|
7/02/02
In case you hadn't figured it out from the gap between updates, "Perfect Game" has hit a snag. Specifically, John declined to be involved on the project, leaving Allen and myself scrambling for a way to put everything together. At this point, I'm inclined to temporarily shelve the script and shoot something a little less sprawling. I have a script for a five-minute piece that I wrote about a year ago, and Allen and I have been kicking around a few other ideas as well. Anyway, good news. "LWMF" has been accepted into the first round of the Independents Film Festival in Tampa, FL. That means that it'll be shown on The Education Channel, which is channel 18 on the Hillsborough County cable system, at 9 pm on Friday, July 12th. Judging is apparently still underway for the second round, which consists of a screening at the Tampa Theater sometime in September. I'll keep you posted on that. I also learned yesterday that "LWMF" was not accepted into the Woods Hole Film Fesitval. I had high hopes for that one, since I used to live near there and would have loved to take a trip up to Cape Cod at the beginning of August. Oh well, such is life. Recently, we received an email from a Kiwi fellow who wanted to tell us that our favorite movies sucked. I tried to thank him for his unsolicited opinions, but (surprise surprise) the reply-to email address was invalid. I'll tell you what, nothing impresses me like people who are too afraid to stand up for their own opinions. Boy howdy.
|
|
5/1/02
So far, two people have requested copies of "LWMF" via this website. Now it's true that two people do not a groundswell make, but it's still two more requests than I expected to get at this point. I guess that's the power of Google, baby. Oh yeah, before I forget - if you want your own copy of "Living With Mark Fidrych," just click here and specify CD-ROM or VHS (you're more likely to get a prompt reply if you choose CD-ROM). Then click here and buy something so we can buy blank CD-ROMs and pay for postage and whatnot.
|
|
4/23/02
We've begun mailing out copies of "LWMF" to film festivals (with one for the copyright office, of course) - though at a not particularly rapid pace, since festival entries usually run in the $25 - $45 range. We should start to hear back as early as next week. I also sent a copy to Mark Fidrych himself. I figured that since he sort of inspired the whole thing, in a way, then he should be one of the first to see the finished product. I also had hoped that if he liked the movie, he'd give me a decent quote to use for promotional purposes. Well, I got a response yesterday. He sent me an autographed copy of a kid's coloring book - about his rookie season, naturally - that he publishes. It was a nice gesture, but I can't help but wonder why he didn't comment about the movie at all - not even something as simple as "it was funny" or "it sucked." My guess is that he watched it and either didn't really get my sense of humor, or he was reluctant to send me an actual letter for fear that he may be encouraging some kind of stalker - both of which are perfectly understandable responses. And really, as long as he didn't send me a cease and desist order, I'm not too disappointed. As for the coloring book, it will go on display in my office, right next to my 1984 World Series program. Things are also starting to move on "Perfect Game." John and I hashed out a few script-related issues, and I think the resulting revisions will really help make the movie tighter. Once I'm satisfied with the new final draft of the script (I think this'll be the third "final" draft), we'll affix our John Hancocks on some official-type paperwork in which I sign my life away, and we can start storyboarding.
|
|
3/25/02
We've been having some trouble getting a good VHS copy of "LWMF," due to some mysterious audio troubles (the dialog track keeps dropping out, for some reason). But we've passed around a handful of CD-ROM copies and have so far been getting a good response (laughter where appropriate, etc.). Of course, a lot of these people are naturally biased in our favor, so we can't make too much of that. But one other person who liked it is John Will, over at Horizon Media Group. I've been trying to get him to help me make "Perfect Game" since last Memorial Day or so, and now that he's actually seen something I wrote and directed, he seems much more comfortable with the idea. We'll know by the end of this week (maybe) if Horizon wants to be involved or not. Speaking of "Perfect Game," I had a short meeting with one of the front office people at the Sarasota Red Sox about the possibility of using Ed Smith Stadium for the shoot. He seemed to be okay with the idea, but needed to review the script and possibly route it through the suits in the Boston Red Sox front office first. That sort of makes me nervous, a little, but I really can't imagine they'd have a problem with anything that's in there. And we may have someone to play Leonard (the male lead). But that's all I can say about that right now.
|
|
03/16/02
Well, it's finished. "Living With Mark Fidrych" is in the can. Now it's just a question of what we're going to do with it. I'm not sure if it'll get better exposure from film festivals (well, the ones that accept projects on video, anyway) or from going straight to the web, on a site like AtomFilms or iFilm or something - that assumes, of course, that the gatekeepers of these various outlets think our product is worthy of them. And I have no idea if they will or not. As for the movie itself - I was pleasantly surprised by the picture quality in .MPEG format, which is good news if we go the web-distirbution route. However, I have yet to see it on VHS, or even played back on mini-DV, and if the image quality on those formats just doesn't cut it, that'll make our distribution decision that much easier. We eventually decided against going B&W for the whole thing, using that effect only on the flashback segments. And we dropped most of the attention-grabbing transitions. I'll be talking with one of the local minor-league baseball teams next week about shooting part of "Perfect Game" in their stadium. That's a good sign.
|
|
03/05/02
Reviewed the second cut of LWMF last night. We're close, very close, but both Allen and I had concerns about the ending - it sort of just trails off there, like we just decided, okay, that's enough. Allen mentioned this even before we started shooting, but I just didn't see what he meant until now. So we worked out a new ending that we're both pretty happy with, and we're going to shoot it this week sometime. - sf |
|
02/25/02
Saw the first rough cut of LWMF tonight. The first time through it was a shock, frankly, but not because of the editing. More because I'd expected certain scenes to cut together well that didn't, maily due to the fact that I hadn't been thinking far enough ahead. Well, that and the fact that some of the transitions Allen chose were really jarring to me. But we worked through a lot of the editing issues, and are now maybe halfway to a completed - and hugely improved - second cut. I am cautiously optimistic. I still haven't decided if we're going to suck all the color out of this movie and just go black and white, with the hope of achieving a better quality image that way. But after tonight's screening, I am leaning in that direction for some reason. Also, we've begun to contact area baseball stadiums, seeking permission for location shoots for "Perfect Game." I wanted to get that started early, so they'd have plenty of notice (I'm thinking mid-May at the earliest). Securing this location should actually be the biggest challenge in filming "Perfect Game," so the sooner it's resolved, the better.
|
|
02/24/02
Well, the weather held, the talent showed up, and the camera worked, which means we were able to wrap up "LWMF" today. The movie is officially in post, even though the distinction between "production" and "post" is blurred because Allen's been editing behind me the whole way up to this point. I should be able to see the first cut tomorrow evening. At this point, I'm just hoping it looks something like the movie I had in my head.
|
| 02/21/02
Shooting for "LWMF" wraps up this Sunday. We'll be shooting a scene we were supposed to get over a week ago, but uncooperative weather (who knew we'd have problems getting bright sunlight in Florida?) and outside commitments forced the rescheduling. Of course, it may actually work out for the best, since this means we can get the shot I originally wanted (in my front yard) instead of the "convenience compromise" shot (in Allen's back yard). Allen's pretty close to having a completed rough cut (minus the shots we'll be getting on Sunday, of course). Then all we'll need is the music and credits. Man, I love working with DV.
|
| About Us | Who's Responsible | Current Projects | Contact Us |
| Buy something! | Updates | Production Pix |
 |