Sept. 17th, 2006
Pancakes & Parables
Last night I worked at a Hotel. I was filling in helping out my buddy so he could have a night off. I was the A/V tech on duty so that I could just baby sit a DVD player during a wedding. Excitement Central, that’s where I was last night, at least I was able to get some thoughts down.
During a break, I had my handy dandy laptop. I was tweaking the book I’m writing, Tales from the Front Line of Indie Filmmaking. I started a little organization of my files, and I found 3 articles I forgot about, namely the Making of The Manhattan Project that I was asked to write for a website I can’t recall, and the Making of New World parts 1 and 2 that I wrote for The DogPile filmmaking site. This added 20 pages to the book. When I got home, I added a few pics to jazz these stories up. I didn’t know if I should put these at the head of the book or the tail. I chose the tail so that people can read the articles & other Tales, and then see how I really started.
I tweaked the book until 3:00AM and played with it. I found this new site, LuLu.com, that self publishes the book for $5 cheaper per book than Cafepress.com does. I’m getting a few copies made so that I can send them off to publishers already in book form. In the meantime, I’ll sell a few copies here and there on the site. I get a discount if I buy 36 or more, so I’ll order 30 for my own needs and sales.
Still not much happens with the next feature script. I can’t focus on it. I’m at least starting to figure out what’s wrong. I'm obviously pushing my shoot for a bit. I have some funding to help book a name actor or two. At some point in October, I'd like to get all my principals in a room & figure out when & how we're going to make the movie.
The script is coming along, but much slower than I'd like. I've made some progress, but obviously not as much as I'd hoped. I get some occasional inspirations and I write them down, but still no massive script writing sessions. Now I'm in money making mode (like the gig last night). I'm dedicated, but I want my next project to excel and be better than anything I've done, but I think the added self imposed pressure is killing me creatively.
Things are still moving with Horrors of War, but at least it’s not me doing the work. The film has its own momentum now. I keep either finding film festivals or some of them contact me to let us know that it was accepted. We’re up to 11 film fests and rising slowly. I can officially say that we’re with Maverick Entertainment for the DVD release, but it won’t be on DVD in the U.S. until sometime in 2007. Phil did find a DVD cover from one of the sites that scanned the Netherlands DVD art. I made a Poster Gallery on the site, also Phil’s idea.
We’ve got an invite to the Thriller!Chiller! Film Festival in Michigan and that one sounds like a LOT of fun. John Whitney and I are definitely going. I don’t want to see the movie again, but I don’t mind talking about it afterwards.
Showing the Directors’ Cut of Horrors of War is an interesting sales tool. There are some out there that question the logic of screening a version of the film that will NOT be on DVD. This is not a bad thing, it’s a good thing. That means people who see it on the festival tour will have a reason to rent or watch the movie again because it’s different. If they didn’t like the movie, they have a reason to give it another chance. It makes the screenings “special” and the DVD release something to still look forward to for any fans out there too. It’s not rocket science, kids.
I have agreed to speak at the next IndieClub Columbus meeting September 24th, 2006 1pm to 4pm at Dublin branch of the Columbus Metro Library 75 N. High Street Dublin, OH 43017. I really don’t like to attend these local meetings, for IndieClub or Columbus Movie Club. There’s not much there for me. It’s for people like I used to be, where I used to be. I don’t find I’d get much out of the meetings myself. After all I had been through with the Columbus Film Consortium, I find that the social aspects and the behavior of local filmmakers (and filmmaker wannabes), to be anti-productive for making movies. It brings out the worst in me too. I’m not that unaware of my own bad habits and terrible inhibitions when it comes to local moviemaking clashes. The metaphor I’m using is this: An alcoholic does not go to bars once or twice a month with his old drinking buddies.
I was asked to speak about “Reel” and how to make them, why you make them, and show a few. It was no small motivation that since Brandy is working so much with two full time jobs that I’m showing her Reel because she can’t be there. I miss my Brandy-Weasel and I miss Spoooooooooooons. The least I can do is try to help get her some acting work when things slow down for her. I’ve also got 2 of Greg Sabo’s Director of Photography Reels I edited to show.
I’ve also got my two updated Reels to show. The Commercial Reel hadn’t been touched in almost 3 years. I never made a “Director’s Reel”, but I needed to because I’m getting ready to solicit a real agent. We’re zooming in on the time for me to try my hand at the bigger league. After putting an initial cut of my Director’s Reel online, I got some feedback from several places and I shortened it, whilst adding almost double the material. Dan Kiely even kicked in with the suggestion to shorten a clip he was in. I did. The less Dan Kiely on my Reel, the better I’ll do, that much is certain.
I’ve been tossing around the idea of offering the service of editing Reels for actors for over a year, but I have this fear of a poor reaction from people or several amateur wannabes offering the same service for free or cheaper, even though they won’t have the same level of professionalism. I think I’ll start anyway. I’m not trying to win a popularity contest. I need to make money these days and I’m worth every penny. I’ve been underselling myself for far too long.
The cats are in upheaval. With Brandy’s less frequent time spent here at Rossdonia, they are becoming rebellious. They have taken to coughing up the hairballs everywhere and more often. I believe Coussette is behind these new terrorist attacks. We will strike down the evil doers and smoke them out of their caves.
I’ve got a few paid edit sessions this coming week, doing an interview for someone’s documentary, a new editing class session, and 2 more video production jobs this coming week. This is a good thing. I’m going to make some money and alleviate some of my tribulations so that I can focus on the writing of a feature length screenplay that I will shoot sometime in 2007…
Peace Out Sonnyboo-Homees,
Peter John Ross
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DRINK IT UP! www.Sonnyboo.com
Sept. 5th, 2006
Days of Futures Past
Im in a state of flux right now. Not everything feels like it should and I have a general discomfort and Im not 100 ure where it emanates from. Definitely writers block contributing to this, but thats not all. The world and specifically my world is off-kilter in the now.
I got a car again. Its a Chevy Blazer. As most people who know will guess, its not exactly a perfect fit with me. I dont look right in a Blazer, but who cares? Im mobile again. Its weird to be able to go where ever I want whenever I want. Its been a while. I waited until the right circumstance hit and Im glad I did.
Some money has filtered back into my life from commercial work, so that has helped a lot. Ive started teaching my editing class and this past weekend on Sunday I even tried something new a one day editing seminar in Cleveland. What was risky for me was to drive the new automobile all the way to Cleveland. I had paranoia because the last 3 trips prior to Cleveland have all resulted in a car that had problems.
I think Im better at teaching my class now than ever before. I have more experience (thanks Captain Obvious!), but I have also gotten more streamlined on the information and how I put it out there. I used a lot more video in my presentation than ever before and I put the Laptop through its paces since this wasnt taught at a studio, but rather at TALKIES, a coffee bar in downtown Cleveland. In actuality, this worked out great. I used the Laptop as a DVD player, and also as an editor to demonstrate editing a scene from a movie from the raw footage. I have another paranoia (I am neurotic after all) after doing any kind of public speaking where I think I did terrible. I become needy & want feedback if I sucked or not. Luckily, several of the students emailed me and said they enjoyed it, including 4 gentlemen who drove up from Kentucky for this.
I crashed at Johnny Wus so I could sneak a peak at some footage from his feature THE RAPTURE. He wasnt feeling well, at least not until he started showing the clips and he got animated and excited. Johnny said he could barely stay awake, but then after showing footage we chatted for a few hours.
Yesterday, I made a side stop in Wadsworth Ohio where I grew up. This is the one place I consider my hometown. I was there from age 5-12 and most of my fondest memories reside in this place and that time. This was before our family moved to El Paso Texas where I feel that I was raped of my childhood by circumstance and my own ignorance. I get a great deal of solace from visiting Wadsworth, even today. Nearby our old house was The Woods and this is now an official city park. Half of the park now has formal cement paths and a parking lot, plus a small pond where I nearly drowned 20 years ago is now a sanctioned, real pond with benches and everything. I detest the revised part of the park, but the majority of it remains unfettered by time and conservatism.
The last time I was here, a few months ago, I went through the modern & sanitized part of the park, hating every moment of it until I found the paths still lead to a more wild, un-cemented and less traveled part. This time I started at the opposite end of the park, nearer to where my old home used to be. I found my way to the northern most part and wandered about. I have grown so much older. Its been 22 years since I lived here and yet I found that I left a part of my soul in this place, in these trees and hills. I found that there are parallels to that time of my life and this time of my life. I am happier now than I have ever been since that era. Im struggling to maintain this happiness and trudge forward into the future too. This little journey into my past has given me a great deal of hope and I look forward now, eyes open, first foot out.
I want more spoons. Brandy wont give them to me. Shes working two jobs and well over 50 hours a week. Spooning is not sexual; its more a form of torture in a sense. I am not a touchy feely person, but because Brandy hates spooning, it makes me want to do it all the time. Brandy is small. See this Brandy? YOURE SMALL. Youre a tiny little thing and I want to spoon soon, so get home damn it.
I have become a good friend to SPAZ ANDERSON, the black cat. He and I have formed an unholy alliance against COUSETTE, the pretty 6 toed cat in the house. We have a boys room and shes not allowed in. We have special hand shakes and secret codes just to make her feel left out. She can go play with Brandy and they can make a girls room while we continue our manly excursions. Take that ladies!
The commercial demo reel as been updated with more recent projects (since Ive made about 12 new commercials since the last edit), plus I made a first cut of a Directors Reel, for my more artistic endeavors. I intend to use this to get more directing work and an agent at some point, although Im not sure when at this point. I put these reels on both YouTube and MySpace for all to see in higher res than even my own site.
SEVEN SAMURAI CRITERION 3 DVD set came out today. For anyone looking for cinema history, Akira Kurasawas master piece film demonstrates everything you need to know in film. I bought the single disc Criterion DVD a few years ago based solely on Steven Spielberg saying he watches his 35mm film print of this movie the day before every shoot hes ever done. George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, & John Milius all swear by Kurasawa and specifically Seven Samurai. I might have to pick up the new 3 DVD version soon. Its too enticing.
I also broke down last week and bought the triple-dip LORD OF THE RINGS DVDs that got re-released. I already have 2 sets of each, but this 3rd set has all new feature length documentaries on each of the movies that are unseen. Overall, they arent that great, but I bought them for so cheap, it was worth it to me and wont be too many consumers. I dont recommend them unless you are fanatical (like me).
In the month since my last blog entry, I have tried many things to spot writers block. One of the things I did was re-visit an idea that was brought to me by a publisher. Having read my articles online and some of this very blog, I was approached by a publishing company to potentially write a book. They wanted my sardonic approach to writing and the perspective of going from DV shorts to feature filmmaking. Of course the caveat was to see how well Horrors of War does, so at least they were honest. Since Horrors of War is due out in the near future, it was time to look into a compilation of the articles and flesh out a bigger piece.
In doing so, I started to reminisce about more sad stories that had happened to me as well as more articles. I made a test pressing of the first draft because I am a tactile person. Touching & feeling the book did make me write a lot more. I did several updates, drafts, and several new stories and articles emerged. One far more important aspect added was asking Dan Kiely to do illustrations for the book for the caricatures. These added so much vibrancy & light to the book. The book is coming along fantastically, if I do say so myself. There is some genuine insight into the real process of making DV movies and how to prepare for making bigger, more accessible films. Its really a book with 2 parts. The first are the straight to the point articles which are advice driven, although occasionally sarcastic, but in bite sized nuggets of information. The other half are personal stories, many of which are partially found on this blog, and the rest have not yet been told in a public forum.
I actually have managed to get pages of the script written. Ive started over with a page one re-write, meaning I have jettisoned almost everything written by the other writers, at least the exact words written. I will maintain much of what they did in spirit, but the dialogue is almost entirely new. I just let the characters start talking, but I keep writing myself into a corner. What sucks about this particular bout with writers block is that its not normal & unlike any other Ive come up against. I already HAVE the entire outline of the story done. There are plots, sub-plots, even nuggets of dialogue written in the outline, but I just cant get the groove to start. I cant go for more than a few pages at a time. It just isnt there. I cant explain it.
Johnny Wu has hit on a theory that I tend to agree with. He said I have too many loose ends. My spirit is not at peace and I cant focus until I clear my head. This ties into the intro to this little journal entry. I am un focused and it is because there are still loose ends on Horrors of War, Brandy and I have had a tiff or two recently, both of their own accord & also because of my own frustrations carrying into the relationship, plus I have not been getting as much freelance work & the money isnt coming in like it used to.
Ive already made the conscious decision to push any kind of shoot for this dark comedy until the spring. I will not commit to shooting a feature until I am 100appy with the script. I wont make the same mistake Ive made with some of my short films & make the movie before the foundation has been made rock solid. After the trip to Wadsworth yesterday, making out with Brandy last night, and making some money, I may be able to crack the writing nut a bit more this week.
Until next time, my precious Acolytes. Until Next Time.
Peter John Ross
P.S. No politics this time, but to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of Katrina
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DRINK IT UP! www.Sonnyboo.com
August 10th, 2006
AUTUMN MUSINGS & DISCONTENTMENT
This past weekend I attended the Indie Gathering in Cleveland. Friday night, John Whitney and I screened Horrors of War to a decent sized crowd. On Saturday, we had a table and sold some DVD’s of our short films. John Whitney’s SOLVE FOR X outsold me, but that shouldn’t be a shock. It’s a killer short film (now on YOUTUBE itself).
We started off on a panel on the “Director’s Role on a Film”, and that was fun. Johnny Wu, John Whitney, and I had a fun time. Later in the day I moderated a “writing the modern screenplay” panel, even though I’m not much of a screenwriter. I did tell a story about something you shouldn’t do in a screenplay. I saw a short film where they had a girl floating on a lake. These arms reached up and grabbed her, and pulled her down. Then they cut to a girl waking up from a dream. She goes downstairs and she says,” Mom, I just had the most horrible dream. I was floating on a lake, and these arms pulled me down…” I’m so glad she said those lines because, gee, I was so confused as to which dream she was talking about, Captain Obvious. Films are a SHOW ME medium, not a TELL ME medium. This story got many laughs.
Since I’m describing this same filmmaker, let me just say that we enter into the realm of local movie world insanity. On a blog not unlike this one, a local filmmaker I like to call FADE INTO OBLIVION, tried to out as many as 7 local filmmakers & their productions. The ravings of this madman went so far as to say the basically out of every interaction he’s had with local filmmakers, every single one of them went bad, and every single one of these was not his fault. As someone infamous once said, when you have a string of bad relationships, they all have something in common – YOU.
Now my own dealings with this nut job are well chronicled on this blog, but what is amazing are the new stories that have emerged and the breadth of FADE INTO OBLIVION’s interactions. It turns out there’s a recurring theme to his Adventures in Storytelling. He says he has all kinds of experience, works on a movie, usually for a maximum of 1-2 days, then bails, after leaving a trail of disappointment because his abilities did not equal the promise.
The reality is that FADE INTO OBLIVION is not a bad person per se. He just has a serious problem with reality. When he writes a blog, he condescends to everyone, and specifically bashes on them for just being DV filmmakers with the experience of listening to commentary tracks, but guess what? That’s all he’s got. We’re not even going to get into the blatant lies about his jobs and history in the mid 1990’s when he would have been a teenager.
It’s just another drama unfolding in the local film community. If anyone in the actual film industry pays attention, then it’s pretty obvious they are more bored than anyone in the Midwest. They could also stand to spend a little more time ranting & raving about their own issues.
I’ve self published my first pressing of my book. Thanks to a few reminders and also the blatant idiocy around me at times and I’ve got revisions to make. It’s going to end up at around 200 pages, although I’m hoping to interview someone for the book in a few weeks. It helps to have the real book in my hands. Touching it has broken one level of writer’s block, just not for the script.
I’ve got a solid outline. There’s plots, subplots, individual jokes, several lines, and yet… no script. I can’t do it. I’m not a writer. It’s starting to get testy in my realm. I want to scream and kick, but then I just get online & kill some Nazi ass with ENEMY TERRITORY and then I feel better, but no script.
On the darkest side of my soul, I feel the creepy crawlies as I see the world in the Middle East crumble. I’ve never been to Israel, but I spent time in Middle East, unlike most Americans. I have the highest regard & respect for the Islamic faith. It’s the only religion that has rigorously maintained its integrity by saying “You may not change a word!”, whereas a Christian bible from 1980 varies greatly from one printed in 2006.
I love the Jon Stewart. As my great friend Maurice taught me, it’s better to get the facts filtered in a humorous way. Now even then I have seen things that made me cringe at the same time too. I saw a debate between Gov. George Bush circa 2000 debate President Bush circa 2003-2006, and the contradictions (as in complete lies) and it was enlightening. Then seeing something I thought was brand new, horrifying news, wound up being from March and no one seems to care. Bush met with Tony Blair several months before the war & discussed the start date whether there were Weapons of Mass Destruction or not. That makes everything done in the war so far a lie and the truest motives are despicable. The latest in the long list of lies is the canceling of Stem cell Research saying its murder and that every life is precious, but then to keep the killing spree in Iraq on high for low moral reasons. I guess the only lives that matter are white Christians.
My Sexy Veronica ™ will be most proud of my public proclamations in the political arena, but the world is changing and it’s going into a very dark place. I’m feeling melancholy, I’m feeling concern, and I felt compelled to say something today.
-Peter John Ross
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DRINK IT UP! www.Sonnyboo.com
July 19th, 2006
Crossroads
One thing’s for sure. I’ve grown. Controversies abound with the local filmmaker wannabe’s and I won’t make a peep. There’s more drama than a high school play and I have little or nothing to do with it and I will NOT participate. I have far more important things on my plate. I have choices; I can either work hard on my new script or get into it with talk-a-lot blowhards. I think I’d rather write. I can comment on the sexual preferences of a well known local actor or I can do an interview about HORRORS OF WAR. I think it best to do the Interview. Did this actress have an affair with a married local actor, thus ending a 5 and half year marriage or should we discuss the merits of shooting HD over film?
One of my most avid readers of this blog asked me how life after HORRORS OF WAR is and I said I had an Interview with Markee magazine on Monday and a Horror magazine on Wednesday. Let’s just say it’s not easy to put it behind me when there’s so much left to do and no one to do it.
We’re getting solicited to submit to film festivals. Just this week I’ve fielded offers from a festival in Toronto Canada and another in Phoenix Arizona. Entry fees get waived, and I drop the packages quickly in the post. I think once we get formal announcements, we’ll do the festival run through November of this year, then shift focus to the DVD release in North America. Yes, that’s right – HORRORS OF WAR on DVD this year, at least as it stands now. Things may change, the release might get bumped back, but I think it’s going to hit on schedule this fall.
As I think about it, it was one year ago today we were on set and I was directing on HORRORS OF WAR. Consulting my shooting schedule, we were in Mechanicsburg shooting the Chateau exteriors, where we shot & killed Brandy at least 8 times in a row. It doesn’t feel like a year ago, but it was.
Since my last blog, I was on set at Johnny Wu’s feature shoot for THE RAPTURE. Johnny Wu is a talented guy who surrounds himself with good people. The crew, unlike many Columbus shoots, is not half-assing it waiting for their turn to direct, convinced they could do it better.
Other than that, it was a wonder to see Brandy acting in the film, especially in very very provocative outfits that reveal much and hid little. Gee, thanks Christine for making my girlfriend the object of attention for every erect penis in the state of Ohio for 2 weeks. Actually, yet again, I don’t experience jealousy. I don’t mind because it’s me she’s coming home to, so there’s no bother. I trust her implicitly, no matter whom the guys are and how much they try.
I worked with actors ever so briefly on the movie and found that I still have this burning desire to work with actors all the time. Finding ways to deliver lines differently and that director/actor relationship that I’ve learned to cultivate, even quickly. The real truth is I hate being a director on someone else’s set. All I want to do is get the hell out of there because I feel this conflict of interest being there with no real job duties to perform. If I were a grip or a camera operator or anything, it wouldn’t be bad, but I detest being asked to “help” on a movie and have no real function.
I’m certain Johnny Wu will edit together something really nice from the piece. He’s a master at culling together footage & making magic from it. I find him to be one of the most capable filmmakers in the state.
Writer’s block sucks. I hate losing the ability put thoughts on paper and the aimless floating from one menial task to another while awaiting inspiration to kick in. At least at this phase in my life, I can find something productive to do in the mean time. I always fill in that time with hard core marketing.
I just got on YOUTUBE.COM after spending a year aware of it, but not being too excited to add yet another video site to my resume. I also joined METACAFE.COM
. I split my efforts between the 5 best short films I feel I have and 5 video clips regarding HORRORS OF WAR. I’ve spent over a year promoting nothing but HORRORS OF WAR and not focusing on my singular directing career and short films. Since it was just a few minutes work, I put forth only the works I feel best represent me and put those out there, plus the best material for HORRORS OF WAR as a whole.
I’m not too excited because every year short film and video sites come up and go down. It could be a full time job riding the trends and keeping up. I rode the first wave of sites in 1999-2000 and only 3 sites still stand – Ifilm.com, AtomFilms.com, and Undergroundfilm.org. Even sites like Pop.com from Steven Spielberg & Ron Howard never lasted. FilmFilm.com from Nora Ephron closed its virtual doors. I have not been keeping up on the trends and newer sites. It’s too much work to be 1 in several thousand. I’ve done enough with the short films and I want to keep my focus sharply towards feature filmmaking endeavors for now. This little diversion into YOUTUBE.COM is not a lasting thing.
I’m going to be writing not only dialogue polishes on my next feature script, but I’m trying to hammer out a longer article that I’ve had in mind, but not written for over a year. A follow up to the ever popular FILM FLAMS & SCAMS, as part of the INDIE FILM CLICHÉ series of articles I wrote will be cathartic to write.
That’s all for now folks. I must keep typing and on things other than a Blog. Plus I just picked up Steven Spielberg’s AMAZING STORIES season one DVD set and can’t wait to get 23 minute nuggets of great entertainment.
Good Night and Good Suck,
Peter John Ross, evil boss of John Fromes, now a documentarian under my thumb
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DRINK IT UP! www.Sonnyboo.com
July 1st, 2006
CODA
Well, by completely random means, I found the Japanese DVD cover for Horrors of War online. There is an import site selling it, but the DVD is region 2 (meaning not playable on most U.S. players). The image for the cover gives me mixed feelings. I think it’s very very professionally done, but I don’t know if I like it. I need to see it in my hands & I’ll determine if I dig it or not. For $50, I better like it a lot…
Shortly after, I found a site that streams the Windows Media Player video of the Japanese trailer (CLICK HERE)
. Now they used entirely their own music and cut their own trailer from scratch. It’s a decent trailer, and I absolutely LOVE the voice over in Japanese. No, I have absolutely NO CLUE what it says, but I love it anyway. It sounds like all the Kurasawa trailers, but they might be saying, “These stupid Americans made this awful movie that you MUST see!”.
What I really really need to know is if they name translated. I many cases Japanese translations aren’t even close to the original titles. “Horrors of War” might translate to “Nazi Super Death Monkeys Die Die Die”. I asked a friend to see if his Japanese wife will convert the words for me.
On another front, one I’ll be intentionally vague about, we have finally got to the final laps of North American distribution. I won’t say with whom or any real details, as it’s NOT final until they tell me it’s final, but I will say that we’re in the final stages and contracts are signed, but there’s still some formalities and paperwork to be done before it’s “done”.
I was relieved and excited until I realized how much work was left to be done. #1, I had to get a few minor tweaks to the DigiBeta master tape. We had missed several names in the end credits that have since been corrected for the screenings, but not on the master tape. Also, from the directors’ cut, I wanted to insert (meaning overwrite) 5 shots in the cemetery battle scene that I found crucially important.
Now, I was asked if I was going to try to sneak the directors’ cut in on the master tape. No, I did not and I won’t. I will not deny I disagree with the cut being released, but this is a TEAM decision and I won’t piss off or backstab my executive producer over a disagreement.
Maybe one day the Directors’ Cut will see a DVD release, but as of now, the old, non-linear edit is what will be released this fall (tentatively). I have mixed feelings on the matter. On one hand, I know the Directors’ Cut tells a better story, but I agree that for some people in the audience, it’s less about story and much more about “more guns, more monsters, more explosions”, so we lose some people, but get others. It’s not entirely a wash, but an acceptable one.
We’re in a mad rush to copy paperwork, get new contracts signed, and also edit together the last of the “WebDocs” and extras for the DVD release. I can guarantee that some are going to be WEB ONLY as there is no where near enough room on the single disc edition of Horrors of War that is now being planned. If we’re lucky (and in my dreams) in a few years, if there is interest, we have plenty of material for a 2 disc special edition. Maybe Horrors of War will take off (possible…) or maybe one of the people involved, like John Whitney, or one of the actors will get big, not now, but within a few years.
We taped the final interviews recently at Ken Wilson’s house, with its cool suits of armor & eclectic sets of weapons. It made a perfect setting for the interviews. Ken & Deb are two of the coolest people on planet Earth, and I daresay any other worlds.
Now the race to finish documentaries is on. John Whitney is handling the bulk of the editing, but I’ll be there for the finishing process and an overall tweaking edit. The “WebDocs” and the entire “Making Of” videos are my pride & joy. I have taken no credit for producing and directing these, but they are my baby. They have been a labor of love. Editing these is like therapy, even when there’s stress. The stories of how we made this are great and everyone comes across so well, telling the tale as they saw it.
We are going to submit to film festivals and get Horrors of War out there a bit more. Now, this is NOT a “Sundance” film, so we won’t be wasting our time, their time, or someone’s money. However, there are a ton of genre based festivals and screening opportunities. There are Horror movie marathons, Science Fiction events, and Comic-book conventions, and multimedia presentations are getting more and more available. Think outside of the box, and you can find some alternate ways to get a fan for your film or a sale for your DVD.
As soon as we get approval, the machine will begin and the wheels will start to turn. I’ve always said that a feature film, if you want to be successful, is the long haul. It’s beyond full time and it’s so soul scraping that you can’t imagine the depths to which you have to go within yourself to keep going. No one’s success story ever started with, “I was burned out, then I stopped working it, and THEN I was a huge success!”
I spent the weekend with Brandy at rehearsals for Johnny Wu’s feature film THE RAPTURE. These were also wire-work and fight choreography rehearsal so it was fun. Now Brandy, in a rare move, pulled a practical joke on me with Andy Schofield. Everyone knows I love the Spoons. Brandy, hates spooning. This is NOT a sexual thing, only a huggy, lying down thing. Let’s face it Brandy hates touchy feely and neither am I, but her saying she hates it makes me want it. In a joking way, I made a proclamation in front of everyone that perhaps we needed a substitute “spooner”, preferably a young, very attractive Asian girl.
The 2nd day of rehearsals, they got an Asian girl to approach me while I was on my laptop, ensconced in a writing extravaganza. She said she talked to my girlfriend and was into whatever we wanted. I bought it hook line & sinker until she said she wanted $1,000, and I thought that was a little pricey for Spoons. Low and behold many were staring and laughing.
My freelance worked has picked up a big, thank God. I’ve been without money coming in for a while now and it feels good to have. I’ve recently started watching movies again and trying to get through a slew of “extended cuts” and “director’s cuts”, so far few of them have meant anything to me or added a lot. I did however see SUPERMAN RETURNS, and I must say that it not only evoked a spark of sense memories from 1978, but it hit some core emotions in all the right spots. I have no real criticisms of the movie, as I loved it. A perfect sequel/reboot of the Donner movie(s) this is. Even though more than 70% of Superman II was directed by Richard Donner, it’s credited to Richard Lester, which is practically a crime. The great & powerful Johnny Wu gave me the feature length Ken Burns documentary on the history of Superman (“Look Up In the Sky!”) and also the Jet Li masterpiece FEARLESS, which is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.
I started teaching my editing class again for the first time in over a year. It was odd, but pretty easy to jump back in. I’ve got 8 students and they all seem pretty interested. I think I’m a better teacher now than I have ever been. I have my technique down & of course my metaphors. I love my metaphors. I’m armed now with better videos for demonstration and having the completed feature film cred doesn’t hurt. I think I’ll continue on with another session or two this year.
No news on the new feature film. I’m so bogged down on Horrors of War still and making money, there has been no progress. I am not thrilled, but it’s a fact of life. There will be progress, as I will be writing quite a bit in the next few weeks on tweaking the screenplay and making it the way I want it.
Today may just be a writing day… Brandy is off to work and I have little else to do and no movie really seems to jump out and say ‘WATCH ME TODAY DAMNIT!”, so if the muse comes to visit, I may have to tickle her inner thigh and hope that she lets me in.
God bless the Acolytes of Boo! Long live the Rockin’ Rangers of the SOnnyBoo Brigade
- Peter John Ross
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DRINK IT UP! www.Sonnyboo.com
June 10th, 2006
The End of All Things
The tour of Horrors of War is now complete. In less than 10 days I went from coast to coast, screening my first feature film to audiences. I feel exhausted, still. In between trips, I managed to work in some freelance shoots. I did a 3 day stint for the United State Patent and Copyright Office and a high school state finals track meet in rain for 7 consecutive hours (thus ruining my 5 day old VANS bought on Hollywood Blvd.).
I’m glad it’s over. Finally. I’m sleeping pretty soundly at night because I did what I set out to do. The best acting for the film is me at the Q&A’s because I’m unbelievably SICK of talking about Horrors of War. I want to move on, and now I feel that I can.
On June 1st, we screened in Dayton Ohio at the Neon theatre. This was John Whitey’s time to shine. He was on all 3 TV news stations and did up the promotion on his own. I was glad to not have to be involved as I was prepping New York. Unfortunately, we got dissed by the printed press in Dayton, and that’s even after John spoke to them and sent materials.
The Q&A afterwards went well and we had some great reactions. The best comment came from a gentleman who said he has been watching the site and been tracking progress from the first notice and never dreamed we would actually make the movie, nonetheless screen it on the big screen. He also commented on how much he loved theWebDocss and the entire Horrors of War site.
The pleasure for me was having my friends Pat & Cathy with me to see the movie. We don’t get to spend as much time together anymore so this was a fun trip riding out & back with them.
The party plans for the New York trip spiraled down to nothingness. Thank God I didn’t pay for the rental van up front because I’d have been screwed. For various reasons, only Brandy, Phil, and I wound up driving to New York. Everyone had their reasons, and it’s okay but it was disappointing.
The drive wasn’t that bad and we had a good time regardless. We stayed on the upper west side in a travelers hotel, meaning tiny halls and tiny rooms with shared bathrooms down the hall, also a side effect of having to scale back on a budget. I wound up going insanely over budget because I was going to pay 1/7th and wound up paying 2/3rds. Yikes, that hurts.
Once in New York, I was ready to relax. Brandy & Phil had drinks and Brandy came back to the room inebriated and silly. The next morning we were off to have a bit of fun before the show. We went to Times Square and I got the director’s cut of KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and THE WARRIORS.
We ate lunch at Planet Hollywood, where the food was less than stellar and we had a panic because the theatre called and they had not received the DVCAM tape for the screening. Thank God on Saturday night, hours before leaving, I made a BetaSP backup of the movie so that no matter what we were covered.
After going to St. Patrick’s (and a failed attempt to get SUBWAY SPOONS from Brandy), we made our way to Greenwich Village so we could find the theatre early and get some dinner. I checked email at a coffee house and had a slice of pizza across from the theatre where our poster hung and the name resided on a marquee.
I was sitting in New York staring at the sign with a movie I imagined 3 years ago on it. How cool is that? I hope I never lose the magical feeling of that. I feel great. A few minutes later, I see Joe Lorenzo with his gathering family outside. I say hello and meet some of the Brooklyn born Lorenzo’s as they already gush over how proud they are of him. Joe is originally from Brooklyn, but currently resides in Ohio. He brought out over 30 family members to the show.
We had a packed house and it was rowdy. MANIAC COP (1-3) director William Lustig was there, and I got to meet him, a nice guy. With a little bias towards Joe Lorenzo (duh), Megan Pillar made it out too (she’s currently living in Brooklyn herself). This show was one of the best showings yet. Very animated, very emotional, and we had the audience from start to finish. Even the coda after the end credits hit hard too.
We did the Q&A with everyone there, albeit brief, and that went good too. People are always interested in how we pulled this movie off. The actors, Brandy, Megan, and Joe, got asked some good questions and everyone participated. I got to meet even more online pals in person, an experience I’ve accustomed myself to, and I think by now I have met more virtual, online filmmakers than anyone else.
Joe’s family had arranged a private party at a club called the Speak Easy Lounge which normally wasn’t open on a Monday night, but they opened for us and celebrated the accomplishment of the film. Everyone was proud of Joe’s part and were blown away that he was one of the lead actors, whereas we are always like, “Duh… he’s that good”.
Soaking up the Big Apple this trip was fun for me. It opened some creative doors that have been closed for a while and I started to formulate some changes to an older script that I wrote after my first ever visit to Manhattan, when I was in the front row of David Letterman in 1996.
On the 9 hour drive home to Ohio, I had hard time focusing on any topic. I was still decompressing after a month long run of screenings all over the country. Luckily I’m a workaholic and have things to do, both personal and professional, otherwise I’d drive myself nuts. I wrote a reply to an interview with a magazine and took some other notes that occurred to me on the next film I’m working on.
Overall, the screenings went very well. Attendance was better in some cities than others, but it was worth it all because we got a lot of notice and almost entirely great reactions to the film. Don’t get me wrong, there were walkouts in some cities, but no film will make EVERYONE happy. This movie basically stays niche specific and won’t be enjoyed by everyone.
I’m a little disappointed that more of the actors did not cash in on the opportunities the film has created. If every actor, or even half the actors had contacted agents in LA or New York about the screening and their involvement in it, they could have helped themselves get noticed more. Being pro-active is an important part of finding success in this business. To each his own, but I guess I need to accept that most people are not as tenacious as I am about making my film career a reality.
There were a few questions asked at pretty much every screening that people might want to know.
#1. What was the budget?
A. “under a million dollars” and that’s all we’re prepared to say at this point.
#2. What was it shot on?
A. Film. ALL film, no video in the feature. Mostly Super 16, some 35mm, some regular 16, and even some Super 8 film for flashback
#3. How did it work with two directors?
A. easy, I directed the first half, and John Whitney directed the 2nd half. No real conflicts no fights at all.
#4. Who was that sexy G.I. outside the Colonel’s tent?
A. Andy Wourms, our 2nd 2nd assistant director on the film, and I agree he’s dead sexy.
#5. How did you come up with the idea for the film?
A. It started on a train ride from Paris France to Heidelberg German in 1997. I was excited to be across the Atlantic Ocean on another continent and traveling and I looked out the windows of the Eurorail and thought to myself…”Jesus, it looks exactly like Ohio. Same trees, same grass, same suburbs.”
I feel that at this point, I’ve done all I can do for Horrors of War. It’s in the hands of our Executive Producer/Sales Agent and soon in the hands of our distributors, not mine. I can hand it over because I’m ready for the next project.
Speaking of which, I’m expecting script pages any time now and I can get hard core into preproduction for the intended September shoot. I’m switching gears and going into a dark comedy. I think I’m doing things backwards, as this film has 1 location and a limited cast. Usually filmmakers go the other direction and start small, then go bigger.
That’s all folks,
Peter John Ross
May 22nd, 2006
I have some catching up to do, so this will be another MULTI-BLOG entry
I am writing this whilst sitting in the airport with my Spooner-Weasel at my side. Of course, I’ve been informed there will be no Spoons at 10,000 feet, or 2 feet, or ever again if I don’t stop screaming the war-cry of “SPPPPPOOOOOOOONNNSSS” in public.
Here’s the back issues…
May 9th, 2006
Fear & Desire
We’re several screenings in on the tour of Horrors of War. Tonight I leave for Indianapolis, and on Thursday I leave for Austin Texas for this week’s round of Sneak Previews. Now I have made several high profile invites to each screening. No guarantees, as a matter fact it’s against all better odds that the icons will appear, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. In Austin, I sent personal invitations to Rick Linklater & Robert Rodriguez to attend, but it’s incredibly unlikely. Then again, the same could be said for the Kevin Smith invite & he says he’ll be there at the LA screening, so you never know.
Rant time. It’s been a while since I’ve gone off on anything, so I’ll vent my frustrations here again. Last week we had the fourth and absolutely FINAL Look at My Shorts Film Festival. Now the cause of even having this festival was over flow from III, but there was some great material. To say I’m disappointed redefines understatement.
Unfortunately, I was unable to do any sort of promotions for the event because I’m knee deep in the all-important national tour of Horrors of War sneak previews. I had suggested, as I always do, that the filmmakers themselves do the promotions and get word out there about the screening. As per usual, if I don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. Tempered Zealot got in the paper & issued a press release, but it was more about them and less to do with the screening. At least they did get it mentioned in a Suburban newspaper. Jay Brooks, who didn’t even have a film playing, get the calendar listing in. No one else seemed to lift a finger.
I guess that’s why so few people showed up. What a shock. I get nothing but crap, but as I explain often to TJ Cooley – there’s a reason you self promote. It gets asses in seats. How the hell else are they gonna know you’re even doing something? Christ, we had a 20+ minute short play and not one person from the cast or crew showed up. Speaking of cast & crews, Jon Osbeck wasn’t even aware that he appeared in two short films that played. What kind of filmmaker doesn’t tell their own cast or crew about
Now this isn’t even the rant.
The rant comes in with this. I handed off the reigns so that maybe, just maybe the festival can continue without me. Obviously on the promotional end of things, not a chance. I also handed off the presentation and that has now cost me a refund to the other sponsor. Now understand this – the theatre charges us to rent the space. It had to be paid. For LaMS III, we had some corporate sponsorship that paid for it so the filmmakers didn’t ay a dime. Since the 4th one was overflow, I could not charge anyone rental because they were a part of the one that was free. Guess who paid for 2/3rds of the show? Me. Please note, that all I had was a 2 minute short film, and people with 10-24 minute movies never offered up a penny. Now with the refund, guess who paid for 100% of the freakin’ festival? ME.
What did I pay for? I paid for the squandered opportunity of several friends & wannabe filmmakers to get their movies shown on the big screen. I wasn’t aware that was my job, but most (not all) of these pretenders certainly felt entitled. When things go awry, it’s not the person that did it they are looking for, it’s the person ultimately responsible. Now after all this time & all the sharing of credit on the film fest, who’s ass do they chew out for not getting the best presentation possible? ME.
Now I used to be considered the “leader” of indie film in Columbus. It’s not a title or job I ever sought or desired. I never wanted it and I don’t miss it, if in fact it did exist. As I have said on this here blog in the distant past, I as crowned prom queen of Columbus film by other people & then the same people who bestowed this just wanted to knock me off the pedestal they put me on.
After years away from the scene and not being directly involved with most of the players in this town, I see other people taking the ball & running with it. Sadly, I see these people being attacked for not being experienced enough filmmakers, as if that has anything to do with running a monthly meeting. But there’s only one thing missing there. Wanna know what real leadership is? Taking responsibility. When things went bad with the festival, and when there was no money, I took it on myself. It doesn’t matter about the blame game or pointing fingers. Real leadership comes from the actions & reactions to a situation. When confronted with things I didn’t do that went bad at the festival, I took responsibility because ultimately, I am the one that has to own up to it. Want to be a leader? Freakin’ take ownership of your responsibilities, whether it be telling your cast & crew about a screening of their film or spending the extra time to make the event special in some way.
I still don’t view myself as a leader. I’m not a leader to anyone other than myself. Without a doubt, I’m done trying to work with amateurs. There’s no helping those who can’t or won’t help themselves. At best, I’ll help solely by writing articles, answering questions on a few forums, and the occasional Indie Film Tip video.
This is a little confessional for me & a few thousand onlookers.
I went from the worst film review in human history to a powerful endorsement... inside of a few hours.
I was AIN'T IT COOL NEWS' but boy as they tore HORRORS OF WAR a new one, and it was the single most brutal review I've ever even head about nonetheless read, and sure as hell hadn't been the subject of...
Then after a polite "Thank you" email to the reviewer, it became the subject of great controversy as the reviewer changed his mind & gave the film a much more positive review... albeit not perfect, but after the reaming of a lifetime, it was a relief.
review #1 (bad)
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=23241
review #2 (better)
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23252
Jesus, this was a roller coaster. Bad reviews are a fact of life, get used to them. I sure am. I've had plenty of bad reviews of short films & many other things. It was the fallout & ripple effect a bad review on Ain't It Cool News could have on Cannes and other distribution that worried me. Now both reviews are there... not sure how I'm supposed to feel.
Anyone want to make me feel better? or worse?
Later on my Acoloytes,
The Boo His Self
Oh, and we all missthe web docs for HORRORS OF WAR
May 10th
Indianapolis went well. The theatre was amazing and the projection was staggering. I mean, we had the highest possible quality projection, state of the art, High Definition beautiful images, crisp as can be… and there was a digital glitch on the tape in one spot that lasted 10 seconds. I was livid.
Funnily enough, John Whitney up and took a break from the film and went out for a beer. He came back as the credits rolled. I can relate, I am already starting to get such a burn out on Horrors of War. Chip Kocel was with us and he helped work the audience a little. He laughed out loud at a lot of jokes and tried to let the people know it was okay to emote a little.
There were two guys behind us who enjoyed the movie on levels I may not ever know. They got into the “midnight movie” mode and kicked the proceedings up a notch. By the end fight scene, they had the whole entire theatre relishing the “B” movie aspects and hooted and hollered at the film. I both enjoyed it and got concerned.
By the time the end of the end credits rolled, and the magic words “Six Months Later” appear on screen for our 3 minute Coda to the film, people said “HELL YEAH!” and proceeded to take the film out on a high note.
The Q&A was fun. There was a gentleman and his wife who had sat next to me that asked the most questions and said one quote that was most notable, “You know, we haven’t seen a movie like this in a long long time. Thank you. I really really liked it. It was like the old movies we loved and we weren’t expecting that. “
Big shout out to my friend Chris O’Brien who brought in some of the Indianapolis crowd. He’s a good friend who went out of his way to support us. I only wish I could have hung out more.
May 13th
Return to Texas
Brandy and I both flew to Austin for the screening last night. Brandy paid for her own ticket & we were on separate airlines too. I had window seats and slept a lot since we were on 5:50AM flights. The night before I was at the airport’s 24 hour post office mailing EPK’s and press kits for the San Francisco and Los Angeles screenings.
I wanted to wear myself down so I’d sleep on the flights. For the first time in my life, I slept through takeoff. I charged up my portable DVD player and never used it once. I had a cue of unwatched movies and they remain in their holding pattern. I really really want to see Capote. Brandy’s flight arrives less than 10 minutes after mine, and we have a mini-reunion at the gate itself – a rarity in these days living in a state of fear.
Upon arrival we go to a mysterious restaurant that Brandy loves even though she’s only been there once or twice. I fail to comprehend what the deal is, so when we get there I she tells me. Threadgill’s bar & grill is owned by Renee O Connor’s (Gabrielle from Xena Warrior Princess) parents. It all comes together & the food was Texan through and through.
The screening itself goes okay. Attendance is low, but it’s the longest Q&A session I’ve done yet. For so few people, it was the same thing as Indianapolis – everyone feels like they just got let in on a really cool secret and don’t understand why more people aren’t aware and grooving.
This audience seemed to dislike the movie at times. When the final scene kicked in, it made the end credits seem to crawl too slow. People wanted out. Some friends of Joe Lorenzo were there and said hello and ran for the door like we killed their cat on screen. Everyone else seemed to want to know how we did this. One kid said that I inspire him without a hint of irony. He proceeded to tell me how my site (meaning Sonnyboo.com) changed his life and started him making movies. Then I spoke quite a bit with POKE, a moderator from IndieTalk.com where I frequent often online with tidbits of advice for beginners.
No stars in attendance, but that’s okay. I didn’t think they would really show up. What’s most intriguing about Austin is its size, or lack thereof. Austin is pretty small actually, but full of personality.
May 19th, 2006
Uphill Battles
Seattle is a blast. Yesterday we did the Seattle screening. Best attendance yet of the non-Ohio screenings. Thanks be to INDIECLUB for it’s generous support. I got to meet Eric Colley, founder of the illustrious IndieClub. MC helped do the promotions which was incredibly generous and took off some of the load.
I got in at about 3:00PM and got into my rental car. I haven’t been to Seattle in 8 years. My best friend Maurice lives there and the last time I was in town it was to visit him (and write a screenplay called DESCENT INTO INFERNO, which I subsequently did complete). Luckily, I was able to meet up with Moe and pick him up from work and we had a nice dinner and a very long chat. I miss my friend a lot. He’s been gone a long time and married now with a son, who I finally got to meet, little Joseph.
The projection at the Varsity theatre was not the greatest, but it wasn’t the worst either. Screening our movie shot on film digitally is an adventure. Sometimes we get amazing results, like the DLP projection in Indianapolis which looked like a 35mm film print. Then there is the low end projection like we got in Seattle which has terrible contrast, not much color palette and the details are not as sharp, plus it doesn’t fill the big screen as much as it should. Of course, we’ve learned our lesson and we only screen on DVCAM from a nice deck with component (RGB) outputs. Thanks be to Greg Sabo for the loaner for these shows. The deck travels securely in a wrapping of soft cotton underoos and T-shirts in my suitcase.
After making the intro, I tried to prep everyone for the “B” movie stylings, but this crowd seemed to take it more dramatically, that is until the end fight. By that time, the drama seemed to fade away.
May 22nd, 2006
Now I’m on the plane headed west to Los Angeles. Brandy is beside me and we’re each wondering how Jack Bauer wraps up season 5 of “24” and somehow saves our country. When booking these shows I had no idea it was during the end of May sweeps and that we’d miss not only “24”, but the 2 hour finale of “LOST” as well. Thank god for TiVo.
I have a laptop for this little journey as I discovered that without a decent connection to the online world, I keep missing important messages and news bits. At Chicago O’Hare I was disappointed that the wireless Internet failed to connect and I could have sworn that Columbus Airport had wireless, but that ain’t so.
Tomorrow night is the San Francisco screening, then Thursday is the LA show. By this point, I’m so fried, Colonel Sanders can put me in a bucket and sell me to the next family having a crappy picnic and serve me to the fat aunt that nobody talks to because of the unique odor she permeates.
I want so badly to move on and start really delving into the next project. I’m poised to start hard core pre-production work, but I won’t allow myself until after all the screenings, which finally wrap up on June 5th in New York. After that, I’m free and clear (meaning broke and bored) to start the major revisions and start casting on some of the roles intended for day players and potential name stars.
I learned a lot on Horrors of War. Everyone’s first feature is a learning process. I was asked the other day in Seattle what the one thing I learned above all others. After deep contemplation, I can say that in the end I want to be even more assertive about what I want, while never compromising the creative collaboration. I felt I was a little too vague in my freedoms I granted and I need to be a bit more demanding when I don’t like something being done.
This next feature will be done differently on many levels. I’m flying solo and I won’t make the same mistakes twice.
Well, this should satiate the Acolytes of Boo. Muchest muchest words and many perspectives for the many moods of The Rossman.
Peace out, Ya’ll,
MixMaster Rossifer
April 9th, 2006
It’s official… I have a problem.
Now a big ass cat is out of the bag now Acolytes. We’re expanding the Sneak Previews of HORRORS OF WAR to out of state venues like Los Angeles, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, Indianapolis, and eventually Chicago & New York. That’s right, kids. Theatrical release. I was not expecting this, but with the help of LANDMARK THEATRES, this will happen. Not bad for a first feature, eh?
The great Frasier Crane once said on Cheers in 1993, “I left this bar not six hours ago and here I am again. It’s official. I have a problem.”
Well so do I. After one public screening, and one cast & crew screening, I’m a-tinkering again. Nothing too major, but some audio tweaks and one more moving of a scene. I am moving the original scene one more time, but now it’s going to be a surprise as to where it’s at.
Yesterday I had some car trouble and whilst I waited, C. Alec Rossel brought me home & hung out for a brief time. Alec was unable to be at the first sneak preview in Columbus and has yet to see the “Directors’ Cut”. I told him verbally some of the things I did, one of which was a color correction pass using the now over-used “Saving Private Ryan/Band of Brothers” color scheme of near black & white sepia tones to give it a period look. Now for myself, during the last re-edit I tried this but hated seeing the lush & rich colors we had on film lost to a trendy look. But, as I told Alec, I didn’t tweak any settings, I just did some quick tests & said, “Nahhhh”. Alec really really wanted to see it, so I tweaked a little. Now I did a 36+ hour render to see what the entire feature looked like processed with a new scene-to-scene color correction with this look.
Let’s just say that me likes it. Me likes it lots. Hopefully this will fly with Phil & John Whitney too. Funnily enough John Whitney had wanted to do exactly this during the online edit because we talked about it over a year before. I’m making DVD’s of this version for the others and we’ll see.
I added some left out ADR tidbits of dialogue that make some more comprehensible minor points, but worth the time & effort to me. There are a few knick-knacks of audio that needed some more work to me.
So, why do this? Why tweak more? What purpose does it serve?
Well, I’m not going to do this forever. I have become a perfectionist these days. No longer will I ever say “that’s good enough”, because I want to strive for something better. I demand more of myself than anyone else. When I was a musician, the first impulse, no matter how flawed was the master. The feeling of the first take was never surpassed, and I was convinced that was the way to work. No longer do I feel that.
This pass is the absolute last time I’ll attempt to tweak or change anything with Horrors of War until someone pays me a lot of money to try this again. I learned a few things from sitting in the audience, especially this last one where it was mostly people I did not know. As a filmmaker, you want to sense and ride the wave that the audience gives you. It’s an intangible collective vibe that floats and moves with the movie.
Now, the trick is to try to sway the audience more than they sway you. Meaning, as you get better at telling stories cinematically, you want to rely solely on your instincts and get better at estimating the audience response BEFORE a public screening. There’s also the danger of becoming a slave to appeasing an audience, which is never 100% possible, only by majority consensus. For myself, I only want to get the reactions I intended as best I can. I won’t appease everybody & accept that. My tastes are slightly askew, so I can live with getting what I intend.
All this baby-changes I’m making this week for all future screenings are based on the gut vibe and emotional response the audience gave me when they all paid $ to see the film. I won’t tweak after every show based on varying results, just had this one last bit in me while the Muse was here to allow it to happen. I’ve been so burned out on Horrors of War in every except to screen it to the public as that’s the big payoff.
Sitting in a dark room with a bunch of strangers and having them watch these images flicker before their collective eyes, and the gratification of knowing that it’s being understood gives me a high that no drug can ever touch. Feeling the ebb and flow overcome an audience in the way you planned it in your imagination during writing, shooting, and editing – there’s nothing like it.
To get poetical about it, I’d say that it’s the core human instinct to create, and for me creating entertaining stories is what I’m here to do. Ever since I switched over from being a musician to filmmaker, I’ve felt a better connection to humanity. There’s this hole in my soul that finally feels full. I always felt disgruntled (does anyone ever feel “gruntled”? – Joss Whedon). I never really communicated the expressions of thought, idea, or emotion I intended. People didn’t “get it”. From my first short, the Job Interview, as bad as it was, connected with people. They really got the idea. I conveyed my thoughts and ideas in a more succinct way and that made me feel more…human.
Again, the promotional end of things is under way. We have screenings in major markets and getting Asses in seats will rely on every ounce of promotional skill I’ve ever acquired. This topic has been a sore one for me as I’ve been under attack more than an Iraqi suburb for my never-ending barrage of self-promotion. Well, kids, as I always say, if you aren’t your own #1 fan, no one else will get in line to be the first. That’s not necessarily arrogance, because it’s not about being better than anyone else, but if you aren’t proud of what you are doing, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it.
No success story has ever started with "I was afraid of how everyone would think of me, so I changed what I was doing then it all worked out great" or "I just did what everyone would have wanted me to do, and then I made it big" - find me one and I'll eat the pages. Every success story I've ever read went something like "I risked everything.." or "Everyone told me not to try" or "I knew I was breaking the mold...", at least in every success story in human history I've ever read.
Be bold. Shed the f*ck ing fear, and be yourself no matter what they say. Whatever you say or do will piss someone off. Get used to it & just do what YOU want to do. No one ever gets ahead by fearing what everyone else will think. NO ONE.
I can only speak for myself, but I don't give a sh*t what anyone thinks about me, my professionalism, or how I'm presented. That's probably why the press does fixate on me when we do this stuff. I'm not pretending to be someone I'm not. I don't pretend we made a bigger movie than what we made, and I'm not trying to win a popularity contest or impress a potential whatever’s in the future. I won't have to. The work & its successes will speak for itself, as it already has.
Shed the fear, and then you'll really start to get ahead. Nothing will worry you or hinder you. All the invisible walls that stop most people from succeed won't keep you from achieving what you desire. This isn't arrogance; it's a sense of Zen I get from jumping off the edge and not worrying about it.
Damn, I'm waxing poetic here.
The new script is underway. I’m working on revisions and notes on the screenplay. I have made a determination that I am not a writer anymore. I don’t have the passion or the patience for that craft anymore. I like shaping the story outline & coming up with ideas for story, but screenwriting itself no longer interests me. I want to be a director. I want to visualize the best way to cinematically tell a story, not type the words. I also think it will make for a better film if I have ideas coming in from other people. Defending my choices and debating why other ideas are valid can only strengthen the core screenplay that will root the entire film as a blueprint.
Surely that’s enough, Simon.
Peter DeLane and myself will be at the DGA hoping for the ruination of Terry Dixon.
Live long and perspire, my droogies.
-Piotr Johann Rosputin
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