More, more, more

- John August has a fantastic post up about the life and death of his pilot, OPS, on his website. Super fantastic, highly recommended.
- Cellflix film I made, DEMOGRAPHIC, has been selected as a finalist. I'm afraid this is where my film dies out, it's probably not going to win. But, I'm really happy this happened. Good Morning America! did a piece on it, NPR piece comes out on Monday between 7-10a. WSYR Channel 9 Syracuse did a story too, I'll upload it to the Picture Hall page soon.
- Germany visa is coming along, Berlinale: here I come!
- Exteriors this weekend, casting is driving me crazy.
Rest is good, Suds

CellFlixed

Okay. Okay...okay... Lots is going on. That is always true.

Cellflix just got finished as of 2:30am last night. Doug, this awesome man from NPR just spent so much time learning about why I was making what i was making for that contest and it was very helpful to field his questions. It always cleared the clutter in my mind and helped me understand why I was making what I was making. The thing was to try and understand what this cellphone is, and why it works the way it does. Who watches it, how it is delivered, and so on and so forth. The thing I am happiest about is that i didn't make a joke film or do somethign that could have been shot on a regular video camera and projected on a big screen. I have it and in a week or so I will post it on the website.

I have been trying to move this blog to our website forever but because we have such a BAD hosting server (www.net4india.com) we have just been unsucessful! Note to self: If company puts the number "4" in company name, probably not too reliable.

Its a little overwhelming to update on what is happening on the film. Berlinale bookings are still being made, I am nervous for the semester to start. I don't know why, but I just get nervous around other filmmakers. I just feel very protective about my film. It's the competition I guess...

It's good to have collaborators. I am really greatful to these people who have come on board and started dedicating themselves to I, Love, and You. I'll get them to post to the blog and introduce themselves. I'm also trying to organize little diaries but lets see where that goes. Anyway, need to fix the script some more.

Good Bye NYC!

In the craziest 72 hours, we pulled off auditions in NYC for I, Love, and You.

Here's the deal: To want to work on this film, you have to do it for free. And you have to travel to Ithaca and support yourself there on your own. It's tough and high-expectations on the production's end, but it is the reality of the situation. This is all the budget can support. But instead of making that decision, I allowed the actors to make that decision and submisssions just poured in. I genuinely believe these parts are fantastic with great, very mature graphs and that's where I had my faith placed. If they REALLY want to engage with some dynamic material, they will come out. But who is to say for sure, there is no forcing anyone. We sent the sides, character descriptions out and boom here we were. Space was arranged, signs, videographer, appointments were made and the gruelling day began. The biggest success for the day still was the fact that we could go through with our commitment to make every single actor we invited to audition feel comfortable, not rushed, and happy at the end of that process.

The night before was Copacabana: IC's network nights program where I particularly enjoyed meeting this fantastic man from New York Times TV. Heading back to Ithaca any second now and then more Cellflix (including fielding a reality-show-type-segment from this NPR producer who is coming to town to document the process of my film - ALSO, did anyone catch me on Voice of America radio show??) and meeting more Ithaca actors and crew members for ILU.

As we always say, keep on truckin'... Comment please.

Sometimes...

... its scary to know that there are other filmmakers out there. It's a kind of pressure I'd rather stay away from. It's stupid I know, but its like burying my head in the sand, makes the world go away for long enough to allow me to continue working on my film. There are people out there doing amazing things and its very very heartening to know that but also disheartening, because I'm human and I want to be good at what I do, so when you find out about some 20yr old climbing Everest, its heartening (mainly because I completely accept I can't do that) but when you see a 20yr old guy who made a Sundance accepted feature length film, its encouraging (mainly because you think: okay, its possible) but also disheartening in the classic jealousy kind of way. It should be pretty obvious but it makes me feel not nice. I wonder if there is a way to enjoy that feeling.

The blog on the website is still going up.. I know, its taking too damn long but what to do. Crew is arriving in Ithaca as every day passes and really meetings are starting up. The script continues to make my mind boggle: I can't seem to decide if its great or pointless or trashy or amazing. Really, and point#2: I get all begging-for-appreciation from outside myself.

Point of inspiration: Saw Mira Nair's lectures on the Harvard website. They are so amazing. I want to re-examine my script and make sure its not grim for being grim's sake.. and I also want to enjoy the process of making films themselves... the film needs to give back to me as much as i am giving it. Finally, the process of actually showing the film to someone is beginning to mean lesser every passing day. Maybe its because the process of making the film is the be-all-end-all for me or maybe its because its easier to make the film when you don't have to worry about who is going to watch it...

O yeah, and Happy 2006!