The Ultimate 7 Deadly Sins of Filmmaking

Filmmaking can be a cut throat business, and those who work in it can sometimes be less than ethical in their march to the top.  Every industry has its transgressors, but the film industry often seems to have more than its fair share.  In fact, I’ve been inspired to create a 7 deadly sins list for the industry in which so many of us work.

Here are my picks for the 7 Ultimate Deadly Sins of Filmmaking:

1. Film piracy.

After Covid-19, there’s no bigger issue in the industry today than film piracy.  Technology has made it easier than ever to pirate and share copyrighted works.  It’s no longer like that episode of Seinfeld, where Jerry gets talked into making a copy of a film with a video camera while sitting in a theater.  Now bootleg copies can originate at the studios or the vendors they use.  As they’re easily shared, the copies spread worldwide very quickly.  Needless to say, piracy costs the studios a lot of money.  The casts and crews of films are also impacted, as the loss of revenue affects future residuals.  It’s a lose-lose situation.

2. Social media sharing.

There’s a reason nearly all productions require non-disclosure agreements today and that reason is social media sharing.  I worked on dozens of projects in the pre-social media era and don’t ever remember being asked to sign an NDA.  Now everyone on set has a phone camera, so pictures of cast members and sets can easily be shared before shows even premiere.  Social media has made controlling the flow of information about shows a lot harder.  Hence, the NDAs. I miss the old days but there’s no going back.  The social media genie is out of the bottle forever.

3. Backstabbing colleagues.

In the hyper-competitive world of filmmaking, everyone is the victim of a back stabber sooner or later.  As freelancers who go from job to job, our professional reputations are everything.  Backstabbers can do some real damage to careers and reputations, if you’re not careful.  I had a subordinate whom I fought to keep on a job back stab me to producers on another show.  I was angry, hurt, and horrified that I’d fought to keep this traitor.  Be gone, backstabbers.  There’s no place for you in my career.

4. Plagiarism.

The internet has made plagiarism easier than ever.  University degrees have been rescinded because of plagiarism.  It’s such a problem that unless you have a reputable agent, good luck getting anyone to read your brilliant screenplay.  Beware of talking about your script idea to your pals at happy hour.  You might find your fabulous idea is indeed being produced, without you.  Keep your script in stealth mode ‘til you either have a good agent or you’re ready to start production on your own.

5. Screener sharing.

Yeah, we all love getting those screeners as awards season approaches.  It’s oh so tempting to pass on a screener or two to your best friend, who then shares it with her office mates.  This may be less of a problem in the age of streaming, but screeners are still being sent out.  I have a stack of them accumulating on my counter.  Screeners are a courtesy, so by all means be courteous and invite a friend over for viewing.  But make sure they leave empty handed.

6. Professional envy.

Yep, it’s one of the original deadly sins and the filmmaking world certainly isn’t immune to it.  If anything, it’s more pronounced in our industry, which prizes success above all else.  There’s always someone to envy, as there’s always someone who’s more successful, talented, beautiful or fortunate.  It can be a hard sin to overcome in our world, but we must try.  Nothing will take the shine off a successful career like professional envy.  Envy is like the opposite of metal cleaner, in that it dulls rather than shines a career.

7. Disregarding safety.

Film production has always been a sort of wild west industry, with filmmakers pushing things to the limit to get that special shot.  More recently though, safety has become more of a priority after many injuries and several deaths on set.  COVID-19 has brought another safety issue to set.  Anyone in IATSE or the DGA is required to take set safety courses, in some cases numerous courses.  Yet sometimes, safety is still compromised or ignored altogether.  Remember hearing about the production doing idiotic and dangerous test shots on active train tracks in Georgia?  A young camera assistant was killed because of that stupidity.  I still see casting notices for non-union productions with what appear to be very lax COVID-19 safety standards.  So beware.  You may be committed to a safe set but those around you may not.

So that’s my take on the 7 deadly sins of filmmaking.  I hope this serves as a reminder of some things in our industry that need to change.  We can all be the change we want to see on set.  Stay safe out there.