Craig Emanuel at Sundance Summit: 'Now is the time to act boldly and wisely' - indieWIRE

Craig's speech was cute. But it offers no remedies for the future. As much as I like Craig Emanuel -- and I do very much. He is one of the leading good guy attorneys in the film business, a true film lover, and a real mensch -- this reminder of his 6% of separation from President Kennedy leaves me uninspired. I would rather have read the points of discussion among Liesl Copland (WME), Micah Green (CAA), Winnie Lau (Fortissimo), Tia Lessin (Documentary Director/producer), Mary Jane Skalski (Producer) and Jonathan Sehring (IFC Entertainment)...Sydney

Craig Emanuel at Sundance Summit: 'Now is the time to act boldly and wisely' - indieWIRE: "For too long, agents have demanded too much money for their clients; financiers have charged egregious interest rates on loans; distributors have charged ridiculous distribution fees and not committed enough money to print and advertising costs; lawyers have bogged down the negotiation process; directors have forgotten when to say “Cut!”; actors have failed to memorize their lines; and yes, even you, the producers, have continually tried to get made unproduceable “dribble” that has no commercial value whatsoever yet you continue to ask 'Why will no one finance my picture'?"

"People produced films they knew would never be sold and all the while critical reform and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day. Well that day of reckoning has arrived and the time to take charge of our future is here."

Craig's speech was cute. But it offers no remedies for the future. As much as I like Craig Emanuel -- and I do very much. He is one of the leading good guy attorneys in the film business, a true film lover, and a real mensch -- this reminder of his 6% of separation from President Kennedy leaves me uninspired. I would rather have read the points of discussion among Liesl Copland (WME), Micah Green (CAA), Winnie Lau (Fortissimo), Tia Lessin (Documentary Director/producer), Mary Jane Skalski (Producer) and Jonathan Sehring (IFC Entertainment).

I think Paul Schrader addressed the real issue in his speech at The Cinema Militans Lecture of the Dutch Film Days Foundation in 1992:

"It's time to take the longer view. Movies are almost 100 years old. Movies were born of this century and the century is coming to an end. Just because film has been the popular art form of this century doesn't mean it will be of the next century. It doesn't even mean it will exist in the next century.

Discussions about the problems of contemporary film tend to slip on the slope of the unstated assumption that the film's 'problems' began yesterday and can be solved tomorrow. The opposite is true. The problems that film faces today were present from the very beginning of the art form.

History repeats and loops around itself and at times it appears there's nothing new under the sun. Everything new is old. There are, however, two tendencies that stand apart: two linear, chronological lines running from the beginning of recorded history to the present. One is technology, the other democracy. They are progressive, not cyclical, and are the yardsticks by which art, religion and social conduct can be measured...

...Individual empowerment and technological progress are not exactly isolated trends. They are handmaidens. They assist and feed each other. Individual curiosity spurs technological progress, technology empowers the individual...

...This is where cinema enters the room...

...The future of film is coming into focus. Digital technology not only redefines movies but also the very idea of an image. We were born in an analog era, we will die in a digital one...Digital transmission of images may itself be a half-way house. In the future audiovisual images may be transmitted biochemically. Does this sound threatening? I hope so. That's the challenge...

...If you think technology is threatening, take a look at democracy..."

Now I can look forward to the future without fear! Thank you Paul Schrader.

But really the lecture ends on a hopeful note. Do you want to know the ending? If anyone wants the full copy of this lecture, let me know, or contact Dutch Film Days Foundation fax+31 30 313 200.