My Top 20 Films of the Decade

Just for fun I thought I'd cmpile a list of my favourite 20 movies of the decade. These are not necessarily the best films I saw, though I do like them a lot, but films that excited, thrilled and inspired me - made me want to keep fighting to be a filmmaker.

I've decided to take my 2 favourite movies from each year. OK here we go...

2000:

Memento: I thought this was a fantastic film. I was just coming out of college, having studio Animation for 4 years and realising I didn't want to do animation, but instead make films. I was in Australia, weighing up my options. I went to the movies and saw this. Blew me away. Helped me realise I was on the right path. I started writing my first feature screening play, largely inspired by this film, which I then gave to a guy when I came home to ask for advice, that guy was Thomas Kennedy, we struck up a writing partnership and have been writing since.

The Insider: A truly great drama, solid piece, brilliantly directed and acted. It's hard to believe that Russell Crowe was only 34 playing this role.

2001:

Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring: 2001 was a tough year for me personally. I had just come out of the 7 year relationship and was feeling quite lost and unaware of who I was on my own and what direction I was going in. One thing I was sure of was my passion for movies. This was also the year I met Thomas Kennedy and struck up a writing partnership that has lasted to this day. I saw this film at the end of the year and it thriller and exhilarated me. It made me feel like I felt when I was a kid. It was as if I had discovered film for the first time. I love these movies. I owe Peter Jackson a lot!

Spirited Away: Even though I gave up the medium I still love Animation, and the films of director Myazkai are by far my favourite, he is a master, both of his craft and as a storyteller. He is without a shadow of a doubt in my mind the greatest living director there is, in animation or live action. I love this coming of age story. Filled with magical moments.

2002:

Lord of the Rings The Two Towers : Again, these films brought that feeling of excitment back for me. In fact, the opening scene of this film is the most exhilerated I have ever felt watching a movie. When we flash back to half way through the first film, to the bridge of khazad dum and Gandalf is hanging on, and says "Fly, you fools..." and then lets go - except this time we following him, until he catches up to his sword and takes hold of it (I'm getting goosebumps writting this!) and then catches up to the Balrog... just brilliant!

The Bourne Identity: An unexpected surprise, and I love when movies do that. Injected some much needed new life into this genre. Matt Damon was a revelation. And one of the best hand to hand fight sequences ever put on film.

2003:

Lord of the Rings The Return of the King: A brilliant, sad and emotion end to three years of adventure. A monumental achievement in film. Plenty of people decided to nit-pic, but what do they know. Loved it.

Old Boy: I discovered director Chan-wook Park through this film. It is a brilliant piece of modern noir, mixed with greek tragedy and comic book violence.

2004:

Sideways: A hilariously tragic film about the lost and the lonely. Beautifully played and delicately directed.

Open Range: If pressed, and depending on what mode I was in, I might tell you that this has been my favourite film of the last ten years. I love westerns, it's my favourite genre. I grew up watching them, and some of my best film memories are with westerns, like my Dad letting me stay up late to what Bunch and Sundance. I loved The Searcher, Rio Bravo, Bend in the River - pretty much any western by Ford, Hawks and Mann. Even today, if I'm feeling slightly off kilter, or a little hung-over, either from alcohol or life, I'll but one of those films on and within minutes I'm feeling great again. This film is like that for me. It looks fantastic, it's brilliantly directed and wonderfully acted by everyone involved. I love the slow burning pace it begins with. The sense of impending danger that arrives. The first conflicts and build toward the inevitable outcome, the shoot out, which is done just brilliantly - I'd be hard pressed to say I'd seen a better action sequence this decade either, it's pure, simple and raw. I love the film.

2005:

Batman Begins: This set the bar to where it should have been from the start for comic book movies. It was how it should be done. It also gave me an image of Batman that I had longed for. Batman is my favourite comic book hero, I love the character, and to me, this was how it should have been done. And the film is full of so many brilliant moments.

The Proposition: A blistering Australian Western mad with the kind of raw intensity that only the Australians can do. It came out of nowhere, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and dragged me through the dirt. Epic and poetic.

2006:

Hidden (caché): Riveting. Superb performance from the two leads.

A Cock and Bull Story: One of the best films about making a film I've seen. I love the subversion, it's a film within a film about the film about a book about the writing a the book - figure that one out! The experience I had watching this was one of Joy. I think it captures perfectly the stress, passive aggressive behavior, exhaustion but fun, exhilaration and magic that happens on sets. The co-leads are brilliant.

2007:

Pan's Labyrinth: Open Range might have to fight this film for film of the Decade! I love this film immensely. I think it is an exquisitely crafted piece of storytelling and filmmaking. If it were possible, and if someday the movie gods see fit and believe that I am worthy, it's the kind of film I would love to make. A fantasy told as a drama set in wartime with brutal monster lurking in the halls of this pour girls new home, while creatures of fantasy stand as saviors on the edge of imagination. The faun is one of the best movie creatures ever created.

The Assassination of Jesses James by the Coward Robert Ford: It's beyond me how Roger Deakins didn't win the oscar for Best Cinematography for this. It is a beautiful looking film. A brilliant and dark character study by Pitt, one of, if not his best performance to date.

2008:

The Dark Knight: All hail the late great Heath Ledger. This was a very different film to Begins, it stepped outside the norms and conventions of the comic book universe and set Batman in a much more real world, unlike the amped up Gotham of Begins, it felt more like Chicago. But it worked. It was still jam packed with amazing sequences and jaw dropping moments. The Bat pod nearly had me wet myself... I love scenes like that!

There Will Be Blood: I always thought Paul Thomas Anderson is a very good director. I enjoyed Boogie Nights, while I wasn't as hot on Magnolia as a lot of people, it had a style that was undeniable and a relentless pace that suggested it was made my someone with abundant energy a true vision. I really like Punch Drunk Love. But then There Will Be Blood comes out and Paul Thomas Anderson goes from very good - to Great. This film was sublime. This film was pure cinema.

2009:

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassuss: Gilliam is back. With a film that echos of his early work: Time Bandits, Jabberwokey, Brazil, the Adventure of Baron Munchhausen. This dream-like meander through the mind of one the most original directors living today is a delight from start to finish.

Coraline: Into the mind of Neil Gaiman via Henry Selick, I can't think of a better place to go or way to travel. This film was strangely controversial, it raised a lot of debate about how scary films should be for children. I don't think there is a debate... kids love being scared! I know I did. One of the main topics of conversation in the school yard was always what horribly frightening horror film something had managed to blag a botleg of! I saw American Werewolf when I was 10 and I loved it, it help shape my mind and my imagination. To me nightmares are like chicken pocks of measles, if you don't let your children get them while they're young they become much more dangerous when they're older.

This is a stunning looking film. Amazingly intricate and beautifully crafted. The character performance are enchanting and surprising. It is fun throughout and a pure delight to behold. I can't wait to own this so I can watch it over and over, and show my children... when they're young enough of course!

Well, that's my run down of the decade. I'm sure there are a hundred variation of this list I could right with different films, but these ones are pretty special to me. I hope you enjoyed them too, and enjoyed reading my thoughts on them. The naughties have been pretty good for film I must say. It'll be interesting to see what the teens bring.

The Year in Review

Well, it's been a busy year, no question. I think I've achieved a lot of what I set out to do and more besides, as well as somethings I didn't get to do and some unexpected surprises.

The year kicked of with a reading of Ghoster in the Attic Studio, which was a great start to the year. Chased away those winter cobwebs and got things rolling straight away. I got a lot from that and had hoped to get a rewrite of Ghoster soon after, but as it happened, I haven't had the chance to do that yet.

Right after that came my first photography exhibition Old Shoes and Broken Walls and the screening of Bill, For Short. That kicked off at the end of January and ran all through February. I think went well, I had a lot of good reactions from it and people really seemed to connect with it. The RTE show Nationwide picked up the story and ran a piece on it, which really nice, my first dedicated TV appearance - and some welcome national publicity for the film.

That lead to March, which mainly consisted of organising, casting and raising money for my next short film, Slán agus Beannacht, which really happened thanks to JJ Rolfe, cinematographer, who called looking for scripts with an offer of time and equipment. Was a bit of a rush to get things done but we managed it and on the first week of April we were shooting. (It was right in the middle of this shoot that I found out my wife Maryann was pregnant - certainly put things into perspective after a stressful day of shooting!)

It was around this time that I came up with the idea for 140. That fairly took over my life there after and indeed ate into my editing time on Slán. After a great deal of thought, organising, emailing and press I managed to get 140 filmmakers and on June 21st we shot the film. What proceeded, right up until a couple of weeks ago, was a steady influx of clips from around the world.

I started cutting the film in September in a rush to premiere the rough cut at Hatch Fest on the 2nd of October, which we did, and by all accounts it was well received. I continued editing there after with several new clips.

Then I had the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland screening, where I screened the film to an intimate group for general feedback and constructive discussion. Gave me plenty of food for thought and some ideas to improve the film. So I'm still cutting.

Around this time I sign a distribution deal for Bill, For Short, last years short film, so I was happy about that. I also finally signed of on Slán agus Beannacht and held a screening in town where cast, crew, family and friends attended, again, well received. RTE's Nationwide also picked up on this story, at least the story of the man the main character was based on and ran with it. They came to Drogheda and spent the day with Bosco, with an interview with me at the end, another nice mention for Slán.

During all of this of course I was writing with Thomas on our second feature script together Night, now renamed Iscariot. A dark and twisted noir thriller that has so far divided readers right down the middle. We finished the first draft a couple of weeks ago and held a reading at the Attic Studio, which, once again, was huge help. The script is now in the hands of a few people who may be able to help get it made. But that's next years adventure!

So the year ends as it began, with a reading in the Attic Studio and lots in between. I'll be dragging 140 into 2010 and promoting Slán all through the year, hopefully getting into a few festival around the world with both. I hope to shoot at least two short films, I have the scripts ready and waiting. And it would be nice if we finally had some sign that a feature was happening, even if it looked like it would be until 2011! But we'll wait and see, you never know what's around the corner. This time last year I had no idea Slán would happen, never even heard of twitter let alone had any inclinations to make a worldwide film project and didn't imagine I would be a father by the end of this year - by far the biggest surprise and delight.

As I type this Maryann, my wife, is one day overdue, so any minute now really! And I'm sure once the little one arrives nothing will ever be the same again. Who knows what the future holds. So I guess I can say I've had a pretty good year.

God knows there have been disappointment and difficulties. Financial speaking things have been in the toilet! Plenty of stress and trouble with bills. It's been a constant struggle to stay afloat. We've spent most of this year in the red, only this very week getting back in the black. I had to close Pale Stone Productions, the company I personally have been working on for several years. I put a lot of time and effort into making that name mean something, but it wasn't to be. There were a couple of films I wanted to make that didn't happen, much to my disappointment, Caroline Farrell's Adam and my own Angelina. But they still might ;)

I'm hoping for balance in 2010, and perhaps to get paid for all this work!

Anyway, if I don't write beforehand, have a great holiday and best of luck for 2010. I'll see you there.

140 Interview

140 Frank Kelly Interview - Part 1 from Frank Kelly on Vimeo.

140 at the Screen Director's Guild

I forgot to blog about this! I think I just had a busy week straight after! Yes, I screened 140 for the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland on the 16th of this month. A select group of directors from film and television came along as the first audience to the most recent cut of 140.

I must admit, it was quite nerve wracking! Having work so close to the project for months it is hard to separate myself from it and get some distance, enough to see if it's working, which why I thought it was important to do this screening and find out how an audience of strangers reacted to it.

I got a lot from the screening. Watching in that state, being fully aware that other people were seeing it for the first time and trying to prejudge what they might think, I did feel it was running too long. This cut is 95 minutes, up from the 80 minute version that screened at Hatchfest, which feels much better. So I need to bring it down.

With new clips going in late some of the balance was effected and carefully constructed music was thrown off too. I still need to figure it out, I'm not entirely happy with how it's all sitting at the moment. I was. But now I feel it needs a bit more time to make it the best it can be. I don't think it's going to be done this side of Christmas. But I'm sure the filmmakers involved will understand this delay. I want to present their work in the best light possible.

I've digested the comments from the night, which were positive, and where critical, constructive. So I am now able to look at the film with new energy and some distance. So I'm looking forward to getting back into it and getting it out into the world.

Iscariot in the Attic

Just back from the reading of Iscariot at the Attic Studio. Great read through. Loads of fun, and really helped a lot. As you will know dear reader, we have been working on Iscariot (Formally Night) for a long time, since July 2008! So this is a mile stone in the progress of this script. And it was really nice to get it out of our heads and hear it out load for the first time. I through some light on what needs to be looked at, and there were a couple of things. Thankfully nothing major and nothing that can't be fixed in a short period of time.

The crowd were great, very generous with their time and their comments. Most people seemed to really like, with one or two issues, again stuff, that as a first draft, will need to be looked at. Again I think it's a script that you either get or you don't, the people who did rally connected with it, really like it and were on our wave length, understood where we were coming from and even compared it to films we talked about a lot while making it, Get Carter, No Country For Old Men and the like, which was really nice. The people who didn't seem to get it again I felt like they wanted it to be a different film. It's a very specific genre piece, so I understand that.

But the night was great, 5:30 to 10:30, so 5 hours! Wow! Didn't feel like that at all, flew by. I said it after the Ghoster reading back in January, the Attic is a fantastic thing, great people doing brilliant work and creating a secure and creative environment to take work in progress and help in the building of it. For us writers it's tough sending our work into the world, especially before it's finished, so many people are all to ready and willing to shoot it down, smash up and tear it apart. But the Attic provides an environment that nurtures rather then destroys. There are other institutes in the country that could learn a thing or two from them.

My thanks to the cast tonight, they did a fantastic job. And very special thanks to Camille, who organised the night and assembled everyone... and made us tea! Awesome as always! My thanks to the audience for coming out on such a miserable night and for all the feedback, it's really going to help us on the journey to getting this film made.

Stripped-Down, Raw and Angry.

A busy couple of weeks. I'm so grateful for everyone for the positive responses to the clip from 140. With regard the to the film itself, I had hope it would be finished by now, but I added in some new clips, which made the film longer and feel longer too. So I need to bring it down again. I also had a screening for the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland, which went great, but through up some issues. Not only from the comments for those present, but with myself as I watched it with an audience for the first time.

The general response was a positive one, but I felt while watching it, and people confirmed this afterwards, that it was too long, fatigue was an issue, simply because as the audience you were never sure when the film was going to end. So I need a little more time to pace it better and address that issue. I have an idea though, which I think will work well. The sound needs to be sorted out and timing with music, the new clips effected a lot of the previous decisions I had made with regard to that.

But overall it was a great experience. I think if I just take a little more time with it now it will be a better film for it. So bear with me a little longer!

In other news, Iscariot (previously Night) is in the hands of quite a few people at the moment and we are getting a very interesting response. It's the first script I've written that has divided people in such a polar fashion. People either love it of hate it - and I mean hate it!

It's a brutal and violent script, but it really seems to have effected it's readers, perhaps more than they would like to have been effected reading a script, and they have been none-to-pleased about it, which is great, it means we've done our job. The people who loved it are thrilled by it and have actually read it over and over. They find it visual, visceral, fast paced and thoroughly entertaining.

We wrote Iscariot to tell a story in a very specific genre. It's a B-Movie and a modern take on Film Noir, in a stripped-down, raw and angry way that is raging against the state of the country at the moment. And while it's not about that specifically, it is certainly draws from the feelings that are created because of this situation: angst, anger, panic, betrayal and disillusionment. I think we achieved that.

But it's odd, that's what the critics are criticizing it for, they don't seem to realize it's effecting them for that very reason, because it's successful. They don't want to take the script for what it is, they'd rather it be something different and interpret the negative feeling they have been left with as failure, it's not, that's how we want you to feel. We want you to be left with that sour taste in you mouth because that's what the film is about, it's a cry, a rage, it's angry and unapologetic for being so.

There's no escaping that, and why should we try? Why can't cinema be about pushing audiences to places they don't necessarily want to go and exploring these emotions. Take a film like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, much loved, but equally reviled. The people who hate it do so because it's so vile, failing to see how successful it actually is. The filmmaker has achieved what he set out to do. You don't have to like it, but you must not dismiss it out of hand because it's not The Sixth Sense.

But I guess some people are like that. I remember watching Roger Dodger with a friend once, she didn't enjoy it very much and at the end said, "it would have been better if it was a comedy with Adam Sandler!" ;)

All that is not to say the script doesn't need work, we have been working on it for a long time but it is still a first draft. To that end we are holding a reading of the script on Tuesday night with the Attic Studio, thanks again to Camille Donegan, who has organised it. So we're looking forward to that. It will help get the script out of our heads, let us hear it for the first time and we can gage a reaction from the audience as to how it plays. I'm sure it will have the same reaction as the private readings, there will be people there who love it and hate it alike! Hopefully more the former!

Not much else going on. Saw "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" and loved it, I'd highly recommend going to see it. Gilliam is awesome. Go see it.

The 140 Trailer

Good Week / Bad Week

As the title suggests it was both a good week and a bad week, in equal measures. It start off good. On Tuesday Thomas and I finished the first draft of 'Night', now retitled 'Iscariot', so we were both very happy about that. The script has been about 2 years in the writing! Very unusual for us, we're usually pretty quick.

Thomas came up with the idea 2007, I was in LA at the time. I was on the bus going from Sherman Oaks to Hollywood and he was here in Drogheda and we were texting back and forth (Cost me a bloody fortune!) But he told me his idea and I thought it was great. I was a little jealous to be quite honest, we were actually work separately at that stage, disillusioned by several years of rejected scripts lead us to go our separate ways for a time.

So I went about my business, when several months later, June 2008 in fact, Thomas and I met again at my Grandmother's funeral. We got talking at the wake, asking each other about what the other was working on, nothing really, so we decided that perhaps we should give it another go and see if we could write something new.

We met a couple of weeks later to talk about it. Thomas had a new idea for a short film. I thought about getting back to work on 'The Anatomist'. We figured trying to make another short was a waist of time. For the amount of time and energy that would go into it we could, should at this stage, make a low-budget feature film. And 'The Anatomist' would be a huge amount of work for no return. I mentioned Thomas' idea, 'Night', I said if you're up for it we could write that. Thomas said yes.

He had the start of the script, and a vague idea of how to get to the middle and, and the final scene and that was it. But it was enough. We sat down for two weeks and mapped out the story, we changed the entire centre piece of the film, the main action, added new characters, took a couple away and crafter the story, while trying to keep the feeling and atmosphere that existed in the original idea.

We blasted that into script form in the following two weeks. So by the end of the summer '08 we had a script to work from. Neither of us had any idea in would be another 14 months before we could call the first draft done. Life got in the way I guess. Thomas got busy at work. I ended up shooting Slán and 140, while Thomas started prepping an ill fated animated short called McBride. But nowhere along the line did we ever think we wouldn't finish it. We just took our time with this one. Let it breathe.

So it's in the hands of a few trusted people at the moment. We'll see what they think and figure out our next move after that. Hopefully it will be a step in the production direction!

Then came Wednesday. I was suppose to by shooting this week. I have a paying gig which is being delayed and delayed. Largely due to access to a camera, but also the weather. I finally got the camera, but it hasn't stopped raining since. Incredibly frustrating.

Same day I got word from Network Ireland Television their UK distributor was in town and they wanted to rush through a contract for Bill, For Short and get it onto their Documentary presentation DVD. Great news! But it also meant they needed a Beta. I don't have one! Unfortunately with cash being the way it is I couldn't afford to pay someone to transfer it. So I scrambled, to no avail, to find something. They then told me a mini DV would work for the time being - great I thought, I have the camera, no worries - you would think...

But I had tech issues on both computers and for some unknown reason and could not output the film to tape... maybe the firewire cable I have is out of commission, I don't know, but after the initial thrill of getting signed, I spent most of the day banging my head against the desk thinking it wasn't going to happen. Luckily they agreed to take a hi res .mov file on disc for now. But I still need to organise the Beta. That's a headache for another week!

Yesterday and today were washouts for filming, a week wasted on that job. The distraction of getting Bill, For Short organised and a few other things meant I didn't get a chance to work on the final cut of 140, so I'm a week behind on that. But I did get a call from Dermot O'Mahony, the composer, who popped in to have a look at the film, he liked it I'm happy to say and liked the situ of his music. Later that day he provided me with 2 new, and awesome tracks, with more to come.

Today was spent paying bills and posting films. I bought a cool toy chest/bench for the babies room fro next to nothing and a second biography of Sam Speigel for €3! Hurray! I also rented Drag Me To Hell for tonight in celebration of the season!

So all in all a week of ups and downs. But I guess more ups then downs. I still have lots of work to do before the baby arrives, domestic and film-wise. So hopefully time doesn't get away from me and I can get 140 finished and out to the filmmakers for their screenings. A week of ups would help!!!

Slan agus Beannacht Premiere

(Pascal Scott, Me & George "Bosco" McDermot at the screening)

A successful night last night. We had a good crowd, a full room. Everyone seemed to enjoy the film, good comments afterwards. Everyone involved in the film, cast and crew, seemed happy, so that made me happy! It was certainly a relief. So now it's out in the world. First public screening done!

It will be interesting to see where it goes next and on what journey this film takes me. I'm sure there'll be a few surprises! From passed experience I imagine it will take a couple of months to bite, maybe in the new year, then hopefully it will start rolling.

My thanks to everyone who attended last night, I appreciate you turning up and to everyone who came to the pub afterwards... especially the brave (drunken) souls who stayed on till 4am! Ouch! I was fine this morning I must say, I was secretly watching what I was drinking! I know a couple young Cork lads had a tad more and certainly paid for it this morning, if they hadn't told me I might have guessed from the grey tone to their complexion! - safe home boys! Thanks for making the trip.

Special thanks to Mark Kearns for the use of the space and helping to organise the event. And of course to my beautiful wife Maryann who spent all day preparing the food and then served it and the wine at the event, she was on her feet all day - and at 8 months pregnant that's no easy thing!

One surprise was how complementary people were of the song "Rest" at the end of the film, alot of people really liked it, some more then the film I think! So thanks again for the kind words! So here it is again for your listening pleasure ;)

There are a list of people I need to thank, so here they are:

Fundraiser prize sponsors:

Salthouse - Picturehouse Mural Design - The Wine Buff - Frames Unlimitied - Beulah Print - Kodak Express - Droichead Arts Centre - Free Spirit - Fox Jewellers - Eastern Seaboard Bar & Grill - Stockwell Artisan Foods

Jason Byrne

Paddy McArdle

Robbie Bonham

External Sounds

Drogheda Burrough Council

Dom Wilton

Briege King

Sharon Tuohy

Dundalk College Nursing Department (not right name)

McHughs Pub Drogheda

TP McHugh

Sandra Gough

Richie Quinn - Donnation

Marie Mulligan – Scholars

Shcolars Townhouse Hotel Drogheda - Accomadation

Anne O’Brien

Gary Delaney

Johnny Thornton

Patsy & Anne Fagan

Darren Thornton & Collette Farrell at Calipo Picture & Theatre Company

Camille Donegan

Mark Lebenon

Caroline Farrell

Crew

Eoin McGlaughlin - Lighting

Maryellen Darby - Make-up Artist

Sue Downey - Sound Recordist

Graham Newcombe - Sound on Last day

JJ Rolfe - Director of Photogrpahy

Cast

Paschal Scott – Pat

Tony Leddy – Office Manager

Rory Mullen – Liam

Elaine Reddy - Ann

Noel Kelly – Brian

Ann Russell – Mrs. Smith

Gerry Shanahan – Charlie

Frank Kelly - Bartender

Gary Clinton - Himself

Teen Gang

Shane Murray Corcoran – Paddy

Eric O’Brien – Anto

Conor Branigan – Freddie

Andrew Gallagher – Tom

Office Staff

Anne Lawlor

Eamon Lawlor

Wendy Tinsley

Maryann Kelly

Dom Wilton

Other credits

Sandra Tuohy – Medical Advisor

Dom Wilton – Production Assistant

Maryann Kelly – Production Coordinator

&

Eddie and Macka for help with equipment and Mark Kearns for the space for the screening.

Inspiration in the Heartland

I just wanted to mention the Heartland Film Festival, which begins today.

This festival changed my life, no question. It was great for me professionally, it lead to the sale of my first film and inspired and fueled me to carry on making films in difficult times.

I also made many great friends while attending. I remember in my acceptance speech I was swept away with the emotion of the event and the night and said "I've made friends in this room, that I'll probably have for the rest of my life, I didn't expect that to happen." Afterwards I kinda felt a like I was being a bit hooky! But as it happened, I was right, I made many great friends who I still stay in regular contact with 3 years on. In fact 10 of the 140 filmmakers are past Heartland award winners. And of course co-pilot and good buddy Elliot Kotek, who has been a good friend and support these past three years, I met at Heartland.

On a personal level I did of course meet my wife there, Maryann Koopman, now Kelly! She was the film researcher and coordinator and the one who found my film. We communicated professionally leading up to the festival. I remember our first conversation, I actually thought for a second that the first call from Jeff, the president of the festival, was a prank! I have comedian friends who have on occasion called with phony accents! But then Maryann called to organise things and fill me in, phew! I had actually won something!!! But little did I now that the woman I was speaking to would be standing in that very same room today as my wife of one year and pregnant with our first child - due in 7 weeks!

Emily's Song won the Crystal Heart in 2006 and Bill, For Short was an Official Selection in 2008. I have remained in touch with the festival and hope to screen again there someday with a yet to made film!

The festival shows a diverse range of exceptional films that promote and celebrate the human spirit. If attending you are guaranteed to be moved, inspired, awakened and changed.

Best of luck to everyone at the festival, hope you have a great year. And to the filmmakers, enjoy! It doesn't get any better than this!

The Last of the Rent Collectors

Here's the piece from Nationwide tonight. The sad story of the last of the Irish Rent Collectors, Bosco, the inspiration behind Slán agus Beannacht. Enjoy.

The Week So Far

It's been a busy enough week. Didn't touch 140 after the Hatchfest screening, kinda needed a break, but I'll get back on it for the final run in. Should be finished in a couple of weeks. Then I can explore dates for the premiere. I'm thinking late November.

Tomorrow night Slán agus Beannacht features on Nationwide (7pm RTE), should be interesting. The piece they did on Bill, For Short was nice, so I imagine this one will be interesting too. Bosco's a great guy anyway. He was down here yesterday with a photographer for a newspaper article. I'm not sure what newspaper. It's a piece by a freelancer who's going to try to sell it to the Star, Herald or Mail... so we'll see - will post.

I set a date for the Slán screening, October 16th, for cast & crew and guests. I'm not sure if there will be further screenings for others to see the film. I'll post if so.

Not much else going on. Looking at editing a documentary about a man who ran around Denmark with a ladder on his shoulder for charity. Just looking at the footage now. Wondering how I might carve out the time to cut it. Might prove impossible, at least this year. Has potential though.

Night is still on the back burner. We've given it to our wives to read, check for typos and any minor or major plot holes we may have missed, and basically to get a general reaction before sending it into the world.

Meantime here are a couple of new items: Piece today on IFTN and an interview I did with 140 filmmaker Kellie Ann Benz for her blog, The Shorts Report.

4000 miles

140 screened without a hitch at Hatchfest this week. It was quite nerve wracking on the day, even though I was 4000 miles away! Still, the idea that an audience anywhere was about to sit down to watch it was a scary prospect! Still, reports suggest they liked it thankfully!

(Some comments after the screening)

In other news, I'm back on Nationwide. This time with Slán agus Beannacht, my much delayed short film. It will be part of a piece about the man who inspire the film, Bosco, my old rent collector who was taken off the streets a placed in an office after 35 years of doing the same route. Sad really. Tune in at 7 on the 7th to hear his story and see some clips from the film.

I'm also holding a screening of the film on October 16th, 8pm, Boyne Books in Callan Artat Callan Art thanks to Mark Kearns, owner of Boyne Books, who is providing the space. Mark has been great, he has kept my Old Shoes and Broken Walls exhibition hanging for two months and provided the space for a recent Bill, For Short screening. Everyone should go down to Boyne Books and buy books from him today, he has a very unique selection of Irish history, literature and poetry - well worth a visit.

140 is Hatched

140 is getting it's first sneak peak screening this Thursday, October 1st at 5pm in Bozeman, Montana, USA, as part of Hatch Fest!

This is an exclusive sneak peak at a rough cut of the film. While 85 minutes long it is not yet finished. It's close. But I still have some clips to include, music to add, sound mixing to do and editing to finish. That's not to say I'm not happy with it as it is, I am, or I wouldn't be screening it!

I'm excited to be screening at Hatch, it's a festival I've been keeping an eye on for a couple of years and I think it's a good fit for this project. They seem to encourage and support new and diverse filmmaking. I'm only sorry I can't attend - and being as Bozeman happens to be my wife's hometown it makes our inability to go all the more disappointing. But I'm looking forward to hearing how it went. I hope we pull in a good audience and I hope they enjoy the film.

I will continue the cut soon, probably next week sometime. I expect some more clips in, some more music and I'll get down to a good sound mix and start trimming the fat. There were a couple of little things i wanted to do for the film but I ran out of time, things with the credits and some graphic stuff. I'll be able to get all that done for the premiere, which will hopefully be late November/early December time. I'll keep you posted of course!

Frank out.

First Cut Finished

That's right, the first cut is finished and will be winging its way to Hatch Fest tomorrow. Pulled an all-nighter last night, 20 hours straight on the computer, from 12pm on Sunday to 8:30am on Monday. I'm feeling fatigued! But it was worth it, and it needed to be done.

At the moment the film stands at 85 minutes. There are still some clips missing. So while unfinished, the Hatch preview will be close to the end film. The final film will feature the remaining clips, ten or so. But I'm happy with it. I think it works. I think I have what I set out to achieve - can't ask for more then that! But I had great footage to work with. Everyone involved did all the work, I just set the stage.

The music was a big and welcome surprise. I didn't think it was going to come together, but serendipity intervened and along came Johnny Crean, Eoin McCabe and Dermot O'Mahony! Johnny and Eoin provide several songs, which are great and Dermot came along with what ended up being a full score for the film, which is what I had hoped for! So the credits read: Music by Dermot O'Mahony, Songs by Johnny Crean and Eoin McCabe.

I had originally intended asking a known composer or band, but then the idea of using Independent artist dawned on me. It makes complete sense, the essence of this project is one of Independent filmmakers creating art together for nothing, stands to reason that the music should be by Independent musicians.

It's not finished yet, still some work to do, but it's a milestone. From an idea one sleepless night to this in such a short space of time is pretty amazing!

OK, it's late and I'm in need of sleep! More soon.

Ps. Here's an interesting link! Turns out I'm one of 7 fascinating filmmakers to follow on twitter, in a list that includes David Lynch and Michael Moore! Fair enough! Pretty cool though. Thanks Fast Company!

Would I rather be in the pub?

No, is the answer! I'm living the dream baby!

3:13am in the very early morning of Sunday the 20th of September. Outside my window the neighbours return from the pubs and clubs, drunk and merry, back to their home to their beds to their waiting wives, husbands and hangovers. I, on the other hand, am tucked up by the warm ambient glow of my Mac and the ever decreasing rendering bar that has become the bane of my existence.

I have 1 hour cut, perhaps a bit more. Still a ways to go. I still about 30 clips yet to tackle. Tomorrow will be full on, no question, and me thinks a day without sleep. I'll be hitting the hay after the current cut renders. Hence this post, killing time, 12 minutes and counting.

Music is coming together. As mentioned Johnny Crean dropped in a couple of tracks during the week. A nice swingin waltz called 'Dublin Blue Sky'. Works well with a couple of clips. Met with Dermot O'Mahony on Friday, the gave me a few tunes, I think I took 2 from the disc he gave me: Glacier and Proximity Flight 1 (which I was able to break into three usable sections - that's value for money!). Both instrumental pieces, all work really well in the segment I found for them. And Eoin McCabe dropped in today with some songs. Eoin's a damn fine singer songwriter and has a lot of nice tracks. I picked two from the disc, 'New Day' and 'It's Not Right', with more to come.

So the music has actually come together quite well, and quite quickly. I was worried about it. But it's worked out really nicely. The tracks certainly pull it all together. And it's really nice to be able to give room to indy artists too, and to friends. People I've known and listened to for years and who've entertained me in local pubs and club, nice to be able to give them a world stage of sorts.

I'm confident it's going to come together to be a really interesting film. I hope everyone involved agrees and I hope it finds an audience.

Well, 12 mintutes are up. Better trim this scene and then off to bed. I'm on the Pets sequence at the moment!

More later.

Another late one!

1am and still plugging away on 140. It's coming together. I'm happy with it so far. I have about 45 minutes down. It's tricky, no question.

Trying to find clips that match, that can sit side by side has been easy enough. The difficult part has been moving from theme to theme. The power of split-screen has been invoked, be warned! But I think it works, and I think the clips that play on screen at the same time are complemented and indeed enhance by one another.

Music has difficult. I have a temp track of popular songs that works well that will of course be impossible to use, even for non-profit/non-commercial festival us we're still talking €500 a song for one year! It adds up.

I wont have time to put the call out to indy bands before Hatch Fest, but at this stage I'm not worried about that. Hatch will be getting a working version. It's too close to have a finished film ready. The late clips and August ruled that out.

I'll keep cutting after Hatch (so for the late late filmmakers who thought they missed out there's still a chance send send send) and pull in as much on the music side as possible. I'll still have a decent cut for Hatch, it will feature all the clips I have and will be the best editing job I can do with the time I have. Have no fear there! But I wont consider this screening the world premiere, it's a preview of a work in progress. What I want to do for the premiere is something altogether more exciting and ambitious.

140 premieres around the world on the same day!

Yup, you heard me (read me!). As promised I'll send everyone involve a disc. That disc will be you master, so I suggest making an instant copy, putting it on your hard drive and then keeping it in a safe place... because I wont be sending replacements, I'll tell you that now! - Then I'll set a date that works for everyone and on that day I want you, the filmmaker, to organise your own screening in your hometown.

It can be as big or as small as you want it to be. You can have a party, do it in a club with guests. In a local theatre, roll out the red carpet, invite the local press. Or screen it at home with your family and/or friends. 140 premieres for 140. We'll make it a world event!

But that's all in the future (the not too distant future) first I have to finish the cut! So I better get back to work. More soon.

Ten Thousand Thank Yous!

I've reached 10,000 hits on this blog and I just wanted to say thanks for everyone who reads it.

I hope you find it interesting, informative and even inspirational in some way. I set it up three years ago as a kind of online journal about my own journey as a filmmaker. I've tried to be candid and honest and offer as much advice as possible.

I divided the blog into three some time ago, here, frankasides for links and tips and my photography, but Celluloid Journey as always been the main stay and I'm happy so many people have stopped by. I hope you will continue to do so.

Thanks again.

Best

Frank

Must be morning, because 'Night' is finished!

Well, we did it, 2 and half years since the idea was first mentioned and 14 months of sporadic writing, Thomas and I finished Night today.

It was a surprise, especially after losing a draft, having to write another new scene and figuring we would have to rewrite the ending, which as it happen we didn't, we thought there would at least be another two full days in it, if not more. But no.

The scene today was fun to write. It was something really old school, as the entire film is. Taking it's ethos from 30s and 40 s American cinema. Giving the audience something plenty to figure out, revealing only what's needed and no more, not being gratuitous with the action (although you might disagree if you read it!) giving the characters a dark and sinister past which is never entirely revealed, except in tantilising morsels.

I have to admit, there were times when I thought this script would never get finished, and I'm sure all the people who are waiting for it probably thought it too! I remember talking to people last summer about it, thinking it would be finished in a couple of months! One summer later, and into Autumn, here we are finally.

Tomorrow is for typos. Next week is for family members. The week after - trusted friends and then it goes out into the world and we begin the journey of trying to get it made. So hopefully this blog will be full of news on that front.

140 is going well. Last three days were long edit sessions, until 1.30am each morning. Writing today gave me a well earned rest so I can go back to it tomorrow with fresh eyes. I'm working on separated sequence, when they're done I'll out them together in an over sequence that works and begin pacing for the over flow.

It's late.

The edit is going well. Getting complicated and little tricky now though. Mainly because of the different types of files .avi .mov .mpeg .mv4 and so on. So lots of converting, and a hell of a lot of rendering, which slows the process down to no end.

My hard drive is also filling up fast. I feel like I'm in a leaky boat bailing out water - Hence the loss of the Night pages two nights ago. Luckily enough I remembered the scenes pretty well and managed to rewrite them in a short space of time.

Well, this cut is going to be rendering all night, so better go to bed. Or maybe I should give my computer a rest and render tomorrow while I write.

Anyway, that's Wednesday down. 13 days to personal deadline... will I make it?! Tune in next time kids to find out in an all new episode of "Frank edits a feature length film in two weeks".

That's all for now.

Back up Back up Back up

Always back up your files, and not just in one place, on your hard drive, an external hard drive, a disc, email it to yourself. I just lost a latest version of Night, and with it a scene we had been working on for a week. Admittedly the loss is not as bad as I had first feared. I thought I had lost all summer's work, but it was just a weeks work and one scene. Still, it was a bloody hard scene with a lot of nuances that are going to be hard to remember. Live and learn.

In other news, 140 is in full edit. It's coming together nicely, I'm happy with it so far. The opening sequence came in at 1.40 minutes, which was not planned! Must be on the right track then!

I'm still absent music, so will have to temp track and record my own stuff for now. Hopefully I can find someone soon, someone reliable! In my experience very hard to come by on the music front, which is why I've always done my own music.

So I'm concentrating on that entirely. With an aim to be finished entirely in two weeks from today ready to mail to Hatch Fest. Have no doubt. I'll make it. I have no choice. Nothing like a fire to get you moving!

More new soon.

Friday Sep 11 final Deadline for 140 Clips

Still getting 140 clips in, which is great! Shannon Mullen, James Gross and Zach Helm today, thanks guys. I still expect more but as you all know the edit has begun and you may also know that the first screening in scheduled for Hatch Fest at the end of this month. So I'm sorry to say any clips not received within the next week, say - by Friday 11th, are out! Sorry, but that's a 42 day extension on the original deadline and I just can't delay it anymore!!!

Hatch Fest has their new site up, looks great. Click here to see the featured films, including 140.

Slán agus Beannacht is screening as part of the film tent at Electric Picnic this weekend, tomorrow and Sunday, so nice little preview there before the official premiere. I wont be there myself, but for anyone heading that way it's on on Saturday at 3.57pm (why not 4pm I don't know, but there you have it!) and on Sunday at 7.43am (weekend of random times!) so you can watch completely exhausted from not having slept the night before... might help you fall asleep!

The screening is thanks to Brendan Phelan at Crewger.ie, Suzanne Murray at the Irish Film Board and of course the wonderful folks at Electric Picnic, thanks all. Also a special thanks to Noel Brady who organised the screener, thanks Noel.

T-time

Just a reminder guys! 140 T's still available!!!

A Day.

You may have noticed (or not) that my production company website www.palestoneproductions.com, is gone. That is because Pale Stone Productions is no more (as a Limited company at least.) Due to the current financial climate I have been forced to close the company I have been trying to build up over the last 4 years.

Thomas and I set up Pale Stone Productions in 2005 to house our own films. It was a name to work under as a creative team. But I always wanted more. I wanted to work with other people, to produce works by other writers (as I had tried to do with Caroline Farrell and her script Adam earlier this year.) It could have happened, should have, but what has been the best year of my life creatively has also turned out to be my worst year financially. If I had been in this position 3 or 4 years ago, Pale Stone Productions could have benefited hugely and grown a great deal.

It wont effect my creative endeavors, I will write the same scripts I had planned, I will promote Slán agus Beannacht as planned, I will edit and promote 140 as planned, but it will just be as myself, by myself and not under any other name or company.

The situation is increasingly frustrating when unable to acquire paying gigs, unable to find funding from the likes of the Irish Film Board or the local enterprise board, unable to even find a regular part-time job to support myself, and with a wife and baby on the way and bills falling into arrears needing to be paid, I find myself in a loathsome position - I am left with no other option but to sign-on and claim social benefit.

It is made even more frustrating by the fact that I have a company that I work at for 60 hours plus a week. I develop scripts, edit films, promote them, push them, the company and myself out into the world to gain some form of notoriety so I can build something worthwhile, something I can make a living from to support my family with.

But as I have found, there is no support or encouragement for that. The only support available to get out of the hole I am in is to sign-on, and to do that I must first give up everything I have worked for, and prove to them that I have nothing before they will help me.

So I have to strike-off the company. To do that I have to get a letter of no objection from the Revenue, then I have to advertise in a national newspaper that I am closing, cut out the ad and send that with the letter to the Companies Register Office to request that they strike me off. Here's the thing, to place this classified ad in the paper costs between €250 and €360! Which I don't have... so I have to spend money I don't have, making sure I have absolutely nothing, before I can apply to officially have absolutely nothing, before I can ask for help to get something! - Am I missing something here, or is that just Fucked?!

Can't I keep my company and continue to work at it, try to build it up and find an income with what I do best, what I'm trained to do? Can't they help me to do that? - NO. I have to give it up and seek work doing whatever else there is, sales person in a mobile phone store, a supermarket packer, a building site laborer, it doesn't matter what, so long as I find work. Which is fine and understandable, but in my opinion - a waste. I have skills as a filmmaker and as a writer. I have an award-winning company that just needs some more time, that could earn revenue if only I was allowed to keep it.

With the film industry in the country in crisis shouldn't everything be done to help me keep my company? Rather then forcing my to close it so I can claim a miniscule amount from social welfare to look for any old job. I don't want social welfare. I want to work, I want to keep working at what I do best and continue making films and continue working on creating new cinema in this country.

But I can't. There is no work out there. No one is willing to pay for it or to invest in it. So I must go back to where I was 5 years ago, back to square one to continue the struggle because of the choice I made to be a filmmaker. Although, with 14% of the country in the same boat I'm not sure it's just because I'm a filmmaker. This recession has hit Ireland hard and there doesn't seem to be any kind of up turn.

Be assured, regardless of what I have to do to stay afloat financial in this testing times I wont abandon my projects, especially not 140. It's going ahead as planned and I'll be putting the same amount of effort into finishing it as I did into starting it. So I will continue to update this blog as if nothing has changed, and if somehow you have this post erased from your memory then it will be like nothing has changed. I wont let the bastard get me down. I have to much to do.

--

I must admit I hit a low point today. I was feeling somewhat despondent. So I ventured out, away from the job searches and pile of bills on my desk. First to pick up my photos from Boyne Books (my exhibition ended yesterday) but the owner Mark said I could keep them hanging there for another week and that he would drop them up to my house - great!

Then I walked over town. Feeling somewhat parched I thought I would drop into one of my fav coffee shops when I suddenly remembered I had no money, so I changed direction - and walked straight in a Coke promotion where I was hand a free can - nice!

Then I walked through a mall, where I saw a tiny Nike shoe, and ahead of that, a tiny shoeless person, being pushed in a stroller by an oblivious parent. So I picked it up a ran, eventually catching up to a very thankful parent - good deed for the day!

Then I checked my bank and as it happened I had money in there for once, hurray! So I decided I would go for lunch. On the way back trough the mall, drinking my free coke, another happy free-coke-drinker smiled at me and raised his can, I raised mine back - that made my laugh inside!

On I went for lunch to my regular spot, but for some reason my card would not work - don't know why. So I went to an ATM, but I couldn't take money out!?! Slightly embarrassing. I went back to the cafe, they were already toasting my sandwich, to apologise, but they said it was fine and credited me because I'm a regular! Thanks guys.

I think the universe was on my side today!

On me Holliers!

I'm off for a week. Computer is going off. Phone is going off. I will be unreachable! Hurray and Hurrah!

Finishing up a few things today, burning off Slán for duplication, sending out a few last email and working on finishing the first draft of Night (only took a year). Emails concern 140 and I'm happy to say the majority of them seem to have worked this time, so we can mark a few of the MIA filmmakers off the list. The plan is to start the edit on the 31st - a full month behind when I had hoped to start, tut-tut.

I hope once I get cutting and find a rhythm it will move along quickly. Music is the main thought on my mind right now and the sourcing there of. I'll probably do a lot of temp myself, maybe if some stuff works it can stay, but I have a couple of possibilities for some original and exceptional indy artists who could bring a lot to the project. Will keep you posted.

I'm psyched about finishing Night tonight -that's if we do! I hope we do! May not, still have a new scene to create from scratch and some character development to do. It will be close. I would hate to leave it for a week so close to the end, but Thomas is forever dropping off the map, so I thought I deserved a break for once! Haven't had one for a while. My back, and brain, need it!

So fare-thee-well for a week or so. Live, love and grow. Take pride. Take care. Look left and right when crossing. Sing load. Sing proud. Sleep well. Sweet dreams. Stay safe. Stay calm. Breathe. Look. Taste. Touch. Make love. Make bread. Call a friend. Have a beer. Watch a movie... make it a good one. And until we meet again... au revoir my friends.

New Song "Rest"

Here's a song I wrote for Slán agus Beannacht. Enjoy.

That's a Lock

I'm happy to announce that my third short film Slán agus Beannacht is locked.

I finished the music in the couple of hours I had free while waiting for the Nationwide crew to arrive last Friday. As you may have guessed from the previous entry, below, I was feeling somewhat dejected about the music. Nothing was gelling. Nothing was right.

But then I played something very simple and familiar to me, some chords I've been messing around with in one form or another for years. I recorded them and listened back. While listening, I sang the lyrics from the previous song in my head - they didn't quite fit - but I found that if I cut the sentences in half - without losing the meaning - they fit perfectly.

So I recorded the new chords, with some complementary chords and picking laid on top and some synth strings over that and then sang the new lyric atop that and from all that came a very sweet, honest and fitting song for the end of the film.

I dropped it in and by some uncanny coincidence it fit perfectly, I mean time-wise. I didn't time it out at all. I figured I might have to fade out at the end, but I didn't - the final note was struck on the final fade out - spot on. It was meant to be and so it stayed and that was it. Done.

Something of a coincidence too that the Nationwide crew showed up an hour later to conduct the first interview for the project! Nice bit of promotion to begin with. Plenty more to come. Now begins the festival run, and I do mean to push this one out into the world. Hopefully it will find a home, as the last two have done. But first the premiere, a local screening and something of a party I think!

Happy days indeed.

Music Box!

Busy day today, this morning began with a trip to the music store to buy a mic jack for my computer. My dad and I took the opportunity to jam a bit on the Lowdins and Martins - nice!

Then home to begin recording the music for Slán agus Beannacht, the final step in getting the film completed.

A disaster!

It started with a slapstick scenario the likes of which Laurel and Hardy would have been proud - tangled leads, mic stands knocking over stacks of books, tripping over a stool, getting tangle in headphones... after the slapstick came the technical - the computer would not pick up the mic, no matter what I tried. After 45 minutes I finally got it working - only to find it was recording at a very low volume. I adjusted all the levels, but it was no good. Anyway, decided to record - wasn't happening! Too low with a really bad hiss. So I gave up. Will try again tomorrow.

The afternoon and evening went much better!

My friend Mark called in to have a look and the grade and sound mix on Slán (he had seen the previous version) and agreed it was much better (thanks again to Rob Mullen and Mairtin De Barra for the sound links). So I was happy about that. Once the music is done I'll lock it and start organising the premiere and the getting of it out into the world.

This evening was a screening of Bill, For Short in Boyne Books. It went really well, a small crowd of about 20 people turned up, it was a small enough room and they filled it up nicely, kept it intimate. We watched the film, the behind the scenes and a poem and visual piece Marc put together, inspired by the film, which was really nicely put together. The film got a good reaction. It still amazes me how, for such a cheap and quickly made film, it connects with and moves people.

Marc is now talking about putting together a short film night with films from the area, which would be great. So hopefully there'll be more news on that soon.

Got a couple of 140 clips in today too, which was nice, so they're still coming in thankfully! Hopefully I can start thinking about the edit soon. I'm aiming to screen at Hatch Fest in October, so hopefully the late clips wont cause us to miss that opportunity! Keep 'em comin' guys, keep 'em comin'!

That's all for now, more news soon.

Today was spent grading Slán agus Beannacht! At last, didn't take as long as I though once I got stuck in. So that's finished now. All I need are some sound effects to fill it out in place and the music, which I will most likely compose and record myself... it's cost effective!!!

Evening writing sessions on Night from here on in, just like the old days. When Thomas and I would write while he was working he would call in on the way home, usually around 8pm and we would write until 10 - 11. It was great, I am definitely a night writer. I tend to slip into the Vampire hours, which I enjoy. Those days will probably be gone soon!

So he's due in soon and we're going to write till mid-night, 20 pages or so to go. Looking forward to it.

Looking back.

I worked in this factory when I was a kid, 10 or 11, over 20 years ago (getting old!) my Uncle owned an Aluminum fabrication company. My Dad worked there and I spent a summer as a helper. Third floor, the windows to the left of the long central arched window.

It was fun. I remember the wide open factory floor with just four or five workers at separate benches at different jobs. The big windows with the light streaming in and the view out to the river.

It's closed now and falling down. Apartments had been planned before the recession hit, but that never moved forward. Now it stands crumbling and fenced off. Another childhood memory surrounded by corrugated Iron fences - still, hasn't stopped me finding a way in. I believe I have that right. It holds some of my memories, part of my history, after all.

August Begins

The Nationwide spot was great, lots of positive reaction and I thought they did a good job. If you missed it you can catch on the RTE Player, I'm at 16'36" if you want to skip the first two reports (which are also interesting, about craft Galleries around Ireland).

As mentioned below the film and exhibition that feature in the piece is now available to view in Boyne Books, Callan Art, Narrow West Street, Drogheda. I hung the pictures yesterday and they'll be there until the end of the month.

--

In other news, Thomas and I unfortunately did not get to finish Night yesterday, we got close and there's not much left, but as with our schedule it might be some time before we get back to it now. We created a lot of news scenes from the original draft. I think we've really created two strong lead characters, which we didn't have before. It was rather mechanical, just bare bones. We've added the meat over the last two weeks.

We have two new scenes to add, which we've talked about and are really cool, one in particular, it's old school! It's really added something to the flavour of the entire piece and captured what we're trying to do with it. So can't wait to get in and write that.

I shouldn't take more then a week to finish it, when we can get to it that is! Then the wives get to read it - tell us if we've had our heads up our arses for a year! If they don't and think it's good, then we'll organise a reading where we'll get it out of our heads for the first time in that year and really see what work and what doesn't. And then it's out into the big bad word to try and get it made.

--

News on other projects:

Angelina:

Shelved. As I missed the application, which it was written specifically for, I'm not going to put any more energy into it. Although I love the idea and I'm happy with the script, for something that complicated and potentially expensive I'd rather put the energy into getting a feature film made. I was very sorry to lose that chance.

Bad Moon:

I watched The Mist last night and totally loved it, but it got me thinking about my monster script again! I do love monster movies! So may try to carve out some time to refine that script, I think there's a lot in there that works, but plenty that needs to be over hauled. After all, it's been 4 years since I wrote it.

Ghoster:

Not forgotten. It's always on my mind. I still haven't got back to it yet, which is a good thing in a way, means there's been plenty else going on, but it is a script I would like to finished and see if there's a home for it. It's a film about painters working on a site and it was written in the middle of the boom, so I may need to rethink certain aspects of it.

Slán agus Beannacht:

Being coloured and wont be to far away, so you'll be hearing plenty more about that soon as I begin to promote it.

140:

Still a few to get, it's reached the cut off deadline Aug 1st! But I still have 40 clips to get back, so I may have to delay the edit unfortunately! I've done all I can to remind people, I'm just hoping the remaining filmmakers will send their clips out soon! - Please please send me you clips guys! I need them to complete the film!

I hope I get them all soon, as mention I have a baby on the way and if the edit runs into the birth 140 will be delayed inevitably - and I don't want that to happen. I would like to have it finished before the birth.

I don't want to begin cutting until I have all the clips I'm going to get because as you may or may not know there is a rhythm to editing, every image will lead onto the next and to the next and so on. As I cut there will be a flow, a rhythm, just like in a song and I wont be able to just drop a scene in, like drop a new chord in the middle of an already well constructed song, it would completely mess up the melody, you would have a bug 'Clunk' in the middle of the song that would pull you out of it! Tacking late clips on at the end wont work either, otherwise the ending wont make any sense. It all needs to be cut as one, at least, it does for me. So hopefully I can do that soon.

--

That's me. Lots on, lots to do, hopefully I can continue to work on all these projects and bring a one or two to fruition. I will of course keep you all posted!

I'll leave you with this, a friend of mine, director Mark Lebenon, recently visited the wonderful and completely mad Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal Canada with his film Slam Bang, here's an interview he did during his time there. Enjoy!