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big sports

August 21st, 2010

It’s Saturday morning, and as I’m writing this, I’m on a conference call which will probably go on for hours. This upcoming week, we are shooting our big money scene where we are shooting in the Toledo Mudhens stadium, doubling it for a Major League stadium, and shooting a Home Run Derby which is the climax of the entire film. For a little movie like ours, this is a major undertaking.

We are shooting and crewing out of Detroit, and now we have logistically pick up the entire cast, crew, and equipment, move them to Toledo, shoot in a minor league stadium to double for a major league one, shoot half of the third act in 3 days, then pick back up and move back to Detroit. If that sounds like a logistical nightmare, you would be correct.

Baseball is hard to shoot for many reasons. A major one being that your players on the field are so spread out that coverage is a big issue. Now most of the baseball we are shooting is on Little League fields, which are sort of containable. But on a minor league field, it’s huge. So shot lists, storyboards, and a huge amount of planning is the only way we are going to get all of the story points we need to.

So we wake up, get on calls, and keep working through the weekend. Will it be successful? I think so. I wouldn’t be making this if I didn’t think it was going to be.

Feet on the Ground

June 16th, 2010

So yesterday was my feet on the ground day. Which means I landed in a state I’ve never been to before to live and work for the next 4 months. Now, before I have feet here, I already have eyes here…meaning I have hired my line producer/UPM, POC, APOC, local casting director, etc before I’m here, and I land to an office that is already up and running.

You always hope when you land and walk in that the crew you have hired are as pleasant as they seem to be on the phone, since you’ve hired sight unseen, based on recommendation, resumes, and phone calls. So far, so good….everyone seems to be what I thought they were.

So far, the challenges on this film are not normal ones. In indie film, finance is usually your largest obstacle, and you are constantly shifting pay dates, or contract sigs, or deposit schedules to fit around when the finance is coming in piece by piece by your 17 sources that are coming in to put the movie together. This one, on the other hand, went in fully financed. Even stranger, the financier didn’t want to give the money on a cash flow schedule, he just wanted to turn it over to production. So, we have the cash in the bank to make the picture.

Here’s where it gets weird. Michigan’s rebate can not be applied for until you are financed. So, once we were financed we put the application in. However, you can’t spend any money until it goes through the treasury and gets the official stamp of approval. Which can take up to 3 weeks. Now, we have people on the inside getting it approved much quicker, but we still don’t have the official stamp. Which means we can’t spend money.

However, we are on a strict production timeline. This is a movie which involves a ton of kid actors. And kid hours get far more limited during the school year, so we have to shoot out before school starts (at least all the kid parts) There is no pushing dates. It would make the movie unshootable. So, we have money, and can’t spend it. But need to spend it. So, this has become a mess of extra paper work having everyone start working without actually “starting working” Production office space, living arrangements, everything. We can escrow monies, just not draw down on the escrows.

Making a film always feels kinda like getting onto Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross. You close your eyes, run as fast as you can, and believe the obstacles will go away when you need them to.

Here we go again!

May 26th, 2010

So, here I am, spring 2010, looking in my closet and getting ready to once again pick up and move halfway across the country for 3-4 months. This time it’s Michigan.

The Basics:
Title: Home Run Derby.
logline: Two former professional baseball playing brothers take out their sibling rivalry through coaching little league teams. a definite Bad News Bears-y kind of movie.
Director: Oz Scott. Yup, the guy who directed Bustin Loose. Awesome.
pre-pro: June 14
prod: Aug 2
back home: Sept. 25

This was an interesting experience in film coming together in a way I’ve never been a part of before. A private equity financier came to us with the idea to do a baseball movie. So, we wrangled writers, brainstormed ideas, and had the script written from scratch with the movie already being financed. No director or actor contingencies. In independent film, it’s normally the other way around. You find a script you like, do some development with the writer. Chase down a director. Go through the excruciating process of attaching actors who mean something to financiers. THEN the money shows up.

So, once again friends, join me on the journey that is producing a film outside the studio system in a city I don’t know. I can’t wait!

methods of contact

May 11th, 2010

Now let me just say that as a production company, it is not unusual for us to get emails or calls that people want us to forward on to actors that we work with. People often think that we might be the easiest way for them to get through to people who often have layers of protection between them and the public. If people write fan letters, we will pass it on to the manager or PR person…as long as it’s not crazy.
So you can imagine my thoughts as Iron Man 2 opened. I just knew that somewhere out there, someone would get obsessed with Mickey Rourke, and try to contact him through us.

Email 1: (name and location redacted…not a terribly unusual email)
To Whom It May Concern,
Would you please kindly forward this to Mr. Mickey Rourke – thank you so much.
Hi Mickey!
It’s (name redacted) from (location redacted). Saw your performance tonight in: Iron Man 2 – you were great!
I love seeing you back on the silver screen Mickey – you have such a gift…God Bless You with continued success and keeping “in touch with Him.” Sincerely, (redacted)

Ok, ok…not bad. Until the follow up was email #2:

To Whom it May Concern,
Would you please kindly forward this p.s. email to Mr. Mickey Rourke…thank you so much.
Hi Mickey,
It’s me (name redacted) from (location redacted) with a p.s. to my recent email I sent you.
I just read you’re going to do a movie called, “St. Vincent.” Interestingly enough thats the name of the church I go to at least for now. We had a deeply devoted priest named (redacted) who recently was moved “elsewhere”. A number of folks were upset – someone even wrote to the editor of our (name of local paper redacted). I wrote to our Archibishop (name redacted) stating how wonderful his homilies were. Perhaps the latest priest brought to St. Vincents wanted “the show” himself – who knows. Anyways if Father (name redacted) turns up at another church near by I’ll probably switch. Personally, I don’t buy everything about the Catholic church but I do love receiving the Holy Eucharist weekly…
Anyways, I also wanted to mention if you’re not involved with someone and would care to meet – my phone number is: (number redacted). I’d even understand if we met and you felt more comfortable with wearing a “disguise” – fine as long as I know who you were and you’re not hiding under some blanket… Have a great day Mickey – if you’re in town you know the weather is going to be cold tonight. – (name redacted)

and that, my friends, is the definition of awesome-sauce.

Sundance wrap-up

January 31st, 2010

Sundance. That time when half of Los Angeles shuts down, and goes into summer camp mode. Except we’re all wearing heavy coats, and keep not understanding why our iphones don’t respond to our touch (hint: gloves)

This year I did not have a film showing. I debated whether or not I should go. We looked at the calendar, pushed things around, and decided yes. I should.

Now, I have parts of Sundance I love. I’ve been coming to Park City since, I guess, 2004. Of course, in 2004, I only came here mistakenly. I was in Salt Lake City shooting a film (Go Figure), and on a weekend, we decided to head up to Park City to ski. Now, at the time, I was bound and beholden to the House of Mouse, so things like Sundance weren’t on my everyday radar. But, low and behold, I drove to Park City on Saturday morning, got stuck in the traffic, and stayed and played with friends all weekend.

Now 2008 and 2009 I didn’t go. My business partner and I have been so all consumed with the day to day running of the business that taking a week in another city…even when it was work…seemed unfathomable.

So this year, I was back. In the couple days leading up to leaving, my asst and I spend time everyday making sure I’m on all the party lists I need to be on, and planning out my schedule. Now to those of you who don’t do this, what you have to know is that doing the party scene at these festivals is 1. necessary and 2. exhausting Especially if you are like me, and want to go to films in the morning too.

So, a typical Sundance day goes something like this: Up, showered ready and primped for the whole day by a 9am screening, noon screening, lunch meeting, afternoon cocktail party, second afternoon cocktail party, often a third afternoon cocktail party, late afternoon movie, dinner meeting, drinks meeting, sometimes an evening movie, premier party, event party, house party.

did I mention it’s exhausting?

but my favorite part is the films. The fact that I get to spend a week seeing 3-4 films a day is a film geeks dream come true. Were they all good? No. Were there enough that were good to make it satisfying? Absolutely.

So, as I came home, drained….but having reconnected with colleagues and friends from around the world, I can say that the lost sleep and exhaustion was worth it. Being surrounded by a group of people passionately pursuing their dreams is enough to recharge me.

Oh, and it’s super pretty, too.

LA Weirdo

January 12th, 2010

Interestingly, with all the strange crap I do, there is one thing I do that repeatedly gets baffled looks from all those around me. They are horrified when I say it, and there is often a low whisper of “…why?”

I commute by bike.

Now, after you have picked your chin up off the floor, let me make a couple things clear. I have a car, and do drive. In fact, I like taking the top down, and heading to Santa Barbara on a beautiful Saturday. But on a regular day, I hop on my bike to make the trek to my office and back.

I know that in some ways I’m in a position that allows me to do this. First off, I own my company. So, when I show up at the office in biking clothes, and immediately head in to change and get ready for the day, my employees get to just chalk it up on their “things my eccentric boss does” list. I also live under 2 miles from my office, and have a parking lot at the office where I can leave my car. This way I have it to get to all my meetings during the day. And lastly, facilitating this commuting style is the fact that The Giant has both a motorcycle and a car, so after I ride my bike home at night, if I need a vehicle for some reason, one is there.

But what I’ve found is that Los Angeles is surprisingly bikeable. If you take the time to look for the streets which are wide, or have good sidewalks, you can get nearly anywhere in about the time it takes to drive. I ride from my office (West Hollywood) to Venice sometimes after work to visit friends. Turns out, the actual distance is only 11 miles. Doing a “fast casual” biking (~13-14 mph), with traffic stops included, it takes me about an hour. That’s about 10 minutes longer than it would take in my car at that time of day.

But the best part is the routine commute. 2 miles each way from my house to the office and back. 10-15 minutes in the morning and in the evening when I’m not available to the world. No rolling calls, no answering emails, no making appointments, no contact. For that short period of time to start my day, I can be alone with my thoughts and my body, just enjoying the morning air. I arrive at the office far more focused, and far more calm.

No all of us bikers are crazy, anti-car, environmentalist, hippie, self-righteous wackos. Some of us just enjoy it.

Check it out!

December 3rd, 2009

Pick up a copy of Glamour UK to see the most recent article on I Remember Andrea. The press machine rolls on!

Sundance update

December 2nd, 2009

We did not get in.

While disappointing, a festival is not the endgame on this film…theatrical distribution is.

And so we forge on.

12.5 hours left

December 2nd, 2009

So, I don’t expect to sleep tonight. Nor do I expect to be able to concentrate for the morning tomorrow. Tomorrow, at 1pm, we find out about Sundance.

Now, for those of you who don’t know…for the past 5 or 6 years, if you were in Sundance (as a feature), you knew a week or two before. Calls were put out, and you were asked not to tell anyone, so you didn’t tell anyone except the publicist you were hiring (who immediately started positioning you for feature articles), your sales agent (who began positioning you to distributors), your principal cast and all their reps (so they could make plans to be there), and your principal crew. So, essentially…everyone. The couple weeks before the official Sundance announcement it was an open secret about who was going and who wasn’t.

but now, with the big push to take Sundance back to an independent festival, and keep it out of the hands of the agencies and studios…no one knows. A couple of things have gotten out. From what I know, 2 features know they are in, a couple filmmakers who have had films there before have gotten the gentle “no thank you” call…and that’s it. The rest of us will ACTUALLY find out when the rest of the world does.

And it’s killing me.

Sundance isn’t the be all, end all, on the festival circuit, but for a film like ours, it’s probably the best positioning. We are a truly independent production, funded through private equity, starring a great cast who fell in love with the project, and helmed by a first time feature director. It’s dark, and funny, and we have great response from the industry we’ve shown it to.

So, we would normally have heard by now. Either way.

Which, as much as I know the reality of the situation, and the fact that we won’t know until tomorrow (or Thursday if we’re selected for screening but not competition)…brings up the nervousness and insecurities that are just beneath the surface. What if the film isn’t good? What if the performances aren’t what we think? What if, in strategizing to keep it out of the hands of most people until we can announce our festival premiere, we have created an environment so insular we no longer can recognize what the film is?

What if everyone I know is lying, and they’ve all heard about every other film except this one? Or what if they’ve already heard bad news about this one, but don’t want to be the ones to tell us?

And so, I understand that tonight will be a sleepless night for me, with a useless morning until 1pm PST, when announcements are made.

Wish us luck.

Job posting

November 4th, 2009

Please email resumes to info@secrethandshake.com (NOT TO ME!)
One of our amazing staff editors just got a writing fellowship, so is headed to Oklahoma…and we need to replace him. Great opportunity for him, sucks for us, maybe good for you! We are a small company that has had a consistent rate of growth for the past 2 years, and we are looking for someone who wants to grow with the company.

Avid and Final Cut Pro Editor :

Editor must be proficient in technical aspects of editing including: logging, capturing, efficient use of keyboard shortcuts, project archiving and media management, mastering to tape/file/disc, and authoring DVDs. Editor should have a strong knowledge of media compression workflows and have some experience working with compression software such as Apple Compressor and Sorensen Squeeze. Editor should be proficient with leading NLE software – Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Studio Pro – experience with Mac hardware and software (Apple Motion, DVD Studio Pro and Color) a plus.

Editor must have a strong sense of visual design. Candidate will be required to develop fresh and interesting “looks” for clients. Editor must also have an ability to quickly distill a large amount of footage into its best parts. The work is varied but a great personality is required as Editor will largely be working directly with clients (actors, directors of photography, directors) to create their show reels. Good communication skills necessary in order to work efficiently with clients and be able to deliver a product they are proud of.

WE NEED A SELF-STARTER WHO CAN WORK INDEPENDENTLY AND MANAGE THEIR TIME EFFECTIVELY.

Candidate needs to be passionate about growing in this role and learning new things and constantly looking for better ways to be efficient and creative. 2-3 years experience in TV or media production, promotion or trailer editing and/or Demo Reel/Show reel editing preferred.

Tags: avid, business, career, editor, employee, employer, fcp, film editor, final cut pro, hiring, job, job opportunity
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Archive for the ‘Work’ Category

big sports

Feet on the Ground

Here we go again!

methods of contact

Sundance wrap-up

LA Weirdo

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