving community to support organizations who curate, filter, preserve, and advance -- like the San Francisco Film Society!

 

[–]chippobd 2 points  ago

Do you think that the demise of print media is ultimately a good thing for independent film? With so many film critics out of work or retiring, how can people discover new movies that aren't shoved down their throats by huge media companies?

 

[–]DarkHorseFilm[S] 2 points  ago

What was so beautiful about newspapers was that most people bought them for the horoscopes, felt connected to the world at large, and then stumbled upon things like revolution in the middle east and cool movies like Dark Horse, Starlet, & Holy Motors.

The collapse of print has been devistating to art film in particular. Indie worked as a business model when you did not have to spend so much to get attention but could rely on the critics to drive people to the theater.

 

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[–]lil_snail 3 points 13 hours ago
Hi Ted! Thanks for doing this AMA! As a young producer I am really interested in learning about what your biggest challenges were (and are) and how you overcame them. Thank you!
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[–]DarkHorseFilm[S] 1 point 13 hours ago
Survival and lack of community. I got lucky early on as I was not burdened with student loan debt -- in that I organized the tenants in the building I live in when the owners took it coop. We held out until they paid us each $50K. Tuition was not as insane then as it is today so I could pay off my debt and have a life in the arts. We suffer now because young people have to first chase salary to get out from under -- and everything you do changes you and most corrupts if you are not strong and hv a great group of supporters.
THat is the second challenge. Our culture encourages indivualistic and narcisistic behavior, and producing in so isolating that only encourages us to withdraw further. Finding great collaborators is always a challenge. I was incredibly fortunate to find the filmmakers and crew and investors and all the folks at GOod Machine and This is that. Most fortunate was finding some one to share my life with who shared my mission and believes in the values I hold dear (ie. my wife Vanessa). Support is so important. When you find good people keep them near.
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And Selma too gave good answers:

[–]bahrjusc 1 point 14 hours ago
Selma- The first movie I remember seeing you in was Cruel Intentions...as a male I remember one scene in particular(go figure). How did you prepare/get ready for the kissing scene with Sarah Michelle Gellar and was it a funny moment, just get it over with moment, or true and pure this is for the movie/lets get this right moment?
I'm sure you've been asked about this a lot, but if you actually answer this I'd be amazed!
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[–]DarkHorseFilm[S] 3 points 14 hours ago
bahrjusc, Cruel Intentions was my first big movie. Every moment was such a thrill. The kiss came later in the shooting schedule and Sarah and I were pretty close by then. We were a little nervous and Sarah was already quite famous and had onlookers in Central Park where we were shooting, so she must have been a bit more self aware than I was. We each had an ice cream from a nearby truck beforehand. Toasted almond. Delicious. The kiss was sweet and soft and a little weird. We were girl kiss movie pioneers. It was a different time. The director and producer kept having us kiss and then there was that string of spit and everyone knew that was the one! That embarrassed me though. A good memory for sure. We are still close friends. spit sisters. ha.
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[–]bahrjusc 1 point 14 hours ago
WOW, thank you for answering! I still to this day can't listen to Bittersweet Symphony without thinking of the closing scene.

Check out the whole thing here.