Naturally Optimistic

So I had a screening of my film last night - and it was fun! We had a couple of "sold out" shows - and by 'sold out' I mean that our RSVP list for each was full a couple of days before the event. We were taking donations so it wasn't like people were purchasing tickets, but it was good to get an idea of how many people would show. We have been VERY disappointed in the past. I overbooked the theater so luckily we had a few cancellations yesterday - whew! I think everyone who wanted to get in to the 7:15 show did. No one was turned away. We were full for the early show & about 80% for the 2nd show - I'll take it! It was FUN to watch the film with an audience. FRESH EYES. Eyes that are not related to me by blood or marriage. Eyes that were not simply pre-biased because of our friendships (although lots of those too!). One of my biggest fears going into last night was that people would be disappointed. We worked hard to make this a beautiful, lovely, film and ...

So to add insult to injury...(sickness, no sleep, 0 in attendance at Friday's GR screening) we just found out today that neither film (WHITE MAN'S WORLD or JIMMY BLACK'S CADILLAC) were accepted into the Fargo Film Festival. *sigh* Our beloved Fargo - such a fun little festival. So many interesting films & people; great parties, relaxation, good wine. I was really really hoping to attend Fargo this year. A chance to take a few days for me (the last for quite a while I think). To immerse myself in film, to sleep in, to network, to be there as a "director" (that is if JBC had gotten in). But it wasn't meant to be. This comes on a particularly harsh day (see previous post, new pay cut starts this week, budget woes mount). I was looking forward to Fargo as well this year because my good buddy Rob Nilsson is showing his new film there. Suckity suck suck suck.

We had our last two production days for THE LIFE OF RILEY this weekend. Wow! We are DONE! We have our 4th feature film in the can. Whohooo! On Friday we shot all day at our apartment location. A little inside, a little outside. It was cold outside. And subsequently inside when we had to have the door open. But we ended early and things went well. Yesterday we headed up the North Shore to revisit Gooseberry Falls, Palisade Head & Grand Marais. Let me tell you, hiking up to Palisade Head with my pregnant self was not all that fun. I started first and ended last. Ugh. It was exhausting. Which is too bad because usually that is right up my alley! Oh well. Getting to the falls at Gooseberry was a bit challenging too because of my girth, the amount of ice & my general paranoia, but I didn't fall, which is quite shocking. The McMurdo boots were GREAT. I used a couple of hand warmers in them for the 2nd part of the day and they were very toasty without being all sweaty. I also thin...

Even though this *really* happened several months ago, it was pretty cool to get GOD ROCKED from Netflix today. It looks all 'official' and stuff. :) We have no idea if it's being rented by many people or not, but at least it's available. Of course, we're still waiting for our distributor to PAY us, but that is just how it goes in this godforsaken business. For the record, no, I'm not going to watch it. I've seen it enough! It was just fun to get.

This is a photo of the paperwork I had to copy & complete to submit for Snowbate. Snowbate is a tax incentive program from the MN Film & TV Board & the State of MN. We had to go through a qualification process this past summer to get RILEY in the program & certified...We will receive a 15% tax rebate (ie: cash!) on monies spent in the state for our film production. It all has to do with job creation & retention & continuing to have money spent locally. Nationally MN USED to have one of the best tax incentive programs out there, but not so much any more. Of the requested $25m for this program, they received $1m for 2009/2010. That is why you don't see many big budget Hollywood films being shot here any more (even if they are set here!). They're going to the states who offer more incentives (or other countries). It might not mean a lot to you, but for those who are freelancers, production houses, rental houses, post-production houses, etc in the entertainm...

I figured out yesterday that I just am. I would be the type of boss (if I had anyone working for me - like an assistant or something) that would be so incredibly annoying. My assistant would sit idle because I would do all the work that an assistant should do...you know, like file expenses, write reports, work on letters, memos, research, mail Christmas & birthday cards, etc. That would put me REALLY far behind on all the IMPORTANT work that I, as the boss, would have to do, and subsequently cause me great stress. I know this because every time I delegate something NOW at my NOT important job, it is done INCORRECTLY (or languishes not getting done) and I end up doing it myself. I tried really hard with this last project to let some of things I *normally* do go and let them be picked up by appropriate people. Guess what? They're not getting done so who's picking up the slack? ME. And then there are additional people we've hired and quite frankly I don't know WHAT th...

OUCH! Another scathing review of GOD ROCKED on Netflix. Ay yi yi. I know people have all different tastes & likes & dislikes (I certainly do) but dang, these hurt after a while. I'm too sensitive to be in this stupid business.

My short film Jimmy Black's Cadillac is playing tonight at the new Zinema 2 in downtown Duluth. I'm particularly proud of this achievement because it was written, directed and edited by ME with some help (but not a lot) form outside forces. See? MY name is on the poster! Crazy, huh? And I didn't ask to show my film, I was asked. So that's cool. Should be fun - if you're in Duluth - check it out!

...is kicking my ass.... But in a good way. We have an awesome crew & cast; ridiculous gear and amazing locations. I've been updating Facebook via my iPhone so check over there for pics and short messages. Today our call is not til 1 so I'm taking this morning to catch up on a few things - like reading your blogs! and paying bills! and....watering plants! ha. It's been tough on the home front because I haven't been home much - at all - and the stress is starting to show through (on some people). But we will push through and try to do things when we can. Yeah, it's a lot of 18-20 hour days (some shorter....) right now but this is why my schedule can be so flexible the rest of the year! I can't wait to show you guys some footage from this film. It's unlike anything we've ever shot before and I'm very excited! Now - on to the plant watering before they all just curl up & die!

The short film I shot last fall, Jimmy Black's Cadillac , will be screening at this year's Free Range Film Festival ! We will be showing our little flick at 9:20pm on Friday, July 24th. If you're around, come out to Wrenshall to celebrate with us!

Why must artists be so tempermental? I mean really. Festival A sent back a very long and almost nasty email back to Jason after we ditched it. For the first time EXPLAINING things that probably would've made us feel a lot better about the festival to begin with! WTF? Now they are PISSY and demanding a RETRACTION (um, to whom?) and saying that this was "defamation" (um, I've never had a legit festival ask me for $$ - other than a submission fee before). Yeah, Fishy. Whatever. I refuse to let it get me riled up. My choice would be to not respond at all. But of course Jason's response is "we're at war now." Does it have to be so dramatic? Maybe this is why I'm not a "real" artist. *sigh*

Well, we pulled out of Festival A. Officially. After MUCH MUCH MUCH hemming & hawing, seeking advice from mentor-types, polling everyone we knew and ultimately relying on our own guts. Not sure if this will help or hurt us, but I figure if BOTH of us have yucky feelings about it, then it's probably not worth it. Now we're looking into scheduling a trip to LA in May or early June to do some casting for the film I'm directing THE LIFE OF RILEY. We're hoping to get a "name" of some sort as that's the only way these days to get decent festival play and/or distribution. Sad but true. Hopefully Festival B will come calling, if not, c'est la vie. I've learned to not get my hopes up (or crushed) by and for these festivals. My heart was already broken once this year, so I think I'm good for that. Meanwhile - anyone know any "celebs" who have time off late summer/early fall and would like to shoot a ultra-low budget film with me? We're ...

The festival is done, for us. We had a great turnout last night- we didn't sell out the house, but we were close. It was full of friends, family & complete strangers! It was very interesting to hear people's reactions through the film - where they laughed, where the gasped and where a few walked out. The Q&A was awesome. Jim Northrup really just nailed it and the audience, of course, loved him (he also introduced the film). The party afterward was also a great success. Lots of mingling and chatting. I got to see a lot of friends that I haven't seen in ages which was really great. I didn't have long enough to chat with EVERYONE which was frustrating and I felt a bit flighty as I jumped from convo to convo (sort of felt like I did at my wedding). THANK YOU to everyone who came out! The support was amazing and it really made it a great night. On to the next!

Just wanted to let you all know about our screening this weekend....a reminder, if you will.... WHITE MAN'S WORLD "World Premiere" Friday, April 24th 9:15pm St. Anthony Main Theater 115 Main Street - Minneapolis Party afterward at Pracna (right next door!) Here's what the press are saying: ‘Hilarious and irreverent, with a boon of quotable lines and scenes.’ -Christa Lawler, DNT ‘Page plays the perfect and effective, arrogant ignoramus.’ -Lana Leeper, The Reader ✭✭✭½ out of ✭✭✭✭ ‘A funny, vulgar and smart film about filmmaking.’ -Erik McClanahan, Vita.mn ‘Delightfully Offensive.’ -John Ervin, City Pages ‘Fearless.’ -Max Sparber, MNArtists.org It's not a film for everyone (ie: my mother) but we're getting great reviews and it would be awesome to pack the house! Hope to see you there!

Our little misfit movie White Man's World has been gaining traction in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Getting a lot of good reviews & press about the upcoming screening at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Int'l Film Festival. It's nice to get some validation outside of our little bubble that is Duluth. You can check out some of the articles here: CityPages Vita.Mn MNArtists.org Star Tribune Amazing to me is the fact that although we're getting such good press (and a slew of personal emails from reviewers, programmers, PR people, etc) I still feel so incredibly crappy when a friend of mine tells me that my mother is right and he 'hates' the film too (although he hasn't seen it - wtf?) and that I'd be worried about my name being attached to it. *sigh* It wasn't my favorite film to make. It was hard, I felt bad a lot of the time. It's not the project I'm proudest of...but isn't that okay? Isn't that what making art boils down to? Some hits,...

WHITE MAN'S WORLD (the film my mother calls "upsetting" - to say the least) has been chosen as an official selection of the 2009 Minneapolis-St. Paul Int'l Film Festival! Whohoo! I'll keep you posted on the screening details. The festival runs the last two weeks in April. Hope to see you there!

So, today is the last day that we're here. We're finally in our groove and of course we have to leave. And the weather is finally BEAUTIFUL outside...and we have to leave. Hmph. It's 70 degrees and sunny here right now. Perfect. I have spent a lot of time today just sitting outside & reading. We attended another mentor session this morning and met with a really cool entertainment lawyer. He was very interested in looking at our film and passing it on to the acquisitions department of the company he works with. Hey! We'll take it! Last night we saw the MN Film FOUR BOXES. It was a lot of fun. It was sort of a thriller; lots of comedy in it and a few twists and turns. I really enjoyed it. Justin Kirk from WEEDS fame was in it...and you all know that WEEDS is my newest obsession so that was cool and at the after party I got to talk with him which really made my day. Another actor in the film, Sam Rosen (nephew of WCCO dude Mark Rosen) was also very cool (very funny in ...

I'm old. I mean seriously. I am so old. This has been an exhausting weekend! It's day 3 of SXSW and I'm pooped! Friday night we went to a film, I met up with the INCREDIBLE and AMAZING Donna for dinner & drinks (she is so freaking awesome, btw...you should really go and meet her), and then back to the hotel. At the hotel there was probably 2 hours of DRAMA amongst my traveling companions and I finally hit the wall and went to be amidst the carnage. I couldn't take it any more. It was WAY too late of a night. Yesterday we got here 'bright & early' (well, 11am...heh) and we went to a panel about distribution and learned that we really need a sales agent or a producer's rep (duh, yes, we know). Later we had mentor sessions where we chatted with managers & distribution people where we learned, we pretty much need a sales agent or producer's rep (ding! Got it). We spent the afternoon walking around, eating lunch, not networking like we should, at...

for now.... need to come up with some ways to increase (uh, have...) revenue. need to sell a film. need to get buyers excited. need to learn how to think outside the box. *sigh*

I'm sitting on a panel today for a luncheon entitled "Framed by Women" - uh, about women filmmakers. I'm dreading it. GAH. Yesterday there were only 2 people on the panel. I hope there are more on it today. I will be quite happy when we move on to the 2nd session this afternoon. Wish me luck!