You Should Be Reading This Blog

This other blog. In ADDITION to mine, that is. If you read this blog regularly, then there is a new blog I think you would be very interested in:

http://50in50.wordpress.com/

This is a new experiment by a guy I know named Brent Rose. Brent was one of the actors with Bill Pullman's "Expedition 6" group that stayed with me for 3 weeks in the summer of 2006. Brent has been living in NYC since then.

I'll let you read his blog instead of me reiterating it in detail, but bare-bones basics, he has decided to create a new character once a week for 50 weeks, and make a short film of it. I think it is an incredible exercise as an actor, and as a director I am enjoying reading about his "process". It is also very ambitious in that so far the shorts have each been about 5 minutes long, which Brett has been editing himself. Since each short has involved multiple scenes/locations, that is a WHOLE lotta time! Creating a character, acting, shooting, editing... it is really impressive if you think about it.

Brent is in his third week, and I have been meaning to mention his blog on this blog from the beginning, but I have been busy. I liked the characters the first two weeks, it seemed light and fun, but this week, "Al Griffin Goes Outside," really blew me away. I am not being facetious when I say, I laughed, I cried. It was so well done, so touching, so believable... and all without a word of dialogue. If this is only week 3, I can't wait to see what comes next.

Bitter Pill/Better Solution

[Al Letson in "Smalltimore," playing himself: "The Voice of Reason".}

It was the worst of news, it was the best of news... brace yourself, I am going to rip the band-aid off quickly, and it is going to sting a bit: "Smalltimore," was not accepted at the Maryland Film Festival.

Dear Filmmaker,

Thank you for submitting your film for consideration in the 2009 Maryland Film Festival. Our screening committee members have given careful consideration to all submissions. Unfortunately, your work was not chosen to be a part of this year’s Maryland Film Festival.

Over the last few years, we have experienced a dramatic increase in submissions, due in part to our association with the Without a Box entry-facilitating web site. As a result, each year we also see an increasing number of films that we were fond of but simply could not find a place for in our schedule.

We recognize that many of the entries we are not accepting have had great success at other film festivals, or will go on to do so. Please do not let our decision impact the pride and enthusiasm you have for your work. We wish you every success in your filmmaking pursuits and hope that you will keep our festival in mind in the future.


Maryland Film Festival


I found this out on Monday, actually, but I didn't want to tell anyone about it until I had some good news to tell them as well. So I did create some good news, which I'll tell you about in a sec, but then I just still didn't feel like talking about it because, you know, nursing the bruised ego. Then I was going to write about it yesterday but I realized it was April Fool's Day, and I didn't want people to think it was a joke and get their hopes up that the opposite was true, so that is why I waited until today.

It is not an easy pill to swallow, but after a few phone calls to certain friends, and a few beers, I managed to get it down. I can accept the rejection on my own behalf. "Smalltimore," is a fairly standard romantic comedy with no big stars in it, a hard sell at festivals that aren't looking for anything specific, and the Maryland Film Festival is one such festival. Other festivals I have submitted to are centric to female filmmakers, African-American (actors), Gay & Lesbian, original music, comedy, first-time filmmakers, etc... The MFF isn't looking for anything specific like that, it is a non-competitive festival - no juries, no prizes, no categories. So for me personally, it's okay, I can live with the decision, as being in the MFF would have given me another laurel to show off, but I didn't have a chance of winning any cash prizes and it probably would not help me to find a distributor for my film. But... it just would have been nice if my love letter to Baltimore were not... unrequited.

That stings a little bit, I won't lie. But after that initial disappointment, what really had me upset was to think that a single time slot could not be found for a movie that would have given so many local artists and musicians a boost. That, to me, is the part that really sucks and why I didn't want to talk about it (and still really don't, but I have to). That is the part that I don't get. And for the moment I can't say more than that or I will say things I will later regret, and as I have told you so many times, this is a very small town, so sometimes you should just keep your mouth shut so you don't burn any bridges. Hopefully I haven't done anything more than singe them a bit.

On to the good news. A few days before I found out about being rejected by the MFF, I started bracing myself for that possibility. What do I do if that happens? I didn't want to make all the people who worked so hard on the movie wait any longer to see the finished product. I came up with an idea, and within an hour of getting that unfortunate email, I set it into motion.

So, as unhappy as I was to tell you about the above news, I am equally happy to announce the first public screening of "Smalltimore," its World Premiere! That glorious event will take place on Sunday, May 3, at the Wind-Up Space. Of course I will be bombarding you with info on that soon, but the basics are, doors open at 6:00pm, movie at 7:00pm.

The Wind-Up Space is a very cool bar and multi-media space, with one large wall that is a movie screen. We filmed several scenes of the movie here. Russell DeoCampo, who owns the place, designed the space specifically to be flexible and conducive to art exhibits and performances of any kind. That is the spirit of Baltimore that I love so much and so it is very fitting that the first screening of "Smalltimore" will take place here. Plus, you can order up an icy cold Natty Boh to enjoy with the film! Can't do THAT at the MFF. And the price of admission will only be $7, less than most matinees.

I look at the whole thing as a blessing in disguise. Of course I am disappointed, being in the MFF would have given us some good press. But in the big picture, it may be better this way. I would not have received a dime from screening at the MFF, but this way I can use the movie to fundraise, so that I can afford to travel to the festivals that do accept the film. I am hoping to raise enough $$$ at this screening to cover my expenses to go to The Heart of England Festival in June, where, as you know, we have already been accepted.

So, big thanks to Russell for helping me to salvage the situation and give everyone something to look forward to. I promise it will be a great time. And thanks to the few friends I have shared this with so far who have, as always, provided me with their unwavering support. The first person I called was Al Letson (pictured above), because not only is he a dear friend and always calms me down when I am about to blow a gasket, but is one of my few friends who in this situation can speak from experience. He told me that this happens to him all the time, he receives rejections for theater festivals he should have been accepted to, to later find out that people not as talented got in because they knew someone. Coming from someone else, that might sound like sour grapes, but if you have seen any of Al's work, you know it is just the plain truth. I can't think of anyone I know who is more talented than Al.

During our conversation he talked about the possibility of me directing a screenplay he has already written, one we have talked about before. That was a very nice thing to hear, I would LOVE to direct something Al has written, that would be amazing!

Like I said, Al always straightens my head out and makes me feel better. As we were getting off the phone, he simply said, "They're assholes. I love you."

I'm not saying he's right. I'm just saying it made me feel better.

Phil Calvert, as Thom

I have both been looking forward to profiling Phil Calvert in his role as Thom, and dreading it, as I know that at some point while I am writing this I am likely going to cry. It is pretty much a given, actually.

That is because Phil plays Thom, a character who is loosely based on my dear deceased friend Thom Hickling. If you go waaaaayyyy back to the beginning of this blog, back when it was www.charmcitythemovie.blogspot.com, you'll get a longer version of the story. (you can also read more about the real Thom at www.thomhickling.com) I will try to abbreviate it here, because this posting should be about Phil, not Thom. But it is impossible to talk about one without explaining about the other.

Reader's Digest Condensed Version: I wrote the first version of this screenplay in one month, in December of 2004. I didn't do anything with it for a year. One of the characters I had based on my friend Thom, but I never told him about it. A year later, Thom said something to me that sparked me to start rewriting the script. Less than two weeks later, he was killed in a car accident. My (and many other people's) heart was ripped out. I couldn't touch the script. It hurt too much. I could never have imagined anyone other than Thom playing Thom. The following summer, I met someone who had a familiar, mischievous twinkle in his eye, a unique speaking voice, an easy and perpetual smile, and a way of making a person feel like they were the only one in the room. I don't think I have ever dropped that person's name in this blog, but I will finally do so - that person was the actor Bill Pullman (yea, the guy who played the President in Independence Day, among many, many other films). He was staying at my hotel for 3 weeks that summer while workshopping a play he wrote called, "Expedition 6," at Baltimore Theater Project.

It took awhile for it to dawn on me that Thom is the person that Bill reminded me of, but once I made that realization, lo and behold, I was able to write again, without being terribly sad. Well, at least not all the time. Bill is a great person, funny, kind, down-to-earth, thoughtful. While he was here, he nicknamed me Jeanie-us (genius), I think because I introduced him to the cocktail known as an Ice Pick (thank you, Elizabeth, for introducing ME to it!) on a very hot summer day at a crab feast we had with the cast. I was hoping the nickname would stick, but alas, no one else picked up on it.

Anyway, Bill's company finished their workshop and drifted back out of Baltimore, but by now I was off and running. Though I doubted it would ever happen, now I could picture Bill playing the role of Thom and I could write again, with a smile.

Somewhere along the line, maybe it was last March when Phil and I took Michelle Farrell's filmmaking class at the Creative Alliance, I thought of my friend Phil in this role. I had no idea that Phil was interested in filmmaking before he ended up in this class with me. We had been friends for a few years before this, but not real tight, just kind of see-you-when-I-see-you kind of friends. We had a great time at Michelle's class and hung out together outside of class more often. I always liked Phil, he is a sweetheart, and the more I got to know him, the more that he, too, reminded me of Thom.

I'll tell you a few things about Phil as a person, and you can pretty much add on, "just like Thom," to the end of each sentence. Phil has a heart of gold, and is a real live-and-let-live kinda guy. He's funny, and a gentleman. He likes a good party and a good time. And, bonus, he plays guitar!

What Phil did not have is a lot of acting experience, and that was a concern of mine. I made him audition, like everyone else. I made everyone audition, even the people I thought I wanted. I made no assumptions.

He did just fine. Though there were other actors that may have been better actors, there just honestly wasn't another actor in the auditions that was a better Thom. I knew I was biased, I knew it was a risk, but I also knew I could trust Phil to work very hard, and I also had to believe that I would be able to bring out the Thom in him, which would not be a stretch. I had to trust that the chemistry that really exists between me and Phil, like the chemistry that actually existed between me and Thom, would translate onscreen into the chemistry between Thom and Gracie... whoever ended up playing Gracie.

Gracie, of course, ended up being played by Cheryl Scungio, and Cheryl has chemistry with everyone, so that really helped. Phil is definitely at his best in his scenes with Cheryl. I think he trusted her lead and they were very comfortable with each other.

Thom in real life was Tucker's best friend and a member of Tucker's band. So I assigned Phil extensive homework, to drink with Tucker and play with the band as much as possible before we went into production. Phil is a professional and took his research assignment very seriously indeed.

Another concern I had was having a friend on set, and I had a few. Phil, Tucker of course, and also Kyle, who played David, though at the time Kyle and I were more casual friends. But Phil never took advantage of our friendship on the set, always came super-prepared, on time, good attitude, and ready to work. Now that I think about it, I believe that Phil had less acting experience than anyone on the set, but he had a pretty substantial role with many lines, and dramatic as well as comedic scenes. He did well in both. As a matter of fact, every time I have shown anyone the film in its entirety, there is a scene where Thom (Phil) is speaking to Andrew (Will Lurie), and Phil's delivery of his lines in this scene consistently gets more laughs than any other scene in the movie.

I know that deep down Phil was nervous a lot of the time, and I have to hand it to him for overcoming that. When all was said and done, we were out one night having drinks at the watering hole where we first met, Kisling's at Chester & Fleet streets. Phil raised a beer and told me, "You know what, Jeanie? I have done some pretty amazing things in my life. Lived overseas, flew in planes that only a handful of people have ever set foot in (Phil is ex-Air Force and currently works for Lockheed Martin). But making that movie was definitely in the top ten coolest things I have ever done. Thank you."

How funny... I am tearing up now, and not for the reason I thought I would before completing this post. I mean, Wow. What do you say to that? It made me very happy to hear that, it meant a lot to me, and I will never forget it. It made me very proud of Phil, because I know he really pushed his own limits and stepped far, far out of his comfort zone.

Having gone through the wringer that is making a feature-length film, I am glad to know that Phil is even more interested in filmmaking than ever, particularly in directing, I think, but still acting as well. One great advantage that Phil has is that he has a great look. He can be the sweet-but-strong teddy bear of a friend that he is in "Smalltimore," but in a flash his sparkly, smiling blue eyes can turn to ice and suddenly he is a scary, large, craggy-skulled serial killer-type.

The character of Thom, though his scenes did involve drama as well as comedy, did not have a broad range. But I believe Phil does, and I am really hoping to be the one to bring that out of him. We've talked briefly about another film idea I have that I would like to make happen with him, in a much more demanding role that would truly test his mettle. We'll see.

And to answer a question you probably were asking closer to the beginning of this posting... yes, I did indeed ask Bill Pullman if he would consider playing the role of Thom. He turned me down so sweetly and gently that I practically thanked him for doing so, and much later, I actually did thank him for doing so, more or less. We have kept in sporadic touch, I don't like to bother him much, but he did ask me to keep him apprised of my progress and I was and am happy to do so. A few months ago, while I was editing leading up to the screening of the rough cut, I sent Bill a brief status report. At the end of the note, I told him that in a way I was glad he did not agree to do the part, because if the movie does go anywhere, I would always be left to wonder if it was because the film was good, or because it had Bill Pullman in it. He kindly replied with a few sentences, saying he agreed and it was likely better not to have sort of skewed how the movie is received by putting a known actor in it. He also said he was proud of me.

So in closing this posting, I'd like to thank Bill for his support, express my extreme gratitude to Phil for the enormous amount of hard work he put into the role, and to thank the person who is ultimately responsible for allowing me to better know each of these wonderful men. As it is said in the ending credit of, "Smalltimore," this is... fade in...

for Thom


...fade out.