July 2009

Message From Your President, Jolene McMaster

Welcome to our Sizzlin' Summer edition of "The One Sheet."
We're glad to see so many new and renewing members thinking of WIFT Houston in spite of this sweltering heatwave.

The loss of Linda Lowe was such a shocker; a spirited, charming woman who had such a positive outlook, and infectiously shared it with everyone she met. She'll be truly missed. We're now so blantantly aware that we should have made the effort to get together more often instead of letting the months and years get away from us.

Linda will leave her legacy with WIFT Houston in more ways than she may have expected in life. Her biological family and her WIFT family have agreed that she would have been thrilled with the knowledge that others could benefit from the film finishing funds that will now be set up in her memory. In the months ahead our Houston chapter will establish the guidelines and collect the necessary cash and in-kind production services and supplies that will help a WIFT member filmmaker annually to complete a project. It is our desire to see ground-breaking and innovative productions created that will well-represent our chapter and help fulfill its mission. It will be a great tribute to Linda when we are able to see these finished films that may ultimately be seen and appreciated by people around the world.

I found myself recently having to explain to a new WIFT member how WIFT differs from other industry organizations. In brief, I think maybe it's the sense of belonging to an international organization, and yet there's the closeness of belonging to family. We share many of the same goals, interests, and activities; what you get out of the organization is largely dependent upon what you put into it. If you find that you don't have the time to give, you still get the benefit of being a WIFT member (looks good on the resumé), and as you travel throughout the country and the world hopefully you will visit other chapters and develop important new relationships for yourself and our chapter.

A recent "hello" from Iceland is proof positive that WIFT Houston definitely has a presence around the world. This came from Rut Hermannsdottir.

Hello there!! My name is Rut Hermannsdottir, a filmproducer in Reykjavik, Iceland, and a member of Women in Film and Television! I' ve been a WIFT member since I founded the norwegian WIFT chapter in 2005 (and was their first chair-woman) co-founded European WIFT same year and co- founded the Icelandic chapter in 2006. Now I am located in Reykjavik since the year 2006, currently producing a documentary about whaling in Iceland.

I thought I'd try to contact WIFT around the world for some assistance regarding co-funding and distribution for documentaries. Could you assist me, getting in touch with buyers of documentaries at tv- stations, and perhaps the right contacts inside History Channel, National Geographics, Discovery and other proper buyers? And co-funders in North America? Hope you have the time and opportunity to look into this. Would be very grateful :)

Hope WIFT is doing great in the states! Best regards,
Rut Hermannsdóttir, Filmproducer
Filmus Productions
Grettisgata 87
105 Reykjavik
Iceland
www.filmus.is
rut.hermannsdottir@gmail.com
ph: +354 580 0300
cell: +354 6993165
fax:+354 580 0301

Rut will welcome your thoughts if you can help in her quest.

Thank you Sabrina Miskelly, our newsletter editor, for this, her second edition as editor of "The One Sheet." Her baby is due at any time, and we wish her, and the family the very best as they welcome their second addition. Thanks also to the board members, officers, and committee chairs who make the effort and take the time to make our organization even better. Several of you have stepped forward recently to volunteer your skills and assistance as needed. The fall will bring increased WIFT activities and the much needed cooler weather, but in the meantime, try to make the monthly Breakfast RAP! and other events planned by WIFT and other industry organizations that we so often collaborate with. Check the Web calendar for details.

All the best for a rewarding year,
Jolene McMaster, WiFT Houston President (2009-2010)

 

May 1, 2009

Now that our annual elections are history, I want to welcome our new board members, and thank profusely those who have served well, and stepped aside to allow for fresh ideas and the high energy that new members can offer.

Thank you, Jenny Bosby, Camille Bryan, Nancy Clinton, and Heather Leigh Jackson for your past services, and continuing support. On behalf of those of us not up for re-election this year (Vice President Marc Isaacs, Treasurer Karron Wardwell, and At-Large Members Page Parkes-Eveleth, Yankie Grant, and your president), we welcome Maureen Herzog, Sabrina Miskelly, Patricia Torres-Burd, and Heather Tucker as new Board Members, and continuing for another term are Founding President Melody Moss and Board Secretary, Melannie O'Connor.

WIFT enthusiasm is building within the board. Volunteers are stepping forward, and we're excited to update you. For one, Sabrina Miskelly, who brings experience as a news and TV talk show producer, with added accomplishments in public relations, marketing, and advertising, is perfectly suited to take on WIFT's e-newsletter, which we expect to bring to you on a monthly basis. The May edition was her first! Thank you, Sabrina.

Next, the Breakfast Rap! It's back. We've heard some of you have missed not having it this year. Board members will help to bring a breakfast event to the members each month. The board member in charge will pick the location as well as the time and day of the week, in hopes that we can attract members to events occurring all over our vast metropolitan area. Marc Isaacs will plan the May Breakfast Rap!, followed by Sabrina Miskelly's breakfast in June, and Melannie O'Connor's in July. Please check the Web site CALENDAR link for these dates as they are listed.

WIFT Night Out, an opportunity for members to network in the evening each month will also begin in May. The first such evening will be the opening night performance of member/playwright Tom Vaughan's "The Third Side," on Thursday, May 14, at DiverseWorks. Tickets are $10, and now on sale at www.mildredsumbrella.com. Buy your ticket now, and join us. Tom's play will continue throughout the month with final performance on May 30. DiverseWorks is located at 1117 East Freeway, near UH Downtown. We'll do a "meet-up" at Molina's Cantina, 4720 Washington Ave. at S. Shepherd Dr., before the performance.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Deborah Duncan, "Great Day Houston," and Associate Producer Tiffany Rubio, for giving me the chance to do my live television debut. I was invited to participate in the Oscar Predictions show to represent WIFT Houston. Deborah makes every show a joyful experience - but loving movies like I do, it was an exciting opportunity for me to be on the panel of experts discussing the Oscar picks and the Awards show history. The other panelists were Nick Nicholson, President of the Houston Film Critics Society, and the regular film critic for the show, Jake Hamilton, also a member of the HFCS. The February 19 segments are still linked to the KHOU Web site if you want to check it out: http://www.khou.com/greatday/hollywood-houston/?nvid=333784
and http://www.khou.com/greatday/hollywood-houston/?nvid=33378

As I have this opportunity to write to you each month, I would like at this time to discuss incentives, now that the latest bill has been signed by Governor Perry. He and the Texas Film Commission are pushing for $62 million to be approved before the legislative session ends. It is part of SB1 that is now before the Appropriations Committee. That's $40 million higher than the bill that was signed into law two years ago, both of which were authored by Austin Democrat Dawnna Dukes and Greenville Republican Senator Robert Deuell, MD. The recent bill signing and celebration took place at Robert Rodriguez' Troublemaker Studios

Those in the picture (below, L-R) are: Sen. Kirk Watson (Author of SB 1929 dealing with the media production development zones), Rep. Dawnna Dukes, Robert Rodriquez, Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Bob Deuell, Sen. Royce West (co-author of Watson's bill).

Photo Credit: Jette Kernion, www.slackerwood.com

Our thanks to Don Stokes, President, TXMPA, for making sure we got the line-up right.

Here are some facts that can help you as you talk to or correspond with your state representative or senator, business owners, and voters who can support our legislators in Austin. We want everyone informed. We'll continue to lose jobs unless we establish and are able to maintain a more competitive program.

(1) The Texas Film Commission has tracked and documented nearly 50 big budget film projects that researched Texas but instead chose to shoot in another state.

(2) As a result, we have documented over $500 million in lost spending, over 7,000 lost jobs, and over $300 million in lost wages.

(3) Our economy has missed out on a great deal of economic activity and tax revenue associated with the film industry.

(4) Texas does NOT need to match the programs offered elsewhere; a modest incentive will effectively close the gap between Texas and its primary competitors.

(5) The economic benefits of film production in Texas are well documented. Even a low-budget film ($10M or under) spends about 50% of its budget locally.

(6) Conservative estimates project that in the first year of a competitive program, Texas would see about $250 million in new spending.

(7) This program will help the Texas economy and bring jobs back to your district.

Let's hope the Appropriations Committee will see the light and allow the funding to move our industry forward instead of to our neighboring states. Be pro-active while there's still time to be influential in your district.

We can truly celebrate the bill signing following the appropriations of the critical funding for our industry.

Wishing you the best,
Jolene

 

February 1, 2009

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
And welcome also to our continuing members who take the time to view our e-news. This year may prove to be a real challenge, but we will work together to accomplish new heights.

Collaboration will be the focus for the year ahead, a year which will require the active participation of all members, and the cooperation of the various organizations who work toward similar goals - improving the industry in our great city. Indeed, this means enthusiastic volunteering and dedicated follow through.

Exciting News: Teaming Up With New York WIFT
Expect a different approach to some of our programming opportunties this year. As a part of our eXtreme CloseUp educational series, we'll be able to watch and learn from some of NYWIFT's finest presenters. We don't have to be envious any longer about the guests they offer just because they're in NYC, and have such a strong history in the business. Working with Janet Stilson, NYWIFT's VP/Programming, I've been able to make arrangements for New York WIFT to begin taping selected programs - a 2-camera shoot, with simple editing - that will provide us an opportunity to learn from their vast pool of talented guests.

The first such program was taped from NYWIFT's January 21, 2009 program, "Learning The TV Writer Ropes," featuring Abby Finer, co-author of a book for Warner Bros. Television on how to write a TV script. Finer will also talk about the application and script submission process for an intensive scriptwriting workshop being produced for NYWIFT. Six NYWIFT members will be chosen to participate in this six-week program starting in summer 2009.
Abby Finer began her TV career at ABC Entertainment in Los Angeles, where she worked in the comedy, reality and variety series development departments. Four years later, she landed a development deal with Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment and eventually became an executive producer of Comedy Central's Kenny vs. Spenny.

With Abby in this presentation is her producing partner Emily Cohen. Emily is a veteran TV and broadband producer with over 20 years of production experience. Together they are creating and developing scripted and unscripted programming for all the networks. Previously, Emily was a Development Executive at VH1, credited with piloting "I Love the 80's." Additional credits include Hard Rock Live! for VH1, the PBS special Linda Eder in Concert and NBC's Macy's 4th of July, as well as live Webcasts, countless specials, series and pilots. She was a supervising producer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and a Production Executive for Nickelodeon.

This is only the beginning of our programming possibilities by teaming up like this. I look forward to the day when, as a routine offering in our educational series, we can watch NY and LA programs, and other chapters, too, with live transmissions from their meeting facilities to ours.

With all that we have to offer in our City and in our State, isn't it time for our production industry to catch up to our neighboring states? We should be telling more of our stories to a wider audience, and showing off the diversity and beauty of our city and state not only through national and international advertising spots, but through film and television programming that is reflective of life in Houston, its urban and rural areas, its art and entertainment offerings, its population diversity, its educational opportunities, its architecture, its business culture, space center, medical center, and so much more. A part of the country still thinks of Houston as a town of "Cowboys and Oil," as evidenced in a December CNN news report comparing Calgary to Houston, as "...a town of Cowboys and Oil."

In the late 1950s through 1963, New York City was known for the TV series, "Naked City," with its famous closing tag line, "There are a million stories in the Naked City, this has been one of them." NYC was always the star of the show and extensive location shooting was its trademark. Texas history, Texas politics, Texas crime, its wealth, its poverty, and its generosity, all present enumerable story opportunities marketable to a curious world audience. It's Houston's time to capitalize on its popularity, time to tell its stories, and time for the collective creativity here to write and produce these stories - right here on the streets of Houston. Chicago, too, in the late 1950's, had it's popular crime series starring Lee Marvin, "M Squad." Houston tried it once in 1987-88, with "Houston Knights," but without the success of the NYC and Chicago episodes. The title alone unsells it in my opinion, but we shouldn't give up so easily.

So, my challenge to you for the months and years ahead is to work together and make Houston a happening place for TV programming and filmmaking. Let's change the face of production in our state; let's become that force that makes it finally happen here. Let's develop our skills, encourage more media arts education in Houston, support our talent, pass the appropriate legislative incentives, and put our industry to work. After all, there are at least five million stories in Houston, so LET'S CREATE.

All the best for the New Year!
Jolene McMaster

 

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