Welcome to Indy Film In Wisconsin

Please check out this site, if you have information or photos of your film project in Wisconsin please send it to
indyfilmwisconsin@gmail.com I would love to post the information.

Thanks

Wayne Clingman

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Wisconsin Film Makers

Senator Jeff Plale (D-Milwaukee) and Representative Pat Strachota (R-West Bend) are circulating a bill (LRB 4091/1) to improve Wisconsin's Film Production Tax Credit Services Program for co-sponsorship. Your action is required TODAY as the deadline for co-sponsorship is TOMORROW, 2/28/08, by Noon.

The bipartisan bill would allow film production companies to transfer unused, non-refundable credits to other taxpayers, such as other film production companies. It would also phase in residency requirements for eligibility of film production employees for tax credits as the talent infrastructure needed for productions fully develops in our state.

Currently, Wisconsin's incentives are a hybrid of refundable and non-refundable, non-transferable tax credits. States experiencing the greatest success in the industry enhance the value of their credits by making non-refundable credits transferable. The language of the bill allows for limited transfers and includes important safeguards to prevent fraud in transfers. Administration of the program will be funded by a fee paid by both parties in the transaction to the Departments of Revenue and Commerce.


ACTION REQUIRED:

 Encourage your legislator to become a co-sponsor of the bill.

 Thank Senator Plale (Sen.Plale@legis.wisconsin.gov) and Representative Strachota (Rep.Strachota@legis.wisconsin.gov) for their sponsorship of this important measure.

 Thank Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton (ltgov@ltgov.wisconsin.gov) for her continued leadership on this issue.

# # #

TALKING POINTS

 Tell the legisaltor(s) why this bill is important to you as a member of the creative class or to your business.

 The purpose of these incentives has always been to grow the film industry in Wisconsin. The incentives have already increased the film industry activity here and therefore the opportunity for existing Wisconsin businesses and the small, talented Wisconsin film industry workforce. Already at work on the new film PUBLIC ENEMIES are Wisconsin Set Designers, Location Managers, Art Department construction crew members, Art Department coordinators and Location Scouts. New films including DUST and THE VIOLINIST are in pre-production or in the process of scouting locations. New studio facilities and sound record facilities are either completed or in progress. Major studios and television networks continue to scout Wisconsin using Wisconsin scouts.

 Fact: Wisconsin businesses and workers have already been recommended to projects that have come from outside of the state. They have also been featured on high profile panels to discuss the incentives, the industry and its growth. Leading Line Producers in Wisconsin are currently using Film Wisconsin as a resource to put Wisconsin crew members to work on productions ranging from commercials, to television and feature films. Wisconsin companies have been doing panel discussions and networking with both in and out of state producers at such venues as the Milwaukee International Film Festival and Beloit Film Festival.

 Given: as we expand the industry, we must also expand the infrastructure to service the industry. New businesses will open and creative class individuals will move to the state. Until we grow our own talent we will need assistance from our colleagues in Illinois, Minnesota, etc. The average production needs 80-120 qualified crew members, a number that Wisconsin alone at present can not supply at present.

 Fact: The movement to expand the current worker tax credit to include those from outside of the state has been undertaken for two reasons: First, so that we may service the increased demand. If we are unable to service these productions in a seamless and professional way, they will choose shoot elsewhere. Second, if out of state crew members are not counted, producers will not view our incentives as competitive.

 Fact: The proposed change to the incentives has a sunset provision. In five years, a suitable-sized workforce will be in place and the inclusion of out-of-state workers will no longer be necessary.

 Fact: Film Wisconsin has always been about both small, home grown, independent films as well as Hollywood blockbusters. There is a difference in scale of support needed for different sized productions. Film Wisconsin, in collaboration with Marcus Theaters also made it possible for Wisconsin independent filmmakers to have access to over 600 screens for exhibition.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Public Enemies

The Film Public Enemies will be filmed in Wisconsin!
Yes the years of effort of the group that is now Film Wisconsin has paid off.
Public Enemies will be film in central Wisconsin around the Baraboo area (source tells me)
There have been casting call held in Madison.
My understanding is that the buget for Public Enemies is 50 to 100 Million.
This should have a huge impact for this area bring both short term and long term benefits.
Please remeber that .50 of every dollor spend on film stays in the local area.
This area of Wisconsin (My home town) could use an influx of money.
I am very proud to have been part of Film Wisconsin since day one. In fact I was the man who called the first meeting that day in Madison.
Bounis Points to everyone who helped make this happen
Bonus bonis points to Scott Robbie and George Tzougros without their help it never would have happened.

This weekend!

http://www.animemilwaukee.com/

Yes Milwaukee's Anime con! this weekend! For more information please go to the Web page!
A great line up of films and workshops!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Haunted Fundraiser Kenosha WI 2/29/08

'Haunted" Fundraiser/Get-to-gether Event!
Houston's Corner Bar in Kenosha, WI will host this event!


Friday February 29th, 2008--Kenosha, WI

PLEASE PASS THIS ONTO OTHERS



We are having our first Fundraiser for "Haunted" at Houston's Corner bar. For address and location use the link here:


Houstons Corner Bar


We are collecting $5.00per person at the door as a free-will donation towards production and there will be two t-shirts from the film haunted for raffle and a few other prizes.

This is a small place but the fundraising will be from 7pm until at the very least 11pm.

If you want to donate more than the $5.00 that is all up to you at the door.



The free-will donations will go towards production to film the rest of "Haunted" short film due for release Fall of this year (2008)

Please visit: www.hauntedthefilm.com for full details on the film and view the "Fundraiser Event" TAB on that same website, thanks!


Sunday, February 17, 2008

Forward!

I had a talk with a friend of mine last week. Seams that there is an issue with the Film Workshops I do under Indy Film Wisconsin tag. My guy was unhappy that some of the presenters (who are giving up there time to present) are not to his level of professionalism. He also believes that this reflects badly on myself for if Mr X makes a fool of himself at a workshop makes me look bad too.
I am willing to take that risk, one would think with both the UW Milwaukee and MATC having film courses one of those two schools would be doing something they are not.
Or perhaps one of the "pro's" in Milwaukee would be doing something sorry no.
Guess that leaves me.
I plan to continue to present these workshops as long as I can keep folks to present and why not?
If the goal is to allow everyday Film Makers of all types to share what they know then that is the way I will do it. These workshops will allow film makers of all types too to network to see how they can help each other
If pro's like my friend do not want to come to the workshops than they will not, and we will see them at Sundance right?

So take this as an open invitation to contact me at wclingman@wi.rr.com if you wish to present at the Indy Film Wisconsin workshop.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Disembodied

Ross Bigly has made a My Space site for his film Disembodied.

Please check it out at:

http://www.myspace.com/disembodiedfilm

We saw a bit of this film at the 1/08 Indy Film Wisconsin Workshop. Great film by a great man.
Also I hope you have all contacted him to see how you can help at the upcoming Milwaukee Short Film Fest.

Wayne

Friday, February 8, 2008

Indy Film Feb 9th Workshop

Due to Illness the Feb 9th S/F workshop will be canceled we hope to present the workshop in March.
Stay tuned for details.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Next Blog Talk Raido Show!

Susan F. Heywood of DirectMarketingMBA.com will be talking about social Networking to help promote your film projects. Check out her web page at DirectMarketingMBA.com
I am working on a special guest details to come.
Monday Feb 11 7 PM you can get the player on this page.

Wayne

Monday, February 4, 2008

Indy Film Wisconsin show

I am talking again to Joseph C Mistretta of the Four Finger Effects-Cutting Crew on his work in the past (backwoods bloodbath-Clear Lake) and what his plans are. We will also talk about how best to work with your effects guys in pre production and on set.
He will be giving a workshop at an Indy Film Wisconsin meeting.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

A look at Torture Porn Genre

But, Is It Art?
A Look At The Torture Porn Genre
By Kenneth Holm
Torture porn. Gornography. Both of these words refer to one of the most maligned film genres in today’s film world. I am referring to, of course, the twisted works which depict graphic scenes of violence done onto other people. One only has to look so far to find some sterling examples, such as the "Hostel" series by Eli Roth or any of the "Saw" movie franchise. These movies take violence to a new level of depravity, vividly showcasing large amounts of blood and explicit images of what will happen to a human body when you apply various forms of destruction to it.
This genre started with quite a while ago, with the films of Italian schlockmeisters like Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci. They were the original torture pornographers, depicting brutal scenes of cannibalism, disembowelment, and murder. These films were not seen in the mainstream, however, and were usually relegated to any old theater that made its money showing all sorts of exploitation films. This style of movie gave rise to the "Grindhouse" movement, which was famous for its casual showing of nudity, violence, and buckets of gore. Several cities in America had at least one grindhouse theater, where you could see any sort of film imaginable, from gross-out zombie flicks to soft-core pornography pieces disguised as art. Many of these films tended to be short on production values and long on special effects makeup.
In the 1980’s, the "grindhouse" genre seemed to evolve into many of the modern day slasher films we know and hold dearly. Films like "Friday The 13th" and "A Nightmare On Elm Street" seemed to tap into sadistic reserves when coming up with new and intriguing ways to slaughter its victims. These films began in such a way as to root for the victims to rise up against adversity and destroy the killer. However, something strange happened along the way. The killers we were not supposed to like began to develop personalities. Suddenly, instead of supporting the victims, we began to pull for the killer. We hoped and prayed that the creative reserves of the intrepid writers would not dry up and continue to feed the teenage cannon fodder to our favorite masked or deformed psychopath. This began what is truly one of the most unprecedented moves in history. Now, instead of the good guys, we were identifying with the bad guy. We wanted to see blood, the more the better. We did not care how it happened; we just wanted to see death.
Torture porn has its roots that go even further back than moving pictures can claim to. Originally, there was a French school of theater called Grand Guignol, which aimed to have realistic scenes of blood and carnage. As time went on, Grand Guignol began to go overseas to Britain and even the foundling nation of America. Some of the first scenes of graphic violence are able to be viewed in D.W. Griffith’s "Intolerance", showing two scenes of onscreen decapitation and a scene where a spear can be seen piercing a soldier’s naked abdomen. American films began to adopt this style, going so far as being seen in mainstream theaters with films like "Blood Feast" and "I Spit On Your Grave". Of course, this style was only tolerated for so long, and soon splatter films like these were shunted to the wayside, becoming films in the aforementioned grindhouse" genre.
The first film to be labeled as "gorno" as it is sometimes called was Eli Roth’s "Hostel". In 2005, movie critic David Edelstein called Roth’s film "torture porn" when discussing the current trend in filmmaking. Since then, the moniker has been applied to such films as "Saw", "The Devil’s Rejects" and "Wolf Creek". Earlier films were also deemed to fit the bill, such as Takashi Miike’s "Ichi The Killer" and Virginie Despentes’ "Baise-moi". The things that make torture porn differ from the previous "grindhouse" and splatter films is a marked improvement in production values and mainstream distribution. Unfortunately for those with uneasy stomachs, torture porn has a marked financial viability that ensures that torture porn will be staying for a while. Author Stephen King has even gone on to defend both torture porn and "Hostel: Part II" when he stated, "Sure, it makes you uncomfortable, but good art should make you uncomfortable."
Is it really art, though? Have we as a society digressed to such a point in which entrails and rivers of blood can be seen as the next Warhol or Pollack? I am afraid I cannot answer that question. I do enjoy "Hostel: Part II" but no for the blood and guts. I like the human face it puts on these atrocities. It deals with what kind of person would pay money to kill another. I feel that it does raise some very interesting discussion points. The "Saw" series may have degenerated into a series of movies about how much blood one person can spill and still survive, but the original was a brutal exercise in Hitchcockian psychological horror. It got inside of your head and played around with it. Sure, the traps laid by the moralistic killer Jigsaw were violent and gruesome, but it all had a point to it. There was an underlying statement that said you had to appreciate your life as you have it, otherwise it may be taken from you in a matter you cannot control.
One of the most recent examples of this is a film that is not in distribution yet. I was fortunate enough to see the film "Seed" at the It Came From Lake Michigan film festival this year. The director, Dr. Uwe Boll, is best known for making movies about video games. However, with "Seed", he created what I consider to be one of the most disturbing films I have ever set eyes on. He takes a dark, violent world and looks at it with an unflinching eye, refusing to turn away from it. While most films of the torture porn genre have rapid cuts in the main torture action, "Seed" watches with us with a steady glare. It shows us not only violent acts, but what their consequences are on the main characters. I am sure that many critics will label this as an "also-ran" entry into the torture porn oeuvre, but I would hesitate to do so. Yes, it does show violence in an extreme way, but not with the often-nauseating levels of gore that others feel is necessary. The story actually needs the violence to work the way it does.
Now, most modern films could be filmed without the levels of violence that they have. The earlier horror film entries from such sources as Hammer Films or Alfred Hitchcock show that blood is not needed to scare. Surely, the denizens of the dark are much more frightening than someone being eviscerated with a power drill. The fear of what you do not know will always trump blood in my book. However, torture porn not only shows extreme acts of sadism, but it almost encourages us to delight in them. I attended a screening of "Saw II" when it arrived in theaters, and was both intrigued and disgusted by the almost sexual reaction the crowd was having to the violence. In a society like this, it is almost no wonder why violence and rape statistics have gone upwards as these films continue to proliferate their messages of destruction. I am sure that there is a defendable point when it comes to the torture porn genre, but I cannot see it. As long as these movies continue to rake in box office monies, there will be more and more blood arcing it way across movie screens near you.
In closing, let me say that I, in no way, condemn or applaud the efforts of these filmmakers. Just because I do not enjoy these films does not mean that they will not titillate some of you out there. I just hesitate to condone films like these and defend them as art when they do not serve a purpose. Yes, movie fans, art does have a purpose. If a movie can elevate you as a person, it could be considered art. If a movie urges you to become a better person, this too could be considered art. However, just because a movie can make you throw up your designer lunch does not make it art. True art does not have to be comfortable, but it does need a purpose other than trying to one-up the previous guy.