More Good News!

Got word yesterday that "Smalltimore" has been accepted to the IndieFest in Anaheim, CA! That takes place the last week of August. I just looked at the schedule, and "Smalltimore" is screening on the last night, in the last evening slot. That is pretty primo and I am VERY happy about that.

Also was sent notice that "Smalltimore" has made it through the second round of the Red Rock Festival. I really want to get into that one. Though it is a newer festival, the venue looks absolutely amazing and I very much want to see my film on that screen.

"Smalltimore" screened here on Wednesday to a small but enthusiastic audience. My friend Jim (on whom the character of Jack was loosely molded) came up from London to see it. It was his first time watching any part of the movie, and something that made me happy is that he laughed at a lot of the little things that some people don't notice. My favorite movies are those of the true Silver Screen era, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Fred & Ginger, Mae West... and in those movies if you don't pay attention you can miss a lot of the laughs. I think in 2009 we are quite... I don't know if desensitized is the right word, probably not... I don't know, I think audiences expect to be handed everything. Here's an explosion, here's a car chase, here are some breasts, try not to think too hard. I like movies you have to work at a little bit.

I am so glad I have stayed for the whole week, I continue to meet very interesting fellow filmmakers. Last night I met two Scottish chaps named Ronnie and Paul who made a 4-minute film titled "Shooter". It is beautifully made and I was quite impressed - as was Cannes. They head to Edinburgh next. I am more than jealous. I love Scotland and I haven't been back there for far too long. And of course I would like to be in a festival there! Ah, well. At least I can listen to their lovely accents for a few days, and make a few contacts.

Tonight is the awards dinner which I am looking forward to. There were some very heavy films being shown today and I had to escape for a bit. Other than "Smalltimore" I have only seen one comedy and that was a short. Why do so many people think that in order for a film to be good it has to be depressing? I have seen some very good documentaries, though, and they each had a bit of humor in them. One was called, "Crossing Lines" which was very good, and another was an excellent doc about photographer Eddie Adams. My library computer session is about to end, sorry I have no time to give more details than that!

Hello, Dahlings!

Greetings from jolly olde England! Tamworth Library, to be exact. I've been here for two (gray, cloudy, sometimes rainy) days and am quite enjoying it. Festival attendance, as I feared, is negligible, but until Saturday the films are showing from 10am-5pm, and most people are at work. So it is mostly visiting filmmakers watching each others' films! Not that there's anything wrong with that. I have met some very cool people and the program director, Nick Hudson, is very hospitable. He arranged a LOVELY reception for the filmmakers at Tamworth Castle last evening, with wine, delicious canapes, and not only the Mayor, but three former mayors as well!I chatted it up with the current Mayor and guess what? I absolutely love this - he has a cousin in Baltimore. I am not making this up.

One of my fellow filmmakers also has relatives in Baltimore. His name is Kent, I am going to see his film this afternoon. It is called "Shotgun Jesus" and it is a documentary on truck stop evangelists. It sounds very interesting and I can't wait to see it.

I am glad to have met these other filmmakers (most of them are American) so I believe I will at least have a small audience for "Smalltimore". The event venue, the Csa Bar, which is sort of similar in size and layout to the Wind-Up Space, but it is more of a square than a rectangle and has a dozen leather sofas that are almost TOO comfortable. The manager there, Carl, is very nice and helped me to find a place to make some flyers to hopefully draw a few more people in. He also told me I might get a bit more of a crowd than some of the other screenings because there is a very important football (aka soccer) match that evening, so perhaps I will get some pre-gamers. Also my friends Matthew and Jim are coming up from London tomorrow to see it.

So, it is a mixed bag but I am enjoying it and now that I have met these other filmmakers, I definitely have something to look forward to each day, as their films are spread throughout the week. I can't remember all the names of them so I will try to check back here in a few days and tell you about them as I see them, perhaps Thursday. Tomorrow I will be busy with my London visitors and seeing one of my fellow filmmaker's screening that happens just before mine.

After the reception at the Castle last night, program director Nick treated half a dozen of us filmmakers to dinner at a very good Indian restaurant. Seated next to me was Amir, who lives in Berlin. I think his film shows on Friday. He seems a rather serious chap, but nice. I gave him a flyer for "Smalltimore". He looked at it for a moment and said quite bluntly, "This does not interest me. But you interest me, so I will see it, so that I can better know you."

Some people may have been offended by that, but I thought it was great, and I could say the same about some other movies. But from what little I have seen of each of these people I have met so far, even if the subject matter doesn't sound like I'd like it, I think I will be pleasantly surprised.

Last night was really nice. Sitting with these people, and realizing we are all in the same boat. Each traveling alone, putting our work in front of strangers, not really knowing what to expect of this week. There is a camaraderie in that.

And as I walked out of the Castle on our way to dinner, I snuck around onto the ramparts and took a few pictures of the beautiful green landscape below and the high stone wall that banks the path up to the Castle entrance. In between pictures I took a moment and a deep breath and looked out at this beauty with my naked eye, and I smiled and even had a little laugh to myself. Coming over here I was so worried about how many people would be seeing my movie. You know me, I HATE to have a small turnout, I am known for great parties! But here I was, in England, coming out of a reception held in the honor of me and my fellow filmmakers, in a thousand-year-old castle, with the Mayor. Who can complain?

A Dog's Life

Two dogs, really. Timmy and Max, my yorkies. I had a medical emergency with both of them last night that I really don't want to go into. The important thing is that they are fine, though I am still rather traumatized, and only hours before I get on a plane to be away from them for 10 days. Luckily they will be in very good hands with their "Uncles" Phil and Ron. If I didn't have such good friends to leave them , with, I probably would be canceling my whole trip right now.

As it stands, I had to cancel my Pre-Production for Independent Films class at the Creative Alliance at the 11th hour. That was supposed to be today. I do feel terrible about that, and hope to make it up to the people who enrolled. But I am sure any of them who has had a pet with a near-death experience will understand.

So last night was a complete wash and now I am behind schedule again, haven't even packed, though for me, as you know by now, that is par for the course. I have so much to do today, I'd better get moving in a minute. But just wanted to throw a quick post on here before I leave for 10 days, as I am not sure how much internet access I will have over there.

The dog in the photo above is not one of mine (the dog is not mine, the photo is), but this is one of my favorite photos that I have ever taken. This dog's "name" was George (we dubbed him this, as in, "I will love him and squeeze him and call him George", old-school Warner Brothers cartoon reference ). He was a stray that a friend of mine found near Patterson Park. He was a mutt with a very cool personality and hypnotic golden eyes. He didn't seem stressed or freaked out about anything. It was summertime and none of us had much to do, and George fit right in. I practically expected him to make a suggestion as we discussed where to go get a cold beer and sit outside. We were in another friend's convertible driving in Highlandtown near the park when I took this with a fish eye lens. I was in the front passenger seat, George was in the back seat with the friend who found him. A few days later, George got loose and ran away and we never saw him again. But, he was one of those dogs that you just know will be fine. That was at least 5 years ago, and I still smile whenever I look at this photo and I remember everything about this little guy. He seemed like the canine equivalent of a happy wanderer. He just drifted into our lives for a few days, hung out and had a few adventures, and then hit the road, undoubtedly on to the next adoptive group for more good times. I'll try to take a page from George's book as I spend a week in Tamworth.

Heart Attack Averted

Good lord... went to make some changes to the movie yesterday, and I COULDN"T FIND THE FILE. Somehow I had accidentally moved the master file to the TRASH! Thank goodness I hadn't emptied it! I think I was trying to get rid of old versions that were taking up a lot of space but I knew I wouldn't use again. Seriously, I was almost in tears, because the only full version I had left was the latest DVD version, which is somehow all squished because I must have done something wrong when rendering and burning it to DVD. I am still having palpitations just re-living the moment. Ack.

I am about 1/3 of the way through the movie, making some tiny changes here and there, tightening up a few pauses and even cutting down a few more lines. Anyone who has seen the movie will probably be happy to know that I have cut the Golden Twat line from the sushi scene. I still think it was funny, but nobody else seemed to, and I'll admit it makes the scene more palatable to a wider audience. I also swapped some things around in the first few scenes to step up the pace. There is more I would have liked to cut, but since I did not do a great job during production of making sure I had enough cutaways (little snippets to cut to, a hand on a bottle of beer, a close-up of someone's wrist as they look at their watch, etc), to cut the lines I wanted to cut would screw up continuity, which I have worked VERY hard to make as perfect as possible. Also I now open directly with the first scene, THEN to the opening credits with the song "Bohemia" by Niki Lee. That is something Eric suggested a long time ago, and it definitely works better, plus then people are paying attention by then instead of talking through the credits, and I think the song is very pertinent to the movie, which is more obvious after you watch the first scene.

I am so excited to be heading to England on Saturday, though I really have no idea what to expect. I have booked my reservations in a sweet little B & B called The Peel Hotel, which apparently is anywhere from one to ten minutes walking to anyplace in town I would possibly need to be. Rest assured I will be making mental and physical notes throughout the trip, as I have the feeling that the entire experience has "screenplay" written all over it. When I made my reservations at the hotel for an entire week, the kind lady I spoke to told me that after I had seen the sights in town, that it would be easy to take a train to Birmingham, a larger city, and from there I can go to anywhere in England quite easily. The way she said it was almost as if she had said "after you have seen the sights in town - which should take all of about five minutes..."

Though it may happen, I have no intention of leaving Tamworth that week. As stated, my goal the first few days is to meet as many people as possible and invite them to the screening. I also intend to get some writing done, and RELAX. I do my best writing and relaxing when I am VERY far away from home and have absolutely no daily responsibilities and limited internet access. Plus, though the pound is a lot weaker against the dollar than it has been in recent years, it is still not in my favor, and I see no point in wasting valuable pub money on train travel.

I am also so psyched about going to Philly later this month! I was starting to panic that "Smalltimore" would not get into any domestic festivals, though I have only been turned down by a few so far, and those were mostly long shots. There are some other festivals I will be hearing back from soon that I think the film is more suited to, so fingers crossed. I'd really like at least one more, so when the time comes to package the DVD I can have at least three lovely laurels to display on the cover!

Re-Gifting

Happy Birthday to me! It is midnight, the clock just turned to May 31st, and I am mumblemumble years old! I just got home a few minutes ago from hanging out with Eric in his neck of the woods, for what could be called a mutual birthday dinner, as he is a fellow Gemini, but what was basically just hanging out because we hadn't seen each other in awhile. I have done a complete turnaround from last night's rotten mood, which you don't know about because I was in too rotten of a mood to write, but trust me. Before I went to bed last night, I happened to check my horoscope online (Susan Miller is the best), and it said that come morning, Mercury would go direct (no longer be in retrograde). Now, I don't know exactly what "retrograde" means, as far as the physical sense of what happens to my ruling planet of Mercury, and just maybe after I finish writing this post I will Google it and tell you later (though of course if you are reading this, you either do know what it means or are probably Googling it yourself right now, so I may not bother). But what I DO know is that when Mercury is in retrograde, it not only screws things up for those signs like Gemini who are ruled by that planet, but for EVERYONE.

And Mercury has been in retrograde all month! So, if you have been in a bad mood, gained weight, lost a job, missed your flight, had a fight with your partner, kicked your cat, or gotten a speeding ticket - not your fault! Mercury was in retrograde!

But, finally, no mas! I'm in a good mood, all is right with the world, everything is coming up roses, and I can prove it! I had a VERY nice gift in my inbox when I got home (and NO, that is not a euphemism! Minds out of the gutter, please), and I am about to share it with you, and as you are such faithful readers, I am telling you FIRST. I am not calling Eric or Michelle or emailing all my actors, I am putting it out to you, right here, right now, right after I received this gift myself, I give it to you (and if those people love me anyway, they should have this blog wired somehow that a deafening alarm goes off on their cell phone every time I post something here):

"Smalltimore," has been accepted to the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival!

I can't tell you how excited I am about this! Best birthday weekend, and it has barely begun! Today I received a gorgeous floral arrangement from dear Mikey B., a box with gifts from my Mom, all from her recent trip to Russia, which included a fridge magnet, a bar of dark Russian chocolate, a silver ring, and best of all, a jar of real Russian caviar, of which I just indulged a celebrational spoonful! Plus got to hang out with Eric all evening, and tomorrow I am going to Charles Town Race Track with half a dozen friends for the Third Annual Duchess Stakes, a.k.a. Jeanie's (a.k.a. the Duchess of Mount Vernon) birthday, and have been promised several compilation CDs (my favorite birthday gift from my friends)!

AND my movie has been accepted at its second film festival!

Seriously, I need a moment (fans face with hands). And maybe another spoonful of caviar.

What is super-great about this, I hope, is that Philly is close enough that some of my cast, crew, friends, family, and fans can come to Philly and see "Smalltimore" in a festival atmosphere. I am leaving on Saturday for England, to go to our first fest, The Heart of England Festival, but unfortunately no one from the production could join me due to schedule and/or the expense. My friends Matthew and Jim are coming to Tamworth from London to see it with me, though, and I am looking forward to that.

But now I also get to look forward to seeing the film and having other people from the production (fingers crossed, I hope many of you will attend!) at a fun event that makes them feel like their efforts are appreciated by people other than me and our hometown fans.

There is something very special about having strangers approve of your creative work. Certain things in life you can only know if you experience them. There are some incredible, wonderful, exhilarating experiences that I will likely never have, and I know that no matter how much someone describes them to me, I won't get it - the birth a child, jumping out of an airplane, driving a race car 200+ miles an hour, winning the lottery... I can try to imagine it, but you just have to experience it. That doesn't make me jealous, I don't feel like I am missing out on anything, because those are things that, well, if you haven't done them then you don't know what you're missing so in effect you're not really missing out, in my opinion.

But, as an artist, I can tell you, if you are not an artist you will never know the joy of having a stranger "get it". It is wonderful to have your friends and family, all the people who love you, support you and tell you that you are wonderful and talented, and of course that counts for a whole lot. However, even if they are right, they are biased. They just are. But to have someone that you don't know from Adam tell you that whatever you created made them laugh, cry, or it somehow move them... feel it once, and you will live for those moments.

When I had my first B&W photography exhibit, my Dad wanted to be able to boast that he bought my first piece ever. He lived in Florida so he couldn't come to the show, so he had me pick out something that I thought would suit him. I chose an image of a stray black dog standing alone on a cobbled street in Pompeii, looking back at me over his shoulder. Something about his sad eyes, close to me in proximity but isolated, on some plane a world away, reminded me of my Father. It meant a lot to me that Daddy bought that picture. Over the phone I told him what the show price was and then told him the "family discount". He mailed me a check for the entire listed amount.

That was a special moment in my life, just like when my Mother more recently mailed me an unsolicited check to contribute towards the making of "Smalltimore". Those are things you never forget. But also are the moments you are totally unprepared for, like the first time a stranger bought a photograph of mine. Or the time that an artist, a good artist but someone I had never met before, bought a painting of mine, told me he loved it, had to have it. Within that exhibit I thought it was the worst of the bunch and was afraid it would out me as an imposter. Honestly, I don't even consider myself a painter. I couldn't believe it. I felt guilty taking his money, like I almost wanted to say, when you get home and realize it is a piece of crap, you can bring it to me for your money back. But I didn't say that, and I never saw the guy again.

I think most artists feel that way at first, and most artists have their first "stranger" sales burned into their brains. It makes you feel legit. At the "Smalltimore" premiere on May 3, in addition to all the love and energy that was created in that room by the people who know me and know how much I have put in and continue to put in to this production, I also got a charge and very much fed off of the good vibes I received from all the unfamiliar faces, many of whom approached me after the screening with warm, genuine smiles and handshakes.

So now I sally forth to Jolly Old England, not sure of what awaits me there. Will they get it? Will the American humor translate? I am excited, but also nervous. My game plan is that I arrive in Tamworth on Sunday, June 7th. This gives me three full days and nights to drink with as many locals as possible and bribe them to come to the screening. Marketing is a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. And since I will be the only Smalltimore rep there, I am the only one to do it!

I am so glad that the first (of many, knock on wood) domestic festival that "Smalltimore" will be screening in is in Philadelphia. I haven't spent a lot of time in Philly, but when I have been there, it seems to me to be a mash-up of both the best and worst parts of Pittsburgh and Baltimore. An observation, not a judgement. I like Philly, what I have seen of it. I am comfortable there and have always wanted to spend more time there, and now I have a chance to. That being said is simply a lengthy way of saying that, in addition to its geographical proximity to Baltimore, I think the mindset of people there is also similar, and I think (hope, pray) that a Philadelphia audience will "get it".

But I am fully prepared to get there early and drink with the locals in order to hedge my bets.


The Philadelphia Independent Film Festival is the weekend of June 25-28. Mark your calendars!

Break Over

Hey gang, sorry for the radio silence. I needed a serious break from both All Things Movie and All Things Computer. I have been so close to "Smalltimore" for so long that I needed to step back for a little perspective, and I had been spending so much time at the computer that I was on the verge of major carpal tunnel syndrome. My arms tingled from my wrists all the way up to my shoulders, especially in my right arm, which is the hand I use more when typing and exclusively for editing, and I was starting to feel sharp pains as well. This post is the last thing I plan on doing on the computer today, as I am starting to tingle again after being on the computer catching up with email etc. for the last hour or so. My friend Matthew and my Mom have both had surgery for carpal tunnel, and it is something I am most interested in avoiding.

SO, what is new in MovieLand? Well, last Friday I was interviewed by Tiffany Ariany (Angela) on a television program called "Media Matters" which focuses on international finance and media arts. We talked about how I found my investors and how "Smalltimore" managed to get into an international film festival. It was fun, and great to see Tiffany, I had not laid eyes on her since the screening of the rough cut in December. She and her Mom, Farah, both look like a million bucks, as always. Tiffany is co-producing and editing the program in addition to hosting it. I think she is barely 20 years old! Can't wait to ask her to hire me for something when she's 30 and ruling the world.

I have booked my plane ticket for England, to attend the Heart of England Film Festival in Tamworth, where "Smalltimore" screens on June 10th. I plan to be there a few days early to spend my evenings liquoring up the locals and convincing them to attend the screening. I am hoping that at least one of my stars will join me, but haven't had anyone confirm yet.

Found out that my job-job seems to be semi-secure at least until the end of summer (knock on wood). Really hoping I can stretch that out until the end of the calendar year and pay off a few more credit cards.

Waiting to hear back from some more film festivals. There are a few that I am REALLY hoping to get into, even though it may be tough to scrape the $$$ together to actually attend them. Had a huge yard sale last weekend that made enough cash to cover the rest of my hotel expenses in England, so that was good. And so successful that my neighbors and I plan on doing it monthly! Next sale, Sunday, June 28th, 9am-3pm, so mark your calendars!

Also of course I am teaching a one-day pre-production class at the Creative Alliance on Saturday, June 6th, 10am-4pm. If you are planning your own production soon, I promise you will learn enough in this class to save you enough time and money that the class will more than pay for itself - AND allow me to eat in England!

Wrist really starting to hurt, so signing off for now...

300!!!

is the number of fans we now have on our "Smalltimore, the Movie" Facebook page! I love milestones.