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Page 2 of 2 Big-name actors are just peopleHe says it’s also important to have confidence and to know that even big-name actors are just people like everyone else.He got a lesson on that when he took a directing course at the American Film Institute’s Center for Advanced Film Studies in Los Angeles. That was after he’d finished four years of undergraduate work in the film program at Ryerson University in Toronto. Gregory Peck, Jane Fonda and other Hollywood stars would constantly show up at the Center to field questions and give lectures. “It did demystify Hollywood for me,” says Podeswa. He has turned that to his advantage, too. He freely admits he can only turn out a film every five years. It takes him about three to write the screenplay and two to put the images on film. In between, he supports himself directing mainstream network television drama (including Six Feet Under, Carnivale, Queer as Folk, Commander in Chief, Rome, Wonderfalls and The L Word), as well as music videos and arts specials. That, in turn, lets him hone his directing skills for the features he loves to make. Trends in film tasteTIPS
But even if Podeswa doesn’t have to worry about money as much as most directors, he still has to keep it in mind. For example, four weeks before starting to film Fugitive Pieces, Podeswa was cutting the script to keep costs in check. He’s also conscious of the fact that in Canada, some elements of the film-funding system are “like shifting sand.” That has to do with the trends in film taste that drive some of the funding agencies. As well, the amount of money you get for a project can be determined by how many other people have applied for money at the same time as you, and by how much money is in the pot. In the U.S., by contrast, the number of places to go for money is greater and money is available throughout the year, rather than on a funding cycle as it is in Canada, Podeswa says. On the other hand, getting money in the U.S. is far more driven by the vagaries of the market than in Canada and by who you can cast in the film.  |
