By Kelly Strodl
Today we talk with Andrew Thomas, director of THE ANATOMY OF VINCE GUARALDI. The film follows two friends, who in 1963, get together to make a film about jazz. Ralph J. Gleason (noted jazz writer and co-founder of Rolling Stone) and Vince Guaraldi (then leading the house band at the famed hungry i in San Francisco) met in a recording studio to document how a combo lays down tracks. The result was Guaraldi’s landmark jazz / pop crossover hit, “Cast Your Fate To The Wind”… but the film of that event was only shown once, then was filed away in Gleason’s attic. Recently two new friends got together to take this rare footage and expand it to follow the musical and social impact of Vince Guaraldi as he went onto create the masterful scores for the Peanuts cartoons, the historic Jazz Mass at Grace Cathedral, and lend his music and personality to participate in some of the most important social movements of his time. It’s called “The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi”.The new friends are Toby Gleason (Ralph’s son) and Andrew Thomas, an award-winning documentarian. Together they have unearthed previously unknown recordings and footage, and gathered an eclectic collection of personalities to perform and share their intimate memories of Guaraldi’s impact -- including Dave Brubeck, Dick Gregory, George Winston, Malcolm Boyd, Paul Krassner, Irwin Corey, John Handy, and more. Scored from Guaraldi’s private recordings that have never been heard before now, and featuring new performances by George Winston, John Hendricks, and David Benoit, “The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi” is a musical, visual and cultural feast.
Q: How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?
When I first moved to Southern California, Newport Beach was my hangout for a summer. The long days on the sand... the nights spent at Charlie's Chili... and so there's an emotional resonance that encouraged me to try to be accepted at the festival -- coming full circle from searching for my place in filmmaking, then coming "home" to say I've arrived.
Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.
Vince Guaraldi is best known for writing the music for the Charlie Brown
TV specials, and for his huge jazz–pop crossover hit, "Cast Your Fate To The Wind". Vince is America's best known, least recognized composer! In 1963, jazz writer Ralph J. Gleason (co-founder of Rolling Stone Magazine and the Monterey Jazz Festival) decided to film his good friend Vince Guaraldi as Vince was recording a new album... and Ralph was there the day that "Cast Your Fate" was performed. This rare film was only seen once in 1963, and as generally considered "lost" for 48 years.
Recently we found the only print in existence hidden in the attic of the Gleason home in Berkeley... and we've lovingly restored it as the historic document it is. But that short film stops the story prior to Vince's years at the hungry I nightclub with the Beatniks in North Beach, and doesn't include the Peanuts compositions, the infamous Jazz Mass at Grace Cathedral, the concerts for civil rights, free speech and more.
Our new film, "The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi" expands on all these areas with the help of friends and collaborators -- including Dave Brubeck, George Winston, Dick Gregory, Jon Hendricks, John Handy, Irwin Corey and many more.
Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.
Most of my filmmaking has been for studios and broadcasters -- from Disney and Discovery, to A&E, Fox, ABC, and others. But to be true to Vince's story, I had to produce the film outside the normal channels, as some of the content is too harsh for the delicate sensibilities of "corporate media". This proved to be an enormous challenge. Several times through the production we had to stop and accept side work doing "conventional" films in order to fund the ongoing Guaraldi project. (An industrial doc on the manufacturing of nail polish, anyone?)
But we succeeded thanks to the kind help of Vince's family and friends. We may have spent a number of nights sleeping in the back of rental cars, and "borrowing" raw stock from other productions, but the integrity of the story shows. Even the soundtrack for the film is scored from Vince's own practice tapes, found in a closet in his family's home. It represents the first new Guaraldi performances to be heard in 46 years. Completely new. Completely original.
Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)
Millions of people have heard Dave Brubeck play "Take Five". We feature him singing it. Also, "The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi" allowed some of Vince's old friends to collaborate with him one more time.
Taking an unpublished recording of Vince performing "Cast Your Fate", we arranged for jazz legend Jon Hendricks to write new lyrics and layer a new "vocaleze" performance on top, with the help of his daughter and the facility of Tony Bennett's studio.
Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
I scour between the cushions of the couch to find the budget for the next project!
THE ANATOMY OF VINCE GUARALDI screens Thursday, May 5 at 6:30PM at the Triangle Square Theater 2.
To purchase tickets follow the below link:
http://newportbeach.slated.com/2011/films/theanatomyofvinceguaraldi_andrewthomas_newportbeach2011
Click below to watch the film’s trailer:
By Kelly Strodl
Today we talk with Paul C. Barranco, director of two action sports shorts showing at this year’s festival. The films SURFING THE SILVER DRAGON, and CONFISKATE, will screen at the Actions Sport Shorts section of the festival.
SURFING THE SILVER DRAGON: The program is based around China’s Qiantang River Tidal Bore where surfers Jamie Sterling and Rusty Long take on the beast, a.k.a. “The Silver Dragon” and surf it for miles through the city of Hangzhou. In addition, we get an inside glimpse of Jamie and Rusty’s experiences on and off the tidal bore in China.
CONFISKATE: Confiskate features pro skater, Josh Campos along with a handful of his closest friends as they session a handrail. The FUEL TV Network ID is a comedic narrative that toys with the synergies between street skaters and a security guard.
Q: How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?
I live in SoCal so when the festival happens I always hear about it and track its happenings. I just want to stress that’s it’s an honor to be involved this year. Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.
On CONFISKATE… it was an idea I thought of a long time ago, maybe 5 or 6 years ago and just jotted it down in a journal that I keep for ideas. I was always interested in the synergies between security guards and skaters so I came up with this concept. Well a few years passed and I got busy with other projects but in the back of my mind I knew I should be carving some time out to build up my director reel. My Co-producer Celina Meites basically loved the spot and ended up pushing me forcefully into making it. Then we gathered a small crew ran out and shot the thing with the help of her and my cast. So needless to say, I’m glad she shoved me.
On SURFING THE SILVER DRAGON I was approached to go out to China in 2009 with a group of surfers and a few good friends that I work with. We were welcomed by the Chinese officials and treated like royalty. Every meal and activity was planed for us down to the hour. The food was something I wasn’t used to, from duck tongue to the ants but I soon found out we we’re being treated to China’s finest cuisine. It took a little getting used to but after a few sittings it was all good; we not only ingested the food but also to all the culture around us and were guided by some of the most humble people ever. When it came time to get to work, our guides started off by showing the river in which I’d be shooting from, showing us some of the potential pitfalls it offered, so when the wave turned “on”, we’d be well prepared and we were just that. On game day when the wave hit, the surfers got on their skis and I jumped on the boat while the editor Dave Gallegos was captain and driver of the boat. We outran the tidal bore wave for upwards of 10 miles down the river taking us around 45 minutes to complete our run. The surfers would have to line up with a good part of the wave and we’d need to be close to them in the boat to shoot it. It was tricky to say the least; I was shooting handheld off a boat doing at least 20 mph with a giant wave coming at us. Just a little nerve racking. Anyway we made it out unmarked and to this day I am grateful for the memories it offered.
Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.
Well my Pops shot stills professionally and so I got a lot of insight to the craft just watching him in is meticulous ways. I shot stills leisurely for many years all while I was at heart, a surfer. If I wasn’t in the water, I was shooting or at Costco getting my film developed; it was then that I knew I had a deep affinity for photography. A few years later, my dad bought a video camera. It was a full size VHS camera and I can honestly say that purchase changed my life. I became beyond hooked on video. I shot everything and anything I could taking my knowledge from stills on over to video. I made everything from surfing experimental films on down to comedies on makeshift sets to weird abstract shorts. I’d edit from camera to VHS Deck and even tied in an audio channel as well, usually Jane’s Addiction or Soundgarden. Anyway, after freaking out my family, cause I still lived at home, I finally jumped into SDSU film school program got my diploma and headed to LA. Over the years I’ve worked at Fuel TV on their weekly action sports news show for 2 years and was at Globe Int Ltd as their Media Marketing Manager for 3 years creating and producing their global surf and skate event TV programs from Fiji, Oz & Micronesia as well as their commercials all for Fuel TV. More recently, I have gone independent with my production company Fluid Films Productions Inc. where we create media for core and mainstream categories specializing in commercials. Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)
On CONFISKATE the forces were definitely on our side that day of shooting. We shot gorilla and no one hassled us and no one was hurt the same. Josh Campos had to kickflip a 12 stair, which had me a little concerned since he was padded up to look plumper. But he killed it. In fact, all the dudes this day were insane to work with. Andrew White the lead skater isn’t an actor but he listened to and trusted me & he pulled it off with flying colors.
On SURFING THE SILVER DRAGON Jamie Sterling and Rusty Long were absolutely on point. Rusty had been there the previous year so he knew the wave and Jamie jumped right in with no hitches as well. Both surfers were taking some risks by surfing this natural phenomenon and they were professional and considerate which is key to making any project work.
Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
When I’m not shooting, I’m usually doing a few things. I surf, swim laps, snowboard, I try to skate the Glendale park from time to time but I suck pretty bad, I hang out with my daughter & lately we’ve been racing go karts at K1 Speed every other week religiously, now that’s a good time.
CONFISKATE and SURFING THE SILVER DRAGON both screens Thursday, May 5 at 3:30PM at the Triangle Square Theater 8, as part of the Action Sports Shorts 1 showcase. Other films showing at that time will be:
The Physics Of Surfing | Greg Passmore 2010
Surfing The Silver Dragon | Paul C. Barranco 2010
Calling on Others | Scott LeDuc, Andrew Matthews 2010
Surfing With The Enemy | Adam Preskill and Scott Braman
Solo | Jason Ryan 2010
To purchase tickets follow the below link:
http://newportbeach.slated.com/2011/films/confiskate_paulcbarranco_newportbeach2011
CONFISKATE – VIDEO LINK
SURFING THE SILVER DRAGON TEASER - VIDEO LINK
Today we hear from Tanner Beard, writer and director of THE LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE: AN AMERICAN CONSPIRACY, how 'Hell's Gate' at Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas came to have it's name. Relive the story of how three outlaws expeditions and encounters through historical 1870s Texas were remembered for a lifetime. James McKinnon, an Irish thief roaming the American frontier in search of easy riches, finds himself on the lam with Will Edwards, a bounty hunter prepared to lie, cheat, and steal to replenish his lost fortunes. While attempting to escape the lawmen on their tails, McKinnon and Edwards encounter Kelly, a young man who has stolen the secret cache of a man who claims to be John Wilkes Booth. The three outlaws set out on an adventure to be remembered for generations.
Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.
Man, we had so many moving parts where do you begin. Ha, first of all our cast and crew were amazing, but based on real events our story takes place in 1876 Texas mostly around Central and West Texas. We shot the film in and around the land, towns and cliffs where it actually took place which gave the production a very historic feel. Many of our actors played real characters of the West as you'll see when our central characters have their brushes with the infamous Doc Holliday (Jamie Thomas King), John St. Helens (Henry Thomas), the killing of the White Buffalo, encounters with Comanches and the elements of the untouched Texas terrain.
We follow three outlaws on the run, Will Edwards (Eric Balfour), Kid Called Kelly (Lou Taylor Pucci) and James McKinnon (Tanner Beard) each running from haunted past now with bounties on their head. A chase movie shot in Texas with a mostly Texas native cast: (Jenna Dewan, Summer Glau, Kevin Alejandro, Glenn Morshower, Henry Thomas) made the production fell like we were a bunch of neighborhood kids getting to play “Cowboys and Indians” in the backyard. As sometimes it was a difficult shoot with the terrain, our cast and crew made it an absolute joy to be a part of.
Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.
Getting to play a character in front of the camera has always been such a joy to do, but also can be a rare opportunity especially if you didn't grow up near the business. Making a film on the other hand can happen any place, any time if you can pull enough people together to put on a show, no matter how big or small. So, starting at a very early age I was lucky enough that my parents had on old video camera to test out and we had a video store that had more than just the new releases in my home town. So grabbing some friends and writing some skits while watching great movies to learn a thing or two, it wasn't hard to fall in love with every aspect of film making from griping to acting to booming, it's all important.
Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)
Our cast showed up to work and they worked hard, I thought everyone in our large ensemble cast did an amazing job. I definitely came to learn set backs will happen on a set, it's just part of it. I know one day we lost a lot of great deal of momentum from our cast when our river shoot got rained out. We lost time and money, actors lost scenes but as a film maker sometimes you can create your way out of problems and our cast was great about jumping into scenes with out much rehearsal time. Lou Pucci and Summer Glau had to endure more of the elements more so than most of the cast and their attitude and dedication to their characters were definitely good, but not a surprise they are pros.
Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
Jumping in front of the camera is keeping me busy at the moment, I also have another project I'm writing and directing with Suzanne Weinert to produce, so other smash indies are keeping me busy, ha ha.
______________________________________________________
THE LEGEND OF HELL’S GATE: AN AMERICAN CONSPIRACY screens Tonight (Wednesday), May 4 at 7:30PM at the Triangle Square Theater 4.
To purchase tickets follow the below link:
http://newportbeach.slated.com/2011/films/thelegendofhellsgate_tannerbeard_newportbeach2011
Watch the trailer for the film here:
By Kelly Strodl
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Today we talk with Robert Celestino, director of LEAVE, a film about Henry Harper - a successful novelist who has it all. But after surviving a recent trauma he finds himself haunted by a reoccurring dream that terrifies him. Henry decides to go to a remote second home to begin work on his next novel, a thriller. Convinced that the only way to understand what the dream means is to write his way through it. While there he encounters a strangely familiar drifter, who confronts him with information that threatens to turn everything he knows to be true, upside down. Director, producers and talent will attend the screening of this premiere!!
Q: How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?
Who doesn't know about the Newport Film Festival? My last film premiered at Tribeca, the one before that at Sundance and now Leave is premiering at Newport -- In horse racing, they call that the Triple Crown. The producers and I are delighted to be premiering our film here.
Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.
Frank John Hughes and Rick Gomez came up with the story and then Frank, who I think is one of the greatest American writers living wrote the screenplay. It's a wonderful story with great characters and dialogue.
They guys introduced me to producer Michael Hagerty. Michael is a hard worker who brings out the best in people. He brought producer Bettina Tendler O'Mara aboard. Bettina has the patience of a saint, she believed in the project and along with Michael; she was able to obtain a budget and schedule I could work with. I had a lot of fun making this film and working with these talented and like-minded people.
Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.
I started in the late 80's with shorts and doc's, and wrote and directed my first feature in 1991. Things didn't go to well with the picture and financing ran out pretty quick. We were still shooting on film in those days and cutting on flatbeds. A shoestring budget in 1990 was well over $200,000. The days of shooting a feature for pennies on video did not yet exist.
When I ran out of money the lab tried to auction my negative and I spent the next three years in court trying to hold onto the film. My efforts proved futile and ultimately I lost the film. But in my eyes, it was my film and I held all aesthetic rights. So I walked into a local video facility in Yonkers to do some re-cuts, change the title, and hopefully make some foreign sales. When I showed the film to the owner, he was impressed and asked me if I would look at a film he made for five thousand dollars. The film wasn't a masterpiece but he shot it on film for five grand! I couldn’t believe it. I walked out of there inspired. I thought if he can make a feature for $5000, I should be able to do one for $10,000.
I looked over my scripts. I had one I thought could be produced for very little. I called in every favor and asked for plenty more, still I couldn’t budget the film for less than $20,000 – and that was just to get it in the can.
But where was I going to get twenty grand? I had sold my condo to finish the last film and lost every dime. On top of that I borrowed a bunch of money from guys with New York accents who were showing up at my apartment wondering what happened to the condo I was going to sell to pay them back.
Two weeks later I set a production date and scheduled a 19-day shoot. We were set to start shooting in six weeks. I still didn't have any money. I was desperate. My wife was willing to borrow $5000 against her only credit card and I had a friend who owned and gym in CT., who said he would invest $5000 if he could write some of the songs for the film. That gave me $10,000, half the money, with two weeks left to the start of production. One of the co-producers said jokingly, “Let’s go to Atlantic City and put it all on the black.” Of course he was kidding and I the guy who made Yonkers Joe – I know you can’t win gambling, especially when you are desperate. But I needed a sign, after what I went through on the last film, I thought of the words Carl Jung had posted over his door, “Ready or not the Gods will come.” I needed the gods to come. If I was going to stick around it had to be more than me.
Cut to my co-producer, Brian Smyj and I diving down the Jersey Turnpike in the rain to Atlantic City. It was a two and a half hour drive from where I lived. The only rule we had is we’re not going to talk about. We’re going to the first casino we come to, walk to the closest roulette wheel and bet the entire 10 grand… No thought, no decision, no hesitation – Just make the bet. And that’s what we did… The first hotel we came to was Trump’s casino. We came off the escalator and walked up to the roulette wheel. The money was in crumpled bills; we were in shorts and unshaven. I could only imagine what the dealers were thinking when I threw the bills on the table and said “Gimme all black.”
The dealer straitened out the money as she counted it, then pushed me the chips. I pushed them right back – all ten thousand dollars worth onto the black. And this is where it becomes like a movie. Anyone who has played roulette knows it takes some time for the ball to settle -- it bounces around a bit then plops into a slot. After what seemed an eternity, the ball plopped into the red.
I looked at Brian and I thought, this is it… I’m done. The gods have made their choice. There will be no film and I’m no filmmaker. Then, at that very moment as if some invisible finger stuck their hand into the slot and grabbed hold of the tiny white ball – it popped out of the red and into the black! We did it! We had the money! I remember Brian screaming and I began to weep. We left the casino and two weeks later I began production on Mr. Vincent. Everything that went wrong with my first feature went right with Mr. Vincent. There was no looking back. We premiered at Sundance and had a wonderful experience with the film.
Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)
Frank introduced me to Rick Gomez. I was a fan of Rick’s but I had no idea of his work ethic. I knew where Frank would go, as we had worked many times together. But the film could not work unless Rick was able to believe in something his character would find impossible to believe. As a man, there is no fooling Rick; he’s a brave heart who will go anywhere you ask of him as long as he believes it too. He’s also wickedly intelligent. So if you start to change things around he’s going to have questions. It was give and take for he and I at first, but then at some point early on we began to bond. Making a film is a battle; your courage is tested many times. I respect him for his courage and his sensitivity, and a phenomenal ability to make you believe what his character believes. Every part of him, every cell of his body, heart and mind goes into the roll. That’s how much courage he has. I loved working with him.
Frank John Hughes is more of a partner than I actor I work with. On every film we’ve worked on together you’ll find us off in some corner discussing an element of the scene we’re shooting. He’s extremely smart and has a keen sense of what is real and what is believable. He also has what I believe is the greatest quality an artist can have -- he’s not lazy. Through the years he and I have had marathon sessions trying to get to the heart of a character or solve a story point.
Casting Amy was a real challenge, I had to believe that husband and wife shared a bond that went beyond physical attraction -- that went beyond even the love they felt for each other. I wanted to experience something spiritual in their relationship – as if one doesn’t exist without the other. A lot of what Henry does in the film comes from how connected he is to his wife. Vinessa Shaw understood this. Amy is an emotional roll, whose function in the story to attack the hero’s weakness as an ally. Vinessa approached her as a strong women, dignified, classy but a little icy. It was a brilliant approach as Vinessa kept the character’s arc in mind. She knew it would be more moving for an audience if her character found that deeply emotional part of herself at a time when it would have the most impact. Vinessa nailed it! It was a great choice and it was all hers.
Great actors are the smartest people I know. An ‘alive’ performance must be calculated, thought out in stages, then thrown away so we as an audience may feel like we’re experiencing it for the first time. If you don’t think that’s hard, try it. Try experiencing something you’ve done many times, as if it were the first time – then make me believe it!
Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
I’m writing smash indie scripts! Ha! I write seven days a week, but only in the mornings. The rest of the day I spend with my beautiful wife, who won’t let me out of her sight, until I pay her the $5000 I still owe her.
LEAVE screens Tuesday, May 3 at 7:45 PM at the Regency Lido Theater.
To purchase tickets visit:
http://newportbeach.slated.com/2011/films/leave_robertcelestino_newportbeach2011
Watch the trailer for the film here:
http://www.facebook.com/thefilmleave
Then click on the videos tab to the left.
By Kelly Strodl
Today we talk with Roberto Celestino, director of LEAVE, a film about Henry Harper - a successful novelist who has it all. But after surviving a recent trauma he finds himself haunted by a reoccurring dream that terrifies him. Henry decides to go to a remote second home to begin work on his next novel, a thriller. Convinced that the only way to understand what the dream means is to write his way through it. While there he encounters a strangely familiar drifter, who confronts him with information that threatens to turn everything he knows to be true, upside down. Director, producers and talent will attend the screening of this premiere!!
Q: How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?
Who doesn't know about the Newport Film Festival? My last film premiered at Tribeca, the one before that at Sundance and now Leave is premiering at Newport -- In horse racing, they call that the Triple Crown. The producers and I are delighted to be premiering our film here.
Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.
Frank John Hughes and Rick Gomez came up with the story and then Frank, who I think is one of the greatest American writers living wrote the screenplay. It's a wonderful story with great characters and dialogue.
They guys introduced me to producer Michael Hagerty. Michael is a hard worker who brings out the best in people. He brought producer Bettina Tendler O'Mara aboard. Bettina has the patience of a saint, she believed in the project and along with Michael; she was able to obtain a budget and schedule I could work with. I had a lot of fun making this film and working with these talented and like-minded people.
Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.
I started in the late 80's with shorts and doc's, and wrote and directed my first feature in 1991. Things didn't go to well with the picture and financing ran out pretty quick. We were still shooting on film in those days and cutting on flatbeds. A shoestring budget in 1990 was well over $200,000. The days of shooting a feature for pennies on video did not yet exist.
When I ran out of money the lab tried to auction my negative and I spent the next three years in court trying to hold onto the film. My efforts proved futile and ultimately I lost the film. But in my eyes, it was my film and I held all aesthetic rights. So I walked into a local video facility in Yonkers to do some re-cuts, change the title, and hopefully make some foreign sales. When I showed the film to the owner, he was impressed and asked me if I would look at a film he made for five thousand dollars. The film wasn't a masterpiece but he shot it on film for five grand! I couldn’t believe it. I walked out of there inspired. I thought if he can make a feature for $5000, I should be able to do one for $10,000.
I looked over my scripts. I had one I thought could be produced for very little. I called in every favor and asked for plenty more, still I couldn’t budget the film for less than $20,000 – and that was just to get it in the can.
But where was I going to get twenty grand? I had sold my condo to finish the last film and lost every dime. On top of that I borrowed a bunch of money from guys with New York accents who were showing up at my apartment wondering what happened to the condo I was going to sell to pay them back.
Two weeks later I set a production date and scheduled a 19-day shoot. We were set to start shooting in six weeks. I still didn't have any money. I was desperate. My wife was willing to borrow $5000 against her only credit card and I had a friend who owned and gym in CT., who said he would invest $5000 if he could write some of the songs for the film. That gave me $10,000, half the money, with two weeks left to the start of production. One of the co-producers said jokingly, “Let’s go to Atlantic City and put it all on the black.” Of course he was kidding and I the guy who made Yonkers Joe – I know you can’t win gambling, especially when you are desperate. But I needed a sign, after what I went through on the last film, I thought of the words Carl Jung had posted over his door, “Ready or not the Gods will come.” I needed the gods to come. If I was going to stick around it had to be more than me.
Cut to my co-producer, Brian Smyj and I diving down the Jersey Turnpike in the rain to Atlantic City. It was a two and a half hour drive from where I lived. The only rule we had is we’re not going to talk about. We’re going to the first casino we come to, walk to the closest roulette wheel and bet the entire 10 grand… No thought, no decision, no hesitation – Just make the bet. And that’s what we did… The first hotel we came to was Trump’s casino. We came off the escalator and walked up to the roulette wheel. The money was in crumpled bills; we were in shorts and unshaven. I could only imagine what the dealers were thinking when I threw the bills on the table and said “Gimme all black.”
The dealer straitened out the money as she counted it, then pushed me the chips. I pushed them right back – all ten thousand dollars worth onto the black. And this is where it becomes like a movie. Anyone who has played roulette knows it takes some time for the ball to settle -- it bounces around a bit then plops into a slot. After what seemed an eternity, the ball plopped into the red.
I looked at Brian and I thought, this is it… I’m done. The gods have made their choice. There will be no film and I’m no filmmaker. Then, at that very moment as if some invisible finger stuck their hand into the slot and grabbed hold of the tiny white ball – it popped out of the red and into the black! We did it! We had the money! I remember Brian screaming and I began to weep. We left the casino and two weeks later I began production on Mr. Vincent. Everything that went wrong with my first feature went right with Mr. Vincent. There was no looking back. We premiered at Sundance and had a wonderful experience with the film.
Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)
Frank introduced me to Rick Gomez. I was a fan of Rick’s but I had no idea of his work ethic. I knew where Frank would go, as we had worked many times together. But the film could not work unless Rick was able to believe in something his character would find impossible to believe. As a man, there is no fooling Rick; he’s a brave heart who will go anywhere you ask of him as long as he believes it too. He’s also wickedly intelligent. So if you start to change things around he’s going to have questions. It was give and take for he and I at first, but then at some point early on we began to bond. Making a film is a battle; your courage is tested many times. I respect him for his courage and his sensitivity, and a phenomenal ability to make you believe what his character believes. Every part of him, every cell of his body, heart and mind goes into the roll. That’s how much courage he has. I loved working with him.
Frank John Hughes is more of a partner than I actor I work with. On every film we’ve worked on together you’ll find us off in some corner discussing an element of the scene we’re shooting. He’s extremely smart and has a keen sense of what is real and what is believable. He also has what I believe is the greatest quality an artist can have -- he’s not lazy. Through the years he and I have had marathon sessions trying to get to the heart of a character or solve a story point.
Casting Amy was a real challenge, I had to believe that husband and wife shared a bond that went beyond physical attraction -- that went beyond even the love they felt for each other. I wanted to experience something spiritual in their relationship – as if one doesn’t exist without the other. A lot of what Henry does in the film comes from how connected he is to his wife. Vinessa Shaw understood this. Amy is an emotional roll, whose function in the story to attack the hero’s weakness as an ally. Vinessa approached her as a strong women, dignified, classy but a little icy. It was a brilliant approach as Vinessa kept the character’s arc in mind. She knew it would be more moving for an audience if her character found that deeply emotional part of herself at a time when it would have the most impact. Vinessa nailed it! It was a great choice and it was all hers.
Great actors are the smartest people I know. An ‘alive’ performance must be calculated, thought out in stages, then thrown away so we as an audience may feel like we’re experiencing it for the first time. If you don’t think that’s hard, try it. Try experiencing something you’ve done many times, as if it were the first time – then make me believe it!
Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
I’m writing smash indie scripts! Ha! I write seven days a week, but only in the mornings. The rest of the day I spend with my beautiful wife, who won’t let me out of her sight, until I pay her the $5000 I still owe her.
LEAVE screens Wednesday, May 3 at 7:45 PM at the Regency Lido Theater.
To purchase tickets visit:
http://newportbeach.slated.com/2011/films/leave_robertcelestino_newportbeach2011
Watch the trailer for the film here:
By Kelly Strodl
Today we talk with Kayin Cheng, director or LIFE IS SO WONDERFUL a film about two women who dance to win a man, not realizing that what they covet is not exactly what they expected... LIFE IS SO WONDERFUL is screening as part of the In Your Dancing Shorts showcase today at 6PM.
Q: How did you hear about the Newport Beach Film Festival?
My partner pointed it out to me, he came across it through surfing the internet and Newport Beach Film Festival had good reviews.
Q: Tell a little about the story of your film and the production of it.
The story is about two women fighting over a man, it uses dance form to unveil the story. We had a meeting to talk about the story and Raquel, Ruth and Quiqui (the cast members) are all professional dancers, they choreographed all the dance sequences and when they were ready they presented the dances. I only made a few adjustments to ensure it portrayed the emotions required to tell the story.
It was shot in a little village called Arucas about 20 mins away from Las Palmas of Gran Canaria. (Spanish islands of west coast of Africa). The cast and crew were amazing, despite the fact I didn’t speak Spanish very well.
Q: Tell a little about yourself and your story in filmmaking.
I worked in social housing in the UK before I got into film. I studied at Northumbria University, North East of England. I majored in script writing but was also interested in cameras hoping to become a DOP. However, since graduation, I worked in various positions and settled into editing. For 10 years I honed by craft of filmmaking through working as an editor, and camera operator and as a hobby I wrote short scripts.
Q: Your take on the performances of the lead actors, (set backs, triumphs, impressions, good surprises, etc.)
I think one of my main objective was to ensure the performances told the story especially as there is no dialogue. As Ruth, Raquel and Quiqui are professional dancers and not actors. I was a little concerned - I was aware to watch out for their performances and emotional associations for each scene. Working with them and finding that emotional associations they were able to find it.. They can dance, they can act they have natural acting abilities – even though they never studied acting. I was blessed with casting!
Set backs…mmm I think the only set back was me – not knowing how to speak Spanish, Ruth and the Rosa – the first AD spoke English. So, on set there was a lot of translating going on.
Q: What do you do when not making a smash indie film?
Ermm… I like to play chess, collect stamps…no – only joking! I loving eating and learning how to cook food from different cultures. Which forces me to go to the gym – which I don’t really like.
LIFE IS SO WONDERFUL screens Tuesday, May 3 at 6PM at the Triangle Square Theater 8, as part of the In Your Dancing Shorts showcase. Other films showing at that time will be:
· Dad | Gabrielle Lansner
· Salome' 23 | Craig Oty
· Pas de Deux Glacé (Ice Dance of Two) | Natalie Xavier
· Sick Wid It | Ryan Malloy and Briar March
· Nrityagram: For The Love Of Dance | Nan Melville
· Thought Of You | Ryan Woodward
· Unforgotten | Rick Rose
To purchase tickets follow the below link:
http://newportbeach.slated.com/2011/films/lifeissowonderful_kayincheng_newportbeach2011
Watch the trailer for the film here:
