Fresno Famous

Some things, the organizers learned right quick. For instance — this city’s got talent.

“The film and video community in Fresno is so much more abundant and prolific than we thought, and growing,” says Christine Autrand Mitchell, who works with Entandem Productions, a founding partner of the Fresno Filmmakers Forum.

This is a good sign. But it meant a slight change of focus for the group’s second outing — the 2nd Annual Fresno Filmmakers Forum is 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 25 at the Tower Theater.

This time around they’ve brought in industry professionals to speak on a whole range of topics — from small-budget financing to SAG Indie agreements and how to get your documentary off the ground. It’s the business of the art, so to speak.

“We wanted to address topics that appealed to the gamut, from students and amateur, all the way through to professionals. To that end, we’ve also drawn speakers from outside our region, from Los Angeles and San Francisco,” Mitchell says.

That includes the buzz-worthy Miller brothers — Noah and Logan — who’ve become bona fide indie stars for ambushing Ed Harris in a San Francisco alley and convincing him to star in their movie. It was a bold plan that worked. The movie, “Touching Home,” will be released next year and the story (which has close to half a million hits on Youtube) has been parlayed into a major book deal.

Also included in the mix is Dean Shull, CEO of Catchphrase Entertainment and producer of the testicularly funny (lots of testicle jokes) “Waiting…” He was nice enough to answer some quick questions via e-mail.

What’s one thing about the film industry that people don’t know?

That a pubic hair wig for actors is called a merkin. We had to use one in the movie “Waiting...” They don’t teach you everything in film school.

How’d you get into the industry? And once you were in, how was it different from what you expected? In other words: You didn’t just pop right into the job of producer, did you?

In an odd way, I was blessed with with having a job as a producer for a mini-major studio when I landed in Hollywood. But before that I eased into the minor leagues of the industry by working at Universal and Disney/MGM Studios in Orlando for about 10 years. Those days originally consisted of working as a gangster in “The Great Movie Ride,” then working production and putting together award shows for Disney cast members, some Imagineering work on a few Disney attractions, reading bad scripts, taking post-grad film school and playing Ted in Universal’s “Bill and Ted Show.” I guess the biggest culture shock was jumping from a clean Disney story culture to working with a Artisan Studios on a raunchy “R” comedy where we would spend 1/2 an hour discussing why testicles were funny.

Of all the roles you’ve had (writer/producer/actor/director) which has been your favorite?

There is an instant gratification and excitement in live performance. Nothing beats the old live Bill and Ted pyrotechnic-filled stage moments, like jamming to a Nirvana song with a custom made guitar in front of a huge crowd of screaming fans. Better than Guitar Hero III.

What’s your earliest film memory?

The first two really memorable films were “Blazing Saddles” and “Star Wars.” On the small screen we recorded “Blazing Saddles” on our new VCR and watched it until the tape died. Then, my grandfather took me to see “Star Wars” on the big screen. We came in late as R2D2 and C3P0 were walking across the planet Tatooine, I was instantly hooked. Soon my room was filled with “Star Wars” curtains, action figures. I was a total “Star Wars” geek.

Industry people always have good stories about famous actors and whatnot. Do you have one to share?

I’m not allowed to share any of the good ones.

Your forum topic is “from script to screen and beyond.” Can you explain that some?

Before moving to California my waiter in Orlando handed me a script. He wanted to direct. I wanted to produce. We wanted it to be a break-out indie hit with a wide release with real actors. It actually worked. We had lots of help and lots of hurdles, and have had the chance to make more movies since. I’ll share some things that worked for us and a few things that did not.

Part of the Fresno Filmmakers Forum is creating a film infrastructure in town to work with out-of-town production companies. But it’s also about the independent filmmaker trying to get their own work out. How do you create that balance? And how important is the role of the independent filmmaker?

Though I might not be the most qualified to answer this, it seems that indie filmmakers can create a buzz for their town — like Richard Linklater did for Austin in the 90’s with “Slacker.” The general answer is that a town can attract productions with strong crews, relationships, incentives, sound stages and unique locations.

Quick, one sentence of advice for those looking to get into the film industry?

Try it out for free for a while (ie. work for free) and see if you like it.

2nd Annual Fresno Filmmakers Forum
Learn how to pitch a script, shoot a film or finance a movie from industry pros.
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 25
Tower Theatre, 815 E. Olive Ave.
Plus an after-party at Palomino’s
$20, $10 student
www.fresnofilmmakersforum.com
Also look for the Forum’s monthly mixers — the next is 6 p.m., Nov. 13 at Milano’s on the Fulton Mall