Trailer on Youtube

For the heck of it, to try to get the film 'out there' a bit more, I put the 90-second trailer on Youtube.

I know it's already on the website. I just thought I'd put it out there. I'm thinking of cutting a few short clips and putting those on there... just clips of Brian (the main character) talking about himself being a messiah.

I don't know -- it feels a little like a 'viral' video that people might be into (not the trailer -- I'm talking about the short clips I've thought of doing).

We'll see.

Part Three of Review/Interview

Part three of Lance Mannion's review/interview series has been posted. Here's the link:

The Proper Care and Filming of an American Messiah.

Homework

"Being a screenwriter is like having homework every night for the rest of your life." -- Lawrence Kasdan

Kasdan is SO right about that. If you're a professional screenwriter -- or trying to be one -- then there is always something you could or should be doing. Like, right now, I should be working on one of numerous script ideas, shaping up some material to be my next spec.

I should be thinking about a short film I'd like to make in the fall.

I should be sweating over every detail of the feature film I just made, and feeling massive anxiety over every festival rejection. Okay, I'm already doing this item.

But my point is -- there are loads of things I should or could be doing right now. But I'm blogging. And I've got the Capote DVD in my briefcase right now, and it's just itching to be watched. And you know, I've got a couple of Monty Python retrospectives and new Doctor Who episodes on the DVR right now, and they're not going to watch themselves.

Part Two of Review/Interview

Click the link for part 2 of the review of the film and interview with yours-truly over at Lance Mannion's blog.

Messiahs are people, too.


Great write-up from someone who really gets the film. Which is nice.

Blog P.R.

Check out our latest press, on Lance Mannion's blog: Messiah on the Doorstep.

It's part one in a three-part interview/series. He'll be posting more tonight and tomorrow.

Leave comments there and here (I'd love to hear responses). I'm interested, too, in what people think about how blog-based P.R. works for indie films.

Oscar Thoughts

I'm feeling obligated to blog about the Oscars, since I'm a filmmaker and screenwriter.

I had another obligation last night, so I had to watch the show on DVR time-delay, which I hate doing. I liked being able to fast-forward through the boring bits, but all the anticipation is gone. You might as well just look at a list of winners.

And as someone who would like to one day win or be nominated for an Oscar, I suppose the ceremony has some allure for me. I know it's political, and it's not solely based on merit -- I have no illusions. I just enjoy it and would love to be a part of that. Some years, the show has inspired me. Some years, it has depressed me beyond measure (because my career was nowhere). This year? It hardly registered. I was curious to see who won, but that was about it.

I don't have a strong opinion on most of the winners, because I had precious little time this year and didn't see most of the nominated films. I enjoyed Crash and can't see why some people despise it. I only saw it once, on DVD, and was interrupted several times, so it didn't have the emotional impact for me that it could have. I really need to see it again.

I enjoyed Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line and wasn't disappointed to see her win (though I don't think it was that great a role; Joaquin Pheonix's performance as Johnny Cash
was the role in that film that captivated me). And I think Philip Seymour Hoffman needs and deserves the wider exposure that his win for Capote will bring him (and I still haven't been able to see that film).

So, all in all, an average Oscar telecast. George Clooney's reaction shots really stole the show, IMO, and Jon Stewart's Oscar-campaign parody videos were hilarious. I think a few more of those would have been great, but I don't think the audience there was enjoying them (judging from the quiet reaction anyway).

In other news: the film has been rejected from a few more fests. Still waiting to hear from many more. And my script, Jonesing, hasn't yet gone out to production companies and actors. The word I have from Agent and Manager is that it will go out some time this month. The only negative on this front is the somewhat alarming news that a similarly-themed script is already making the rounds. How similar it is, I don't know. How good it is, I don't know. The fact that it's out there ahead of mine, regardless of quality or true similarity, isn't good. Nevertheless, we push on...