IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

Charlie Brooker and Nespresso coffee capsules
Some time ago I bought "Snoecks 2011". It's a very interesting book with fantastic texts and superb photographs. I don't think you can buy it in Britain. One of the articles has given me inspiration to make a new film. (But first I must buy a new camera!). It's been written by Charlie Brooker.

To be honest I don't know him, but the book says that he is a columnist and author. He has made the BBC televison series "Screenwipe" and "You Have Been Watching". He has also written the scenario for the zombiefilm "Dead Set" ...

In "Snoecks 2011" appeared his article "Het carnaval van de capsules" ("The Carnival of the Capsules"). It's about the brand new coffee machine "Nespresso" (Nestlé). You can buy the machine anywhere, but you can't buy the coffee capsules in a shop. You must be a member of the exclusive club. You order your coffee online. It's delivered at home within a few days. Of course you pay more for these colourful capsules (normal coffee, decaffeinnated coffee, etc... Each coffee capsule has its different colour).

Coffee and George Clooney
The "Nespresso Ambassador is the film star George Clooney. Look in google at "Nespresso" and you will see him in an advert. he's drinking a nice cup of Nespresso Coffee prepared in a few seconds! In the advert you can also see the rock legend David Bowie, some expensive Louis Vuitton shoes, expensive Chanel handbags, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao etc... All these exclusive things that have nothing to do with coffee are mixed with coffee capsules. Charlie Brooker is against these exlusive and exaggerated consumption practices. He exposes them.

Sued or not sued?
Imagine that I make a film about the sales of these Nespresso capsules or other things. Or about this article. We live in a distasteful consumption society! I agree with Charlie Brooker. Could I be sued by Nestlé or Nespresso, by Chanel etc ... ?

Charlie Brooker has written a column in "The Guardian" about it. Perhaps you are against that newspaper. You read the "Daily Mail", "The Independent", "The Daily Telegraph" or any other British newspaper. The only question is : "Would I take risks to make a film about such a theme ?

Michael Moore has also made documentaries to criticize bad abuses in our modern society. But I am not Michael Moore. I am only a little shrimp!

Libel laws are different in each country, but the only practical advice is: be careful. You can express your own honest views.

* "I found xyz difficult to use, the lens was poor and to my ears the sound was weak" is fine.
* "xyz is complete sh*t!" is not.

For a straightforward guide to this potentially complicated field we recommend you read: Basic Libel for Idiots (http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.html)

That is a quotation from an exquisitely written, informative and altogether unmissable article on the legal aspects of websites in the series Website Makeover on the IAC website!

Many people have done humorous parodies using fake names that are similar to the real ones but not too similar.

The Michael Moores of this world have good research teams who provide them with factual information to support their comments. Moore is especially good at insinuating criticism without actually going so far as to attract a lawsuit. Since we don't want to see you stuck in a law court for years on end ... be careful, Willy!

Hi Willy,

I'm a HUGE fan of Charlie Brooker... and funnily enough i recently read the article you are referring to in his book 'The Hell of it all' which is a collection of his articles that he writes for the Guardian. He has two other collection books out too... 'Screenburn' and 'Dawn of the Dumb'... all very good reads!

As for the legal stuff... i'll leave that to Dave.

Michael Moore probably also has a team of lawyers to keep him right!

Michael Moore is also very well known for falsifying facts to aid his points. For example, he spliced together 2 George Bush speeches and presented them as one speech to change the meaning. Unfortunately, he didn't chage Bush's Tie, as it changes to and fro throughout the piece!

I don't see how a Lawyer can make something like that ok or legally acceptable?

Plagiarism
Willy in jail! I enjoy filmmaking, but you can't make films behind bars. So, it's better to leave this idea. Charlie Brooker is a very interesting columnist, but I'll try to find inspiration somewhere else. Some weeks ago one of my clubmates said that you must always try to create your own story. He's right. More or less. "It's not good to steal ideas", he said. I had just shown a one minute movie. I told him that I had found the idea in a cartoon. In his opinion that's plagiarism. I think he exaggerated, but he gave me the impulse to write more stories with 100% of authenticity.

Chicken legs and nude girls
One exception : a new one minute movie. Maybe the title will be something like : "Chicken Legs". Two old lechers are thumbing through a book with beautiful nudes (but no pornography!). The pictures were taken by professional photographers. Real artists!
You can hear the two old men saying "Wow" all the time. The first man's wife would like to have a look as well. She's very curious, but she only sees the photograph of a plucked chicken with its dead head. It's hanging on a hook!

I made a storyboard for this one minute movie. Seventeen pencil sketches. Then I thought : Am I allowed to make a film by using these artistic pictures? I read the IAC-website about copyright again. To be sure I wrote a message to the editor of the book. What a relief ! One day later I received a reply. The editor wrote : You get the permission to make your film by using our photographs. I wish you all success!"

Respect!
Now I'm writing the scenario for a new feature film. Where did I get the inspiration ? Last week all the members of my club who had taken part in the local competition received a bottle of wine. Also my friend Jeff. He's only 1,52m or 1,53m. They sometimes call him midget or dwarf. People can be blunt sometimes. When giving the bottle of wine the chairman said : "Here's one bottle for you? Jeff. I should give you a small one, but I couldn't find any!". My friend laughed, but he felt awful at that moment. I felt pity for him.

Now I'm writing a story about a man of 1,52m. It's his 70th birthday. He has invited some friends. Also the chairman of our club and his wife. For this birthday party he bought a new suit, but not in a clothes department store like Marks and Spencer. All the suits are too large. As usual he had to buy one at the taylor's. A very expensive one. Little men have sometimes big problems. ... I'm not going to tell everything, but the message is ... Nobody is perfect! You must respect everybody !

Good that my friend Jeff wants to play the main role. He has already given me some ideas for my scenario. He knows the problems better than anyone else. So, I am happy that I can make that film with the help from Jeff.