New Mexico Business Weekly 7/1/05
Coppola presence boosts 'Shootout'
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COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER COPPOLA Hollywood Producer/Director, Christopher Coppola |
It was an agonizing time earlier this year for Duke City Shootout co-founders Tony DellaFlora and Jim "Grub" Graebner.
They were thinking of downsizing the digital filmmaking film festival they started five years ago. The not-for-profit relied on donations and sponsorships, and in Albuquerque those have been difficult to obtain. Plus, the festival had not developed a longrange fundraising plan.
Enter Hollywood producer and director Christopher Coppola, who offered the help of his production company EARS XXI. Now, instead of contracting, the Shootout is expanding.
The festival, which produces seven, 12-minute digital films each year, is sponsoring a college scholarship competition in which students make 45-second movies on cell phones. It has recruited some big-name Hollywood types to mentor the filmmakers and judge their movies and has, its sights set on sponsorship deals with Wal-Mart and other companies.
"Basically, the plan was to downsize the festival and keep it local and in-state," DellaFlora says. "The long-range plan was to kind of retool and regroup and start doing some serious fundraising for the long-term."
But Coppola, who has been a part of the festival since its inception in 1999, offered to help it expand.
"I think New Mexico, particularly Albuquerque, is embracing digital technology. It has nothing to lose. If Albuquerque fully embraces it, it could be the new Hollywood," Coppola says, adding that much of Hollywood remains stuck in the cliquish world of film, where high costs limit opportunities for would-be moviemakers.
Graebner says he welcomes Coppola's presence because it has the potential to bring new recognition to the festival, and that could help with future fundraising.
Judges and mentors for this year's festival, which runs from July 22-30, include Peter Fonda, Spike Jonze, Phyllis Diller, Penelope Spheeris, and New Mexico author Tony Hillerman.
"There have been two measurable differences [since Coppola's direct involvement]," Graebner says. "In the past, we tried to get mentors who had name recognition, and it was always hard writing a letter or cold-calling. But because of his contacts in Hollywood, we have got some big names this year. Before, we weren't on anybody's radar screens, and that has changed totally.
"Secondly, we, now have a Hollywood address for scripts. In the past five years, we were averaging [fewer] than 200 scripts. This year we will probably have 400."
Shootout judges cull through the scripts and pick the seven best for production. The writers are brought to Albuquerque and given all the training, equipment and crews they need to produce a 12-minute film in seven days.
All that support costs money, and in past years, the Shootout has operated on a tight budget, depending heavily on in-kind contributions of digital cameras, food, production volunteers, air fares and hotel rooms. This year is no different, but the money-shortage panic that had sometimes set in as the start date neared has eased somewhat because of Coppola's involvement.
"I'd say we're looking at a $175,000 budget of cash and-in-kind contributions this year," DellaFlora says.
This year, digital cameras will be donated by moviemaking programs at the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute and other schools in the state.
With this year's festival now secure, Graebner and DellaFlora will try to concentrate on long-range fundraising efforts. They'll probably have to look outside of New Mexico for new sources of cash to keep the festival going, though, he said.
ddomrzalski@bizjournals.com | 348-8322
