It only took me ... 4 years? to come down to your forum since our adventures in Saltillo. Good to be onboard, I have only now begun reading what is posted here, and I apologize. I am a slow learner after all..
I came to talk about Bordertown, and the Mexican film experience in general. I suspect that some day Bordertown might be found by some film fanatic or a big fan of yours in some forgotten vault of projects that were never made.
I had some affection for the project, especially since Bordertown represented my first filming experience in Mexico. I hope the project is not canned completely. Maybe reshooting it or refilming it altogether would not be a bad idea. I would love to know what you think, and I put it all here on the forum so we get some views of what your fans might think. That's fair, isn't it?
For those of you who don't know bordertown or myself, (and you probably don't!), it was a small little pilot for a tv show that was going to be shot in Saltillo, Coahuila by Corporacion Multimedios and producer Rodolfo Arizpe, a friend of mine of some time now. I played the part of Associate Producer, although I was shooting for a co-producer's credit... I forget, maybe I did get the co-producer's credit, but since it was never released and the sales on it were going south (pun intended) Scott abandoned the project altogether and I went off to do other things too.
But years have passed, and I still consider it a good project with great potential. A supernatural soap-opera dealing with border issues!
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
So, Scott...
Any chance we revive this project?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Robin, maybe emailing him directly would work better. He doesn't read the forum daily.
Posted by JemmyGrove (Member # 6707) on :
Hi Robin. Bordertown sounds like a cool idea -- I'd like to hear more about it. And frankly, I'm always interested when I know Scott has something new in the pipes (I know technically this isn't really new, but I haven't seen it yet).
Welcome to the board, by the way. Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
See, if I go directly to Scott, It might be a few years before we get this project. If I pester his fans tho... Far superior strategy. A virus-like meme (in this case the 'we wanna see BORDERTOWN' meme) is far more effective in the long run than direct emails.
Hell, if yer careful, you can even destabilize nations doing that!
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
What's funny is gonna be his face when he does come around to readin' his forums tho...
Posted by lisha_rose (Member # 9166) on :
Robin just make sure osc dont have any embarrassing pictures or stories about you because if i were him and someone i knew came on here to get my fans in an uproar the first thing i would do would be to embarrass the heck outta them and then reply to what they were saying with a smile Posted by JemmyGrove (Member # 6707) on :
quote:Originally posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk: See, if I go directly to Scott, It might be a few years before we get this project. If I pester his fans tho... Far superior strategy. A virus-like meme (in this case the 'we wanna see BORDERTOWN' meme) is far more effective in the long run than direct emails.
" . . . Clever girl . . . "
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
And if it doesn't work on Card, Robin, maybe some Hollywood bigshot will be so impressed with your strategy he'll jet you out to Tinseltown and hire you on the spot! You came to Hatrack in obscurity, but you'll leave a STAR!! Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
You should retitle this thread "OSC - I Challenge Thee". I'll bet Card would respond really well to that.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Jemmy, I'm a boy... Why is it that everybody assumes Robin is a girls' name?
The rest of you... I would never dare challenge Scott, he is about six or seven iches taller, much heavier, and much too kind and gentle to be challenged by the likes of me.. As for becoming a Star... well.. We are all stars eventually.
And Rose.. I am a Sinverguenza... Embarrasment proof.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
because robin hood wore tights and was a pansy. hahahahahha. oh my, i kill me.
Posted by JemmyGrove (Member # 6707) on :
Oh dear. I'm terribly sorry ... I guess that's what I get for making assumptions.
I feel pretty silly now. Although I bet everyone else is grateful I took the fall for them because now they can post with confidence -- they don't have to carefully skirt around any potential gender references in their posts because now they all KNOW you're a boy. Yes, you're all welcome.
I really am sorry.
(Not that it's any consolation but I made this mistake with another guy a few months ago, and I've had people think of me as a girl too (I'm not). You would think I would've learned by now. )
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Robin Hood a pansy? Hardly.
Posted by Descolada Survivor (Member # 9019) on :
Yeah Robin Hood was no pansy he had the guts to say "I steal from the rich and give to the poor, the poor being mainly me" Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
Anyone know if he ever tampered with roller blades? I need to hit someone with these crutches...
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Hey, Robin Hood was probably the best Enligh Archer that ever lived. I bet none of you kids could shoot a bow like him!
Posted by Jeesh (Member # 9163) on :
I hold nothing against Robin Hood. I just really need to hit someone with my crutches...
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
why would i shoot a bow, what did the bow do to me?
i also have nothing against robin hood. it's hard to have anything against a fictional character. besides, i like foxes.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
why would i shoot a bow, what did the bow do to me?
i also have nothing against robin hood. it's hard to have anything against a fictional character. besides, i like foxes.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Rumi says:
The parents are the bow, the children the arrow.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
The parents are the bow, the children the wrapping paper. I am the present.
Posted by odouls268 (Member # 2145) on :
Ahh yes, i've often seen successful novelists negotiate their business dealings with film producers in online forums for all the universe to observe and partake.
[ March 09, 2006, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: odouls268 ]
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
I'm telling you, kids. It's the future. You get to decide by fandom what your novelist, producer or other creative person will do next.
Awesome, right Scott?
Posted by Princess Leah (Member # 6026) on :
Hey Robin? If what you really want is to work with OSC to restart this project, contact him. Just him. Not on his public forum. I don't know the man personally, but I imagine that like most, he prefers to conduct business in relative privacy. At the bottom of Hatrack River is a link that says "Contact Us". The mods and admins of the 'Rack are wonderful people and they will try to help you out.
Now, on the other hand if what you're looking for is a bunch of people to respond to your posts, then post something that warrants response. Not something that we know nothing about.
Posted by Jimbo the Clown (Member # 9251) on :
My, that was snippy, Leah. Still, you're right. Uncle O is a good guy, so he'll probably respond to this (I think), but that doesn't mean it'll be as favorable as it could have been.
Posted by Jimbo the Clown (Member # 9251) on :
In a completely unrelated post, the whole reason I checked this topic was because I thought it was related to the Terri Windling/De Lint/Delia Sherman series.
Posted by Princess Leah (Member # 6026) on :
Am I snippy? Yeah, I guess, because I don't really respect the strategy that Robin is employing. On the other hand, I think I'm offering good advice here. Look at the post dates. Nearly a month and OSC hasn't responded to the thread. I don't think that's a sign of success.
Robin: try another way.
Posted by Jimbo the Clown (Member # 9251) on :
Like I said, I don't disagree with you. I just thought your post was a bit snippy.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Perserverance and patience works wonders. I have Scott's private info, this is simply more fun.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Right, Scott?
Lets hear it from you, why didn't Bordertown get milkmaid?
Posted by Princess Leah (Member # 6026) on :
I'm pretty much convinced now that you're just bored and messing around on this forum for kicks.
In case you're not, I will offer some advice once more- again, I can't speak for OSC himself, but if you were trying to get ME to conduct business with you, after this:
quote:I have Scott's private info, this is simply more fun.
I would never, ever, ever, embark on any sort of project with you. Ever. I hope you don't need to think too hard to realize why.
Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
I guess it must suck to have discovered the one author whose fans are far more protective than they are demanding.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Princess,
I have a nice job. I like my job, and I have more or less abandoned film out of principle. I have considered politics, which seems to be a bit more honorable than film...
But what the... I like to mess around forums. You are right. And if Scott feels like he don't wanna do BORDERTOWN, well, I had given up on that long ago.. And if he does, well.. yippie doh day!
I have some other 'film' projects about the border, but my Arab, Chinese and other Latin American partners are just too damn trigger happy for me.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Doc...
Have you seen that animated movie Cowboy Cows?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote:I have considered politics, which seems to be a bit more honorable than film...
That's damning with faint praise, don't you think? Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:See, if I go directly to Scott, It might be a few years before we get this project. If I pester his fans tho... Far superior strategy.
You're quite the strategist. Thanks to your harping, I have no desire to see Bordertown. I do have an almost overwhelming urge to throw something at you, but the last time I tried that the other guy got off scot-free and I had to clean tomato juice off of my monitor.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Spang: My dearest Director and collaborateur on various enterprizes, Ulli Lommel once told me about folks who did not enjoy his movies: "let them hate me! They are still talking about me!"
Tom: keyword: damning. You know Herod's Law? Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Kids... Regarding Bordertown, my search as a filmmaker was never to educate, but only to make money, find prestige adn get honored. My search as a human being, outside of film, outside of 'the establishment' is something rather different.
I should finish with this. All the tomatoes that I get thrown will make some brilliant spaguetti sauce.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
quote:Originally posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk: Kids... Regarding Bordertown, my search as a filmmaker ...
Robin, I realize you may be speaking quite tongue-in-cheek, but you should know that many here are no longer kids, at least not in body. (My knees would prefer otherwise, but what the hey. ) OSC has a pretty broad range of readers.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Everybody wants to be a kid at heart.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Not me. I enjoy being an adult.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
Don't get Scott R. started on kid's organs. He'll go on and on.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
What's this about kids' organs, Scott?
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Scott,
I wonder why you haven't posted here. Seriously, perhaps you feel Bordertown is not your best effort, and you are doing you best to forget about it, perhaps it is my approach, which you reproach. Perhaps it is something else.
Recently, I was asked by the taxi-drivers in my Pueblo to become their Precidente Municipal. It is entirely possible that once more, I shall be a semi-public figure.
It would be nice if in addition to becomeing Seņor Presidente, we could anounce the begining of a new Sci-Fi t.v. series that will deal specifically with the border problems between the USA and Mexico.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I've been across the U.S./Mexico border several times, and I can tell you for a fact that there is not a giant town there. I'm not sure where you got your facts, but it's just a fence and some guard posts, no town.
Maybe you should call the project "Borderfence" or "Next-to-the-bordertown" but I can understand why OSC might not want to work on a project about an imaginary town that doesn't even exist. What author would want to be known as someone who makes things up?
Oprah would rip him a new one.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Cow.. huh?
Scott: Do you see? Defend your artistic integrity, man!
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
You know what I'd do? I'd keep bumping this thread until OSC answers you or one of you dies of old age. Nothing says "Work with me!" like obsession.
Or, at the very least, I'd bump it until typing becomes outmoded and people post directly from their brains. Let's hope that method isn't retroactive, though, or this post will certainly need to be censored.
Posted by Princess Leah (Member # 6026) on :
Wow, it got bumped again! Awesome, man.
quote:I wonder why you haven't posted here.
*suppresses snort of laugher*
Have you emailed him yet? Although, maybe I should just stop urging you. OSC might be angry with me for encouraging drivel like this to make its way into his inbox.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
quote:Originally posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk: Cow.. huh?
Really. Improbably as it might sound, there is not a giant town across the US/Mexico border. It's just not there. A complete fabrication.
The state of the world today. Posted by kacard (Member # 200) on :
Hey Robin -- good to see you posting here! Scott hasn't been on Hatrack in a little while. He's very deep into finishing up a semseter of teaching, directing a play, and finishing his novel "Empire." Maybe when he emerges from all three, he'll check in. In the meantime -- I'll tell him you've been here!
Kristine
Posted by musewings (Member # 9364) on :
This "Bordertown" actually sounds interesting, to me. I used to live just steps away from the Mexican border in Brownsville, TX, and the experience affected me deeply, on many levels. I am somewhat sensitive about the beliefs and judgments that I hear from people who have never been near the border, or have not seen what occurs.
I wrote a small paper about it, once, and I've since considered writing something bigger, but I'd be far more impressed to see a real (published) writer do something.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Cow, I have two letters for you: TJ.
Kristine! How nice to see SOMEBODY is keeping an eye on the boards. I don't know if you do it often, but I hope you do. I am kinda addicted to these forums, and I figured Scott's was about the least dangerous to log on to.
How's the kids?
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
Oh yes, I've been to TJ. Hive of scum and villainy comes to mind. Any story set there would be interesting.
I hope it has a space sheriff.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Actually, Bordertown does not occur in TJ, it's in a fantasy town that has nothing to do with TJ.
I don't think Scott would do anything about TJ. He is far too nice.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
quote:I can understand why OSC might not want to work on a project about an imaginary town that doesn't even exist. What author would want to be known as someone who makes things up?
So, I assumed you were being sarcastic when I first read this, but your following posts sowed the seeds of doubt. I'm pretty sure all fiction authors have no problem being known as people who make things up. It's kinda their job.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
quote:Originally posted by vonk: So, I assumed you were being sarcastic when I first read this, but your following posts sowed the seeds of doubt. I'm pretty sure all fiction authors have no problem being known as people who make things up. It's kinda their job.
Are you insinuating that Ender didn't really save us all from the Buggers? Them's fightin' words!
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Do you see any buggers around? Well, then, Ender did his job. What more proof do you need?
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
As to Bordertown - as a tv project, we ended up with nothing we could show. unfortunately, the camera crew was inexperienced enough that vast quantities of footage were made useless by poor focus. Since the idea was to show we could film in Mexico, and the film was nearly unusable, it was hard to make our point.
In addition, my script was marred by being too hasty. I didn't understand the TV format yet - i needed more dialogue, more time to develop character and scene. It moved too quickly through the sci-fi aspects of the story and didn't spend enough time on the characters and relationships. I was still learning.
And since then, the core idea has been trodden on by other people's writing. But i may still get back to it. I loved the storyline and I think it still has possibilities.
Who knows ... maybe a comic book ...
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Is this were Robin gives all of his doubters a strawberry?
Edit: or is it raspberry? anyways, this thing: Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Scott, I'll be in LA Cinco de Mayo and beyond for about 60 days. Would you like me to re-pitch? Start from scratch, use not the footage, but maybe a demo cut by our friends in Utah.
I have other pressing biz. But Bordertown is also close to my heart.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
...or was D. in LA? I forget.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Oh, yeah, and Peter might need the job.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
What do you call it when the same poster posts on the same topic over and over and over? Trolling?
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I think the word you're looking for is boring Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
See, for my part, Robin, I'd love to hear more about Bordertown, and/or the experience you had working on it. This other approach you're taking is far less interesting to me.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
I could tell you about the production.
I worked this guy, Rodolfo Arizpe, Coca Cola heir of Northern Mexico for about a year to make a film penned by yours trully entitled COYOTE HUNT, a simple little hack'n slash adventure about zombies, corrupt Mexican cops et all..
I became frustrated and somewhere along the line, Rodolfo 'Popo' told me he really like Scott's writing. I had never read a single thing from Scott, but he gave me Ender's Game and I thought, pretty good..
So I managed to convince the televisa partner, Ruben to help me convince popo to do a film with Scott. An airplane ticket and a good hotel later, Scott was munching cabrito with us in Saltillo. Bordertown came of those conversations. We all hit it off.. Coyote got placed on the second burner (after Bordertown) and we got to filming.
Now, this is where I get really crazy. I got everybody involved on this and they started to peg me for get this... PRODUCTION ASSISTANT.
Anyhow. I cried and cried and finally got Co-Producer (or some such ridiculous title, I forget what it was) and we got busy filming with Popo's money.
I'll tell you later about the filming experience in Saltillo with Mormons and Mexicans, but lets just say that for a porno PA turned indie wonder it almost cost me my sanity. (not like that Vampire film with Ulli Lommel that REALLY landed me in the loony bin and got me a good free doze of thorazine or somesuch).
Now, what was left was a reasonably good (for Mexican TV) half-hour pilot dealing with a brother and sister who cross a dimentional tunel to Mexico. Like Scott, there's lots of things that I love about Bordertown. Magic, mystery.. and this really nasty duende with a holding bag. Hell, there's even a Mayan Shaman lady, but ... no peyote, alas. Maybe later chapters.
Anyhow, we wrapped, Scott took the baby to Hollywood and he probably got every door shut to him from Disney to Wes Craven. Up until then, we all still believed in the project, and the few little focus problems (very few and not so terrible) due to the ancient arri camera we rented were acceptable to all.
Then, Hollywood swallowed Bordertown, like they have swallowed so many of my projects in the past, and frankly, since I felt a little left out by Scott and Popo on the decision making regarding the distribution of the film (distribution being my specialty), I didn't push.
This left me bitter, because it ment two years of labor in Saltillo and a whole lot of a friend's money thrown to waste.
Since then, I have been learning the value of detachment.
More on all this later.. it's late and I'm off to LA tomorrow.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Bordertown made me really want to get into politics.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Wow, that sounds like a really exciting, yet frustrating, experience. I would really like to hear more about what it was like to work with OSC on the day to day stuff of the project, as well as how you feel the quality of it compared to the quality of an average American show of the same style.
What your talking about is rather interesting, and what I would like to know about Bortertown. More so than how much it isn't getting produced now.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Thanks, Vonk...
I'm in Hollywood now. Yesterday I went to my dad's office where I saw the skeletons of the numerous writers that got buried under a pile of scripts. A sad, horrifying and frustrating thing, to be a Hollywood writer.
Working with Scott: well, there is no more gentle and kind person on the face of the earth, certainly.. until something goes wrong.. Then, that Mormon Berserker comes out, and all must run and hide or face the consequeces. There is this episode I will never forget. We set up to do this scene downtown Saltillo, and it was a madhouse, mariachis, dancers, hundreds of extras, a crane... There was a little error in the communication, and I held off all the traffic, making it impossible for the stars and Scott to arrive on time at the set. A huge traffic jam paralized the entire town. When Scott and the rest of the crew finally got there, he went off on me, furious. I had never seen him so angry. His face got red as a tomato. I was afraid he was going to have a coronary. There was another time when Scott went off, had to do with the last day of shooting, and some fake fiberglass tunnels. Scott went off again because we couldn't use some of the tunnels and they had taken weeks to build. Scott has a temper to him, and you never want to see him angry. But when he is not angry, he is the sweetest, nicest guy in the planet. He was always worried of 'getting in the way' of our director Peter Johnson. But Scott is a brilliant man with some amazing instincts, and he should have gotten a co-director's credit, because his insights were invaluable.
Regarding the quality issue. I sold films to Sci-Fi Channel when I was working as a distributor of far inferior quality than Bordertown. Bordertown might not be hundred million dollar production, but there was, in my humble (but extremely valid and well informed opinion) absolutely no problems with the quality. You can take that to court! I know film, and Bordertown was filmed within the standards of Hollywood and beyond. The toughest quality standards for film and t.v. are Germany and Japan. They have certain color and sound standards that must be met. Bordertown met each and every one of them. The folks who did the post consulted with me regarding this issue. So to say the quality of Bordertown was not up to standard is basically unfair. No, I fear the real issue was story. Like Scott said, we were doing re-writes constantly, sometimes to accomodate production issues, others to accomodate story issues. Frankly, as a film distributor with over 20 years experience in the business, I can pretty much say, without fouling up the issue, that Bordertown was a sellable product and had it been properly distributed, it would have been sold. But I was taken out of the distribution equation after we shot it. And here we are now..
About the story. It's about brotherly love. The nicest theme anybody could work on. And right now, with all the real life border issues, it would be a timely project.
Posted by Joey (Member # 8742) on :
quote:Originally posted by Orson Scott Card: Do you see any buggers around? Well, then, Ender did his job. What more proof do you need?
I heard they still are on Lusitania though Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Actually, they joined NAFTA talks, declared themselves illegal aliens and asked Bush for amnesty.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
I thought I saw a formic busing tables last night at Red Lobster.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Scott,
For the record... Was I your inspiration for the character of 'Crosser'?
For you fans: If you want to know who 'crosser' is, you will have to watch the show.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
It's just annoying..
Every time gringos need to think about the border, they run... Mexico today is spanding a fortune on Aduanas.. You gringos sent the troops.. And ALL I WANTED WAS TO MAKE A STUPID SITCOM!
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
I have to admit that I find it really strange to be called a "gringo" by someone named "Robin Kaczmarczyk."
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Touche.
But my actual name is:
Anthony Robin Kaczmarczyk Gonzalez
Ka-Gon for short...
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
I guess it's fair to mention that we had 2 wrap parties.
Scott never ..
Well, you know..
He's a Mormon after all, and his principles are strong.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Actually, now that I think about it.. I think we had 3 or four.. Donno.. It's all in a haze.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Well,
With all this trouble with Congress trying to put Mexicans into concentration camps and sombrero burnings, I think the time for Bordertwon is right.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
WHAT!?
You mean to tell me that such inflamatory remarks deserve no answer? Are you treating me like an ordinary troll?
Scott, help me out here.. I'm not pivy to Internet delicatessen.. or whatchamakallit. But Bordertown.. Think, man! BORDERTOWN.. The perfect project for our times!
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I've never seen an actual troll be ignored. Though if I reply to you... oh crap.
Anyway, I actually remember that Bush was pro-immigration at the time of his election, and the brother he hopes will succeed him is married to a Latina (If I may be so bold as to use that term).
So does either of you own the rights to distribute this film? Or is it a moot point?
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
I think the owners are still CMM and Fresco as far as I know.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I don't know what CMM is. Is Fresco still intact? I was just checking the movie news and the production company is now called Taleswapper.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
If they're burning sombreros, is the one I got from Epcot Center's Mexico experience going to be a collector's item?
I'm gonna be rolling in Pesos. I hope this Bordertown thing goes through, so I can spend all my Mexico cash in the giant town you'll be building. Will it have Mariachis?
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Pooka: Corporacion Multimedios - a mexican co. Fresco is basically Scott and Peter Niels, a Utah based director and longtime associate. As long as those two are alive and well, Fresco exists (Scott you can debunk me if I'm wrong).
Cow: Of course it has Mariachis! Can you think of anything Mexican without Mariachis?
I was thinking about possible plots for upcoming episodes:
1. A Rey-Brujo takes over the Mexican Government to invade the USA with Peyote Tacos.
2. Space Aliens join illegal aliens in trying to stop the US troops at the border cause because they can't get Visas to visit the USA either.
3. Aztec Mummies battle El Santos for no good reason other than to have a good wrestling match.
4. A prodigious new self-igniting bean burrito causes folks to burst into flames.
Hmmm..
Best I leave the scripting to Scott, eh? I'll settle crashing the casting sessions and wrap parties.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Actually, the original episode included an american brother and sister who find a hidden smugglers' tunnel under their new home only to find out the tunnel is also an interdimentional gateway for alternative realities and such.
Along the way, they meet an evil Duende, a Shaman-Spirit.. And of course...
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
You know what would probably work well for you, Robin?
A blog.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Actually, after almost 20 years of banging my head against the wall in the Studios, getting involved in South American politics seems to be my best way to get films made in Hollywood.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Why do you want them to get made in Hollywood? There are Indie revolutions every now and so often.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Because in Hollywood, everybody sues everybody for copyrights over what everbody filmed. And that lawsuit I have seriously won..
That's why.
I think there is real-estate somehow involved in my suit, btw. Lots of it.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
I just heard through the grapevine that Jay Lo is doing a Bordertown..
But I doubt if it's Scott's and mine. Scott, is there something about the title we can do?
Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
quote:Originally posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk: ...in my humble (but extremely valid and well informed opinion)...
You crack me up Robin, you really do.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I wonder what is the closest together two movies with the same title have been released. I wonder if there is some kind of expiration date on movie titles.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Far as I know, pooka:
The copyright issue would prevent two films with the same title being released simultaneously. But I am not totally hip, and I've been outta the loop for about 6 years. That might have changed.
The Laws change!
I do remember resitering titles for Ilya Salkind for a few years, and when we did that, we had a lock on the title. ie: if you restered THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, nobody could do THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, but you could do THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS. So when you registered a title, you had to register possible combinations of the title. Similiar, I guess, to web-hosting. But for feature films.
BTW. You can register THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN as a film title, and if you do not include it as a t.v. feature, anybody can ride your coattails of the film and make their snowman after your film, using your title. Very tricky.
Now, if it's a novel, like say UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, well that locks that title completely. But you can only lock it for a few years. I think it's 4.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:The copyright issue would prevent two films with the same title being released simultaneously.
No, it wouldn't. And it hasn't been that way for far more than 6 years.
There might be other things that would prevent two films with the same title being released simultaneously. But not merely copyright.
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
You are correct.
Mea culpa.
Not copyright. That's not the right term. I'm forgetting my ... terminology..
I'm thinking about title registry or somesuch, Dagonee. But you can 'block' a title so nobody else can use it. Otherwise, why would Salkind spend so much $$$ registering titles?
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
Actually, the crazy idea of 'blocking' titles by spending money seems so utterly ridiculous to me. Good grief! How crazy are people in Hollywood anyhow?
Posted by Robin Kaczmarczyk (Member # 9067) on :
You know? I think this is right down a Fries Film project. I think I'm gonna walk over to Butch out thar in Woodland Hills, get him the lowdown (as I always wanted) and just have you and Popo do the paperwork later on.
This is a free country after all..
I can talk about a project, eh?
BTW. Did you and Popo notice that I never had a contract on this?
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Finally read this thread. A few things: I didn't even know Robin was involved with the traffic problem. When I found out what was causing it, I got out of the car and ran to the square and talked to a policeman, NOT angrily, and asked him (in my bad Spanish) to release the traffic so the people doing the shooting could get to the plaza. I did not get angry with Robin. If my face was red, it's because it felt like 200 degrees inside the car. I was so glad to get out. (Or if you saw me right AFTER my run to the plaza, at that elevation, you can BET my face was red - but it had nothing to do with emotion, only with oxygen.)
I did allow myself to get angry once, and only once, and it was deliberate. We were on a green screen shot, and the crew was supposed to have painted an entire wall green. But it has to be the SAME green all over, and it was not finished and the parts that were done were in different shades of green, which would mean that it would be infinitely harder to do the CG stuff back in LA. The real frustration was that there were some internal politics inside the company, and it was clear that things that were delegated to one particular team simply weren't done. So I spoke, with a certain amount of drama, pointing out that the surest way to get rid of the Americans was to let the filming be finished. Then I allowed Peter to be the nice guy who calmed me down.
Robin has apparently seen different footage from what I've seen. "A few focus problems" are the surest way to prove to anyone we showed the film to that working in Mexico was not going to be productive. It looked on the screen like amateur hour. Peter (Johnson is his last name, by the say) tried to cobble something together out of the usable footage, but it was barely enough to make a coherent story.
As I said before, the core problem was mine - we shouldn't have tried to go with a half-hour script, and I should have found out how different TV scripts are from film scripts, and etc. Bad script means bad show no matter what else you do.
But there were so many other things that went wrong, from actors who were simply exhausted to lack of focus and unhelpful lighting, and all kinds of other things that combined to give it a cheap and cheesy look.
Robin apparently saw footage that we were never provided with.
Even with those problems, we tried to interest various people in Hollywood, but people who invited us in politely were quite cold by the time we left: We could see the word "idiots" coming into their mind as they watched the work we showed them.
I have not abandoned the idea of the series, but I now know far, far better how to write it; and Peter knows far, far better what to insist on in doing the filming.
As for titles - they can't be copyrighted. The only reason people try to avoid similar titles is because they don't want people to be confused. The only real issue is trademarking - I can't come out with a film entitled "Superman Meets Mickey Mouse" even if it's just a simile and neither Superman nor Mickey Mouse is depicted in the film. But that's only because of trademarked characters.
Nor can ideas be copyrighted. Only language can be copyrighted. Unless you can show an overwhelmingly close relationship between the story flow of two projects, and a direct line of connection between the creators of the second project and the script etc. of the first, you ain't gonna win in court.
Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
Sometimes I imagine I live in an alternate universe where this was made and the series OSC and Geoff were pitching that had the title "Lost" was made.
But at least on TV we get to see more dancing celebrities or rich women yelling at each other trying to prove the other one is the meanest and nastiest, so that's some consolation.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
)
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
![[Taunt]](graemlins/taunt.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)