Ellie Sachs and Max Cohn’s short film, “Proof of Concept,” offers a humorous meta-riff on the movie business and a tour of the Upper West Side.
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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:10 >> Ten grand?
00:11 >> Yeah. I mean, it could be less if I
00:13 did a Kickstarter or an Indiegogo.
00:15 >> An Indiegogo? What?
00:16 >> It's this website where filmmakers get funding.
00:18 >> Okay.
00:19 >> I feel weird if I put it on GoFundMe,
00:22 because that's for people who actually need help.
00:25 I'd like to self-fund it.
00:27 >> Well, we're putting up to 10 grand.
00:30 Not exactly self-funding it, honey.
00:31 >> Well, how did you and Uncle Eddie get your start?
00:33 >> Grandpa gave us a loan.
00:35 >> Okay.
00:36 >> Yeah, but, okay, that was a business.
00:39 >> Well, think of my career as a business.
00:42 >> Okay, fine. Ten grand.
00:45 So what do we get back? Five, six?
00:47 >> Well, we don't make anything back.
00:48 >> Nothing?
00:49 >> Yeah. This is just the proof of concept.
00:51 >> For what?
00:52 >> The script for the movie.
00:54 >> But isn't the script already
00:55 the proof of concept for the movie?
00:56 >> No, the short is the proof of concept for the feature.
00:59 >> Okay. How do you come by the number 10 grand anyway?
01:02 >> Well, between rentals and crew.
01:04 >> You'll need a gaffer.
01:05 >> Yeah, and I'd really like to try to get one famous actor.
01:08 Even if I'm following the SAG micro-budget minimums,
01:10 I mean, it still really adds up.
01:12 >> You know who I like? Diane Weiss.
01:15 >> I don't know who that is.
01:17 >> This is how the industry works.
01:19 It's enigmatic, rigid, coded. Would Lenny like this?
01:23 >> No, he's turning four. That's a six and up.
01:25 >> Seems counterintuitive.
01:27 Why don't you just put the 10 grand towards the feature?
01:30 >> Do you foreplay before sex, Robert?
01:32 >> Yes.
01:33 >> Ew.
01:33 >> Well, a short film is the foreplay you
01:35 do before performing coitus in the film world.
01:38 >> I get that.
01:39 >> Okay. I really,
01:40 I hate that analogy, Uncle Ed, but it's not wrong.
01:42 Dad, try to think about
01:44 this whole short film thing as a calling card.
01:46 It's an opportunity for me to get
01:47 my name out there on the festival circuit.
01:49 South by, Tribeca, Tiff, Sundance.
01:53 >> Would he like this?
01:54 >> Sure.
01:55 >> Definitely.
01:55 >> He loves garbage.
01:57 >> Okay. Then it gets into festivals, then what?
02:00 >> Well, it gets into a festival if we're lucky.
02:03 >> Robert, they're highly competitive.
02:05 >> How competitive?
02:06 >> I don't know. I mean, they're pretty competitive.
02:08 >> This last year, Sundance received
02:09 10,374 short film submissions.
02:12 They only accepted 59 to play at the festival.
02:14 >> 59? It's like half a percentage point. It's ridiculous.
02:18 >> You should see the Tribeca numbers.
02:20 >> Chloe, I love you,
02:23 and I believe in you and your talents as a filmmaker.
02:26 >> Wait, wait, wait.
02:28 My chance of being one of those 59 could go way
02:30 up if I were to have a high production value.
02:33 >> That's true.
02:34 >> Like, imagine if I wanted to
02:35 shoot here in Barney Greengrass.
02:37 I'd have to get insurance, permits.
02:39 I'd have to convince Gary.
02:41 We'd have to lock down this whole space.
02:43 All these people in here, I got to replace them with extras.
02:45 >> Chloe, I don't know.
02:47 >> Anyway, my manager said a proof of
02:51 concept was the smartest thing to do before a feature.
02:53 >> So have him give you the 10 grand.
02:55 >> What?
02:56 >> It doesn't work like that, Robert.
02:57 You and I have to put up the 10 grand.
02:59 It's just our manager's job to set up
03:00 general meetings with production companies and streamers.
03:03 >> Why do you know all of this?
03:04 >> Because I follow Michael Bay on
03:06 Twitter and I unpack on Instagram.
03:07 >> Guys, I got to be honest.
03:09 Either nothing you're saying is
03:11 making any sense or I'm having a stroke.
03:13 >> Okay. One last thing.
03:14 By funding it, you both would technically be EPs.
03:18 So in the credits,
03:19 it'll say executive produced by Robert and Eddie Cohen.
03:22 >> So we get back-end points.
03:24 >> No back-end points, but definitely IMDB credits.
03:27 >> That's a good thing. Our name's all over
03:29 the International Movie Database.
03:31 >> The what?
03:31 >> It's cool. You could talk about it on dates. Thanks.
03:36 >> So what's it about?
03:38 >> Yeah. What's this concept you're proving?
03:41 >> Well, it's a short film that's all about how
03:43 fucked up and convoluted the indie film world is for emerging voices.
03:47 >> So it's like a neo gritty noir?
03:49 >> No, not really. I mean,
03:50 mine's going to be light on its feet.
03:52 It's going to be conversational.
03:54 I want to shoot it in the city.
03:55 It's really important to me though that it has a very strong POV.
04:00 Because even at the highest level,
04:02 short films are this totally obscure thing.
04:05 Do either of you guys even know who won the Oscar last year for Best Short?
04:08 >> Nobody does.
04:09 >> They don't even televise that category anymore.
04:11 >> Okay. See, there's my whole point.
04:14 It's like there's so many precious little short films out there.
04:18 I mean, how am I going to break out as just another gifted visionary?
04:23 Shooting on a random beach at golden hour,
04:27 just trying to make some breathtaking piece of garbage that has
04:30 stunning cinematography and zero narrative,
04:33 but somehow cost 80K because I just had to shoot it on
04:37 film with brooding end credits that are longer than the film itself.
04:46 >> Fuck that. I don't even want to be an artist.
04:49 I want to be a disruptor.
04:51 >> Okay. All right.
04:53 I'm running this through my head. I'm trying to understand.
04:56 You want to make a short film that insults and derides the very idea of short films?
05:01 >> Literally exactly.
05:02 >> Then what is the feature film about?
05:04 >> It's all about how tough it is to adapt a short into a feature.
05:08 I don't know. I mean, you guys,
05:10 nobody's even talking about this stuff.
05:12 >> Well, I think there's a good reason for that.
05:13 >> You know why? It's because the truth terrifies people, okay?
05:16 >> Chloe, your uncle and I, we're commercial plumbers, okay?
05:18 I don't even want to get involved with something like this.
05:21 >> Strategically speaking, but also creatively speaking,
05:24 I don't mean either. It's an interesting concept though.
05:29 >> Okay. But what if we could do it for seven?
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