A Wakeup Call on Filmmaking from Night Catches Us #nablopomo #gbe2 #indiefilm

One year ago, I watched “Night Catches Us,” a movie set in 1976 about two revolutionaries from the Black Panther Movement, who are trying to move on with their new lives in Philadelphia. This dramatic picture took 10 years to make and when director Tanya Hamilton called “action!”-- the production was completed in 18 days. I was stunned at the 10 year wait for this film, since it is said to be an independent picture.

It is easy to understand how the financial difficulties of getting indies greenlit at studios or taking them into production off of the studio lot can delay a film for a very long time but if this is categorized as a low-budget feature, then why did it take a decade to get from script to screen?

James Cameron wanted to wait for technology to catch up to his plans for “Avatar,” which may explain the 15 year delay for that film. However, if a movie like “Night Catches Us,” with no expensive special effects or CGI requirements takes 10 years to make, then I must be behind the times regarding independent filmmaking. Low-budget films can be made in under five years. Jared Hess didn't take a long time to make "Napoleon Dynamite" for $200,000 -- so what is the hold-up with producing films that are supposedly indie and/or low-budget? -- unless these projects are being shot on film stock rather than HD or some other digital video equivalent.

You see, I wrote a screenplay for a feature length film that I wanted to direct over several years ago and this year is creeping up on the edge of a 10 year delay for this particular movie. When I first thought about the long time it took for “Night Catches Us” to come to fruition, I considered it to be an example that I shouldn’t worry about when my film was able to be made. In the Fall of 2010, I thought “I guess things like this happen all of the time and is nothing new for Hollywood or the independent film arena, so I should just chill out”….and then I came to my senses.

In comparison, since my movie has no stars and no crazy special effects or CGI….oops. Oh, wait. My script has animated scenes in it. Shucks! Never mind that part. Since movies can be made without celebrity actors or big budgets, it should have at least taken me five years to move a screenplay into the production stage.

Even if I replaced the star-power aspect of “Night Catches Us” with the animation aspect of my screenplay, my film should of at least been in pre-production by now, and it’s not. Instead, it’s been in development for like a few months, before being put on the shelf, where it has collected virtual dust for some time. The cause of this delay? Money and resources (which is nothing new). If I can get this thing in the can my future goals will be to avoid the 10 year movie production delays, at all costs.

I want to make movies, but I don’t want to make them every 10 years. We only get between 80 and 100 years (roughly) of life as it is. If you break the timespan of a single human life down by quarters the way businesses do their fiscal years or the way the seasons are structured, that is only four quarters. The first quarter allows us to become adults while the remaining three allows us to live the life that we make for ourselves. If I work on some kind of 10-year plan for film, that’s only like 7 movies in a lifetime. That is kind of depressing, unless all of those 7 movies are each epic opuses. Talk about pressure!

“Night Catches Us” (and even “Avatar”) was enjoyable to watch but I am relieved that it is not the sole model of filmmaking in today’s world. Indiewire reported that since his 2009 film “Alexander the Last,” Joe Swanberg has unleashed a swarm of features this year, including “Uncle Kent” and “The Zone.” If a guy can make five movies in one year or at least over the course of two years, then there is no way in hell I’m trying to wait to make a movie every decade. However, now that means I really need to get moving at not only making movies that I can afford to make….but also making more of them!

That seems to be the key to the whole movie-making career thing. Making a film is a great feat, but being able to continue to make movies is what filmmaking is all about; constantly learning, improving and keeping the world entertained.

What do YOU ALL think? How long should it take to make a movie?

This post is part of a long series of catch-up posts for my participation in the GBE2. It is written for the “One Year Ago” prompt from week #17.

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The Princess and the Frog Party Ideas for All Ages #disneymovies #partyplanning #gbe2

The writer's choice prompt for week #16 of the Group Blogging Experience was "Children" or "Parent." Rather than choosing one of these two choices, I decided to combine them for a list of party ideas that are suitable no matter how old or young the party host or guest of honor is at the time of the event. Here are a few "The Princess and the Frog Party Ideas" that you can use for a Castle, Swamp or Mardi Gras themed event.

"The Princess and the Frog" Party Food:
Serve Gumbo as the main course, Beignets for dessert and sparkling cider to guests. Cider is a more appropriate choice for adult parties than beverages containing alcohol if you want to keep your social gathering in line with this "G" rated movie.....it is categorized as a family film, after all! If your party is for kids, substitute the sparkling cider for a lime and lemonade beverage or green apple juice.

Need some Princes and the Frog party beverages that are suitable for both children and adults? No problem. Find a swamp water recipe that you like and make it for the kids and then use a different recipe to make a swamp water cocktail for adults. These party drinks should not be served on the same table, but, I don't (hopefully) have to tell you that, right?!

"The Princess and the Frog" Party Games:

Despite being annoying in this movie, Ray (the animated firefly) can serve as inspiration for a game that requires little supplies and setup time. However, it does have seasonal and geographical limitations that may affect how well you can pull it off....if you can at all. Host a race at a party for kids, where guests have to collect fireflies using glass jars within a specific time frame that you choose. The player who has collected the most fireflies when the time runs out wins this game.

"The Princess and the Frog" Party Decorations:

If you're going with a Castle theme, setup the party venue to remind guests of Tiana's Palace. You could also use this layout as a lead into the party entertainment by hiring a live jazz band to play New Orleans inspired music or at the very minimum.....play top jazz tunes on a stereo or iPod dock.

Decorations for a swamp theme based on "The Princess and the Frog" could be easily made if the party is hosted outdoors in your backyard. Add different colors to empty glass bottles and hang the bottles from trees using rope or yarn. You can place candles in them or small lights to help illuminate the party area as the sun settles if your party goes well into the evening.

If you have a pool, add green food coloring and some dirt or chocolate cookie crumbs to the water to give it that swamp water look, or better yet....throw some leaves in there too. Wrap green, black, purple and gold beads around a tall votive glass cangle holder or slim lamp and then place a half-face costume mask in front of it to make a quick and easy tabletop centerpiece decoration for a Mardi Gras style event.

P.S.

The L.A. Water Recipe on the Tipsy Bartender show could be used as an option if your Princess and the Frog Party is going to have a swamp theme. Swamps are dirty, L.A. Water is said to be dirty, you're good to go with some dirty ol' drinks!

This post continues my quest to getting up to speed with the GBE2 after getting behind for a few weeks that led to a month.

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Movie Theater Audiences Gone Wild #GBE2 #atthemovies #nowplaying

In filmmaker Steve Balderson’s Wamego series, it is revealed that audiences at one of his screenings for “Watch Out” started walking out, yelling expletives and throwing things. It wasn’t until Beth over at Word Nerd Speaks posted this week’s GBE2 topic that I started thinking more about how the action at movie theaters seem to extend from the screen all the way into the seating area and out in the lobby these days. Are movie theater audiences getting out of control or have they always been this way depending on what is playing on the big screen?

The audience reaction that Balderson received during a “Watch Out” screening may be wild but it seems like small potatoes compared to other situations that occurred at movie theaters that put people in danger. In 2010, a Drexel University student was shot during a robbery attempt at The Rave (formerly known as The Bridge Cinema) movie theater in Philadelphia, PA. What the victim thought sounded like firecrackers became the very thing that injured him....all while he was in the lobby of a place that is celebrated as the go-to spot for escape from reality for a brief two hours or so of fun at the movies.

Earlier this year in April, police were searching for a 30-something man who exposed himself to children at a movie theater in Miami. Reports about this incident claim that the man also spoke to at least one of the children, identifying himself as a police officer.....as if these kids weren’t horrified enough, now someone is impersonating someone that many children view as heroes?!

As wild as the University City shooting and Miami kiddie flasher incidents are, there is not shortage of jerks who take it up a notch by intentionally harming others. In June 2010, a man who is pushing 40 years of age was convicted of several felony charges after attacking an 81 year-old man in the bathroom of an AMC Movie Theater in Colorado.

These days, there is just as much action in movie theater seats, lobbies and restrooms as there is playing up on the big screen. In a time when people have to pay around $15 to see something like “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2” or any other film at a theater while risking the chance that they may end up paying $1,500 in emergency hospital bills, credit card charges or identity restoration if a stranger decides to start wilding out in some form during their visit, maybe waiting for the DVD rental is a better (and safer) way to watch new movies.

The other alternative would be to join the crowd of people who have built their own home movie theaters that, while small, provide the cinematic experience without all the hassle of having to encounter rude cell phone users, perverts and criminals because after all, there is no reason to even go to the movies if people leave the theater with more problems than they came in with. Is THIS what movie goers pay $5, $10 and $20 bucks for (plus fees, for those who buy tickets online)? I think not.

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