In reviewing the year and placing my thoughts toward the new year I decided to make a list of everything I've learned from my experience writing, publishing, producing, and promoting pulp media. I have to add that 'media' bit at the end because in the world of Pulp 2.0 - Pulp is not just books anymore.
1. Entertain first and often...
2. Make your pulp colorful, enticing and distinctive. Audiences do judge a book (or DVD, or magazine) by its cover.
3. It doesn't matter that it's cheaply printed - it matters whether or not its been read.
4. Forget about awards. Cater to your audience - that's your reward.
5. Sex sells. Sexy sells better because it sells to both men and women.
6. There are a lot of pulps at the news stand. Ask yourself what makes yours better because you can't just aim to be as good as the next guy. You have to be better than the rest of the herd otherwise you'll be looking at assholes all day until the hammer swings down.
7. Be quick about it. Pulp waits for no one. Deadlines are there to tell you that you have to get better.
8. Pulp doesn't ask for permission. Pulp knows no fear except the deadline.
9. To some, pulp will always be a 4-letter word.
10. Pulp is built on imagination. Feed and water regularly.
11. At the end of the day if you don't make money - you lose.
12. He who controls the distribution controls the content.
13. Never cheat your audience. They deserve your best effort.
14. Readers will try you out once for the action and the premise. They will return to you for the characters.
15. Everything is a first draft.
16. Pulp follows trends then surpasses them.
17. Never underestimate the value of a happy ending.
18. Pulp is not a genre, it's an attitude. Only the sweetest, juiciest heart of the story and no more.
When Finnish filmmaker Timo Vuorensola came up with the idea for his movie Star Wreck, a parody of Star Trek, he knew that looking for conventional distribution would be futile. An amateur, science-fiction comedy with a miniscule budget — and in Finnish, to boot — would hardly be attractive to mainstream studios. So Vuorensola took matters into his own hands: he used a Finnish social networking site to build up an online fan base who contributed to the storyline, made props and even offered their acting skills. In return for the help, Vuorensola released Star Wreck in 2005 online for free. Seven hundred thousand copies were downloaded in the first week alone; to date, the total has now reached 9 million.
"Releasing it for free is just good marketing," he says. "Whether it's through piracy or distribution your film is out there on the Internet, so we decided to harness this." And he has managed to make quite a bit of money out of it. Online sales of merchandise — including T-shirts and collector's editions of the DVD — have generated $430,000 on a film that only cost $21,500 to make, Vuorensola says. He and his team have also now secured a proper distribution deal with Revolver Entertainment in the U.S. and Britain.
For some reason I am in the giving mood. (I must be sick)
I am posting the ultra-top secret link to the Pulp Legion Electrogram here on Pulp 2.0. Normally, you would have to sign up for (free for) this ranty goodness, but I am sending this Holiday special out far and wide.
If you like this 14 page missive and want more on a semi-regular basis, go ahead and sign up in the subscription area of the sidebar.
I ran across Mike's work through my connections at The Pulp Factory and was astounded at the sheer unabashed pulpiness of his illustrations. Bravo!
You can download more of Mike's work here, at COMMANDER X ADVENTURES or browse through his website. Below is a special story by none other than "Pappy" himself - Ron Fortier.
(Okay, they say "microbudget," but hey...) From Variety:
Paramount to produce more micro-budget films
Studio will spend $1 million annually to develop 10 to 20 films
Seeking to replicate the stunning success of "Paranormal Activity," Paramount's launching an initiative that will spend $1 million annually to develop and produce microbudget films.
Move, unveiled Thursday, is designed to place between 10 and 20 projects in development by the end of next year, with no individual budget topping $100,000.
Paramount Film Group prexy Adam Goodman, promoted to the slot in June, cooked up the plan in the successful wake of "Paranormal," made for $15,000 and grossing more than $100 million domestically.
Goodman indicated the funds, which will come out of the studio's overall production budget, will be targeted at both unknowns and established filmmakers, with the goal of increasing the studio's ability to find new voices and ideas. In addition, the initiative's aimed at giving Paramount a more diverse portfolio of titles at a time when Hollywood's devoting most of its resources to megabudget pics, such as Par's "Transformers" and "Star Trek" franchises.
The studio hasn't set a target of how many projects would receive a theatrical release. The microbudget projects could also conceivably be remade with conventional budgets.
Paramount originally planned to release "Shutter Island" in early October but, citing costs, decided in late August to push that title back to February and opted for "Paranormal Activity" instead.
Par was able to make effective use of a low-cost grassroots release strategy, starting with a dozen midnight screenings of Oren Peli's horror-thriller in college towns before launching a gradual rollout that built on strong word of mouth.
Note: How Paramount is using the same strategy they used in "Paranormal Activity" to determine the effectiveness of their movies and how and where they will be released. That is, they "ask the audience" first and roll out the movie from there based on the word of mouth. I have no doubt some of these movies will go Direct 2 Download/DVD/Netflix - but they will still be profitable for the studio, and their risk is minimal -- especially as they cultivate the audience and perhaps sell them other Paramount products along the way.
Now all we need are unusual stories to tell. Stories that go for the throat. Hmmm... wonder where we'll get those?
Since the Thanksgiving holidays, I've been frequenting the local Goodwill store and picking up a few bargain books in hardcover and paperback, usually for around $.99 / book. Some of the great treasures that I've picked up are several of the genuinely excellent volumes in the James Patterson (et al) WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB series.
The set up is four women in law enforcement - a cop, a medical examiner, a prosecutor and a crime reporter team up after work to exchange information and resources to solve crimes. I had only seen the television show on ABC when it aired, and hadn't read any of the books. At the price I was acquiring these used copies I now had no excuse.
I am so glad I did... for a variety of reasons.
I've read 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the series and after (very) quickly reading them, I understood exactly why WMC made it to television. Like my friend Alex says, "TV pulses" and Patterson and his collaborators' style is built along the same structure.
Each WMC book is structured as a series of pulsing mini-chapters that allow for two things:
- a cliffhanger element - a relentless pace that allows for easy reading
Patterson & Co. have 1 page, 2 page and even a 1/2 page chapter - each one having some sort of "cliffhanger" to it - a key piece of evidence, and emotional peak (or valley), a threat, a stage to set - something to make you want to turn the page and keep reading. I can finish one of these 400 + page books in a day and end up feeling invigorated and wanting more. It's an excellent writing technique either borrowed or developed parallel to television structure.
Another technique that Patterson uses in the WMC books is the clearly defined hero in the form of Inspector Lindsay Boxer (played excruciatingly well by Angie Harmon). Even though the title of the book series is Women's Murder Club we never forget Lindsay is the hero, the focus of the books. How does he do that?
Every chapter Lindsay is in is told from her 1st person point-of-view. All of the other chapters are 3rd person.
Read a sample from the 1st book - 1ST TO DIE - here and you'll see what I'm saying.
So yes, Women's Murder Club pulses and crackles and pulls you to and fro as you follow Lindsay and her team in solving their cases and resolving their lives. They're thrilling, sexy and scary and a good example of how to construct a story to keep the reader moving along without letting them put the book down.
Too bad the series was canceled. You'll just have to enjoy the books.
Cherie Burbach from Blisstree had a post up yesterday about THINGS I LEARNED FROM TOP CHEF and as crazy as it sounds, it reminded me of how alike good cooking and good pulp media are:
Sometimes Simple is Best In cooking (and in life) sometimes the best route is the simplest. You don’t need to prepare an extravagant dish that goes over the top and (often) falls flat. Instead, a dish with minimal ingredients and prepared with a simple garnish can work. Simple isn’t boring, but it has to have excellence. Do one thing and do it extremely well, and this can take you far.
Stick With What You Know While it’s good to learn and grow, there is a time and a place to try new things. In a challenge (or when you have company coming over), it’s a good idea to still with what you are comfortable with. You might want to branch out a little, but keep the general technique and style that has worked well for you. Don’t abandon it simply because it’s “old hat.”
Cook for Your Audience You can say you’re a good cook, but if the people you are cooking for don’t enjoy eating your stuff, are you really a good cook? This came across loud and clear during the “Top Chef Masters” challenges. During one challenge, the chefs had to cook for some Girl Scouts. The chef that one got high marks because he not only made his food delicious but also fun. The girls loved it, and he won the challenge.
Admit Your Mistakes On “Top Chef,” there are certain challenges where a chef will completely mess up a meal. The most embarrassing part of watching is having that same chef deny that he or she made a mistake later in front of the judges. This same thing holds true in real life cooking. Not everything you make will be fabulous. But that’s okay. Owning up to your mistakes is all part of the process.
I have read this backward and forward and am having a tough time with some of the conclusions they come to, and some of the assumptions they make that flies in the face of other evidence that's out there.
(Granted some of that evidence is anecdotal)
The report is designed from the ground up to determine economic impact on SoCal, but unfortunately doesn't paint a clear picture because it uses words like "unpredictability" in making some of its statements, and castigates RedBox while acknowledging that Netflix performs a similar function.
So is it Redbox with it's cheaper rentals that's hurting the entertainment industry or is it a fundamental shift in consumer spending and habits and a lack of responsiveness on the part of the studios in forging new markets?
As an indie producer, Wagner said she's very focused on finding the best way to deal with the exponential growth in distribution options for pics.
"The real issue now is distribution channels," she said. "We need to know what size screen we're working for."
The movie biz has always faced dynamic changes - from the dawn of talkies to the 1948 breakup of the majors and their exhibition holdings - but the transformation underway in the present day are staggering, Wagner said.
"We are in a seismic revolution in the movie business," she said. But the good news is, as domestic B.O. approaches the $10 billion mark, the aud's appetite for movies shows no sign of slowing down.
Since the iPhone 3GS came out with video recording features, a small subset of people have been pushing the limits of what is the accepted norm and using the device in actual production work. When the 3GS came out, Alex Lindsay put out a humorous video in which he attached the phone to a full Redrock Micro shouldermount stabilization rig. We all had a good laugh, and then suddenly Zacuto and others started making professional grade accessories for the device. There are handheld rigs with wide lenses, and even an iPhone stabilizer in the works. For the most part, iPhone video seems to be limited to quick and dirty video blogging, and the occasional music video. But by far the most professional use to date has to be the following spot courtesy of the geniuses at The Mill…
They built a custom iPhone rig with 3D trackers, and used three witness cameras to capture the handheld movement of the camera as it shot the performance (which was to be dressed up with quite a bit of CGI work). The resulting advert is a meld of high-tech compositing and low-tech iPhone video, complete with rolling shutter goodness and shaky handheld work. Watch below.
And here's a video breakdown of how they married computer graphics with video you could shoot yourself:
Universal Pictures has built a wonderful legacy website for its pantheon of fright films as a promotion for its new WOLFMAN feature starring Benicio Del Toro. You can see film clips, listen to title themes, look at photo galleries and posters for a variety of the Universal Monsters (R).
Project is being written by Joshua Miller and M.A. Fortin. DreamWorks TV toppers Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank would exec produce.
"Howl" is described as an epic family saga about warring families of werewolves in a small Alaskan town.
"Alaska is a place where people disappear and now you know why," Miller said.
The script reflects the changes that are going on in the country, and "metamorphosis and constant change is the basis of werewolf mythology," he added. "Howl" is about "the psychology of living with change."
"The world is full of festival movies that never get out or go anywhere. If people are trying to break into Hollywood movies and bigger movies, not make something personal that they're going to put up on the Internet, they have to look at the commerciality of their subject matter and they have to fit what they're trying to say into a framework that is in some form entertaining for people. It has to be meaningful or moving or exciting or funny or dramatic. It can't just be what you'd tell your shrink, you know what I mean?
If they're trying to break into Hollywood, they have to be aware of something commercial in the project. Take a look at some of the things that have sold out of festivals. For example, Hustle & Flow. It's about a pimp. It's about sex. And money. That’s an easy sell."
Read the rest. It's an interesting read about someone who made it happen.
DMc has a great post up today regarding the change that is raining down over Canadian television (or perhaps a better phrase would be lack of change in certain corners of their business), and how creative people are leading the way - "story" in hand - to create better looking, more dramatic shows such as FLASHPOINT, THE BORDER and BEING ERICA (which I haven't seen yet). This is in the face of an industry that is seemingly ill-prepared to embrace the future.
But that's kind of how it always is isn't it? The "creatives", the "weirdos" leading the charge "...half a league, half a league half a league onward... into the valley of death..."
(Okay, maybe that wasn't a good analogy)
But the creative types see not how things are, but what they could be... what they hope and work at it to be. Because that's part of the sustaining energy and excitement of it all.
Never was that more evident than at last night's premiere party for COMPULSIONS a new web serial created and written by my friend Bernie Su. This was a compelling piece of work that looked good. Tee Vee good... but different. Made for a fraction of the cost. (I write that because the economics of it always factor into these things).
Last night in Los Angeles, in a packed screening premiere at Cinespace a room full of some 200 or so lucky ones had a chance to collectively writhe and squirm through the first 4 episodes. “I know the expectations are high,” wrote creator Bernie Su in a post before the premiere, “especially for independent web content but I honestly don’t know if the general audience will love it or not. Our show is dark, intense, and gritty. Though I can say this… our show is definitely something else.”
The series centers on three hidden desires, or compulsions, afflicting three respective main characters. There’s Mark (Craig Frank), the compulsive sadist chillingly unaffected by his routine torture games. Mark’s mysterious handler Justine (Janna Bossier) who’s compulsive “trophy hunting” has something to do with tracking down a missing “package.” And Mark’s office co-worker Cassandra (Annemarie Pazmino) who delivers a tech-infused modern day twist on compulsive voyeurism.
Here's the trailer:
Bernie and co. are doing something new-ish for the web, creating something they wanted to seemade that didn't fit into the normal "box." If the last night's audience response was any indication, they struck a nerve.
When was the last time you read something like that about a series on television that wasn't written by the PR department of the network?
Striking. A. Nerve. Plowing. New. Ground. Making. Something. Yours.
And Bernie isn't the only one. Good friend of the blog James Moran (Twitter: @jamesmoran), writer of the recent TORCHWOOD series CHILDREN OF EARTH, struck out on his own (okay, with others in his merry band) and created GIRL NUMBER 9.
So, where am I going with this?
Well, to quote Denis:
See, I'm really not doing it justice. And that's the point. Reaching back to an earlier form, the rules are different, the delivery different, but what was there, gloriously alive and vibrant and entertaining -- was the story. The story will survive, no matter what form or challenge we throw at it. For those of us whose business is story, that's got to come as a comfort, no matter how backward and antiquated and maddeningly out of touch the captains of the industry seem, it's we, who have rolled with the punches and changed what we do already over the last few years...it's we who will survive.
Yes, we will survive. Thrive even. If we own it, grow it and deliver it ourselves. So, in light of everything Denis talks about in his post I have this to say:
