Mastering Comedy: A Directing Masterclass with Francis Veber

Presented by Screen Australia, in association with Melbourne International Film Festival’s MIFF 37ºSouth Market & Accelerator and Sue Maslin/Film Art Media.

Masterclass: Wednesday 3 August to Thursday 4 August 2011, Studio 1, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne
Session times: 9.00am – 4.00pm

“Directing comedies is a very difficult job. You never really know if you are funny until it plays to an audience. The irony is that it is redundant to try to be funny in a comedy.” Francis Veber should know. He has been writing and directing comedies for 40 years, many of them hugely successful commercial releases (The Dinner Game, The Valet, The Closet, Tais-tois!, Les Fugitifs, La Cage Aux Folles). Veber’s stories are culturally specific, and yet he manages to reach a universal, commercial audience.

Francis Veber will present a two-day masterclass designed to inspire and inform. By referencing extensive clips from his films, he will share his experience with fellow Australian directors with an interest in directing comedy. Veber will analyse comedy direction in depth including character, situation, structure, casting, performance, scene coverage, editing and sound design. Places will be limited to 20 directors.

This is a rare opportunity for directors to interrogate comedy on a sophisticated level with this charming, funny and hugely insightful French director.

This initiative is aimed at those who have an interest in directing comedy and individuals must apply to Screen Australia with demonstrated directing experience.

On the first day of the two-day comedy intensive Veber will focus on story structure, characters and situations. This will include a discussion around developing high concept comedies. Veber is perhaps best known for his ‘buddy’ comedies revolving around odd couples, or as he describes them, “a cat and a dog in the same bag”. He has experienced both success and failure and is prepared to openly interrogate his films and their Hollywood adaptations. He will examine the key factors including the importance of understanding genre, story and the core premise. Key questions to be explored include: What to look for in a screenplay? What is the importance of setting for comedy? Does comedy travel across cultures? What are the differences between what men and women find funny?

The second day will focus on the director’s realisation of the cinematic vision. What should the director prioritise in the face of the avalanche of demands upon him/her? What is his approach to casting, performance, cinematography, scene coverage, editing and sound design?

Both days will commence with a screening of one of Veber’s comedies in full.

Fees

The masterclass will be fully subsidised by Screen Australia.

Eligibility

Please note, this program is aimed specifically at professional directors with an interest in directing comedies.

Applicants must fulfil at least one of the following eligibility criteria:

• Demonstrated experience as a feature film director with one (or more) produced feature film credit/s and a genuine interest in directing a comedy movie.
  
  
• A television director with one (or more) produced telemovie credit/s or four hours of TV drama series credits (not serials) and a genuine interest in directing a comedy movie.
  
  
• A director who has taken part in Screen Australia’s Springboard Program or the 2011 MIFF 37˚South Accelerator Program.

PLUS

• Applicants must be available to attend the full two-day masterclass.
  
  
• Applicants must also meet the general eligibility requirements set out in Screen Australia’s Terms of Trade.

Assessment process

Applications will be assessed by a combination of Screen Australia Development Managers and industry specialists as required. Screen Australia will advise applicants of the success or otherwise of their application.

Assessment criteria

Screen Australia will take the following considerations into account when assessing applications for this program:

• The strength of the directing skills of the applicant, their track record and experience.
  
  
• The strategic career benefit to the applicant.

Application materials

Applications must be submitted using the relevant Screen Australia form, and include all supporting material listed in the checklist on that form, including CVs.

Francis Veber – Biography

Francis Veber began his writing career while serving in the military, contributing to BLED, a publication of the Algerian Army. Following his military discharge, he worked as a radio reporter and then segued to writing scripts for the TV series L'Agence interim.

With Il etait une fois un flic/There Once Was a Cop (1971), Veber began his feature career in earnest. For much of the 1970s, he served as writer of a number of successful, farcical comedies that recalled the work of Neil Simon in that most revolved around odd couples. Among his more popular scripts were Le grand blond avec une chaussure noire/The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe (1973), La cage aux folles (1978), for which he shared an Oscar® nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Coup de tete/Hot Head (1979). He made his directorial debut with Le jouet in 1976. Veber’s infectious comedies include three pairings of Pierre Richard and Gerard Depardieu: Le chevre/The Goat (1982), Les comperes (1983) and Les Fugitifs (1986). Several of these proved so successful in his native France that they were remade in Hollywood.

By the 1980s, in fact, Veber was already gaining a toehold in Hollywood, due partly to the success of La cage aux folles. Billy Wilder used Veber’s play Le contrat/The Contract as the basis for what became his last film, Buddy Buddy (1981). He made his American directorial debut with Three Fugitives (1989), based on his 1986 hit. However, Out on a Limb (1991) was an artistic disaster that dampened Veber’s US career. He went on to pen the script for the Depardieu comedy My Father, the Hero (1994) before returning to France where he enjoyed renewed success with Le jaguar (1996). Veber crafted one of his biggest hits and most artistically satisfying films in his long career with 1998’s Le diner de cons/The Dinner Game. It was only natural that Hollywood immediately snapped up the remake rights and produced Dinner for Schmucks (2010).

In 2010, Veber published his memoirs Que Ca Reste Entre Nous (Between You & Me). He is currently working on a new play with the working title Cher Tresor.