Lights, Camera, Film Fest! http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com The official blog of the Newport Beach Film Festival. Join us – April 28th - May 5th, 2011 posterous.com Wed, 04 May 2011 14:27:00 -0700 NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Tanner Beard http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com/nbff-filmmakers-five-with-tanner-beard http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com/nbff-filmmakers-five-with-tanner-beard

By Kelly Strodl

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Today we hear from Tanner Beard, writer and director of THE LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE: AN AMERICAN CONSPIRACY, how 'Hell's Gate' at Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas came to have it's name. Relive the story of how three outlaws expeditions and encounters through historical 1870s Texas were remembered for a lifetime. James McKinnon, an Irish thief roaming the American frontier in search of easy riches, finds himself on the lam with Will Edwards, a bounty hunter prepared to lie, cheat, and steal to replenish his lost fortunes. While attempting to escape the lawmen on their tails, McKinnon and Edwards encounter Kelly, a young man who has stolen the secret cache of a man who claims to be John Wilkes Booth. The three outlaws set out on an adventure to be remembered for generations.

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

Feels like forever ago now but I used to come up to the Newport area lot with an old DJ-ing job years ago and even then knew it was one of the most popular festivals globally. So, I was stoked when I heard our Reps and Producers had entered us in. I found out we made the cut from them.

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

 

 

Man, we had so many moving parts where do you begin. Ha, first of all our cast and crew were amazing, but based on real events our story takes place in 1876 Texas mostly around Central and West Texas. We shot the film in and around the land, towns and cliffs where it actually took place which gave the production a very historic feel. Many of our actors played real characters of the West as you'll see when our central characters have their brushes with the infamous Doc Holliday (Jamie Thomas King), John St. Helens (Henry Thomas), the killing of the White Buffalo, encounters with Comanches and the elements of the untouched Texas terrain.

 

 

We follow three outlaws on the run, Will Edwards (Eric Balfour), Kid Called Kelly (Lou Taylor Pucci) and James McKinnon (Tanner Beard) each running from haunted past now with bounties on their head. A chase movie shot in Texas with a mostly Texas native cast: (Jenna Dewan, Summer Glau, Kevin Alejandro, Glenn Morshower, Henry Thomas) made the production fell like we were a bunch of neighborhood kids getting to play “Cowboys and Indians” in the backyard. As sometimes it was a difficult shoot with the terrain, our cast and crew made it an absolute joy to be a part of. 

 

 

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

Getting to play a character in front of the camera has always been such a joy to do, but also can be a rare opportunity especially if you didn't grow up near the business. Making a film on the other hand can happen any place, any time if you can pull enough people together to put on a show, no matter how big or small. So, starting at a very early age I was lucky enough that my parents had on old video camera to test out and we had a video store that had more than just the new releases in my home town. So grabbing some friends and writing some skits while watching great movies to learn a thing or two, it wasn't hard to fall in love with every aspect of film making from griping to acting to booming, it's all important.  

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

Our cast showed up to work and they worked hard, I thought everyone in our large ensemble cast did an amazing job. I definitely came to learn set backs will happen on a set, it's just part of it. I know one day we lost a lot of great deal of momentum from our cast when our river shoot got rained out. We lost time and money, actors lost scenes but as a film maker sometimes you can create your way out of problems and our cast was great about jumping into scenes with out much rehearsal time. Lou Pucci and Summer Glau had to endure more of the elements more so than most of the cast and their attitude and dedication to their characters were definitely good, but not a surprise they are pros.

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

Jumping in front of the camera is keeping me busy at the moment, I also have another project I'm writing and directing with Suzanne Weinert to produce, so other smash indies are keeping me busy, ha ha.

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THE LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE: AN AMERICAN CONSPIRACY screens Tonight (Wednesday), May 4 at 7:30PM at the Triangle Square Theater 4.  

To purchase tickets follow the below link: 

http://newportbeach.slated.com/2011/films/thelegendofhellsgate_tannerbeard_newportbeach2011 

 

Watch the trailer for the film here:

http://filmpunks.com/ProjektorLHG/LHGTeaserv1/

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1099933/IMG_0777.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36PsItgOJPm9 Kelly Strodl @kelly4nia Kelly Strodl
Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:08:31 -0700 NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Lisa Gossels http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com/nbff-filmmakers-five-with-lisa-gossels http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com/nbff-filmmakers-five-with-lisa-gossels
By Kelly Strodl
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Today we talk with Lisa Gossels, director of My So-Called Enemy, the coming of age story of six Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls who travel to the U.S. to participate in a women's leadership program called Building Bridges for Peace and the transformative journey that follows both in the program and upon their return to their native countries. In July 2002, 22 women came to the U.S. to participate in the program, and during their time learned to reconcile their experience in the program with the realities of life back home in the Middle East over the next 7 years. What unfolds is an emotionally-charged film about the human consequences of all conflicts--as seen through the eyes of 6 young women who are thoughtful, intelligent and articulate beyond their years.

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

From Steve Shor, a Film Festival Advisor to the Newport Beach Film Festival.

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

When I started making "My So-Called Enemy" in 2002, I had no idea how long it would take to make the movie, or how transformative the 8-year journey would be.  I did not make the film with any answers;  the process was all about asking questions. 

Right after 9/11, I remember engaging in heated political debates about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  I came to understand how wars could be fought on words and how easy it is to reduce conflicts to black and white terms. 

Two months earlier, I had the privilege of meeting Melodye Feldman, the founder of Seeking Common Ground (and its Building Bridges for Peace flagship program), at a Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education conference (CAJE) in Denver.  Melodye shared the stage with some Palestinian and Israeli participants from her 2001 summer program.  I was so taken by the stories from the teenage girls about how the program had changed them that I knew I had found the subject-matter for my next film. "My So-Called Enemy" was never a film about an idea, but about young people. And, I loved the idea that those young people were women, because, as Nicholas Kristof once wrote, "focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism."

While the first act of "My So-Called Enemy" takes place in the emotionallly charged 2002 Building Bridges program, to me the film is really about what happens to the six participants when they return home to the Middle East over the next 7 years.

Q.  What is the core message of your film? 

The central message of "My So-Called Enemy" is the transformative power of knowing  "the other," or "the enemy," as a human being.  Through the stories of the young Israeli, Palestinian and Palestinian Israeli women in the film, we see how creating relationships across emotional, ideological and physical borders is a first step towards resolving conflict.  Because "My So-Called Enemy" is an emotional journey, it opens hearts and minds and creates the space for dialogue about not only the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but issues that divide us in our families, schools and communities.  By watching "My So-Called Enemy," viewers will see the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through a human lens--and the possibility and hope that comes from listening to each other's stories.

Q: Your take on the main characters in your movie (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)

Adi, Gal, Hanin, Inas, Rawan and Rezan, the main characters in "My So-Called Enemy," were teenagers when I first started filming them.  Because they live in a conflict region, it took a great deal of courage for them to participate in the movie.  While we had some access issues of where we could film some of the girls, particularly the Palestinians, all of them opened their hearts, minds and lives to our cameras.  Because films can be very manipulative and will be seen by mass audiences, we have an awesome responsibility as  documentarians to not only convey the personal truths of our subjects, but to honor the trust they have bestowed upon us--with the understanding that will have to live in their societies with the final film.  We were always careful to respect not only the girls' dignity, but their personal safety.  We never created high drama, or humorous moments, at their expense.  The young women in "My So-Called Enemy" are my hope. They all have become my family.

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MY SO-CALLED ENEMY screens on Sunday, May 1 at 1 PM at the Triangle Square Theater 3. And Wednesday, May 4 at 3:30 PM at the Regency Lido Theater.

Click on link below to watch a sample of the film:

Click below to buy tickets for the film:

http://newportbeach.slated.com/2011/films/mysocalledenemy_lisagossels_newportbeach2011

Or for more information on the film and program, follow the links below:

www.mysocalledenemy.com

www.facebook.com/mysocalledenemy

www.s-c-g.org

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1099933/IMG_0777.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36PsItgOJPm9 Kelly Strodl @kelly4nia Kelly Strodl
Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:37:00 -0700 NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Curt Wallin http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com/nbff-filmmakers-five-with-curt-wallin http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com/nbff-filmmakers-five-with-curt-wallin
By Kelly Strodl

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Today we talk with Curt Wallin, director of Boys of Bonneville: Racing on a Ribbon of Salt. The documentary tells the story of unsung hero, David Abbott Jenkins, who set out to single-handedly break every existing land speed record on his beloved Bonneville Salt Flats, in Utah.

With an unshakable faith and integrity, Jenkins set out to break every existing land speed record and then establish several endurance records of his own. In remarkable vintage footage shot on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Ab can be seen piloting his own car in 24-hour endurance runs through vintage newsreels, photos, interviews and letters. Although suffering exhaustion, hallucinations, and injury, he never left the cockpit. His 24-hour records remain unchallenged for half a century. Seventy years later, the legacy lives on through his son, Marv, and his car - the now reconstructed 12-cylinder, 4800-pound “Meteor III.”

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

I heard about the Newport Beach Film Festival a few years back, when a short film called “Courage and Stupidity” won the Audience Award at NBFF.  I was the Assistant Director for the film.

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

The film tells the story of Ab Jenkins, the first man with the idea to use the Bonneville Salt Flats as a location for endurance land speed racing.  After more than two decades of dreaming, Ab worked himself into position – seized his chance -  and as a result  broke all endurance land speed records and set the standard for this type of racing throughout the 1930’s and 40’s.  With the help of one of the world’s greatest automotive engineers,  Augie Duesenberg, he created the Mormon Meteor III race car, which remains one of the most iconic racing vehicles ever built.  Ab also attracted international racers to the salt flats thru his own tireless PR efforts, opening this unique speed venue for all the world to come and conquer.  

Originally, we were commissioned by the Price Museum of Speed in Salt Lake City, Utah, to produce a simple 20-minute account of the restoration of the Mormon Meteor’s original 1924 12-cylinder airplane engine.  While meeting with Marv Jenkins, Ab’s elderly, surviving son at his house in St. George, Utah, we found thousands of feet of archival motion pictures of Ab’s exploits from the 30’s and 40’s.  This seemed to be unique footage that had not seen the light of day for decades.  Intrigued, we arranged to have the film transferred and preserved - and the idea for “Boys of Bonneville” evolved around this copious mass of amazingly shot footage. 

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

I’ve been a director of photography for 15 years, and have been fortunate to learn about the craft by being around some truly great filmmakers as I worked on projects, ranging from wildlife documentaries to crazy TV series.  Through personal connections, I learned about this project and was brought on board early on.  It has truly been a dream project, being able to shoot, direct and after nearly 4 years produce this film that combines amazing history, phenomenal footage - both archival and modern - and a story that captures the emotions and the imagination of everyone, not just people interested in cars and racing.
Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)

Our narrator Patrick Dempsey, the voice of Ab Jenkins, had to step out of the standard third person historical documentary narration and bring Ab to life as a living, breathing character.  He was extremely enthusiastic, hardworking, and did a fantastic job.  Patrick is an auto racer himself (his team took third at this year’s 24 Hours of Daytona race!) so he really got the story, and what Ab must have been going thru more than 75 years ago. 

It was also an untold pleasure to sit amongst Jay Leno’s stellar collection of world-class cars and “talk shop.”  His knowledge of cars and automotive history is deep.  He was very, very gracious. 

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

I work on other people’s smash indie films.  

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BOYS OF BONNEVILLE screens Wednesday, May 4, at 6 PM at the Triangle Square Theater 7.

Buy tickets here:

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=355266

Or watch the trailer on YouTube, here:

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1099933/IMG_0777.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36PsItgOJPm9 Kelly Strodl @kelly4nia Kelly Strodl
Mon, 11 Apr 2011 09:58:00 -0700 NBFF Filmmaker's Five with Kevin Van Hagen and Drew Pierce http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com/nbff-filmmakers-five-with-kevin-van-hagen-and http://newportbeachfilmfest.posterous.com/nbff-filmmakers-five-with-kevin-van-hagen-and

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By Kelly Strodl

Yup, you know what this means... We're back with the 2011 edition of NBFF Filmmaker's Five a quick and quirky Q&A with independent filmmakers showing their films at the festival each year. For our kickoff edition, I talked with producer Kevin Van Hagen and director Drew Pierce – of DEADHEADS, a postmodern take on the buddy flick, where the two friends just happen to be two inexplicably coherent zombies!

Reminiscent of such 80’s-epics as Goonies, TeenWolf, My Best Friend’s a Vampire, and the like, the story follows two slackers, Mike and Brent, who find themselves surprisingly un-dead amid a disastrous zombie outbreak. After discovering an engagement ring in his coat pocket, Mike enlists his new found zombie pal, Brent, to embark on a quest in search of his lost love. So they’re undead, that doesn’t mean the two can’t embark on a road trip adventure of Goonies proportions – full of high jinks, awkward reunions,  and a search for lost love, unaware that they are being pursued by ruthless, zombie-killing bounty hunters!

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

It had been recommended to us and we'd read an article about the 10 best fests that were worth the price of submission and Newport was up there. Advice to any new filmmakers like ourselves, budget for festival submission costs and do your homework about which ones are worth it. 

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

It's a zombie/buddy/road trip/action/adventure/romantic comedy. Say that three times fast! It's about two zombie pals newly risen from the dead, Mike and Brent, whom embark on a cross country road in search of Mike's lost love as they are pursued by a team of ruthless bounty hunters. After moving to LA to pursue our dreams we quickly entered the lovely world of production assistant employment. Drew came up with the idea of a zombie buddy film andI chimed in with the lost love angle and we started burning the midnight oil on draft after draft of the script out of fear of becoming permanent PA's. 

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

Drew and I grew up amid the production of EVIL DEAD as kids, our father was the visual FX artist on it. Watching Sam Raimi and the guys spin out their crazy horror/comedy flick got us itching to do the same. We made some zero budget indie films with our friends back in our home state of Michigan and that was our film school. Every weekend someone was shooting something and if you didn't show up to lend a hand (or your camera) you weren't pulling your weight. 

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

Our cast is amazing. Michael McKiddy and Ross Kidder are our zombie comedy duo and it kills me that others haven't picked up on these two yet. Mike and Ross are the type of actors you pray you get. They never flinched that we shot 10 weeks/6 days a week, covered them in fake blood, and rigged them with explosive squibs. Truth is, they wanted to be there just as much as us, they believed in us and the movie. I remember one night we we're setting up for this beautiful wide shot of an old creepy barn with encroaching zombies, and there's Mike next to me in full makup and costume. He looked at me and said with a smile "I can't believe we're doing this!" That makes me smile even to this day. 

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

I'm a production coordinator on a reality TV series and my brother is a freelance animator. After work it's still a full time job on DEADHEADS. The battle for distribution is an entirely different monster and applying to fests can be very up and down emotionally but you just keep moving forward. Making movies is a series of insurmountable problems but it's also the most fun we've ever had in our lives.

DEADHEADS screens on Friday, April 29 at 8:15 PM at the Triangle Square Theater 1. And Tuesday, May 2 at 7:45 PM at the Triangle Square Theater 6.

The Friday show has already sold out, but there are still tickets available for the Tuesday screening.

Purchase tickets here:

http://newportbeachfilmfest.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=358115


Or watch the trailer on YouTube, here:

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1099933/IMG_0777.JPG http://posterous.com/users/36PsItgOJPm9 Kelly Strodl @kelly4nia Kelly Strodl