I am not writing enough. How often have I said that?
It has been a great couple of weeks, if not the last month and a half. It has been a roller coaster, to be sure, but the downs seem to be worth the ups in the long run of it all.
So, updates to the world of people paying attention. A Deed without a Name, my short film, has been sent to a few more places. Currently, it is in consideration at Tribeca, Cannes Indie, GenArts, Breckenridge, LA International, Lake Arrowhead, and Cannes Emerging Filmmakers Showcase. What does this mean? Well, I have said it before and I will say it again. It means I filled out the form correctly, I paid the entry fee, and I delivered the DVDs to the correct address. Not the biggest accomplishment of film making, but it is the current stage at which the film is in. The festival world is what it is; the place in which you get your name out there. There are a bazillion festivals, and strategy is 9/10ths of the work. I am trying to hit some big names, if for no other reason than they are seeing my name and will again with more films. To say I was rejected by Tribeca is worth it for $50 considering that not submitting means they will never see my name or my movies. So for the price on one regular film ticket and one 3D film ticket, I made a person in NYC watch my film and judge it. I can live with being shut down for that price. I have had dates that cost me more and their judgments hurt a great deal. So Robert de Niro, feel free to shoot me down, or up. Wait, not like the drug kind of shooting up. I mean, I would totally do drugs with de Niro, and who wouldn’t, but he probably wouldn’t share with me. I meant accept my film. Not in exchange for drugs, because my film probably is only a dime bag worth, I mean let if play at Tribeca. I am going to stop before I offend Robert de Niro.
Anyway, I love the festivals, and the idea of strategy in working them. I love the idea of going to them and pimping my movie. I love the idea of going and talking about my movie. I have no issue with this process. I just wish I could afford to make more movies and get more of them out the door! Don’t we all?
So, new work. Well, let’s see, since Xmas I have had two commercials, two music videos, and a covert operation all hit the ground running. SWEET! I will link all but the secret mission videos. I wish I could talk about them but, you know…I would have to be silenced. I am at a point where I kind of dig my life enough to stick with it, so no Galaxy Sailor Productions Snuff films coming anytime soon. Of these projects, one is getting play on MTV 2 and is the first thing I have done in front of a camera as a character. A cop with a handlebar mustache and a can of mace. How did they know I always wanted to do that?
Things on the filming community front seem to be progressing along. As many of my readers know (and by many, I mean the 3 of you that make up the 5 total readers) I am always talking about the film community of Portland, what it means to me, and what it means to have an industry. I know, for the most part, that I will never ever change the status quo for those that believe in art for arts sake and being the starving artist that is all about the art of their art. I get it, and I won’t challenge you to an ideological debate, because in the end there is no debate – only two philosophies that come close to each other and never merge. Fair enough. What it means for me is that I will define, even change, the environment that I am in for myself. I will exercise my philosophy at every turn, despite what others may do.
With that said, there are a group of people who have read my recent state of the union address about the film industry, and at least in some way believe my philosophy enough to want to come together to start working on building an industry. I can’t build it alone, nor should I try, but together, people of similar desire can make something great. It will take time. It will take initiative. It will take money as well (the fact of the matter). In the end, it will be glorious. How could it be otherwise? I hope that if you are reading this, and you are in Portland, you will reach out and join us. If you are not in Portland, feel free to reach out and join us anyway!
As far as projects, I have so many I am wanting to do that I just don’t even know how I am going to get them done. Mostly because of money. Nothing else, just the dough. What’s that you say? Kickstarter? Look, I am going to do one, soonish, but I am not going to go to Kickstarter every three weeks that I have a new project. I am not going to beg for quarters that many times. As much as anything, that is part of building the industry for me – having the money coming in from commercial work or investors that allows me to create and distribute and entertain in such a way that people are getting what they want without me having to beg for it too often. Kickstarter has its place, but it is not an ATM (as near as I can tell) that has unlimited use. I want to go there once, maybe twice, and hope that the result plays out well enough to have greased a wheel that keeps spinning.
I am not sure as to how much liberty I have to discuss most projects. As for my scripts, I am about to shoot a shorty short short call Benehooy. It has to do with tunnels. That is all you are getting from me until it is done. Next up from me is Sweet Pea, the one I want a Kickstarter for. The hope is to use whatever momentum I have, coupled with the body of work I have created, to justify people giving me $7500 for the film. It is 20 minutes in length, presumably, and is something I hope is a game changer for me. The pirate documentary Part of the Ship/Part of the Crew continues among the work. As well, I am continuing work on two features. I want to talk about them but don’t know if I can. With that is a collaborative set of projects. A web series, a couple of shorts, and a couple of features, all in various stages of completion on paper. So there is no lack of stuff to do. Now to play the lottery so I can talk about how I want to win the lottery.
There is all sorts of drama stuff going on out there, too. I would write about it, even make jokes or poke fun at things. Belittle stuff. Shoot things down. It’s kind of childish to do. Dumb in fact. I have better things to do. Though it is noteworthy to say that I see it out there and I strive to be better, despite what my prehistoric male brain is asking me to do. Sometimes my desire to beat my chest, grunt loudly, and throw poo is a strong set of emotions culminating in fantasized reactions. Maybe I should just script it!
Fever – White Witches from Fever PDX on Vimeo.
Oh, we got a good one this week folks. This entry comes from my brain, and the aching little voices that gnaw at me. No, not the scary voices. I keep them quiet with constant plays of HALO online. I am talking about my reoccurring monologue. The Statler and Waldorf in the balcony of my mind, commenting with a constant volley of slaps to the face (both for me and the intended victims of life).
So, the other day, I was engaged with a discussion, in which myself and the fellow speaking were talking about our movie sets, our processes, and the little victories that we strive for with the little to no money we have. In this discussion, he told me about another film maker in our area that stated “If you don’t have thiry people on your crew, you’re not a real film maker.” Hmmmm, let me process that slap to my face as I begin the geometric calculation for planting one on your face. Really? There is a rule somewhere that says “You’re not really doing this unless you have a minimal number of people around you.”
Look, one person with a camera, filming themselves is a film maker. I can have five people around me that can do wonders and thirty people around me that are going to screw up or, worse, STAND AROUND. While screwing up helps one to learn, it also slows down your production, and when time is money that is not a good thing to have happen. Standing around. Now you’re just wasting life for a paycheck and burning valuable oxygen.
Now I will certainly let someone have their opinion about anything and everything, just as I have granted myself the same leeway. Just so you know, when you say something, there is probably going to be a response. The idea that my film is not a film because I didn’t have thirty people is an interesting idea. One that holds no merit and is easily shot down, but it is interesting nonetheless. It’s interesting because it gives me insight into this dufus. I’m not criticizing his abilities as a film maker, just his ability in life. See, for him, he thinks he needs thirty people standing around on his site. I may have need for that many or more someday, but I did a pretty bang up job on the last film, and it had six people on the crew. Six top notch, wonderful people that I will undoubtedly hire again. If someone feels that the fabric of their life needs certain specifics to make them feel successful or accomplished or worthy, than those are their own guidelines for success. Their’s and their’s alone. I didn’t need thirty folks. This guy maybe did because he can’t do anything constructive on his own and lives in a small dictatorship called “His Set” in which he takes thirty professionals and lambastes them for hours (or insert days, weeks, months, years) because it makes him feel like he is real. Well, buddy, are you real? Are you? Is Cameron calling yet, asking you to make Avatar II: The Awakening because you did it with thirty people and he did it with just twenty-seven on the set? (Please be advised – I completely understand that when it is me doing this very thing, which is defining how others should be by my own set of standards, I am being a dick and a hypocrite, I just wanted to be able to call this one out from the balcony)
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.
This is one of my favorite topics – that of our “Industry” in Portland filming. Supposedly we’re about to bust out and blossom. Which I don’t discredit at all. Lately we have had an amazing run of TV being produced in Oregon. Portlandia is a fun show and a great set to work on. Grimm is off and running like a mad machine. Leverage continues to be fun and exciting in it’s episodic “The blank Job” way. Plus we have had a couple of films come through town, and we have one of our own local films actually making a national splash (Rid Of Me). None as of yet have been exploding us on the map, but it has to be a bud before it becomes a flower.
Even with the bud starting to form we need to keep some things in mind as an industry of film makers in our area, no matter what side of the line we are on. By this I mean…are we still begging for people to work for free? Really? REALLY? I have come to the conclusion that FaceBook is pretty much a way of dressing up Craig’s List to ask people to come out and work on your productions. “It’s not free, it’s an investment in the awesomeness that you will get for working with me on more stuff that may or may not be happening and probably won’t pay or get seen by someone because it is too high concept for anyone to get and I am a creative and no one gets me so come on out and work for free which isn’t free because I give beer, pizza, copy, and credit.” REALLY? Are we still doing this.
Hey, if you are reading this, I have a pop quiz for you. Without using IMDb, can you tell me who ran the boom mic for Steven Spielberg on Saving Private Ryan? Ten seconds…time’s up. You know who it was? It doesn’t matter. Why? Because whoever it was, he or she was working a job. One they probably did really well. One they probably love. However, there is no award at the academies for boom mic holder. There is no trophy for best grip.
No one ever got famous by being a PA. So don’t ever assume that your set is a privilege to work on. People need to be paid. Landlords don’t accept awards for rent, so you sure as hell better be paying people. Good intentions may get you into heaven (I’m too far gone for that) but it doesn’t feed someone. Pay them! If you have people in L.A. that are interested and want something from you, they will pay for it. If they don’t pay for it they are either not interested or unable to pay. Grimm was not shot for free. Someone pitched the idea and a budget was given. Then someone wrote a script, which they were paid for it, and then investors handed over money for someone to film the concept and prove that it was a worthy concept.
Now, I admit that I know there is a fine line for doing things to get experience and getting an “in” in an industry. That is why there are intern positions in so many businesses around the world. However, if you sign on to an internship it comes with a statement of what you will learn, how you will be trained, and what you are due to get out of it. Some internships give you consideration toward work if an open position is available in the field you are investing in. If you just showed up at a business and worked for free, and had nothing that was going to prove that you were working toward a goal then really what you are doing is working for free. Businesses love that. They will do it as long as you let them. Let me repeat that – THEY WILL DO THAT AS LONG AS YOU LET THEM.
Have I still done free work? I have, when I have decided to. When someone blasts a post for people to work for them (but there is no pay) I don’t respond. If someone in talking to me and says they need help but just can’t get it because they don’t have money, I may offer. I will say that if it comes to it, asking me straight up to work for you even though there may be no pay is a hell’uva lot better than “blind-blast” posts out to the world asking for the masses to run to work for free on your awesome idea. If it’s awesome, and people are going to put blood, sweat, and tears into it then pay them. Your set isn’t that awesome. Neither is mine. Cameron’s set…ok, yes I would work for free, but that guy sneezes money so I think he would pay me to hold his coffee just because he can.
The point is that an industry is built on standards that allow people to professionally contribute for a compensation. Compensation is not good feelings. Compensation is pay and health benefits. That is why I opened with the definition of Industry. If you want to do work, or want someone to work, for free then I get it – when it is little pieces that are about working on your chops, having fun, producing lit bits of experimental fodder that help you grow. If you are making something that is a festival piece, something that is going to be proving that you are worth the investment, then you need to prove to the others people around you that you believe in that investment by paying them. If you “blind-blast” for free work, it means you don’t care about the quality, you just need warm to luke-warm bodies schlubbing about your space. Even a PA is worth their weight in pay. A good PA makes things happen.
I actually saw a pair of Portland film makers state in their Kickstarter video that they were choosing Portland to film in because it allowed them to get a free cast and crew, and they won nearly $7000 for their short film. What does that say when two locals can state that they are filming locally because people are willing to work for free, and they still score $7K to pocket? Their video pitch went on to state that this short film was jump-starting their career. What about all the people working on their set? Who or what is jump-starting their career? If every jerk asked them to work for free to jump-start their own personal career, we would have an industry of actors and crews that were never paid. Please read the definition of Industry above.
There are a lot of people beyond our borders slugging it out in the trenches that are a better financial risk than we are, making it difficult to get people to invest in our work. Don’t kid yourself; we are an investment. No one puts out a ton of money without the desire of a return on it. Even with our own dollars and our own short films, we invest. Making a short film is paying the IMDb gods so that we can earn a notch of faith. “Believe in me, and invest in me, and I will create films that are worthy. I prove that because I made the following list of successful things.”
As Portlanders I think we are the recipients of an industry from another city. I believe the industry extends itself here because we allow for some great things to happen. For ourselves, we are still caught up in the Portland-style of doing things. That makes us quirky and ironic, but it doesn’t make us an industry (see definition above). Making us an industry means making choices. Choices in how we act professionally, how we are treated professionally, and what we professionally create. We have to make those choices as industry leaders, as individuals, and as creators of content. There are choices that need to be made for us to succeed if an industry is to be established (not created). Filming is not a new industry, and it is not new in coming to Oregon, but the fact that we don’t have our own film industry in Oregon speaks volumes as to how we have treated such industry requirements. No one will take us seriously before we take ourselves seriously. So we need to start taking ourselves seriously before we can build something remarkable here. Otherwise, we will be farming out the best of us to other places.
There are some rules in life that I am trying to adhere to, that I think are general, yet poignant and make life seem easier to digest when I realize that I probably screwed myself when I was bitching about how someone screwed me.
Rule #1: Subduction leads to orogeny (look it up, you will find I am right)
Rule #2: The tide goes in – The tide goes out
Rule #3: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
Rule #4: Figures never lie but liars figure
Rule #5: Big rocks sink fast
Hey there, just a little updater. Back in from last nights win for Patrick’s Story and hopefully a few more people willing to pass on the message for equality in marriage rights. Not only was I really pleased and thankful for the win but I was even more thankful for the thoughtful comments afterwards by people who were moved by the message. I am extremely fortunate in my life to the fact that I am able to take this movie and run with it in every way possible to keep the message of marriage equality alive. While I enjoy people watching the other things that I have (and will) make and enjoying them I can’t hold a candle to the power of Patrick’s message and his ability to move people to tears. Please help to pass the message along and continue the move toward marriage equality.
I would like to say thank you to all that have watched Patrick’s Story so far, and to all that will help to carry it forward.
I thought I would through up the embed of the Sunstall video I did. I have passed this on to Solar World with the hopes of getting in good with their marketing folks. See the video after the bump.
In the mean time, I am trying to figure out how to pay for “Part of the ship/Part of the crew” and start getting Sweat Pea (another short script) paid for and off the ground. My Kickstarter fear has kicked in again, but in a more legitimate way this time. Lately, I have seen so many projects go up and fail on there. More so than usual. I have felt for quite some time that Portland has an excessive amount of people throwing Kickstarter projects on the web with little to no experience, collateral, or history to prove they are worth investing in. I have no idea if I am one of those people or one that has the work to back it up but would just fall prey to the over saturation of Kickstarter campaigns. Somehow, though, I need to fund Sweat Pea. It’s something that I think is a great script and an excellent challenge of a film to make.
One to the solar panels.
SUNSTALL – Sunstalling the future from Galaxy Sailor on Vimeo.
That’s right. Me and Gus van Sant. We buddies. We hit the beer house together. Chums, if you will. I had to bump Neil Gaiman from the top tier to do it, but I think it was a worth while effort. Actually, I don’t know Gus at all, but it’s fun to think that he would be handing me the dollars to do a film instead of Taylor Lautner, but whatever Gus. Friends can forgive.
Actually, I was featured in the recent issue of 1859 magazine, a local publication. You can tell it’s local because it’s called 1859; that’s the year we gained statehood in Oregon. We really did gain statehood. You’re not just born this way. Anywho, the article written by Lucy Burningham is titled On The Set, and it is a reflection of the time when One Flew Over The Cuckoos nest was made all the way to the foretelling of hopeful Oregon film and television dollars. Check out the embed below of the online version of the story.
(I bought six copies!)
In the last week and a half, I have enjoyed a resurgence in work. The feast and famine trend continues! I started picking up NECA/IBEW videos again, and have about five or six slated for the next few weeks (with any luck). As well, I have started work on a proposal set for a local home weatherizing company. They are getting a video series, as well as a new website. I have also had the privilege of getting work from a California company, called SUNSTALL. This was one of the few times I ever did an impromptu pitch that went through. Huzzah! Now to repeat the pattern. SUNSTALL is installing all of the new infrastructure for solar panels on a ODOT/PGE cooperative renewable energy program. Nearly seven thousand new panels will be installed when it’s all done. Sweet!
Oh, those pirates. Why does it always keep coming back to the pirates. Probably because I love them dearly! I accept this. So the buccaneers of Bridgetown have some great events coming soon, to which I am attending. They are also set to kick off a season (not plundering, that’s in spring) recruiting business prospects. Thankfully, they came to me and asked that I do a promo video for them. A promo video? For pirates? Where would I ever get footage for such things? I know – the footage from the documentary movie I am making called Part of the ship/Part of the crew: The making of El Tiburon. It’s glorious, and as soon as the skallywags let me post it, there shall be glorious pirate video posted! HUZZAH!
In the mean time – enjoy and read up!
Time for another exciting installment of Galaxy Sailor Productions blogroll. Well, I get excited about it.
First off, I am the luckiest dingleberry in the fruit stand. Seriously. So, a little over a month ago I got to see Marian Call perform here in Portland with opening act
Oh, but it gets better. I got to meet up with Angela Webber of The Doubleclicks. A plan was hatched in which they are contributing to the film “Part of the ship, Part of the crew” and I couldn’t be happier about the combined scheme of it all. It will be glorious.
Anyway, my meeting with Angela was an amazing one, and I couldn’t help but feel really…accomplished. When it was over, she had talked about how it sounded like my life was a cool journey. Telling her how I got to here even sounded like a pretty good story to me when I was telling it. At the heart of it all, however was the fact that I was feeling really blessed to be at this moment, right here, with a musician doing something unique and amazing. It’s like I am getting a chance to see her before The Doubleclicks explode into nerd glory. It’s only a matter of time before they are on The Guild and doing tours with Paul and Storm. To be honest, I think these two are about to have the nerd world by the balls. To be in such company is beyond coolness.
It is all very weird to me. What is the measure of success, especially in this day and age? With a recession in place, jobs at a loss, a political spectrum with hardly a middle ground, and an unstable world ready to implode, it seems a little off to be thinking about insecurities as a person. Or as an artist. Or filmmaker. If you don’t know it by now, I am a very insecure person. Very insecure. I battle it all the time. I worry at exceptionally high levels. It has led me to act “strange” at times when I have been around people I idolize or look up to (yes, Bobby R., that would be you).
I suppose the measure wouldn’t matter as much if the world wasn’t in turmoil, I wasn’t 40 years old, and I was prepared to make a plan B. Well, this is plan C, and I am making it up as I go, because plan A and B where thought out and didn’t amount to a hill of beans for me. Coupled with the fact of my insecurity is the fact that I have entered into a realm in which I create things to be judged. Good call. This must be the moment where the man with the butterfly net circles around the guy with the white coat with long, strapping sleeves.
For whatever reason, though, the last few weeks, I have felt more accomplished and more professional and more accepted then any other moment in my life. PDX Yar, the pirates of Portland made me a part of the ship (part of the crew) for my time doing the documentary about them. Aaron Duran, of
Anyway…I will be putting together and doing a Kickstarter campaign soon to help pay for the pirate documentary. I need to fund this baby, and I don’t the coins. Damn pirates took them. Well, you know…pirates.
It’s Friday. I gotta go.
Hey there folks and friends. Huzzah to you all. It has been a glorious few weeks, and I am here to tell you all about it.
To begin with, the post production of the documentary Part of the Ship, Part of the Crew: the making of El Tiburon has begun. Months of footage, as you would expect, are now being watched again by me, as well as scripting for the voice over. I still have some filming to do, which consists of interviews with primary ship builders, but all of the story, as it unfolded, has been completed. For those of you that don’t know, El Turbon is a land based pirate ship build being performed by PDXYar as a demonstration/performance piece/shwag center. They won a Kickstarter campaign and I have followed them ever since.
The film was originally thought to be a short, and chronicling the activities as the ship was in the yards being built. As it turns out, there is more to the story than just the ship and its construction (which was not a simple task). Many things happened along the way, most all of which are positive in the utmost beautiful manner. As much as a ship being built, a person was being constructed as well, with some really great things learned along the way. You’ll have to watch the movie to know what I am talking about!
There is currently a page on my site as well as a Facebook Page that you can follow for details.
Speaking of jibs (A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsails on a modern boat) I have had the fortune of doing a little jib construction and assembly lately. And by little, I mean a 40 footer. And by 40 footer, I mean it’s not little at all. Bob Palota with Cameras Eye and Earth2World has been sporting his jib around and needed a jib assistant. It just so happens I made myself available and the next thing you know…I’m on the set of Portlandia shaking hands with Edward James Olmos, James Callas, and Roger D. Moore. These people are, to the unknowing: Admiral Adama, Gaius Baltar, and head writer, all of the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. I had a giant nerd moment, but kept it contained. I didn’t want to, but I did.
Speaking of spitballs, I have had the fortune of working with Spitball Media as of late, and being really loving the fact. Joe Lesher and Joel Jackson are a couple of great guys, with a tight ship (I keep bringing it) and coupled with Andrew Smith, one of the most awesome dudes I have met in a long time, these folks bring together an awesome set of sweet video lovin’. I hope I get to do more in the future with them.
I think for a change of pace, I am not going to rant, though I have many things that I could yell about that would solve the ills of the world. I’ll hold out this time!
Well, it has been one week since Breckenridge Festival of Film. I was very blessed to walk about with Best Short Documentary and Best LGBT themed Documentary this year. Patrick’s Story is finally making a mark, and I am hopeful to carry on to other festivals as well as use it as the vehicle to tell more of the story. Not just of Patrick, but of the others who continue to have doors shut on them with marriage.
Breckenridge was an amazing venue. I met some great contacts from all over the country. First off, I met two folks from Stone Ridge, New York. That kind of amazed me, as I have deep ties to that area. They know people that I know. How crazy is that? What’s great is that both Ingrid Price and Davis Hall were crowning jewels to my trip. We took the same shuttle from Breckenridge to Denver International, and I couldn’t have been happier to meet fantastic folks. I am dying to see them again and I hope I get to work with them. They did a film called Mother’s House with their production company Peak Road Productions. Unfortunately, with the schedule, I didn’t get to see their film at the festival, so I am hopeful to see it soon on DVD.
There was also Sayer Frey and Erin Rasmussen of Reframing Media. Sayer wrote and directed, with Erin producing, the most compelling and thought provoking film of the festival. Abandon ME takes place in 1940 Iowa. It’s about a desperate daughter attempting to abandon her aging mother in a cornfield but is haunted by three of her “selves,” who unsympathetically compel her to reclaim her life. The imagery in this film is powerful, and to say thought provoking is just the beginning. Sayer makes you work for the payoff, which is something that doesn’t happen in most of spoon feeding films of Hollywood. The reason it works is the payoff of coming to terms with a past and a present at nearly the same moment for our protagonist. The end result: a completely satisfying and in depth analysis of abuse victims done in 19 minutes. That is true film making art and science.
There were other great movies as well (who would expect less at a festival). Fanny, Anny, & Danny was a big winner at the festival. Chris Brown’s dive into the life of a mentally handicapped woman and her excruciatingly broken family was like forty miles of bad road. It is well crafted, and a fine movie, but hard to watch, if repeatedly. This is due to the fact that there is no redeeming quality to anyone or anything. When you reach the end, (the movie and your seat as I did) you realize you are standing on an abyss that everyone was more then willing to jump off of as they twisted and turned their lives in a pseudo-Christmas atmosphere of total chaos. I saw it, and it was great work, but I can’t watch it again. It still makes my stomach hurt.
So, with Breckenridge behind me, and some very nice success there, I turn to the next things (both current and future). A Deed without a Name is edited and is currently going through the next stage, which is sound clean up and design. I think I am at the half way mark on this, with Evan Phillips coming in to do the special effects. I have a couple more short shorts to do in the next few months.
The documentaries that I am currently working on are in swing. PDXYar and the great pirate ship build moves along at a marvelous clip, with interviews on the way. As well, BOILERPLATE is a go! I am really proud and excited by this. I have been thinking that I am at that place where I need to starting making hard decisions: am I a documentary film maker or a narrative film maker. The answer that I keep coming back to is that I am a story teller. I tell stories in visual mediums, and I am not sure that I want to limit myself by title. I don’t want my title to dictate my behavior, as Kevin Smith so nicely put it in CLERKS.
Here is my interview from Byron Beck on his show Have You Hear, which is part of the Earth2World network.
Have You Heard? Hosted By Byron Beck: Episode #18 from earth2world on Vimeo.
Byron chats with guest co-host, Mother’s Bistro’s Chef/Owner Lisa Schroeder, about celebrations including Burning Man, Rose Fest, Pride & Father’s Day. Chef Lisa also creates a wonderful salad with California avocado and Oregon shrimp. Mother’s bartender, Dane Scholey, whips an Absolut-ly delightful cocktail with Absolut Wild Tea and Lemonade. Martin Vavra, fresh from the Breckenridge Film Festival and his double-win for his documentary, “Patrick’s Story,” is joined by the subject of his film “Patrick” to discuss this important and timely film.
I am thinking it is time for some HALO this morning.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Martin Vavra
galaxysailor@gmail.com
541-621-4825
Breckenridge Festival of Film recognizes local filmmaker’s doc ‘Patrick’s Story’
For high-rez press images, more info:
http://galaxysailor.com/patricks-story/
Another Oregon documentary is making waves on the film-festival circuit.
Martin Vavra’s doc “Patrick’s Story” has been accepted into Colorado’s Breckenridge Festival of Film.
“Patrick’s Story” follows a gay man, Patrick, who was removed from a Portland hospital as his partner lay dying.
Vavra explores what the word “marriage” means in our culture — taking a powerful look at the social confusion associated with registered domestic partnership rights.
Another Vavra project, “The Last Stand” — a zombie-apocalypse Web series filmed in Portland — recently won three awards at the LA Web Fest. “The Last Stand” has been distributed by three other Web sites and translated into three other languages. It will soon be available on Hulu and Netflix.
Established in 1981, the Breckenridge Festival of Film ( http://www.breckfilmfest.com ) is one of the oldest film festivals in the country. Breckenridge 2011 runs Thursday-Sunday, June 9-11 — featuring 56 independent dramas, comedies, documentaries and big-picture premieres.
Vavra is available for interviews.
For high-rez press images, a trailer and other press materials, click here:
http://galaxysailor.com/patricks-story/
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No, filming or film or filmmaking aren’t really dying. While there was a major shake up a few weeks ago with digital filming and Roger Dekins, I was referring in a very weird way to the recent filming I did in which a murder takes place. Whether accidental or not, it is interesting and fun to set up such a scenario and play it all out. It’s like diving into an odd place in your brain and exploring the nuances that you would reserve for people in bad traffic. Then reeling that in and finding the calm insanity that would make people flinch in terror for a moment. It’s new to express that aspect and I am hoping I will do that well.
I refer to filming A Deed without a Name, the short film I am working on from the script by Jeri Klein and myself. We have two out of our three days of filming done, and will be returning to film our last day very soon. So far, I am totally in love with this cast and crew, and I am feeling so amazed at the work that is getting done. Soon we shall have a trailer and some music, and then it’s off to the festivals if all goes well.
Speaking of festivals, I am happy to announce that Patrick’s Story was accepted into the Breckenridge Festival of Film for 2011. I was starting to give up hope that Patrick’s Story would get any recognition at all. The whole film has been a labor of love; one that I have fought for over a year with some of the most unlikely people. It has been a relentless pursuit to have people get the message. I am really excited to have this story seen, and I hope that more people will watch and support the cause!
The art of war I am referring to…well, it actually has a lot a meanings. Some of you that see me in the real world (not Facebook, twitter, or other such places) know that I have had an open conversation about a certain group of people that are bad. Bad people that I “worked” for in their film. I speak quite openly about their reputation, or lack of, their skills, or lack of. I caught myself the other day really laying the complaining on thick with someone, and finally shut myself up. It’s not always easy to practice your own preaching or keep in mind your own convictions. I have often said that your attitude dictates your actions. Admittedly, when I watch someone that, in my own hypocrisy, is getting something they don’t deserve, I get a little mouthy about it. That is a war that I need not perpetuate. The war is one in which I cannot win. It’s proverbial. The wrestling match with the pig, in which the pig likes it and you are covered in shit. The fact remains, if I choose to repeatedly put energy into my dissatisfaction with these people, I am taking energy away from where it needs to be: making more films.
You see, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t believe in karma as a cosmic balancing of all things good and evil. In the original Sanskritic, karma was defined as ACTION. If you partake of actions that are ill, you will most likely get caught or stumble on your own actions eventually. We’ve all been caught in that white-lie, now just imagine it on a more catastrophic level in which you care so little for the people in your path, or the tapestry of deception you create that to have that come back on you is a devastating act. That isn’t the universe setting you up for a lesson, that is you.
Along with the war of words comes the war of presentation. I am speaking of hype. Hype is such a dangerous thing. It sets up expectations for those skilled enough to create it, but it is a dangerous pit for those that are all talk and no action. I probably lack on the hype aspect of things, bu there are others where I watch and see all the talk. Talk talk talk. Just talk. Are you ever going to do anything? Will you please just finish ONE of your many projects so someone can see them. Just one! One completed action; a fiery hoop jumped through to show that what you say is what you do. This is a war that wages on constantly. I recently met someone on a commerce gig I was filming who was in from LA for a day. We talked and laughed at the talkers. The people that don’t follow through. The Hypers, as I like to call them. The similarities are carried throughout this industry and is not a Portland phenomenon. Thank goodness. I was worried.
Again, this is the conversation that takes away energy from the act of doing. To talk and have a laugh is one thing, but to worry and fret over these is another. I have made such leaps and bounds in the last two plus years, that to lose this to jealousy, or aggression, or just stupid mouthiness is pretty much the worst thing I can do. I have had some very fortunate things happen. I continue to work with some amazing people. AMAZING. It’s astounding the great people around me. To sacrifice them to arrogance or jealousy would be the saddest moment in my life. I can’t give these people up, and I certainly wouldn’t want to lose any moment I am able to create thanks to them.
I think that is good for now. I’m off to do something not sitting I think. I’ll leave you with my latest video.
So much goodness in the last few days, I hardly have the bladder to contain it all.
So, first off, I went to my first viewing of Livewire Radio. It’s the best thing ever. I filmed a their Give!Guide promo videos this last season, and as pay I get to see some shows. They are amazing. AMAZING! You should go out and see them. See all of them. When time travel is developed, the best use of it should be to go back and watch all their shows.
I wanted to put a major plug in here for the upcoming comicbook and pulp culture convention that is happening in Portland on May 14th and 15th. Wonder Northwest is the premiere comic book and pop culture expo featuring all the best things about all that stuff under one room with coolness added in. Dark Horse comics and Things From Another World are part of an ever growing list of people, such as Tim Seeley (HACK/SLASH), Paul Guinan (Boilerplate), Anina Bennett (Heartbreakers), as well as Kaijucast, Cort & Fatboy, PDX Yar, The Alter Ego Society, and the ever popular Billy Galaxy. It’s star studded. It’s spectacle. It has it all. To top it all off, The Last Stand will have it’s world debut on DVD.
As far as freaking out over art, I am just gushing over this. Mike Dringenberg is one of the original artists that worked on Sandman with Neil Gaiman. He was the inker, then became the penciler, and helped to create the beloved character Death. He was at Stumptown comicbook show this weekend, and I met him. He drew me a beautiful original Sandman while we talked over coffee, solved the worlds problems, and discussed gear head topics in road biking. I was in awe!
OK, next post is about work, I promise.
