Welcome to the 140 NATION.

First On-Air interview for 140 this morning at LMFM, a radio station here in Drogheda that cover the entire North-East of Ireland, broadcasting to upwards of 300,000 people I believe! Eek! If I had have known that before I went on I might have been a little more nervous!!! - Probably not though, Daire Nelson always makes me film welcome and comfortable. It was a short interview, but great to start getting the word out and nice to talk about the film. hopefully it's the first of many! (I will be posting a recording soon - stay tuned!)

I've done some new designs for the 140 logo, the flag design (pictured above). I will be making it available on the T-shirts soon, one for each of the 23 countries that took part in the film. It has also reminded me of the idea I had to continue the 140 project and I suppose I can announce it here for the first time!

I want make a 140 film in as many countries as possible. I want 140 filmmakers in every country to shoot a 140 film for that specific country - 140 USA, 140 Canada, 140 Australia, 140 France and so on. A huge undertaken, yes, but I think it good be fun and interesting. Obviously Impossible for me to do it alone, especially if we can organise a global 140 day, were each of the 140 countries shoot their footage on the same day... can you imagine?! With 195 countries in the world that could potentially be 27,300 filmmakers shooting at the same moment worldwide! How mind-bogglingly awesome would that be!!!

To do it I would need to set up one producer per-country to do exactly what I did for the original 140. It would be their job to recruit from their own country and then co-ordinate and edit the footage, or at least work with an editor. I would set them up with a process plan, press kits, designs etc. I would over see it as the main producer to keep quality control in check!

To be quite honest I'm not sure this would be possible without some money. It's a huge commitment to the main producer involved, we're talking 6 months of nearly full-time, day to day work. Recruiting is difficult, getting the clips in is fun, but hard to chase people down and editing takes a lot of thought, time, you also have music to consider (It would be a great opportunity for local indy bands to get in on the action and get their music out to the world - that's what I did)

So that's my idea for the future of 140. It's in it's early stages, and still may of may not happen, but there it is. I call it 140 NATION © Frank W Kelly 2010.

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I also want to give a shout out to a young and talented actor and Drogheda-man, Colin O'Donoghue, who recently landed a role in the new movie The Rite (based on the Matt Baglio book), starring alongside Anthony Hopkins. I've been acquainted with Colin for a few years and always thought he had what it took to become a star (That's why I was always getting him to read my scripts!) he's an exceptional actor. Well done Colin and best of luck!

Recent Activity

Here's a recent Article from my local Newspaper, the Drogheda Independent, giving a mention about the Newport Beach Film festival Premiere! Great, always a little moment of pride when the local paper picks up on your work!

Also, received my 140 T-shirt from Cafe-press this morning, it's great! I love it!!! Nice quality fabric and the logo came out great! I'm excited! I'd recommend one ;) You can show all your friends how cool you are if you buy one!!! I have to admit, the profit margin on these things is miniscule, I won't be getting rich! But I thought it'd be a fun and cool thing to have and make available - and it is! Very happy.
Any other news... the fanpage is tipping 1,400 fans! Which is great! I've started a new thing, each day I'll mention a new 140 filmmaker and link to their website, so if you become a fan and check in each day, you'll find out more about the talent involved. And there's a lot of talent there, believe me!

Away from 140 I've started a new project with Elliot Kotek (once again) and photographer Scott McDermott. It's quite different and very unique. And it's got one hell of a cast list!!! I'm really excited about it. It's going to be good, but I wont say too much about it yet. We're just getting started and we have a few lose ends to tie up - watch this space!

Writing Exercise

As I've mentioned on several occasions here in the blog Thomas and I have been working on a script for a while now, first entitled Night then Iscariot. Often thought to have been finished, only to have been proven otherwise upon further probing and through several different writing exercises, all of which revealed there was a lot more to do.

It all began with a simple, if not somewhat incomplete, idea from Thomas. I came on board and together we completed the idea and began the script, adding several new characters and situations. The blast draft (to coin a phrase - ie. the first draft is usually just blasted onto the page without too much thought and couldn't really be considered a draft, rather a platform to work from) took a couple of months - Thomas and I don't write together on a regular basis, we grab a day, a morning, an afternoon, an hour, wherever whenever we can. I guess we're lucky though, we've been writing together almost 10 years, so we know each other and each other habits very well, we can always pick up where we left off very quickly and we're very intuitive when it comes to writing, often finishing each other sentences and one saying what the other is thinking - happens a lot, where I'll suddenly light on something and Thomas will say exactly what's in my head before I get a chance, or visa versa. We're usually on the same wave length, which is great.

Then we began work on the first draft, this probably took 6 months and when we got to the end we were very proud and happy with it. We sent it out to some people to read. The reviews were mixed, and it seemed to divide the readers right down the middle - some people loved it, were thrilled and utterly excited by it, others - HATED it! They were reviled by it, and they seemed to me anyway to be at pains to hold back insults! But that was fine, we actually quite enjoyed the fact that it effected people so much! We knew then it was a very specified audience we were aiming at, people would either love this film or hate it, get it, or not. And that was fine with us. Forget the people who hated it in that case, we knew we were never going to please them. So we went with what the people who loved it and probed them a little more. They still thought there were holes and mechanical faults within.

Next we held a rehearsed reading of that draft at the Attic studio with a cast of about 13 actors. It was interesting, insightful, very useful and of course loads of fun. We began to understand very quickly what was working, where we were repeating ourselves and how characters were standing up. The audience reaction was equally useful, they spoke at length about what they liked and disliked. Again, certain mechanical faults began to emerge, character's whose presence and actions made no sense, repetition, tone - some people found it very funny! Something we didn't aim to do. We were writing a harsh dark thriller after all. But in all honesty, the writing of it was loads of fun and we spent most of the time laughing with glee as we wrote these scenes, perhaps that came across?!

We came away with some thoughts, but I think I was more confused and muddled then I was before. I had started to get too close to the project and could no longer see the wood from the trees. I needed distance. And that's what I got, about 4/5 months. I went off to finish 140 and have a baby!

We eventually came back to it and upon the suggestion of another reader, who also enjoyed it immensely, we sat down to write of a Beat Sheet. Honestly I had never heard of one, or at least I had, but never knew what one looked like. It's basically the script broken down beat by beat, or action by action. Every time a new action happens you bullet point it. I did this, single spaced, paragraphed for each sequence, it worked out at about 1 page of beats to every 10 pages of script and it was incredibly helpful, perhaps even more so than the reading (though the distance probably helped as well)

Straight away I could see repetition. I could see were characters were not taking part in the action, for example, one of the main characters hardly featured in the beat sheet, even though they were only almost every page - because they weren't taking part, they were just spectating. I began to see character flaws in the main characters, his actions were schizophrenic when broken into points, one minute he was clear and focused, next he was angry and unpredictable. Didn't make any sense. From this we began to work on characters and their relationship. But even so, there was something not quite working, an elephant in the room we were ignoring, without realising we were doing so.

At this stage we had been on this script for 1 1/2 years! Longest I've ever spent on a script. But I never felt like walking away. I enjoyed every moment of writing it, even when it got frustrating, I figured it was worth sticking with. But we were stuck, no question. We began trying to restructure the script to make it work. But we had written ourselves into a corner and every time we tried to move scenes around, the whole thing fell apart. We had given ourselves to many restrictions. We began to see that there was something severely wrong, deep inside and we were skating on very thin ice. A turn in any direction could spell disaster!

So Thomas gave the script to a colleague of his, Paul Freeny, the head of the Masters in Screenwriting in the National Film School IADT. He's observations and thoughts turned everything on it's head. He questioned everything, and asked the simplest questions we hadn't even thought about asking, things that just got to the heart of the script. Like "What's it about?" and "Whose story is it?" - simple, yes, but fundamental and essential to know and be aware of every step of the way. I think we had been meandering somewhat, we knew what it was about, but we had taken detours with other characters. We needed to refocus everything toward what the film was about, the journey of our main character.

He pointed out that the main premise, the set up within the film, didn't hold water - this was our elephant, what we had avoided looking at, when we were forced to look at it the scale of the problem became very clear. The script could have fallen apart at that stage, except for one very simple suggestion by Paul, to change one specific characters actions. Once we did that, everything slotted back into place and the script worked beautifully, better than before! It was incredibly freeing! - There's a reason Mr. Paul Freeny is the head of the Masters in Screenwriting at the National Film School! His observations were clear, concise, honest and cut to the heart of the script, but they were also positive and constructive. It really is hard to come across good advice when it comes to work like this, people are so subjective and often base their thoughts on their emotional reaction to a piece and come back with what they would write, which is never helpful, they're different people with different views and tastes who want to tell a different story (I've done it myself!) But Paul's advice was invaluable.

We started again, with new verve. We restructured the script, we changed characters, motivation and their relationship to one another. It quickly became a much richer piece. The ending changed and yesterday, to make it better, we added a new character, who's added a whole other dimension. This new found clarity has given us the freedom to get creative again and every scene has been given an added depth, texture and flavour because of it. I'm loving writing this script now and I love the script. I really do think it's good, perhaps the best thing Thomas and I have done.

Right now were completing the new beat sheet, based on these changes we've made, making sure we're clear on them before we start the script. That way we'll only have one more draft to do. We still have the climax of the film to write - it take place in a different location and is somewhat more exciting then it had been. So that needs a total rewrite. The plan is to do that on Friday, then complete the beat sheet and then start the real first draft, the one we'll be sending into the world and asking people to invest in! Easy! Only took two years!

What I've learned from this experience is that there are many different ways to write a script, and every new avenue you explore opens up new possibilities. But what's important is to remain focused of the what kind of story you're trying to tell. Figure out what it's about and stick to it. Who's story is it? And tell that story! As tempting as it is to meander and explore other stories along the way, you have to stay focused on the job in hand, maybe those stories will make other scripts someday!

It's also important to stick with it and push it. If you feel it's not working, never say "it'll do," push it, find a way to distance yourself from the material, whether that's by staging a reading, doing a beat sheet, having trusted people read it, taking time away from or all of those, then do it, it's worth it and your script and the work you've put it should be worthy of it. If you know you're onto a good thing then don't give up on it. Do whatever you have to do to make it work.

Ps. Sorry to be so vague about what it is we're writing, I'm sure all this would be a lot more interesting if I could actually refer to the script and specific examples, but I'm sure you can understand why I'm not divulging! Hopefully someday, when it gets made, I can delve deeper into the process of writing the script and pick specific examples! Thanks for reading.

Exciting News!!!

I'm excited to to announce that the World Premiere of 140 will be held at the Newport Beach Film Festival in California, USA, at the end of April. This is a fantastic festival and a great honour to have it be the first official screening of our film.

The festival is 11 years old and has premiered some great films, Crash and Dogtown and Z-Boys among them. It runs from April 22nd to 29th and I hope to be able to attend... still not sure on that one though. But I'm sure all of the California filmmakers will be able to make it down and represent!

This is a great platform to launch 140 into the world. I've already had interest from other festivals, so I'm hoping this is the start of many good things to come for 140.

Here's an article from Australia's number one film magazine Film Ink: A Film Worth Tweeting About!

Hurray for the Internet!

I'm finding it hard to keep up with my blog at the moment, because every time I sit down to my computer I keep getting bowled over! I'm talking about the response for the 140 fan page on facebook! This day last week 140 had 123 fans. I think it had been at that for a few weeks. I decided it was time to do something about that so I emailed links to the filmmakers, asking them to ask their friends. Today, 6 days after I sent that request out, the 140 fan page has 1,152 fans!

It was quite something watching it shoot up to 300 and 400 in a day. When it got over 800 by Wednesday I thought, first: Whoa! and then - why not try for 1000 by Friday - and so we did. So thanks to everyone who are spreading the word.

It's an interesting process, making and marketing a movie online. I watched Julie & Julia last night, enjoyable film, but it was interesting to watch the journey of a new blogger, I mean before blogging even took off to the extent that it did. Internet-wise 2003 seems like age ago. I suppose it is in terms of how far technology has come. So much has changed. I can't imagine quite being able to do what I'm doing now back then... Maybe. I didn't own a computer until 2003 - with limited internet access. It wasn't until 2004 I had full use of the internet. How it changed my life! I remember when all this was farmland! Now look where I am, 140 certainly wouldn't exist without out it. I don't think I'd have a lot of the friends and connections I have now and I'm sure a lot of the opportunities I've had would not have happened.

However I do sometimes feel chained to the thing with this whole other online existence! It does become tiring, I do occasionally suffer online fatigue and suddenly feel like my head is about to fall off or pop. I know I'm over doing it when my online world start invading my dreams, when I start to dream tweet, or update my facebook dream status. In those moments I need to get out, leave, no matter what I'm in the middle on. Take a walk. See the world. Have a coffee in a cafe and remember what it's like to write with a pen on paper.

But the thing is, as I explained to a friend who wasn't quite down with acquiring fans before they've seen the film, I have no other avenue to market my work, at least not this piece. Being an independent filmmaker, one who struggles alone and is unemployed and broke, it is nearly impossible to get my films out to the world. Unfortunately I can't afford to promote my films, I can't afford festival entry fees, many of which are just crazy! Entry fees are anything from $15 all the way to $100, usually around the $50 mark though. At the moment even buying envelopes, blank DVDs and postage is out of my reach! The best I can hope to do is ask my friends to help spread the word, get people interested and get them wanting to see it.

But thankfully, with the internet and the likes of twitter and facebook, there are ways of doing that. In the way digital technology put the art of cinema into the hands of the poor, the internet has done the same for getting those films out, letting the world know they exist and enticing an audience to watch it. It's an amazing thing. I feel lucky to live in this age. Even as I finish writing this I've noticed 140 has gone up 7 fans to 1159!

Hurray for the Internet!

The New 140 Posters!

Here are the new "140" posters, ran them up over the weekend. The top one should give you a sense of what's to come!

Limbo dancer.

I'm somewhat in limbo at the moment. Not much going on, 140 is finished and waiting to release it. Just putting press kit together, doing some design for images and poster etc. Hopefully wont be too much longer before the filmmakers can see it and I'm thinking end of April May for release. Hopefully I can give details about the premiere soon.

Meantime I'm not doing too much. I don't really have any projects I'm starting right now. First time in over a year! Feels strange. I'm still working with Thomas on the new script, this draft is going really well. But that's a long term thing, if we get to make it I see it being next year at the closest, maybe even the year after!

I've been playing with an idea using the internet community structure developed with 140 on a new project. This one is a bit more involved and would require a lot more from the filmmakers. I don't know, needs a bit more thought before I decide wether or not to go ahead with it, and start looking for filmmakers again. It may also require some money! Needs some more planning. I think it could be good though. Might be one for the Summer?!

Although I have a couple of short scripts I'm not that keen to start any new short films at the moment. I'm really just waiting to get 140 out and see what that does. I also have Slán agus Beannacht under my belt. I feel bad that I have pushed that out. A lot of people put a lot of work into it and I think deserve to have it seen. I think the film deserves to be seen. I'm proud of it. But it's money. It's tight at the moment and dvds, packages, festival entry fees are just an extravagance I can't afford right now.

Well better sign off, I hear the baby crying! A new chapter has begun, and is calling! More news soon.

Today's 4cast

Some exciting news today, Channel 4, one the UK's largest Broadcasters, has just acquired Emily's Song for broadcast!!!

This is fantastic news for us, we're thrilled. It came completely out of the blue. Nothing seemed be happening with Emily's Song and we figured it's time was up. But no, there's still life in the old girl!

Channel 4 has always been one of my favourite channels. Although I've had the misfortune in recent years of being in locations where I can't get it for some reason. I was very excited when they launched their youtube channel 4oD and I was able to catch up on many of my favourite shows! Channel 4 do great documentaries and great comedy, and I'm a sucker for Grand Designs!

So we're excited, thrilled, over the moon. I'm not sure when the air date will be, but rest assured as soon as I know I will post it. My thanks to our distributors Network Ireland Television for their tenacity.

140 + Final Cut = Done

Yes indeed. January 27th 2010. I've just burned the first disc. I'm excited, little tired, exhilarated and thrilled it's done. Looking back I realise that it's one month shy of a year since I came up with the idea! Beat the year!

I had hoped to have it finished by the end of August last year, which of course wasn't to be. That stretched to September, to October, to November, December was out entirely and I'm just grateful, thanks to the unbelievable patience and support from my wife (who happened to have a baby in the middle of all this) that I managed to get it finished before the end of this month.

I'm happy with how it's turned out. I kept a promise to myself, which was to leave no man/woman/filmmaker behind. That is to say every clip I got was going in. Which made it a little difficult. Normally if something isn't working, for whatever reason, rhythm, timing, theme, quality, it would end up on the cutting room floor (or computer bin), but not here, everything needed to find a home, and I think it did. I hope you agree!

It's running at 82 minutes, which feels right. The music has worked out brilliantly. 4 Original Songs by Eoin McCabe and the Ventilin Pimps, 'Dublin Blue Sky' by Johnny Crean and samples from Terrence Boylan songs 'Miso Soup' and 'Ice and Snow'. And of course where would I be without the fantastic score from Dermot O'Mahony, his music fits perfectly. I think he really captured and understood the spirit of the footage and the film and gave it an overall over.

It will be interesting to see what people think of it. I'm not sure how it will go down. I hope people like it. But it's such an unusual piece. Sometimes I think it would be better suited as an installation piece in a gallery, rather then a film in theatre. It's not your average viewing experience. I hope the audience quickly figure out what it is and are willing to go along for the ride. Personally I find it quite a mediative experience, almost hypnotizing, it's something you can get lost in and enjoy the diversity, never knowing what's coming next. We'll just have wait and see.

I plan to get the film to the filmmakers as soon as I can. At the moment burning and shipping over 100 dvds is not financial viable for me! So I'll make it available to download. My plan for releasing there after is to ask every filmmaker to hold their own screening on the same day worldwide, while also premiering the film on that day online on Vimeo for 24 hours. That's the plan anyway. I'm not sure when that will happen, most likely early March (maybe on my birthday - 11th?!) I just need some time to drum up interest again.

So now I'm on the road. The hunt is over, the prep, the thrill of filming, the anticipation of waiting to get all the videos, the disappointment from those who flaked, the thrill from those who far excelled my expectations and the edit, all over, all done. Now we see if it works.

I hope it does!

As a pat on the back I think I should get an iPad! ;)

Almost Done.

Yarrow Kraner - Bozeman Montana

I'm quite close to being finished 140. I know I've said that before, but this time it's true, and this time I don't have things like Christmas and having a new baby to distract me! There's only so much cutting I can do after all.

I'm happy with how it's turned out and at the moment I'm just trimming the fat, smoothing the edges. I've set up a couple of pages, the 140 facebook page, so you can send a friend request and keep updated on facebook.

There is also the 140 vimeo page, where I will premiere the film at a tba date. Also where I will upload all the videos in there entirety for everyone to see. There's nothing up there at the moment, but I'll post links when there is.

That's all for now. Back to the choppin block. There will be news soon and I will make the film available for all the 140 filmmakers in the coming week/weeks. There after we can set a date to hold our premieres, with enough time to generate some press and attention.

More soon. Stay tuned.

Cccrrreeeeeeeaak...

is the sound my body is making as I reposition myself in front of the editing desk to begin the final cuts on 140 after 6 weeks absence. As you may or may not know, I'm sure the 140 filmmakers will, I had hoped to get the film finished by the end of November, and almost did. But alas it wasn't to be. With a baby due on December 6th I had more pressing things to attend to. And rather then rush 140 I thought it best to leave it to one side for a few weeks and give it the time it deserved.

That time is now. As I procrastinate by writing the blog entry the file sits open and waiting. There isn't too much left to do, really just bring it down in time. The cut for hatch fest was 85 minutes long, which ran really well, but then I added late clips, witch brought it up to 95 minutes for the directors guild screening, and that did feel too long. I still have 4 clips to add, the final 4, and I'm sure they'll push it over 100. From that I need to bring it down to 80 minutes, if not shorter.

I'm not going to cut for the sake of cutting, and I'm not hung up on a time for the sake of a time, but I do feel, for this kind of film, the audience may not endure much longer with purely visual clips, no narration and often no coherence between clips. It needs to flow, move quickly and be paced so it feels like a pleasurable journey, rather then a laboured hike - which it was beginning to feel like at the screening directors guild screening. I'm confident I can do it. The material and the quality is there. I just need to trim it a little.

As far as the screening goes, as mentioned before, 140 individual screenings would be great if people were still up for that - again, as large or small as the filmmaker wants. Me personally, I'll probably screen in a local gallery, with an audience of 50 or so.

I also plan to have the world premiere, as such, online, and perhaps have the film up for one day so anyone who wants to can view it. Then take it down to begin a festival run. Perhaps the same day as the 140 premieres? I will keep you all posted.

Thanks for baring with me. I know the steam can quickly dissipate from these things and excitement and energy wane. But hopefully we can get this train rolling again and get this film into the world, where it came from, where it deserves to be once more.

OK, enough procrastination, here we go... wish me luck!

Two Thousand and Ten or Twenty Ten, which are you?

2010, we made it in one piece, took a while to get here, but here we are. I have plans for this year, I thought I might share them with you. Maybe look back a year from now and see if I achieved any of them. I'm happy to say I achieved most of last years plans, plus some surprises. So we'll see how this year goes.

Plans:

First off is of course 140. I'll get back on that in about a week, and it should only take a week or so to complete. I will then get to all the 140 filmmakers for their previews and premieres, then perhaps set up a youtube page with all the clips in their entirety to view, and then start hitting festivals, see if we can't get any takers. I also have Slán agus Beannacht to promote, although a few copies have all ready been sent out into the world.

As for new projects, I really want to start writing again, just writing, without a view to making films. I miss it. I have been working on two novels sporadically over the last few years and I'm really anxious to finish them. I really like the stories and I love the process, I really do, maybe even more then filmmaking!

I've found as I've struggled to make films I feel a sense of dread and anxiety when I get ready to go into production, and it never really lifts during the production. It eventually goes away on the final day. And although I love editing and am often proud of the accomplishment, it is several months of stress and anxiety nonetheless. Whereas with writing I don't have an ounce of that, it's pure pleasure for the love of the story and the process, me, my thoughts, the computer, endless cups of tea and biscuits and the clatter of the keys late into the night as the story unfolds, surprising and delighting me at every turn. Hopefully someday I'll get on of these stories published and it may give a reader somewhere the same feeling.

That's not to say I want to give up on film, no way, we battle on regardless! I have three short scripts I would like to make, Adam, Zombidge and perhaps Angelina. I would also like to look at my puppet trilogy Puca, The Perfect Word and Jimmy - all short films involving puppet characters. I'd love to set up a shop to make the creatures and put all three films into production, release them as a set. But it's money. Might be one to think about for the future.

Iscariot has had some interest, so Thomas and I are going to tick along with that. The script needs some more work, not much, but some essential pacing. And we're talking about the idea of taking a scene, or a couple of scenes and shaping them into a short film to shoot later in the year and using that to attract investments.

Perspective:

Having just had a baby girl, Evelyn, now two weeks old, my perspective on things has changed. Sounds a bit of a cliché, and I have heard other new parents talk about it and rolled my eyes, never really took it too seriously, but now I know what they mean and I know it is very real. Suddenly there is this tiny human being who is completely dependent on you and who you are entirely responsible for. But it's not as if that responsibility is a burden, it's an incredible aching need to provide for this person you love beyond all explanation or comprehension. Everything and everyone (sept me wife! ;) ) else in your life takes a backseat.

To that end the importance of the projects I'm working on changes. I've started asking myself, do I really want to put this much time, energy and probably money, that could otherwise be spent on my daughter, into something I don't fully believe in. If I'm going to be spending time away from her, it had now better be for a bloody good reason. I can only be something I'm really going to enjoy, something I know I'll be proud of, something that means something and might make a difference - in my life and perhaps the lives of others and something of quality. So at the moment I'm weighing up everything that's in front of me and considering if it's something I really want to take irreplaceable time away from my first born for... so it better be freakin' amazing!

Also in the new year I hope to mount another photographic exhibition at some stage, perhaps release a DVD of my films for sale. Continue writing as I mentioned and perhaps write a couple of spec screenplays I've been thinking about and see if I can't sell one or two and make some money at this for once in my life! That is a real need now, to provide. I've let it slide before and perhaps not given it 100%. But I have no excuses now. If I don't make this work, make it pay - and soon - I think it will be time to hang up the spurs and try another line of work, one that puts food on the table and clothes on the back. No more winging it. I think 2010 will be the year I take full responsibility.

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Hope you had a great holiday and hope you can ease back into the grind without too much trouble. Just one question remains however, now that the naughties are over and we begin the teens, how will you say it "Two thousand and ten" or "Twenty Ten" - I think I'm a Twenty Ten man myself!

Happy New Year All.

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