T-minus 3 hours and counting...

Okay, so Miramax isn't exactly dying, but the company that we are all accustomed to is. Late last year, with Disney’s announcement that Chairman Michael Eisner was leaving and that Robert Iger would be taking over, they also announced that Miramax Films founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s contracts would not be renewed. From all sources this was a mutual agreement. Ever since Disney refused the Weinsteins to release Fahrenheit 911, it was pretty much set in stone that the brothers were leaving the company. Negotiations ensued, and here is the outcome:

Disney will keep the name Miramax and it’s film library (over 1,000). This has to be a tough one for Bob and Harvey, they named the company after their parents- Max and Miriam.

The Weinsteins would remain in control of Miramax until Sept 30, 2005. At which time they would only be consulted in a freelance form. Several actors, including Johnny Depp, have said that they will lobby hard for the brothers to come in and market his upcoming film The Libertine which was started by the brothers. As of press time it appears that Harvey will be working with Disney for the marketing and promotions phase of the film.

The Weinsteins will keep the Dimension Films label.

The Weinsteins will take the following films with them: The Matador, Derailed, Scary Movie 4, Breaking and Entering, Feast, The Passion of the Clerks and Sicko. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have also pledged allegeince to the brothers: Grind House, Inglorious Bastards and Sin City 2.

I for one wish Bob and Harvey the best of luck (not that they need it). They have secured almost $1 billion in startup money, so they are off to a good start. The Weinsteins revolutionized the independent film world. Granted they didn’t actually write or direct any groundbreaking films, but they made sure people saw them. I would recommend reading Down & Dirty Pictures by Peter Biskind. The book chronicles the rise of Miramax Films, October Films and the Sundance Film Festival. A great, great read. Boo-yah.

I plan to have some new commentary up in the next day or so, I've been extremely busy budgeting IceBreaker with Gorilla Pro. It is really an awesome program.

A small tidbit of information: I got confirmation from UPS today that Gorilla Pro will arrive at my residence on Thursday. This is one week from the revised delivery date, and two weeks from the original date. Oh well. I am looking forward to formatting our budget professionally, rather than just using Word. Super duper baby.

2005 Grain Belt Premium Commercial Contest

Well, let me just say this...we made the top 60. We did not win 1st, 2nd, or even third. I don't want to say that we were out of our league, but we were definitely out of our element. In my opinion, our commercial was great. Apparently, what it lacked was lesbian barbie dolls, gay men and a sexual innuendo every 2 minutes. It also didn't help that this contest was organized like shit. Aside from the technical difficulties every 15 minutes or so, the emcee (also a judge in the competition) admitted to be close personal friends with more than one of the top 10 finalists. Now don't get me wrong, the top two were definitely deserving of their respective prizes. They had very high production values and were obviously made by industry professionals. Which is fine, I enjoyed them both. Our commercial did not go over too well with the several drunk college co-eds that made up the majority of the audience. Maybe it was because we were the first or second commercial to play after a 5 minute technical delay (the audience was already getting very restless), or because the audio was so god damn low that it was nearly inaudible. But maybe it just didn't connect with the audience. Regardless of the outcome, Chad and I both had fun making the commercial. I think we did a bang up job considering we found out about the contest 15 days or so before the deadline, wrote the dang thing in a day and shot/edited it in a day. Now that the contest is over, maybe we can post the commercial on icebreakermovie.com for a week or so.

P.S. Sorry if this post seems garbled. Nick need sleepy.

From the Desk of Chad Martin

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You are receiving this email because all of you at some point were interested in the independent film I'm developing with Nick Evert. Up to this point, Nick and I have been working on the budgeting aspects of development, research in regards to Actors Guild contracts, equipment, sound design, etc., and an extensive re-write process that I've nearly completed. We have now reached the point where there is little more we can do until we secure financing for our film.

As many of you know, tonight was the "big night". All I can say at this point is that in my opinion, the meeting went very well...much better than I could've hoped for.

It is still too early to get too excited, because we all know that life has a funny way of pulling the ground from underneath our feet when we least expect it. But I can't help but entertain an element of hope, because it is quite possible that IceBreaker may become a reality very soon.

I'd like to thank everyone for their interest in this dream of ours, and I sincerely hope that I'll have good news to report soon.

Long Live IceBreaker.

- CM

IceBreaker Update:

We have a meeting with a potential investor coming up next week, and a new possible investment route was introduced to us. We will hopefully have good news to report soon.

Chad has done a helluva job at tightening up the screenplay. I have just finished reading the latest draft and I love it. It is amazing what you can do to a script by omitting / combining scenes and omitting / changing snippets of dialogue. It just gets better every day.

I am still plugging away at the budget. Currently I am drafting several versions: A standard budget, an HD budget, and a "Dream" budget. Gorilla Pro should be arriving in the mail next week, so I will start plugging in the numbers and we'll be able to see all our numbers in an organized manner.

We have come to the conclusion that we are probably going to hire a casting director, location manager and a production manager. More on that later.

If anyone other than myself, Chad or JB actually reads this blog, Chad and I would like to thank you for doing so. And thanks to our number one fanboy, JB.

The Toronto International Film Festival starts tomorrow and runs until Sept. 17. This marks the 30th year for the pivotal film festival. Started in 1976, the TIFF has played a key role in launching the following films: Chariots of Fire, The Big Chill, Blood Simple, My Own Private Idaho, El Mariachi, Boogie Nights, Run Lola Run, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Almost Famous, Badasssss!, Cabin Fever, Hotel Rwanda & Crash to name just a few. The TIFF has been regarded as the best film fest to mix Hollywood blockbusters with independent masterpieces. I guarantee that one day the film IceBreaker will be among the above listed films. A few films making the list this year include: Walk the Line, North Country, Shopgirl & Elizabethtown.

1,000

HITS ON

www.icebreakermovie.com !!!

Totally off topic for a second...(click above)

Streckfus Entertainment: Behind the Scenes, Part 2

July 21st, 2004. Burnsville, MN. Chad and I acquire the following film equipment, all for FREE: 2 16mm cameras, a jib arm, a dolly & track, a microphone, misc flags, gels & stands, a clapboard (slate), a bull horn and enough lighting to make Gordon Willis moonwalk.

The agreement is as follows: The owner of the gear has absolutely no use for it. She moves to Florida and we make arrangements for us to use the equipment for our film, as long as we store it. The owner has the right to sell the equipment if she finds a suitable buyer (except for the dolly, dolly track, microphone and jib arm which the owner granted us). Fine. We didn't even really have any use for the 16mm cams, and the lighting gear was a little excessive for our needs and beat up.

We move the equipment from Burnsville to my garage in Faribault, about 50 miles away. The temp is near 95 degrees. Giddy like a couple of school girls, Chad and I agree to meet in the near future to drink Grain Belt and fix/clean all of the equipment. Super.

Well, a few days later the owner gives me a call. She has agreed to sell al of the equipment to another party from LA. Fudge! I inquire about the jib arm and dolly, and she informs me that they have been included in on the sale. Double fudge! She gives us the mic as compensation for storing/lugging the equipment.

A week or so goes by and Super Dick from LA shows up with a U-haul that he drove from LA. You can just imagine what kind of mood this guy is in after sweating his balls off in a U-haul for some 48 odd hours. I figure, what the hell, I'll be nice and help him load the shit into the truck, hell the guy is from LA, maybe he can hook us up some day. Normally, when someone agrees to help me move heavy shit in 90 degree weather, I am grateful. Not this prick. He actually yelled at me and accused me of hiding a "finger dot kit" whatever the hell that is. Well, I thought to myself, "F this guy", and I went inside until he was done. He left and so did the equipment, except for the following: the microphone, 2 rusted c-stands, the bull horn, the slate and a single piece of shitty lighting diffusion (valued at about $0.02) that this LA bred moron gave me for helping him out. Well thanks man, We'll be sure to give you credit in the movie.

This entry could be titled, "people who help you then shit all over you, part 1". Oh yeah, the mic doesn't even work. Triple Fudge.