She Shoots to Conquer Production Blog

Happy 2012!

2011-12-30T10:59:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year to one and all!

2011 has been a most adventurous year for LULLABY and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what 2012 will bring!

My humble thanks to you, dear readers, for your unflagging support, and my very, very best wishes to you in all of your endeavors in the forthcoming year.

* * * T H E F I N A L P I T C H * * *

Now's your last chance for 2011 year-end 501c3 tax-exempt donations. We'd be so honored if you'd consider us in your giving plans! Click here to contribute right away, or click the 'DONATE' page of our website for more information and to learn about the incentives for giving. In advance, and as always, thank you!!

Say Goodbye to Hollywood

2011-11-12T11:37:00.000-05:00

Having spent the past 10 days talking non-stop, it's a wonder I have any words left at all.

The American Film Market was a film consumer's paradise: 8 full floors of the Lowes Hotel in Santa Monica were overtaken by distributors, sales agents, production companies and filmmakers - each with a single goal: to either buy or sell a film.

I went with the goal of finding financing for LULLABY. Perhaps an interested producer, or acquisitions executive, or individual financier who would catch my pitch and make this dream a reality.

Considering the primary content that folks were buying was already-completed ultra-low budget horror films aimed at the foreign market, I did really well with my un-financed, un-completed, (albeit packaged with awesome talent) screenplay for an intimate character-driven drama.

My most receptive audience was found at the bar (no pricey badge necessary) where I mixed and mingled and talked to anyone who would listen to me about my film.

From the sound of it, my film would be a hit! But the budget was too high, or the content not right, or the stars not big enough, or... or... or...

But I didn't care. I just kept talking.

Eventually, I found a handful of people who actually started to listen to what I was saying. And they didn't just seem interested, they were. They asked questions and started digging a little deeper. We arranged post-conference meetings, where we started talking practicality and logistics and who-might-do-what.

They asked for copies of the script. And the budget. And I gladly offered them up.

And for the first time, in a long time, I feel like we might finally be close to something tangible.

So once again, I'm leaving Hollywood.

This time, however, I'm dusted with that shimmering glitter called Hope.

Friend-raising, Fundraising and Fun Times Ahead!

2011-10-28T10:46:00.000-04:00

It's Friday! Time for a quick update!

This week, our non-profit fundraising producer extraordinaire, Teresa Eickel came down to Florida for the first in a series of "friend-raising" parties.

Needless to say, we rocked it! We grabbed the attention of some of the stalwarts of the local Gulf Coast community with our poignant story and rock-solid production strategy and undoubtably, word is going to spread like wildfire!

*

We have several more exciting events on the horizon:

Nov 2 - 9: Kimberly will be in attendance at the American Film Market in Los Angeles promoting the film, meeting with industry executives and networking with the film community at large.

December 8: Kimberly is the guest speaker at the Women of Distinction awards ceremony, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Pinellas and Pasco Counties.

December 11: Meze 119 is hosting an open-to-the public presentation party, and is generously providing their delectable vegetarian menu (Creative Loafing's 'Best of the Bay, 2011') for our guests.

December 12: We are reviving our wildly successful staged screenplay reading at the Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota.

*

And that's just what is set in stone!

We have many more events in the works and hope that you can be in attendance for as many as possible and get involved with this amazing endeavor. We are creating something very special here and I'm thrilled with this new model, this new strategy, and our plans for the future!

* * * * *
As always, if you would like to learn more about how you can help by giving a tax-deductible donation, visit www.lullaby-movie.com and click the DONATE page.

Thermometer Rising...

2011-10-14T09:02:00.002-04:00

Our little fundraising thermometer is starting to percolate, as we surpassed the $1,000.00 mark yesterday!

As you can see, there's still a long way to go before we achieve our goal, but I'm so grateful for those who have contributed to the campaign so far:

Jennifer White Andrews, Kristen Elde, Rich Ferguson, Robert Fingerman, Cynthia Bechhold Hawkins, Brad Listi, Colleen McGrath, P.E. Nolan, Jacqueline Sydney, and power-supporter Nathalie Boisard-Beudin.

And a few dear friends donated before we started this campaign and I would be remiss not to include their extra-early contributions which got me through more than a few days' worth of office supplies, intern lunches and film festival networking fees:

Nathalie Boisard-Beudin, Ronlyn Domingue, Aaron Dietz, Summer Shelton, Jay Stern and Bruce & Gail Wetherell (♥ the 'rents!).

My undying thanks to one and all!

Now... off to go add a few more zeros to that total...

* * * * *

If you would like to join the above list of supporters and see the many different incentives for giving, check out the "DONATE" page of our website, or, go directly to the National Center for Jewish Film's donation page (which is also conveniently perma-linked at the top of the sidebar of this blog) and make a contribution today! YOU CAN HELP!

Friend-raising

2011-10-08T08:45:00.002-04:00

While digging through the internet this week, I came across this fantastic article, written by Ron Haas, vice president of the Timothy Group in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"Guerrilla fund-raising is not about big, swanky events or a huge marketing budget. It's a simple one-on-one conversation with a friend. It's sitting across the kitchen table and sharing stories of lives that have been changed because of your ministry outreach. It's genuine, personal, and worth every minute you invest doing it."

And that's exactly what we're doing. We're calling it "friend-raising."

* * *

One of the things we're doing in our approach to raising $2 million dollars by non-profit donations is to hold "presentation parties." The host of each exclusive party invites a circle of their friends and allows us to introduce the project directly to them.

I should note, these are NOT direct solicitation events. We are very clear about that. We don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

These events are to expand our network of future audience members, find potential donors, and most importantly, gather contact information to build our lists. It gives us the priceless opportunity to meet the community face-to-face and tell the story of the film, why it needs to be made and how they can help make it with us.

It's our hope that word will then spread pretty quickly and that the money will follow soon thereafter.

We are lining up several of these presentation parties in the coming months; in private homes, synagogues, hadassah groups, restaurants, etc., and I'm very encouraged by the potential it possesses.

And I would be remiss not to mention: If you'd like to host a presentation party of your own, email us today!

* * *

We're holding another staged screenplay reading!

Monday, December 12, 2011

7:00pm

Florida Studio Theatre

Sarasota, FL

We're expanding our network to the surrounding counties to make sure the word spreads far and wide.

More information about that will be coming soon.

* * *

Also, I've been invited to be the guest speaker at the 2011-2012 Women of Distinction Awards, as presented by the Jewish Federation of Pinellas and Pasco Counties.

This is not only a honor, but a wonderful opportunity to speak to a room filled with distinguished and prominent women in the community.

We are, undoubtably, getting the word OUT!

*

And for those of you who cannot attend any of these events, but would still like to help spread the word about our fundraising efforts, please email me for other vital ways you can help from afar; including donations starting as low as $18.00. (Visit lullaby-movie.com and click the DONATE page for the list of incentives.) Every dollar counts!

Movin' Right Along (dugga-dum-dugga-dum)

2011-09-23T10:21:00.003-04:00

Our theme song for the week has been this:

It's always been an inspirational song for me. Whenever I would jump in the car to go to my next opera gig, ready to embark on yet another new adventure, this was the song I would sing to myself:

Movin' right along in search of good times and good news,
With good friends you can't lose,
This could become a habit!

Our fundraising producer, Teresa (Terri) Eickel came down to Florida this week to take meetings and catch up on five years of what I was doing that didn't work, so that she could assess what would. She and I spent quite a bit of time strategizing, taking meetings, and making plans for our new grassroots fundraising campaign. And we decided to go back to the beginning and do things a little more 'old school.'

We're going to ask prominent members of the local community to host private cocktail parties to spread the word throughout the community. We're asking friends to sponsor fundraisers. We're planning at least one more staged screenplay reading - spreading the word beyond Pinellas County. And we're reaching out to foundations worldwide to get them onboard as corporate partners and friends of the film.

And with Terri's wizardry of working the phone, our first corporate sponsor agreed to join us in under 8 hours!

The Zachor Holocaust Remembrance Foundation is going to contribute their pins to all of our special screenings and promote our project on their website!

Movin' right along.
Footloose and fancy-free.
Getting there is half the fun; come share it with me.

And that's only the first of many more to come!

*

In the past, I've nodded toward the difficulty of working on this by myself. And to be honest, I was painting a rosy picture for you, compared to what it really was like. The frustration of feeling like I was working in a vacuum was overwhelming.

But now -- now! -- with two producers on board, an amazing production team beside us, and the overwhelming support of my friends and family as we launched our non-profit fundraising campaign ($756.00 on the first day!!) my faith in this project is revived and restored!

Movin' right along.
Footloose and fancy-free,
You're ready for the big time...
Is it ready for me?

* * * * *

And in case you've not heard: we're fundraising!

Click the video below to meet the crew and learn more about how YOU CAN HELP! Or go straight to the "DONATE" page of the LULLABY website to learn more.

Donations start at $18.00, the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew word chai (חי), meaning "Life" -- which is what your gift, at ANY level, brings to this project.

And if you would like to host a party/fundraiser or sponsor an informational presentation for your friends, please email us at lullaby [at] sheshootstoconquer [dot] com for more information. We'd LOVE to come to you!

3... 2... 1... BLAST-OFF!

2011-09-12T12:00:00.000-04:00

Our non-profit fundraising campaign is finally launched and online!!

Everything I have been working toward for the past five years has built to this moment. I am excitednervousthrilledterrifiedexhustedencouragedmotivatedengagedblessedhumbled right now. (And honestly, a little speechless...)

* * *

The cherry on our fundraising sundae is this short video, featuring members of the LULLABY production team, explaining what we're doing and why we're doing it!

To learn more about how YOU can help, please visit www.lullaby-movie.com

and click the "DONATE" page.

* * *

And if you want the inside scoop mailed directly to your e-mail inbox, please sign up for our mailing list; for there are things that I'd love to share with you, but won't put on this blog until we have our official greenlight!

* * *

As always, thanks for reading! I won't lie. You faithful blog readers are my ABSOLUTE favorites!!

And now... time for a celebratory cocktail (or six)!!

Big News. Huge.

2011-08-19T11:45:00.002-04:00

We interrupt our previously mentioned play-cation to bring you some news.

Big news.

News that I've been dying to tell you all summer, but couldn't, because of the complicated logistics of actually making it happen.

But despite the insanity, I did it.

Here it is.

Are you ready?

Drumroll please...

(I'll wait.)

(Go on... Do it. It's fun!)

* * *

LULLABY is going non-profit.

As many of you know, LULLABY is not a popcorn-munching, Saturday afternoon, escapist entertainment adventure, but rather, a serious film intended to educate, enlighten and otherwise bring awareness to the under-recognized "Hidden" child survivors of the Holocaust.

In consideration of that mission, I have decided to revamp our funding model and convert this project into a not-for-profit venture - with proceeds to benefit two prestigious and established non-profit organizations.

By converting the financial model thusly, everyone can now contribute and help us raise the budget while simultaneously making a tax-deductible donation to take to your accountant come April 15th!

* * *

You might ask: "How is this possible?"

The National Center for Jewish Film has agreed to serve as fiscal sponsor for the film.

www.jewishfilm.org

A fiscal sponsor acts as a non-profit tax-exempt umbrella organization that administers contributions and allows filmmakers to receive tax-deductible donations from individuals and gifts from foundations. And for its services, NCJF receives 5% of all proceeds raised.

* * *

You may also wonder: "So if you're going non-profit, what happens when the film gets distributed?"

In accordance with non-profit stipulations, all of my company's proceeds from the sale or licensing of the film must be redirected to another 501(c)(3) organization.

We have selected dear friends of the film, the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, FL, as the recipient of those proceeds. The funds will, in part, be used to expand the permanent collection of articles and artifacts of the hidden children of the Holocaust - creating a legacy for years to come.

www.flholocaustmuseum.org

* * *

This is huge.

There will be giving options at every imaginable level, (starting at just $18!) with kick-ass rewards at each milestone. And unlike other crowdfunding services (Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, etc) every dollar you give is tax-deductible.

AND you are not only helping get one film made, but contributing to two other organizations as well!

A philanthropic three-fer!

* * *

In the coming weeks, I and my powerhouse producer Terri Eickel, will start rolling out our fundraising campaign and we will let you know how YOU can help us make this film a reality! Please stay tuned!!

* * *

This concludes our special announcement. I will now return to drinking coffee, going to book readings and cool music venues, vintage clothes shopping and other super-awesome Brooklyn-y things.

It's nice to be home.

Vacation+Staycation=Playcation!

2011-08-12T11:05:00.002-04:00

It's mid-August.

The time when most folks leave the hustle and bustle of city life and head to balmy beaches and quaint cabanas for a little R&R.

So where does one turn when one is already living steps from one of America's top-rated beachfronts?

Why, head to the city, of course!

That's right folks, I'm going home to Brooklyn for a few weeks!

* * *

But before I go, a few quick and exciting LULLABY updates!

* P R O D U C T I O N *

I am delighted to announce that I have not one, but TWO producers attached to LULLABY: Sylvia Caminer and Teresa Eickel!

Sylvia Caminer has worked all over the world from the United States to Europe to India to Africa to South America and back again. Notable film credits include TANZANIA: A FRIENDSHIP JOURNEY (2011), AFTERMATH (2010), LOVE 'N' DANCING (2009), ORDER OF REDEMPTION (2009) and she's currently wrapping post-production on AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART, the new Rick Springfield documentary.

Teresa Eickel is the former Executive Director of the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation. She brings with her a wealth of fundraising experience alongside an equal and no less impressive passion for the Arts. As an operatic lyric soprano, Terri has sung some of the most recognizable roles on some of the finest stages around the world.

* C A S T I N G *

We are now up to THREE actor attachments for the film. The roles of "Tess", "Liev" and "Yetta Mendlowitz" have been cast!

Names will be announced exclusively to our mailing list. Are you on it?

* F U N D I N G *

Our funding re-vamp is still in the works and things are getting closer to being finalized every day! I can't wait to tell you all about it as soon as everything is in place!

* * *

Okay then, I'm outta here! See you in September!

Join Today!

2011-07-23T10:54:00.001-04:00

We interrupt this blog's regularly scheduled programming to bring you a brief service announcement.

* * *

We have a mailing list. Did you know?

You can get occasional updates about the ongoing progress of LULLABY --usually quarterly, and never more than monthly-- delivered directly into the email inbox of your choice by typing it into the little box provided below* and clicking the "Join Now" button.

*It's also a perma-link in the sidebar of this blog, in case you can't find this post later on.

We use a super-secure email marketing service and we don't sell your email addresses to anyone. Truth be told, we don't even know how.

And you can ALWAYS unsubscribe if you don't like what you read. (Don't you hate it when you get added to a list you didn't sign-up for and then have no way of opting out? Us too!)

* * *

Thank you for your attention. This now concludes our service announcement. We'll return to this blog's regularly scheduled programming shortly.

Vive la Révolution!

2011-07-08T09:34:00.005-04:00

I'm so deeply ensconced in the habit of blogging about the film's progress now, it's hard to wake up on a Friday morning and not hunt-n-peck out the latest film developments; regardless of whether there are any.

:)

If you've been following with any regularity, you know that I'm trapped in a holding pattern...

...and it has something to do with financing - but I've been cryptic with the details, mostly due to superstition and fear.

You see, I've had the money fall through once before, and it was paralyzing (to say the least).

This time, however, I feel like I'm in a better, more stable place.

Even though I'm planning a structure that is completely unorthodox and pretty much unheard of in this capitalistic business we call "show", I'm strategizing with some incredibly reputable organizations to make a film that will change peoples' lives -- not just in the movie theatre, but in the world-at-large (or at least in our small corner of the world-at-large).

And my next meeting to discuss the subsequent step in the process, after 4 excruciatingly long weeks of nail-biting, is Thursday, July 14th.

Bastille Day.

A day which has come to symbolize the uprising of a modern nation. A day when the people took matters into their own hands and rebelled against the tyranny of the absolute and arbitrary power of an ancient regime.

I can think of no better parallel to the independent v. studio film culture.

Liberté! Égalité! Cinema verité!

♥

Wham! Boom! Pow!

2011-06-28T17:46:00.004-04:00

You know how it goes.

You feel like you're sitting around, minding your own business, just waiting for the phone to ring and then...

... everything hits at once.

2 more amazing actors have attached themselves to the project (total now equals 3) and we're officially in the negotiating stage -- with more to come!
I'm in talks with a wonderful producer to come on board
Our new financing plan is coming together beautifully
We have new legal counsel to tie everything together seamlessly

And it only gets better from here!

The Waiting (is the hardest part)

2011-06-20T10:41:00.002-04:00

If there was one song which perfectly encapsulated fundraising for a film, it would be this:

Patience is not my virtue.

Following the staged screenplay reading, I had a flurry of meetings which were all very exciting and things were hoppin'. But now, with summer here in full force and folks either vacationing to cooler locales or taking things down a notch due to the insufferable heat, wait a little longer, I must.

My next official meeting isn't scheduled until July 14th.

Needless to say, I'm antsy.

As a one-woman production machine, if I stop, everything stops. And I never, ever feel like I have a moment to lose.

But this is a good lesson in taking my time to appreciate the process. I have to remind myself that very fertile seeds have been planted and that they just need some time to take root.

So that will be my mantra for the next few weeks as I count down each minute until the next meeting.

*

However, there's no reason YOU should wait any longer!

Without further ado, here are a few select pictures from the screenplay reading we held at the Florida Holocaust Museum last month, taken by the ever-generous Sheri Kendrick of Enchanted Forest Photography. (for the full album, click here)

And unless there's breaking news... I'll report back after Bastille Day!

Bonnes vacances!

What Dreams May Come

2011-06-10T09:58:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time, LULLABY was entitled "A Pretty Girl."

My dear friend, after having read an early draft of the screenplay, changed the marquee on his whimsical novelty movie theater telephone (a theater aptly named the "Dream") to the name of my film, because he was so moved by the story, and he believed so deeply that it would get made.

Yesterday he sent me a photo of the phone after he transferred it to his office:

Five years later, the marquee hasn't changed.

For him, the dream is still alive.

♥

I mentioned last week that I was investigating a total financial structural overhaul for the film. After a lot more vetting and due diligence and investigative conversations (many of which are still in-progress) it looks like my idea might actually work...

... and my start date of October 17th, 2011 MIGHT ACTUALLY HAPPEN.

Ironically, only 9 months (to the day) after I first planned on starting shooting!

♥

Oddly, it was the easiest decision I've ever made and while I could be banging my head against the wall, berating myself with: "Why didn't I think of this all along?", I know that I couldn't have gotten to this point without having gone through everything else first.

I'm being cryptic, I know. :)

I'm a big believer of sharing information about the process - especially this part of it, since there are so few filmmakers who are willing to share their development/fundraising stories (only that it's HARD) - but I'm also hesitant to count my chickens before they hatch.

I promise, once all the "i"s are dotted and "t"s are crossed, I will write a lengthy post about everything in as much detail as I can.

♥

And until then... I'll wait.

Like I have been.

Like my friend has been.

Like every single one of you lovely readers have been.

♥

Give up the dream?

Nightmare.

Happy Anniversary, LULLABY!!

2011-06-03T12:38:00.006-04:00

So.

Here we are.

The big push of the past five months is now behind me. I've officially been "on-location" in Florida developing LULLABY for one full year now.

Back in January, I made a list of things that needed to be accomplished by the one-year milestone.

Here's that list once more, now complete. The highlighted items are what I DID get accomplished and the strike-outs are what didn't end up getting done.

~~Approach local Rabbis about the project and begin a synagogue-by-synagogue presentation tour.~~
Re-apply for and be re-awarded the FL Film Tax Incentive.
Confirm the FL Holocaust Museum's involvement with the project.
Ask the FL Holocaust Museum & local Jewish Federations to sponsor a public screenplay reading, ~~possibly in conjunction with Yom Ha'Shoah~~
Confirm leading actress' attachment that I've been alluding to for so long.
Continue with other casting attachments.
Continue following potential investor leads.
Continue with early location scouting ~~and acquire Letters of Intent from various desired locations.~~
Attend all of the FL Film Festivals between now and Memorial Day with the highest possible schmoozing agenda.
Have at least two articles about the development of the film published. My targets? The St. Petersburg Times, The Jewish Press, & Creative Loafing.
~~And for funsies... write one entirely new screenplay.~~

So, as you can see, I've made some pretty good headway in a short period of time. :)

The public screenplay reading at the Florida Holocaust Museum was the clincher, tho'. It put us, literally, in the face of the local community at large, and it sparked many conversations that are now in-progress; conversations that will get us ever-closer (if not across the finish line) to our official greenlight!!

So what now?

Lots and lots of lunches and coffees and continual networking with all of our new friends and supporters of the film. We're getting really close. I can feel it. I know that sounds a little hokey, but it's true.

All signs are leading towards an official announcement to come very soon!!!

*

And until then, a few other good things are happenin':

The one actor phone-meeting I had last week went fantastically (he LOVES it!!!), and another actor who we've approached adores the role/script as well, so it looks like we're very close to locking in two more actor "attachments"!!
I've re-re-RE applied for the FL State tax incentive and the paperwork is officially IN (still waiting on the final "certified" call, tho')
I'm looking into alternative methods of receiving funds for the film. It's a fun challenge to think outside the standard for-profit investment-scenario; especially when I consider that if this new structure works, our film could potentially be paying it forward, literally, which would make my little socially-inclined heart happy. (I'll touch more on this in another post when I learn more about how it may or may not work.) But the investigation process is dee-lightful.

As always, I couldn't do any of this without the support of so many, many friends (old and new) - relentlessly cheering me onward. This is a film that WILL get made. And it's all because of that never-ending faith in this little story that is ~~dying~~ err... living to be told.

From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.

Well THAT was a waste of eyeliner! ... or was it?

2011-05-24T22:23:00.004-04:00

No one came to my Investor's Lab.

Not.

Soul.

My two speakers were unavailable to attend - one sick, one tied up with work. My assistant's car battery died. The local film commissioner was also sick. Her second-in-command cancelled. The film critic, who wanted to observe to chase a story, didn't show. The other observer passed. The guy who wanted to learn more so that he could then introduce the project to HIS contacts didn't make it.

And all three of the potential investment candidates I was doing this for in the first place didn't materialize either. One declined yesterday; the other two - simply and inexplicably - absent.

The only person who showed up, was the dear friend who helped me cater it. And even SHE left after arranging a lovely table ...

She even brought hand-picked flowers from her garden!!!

You'd think I'd be a big ol' weepy mess right about now...

... or shit-faced drunk.

But the truth of the matter is, I'm okay.

I mean, of course I'm disappointed. I've been working on this for a long time now -- especially for the past three weeks: making a fancy PowerPoint presentation (with an assistant, no less), perfecting my business plan, making sure I had the answer for every possible question that could have been thrown my way, lining up authorities to speak on topics I wasn't so well-versed on, priming the press for a lengthy exposé on the film's development process -- the list goes on and on.

There's enough to warrant a full-blown tirade, even. I could smash things and scream and kick and kvetch until the cows came home and no one would blame me.

But here's the thing:

Too many other good things have come out of today's deadline for me to get too (too) broken up about one empty boardroom.

I got so many "Good luck!"s and "Break a leg!"s and "Fingers crossed!"s and "Toi! Toi! Toi!"s from my ridiculously wonderful posse, that I know that I wasn't really in there all alone - every single one of those (you) beautiful people was in there with me. And that was pretty awesome...
Today was the one-year anniversary of the day I left my little apt in Brooklyn to begin on-site development of the film. This is the closest I've come to making it happen, and it's all because I took a leap (and a 1,167-mile drive) of faith in myself and this film.
My business plan is now rock-solid and as up-to-date as humanly possible.
I have a friggin' KICKASS POWERPOINT PRESENTATION to go with it - just like Al Gore. **Oscar alert!!**
I also now own the cutest little projector to show the aforementioned presentation to anyone, on any wall, anywhere.

Yes. That's a normal-sized lighter. And yes, that is THE PALM OF MY HAND...

All the paperwork I need for future investor candidates is now printed and in beautiful presentation packets. No more late nights hunched over the computer or waiting for the self-serve color copier at Kinkos!!
AND... the dress I wanted to wear tonight was a little too snug to be socially acceptable, so by the time I do this again, I'll have whittled myself down to 'fightin' weight' and I'll get to strut my stuff in my fancy frock!!

But most importantly...

Yesterday, I had a great, great, G.R.E.A.T. chat with an actor (whom I adore) about the script. It was delicious to hear his take on the material and talk about the character with him; to hear his opinions and to think about the life that he would breathe into this guy that I've been envisioning for so, so long now.

It just reminded me that this film isn't waiting to happen -- it's already happening.

And it's AMAZEBALLS.

So, yes.

I'll keep applying my eyeliner.

Because one day, that room won't be empty.

And it will have

All.

Been.

Worth.

It.

Let's Party!!

2011-05-22T12:29:00.000-04:00

I don't have enough words to thank everyone involved for the wonderful Staged Screenplay Reading we held at the Florida Holocaust Museum this past Thursday night.

Our actors could not have been finer or more on-point, the audience could not have been more welcoming, the reviews could not have been more astounding, nor could my heart have been any further swollen from the support we have received from start to finish.

We'll have photos from the event soon, taken by the wonderful and talented Sheri Kendrick of Enchanted Forest Photography, but in the meantime, here's what my iPhone captured from the back of the house:

Obviously, not a great shot. But what you can see, is that it was a packed room of rapt audience members, who laughed and gasped and cried at all the right moments and who will now spread the word far and wide that...

... And we're not going anywhere.

:)

* * * * *

This next week brings a couple of big things:

We're continuing our casting attachments, with one confirmed actor meeting this week.
We're holding an Investor's Lab - which will introduce potential candidates to the nuts 'n' bolts of independent film investing.
We've re-re-RE-submitted for the FL Tax Incentive (marking the "charmed" third time we've done so).
And I'll hit my one-year mark "on location" in Florida, working 24/7 developing this film.

Start the Press!

2011-05-14T13:24:00.003-04:00

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

The press releases have gone out, and in return, we've gotten some lovely notice from The St. Petersburg Times, Examiner.com, ABCActionNews.com, and The Jewish Press and on Friday the 13th, we did an on-air interview with WMNF 88.5 Community Radio.

Here's an excerpt of that show:

It's a snippet of one of the scenes that will be performed at the upcoming staged screenplay reading with the lovely and talented Annie Kidwell as "Tess" and yours truly as "Kathleen." The host of the show, JoEllen Schilke kindly filled in as the Narrator.

Thank You

2011-05-07T14:00:00.000-04:00

I feel it's time for a special post.

Just a little something for those of you who have supported me, not just emotionally, but financially.

I do not run in wealthy circles. Nor do 99.9% of my friends. Yet several of them (you) have reached deep into their (your) lint-filled pockets, found some spare change, and decided to share it with me to help keep Lullaby moving forward.

And for that: I am deeply, deeply appreciative.

Thunderstorm Season

2011-05-06T13:39:00.004-04:00

I had an early meeting this morning and two seconds before the sky closed its gray velvet curtain and opened its floodgates, I could smell it coming:

Thunderstorm Season.

I will confess, it's my favorite thing about summertime in Florida.

As if God is apologizing for the otherwise insufferable weather; the blistering sun and impenetrable heat wall is momentarily demo'd by a hot, fat-dropped downpour and all that's left in the aftermath is miles of deliciously steamy asphalt and complimentary car washes.

A good ol'-fashioned torrential Florida thunderstorm makes me slow down, sit back, and just watch nature do its thing.

If I'm to get all metaphorical for a moment and make bad puns (as I'm wont to do) I can say with all assuredness: Now is the "summer" of our development.

*

If you've been reading with any frequency (and may Hello Kitty have mercy on you if you have), you know I've been working nonstop since January and it's all coming to a head in two weeks' time.

First with the Staged Screenplay Reading on May 19th at the Florida Holocaust Museum, and then shortly thereafter, an invitation-only Investor's Lab.

My To Do List - for this week.

Ever a fan of pen, paper and obsessive list-making, working backwards from Memorial Day, I outlined all the crap I need to do over these next four weeks. Each page (one per week) is filled with things ranging from target dates, phone calls, meetings and deadlines to reminders to breathe and do my yoga and get out of the house for a few minutes each day.

And as our Staged Screenplay Reading on May 19th looms closer, I'm getting more and more excited about each new box I check off. Each one ticked means one step closer to our goal!

The biggest check-marks this week are that we have sent out the Press Release and have announced our cast for the reading!!

We held auditions two weeks ago and I'm THRILLED with the turnout. Some of our lovely cast members are returning from our previous reading at the Sunscreen Film Festival 2010 and some are new to me.

I'm getting so excited to put on my directing hat again!! The times when a director actually gets to direct in the film world are so few and far between - it's the thing I miss the most about having left the theatre/opera world; the actual doing of my job.

I. Can't. Wait.

*

But until then, my 'Producer' hat remains firmly in place. Scheduling, cajoling, and otherwise MSH: Making "Summer" Happen.

I will bathe in the metaphorical thunderstorm of languid tranquility another day.

I Move For No Man

2011-04-20T12:37:00.000-04:00

So, after an overwhelming 28 days of non-stop motion, I feel like there's some sort of postmortem required; even though, truth be told, I feel happy. Haaaaapppppppyyyyy!

However, the (admittedly idealistic) goal of coming home with a check for the film did not materialize. Not even close. So once again, I have to push the production start date and put everything on the proverbial back burner to continuing simmering a good while longer.

It's disheartening, to be sure.

*

But the good part of all that hand-kissing and baby-shaking was that I got a lot of invitations into the hands of some influential people for the upcoming staged screenplay reading at the Florida Holocaust Museum which is the next major step in getting the word out about the film and our need to make it happen.

And with less than a month to go... I'm now 100% full-steam ahead on preparing everything for that.

*

So really, it's just a flesh wound.

Overwhelmed.

2011-04-09T15:17:00.009-04:00

Geez! Where to begin?!?!?!

I'm overwhelmed.

In every sense of the word.

I shouldn't even be blogging right now. I should be revising the script for the upcoming LULLABY public screenplay reading (scroll down for more info) and getting a press release ready and securing the photographer, caterer, & videographer for the event. I should be writing sides for the upcoming actor auditions. I should be writing the copy for the publicity postcards and programs. I should also be cleaning my apartment (AKA 'The Pit of Despair") and tossing out weeks-ago limp vegetables from the ever-so-ironically-named "crisper" drawers. I should be outside, enjoying the sunshine on my lone day "off".

(I really should stop 'should'ing all over myself...)

So yeah - it's been crazy busy. But in a good way.

*

Two weeks ago, I went to the Palm Beach International Film Festival as part of the jury of the Student Showcase of Films and "worked" the festival - i.e. tried to find potential investor candidates.

The success-to-failure ratio was about 50/50. The failure bits are funny (-ish), and I have written about them elsewhere. The successful parts are still in progress, and I hope to Hello Kitty that they eventually pan out.

Because I fear that otherwise, my finger may turn green and fall off.

And where would that leave me?

Over the course of the next nine days, I have three film festivals to attend/speak at/conquer. (No pressure...) The Sarasota Film Festival, The Sunscreen Film Festival and the Florida Film Festival (Orlando).

Last night was the opening of the Sarasota Film Festival, where I totally dorked out at meeting David Carr of the New York Times (I'm *such* a nerd, I know) from the extremely interesting --but not terribly 'wow'-- documentary PAGE ONE: A YEAR INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES. Coincidently, the film was screened at the Sarasota Opera House, where I worked ten years' previously. It was surreal, to say the least, and I soothed myself by quietly singing 'Va Pensiero' -- as the tradition for the opening of the Sarasota Opera season is for the entire company to gather and sing it insieme to welcome Verdi's ghost into the theatre. It's something so powerful, that it still resonates with me today. And, due to the nature of the chorus (of Hebrew slaves / Psalm 137) I've incorporated it into the soundtrack of the LULLABY script.

I mean, listen to it. It's incredible. Duh.

This coming weekend, at the Sunscreen Film Festival, I'm one of the speakers for their "Faith in Film" panel discussion, which will be held on Friday, April 15th at 2:30pm at St. Pete's BayWalk Complex.

And in Orlando, I'm merely going to see more cool films and schmooze.

*

I hope I'm still coherent on April 18th, when all these shenanigans come to an end...

*

In other news:

We're still casting for "Kathleen", the granddaughter role (stay tuned...)
I'm taking potential investor meetings left and right and networking locally like crazy
I sent my script to the acquisitions/development department of a Real Live Hollywood Studio (thanks to the mind-boggling generosity of friends-of-friends)
And I'm prepping like mad for the upcoming staged screenplay reading, which will be held at The Florida Holocaust Museum on Thursday, May 19th at 6:30pm. You can RSVP (on Facebook) right here.

*

Yeah.

Overwhelmed.

Totes.

*

Anyway, I think that about wraps it up for this edition. I've procrastinated long enough. There's work to be done and Diet Coke to drink.

Perhaps if I'm a good girl and focus for the next few hours, I'll get to play a little too...

Greenlight!!

2011-04-01T09:22:00.001-04:00

Green·light (grēn′līt′)

transitive verb greenlighted -·light′ed or greenlit -·lit′, greenlighting -·light′·ing

INFORMAL to approve or give permission to proceed with (a project, funding proposal, etc., esp. a proposed film script)

- - - - -

APRIL FOOLS!!

(But seriously, we are getting closer to that magical day. Please stay tuned. I'll be back next week to 'splain.)

Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

2011-03-18T15:49:00.018-04:00

The hardest thing to do on the road to making this film happen, I'm finding, is asking for money.

Not the pitching part. The pitch I have down pat. Ask anyone. Chances are, I've already pitched 'em. Twice.

And people get very excited about the film. I get lots of lovely responses about how amazing it sounds and how thrilled people are to hear about the cast members we've attached and the massive amounts of work that I've done to further the film almost exclusively* by myself.

But getting down to the nitty gritty of asking for the dough, for me, is a nearly impossible task. I don't know why the mental barrier exists between the "This is a great project" part of my schpiel and the "You should give me money to make it" part, but nevertheless, it does.

For the sake of my film, however, I'm working on breaking that barrier down.

So, you can understand how the next part of this post is particularly hard for me to write.

*

Many of you kind souls have offered to donate small amounts to help out financially. And others of you, no doubt have heard about 'Crowdfunding' projects - services like Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, wherein many people put in small amounts to fund elements of, or even an entire film in exchange for screen credit, DVDs or other film-related goodies.

As I've mentioned to many of you, that format isn't right for this particular film - not at this stage, anyway. But it still doesn't mean that there isn't a need for little things before we get started: printer ink and film festival badges (so that I can network with other film professionals to find a producing partner) and promotional postcards and lunches for my interns. The list is pretty long and my credit card is dangerously close to spontaneously combusting.

I can't bring myself to ask you to help. But neither am I in a position to refuse it.

So I'll just make you aware of a new PayPal button located in the sidebar of this blog. And if you're one of the folks who's asked if you can kick in $25 or $50 or even $5 to help out - you now have a place to do so.

NOTE: If you have the interest/ability to contribute substantially towards creating a powerful and important project, please email my assistant to discuss what it means to invest in an independent film.

*

PERKS: Because we all need a "WIIFM" - (What's In It For Me?)

- Everyone who donates gets listed and linked (if you have something to link to) on the LULLABY website. Which means your Googleability just got ranked one page higher. (Unless you want to remain anonymous, and that's cool, too - just let me know.)

- If you don't have a copy of Why We Wax yet, make sure you write your address upon checkout and I'll ship you a copy with a giant, glowing thank you note.

- I'm also going to donate 10% of whatever I receive to the Red Cross. Because, A: every little bit helps and B: how can I ask for help without giving some in return?

*

Okay. That's all I'll mention of it.

(But in advance, and very humbly, thank you...)

- - - - -

* Brette Goldstein, my casting director, has been working just as hard alongside me, and it would not only be remiss not to mention her super-human efforts, it would be downright rude.

This K's Speech, or, How I Chose to Bury the Lede in Favor of Thanking Others

2011-03-04T11:26:00.009-05:00

If any of you watched the Oscars this past Sunday night, once you stopped yearning for Billy Crystal's full-time return to the Kodak stage, you might remember Randy Newman's (Best Song, Toy Story 3) wonderfully droll acceptance speech where he said he wanted nothing more than to be "good television" and to ramble on with an endless list of names who were only important to the thankers and the thankees simply "wasn't good television".

You'll also remember Tom Hooper (Best Director, The King's Speech) who paused to give a heartfelt mention of his mother, and in a moment of very "good television" he explained why he was thanking her: Without her going out one night to a fringe theatre festival and seeing a seemingly insignificant play reading (and consequently telling her son about the script's existence) the Oscar for Best Film would have most likely gone to The Social Network, as the screenplay for The King's Speech would still be in an unproduced slush pile, methinks.

So.

While it is all too easy to get stuck focusing on the slushy pile of things that are NOT happening and the people who are NOT helping make this film, there are so many things that ARE happening and people who ARE helping.

Even if they think what they contributed was small, easy and they've thought nothing of it since, I'd like to point out that, to me, those things mean the world. Without the bottomless font of enthusiasm, encouragement and support from my ridiculously amazing stable of friends and cheerleading family, I could never, ever pull this off.

For example:

I have a friend who slipped the script to VITaMiN C (a big, important production company) and got it en route to a very important someone's desk.

I have another friend who wiggled the script through the doors of a different important production company.

There is the wonderful friend who, while working on a much bigger project with much namier people, has taken time out of her insanely busy schedule to help me whittle away the budget to its barest bones, while still making sure that everything important (including myself) was adequately budgeted for.

And the fellow writer/director friend who just won't let me quit. No matter how much I want to. She's the entire Corleone family to my humble Michael.

Obviously, I am blessed with so many, many friends deep in the heart of this wack-a-doo film business who are able to help aim me in the very specific direction I'm headed, but there are also some non-industry thanks to dole out:

I met a very generous woman who has allowed me to use her name as a stalwart in the Jewish community to help open doors (and it has).

Likewise, through a different friend's efforts, I was introduced to the woman who is spearheading the Yad Vashem Shoah Victims' Names Recovery Project - a critical element of the LULLABY story - and I now have that organization's support of the film!!

There's the the fun and fab femme who gave me a job at a local cafe to help tamp down my soaring credit card bills.

And the other new lovely lady-pal who is going to throw some part-time job action my way.

There's the guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who has a grand scheme of Facebook networking so that I'm poised with enough mutual friends so that I can, in turn, "friend" another guy who might be able to help me. (If you can figure that out, more power to ya! I'm still scratching my head over the logistics, but I think it's funny and worth mentioning...)

Speaking of... another dear friend has already reached out to her entire network and gotten them to "Like" the Lullaby Facebook Page - people I have never even met!!

And there's every last person who is able to grab the breakfast/lunch/dinner checks faster than me and insist that buying me a meal/coffee/cocktail is their contribution to the Arts.

Oh, and the people who gift me with spirit-lifting emails, phone calls and text messages, often at the precise moment when I think I'm about to snap from the pressure.

Naturally, I'm saving the best for last...

Immeasurable thanks and gratitude must be given to my indefatigable and phenomenal casting director, who has been working alongside me for four years now; slugging it out, making calls, strong-arming agents and harassing actors. I can't even tell you what having someone like that beside me means. She has believed in this film forever and I am the luckiest person in the world to have her in my corner.

Proof of how awesome she is?

We just attached the 3-time Oscar nominated, Golden Globe & Emmy-winning actress we've been pursuing for the past year to play "Tess".

Sadly, I can't tell you her name till I get the okay from my legal team,
who, by the way, are also just about the most gracious humans on the planet...

I know.

That was mean of me.

To bury the lede like that.

But seriously - that's how much all of those other people and things they have done mean to me. Actors will come and go, but it truly takes a village to make a film and I'm so exquisitely happy to have found mine.

♥ ♥ ♥

For Your Consideration: 6-Word Oscar Reviews (3rd Ed.)

2011-02-18T12:58:00.002-05:00

For a break from the usual routine of me droning on endlessly about my own film - here's me chatting about other people's films over on The Nervous Breakdown for my annual 6-word Oscar Review (3rd Edition), inspired by my friends at SMITH Magazine.

Click here for the link

Enjoy!

Hollywoodland (Episode 1)

2011-02-07T13:28:00.008-05:00

I've returned from Hollywoodland.

Confession: 92% of this trip was 100% pure vacation, and since this blog is not a recap of my personal exploits, it will suffice to say that the vaycay was much needed and fun as all get-out.

So.

To address the other 8%:

I started with one scheduled meeting and several other potentials, so I knew going in, that one meeting might be all I would get. I also knew that sometimes, one meeting is all you need, so I didn't worry about it too much.

My hard-n-fast meeting was with the agent of the actress I am pursuing for the role of "Tess" - the grandmother who has lived her entire life as a secret Jew. How'd it go? I'll be honest. After pursuing this particular actress for over a year and having intimately experienced first-hand how the 'run-around', not film, is the primary industry in LA, I'm still not entirely sure she's even read the script.

I mean, I know certainly that her agent has read it, and he loves it. And I know this because he keeps telling me how much he loves it, which is, admittedly, SO nice to hear, especially when your stack of rave rejections is as staggeringly tall as mine is.

However...

Despite a terrifically encouraging meeting, filled with promise and possibilities, I still have no answers for those of you who have so kindly kept your fingers crossed for so very, very long.

Seriously. You must have such awful cramps! ♥

I still have hope, though, and that's everything.

I keep reminding myself of this particular passage from The Desiderata (I know - how unusually hippie-dippie of me...) :

     Exercise caution in your business affairs,
     for the world is full of trickery.
     But let this not blind you to what virtue there is

And there was much virtue in our meeting. We spent a long time talking about the future of the film and its potential (and *my* potential) and I left feeling extremely positive and hopeful.

So now it's back to Ye Olde Gayme of Persistente Followe-Uppes From Lands Afar.

My fave.

Side note: The agent teased me about my relentless persistence; setting his phone on fire
and causing his assistant to quit due to the frequency of my name on his call sheet.

Hells yeah!!!

I, of course, consider the trip to have been a complete success.

1000%

:)

Swimming With Sharks

2011-01-31T11:06:00.001-05:00

I'm headed to Los Angeles this week for a series of meetings that will help determine the course of the film.

Talk about little fish, big pond!

I'm not too worried, tho'. I've been preparing for this for a long, long time. I'm ready to look these people square in the eye, tell them my story and hope to Hello Kitty that it falls on sympathetic ears.

And if not, I could always just go full-blown "Guy" on their asses...

(Note to self: Don't forget to pack the duct tape.)

I kid... I kid...

I'm just going to go out there, have fun and embrace the hell out of this crazy ride while it lasts!!!

Location! Location! Location!

2011-01-21T11:14:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, I posted the list of things that need to be done for LULLABY by Memorial Day - thus completing everything I feel I can ONLY do from Florida and nowhere else.

Well... some very significant things got checked off this week!!

* * *

I spent the better part of two weeks re-scheduling, re-budgeting and re-calculating my all my paperwork in order to re-apply for the Florida Film & Entertainment Financial Incentive Program.

This week, the Incentive Director and I went through everything on the phone and lo, and behold... WE GOT IT AGAIN!

This is such great news for the film, for, as you recall, that approval is as good as 25% of the film's budget - CASH IN HAND.

Very. Exciting. Day.

* * *

The other big announcement, is that LULLABY now has the support of the most critical location for the film: The Florida Holocaust Museum.

There is a scene in the film where one of the leading characters, Kathleen, goes to the museum in search of her family's hidden history. (For most non-Jews, the two predominant entry points into Judaism is either the Holocaust or Israel). Since this is a story specifically about the Hidden Children of the Holocaust, in the script, I created an exhibit at the museum about hidden Jewry through the ages, going all the way back to the Marranos/Anusim of the Spanish Inquisition and ending in modern times, including unknowing modern-day children and grandchildren of Survivors, like Madeleine Albright.

As Kathleen tours the exhibit, the dots begin to connect about her grandmother's "Old World" customs, learning that they are not merely "Polish" as she's always been told, but Jewish -- customs such as keeping a kosher kitchen, hanging a mezuzah (disguised as a holy font) on the front door, sitting shiva for the dead, and peppering her language with what she calls her "little leftovers"; Anglicized interpretations of Yiddish sayings, blessings and curses.

When the lightbulb goes off, Kathleen, not knowing how to process this information, bolts from the museum and, as she leaves, she runs smack-dab into the centerpiece of the permanent collection: a Treblinka train car - stopping her right in her (forgive the pun) tracks.

She collapses in grief at the sight.

You can see how NOT having this location would totally cripple our film.

So.

The lovely and amazing Erin Blankenship, Curator of Exhibitions & Collections at the FL Holocaust Museum met with me and we talked all about how we could not only manipulate the space for our filming needs, but she also suggested several brilliant ideas and wants to work closely with our Art Department to create a fictional exhibit that reads as authentically as possible. That alone is worth its weight in gold!

But wait... there's more!

We also discussed reviving our screenplay reading*, and we are now comparing calendars and seeing when the best time to make it happen would be! Not only does that give us a chance to present it to the public once again, raising awareness and garnering support - but this time on a much larger scale, with much more lead time for planning and publicity. And to hold it at the museum, right where we'll be filming, is the ultimate feather in our cap!

* * *

So yeah - it's been a good week.

And there are a few other big things looming on the horizon, but what would be the fun of telling you about them now?

* * * * *

*Note to any actors reading this: When everything is set, I'll let you know. I absolutely hope to use all of those whom I worked with before, so worry not. AKA: Don't call me, I'll call you! :)

This Just In...

2011-01-18T12:39:00.001-05:00

LULLABY has been re-certified for the Florida State Tax Incentive!

That's all.

You may now resume your regularly scheduled programming.

:)

Resolved

2011-01-03T10:45:00.011-05:00

Everyone makes resolutions on the brink of a new year.

I'm no different than anyone else (much to my own personal chagrin), but my goals for the "new" year, are actually the completion of something I started seven months ago -- so, in truth, I only have five months left to accomplish the task I set out for myself last May.

If you're a frequent reader of this blog, A: I adore you and B: you'll remember that I temporarily relocated from Brooklyn, NY to St. Petersburg, FL last Memorial Day weekend with a white-hot purpose: to raise local money and awareness to fund and fuel my first feature film: Lullaby.

And in the past seven months, I've made a sizable dent in the awareness department, but I know there's more I can do and I'm resolved to get these things done before the one-year-in-Florida mark hits.

(Listed in no particular order, and revised as things are completed):

Approach local Rabbis about the project and begin a synagogue-by-synagogue presentation tour.
~~Re-apply for and be re-awarded the FL Film Tax Incentive. (1/17)~~
~~Confirm the FL Holocaust Museum's involvement with the project. (1/20)~~
~~Ask the FL Holocaust Museum & local Jewish Federations to sponsor a public screenplay reading, possibly in conjunction with~~ ~~Yom Ha'Shoah~~ ~~(Sunday, May 1, 2011). (1/20)~~
~~Confirm leading actress' attachment that I've been alluding to for so long. (3/4)~~
Continue with other casting attachments.
Continue following potential investor leads.
Continue with early location scouting and acquire Letters of Intent from various desired locations.
Attend all of the FL Film Festivals between now and Memorial Day with the highest possible schmoozing agenda. (There are at least five that I know of between now and then, therefore I am skipping Sundance this year and instead, allocating that money for local-based travel.)
Have at least two articles about the development of the film published. My targets? The St. Petersburg Times, The Jewish Press, & Creative Loafing.
And for funsies... write one entirely new screenplay.

And if when I get all of those things done by Memorial Day 2011, I will know that I have truly, TRULY done everything possible that one woman can do.

Contendi ad vici in annus novus!

Merry Happy Holidaze!

2010-12-24T09:27:00.001-05:00

Warmest wishes to you and yours for a festive holiday season from Florida's Gulf Coast!

Motion picture still from our forthcoming film LULLABY

Much love and undying thanks for your continued support! See you in 2011!!
xo~

Scheme a Little Scheme

2010-12-17T14:23:00.002-05:00

In anticipation of things to come, my amazing casting director and I have stopped dreaming and started plotting, planning and scheming...

The current version of the LULLABY casting vision board

It's the best time in the world, when everything is possible and no one has refused us.

Caché & Release

2010-12-10T09:57:00.003-05:00

This has been a week about releasing things.

Letting go.

Which, for a girl like me, is terrifying.

Halloween, 2010
Me as Tippi Hedren in Hitchcock's The Birds

It means stepping out of the way and allowing Life, the Universe and Everything to spin its course - which is no easy feat when everything constantly feels like it's spinning out of control.

* * *

The first release was the scariest.

I signed a legal release for VITaMiN C, stating that I understood the risk in sending such a mega-company my original work and that I wouldn't sue them for damages beyond $1,000.00 should it be proved in court that they stole my idea and made a film just like mine, but not actually, you know, mine.

Which you'd think, "Hey! They wouldn't really do that, would they?"

Ahem.

Ask the Kung Fu Panda guy.

But then again, releases are a pretty standard thing for non-agented screenwriters (like myself) to sign if they want their material read. And the percentage of non-agented screenwriters (like myself) who actually get their scripts through the doors of a place like VITaMiN C is so small, I'm friggin' doing cartwheels over the fact that, because I signed that release, the Head of Production has LULLABY in his hot little hands right now and if he likes it, he'll be handing it over to The Big Guy, the really famous one, the one who just faced the supreme court of the movie industry and overturned their ruling on one of his films.

THAT guy.

* * *

The other release? Not nearly as exciting.

Pretty depressing, actually.

I had to call and officially release the funds we received from the FL State Film Tax Incentive program.

Which means I had to come face to face with the fact that we're not going to start shooting next month.

Because I haven't raised all of the money yet.

Yeah.

It's not as bad as it sounds, I suppose.

As soon as I withdraw, I can immediately reapply and set a new, later start date which will put us right back into the queue and by the time we are ready, we'll be back at the top of the list...

... but still.

* * *

Admitting defeat is a terribly difficult thing.

I suppose I could keep it hidden; bury it deep inside so none are the wiser. I could steel myself and strap on my tap shoes and endlessly recycle my "everything is hunky-dory" routine.

But I've done that for a long time now.

And something funny occurred the very day I decided to chuck my pride, admit that I was struggling and started asking people, straight-up, for help.

They responded.

With help.

And in less than three weeks' time, my script is being read by VITaMiN C, I have leads on new investors and I've all but secured my very favorite leading actress.

While I may not be precisely where I expected to be right now, I'm closer than I've ever been to making this dream a reality.

Maybe there is something to this letting go stuff after all...

* * *

And as a rather corny, but no less sincere post script, I want to take this moment to thank my incredible friends who never allow me to quit, who endlessly encourage me, who scream, shake and slap me back on track when I start to stray, and who lend their hands, shoulders, arms & hearts (and connections when applicable) even when I don't ask.

You are my family and I love you all.

Sunshine & VITaMiN C

2010-12-03T12:03:00.001-05:00

This week brought a little sunshine my way.

As you may have read in the industry trades (as one does) a Very Important [To Me] New Company -- from this point forward referred to as "VITaMiN C" (get it?) -- is going to start reading scripts in consideration of developing & producing them.

Last weekend, I found out that LULLABY is going to be one of those scripts.

Now.

Before you get too excited.

I am neither holding my breath, nor getting too excited myself, nor halting the progress I'm making on the other paths I've been paving. Those are far more solid and probable (as probable as anything can be in this wacky biz) than this, the LONGEST shot possible...

... but I've been buried in a sea of numbers all week, building a larger budget, (also requested by VITaMiN C) and while it's been a lot of work -- flexing my long-atrophied 'spending' muscles and seeing what it might be like to actually, you know, get PAID 'n' stuff -- it's been fun.

A lot of fun.

Either way.

I'm walkin' on sunshine.

Play Mode, Repeat All

2010-11-19T11:16:00.005-05:00

I know, I know.

IknowIknowIknowIknowIknowIknowIknowIknow!

I know.

I haven't posted anything here in ages. Over a month now.

There are a thousand explanations, but no excuses.

I'm sorry.

L

* * *

Okay then, so a quick recap as to where I've been and then we'll continue on as before. Deal?

Fundraising:

I've alluded to potential deals and leads. They've all fallen through. All of them. I was discouraged for a while. But I'm over it. And now there are some NEW potential leads and deals on the table. Keep your fingers crossed.

However, we DID get moved from the waiting list and LULLABY is now officially certified to receive the FL State Film Incentive - 20% of our budget, to be exact - and that's as good as money in the bank, (ahem... once we get money in the bank, that is).

Casting:

Same story here. Except we're still working on the same actor for the same lead role. We've had some great talks with her agent. They're completely behind the project. Nothing's signed in ink, though. But not to worry. I'm not impatient or nervous.

So as it is with dating, the right person is absolutely worth waiting for.

J

Everything else:

Right now, everything else hinges on the two aforementioned things. I've basically done all there is that I can do without those two key ingredients, and I have organized an impressive 'To-Do' list that's just laying in wait for the day when those things fall into place.

* * *

I know, I know.

IknowIknowIknowIknowIknowIknowIknowIknow!

I know.

Not a lot of news.

You're bored.

I'm sorry.

I should probably be writing about the ins and outs of what I'm doing, juicy details about the 'process' and the 'how-to's and 'what-not-to-do's, but to be honest, there are innumerable books and blogs out there about these very things (trust me, I've read them) and I fear my experiences are no different from anyone else's.

I'm just plugging along, doing whatever I can to get this film -- my baby -- made.

I've toyed with the idea of giving up. Of quitting. After five years of development and the things I've gone through for this one project (one project!), who could blame me? I gave it everything I had. No one would think any less of me if I went back to directing opera, or worse--stage managing, would they?

Would I be settling if I settled down?

Filmmaking's a hard business. Fundraising even harder. And it's so alluring to think of a normal job, with a normal life, and a normal schedule - all of the things I have done without for nearly 20 years...

The problem is, I'm not cut out for normalcy. None of us 'creative-types' are. I've had to take the occasional 9-to-5 job to tide me over between gigs and it nearly killed me.

THIS is what I live for. THIS is what makes me happy.

In my days doing live theatre, I was accused of being too happy, too optimistic, too 'Pollyanna' in comparison to the draining hours and consumptive workload. My retort was always: "It's called a 'play' for a reason. I'm not working, I'm playing -- aren't you???"

That's all I want to do.

Play.

Ad nauseum.

Infinitum.

Amen.

Mid-October Odds & Sods

2010-10-15T11:39:00.001-04:00

There's a new LULLABY teaser!!!

* * *

We also have a lovely new website!

CLICK HERE

* * *

And in some non film-related news, I'm returning to my legit/theatrical background by directing a one-man show here in St. Petersburg.

Kent: A Show By and About Kent Roberts and for the Global Community.

Performances are October 23 & 24th at The Studio@620 Annex, 8pm.

"Kent: A Show By and About Kent Roberts and for the Global Community" is a celebration of the life of self-described international personality Kent Roberts. Don't miss this opportunity to see Tampa Bay's zaniest comedian make a red carpet entrance, interview himself, moderate discussions with his various advisers, narrate mall-goers' first impressions of him, and inspire an operatic aria in his honor. Held at the 620 Annex on Central Avenue's thriving 600 block. Admission $15

Wishin' and Hopin' and Plannin' and Dreamin'

2010-10-01T11:25:00.006-04:00

We have someone reading the Lullaby script.

A big someone.

An actor whom I adore and respect and who I think is juicy and delicious; simply plum for the role. I’m on pins and needles in anticipation of their response.

Of course, you know I can’t tell you who…

* * *

I get so tired of reading books/blogs on how to finance your film and attending seminars about ‘thinking outside the box’ when it comes to raising money. After you sift through the schpiel and you get right down to it, it doesn’t seem like anyone is saying anything inherently new.

At the end of the day, you still have to make a film that people want to pay to make and that other people want to pay to see.

And to that end, if I’ve learned one universal thing over the past five years, it’s this: Every single person I’ve approached about this film – no matter which aspect of the process we’re discussing – starts with this simple question:

“Who’s attached?”

It hasn’t mattered what the story is, or how passionate I am about it, or how much research I’ve done, or how accurate my ROI spreadsheets are, or how much money’s in the bank – people want to see someone they recognize on the screen and who will get all gussied up and walk a red carpet.

So that’s what I’m working on right now.

Stay tuned…

* * * * *

And for those of you interested in that little side job I did last month, here’s the link. Heh. Whatever it takes to pay the bills, people. Whatever. It. Takes. To. Pay. The. Bills.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

2010-09-17T10:02:00.002-04:00

Some of you know that I was the Associate Producer on an indie film in Jackson Heights, Queens two summers ago.

Well, I'm delighted to share that TODAY'S SPECIAL is finally being released on November 19th in over 100 theatres worldwide and as a sneak preview, you can check out the trailer on iTunes right now!!

* * * * *

In other news, I'm still working on that little side project...

It'll be done by the end of next week and then I'm back to full-time development on LULLABY!!

Note: There's nothing like working on a project you don't have passion for, to remind you how very special it is when you do.

Near to the Maddening Crowd

2010-09-03T07:11:00.003-04:00

I've taken a job. A gig. A task.

For money.

It's a film(ish) thing.

An infomercial. A promo. A documentary.

(Ish.)

One part Mad Men. One part Mad Max. One part maddening.

Not as nearly as fun as (but similar in vein to) this:

(This is a mini-doc I made last year for Michael Hearst's solo project: Songs for Unusual Creatures)

Be back soon.

Keeping Calm and Carrying On

2010-08-20T11:15:00.006-04:00

I have nothing new to report this week.

I’m getting tried of saying that. You’re probably getting tired of reading it. I thought I’d just stop blogging altogether and leave the holding pattern post up a while longer. Why waste everyone’s time with nothing?

But then I realized, there’s still something to be learned in the nothing.

So here goes nothing.

*rimshot*

Truth be told,* I’m not really doing nothing. I’m waiting. I’ve had a couple of positively-tinged meetings over the last few weeks (meetings I really can’t/shouldn’t discuss) where ideas have been presented and now the onus is on outside parties to respond to determine whether or not we will proceed with the pursuant phase.

Re: above para. I’ve also been talking to my lawyers.

I’m not a patient person. I don’t do well with waiting. I’d rather just have an answer right away so I can move on, instead of having my hopes dangle at the end of someone else’s strings.

But if being back in Florida has taught me anything (other than the importance of keeping one’s air conditioning unit well-maintained), it’s that not everything has to be RIGHT NOW.

I realize that doesn’t translate well to film folks. It certainly doesn’t translate well with me. I did not leave New York behind and move down here to play with my friends or visit the beach or go to the mall or swing by Walt Disney World on a whim.

I came here to make a movie.**

But I’m trying.

I’m teaching myself to enjoy where I am in the process. There’ll soon be a time when I won’t be able to breathe with the amount of work on my plate (God-willing) and I look forward to that part.

I do.

I really do.

Oh God, how I do.

However, for the moment, I’m doing whatever I can -backstage- to prepare for that glorious, dazzling day when I can finally stand in the spotlight and sing at the top of my lungs:

“I’m a real filmmaker!”

It’s coming.

I can feel it.

I just have to sit back and wait a little while longer.

- - - - -

* "I Think You're Fat" by A.J. Jacobs. You should read it. It's brilliant.

** Not that I'm not enjoying those other aspects of this adventure...

Please Stay Tuned

2010-08-06T11:46:00.005-04:00

I'm in a holding pattern right now.

Our regularly scheduled programming will resume shortly. But first, a brief word from our sponsor:

- - - - -

From the award-winning writer/director/producer of...

Ménage à trois

And...

Why We Wax

Comes LULLABY, the heartwarming story about a grandmother and granddaughter's bond as it is put to the test when the grandmother's secret past as one of the Hidden Children of the Holocaust is compromised.

Blurbs

2010-07-30T10:12:00.013-04:00

Blurbs.

They usually happen in literature. On the backs of books. A little publishing tool that allows the reader to hear what others have to say so they don't waste their time and money on a book they'll hate. And perhaps, a blurb, the right blurb, will get someone to buy something they wouldn't otherwise read.

I desperately need that right now.

It's important to track the lows with the highs, I feel*. Last week, I'm not gonna lie, there were a lot of lows. A lot of them. And I needed a new trick, an angle, a ploy, something, ANYTHING to entice the people I can't seem to otherwise reach to sit up and take notice.

So, taking a cue from the literary world, I asked a few trusted friends --amazing, talented and generous published novelists, as well as a few equally accomplished industry professionals-- to read my screenplay and write a blurb for me. To validate the project in its infancy - at the script level, and in turn, validate me as its author.

Here is what some of them said:**

Kimberly captured my heart with her screenplay, LULLABY. The character moments, dialogue, and topical relevance will undoubtedly inspire its cast, and the resultant film is sure to please a very broad audience.

-- Brian McEntee, Art Director of the Oscar®-winning film BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and Production Designer of the Oscar®-nominated film ICE AGE.

* * *

Stunningly raw and poignant, LULLABY will break your heart.

-- Tish Cohen, bestselling author of INSIDE OUT GIRL and TOWN HOUSE, as well as the newly released THE TRUTH ABOUT DELILAH BLUE.

* * *

LULLABY is the cradlesong for family. The inspiring tale of not just a woman, but her entire family finding their true selves through the secrets in their past, eventually capturing the notes of love that have been floating among them all along. A ballad and testament to believing in one another and the fortitude of family.

-- Amy Wallen, Los Angeles Times Book Critic and bestselling author of MOONPIES & MOVIE STARS. Founder of NPR's DIMESTORIES.

* * *

A powerful tale of sacrifice and love wrapped in remorse as a granddaughter uncovers her grandmother's wrenching escape from the Holocaust. Like a woman singing to her child in a time of war, Kimberly M. Wetherell's LULLABY is lyrical, haunting, and filled with tenderness.

-- Susan Henderson, author of UP FROM THE BLUE (HarperCollins, 2010)

* * *

LULLABY is a knockout of a script that hums with all the essentials: a terrific, unexpected plot, a red-blooded cast of characters, and a fictive world that comes alive on the page in remarkably high relief. Couldn't put it down and can't wait to see the film.

-- Brad Listi, L.A. Times bestselling author of ATTENTION. DEFICIT. DISORDER. Founding Editor of The Nervous Breakdown.

* * *

Genuinely emotionally affecting, LULLABY is a quintessentially American story. Wetherell weaves with equal grace the milieu of immigrants and hipsters alike -- I couldn't put this down!

-- Gina Frangello, critically acclaimed author of MY SISTER'S CONTINENT and SLUT LULLABIES.

* * *

A poignantly told story of the secrets generations keep to protect their beloved and the life-affirming importance of knowing the truth ... Lullaby reminds us that a beautiful and hopeful future can be borne through remembrance of the past.

-- Lance Reynald, critically acclaimed author of POP SALVATION.

* * *

It means so much to me to have these blurbs. It's not just the nice things that people I respect say about my work (although, I'm not gonna lie, it doesn't suck) but I took a big risk in asking people to read "me" and analyze "me". For the truth of the matter is, any creative work, despite what people may say, is nothing more than an extension of yourself, and by asking people to read/see/evaluate it, you're asking them to read/see/evaluate you.

And that shit's hard.

Really, fucking, paralyzing.

But for what it's worth (to me? invaluable), what far outshined the "official" blurbs, were the Pre-blurb Blurbs™:

Darling, Kimberly. You sound so much like me it's scary. I'm truly touched by this.

I love you and I believe in you and your movie 100%!

If you want something more informal: "Jesus Christ, Kimberly. Rip my heart out, why don't you?"

I think crossing over that embarrassing line is often what it takes between making it and being forever close to making it.

I LOVED Lullaby. I always judge a book/film by whether or not it makes me cry and how memorable it is for me. Lullaby made me choke up twice! I think I choked up on top of a choke-up.

What I've read so far feels lived in. It's clear that you've bled over these pages, and for what it's worth, I have a good feeling.

And just for the record... I cried.

I see rejection as a back-handed compliment. Frustrating - yes! Aggravating - absolutely! Stupid - as the day is long!!! But I don't let it get into my path anymore, because the truth about Hollywood is nobody knows anything. Stay focused and insulate your soul, my friend.

"Stay focused and insulate your soul."

Yeah.

What he said.

- - - - -

*That's the point of this whole weekly production report, isn't it? Yeah. It is. One day I'm going to look back at all these posts (since I'm one of the five trusty readers, so far... Hi guys! Thanks for reading! I love you!!) and going to want to remember what I did and when and why, and that's what this is all about.

** I'll update this page as more blurbs come in.

Cyclone vs Wonder Wheel

2010-07-23T09:48:00.004-04:00

This has been a weird, weird week in the world of filmmaking (at least in my tiny little corner in the world of filmmaking, that is...)

There have been a few disappointments and a few moments of shining achievement. I guess one could sum up every week that way, but this week it felt like the lows were just a little bit lower and while it did get there eventually, it took a little more effort for that motor to chug its way to the top.

There's a great line from the film Parenthood:

Grandma: I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.

Which do you prefer ???

The view from the top is this:

I have the most wonderful, supportive friends and colleagues on the planet.
I have finished and submitted the film's FL State tax incentive application.
The film now has a working schedule, budget and sincerely practical plan of action.
I have a few new tricks up my sleeve for next week.

And lest anyone doubt it...

I have not yet begun to fight.

Making Molehills out of Mountains

2010-07-16T13:39:00.000-04:00

This is what my desk looks like right now:

I've been working on the LULLABY schedule, budget and FL State Tax Incentive application all week.

All.

Week.

Still not done.

Due tomorrow.

180 days from first shot.

6 months.

First.

Shot.

Fuck.

You Can't Spell "Numbers" Without "Numb"

2010-07-10T16:49:00.011-04:00

I just did a little math.

12/20/2005: The First (or "Vomit") Draft

   | |
   | | - 4.58 years (55 months)
   | | - 32 unique revisions ('tweaks' not included)
   | | - 3,800 pages (approximately)
   | | - 570,000 words (approximately)
   | | - 8 main characters
\ / - 79 unique speaking characters
  \ / - 142 non-speaking featured extras
   \ / - Countless background extras
   \ / - 56 unique locations (not including montages)
   \ /

07/10/2010: The Final* Draft

- 108 pages
- 5 main characters
- 9 supporting characters
- 15 additional speaking roles
- 44 featured extras
- 100+ background
- 18 locations (not including montages)

THE END.

No two words in a writer's vocabulary are as satisfying.

But in scribing those six little letters, what I'm really saying is...

I can't wait.

- - - - -

* The "Final Draft" is still not technically final. The script is usually never final-final until after the film has wrapped shooting. But this is a darn good place to start... :)

Insomaniacal

2010-07-09T04:53:00.004-04:00

Wow. I thought for sure I'd be done by now.

This rewrite is kicking my ass.

(This is what the outline looks like.)

It's 4:30am. At 4:00, I gave up trying to sleep. I haven't slept in days. Today, coffee shall be my bitch (or I, hers...) as I dive back in and try to get a few more pages done before I have to speak as a guest lecturer at a summer film camp.

I am making progress, though. I'm so glad I took the time to go back and make these adjustments. They're really putting the icing on this cake I've been baking for oh-so-long. It's definitely going to make all the difference.

*

My goal is to have this version complete and deliverable by Monday, July 12.

I can do it.

I have no other choice.

As of Saturday, July 17, 2010, I will be exactly six months away from my first shooting day. Six months is almost no time to assemble a feature film. I'm making huge strides forward in this development phase, (no doubt 100% credited to my move to Florida), but we're still a loooooooong way from a greenlight.

But I can do it.

I know I can.

As long as I stay organized and well-rested.

Ha.

(This is what the floor next to my writing desk looks like right now,

lest you get any ideas that the first photo is an accurate reflection of my true nature.

-- Oh, and that is my copy editor, Norman.

He is an excellent destroyer of the dead pages.)

May the Farce Be With Us

2010-07-02T11:36:00.000-04:00

Oh me, what a week!

I'm not sure how poetic I will be able to wax about everything that's going on as I'm mid-script revisions at the moment, and I'm a little distracted, but promised you a weekly progress report, I did, and get one you will.

(I'm not sure why I'm in Yoda-speak today, but amusing myself, I am.)

I had one of those weeks where I was wholeheartedly reminded "Why Florida?" and more importantly, "Why Now?" Things that felt a little fuzzy or seemed intangible suddenly started coming into focus and got ever-closer to my grasp.

Falling into place, everything is.

And I'm giddy. Delirious, even.

But now leave you, I must.

I have to get back to my script rewrite. I have some extremely exciting people waiting to read it, wanting to read it, willing to read it.

No joke.

And even if it is...

May the Farce Be With Us.

Funraising, or, How I Learned to Slip Freudian (Courtesy of Sisyphus)

2010-06-25T11:08:00.004-04:00

Funraising --

*

What?

That was an unintentional typo, but when I went to fix it, I realized it was a startlingly poignant Freudian slip, considering my life of late.

Funraising.

Heh.

Not that I'm using this time solely as a Florida getaway and dancing through the streets of St. Pete 24/7 (although there have been moments of carousing down here, to be sure...) but I'm taking my time and learning to enjoy this part of the process: The pitching, the selling, the wheedling, the schmoozing and most of all...

... the dreaming.

*

At the moment, I am still my own boss. No one has any say over what happens but me. I am 100% in control of my destiny.

And I'll admit it...

I like it.

*

I know that once I do my job and get financiers on board, they "buy" (among other things) the right to express their opinion. And I'll have to listen to them --to an extent-- knowing that every dollar received is another compromise made.

And that sucks.

Compromise is not a word heavily peppered throughout my daily lexicon. It can't be.

For I am Sisyphus.

Failure is not an option.

*

One day, I know it'll all be over.

I'll have bent where I've needed to and lost a little of what makes this "my" precious baby, and soon this film will be "our" child - growing up and going on to have a life of its own.

And that's as it should be.

*

But for now, I'm going to coddle my baby, and relish every moment I have --

-- loving every minute of it.

Sucker-punches and Succulence

2010-06-11T10:19:00.005-04:00

I had every intention of writing this week.

I had a few 'tweaks' I needed to make on the LULLABY screenplay. Nothing too major. A few days' work, tops.

Piece o' cake.

On Monday, I went to my new favorite coffee shop with my script, pen and a perfectly-brewed iced coffee in hand. The air conditioning was cranked, the music was appropriately nondescript and quiet, and a few other worker-bees were happily pecking away at their laptops.

I dove in.

Ink bled from every corner of every page: "Slash this! Change that! Tighten up this dialogue!" - all notes scribbled furiously on the pages of a formerly pristine copy of the script.

And then on Page 13, I got sucker-punched with some irrefutable knowledge:

My Act I Break absolutely, positively, had, had, HAD to be changed to become the Inciting Incident*.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge.

Yeah.

So.

I spent the rest of that day nursing my wounds: sulking around, curled up in a proverbial fetal position -- feeling paralyzed by the unexpected amount of work that I knew lay before me.

But I've been through this before. Too many times to count, sadly.

So this time, instead of panicking (much), I cut myself a break. I'm not sure what made me do it. The heat? The humidity? The fact that my sublettor moves into my Brooklyn apartment this weekend and there's no tucking tail and going home???

Whatever it was, I somehow managed put those terrifying changes on the back burner at a low simmer and did fun things around town while I let that huge mess o' work reduce itself until I'm ready to get at it.

And I can hear it bubbling back there; filling my little house with its tantalizing odor.

*

When it's ready?

It's going to be succulent.

- - - - -
* For a translation of what that sentence means: click here

Now What?

2010-06-04T11:27:00.006-04:00

I did it.

I picked up my life and moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. I settled into a darling little apartment in the heart of Downtown. I started meeting local shopkeepers, frequenting local restaurants, going to neighborhood barbecues. I even took my grandmother to lunch...

... on a Tuesday!

It’s official. I’m here.

And there’s no turning back.

Start Collecting the Yesses

2010-05-21T10:31:00.004-04:00

I leave in three days.

In three days, I am leaving New York.

In three days, I am leaving my home, my friends, my kitchen, my coffee shop, my nothing-over-$20-resale-and-vintage boutique and my beloved, beloved city, for an area of the country I left 20 years ago and vowed never, ever, to return.

In three days, I am moving to Florida.

In.
Three.
Days.

*

Someone asked me yesterday: "Are you ready?"

I answered: "Absolutely!"

And also, "Absolutely not!"

I am ready to make this move. I am ready to make this movie. I am ready to do whatever it takes for however long it takes for me to do the thing that I have been talking about and working on and dreaming of for the last five years.

Five years.

Is it possible?

Five years ago I was finishing out the last of my opera gigs and making the full-time transition to filmmaking. I had just wrapped my first short film and it was just getting started on the festival circuit. It had already started picking up a few awards and I was so sure it was going to be a direct and overnight trajectory to Featureville.

Ha!

But these last five years have taught me a lot: Dedication. Perseverance. Patience. Knowing how to decipher the good from the bad. More patience. Humility. Strength. Courage.

Even more patience.

And through it all, I have stared in the face of "NO!" and I have look it dead in the eyes and said: "FUCK YOU!"

I have rejected rejection.

And so I am picking up and moving to where I will start collecting my yesses.

I. Will. Make. This. Movie.

And for that?

I am so ready.

*

As for the packing?

Not even close.

I wonder how many pairs of shoes my roof rack can hold???

Fireworks and Sunsets

2010-05-14T09:12:00.017-04:00

I missed writing last week.

That sentence works two ways: One, I did not have a computer and therefore was not able to hunt-n-peck out my weekly update. Two, I yearned to write, despite (or perhaps because of) my inability. And as much as I groan about the act of sitting down to write: It's funny what you miss when it's gone.

I thought it was going to be this wonderful vacation. Time to enjoy life! Smell roses! Throw sticks underneath kids on Rollerblades in the park!

And I did lots of that. (Not the Rollerblades part, I kid... I kid...

... Kinda.)

But I also kept looking longingly at my darkened desk. I sat in my chair and hunched over the internet on my iPhone, wishing I had a keyboard. And a screen I didn't have to squint at. With the teensy respite, my brain started spinning and I got antsy to get going.

Which is the direct opposite of everything else I am experiencing right now.

* * *

You see, I *know* what I'm about to miss, as the sun begins to set on my time here in NY, and I'm already wistful. Midsummer Night's Swing, Celebrate Brooklyn, The Metropolitan Opera and NY Philharmonic free concerts in Central Park, The Rooftop Film Festival, seeing no less than three July 4th fireworks shows from my apartment's rooftop, The Mermaid Parade and everything else that happens at Coney Island... and that's just the summer! The list is, quite literally, endless.

None of which is not to say I'm not thrilled and excited to move back to Florida for a few months. Every moment there will be an in-my-face reminder that I'm there for one reason and one reason only:

To. Make. My. Movie.

It's really exciting.

And I've been lining up things left and right this past month. I can't disclose the details yet, but I've been having some very encouraging meetings and discussions with people who have, not only the enthusiasm, but the ability, to Make. Things. Happen.

(I confess to "period abuse" in this post, I know. But it's the only way I can express the importance of what those things mean to me online. Fellow megalogrammaniacs: Please. Forgive. Me.)

Now that I have my computer back, (it went to the "spa" for a week) I have to do a light polish of the LULLABY screenplay, based on a very exciting script meeting I had with a NY production company I admire greatly. I have to tweak the budget (again) based on a few new factors that are now in play, and I have to get everything ship-shape and ready to make the transfer south. That's going to be a ton of work right there - but I've got nothing but time in the next 10 days to accomplish that, because during the past two 'computer-free' weeks, I've been super-busy doing all the practical things I need to do for the move:

Sublet my apartment in Brooklyn [check]
Buy a car, insure and register it [check]
Find an apartment in St. Pete [check]
Prep house and pack for next 7-10 months [half-check]

Sleep is for wimps. :)

* * *

Fireworks are great. One of my favorite things in the world - right alongside wooden roller coasters, torrential thunderstorms, and the fish sandwiches at Point Loma Seafoods.

But you know what else I like a whole lot?

And you can't get that in Brooklyn, baby.

Press Your Luck!

2010-04-30T11:26:00.016-04:00

When last we saw our heroine, she was flying home to Brooklyn after a whirlwind trip to Florida’s Gulf Coast for the Sunscreen Film Festival, where she held a reading of her feature screenplay, LULLABY.

One short week later, she is planning to pack her things and move the She Shoots to Conquer Worldwide Headquarters down to St. Petersburg, Florida to continue pre-pre-production smack-dab in the heart of where she’ll be filming.

It’s a terrifying thought; to taunt Fate so.

Big Bucks! No Whammies!

But it seems to make complete sense.

I feel I’ve exhausted the Indie scene here. I’ve barked up just about every tree I know how to bark up – multiple times – to little or no avail. It’s a terrible time to be fundraising here in New York, and unless you’re Ramin Bahrani or Kelly Reichardt or have a credit-card sized budget for Hipster-porn (trans: “Mumblecore” films), people just don't seem to be interested.

But they are in Florida.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like my project was valuable and important. I felt like it would be bathed in love, rather than snide criticism[*], and I felt like it would get made the way I want it to get made: by a group of passionate filmmakers who want nothing more than to tell a great story.

And do I want to propel that kind of filmmaking?

Hell, yes.

So I’m committing myself to spend the next seven months in the Sunshine State and working every day on physically making my movie happen. If I’m going to have to find a day job to pay my bills anyway, it might as well be on the ground down there, where, on my time off, I can location scout, take investor meetings, schmooze with the locals, befriend business owners, and all the other little things you can do before the film is made.

So.

I'll be leaving New York on Memorial Day Weekend, and will start full-time in Florida on June 1, staying until at least Dec 31; thus closing out 2010 - a year which, according to every astrology chart I’ve read, is supposed to be my very best.

And if it’s not, no one will be able to say I didn’t do my part in trying to make it so.

- - - - -

[*]On a side note, just before I left for FL, if you recall, I got a great rejection letter with a helpful and beautifully-worded critique from a production company here in NY. The best I’ve ever gotten.

A few days ago, I got an email from someone to whom I had given a script – a potential colleague – and I stopped reading the note about three sentences in. I had not asked this person to read it to critique the script, it was given merely to suss out their potential interest in working on the project.

What I got in return, was an insensitively-written/borderline vitriolic, critique of the script, which, if I had read the letter in its entirety, it would surely have derailed me. Fortunately though, I saw what was coming, skimmed for anything of value (found nothing) and quickly deleted it before finishing it.

The only reason I even am giving that letter one more minute of my time in mentioning it here, is that I learned something very valuable from that experience.

I’ve been extremely reticent to share the script with people – even certain industry people – because I’m never sure the project is going into “safe” hands. My gut told me not to send this person the script, despite whatever potential we may have had in working together. I couldn’t say why, in particular, but I just *knew* deep down he wasn’t safe.

And yet I trusted him with my project, out of, I’ll admit it, a certain level of desperation.

Oh Noooooo! Whammy!!!

So I guess what I learned is: trust your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably for a reason. Protect your work, but even more importantly, protect yourself.

Let Me Sum Up

2010-04-23T15:25:00.017-04:00

As I sit in this cramped airline seat enroute to New York, I’m overwhelmed by the past two weeks. To try and recap this trip to Florida is nearly impossible, so in the words of Inigo Montoya:

“There is too much. Let me sum-up.”

Point of Trip #1 (numbers/ranking inconsequential): Sarasota Film Festival:

What a colossal mistake. I thought going to Sarasota would be akin to Sundance - where you would show up to an event or party, and it would be a welcome haven of like-minded filmmakers and fans whose goal was to support independent film and commune about what happened that evening.

Either I was going to the wrong parties and events, or, just like Rick in Casablanca: “I was misinformed.”

The Sarasota Film Festival attendees were just a bunch of rich snobs, who wouldn’t talk to me – not even the volunteers! – despite the massive amount of money I shelled out for tickets to their events and parties, and the time and energy it took me to schlep down there and back each day from my parents’ house in North Clearwater. Perhaps it would have been different if I had a film at the festival, but networking is networking and these people I met were not having any of it.

Positive spin: (‘cause you know I can spin anything to the bright side) I did end up spending a bit of time with a few new friends, who happened upon some of the same events, but if it wasn’t for them and the two amazing films I saw: THE EXTRA MAN and FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE, I would have demanded a refund.

Kimberly’s recommendation to filmmakers: If you’re not a celebrity and/or you don’t have a film at the fest, it’s best to skip it. Nobody cares about you.

Kimberly’s recommendation to filmgoers: Incredible programming you won’t get at the local Florida gigaplexes. By all means, go.

Point of Trip #2: LULLABY Reading at the Sunscreen Film Festival:

What a success! Our staged screenplay reading went off like gangbusters! I couldn’t have been happier with the results of that solid month of non-stop work leading up to it, if I tried. It completely exceeded my expectations, and I tell ya, I had my expectations set pretty high already!

THANK YOU to everyone who made that beautiful day possible!!

ARTPool Vintage Boutique & Gallery, Guy Balson, Jason Bruzzichesi, Tiffany Cornwell, Randy Gilmore, Guppy’s on the Beach, Karl Hartman, Annie Kidwell, Shaughn McFadden, Colleen McGrath, Greg Milton, Randy Molnar, Salem Murphy, Jennifer Parramore, Michelle Rego, Rose Rosen, Martyne Simard-Marzulli, Megan Smith, Kelsey Stroop, St. Petersburg/Clearwater Film Commission, Sunscreen Film Festival, Bruce & Gail Wetherell, Marina Williams, Francine Wolf and You & Me & Music Together.

Point of Trip #2a: Scout Local Talent (While Auditioning For Screenplay Reading):

Leading up to Sunday’s main event was a three-day audition fest, wherein I heard loads of local actors from as far away as Daytona Beach, bring the script to life. There were a few clunkers, I’m not gonna lie (nor am I gonna say who) but in general, I was mightily impressed with the local talent and now I know we can cast the day players for the film with confidence!

Point of Trip #3: Introduce Project to Local Jewish Community:

Perhaps the most successful part of this trip, personally speaking, was being able to start connecting on a deeper level with Florida’s Gulf Coast Jewish community.

As I mentioned before, I had the indescribable honor to speak with a Hidden Child about the project and garner her unabashed blessing on it, and now, together, we are making plans for my eventual return to begin Synagogue-hopping, introducing this project to the community at large, one Congregation at a time.

I can’t wait!

Point of Trip #4: Get Local Industry and/or Financier Attention:

While can’t say that I’m coming home with a check in hand for the budget, I definitely started making real headway in that department. I even extended my stay in Florida for a few extra days to be able to follow-up properly with the people who showed a genuine interest in learning more about the film! That was worth every penny of the airline change fee right there!

Of course, there’s heaps of due diligence to do now, and that’s where the real work begins, but I’m so excited to be at that point! Taking a cue from the last time I went though this (with not-so-positive-results), I’ll be taking my time this time around and really, REALLY making sure that things are in line before I commit to anyone or anything…

…but the thought that I could actually have a team of people to do this with in the not-too-distant-future and the fact that We. Might. Actually. Make. This. Film. is beyond thrilling!

Point of Trip #5: A Little Florida R&R:

Yeah.

That didn’t really happen.

Next trip.

Pinky-swear.

Bashert

2010-04-13T23:57:00.012-04:00

It's 12:30am, and after a 13-hour workday, I'm still up printing synopses onto 500 postcards meant for distributing at the Sunscreen Film Festival, which starts tomorrow.

The life of an independent filmmaker is not always so glamorous.

The photo printer I gave my parents for an anniversary gift, that sat for two years - unopened, mind you - is proving to be mightily handy for this monotonous task !

Again, however, I'm flummoxed by the events that transpired today.

I had the opportunity to speak with a Polish (Jewish) woman who was given to a Catholic family for safekeeping when she was 16 months old and then three years later was retrieved by her parents, to immigrate to America; together.

As a family.

Complete.

She was the first Hidden Child I have spoken to. And the similarities of the two stories; hers - fact, mine - fiction, were so close, it completely overwhelmed me.

And the intensity to which she listened to my story and the blessing she gave me to tell it in this manner was the most incredible honor I've known to date.

LULLABY is not just a story. It's her story. It's the story of so many real children. Some who were lucky, like her, to get her family back. To live openly in a welcoming country without fear.

And so many others, like my fictional character, "Tess", who did not.

* * *

She taught me a new Yiddish word today: Bashert.

I've heard it before, used to reference people; lovers.

A Song of Songs, "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" kind of thing.

But as I told her the series of seeming coincidences that have gotten me to the point of being able to converse with her that afternoon, five long years after I have begun this journey, she taught me another meaning, the true definition:

Meant to be.

I'm finally starting to believe that it is.

Gaining My L'Eggs

2010-04-11T21:35:00.013-04:00

I don't know if I have the words to describe this afternoon.

I went to speak at the Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco, to give a presentation of LULLABY to a group of Jewish Seniors.

And no matter how prepared for the speaking I was, there was no way I could wrap my little brain around how I, a Catholic-raised, whiter-than-white girl from Clearwater, who has only researched the subject of the Hidden Children, could dare to tell "my" story to a group of people who have not only lived through it, but have lost family and/or friends to the atrocities of the Holocaust? And at the Chabad no less, an Orthodox synagogue?

I was terrified.

To start: I hadn't brought appropriate clothing. I forgot my closed-toe shoes in New York, and thankfully, I had brought a cardigan, that, even more thankfully, MATCHED the dress I chose to wear. I dug through my mother's closet and said to myself, "fashion be damned" and was about to walk out of the house in brown leather clogs (her only pair of closed-toe shoes) and a light organza vintage dress (If you're questioning whether that looked good; don't. It didn't.), when it also occurred to me that I needed pantyhose.

If there are no bare arms, there are certainly no bare summer legs.

Oy.

So I tossed the clogs aside and grabbed my sandals (hooray!) but then I was so late, I had to dash to the Walgreens to grab a pair of L'Eggs and wiggle into them in the front seat of my car in a moderately crowded parking lot.

Classy.

So me and my white-trash-quick-change/hose-and-sandaled self peeled out into traffic and headed north.

When I got to the strip mall the Chabad was located in, I had managed to make up time on the road and arrive a few minutes early. So I lollygagged in my car, checking my iPhone 3 times for nonexistent emails and only a smattering of Sunday Facebook updates.

But when I saw the rabbi, tzitzit, peyoths and all, pull up and exit his car, I knew there was no turning back. So I took a teaspoonful of [proverbial] cement and hardened my timid self up.

And you know what? It was an amazing afternoon. I'm certain I got so much more out of it than the attendees did. While, for most of the hour, I still felt like "Who-am-I-trying-to-kid-here?" in the immediate presence of the community I've chosen to represent in this film, I also got to read their faces as I spoke to them.

Some nodded along, many gasped, some laughed, some even wiped tears from their eyes. But every single person listened. Closely.

Almost too closely.

(The silence after I showed the Nightmare video was so thick, I was afraid to look up.)

Despite my foibles of practically swearing, not-terribly-well disguising certain family members when telling personal stories, and mortifying verbal diarrhea (circumstance of first-timer's disease) I managed to get through it in one piece.

The best part of the day (and there were many good parts) was that the project was validated in a way it's never been before. I've gotten some nice feedback from the Jewish friends I've showed it to, but I never know if that's because they're my friends, or if they want a job, or what.

But this group, this group, had zero agenda, so I felt like raw meat being thrown into a shark tank...

...and came out without even a nibble.

I think it's an amazing sign of more to come.

* * * * *

Oh, and the L'Eggs were on sale at Walgreens. Two-for-one.

Score!

On Getting Rejected. Again.

2010-04-09T08:07:00.026-04:00

I'm sitting in my parents' house, giant cup of Gorilla Coffee in hand (yes, I *do* bring my own coffee with me), and getting ready to embark on the next phase of development for LULLABY - the staged screenplay reading.

But this is not projectile writing (wherein I throw the 'To Do' list at you) this is recap writing, wherein I give you the "To Done" list.

So.

Once again, this past week has been a blur of activity of phone calls, emails and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. So instead of boring you, I'll write about something else that happened.

I got another rejection.

Caption reads: "Can you rewrite this in 3-D?"

(Sorry for the fuzzy photo, it was taken with my iPhone from this week's New Yorker on my lap while sitting on the plane.)

While prepping for this upcoming screenplay reading is just one of the myriad of things on my plate, it is, in fact, only a side dish.

The "meat" (or seitan patty, if you're a vegetarian), is shopping the script to producers.

One of the biggest challenges for me is to say aloud, "I can't do it alone." But for a film, you can't. You truly can't. And while I have learned so much in the five years since I left Opera, there is still so much more that I don't know how to do, or more importantly, know I should NOT be doing.

Plus, I'm a first-time feature filmmaker. Despite the number of features I've worked on in other capacities, the handful of shorts I've made solo, and the years and years of theatrical production under my belt, it is all null and void when putting together your first film.

And it sucks.

Finding the right producer is critical to getting a film made the right way. It's not just about finding someone who can help raise money (although I'm not going to turn those folks away), it's about finding a partner. Someone who can shepherd the project, from every angle: script, casting, budget, crew, post, director's sanity. They are the people who keep the Big Picture in mind - always. So when you wonder why it's the producer who gets the Best Picture Oscar, that's why.

Producers. Make. Films.

That's why I need a good one.

And that's why every rejection from people I admire is that much more painful. Filmmakers work in a vacuum more often than not, and validation is not something that is afforded to us on a regular basis.

But.

Rejection is part of the game, and learning to take those three minutes to cry openly in front of 2,000 strangers in a crowded LGA terminal while waiting to board your plane is important.

Mourn the loss.

And then remember that the loss is not only yours.

*insert smiley face*

So... here it is. I contemplated not posting this, but this is an account of the development of the film, is it not? I can say with all honesty that, while I usually try to paint a rosy picture for my audience (Hello, Audience!), there are more days like yesterday; filled with rejection, disappointment and heartbreak, than there are days when you jump up and down with excitement.

But those days when you do get to jump up and down with excitement?

Totally worth it.

* * * * *

From: Indie Producer
To: Kimberly
Re: Lullaby

Dear Kimberly,

Thank you for sending LULLABY, which we enjoyed reading. Unfortunately, we are not enthusiastic enough about the script to pursue the project, but you can certainly consider us friends of the project and can run any questions you have by us as you proceed with fundraising, production and beyond. We have included a few notes below which we hope will be useful to you.

We were very impressed by your clear, descriptive writing, and ability to set the scene. We also appreciate that you took advantage of the cinematic medium through subtle sound bridges, Kathleen and Tess’ intercut scenes, and attention to visual details. The script is well-paced, and the scenes flow effortlessly.

In addition to the writing, we also enjoyed the world of the retirement home. Placing a Holocaust survivor in that setting is realistic, and you handle the relationships there with a light, humorous touch. Presenting the dining hall as a high school lunch room with cliques of senior citizens rather than teenagers which Tess, the “new girl,” must navigate functions well as comic relief.

Our biggest story note is the need for more mystery. From the initial scenes focusing upon Tess’ husband’s death, we were able to identify Tess’ actions (tearing her lapel in mourning, calling Katherine “ketzl”) as indicators of her Jewish background. As a result, the “reveals” throughout the script emphasize the mystery that we already understand, rather than illuminating new facets of it. Kathleen’s discovery of Tess’ Jewish ritual objects (p. 26) should be a dramatic moment, but we expect it since we’ve already been clued in by Tess’ Yiddish phrases and Jewish customs. The reader becomes certain of Tess’ status as a former, or hidden Jew, long before Kathleen does (on p. 53). If you choose to do a rewrite, we think it should focus on sustaining the mystery longer, and adding twists to ensure that your audience’s epiphany does not precede Kathleen’s.

The strongest parts of LULLABY are the vibrant writing and the exploration of Tess and Kathleen’s emotions— unfortunately, neither of those strengths will necessary come through in a film. You are clearly a very strong writer; have you considered adapting this as a novel? This might showcase your abilities to a greater degree than a screenplay. What’s more, once the novel garners success, it would be much easier for LULLABY to attract financing and to succeed commercially as a film.

Again, thank you for thinking of us for LULLABY. Please let us know if we may clarify any of our notes, or provide you with any additional advice.

* * * * *

I want to take a quick minute to note that this particular letter is *not* typical. These producers were unusually kind and generous with their time and critique of the script, and I'm honored that they gave it so much consideration.

Casting and Interns and Seders, Oh My!

2010-04-02T09:26:00.008-04:00

What do you mean it's Friday already???

Unbelievable. This week has flown. My daily 'to-do' post-its have curled and torn and crinkled and been stained with coffee rings. My master list has been massacred; dripping with spilt scribbles of pen, pencil and Sharpie. My laundry, (while clean and folded), lays around the house - no energy left to put it away. The bed's unmade, the dishes sit in the sink, the cats are bored. There's simply no getting around it:

This reading is actually happening.

* * * * *

This week has been 1-part casting:

Rose Rosen, a Tampa-based casting director, has been extremely generous with her time and has been helping to spread the word in the right circles to help us find the perfect actors to audition for the reading. Notices and breakdowns have been posted, headshots and resumes have started coming in, and this weekend, my amazing assistant, Karl Hartman, and I are going to go through them and start making an audition schedule.

It's also been 1-part press:

The phenomenal Martyne Simard-Marzulli has been a whirlwind of arranging and planning, wheeling and dealing, not only in helping me finesse my press release to gain maximum exposure, and calling every media outlet who will listen, but in locking in wine and food sponsors for the post-reading reception she has generously volunteered to throw for us.

It's been 1-part interns:

I've got two extraordinary helpers for the Florida leg of this journey: Megan E. Smith and Kelsey Stroop, both University of Tampa film students, will be working alongside me as we get this party started next week down South!

**Big thanks to UT Film Professor (and filmmaker) Tom Garrett, who helped spread the word and who has been an amazing champion of this endeavor!**

It's also been 1-part Passover.

I had the opportunity to join a house full of strangers (my favorite kind of evening) and crash their 2nd night Seder table in Brooklyn Heights. It was an amazing night of remembrance, education, fun and, of course, food! (OMG: BRISKET!!!)

It was a potluck dinner, and naturally, I brought dessert:

Tres Leches Macaroons

drizzled with black truffle-infused chocolate.

Yeah. They were pretty friggin' amazing.

It's funny, my relation to Judaism. I won't go into it too much here, as I've written about it elsewhere, but it shall suffice to say on these pages, for me, the proof was in the matzoh. It was a beautiful night, extremely moving and deeply important to me on a level I still can't rightfully explain, so I shan't try, (fearing I'll mangle what isn't yet fully formed in my ever-melting brain).

Or, at least not yet.

It does confirm that I'm absolutely on the right path with this film, however.

Next year, in Florida!

Poster Child

2010-03-30T05:33:00.017-04:00

One of the myriad of things in a filmmaker's arsenal is postcards.

You'd think in our progressively paperless society, these would have gone the way of the dinosaur. Just have the image for the film with some info attached and simply "Bump" it to the next person, right?

Wrong.

When we did the festival tour for Why We Wax, Amy and I decided *not* to do postcards. Too expensive, too wasteful, too *much* for our $5 film. We were keeping our budget low and boy did we! I mean, we didn't even do a DVD run or even design cover art until well after the film had sold!

(Mostly that had to do with the glut of money I spent as compared to the number of postcards and DVDs I had left over from Menage a trois, but I digress...)

However, every experience is a learning one. As it turned out, on the festival circuit, people wanted something to take away with them - even if it meant throwing it away once back at the hotel room. It was a reminder of who they met, what they saw, or what to see next.

So as I embark on LULLABY, one of the first things I'm doing is designing cover art.

A producer warned me once that you run into the trouble of [negatively] coloring the reader's perception when you do this prior to the film being made. She warned me over and over that providing an image too soon was a mistake.

I think she was wrong.

People have been trained anymore to look for an image; something to connect to, even at the initial stages. They WANT to know what it is they're about to see/read/hear. I can't tell you how many times, already, people have asked me if I have a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a blog [sic], etc for the film - at least a full year before the film is even made!!

(And if I learned anything from "The Conversation" this past Saturday, it was this: "Know your audience. Make it personal." I truly believe images help make things personal.)

But then again, she was right.

You don't want to do too much before it's time - you want producers, actors, agents, etc to read the script, and let them create their own marketing plan in their heads; imagining their client on the one sheet. And I don't want to reveal too much. It's a good story, heck, maybe even a great story, and I don't want anyone getting bored of it too soon, or worse, getting ideas and stealing it away from me.

So I had to design these carefully. Give people just a taste of what's cookin' : whet their appetites, without spoiling their dinner.

Here's what I came up with:

And the nice thing is, once we start shooting, our 'hero' prop (with a few tweaks, naturally) is already designed!!

I love unintentional multi-tasking...

* * * * *

Note: I used NextDayFlyers.com for my postcards (formerly PostcardPress.com) and they were the best price on the internet - even better than VistaPrint! Hopefully, the excellent quality is just the same despite the significant price drop since last time I used them. I'll update this post once I have them in hand.

First Weekly Wrap-up

2010-03-26T09:54:00.002-04:00

So perhaps it's best if I commit to once-a-week posting for the time being.

I'll try for Fridays, since it seems to be a good time to recap the week, especially as Friday morning is the time I sit with my pot of coffee, review my overwhelming "To Do" lists and see just exactly what it is I accomplished and what's left to do before (or on) the weekend.

(My myriad of lists for this week)

As you'll notice, I can't commit to any one type of list-making. This week, I tried out daily post-its, as a way to make the three-page Master List a little more digestible. It was a good way to help me focus, but it's a little wasteful. However, I like the color and design and 'whimsical clutter' (I love whimsical clutter!) it adds to my notebook, so I think the post-it method may stick around for a while.

*rimshot*

Several things got accomplished this week, like writing and tweaking a massive press release, calling and booking people, services and items for the upcoming LULLABY reading, finding an amazing, local casting "Advisor" (she's not the casting director, let's make that clear people), and beginning lots of paper-work that's due next week: script/reading cuts, postcard/poster design, etc.

But mostly there were phone calls this week. Lots and lots of phone calls.

I hate phone calls.

My biggest accomplishment of the week, was that I managed to dig up an out-of-copyright version of Richard Strauss' "Morgen!" from the NYPL Performing Arts Library. It took an entire afternoon. The particular version I need is for piano and soprano. Which you think would be pretty easy, considering its popularity.

And yet.

The ~~bastards~~ good and law-abiding people on the 3rd Floor (where the permanent collection is kept) wouldn't permit me to photocopy the version I found in 5 minutes or less, due to its 1951 copyright stamp. So I had to dig through the card catalogue and out-of-print music journals to find a copy published prior to 1923.

After two solid hours of searching, however (and admittedly with the overwhelming assistance of the ~~bastards~~ good and law-abiding people on the 3rd Floor), I found it.

TOTALLY WORTH IT. Published in 1894, this original copy couldn't be more beautiful if it tried.

My good friend Colleen McGrath is going to sing it for me, as part of the upcoming screenplay reading, and I can't wait.

But the sad truth and irony of this entire search is, I don't think it'll make the cut for the film's final soundtrack.

*smacks hand to forehead!*

So... onto the things left to do for today: More phone calls. Lots and lots of phone calls.

I hate phone calls.

I'm baaaaaack!

2010-03-23T14:16:00.000-04:00

At the expense of what little time and sanity I've got left, I've decided that I'll regret not documenting the development and production progress of LULLABY as it happens.

Years from now, I'll scratch my head and wonder: "How did I do it?" (or more probably "WHY did I do it?") so over the course of the next few days, I'll attempt a quick recap of what's been happening and then by next week, I should be caught up and will maintain quasi-regular upkeep.

So if you're just tuning in, thanks for stopping by! I'll have some cookies fresh out of the oven for your next visit!

In Which I Kill...

2009-08-13T10:39:00.000-04:00

Here's a look at the official book trailer for Greg Olear's debut novel: TOTALLY KILLER.

(that I made...)

The book is available for pre-order now, and will hit bookstores October, 2009.

It's wonderful! Go buy it! Right now! Scoot!

Mimi Ferocious - Tupperwhere Sky

2009-07-15T11:27:00.000-04:00

So I made this little music video/mash-up for the band Mimi Ferocious.

Enjoy!

Literaté! Entertainé! Comedé!

2009-07-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

No... it's not one of those terrible new McDonald's McCafé ads, (which are, truly dreadful and should be stricken from the airwaves...) it's an incredibly last-minute notice for tonight's The Nervous Breakdown live reading series!!

D-Lounge

101 E 15th St (downstairs)

Union Square, NYC

8:30 - 9:30pm

$10 cover

Featuring:

TAO LIN (Eeeee Eee Eeee, Shoplifting From American Apparel)

KIMBERLEE AUERBACH (The Devil, The Lover & Me)
MARNI GROSSMAN (Heeb Magazine)
ROBIN SLICK (Daddy Left Me Alone With God)

Hot Off the Press!

2009-06-04T00:11:00.000-04:00

Here's the brand-spanking new trailer I just made for The Nervous Breakdown, right in the nick of time for our first live reading next Tuesday night!

Music graciously donated by the phenomenal Mimi Ferocious.

Enjoy!

TNB: Off The Blog!

2009-06-02T10:36:00.000-04:00

Join me next Tuesday as I host the kick-off edition of:

The Nervous Breakdown: Off the Blog! Reading Series
Tuesday, June 9
7:00 pm
D-Lounge
101 E 15th St, downstairs from the Daryl Roth Theatre
$10.00 Cover

After party at Bar 119, 119 E. 15th St.

The Nervous Breakdown is a creative non-fiction literary blog, written by published and emerging authors from around the world.

Come hear the writers of this award-winning collective as they read hilarious, journalistic, poignant and often salacious tales, as told on the pages of this engaging and highly interactive literary website.

The series kick-off includes readings from:
Jessica Anya Blau (The Summer of Naked Swim Parties)
Autumn Kindlespire (Random House Books)
Greg Olear (Totally Killer, coming Sept ‘09)
Kimberly M. Wetherell (Filmmaker: Menage a trois, Why We Wax)
Todd Zuniga (Opium Magazine, Literary Death Match)

Poster art by the amazing David Lineberger.

I'm No Sara Barron

2009-05-19T14:21:00.000-04:00

With the risk of being totally repetetive, I have a new post up on The Nervous Breakdown:

I'm No Sara Barron

in which I try not to melt down on the thought of the impending inaugural TNB: Live! Reading Series.

- - - - -

Also - a few updates:

Much to my chagrin, I'm now on Twitter: @kmwss2c

But it's for a good cause. I'm going to be part of the 140 Film Project - which will involve 140 filmmakers from around the world as we shoot 140 consecutive seconds of footage at precisely the same moment, and the "go" is going to be called on Twitter.

So feel free follow me, or don't, because chances are high that I'll cancel or at least disappear from the site as soon as the shoot date is over. I kind of hate it.

But be my friend on Facebook. (link is in the sidebar) I love it over there!

- - - - -

And we've hit picture lock on the new "Songs for Unusual Creatures, The Robot Show" mini-documentary! This is the first film I've done entirely on my own: shot, wrote, cut and finished! I'm really proud of it! I'll be excited to figure out what we're going to do with it when it's done.

Here's the initial blurb:

"Songs for Unusual Creatures: The Robot Show" is a mini-documentary about a unique musical project in Brooklyn, NY. Lit-rock composer Michael Hearst (www.michaelhearst.com) has written a new album of songs for little-known animals using even lesser-known musical robots, designed and built by LEMUR: the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots (www.lemurbots.org). Interviews include Michael Hearst, Claudia Gonson (The Magnetic Fields), the LEMUR founders/designers and Kristin Marting, Artistic Director of HERE Arts Center, SoHo, NYC. Running time: 8:00.

- - - - -

ALSO... I've found a English-to-Yiddish translator for the new feature film! It's a mother/daughter team, which really warms my cockles. And in less than 24 hours, they've already turned around a first draft!

Having that underway is so encouraging!

This week I've got to pump out an entirely new shooting schedule and budget, so I can have effective meetings with some interesting people who are looming in the future and merely by having this teeniest piece of the puzzle in place is going to help me move forward by leaps and bounds!

(Aside: How any person can work all by themselves and keep their encouragement to keep going in a proverbial vacuum is so totally beyond me. I LOVE working with other people to make things happen. It fuels my fire.)

So another match has been struck. Look out!

ADO(RED)

2009-05-08T11:08:00.000-04:00

I have taken a few minutes away from editing this new film I'm working on and have written another piece for TNB:

ADO(RED)

Check it out!

Sneak-Peek at the New Mini-doc

2009-04-28T21:45:00.000-04:00

So.

I usually have this very strict rule about not letting anyone see anything until I'm done with it, but this film-within-a-film is so cool I couldn't not share a teensy segment from the new mini-doc I'm working on.

More about that later on, but in the meantime...

... enjoy!

(p.s. Music by One Ring Zero: Failed Febreze Commercials. While I don't have an official release, I'm 97.6% sure that the boys would be okay with me using it... )

WHY WE WAX Secures Distribution, Not Once, But TWICE!

2009-04-23T15:39:00.000-04:00

Good people:

I am delighted to finally be able to share the exciting information I've been hinting at for so long...

WHY WE WAX has secured distribution with not just one, but TWO different releasing companies! This is a huge feat for a short documentary, but somehow, we managed it!

The first company is Current, who has licensed a clip or "video pod" of the film. That pod is currently being edited down and will soon be available to the world to view online, as well as programmed on cable networks in the US and UK!

About Current:
Since its inception in 2005, Emmy award-winning Current TV (co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore) has been the world's leading peer-to-peer news and information network. Current is the only 24/7 cable and satellite television network and Internet site produced and programmed in collaboration with its audience. Current connects young adults with what is going on in their world, from their perspective, in their own voices.

Current is now viewed in the U.S. and U.K. in more than 51 million households through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107 nationwide), Time Warner (nationwide), DirecTV (channel 358 nationwide), Dish Network (channel 196 nationwide), Sky (channel 183) and Virgin Media Cable (channel 155).

The second company is Seventh Art Releasing, who will be distributing the film in its entirety throughout North America. Basically what that means is, from now on, they will be taking care of booking the film into festivals, pitching it (and hopefully licensing it) to cable and/or internet Video On-Demand (VOD) sites - taking all that work off our plates, so we can get back to the fun work of making more movies!!!

About Seventh Art:
Seventh Art is noted for its releases of award-winning documentaries such as the 1997 Academy Award® winning THE LONG WAY HOME, Academy Award® nominee THE FARM, ANGOLA USA, Amsterdam and Prix Europa winner PHOTOGRAPHER (FOTOAMATOR), Academy Award® nominee SPEAKING IN STRINGS, Sundance 2000 Grand Jury Prize winner, Academy® & DGA nominee - LONG NIGHT'S JOURNEY INTO DAY, Academy Award® Nominated film BALSEROS and Academy Award® nominated short documentaries: THE WILDEST SHOW IN THE SOUTH- THE ANGOLA PRISON RODEO and EYEWITNESS. Recent fiction releases include OVER THE GW and THE FAVOR.

The company specializes in releasing quality documentaries and independent fiction features theatrically and on the festival and educational circuit.

On PETA-philes and Anti-semantics

2009-04-10T14:38:00.000-04:00

New post up on The Nervous Breakdown!

On PETA-philes and Anti-semantics

An open rant about PETA's latest nonsensical request, this time to The Pet Shop Boys.

Enjoy!

To Do, To Do, Tout Doucement

2009-03-20T16:19:00.000-04:00

I've another post up on The Nervous Breakdown:

To Do, To Do, Tout Doucement: A lyrical list of limitless labors.

Enjoy!

WHY WE WAX's SWAN Song is its NYC Premiere!

2009-03-18T21:40:00.000-04:00

Well, the little film that won't die strikes again!!! This time for our NYC Premiere!

Saturday, March 28, 2009 @ 2:00pm
Tribeca Film Center
375 Greenwich Ave (corner of Franklin)
New York, NY

WHY WE WAX will be screening as part of a SWAN Day Screening Series, sponsored by New York Women in Film & Television.

NYWIFT is celebrating SWAN DAY (Support Women Artists Now) with a FREE afternoon screening of an exciting collection of short films by women, including premieres, award winners, and festival favorites. A Q&A and reception with the filmmakers will follow the screening.

The afternoon will feature:

White Horse by Maryann Deleo and Christopher Bisson
Abbie Cancelled by Jessica Burstein & Robbie Norris
She Rhymes Like a Girl by J.T. Takagi
Sita Sings the Blues by Nina Paley
Our Lady Queen of Harlem by Trinidad Rodriguez

and of course...
Why We Wax by Kimberly M. Wetherell and Amy Axelson

There are only 100 seats and, as it is a FREE EVENT, it is expected to "sell-out", so register early and guarantee your seat by clicking here.

She Shoots to Conquer Production Blog

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3... 2... 1... BLAST-OFF!

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Vacation+Staycation=Playcation!

Join Today!

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Overwhelmed.

Greenlight!!

Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?

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Scheme a Little Scheme

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Blurbs

Cyclone vs Wonder Wheel

Making Molehills out of Mountains

You Can't Spell "Numbers" Without "Numb"

Insomaniacal

May the Farce Be With Us

Funraising, or, How I Learned to Slip Freudian (Courtesy of Sisyphus)

Sucker-punches and Succulence

Now What?

Start Collecting the Yesses

Fireworks and Sunsets

Press Your Luck!

Let Me Sum Up

Bashert

Gaining My L'Eggs

On Getting Rejected. Again.

Casting and Interns and Seders, Oh My!

Poster Child

First Weekly Wrap-up

I'm baaaaaack!

In Which I Kill...

Mimi Ferocious - Tupperwhere Sky

Literaté! Entertainé! Comedé!

Hot Off the Press!

TNB: Off The Blog!

I'm No Sara Barron

ADO(RED)

Sneak-Peek at the New Mini-doc

WHY WE WAX Secures Distribution, Not Once, But TWICE!

On PETA-philes and Anti-semantics

To Do, To Do, Tout Doucement

WHY WE WAX's SWAN Song is its NYC Premiere!

Well THAT was a waste of eyeliner! ... or was it?