April 20, 2005 - Bob
Los Angeles, CA
Rejection from the Seattle Int’l Film Fest. Sigh. I know the movie wasn’t ready. I was really hoping they’d see through it’s holes (which, as I mentioned, were numerous) to the greater good and possibilities. I’m hoping someone else sees the plus side of this for themselves. The idea I’m pitching is that a festival gets to look great by promoting a film that’s fun, has mass appeal and serves a great cause.
I’m confident that person will come about. I also know the movie is improving day by day with each cut. With the more competent/complete cut, there shouldn’t be as long of a bridge of understanding/acceptance for a programmer to have to cross to say yes.
June 1, 2005 - Bob
Los Angeles, CA
(E-mail invite):
SUBJECT: Ygnacio Valley High School Screening of , “Boys of Summer”
WHEN: Saturday, June 11th at 7 PM (location TBA, but it will be in Concord, CA area -- EAST SF BAY AREA).
I am SO pumped. I'm still working on the movie and will be until “they” pry it from me. It's, of course, rather personal. It's also a living, breathing piece of art and will have a life beyond me that others (that’s you!) breathe into it. I just want to make sure (like any good parent) that I give it all it needs to be received to it's highest good.
I’m hopeful this screening will give me the feedback I need to be sure it is as ready for prime time.
I look forward to seeing you there.
June 11, 2005 - Bob
Concord, CA
It’s odd screening at my old high school. It took jumping through a bunch of hoops with the district who seemed...confused as to what, exactly, I was trying to accomplish. Ultimately, they said okay so that’s good.
I picked up a bunch of snacks and had them ready in sort of snack-shack fashion in the back of the room. I figured I’d charge old-school prices, too (.50 ice cream, .25 red ropes, cracker jacks, Otter Pops, etc.).
My ability to enjoy the good crowd that started filing in wasn’t aided by the difficult setup. I have a bad habit of doing all the A.V. myself so as to avoid having to pay someone. It’s that double-edged sword: I know what I’m doing and yet, by doing it, I can’t be present as completely as I’d like to be because I’m worried about the tech elements (for those who don’t know, tech never really runs smoothly. Something always needs to be adjusted...or kicked).
I’m lucky enough to have an awesome friend/former boss in Brian Doyle. He owns the DJ company I’ve worked at (on/off/on/off/on/off...) for years. He lets me borrow whatever equipment I need pretty much whenever I need it gratis. If only he could throw in some slave labor (kidding! I’d pay him for the slave labor, of course).
As this is the first public screening of what I’d consider a watchable version of the film -- I haven’t even let Annamaria see this version yet -- I’m nervous. I know it’s not “done”, but I also know I’ve done enough for it to be seen. The question comes down to, “does it ‘work’?” In other words, will the audience enjoy it/get it and want to talk to their friends about it. Will it resonate?
I’ve done enough screenings of my other films to know not to worry too much about whether or not they’ll like the things I like or get every beat/moment I want them to get. It’s the overall I’m after. A film is much more of a two-way experience than most people realize. What each member of the audience brings to the screening is themselves -- everything that makes them who they are and even what they’re going through that day will determine a lot about how they feel about the film. That’s why screenings are such a valuable learning tool for filmmakers who are willing to listen.
This also brings up another difficult balance with the nature of artwork: the artist can always do more; the art is a living thing; it will never be “done” until the artist lets it go. Even then it grows and becomes whatever the audience, media and others make of it. All of which means at some point artists have to relinquish control (everyone screams!).
So the crowd of around 100 or so settles in and I’m in the back of the room -- my favorite hang during my screenings as I like to see how/if the audience interacts. Usually no interaction is a good sign -- they’re all too enraptured in the experience to bother talking to the person next to them.
There’s some crosstalk here, but nothing to get in a twist over. The good thing, too, is I don’t know everyone in this crowd. That means some people without ties to me responded to my web-beggings and will probably feel no shame in tearing me a new one if the film sucks. I particularly hit up my fellow A’s fan brethren at www.athleticsnation.com, whom I know only by screen names like “Dev”, “monkeyball” and “baseballgirl” among others.
The image of the film on the screen was not as good as I would have liked as I couldn’t get the room completely dark. The sound was a bit echo-ish, too (it was a cafeteria we were in, after all). All in all, however, it went well. There was a nice round of applause at the end and going up to the front to take questions, I caught my mom’s expression. She was holding her breast bone and smiling. I’m pretty sure there were tears, too. I was nervous about her reaction because she’s sensitive about her health being discussed sometimes as it is in the film.
I was ready for questions about my use of a particular scene that shows my mom going from laughter to tears when we came home from Anaheim. The camera holds on her and dad’s embrace for a solid 20 seconds with nothing else but Emma’s panting as she vies for attention. It was an important moment to show because it really showed the depth of the pain and fear mom felt not having dad around for the previous five weeks. It is honest. The question in my mind comes: did I feel I exploited her situation? No. It was simply honest. At the same time, I didn’t back away from it as it was a major concern for both Dad and I while on the road -- to the degree where we considered cutting short the trip.
The crowd asked good questions (not that question as it turned out). I did get to do something I had envisioned in my mind, calling up my dad and introducing him as the star of the show (which he is). I know it’s not his favorite thing to be in the limelight, but at the same time I’ve seen him open up to a side of himself that is very engaging with people asking him questions (sometimes personal ones).
