Inspiration from the cereal box

Our pick-up shots were put on hold until later in February, when all the plumbing work will be done in the studio. No good when there's clanging and banging in the background.

Until then I'm prepping all the background work. Met with my post-production whiz Matt, sent him and editor Scott the shooting notes (this is a story in itself, just getting them scanned, but I'll spare you the technical drama). Bought a new editing system with my annual bonus, got the Final Cut Studio upgrade, pulled out my box of CDs (from unknown bands so they'll be "nicer" to license) and now reading, researching, listening and watching for ideas.

I feel like a dork reading Sidney Lumet's book "Making Movies" but it's a good read. Interesting, factual, HONEST. He's having fun and making solid movies -- Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, 12 Angry Men, The Verdict, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Murder on the Orient Express. I like his films but their look is a little gritty for me. At the same time, he thinks a lot about look, perspective, camera angle, color density, all of it. I like to believe that I think like that too, but maybe in a prettier kind of way. He's quite literal in his interpretation of the material, probably due to his theater background, and reading his approach makes me appreciate the art of filmmaking more deeply than before.

Went to see Jim Jarrett in his one-man play, "Meisner," about the great acting coach Sanford Meisner. The play was well-done although I have to say that I felt like I was getting lectured the whole time... but I guess that's who Sanford was. A real teacher. Jim sent me a personal invitation so I took myself and my friend Kris and enjoyed it immensely. For those of you new to this blog, Jim Jarrett was my first choice to play the only male character in this film, and I emailed him (and his assistant) several times over the past few months to see if we could make it work. He's a busy man but he would have been perfect. I was greatly disappointed that we couldn't make it happen. I think if I had called we might been more connected about it, but I was juggling just too many balls at that point. He's a talented guy busy with his school, and Maria was wearing too many hats.

Since I'm doing all this research, my Netflix list is expanding exponentially. I hope it rains more so I can watch them all this month. I feel like I'm everywhere & nowhere at the same time... and oh yes, that's the title of a Two Sticks song.

And thus, my tentacles are out. I'm out there feeling, touching, experiencing, so I can go into post-production with a lot more than what's currently in my little suitcase of tricks. I know just enough about editing to make me dangerous, so I've brought two more experienced people onto my team -- Matt Rhodes and Scott Daigle. My co-writer is also a creative editor, which means we will have a lot of little fingers helping out. I'll be noodling with the backup and working on a trailer. That should re-acquaint me with the footage and give me more details so I can be a better director while we're editing.

... oh, the trailer... now I have to go watch trailers...

Last Lap of Auditions... dreaming our little dreamy dreams

Good casting in a film isn’t small stuff. It shows the ability to see beyond a picture, beyond movements and initial interpretation. I think of Joan Cusack when I say this. She’s strong and female and unique. And while her look is unusual, and her speaking style is peculiar, she makes it come alive and creates a character from it. Instead of trying to bury it, she uses it as a tool and becomes someone you want to watch and see and hear. In the end, you don’t see the flaws, you see the character and embrace it as real.

I thought of this when I replayed the auditions from last Saturday. I want to be open-minded and aware of actors that can offer anything unique and special and wild in a way. My personal philosophy is to try to always maintain a sense of abandonment in life, in whatever you’re doing or creating. Freedom within a character, that’s what I’m looking for.

For Round 2, we had different actors, mostly men. It was interesting to watch how and in what manner they chose to create the father figure of Gil. For one actor, I wanted to interrupt him and remind him that in his youth, he was a hottie… the mother had remembered him and mourned the demise of their relationship. Oddly, the guys were stuck in dad-mode, and not communicating the vision of older hottie-dad, which is actually the pivotal element of the character. That’s why I had them read from the table scene. (Jim Jarrett, where are you?) One woman gave the most heartbreaking read for Joan. She was lovely and sweet. And while she struggled with the “angry and mean” Joan, her delivery of the discovery scene was dead on. The close-up made me melt.

But we couldn’t absorb much more. My casting team was tired. We had two 6-hour days of actor after actor. By the end, I’m not sure how much we were able to digest so I’m grateful we shot all of it on HD.

Now, as we move into the final lap of auditions, each character will have another actor trying on the role, and at the end we’ll have a beer, watch the videos and see who makes us believe the story.

So we’ll end here with a poem, best remembered from the classic Willy Wonka movie. It’s from Ode (1874) by Arthur O’Shaughnessy.


We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
…
…
A breath of our inspiration
Is the life of each generation;
A wondrous thing of our dreaming
Unearthly, impossible seeming—
The soldier, the king, and the peasant
Are working together in one,
Till our dream shall become their present,
And their work in the world be done.