Working with a Director

Two weeks ago I had my first sit down with our esteemed director. I’d tell you something about her, including her name, but I’ve neglected to get permission to out her on the blog.

Anyway, two weeks ago today I went over to her house for our first story meeting. I was really tired that day because the tooth problem I thought I had remedied with my herbs came screaming back in the middle of the night, leaving me sleepless. And I had a meeting early that morning on the other side of the hill with a digital company to discuss doing the scans for my upcoming book. A company that my director had recommended.

I got to her house around one and we talked for close to five hours. Five hours without discussing any specific notes on the script. We talked about movies we liked and how she thought our movie should look, compared to some of the other movies we both liked. And we talked about story. Mostly in broad strokes. But also some of the subtleties. We talked about the girls (the lead characters)…their behavior, their relationship to each other and themselves. And feel. A lot about the feel of the story. Did I mention I was really tired that day and still had a toothache?

By the time we were finished, I wasn’t sure if we had accomplished anything at all. I didn’t take notes during our meeting, nor after (something I generally do because it takes about two nanoseconds to forget everything that’s said). As I was leaving, I had to ask, “Did we get anything done?”

Since that meeting, I’ve been slammed with other things. My book and it’s looming deadline. Setting up my store at www.cheshercat.com (hint, hint…go check it out…see me on the Merv Griffin show sitting next to Jay Leno…and buy something) and taking on a bunch of movie poster designs for Cannes. Basically doing nothing on My First Kiss.

Until last night. That’s when we had meeting #2. It was a production meeting. This time at my house with the director, Peter and me. Our budget girl is out of the picture for the time being as she’s working on a movie shooting in at the Grand Canyon. It was the first sit down that Peter had with the director. Our main purpose was to make decisions on what we want in our presentation package. The package that will help up raise the 5M plus we need to get this baby on the silver screen.

We started at 8:30pm. We talked a lot about the feel of the movie and what visual style the director had in mind. We referred to movies we liked and disliked as far as their visual style. We talked about how to address the look in relationship to the period. And as we were talking, I was suddenly able to cite meaningful portions of our discussion two weeks ago. I guess we did get something done. I like working this way. It’s very conducive to creativity.

We also talked about the visuals we want to put in the package. I’m so happy that our director is a visual ace. By the time we were done at around 1am (only because we were all nodding off) we had divied up the work we need to get done for the next step. Unfortunately for Peter, most of it landed on his plate. He’s going to do more work on the budget and break down the script into locations. Once the breakdown is done, he’ll get more specific shots from the film commissions and we’ll make decisions on where we want to shoot.

I’m going to get in touch with some of the Canadian producers we met in Canada and the director is going to read the script a bunch more times to further decide what visual she wants to shoot for the package.

Poor Peter.

Location, Location, Location

The Location Trade Show was in town last weekend. Peter and I went on Thursday since we had been invited to the cocktail party put on by the Canadians that evening.

We had a great time at the show. It was at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Film commissions from around the world had booths – it was like a trip around the world in four hours. I went to Kenya, Italy, Australia, Germany, UK, Australia, Canada and just about every state in the union. And we got swag – a bag full of swag. And the people? Down-to-Earth. Approachable. Interesting. And, unlike the other side of Hollywood, they want to help. The experience made me want to write a script to shoot in every state and every country. What a great way to travel.

We especially enjoyed visiting and meeting the people behind the voices at Nevada, Montana and Alberta, since they had already read the script. We’ve been working with them over the past couple of months and they’ve been sending us potential location photos. They’ve all been great to us, even though we’re not funded. And their help at this stage is essential (especially since we’re not funded) because we will be using the visuals and the incentives they provide as part of our business plan.

We have no idea where we’re going to shoot. There are so many variables. Money, unions, incentives are just a few of the considerations. So far, it looks like Montana is the most eager to have us – or at least in the best political position to offer the most incentives. Alberta is probably second. One of the main stops in the story is in Nevada but the state doesn’t have near as many incentives as Montana and Alberta. Incentives vary state-by-state because they are passed through the state’s legislature in an attempt to attract the movie business. For example, the Wyoming film commission is trying hard to pass a bigger incentive package so they can compete with other states. They lost Brokeback Mountain to Alberta because of production costs. Still, a lot of people think the movie was shot in Wyoming. That’s good for the movie and good for Alberta. Not as good for Wyoming since the money wasn’t spent there.

Nevada doesn’t need to offer as many incentives. They have Vegas. And Hollywood will shoot there either way. So, even though I’d like to be authentic and shoot in Nevada, we can always shoot in Montana and/or Alberta for Nevada. Time will tell.

The Read

I’ve been trying to get this post up since The Read. The read that took place almost three weeks ago. It took me a day to recover (while working on other things) and since then I’ve been buried in work on my book. Buried is putting it mildly.

Putting up the read was an exhausting process, both physically and emotionally – but all in a good way. I was very happy with the reading, even though there were a few glitches. But it exceeded my expectations in many areas.

One drawback was we only had one quick rehearsal with the cast. Mainly for blocking. Since the story focuses on the two teen girls on the road – the rest of the characters come into their lives and are gone – we didn’t want everyone sitting on the stage together and reading. It can be confusing to keep track of who’s who, especially when actors are reading multiple roles. So, at the rehearsal, Peter and I gave the actors their entrance and exit cues, as well as some minor staging.

Ultimately, all the actors did a great job and most of the staging came off without a hitch. We also did some of the music cues – being that the story is really driven by great songs from the midsixties. There were more laughs than I expected, which was a big plus considering that the story is pretty dark. And there were some sniffles from the audience at the appropriate moments.

What really made the evening work for me (and the audience) was the performances by our amazing teen actresses. The girls are in every scene of the movie. Their roles carry the movie. And they’re both complex characters…real life people…from the sixties. Not an easy task for girls born in the nineties. But both of our actresses were exceptional. Consumate professionals. They really put the work into their preparation and it showed. We were very, very lucky to have them. They flat out rocked and I am thrilled that they are allowing me to applaud them publicly, right here, right now.

The role of Jenny was played by Spencer Locke.

She was the lead in the blockbuster Monster House. In case you didn’t know, the animation was renedered from the actors physically playing out every scene…it was not just voice over. Spencer is also starring in Resident Evil 3, coming out this Fall. Go see it. She is a brilliant young actress and I predict she will an award winning career.

The role of Louanne was played by Steffani Brass, another star in the making.

Her long resume is packed with guest star roles in the biggest shows on TV. I expect she will continue to build onto her already stellar career.

The greatest (and most surprising) thing about Spencer and Steffani is they are real teenagers, unaffected by Hollywood. They are nowhere near the stereotypical teen actresses one might expect to encounter. They both went the extra mile – actually the full fourteen hundred miles the characters travel in the story. They both delivered the goods. And they were really fun to work with.

I can’t thank them enough…gush…gush…gush…I love you guys. And can’t wait to work with them again.