One ‘Short’ but Giant Step for Fledgling Directors

What started as an innocent run in the woods turned into a scrape with death. The jogger lay on his back on a bed of leaves in a wooded ravine in Franklin Canyon. His gray sweatshirt was stained with blood from a knife attack.

“Get some more blood on the neck . . . get closer . . . move in. . . . Cut!” shouted the bearded director, who stood out from the jeaned and jacketed crew because of the large white D on his pine-green sweater.

The scene was from “The Jogger,” a psychological thriller written and directed by Robert Resnikoff and starring Terry O’Quinn (“The Stepfather”) that is now in post-production.

The 30-minute film, budgeted at $30,000 and shot in less than a week, was one of five live-action shorts made this year as part of a new program designed to help entertainment-industry professionals and others break into directing feature films.

The project, called the Discovery Program, is the brainchild of Chanticleer Films partners Jana Memel, 32, and Jonathan Sanger, 43. Memel co-produced the movie “Tough Guys” and Sanger was producer of the movies “The Elephant Man” and “Frances.”

The idea for the program, Sanger said, grew out of his conversations with a New York theater director who had directed TV situation comedies but was unable to break into feature films. Sanger said he felt that making a short film would put his friend “over the top.”

There were other talented people, too, Sanger figured, who have never had the chance to cross over from TV or other fields into the movie director’s role.

“If at the end of the program, we came out with one real director who ultimately got a chance to direct feature films, then we felt it was a worthwhile way to spend time,” Sanger said.

Bryan Gordon is the director-writer of “Ray’s Male Heterosexual Dance Hall,” an offbeat comedy about a man looking for work. It was the first completed Discovery short and was shown in a single Los Angeles theater recently. Gordon, 39, began his career as an actor in an experimental theater group in New York and has been writing the last few years. Since making his Discovery film, he says he has received offers to direct three features.

“I’m no different than before but now people are responding to me because of this film. You can write a ton of screenplays, pilots and TV shows, but until your work is shown, people are not going to know your voice as an artist,” Gordon said.

Chanticleer, a Hollywood production company, oversees the casting, pre- and post-production and actual shooting of each short. The company also arranges for any necessary studio time or location clearances.

Coca-Cola Co. agreed to fund the project at the urging of former Columbia Pictures chairman David Puttnam. Other corporate sponsors, including Eastman Kodak, Panavision, Sony and DeLuxe Laboratories, have donated equipment and various facilities.

“We have the unenviable position of being both studio and producer. We are creatively and fiscally responsible,” said Memel, as she squatted on the ground next to Sanger. The morning air was brisk and both were dressed in thick parkas and were prepared to spend a long time on the set.

As part of its arrangement with the new directors, Chanticleer assumes ownership of the completed Discovery Program film and gets a “first look” for one year at all other projects written or developed by the director.

“We didn’t sit down and say we want to own these people for a year. New directors are very open to our being involved in every step of the process--not that we make (their) decisions,” Memel said.

Furthermore, one of the new director’s first three feature film projects must be produced by Chanticleer for distribution by Columbia Pictures.

“The principal thing about this project is it’s not a young director’s program or about finding the youngest, hottest director,” said Memel, an attorney-turned-literary agent, then development head before producing “Tough Guys” for Touchstone. Directors’ ages range from 24 to 40, she said.

“It’s easier for a recent film school graduate to direct a feature than it is for a Hollywood veteran,” said Sanger, who had experienced difficulty making the transition from producer to director. Sanger received his first solo producing credit for “The Elephant Man” in 1978. Six years later he finally broke into directing with “Code Name: Emerald,” for NBC’s feature film division. He recently directed an episode of “L.A. Law.”

Director Robert Resnikoff, 40, is a former USC film school graduate who began as editor of commercials and low-budget films. He recently co-wrote and co-produced “Collision Course,” which Lewis Teague is directing for the DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group.

Resnikoff, along with three writers, one documentary film maker and one actor, was selected from an initial field of 600 applicants, some already with jobs in the entertainment industry and others with backgrounds as diverse as a nurse, toy salesman or bartender.

The finalists were required to direct the same short scene on video. “How they dealt with the crew was as important as the finished product. We asked if they needed a lot of help, how they made decisions,” Memel said.

Applicants were also judged on the basis of interviews, personal background and submitted projects ranging from full-length scripts to treatments, unfinished works and cartoons. “We want films that are distinctive and different,” said Memel.

Other director projects were: director-writer Robbie Fox’s “The Great O’Grady,” a coming-of-age film; Susan Rogers’ “Astronomy,” an outer space drama, and Stephen Tolkin’s “The Price of Life,” the story of a young man’s rise to riches.

Most of the crew on each shoot are professionals, who work for free or at the lowest fees allowed by entertainment guild contracts. “Obviously we want to surround our directors with the most talented people around,” Memel said.

But professionals aren’t always eager to give up their time and money. “I have to spend half my time making promotional speeches. A lot of people back out if they get another job that pays more,” said Tiki Goldberg, whose title is executive in charge for each of the program’s productions.

Cinematographer John Hora, who for 25 years has worked as director of photography on projects including “Gremlins,” “Explorers” and the new Michael Jackson video “Bad,” said at first he hesitated about getting involved in the Discovery Program because of an earlier AFI project, on which he had worked with unseasoned camera people. “Camera work is critical and you have to have a crew that works fast. I thought I’d gracefully tell (the Discovery project) I had changed my mind,” said Hora, who at the time had several other commercial offers. It was the script that made him commit, he said.

Another industry veteran, John Moia, 43, agreed to donate his time coordinating stunts. “After 20-plus years of having the picture business do so well for me, I thought it was time to contribute to the movie makers,” Moia said.

The first public showing of all the Discovery films will be during the Sundance Institute’s U.S. Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in January, when new applicants may apply for the next year’s program.