Big in Japan

[At the Indie Fest Awards with Sotu a.k.a. the CannibAlien, whose short "CannibAlien" also won]

I promised on the STM Facebook page that the next posting would be about the photo on this link:

http://ameblo.jp/cannibalien/image-10344096510-10255080138.html

I can't seem to copy & paste the pic, which sucks because I really love this pic! It is even better than the one above. Everything on the page is in Japanese, though, so I can't tell if there is a way to do it that I can't figure out.

Well, ALMOST everything is in Japanese. The caption of this photo reads "CannibAlien Can't Eat Rat". I was quite taken aback by this. I thought maybe Sotu thought it was a page I would never see and he was outright insulting me! This hurt my feelings, because he was very nice at the film festival and I talked to him several times. But finally I found that using one of the buttons that are in Japanese, I could scroll through other pictures of him with the mask at the awards night, and in all of them, he was pretending to eat some screaming person, and under each, the caption was, "CannibAlien Can't Eat Rat." Maybe it is a generalization about Americans, or maybe this is a ridiculously funny joke in Japan that just doesn't translate. Couldn't tell you.

Without rehashing everything I have already told you about Indie Fest and how weird it was to be in freakin' Disney Land by one's self, I do want to tell you a little about Sotu (as I only know a little about him). I believe he is the writer/director on CannibAlien, but I am not sure because his English was limited (though 100% better than my Japanese), and that is not the name on the credits.

I think Sotu was the only other filmmaker at the fest who was traveling by himself. The first day, he asked me where the sign-in table was and I pointed it out to him. The second night, I was standing in front of the theater waiting for the nightly Disney fireworks to start. He was nearby and kept looking at me. I knew he wanted to talk to me, but since for the first day and a half no one was really socializing, I was sliding dangerously deep into solitary mode. All these things were going through my stupid head,

Jeanie, for pete's sake, just talk to the poor guy, he obviously wants to talk to you, and I don't think it is in a hitting-on-me way at all, I am not getting that vibe, he's just alone, like you, in this weird place, which is even weirder for him because it is a foreign country, just give him the green light to say hello, you are probably looking like a stuck-up bitch right now, just SAY SOMETHING,

He kept lurking about and finally started talking to me, and I think we were both relieved. After that, it was all good and when we would run into each other at the fest we would smile and chat for a minute, and I was very happy for him when his short won because it was honestly REALLY good and he seemed to relax and have a lot of fun that night.

I just flipped back through the posts I wrote from Indie Fest, and I can't believe I didn't mention Bob Keiper. He is an actor who had a short in the fest. I met him at the Opening Night Party, while we were in line waiting to go into the ballroom at the Disney Hotel. He is an older gentleman, and asked if he could cut in line with me, his family was already inside. We exchanged vital movie-related stats while we shuffled slowly to the door, and once inside, he invited me to sit at the table with him and his wife and the director and producer of his movie, "A Dance of Two". Bob lives in Northern Virginia and we had a lot to chat about, and I spent a good bit of time talking to his very sweet wife, also. They both talked about how Bob was not usually very outgoing in a crowd of people that he doesn't know, so it is hard for him to force himself to network. Of course I said, me, too! Later, Bob and I walked around a little bit and did exactly that. It was easier to do it with someone who felt the same way. I've taken that walk sometimes with people who are VERY good at schmoozing and I can sometimes become a shrinking violet in that situation. But here was Bob, who has not only got a few years on me but is also SAG, and he is just as shy as I can be when I am out of my element! To have a compatriot in that situation made it a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable.

When I first got my feet wet in the biz, I thought I was the only one who felt that way, but in talking to a lot of filmmakers, I have found out that it is really the norm. We're all in the same boat. We are in an unfamiliar city, sometimes even in an unfamiliar country, putting ourselves on display via our films, waiting to be judged, hoping for the best and almost constantly just wishing someone would talk to us.

At the Heart of England Festival, my first, it was cool because everything was so contained, and none of the other filmmakers had brought a traveling companion, and most of them were American, so we just automatically hung out together. In Philly, I was a bit overwhelmed, it was much larger, much more spread out, social gatherings every night, and everyone was rabidly marketing themselves. Mikey was there with me, and in retrospect, I will admit I used him as a crutch and was not nearly as social as I should have been, though I did meet several people there with whom I am still in touch.

But Indie Fest really sealed the deal for me in a way, and it is frustrating to me now to not have another festival lined up because now I think I've got it. I met some people there who made some GREAT movies, and some of them had rather large groups with them, but they seemed really happy when I would make the rally call, "Let's go have a drink at the House of Blues!" Winning Best Director gave me more confidence in my abilities in that capacity, but attending these festivals has given me immeasurably more confidence in my self, and I am finding myself to be comfortable more and more often in situations that not that long ago would have completely stressed me out.

Some filmmakers put WAY too many expectations on the festival circuit, and others think it is a load of crap and there is little to be gained from it. The people who keep their respective faiths at those opposing extremes are missing much of the point and most of the fun, in my opinion. I went into this with no delusions of grandeur, and personally, I think they were worth every penny.

....But It Wouldn't Mean Nothin'...

[Top, A.C. Abbott, writer/director of "Disowning Claire," one of the funniest and best films I saw at Indie Fest 2009 in Anaheim; Below, Indira Somani, who won Best Documentary for "Crossing Lines" at the Heart of England Film Festival, my female compatriots within the Boy's Club of filmmaking.]

[p.s. new pics of Indie Fest 2009 can be seen on the Smalltimore, the Movie Facebook page. Click the link on the right, and become a fan if you haven't already!]

Wow, it has been really nice to have a few days without having, as in, being obligated, to do anything movie-related. And yet, I keep doing movie-related things. Sunday I attended the Stonehenge auditions at the Creative Alliance, Monday I attended the CAmm Cage Happy Hour at the Creative Alliance, and last night I attended the premiere of the new Kevin Kangas film, "Bounty," with my filmmaker friend Eric Thornett, who I do not see nearly enough of these days.

After the movie, which I did enjoy, for the record, Eric and I caught up with each other as well as some of the Usual Suspects, a.k.a. fellow filmmakers, producers, and actors that we know, over drinks at the Club Charles. Eric knows Kevin fairly well but hadn't seen him in ages. Eric actually "appears" in Kevin's new movie, albeit via a "Wanted" poster, and a deranged voicemail message on an answering machine (Eric's screen credit reads, "The Taunter").

In keeping with the Zero Degrees of separation that is the Smalltimore tradition, particularly in the microcosm that is Baltimore indie filmmaking, Johnny Benson ("Bentley" in Smalltimore), also "appears" in "Bounty," and funny enough, also only via his voice. Johnny was present at the screening in his signature Vampirate regalia.

Now Eric and Kevin have been doing this movie stuff a LOT longer than I have been, but I couldn't help but be a little jealous of their rapport and camaraderie, with each other and with other actors and producers there that I know or know of through various channels. It is like a fraternity, complete with lots of crazy war stories. Fun to listen to, but somehow I felt a little left out.

It reminded me of when I first got to know Eric and his entourage, and for that matter, even before that when I got to know Sean Stanley and his crew. It amazed me then, and still does, how much people will do for someone else (for free) when they believe in that person and their vision. I think I have talked about that here before, but I really wanted that, I really wanted to build that for myself, and I still do.

The other thing is that, filmmaking, no matter where you go, is largely a Boy's Club. I'm not crying about it, I am just telling it like it is. And sometimes, as a woman traveling in those circles, it can feel a little lonely. It isn't easy to explain exactly what I mean, but I'll try.

The thing is, it is not even about how men and women relate to each other. It is that men relate to other men differently than women relate to other women. Guys who are filmmakers are like... guys who are football fans. Or guys who play guitar. Or World of Warcraft. Guys who share a common and all-consuming passion like that develop bonds that can make someone who is not yet fully vested, so to speak, feel like an outsider. Like you're the only one in the room that doesn't know the secret handshake.

And women... we're (a) just wired differently, and (b) there are far fewer of us in the mix. Although there were a couple - and by couple, I mean that literally: there were TWO, besides myself - female filmmaker types at the post-party, namely Stacie Jones-Gentzler and Elena Moscatt, two super-smart women who are very cool to boot.

I hadn't thought about it before, but I think it does say a lot for a woman to be able to keep her footing in this industry. Now that I think about it, I can honestly say that I don't know any half-assed female filmmakers. The ones I know are very strong, smart, visionary women who don't take any shit, and also, unlike a lot of men that I meet in this realm, do not have delusions of grandeur, and don't let their egos get the better of them. At the festivals I have attended over the summer, with only one exception (ask me in person and I'll tell you what movie NOT to see if it comes to a festival near you), the pieces by female filmmakers were often the cream of the crop. But I have seen a lot of mediocre (and worse) films and shorts by the same men who pat me on the head and tell me how much I have to learn. And I silently thank them, for I do indeed learn from them - what NOT to do.

I do feel that my own "entourage" is beginning to gel. People like Regina Guy, who I know I can count on for absolutely anything, and Michelle, of course. The three of us working together is what gave me the idea for the title of our short, "The Red-Headed Menace." Michelle and I are going to shoot another short soon, I can't WAIT. And I have a lot of both male and female actors that I know I can call on at any time and they will give me their all, and production assistants, too.

Anyway... do NOT get me wrong, I have met some amazing men who have bent over backwards for me, such as Eric, Sean, and Charlie Anderson. And most of the time I don't mind being a woman in this man's world of filmmaking. I have always liked standing out in certain ways. I was always the shortest person in my class in school, and I liked that. I like having the name Jeanie, because there aren't that many of us, and very few in my age group. I always liked having green eyes. And I've liked having red hair... um, since 2003.

And really, I am not complaining, just observing, while I have a few minutes to breathe and reflect on the whirlwind that has been this summer. I am happy to be where I am, and even though I might have had a few girlie "moments" after Kevin's premiere, you know what? There were people there who had never met me who knew who I was and knew about "Smalltimore," though they hadn't even seen it. Move over, boys. I'm not leaving anytime soon.

Somewhat Normal

Hey there. Another long-ish period of silence, but with good reason. I was pretty beat when I got back from California, plus had to catch up on the Day Job. On top of that, just before I left for Cali, I had agreed to take the position of Production Manager/Assistant Director on a short film called, "Please God, Someone Normal," filming in Arlington over Labor Day weekend. That meant that while I was in California trying to promote "Smalltimore" and meeting as many people as possible, I was also doing pre-production for PGSN. I was in contact with the Director, Jonathan Reed, almost daily, plus Michelle, who was DP and referred me to Jonathan for the job.

Friday, September 4th was the first day of filming. Jonathan treated me and Michelle like gold, even putting us up in a very nice hotel the night beforehand so we didn't have to face the hellish weekday morning drive between Baltimore and Arlington. He even found us a pet-friendly hotel so I could bring my dogs and not impose, again, on my neighbors Phil & Ron, who had just finished dogsitting duty while I was in California for 10 days.

The script was 15 pages, and is a comedy. I thought it was cute when I read it, but I wasn't sure if we could pull off all the big shots Jonathan wanted to really pull out the laughs. But it turned out to play out even funnier than it read, and Jonathan was really flexible with the actors and when he or Michelle would think up something funny on the spot, we would throw it in and give it a try.

Jonathan had flown in two friends of his from L.A. who are comedians, Steve (I never got his last name), and Noel ElGrably. They were a lot of fun and kept everyone rolling. There were so many takes during which it was nearly impossible for people not to laugh while we were filming. It is going to be a long time before any of us can think of a quesadilla without hearing techno music in our heads and picturing Noel (in the gayest voice ever) chanting, "Quesadilla, quesadilla," while sashaying and trying not to let his junk fall out of his booty shorts. You had to be there.

We were only shooting 3-4 pages a day, but that allowed us (a) to have time to set up some AMAZINGLY gorgeous shots, and (b) to actually wrap each day in 12 hours (thought we worked EVERY minute of it). In "Smalltimore" I learned to love the jib-on-a-dolly shot. In "PGSN" I got to witness a jib-on-a-dolly-on-a-ramp-built-of-plywood&apple-boxes! Impressive.

Yesterday, last day of shooting, we were woefully behind schedule at a location, the L.A. Bar & Grill on Columbia Pike. Jonathan thought we'd be done by 3pm, which is what he had told the bar owner originally, but we didn't get out of there until after 5:00pm. I was stressed and trying to move it along but there were several shots we really couldn't live without. The owner didn't get upset about it, even when he had customers start coming in at 3pm. Since we were still shooting, sometimes a Production Assistant would hold his customers outside for a minute while we finished a shot. From 3pm to 5pm I tried not to sound apologetic but at the same time not sound bitchy when I yelled, "QUIET!" before every take. As PM/AD, though, it is definitely not my job to make sure everybody likes me. They just need to listen to me. I'm okay with that, and everyone was very cooperative. I have been in that same situation, on a shoot in a bar where we are still filming after real customers come in, and either people won't be quiet, or worse, they will not only NOT be quiet but will complain loudly about how they didn't come into a bar and pay for their beer so that they can be told to shut up.

But the customers were really cool, we did not have to do a single re-take because of customer noise. When we were about to do the last shot before shooting cutaways that didn't need sound, I announced, "This is our last take with sound! Thank you so much for your patience!" and I heard one customer say, "That's okay! It was kind of cool to watch."

I forget that sometimes, that people who have never done this always, always find it fascinating. That is one of the most fun things about filmmaking - everybody wants to talk about it, all the time! People who do it love to talk about it, people who don't do it love to talk about it.

I am a Gemini, as you may or may not know, and according to my horoscope, September 4th (first day of shooting PGSN) was supposed to be a banner day in my house of career, whatever that means, and supposedly a lot of doors to future successes were to be opened for me that day. It was a fantastic shoot, and I hope and expect it will lead to other great things. It was such a pleasure to work with Jonathan, Tina, Kerry, Eddie, Jack, Patrick, Scott, Ricky, Lexy, Kenny, Cindy, Skylar, Megan, Noel, Steve, Jasmine/Kate, Sara/Heather, Marcus, Edan, Travis, Erinn, Will, and as always, Michelle. Seriously, it is a rarity to work on a set where there isn't even one single person who was lazy or unpleasant. I was very surprised to find out that the lead actress, Kate, as well as the Chief P.A. (who was more like Assistant Production Manager) Tina, had never done this before. They were total pros and on point at all times, as was everyone. I SINCERELY hope we all get to do it again sometime, and sometime SOON!

House of Schmooze

Last night was a blast, and I don't really know where to start, so I will just start with the big news: I won the Best Director Award for "Smalltimore" at the ceremony.

That still doesn't sound quite right, it is like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop, like they are going to call me and say it was all a mistake. When they were announcing the nominees I was shocked to hear my name even for that. I was up against some tough competition, including Kely McClung for "Kerberos". He seems to know the people at Indie Fest, and they had pursued him to screen his film there. Also they had invited him to be a speaker on the first day of the festival. I thought he had it in the bag. I saw the movie, a dramatic action flick with some great fight and chase scenes.

Another director I was up against was Robert Stephens for "House of Fallen". Of everything I saw at the festival, this far and away had the best production values. It also had two stars, Corbin Bernsen and C. Thomas Howell.

The other nominees were Kurando Mitsutake for "Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf", and Chip Richie for "Our Spirits Don't Speak English: Indian Boarding School," a documentary. I did not see either of these, though I wanted to see "Indian Boarding School" and I heard it was very good.

I didn't think I had a chance and was just happy to have been nominated, especially because this was an across the board sort of award, and there were about 160 films in competition. So for the 60 or so seconds between they announced my name as the nominee and when they announced my name as the winner, the thoughts flying through my head went something like,

wow, didn't see that coming, I wonder why they nominated me, don't even hope for it, Jeanie, you'll just be disappointed, but this is cool and at least I can say I was nominated and everyone who has something to do with "Smalltimore" will be excited, but what if I do win, what would I say, and would that make our chances of being nominated or winning Best Comedy better or worse, quit thinking about it, it is not going to happen, it doesn't matter, just have fun, OH MY GOD they just said I won, now what the hell am I going to say???????

Yep, pretty much just like that. Things moved very fast there for a minute as I walked up to the stage and accepted the award, and the first thing that came out of my mouth, I swear to God, right into the microphone, was, "Wow. At least now you know it's not fixed!" I'm sure the festival organizers LOVED that. I can be such a moron.

Then I said something like thank you several times, and that it was my first film, that I didn't go to school for it, and a bunch of people clapped. I don't know why I said that, it was just the first thing that popped into my head, and then I realized that might sound like showing off but that's not how I meant it, and I thought to myself, please stop spewing nonsense and say something good and get off the stage before you piss off or insult anyone else, and I said that I was sorry that no one from Baltimore could come out with me for this, but that one of the things about "Smalltimore" that I am most proud of is the soundtrack, 37 songs by 11 Baltimore artists, and one of them, Niki Lee, lives out here now and I was very glad she could be here at the awards tonight, then I think I said thank you a couple more times, grabbed the piece of paper that was on the podium with the nominees on it because I knew I would instantly forget who they were and I wanted to analyze this later, and then I FINALLY left the stage.

As I weaved my way back to the table, award in hand, it felt like that steadicam shot we have all seen in a million movies, people, strangers, in their seats, turning their faces to me and smiling and saying, "Congratulations," as I passed by them. It was very surreal, almost confusing, and I was very aware that I was unable to erase the, "WTF?" expression off my face for at least half an hour. This seemed to amuse Niki and my friend Adam who also attended with us. I met Adam Bronstein at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival in June (his film is "My Movie Girl"), and we've stayed in touch. It was REALLY nice to have him and Niki there with me, to have some friends there to be my cheering section and to share the moment with.

Also at our table, and in our corner, were Steve Belcher and Bill Rollins. Steve and Bill had a short in the festival called, "Unemployable". When I saw it, there were some scenes in it that were identifiable as Baltimore county, so I found a postcard of it afterwards and sent them an email inviting them to come to my screening, which they did. Nice guys. I think it was Steve (though it could have been Bill, I was still a bit dazed) who said to me, "I'm glad you won." It was sincere and nice to hear.

Rounding out our 10-top were some people from the movie, "Disowning Claire." Adam and I went to see this together, it screened right before "Smalltimore". It was hysterical and I loved it, the writing was very good and though the lead actress was great, I thought the actress who played the best friend, Ashley White, really stole the show. She was very nice in person, and funny, and her Dallas accent is as thick as Texas Toast. I need to write something for her. The woman who wrote it, A.C. (I can't think of her last name off the top of my head), was also very personable and funny. After the awards we all headed to the House of Blues for more drinks and to take some drunken photos, which I will post on Facebook after I get home, so if you aren't yet a fan of the "Smalltimore, the Movie" page, now would be a good time to rectify that.

This trip has been strange at times and lonely at other times, but all in all it was well worth it, and not just because I am coming home with an award (but that, as my friend and Executive Producer Tom would say, does not suck).

Before "Smalltimore" screened on Thursday, I went through the stack of business cards I had collected in the previous three days, and realized I had met a lot more people than I thought I had. I emailed them all to remind them to come to the screening, and although only a fraction of them showed, at least I have made initial contact and the doors are open to communication. By the end of the awards night, I had almost doubled that stack of business cards, including Jakob and Scott who made "Shades of Grey", and the lead actor of, "The Truth About Average Guys". This movie, and "Disowning Claire", were two that I would not have minded losing Best Comedy to. But since "Smalltimore" was not nominated for Best Comedy, it didn't matter anyway. The short "Cross-Eyed Dinner Theater Presents!", which screened with "Smalltimore," was nominated for Best Comedy, but "The Mel Bourne Ultimatum," another short, walked off with it. It was very funny, I saw it, but I didn't think it was quite fair that Best Comedy included both shorts and features. Oh, well. I should not be complaining.

I am thrilled to have won Best Director and I never would have imagined beforehand that this would even be a possibility. For me personally, I guess it is probably the best award I could hope for, but I would trade it in in a heartbeat for Best Comedy or even Best Music/Soundtrack. Though I may be the person who brought all the pieces of the puzzle that is "Smalltimore" together into one piece of work, it took a lot of amazing people with their individual amazing talents to make the movie as good as it is. I am very proud of them, and proud to share the credit for this award with them. Congratulations to all.

Finally!!!

After several days of feeling like a freaking leper, or that I wasted a lot of money coming out here, finally I have various people talking/responding to me, including the guy that I thought was Jason Schwartzman. He's not. But he's still cute. Just with a smaller mole.

Besides I just found out that Jason Schwartzman just got married, so screw that guy (who has never met me and has no idea who I am) for not waiting for me.

Tonight was actually FUN. Karaoke (as a spectator sport only) at the House of Blues. I am fading so I will leave it at that. Can't wait to see (at a minimum) Adam, Steve, and Cindy tomorrow night; but I hope to see many others, including Vince, Patrick, Joe, Sato, Paul's friends, etc...

I gotta sleep. G'night.

Concessions

Does a fake tan qualify as acquiescing to the superficiality of LALALand? Look, I was downright pasty. Something had to be done.

Actually, haven't even seen that many plastic people and certainly haven't met any. Since my ZZTop adventure, I haven't met anyone except film people (and the bartender at the ESPNZone), and since they are INDIE film people, they are all pretty cool.

I am not quite sure what is going on day to day here. There is no organized destination for the filmmakers to gather at the end of the day, which kind of, well, blows, because that is half the fun. But the day ends late here, last films aren't over until 11pm-ish, so that only leaves room for the hardcore to go out for a few... and apparently I haven't run into them yet.

This is my third fest and they have each been so different. Though Indie Fest has less films than the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival had, there is a far better turnout of filmmakers and their entourages. However, the audiences at each screening seem to be made up of only those same people - no locals. And though there is LOADS of foot traffic past the theater, we don't seem to be capturing any of it. The people who are walking by are here for Disney Land. And when you are paying $72 a day to go to an amusement park, you aren't going to spend any of that time (let alone extra money) in a movie theater.

And the majority of people who are here to support their films, much like the tourists, travel in packs. For many it is an excuse to come to "L.A.", though that is equivalent to being accepted to a film festival in Baltimore and using it as an excuse to go to D.C. I went to 4 screenings today (5 if you count the one I walked out of, but more on that in a minute). Most of the people that I met at the opening night party that I saw here today only went to their own screening and maybe one other.

I won't mention the names of the films I didn't care for, but I will tell you what I liked best. I started off with a foreign feature today that sounded interesting. Technically it was very good, but I could tell you the whole story in 3 to 4 sentences. It would have made a good 30 minute short. But it had two child actors who were wonderful, and initially I was very impressed by some of the steadicam shots. But then it ended up having a slew of steadicam shots, and even though those are difficult and impressive, if the film is a one-trick pony it is not as interesting to watch after awhile.

The second screening I went to was a shorts block. I did not originally intend to go to this block because none of the synopses struck my fancy, but the first buddy I made at the opening night reception was an older gentleman named Bob, who very kindly folded me into his own entourage at the party before I could even start to feel silly being there alone. I have not yet met ANYONE who has a film here who is here all by themselves. Bob is a SAG actor who lives in Fairfax, and I had a lovely conversation with his wife about a documentary on photographer Eddie Adams that we have both seen, called, "An Unlikely Weapon". Anyway, Bob plays, well, a sugardaddy, in a short called, "A Dance of Two". I also met the writer/director and the producer at the party, so I wanted to see it.

"A Dance of Two," was definitely the best short in the block. I enjoyed Bob's performance, although I felt very sad for his character. This block was a very strange mash-up, which made it difficult to get into any particular mood, so I think it is a tribute to his performance that I could get my head into the story. First there were four animated shorts. Then a mix of a few comedies and a horror, then Bob's short, which was a straightforward drama, and then the last short was a Samurai sword-fighting piece!

What I have seen quite a bit of at festivals that annoys me are shorts that are obviously more about practicing, or showing off, techniques and effects (especially with animation) rather than telling a story. I don't go to the movies to see someone's senior project, I want to get caught up in a story and forget that it is just a movie. I want to connect with the character(s), I want to love them or even hate them. I don't want to just watch them do things and marvel at how they did them. But maybe that's just me.

There was another short in that block that I really loved, an animated short called, "Skylight." I laughed my ass off at that, and when the projectionist wasn't paying attention and started running it a second time (which he did three times within the block), I was almost disappointed when he caught himself and turned it off.

The third screening was another shorts block, and this I wanted to see because at the opening night party I had also met some of these people. A short titled, "Boundaries of Attraction," had brought their own motley crew of eleven people all the way from New Hampshire. I would probably have to say this is my favorite so far, it was a very brave and very complicated piece, and had some very good performances.

Another very good one was called, "Captain." I had met a woman, I think she was the actress in the piece, at the opening night party. She was a machine. She swooped in on me and said something like, "You look like a dynamic female filmmaker that I need to meet," as she pressed a postcard of her movie into my hand. Then she said something about only asking one favor of me, and that was to see her movie. I was fine with all of that and was about to continue the conversation, but that was really all she wanted to say to me or hear from me, and she swooped onto the next person. I do admire her, I guess you'd call it, efficiency, but to be honest, I would not have felt guilty if I did not end up seeing, "Captain," because she made no real connection with me. Turns out, though, that it was VERY funny, and very polished, and I am glad I got to see it, even though it faked the death of one of the cutest dogs I have ever seen.

Also in that block was a short called, "The Cost of Living," which was very cute and starred Jim J. Bullock and Molly Hagan, who has been in a lot of stuff but I always remember her from the short-lived and underrated sitcom, "Herman's Head." She was one of the people in his head. She was actually in the audience, so a real celebrity sighting! She seemed very nice and I was within a few feet of her, but didn't really have anything to say, so I didn't speak to her. I thought I had seen Jason Schwartzman at the opening night party, but I was never quite sure it was him, and by the time I got up the (liquid) courage to go up and talk to him, he had disappeared. Which was probably best for everyone.

Part of this is my training from back in my D.C. days, dealing with celebrity clientele at the hotel that I worked in. I met loads of famous people, but I never asked anyone for an autograph, and very rarely was I ever impressed enough that they made me nervous. One exception was Adam Ant, but hey, it was the 80's, and though I could have probably beat him up, he was still hot. The other reason I don't bother celebrities unless I have something extremely pertinent to say, is that I always remember a story about a friend of a friend who ran into Dame Judy Dench (or was it the other Dame actress whose name I can't recall? Maggie Smith? I don't know...) outside of a theater in London. At a loss for words, my friend's friend blurted out, "I loved you in "Sister Act Two"! Not even "Sister Act ONE." She had to go with "Sister Act TWO." Needless to say, Dame Whomever completely ignored her, after visibly wincing.

The fourth screening... my first choice was a feature comedy, for a couple reasons. First, I wanted to check out the competition. I think there are 4 or 5 other feature length comedies besides "Smalltimore." Secondly, it was made by a female writer/director/and I think also actor. I like meeting people who wear a lot of hats. Plus, the female filmmaker thing. This is a boys club, believe it. Having been through it myself, I like to see what makes them tick. The interesting thing is that it is something different every time and I feel these are the people (multi-taskers, both male and female) I can learn the most from and I definitely receive the most inspiration from them, they impress me and so in my mind I think I pit myself and what I can do against them and their own accomplishments.

Wearing all of those hats, just FINISHING a feature length, and then having it accepted into a decent festival, that is a lot to be proud of. But, if it is supposed to be a straight-up comedy... and I have only laughed out loud (I am not that tough an audience!) maybe once in the first 20 minutes... when I reach that point in a movie, I give myself another ten minutes. If I don't laugh out loud or at least am dying to see what happens next, I leave. It has only happened a handful of times in my life, I hate to walk out of a movie. But it happened today. I was really bummed about that.

I walked down the hall to another theater where there was yet another shorts program. This was a fairly cohesive block of drama and horror. Could have lived without most of them, but they were well done. I don't like blood & guts, but even seeing a well made horror flick is better than seeing a poorly executed comedy. It has been a crapshoot so far, but that seems to be par for the course at festivals. Audiences have also been scant, though the later the screening time, the bigger the audience, so I am hoping since "Smalltimore" has the last time slot on the last night that (a) we will have a decent audience and (b) it means that the programmers thought it was a strong piece. Cross your fingers and knock on wood for me, and I'll let you know how it turns out.

The Kindness of Strangers

I am writing to you from my hotel room in Anaheim, the Fairfield Marriott to be exact. A nice place, clean room, a pool, a Pizza Hut Express on the third floor. Too many kids running around for my taste, but what can you expect of Mouse Town? I am literally across the street from Disney Land.

I arrived yesterday afternoon, a day and a half before I can even register at Indie Fest, but I wanted to get my bearings and adjust to the time difference so I can hit the ground running. Since I flew AirTran and forgot that they don't feed you, I hadn't eaten since 8:00am east coast time and it was now eight hours later by the time I settled in to my hotel. Had a meal at the restaurant next to the hotel, Millie's, I think. McDonald's, IHoP, and Denny's abound here. Soooo many families with little ones. Found a mini-mart in a hotel half a block from me, so stocked up on some RIDICULOUSLY overpriced snacks and breakfast stuff to stick in my fridge. Still cheaper than eating out every meal, though.

In the early evening I decided to walk over to the AMC theater in Downtown Disney (where Indie Fest is taking place) to see what it was like. The next movie playing was "The Ugly Truth", which looked kind of cute, so I bought a ticket. Word of advice: wait to NetFlix it.

It wasn't horrible, but I can't say it was good. It had many of the attributes that I hate about typical romantic comedies, that I tried to avoid doing in "Smalltimore". For example, if you saw the commercial, you saw the movie. Absolutely not one single surprise. And then, of course, the charming rogue falls for her and has a change of heart about the existence of true love. Seriously, if any of you have ever met a man who has actually CHANGED, please put him under glass immediately, as he is the last of his kind and we need to perform scientific experiments on him. There are romantic men out there, I've met them - it's just that they've always been that way. And the manwhores start that way and stay that way as well. No offense intended, just calling 'em as I see 'em.

Though the film was disappointing, it made me feel better about "Smalltimore". I can't wait to see it again with a new audience. There are a couple things in "Smalltimore" that I was afraid would be obvious before the reveals, but based on crowd reaction at other screenings, apparently not everyone saw the twists coming, and I like that. Also feeling more confident about my sound, cuts, lighting and color. There were some glaring editing problems in "The Ugly Truth" that really surprised my for a "Hollywood" movie.

Afterwards, I walked across the promenade to the ESPNZone and had a cosmo there that was not too shabby. But everyone there, of course, was traveling in groups or couples and I felt like I stuck out, being alone. Traveling alone in Paris is wonderful, I love it. Traveling alone in Disney Land... I was starting to feel very awkward. And I didn't want to shake my confidence so early, I have a lot of schmoozing to do this week. So, with the plan of sneaking a couple cans of Bud Light from my room down to the pool and dangling my feet in the water, I headed back to the hotel.

I didn't get far when I saw a digital screen on the House of Blues that read "ZZtop!" I watched for a minute and then it said, "TONIGHT!" I thought, really? ZZtop at a bar in Disney Land? I watched it cycle through a few more times to make sure it was not some sort of ZZtop tribute band. Didn't seem to be, and didn't look that busy, so I walked up to the box office to see how much tickets were. Seemed like a random adventure, if it wasn't too expensive, why not?

There were only two people ahead of me, and I almost turned to leave, thinking there is no way this is going to be less than $40 or $50. Suddenly this man appeared out of nowhere beside me and asked, "Are you getting a ticket?" He looked to be in his 30s, short hair slicked back, a longish pointy beard, and more tattoos on his arms than I could count at a glance. He told me his girlfriend was sick and had to bail, he had an extra ticket and had paid over $80, would I take it for $40? He said he'd walk in with me and I could pay him inside, which was good cuz then I knew it wasn't a scam, but I really wasn't looking to pay more then $20-30. It was already showtime and I guess that was better then nothing, so he agreed to $20 and a drink, and we went in.

His name was Jason. He was super-nice and smiled all the time, he reminds me a little bit of Russell from the Wind-Up Space, if Russell was covered in ink. I had no cash on me and didn't see an ATM so I bought the first several rounds. But by the end of the concert I think Jason bought as many rounds as I did.

The concert was great, and I tell you what, those guys (ZZtop) are very, very smart. And very, very old. But the reason they are smart is because they have been doing this for decades and probably have another decade or so left in them, and they look and perform the same as they have from the very beginning. There is no acrobatics like the type a crowd expects from, say, The Rolling Stones or Aerosmith. You just have two guys in long full beards, playing guitar on stage. Once in awhile one stands behind the other and they swing their guitars in unison and the crowd roars. Brilliant!

On the way out, we stopped by the swag table to see if they had any ZZtop CDs. Inexplicably, they did not, and all the swag they did have was ridiculously overpriced. I strongly protested but Jason insisted on buying each of us a red bandana with an image of the ZZtop car in the center. It is a nice memento of a fun evening, but I won't even tell you what he paid for them. Then we went to get something to eat, as we had both had many beers and he still had to drive home. We found a cafe in Disney that was still serving food and split a few appetizers. After a bit I went to the restroom. When I came back, Jason was gone and our plates had been cleared from the table! I didn't know what to do. Had he really left without saying goodbye? I know he had to work in the morning but I didn't think I had taken that long in the bathroom, and we hadn't even really finished our meal. He had been too nice all evening to be this rude. Hadn't he? I sat down at the empty table, feeling idiotic. Maybe he had gone to the bathroom also. I'd wait a minute and see.

After what seemed a very long moment or three, he did indeed reappear, and yes, he had just gone to the bathroom also. I was quite relieved. "I thought you left!" I said. "And they cleared our plates." One of the apps had not even been touched, I couldn't believe they just ditched them. We talked for a moment, waiting for the waiter to bring the check. The waiter appeared, looking a little confused. "You... switched tables?" he asked. We looked to an empty table to our left - where our food was still sitting. I had sat down at the wrong table. We laughed our heads off.

Jason walked me back to my hotel, even though his car was parked several blocks in the opposite direction. He is a native and it was so nice to meet someone who totally shattered my pre-conceived notion of anyone living this close to L.A. He was very down to earth, generous, and hospitable, and actually would fit right in in Baltimore. He promised to come to the screening next Thursday with his girlfriend, and I really hope they show.

Tonight I am laying low, and have been living off the leftovers that we did end up having boxed up from the cafe. Tonight I am going to sift through all the movies screening at Indie Fest and figure out a game plan of what I want to see and any filmmaker panels I want to attend. I also am going to be breaking down a short script into a shooting schedule. Michelle will be DP and I will be PM/AD on a 3 day shoot in Arlington over Labor Day weekend. It looks to be a fun piece and I am looking forward to it. The nice thing about working on someone else's project is only having to wear 2 or 3 hats instead of nearly all of them. Well, I better get to it. All for now...