(MENAFN- Arab Times) Reese Witherspoon offered plenty of encouragement to fellow producers on Saturday morning by stressing the need to focus on the female audience - as demonstrated by her recent producing efforts, "Wild," "Gone Girl" and "Hot Pursuit."
"Women make up 50 percent of the population," she said. "We should make up 50% of the movies we see."
Speaking at the Producers Guild of America's 7th annual "Produced By" conference on the Paramount lot, Witherspoon said the success of her Pacific Standard company stems partly from Hollywood knowing what to expect from the shingle. Witherspoon noted that she and partner Bruna Papandrea created the banner out of frustration with a lack of interesting roles for actresses.
"It is great to have specificity because people know what to send you," Witherspoon noted. "We are looking for great female parts."
But Witherspoon also noted that Pacific Standard wants to succeed on the basis on story. "The films we make are not chick flicks," she insisted. "'Wild' is just about a human being."
Speaking to a capacity crowd of more than 500 at the Paramount Theater, Witherspoon also addressed the question of whether she'd ever portray Hillary Clinton. She responded by saying that she's been asked to do so several times and wryly pointed out that she portrayed a young version of Clinton as Tracy Flick in 1998's "Election."
"When I did meet Hillary Clinton she said, 'Everybody talks to me about Tracy Flick in 'Election,'" Witherspoon added.
Asked by moderator Will Packer if they believed they had made any mistakes with "Wild," Witherspoon responded: "Shooting 55 locations in 30 days was probably not the best way to start, but we were determined."
Disadvantage
Both producers noted that they were also pregnant at the time. Papandrea said being a mother is not a disadvantage.
"I make better decisions because when I'm leaving my children, I want to do something I love," she said.
Jason Blum, king of the micro-budget horror film, had a clear message for fellow producers Saturday: don't stop shooting.
"Don't wait for the movie business to validate you" shooting begets shooting," he asserted at a "360 Profile" panel on his Blumhouse Productions company at the Producers Guild of America's 7th annual Produced By Conference on the Paramount lot.
Blum should know. He produced 2009's landmark "Paranormal Activity" for $15,000 and saw worldwide grosses reach nearly $200 million, giving rise to the "Insidious," "Sinister" and "The Purge" franchises. He also received an Academy Award Best Picture nomination this year for "Whiplash."
The 75-minute session, attended by about 300 at the Sherry Lansing Theater, was aimed at giving an in-depth look at the nuances of how Blumhouse manages to be one of Hollywood's most prolific producers with 15 films and three TV series shot last year.
"There's a real correlation between not spending a lot of money and having fun," he added.
Explained
Blum explained that on his films, directors have creative control within the parameters of the budget; that shoots are nearly always in Los Angeles and relatively brief; and crews aren't required to work excessive hours. That means Blumhouse is able to rely on using high-profile actors and directors along with experienced crew.
"For actors, there's a lot to be said for 4 weeks instead of 10 and shooting in LA instead of Romania," he noted. "We work with high-level directors like Brad Peyton and Eli Roth because we do it on their schedules."
The panel included Blumhouse's production chief Jeanette Volturno-Brill, TV chief Jessica Rhoades and post-production head Phillip Dawe - who offered a succinct bit of advice to filmmakers: "Get the ending right."
Blum asserted that Blumhouse will remain mainly a horror specialist with the occasional exception such as "Whiplash." He recalled that the involvement of Jason Reitman as an exec producer changed his mind on bringing Blumhouse on board "Whiplash."
"I said I thought it was OK and said 'we're never making this movie,'" Blum recalled.
Roth, who moderated the panel, noted that he had made a contribution to "Whiplash" by giving work to director Damien Chazelle several years earlier.
"I hired him when he was working as a math tutor to write 'Last Exorcism 2,'" Roth explained. "That's the money he used to make the 'Whiplash' short."
Saturday's 7th Annual Produced By conference abounded with cautious optimism about financing movies outside the studio system, with several speakers asserting that Hollywood remains a major draw for investors.
"There's a staggering opportunity for movies in the $20 to $80 million range," said Sophie Watts, president of STX Entertainment, during the "State of Financing Films Today" panel.
STX was launched last year by film producer Robert Simonds and TPG managing partner Bill McGlashan to produce projects in that range - an area largely vacated by the studios in favor of superhero movies. It aims to release as many as 15 films annually by 2017, and has lined up projects with Matthew McConaughey ("The Free State of Jones") and Julia Roberts ("The Secret in Their Eyes") It's also lined up financial backing from venture-capital firm and co-founder TPG, Chinese private-equity firm Hony Capital and investors Gigi Pritzker and Beau Wrigley, along with film financing from China's Huayi Brothers. Watts said that major exhibitors have given them an enthusiastic endorsement.
"The response was 'please give us those movies,'" she said Saturday.
As for the Chinese investors, Watts asserted, "It's been a complete joy to work with them."
Financing veteran Hal Sadoff, who recently took over as CEO at Silver Pictures, noted that the company had made the thriller "The Nice Guys" with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe completely independently. Warner Bros. will release "Guys" on May 20.
The panel also grappled with the profound changes in distribution and how younger consumers acquire entertainment.
"Why not have a one-night VOD release of the next 'Batman' or 'Iron Man' for $49 before the theatrical release?" Sadoff suggested.
Voltage Entertainment president Jonathan Deckter took a more measured outlook, noting that few films generate huge returns.
"For every 'Paranormal Activity,' there's 20 of them that don't work," he noted. "If you want to get your film distributed around the world, you've got to knock it out of the park in every way."
The Producers Guild of America produced the event.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.