Ted Hope
hopeforfilm.bsky.social
Ted Hope
@hopeforfilm.bsky.social
1.3K followers 34 following 120 posts
Indie Filmworker. Former Studio Exec. “HopeForFilm” (memoir/handbook & newsletter). Lifelong evangelist that we can build something better together.
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If you are in Park City, please join me for a free live brainstorming session on how to evolve or overthrow the film festival industrial complex. Wednesday 1.24.24 4p at The Yarrow, 1800 Park Ave
In case you needed something else to freak out about:
“People are swallowing 100s of 1000s of microscopic pieces of plastic each time they drink a liter of bottled water, scientists hv shown — a revelation that could hv profound implications for human health.”
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Here’s what you’re really swallowing when you drink bottled water
A new study finds that “nanoplastics” in bottled water are even more common than microplastics.
www.washingtonpost.com
We had many questions for the Oscar-shortlisted short doc "Island In Between" director S. Leo Chiang, but one of the many answers he shared is 100% bullseye for me:
"Let’s work to develop more committed career producers...."
tedhope.substack.com/p/5-question...
5 Questions #9: S. Leo Chiang
The director of the Oscar shortlisted doc short "Island In Between" has some answers...
tedhope.substack.com
Hey film school teachers & students!
I flubbed up when I published this post. I didn't want it to publish when I hit the button. I then removed it & didn't share. It's resurfaced and I think it is a useful one.
tedhope.substack.com/p/the-hopefo...
The HopeForFilm Degree In “How To” In The FKATheFilmBiz
Everything you wanted to know about a few select things
tedhope.substack.com
"Only the observation with time, gives you the opportunity to love people & to understand them. Love is based in share time looking for someone, that is what I do in my films. The problem is that we do not have so much time to observe in life."
tedhope.substack.com/p/5-question...
5 Questions #8 : Maite Alberdi
The Director of Eternal Memory & The Mole Agent on listening, observing, finishing, and communicating well.
tedhope.substack.com
"I had submitted the film to many different film festivals, only to be rejected by all of them. The film also did not gain any traction in the distribution side. The initial 6 months of the film’s life were all rejections."
But then....
tedhope.substack.com/p/5-question...
5 Questions #7: Pawo Choyning Dorji
The director of Oscar shortlisted THE MONK AND THE GUN and the nominated LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM
tedhope.substack.com
Wow. I have a long list of what I would like for 2024, but amongst it all, I'd love for this to lead to a major programming change across what was FKA The Film Biz.
Personally, I'd love a world where we got more SALTBURNs and less of all the rest!
flixpatrol.com/top10/amazon...
TOP 10 on Amazon Prime in the World on January 1, 2024 • FlixPatrol
The most popular movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime in the World. Who was #1 on Amazon Prime on January 1, 2024? TOP 10 charts or full ratings charts. Check the title detail for more streaming…
flixpatrol.com
You are going to have an awesome year.
How do I know this? Because I have a gift for you. Give it a read. You owe it yourself. Consider adopting a few & let us know how it works for you, will you?
Personally, I'd settle for a pretty decent year if possible...
tedhope.substack.com/p/ht15-this-...
HT#15: This List Will Change Your Life
Let this new year be the best you've had so far.
tedhope.substack.com
ICYMI: Almost 75% of all films from the golden age of silent films (1912-1929) have been lost.
www.historytoday.com/archive/miss...
Lost Movies
www.historytoday.com
This IS About The Entertainment Business:
Can we change our priorities & if so, what would they be? Can we change our behaviors? Do our tactics align with our principles & goals? Why did we adopt all these to begin with? Have we conformed to others' expectations?
tedhope.substack.com/p/consciousn...
Consciousness, Conformity, And Indoctrination
An escape route from the trap we are in
tedhope.substack.com
RADICAL's director Chris Zalla about what in cinema lifts the good into great:
"the attention to detail. You can create a vision, a central action or dramatic spine which is vital as an organizing force, but it’s the thousands of little choices...
tedhope.substack.com/p/5-question...
5 Questions #6 : Christopher Zalla
The Director of Sundance 2023 winner Radical and 2007 Sundance Winner Sangre de Mi Sangre
tedhope.substack.com
There are 4 key processes needed to consistently lift to transform mediocrity into magnificence. And 3+ processes that help refine the results.These 7 become a creative practice – the thing that is needed to have a sustainable and generative creative life.
tedhope.substack.com/p/make-it-gr...
Make It Great
Or is it even worth the bother anymore?
tedhope.substack.com
WAS 2023 one of the worst years for the film biz EVER? This is a great read of how it compares with some other truly terrible ones. I wish The Trades would do more historical articles likes this. I wish I knew someone who could write these for HopeForFilm.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...
Was This Hollywood’s Worst Year Ever?
At the very least, between a box office that hasn't yet recovered, the end of Peak TV, layoffs everywhere, the threat of AI to creative work and production halts, 2023 wasn't great.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Beyond entertainment, why do you see movies? Whether you are an artist or an exec, we also see them to be inspired. How can you do your work differently?
Eric Kohn's recommendation of 10 movies to inspire new ways of using cinema to blow our minds:
tedhope.substack.com/p/the-best-m...
The Best 2023 Movies To Unlock Inspiration
Eric Kohn’s Top 10 List!
tedhope.substack.com
"On the 1st day of shooting my 1st movie I felt I had to know everything. I thought I needed to know every lens, every light, every perfect way to shoot a scene, and every answer to all of the enormous amounts of questions a director is asked. Needless to say, fairly stressful." -- Nicole Holofcener
“You [as the producer] have somehow to find the way not just to keep on coming back and pushing and pushing and pushing, but while you’re coming back, advancing your project so that people see that it’s going to happen whether they’re involved or not.”
businessdoceurope.com/bde-intervie...
BDE interview: Ted Hope, producer of Invisible Nation - Business Doc Europe
At IDFA, BDE caught up with Ted Hope, one of the towering figures of US indie film over the last 30 years.
businessdoceurope.com
Love seeing ex-Good Machinists & ThisIsThatters Anne Carey, Anthony Bregman, & Stefanie Azpiazu have their productions THE PERSIAN VERSION & FLORA AND SON make the NBR list for Top 10 Indies of the year!
Woohoo! Holiday gift to myself arrived! Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris early & rare records. I hope Santa doesn’t make me wait longer to open further!
What if we used awards to incentivize better cinema, better behavior, & a better world? 1st Principle of all awards: level playing field. I have 20 Awards The FKATheFilmBiz Really Needs Now, 10 winners, & 6 Anti-awards To Stop The Downward Spiral
tedhope.substack.com/p/a-total-ov...
A Total Overthrow Of The Awards Industrial Complex
What awards do these times truly demand?
tedhope.substack.com
Hey Los Angeles! THIS is where you should be on 12/28. I thought Jeffrey Wright would get nominated for this film, which probably is my best most-underseen film. Please see Ang Lee's RIDE WITH THE DEVIL on the big screen at this JW Retrospective.

www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/...
RIDE WITH THE DEVIL - American Cinematheque
www.americancinematheque.com
I should add that now I have a new #1 Must See. The film I dreamed of one day helping to make has been made without me, about one of the great artists & personalities creating today. Jeffrey Lewis! Haven't heard of him? Time to bone up on his work before you miss the bus! At Slamdance: