Not Every Film Should be a Platform

I'm a big Star Wars fan. Anyone who knows me even moderately knows that about me. Star Wars Episode IV had a material impact on my life at a very young age. Seeing Princess Leia running the Rebellion when I was seven years old taught me women could be strong and could be leaders. I also wanted to be Han Solo. I was really grossed out when he and Leia kissed.
     One thing I always appreciated about the Lucas-driven Star Wars franchise was that it was SAFE. Safe for parents looking to escape the stresses of every day life. Safe for kids seeking new ways to expand their imaginations and dream of worlds far, far away. Safe from all the pressures modern society puts upon us. Safe from all the sex that invades almost every other form of entertainment.
     So when I saw ScreenCrushes' article about Star Wars Celebration Europe, well, I was crushed. When did our world become so agenda-driven that even JJ Abrams has succumbed to the pressure to use our precious, safe Star Wars as a platform? You see, ScreenCrushes' writer pressured Abrams about including a gay character in the next episode and he said "Of course!"
     Wait! What??? Star Wars has NEVER been about sex. It's never been about the agenda du jour. It rises above our petty differences by NOT talking about things that would make a seven-year-old go "Blech!" Let's face it, when Anakin and Amidala got all mushy in Episode II, the target audience got the heebie jeebies. I mean, there was KISSING! How the heck is any character's sexual preference and/or gender identity supposed to fit into the Star Wars universe without alienating the biggest part of its dedicated audience? (Hint to Disney: you didn't buy it because the target audience was Starbuck's swilling 20-30 somethings with identity issues. You bought it because it appeals to the PG-aged set who also happen to buy tons of tie-in merchandise. Let's face it, if you're selling tie-ins at Toys R Us or the Disney Store, you're marketing it to kids despite MPAA ratings saying it's for 13+. You bought a franchise long marketed to 7+.)
     Here's another tip: 7-12 is NOT the appropriate age group to target gender identity or sexual preference messaging. At that age, kids are barely conscious of the fact that boys and girls have different equipment, and they're still convinced the other sex has cooties.
     Dear Hollywood, please don't destroy childhood innocence with your need to conform to every agenda out there. Star Wars and other child-friendly fare just isn't the place to talk about sex, and sexual preference is too mature a topic for kids under the age of 12. It is an excellent place to continue to show diversity by placing characters of varying race and species in close proximity. But let's not up the gross factor by making sexual preference a big deal where a simple kiss between opposite gender adults is barely more than kids can stomach. By forcing this into family-targeted films, you may be "including" 2% of the U.S. population, but you'll be excluding 80% of your current audience by forcing conscientious parents of elementary school cootie-believers to skip the next film. (Not because of the gay aspect, but because of the forced focus on topics too mature for younger brains.)
     Yes, there is a right place for including LGBT. Star Wars, which has long been marketed to kids regardless of rating, or anything rated G or PG is simply not that place. Disney, families trusted when you bought the property from Lucas you'd keep it kid-friendly. Don't break that trust, please.
     Filmmakers, I've said it before and I'll say it over and over again: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. That includes understanding who's going to see your film based on how you're going to market it BEFORE you decide to toss in your agenda messaging. I don't care if you're talking about racism, sexuality, violence or whatever - any film that attracts kids is simply not the place. Change your marketing or create a new franchise, but don't "message" kids. Ever.

Killing Credibility with Casting

Sometimes it's the screenwriter's fault, but usually not. Let's face it, as a filmmaker/ producer/ director, you have the final word on casting choices made for your film. This used to be a no-brainer kind of job since all women were young and pretty and all men were dashing and attractive by Old Hollywood standards. Age only mattered if the part called for a woman and it was once perfectly okay to restrict all female roles to 18-30 age group. By okay, I mean "accepted practice."
     I've said it before and will probably say it a million times: filmmakers need to take their casting choices more seriously with today's sophisticated audiences. Women now buy as many, if not more tickets than men do. More women make household buying decisions than men, buy a ration of 2:1. Your market is no longer Ward Cleaver, folks.
     If you want to be taken seriously as a filmmaker, you need to demonstrate that you can make good choices casting. Here are some of the more recent casting missteps that have left audiences fuming and actors befuddled:

• Casting men over 50 with 20-something romantic interests. (This is male fantasy, not reality.)
• For that matter: any decade+ age gaps between the male & female romantic leads.
• Casting 20-somethings as high schoolers. Audiences aren't buying it anymore.
• Casting white people as minorities. We can see the make-up and don't buy the CGI, folks.
• Casting minorities as the wrong nationality. (Asians are NOT Native Americans. Not all Asians are Chinese or Japanese. Native Americans are not Hispanics. Native Americans are not Indians or Arabic. Need I go on?)
• One of my favorites: impossible parent castings. My daughter was recently called to audition for a film that was looking for a female child 11-16 and the mother - yes, biological - to be 21-25. Wait, what? Um, idiots: You do realize that mom would have been at MOST 10 years old when giving birth in that case, right? No one is going to buy that and I pulled my kid from the audition because the filmmaker obviously had a screw loose.
• Casting women 40-50 only in grandparent and elderly roles. Really?
• Everyone in the cast is blond or red-headed. I mean, everyone.
• All unlikable characters are minorities. Racist much?
• All dumb people are blond <> All blond people are dumb.
• All smart people are Asian.
• All rich people are white & speak with a British or "Harvard" accent. (Ever met Bill Gates?)
• All Asian people are martial arts experts.
• All gay men are flamboyant or pansies.
• Lesbians all look like men or supermodels.
• Police & military all look like body builders or NFL linebackers. (Tip: Navy SEALS are usually under 6' tall. Same with AirForce pilots.)
• Family members who share no visible genetic similarities. (I.e. if both parents have brown hair and brown eyes, kids probably should, too.)
• The funny/obnoxious fat person.
• The giant-boobed rocket scientist.
• The forced interracial couple.

In case this is confusing for you, here are some basic, simple rules to follow when casting in 2016:

• Your top priorities should be acting ability and character fit. Always screen test.
• Get the race/nationality right, or at least as close as humanly possible if it matters to the character.
• Avoid cliché stereotypes. (Dumb blonds, smart Asians, mean brunettes, black/Hispanic villains.)
• Use actors who are ACTUALLY the right age for the character. (Hint: most women CAN'T give birth before they're 12-15 years old, most are over 20 when they have their first child.) If the screenplay calls for a middle-aged woman, cast someone OVER 35. Duh.
• Reflect the real world.
• Most of your cast should be average looking, not twigs & supermodels.
• Pay attention to chemistry. Young, beautiful women aren't REALLY attracted to older, ugly men. Everyone outside of Hollywood seems to grasp this concept - so should you.
• If you must cast that talentless family member or person you hope to sleep with later, put them in a crowd of extras, PLEASE.

Tired Conventions to Avoid

One of the problems of learning film by watching film is that new filmmakers, and old, confuse abused and sometimes nonsensical conventions with acceptable methodology. These common conventions may be well tried but don't ring true with modern movie-goers who are, thanks to the internet, far more sophisticated than audiences of the past. Next time you consider following one of these conventions, PLEASE, think again.

1. Everyone born before 1950 spoke with an English, Irish or Scottish accent. No, they didn't. Dear filmmaker, if your story is set in the Middle East 100 B.C., do remember that England didn't exist yet. Go with no accent or something more regional when making your casting and directing choices. On that note...
2. A spray tan will suffice in place of ethnic reality. Uh, no. Audiences didn't buy Mara Rooney as a native American in "Pan," and they won't buy that blue-eyed white guy playing an Egyptian pharaoh (with a British accent).
3. Anything with fuel explodes on impact. Seriously, watch a couple of episodes of "Myth Busters" before you plan your next stunt.
4. Young women are interested in dating older men. No, they're not. Oh, and on that note...
5. Women come in two age groups: twenties and silver-haired granny. Again, no. If you are casting a person who is seventeen, no one is going to believe that twenty-five-year-old is really his mom. Get ages right or get out of film. Women in their thirties, forties and fifties appeal to audiences and most ticket buyers today are women 35-49. Hmm....
6. Women can run and fight in high heels. That may have flown in the eighties, but ladies have figured this little bit of idiocy out nowadays. If a girl is going to do some butt-kicking or running, she's probably going to be in comfortable shoes. And unflattering pants. With a bra on. Get it?
7. Audiences are stupid and must have everything explained. Please, just stop with the expository speeches. Repeating what just happened to make sure we got it went out right about that time they poked fun at it in "Galaxy Quest."
8. If you're a genius, you know everything. How irritating. My IQ is around 163. I do not know how to fashion a rocket engine out of soup cans and radio wires. Give me a few diagrams or fifteen minutes on Bing and I might, but it's not just locked up there in my head to be accessed whenever I feel like it. Also, saying a character is a genius does not convince audiences s/he is. Being a genius also does not exempt you from personal care or wearing matched socks.
9. Bad guys die instantly from a single gunshot wound to the stomach. Naturally, the good guy can continue on to victory with 9 bullet holes and a stab wound. Honey, please! We've seen CNN. You get shot, it hurts, you fall down and bleed while calling for your mommy or 911. Unless you're hyped up on meth.
10. All drug dealers wear gold chains and listen to rap music while driving pimped out Cadillacs. Wow. Stereotype much? Today's crime lords look like your local politician or the high school volleyball coach. Sure, those gangsta types still exist, but don't let 80's Hollywood fool you. Criminals are far more sophisticated in this day and age.
11. A talented super geek can hack into any system by typing a few thousand characters while staring at a login prompt. Guess what? We all have computers now. Get that password wrong three times and it's nighty night. If I'm going to hack a system, I sure as heck am not going to physically break into a highly secured building and sit my silly butt down at a terminal and start typing random characters. No. I'm probably going to send Joe Bob in purchasing a tempting porn link and drop a Trojan on his PC. Then there's always the option of those adorable cat videos...
12. Remaking a beloved film with new technology will create an even better film. Sorry, but you should know by now this one is wholly wrong. Very few remakes are worth the cost of a tub of popcorn. If you're hurting for ideas, find a screenwriter. Preferably a new one with some fresh ideas. (Do not confuse "new" or "fresh" with "young." Young people have far fewer ideas than their life-worn peers.)
13. Last, but not least: Only attractive people can be good guys. Ugly people are always bad guys. (Yeah, tell that to the last few attractive guys I dated.) Here's the reality: average people want to see average people on screen doing the extraordinary things they fantasize about doing themselves. If we want to watch a bunch of supermodels running around in skimpy clothes, we'll watch a beer commercial or a perfume ad. Start casting actors who can act and quit pumping your films full of eye candy who couldn't deliver a believable line if their lives depended on it.
14. Sorry, missed one: All women come in a double-D. Except smart women. They're C cups. Do I even need to waste time explaining how idiotic this whole concept is?
15. Honorable mention in the bad film conventions department because this one is unique to our current decade: every cast MUST contain at least one Black person and one gay couple. No, it does not. Forcing a stereotype, race, religion, gender or otherwise into a film where it doesn't fit doesn't further anyone's cause or political agenda, and could even be working against the success of your film.

Film-makers: you know better. People are more sophisticated than they were even 10 years ago and we're sick and tired of watching the same crap year after year. We want truth. (Not to be confused with political or personal agendas.) If the success of those ridiculous reality shows tells you anything, it's that people want to see real people, not plastic Ken and Barbie dolls, on the bright flashy screen. Stretch reality, sure. But connect with your audience by exerting at least a modicum of effort in conveying some level of truth in your casting and your stories. You, and your audiences, will be happy you did.