Box office hits such as "Bridesmaids" are being cited as part of an effort to push for more movies and TV shows by, for and about women; The Budos Band makes do as a part-time group; The new TV season is chock-full of new shows that were once feature films.
Making the case that making movies by, for and about women is good business
The 2011 movie “Bridesmaids,” written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, featured an ensemble of comedic actresses and took in more than $288 million globally. And that’s just one of a handful of women-driven movies that have done big business at the box office.
And yet, entertainment designed by, for and about women continues to be produced far less frequently than the same entertainment by, for and about men.
One reason for this disparity? Veteran producer Lydia Dean Pilcher says there are commonly held beliefs in Hollywood that "female content’s not profitable. Women don’t go to the movies. A lot of things that I just know are not true."
Pilcher is chair of the Women's Impact Network at the Producers Guild of America and she has partnered with Melissa Silverstein of Women and Hollywood to find an innovative way of combating these narratives. Silverstein says: "We're half the world. Our stories matter."
Rather than target the industry’s conscience and sense of fairness, they're aiming at the bottom line. The guild has compiled data from recent studies — like the one conducted by Stacy Smith at USC, which was commissioned by Women in Film/LA and The Sundance Institute — and they've created The Ms Factor Toolkit. It’s full of statistics about who buys movie tickets, who in the household has the earning power, and which movies with female leads or women directors and producers have done well at the box office.
Melissa Silverstein says,
Hollywood is really based on false narratives and what this report does is take these false narratives and debunk them. And says, 'You don't believe that women make money-- movies with women make money? Here's the data...if you want to have a successful venture in Hollywood you have to take women into account.
Pilcher says that the toolkit has valuable information that's culled from decades in the business sitting where these conversations about the marketability of female-driven content often gets in the way.
I felt that as a producer I was in the unique position-- and producers are in a unique position-- to see what's happening behind the scenes because we are financing content, we are talking to financiers and studio executives about actors and who we need to make the boat float. And we're hearing what these conversations are and what the reactions are. So I felt we were in a unique position to coalesce information and put this toolkit together which could be used for anybody-- men, women, filmmakers, producers-- who are pitching female-driven content to debunk the myths.
The toolkit covers all aspects to what goes into making and distributing a movie including some illuminating information about who buys the movies that get put into the multiplex. According to John Fithian, the President and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners (aka NATO) all of the top film buyers for the theater chains are men. Silverstein explained to The Frame why that was an important piece of information.
Because these are the people who are making the decisions of what's goes into AMC or Regal. And one of the statistics that always sticks in my head is that most people in this country see their movies in big multiplexes. 80% of all movies are seen in multiplexes with 8 or more screens. So if women cannot get onto those screens then people cannot seen them. Then they cannot make the box office dollars that get them get into the conversation of those movies being a success.
The Budos Band keeps sane by having full-time jobs
The New York-based Budos Band has been around for more than 10 years, but playing in the group has never been a full-time gig for its members.
"I'm an art teacher at a high school in Staten Island and we all have regular jobs," says drummer Brian Profilio. "Most of the time we go out and play on weekends. I'm only really able to go out when I'm off."
The band plays about 50 shows a year and only schedules to perform on weekends. Members of the band usually fly into the show on a Friday night, perform on Saturday and fly back home on Sunday morning to make it in time to their full-time jobs on Monday. "Even if we go out for a week or 10 days, by the time we get home, we're shot," Profilio says. "So to be on the road for a month or two months, it'd be really tough."
The Budos Band - Burnt Offerings
The Budos Band started in the '90s when they were inspired to play Afrobeat music after watching the Brooklyn band Antibalas perform in New York City. It was at these shows where Profilio met saxophonist Jared Tankel.
"I moved to New York right around that time," Tankel says. "I didn't know anybody to play music with and I went to this open mic session with Martin [Perna] from Antibalas and he [said], 'You gotta meet my friends from Staten Island. They're looking for horn players.' And the next thing you knew I was taking the ferry out to Staten Island — and the rest is history."
Jared also has a full-time job aside from being in The Budos Band. He's a music attorney and works with small record labels, publishers and bands, including his own. Even when he's on the road touring with the band, he still is working his other job: "When we go out for more than just a weekend, I'll bring my laptop along and try to review contracts in the back of the van, and that's just like torture."
The Budos Band - Magus Mountain
While their schedules may seem hectic, Profilio says he likes that his full-time job gives him structure: "I need a schedule. I need to wake up at [a certain] time and be part of a larger institution in a sense 'cause I think all of us would have difficulty being full time Budos."
Tankel says they never started the band for the money or fame, it was just something that is meant to be fun: "We love it and we like doing what we're doing. We'll figure out the other parts of our life that need to fit around it in order to make it possible."
'Minority Report' and 'Limitless' aren’t the only movies being made into TV shows
The new CBS series “Limitless,” which premieres Sept. 22 on CBS, is based on the Bradley Cooper movie of the same name from 2011. Cooper will have a small part in the show, but the new star is actor Jake McDorman.
The thriller about a man who becomes addicted to a drug that gives him superhuman powers isn’t the only film that’s being adapted for TV.
At the website Den of Geek, the editors have rounded up some 39 current and upcoming TV series that are set for the small screen.
Chris Longo is an entertainment journalist and a deputy editor at Den of Geek. He spoke with The Frame’s John Horn.
Interview Highlights
First off, this seems to be quite a phenomenon. Why do you think adapting movies into TV shows is so popular right now?
The word that comes to mind is familiarity. These networks want something that’s going to draw viewers and with so much TV out there, this is something for them to bring people into and [it's] an easy way to market these things.
Some of these shows seem like natural TV evolutions — I’m thinking of “Limitless” and “Minority Report.” But then I look at shows like “The Notebook,” which seems like a very odd mix. Let’s talk about another one that seems like a little bit of a reach. That is “Uncle Buck,” the classic comedy starring John Candy and Macaulay Culkin. You wrote that this was already adapted for TV in the '90s and it bombed. They’re trying again?
Yeah, and I think this one is just a total reboot on that idea. They’re going with Mike Epps, who is a fantastic standup comedian. ABC, they’ve been really consistent with comedy over the last few years. Their Wednesday block this year is all returning shows. It’s not been the most creative network for comedy, but it’s really been family-centered and I think “Uncle Buck” kind of fits in here. The trailer is fantastic, so that’s definitely going to be one we’re going to check out. I think it’s going to fit in as kind of a midseason replacement.
One adaptation I have to say I’m actually kind of excited about is “School of Rock.” This was a Richard Linklater movie with Jack Black. It was a great movie, seems like an absolutely smart premise for a television series. Is this one that might work?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen “School of Rock.” I’ve definitely lost count. I don’t have enough fingers for it. But millennials like me absolutely love this movie and I think it’s going to go well on Nickelodeon. I know they’re introducing a new block to bring back some of their ‘90s programming to appeal with some of the older crowd ... I think this is a smart idea. This one, of the 39 we talked about, is up there and I think is going to go on for a long time.
Halloween is coming up and we have an “Evil Dead” reboot for TV. Are you excited about this one?
This one is pretty close to us at Den of Geek because we’re doing an exclusive magazine for New York Comic-Con and Bruce Campbell is actually going to be on the cover of that. (Campbell played Ash in the original movie.) He will be back reviving that character. This is really going to be a show that’s for diehard gore-heads, but it’s also for the casual horror fan. Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Lucy Lawless — can’t really go wrong with that.
What’s a movie-to-TV adaptation that you are looking forward to?
Absolutely number one on this list is “Westworld.” That’s coming to HBO. Michael Crichton wrote “Westworld” for film in 1973. We’ve got a great cast here — Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden. The original film followed androids within the confinement of an amusement park. And the backstory is that Michael Crichton went to Disneyworld and he was kind of terrified by the animatronics of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and other stuff that they had, [like] the Hall of the Presidents. So he came out with the idea for this film. This one should be interesting, especially [with] HBO going in the sci-fi direction, which we haven’t seen in a long time.