tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5223059181339048362024-02-19T05:45:00.528-05:00Living in My Oblivion - A Life in Low Budget FilmsI've worked in production on independent (see"low budget") movies for over 25 years. As my mentor, Stan Bickman, used to say "You can't make this stuff up." The fantasy is not only in front of the camera - there is a good deal behind. This is a little peek. The title is a wink and a nod to the wonderful film about these movies called "Living in Oblivion."JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.comBlogger220125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-27374617703753543652018-01-02T10:00:00.000-05:002019-01-17T10:33:51.782-05:00Goodbye 2017 - Or, How 2017 Didn't Kill Me (But It Tried)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #48494a; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Every time you go to the park</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #48494a; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #48494a; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #48494a; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">you have a chance to see something you've never seen before</span><span style="color: #48494a; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: left;"><i><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #48494a; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "times" , serif; text-align: left;"><i><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">-Ernie Harwell, Detroit Tigers Longtime announcer*</span></i></span></div>
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If I were to tell you that this was a year that started with me producing a short that I really loved with some of my best people, that I would get hired to line produce a well-funded project with a great director, and also be hired to direct my first feature, you'd think it was a really good year.</div>
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You'd be wrong, though those were all true.</div>
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In preparing this post, I looked over my <a href="https://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/12/hello-2017-or-how-2016-didnt-kill-anyone.html">end-of-year post from 2016</a>. At the end of 2016, I was looking forward to a clever short with a talented SVA student as director to begin the year, and "right after" a movie with acclaimed long-time Director/Producer friend, John Gallagher. John and I had known each other for many years, but had never worked together.<br />
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The short with that talented student got done in February, and I must say it took a lot out of me. Shorts are difficult from a producing standpoint. You don't have the budget for extended prep time with the crew. You don't have the budget for the proper support staff, such as a POC. Yet, many of the same things need to be prepped and get done.<br />
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Then, there was the added pressure I put on myself. This director could not have been nicer, and had all the talent to get the project done. I was able to work with many of my best crew, who came on for a fraction of their rates. While all of that was great, I put extra pressure on myself to really make this something special. I was producer and line producer, and I sometimes led a little more with my producer heart than my line producer head, and that was stressful.<br />
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In the end, we made a very good movie, but it took a toll.<br />
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The picture with John Gallagher did not get completely funded until mid-December. That's the nature of projects and funding. It's like that elusive prize that someone dangles just out of your reach, and as it gets closer, they pull it away.<br />
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However, at least it did get funded. More on that project in future posts.<br />
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The same could not be said for another project that took up almost three months of my time. It is the project that inspired the Ernie Harwell quote below the title.<br />
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Another line producer referred a project to me, as it conflicted with one she was already on. I was hired the first week of July, a deal memo was signed, and they immediately sent me a first payment. The project was being funded through an EP from Australia, and the actual money was coming from an international, multi-billion dollar source. The producer was from L.A., and both he and his entertainment attorney had seen proof of funds. All that was left was the draw down, or so we thought.<br />
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After many fits and starts and delays, which included a "pop the champagne" conference call with the EP, the draw down kept getting pushed back, finally to the point where we would not be able to get it done before Thanksgiving. After attaching two of my key crew, including one who would have been flying in from Sweden, it was postponed until 2018.<br />
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At least one more post on that one, with more of what that journey was like. In 2016, I did a post about a <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/05/what-if-they-wrote-web-series-and.html">webseries</a> that we spent weeks prepping but never shot, so it just had prep and wrap. I had never had that happen. Now, a feature that had a "green light," proof of funds, and money spent didn't get the draw-down in time to shoot before the end of they year.<br />
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No matter who long you do this, you experience things you've never seen, and usually, that is not a good thing.<br />
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When that got pushed back, it was like a gut punch, in part because, again, it hit not just me (And my wallet), but two cherished members of my crew who had put time aside for it. Hopefully, it happens this year, especially for the producer, who is a great, sharp, guy; and the director, who is an exceptional talent and team player.<br />
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My production manager, who was very upset as she had switched plans to come here from Sweden to work on it, said, "I don't know how you have survived this all these years." That would not be the end of it.<br />
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Between then and the funds coming through for John's film, <i>Sarah Q</i>, which happened on Christmas week, the following happened:<br />
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I did a short with one of my dearest friends directing. She is so wonderful and so talented, but we were trying to work with less money than we really needed, and under time pressure to submit it to a specific contest. I kept trying to keep her from finding herself in debt. It was hard emotionally, and if out friendship were not as strong as it definitely is, it would have been strained.<br />
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I was hired to line produce an micro-budget feature, which I was then asked to direct. I went over the funds needed with the EP, and he agreed. I rewrote a melodrama to a suspenseful and tough noir. I was very proud of the rewrite.<br />
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Three days before the shoot, the EP got cold feet, and though he had paid me and paid the producer, he decided not to do the project.<br />
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This was over the Thanksgiving holiday.<br />
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Meanwhile, about two weeks before Thanksgiving, a producer asked me to come on and save a SAG Ultra Low project that was a mess. I soon realized it was a mess of her making. I had budgeted it back in the Spring for $50K more than she had. She had gone through three line producer/PM/AD teams, and was about to split from her British producing partners. She had no experience in the business, but kept trying to tell me what we did and did not need to shoot. As an example, one of the previous LPs left out payroll fringes, gas, tolls, enough vehicles and other essentials, but she kept referring to his budget as "proof" it could be done for less.<br />
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On the day I was supposed to begin directing my first feature, I quit her project, with an email that, essentially, said, 'You've been through numerous producers and line producers. Look in the mirror."<br />
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That isn't even the entire year, but will serve to let those of you who say you really want to produce what you may have in store.<br />
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To paraphrase Bette Davis, producing ain't for sissies.<br />
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There is a numbing effect, though. After my experience with the project that did not get the draw-down, I was emotionally drained. When I quit the LP job and the directing job went away, I just took a deep breath and thought, "Ok. Next?"<br />
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There was a time that it would have left me emotionally devastated, but I wasn't. You take enough punches, getting up is just an instinct. It's not determination, or grit, or any of those things motivational speakers offer. It's just the reality that this is your life, and you just keep moving forward, a little worse for wear, but with a little more confidence that you can handle the worst, because you already have.<br />
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You are no hero, that's for sure. It is, to borrow the overused Hyman Roth quote from The Godfather II, the business we've chosen. Live with it.<br />
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I have given some interesting experiences short shrift. I may seek to expand on some of them in future posts, though I really don't want to dwell on difficult things past, and some details that might make the telling more interesting might step over the proprietary line I draw in this blog. It's one thing to do into detail about projects long past, but these are projects with good people who still have stake in them, so I do not feel as comfortable divulging too much.<br />
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OK, 2018, you're next!<br />
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* The Harwell quote is from a book called <u>Cubs Forever: Memories from the Men Who Lived Them </u>by Bob Varwald. Other baseball men have been cited as saying similar things, but I'll go with the Harwell.</div>
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JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-85183240547841359842017-12-23T13:23:00.000-05:002017-12-24T12:30:42.969-05:00Hello, Sixty, My Old Friend<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">“Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.”<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3565.Oscar_Wilde" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;">Oscar Wilde</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_5297" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1858012" style="color: #333333; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;">The Picture of Dorian Gray</a></span></td></tr>
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The hope was that the search for a good quote for turning sixty would offer something unique and clever, so imagine my horror when most that I found online were dull and uninspiring. </div>
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Bad enough that the fear of any artist is that not only is the "spark" gone, but that it will never come again. Never. No spark.</div>
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"You are not turning 60. You're just turning 20 for the third time." (Pretty random. Why not 10 for the 6th time? 30 for the 2nd time?)<br />
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"Celebrating he 39th anniversary of my 29th Birthday" (More fun with numbers. And, if we want to carry the Jack Benny joke, why not the 21st anniversary of my 39th birthday."<br />
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And, the dreaded....<br />
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"Keep Calm You're Only Turning 60."<br />
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Nothing is more like nails on a chalkboard to me than the misuse of the British Government's poster at the outset of World War II. This one doesn't even rhyme!<br />
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Neil's Young's "Old Man"? Not exactly on point.<br />
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"You can't be 60 on Sugar Mountain." Switching 60 for 20 doesn't make any more sense than those bad "Keep Calm" quotes.<br />
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I could have gone with Neil's "Better to Burn Out than to Fade Away," except I've been there and done that - five years ago <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2012/12/not-fade-away.html">when I turned 55</a>! (Neil seems obsessed with age, doesn't he?)<br />
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And that's the point.<br />
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As my AD of many years once said to me in a cab after a long day, "JB, it's a young man's game." He's in his forties, and I met him when I was in my forties, and I felt old then.<br />
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The exuberance of youth is visible everywhere in film, from the emergence of ideas that come from developing minds, to the strength that comes with youth that helps move all that gear and keep you going on long days, to the beauty of youth that is so sought after in front of the camera.<br />
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Especially on low budget indies, where budgets do not always allow you to hire seasoned professionals in every position, there are constantly young people coming taking on jobs for the first time.<br />
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I've been one of the "old guys" for about the last twenty years now, so sixty is not likely to be much different than they have been.<br />
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Yes, the long days feel longer, and the early calls seem to come earlier, but the process is gradual. Monday -the day after my birthday - will not be a Dorian Gray moment. I don't expect to look in the mirror and be shocked that I look older. That happens already on those early mornings.<br />
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The blend of young people on set and those of us with a few more years is exciting. It's part of the magic, at least for me.<br />
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I try not to be that "get off my lawn" guy, or the guy who keeps telling you how we did it in the old days.<br />
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I'm not always successful at those two above, but I like to think I have enough mindfulness to at least see that I'm doing it when it comes up. The most important thing is that I keep on listening. That's important for all of us. Zen mind is Beginner's Mind. Always be the student.<br />
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David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross may have offered us the ABCs - Always Be Closing - but, our lesson is to Always Be Listening. Always Be Learning. Somehow, ABLs is not as alliterative.<br />
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I've just started prep on a movie where the director/producer is about a year older than me. We have a lot of years between us, but as it's an Ultra Low Budget movie, we will be relying on a lot of younger people to keep it going. He is also a teacher, and a mentor, and I'm really excited and looking forward to the experience. A fire a number of years ago has limited his mobility some, but certainly not his ability. I'll be proud to walk along side him with my cane (which I've used since in my thirties - so that's nothing new).<br />
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When John Huston was directing <i>The Dead,</i> his health had deteriorated, and he was in a wheelchair and had the aid of an oxygen tank. Asked if he was embarrassed, given the reputation he had gained as an adventurer in his rugged youth, he said that only vanity would have kept him hidden in his current state.<br />
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"I don't like the part of being bound. But I've never discovered an answer to that question of what does freedom really consist (of). If you aren't fettered by one thing, you're fettered by another."</blockquote>
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"I'm not hungry or thirsty. I'm not lovelorn. I'm just at the end of a piece of plastic tubing. And we're all hostages in one way or another." </blockquote>
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As for the spark, I had the opportunity to do a page-one rewrite of a script that I was set to direct, until it got postponed. That was only a month or so ago, and it's some of the best writing I've done in a while. It was done in a short time, and that came with the craft, the experience.<br />
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I was on the phone the other day with "The Ex," who regular readers know is a lot wiser than I am. "Well, I turn 60 on Sunday," I told her.<br />
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She passed that mark in August.<br />
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"Yeah. The thing about turning sixty is it's better once it's over. You spend all this time thinking about it leading up to it, and, then, when it comes, it's not a big deal."<br />
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Seems the spark isn't gone with her, either. Many bows, Maureen, for offering me the quote I was looking for.</div>
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Wondering what this post will look like when I turn seventy!</div>
JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-83678557647843082132017-12-20T15:35:00.000-05:002017-12-21T12:25:48.330-05:00I Am Harvey Weinstein<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"We all have that Barton Fink feeling but since you're Barton Fink, I'm assuming you have it in spades."<br />
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I don't know about you, but I've gotten pretty tired of seeing Harvey Weinstein's picture on my news feeds. This is a man who seemed, even before this latest news, to have an ego as bloated as his physical presence.<br />
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So, instead of subjecting you to the image once again, I used this image of the wonderful Michael Lerner as studio head Jack Lipnick from <i>Barton Fink</i>.<br />
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While I have a feeling that he sees himself as something of the Jack Lipnick, dapper studio head, above, what he really should have understood is that young women likely saw him as the image of Jack Lipnick, below.<br />
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Weinstein is sixty-five. I will be sixty next week. With all the time he spent around great scripts and great writers and great thought, he seems surprisingly lacking in some basic understanding of the laws of attraction, not to mention basic laws of decency.<br />
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I love the movie <i>Atlantic City</i>. For those who don't remember it, an elder Burt Lancaster plays a former mob guy who meets up with a young Susan Sarandon. While I wouldn't say they fall in love, they definitely have a relationship.<br />
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I remember discussing the film with a young actress friend. I told her how I could definitely see it, despite their age difference. After all, he was so charming. So dashing.<br />
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"Ew," she said. "And so old." She wasn't buying it.<br />
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Hollywood didn't start having a woman problem with Harvey Weinstein. Older actors regularly were paired with young starlets in movies, and we were all made to believe that was normal.<br />
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It's not.<br />
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Right after the scandal broke, Lisa Bloom, an attorney who was representing him, said, in defending him, that he was "an old dinosaur learning new ways." Translation: everyone used to do this. Translation: this used to be the norm.<br />
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While that may certainly be true, it is not an excuse. Not even close.<br />
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From everything I've ever read, and from the experiences of some people I know who have met him, he was far from a decent person in the rest of his life, even if you don't consider his treatment of women.<br />
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The accounts of what Weinstein did were appalling, from sexual harassment all the way to rape. It's easy for anyone with any decency to see how wrong he was.<br />
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One of his accusers, Lauren O'Conner described sexual harassment succinctly:<br />
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"I am a 28-year old woman trying to make a living and a career. Harvey Weinstein is a 64 year old, world famous man, and this is his company. The balance of power is me: 0, Harvey Weinstein 10."</blockquote>
This blog is not about people who's power-ranking is 10. Mine is certainly not. We all know enough about Harvey. Let's talk about us. Let's talk about low budget indies.<br />
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As regular readers know, I got my start as a stage manager, with a wonderful woman named <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/07/this-post-is-dedicated-to-nancy.html">Nancy</a>. She was a short powerhouse, and no one ever doubted who was in charge when she was around.<br />
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I also worked for a political research firm with a boss named Barbara K (name withheld because she is a big exec now). When we were going to a meeting one day, I opened the door for her as we got into a cab.<br />
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"You first," she said. "Men only open doors so women have to slide over."<br />
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When a co-worker and I were in her office being called out on mistakes we had made, my co-worker, a young woman began to cry. Barbara's reaction?<br />
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"I can cry, too, Maria." It seemed harsh to me at the time. I later looked back at it as a lesson to a younger woman. Don't play the "girl" card unless you want to be treated as one.<br />
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Both these women were strong, and as kind and as good a friend and a boss as anyone could hope to find.<br />
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So, when I got into the film business, I had no problem respecting the women who worked for me. That, and my dad was a true gentleman. You just did not mistreat women.<br />
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I remember being 1st AD on a show in the late 80s. My second was a woman. One day, she came up to me and told me of a male PA who had disrespected her.<br />
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I could fire him, I told her, or tell him to shut up and listen to you. All that would do would be to reinforce that I, a male, was in charge. Another option would be for you to put him in his place. Then, he has to respect you, and if comes to me complaining, I will have your back 100%. She did, and it worked.<br />
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Over the years I have seen so many forms of disrespect on set. Some of it, honestly, is just the basic disrespect that goes on with a crew, the jokes, the ribbing. Intent means a lot. Some of it is outright disrespect, and, sadly, some of it falls somewhere in between.<br />
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In the 35MM days, the ACs would carry heavy mag cases. I mean, mag cases I could not carry very far. I watched on one particular exterior as a diminutive female AC I knew carried two cases at a time up and down hill. Still, producers would question me as to whether a female could be a grip, or an electric. This, from men who often not much stronger than me.<br />
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I can honestly say that I've never failed to hire a woman because she was a woman - for any position on a film. I once had an (almost) all-female G&E crew. (The gaffer on that shoot - now a very talented and very successful DP, always reminds me when I tell this story that one of our Best Boys was male).<br />
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I had a male First AD on a shoot I was producing constantly comment on his 2nd AD's breasts. That one, I had to deal with myself.<br />
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Film crews on features over a long-haul are like family - for better or worse. You don't see anyone else, at least not while you're fully awake. Flirting is natural. Dates? All the time. Hookups? Absolutely. I can name a number of G&E guys who regularly dated female crew, often, as it worked out, Hair or Makeup. If that sounds cliche, it's what I saw.<br />
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We are all, hopefully, adults. We should know when flirting is mutual, and when it is not appreciated. That does not mean we always do.<br />
<br />
I have dated crew people over years. I have dated assistants, but they were my assistants before we were on the shoot, and they were always good at their job. <br />
<br />
There were times that I also went out of my way not to be social with women on set, such as actresses. There was a stunning young actress on set who had to do many difficult partial nude scenes, and with a director who was incredibly disrespectful and flirty with her. When she first came up to me at lunch just to chat, I avoided anything but professional conversation. Man, I thought, anything else, and I will look just like the jerk director and his co-producer, who were like over-sexed teenagers.<br />
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I mentioned age before, and that is also a factor. At that time, I was about twenty years older than her. I continue to be much older than many of the women I work with, and like to be mentor to both male and female co-workers. It's really hard to do that when your relationship is "complicated."<br />
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There was one production person who I worked with who I was attracted to. She was much younger. We had done some things socially - a show, dinner, etc. After one lunch, I told her honestly: I am attracted to you, but I'd like to work with you, and given our age difference, I think that would not only get awkward but reflect badly on her. People would get the wrong impression. After that, we remained friends but there was no more dating.<br />
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The answers are difficult, and the answers are easy. There are lines, and, again, as adults, we should know what they are.<br />
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I titled this article "I am Harvey Weinstein," so if you thought I was going to leave it with me as a hero of some sort, well, you haven't read many of my posts.<br />
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There are habits I have that I inherited from that very respectful father that I need to work harder to change. One is language. My Dad would often refer to a woman in talking with her as "dear" or other terms of endearment. Now, I should point out that while my dad could be a flirt, he would use these terms with a 5-year old girl or a 90 year old woman. They were meant to flatter, and was not about hitting on them.<br />
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That's fine to say for a male. However, in the workplace, they are inappropriate, and worse, can denote condescension, even when that is not the meaning. I know I've been guilty of that way too often.<br />
<br />
I also realize commenting on this can be a minefield for a male, no less a producer. I've read many, many too many self-righteous columns by men about this problem. That said, this whole business has made me reflect, and should make others do so as well. If that conversation is difficult, it is an important one to have.<br />
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My belief in this matter is the same as it is about life. I can only see this from my biased perspective. I am an almost sixty year old straight, White, CIS male. I don't know what it's like to grow up Black, or gay, or trans, or, for that matter, female, and I shouldn't pretend to do so. I also should not and will not make believe I can speak for them.<br />
<br />
We like to think ourselves open-minded, but we need to confront our biases. I think back to my <i>Atlantic City</i> analogy earlier in the post. What I found charming, a woman found creepy. How many other times, that I am not recalling now, have I, unintentionally, given the wrong signal? Handled a situation indelicately? Made a comment that I thought was a compliment that made a woman uncomfortable?<br />
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I'm sure the answer is: more often than I would like to admit.<br />
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Just the way the death of Sarah Jones made me think even harder about how late I let a PA work without proper turnaround, or if there was any danger in a given situation; all I can say is that I will be more conscious of how I address women; how I deal with them; am I giving them an even chance in hiring.<br />
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We are right to condemn. We are right to throw stones when stones need to be thrown, but we also need to tend to those glass houses we live in.JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-12797536895883229112017-12-13T15:08:00.000-05:002017-12-13T18:20:21.260-05:00Vowing the Un-vowable<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Sentient beings are numberless. I vow to save them.<br />Desires are inexhaustible. I vow to put an end to them.<br />The Dharmas are boundless. I vow to master them.<br />The Buddha Way is unattainable. I vow to attain it.</i></blockquote>
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<i> </i> -The Four Great Bodhisattva Vows</div>
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Vows are a solemn promise. Solemn. That's pretty serious.<br />
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In most spiritual traditions, these solemn promises are not only promises to do something, but promises to <i>stop</i> doing other things. Acknowledgement that we have done something that causes harm, and that we will stop doing that.</div>
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Atonement.</div>
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Yom Kippur. Ashamnu. Catholics. Confession.</div>
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So, here I vow to get back to get back to attending to this blog. To keep telling the story. </div>
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Let's start with old-school (as in my Catholic upbringing) confession.<br />
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Forgive me, readers, for I have transgressed. It has been eleven months since my last blog post.<br />
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Now, I have made this vow before, and this is the thing about vows. Even most of the world's great spiritual traditions acknowledge that when we make these vows to change, we will, at times, fail. Look at the wording of the the Ashamnu, or the Bodhisattva vows above, and we see they clearly acknowledge the daunting nature of the task at hand.<br />
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Writing is one of my great joys, and also, as with most writers, one of my great causes of suffering. Because I respect the written word so much, I find myself overly critical of my own writing. I've addressed this in these pages before, as have countless writers over the years.<br />
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It isn't writer's block or, more precisely, it is not a block on writing, or wanting to write, but rather, the ability - the need - to write well.<br />
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I can suggest so many reasons for the block. The feeling post-Trump election that nothing mattered. The sense that I was so far behind in the timeline that I'd never catch up; and, if I am truly honest with myself, the dread that no one really cared.<br />
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What was missing was the inspiration, to write and craft posts that honor the craft - or at least these pages.<br />
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That inspiration came from an unexpected place - the "#me too" movement that came to light in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein shame. It was an flurry that became an avalanche, and it moved me to start drafting a "I Am Harvey Weinstein" post.<br />
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That will come.<br />
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Tragedy affects different people differently. As an elder (over 40 would be an elder in this business -and I'm way past that) I get introspective when these things come to light. I did with the #safetyforsarah. It did with the election of a proud bigot. It did again with the Weinstein incident, as it made me look at the issue of treatment of women on a more micro level on the smaller indie films that I and other men are need to investigate.<br />
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However, I needed to do this first, and then a few other posts in order to "catch up." Oh, I will get back to the short film where I met my spiritual "kids," but first I need to get things in perspective. I needed to get this post done. Then, one that catches readers up on the last year since my Casey Affleck post. How ironic, that the #metoo movement inspired me to post again, given Casey's reported history of abusing the women he worked along side.<br />
<br />
But, so it is.<br />
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Ironies abound. That, in adding Weinstein to the "labels" for this post, I noticed that the name of one of the most powerful and influential figures in indie films had never before come up in a blog about indie film. While I doubt Harvey would care about me, I like to think that he is in some way disappointed that his influence does not permeate all corners of the indie film industry.<br />
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The blog is back I vow to keep it. I offer three bows, in the pictures above, albeit from different spiritual traditions.*<br />
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Feel free to hold my feet to the fire.<br />
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*Any look at different spiritual traditions around the world will reveal how many more similarities there are than not. Different paths to the same place.</div>
JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-69956225961924915392017-01-09T00:50:00.001-05:002017-12-20T16:30:35.507-05:00Call Back, Casey. All is Forgiven <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg848LaSuEI0rN6EnU3WAS3fkZSnXexRBKPYKhmaa14wYxnZHU8bz-51nLqdOX5lN7KU82xDoHz4J-DorwH7APIjDLUjvvyTG6rcXLqN52j9H45MIuW1ik56AzEy56v7v3qXEybAeM_w8I/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg848LaSuEI0rN6EnU3WAS3fkZSnXexRBKPYKhmaa14wYxnZHU8bz-51nLqdOX5lN7KU82xDoHz4J-DorwH7APIjDLUjvvyTG6rcXLqN52j9H45MIuW1ik56AzEy56v7v3qXEybAeM_w8I/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<i>Wait a minute. Haven't I seen you before? I know your face.</i>"<br />
-Joe Gillis, <u>Sunset Boulevard</u></td></tr>
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<span data-offset-key="adjs2-0-0" style="background-color: black; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Congrats to my newly dear friend Casey Affleck.
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I realize you may not remember me as the 1st AD on Floating, where you memorably played Preppie #1 in late 90s. I forgive you for not remembering, because until I went through all my shows while looking up possible cast for a film I'm producing, I had forgotten you were in <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139216/">Floating</a></i>.
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I realize in the years since, you may resent that someone as meteorically successful as myself has not reached out to you for those great roles I could have provided.
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Of course, I never forgot the tears you brought to my eyes (or great laughs?) as Preppie # 1, or our long, special talks together. Or, at least when I made sure there was something still at crafty when your scene was over.
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If it makes you feel better, I also lost touch with Preppie #2.
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I hope you will remember those special moments on your next film. No. No. You don't need to thank me for my contribution to your development if you win awards for Manchester by the Sea. Well, it's okay if you do, but you don't have to.
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After all, I'm sure you remember when the co-star of <i>Floating</i>, Chad Lowe, was forgotten when his then-wife, Hillary Swank, won the Oscar for</span><i style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Boys Don't Cry, </i><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">after she had thanked everyone else, down to the PA who got her Starbucks order right.*</span></span>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">I am quite busy this year, but if you need me to once again offer my guidance in your next performance on what will undoubtedly be a huge budget studio film, I will, in honor of our special relationship, make time for you
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<span data-offset-key="4rlpn-0-0" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">I'm just that sort of guy. Text me, baby.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="3c74i-0-0"><span data-text="true" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">*Note how the producers of the Academy Awards kept coming back to a shot of Chad, sure that she would mention him. Even better was she shows her paper at the beginning and says she wrote it all down because 'it would be so awful if she forgot anybody.'.</span></span></span></div>
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JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-43237414374732527902016-12-31T16:08:00.000-05:002016-12-31T16:08:30.439-05:00Hello 2017 - Or How 2016 Didn't Kill Anyone<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">“But Einstein came along and took space and time out of the realm of stationary things and put them in the realm of relativity—giving the onlooker dominion over time and space, because time and space are modes by which we think and not conditions in which we live.”</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">― </span><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14129901.Dimitri_Marianoff" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">Dimitri Marianoff</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;">, </span><span id="quote_book_link_25803101" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left;"><a class="authorOrTitle" href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/45657209" style="color: #333333; font-family: Lato, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Einstein: An Intimate Study of a Great Man</a></span></blockquote>
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Regular readers of this blog know that two of my fascinations, outside of film, are Zen and Quantum Physics. Both suggest that bookmarks such as dates are merely concepts, and not reality.<br /><br />Even as we are (sometimes) Sentient Beings, we like those bookmarks to make things feel more orderly, when, in fact, all that is real exists is chaos, an all we have is this very instant, which has already passed as you experience it.<br />
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If you were to believe your social media pages, 2016 is some dastardly villain that has chosen to take so many of our beloved artists, not to mention heroes; as if 2016 actually had a conscience. All those we love and cherish, especially in the arts, need to do is make it to 12:01AM on January 1, 2017, and they will be good.<br /><br />Don't think that is going to be the case.<br />
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That doesn't mean we cannot take this arbitrary date to look back at the last 365 days, and forward to the next. It's our decision, and it makes it convenient.<br />
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So, here is a look back at 2016 for me, and a look forward to 2017; keeping to old-school Irish bartender rules, meaning no discussion of politics or religion Them there Irish bartenders knew what they were doing.<br />
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2016 started for me with a UPM job, working for a very good producer. We knew of each other's work, and thought it would be a great fit. It wasn't. Instead, it was proof that there is more than one way to cook a goose - but you have to choose one. I could have been more magnanimous in conceding to how she wanted things done. It was still a very good project, and I look forward to seeing it. A reminder of why I chose to be a Big Fish in a Small Pond (Low budget indies) instead of the opposite, which would have meant taking orders from others, which has never been my strong suit. There was a small project that I served as AD on in October that would also bring this home.<br />
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Hours on the literal cushion (Zazen) and the figurative couch (therapy) leads to a whole lot of introspection. Some, including my ex-wife, would call it over-thinking. I had a therapist once dryly tell me, "Oh, you have introspection down pat."<br /><br />Me? I like to think it helps you not be that old dog that can't learn new tricks.<br /><br />That did come home, when I had the opportunity to UPM a one-day commercial with the wonderful producer, <a href="https://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-indonesian-job-inspirational-email.html">Aliki</a>, who was my production supervisor on The Indonesian Project. I was conscious of deferring to her and a really good AD, and neither ego nor stubbornness ever got in the way, and it was a great experience.<br />
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New tricks are needed all the time in this business, and in the Spring I was hired to produce a PSA to encourage millennials to vote. We prepped for a few weeks, wrapped for one; and never shot one day. Client never approved talent. Told you about that <a href="https://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/05/what-if-they-wrote-web-series-and.html">one</a>.<br />
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I line produced a 6-day short at a camp with a lot of students and a longtime DP friend, Lauretta, who I had last worked with as DP and Line Producer on <i><a href="https://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2014/09/keep-my-brother-pros-from-dover.html">Keep My Brother</a></i>. It was, well, 6 days at a camp. As I kid, I hatred camp. Give me a soft bed and air conditioning and no bugs. Did not learn to love it more as an adult.<br />
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However, I did get to teach a little bit to some bright kids, and that is always rewarding.<br />
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There were a number of small jobs, as well as line producing a feature in September where I felt like the guy on the Titanic yelling "Iceberg" but no one (neither the producer nor the director) were listening. They basically decided to ignore almost every cost-saving suggestion I had, from not casting actors with conflicts (which cost them the shoot), to not shooting short days, to trying to cut our losses after we lost the second lead, to - well, you get the point. I had to stand by and watch them throw good dollar after bad. They were talented and very nice people, but, in the end, it's always their money.<br />
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Then, there was a regular return to working as First AD which I chronicled in the last <a href="https://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/12/back-in-saddle-ad-life.html">post</a>.<br />
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So, on to that proverbial flip of the calendar and 2017.<br />
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I am producing an SVA Thesis film through a program legendary producer Bob Giraldi initiated to have experienced producers work with thesis directors. It is spiritual without being proselytizing.<br />
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I am attached to a project about a wheelchair-bound boxer, and a feature that would take place on a real battleship in Boston.<br />
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It looks like I will be able to work on a TV series with a actress and dear friend, Maria, as director.<br />
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Maybe one of the things I most look forward to is line producing a film called <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SARAHQMOVIE/?fref=ts">Sarah Q</a></i> in early Spring, directed by John A. Gallagher. John is as close to a NY Indie legend in NYC as you get, going back to successful movies in the 1990s like<i> The Deli, Blue Moon </i>and <i>The Networker</i>. He and I have had parallel careers, and we have no degrees of separation in terms of people we worked along side. John's first producer had worked as 2nd AD for me, and I have worked with many of the same cast and crew people that work with him. Ironically, the lead actress was the lead from the camp movie I did in June, and she is as talented and as great to work with as can be.<br />
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Given my opening to this post, you might imagine I do not make New Years' resolutions, but I am determined to do a few things in the new year, including at least directing a short, and writing a short and a feature and getting a few short stories published - or at least done, Maybe get back to directing more stage, if the opportunity is there. I have no illusion I will walk away from the production side, but I am consciously going to pour out whatever creativity I have. At my age, there isn't anything to save it for.<br />
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This year ended with a birthday dinner. Shooting schedules being what they are, none of my "kids" were able to make it, and regulars Brian and Adam found themselves stuck on set. However, one of the brightest stars from the last few years, Leigh, was able to make it, as were my spiritual "brother and sister, "Maria and Lanier. I also got to catch up with an old friend from all the way back in my WNYU days, Lisa (not pictured below).<br />
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Let me conclude with two truths. As Einstein said, "Time is an Illusion;" and as someone said, pictures don't lie. Looking forward to more "thank you dinners" in 2017.<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-68049719586291530812016-12-22T16:29:00.001-05:002016-12-22T16:29:51.357-05:00Back In the Saddle -- The AD Life<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Is that a real twenty minutes or a makeup twenty minutes"<br />-JB when he's been given a "twenty minutes" estimate for the last hour</td></tr>
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I was riding back from a shoot on Long Island last night talking to the one PA (one other got sick) we had on a short film on which I was the First AD. The producer who hired him told me he was "great!" Since I had never worked with this producer, it could have either meant he was great, or that she and I had a different idea of great. I had encountered both situations.<br />
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Luckily, she turned out to be a very good producer, who put together a talented and friendly team, and she was very right about this PA. As I've taken to doing with talented people coming up in the business in production, I asked him what he wanted to do moving forward. He gave the right answer - he didn't know - but said that next year would be the year of him trying out new positions. Then, he asked about how I liked being an AD, and it continued a thought that has been going for a few months now, where I have found myself working more as First AD than producer, line producer or UPM on web series or shorts.<br />
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Sometimes I'm glad that I let a blog post "simmer" for a while. I had draft of two posts; one on the good people I've had the good fortune work with over the past few projects, and one on returning to working more often as an AD, something that was not a plan but for which I'm thankful.<br />
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This post allows me to deal with both as well as my conversation with this young man.<br />
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One of the things I love about the film industry is its unspoken tradition of mentorship. Just yesterday, watched as the First AC showed a new 2nd AC about slating and coiling cable, among other things. I see it all the time in G&E.<br />
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Sure, it happens more often on low budget shoots, but it happens, to some extent, on every shoot. Someone is always stepping up, and there is a first time for that step up for everyone.<br />
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One of the things that impressed me about this young man was that he recognized these things even in his time as a PA, from learning walkie lingo to the first time he had to drive a cube truck in the city and more.<br />
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As I've been AD more the last few months, I've been ask which I enjoy more, working as First AD or working as producer. The truth is that both have their advantages and disadvantages, but I must say that, while I have a few producing and line producing gigs coming up in 2017 already, I do feel invigorated by working as First AD.<br />
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The First AD's first and foremost responsibility is to make the day, though that does not mean it is the only responsibility. <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/04/how-many-assistant-directors-does-it.html">No two ADs</a> do things exactly the same. While that can make the shooting hours more stressful, there is a certain sense of "resetting the clock" at the end of the day, being able to put that day aside and start (the fight) fresh the next day.<br />
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As producer, I don't have that moment-to-moment stress, but even when the AD has called camera wrap, there are all sorts of concerns that remain, mostly tied to the budgets, logistics, and often the politics of multiple producers, and dealing with director and creative staff demands. Art department wants more money, the location manager informs you that a date change has caused a key location to fall through, and the DP is asking again about those anamorphic lenses for a small coming-of-age story; and let's not talk about agents.<br />
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This Saturday, Christmas Eve, marks yet another turn around the sun for me (as the vaudevillians would say, and, boy, are my arms tired), and while my soul has developed callouses from the stress of producing and line producing, my body has been reintroduced to the physical grind of long hours on set, sometimes in punishing weather conditions. As producer, I can duck into holding or retreat to the office.<br />
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As my longtime AD collaborator, Brian, once said in a cab ride home with me, "JB, it's a young man's (or woman's) game."<br />
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At the end of the day on set as AD, I now feel like John Wayne astride his horse in his last picture, <i>The Shootist</i>. Yes, the saddle feels familiar, but a day of fending off bad guys (or less than accurate time estimates from, say makeup, uncooperative light switches, uneven terrain and an annoying lack of daylight) takes more of a toll than in my early days of doing this.<br /><br />Feels a little more like this.<br />
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However, those touches of gray around the temples and lines in your forehead give you a little credit for experience, and on the shoots over the last few months, I have relished working with smart, creative and talented up-coming directors who were anxious to take advice, and the feeling of watching them grow right before your eyes, knowing maybe, that you imparted some small thing that they may take with them; well, it makes it all worthwhile.<br />
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Did I mention appreciative? When genuinely offered, hearing "thank you," well, that is something that does not get old.<br />
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The nature of producing, and especially line producing, where it seems your vocabulary is often limited to one word, "no," does not lend itself to offering of thanks in the course of a day.<br />
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However, from the director and producer (and crew yesterday) back to <i>all</i> the directors I've worked with the past few months, and <i>most</i> of the producers and crew, they have been people willing to put in the hard work and fight right alongside you.<br />
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Remember my<a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/12/speedboat-part-1-they-really-did-want.html"> last post</a> about directors who really were willing to put in the work of directing? The producer on this shoot was up for two days straight prepping it; the director drove the van for all the pickups and drop-offs. On a previous shoot, the producer also was at the front of the line loading the van, the writer outside in the cold fire-watching the truck, the producer's Mom making tasty, authentic Dominican food for the crew with great flavor and a lot of love.<br />
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So it was on the hour-plus van ride home yesterday that I shared some stories about working as both an AD and producer for this young man. You've read most of them here, so I won't repeat (yet again). As you might suspect, the name <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2012/02/first-you-have-to-make-movie-stans.html">Stan</a> Bickman came up a few times. Who knows what path this young man might take next year, or the year after that one. I'm pretty sure I will be there for some of it, as I plan to hire him again.<br />
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A lot of downside and stress and aggravation in this business. Seeing talented people move up the ranks and gain more confidence? Priceless.<br /><br />Now, off to a birthday celebration, where, as you might imagine, there will be producers and ADs, and some who do both.<br />
<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-53288011103959926322016-12-07T18:50:00.002-05:002016-12-08T15:07:00.106-05:00Speedboat - Part 1 - They Really Did Want to Direct<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Lots of people want to have written; they don't like to write. In other words, they want to see their name on the front cover of a book and their grinning picture on the back. But this is what comes at the end of the job, not at the beginning."</i><br />
-Elizabeth George</td></tr>
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Hello again.<br />
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Yes, it's been too many months, and another break from my obligation to this blog, which is, of course, an obligation to not only my followers (however many - or few - they are) but also to myself, to my stated purpose at the beginning of this blog to not only offer some cool war stories and maybe some good advice, but also to make sense of a crazy career and answer the question, "Why do we do this?"<br />
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What does it say that this difficulty came in telling this story of Speedboat, which represented a new beginning for me with wonderful new people, as noted in <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/07/rebooting-again-always-beginners-mind.html">Rebooting Again - Always Beginner's Mind</a>?<br />
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One of the things that had soured me on the business before this project were the number of directors I had met who remind me of the quote above, itself a variation of a quote that has been attributed to many from Dorothy Parker to George R.R. Martin and others. (An interesting discussion of its origin can be found in this Quote Investigator <a href="http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/10/18/on-writing/">article</a>).<br />
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Like the picture above, many want to <i>have directed</i>, but don't want to truly do the hard work required to <i>direct</i>. How many directors have I met who could not take the time to do some sort of shot list or storyboard, to show up on set with ideas but no plan. How many wrote scripts with elements that went beyond the means of the project, and never bothered to figure out how that compromise was going to be accomplished?<br />
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Making a movie, especially an independent movie, requires a director to put in a lot of hard work, and to take with it their share of humility. Yes, humility.<br />
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Nothing gets handed to the independent director. First, they have to ask for money. Then, they need favors from friends - everything from locations to equipment.<br />
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Then, the humility to ask professionals to bring their own creativity and skill to the project, often for a fraction of the rate their services would bring elsewhere.<br />
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This element of what Paul and Dan did has served as an example for me to offer other filmmakers looking to do their own projects.<br />
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The writing ended about a year before we started shooting, and the script had challenges. Some of it took place in a run-down motel, which became harder to find than we thought, but a good deal took place on a boat that would run along the Gowanus Canal, and a driver to drive that boat, since it was unlikely that our lead actor would be able to do so. There were also scenes in a divey bar.<br />
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Just as they finished the script, Paul and Dan spent time in a seaman's bar at the end of Atlantic Avenue called Monteros, and with it's generous owner, Pepe (Montero). Pepe and his family are part of the <a href="https://ryangoldberg.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/my-favorite-bar/">history</a> of the Brooklyn waterfront, and he shares some of those experiences in an article <a href="http://patch.com/new-york/carrollgardens/a-look-into-south-brooklyns-norwegian-past">here</a>.<br />
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Some of you will remember the reference because <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-indonesian-job-day-6-of-6-and-in-end.html">Pepe</a> opened his place as a holding area to us on our Indonesian film, which is where our journey on that film ended.<br />
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It was a beginning for Paul and Dan, not only talking to Pepe, the owner, and his lovely wife Linda, but to the week day bartender with many stories, and the regulars, many of whom have their own (unofficial stools). Like any perfect divey bar, many of those regulars were daytime customers, and though there were a lot fewer boat drivers coming in, there were a few, and Paul and Dan worked out an excellent deal with a guy who regularly ran his boat on the Gowanus.<br />
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Along the way many of the stories they heard made there way ever so slightly in the script, and one or two of the regulars made it into the movie. Paul and Dan found themselves taking time not and day to spend time with these people.<br />
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The reason people opened up to them was that they were about more than just what they could "get" out of the place. Many of the stories of hard times they shared did nothing for the movie, but they listened because they cared.<br />
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Let me repeat. They listened because they cared.<br />
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People can tell the difference between listening just long enough to see what you can get out of them, and actually caring. The harder the times are for people, the more sensitive their BS barometer tend to be.<br />
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The same would hold true for another location they found, a diner that had recently been shut down due to code violations in the kitchen. The older couple lived upstairs, and without the place open, had little income. Paul and Dan talked to them and while they got a good deal, they did not <i>use</i> them, paying them a fair price (but less than we would have paid elsewhere).<br />
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In a side note, the couple enjoyed the experience and as thank you I got the word out to some scouts, and soon, they had bigger companies paying more money to shoot there.<br />
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The directors did the hard work, and they did it while respecting the people they dealt with along the way, and it brought them better places than they would have found elsewhere, and for a better price and with more genuine cooperation.<br />
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That did not help them with one location - a seedy motel. That one involved some script flexibility and a little luck.<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-57641528973595648512016-07-24T18:09:00.002-04:002016-07-24T18:09:48.159-04:00My Little Crazy Greek TV Show<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
"My cousins have two volumes. Loud and louder."</blockquote>
-Toula, <i>My Big Fat Greek Wedding </i></td></tr>
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"You obviously never worked with Greeks before"<br />
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Those words of advice came from our sound recordist, who was named Boom (I never did learn his real name - it's all anyone called him). Here were the circumstances.<br />
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I was hired to come on as production manager for a Greek television show that aired on a Greek-language network in New York City. The office was in Astoria, off 31st Street in Queens, which is probably the heart of the Greek-American community in New York.<br />
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Everyone in the neighborhood watched the show, from the hair salons to the bakeries to the diners, which I know is a stereotype but it's true. Years of doing independent projects on modest budgets has taught me that if you have limited financial resources, one way to get in-kind contributions such as locations, etc. is to reach out to communities that will relate to your material. This show did that very well.<br />
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The show was something of a young soap opera of sorts following Greek-Americans in New York. The businesses in the Astoria neighborhood were our regular locations, and they not only provided backdrops but help in areas like catering and crafty.<br />
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The crew was small and nimble. There was Boom (who did sound) and a director, and two assistant directors (who sometimes directed, especially if one of them was in the scene), and a few tech people who did multiple jobs. When I came on, there was maybe one PA.<br />
<br />
Much like the movie <i>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</i>, this was a family affair. Two of the actors and crew were brothers. Dad was the executive producer, and technically, he was the boss. When I say 'technically', I remember this quote from <i>My Big Fat Greek Wedding </i>after Toula complains that Dad is so stubborn and quotes him saying "Ah, the man is the head of the house!" Mom replies<i> </i>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Let me tell you something, Toula. The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants."</blockquote>
Argy was Mom, not just to her two sons in the cast, but to all of us. I loved her, and still do. Mom was not to be messed with, but underneath, she looked out for everything. She took a personal interest not only in how work was going, but how you were doing.<br />
<br />
She also kept a close eye on budget, and she would ask me some questions on costs that were smarter than producers with degrees.<br />
<br />
I was hired by producer/director Leon. The show had been shooting for a while. As they had gotten along without a production manager, I wondered why they needed one. Leon explained that there needed to be more discipline, more order. We talked about various things that could be improved, one of which was call times.<br />
<br />
It was during this meeting that I met Deena, who was one of the ADs. Deena was happy to have someone else be part of organizing.<br />
<br />
There was a van that would take folks to the locations from the office every day. Leon and Deena informed me that people would often show up late, and that would get the entire day off on the wrong foot. The van would leave from the office, and often people would arrive at call time, when the van should be leaving, and then stop to get their coffee, chat, use the restroom, etc.<br />
<br />
I had an easy solution. Institute a policy that coffee and breakfast would be available 30 minutes prior to call time. If people wanted to get breakfast, get there early. Of course, this is standard on any film set.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, the van would leave EXACTLY at call time, and anyone who missed the van would be sent home and not paid (or responsible for getting to location on their own dime, if they were essential). Those who did the latter would be docked part of the day.<br />
<br />
Leon liked the plan. Deena loved the plan. I assured Leon I would have no problem enforcing this plan. We left his office and announced this to the crew. No one protested. A good start!<br />
<br />
The next morning, I got to the office about an hour early. It was locked. I waited until about 30 minutes before call time, when breakfast was meant to start, when someone with keys showed up. I was mildly upset that breakfast would be a little late. What would happen if people showed up on time for breakfast and it was not ready?<br />
<br />
That wasn't a problem. The only crew person there was Deena, who helped me set up breakfast.<br />
<br />
We waited. And we waited. And we waited.<br />
<br />
About five to ten minutes before call time, a few people trickled in. Those people seemed to take their time getting their breakfast, chatting and using the rest room.<br />
<br />
But, at least they were there. I was keeping close tabs on who was not there as of yet. I was going to make examples of them. They would be left behind.<br />
<br />
Call time came and went. More crew trickled in. They casually got their breakfast. I kept reminding them that as soon as the van arrived, we better be ready to leave. I got a lot of knowing looks from the crew. Clearly, there was a problem with my plan. The van wasn't there yet. <br />
<br />
Who was driving the van, I asked? There would be hell to pay!<br />
<br />
Um, it was Leon. The producer who had hired me to bring order to the crew. Turns out he overslept. He and the van didn't arrive until almost a half hour late. While other crew people had arrived late, they were still there before the van. What could I say?<br />
<br />
Boom could see my frustration. That was when he said to me, "You never worked with Greeks before. Relax. This is what it's like."<br />
<br />
He offered a smile and a pat on the back and then he got into the van.<br />
<br />
Over the next few weeks, I got to understand some realities of working with this crew, the ups and the downs.<br />
<br />
The ups.<br />
<br />
They were very efficient for a small crew. In part, this was because there was a film school mentality in many ways, and everyone did everything. The director for the day wasn't afraid to carry gear and everyone chipped in. They also were very good technicians. I would wind up bringing more than a few of them onto other shoots. In addition to being good, they were very hard workers. A very good combination.<br />
<br />
They also had shooting on subways down pat.<br />
<br />
In order to get a permit to film on the subway in NYC you need $2M per occurrence. Most indie insurance packages are $1M per occurrence, and the added cost is significant. As a result, many indie films will "steal" subway shots, shooting without a permit. Doing so requires organization and smarts, and if this crew was not traditionally organized at other times, on the subway, they were like a Navy SEAL team.<br />
<br />
The downs.<br />
<br />
Disputes, which would happen multiple times a day, seemed to be resolved by volume, as the quote above suggests. The loudest voice would often prevail, and, thankfully, that would often be Deena. As stated elsewhere, I usually disliked having my ADs be yellers, but, well, this was an exception.<br />
<br />
I loved Deena, because I actually got to be good cop most of the time. Plus, I didn't have the appropriate Greek slang to win an argument.<br />
<br />
I've worked on a lot of mob movies, and growing up Italian-American, I knew Italian slang. I'm not talking about Italian-American slang ('fuhgetaboutit', 'he's a mook', etc). Every culture has their slang that does not translate literally, but are better at expressing the full spectrum of an insult.<br />
<br />
On this shoot, a phrase I quickly picked up on was "<i>malaka</i>." Many cultures, especially Mediterranean ones, reserve their most expressive slang insults for "crazy" or "idiot." <i>Malaka</i> seemed to align more specifically with the British expression 'wanker,' as both refer to someone 'soft in the head' from self-pleasuring.<br />
<br />
Deena also had an expression that was pure - Deena. She had little patience for, well, bullshit, and she would often express her displeasure by starting a sentence with, "I'm not going to lie to you." I came to love that expression because I knew straight up truth was coming.<br />
<br />
I wasn't the only one who got along great with Deena. I brought that PA from the bad shoot, G, onto the job. I wanted someone to work as 2nd AD and give Deena some back-up. The two of them became fast friends, and they were a team that would work together on a lot of my other projects. G was much more proper than Deena, and while that made them something of an odd couple, G being Felix to Deena's Oscar, they were a really good team.<br />
<br />
My little Greek TV show. It was wild, It was crazy. And I wouldn't trade it for the world.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br /></blockquote>
JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-22106641495216892162016-07-15T10:44:00.000-04:002016-07-16T12:09:34.883-04:00Rebooting Again - Always Beginner's Mind<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEivZc1u6XWd333ID2JpzayjkEfiUJAuw7y5Rjt8pnbitcptQDlPGJn2TOctg2sBnt1lzWbfAqgPLFCuj_Ob4nKuvbkFgQBm7QNXE_tSxz-63PxResEThV-sk00rjG0SOFieURqg9W7Fg/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEivZc1u6XWd333ID2JpzayjkEfiUJAuw7y5Rjt8pnbitcptQDlPGJn2TOctg2sBnt1lzWbfAqgPLFCuj_Ob4nKuvbkFgQBm7QNXE_tSxz-63PxResEThV-sk00rjG0SOFieURqg9W7Fg/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
"What we call 'I' is a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale." *</blockquote>
-Shunryo Suzuki, <i>Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
My Dad, who was not a Zen master but a pretty astute observer of human nature, used to say, "When one door closes, another one opens." I think he and Suzuki Roshi would have gotten along just fine.<br />
<br />
There was a post named "<a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2012/01/beginners-mind-beginning-again-or-great.html">Beginner's Mind, Beginning Again - Or the Great Reboot</a>" from January 2012. In that post, I discussed how I started again after recovering from my <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2012/01/in-land-of-blind.html">operation</a>. It was really when I focused my work on film more than theater, though I never really abandoned theater.<br />
<br />
If you stick with this business long enough, you will find yourself "rebooting" a number of times. I think of this time as significant because I met a number of people who became part of my team for a while, and we did a lot of good work together. <br />
<br />
As those who follow this blog are aware, there have been a number of times where I questioned whether this was really what I should be doing.<br />
<br />
By 2008, I was not sure if I was done with this business, or if it was done with me. More and more, I was seeing people with less experience get positions for which I knew I was qualified.<br />
<br />
Despair set in, not only because of what I was going through, but what the people who were important to me were going through. My good friend JR was dead some time at this point. Most of that crew had either moved up in the business or moved on to other businesses.<br />
<br />
The filmmakers I had the closest association with had made their movies, and like the movie JR, Jack and I had made, they had received little attention and the barest of distribution.<br />
<br />
The few projects I was working were, well, less than inspiring. One was a student thesis project that was very ill conceived (let's just leave it at that). A second was a Greek TV show which was, well, if you imagine the characters from <i>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</i> as a production team, you get the picture.<br />
<br />
While neither of these projects seemed of any note, they brought me two of the people who would become a regular part of my team. It's why I always tell people that, however bad or crazy the project, do the best job that you can, and keep your eyes peeled for the good ones to bring on another project.<br />
<br />
So it was that I was contacted by two brothers who were doing a short I'll call <i>Speedboat**</i>. It was a clever story of a rather inept small time hood who gets has stolen bribe money and is being chased by two killers when he thinks he finds the perfect out - a boat driver along the Gowanus river who looks like him can take the rap.<br />
<br />
The two brothers, Paul and Dan, admitted after they hired me that when they saw my extensive resume, they thought about not contacting me because, given my extensive resume, they thought I wouldn't take it. Ha! I had actually heard that before.<br />
<br />
When we started looking for a First AD, I saw a resume from a woman who clearly had been around as long as I had. The brothers admitted they had thought about her for my job, but that, again, thought she would say 'no'.<br />
<br />
Her work went back a long way in LA, and she has done a lot of television back to 1980s shows I remembered. Wow.<br />
<br />
I knew firsthand that if she sent a resume, she was looking for work. I brought her in - we'll call her "W" - and she and I immediately knew we had something in common. She was a short, stout chain-smoker, who seemed straight out of central casting as a gun moll. When she was trying to encourage the director to move along after a particular take, she would use expressions like "Moving on. You don't want to put your foot through a Rembrant!"<br />
<br />
I loved her. I knew she would be perfect.<br />
<br />
It was in interviewing for PAs on the shoot that I found a few amazing future crew people, as well as one I brought along from two previous oddball films.<br />
<br />
One, named G (She used this as short for her actual name) I had found on the otherwise forgettable student short where I was hired to AD. When I got to the van, and we had all introduced each other, and I found that there was only ONE PA, G, and she didn't drive. Once on set, however, I realized she was bright and hard-working.<br />
<br />
From the Greek TV show, I met Deena, who was that show's AD. While I usually do not like ADs who are yellers, on this shoot, everyone yelled, so there was definitely an advantage to yell the loudest, which she did. In fact, she would scare the director more than I could, and there was something to be said for that. Lovely and talented enough to be an actress, I knew Deena had a future in production.<br />
<br />
Then there would be the other PA positions.<br />
<br />
Em was bright and hard-working, with a "can-do" approach to everything. As good as she was with me across many projects, I appreciated her skills the most when I threw her in the deep end of the pool PMing for the first time on a feature that was quite difficult. She shined.<br />
<br />
I always had one personal assistant. One resume got my attention because of her background as a stage manager. Everything about her resume screamed organization. We met at a Starbucks, and she was every bit as smart as I assumed she was. Her name was Maura - I use it because I mentioned her already in the <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/05/what-if-they-wrote-web-series-and.html">Don't Shoot</a> post - and she was an organizing whiz, with just the right amount of irreverence to speak up if she didn't agree.<br />
<br />
As she was leaving, she said, "By the way, I can be a bit A.D.D., so you better keep me busy or I get really bored." I came to learn she wasn't kidding. She would finish any task in no more than half the time you thought it would take her and be back asking for more to do. She also turned out to be a math whiz with a love for Sudoku and Excel.<br />
<br />
One of the other PAs was Dion. Sorry, D, there was really not another short version of your name that wasn't "D" and I know there would be other folks with names starting with "D."<br />
<br />
D was a born organizer, and over shoots to come, he would quickly move from PA to Key PA to 2nd AD. First AD? More on that, later.<br />
<br />
These folks would all be involved in the next chapter of my career. I will have more on <i>Speedboat</i>, but before that, I should tell you just a little about that Greek TV show.<br />
<br />
Next post. Then, I'll get back to <i>Speedboat</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
* The painting is from the rather iconic Zen Ten Ox-Herding Pictures. They are meant to represent the stages of awareness through a man who "loses" an Ox, chases him, finds him, only to realize he is back where he began, but with more awareness. This is a terribly shortened version of the meaning of the story as it reflects Zen practice. These good folks explain it <a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/oxherd1.htm">better</a>.<br />
<br />
** As these stories are closer to my current place, and most friends know these folks, I do my best to not always use their names or names of the projects. It's not because I have anything negative to say of them, but the process of production is bumpy, and I figure these folks don't deserve to have those bumps shared. With Maura and Dion, well, most of the bumps are humorous, and using pseudonyms wouldn't do much to protect their identities for those who know them anyway.<br />
<br />
<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-12569822134050612112016-07-14T19:14:00.002-04:002016-07-14T19:14:29.750-04:00Back from "Vacation" Soon....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
First, sorry for having resorted to a meme, and one with a cat no less. Is there anything easier than a meme or using a cat to portray an attitude?<br />
<br />
Please forgive. Baby steps here.<br />
<br />
I realize it's been almost two months since I have posted, and I haven't gone that long since I started the blog.<br />
<br />
Shorter hiatuses in the past have usually been due to work, and, although I've had work over this period (some of which I will share), I really can't blame it on that this time.<br />
<br />
Some hiatuses have come due to dry spells. I've said before during these gaps that I'm more committed to keeping the quality of the posts than just churning one out every week (or so). As with most writers, I'm my worst critic. For every post you see there are tons of (figurative) pages crumbled up and sitting near the waste basket, and even those that make it go through a lot of red-lining.<br />
<br />
Oddly, when this gap started, it was almost because there was too much. I had a pet peeve post, which was meant to be the first in a series. Then, there was a post on a short film I was producer on recently with an long-time DP friend and lots of students.<br />
<br />
Then, there was the desire to start posts on my 2nd "<a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2012/01/beginners-mind-beginning-again-or-great.html">reboot</a>" in 2009 when I taught for a while at NYFA, and where I met a young crew that would go from PAs I helped train to the best crop of young production people I had met in a long time. I have referred to them here before as "my kids" (a reference they universally despise - but hey). I met them, as well as a handful of great NYFA students who went on to move me from that guy in the posts up to that time to the guy I am now.<br />
<br />
These came after another sort of hiatus - one that was a combination of a series of disappointments with the jobs I was doing and trying to get my aging mother past the early stages of dementia before finally realizing it was too much for me to do alone.<br />
<br />
In the time since I started this gap in my posts until now, working on a short with a lot of students seems to be a perfect place to start talking about this stage of my career, which continues today.<br />
<br />
I was brought back, again, to the first book on Zen that influenced me (I can't say it was the first book on the subject) called <u>Zen Mind Beginner's Mind.</u> In fact, we are always beginners in some way and always students, and always learning. I like the confluence of the two.<br />
<br />
The posts should come more quickly now, as I have drafts of the first few and know where I want to go with them.<br />
<br />
As with my other "I'm coming back" posts, I'l refrain from editing this one, lest I get tempted to over-think it.<br />
<br />
It's just a bookmark post, after all.<br />
<br />
New posts soon!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-75475895468075287202016-05-16T18:34:00.000-04:002016-05-17T14:37:42.283-04:00Don't Shoot! - What If they Prepped a Web Series...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Whenever a thing is done for the first time, it releases a little demon"</i><br />
Emily Dickinson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
They say that every time you go to a baseball game, you might see something you've never seen before. I thought it was just a saying, but just recently, Bartolo Colon became the first baseball pitcher to hit his first home run at the age of forty-two.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
Forty-two is old for baseball, and working in a young person's business, I sometimes feel old for production. However, I, too, had something happen to me for the first time recently.<br />
<br />
I never understand how people in this industry, especially on the production side, get pigeon-holed. You work in television a lot, you are not a film person. You do a lot of indie films, you are not a television guy. You do scripted, you aren't a reality person.<br />
<br />
When I was doing a ton of indie films in the late 90s through mid 2000s, I rarely got called for commercials or music videos, Others, who did them all the time, rarely got called for film.<br />
<br />
One of the best production managers I ever hired on an indie feature had just come off winning an Oscar - yes, that Oscar - for her documentary, yet still felt she had to prove herself in the indie film world.<br />
<br />
So it was that I was pleasantly surprised when I got hired a bit ago to production manage/production supervise,/produce (each title was used for those of us in this position at one time or another) a five minute web-series episode for a commercial company. It was one of a number of episodes being shot as part of a series.<br />
<br />
Now, I am going to be especially vague here about some of the specifics, not only because of the legality of having signed a very detailed NDA but also out of respect for a lot of talented and smart people that were part of the process.<br />
<br />
The original plan was for me to prep ten days, shoot two days, and wrap three days. Without getting into the subject matter, the client saw the lead as a snarky spokesperson, such as a William Shatner or Alec Baldwin.<br />
<br />
The problem was that their budget for the role did not hold out much hope for getting such a person, and they did not want to go SAG originally, which made it even less likely.<br />
<br />
Here is where it gets weird.<br />
<br />
I never met the client, but I can tell you that everyone at the production company were smart, experienced people, from the show runner to the overall line producer for all the episodes to the director they hired.<br />
<br />
I have a number of years under my belt, and every person in my position for the other scripted episodes did as well.<br />
<br />
The director was disappointed with the first round of casting, so we went out and hired another casting director to try again, this time after working with SAG.<br />
<br />
Along the way, we worked to secure a location. An AD was hired, as was a DP and a gaffer (Adam, from my previous projects). A production designer and a stylist were already on-board. A location scout and a tech scout happened.<br />
<br />
The location manager helped secure a location initially, but we lost it when we pushed back the first time (does this sound <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-indonesian-job-location-location.html">familiar</a>?). We simultaneously worked to get a new location while we held new auditions, which yielded good choices for the spokesperson and the supporting young person role. As a matter of fact, one of the folks who was an option for the spokesperson was none other that one of he leads on <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2014/09/keep-my-brother-dreaded-ultra-low.html">Keep My Brother</a>.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, I was ably assisted by Maura, someone you will learn much more about in subsequent posts. Maura was one of a small group that I lovingly call "my kids" because they worked a short film with me about nine years ago, when I was coming back to the business after a short hiatus, and who worked with me on a number of projects right after that. More on them later.<br />
<br />
Maura was my coordinator, and I needed her, as she has been working in television, which, compared to my indie film world, has an insane amount of paperwork. Don't get me wrong. We have a good deal of paperwork on a film, but the duplication and, in my opinion, unnecessarily cumbersome minutia causes us to spend more time on paperwork than is needed.<br />
<br />
But, I guess, having to answer to a client as well as keep their own records, maybe it is inevitable. Having Maura, who is a whiz at this stuff, as well as a great foil for me to brainstorm with, was essential.<br />
<br />
I've always liked to have people who are not afraid to disagree with me in my corner, and Maura (and Leigh on Terjebak) certainly fit the bill; bright capable people who will challenge me and keep me on my toes.<br />
<br />
With all these smart people, the shoot must have went great, right?<br />
<br />
Well, in one sense, it went flawlessly; not a single mistake. That is, of course, if you don't take into account that we never shot it.<br />
<br />
Commercial and television shoots get pushed back all the time, but as it has been weeks since the hiatus, I suspect these may not happen. Mind you, this is not just my shoot, but some of the other scripted shoots as well.<br />
<br />
From what I can tell - and I did not get to sit in on the high-powered meetings (thankfully), the issue was finding a way to make sure the client was happy with the final product, and getting their approval.<br />
<br />
Now, in the indie film world, we have many people involved in the process, but the producer can usually be the last word, often in concert with the director, who is also often a producer. Once the investors sign off on the project, it is in the producer and director's hands, and any decent investment contract makes it clear that investors, after having done their due diligence, now have to trust the one or two decision makers.<br />
<br />
Not so in the world of clients, or, for that matter, in television as a whole, where there is often network approval in mind.<br />
<br />
The difference was once highlighted in a John Sayles' story I have told here before. Sayles' first paid project was Roger Corman's <i>Piranha</i>, a silly movie basically that served to have voluptuous women run around in skimpy outfits being chased by flesh eaters.<br />
<br />
Sayles later wrote the prestigious <i>Eight Men Ou</i>t for the studios, the true story of the Chicago White Sox betting scandal that changed baseball.<br />
<br />
Sayles tells of the rewrite process on <i>Eight Men Out</i>, where he would be ushered into a room of people with suits who knew little about writing who would give him textbook feedback that made little sense to him.<br />
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By comparison, Corman's notes were more simple (and I'm paraphrasing from memory).<br />
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'You have the monsters attack on page 30, and then again on page 34. Why don't you have the girl nude on page 34 and have the monsters attack again on page 38,' Corman suggested.<br />
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"That," Sayles said, "I could do."<br />
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It may not always result in great art, but having one person making final decisions is certainly more effective.<br />
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Whether it eventually happens or not, the difficulty in getting everyone to sign off on the final product will mean a whole lot of somebody's money was wasted. Coming from the indie film world, where every penny matters, it still hurts me to see money wasted like this.<br />
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I have worked on films that producers abandoned after a director proved unprepared or a producer and director were at odds, or even other reasons. Those were all odd, but never have I spent this much time prepping and wrapping a shoot that never happened.<br />
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In the end, I spent three weeks, and Maura spent two weeks, doing prep and wrap work for a two day shoot that never happened. <b><i>If</i></b> we come back we will need another ten days prep, and it will only be a one day shoot.<br />
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Much as other pitchers had hit home runs before Big Sexy (a nickname Mets' Pitcher Noah Syndergaard has for Bartolo that has stuck), other people had prepped and wrapped television projects that never shot.<br />
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But, at 58, it is a first time for me, and the time spent on a project seems to me even longer than Bartolo's seemingly slow-mo trek around the bases.<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-13959016358068320292016-05-11T13:16:00.001-04:002016-05-11T13:16:34.747-04:00The Indonesian Job - Day 6 of 6 - And in the end...<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The web of our life is a mingled yarn, good and ill together; our virtues would be proud, if our faults whipped them not; and our crimes would despair, if they were not cherished by our virtues."</blockquote>
-William Shakespeare<i>, All's Well That Ends Well</i></td></tr>
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To paraphrase old friend and respected writer/director Ray DeFellita, things that start crazy end crazy. Our last day on Terjebak Nostalgia reflected the pattern from the day I came onto the job - turmoil throughout but ultimate success.<br />
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It started at the Carousel in Central Park (sorry, refuse to promote the man who stuck his name on it). It was the worst combination of Interior and Exterior - covered, so it needs to be lit, but not covered to the extent that it is protected from weather.<br />
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Aliki was a hero, putting together the permit for the the Carousel and Bow Bridge, made famous by numerous <a href="https://moviemaps.org/locations/2cj">movies</a>. This was maybe our best result at delivering iconic locations that all viewers in the Indonesian market would recognize, outside of Times Square. It is a permit that would normally have taken much longer to secure; Aliki secured it within days of shooting and it finally came in the day before we filmed.<br />
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We were not able to secure parking as close as we would have liked, and we had never tech scouted it, as it was not on original list of places to shoot. As such, G&E had to scramble to do the lighting, and they did a great job.<br />
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Once done with the park, we still had a company move, our first. It was a little bumpy, but we eventually arrived at the foot of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, where we had holding at a bar I had filmed a short in, <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/monteros-bar-and-grill-brooklyn">Montero's Bar and Grill</a>. It's a fascinating place, and I've known the owner for years, but unfortunately, it was just used for holding.<br />
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This area of Brooklyn provided the closest access to the 'Dumbo' that Rako really wanted, that sense of old New York. Our tiny but brilliant art department hastily put up a flea market on the street, but we still had more to film, including Scene 108 - the Magic Hour scene to end the film.<br />
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Before we ever got to this scene, one of our actors became sick with a balance disorder similar to vertigo. He was taken to the hospital but fortunately wound up being ok.<br />
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Complicating matters was the fact that two of our actors had a flight home that night. It was a Friday night, which meant traffic would be a mess, so I asked that the actors be allowed to leave be a certain time, that still would allow us to film at sunset. Word back from Rako, the director, was that yes, he would move the Magic Hour shot a little early.<br />
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What wasn't communicated was that he then still planned on another scene, and clearly did not feel bound to finish and get those actors out when I wanted them out, albeit for their own good. I feared actors stranded on a Friday night in New York without another flight out until the next day.<br />
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Now, the day grew late and, to be honest, I grew unnecessarily testy with Leigh, who I had asked to work with Rako to make sure he understood they needed to be out, and Rini, who was of course the liaison to the team. Both, to their credit, responded well. I ordered a car service, only to have it sit around for some time. Then, when I sent the car to where I thought they were, they were, in fact, somewhere else, and still had to come back to the bar for holding.<br />
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Meanwhile, some of the drama of the scene - for the Indonesian creative team and actors- was whether the actor in the scene would or would not wind up kissing Raisa. Rako gave him the opportunity to let it happen naturally. Did he kiss her or not? You'll have to wait for the movie!<br />
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Finally, we did get the actors into the car, and they did make the plane on time.<br />
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At 6:23 PM, we were officially camera wrapped.<br />
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Whew.<br />
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For maybe the first and only time in the many years I have worked with Brian, I hugged him when he got back to holding. Along with Leigh and Rini at the site, and Aliki back at the office, they had helped pull off something that, if you had described it to me beforehand, I would have said could not be done.<br />
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We were fortunate that we ended the shoot at a bar, and it was the only time we were able to sit and celebrate and drink with the Reza and Rako, as they left late the next day. We bought each other drinks, and Peppy, the owner, was happy to oblige us (And make a couple of hundred more). Crew that wanted to could order drinks on us, and so an impromptu wrap party happened, at least for a little bit.<br />
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Many of you have noticed that it took some time for me to finish this series, and also that I have offered it in a fractured time line, starting by telling you it was a success and then going into detail.<br />
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Part of the time it took me to finish this series was being interrupted by a number of projects. However, it was also the case that I kept examining the experience and trying to make sense of, as a Zen master would say, 'looking the other side of it.'<br />
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The Shakespeare quote above is one of a few in <i>All's Well That Ends Well </i>that deals with the basic truth of life, that good and bad are relative, and we would not know one without the other.<br />
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In the middle of this project, I was constantly stressed, constantly trying to figure out how it was all going to turn out for the best, and often I could not see it. It was, however, exactly that difficulty that made our success all the more fulfilling.<br />
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Another expression of what Shakespeare wrote above can be found in the Buddhist liturgy, <a href="http://www.theidproject.org/blog/joren/2012/12/13/identity-relative-and-absolute-sandokai-zen-master-sekito-kisen"><i>Identity of Relative and Absolute</i> *:</a><br />
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<i>"Within light there is darkness, but do not try to understand that darkness. Within darkness there is light, but do not look for that light.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>Light and darkness are a pair, like the foot before and the foot behind in walking. Each thing has its own intrinsic value, and is related to everything else in function and position."</i></blockquote>
Working in film, we all have our war stories. We love our war stories, and they are fun and entertaining and help us to maybe get a little laugh at what seems like the end of the world at the time.<br />
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One thing I always remind directors is that, at the screening, when they get to see their work projected, all the war stories don't matter. There is always difficulty. There will always be slights and bumps along the way.<br />
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I hope this series, if you follow it from the beginning, can inspire you at those moments on a shoot when it seems the whole world is falling down around you, and for producers, it can feel like that often.<br />
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To (again) share one of my favorite Hitchcock quotes, "A child has not died." Remember if things are difficult for you, they're difficult for the guy or gal next to you as well. Work not just with mindfulness but compassion, and don't be afraid to say "I'm sorry" if a moment overwhelms you and you are less than compassionate.<br />
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Surround yourself with good people, who are not only talented but who want to be that fox hole with you and who care about their work. I was blessed on this shoot with the best, not just my immediate production team, who I've praised endlessly, but the entire crew, and some great vendors (some of whom I've listed below).<br />
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One thing I've learned over the years is as a producer, especially on low budget project, don't be afraid to treat your crew, especially department heads, as partners. If you have chosen your people well, they care about the final project as well. No one person has all the answers, and while, as producer, you must make the final decision, input from others is essential.<br />
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While much of this blog is recounting productions from the past, this series, if you follow from the first post,<a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-indonesian-job-inspirational-email.html"> The Inspirational Email</a>, on September 4, 2015, is a good account of both being in the fire and observing the fire after it has been extinguished.<br />
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Now, we can move on.<br />
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* There are many translations.<br />
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Some of our wonderful vendors - Thanks</div>
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(Alphabetical)</div>
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<a href="http://adiuvoproductions.com/">Adiuvo Productions</a></div>
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Catering By Shawnee (caterbyshawnee@aol.com)</div>
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<a href="http://gothamsound.com/">Gotham Sound</a></div>
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<a href="http://handheldfilms.com/">Handheld Films</a></div>
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<a href="http://herowardrobe.com/">Hero Wardrobe</a></div>
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<a href="http://humanstoryteller.com/">Human Storyteller</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.adamrichlin.com/">Quiet Lighting Rentals</a></div>
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JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-46541440302381180042016-05-09T14:21:00.001-04:002016-05-09T15:42:33.186-04:00The Indonesian Job - Days 4 and 5 - Parks and Recreation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"Never get behind old people. Their bodies are littered with metal and they never seem to appreciate how little time they have left. Bingo, Asians. They pack light, travel efficiently, and have a thing for slip-on shoes. Gotta love 'em"<br />
-Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), <i>Up in the Air</i></div>
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After the disappointment with not getting the Magic Hour shot on <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-indonesian-job-days-3-let-mea-culpa.html">Day 3</a>, we moved to other challenges wanting to make sure we came through and Day 4 was definitely a challenge - MacArthur Airport.</div>
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As mentioned in an earlier article, NSA guidelines make filming difficult at airports, although the security arrangements are understandable.</div>
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Here was the warning that went out with the call sheet:</div>
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The location is <u>extremely</u> sensitive, <u><b>please read</b></u> all of the following:</div>
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<li style="margin-left: 15px;">When we arrive at the airport we will meet at the <u>Cell Phone Parking Lot for breakfast.</u> <b> All vehicles must land by 7:30am.</b></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">No one will be allowed past the airport security without an escort. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Once you go past security, you must have an escort at you at all times. i<u style="font-size: 13px;"><b style="background-color: yellow;">f you violate this TSA may result in an $11,000 fine. This means if you need to go to the bathroom/if you want to get a coffee, or even if you want to go to HOLDING - ask LEIGH first. </b></u></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Here is a list of things you can <i>not</i> bring on your person through security: <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/prohibited-items&source=gmail&ust=1462901842044000&usg=AFQjCNGTEqfNbTjlSf-aDKYVAW-rEDNuYA" href="https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/prohibited-items" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.tsa.gov/<wbr></wbr>travel/security-screening/<wbr></wbr>prohibited-items</a></li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;"><u>A</u>ll equipment vehicles will be escorted to a cargo entrance with a driver. Once vehicles are emptied they must return to the parking lot, and the driver must go through TSA security. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Lastly, we will have a working lunch as our time in the airport is limited. All crew will be compensated $25.</li>
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The working lunch was because we had a good deal to shoot and not much time to shoot it.. Because of travel time each way, our actual shooting time was going to be less than eight hours. The last item above was negotiated with crew. In effect, it was a meal penalty so we did not do a full lunch break but the crew was paid for making lunch a working meal. The fact that we had a great crew willing to work with us made all the difference in the world.</div>
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The heroes of the day were Leigh, whose preparation for a difficult location made it happen, and Rako, the Indonesian director, who made adjustments on the fly to get everything done. There were originally six scenes scheduled. Rako cut two but added one, and we got home with everyone satisfied and no overtime. Kudos to the Grip and Electric team as well, who worked under those restrictions down two crew members.</div>
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DAY 5</div>
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Day 5 was, by our standards, relatively uneventful. Most directors have heard my joke about the perfect scene to shoot for a line producer - two people on a park bench, day exterior. While we had more than two people, on more than one park bench and seven scenes and over seven pages, all the scenes were in a park, exterior day.</div>
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Day successfully completed, with the exception that we had to recast one of the small roles because Rako was not happy with the casting.</div>
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All that was left was Day 6 - our last day - with a company move, actors who needed to get to the airport, and still that Magic Hour shot - Scene 108. More on that in next article.</div>
JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-67738164071673878342016-04-09T09:20:00.001-04:002016-05-10T12:17:30.402-04:00How Many Assistant Directors Does it take to Change a Light Bulb?<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/video/news/how-many-assistant-directors-does-it-take-change-light-bulb">How Many Assistant Directors Does it take to Change a Light Bulb?</a></div>
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This blog has been my way of sharing how this one guy has done all levels of production all these years. I do think it's representative of how many of these things work.</div>
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So, it was interesting when a long-time colleague, who writes a blog for the B&H, asked me to take part in an interview about what ADs do. It's part of a series he is doing highlighting different set positions, and it should be pretty informative. He also asked for contact info for other ADS.</div>
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I gave him a good number, and as it turns out, he chose two people with whom followers of this blog will be familiar; Brian Bentham, my longtime partner-in-pain on set, and Leigh, who I met a little over a year ago and who I think is a bright shining production professional for some time to come.</div>
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I will let Steven Gladstone's article speak for itself - please click the link in the title. For me, what was interesting was seeing different takes from ADs spaced a little less than a generation apart from each other.</div>
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By the way, if you scroll down to the bios at the end, Leigh shares her own <a href="http://theassistantdirector.tumblr.com/">blog</a> on the art of being an AD. We can always use more of those!</div>
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-44788147696049286842016-04-01T14:41:00.001-04:002016-04-02T12:12:54.138-04:00The Indonesian Job - Days 3 - Let Me(a) Culpa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes finding the right photo for the post is hard. None, though, was easy as this one - a layup - as the author actually chose to title the person who refused to fall on his sword "JB." Photo and caption all done for me. How convenient!<br />
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This fortuitous find kept me from trotting out my Christine Vachon quote from Shoot To Kill: "It's all my fault. Now can we just move on?" (Ok, so I still managed to get it in here)<br />
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It's probably true in other businesses as well, but folks in this business often <i>want</i> responsibility, but are not always as willing to <i>take</i> responsibility. The good ones do.<br />
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We weathered the many <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-indonesian-job-location-location.html">delays</a> pretty well, with the exception of having to come up with locations at the last minute. One of our replacements for "iconic" locations was a theater as part of the replacement for Grand Central Station, because Raisa is a singer and we got to put her on stage.<br />
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After originally going after the Apollo, and then realizing it wouldn't work, we secured a verbal agreement on a theater where a friend had an Off-Broadway play running on the Friday before our Monday shoot. We didn't have a signed agreement with the owner of the theater until we actually got there. All of this meant that we had no time to get permits from the Mayor's Film Office for our exteriors of the club, or the our one company move that day, the closest park for the final Magic Hour sunset shot.<br />
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The day went relatively well, with sidewalk walk-and-talks being no big deal. We had a hard out at the theater (they had a show that night) and while we wrapped camera in way enough time, getting gear and such out cut it close.<br />
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The theater staff - the Production Stage Manager, a lighting tech and a rep from the owner - were great and made the experience a lot of fun. The Indonesian team got everything they wanted.<br />
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And, then, there was the rush for the Magic Hour shot.<br />
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The word "idiot" comes up in front of many things. "Idiot check" - that check you do to make sure everything has been taken out of the space when you leave and that nothing is left behind - is a perfect phrase because what seems obvious often is not.<br />
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That morning, Brian (AD) and Leigh (PM and LM) and I had made a point of explaining to the Indonesian team that we did not have a permit for the walk-and-talk outside. In fact, it was borderline, under the new rules, whether we even needed that permit.<br />
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The important Magic Hour shot - it would be the last shot of the movie - we did not discuss. We had scouted a park, and thought we could get a shot off.<br />
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Somehow, none of us - Brian, Leigh, nor I - told the Indonesian team that we did not have a permit for the park.<br />
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Between that and the fact that we were rushing to make sure the light was right, the company move was a little hectic. Leigh was trying to make sure we were out of the theater on time, and had left her assistant with specific instructions of who should be in each vehicle and in what order. Somehow, her instructions weren't followed and the move was choppy.<br />
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Worse, by the time we set up at the park, a park official came by and shut the shoot down.<br />
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We knew we had another opportunity to get the shot later in the week, but with all the good work we had done, it was our first fail. The Indonesian team had not complained about anything to that point, and my experience with them was that it was not in their nature to be difficult. Still, when they got back, they were clearly disappointed.<br />
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I could see from their questions that they were disappointed with our team, and as it was a location issue, I could see how the blame, such as it was, could fall on Leigh, as their questions were directed toward her. This was completely unfair, and I knew I had to nip it in the bud.<br />
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Again, there was no way, given the late notice, that we could have gotten that permit. Why none of us mentioned it to them eludes me, other than that with all of our discussion that morning about not having permits outside, we thought it was understood there were not permits for the entire day.<br />
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Another reminder that in our business, nothing is obvious.<br />
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The rest of our team had worked too hard and too well to have any doubts about their ability remain in the minds of the Indonesian team, and that night, I wrote a heartfelt email to the director and producer, apologizing and taking personal responsibility.<br />
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I have worked with too many producers over the years who would find blame with everyone else but themselves, who were quick to accept thanks but would never accept responsibility for things that went wrong.<br />
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It wasn't easy writing an email that basically said I screwed up, but it was what I had to do. It is also a lot easier when you reach a certain age and you are pretty comfortable in your own skin. Any regular reader of this blog knows that I have had my share of grief sent my way over the years, and a little more wasn't going to kill me. The same can not be said of Brutus.<br />
<br />
Although these things tend to be sketchy in terms of history, a little research suggests that the term "falling on one's sword" dates to Brutus, and this account from Plutarch's <u>The Life of Brutus</u>:<br />
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<i>Finally, he (Brutus) spoke to Volumnius himself in Greek, reminded him of their student life, and begged him to grasp his sword with him and help him drive home the blow. And when Volumnius refused, and the rest likewise...grasping with both hands the hilt of his naked sword, he fell upon it and died.</i></blockquote>
Clearly, Brutus didn't work on a film set, where neither Volumnius nor anyone else would have refused to help. In fact, the grips would probably build a rig to facilitate it.<br />
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Thankfully, my response went a little better.<br />
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The director wrote me back a very nice email, basically saying that he understood. It was a relief. As it turns out, we did get the shot on our very last day - but not, again, without its share of drama.<br />
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As with the <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2012/02/unlucky-stiffs-part-4-greetings-from.html">Asbury Park</a> scene in <i>Lucky Stiffs</i>, some scenes just seem to be haunted, or looked upon with disfavor by the Film Gods.<br />
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Oh, they do exist, and while they do not always require a human sacrifice (it's why I sometimes hire an extra PA - just in case) they require a hearty <i>mea culpa </i>now and then<i>.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Mea Culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.</i><br />
<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-31539724138428005632016-03-30T14:46:00.000-04:002016-03-30T14:46:14.703-04:00The Indonesian Job - Day 2 - That Time You Meet "Chris Pratt" In Times Square<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Just be comfortable with who you are"<br />
-Chris Pratt</td></tr>
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First, my apologies for the delay in getting on with The Indonesian Job series.<br />
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The irony of <i>Terjebak Nostalgia</i> is that immediately after it was over, it felt like the best experience in the business that I had in a long time. As I started looking over the production reports and reliving the days, and the lead-up to it, I remembered how challenging it was.<br />
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As I've said before on this shoot, it's about the people. Stan, my mentor, used to say that the work is fine, but the worst is when your biggest obstacle is the people you are trying to help. Conversely, there is no challenge that makes a job miserable if you have the right people, and on this shoot, we certainly did.<br />
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I tried hard to really evaluate the experience objectively before moving on with the series. As I have said before, I like to keep this blog interesting, informative and entertaining, so I didn't want to move on to the next post until I felt confident I was representing it correctly.<br />
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After Day 1, we moved on to filming in Times Square, and then a subway scene for Day 2.<br />
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Filming in Times Square involves working with Times Square security, NYPD and unpredictable tourists. I have used <i>Birdman</i> as an example of how we could shoot Times Square, as we were not going to be able to control pedestrian traffic. Our shoot day was a Sunday, which meant more tourists but fewer workers. For the most part, my AD Brian's familiarity with shooting in Times Square made it smooth sailing.<br />
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We then moved on to filming on the subway. Getting a permit for the subway is expensive, both because of the insurance requirements and personnel that needs to be hired. I informed the Indonesian creative team that we could film this without a permit, provided they were willing to work within our parameters and deal with what we got on the subway. Between language and cultural differences, I worried about getting this done in time, but, again, not only was it on time but shy of our twelve hour day and they got B-Roll. Another set of scenes that had cost us a lot of worry in prep but that went as smoothly as it could have.<br />
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The Day 2 Production Report noted that we did lose some time because of slight incompatibility of our rig with the steadicam.<br />
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Oh, yeah, the steadicam.<br />
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Steadicam, like hair stylist for Day 1 for Raisa, were things I had repeatedly asked about and repeatedly was told we didn't need it and that Easy Rig was fine. On Day 1, the Indonesian team had felt a little frustrated with the limits of Easy Rig because it wasn't well, steadicam. One of those instances where a low-budget indie tries to get they look they want with something less than they want to pay for it.<br />
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After much discussion, we all thought steadicam would be a good idea, and we hired a really good guy named Victor. The Indonesian team was impressed!<br />
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Yes, he was good - very good - but that was not why they were impressed. Over and over what I kept hearing back was how much they loved working with - Chris Pratt.<br />
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Victor is pictured upper left, the <i>Parks and Recreation</i> actor lower right, with the sound advice to "be who you are" (and, I suppose, not your celebrity doppelganger). In case you have trouble telling them apart, Victor is the one wearing the steadcam rig.<br />
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OK, while I see the resemblance, I didn't quite find Victor Pratt's twin. Nonetheless, he was good at his job, and the resemblance and his work made them happy. Good enough for me. Victor got used to being called Chris Pratt. Below a picture of Victor with some of the crew in Times Square.<br />
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Oh, and one more thing about Day 2. It was the birthday of our production supervisor, Aliki. That may have been one of the few "almost" fails of the day.<br />
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Good production people are efficient, and Aliki is very good. She was scheduled to stop by set, then head back to the office. The plan was to get her flowers on set, and both my PM Leigh and two trusted PAs worked hard to keep her there and get her the flowers. Ah, but Aliki was too fast for them, and she slipped away while the flowers were only moments behind her!<br />
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As our office was only about 10 blocks away, a PA rushed down with the flowers. Below, me with Aliki and Arneece, our POC.<br />
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Next, day at the theater (Day 3) and an airport shoot (Day 4).JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-71089520370330803972016-02-17T14:42:00.000-05:002016-02-17T16:36:33.092-05:00The Indonesian Job - Day 1 - Greetings, Blessings - and Where's the Grip Truck?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6rYh-qV_ol9YX-faEsmaKJz9xHZ5dV3mSWnYVXnul13lZROjXhWq6Xmu74rRwaLXEgbLiNDQPdhD0UbhuGn2uiaQpAS85YZSu8RRrfwzB0zoCMHEDxeYkuJQWogmOXW1892QY7oefRI/s1600/Mets+And+Knicks+Best.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6rYh-qV_ol9YX-faEsmaKJz9xHZ5dV3mSWnYVXnul13lZROjXhWq6Xmu74rRwaLXEgbLiNDQPdhD0UbhuGn2uiaQpAS85YZSu8RRrfwzB0zoCMHEDxeYkuJQWogmOXW1892QY7oefRI/s400/Mets+And+Knicks+Best.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"</i><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: start;"><i>Camera truck's comin' in.</i>...</span><i style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: start;">We're about two blocks away...Where do we park?...Excuse me, where do we park?...Anybody know where </i><i style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: start;">the camera truck can park?...No."<br />-</i><span style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: start;">Opening of <i>Living In Oblivion</i></span></td></tr>
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Crew Call for Day 1 on <i>Terjebak Nostalgia</i>* was 5:30AM. Neither Brian, my AD, nor I have a fondness for unnecessarily early call times, but there was a dawn scene included, and we needed to get there early to get it.<br />
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I got there a half hour early, at production call, and the Indonesian crew and Brian were already there. I emerged from my cab with gifts for our Indonesian counterparts.<br />
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Reza, the producer, was a huge New York Knicks' fan. Earlier in the week, I contacted the Knicks' PR department and told them I had a guest from Indonesia who was a big fan. They immediately (and kindly) sent over a large bag of swag that I presented, last, to Reza when we met.<br />
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My first gift, for all of the Indonesian cast and crew, were NY Mets' baseball caps. My beloved Mets had made it to the playoffs, and I thought it was a timely and slightly different gift. The result: a number of Indonesian crew (not to mention Brian and I) wearing Mets' caps. (see pic above)<br />
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We had some fun with that, especially when a passerby, after being told they were from Indonesia, said she didn't realize Indonesians were Mets' fans. At least temporarily, they were.<br />
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What wasn't fun was the grip truck, which had camera as well, being 55 minutes late. We had hired a PA who we did not know very well to drive it (none of our regulars were available). When I confronted him with why he was late, and had not even bothered to contact anyone, his answer was "Hey, it was a long drive from the parking garage."<br />
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I let him go on the spot. Things can happen. Alarms can be missed. But simply ignoring the amount of time the trip would take (it was a Saturday morning with no traffic) and then having no remorse for not at least calling to inform us was inexcusable.<br />
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My company was the production company in New York, and after going out of my way to greet them properly, and after my team had done an amazing job of putting it all together, this was a total embarrassment. Fortunately, the Indonesians were very understanding.<br />
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Due to Reza's quick thinking and Brian's usual ability to make things happen, we got the opening dawn scene, but not before Rako and Reza offered a brief prayer for good fortune with all of us gathered around. It was a very touching moment.<br />
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Although they had originally said we would not need a hair person in addition to our makeup artist, I thought it would be best to have one first day to make sure we could establish Raisa's look here, and further, to make a woman who was a pop star in her country feel comfortable here. Rachel, that stylist, is pictured far right above, in front of Monda, a PA we hired who spoke both English and Indonesian as well as an additional translator. He wound up being crucial to the camera department and is now working with them on their next feature!<br />
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I was relieved when we made the day. The notes on the production report are below.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>G&E Truck 55 minutes Late, PK (name deleted) the driver did not inform anyone he would be late, he was let go.<br />STJ (name deleted) was hired as PA but informed us at call that he is no longer on this production and did not show up.<br />Breakfast was 30 minutes late to set up due to us not being let into the location until 5:20am.<br />Sound reported Walkie frequencies are interfering with sound.</i></blockquote>
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*Pictured above, from left to right, are Eric, our glidecam operator, and Hani and Reza (DP and Director, respectively) with Brian behind them in his own Mets' cap, and their AC in front of him. Reza, the producer, is wearing the Knicks' scarf.<br />
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**While I referred to it previously as Letters for Raisa, which is what we called it, the Indonesian name for it was always Terjebak Nostagia. One is not a translation for the other. As it has now been released with the Indonesian name, that is what I will use.<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-29373992133166708402016-02-13T19:51:00.002-05:002016-02-13T19:55:25.895-05:00The Indonesian Job - Location, Location, Location<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Today America is the Roman Empire and New York City is Rome Itself"<br />
-John Lennon</td></tr>
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When film companies from other countries - especially Asian or South Asian countries - come to New York City, they want to shoot "iconic" New York locations; those locations that people back home have seen in movies.<br />
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The problem, in part, is that the New York of movies does not always exist anymore. There was an excellent article in The Guardian earlier this year called "<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/12/confessions-of-a-location-scout-why-the-new-york-beloved-of-the-movies-doesnt-exist-any-more" target="_blank">Confessions of a location scout: Why the New York of the movies doesn't exist anymore.</a>" Much of the article deals with the "dangerous" locations highlighted in 1970s films like <u>Fort Appache:The Bronx </u>and <u>The Warriors</u>. However, it also deals with many of the nicer landmarks that have changed.<br />
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Showing the "grimier" side of New York has become harder. When I worked on the original season of Taxicab Confessions, we often would spend time in the Meatpacking District. We knew we could find hookers - straight and transvestite - and that we'd find sordid people with racy stories. Indeed, even on low budget film shoots, I spent many a morning on those cobblestone streets reminded why it was called the "Meatpacking District": the many warehouses that did just that, as well as slaughterhouses.<br />
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Unlike in <i>Apocolypse Now,</i> no one every said, "I love the smell of dead animal flesh in the morning."<br />
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Now, if you were to go down those streets late at night, all you will smell is money and the most interesting characters would be those few who were not club kids waiting for their Uber.<br />
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Before the <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-indonesian-job-brave-new-world.html" target="_blank">hiatus</a> Leigh had locked up some great iconic locations. Among them were Grand Central Station and Luna Park in Coney Island. The time lost also meant locations lost, and these two locations were among them.<br />
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No time to fret. Leigh went about trying to lock new "iconic" locations on no notice. The shortened shoot meant that we were going to lose the interiors for the most part, and that those would be filmed in Indonesia. In fact, the Indonesian team had crammed days of shooting into three days over that weekend, with almost no prep time. They had met their challenge; now, it was on us.<br />
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We kept going in circles on what made a location iconic, and more importantly, what would an Indonesian audience find iconic. Leigh was able to cobble together a Times Square day, after which we would film a scene on the NY subway.<br />
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We needed the airport scene where Raisa arrives and goes home. The shortened window made JFK very difficult, so we moved to MacArthur Airport. Leigh did a great job of making MacArthur Airport work, which included her making a scouting trip that meant leaving Manhattan at about 5AM for a 7AM meeting on Long Island.<br />
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While MacArthur had decidedly less traffic and complications than JFK, it would not be easy. As the scout suggested, it was even further from NYC than JFK, and that meant less filming time in a 12 hour day. In addition, we were still talking about an airport and TSA. On Leigh's scout, she learned what that meant, including dogs sniffing the truck for bombs, equipment and people separately going through metal detectors using the same procedure you would use for a trip.<br />
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We would also be assigned one TSA agent per 10 people, and anyone straying away on their own would be subject to arrest and up to a $10K fine that they, personally, would have to pay. This definitely got everyone's attention.<br />
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While Leigh was battling getting these locations Brian, my AD, was trying to put together details for a scout that included this long trip as well as locations we did not have yet.<br />
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Of course, these other locations still had to be approved by the director, who would not be able to see them for himself but rely on pictures. This process went well into Wednesday, when our team was complete (or as complete as it would be) with the arrival of Rini from Washington DC. We were thrilled to finally be in the same room with our counter-part in DC, who we had spent countless hours with on the phone, online and various other methods from text to Facetime. We still had the communication and time differential with Jakarta, but at least we were in two locations and not three.<br />
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We started talking about parks - there were many in the script, and it turned out some of the "parks" were actually meant to be on a college campus. We went through an arduous process of figuring out what was "Park 1" vs "Park 2" etc. As we kept sending more pictures, which park was which would often change. This meant that while Leigh was trying to secure the permit the chicken-and-egg game of her permitting and Brian scheduling was happening. We wound up doing most park scenes at a park in Brooklyn.<br />
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Reza, the director, became focused on getting something in Dumbo, and much of his desire fell around a picture he had of Dumbo which was by the bridge, something like this.<br />
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As we took different pictures, some of the best angles would be in a private park adjacent to the bridge, which would be difficult to get on short notice. Other streets were on the <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/site/mome/index.page" target="_blank">MOFTB</a> hiatus list, meaning that they had filming so often that locals complained and there would not be permits issued for a while. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, they had become so popular that no one could go there anymore,<br />
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We knew we wanted something in Central Park, and late in the process - even while we were shooting - we secured the well-known carousel in Central Park (now hideously named after a presidential candidate I will not name). Aliki helped get that for us at the last minute.<br />
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We were trying to replace Grand Central, and the only obvious equivalent, the Empire State Building observatory, was not going to happen easily within our budget or in the time we had to secure it. So where?<br />
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Since Raisa was a singer, we thought about putting her in a theater. Why not the Apollo in Harlem? That was iconic, right?<br />
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Leigh made inroads there by literally walking in a back way when they did not return her calls. She is a lady who does not take "no" for an answer easily, and she spent a short time on the verge of incarceration from Apollo security. Somehow, she had an outline for a deal there, and we added it to the scout while still trying to secure a location agreement.<br />
<br />
By Thursday, it was time to do the tech scout, a tech scout that had been rescheduled numerous times. I did not go, with much to do and knowing that two great production people, Leigh and Brian, were on the trip, and that Rini, a producer herself, could be there to represent Reza's wishes.<br />
<br />
While they were away, word began to filter back that there were problems with The Apollo. Frankly, I was annoyed at first. At this late date, I did not want to hear complaints. We had a great place that Reza agreed to that seemed willing to work with us.<br />
<br />
However, during the production meeting that followed, it became obvious that it was no small problem.<br />
<br />
The ground rules the Apollo wanted were strict. Often, when working in a union house on a non-union shoot, there will be insistence that union "shadow" crew be hired. While costly, I could live with this. Let's just pay them and get it done.<br />
<br />
But wait! It turns out they not only wanted their people on, they were insisting that ONLY their people could handle equipment. Basically, my grip and electric crew would be sitting there while they watched people with no interest in our shoot set up equipment. I started to imagine this while an Indonesia-speaking Cinematographer and Director were trying to give directions. Furthermore, there would be no showing anything that branded the space as the Apollo Theater.<br />
<br />
Together, these demands became too much. What was the point of paying a very high fee to <i>not</i> show that the location we were shooting in was iconic? None of us could see any situation where the union requirements would not make filming there a nightmare.<br />
<br />
I suggested a downtown venue, where a theatrical producer I had come to know pretty well had a successful show. Doug, the producer, was on board, but we also needed the signature of the theater owner, and she was out-of-town and not being communicative. So it was that we were now going to a place on that Monday while still trying to figure out if the permission would come through. I decided to take that chance and late on Friday night, pulled the plug on a place, the Hammerstein Ballroom, that was holding a security check from us.<br />
<br />
Leigh and I were in the office late into the night before Day 1, Leigh refusing my imploring that she get some sleep. She was not going to set until she had everything.<br />
<br />
Through all of this, Aliki and Arneece were generating all the paperwork needed at a pace that entire office would normally have, and Rini would work her usual 2 days for one, the 12 hours on NY time and then another 12 hours on Indonesian time, desperately trying to keep the flow of communication going.<br />
<br />
Brian and Patrick, our AD department, were planning for a shoot in two languages with no shot list and no real idea of what the director and DP wanted in the scenes.<br />
<br />
None.<br />
<br />
<i>Next, the filming of the New York portion of Terjebak Nostalgia, which had its release just this past week in Indonesia. We congratulate them!</i><br />
<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-20810330097395460862016-01-23T15:15:00.000-05:002016-01-23T16:28:14.727-05:00In Case of Blizzard, Do Nothing (Or Catch Up On your Blog)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWwjiOQs7-4QkYsczvWPhqp4POxS0amWft8_QDCXKeq3j8YLpv92u4HLKwHRKoZP5eQEPqJF9Zyh8K2vuF-xEQRRzSnTfwqvjGeXgdLt-UCUap__BZOg_omrRdNkPMjYJvWI7h5keFuk/s1600/imgres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXWwjiOQs7-4QkYsczvWPhqp4POxS0amWft8_QDCXKeq3j8YLpv92u4HLKwHRKoZP5eQEPqJF9Zyh8K2vuF-xEQRRzSnTfwqvjGeXgdLt-UCUap__BZOg_omrRdNkPMjYJvWI7h5keFuk/s1600/imgres.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"A snowstorm rewards indolence and punishes go-getters, which is why it's the best natural disaster there is."<br />
-<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/opinion/in-case-of-blizzard-do-nothing.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0" target="_blank">David Dudley, Op-Ed NY Times, 1/23/16</a></td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
First, a mea culpa.<br />
<br />
A few months ago, after a fascinating co-production with an Indonesian company, I started writing about that effort. Then, I got caught up in so much that I found it hard to keep up this blog. I'm going to use this post to get my devoted readers up to date.<br />
<br />
Most of my long-time readers know that I try to avoid short, journal-like posts and trend toward more well thought-out articles. Those take some rewriting and reflection, and while I hate to have left these pages empty this last month and a half or so, I'd rather try to offer somewhat interesting and hopefully enlightening and entertaining posts.<br />
<br />
Catching up. Here goes.<br />
<br />
I will continue the series on <i>Letters For Raisa</i>, the Indonesian film that I understand may be released in Indonesia in February. A trailer is linked below. (A good opportunity to bone up on your Indonesian)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e2OIbUPiud4" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
That production, and the insanely good people I was blessed to work with here and from Indonesia, reignited a love for production that had grown dim from what is often the drudgery of low budget filmmaking.<br />
<br />
It was then I decided to expand my production services company, Fire Lotus Entertainment, and open up an office in Midtown Manhattan. Working with other production partners, in addition to the production office and my services line producing, I can now put people together with just about any gear, as well as production insurance. If they have the script and the money, we can make it happen.<br />
<br />
With help from a talented producing partner, my website, <a href="http://firelotusentertainment.com/">firelotusentertainment.com</a>, was launched in late November. It would not have happened without help from Leigh at <a href="http://www.humanstoryteller.com/" target="_blank">Human Storyteller, NYC</a> (follow that link to look at her amazing work!).<br />
<br />
As with any effort, it has had it's fits and starts. A very good project, <i>Karma</i>, that is in development and was slated to start production in February is on hold. As usual, funding issues.<br />
<br />
I also have been talking with a talented actress, Maria Soccor who made her directorial debut in a big way with a documentary called <a href="http://lordsofbsvfilm.com/" target="_blank">Lords of BSV</a>. It is about a form of dance born in Brooklyn that many may not know about, and so much more. I'd like to list all of the awards it has won (you can see them on the site) but that would be an article in itself. I have seen it twice. It's truly inspirational to see how, from the roughest conditions, the jewel of creativity emerges. Reminds me of the Fire Lotus, after which my company is named, which grows in the bottom of ponds.<br />
<br />
As the zen saying goes: "The Lotus flowers roots are sunk in soot and debris, in fact, the very stuff of our lives." Much like the gorgeous flowers produced there, <i>Lords of BSV</i> is a real treasure. Follow the link to it above to learn more.<br />
<br />
Finally, a fascinating project came my way. On <i>Letters for Raisa</i>, a prolific producer and line producer I have known for years and had the pleasure of working for, Aliki, offered to come on as Production Supervisor. I wondered how two line producers would work together, or whether she would be comfortable working for another producer. My fears left on day one, and her graciousness and generosity made it a fantastic experience.<br />
<br />
In December, another talented producer and line producer, Nicky, was looking for a location manager. As we were discussing people that I knew, she mentioned that she was also looking for a PM. I offered my services, and she was good enough to bring me on.<br />
<br />
I am on what should be Shoot Day 7 of <i>Tokyo NY</i>, a film written and directed by Naghmeh Shirkhan, whose first feature, <i>The Neighbor</i>, was so well-done. Alas, we are in the middle of one of the biggest blizzards in NY history. Today was to be our first major day of exteriors, and the weather is so bad we cannot even shoot interiors. Alas, on film, Murphy's Law truly does rule.<br />
<br />
I have tried to be as much an aide to Nicky as Aliki was to me. The thing about putting two talented line producers together is it is like bringing two master chefs together: they can create some new, amazing dishes, but running the kitchen can be awkward at first. We've both made adjustments to how we work, and I am thoroughly enjoying it and thankful for the opportunity to work on what I know will be a unique and fascinating project. Again, more detail on that as we move forward.<br />
<br />
Much of the film is in Japanese (with some amazing Japanese performers). After the Indonesian film, and now this, my office manager and receptionist at my office suite asked if I did mostly Asian movies. No, Martina, it just seems that way.<br />
<br />
Right now, I am talking to one playwright about adapting a work of his I love for the screen, another playwright about introducing him to some Broadway producers I know, Maria about her next documentary, and, just this morning, with a novelist about adapting her work, all while trying to keep the wheels rolling smoothly on our production's train and listening for Winter Weather Advisories to see how we will (or won't) be able to film tomorrow.<br />
<br />
Here I offer my promise to try to catch up on Raisa's story and move forward about the rest in a more timely manner. Thanks for your patience.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, some advice from the brilliant David Dudley article quoted in the headline:<br />
<br />
"The Snow Gods reserve special contempt for those who don't respect their ability to bring human activity to a standstill. The snow cares not for your deadlines, your happy hour plans, your scheduled C-section (or your Call Time - mine). It wants only to fall on the ground and lie there. And it wants you to, too."<br />
<br />
<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-10293870318167635572015-12-01T00:05:00.001-05:002015-12-01T00:05:38.485-05:00The Indonesian Job - Brave New World<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9dgNlCnhFOfgivghetaEZX56c4u_HdibuPBtNGhWlmo5gr4BWc_Syc4FFuNyD17DKcy8K31dwgRaNuowpAhFz588lscut_jlJ57LejQ5cEdvyjOnr2nVGSG7v3ByTRgvXp47C7GwXA4/s1600/69F77532-A5E9-4B90-A959-26D7A42F7133_cx0_cy8_cw0_mw1024_s_n_r1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9dgNlCnhFOfgivghetaEZX56c4u_HdibuPBtNGhWlmo5gr4BWc_Syc4FFuNyD17DKcy8K31dwgRaNuowpAhFz588lscut_jlJ57LejQ5cEdvyjOnr2nVGSG7v3ByTRgvXp47C7GwXA4/s320/69F77532-A5E9-4B90-A959-26D7A42F7133_cx0_cy8_cw0_mw1024_s_n_r1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"How beauteous Mankind is. O Brave New World that has such people in't"<br />
-Miranda. Shakespeare's The Tempest</td></tr>
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<br />
So, now we were <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-indonesian-job-emotional-roller.html" target="_blank">back in prep</a>. It's Monday, and we're going to start filming on Friday for seven days. Because I didn't know for sure we would be able to start up until Monday morning, only Leigh, Arneece, Aliki and Brian were in with me.<br />
<br />
Before that, of course, was one more twist in the shooting plan.<br />
<br />
On the day we went on hiatus, we were to have a shot list discussion with Rako, the director. It was even mentioned in the producer's <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-indonesian-job-visa-vis.html" target="_blank">email</a> to me discussing the shut down.<br />
<br />
That phone meeting never happened, but we still had much to discuss, and Brian and Leigh went to the conference room to get that conversation going while Aliki, Arneece and I dealt with many of the other logistics of getting us back up and running.<br />
<br />
That is, until Brian appeared at the door to the office. "JB, you need to come in here." He was referring to the meeting in the conference room.<br />
<br />
Over the many years I had worked with Brian, the process had been the same. We would talk before the shoot day, and then just touch base as needed. I would get basic info on how things were running from the 2nd AD or 2nd 2nd AD. Only if it was urgent would I reach out to Brian.<br />
<br />
Similarly, Brian handled what needed to be handled, and only when it was a producing issue did Brian call for me. That means in the course of a shoot day, if Brian's number came up on my cell, I dropped everything and picked it up. If I was on set and either Brian came for me or sent someone to holding to get me to set, it was important.<br />
<br />
As we are walking toward the conference room, he shares that Rini, the Indonesian-American producer, had informed them that the cast and crew would now be arriving on Friday, and Day 1 would be Saturday.<br />
<br />
"Rini, they are arriving Friday?"<br />
<br />
"Yes, they are."<br />
<br />
"But, with the hard out on October 14th, that means they can only shoot 6 days?"<br />
<br />
"You are correct, sir."<br />
<br />
Rini and I had come to appreciate the absurdity of much of what was happening very early on. We were in the odd and frustrating position of often reiterating to each other what we already knew, sometimes just to make sure we were getting it right.<br />
<br />
Often, in these moments, Rini would resort to being Ed McMahon to my Johnny Carson, and she would go to McMahon's go-to line on the old Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, "You are correct, sir;" something McMahon had originally bellowed when he was foil to Carson's "Carnac the Magnificent (or sometimes Great)," a "mystic from the East" who would come up with (humorous) answers to unseen questions. MacMahon, however, would often use this just to agree with Carson.<br />
<br />
The Indonesians had learned that since Raisa was the 0-2, they could not travel ahead of her, and with her missed appointment at the embassy, they would all arrive close together. For the most part, now, the Indonesian cast and creative team would arrive in NYC approximately 13 hours before call time on Day 1.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, we had a seven day schedule that now had to become a six day schedule, while still trying to retain as much of what they wanted to shoot as possible. After all, it was an expense to come to NY and not only film here, but do so with all the appropriate permits and a mostly American crew. Both they and our team wanted to make sure they got as much as they possibly could get in.<br />
<br />
I had done many odd things in my career, but never had I met the director, key creatives and cast for the first time - in-person - on set at call time. We Skyped and used other communication. This meant we would officially do all, not just most, prep remotely. <br />
<br />
I've commented on it before, but it continues to amaze me how much technology has affected not just the camera and lighting side of movies, but the production side. The last two features I've done had offices without one hard line. We have a fax machine - a marvel only a decade or so ago, but in the era of scanning, we never used it. For that matter, most of my young crews prefer texting to even using the cell phones for what they were originally intended - talking on the phone. (This tends to lead to frustration both for me - and for them!)<br />
<br />
I remember a photo shop in the West Village where location managers and scouts would stop at the end of the day, have their film developed while they waited, and then taped up location folders, including "panoramas" - which were actually a series of 35mm stills taped together. Now, all of those folders are captured digitally and shared in Dropbox or Google Drive.<br />
<br />
We took all of this to the next level. When I wanted to get something across to the Indonesian creative team in a way that was more personal, I would use Google Translate to help find an appropriate phrase. Leigh would spend hours discussing the director's preferences on Facetime.<br />
<br />
We did meetings through Skype and one rather ill-fated meeting through Go To Meeting. The latter reminded us that we have become so accustomed to the conveniences of technology that when it fails ( a poor Go To Meeting set-up one day and a Skype glitch another) we find ourselves outraged that we have to "fall back" on "dated technology" such as email and, horrors, the telephone!<br />
<br />
What a Brave New World. Not Even Carnac the Magnificent could have seen this coming.<br />
<br />
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Next time: Rini arrives in New York, prep compressed into four days, and what makes a location iconic anyway?<br />
<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-10700441616023419462015-11-27T14:47:00.000-05:002015-11-27T14:50:54.670-05:00The Indonesian job - The Emotional Roller Coaster<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing." Lao Tzu</td></tr>
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<br />
<br />
After the short hiatus caused by the immigration <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-indonesian-job-visa-vis.html" target="_blank">issues</a>, Rini informed me that the entertainment lawyer assured her that they would have an answer by the following Wednesday, September 30th.<br />
<br />
The time between that Friday and the following Wednesday - and then, until the following Monday - became what various people described as "an emotional roller coaster," and "an abusive relationship".<br />
<br />
The latter came as a result of numerous conversations with my key people, where I was simultaneously telling them I wanted and needed them, and that they should consider other work if offered, because I had no guarantee it would happen. It was Adam, my gaffer and G&E vendor, who used the term above, albeit jokingly.<br />
<br />
"JB," he said, "this is like an abusive relationship. 'I love you please stay. Go Away! No, please come back.' " Years of working with my key crew has lead to some rather gallows and definitely politically-incorrect <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2014/08/all-in-family-making-of-town-diary_7.html" target="_blank">humor</a>, and this was certainly right up there.<br />
<br />
There was little funny about what Rini and I were doing. We spent a lot of time asking each other questions neither of us had the answer to. What were the chances we would actually get turned down? Did we put anything wrong in the material? Could we give them anything new? Should the director, and not the star, have been the 0-1? With the push back, how many days could we actually get in?<br />
<br />
The most frustrating thing was, well, doing nothing. Because there was little that we could do. Pre-production is all about planning. Neither I nor my team could do any. Nothing we could tell potential locations, which there was a very good chance we could lose if we did not act. Nothing to tell vendors who were holding equipment. No way of knowing which crew people we would lose and no way to reach out to replacements for a project we did not know was happening.<br />
<br />
We were in Lao Tzu's dilemma. We were busy doing nothing.<br />
<br />
Wednesday <i>almost</i> came and went, and no word. It was late in our afternoon when Rino got word from the entertainment attorney that the first step was approved, but they had to do the interview at the embassy the next morning.<br />
<br />
This was great news - we had passed the harder test - and while they <i>could</i> get turned down at the interview, it was unlikely.<br />
<br />
At that point, it was the middle of the night for the Indonesian cast and crew. Rini woke all of them up and they rallied for an 8AM (their time) interview at the embassy Thursday morning. If that all worked out. they would be on a plane and arriving the following Thursday, able to shoot seven days. We would worry how to shoot seven days straight - we were on again!<br />
<br />
I alerted my key people. It was not certain, but it looked good. I had my key production people ready to come in on Friday, with full prep to start the following Monday.<br />
<br />
On their end, all of the Indonesian cast and crew were at the embassy, the cast with their agents, an hour early.<br />
<br />
All except Raisa (who was the 0-1) and her manager. They were ten minutes late.<br />
<br />
How this could have happened after so long was beyond any of us. "But, Rini, how could they not be...." The answer? "I don't know JB. We are frustrated, too."<br />
<br />
This wasn't a death blow for the project, however. The rest of the cast and crew would arrive the following Thursday late afternoon, and Raisa would be there even later, in the middle of the night, ready to start shooting Friday. It was far from perfect, but we had left perfect at the altar a long time ago.<br />
<br />
My team - Arneece, Aliki, Leigh and Brian - were coming in on Friday. We could start. I just needed them to do the funds transfer for production.<br />
<br />
Early on, I had discussed that I could not commit money we did not have. At one point, all the funds were to be transferred September 7th. After that, we had draw downs of the funds. Enough funds had been transferred to keep us afloat, but the majority of the funds needed to be sent, and now.<br />
<br />
Accept the investors were not able (or willing) to send immediately. It would have to be the following week.<br />
<br />
This was impossible for me. I could not ask people to come in without knowing if the funds would be there. There was scurrying. There was negotiating.<br />
<br />
Finally, I insisted that 2/3 of the funds needed to be transferred Monday AM my time, and the rest the day before we started shooting.<br />
<br />
They agreed, but I could not be sure that this would happen. I had to put my foot down. If the funds were not in my account Monday AM, I would have to call the entire thing off.<br />
<br />
It was the worst of positions for me. I had many people on both sides of the ocean depending on me. My people here had been loyal. My choices were asking them to stay over the weekend, or releasing them when a few more days would make it happen.<br />
<br />
It was among the most difficult decisions I had to make, and I appreciated the input from all of my people.<br />
<br />
I was up most of the night on Sunday. My key people were on stand-by - four days before we were to start shooting, with no locations secured and nothing definite. No tech scouts. No shooting schedule.<br />
<br />
Then, Monday AM, it was in. Deep breath.<br />
<br />
My team came in Monday morning, and we started to plan. Leigh needed to reach out to all of the locations. Brian needed to simultaneously prepare a production schedule with locations we did not know were available. It was the film version of chicken-and-the-egg, and we were pretty much an omelet right now.<br />
<br />
Tech week - or what was left of it - was about to begin. Word went out to all our team - and our new costume designer, Caitlin (who had been "hired" without knowing if we were shooting) - that were were back in "prep" - for three days - starting Tuesday. It was a lot to do, but we had the people to do it.<br />
<br />
Like a <u>Law and Order</u> episode - or a roller coaster - there were still more twists.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-68878430433978331872015-10-26T18:18:00.000-04:002015-10-28T13:05:18.528-04:00The Indonesian Job - Visa-Vis<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrNxdO7bfYZXMmlSQbEOUB8YKnH1VgqTU0uPdYG_78s5d_UcFeIHLLIuEgj3AlBHlkbVRV_MRc6rDF7CzJSU8v_i6q-H8iIIdD58sqhicO9VQwNmuJUeaAmHtxmPUY6vmqxcPUbRlNmU/s1600/imgres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrNxdO7bfYZXMmlSQbEOUB8YKnH1VgqTU0uPdYG_78s5d_UcFeIHLLIuEgj3AlBHlkbVRV_MRc6rDF7CzJSU8v_i6q-H8iIIdD58sqhicO9VQwNmuJUeaAmHtxmPUY6vmqxcPUbRlNmU/s1600/imgres.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"It's pretty physically upsetting, living life on a visa."<br />
-John Oliver</td></tr>
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This thread started with an <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-indonesian-job-inspirational-email.html" target="_blank">email </a>to my key crew and production staff in early September. It was meant to be the last email to explain changes.<br />
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That turned out to be far from the case.<br />
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At that point, we were scheduled to shoot twelve days. Those included INT and EXT scenes written as NY. My key people (some of whom were introduced in the last post) were my PM Leigh, who was also serving as locations manager, my First AD Brian, my production supervisor Aliki as well as my gaffer and G&E vendor, Adam, my production designer Orly and my then-Costume Designer.<br />
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These "final dates" were based on assurances from the immigration lawyer in Jakarta that the visas would be approved by a certain date. The lead actress, Raisa, was the O-1, and the rest were O-2. I will provide a <a href="http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/o-1-visa-individuals-extraordinary-ability-or-achievement" target="_blank">link </a>to explain more, but suffice to say it is a visa for an exceptional artist and their entourage. This visa process had been going on since the beginning of the year, and finally everything that was needed.<br />
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Or so we thought.<br />
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The INS requested "more information." It seemed that while the lead actress, Raisa, was an enormous pop star in Indonesia (her videos have millions of views, and she is regularly referred to as the "Taylor Swift" of Indonesia), INS was not overly impressed with her movie credentials.<br />
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Now, think about it. From the very first days of motion pictures, singers became actors. Nelson Eddy. Frank Sinatra. Dean Martin. Elvis Presley. It goes right up until today, where the highway between the music world and the movie world is well-travelled.<br />
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Evidently, film history is a strong point among INS employees.<br />
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On September 24th, our plan had moved to start shooting seven days, down from twelve, starting October 8th through the 14th. Again, because our star, Raisa, had to leave for a concert in Malaysia on the 14th, there was never an opportunity for us to go beyond that date.<br />
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On Friday, September 25th, we had scheduled a shot list Skype meeting with the director, Rako, at 8AM. Brian, Leigh and I would have that meeting at the office.<br />
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I woke up at 3AM on Friday the 25th. I tend to be a bad sleeper, so this is not unusual. By instinct, I checked my email on my phone.<br />
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What I read woke me quicker than any cup of coffee. This is from Reza, the Indonesian producer.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">We just received news from Rini that the US Immigration will need 9 more days to approve or Petitions. This news simply crashed us here in Jakarta. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Which means that IF it's approve, the approval will be on Friday, 2nd October 2015. If we can spare 7 days for the visa in US Embassy in Jakarta, then the shoot will be at 12th October 2015, when we all know that Raisa has to leave at 14th October 2015.. that simply not feasible for this production. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">So JB.. it is in our deepest regret to inform you to postpone this production until the I797 approved."</span></blockquote>
I had to reread a few times to see if this meant what I thought it meant. If nothing changed, the shoot was over. That was it.<br />
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I got on Skype with Reza, and we spoke one-to-one. It was eleven hours ahead in Jakarta so it was the middle of the day.<br />
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I had not read it wrong. The immigration lawyer was going to try and expedite the process, and that was the small bit of hope we had to hold on to.<br />
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It's the middle of the night and my people are coming in for a shot list meeting when they wake. What shot list meeting?<br />
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I texted my other members of the Key Four - Leigh, Aliki and Brian - to call me when they woke. I texted Adam, my gaffer who had turned down other work for not only he and his crew, but for his equipment package - to do the same.<br />
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As they called one-by-one, I had to tell people who had put their faith in me that they might have made a mistake, that they stood to lose up to thousands of dollars because they chose to be loyal to meet.<br />
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Reza was still in shock. If it was bad for us, it was devastating for them. They had done everything right, but now it was possible that their movie would not finish. The entire final sixty percent of the movie was about Raisa coming to NY. There was no rewrite that would save their movie, their dream, their hard work and their investment.<br />
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He asked in an email if the shot list and art meeting should still happen. When I said we should wait - what was a meeting to be about - he apologized. I knew there was nothing for him to apologize for. It was time to show our support.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<span class="il">"Reza</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Please do not apologize. We are here to be supportive of you.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
It will take a few days to absorb all this for everyone. Take your time and sort everything out and we'll work together and do what we can to make the new circumstances work.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
For the time being I am telling everyone that we are on hold as of the end of the day today. No one as of now is scheduled to come in on Monday until further notice.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Hopefully when you are ready our entire team will be available. I know my key people - Leigh, Aliki, Brian and Adam, will be.</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Of the others, any who are not available we will find wonderful people for.you</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Your friend JB"</div>
</blockquote>
I met that morning with Leigh, Brian and Aliki. We would have to tell our crew that they were not to come in on Monday, that we would know more the following week.<br />
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I learned that both Leigh and Brian had turned down work, Brian another feature just the day before. Aliki had turned down renting out their camera package.<br />
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Rini and I spoke on the phone late in the afternoon. Rini said she wanted to cry, and I wasn't far behind her.<br />
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My email to the crew the next day.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
I spoke with Rini on Saturday. The latest is that the lawyer has put in for an expedited process for visas. They should have an answer on this Wednesday. The quickest that would get their cast and creative team here is the 7th for prep and the 8th to shoot. We would then shoot 7 days - likely straight, though it could be six. If it is seven straight I will talk with crew re: safety and opportunity to switch out - would have those discussions individually.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
I am waiting for a Letter from <span class="il">Reza</span> to confirm this is the plan. "The plan" has changed so often on their end, in fairness due to the visa problem and scheduling issues with Raisa, that I have asked that it be put in writing. I expected it today but did not receive, but understand that <span class="il">Reza </span>may be swamped.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
If they get turned down for visas, it's likely the film will be shelved.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Nothing makes me more unhappy than sending an email with a lot of "ifs" - but I am walking a fine line between keeping everyone informed and confusing everyone. There will be one more email from me on this matter - one way or the other - and that one will be definitive. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Obviously, none of this is good news, and, having released everyone (As I had to) I understand if some of you are not available when we start up again. In this scenario some people would start prepping again as early as this Thursday October 1st- but due to the uncertainty, I cannot "schedule" anything (such as tech scouts, production meetings, etc).</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
We are in the uncomfortable position of keeping our fingers crossed for our friends in Jakarta, and for us. Rini may contact some of you for information between now and then - please do your best to provide it. I'm glad to answer any questions, but any questions regarding "what are the chances...." would be nothing more than speculation on my part. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
Thanks for all the hard work - and here's hoping to see you all on set soon."</div>
</blockquote>
We were in the middle of the ocean and the winds were nowhere to be found. Right now, we were dead in the water.<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-19623921619717571782015-10-22T12:32:00.001-04:002015-10-22T12:32:55.953-04:00The Indonesian Job - The "Thank You" Dinner<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWMdtnDBL8vogN6KBjIa81rGIv1Q6YijMiTMtOtjNmTcIgHHT6v9MXKAdJjlo7Rk4aPN1WZ0ee38jjofbpUlYIZfm5T4oknIE2rLQ_rrlOG0G_lCt02P2Au8ERyOrf4BTNIrHHiydcnY/s1600/Thank+You+Dinner+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWMdtnDBL8vogN6KBjIa81rGIv1Q6YijMiTMtOtjNmTcIgHHT6v9MXKAdJjlo7Rk4aPN1WZ0ee38jjofbpUlYIZfm5T4oknIE2rLQ_rrlOG0G_lCt02P2Au8ERyOrf4BTNIrHHiydcnY/s320/Thank+You+Dinner+Pic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough"<br />
-Meister Ekhart<br />
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Those who follow this blog have seen pics like this before from the "Thank You" <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2014/09/keep-my-brother-i-walk-line.html" target="_blank">dinner</a>.<br />
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The "Thank You" dinner actually started a few years ago. For years, I was able to avoid bringing on unpaid interns as the digital age drove budgets lower and lower. On The <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-unattainable-part-6-done-and-done.html" target="_blank">Unattainable </a>a few years back, I had to bring on an unpaid intern as my assistant (she was here on a student visa from India and could not accept pay, and was being supported by her parents) and we brought on an APOC, Tasha on a flat rate stipend of $1000.<br />
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Near the end of the shoot, my POC, Megan, suggested that she buy the APOC a gift and I buy my assistant a gift and we take them out for dinner. We did that at my old haunt, The West Bank Cafe.<br />
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A year later, when I did <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2014/09/keep-my-brother-dreaded-ultra-low.html" target="_blank">Keep my Brother</a> on even a lower budget (under $100K) I brought on Tasha as my POC and two interns as PM and APOC. Again, we did the dinner, and then added the one paid PA who stayed through the entire shoot.<br />
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On this shoot, visa and talent schedule issues threatened the entire shoot. Rini, the Indonesian-American producer, was in Washington DC for most of prep and put in the impossible position of being told by me and my staff on one end what we needed from Jakarta and from their end what they wanted from us, which was often very different.<br />
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My staff faced several moments when it looked like the shoot would not happen, including almost a week long hiatus while we waited on visa answers and then whether the key investor would make a transfer of funds. In that time, many production people would have looked for and taken other work. I offered all of them the opportunity to go out and do just that if they needed to.<br />
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Not one of them did, turning down sure work to stay with me and "what if."<br />
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On top of their talent and their noble efforts, that sort of thing just doesn't happen. There were tense days when I worried almost the entire day about the "what if'" their loyalty to me cost people I dearly respected and, yes, to some degree loved, money.<br />
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Thankfully, it worked out, and I took all of them out for a delicious (and drunken!) dinner.<br />
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There are many heroic tales to share in coming posts, but let me introduce you to my own Band of Brothers and Sisters.<br />
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Left to right above are Rini, who I mentioned above; Arneece, who came in with little film office experience and rose from APOC to POC by the end, Aliki, who is, herself, a producer and line producer and agreed to work with me as production supervisor, Leigh, also a producer, who was my UPM and Locations Manager and oversaw US casting, doing three jobs, two of which were impossible on their own and made harder by our changes; myself, Patrick, our great 2nd AD who worked with a lot of green PAs, and the Big Man, the one and only Brian, our First AD, whose praises I have sang to the heavens often on these pages.<br />
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On a shoot where so much could have gone, so much went very right. We came in on schedule and under budget, and it only happened because of the folks pictured here.<br />
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I have individually worked with many very good production people, but the good feeling among this entire crew and the Indonesian creative team was so wonderful that in the few wrap days after the film, there were various get-togethers. Aliki and kept marveling at how, on a difficult shoot, everyone had such a great attitude and there was such good cheer.<br />
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On a shoot that had huge challenges every day, we all felt very good about getting to work with each other. This is Right Livelihood.<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-522305918133904836.post-19859899114893346522015-10-17T14:36:00.000-04:002015-10-18T12:08:20.332-04:00The Indonesian Job - Please Stand By<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I must apologize for my prolonged absence from these pages. When last we met, I was close to beginning the New York production of an <a href="http://inmyoblivion.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-indonesian-job-inspirational-email.html" target="_blank">Indonesian</a> film.<br />
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In that time, we went from 12 days to 7 days to 6 days and then back to 7 days. Myself and my Fab Four - Production Supervisor, UPM/Location Manager and First AD - officially worked 10 days straight and more realistically more than a month. The project was put on hiatus for a week while we waited to see if they had their visas, and emails like the first one became a regular occurrence.<br />
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During the ensuing hiatus, we lost two iconic locations, Grand Central Station and Luna Park, and had to scramble to find other "iconic" locations four days before we began shooting; the type of locations that typically would not even talk to you if you do not book three weeks in advance.<br />
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We just wrapped one of the craziest shoots I have ever done, but, remarkably, especially because of the Fab Four above but also because everyone on the Indonesian and US crews were fun, good people, it was a shoot that was exhilarating, exciting, and in the end. came in on schedule and under budget.<br />
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It was also the first in the new production offices in Midtown Manhattan of my production services company, Fire Lotus Entertainment, LLC.<br />
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It will take a number of posts to catch you up on this one, but I look forward to sharing it with you all.<br />
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All you need to know is that my amazing PM organized a basketball game at Harlem's Rucker Park, which we discovered is very famous in Indonesia.<br />
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Below, pictures from the game, as well as Reza, their producer, decked out in a Knicks scarf that was part of a swag package that the NY Knicks were kind enough to send when I told them that he was a big fan.<br />
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The Mets caps were a present from me so my Indonesian creative team could show their support for this years' NL East (and hopefully World) Champions.<br />
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Lots more stories and picks to come. Right now, I'm way too tired to write anything more than this tease.<br />
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<br />JB Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04258303283672775536noreply@blogger.com0