Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School

OK. So this happened back in January and I promised to post. And well...I didn't. But luckily I actually did write up my impressions of the meet and great and here they are (and yes by the end of the weekend I had learned everyone's names)

Arrived tonight at the Wilshire in Koreatown. The meet and greet tonight was the event that filled me with the most anxiety. Having no idea of who else might be attending I convinced myself the other filmmakers would be mostly men and maybe more enthusiastic about Werner than their own projects. I arrived a little late. I thought the 6-9 was a sliding time but the lobby was full. I’m terrible with names and I’m not going to mangle them tonight. If you recognize yourself—forgive me—you are indelible but I will call you the name I think you should be and I’ll be terribly wrong. I’ll right myself as the weekend continues.

The first person to shake my hand looks 15 and I find his openness and enthusiasm an utter surprise. He’s from somewhere in the mid-west and is all smiles and combed hair. I’m charmed. His boldness rubs off and I move toward the bar. I meet filmmakers from Ireland, Korea, Argentina, and Greece. We’ve come from everywhere.

Werner is making the rounds. Introducing himself to each filmmaker and making pointed comments—in complete recognition—on our respective films. I’m waiting. We are asked to corral to the far end of the space and there is a short welcoming speech. Werner asks if he’s met everyone yet and for those he hasn’t met to raise a hand. The rules are reiterated: no cell phones, no recording devices, we begin promptly at 9am, no talk of yoga or shaman or other new age bullshit and an hour each day for lunch. We are congratulated— apparently 100’s applied—and we are the chosen. We clap for the staff and then break up again to make introductions and chat.

I find Werner and he tells me I need to back up from my own navel. It’s a good joke. My film submission was an excerpt from 99 to 1: Ovarian Cancer and Me and I begin with a shot of my bellybutton. I need to widen from my little circle he says. I agree. That’s why I’m here. This weekend was a leap of faith—a risk I thought might yield anecdotes but perhaps not much more—but what is happening here is creative magic. The room has that sort of buzz that happens when like minds make the spark of recognition.

Werner is a no bullshit guy. I meet M. from NYC who’s burdened with 100 hours of archival footage. Werner tells her to choose in a fortnight what she needs to work with and in the next fortnight edit it together. How to choose: with expediency. And is it the right footage? It is the only footage—Work with it and make the film—that is it. Damn.

M. Introduces me to Colin who works as an editor for American Zoetrope and has a doc about white rappers. I remember his name because he tells me black people sometimes call him Colin—like Powell—where as white people always say Collin—like Quinn. I think it’s funny that a guy making a movie about white rappers qualifies his name in racial terms (and so does he)—and I really like his slightly nerdy glasses. He just finished editing both Francis and Sofia’s newest movies—and I’m jealous. So maybe the nerdy tag is mildly passive aggressive.

I talk more with M. We both hate talking on the phone but are clearly both talkers. She has a brilliant idea—and as aforementioned—an incredible amount of archival footage. I meet starts with a J from Mexico City and a Nordic looking gentleman whose last name is Fairbanks. I remember this because he had a slightly waxed mustache that curled up at the ends and it gave me visions of the swashbuckling silent film star. He lives in Ann Arbor and wrestles in Mexico (maybe as the one eyed cat?) and is making a film about this. He’s come to talk to Mexico City about Mexico so I use this as my exit and go meet Dessie whose graciously accommodating me here in LA in her garage apt in Echo Park. We go for Sushi downtown on S. Central near the Office Depot with her gaffer friend Dave. The sushi is brilliant. I break my month of veganism to savor the taste of sweet melting sea flesh. I am unrepentant. Spicy Garlic Yellowtail I love you. I’m up too late now and we dive in early in the morning. More to come…

Friends & Family Screening A Success

A bit delayed but I am sitting down a week later to report on the debut screening of my long awaited second film The Culinary Browns. All 3 screenings in the lovely Screening Theater at Georgia State University's Digital Arts and Entertainment Lab (DAEL to those of you in the know) were packed full and after screening I spent the rest of the night toasting myself with champagne and answering everyone's thoughtful questions. The film achieved what I hoped which was to provoke people to think about their own family dynamics and to take them on a journey that would be visually memorable and poetic. It feels great to now have this film out in the world and I'm now embarking on the arduous chore of picking fests and sending out screeners.

I have a telephone appointment with the aquisitions manager at SnagFilms this week to discuss the possibility of distribution for my previous film 99 to 1: Ovarian Cancer and Me. I hope they go for it. If not--I'll have the entire film available on YouTube shortly. I'm only leaning toward Snag because they specialize in documentary films and I hear they are great folks.

For my graduation gift I am going to send myself to Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School--a 4 day workshop in Los Angeles in January. I'm not sure what to expect but no matter what I'm sure it will be memorable and I will post!

Brand New Blog

After yet another lecture on the power of online eyes I'm back at blogging. Be forewarned that my previous attempts at blogging have been--at best--spotty. But, this time darlings, I swear it will be different.

In filmmaking news: My new film The Culinary Browns is merely a week away from it's friends and family screening. I'm having palpitations. Really, I'm incredibly excited to debut this work. It's been a year in the half in the making and I think it is a real leap forward for me as a storyteller. I wanted to look at the ways families deal with dysfunction--what they repeat--how we break these patterns--what scripts we can rewrite and did so by putting my own family under the microscope. My great grandfather, Bob Brown, was a writer who begat my grandfather Bob, also a writer and their dysfunction trickled down in ways small and large to their progeny. I went back to their writing to figure out what of my own family narrative was fact and what was fiction.

I will be screening to friends, family and GSU students next Friday and coming soon to a festival near you.

Today I had the pleasure of hearing two great lectures: Brian Newman (formerly of Tribeca Film Festival) speaking on new routes for filmmakers online in the realm of fundraising, marketing and distribution. If I could sum up his message in one sentence: Be online, be everywhere you can, tweat, blog, connect, make yourself accessible and authentic while providing something unique and experiential for your fan base. I'll take it to heart and do the best I can--my only brief thought was with all the tweeting and blogging and connecting online when am I going to actually be making films?

The second speaker Jason Reitman is hoofing it for his new film Up in the Air. Saw the film at a free screening last night and thought it was great. Really smart, great vehicle for Clooney who gets to work his chops a little, Vera Farmiga is absolutely captivating and Anna Kendrick is great. Kendrick delivered one of my favorite numbers in the musical gem Camp. If you haven't seen that one--do it now. Reitman in a nutshell: do what brings you magic; this film thing is a long shot but if you work hard and tough it out and surround yourself with good people you might make it; tell stories that interest you in your own voice (again authenticity); "I'm the boss applesauce" is what being a director is at the end of the day.

So after next week it's a new round of festivals and making it work for me and the new one. As my academic career comes to an end--the safety net vanishes and hopefully that one glimmering project will come to the fore in the next couple of years. In the meanwhile I'm sure I'll have plenty of tales to tell about making or breaking it. Stay tuned.