Slamdance (which gets underway this week) is the quintessential festival for misfit filmmakers. So when the festival asked me to shoot Harold’s Bad Day–which won their short film screenplay writing competition, I agreed faster than an account exec to a wardrobe change.
My first film, Dill Scallion, premiered at Slamdance back in the pre-Google era. A handful of my then-unknown actors, including Lauren Graham, Peter Berg, and Kathy Griffin, all came to Park City on their own dime. LeAnn Rimes, who also had a cameo in the movie, sat in the crowd. When I pointed her out, she stood up and blessed us with a spontaneous, a cappella rendition of “Amazing Grace”. Yes, it was odd, but we landed a nice home video deal on the spot.
Afterwards, we held a swanky private party, which was what filmmakers did before the Great Recession. We flew up Sheryl Crow, who scored the film, to play live. We created such buzz, that I leaked a rumor that Harvey Weinstein would arrive at midnight on a jet pack. Hearing it spread by an ICM agent was pure gold. We had pulled the red carpet out from under Sundance. More importantly, we secured two cable sales and an art house theatrical run.
My not-fake documentary about comedians, I Am Comic premiered at Slamdance ’10. As before, several stars made the voyage to Park City on their own dime. If we had premiered at Sundance, they might expect a chalet, per diem and free lift tickets. Comedians Tommy Davidson and April Macie handed out freeze pops when the packed screening room’s air conditioning suddenly broke.
The crowd went nuts. After a 45 minute Q&A, we marched everyone across the street to our free pizza party for 1,200 fans and fellow filmmakers. Sheryl Crow was replaced by an iPod. But we licensed the movie to Showtime and snagged a great distributor, Monterey Media.
Cut to making Harold’s Bad Day. This wry, dark comedy was a tart creative sorbet after two years of steady spotmaking for the likes of Doner, AKQA, Tracy Locke and Barkley. I seduced my crew into helping me. Luckily, we shot a nice gig for Cramer Krasselt/Phoenix earlier in the week.
Tapping into the Slamdance voodoo, we got a stellar cast: Nick Sadler, comic Doug Benson and two young guys destined for greatness. I wanted the writer, R.J. Buckley, to enjoy the full Hollywood experience, so I bastardized his dialogue and ignored him on set. We used no video playback. No approval. Just my crew capturing great actors doing one, maybe two takes.
We just screened at Hybrid Editorial for finicky friends and strangers before locking the cut. Test screenings are always crucial. Charlie Chaplin screened for tired coal miners; I tapped creatives and offline editors. Big shout out to Brickyard VFX for the helping hand.
More fun than dropping names and making mediocre deals is witnessing that packed house of indie film lovers enjoying your film. The Slamdance crowd is there to celebrate the accomplishment of making a film. They want it to be great. They laugh at all the right places, soak up the drama and cherish the Q&A’s. Okay, got to start packing.
(Director Jordan Brady is co-founder of production house Superlounge.)
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More