NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Jason Victor Everett

By Kelly Strodl 

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Today I spoke with Jason Victor Everett, director/writer/producer of the Sitdown, a short film showcased in the “Find Your Voice” set of films that screened the final day of the 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival. This short film asks the question: How do concerned foster parents cope with today's generation of violent wayward youth? What guidance can be offered to the adopted offspring of abusive homes and troubled streets? Perhaps delivering a few stern words is still the best place to start...

Q:  How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?

A:  We've been hearing good things about the festival from various sources for a while now, but the Newport Beach festival was portrayed in an especially good light in the documentary entitled "Official Rejection," which we saw about two months ago.  After attending this year, we can happily attest to the festival's rave reviews.  They really care a lot about the filmmakers and audiences at NBFF.

Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.

A: THE SITDOWN is a short comedic piece we put together in early 2009.  It's about a concerned foster parent providing advice to a troubled wayward youngster.  We shot it over the course of two weekends in my living room.

Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.

A: Seems like it's been a long road, since I had sort of an unfortunate detour along the way known as law school.  While working in the legal world in the years since graduation and trying to pay down huge student loans, I attended film classes at night and started up a small production company named Sound & Fury Productions.  We were lucky to start playing the festival circuit with THE SITDOWN in late 2009, which was the first short film out of that venture.  I also want to acknowledge the efforts of Olivia Lee, a very talented graphic designer by day, who helped immensely with THE SITDOWN in terms of both the production and promotional process.     

Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)

A:  Hmmm ... well given that the lead performance was from a non-actor (unfortunately yours truly), I'd have to say the acting was especially weak!   

Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?

A: Well, as I have a very very long way to go before ever making a "smash indie film," I'd say in my spare time (what is that? some kind of foreign concept?) I'm doing my best to hopefully make semi-competent short films.  But most of the time I'm working the non-film day job, which is both a blessing (glad to be working in this economy) and maybe a curse, since it takes up so much time and energy.  In sum, I truly believe I have consumed enough 5-Hour Energy over the past two years that I could be their official spokesperson by now.

Posted by Kelly Strodl
 

NBFF Filmmaker's Five with David Orr

By Kelly Strodl

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Today I spoke with David Orr, director of Refresh, a sci-fi thriller about Roger Dean, a successful businessman, who has been clinically depressed for years, to the point of suicide. He has attempted a range of remedies, some prescribed, some radical, but none have worked for him. At the end of his rope, he approaches PDLAS, a mysterious private company that promises an effective - but irrevocable - solution. All he is told is that he will emerge 'completely refreshed.'

Q: How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?

A: Through a colleague of mine, Stuart Shook of Shelter Post. He works with our editor, Christopher Willoughby, and suggested we submit to Newport Beach. I'm really glad I did - I saw some great stuff here.

Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.

A: REFRESH was based on an experience of mine at a sleep study lab - where they monitor sleep patterns during an overnight stay, although in the film that experience is taken to an extreme! I wanted to address the idea that some people would do anything to utterly change their life. We shot on a DSLR with video capabilities, the Canon 5D mark II in May of last year. We were the first narrative piece ever shot with that technology (at the time only Vincent Laforet and Shane Hurlbut had used the camera as a production tool: Vincent for a montage titled 'Reverie' and Shane for some viral packages for Terminator Salvation). Canon had no idea that people would take the 5DmkII seriously as a production tool (the video function was really intended for photojournalists to grab clips on the fly), so had not developed refined controls for filmmakers. As pioneers, we were figuring out a lot of fixes and workarounds on our own. For instance, this was before you could even set the exposure on the camera itself; we'd establish what the exposure should be, point a light in the lens, then move it off the center until the exposure was correct. Then we'd hit the exposure lock and shoot. The week after we wrapped, Canon announced an upgrade to allow setting exposure! Since the production, I've been invited by Canon to consult on hardware and software development.

The results are astonishing. I showed clips of REFRESH at a symposium on emerging technologies at the Directors Guild of America. This was Theater 1 - one of the best screens in the world - and it held up! It looked better than the RED footage we saw there.

Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.

A: I am a commercial director and fine art photographer. I had done some experimental works quite a while ago (FAIRCHILD and NOCTURNE), which did well in festivals, and were shown repeatedly on PBS here in the states and Channel 4 Britain. This is my first narrative piece, and is a teaser for a feature I'm developing. 

Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)

A: I knew that Andrew (Turman, cinematographer) and I could make it look great; but I was adamant that we get great performances. In fact, the production was designed to accommodate faster setups to allow ample time with the actors.

Casting was, by far, the most critical aspect of the production (as it should be), and I have to give thanks to Anthony Krauss, our Casting Director. Luckily everyone: Anthony, actors we approached, and their representation, liked my reel, and really responded to the script. Steven Culp loved it - he's a big 'Twilight Zone' fan - and signed on quickly. That was a game changer - suddenly our calls to Endeavor and CAA were being returned quickly! Scott Michael Campbell signed on after that, and we were good to go. Both, of course, are excellent and accomplished actors, so were a significant asset on a project like this. They were both enormously sympathetic to the rigors and realities of an indie flick, and both worked very, very hard.

Their working styles were different, of course: if pressed, I'd say that Steven works more from the inside out and Scott from the outside in. In order to work more effectively with actors, I'd studied acting at Playhouse West, and had taken the Judith Weston (acting for directors) course, so was able to navigate both styles fairly well. The most exciting moments by far were seeing what a talented actor brings to character and a story. Not only seeing the words come to life, but the nuances that are brought into play - the 'inner life' of the characters and situations. That's gold, especially when those things are something you may not have thought of initially, but seem so dead-on, furthering the story and bringing additional layers to it. Both Steven and Scott have the presence and charisma that makes you want to watch them constantly - especially on a big screen.

Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?

A: I’m also a fine artist. Lately, the main medium has been photography. I love the collaborative nature of filmmaking, but it's nice to be able to create something without needing access to thousands of dollars and a crew! I've had some success with it - I'm in collections with Ansel Adams, John Baldessari, Jim Dine, David Hockney, and Edward Weston, and have shown all over the country and in Europe. I had originally tinkered with still cameras to become more fluid with the mechanics of lenses, exposure, composition etc., but now also love it was a means of expression. I do artists talks and presentations, and have been a guest speaker at UCLA on several occasions. The print work is fairly large, 20x30 inches to 40x60 inches. I will most likely be integrating motion into my artwork as time goes on. In my view, still and motion picture photography are merging quickly so one medium very much feeds and informs the other, both technically (look at my film!), and aesthetically.

Watch the film’s trailer here:

http://www.refreshfilm.com/trailer.html

Posted by Kelly Strodl
 

NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Todd Giglio

By Kelly Strodl

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The festival may have come to a close, but we’re still talking with a number of the filmmakers whose work showed at the 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival. Stay tuned there are many more interviews to come.

Today I talked with Todd Giglio, director/writer/star of DRAWING WITH CHALK a film about a mid-life coming of age. Jay and Matt are two 40-year-old musicians who want to jump start their stalled careers. As Matt's middle-age anxiety sets in, Jay struggles to find a balance between his music and family, all while negotiating the minefields of friendship and marriage when the two worlds don't fit together. The film was written by Giglio and Christopher Springer and became a family affair, featuring Giglio’s own son, Brennan Giglio playing his film son.

Q:  How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?

A: We first heard about the Newport Beach Film Festival from a documentary about Film Festivals called OFFICIAL REJECTION (which I highly recommend btw). Oh yeah, the NBFF has it's shining moment in the doc.

Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.

A: DRAWING WITH CHALK is a film about dreams and responsibilities and what happens when the two collide.

Based loosely upon our (Christopher Springer and myself) own struggles with the entertainment business, DWC is a story of two near 40 year old friends trying to give their dreams of being rock stars one last chance. We shot the film with a very small crew and basically wore every hat in the production: from writing to directing, acting to the music.

Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.

A: Chris and I were great friends back in college (we were both theater students). Later we moved to NYC and shared an apartment together as we hit the streets looking for acting work. Eventually I strayed away from the acting seen and tried my hand at a more lucrative career: being in a rock band :). Chris continued to pursue acting work (via voice overs). I got married and moved out of NYC, and Chris married my wife's sister and also ended up moving out of NYC. Years later we really reconnected and started hanging out watching movies and listening to music in my basement. One night we were discussing how quickly time had passed and what had really happened with our 'careers'. Determined to not give up, we decided to write a story (originally based off of a song I had written years earlier ironically called NOWHERE). Our story (and the film) proves that you should never give up on your dreams. 

Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)

A: Ah, the performances!! Yes, they all ROCKED! (of course I have to say that... we played the main roles :)). Seriously, we were very pleased with all of the performances in the film. Since we basically cast ourselves (and my son Brennan) as well as some other working actors (all trying to gain a name for themselves) we had to make sure that all performances were authentic, charismatic and memorable. It's hard enough to make a film with known actors, but to make one with unknowns? You better damn well believe in the characters or you'll never get out of the gate. 

Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
A: What do we do? Do we really have to say it? Just kidding. We are both waiters during the night and we raise our kids during the day. All other hours are spent trying to get this film out there. Believe us, our wives can attest to this!

Watch the trailer to DRAWING WITH CHALK here:

http://www.drawingchalkpictures.com/

Posted by Kelly Strodl
 

NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Seth W. Owen

By Kelly Strodl

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Today I spoke with Seth W. Owen, director of Peepers, an interesting film about a rag-tag group of peeping toms, led by the eagle-eyed Steve, who take to Montreal's chilly rooftops under cover of night to get a vantage of people in their most intimate, within their homes. They're on the prowl for the perfect peep desperate to glimpse a "hottie hookup," a "panty party" or a "big booty buffet" through un-shuttered windows. But their lives are about to change. Enter Annette, a brazen academic who turns the tables by setting her sights on the peepers themselves. Soon it's a Battle Royale for rooftop supremacy will these die-hard obsessives manage to defend their turf, or will peeping as they know it never be the same?


Q: How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?
A: Met a fine fellow at Cinequest who recommended it. Then, looking into it, we may have heard something about yacht parties. At that point it became really clear we had to make it to Newport.

Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.
A: The story does not stem from any illicit yoyeuristic experiences in my own life, surely! But Montreal is a city conducive to peeping, in all its many guises, and spending a lot of quality time on Montreal’s glorious rooftops – for purely non-peeping purposes! - sparked the initial idea. Later, when I was writing the film with Dan Perlmutter and Mark Slutsky, our writing room had these big, big windows that looked out at an opposing apartment building’s bathroom windows. There were a lot of hard-to-ignore showers going on over there. So that fed into the script, to be sure, and maybe slowed us down, too, because it took us a few years to finish the thing. Then Andi State came on board as producer, and it was damn the torpedoes full steam ahead right to production. We shot predominantly on the chilly November rooftops of Montreal. We were a little army of peeping toms, making it - under cover of night! With nudity! But it was cold, cold, cold, and we had to hustle. We were shooting like crazy to get the thing done in two weeks, and it was an ambitious little production for the budget and time that we had.

Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.
A: For over a decade, I’ve been making underground films under the umbrella of Automatic Vaudeville Studios, and screening them at our boisterous live events. We’re somewhere between a comedy troupe and a major motion picture studio. We’ve shot every genre under the sun – monster pictures, westerns, musicals, Germanic art films. All for around ten bucks. Peepers was an amazing opportunity to make a film with a real budget, and all the perks that come with it. Now I may have to stay above-ground for a little while longer. That having-a-budget thing – I fear it’s gotten its bejeweled claws in me.

Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)
A: Automatic Vaudeville has a nice little repertory of friends and actors who’ve been in a lot of our films, and our producer Andi State also happens to be a talent agent, so we kind of brought those two houses together to create the ensemble. Montreal is a city with a lot of amazing, undiscovered talent, and I’m so happy we managed to get so many great folks in the film, even in the smaller roles. The actors had it pretty rough on this one. It’s tough to be funny when you’re freezing your ass off on a windy rooftop in the middle of the night. And they all rose to the occasion.

Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
A: I spend most of the time on the couch, wondering when I am going to be able to make another smash indie film. The couch is also a great place for finding change, and the perfect vantage point from which to indulge my appetite for an unhealthy amount of reality television programming. When it’s nice out, I may even take a walk.

 

PEEPERS screens at 8:15 PM today, Thursday, April 29 in the Edwards Island theater 4.

 

Click here to purchase tickets for shorts showcase:

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=256887

 

Watch the film’s trailer here:

 

NBFF Wednesday Night Lineup

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Take a gander at what we have lined up for tonight at #NBFF.

Plus the Asian and Irish Spotlights hit tonight with:

Asian Spotlight: SOPHIE'S REVENGE screens at 8 PM in Edwards Island Theater 5. With an after party at Ten, 4647 MacArthur Boulevard, Newport Beach, CA 92660-1946

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=256917

Dumped by her fiance just two months before their wedding, comic strip writer Sophie hatches an elaborate plan to get her Jeff back and punish the movie star, Joanna, who seduced him away. She finds herself a partner, Gordon, an ex-lover of Joanna's. The two start on a comic adventure full of laughs and tears, aided by Sophie's two best friends, Lucy and Lily. At the eve of her success, Sophie suddenly realizes that she has been so focused on revenge that she has not heard her own change of heart...

Irish Spotlight:A SHINE OF RAINBOWS screens at 8 PM in the South Coast Village Theater. With and after party at Muldoon's Irish Pub - 202 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=256753

Tomas, a frail, shy eight-year-old boy, has been living a solitary life in a drab orphanage - sad, friendless and alone. Then a joyous burst of colour comes into his world: Maire, whose smile and spirit light up the darkest room - and Tomas's heart. Soon, Tomas is on a boat, sailing to wind-swept Corrie Island off the coast of Ireland, where he meets Alec, her reticent husband who cannot hide his disappointment with the boy. Undiscouraged, Maire introduces Tomas the wonders of his new world.Slowly, Alec too begins to see in Tomas what Maire always has. But when tragedy strikes, Tomas is faced with his greatest challenge yet, for he'll lose everything unless he can find, and share, the magic that's inside him.

 

 

NBFF Screener CHRISTINA Wins awards at BNFF

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CHRISTINA, the thrilling drama from director Larry Brand, raked in the awards last week at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival on the other side of the states, winning Best Director, Best Actress (Nicki Aycox), Best Actor (Stephen Lang), and Best Picture.The film showed there as the closing night feature, and drew audiences in with it's powerful story about the destructive power of secrets, and finding a future with the after experiencing a horrifying past.

Inspired by a true story about a young German woman prepares to leave her war-ravaged city to begin a new life in America with her G.I. fiance. But standing between her and a hopeful future is a relentless police inspector, determined to prevent her from escaping her past. He pushes her to face the truth about a child, whose secret the woman has kept all this time. Before she can leave for her new life, she will be forced to confront the past she's been trying to leave behind.

CHRISTINA screened Friday, April 23 and will be showing again, due to raving response, at 1:15 PM on Thursday, April 29 at the Edwards Island Theater 4. Cast and Crew are scheduled to attend the event.  

 

 

NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Marco Amenta

By Kelly Strodl 

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Today I talked with Marco Amenta, director of The Sicilian Girl, a film about a young girl who is raised within the mafia. Motivated by a combination of idealism and revenge after the murder of her father and brother, both members of La Cosa Nostra, 17-year-old Rita Atria went to Palermo's legendary anti-mafia magistrate Paolo Borsellino and revealed all she had written in her diary since she was seven years old. The contents of that diary unlock a hunt against the mafia with details that can ruin the organization. The magistrate takes the girl under his wing and offered her protection against the sure-to-come retribution. Based on true events.


Q:  How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?

A: The US distributor of my film got in contact with the festival. The us distributor is showing the film in many festival before the official US theatrical distribution that will start August 4th in NY (Film Forum). Only 2 Italian films have US distribution this year! So I am so happy abut this. Us audience love the film ! go to the Facebook page "The Sicilian Girl" and become a fan !

 

Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.

A: My sister Simonetta is the producer of the film. We have a family business !!! She got money to produce the film from Italy and France. And the film has be sold and theatrical released to many countries - Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

 

Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.

A: It is the story of a young Sicilian girl who grows up in a mafia family. She believe mafia is good! And that her father is a good guy, like robin hood! Growing up mafia will kill his father.. and she will go against the mafia... the first girl against the mafia ! a big fight for a young girl.. against powerful and strong godfathers...

 

Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)

A: It was very difficult to choose the lead actress, Veronica D'agostino, who plays the girl against the mafia. I auditioned hundreds of actresses and non actresses.. but in the end I was sure : she was the girl! The right one! No doubts! She is perfect in the role. she has the strength but also the tenderness of a young 17-year old girl, and she felt so natural and real in the role since the first audition.

A she has a great energy. We rehearsed a lot before the shooting, exploring the context, I look to do this with all the actors. and it is the moment where we change sometimes the lines, to adapt to the characters. And after, during the shooting we don't need to talk a lot, because they know exactly what i want from them. Veronica was so "inside" the character, that we almost didn’t need to talk...

 

For the role of the prosecutor, because it is based on a famous anti-mafia Italian prosecutor, I wanted that he looked like the true character. and also I wanted a new face. not an actor that everybody knew... So I chose a very famous French actor that in Italy is not famous.

Then the role of the father, the mafia boss, Don Vito, is Marcello Mazzarella a great actor, who is also a friend of mine. he felt do much inside the character, that during the days of the shooting he wanted to go around the village with the motorbike of the character in order to continue to be him... even out of the shooting. I like actors that "do not act,” meaning that feel their emotion. They don't play the emotion in a fake way. During the shooting days "they are the character" and they feel like him/her. They are actors that play with "guts" not with the head. Even if the study and prepare a lot, then they are able to be instinctive and true.

 

Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?

A: I work full time in film. While not filming a lot of working is for writing the films and also in financing the films. I have a production company together with my sister, so we produce also other filmmakers and we are trying to grow also a s a film company.

 

THE SICILIAN GIRL screens at 7:30 and 7:45 PM today, Monday, April 26 in the Edwards Island theaters 1 & 5.

 

Click here to purchase tickets for shorts showcase:

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=256843

 

 

 

UPDATE! Burzynski - 2nd Screening Added

Due to high demand for the documentary filmm Burzynski, we've added a second screening at 8:30 PM, Sunday, April 25 in South Coat Village Theater.
Burzynski
Ph.D biochemist, Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, won one of the largest legal battles against the Food & Drug Administration in U.S. history. Dr. Burzynski and his patients endured a treacherous 14-year journey in order to obtain FDA-approved clinical trials for a new cancer-fighting drug. His groundbreaking medical and legal battles have brought revolutionary cancer treatment to the public. Upon completion, his treatment will be available the world over - sending a shock wave through the cancer industry.

For more #nbff festival updates, celeb spottings, esclusive photos from the parties, filmmaker interviews and more... visit us on our Facebook Fan Page and/or Twitter

- Kelly Strodl @kellyl4nia
 

NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Tim VandeSteeg

By Kelly Strodl

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Today I talked with Tim VandeSteeg, director of MY RUN, a film that follows the epic foot journey of one man over more than 2,000 miles of the US to bring awareness to the plight of single parents. After tragically losing his wife to breast cancer and struggling to raise three young children on his own, Terry Hitchcock seized on an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible: run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of single-parent families. He ran in spite of freezing rain and unbearable heat, in spite of chest pains and bone fractures that wracked his 57-year-old body. He just kept running - each day, every day - strengthening an unbreakable bond between father and son--- not stopping until he broke the finish line tape in Atlanta. Narrated by Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton. Special Guests include Terry Hitchcock and the Filmmakers.

Q:  How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?

A: I heard about the NBFF awhile back, it has great rep as being a “true filmmakers festival”.  We are excited and honored to have our West Coast Premiere of MY RUN this SUNDAY, April 25th at 6PM, at the South Coast Village (at 1561 W Sunflower Ave, Santa Ana, CA). There will be a second screening on Monday April, 26 at (12:45pm) at Edwards Island 6.

Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.

A: MY RUN is the story of Terry Hitchcock, who after tragically losing his wife to breast cancer and struggling to raise three young children on his own seized on an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible: run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of single-parent families.

Terry is a real-life Forrest Gump, someone who had all the cards stacked against him and still managed to come out with a winning hand. What makes Terry’s story special is that after raising his kids, he took it upon himself to make life better for other single parents and their kids. At the age of 57, with a bum heart and knee and ankle problems, he decided to run from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Atlanta in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to and provide a voice for single parent families. Despite the cold and heat, the rain and wind, Terry ran and touched the lives of thousands with his courage and his message along the way.

Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.

A: As an independent filmmaker, I understand that challenges and obstacles go along with filmmaking. You never know what’s exactly going to happen. The key is how you handle these ups and downs along the way.   I live by my motto: Be Powerful, Be Unstoppable.

I approach filmmaking and my life with what I call the “Rocky Balboa Attitude.” As long as you keep fighting and you don’t quit, you NEVER fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, smacked around, beat up, as long as you don’t stay down you always have a chance, an opportunity to succeed.

Filmmaking is like a marathon and the story behind My Run is no exception.

Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)

A: Of course filmmaking is hard, especially being an indie filmmaker. Being an indie filmmaker your day is filled with the constant process of pushing, pulling and pitching your film… and then repeat. It’s constant struggle, but there’s something inside of you that will not let you quit ala, PASSION.  To be successful in independent filmmaking you must be persistent, persistent and persistent! 

And once the film is complete and you receive that positive response from the audience, it’s an absolutely wonderful (and nerve-racking) feeling. One of the moments that stick out for me is our screening of “MY RUN” in Sedona Film Festival and Marathon, during the Q&A a man stood up and said “I’m a marathoner and I came here to be inspired to run, but instead was inspired to love my wife more”… wow, what a powerful thing to say. That’s why I make films.

Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?

When I’m not making a smash indie film, I’m marketing and building the awareness of that soon to be smash indie film. Making the film is only half the battle, the other half is the marketing and distribution…

MY RUN has its West Coast Premiere at 6PM on Sunday, April 25th at the South Coast Village (at 1561 W Sunflower Ave, Santa Ana, CA).

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=256876

There will be a second screening on Monday April, 26 at (12:45pm) at Edwards Island 6.

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=256877

JOIN FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/myrunmovie - see what the fans are saying!

FOLLOW TWITTER: www.twitter.com/myrunmovie

BROWSE WEBSITE: www.myrunmovie.com

 

NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Chris Landon

By Kelly Strodl

 

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Today I sat with Chris Landon, director of BURNING PALMS, which sold out at last night’s screening and has been slotted again to show at 5:45 PM tonight. I know not much time, but if you get down here you could just catch this smash hit starring Adrianna Baraza, Dylan McDermott, Jamie Chung, Lake Bell, Nick Stahl, Paz Vega, Robert Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Shannen Doherty, and Zoe Saldana. This subversive comedy takes a stab at satirizing the well-known stereotypes of varying Los Angeles neighborhoods. The stories of five interlocking characters who must deal with their own varied, darkly funny fates, are followed in this entertaining film boasting an ensemble cast large enough to leave Hollywood reporters joking about being out of breath at the end of the litany of names. In this daring romp no taboo is left unexplored.

Q:  How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?

A: I’ve heard of the festival just from word of mouth, general mentions. I had a short film that cruised the film festival circuit. But this year we were invited to screen BURNING PALMS by the festival. I’ve spent a lot of time though checking out the website.

And the whole thing is really laid back. Which I like. Other festivals seem to have a “douche” factor that is very absent. Here, people come out to generally support movies and that’s great.

Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.

A: It’s a dark comedy where five stories are all inter-connected. It’s a meditation on loneliness and the really dark places that can take you to… Not for the faint of heart – it’s some really bizarre, outlandish stuff.

I wrote the screenplay six years ago, It’s been gestating for some time. It’s a risky work so getting it financed was risky too. But once it got financed it was a quick pre-production – six weeks. Then a year of post, which is longer than usual, but that’s because we had an animated section of the film.

Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.

A: Went to film school at LMU. Then, I actually had an internship at Disney, working for a number of producers. They were cool, and made me an unofficial reader, reading scripts all day. Most were not very good and I got to thinking that I could do better. So I started writing my own scripts. And that was the impetus for getting started with the whole thing.

It was such a hobby – I really didn’t think anyone would take it seriously. That feeling never goes away. I know I’m a professional, and the validation is not getting paid. It’s being given the opportunity to make a living creatively. It is a gift. 

Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)

A: Zero complaints in actors performances. They were a dream - beyond talented. They brought so much more to their characters and that was the thrill for me. 

We even had some non-professional actors and they were awesome. One of the actresses who played a doctor in a mental hospital – it was written for a doctor that was an Indian woman, but we couldn’t find anyone in casting that really did it for me. Well, one of our investors just happened to be Indian, she just was it. So I turned to her one day in the middle of casting and said, “Can you do it?” She, kind of shocked, said, “I’m not an actor.”

“I don’t care.”

And she was perfect. She was the character. Every screening, when she comes on the people just start laughing hysterically, every time.

It’s those challenges that really push you and make you better as a filmmaker.

Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?

A: I’m a film geek through and through. I see everything. If I hear a movie’s really bad I actually run to see it. You can learn a lot from a bad movie. You're not going to learn every thing you need from just seeing good films. You learn from others mistakes, too. It’s those times when I stop viewing a movie with that analytical eye that I know a movie’s really amazing. Those are the great ones. 

BURNING PALMS screens at 5:45 PM today, Saturday, April 24 in the Edwards Island 4.

Click here to purchase tickets for shorts showcase:

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=263284

Posted by Kelly Strodl