svhot
"Official Rejection" is a very entertaining and educational movie about the struggles of two independent movie-makers. Inspired by their own real life experiences, writer-director Paul Osborne and director Scott Storm have created a small but very effective masterpiece movie. Using a documentary-style method of storytelling, the movie focuses on the official (and unofficial) types of problems the movie-makers face, as they attempt to take their movie "Ten 'Till Noon" from one film festival circuit to another.The movie (Official Rejection) also features interviews from some well known former and / or current independent film-makers such as Kevin Smith and others. "Official Rejection" highlights the fact that for independent film-makers, making the movie is the easiest part. After that, they have to take their movies from one film festival to another, and convince the film festival committee to show their movies to the audience present there. Hang on, this is not the only problem they face. The movie-makers have to pay for the press kits, promotional material, and their own travel costs.There is a lot of "dirty politics" and malpractices involved when a film festival committee decides which movies to show and which ones to reject. I am not saying this ; this is what the movie portrays to its viewers. Also, sometimes the festival committee members force movie-makers to buy all the tickets to their own film ( I hope this particular dirty practice has been eradicated / stopped ; If not, I hope some type of law is created soon to prevent film festivals from bullying / forcing movie-makers to buy all the tickets themselves.Paul Osborne and Scott Storm have tackled a serious subject in this movie, but they have done it with a nice blend of wit, style and fun. I loved this movie and will promote it to viewers for the rest of my life.
Stu Robinson
After I started reviewing films from local festivals, I decided it was about time I screened Official Rejection (2009), writer/director Paul Osborne's documentary that peeks behind the marquee of the festival circuit.Screenwriter Osborne took his camera along as he and director Scott Storm hit the road to promote their 2006 thriller Ten 'til Noon. They foresaw a bright future ahead on the circuit. "We might as well have believed in Santa Claus," Osborne says."The biggest misconception that filmmakers have about film festivals is they're going to go there. They're going to show their movie. Someone's going to buy it. They're going to have a million dollars. And they're going to have a great career," Chris Gore, author of the Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, tells the camera. "And it's not that."To underscore the point, Gore sits for the interview wearing a T-shirt that proclaims: "YOUR MOVIE SUCKED ANYWAY." Indeed, Official Rejection tackles its subject with wit and a healthy dose of gallows humor. Those interviewed include not only director Kevin Smith and actress Jenna Fischer (The Office) but also porn-turned-B movie actress Traci Lords, Hollywood gadfly Andy Dick and prolific B movie producer Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger).From the very start, Osborne and Storm encounter the hurdles facing independent filmmakers hoping to screen their work:• Lack of connections – Despite giving lip service to showcasing new voices in independent film, several of the best-known festivals have been effectively co-opted by The Man – rather, the movie industry with all of its agents, executives and financiers. Thus, many of the films that get the attendant media buzz really aren't quite independent.• Costs – Almost all film festivals levy non-refundable submission fees ranging, approximately, from $50 to $200. The filmmakers also must pay for press kits and screening copies of the movies. Few festivals cover the full cost of travel. Most expect filmmakers to bring their own promotional materials, and some want them to publicize the screenings. Osborne also points out the emotional and professional strains – time away from family and absence from so-called day jobs.• Festival politics – "Which festival you play your movie at (or, rather, where you have your movie premiere) is the biggest issue in film festival politics," Osborne says. Filmmakers face a Catch-22: Do they wait to hear from the elite festivals? Or do they commit to smaller festivals, which could make their films less attractive to the big guys? "What if you don't get in?" asks Damon O'Steen, co-creator of 29 Reasons to Run (2006). "And then you've turned down other festivals that would've been an opportunity for a lot of other people to see your film.""You can't hold onto the film too long," says John Daniel Gavin, whose film Johnny Montana hit the circuit the same year as Ten 'til Noon. "You have to make a choice."It's hard to know why a movie does or doesn't make it into a festival."There are so many reasons why a film gets rejected that have nothing to do with the pure quality of it," says producer Jacques Thelemaque. "They have programming objectives, or it may be a length thing. And then it is very subjective: (Maybe) it just doesn't strike whoever is making the decisions."So why would filmmakers put themselves through this?"Of all the things we'd been struggling to achieve with our movie, the most important was finding our audience," Osborne says. He illustrates that elusive connection with Justin Hoffman, a guy the filmmakers meet while trying to promote Ten 'til Noon on the nearly deserted campus of the University of California, Riverside. He couldn't make that evening's screening at the Riverside International Film Festival but showed up a month later to see the movie at the San Fernando Valley International Film Festival. And, later, when the movie plays at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Hoffman shows up again and brings friends."If you can make a personal connection with audiences, you can do pretty well," says Jordan Marsh, a programmer for the Newport Beach festival.Films are like trade shows, Osborne tells us. Attending them is a way to build credibility and publicity; generate reviews and feedback; and, in some cases, win an award."It's all part of building a pedigree for a film," says Patrick Ewald, a foreign sales rep. "That, in a sense, becomes like having … an A-list star – because to the distributors it says: 'Okay, I have a theatrical movie.'"Ultimately, Osborne and Storm chose to premiere Ten 'til Noon where they were wanted: the San Francisco Independent Film Festival."Although they were small and off the beaten path of the business, they had a reputation for quality films," Osborne says. Still, he and Storm arrived to find that their screening was at a secondary venue on a side street. They had to engage in a day of sidewalk marketing to gin up their own audience.As the documentary follows Ten 'til Noon around the circuit, it shows how a festival scene can be very good, very bad and something in between.###Stuart J. Robinson practices writing, editing, media relations and social media through his business, Phoenix-based Lightbulb Communications (www.lightbulbcommunications.com).
ToppsyKretts
What a missed opportunity. These guys had a perfect chance to really dig deep into the politics and B.S. that goes on behind the scenes at the biggest film festivals in the United States. Upon renting this I expected a little "investigative journalism" to back up many of their claims and complaints regarding the politics and the favoritism towards major studios, big stars and sponsors that goes on behind closed doors at Sundance and other major festivals. Instead, we get a group of filmmakers (specifically Scott Storm, touring the festival circuit with his unwatchable film "Ten 'Til Noon") whose sense of entitlement knows no boundaries. One of the questions brought up by one of the subjects was (and I'm paraphrasing here) "just because you can make a make a movie, doesn't mean you should make a movie". One would have hoped when they were making "Ten 'Til Noon" they would have considered this very thing. This group seems to go on and on wondering why they aren't getting the attention and accolades they obviously feel they deserve, just because they made a movie. It was nauseating to say the least. What was even worse than their sense of entitlement was how disgusting these guys acted in front of their own cameras in regards to not only their opinions of many of the festivals and the people that curate and run them, but also how they basically made fun of the gift bags, accommodations and their hospitality. The same can be said about their unfunny sarcastic commentary regarding celebrities, many of who were gracious enough to appear on camera, yet the use voice over to basically make fun of their subjects. It disgusted me. In the end, I'm glad I watched this because now I know to steer of any movie or project these filmmakers are ever involved in. They don't deserve my hard earned money. They need to learn a little about something call "humility". The only time you see a modicum of humility from these filmmakers is when Scott Storm "fakes" it when accepting an award for his film... only to make fun of the very award on camera moments later. Avoid this film.
luvferrets03
I had a chance to see this movie at the Idaho Film Festival in Boise, Idaho this weekend. As an emerging filmmaker, I thought it would be great to know the inner workings of the festival circuit. Paul and Scott take the audience on the journey of submitting their film "Ten Til Noon" to various festivals around the country. You get to see what life is like after the cameras are put away, and the work truly begins. Independent filmmakers are unique, because they have to sell their work themselves. This film taught me more than I hoped! I would highly recommend it for anyone who makes films. However, it is also entertaining for those who are not in the business. One woman at our screening loved it -- and she does not make films.Paul and Scott are amazing. I had a chance to meet them this weekend, and they have a passion for making films. Check out this documentary -- not a dull moment. It's out on DVD in November.
