What's with Phoenix Falling, Phoenix Down, The Blue Light? Are they all the same movie? A series of films with the same characters? What the heck is going on? Let me explain....
Some years back on an overnight flight to Argentina I couldn't sleep, and the prospect of 10 hours staring into the back of a semi-dirty seat and listening to people speak proper Spanish didn't help. Some Int'l flights serve free wine. After downing a few of these little suckers and listening to very loud Tango music, my right brain took over while the left slept. There was a dad (same age as me), and his daughter (same age as mine). And a loving mom who dies. Eight months after this tragedy they're still trying to cope: He hits the bottle and can't hold a job for more than two days. She escapes into a delusional fantasy world where she sees and plays with her mom. Well, her dad thinks it's delusional (wouldn't you?). She thinks it's magical. So they both escape in their own ways. I tried to shoot this from both perspectives. The kid's perspective was fun as I got to play with some cool CGI environmental programs in order to create her world for the movie goers! You can catch a glimpse in my previous post with a link to the teaser. I'm not giving any more of the story away, but I promise it is heartwarming. So much so, that the screenplay won the GAIA Award at the 2006 Moondance Film Festival (ie, "the American Cannes").
Here's Moondance's description of their GAIA award....
"MOONDANCE GAIA AWARD:
This award is to encourage and inspire contemplative, meditative, spiritual and inspirational films and scripts. The award is presented to the person who seeks to elucidate and improve the spiritual quality of all life on the planet, and contributes to the betterment of the world spirit."
It's February 2010 and The Blue Light is finally complete at 25 minutes! And I've submitted it to a number of film festivals worldwide. I handle the US and the "Mom," played heroically by Claudia Winfield, is submitting to the rest of the world from her home base in Switzerland. Knock on wood!
That's the story so far of The Blue Light. After we shot it, I wanted to do a feature. I had story ideas from two shorts I shot: 40 Seconds and The Blue Light. 40 Seconds had a "Twilight Zone" flavor to it whereby a mysterious man owns a watch which tells him the future 40 seconds from now. Think of the possibilities! (40 Seconds also won a few screenwriting awards.) I couldn't make up my mind so I asked my lead in both shorts, Derek Latta, his preference, and he chose to extend The Blue Light into a feature. Good choice as I'd much rather touch people's hearts than wow them with Outer Limits type material.
It took me the better part of a year structuring this tale. It's really two parallel stories... one taking place when the kid (Jenny) is 7 and the other when she's college age. During this process I am forever grateful to our casting director and lead actress (she plays older Jenny) Stephanie Greco because I literally bounced all my ideas to her. She made sure I didn't go overboard in writing certain elements! After a phone book size worth of notes back and forth, the script was completed. I broke a major "rule" that most screenwriting gurus teach; and that was I should NOT write my first script with different timelines, and in inconsequential order to boot. I hate rules. So I sent the script to a few script reviewers in LA, and they blessed it saying it works! Whew!
Buzz is a strange thing. For some reason, when we put out a casting call for the feature, we received over 700 actors' resumes! It was crazy. We had two days to audition, and unfortunately we were unable to invite everyone in. But thanks to Stephanie's great organizational skills, and my wife's patience, and my AD John McGilvary's constant upbeat attitude we got through it smoothly. There was such great talent! I've always told people that I love every single aspect in the filmmaking process. That changed. I found something I hate, and that's turning great actors away.
The name Phoenix Falling: My daughter came up with Phoenix and Stephanie with Falling. Our hero's Navy call sign is Phoenix and you can say he falls a lot in this movie; more ways than one.
When asked, I tell people this is an emotionally charged family drama, laced with commercial elements. In other words, it has heart and it's definitely not boring! Just look at the trailer (upper right - youtube link), and some of the scenes in my previous posts.
The prologue itself is a heart pumping action sequence where our hero, a Navy Fighter Pilot has a confrontation with a Chinese MIG over the South China Sea. Their conflict continues on sea, then on land. This scene is very important and pays off later in the story. I wrote it with some trepidation. I mean a dog fight? On my budget? It was only after some folks told me it was impossible, that I got the courage to pull it off! But not by myself. I had the best crew imaginable and fantastic talent. It came out pretty good so I decided to make this into a short 7 minute film and submit it to festivals with two goals in mind. 1 - I wanted to see how my CGI jets held up on the big screen. 2 - I wanted to use this as a means to promote the feature. So we decided to call this short Phoenix Down. Original huh? I couldn't think of anything else. But it works! Look at my previous post "Jets!" for an earlier version of this short/prologue. Phoenix Down is screening at 4 film festivals; it's already won an award (in Hawaii), and I'm looking forward to seeing the Florida premier in late March at the Delray Beach Film Festival. I hope to see you there too! I'll post dates when I receive them. Oh, and a film festival in Texas has invited to fly me and some cast out to their festival in the Fall!
Well there you have it. Now when someone asks me about all these titles, I can direct them to this post! You can too!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Blue Light
We just released The Blue Light, a short film produced from the award winning script of the same name. Magical, heartwarming tale about how a little girl and her dad deal with tragedy. He hits the bottle, she escapes into an enchanting magical garden, in which she eventually drags her dad into. The Blue Light also spawned the creation of Phoenix Falling!
Here's a teaser....
Here's a teaser....
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
JETS!
Rough cut. This will likely be the film's prologue. We decided to release this as a short film now to help promote the feature.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Scenes in progress w/trivia
I thought it'd be cool to show some our scenes "in progress." Most still need sound work; all need re-editing.
Here's our nightclub scene featuring Int'l pop sensation Ozzie Aziz, Hard Rockin' Trash, and S. FL celebrity fashion designer Jimmy Star. Jerry Carter is the devilish bouncer with "Charon" seared on his face. Mennette Colon is the lady in red - our seductive femme fatale! This was actually a strip club, and we had to tape up the poles so it wouldn't be too obvious! The scene represents our hero's darkest time. Lots of references to Greek Myth if you can find them! Very funny - someone forgot to replace the tequila with water, so during the first take, which called for numerous shots, Derek actually put three shots down before yelling "cut"! Needless to say, he was rather loose for the rest of the takes! Ozzie did one hell of a performance. As for the pair... Meatloaf, eat your heart out!
This scene immediately follows the intense nightclub scene. It's low key, no music, slow cuts... so our hero and the viewer can take a breather from the intensity of previous scenes. Note the ticking clock... time is running out for our guy. BTW, that was no sun shining through the window; it was 2,000 watts of blue light! And I could swear that Lorenzo was channeling DeNiro when he uterred his last line! Love the attitude!
This sentencing scene was shot in the council chambers of the City of North Lauderdale. Yours truly has a non-speaking cameo of the prosecuting attorney in the background. And some folks may recognize the judge, competently played by real life Mayor Jack Brady. I thought our lead, Derek Latta did an outstanding performance w/not one line of dialogue.
Derek and I drove deep into The Redlands one morning looking for cinematic shots. We ran into roadkill on the highway surrounded by a dozen buzzards. As I set up, all the birds flew away; I started filming a lone flying bird and was pleasantly surprised when he did exactly what I would've wanted! And with Derek driving at the precise moment! This scene's externals with the buzzard was done in just one lucky shot! After he munched on the carcass a bit, he took off for the day. Music, as with most of these scenes, are temp. This one is a bit too dramatic.
Interrogation! We had an absolute blast casting the role of b_ll busting Sheila. The gals auditioning really got into tormenting our poor lead Derek, who was at the casting that day. It was a pretty tough decision, but we went with the calm intensity of Eli Reig who played off Derek eloquently. One of the cops standing outside is Robert Younis, who I asked if he could pick up a Middle Eastern accent as I wanted one in the film and he looked it. He subsequently used that accent to land a featured role in a Burn Notice episode! The other cop standing with Robert is Lorenzo Toledo, a real life undercover detective. If you've seen Michael Mann's Miami Vice, you'll recognize him as one of the heavies in the Haiti scene. Our scene is rounded out with Nick Simmons on the inside, who also appeared in Miami Vice.
Pretty cool "flatlining" scene starring the great Jennifer Dawson as the Head Nurse who's now doing great stuff in Hollywood. We filmed this in an OBGYN center. You should've seen Derek's face when he eyed those stirrups!
We had a blast at this Central FL ranch owned by Juan Ulacia. We were there two days. I spent the first night around an open campfire, with a billion stars overhead, writing this scene in order to get the gracious Juan in the film. Talk about exceeding my expectations! The guy's performance blew me away! He even picked up a pretty good Argentine accent for it. (The scene is still very rough with little ambient sound and too many closeup.)
Beautiful scenery at the ranch! Dig the "Bonanza like" tune towards the end. I just couldn't resist! Of course, it'll likely go. There was so much noise on set that we ADR'd everything. Still needs ambiance. "Ranch Owners" are the energetic Will Barnes and Megan Forrest! Awesome!
Slap That Bull - a behind the scenes shot. The bull looked kinda bored so I asked Derek to just slap him! (We filmed this before Wild Hogs.) Now is that dedication on Derek's part or what?
It was great working with all the little ballerinas at this real live dance studio. Some tender moments here. Featured actors here include the great British Claudia Winfield, playing the "soon to be deceased" wife of our hero. And Emily Rae, who you've surely seen recently playing Little Kate in Lost. Also, check out up and coming young Danny Karpel towards the end. This kid is underaged and performs in comedy clubs! Very funny guy and a good actor. The dance studio instructor was played by the real live dance studio instructor/owner, Mark Dampolo. Not bad at all for his first time. "TV Dad" is our very own prop master Joe Fernandez. The TV voice came from our AD John McGilvary.
Pilot Down - behind the scenes! Great times filming in an actual storm! RIO Will couldn't make it, so our prop master had to stand in for him. We were actually praying for stronger wind and rain! We did have safety divers.
Here's our nightclub scene featuring Int'l pop sensation Ozzie Aziz, Hard Rockin' Trash, and S. FL celebrity fashion designer Jimmy Star. Jerry Carter is the devilish bouncer with "Charon" seared on his face. Mennette Colon is the lady in red - our seductive femme fatale! This was actually a strip club, and we had to tape up the poles so it wouldn't be too obvious! The scene represents our hero's darkest time. Lots of references to Greek Myth if you can find them! Very funny - someone forgot to replace the tequila with water, so during the first take, which called for numerous shots, Derek actually put three shots down before yelling "cut"! Needless to say, he was rather loose for the rest of the takes! Ozzie did one hell of a performance. As for the pair... Meatloaf, eat your heart out!
This scene immediately follows the intense nightclub scene. It's low key, no music, slow cuts... so our hero and the viewer can take a breather from the intensity of previous scenes. Note the ticking clock... time is running out for our guy. BTW, that was no sun shining through the window; it was 2,000 watts of blue light! And I could swear that Lorenzo was channeling DeNiro when he uterred his last line! Love the attitude!
This sentencing scene was shot in the council chambers of the City of North Lauderdale. Yours truly has a non-speaking cameo of the prosecuting attorney in the background. And some folks may recognize the judge, competently played by real life Mayor Jack Brady. I thought our lead, Derek Latta did an outstanding performance w/not one line of dialogue.
Derek and I drove deep into The Redlands one morning looking for cinematic shots. We ran into roadkill on the highway surrounded by a dozen buzzards. As I set up, all the birds flew away; I started filming a lone flying bird and was pleasantly surprised when he did exactly what I would've wanted! And with Derek driving at the precise moment! This scene's externals with the buzzard was done in just one lucky shot! After he munched on the carcass a bit, he took off for the day. Music, as with most of these scenes, are temp. This one is a bit too dramatic.
Interrogation! We had an absolute blast casting the role of b_ll busting Sheila. The gals auditioning really got into tormenting our poor lead Derek, who was at the casting that day. It was a pretty tough decision, but we went with the calm intensity of Eli Reig who played off Derek eloquently. One of the cops standing outside is Robert Younis, who I asked if he could pick up a Middle Eastern accent as I wanted one in the film and he looked it. He subsequently used that accent to land a featured role in a Burn Notice episode! The other cop standing with Robert is Lorenzo Toledo, a real life undercover detective. If you've seen Michael Mann's Miami Vice, you'll recognize him as one of the heavies in the Haiti scene. Our scene is rounded out with Nick Simmons on the inside, who also appeared in Miami Vice.
Pretty cool "flatlining" scene starring the great Jennifer Dawson as the Head Nurse who's now doing great stuff in Hollywood. We filmed this in an OBGYN center. You should've seen Derek's face when he eyed those stirrups!
We had a blast at this Central FL ranch owned by Juan Ulacia. We were there two days. I spent the first night around an open campfire, with a billion stars overhead, writing this scene in order to get the gracious Juan in the film. Talk about exceeding my expectations! The guy's performance blew me away! He even picked up a pretty good Argentine accent for it. (The scene is still very rough with little ambient sound and too many closeup.)
Beautiful scenery at the ranch! Dig the "Bonanza like" tune towards the end. I just couldn't resist! Of course, it'll likely go. There was so much noise on set that we ADR'd everything. Still needs ambiance. "Ranch Owners" are the energetic Will Barnes and Megan Forrest! Awesome!
Slap That Bull - a behind the scenes shot. The bull looked kinda bored so I asked Derek to just slap him! (We filmed this before Wild Hogs.) Now is that dedication on Derek's part or what?
It was great working with all the little ballerinas at this real live dance studio. Some tender moments here. Featured actors here include the great British Claudia Winfield, playing the "soon to be deceased" wife of our hero. And Emily Rae, who you've surely seen recently playing Little Kate in Lost. Also, check out up and coming young Danny Karpel towards the end. This kid is underaged and performs in comedy clubs! Very funny guy and a good actor. The dance studio instructor was played by the real live dance studio instructor/owner, Mark Dampolo. Not bad at all for his first time. "TV Dad" is our very own prop master Joe Fernandez. The TV voice came from our AD John McGilvary.
Pilot Down - behind the scenes! Great times filming in an actual storm! RIO Will couldn't make it, so our prop master had to stand in for him. We were actually praying for stronger wind and rain! We did have safety divers.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Pilot Down Behind the Scenes
We had a great time shooting this sequence, right in the middle of hurricane season!
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