The Mamma Log
Posts in October, 2009
CMJ Is On The Way
Posted on October, 12 2009
Everything is in line for the CMJ Film Festival. I am very excited to be a part of it. It is a great first festival for the movie. Excellent lineup of bands, film, parties. Making for a very cool vibe. We are screening MAMMA at the Clearview Chelsea on 8th Ave.- October 22nd at 9:30pm as part of the Cine-mini Shorts Competition. It’s a theater I went to often while I was in college, so for that reason alone, it feels pretty great. I can remember many nights sitting there watching movies and thinking to myself “What the hell is it gonna take?”. It seemed impossible to fathom getting something I conceived up there one day. I guess the answer to my question was don’t wait for someone to do it for you. Ignore all reason, and hope it works out.
The festival is very exciting as it is a first for myself and some others on this project. I have zero clue as to what the protocol is here. I wanna go in there and act like a pro, but facts are facts, I am a child on his first visit to the toy store. Either way, I am just happy to showcase the wonderful performances by my cast at an event like this. I may not know much, but I do know that I was gifted with all of the fine actors on this film. Hopefully more festivals await and I will have the opportunity to share with more people, what I already know about these talented people.
Listen to Mamma!
Posted on October, 6 2009
With Anchovies...Without Mamma has long been a passion project of mine. It is a film that was born within my own frustrations and search for identity. Not only did I want to make this movie, but felt I had to make it. The other scripts I wrote on spec were bigger comedies that were designed for stars, studios and budgets. They were never something that I truly felt were a vehicle to explore my voice as a filmmaker. Mamma was something that was 100 percent me and it had 100 percent possibility.
I had a vision for this film which was greater than the short film that exists now. The story was much broader before I felt the need to pare it down. I knew that to shoot the the original script it would call for more money than I was equipped with. In the end, I felt that the best way to approach this journey was with one first small step. I structured a project that I felt retained the soul of the original film, but also helped me develop a vision that was tangible before trying to inspire the confidence of external investors. With the original vision in my back pocket for a future feature length picture, I went into production.
The process was cathartic in a sense, helping me deal with loss within my own life, as well as the loss that existed within the lives of my characters. These factors made everything surreal and hyper-real at the same time. What ever the case was, I was making this film one way or another. There was no chance to turn my back on it now.
