Saw this today online in PARADE...
George Clooney may earn $20 million per movie, but he's a rarity. Overall, the median wage for actors in the U.S. is less than $12 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As for the rest of the crew, they're clearly doing it for the glamour, not the money.
The median wage for a movie or television writer is just $5,000 a year.
A costume designer or makeup artist can earn more than $2,000 a week. But since work comes on a project basis, year-round employment is not guaranteed.
Production assistants typically earn just $8 an hour.
TV show directors can earn upward of $35,000 for a single one-hour episode -- if they hit it big.
We start principle photography tomorrow morning on the next round of "Pink" episodes. Shooting 25 more over the next two weeks.
BTW, I'm the director and actually make less than $8 an hour. Pretty glamorous, huh? :)
-Blake
CLICK HERE TO VOTE!
What are you voting for? Well, PINK is up for a "People's Voice Award" at the Webbys too. It's kinda like the People's Choice Awards. The audience votes on it's favorites.
PINK is up for best DRAMA: INDIVIDUAL EPISODE
You vote on the Webby Awards site. You do have to register, but it's quick and painless. Please help us out and go vote!
Thanks!
Blake
Just found out "PINK" has been nominated for a Webby Award in the category DRAMA: INDIVIDUAL EPISODE. Click here to see all nominees in Video Category. Our listing is about half way down page.
The Webby Awards are the the "Academy Awards" for the Internet, so it's a pretty cool thing!
Awards are June 10th in NYC. So fingers crossed!
-Blake
If you're in Dallas and are attending the AFI Film Festival stop by today and check out a panel I'm on...
WEBISODES, SCHMEBISODES
What Happened to Writing for Feature Films and Telelvision?
5:30pm
Co-hosted by Dallas Screenwriters Association
How does Internet distribution affect entertainment writing? Did the writer's strike change anything? Will writers earn income from "non-traditional" media?
Moderator: Elliot Kotek, Moving Pictures Magazine
Panelists: Blake Calhoun, Creator, "Pink"; Jim Hart, Screenwriter; and Brad Keller, Fireside Entertainment
And tomorrow I'm on another one...
THE INDIE PAYBACK REALITY
The Real Truth Behind the Cost, Risk and Prospects for the Independent Film Today
5:30pm
Co-hosted by Dallas Producers Association
This discussion will center on what to know before you start spending your hard-earned cash to make your dream feature film project.
Moderator: Corey Scholibo,"The Advocate"
Panelists: Charles Acosta, Arrival Pictures; and Additional Panelists TBA
I'm one of the "Additional Panelists TBA". :) Check them out if you can!
-Blake
It's been a great three weeks or so doing auditions for the next seasons of "Pink". Today we held our last ones and we'll be announcing the final cast next week.
Heck, our shoot starts in just over two weeks, so we gotta get things squared away!
This was one of the more extensive castings I have done. On my prevous projects I have typically cast folks I've either worked with before, or were referred to. It's worked out very well too. But this time I had to cast "college age" actors. All my friends now are pretty much in their late 20s to early 40s, so college doesn't really fit. But it's been a good experience and I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of fresh faces. Since "Pink" is a low budget show I acted as the Casting Director, so I've been involved from the very beginning. This is good though. I'm directing another web series in the next few months and will be going through the same process again. A lot of the actors I've seen recently are being considered for the new show as well. Hopefully it will help expedite that casting!
BTW, If anyone knows of a "college age" Matt Damon PLEASE let me know. We will need someone like that for the lead in the new show. More details will follow.
For now though it's back to "Pink". We kinda need to finalize the scripts now too. :)
-Blake
Check out this interview on TorrentTV with, uh, me! Show originally aired on satellite channel G4TechTV. Out promoting "Pink"...
PINK on TorrentTV
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Thanks!
Blake
Interesting article on the idea of artist (filmmakers, painters, musicians, etc.) finding 1000 True Fans to make a living. Obviously very relevant to online video.
What are "True Fans"? Read to find out
I love the idea. Being in control of your content and making a living is great. My only issue with his thesis is what is a "living"?
From the piece:
I am suggesting there is a home for creatives in between poverty and stardom. Somewhere lower than stratospheric bestsellerdom, but higher than the obscurity of the long tail. I don't know the actual true number, but I think a dedicated artist could cultivate 1,000 True Fans, and by their direct support using new technology, make an honest living.
From a filmmaking perspective, I think this is a stretch (due to cost of production), although he does suggest you'd likely need more True Fans (like 5000) to make a run at it.
What I'm trying to do with my web series "Pink" is find those True Fans, but also explore traditional distribution and marketing to find even a broader audience (without sacrificing too much creative control) and make a good living doing so.
-Blake
Thought I'd shared some cool press regarding our web series "Pink". The show was recently acquired by Santa Monica-based company Generate, run by former WB Network CEO Jordan Levin. We're now gearing up to produce 25 more episodes to be released over the summer...
Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/
business/news/e3ic8069f8098734cd40e0f68323f74fca5
Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981872.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1
NewTeeVee:
http://newteevee.com/2008/03/04/generate/
Broadcasting & Cable Magazine:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6538138.html?desc=topstory
MediaWeek:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003719379
TV Week:
http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/03/
generate_lands_6_million_in_fu.php
If you haven't seen the show please check it out. First 10 episodes are online now.
-Blake
Online video sharing site Revver has been acquired by, and now merged with social networking site LiveVideo.com (owned by one of the Myspace founders Brad Greenspan).
Full press release here.
I'm just glad they're still afloat! Rumor was times were getting tough for them. In my opinion Revver is one of the best video sites on the web. If you haven't checked them out, please do! It's where "Pink" was discovered afterall. :)
-Blake
We are casting for Season Two of "Pink" and are primarily looking for "college age" actors and actresses. If you would like to audition and are in the Dallas area please send your headshot/resume to loudpics@yahoo.com.
Thanks!
Blake
Good stuff... enjoy!
Unbelievable f**king cameos...
These should/could do good things for online video viewership.
-Blake
This year's Oscars seems to lack a lot of buzz to me. I've virtually heard no one talking about them, except for of course entertainment type shows, etc. Usually some friends of mine have an Oscar watching party and people enter a pool to win prizes. This year? None.
I was at a dinner party last night and the Oscars didn't even come up. Heck, we talked about the easement on the side of my house - but no Oscars. I'm a filmmaker too and they didn't really cross my mind.
The question is why?
My guess is that most "regular folks" haven't seen many, if any, of the nominated films. I've personally only seen "Juno", "No Country for Old Men", and "Atonement". Of course out of these films only "Juno" has been a hit, grossing over $120 million so far. Also I think the writer's strike might have put a bad taste in people's mouths for Hollywood in general. And of course for a while we didn't even know what kind of Oscar show there'd be if the strike had continued.
Are these the reasons? Maybe. Maybe not.
As a filmmaker I am interested in seeing who wins, but if I wasn't in the business I'd probably be watching a re-run of Gilligan's Island instead. Now that's entertainment. :)
-Blake
Cool Yahoo News section called "People of the Web" featuring a story "How to make a zombie for $50 or less"... there's an article AND a video to watch.
Nice info for indie filmmakers and fans alike...
Check it out!
-Blake
Check out this great podcast (from "On The Page") interview with Mike Maden, the writer of our web series "Pink"...
http://blip.tv/file/635227
-Blake
Where have all the good times gone?
Well, last night they were in Dallas. I went to the Van Halen concert at the American Airlines arena and it was great. Really good show. I almost bought a shirt. I didn't, but if I had school today I would have (don't tell me you didn't do that).
Funny thing is last time I saw Van Halen (the original group) was in Dallas in 1984. Ah, the good old days. It so happened that was the LAST TIME the band played together before their recent reunion (minus a few failed attempts over the years). BTW, this was of course not the "complete" original group. Bassist Michael Anthony is not on the tour. There are still hard feelings between him and Eddie regarding Sammy. So, Eddie's teenage son Wolfgang is playing in Michael's place. And he did a nice job. Kinda weird to think he wasn't even born when the band played in Dallas last.
It was very cool to hear all the favorites like "Jamie's Crying", "Dancing In The Street", "Atomic Punk", "Beautiful Girls", "Pretty Woman", etc., etc. They ONLY played David Lee Roth era songs. And they actually played a lot of deep cuts and B-side kinda stuff. Heard a rumor Eddie had to re-learn some of the songs! They even did "Ice Cream Man", which I don't recall seeing before - and it's one of the only songs Roth actually plays guitar on (he's good too).
A couple very cool things in this show that you very rarely see in today's newer bands are the presence of a Guitar Solo and Drum Solo. These are pretty much lost arts today. Now don't get me wrong. I love music from "modern" bands. And really as most folks know Nirvana was the band that killed the guitar solo - and since then (the early 90s) most bands don't do that. Which isn't a bad thing either. It's just nice to see an act that is SO focused on the lead guitar. And it's nice to be at a show that does the old routine of having a drum solo and then a guitar solo so the other guys can go take a piss and do a line of coke. Well, maybe not coke anymore for these guys. More like drink a coca-cola or a glass of ice tea.
But that's a good thing. The band seems like they're in a great place.
Eddie and Dave are definitely fit - for any age - but especially for being 53. Last night was actually Eddie's birthday and David got the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to him. That was fun. Eddie looks better now (since rehab) than he did 15 years ago.
One video-related thing I can share is they had a huge screen behind the stage that was basically just a projected image of the show (in HD). It was great though because otherwise we'd never been able to see much. Why? Well, we were in the nose bleed seats big time. I'd never sat that high up (can you say VERTIGO?). I don't want to sit there again either. You can't see. Heat rises, so it was real hot. And all the pot smoke rises, so it was hard to breathe at some points (especially when some dude fired up some skunk weed and then a cigar!).
In the end I had a blast and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in another 24 years. Talk about nostalgia (though, they're actually coming back to Dallas on March 3rd, so I might just go then).
But I think first I WILL get that shirt so I can show all my friends I went to the show last night. Of course today you don't have to actually go to the show to get a shirt. You can just buy it online. And while you're at it you can see the bootleg video of the show too, on YouTube.
I kinda miss 1984.
-Blake
This is an excellent talk by producer/director J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Cloverfield, etc.). A must watch for filmmakers out there. Thanks to Stu Maschwitz at the Prolost Blog...
WATCH VIDEO
-Blake
D-Day Invasion with only 4 guys? Eat your heart out Steven Spielberg...
See what can be done today with a little (or a lot) of imagination? GREAT STUFF!
-Blake
I'm taking some time off, so just wanted to say Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everyone!
Thank you for reading my blog and supporting my various projects this past year. It's really been a good one!
A lot of cool stuff to look forward to in 2008 with "Pink", "Killing Down" and several other projects (at least one more web series and another feature film).
Talk to you next year! :)
-Blake
AFI AWARDS 2007 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED
AFI has just announced the official selections of AFI AWARDS 2007, AFI's almanac that records the year's most outstanding achievements in film and television. Ten AFI Movies of the Year and 10 TV Programs of the Year have just been determined by the juries.
The honorees are listed below in alphabetical order, with my comments next to them:
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR--OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD (haven't seen it)
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (nope, haven't seen it)
INTO THE WILD (loved this film, not a Sean Penn fan either, but it's great)
JUNO (planning to see it this weekend)
KNOCKED UP (wife has seen and loved it)
MICHAEL CLAYTON (looked boring to me, but heard it was good)
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (loved 85% of the movie, last 15 minutes or so lost me a bit, but still very good - Josh Brolin was excellent)
RATATOUILLE (not a huge animation fan, but looks good)
THE SAVAGES (haven't seen it, but I really like Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman)
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (not out yet, but I'm a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson)
AFI TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR--OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
DEXTER (my favorite current show, love it, and sad this season is over)
EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS (never seen it)
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (great show and shot in Texas)
LONGFORD (never heard of it)
MAD MEN (good show, though only watched part of it)
PUSHING DAISIES (I like the look, haven't watched entire episode)
THE SOPRANOS (my previous favorite show, great final season)
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME (haven't seen it, heard there's a lot of nudity so been meaning to check it out)
30 ROCK (is this still on TV?)
UGLY BETTY (I'm a Selma Hayek fan for sure, but only watched this show a few times)
Pretty impressive list of winners. I just need more time to go to the movies and watch TV. Thank goodness for Tivo (but I still don't have time to watch all the recorded shows!). :)
-Blake
A lot going on right now...
1. KILLING DOWN - my latest feature film is being distributed throughout Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. Still not sure when it will be showing up on DVD in these places, but it has to be very soon. Also, our domestic release should be this spring. We're very close to doing a DVD deal.
2. PINK - the web series is really doing well. We've now had 3.5 million views on YouTube alone. All told (on Myspace, iTunes, Revver, Metacafe, BlipTV and YouTube) we've had over 4 million views. This all since September - but really since Halloween. We've had several meetings regarding the future of the show, and should have some news by Christmas as to the direction (whether we'll be producing Season Two on our own again, or whether another company will come on board as a partner). Either way we hope/plan to shoot in February.
3. NEW "UNTITLED" FEATURE FILM - the new feature project is moving along well too. Not quite ready to release details of the film, but our script is done, we have an excellent casting director, and our financing is almost in place. In addition, we're already talking to several well-known actors about the project. If all goes well we could be rolling cameras by March - but that's probably too ambitious (see #2 above).
4. NEW WEB SERIES - we're actually looking at possibly TWO new web series. Details coming soon. The first one (which a lot of the footage already exist) will likely be released online in January 2008. The other one we're in talks about for later next year.
Whew! Like I said, a lot going on and a lot to keep up with. Luckily I'm pretty good at multi-tasking. :)
-Blake
