- Editing has been long and grueling. First, it's neat to see the footage coming together. Then, it's fun to piece it together how you want it. Then, a few weeks in, it starts to suck having to create perfectly timed transitions between scenes while keeping an eye on the pacing of the entire film. There's also the color grade, which means every single shot must be colored individually, and the audio clean up, where some lines must be dubbed, fitted, and tweeked to fit the scenes. There are continuity issues where a different take has to be used... and you don't HAVE a different take! There are audio lapses where two actors talk at the same time and you only need one actor's line. There's all that and way, way more to worry about. If it wasn't such a creative outlet, it would suck. Hell, it sucks anyway...and I love it.
- Showing the trailer was
a huge relief for the three of us (Justin, Jake, and myself) as we finally got to show the world we weren't crazy and that there really was a movie that didn't suck. Also, Jake and I had been editing nonstop for weeks and it was nice to have a brief moment of achievement.-I was reported for spamming on Facebook when I posted our trailer everywhere but I don't give a shit. Bumping into people from Stow, where I grew up, lets me know that we really spread the word. Almost everybody I see, no matter how long it's been since we've spoken, tells me they've heard great things or that our film looks awesome. Big fish/small pond, maybe, but it's still a sign of good things. Our trailer was shared on Facebook a total of 655 times. Some were friends. Probably 100 were me alone. Others were by friends of friends or total strangers. There's a good buzz. Just have to get the right people to notice and good things will come.
-Feels good to have finally made "the big one". It's not a production-quality spectacle, but it's the first film I've made where I'd be confident enough to show it to Spielberg himself and I know he'd have good things to say. Some criticisms, too, obviously... but it's got heart and it's entertaining. I always knew I was going to dedicate a film to my late father, but I wanted to wait until the film was actually worth a shit. It's finally time.
-Travis, who plays Joey (a
good-hearted but directionless slacker) in the film was telling me about his lack of contentment at his landscaping job and how he identified with the film's message about growing up and moving on before it's too late. I told him he was young (he's 22 I think) and that he had plenty of time to fuck up still. Walking away, I hear Vince (28) mutter that "Larry thinks he's older than he really is." I immediately put my foot in my mouth upon realizing that Vince works the same job as Travis and that I basically just insulted him. I felt like a dick. Sorry, Vince. Didn't mean it that way. Still, that situation tells me that there will definitely be some people put off by our film or offended by it's "get up and do something" message. Clint openly made this clear to me, saying that "It can kind of make you feel like shit if you're not doing anything." I don't like that it will hurt people, but I do like that people can relate and will (hopefully) find some sort of motivation in it. It's not too cornball-preachy tho and is pretty down to Earth. Sometimes the truth hurts. Still better than feel-good BS. The over-all message of the film is to shut the fuck up, stop talking about doing something, and actually DO IT.-I also know that there are plenty of friends (and, particularly, a few ex-gir
lfriends) who will assume the characters are direct representations of them. Sorry to say, but it's just not true. The girlfriend in the film is an amalgam of about 4 different ex-girlfriends, none of whom were anywhere as evil as Donna, played by Marisa Zakaria. Some of the events in the film are based in truth, but no woman I've ever met was as clueless and cruel as the girl in our film. That being said, it was still an awesome chance to get shit off of my chest and make piece with the way things are. In my opinion, people are pretty horrible to each other and I never felt I had a way to express how I felt about that until now. The movie, while crude, less-than-tactful, and somewhat offensive at times, has a really good heart at it's core. The protagonists are NOT immune to being full of shit and are not just preachers on high horses. They are, in fact, a huge part of the problems they hate.On the flip side, the male characters (Ben, Joey, Tom) are all based on all of my closest male friends, but they're all merged together. Off the top of my head, I'd say that:
Ben = Me, Derby, Aaron, Clint, Travis
Tom = Me, Vince, Aaron, Pitts
Joey = Vince, Travis, Pitts, Clint
Of course, if I were to write that list up again right now (only a few seconds later) it'd be pretty different. Those are rough layouts but mostly true I think. I didn't have a chart going in. You just write what you know and you draw from who you know and what you've experienced. Every time Ben and Tom argue in the film, it's basically two sides of Larry having an argument. The selfish voice vs. the attempting-to-be selfless voice. The guy who wants to live and let live vs. the guy who can't stand the world around him.
- Astounded by the amount of people praising what we've shown who I figured would hate it. Douchebags and stoners alike seem to dig the trailer, even tho it's clearly knocking douchebags and stoners. That's a good sign. Still, no matter what, somebody watching our film will take something the wrong way. Somebody will be offended. Such is life.
- As for quality, we're really onto something here. I spend most days editing with Ruby and Justin (mostly Ruby tho) and there are times when we're ready to shoot each other. It's natural, obviously, to have two people clashing nonstop over editing. Some studios are infamous for siding with an editor and having a director removed from the editing room, doo
med to give up the baby he'd created and trust somebody else to raise the kid right. Other times, the editor is fired for not complying and a newer, more obedient one is put in his place. There are some pretty crazy director vs. editor wars that have raged in the history of filmmaking, often dividing the crew into two teams. All that being said, Ruby and I are doing just fine. We're both emotionally attached to it, so we both have strong opinions. When he's editing, I do my best to leave the room or watch a movie. No backseat driving. Besides, in the end, I get my way if I really push it. After all, if it sucks, it'll be my name they rip apart. On the other hand, if it's awesome, I'll get all the credit.-During this trying and stressing time, Ruby's becoming a member of the family. 3 year old Rylee's first words coming in the door every day are "Hi, Ruby".
-Speaking of that, just took a break from editing to pick Nathan up at school. 1st grade. Jesus. Gotta pay more attention to things around here or I'll miss them. I do a pretty good job making time away from working on films to play with the kids, but I could do better. Could definitely spend more time with Shannon. The problem is that there simply isn't enough time in the day. Still, I need to try. They're troopers. She knows it'll all make sense in the end.
-Just shipped off a copy of the film to LA for Mark Ordesky and Marisa Zakaria to review. I know the middle needs some work to be less boring, but all-in-all, we've got it. Sometimes, you ask an expert for advice and you get the exact thing you were looking for. Other times, you use part of the advice and tweek the rest with your own judgement. You simply cannot listen to everybody, tho. As a parent, I can't listen to every parent, grandparent, aunt, and uncle's advice when it comes to parenting. Often times, all those opinions contradict one and other and become a big mess. You just take the parts you agree with and abandon the rest. Such is filmmaking. Even the bad ideas are part of the process. So, when they give me a list of things to do or change, I use my own judgement when considering them. It's a team effort, through and through.
-Years ago, I'd have writt
en about all the people who no-showed on me or flaked out. I have to say that my current (and smaller) crew is pretty on-the-ball. Justin's energy and patience levels are probably somewhere in the negatives, but for the most part, he and Ruby know their shit and get it done. Marisa handles the business and paperwork as our company's president, and everybody else did their job and then got out of the way. Gone are the days of fifteen close friends giving me zero respect and all attempting to direct and produce over top of each other. We've really got a system down here. Ordesky once said "It looks to me like you've got a lot of people sitting on the bus who think they belong on the bus just because they've always BEEN on the bus. That's not how it works. Everybody has to earn their spot." I can gladly say that that problem is long gone and that weight has been lifted. Everybody did great on this film. We're growing up.-When I gave Ordesky and Marisa a list of fanboy icons who I thought could
narrate our film and elevate it (artistically as well as marketability-wise), Mark immediately set to contacting Trey Parker (South Park) through his agent. It's a long shot and probably a "no", but the list is long. Business-wise, I think we should get a Kevin Smith, a Louis CK, or even a Brandon Routh or Adam West, but personally I'm a big fan of guys who are less famous but equally talented. I'm a huge fan of Sam Maccarone and Dian Bachar (TheTVFantastic.com) for instance, and while they don't have the same name power, I'd love to get somebody like that to narrate. Ricky Gervais would be awesome. We'll see where it goes and everything is just talk til something actually happens.-The guys want it to go to Sundance. So do I, but I won't be discouraged either way. I'm thinking about the market and whether or not certain people "approve" or "accept" our film doesn't matter to me. It's good, it has an audience, and it WILL sell. There are a number of paths to that destination. I'm just happy knowing we're on our way. The "how's" don't mean a thing.
-The worst part of filmmaking is that you can work nonstop and work your ass off and still keep gaining weight.
~Larry Longstreth
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