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Letter of Intent for Universal Studios
Hello,
My name is Olivier Wright, I'm writing to you to ask for permission to show the Universal Globe, located at Universal Studios Hollywood, in my first film, Ψ (“psi”). As you can see in the extract further below, the Globe appears in the film for approximately 10 seconds in 2 still shots (the film is not yet available anywhere and the Globe is not mentioned anywhere in relation to the project). I present below the nature of the film and of the permission I'm seeking.
My name is Olivier Wright, I'm writing to you to ask for permission to show the Universal Globe, located at Universal Studios Hollywood, in my first film, Ψ (“psi”). As you can see in the extract further below, the Globe appears in the film for approximately 10 seconds in 2 still shots (the film is not yet available anywhere and the Globe is not mentioned anywhere in relation to the project). I present below the nature of the film and of the permission I'm seeking.
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The film is an experimental documentary in which leading philosophers and scientists such as Max Tegmark (MIT), Dan Dennett (Tufts) and Barry Schwartz (Berkeley) reflect on choice and free will as the audience discovers beautiful works of art and architecture from the five cities.
I started this project 4 years ago as a personal passion project. I didn’t know what it was going to become, I was simply travelling with my camera in hand, taking pictures of things that I found inspiring. The Universal Globe inspired me because it is not only a symbol of film making, but also an interesting representation of the world, scientifically speaking. |
Trailer |
I have self-produced the film ever since and slowly edited together a feature film with interviews I conducted with prominent American intellectuals. The reactions I've had from the small circle of people who've seen it has been overwhelmingly positive. Dan Dennet has called it "a mind-opener", Bob Doyle called it "dazzling" and Barry Schwartz had this to say: "Olivier has made an extraordinary film. It is deep in its reach and implications, yet at the same time, wonderfully accessible. It is just spectacular."
In the hope of reaching an audience and attracting a distributor, I have been contacting all the artists in the film to ask for permission to show the film non-commercially in 3 cases:
The film is non-political, non-controversial, and I have been granted this permission for almost all of the artwork in the film, from some of the most renowned artists in the world (or their legal representatives) such as Sir Anish Kapoor, Alexander Calder, Sir Antony Gormley, Arman, Roxy Paine and many more (you can see some of them here). Other locations which are supporting the project by granting me this permission include the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, that has allowed me to use footage of the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as of the Hollywood Sign. As things stand in the current edit of the film, the Universal Globe is part of this collection, but one for which I don't have permission.
Which is why I am reaching out to you today. First to apologize for not having had the foresight to ask you earlier, and second to ask you if you'd be willing to grant me this same permission to include these shots in the film for non-commercial purposes as I continue looking for distribution.
Please find below a presentation of why the Universal Globe is essential to the film and how in turn the film showcases it as part of a collection of major landmarks throughout the 5 cities of the film.
In the hope of reaching an audience and attracting a distributor, I have been contacting all the artists in the film to ask for permission to show the film non-commercially in 3 cases:
- academic conferences;
- film festivals;
- and, eventually, to release it ad-free on the project's website.
The film is non-political, non-controversial, and I have been granted this permission for almost all of the artwork in the film, from some of the most renowned artists in the world (or their legal representatives) such as Sir Anish Kapoor, Alexander Calder, Sir Antony Gormley, Arman, Roxy Paine and many more (you can see some of them here). Other locations which are supporting the project by granting me this permission include the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, that has allowed me to use footage of the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as of the Hollywood Sign. As things stand in the current edit of the film, the Universal Globe is part of this collection, but one for which I don't have permission.
Which is why I am reaching out to you today. First to apologize for not having had the foresight to ask you earlier, and second to ask you if you'd be willing to grant me this same permission to include these shots in the film for non-commercial purposes as I continue looking for distribution.
Please find below a presentation of why the Universal Globe is essential to the film and how in turn the film showcases it as part of a collection of major landmarks throughout the 5 cities of the film.
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Why the Universal Globe is essential to the film
The film’s central quest is to understand the nature of human freedom given the nature of the physical world. On the one hand, classical physics has been built upon the law that everything is determined and that there is only one possible future; on the other hand, quantum physics tends to show that there is randomness at the microscopic scale. And a third possibility claims that all possible futures actually happen in parallel universes. The film presents each of these three "theories of the universe" by beginning each sequence with a different globe-like structure. The first one begins with the Universal Globe, as you can see in the extract below.
Extract - password: universal
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The Universal Globe opens the first sequence on a determined world that many people explain by taking the example of living in a film we're not aware of, as does Harvard astrohysicist Bob Doyle at this moment in the film. |
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Later in the film, the second sequence on a world where quantum randomness would play a part is opened by a work of art called "Symbolic Globe" by Danish artist Erik Reitzel. The piece is located in the gardens of the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The globe include a tiny sphere in it's center onto which we focus to convey the idea of looking not at what is huge, but at what is microscopic. |
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Finally, the third sequence on parallel universes is represented by "La Geode", a giant reflective globe building in Paris. And so as we go to explore these universes, the reflective nature of the building draws us in and is a perfect illustration of a world almost like ours, but different. |
The Universal Globe is significant for another reason linked to it's actual relation to films, because this film itself is a love letter to film making. Because cinema is not just entertainment: it’s the only real space-time machine we have, a device to travel the multiverse and live other lives. A film is a short, safe and secure opportunity to live another life and wonder: how would it feel to be that person or to live that experience? And so Universal Studios are, in essence, a place where are made the actual experiences (films, shows, rides) where people can go and live other lives - and this is the whole point of my film.
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Finally, as I hope this film can promote cultural exchanges among the 5 cities, I intend the credits to include a picture of each artwork and its location. In this case, it would look like this:
Universal Studios Globe
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608, USA
www.universalstudioshollywood.com
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608, USA
www.universalstudioshollywood.com
The Universal Logo could also be included. Furthermore, I intend to create a section on the film's website where the full collection of artwork and architecture in the film will be elegantly presented, with a bio of their author and links to their website/gallery/offices, to encourage viewers to learn more and visit each of them further.
I truly hope you will be willing to allow me to include this footage in the film for non-commercial purposes, as I continue my efforts to find a distributor.
Feel free to contact me for any further information. Thank you for your consideration,
I truly hope you will be willing to allow me to include this footage in the film for non-commercial purposes, as I continue my efforts to find a distributor.
Feel free to contact me for any further information. Thank you for your consideration,
Here I have made the current edit of the film available to you. Please keep confidential.
Password: psi092017
Password: psi092017