{"id":1853,"date":"2019-10-07T14:48:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T18:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/?p=1853"},"modified":"2020-12-06T21:13:18","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T02:13:18","slug":"aaaaand-i-answer-your-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/?p=1853","title":{"rendered":"Aaaaand, I answer your questions…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This is the original negative for Reel 2 of King of the Kongo. As good as it gets! Taken at the Library of Congress, June 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Q1: It\u2019s been a long time since you\u2019ve written a blog. You\u2019re still on Facebook periodically. What are you doing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been working on things. I\u2019m hoping to get King of the Kongo<\/em> going someday soon, but it\u2019s been a problem. I\u2019m working on some other projects too. I\u2019ve hit a ton of roadblocks, and I\u2019m even hitting some now. It\u2019s been frustrating. (If you\u2019re a newbie, King of the Kongo<\/em> is a project I\u2019ve been working on since 2011. It\u2019s the first sound serial, and I restored three chapters of it before I discovered that there is better material out there and it can be upgraded.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q2: What\u2019s the deal with King of the Kongo<\/em>? Why not just release what you have?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was on the cusp of doing just that last year when Steve Stanchfield convinced me to make one last run at the 35mm. There\u2019s a 35mm at the Library of Congress, which is kind of a mess, but mostly complete. I\u2019ve looked at it and it\u2019s really nice for the most part. There\u2019s even a lot of original negative in it. The 35mm has what\u2019s called a donor restriction on it, meaning that the donor regulates who has access to it, even though it\u2019s held at the Library. Confusing? Welcome to my world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q3: Well, we\u2019re your supporters. Do a Kickstarter and get it out there.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not that simple. Doing a quick budget run on it made me realize that it was going to cost more than I could raise on Kickstarter. We needed to pay the donor at Library of Congress a large access fee and that was a bugaboo. She named a fee and then I had to scramble to find ways to raise that money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q4: Did you find some?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, the Efroymson Fund<\/a> very kindly awarded me a grant last year, but then I had trouble raising the donor and then I\u2019ve had trouble with some of the intricacies at the Library of Congress. They\u2019re great, but it\u2019s a process. There\u2019s been lot of red tape I\u2019ve had to get through in order even to start this. I was considering starting another Kickstarter to raise even MORE money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q5: Are you going to?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not right now. It\u2019s not just super easy to do this work. You have to get a lot of people on board, you have to get grant agencies on board, etc. There\u2019s no way that I could recover the production costs of King of the Kongo<\/em> without getting grant money or Kickstarter money to do it. It just doesn\u2019t make sense. If some of the arrangements I\u2019ve made fall through, then yes, I will do another Kickstarter, but we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q6: Well, there\u2019s another organization that\u2019s wanting to release it, and they\u2019ve been putting out flyers…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I know about that. It\u2019s one of those things that bugs me. I would have liked to work with these guys, but they seem to think I\u2019m the bad guy for some reason, and that I want lots of money. I can\u2019t imagine why anyone would think I want lots of money for a project like this, but they seem to. It\u2019s sad, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q7: Well, why not pool resources and work with them, just swallow hard and do it for the good of film preservation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d like to, and I did try, but the response I got was being trashed personally and professionally in letters and public forums. I cut people a wide swath, and I don\u2019t care if you trash me personally to my face, but when you take it public, and you damage my reputation in ways that cost me money, I draw the line. I actually get criticism for being TOO WILLING to work with some people, but these guys, no. I can\u2019t. I honestly wish things were different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q8: So when it Kongo<\/em> coming out?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have no idea. It will come out when it comes out. I\u2019m right now waiting for some scans to start trickling in. This has become a really epic project that seems to have a life of its own. The good news is that, unless we find more sound, this will be probably close to the end of it, because we found a lot of original negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q9: What other projects are you working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I was trying to get a disc out with some of my really rare animation films on it. I\u2019ve been working on that since the first of the year. The project seems to have stalled and I\u2019m not sure when it will come out, if at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q10: Kickstarter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe. But I can\u2019t do a Kickstarter until I know that I can actually do this project. Otherwise, I risk raising funds for a project I\u2019m not sure I can deliver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q11: Anything else?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I\u2019m working on getting some Lupino Lane films ready to release. I\u2019ve been working on some scans I got from Library of Congress. Thad Komorowski has been doing some work for me even this week on it. I\u2019ve got to get some technical hurdles fixed on this one before it comes out, too. Otherwise, it won\u2019t be good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q12: Why not just release what you\u2019ve got?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I may have to, but I really try to make these things look as nice as possible. One of the problems I have is that I\u2019m willing to take on projects that are a little less commercial and where mint condition materials do not survive. (I\u2019m attracted to these projects, because I know if I don\u2019t do them, then no one else will.) This opens me up for criticism about doing sub-par work. The Lupino Lane films, by and large, survive in choppy 16mm 1920s Kodascopes and copies of choppy 1920s Kodascopes. They will never look fantastic, but they should look a lot better than they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q13: Why do you care about the criticism? Just do the work!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to care about it somewhat, because people jump in and trash you and then you have the reputation for turning in 3rd-rate work, which hurts your sales. In a lot of cases that I work on, perfection isn\u2019t an option, and it\u2019s not even close to an option. Little Orphant Annie<\/em> has sections in it that look kinda soft. They always will. There are a couple of shots where I have to cut to inferior material right in the middle of a scene, because footage was missing in every other print. But it\u2019s complete and in order, and I\u2019m proud that we were able to get that accomplished. It\u2019s as good as that film can look now. I still have 400 copies of Annie<\/em> sitting in my living room and I can use the space, so I need to worry about the criticism a little bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q14: Why do you do a long blog occasionally instead of what Seth Godin says, doing a short blog often?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seth Godin would faint at my marketing practices. I write blogs when I can (right now I\u2019m inspecting a print of The Front Page<\/em> as I write this), and it\u2019s in chunks. I also have a visceral reaction against the flippant, now, now, now, short, short, short mentality we\u2019ve developed as a culture. I like to take my time and develop things. That\u2019s why I love the folks who\u2019ve read this far. Thank you. (BTW, you can listen to the podcast<\/a> and hear us spoof ourselves and Seth Godin a little bit.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q15: Speaking of Annie, why haven\u2019t you sold it to TCM? Wouldn\u2019t that help you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to happen, guys. It was in the hopper a bit over a year ago, but it dropped off the radar when Filmstruck died. I\u2019d talked to them about a number of other projects, too. It was just the wrong time. And I\u2019m not sure the right time is going to happen again. I\u2019d like to be wrong on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q16: Why haven\u2019t you tried getting funding for King of the Kongo<\/em> through TCM or releasing it through Kino?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who says I haven\u2019t? Kino was very positive about this project and wanted to help, but the numbers just didn\u2019t make sense. TCM was just plain not interested. I suspect that if I can get it out there, then TCM may perk up, but right now I\u2019m a super-niche releasing guy and I have only one major title in my hopper. I\u2019m beneath their notice, and, frankly, I probably should be. I\u2019ve got to get more product out there in general, and I just haven\u2019t. (I\u2019m not averse to going through places like Kino in general, and they released my prints of two major titles last year for their Outer Limits<\/em> sets. They\u2019ve been winning awards, too, including the Rondo and Saturn awards. However, unlike me, Kino is not just plain nuts, and they can\u2019t go releasing projects willy-nilly that no one will buy!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q17: Didn\u2019t you say something about a blu-ray of Ella Cinders<\/em> and some restored footage?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it\u2019s in the hopper. I\u2019ve located multiple prints of the Kodascope and we should be able to create stunning material on it, and there will be no cut footage, but maybe stills. If I had a staff of 5-6 people and a budget for scanning, I\u2019d be on that right now. There\u2019s script for the complete film and an original score that survives. But I can\u2019t get to it just now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q18: Well, we support you! We know that it would be easier to get more films out of you if you had more cash coming in. Why don\u2019t you do a Patreon so we can support that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been considering this, but the bugaboo I have is that I need to provide something monthly or quarterly to Patreon subscribers, and I have no idea what that would be. These things are like earthquakes. You may not have any action for years, and then suddenly everything breaks loose. If any of you have ideas on how to do a Patreon successfully and keep subscribers happy, I\u2019d love to hear it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I honestly love you guys for the support I\u2019ve had. We\u2019re in a best of times, worst of times Dickensian conundrum these days. In terms of the access and technology to present these films, it\u2019s the best of times. In terms of the marketability of the films, it\u2019s pretty awful. Markets are drying up faster than we can fill the void. That\u2019s why I love you guys so much. You\u2019ve supported my work through a failed TV pilot, into a blog and now into a weird podcast and restoration work. It\u2019s been a wild ride!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Q1: It\u2019s been a long time since you\u2019ve written a blog. You\u2019re still on Facebook periodically. What are you doing? I\u2019ve been working on things. I\u2019m hoping to get King of the Kongo going someday soon, but it\u2019s been a problem. I\u2019m working on some other projects too. I\u2019ve hit a ton of roadblocks, and … Continue reading “Aaaaand, I answer your questions…”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"powered_cache_disable_cache":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,207],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-films-pocket-rants","category-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1853"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1856,"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1853\/revisions\/1856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drfilm.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}