I must say that the Coffee Talks may be my favorite part of LAFF. I hadn’t attended any since the festival moved to Westwood a few years ago but I eagerly made my way this morning to the W Hotel on Hilgard for the sold-out Director’s chat. The Coffee Talks assemble two to four peers in a particular discipline (writers, actors, composers, etc. …) to dish, compare notes, tell stories and answer questions from the audience, which usually tilts heavily toward aspiring young filmmakers. The W is a fine, upscale hotel, but I do have to confess to missing the former venue, the atrium at the DGA on Sunset.
The talks are so effective, I think, because filmmakers, whatever their specialty, are experienced storytellers and this setup is a very good vehicle for them to do just that. Plus, it comes with coffee, which is especially welcome on a Sunday morning.
This year’s directors were Mike White (“Year of the Dog”), Craig Gillespie (“Mr. Woodcock,” “Lars and the Real Girl”) and Catherine Hardwicke (“Thirteen,” “Lords of Dogtown” and the upcoming teenage vampire saga, “Twilight”). Penelope Spheeris (“The Decline of Western Civilization,” “Wayne’s World” and much more”) had to cancel. Sometimes there’s a separate moderator and sometimes one of the panel members tries to keep things on track. That duty fell to Hardwicke and she did a good job of suggesting topics and keeping things moving.
These events are sometimes reliant on chemistry and while these three didn’t seem to share any particular bond beyond independent film and the fact that Hardwicke and White have both worked with Richard Linklater, the trio made for an entertaining and informative 60-minute discussion. Topics ranged from prep to post, dealing with actors, producers and DPs and selling yourself to the money people to get your movie made. Hardwicke likes to rehearse with no one else around but the actors, Gillespie rehearsed with some of the actors on “Lars” (Ryan Gosling apparently doesn’t like to rehearse instead preferring to talk the scenes out in great detail) and White is not a big fan of the process – though he told us that trained dogs rehearse A LOT and aren’t particularly adept at improvising.
The three agreed that producers tend to fall in to two camps: the one who has your back no matter what and protects you from the external noise and drama and the type who’s essentially a watchdog for the studio or financier. Guess which one they like better?
When asked about managing a DP with whom you are not on the same page, Gillespie offered advice he’d been given. The moment you begin to have doubts, you need to fire them even a week or two into the shoot. Otherwise, the doubts will nag you throughout and you could reach a point where it’s too late to make a change. Hardwicke suggested a preventive approach. When interviewing anyone for your team, rather than offering up your vision and having them agree just to get the gig, ask them about their vision. That will give you a much better idea of whether you will be simpatico. Gillespie also added that he found the set to be more collaborative when he began by asking what his key production people thought. White told a funny story from his days as a TV show runner about a veteran DP given a shot at directing and his rather unconventional handling of extras.
Overall, the discussion focused on collaboration and dealing with other people more than tech. One audience member did ask the paper-or-plastic question of contemporary filmmaking: film or digital? Gillespie expressed his fondness for the graininess of film and better filmmaking through chemicals (drawing the expected titters from the crowd), while Hardwicke likes the flexibility of digital interface and hopes to work in hi-def one of these days. White generally punctuated the exchanges with witty rejoinders and sharply funny stories in his inimitable deadpan style and was peppered with a disproportionate number of questions on screenwriting because of his success in that area.
