The D-Word's life is one of glamour and riches, as only a documentary filmmaker can live it

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The cast of characters:

- Doug Block: Director-Producer of Home Page; aka The D-Word

- Eugene Hernandez: Editor-in-Chief of indieWIRE, an influential daily online publication covering the film industry

- Esther Robinson: a producer of Home Page

- Brian Clark: President of Global Media Design, the independent online media firm behind indieWIRE, The D-Word and many others

Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999
To: Doug Block
From: Eugene Hernandez
Subject: greetings!

Hola Doug!

i just read the "Revolutionary" installment of your diary...i would absolutely LOVE it if we could excerpt it in indieWIRE as an editorial and include a link/description about D-Word. you had some great stuff to say about "convergence" and your project.

What do you think?

Best,
Eugene


Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999
To: Eugene Hernandez
From: Doug Block
Subject: Re: greetings!

oh, what the heck. as long as you say Home Page is just about the greatest thing since Wonder Bread, and that it was sheer highway robbery that it didn't walk away with the grand jury prize at sundance. the sad-sack jurors just felt sorry for those folks who were clobbered by the ceiling ducts, that's all. (off the record, we're the ones who actually unscrewed the suckers, they just fell at the wrong damned time!)

while you're at it, you might mention the hbo signature broadcast sometime in july (no exact date yet). we're trying to help them brand it. repeat after me: signature, signature, signature...

best...
doug


Date: Sat, 28 Mar 1999
To: Eugene Hernandez
From: Doug Block
Subject: oh, one other thing

well, two, actually...

first, just wanted to clarify that doing an e-commerce thing w. the Home Page vid hot on the heels of the hbo signature broadcast doesn't necessarily preclude theatrical distribution after the broadcast (the license period is very short). we're still interested and still talking with a few smaller distribs. though it scared off one who definitely wanted to take it on theatrically, these others see the promotional value only helping with the kind of limited release they'd do. so, it's an interesting new model for the digital new age, eh?

second, if it's possible, could you keep my internal links intact within the body of the piece? so that when i refer to justin, carl and julie, for instance, the link goes to my cast of characters page and people will know who i'm referring to. it's not critical, but, ya know, The D-Word's always thinking about his reader's satisfaction and well-being.

best...
doug


Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1999
To: Doug Block
From: Eugene Hernandez
Subject: Re: greetings!

just to make sure that we get it totally right...will you write up a few lines that can serve as a bio for you and include a promo for the signature broadcast etc... we'll run that at the end of the editorial... you can just plug away! : )

We plan to run it on wed or thur...

cool?
eug


Date: Sun, 29 Mar 1999
To: Eugene Hernandez
From: Doug Block
Subject: re: greetings!

i'm happy to do a bio for the end, but if you don't set up that The D-Word is the running account of the making of Home Page that I've been posting on my web site for the past three years, i'm afraid some of the references will be a bit confusing (especially the first name references). ie. who's esther? who's justin and carl and julie?

don't you agree?

best...
doug


Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999
To: Doug Block
From: Eugene Hernandez
Subject: Re: greetings!

Hey hey...

i definitely agree... we will of course run an appropriate intro... but i think that you will be better with the appropriate "bio" and other relevant info...please feel free to include any details that you think i should mention...

also, we may to go with this in WEDNESDAY's issue... if that's cool with you... so if you could drop that note to me later today, that would be terrific.

Take care,
eug


Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999
To: Eugene Hernandez
From: Doug Block
Subject: oops!

hey eugene,

if you heard your phone machine you know that the bad witch esther will not allow me to go against my own best interests and let you put up my D-Word entry as an article. she feels I'm too honest and denigrating the genuine success that the film will ultimately achieve-- ie. it's not the best spin.

so, sorry about that. maybe we can do something later when we're closer to making film history with our interactive site and e-commerce venture. there's definitely a story there for the industry.

best...
doug


Date: Tue, 30 Mar 99
To: Doug Block
From: Eugene Hernandez
Subject: Re: oops!

Hi Doug,

I am disappointed. As Brian Clark wrote in his email to me last week encouraging that we ask you for permission to run the excerpt: "Don't you think this would make an interesting "op-ed piece" for indieWIRE? I found the writing style marvelous -- and very convergence oriented."

I am not sure what "too honest and denigrating the genuine success that the film will ultimately achieve" means -- I honestly think that genuine "spin free" perspectives from filmmakers is what can make indieWIRE a more compelling resource for our readers. That is part of the direction that we are taking our publication, and I am bummed that we cannot include your informed opinions and experience.

Of course, we'll be happy and supportive when you announce your interactive/e-commerce plans, but frankly, I felt that this entry offered a unique and honest viewpoint that certainly exceeded the value of another crafted, carefully spun news item.

That said, I totally respect the decision -- you and Esther need to do what you need to do. You know that i support the two of you and your work -- and i have incredible respect for what Esther has done and continues to do, i am sure that there are completely logical reasons for your decision.

I think that, like your film, your online diary is a valuable and even courageous project that deserves more attention -- keep it up.

Best,
eug


Date: Tue, 30 Mar 99
From: Doug Block
To: Eugene Hernandez
CC: Brian Clark
Subject: Re: oops!

Hey Eugene,

Just want to explain my decision a bit more, both to you and Brian. I tend to write The D-Word in a humorous but very self-deprecating style. It's something that the people who read my entries appreciate but, out of context, I have to agree with Esther that it's not the best way to present what we're doing with Home Page to the industry.

Esther hadn't read the Revolutionary entry until yesterday and her reaction was that it comes off like we're doing this desperate self-distribution effort by video off the Internet because I'm one more sad-sack filmmaker who couldn't get a distributor to pick up his film. When the fact is that we turned down a solid company that very much wanted to distribute Home Page theatrically because we made retaining home video rights a dealbreaker.

What we're trying to do with Home Page is turn the whole model of indie distribution (particularly for docs) on its ear: combine a legitimate e-commerce video sales effort with an HBO broadcast, which not only doesn't preclude some form of theatrical release afterwards but, in fact, may aid it. That's one story. The other is the natural convergence and interactivity between film, television and the web that all but defines this project.

They're good stories, and hopefully important ones for indies everywhere if we manage to succeed. Esther's point is that posting my entry out of context will undermine the seriousness of what we're setting out to accomplish before it's even off the ground. She said it would be one thing if indieWIRE raved about The D-Word and provided a link to the entry so that people read it in the context of my site. But to take it out on its own and hold it up to industry scrutiny is not a good move.

I trust Esther's judgement because I'm wayyy too close to this to be objective. I've always tended to go with whatever publicity comes my way with the D-Word as a matter of course. I like to experiment and not take it so seriously and see where these things lead. So, reluctantly, I agreed we better pass. Reluctantly because you know I think indieWIRE is the best thing out there about the indie scene, either on the Net or in print, and it's always an honor to be in it.

I really appreciate where your offer is coming from and hope we can do something more in-depth about the newsworthy aspects of Home Page in a short while when our deals are in place and we have something to announce.

In the long run, whether it pans out or not, it's hugely exciting and empowering when filmmakers take the means of distributing their work into their own hands. You and Brian, with your shared passion for film and for the Internet, probably understand this best of all. So thanks for your
ongoing support.

Warmest Regards,
Doug


Date: Tue, 30 Mar 99
To: Doug Block
From: Brian Clark
CC: Eugene Hernandez, Esther Robinson
Subject: oops!

>Just want to explain my decision a bit more both
>to you and Brian… it's not the best way to
>present what we're doing with Home Page to the
>industry.

This is actually a wonderful chapter in your little experiment, Doug. You should ask Justin what he thinks of the decision -- if nothing else, it raises a good issue for you to explore in a future diary entry. I understand your thoughts -- but your journal entry has already been "published for the world" and is likely read by numerous people to coming to your site from other news publications. If anything, the indieWIRE audience seems *more* likely to understand where you are coming from than any of those readers will.

>her reaction was that it comes off like
>we're doing this desperate self-distribution effort
>by video off the Internet because I'm one more
>sad-sack filmmaker who couldn't get
>a distributor to pick up his film.

I don't think it comes off that way, as well -- I think it's a stunning commentary on the disenfranchisement of artists from the "stupid money" of new media companies heading towards IPO talking about "convergence" (like Broadcast.com) while at the same time a critique of how little risks the average consumer is really willing to make. All told in an indie attitude of
"I want some of that for myself" with a humorous understory of Justin sucking on a fish head.

> Esther's point is that posting my entry
>out of context will undermine the seriousness
>of what we're setting out to accomplish
>before it's even off the ground.

Understood ... it just seems like any article that we'd write "about that entry" would be even more out of context and unable to capture the subtle criticism of the piece.

>I trust Esther's judgement because I'm wayyy
>too close to this to be objective.

Objectivity is overrated. The Web is all about subjectivity.

I certainly understand where you're coming from -- it was my love of your piece that started this discussion anyway. It just seems like another facet of the reflection of part of the topic of your work -- once you put it out there, you can't take it back.

Do you regret writing it now?

Cheers,
Brian

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