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04-04-02 to 04-06-02 "Wisconsin Film Festival 2002!!!"

THURSDAY:

Well here we are... the festival! A bit of sadness fills my heart as I was desperately hoping we'd get "The Hunt" in this year! Truth be told, I'd have been even more afraid if it actually had been accepted! I am confident that our project is worth noting (even more so now that I've cut seven minutes!) but I still have yet to give it a real audience test. Thursday night I headed down to Greenville to chat briefly with my partner in crime, Tom! Two hours later we finally had our plans made and I was on my way to Madtown!

One of the first pieces I had hoped to see was called "No Sleep 'til Madison". It was one of about three or four narrative features that the festival was offering in the 'Wisconsin's Own' category. I had no intention of seeing films from their other categories, as they didn't interest me. Besides, many of them could be rented while the 'Wisconsin's Own' projects could only be seen at the festival. I arrived in Madison with a few minutes to check into the Lowell Center. I then needed to decide if I wanted to run uptown and be late for "No Sleep" or if I wanted to catch the "Wisconsin Shorts I" program which was right across the street. Damn! Why must I choose!!

The shorts program had several excellent pieces and a few dogs! We started with some great animated shorts followed by a few narrative shorts. This particular showing was wrapped with a painful 17 minute long experimental piece. While the piece had some incredible earth tone colors it was simply too long! I wonder how many people would come to a showing of all experimental pieces?

I talked briefly after the showing with Liesel de Boor who created a very funny 10-minute short called "Cat Lady" and Nathan Theis who created two hilarious animated shorts. They sounded pretty receptive to being included in the Central Wisconsin Film Festival that Tom and I are trying to create.

Buffalo Wings and beer on State Street wrapped the night for me.

FRIDAY:

I was woken by a knock at the door to which I responded "I'm still in here!" Thankfully the chain was still on the door or the maid service would have caught me in my Fruit of the Looms!! With that I decided to get cleaned up and start my day.

My first goal was to find the Noodles and Company on the other side of town. After my annual stop at the Borders BookStore it was only a few wrong turns away. I'm usually amazed how, even though I don't know Madison at all I somehow manage to find my way around. I don't know what it is about those darn Japanese Pan Noodles that keep me coming back but I can't get enough of them!

I met with Tom on State Street at about 3:00, right on time! We goofed around a bit and I filled him in on the previous night's viewings. We even ran into Liesel de Boor on our way to the capital.

IDEA: What if we did a short where Tom (DAD) took his kids (SAWYER and MADDY) to the state capital and rather than telling the kids he didn't know anything about state politics, he'd make it all up when they asked him. "The King Of Wisconsin" is what we could call it.

I actually came up with that idea as we walked through the capital. I'd bet a dollar that short would make it into the festival!

Back to the story at hand... we went to our first destination, the Bartell Theatre for a showing entitled "Stories From Up North". There were three pieces in the show and we were there to see the middle piece, "The Novitiate". Because the actual Novitiate is so close to Shawano we thought it would be a shoe in for a mini-festival in Shawano. We were right! After a question and answer session Tom and I got a chance to talk up close and personal with Patrick Rick, the main force behind "The Novitiate". He was quite an interesting guy. He's a dead ringer for Bill Clinton and this had gotten him onto several TV shows including the Tonight Show! His goal is to see an actual "Novitiate" feature length movie! Tom and I chatted with him for a good hour before we needed to get back on track with our agenda. Patrick got us a tape and the go ahead to use his film in our festival! Cool!!

We also met Scott Thom after that show and briefly talked with him in the waiting line for the "Wisconsin Shorts II". He's one of the main guys involved with the Wisconsin Film Office! He asked us to get him the dirt on our festival, we'll need to do that! He's actually the guy that got me in contact with Ben and the Richland Center maniacs!!

The "Wisconsin Shorts II" program was a bit of a disappointment. It was mainly experimental with two pretty good documentaries. One of the documentaries was called "Tiger Show" and it was about the little game farm in Aniwa that my Dad used to stop at when we were kids. That would make for an interesting addition to our festival. The question and answer period was pretty good except for a pretentious little filmmaker that completely rubbed me the wrong way! If idiots like that were getting into the festival and we weren't, something was just wrong in the system! Oh well!

The final program for the night was called "Monday Night At The Rock 'N' Bowl". It was pretty good but the highlight of that show was the 15-minute preceding film "Robot Bastard!". "Robot Bastard!" was easily the most playfully enjoyable piece I saw all weekend and we got a chance to talk with Rob Schrab and Todd Bishop after the show. Rob gave me a copy of the film and also gave me the go ahead to use it in our festival!! Awesome!! Later I found out that Todd Bishop is Brian Bishop's brother. Brian was at the Comedy City Oscar party where my short "Crunchie Munchies" won best of show! Cool! Cool! Cool!

What a productively exhausting day!

SATURDAY:

Tom was planning on leaving early but I talked him into staying for the "Student Film II" program. Almost all the student works were documentaries that were made in a UW-Madison class with a visiting documentarian. All were pretty much 'top notch'

It was a bit of a bummer seeing how many film projects actually were connected directly to Madison. Not many Milwaukee pieces seemed to be in the show this year. Maybe "The King Of Wisconsin" should be pursued?

On his way home Tom dropped me off up town for my next set of documentaries (Cripes! Where are the narratives!!). This one was called "Art And Community in Wisconsin". All were extremely well done!

I snuck out prior to the questions and answer session so I could get a bite to eat at the downtown "Noodles and Company"! Yay!! What noodley goodness! I then caught the third "Wisconsin Shorts" program. All three shorts were narrative and all three were pretty darn good! They all seemed to have obscure connections to Wisconsin though! "The Book And The Rose" was easily one of the best shorts in the whole entire program. It's production value left all the others in the dust!

"Man Hunt" was the last showing I decided I was going to see, as Sunday's selections were a bit sparse. It was preceded by "The Goddaughter" yet another documentary from that class. "Man Hunt" itself turned out to be a documentary (which won best documentary for the festival). It was incredibly involving! The theatre was packed and they even gave out little engagement rings to everybody after the show as souvenirs!

With that I began my long trek home where I could regain my thoughts for another year! The festival once again proved to be inspiring!!

04-11-02 "Brian And Eric The Makeup Maniacs!!!"

I spent most of the day today retyping the script for "DVR Diner" and came up with some pretty good stuff. Hopefully it'll not offend anyone if I change things up a little. After school today I ran to the Department Of Motor Vehicles to update my vehicle's license. Only about four months behind!

I then met with the makeup guys for "DVR Diner". We had a bite to eat at Perkins then proceeded to look at nasty skin disorders on Brian's computer. I'm glad we ate first! The meeting proved to be quite valuable as many new ideas came out. Brian also gave me a chapter from his novel to read (which has great potential in my opinion!) Both Brian and Eric liked the script changes and seemed to be very excited about the whole project! They also knew my pal Dave Arndorpher from Comedy City! Small world!

04-12-02 "Big Trouble In Little Wisconsin!!!"

I received an email today from Carlie stating that there would be absolutely no changes to the script. This completely took the wind out of my sails! I didn't know how to react at all as I felt my subtle changes did nothing but enhance the script. In fact, if we had to shoot as it stood many of the comedic set ups would be lost! I emailed her after a day of thought but things didn't look very shiny on the horizon! I always had the option of simply opting out but I didn't want this to color my reputation?!

04-13-02 "Hiedel House!!!"

I drove through a thick Wisconsin fog this morning as I headed for Green Lake and the Hiedel House where I was to meet with Carlie Cross, the head honcho and 'producer' of the first Wisconsin Indie Club endeavor. Thankfully the fog began to dissipate around Weyawega and the beautiful blue sky graced us with it's presence!

Our meeting couldn't have gone better! She explained to me why she felt we needed to stick with the script as it stands. She's very concerned that things will fall apart if we start making changes two weeks before the shoot. I reassured her that there were going to be changes that would take place right up to the day of shooting! These things were inevitable. We went through a few ideas and after I read them to her she understood them better. We both have a different intention for this project and I feel that we can both be equally pleased with the result.

04-15-02 "Ricki!!!"

I forgot to mention last month a very tragic occurrence in our family. Our family dog, Ricki, had to be put to sleep, as he was very sick and couldn't breathe or eat without a lot of difficulty. His last night with us was hard on everyone involved as he wasn't going to last much longer. It was hard to watch him and the thought of taking hi outside myself crossed my mind but I just couldn't do it. I brushed him out one final time and when I got home from school the next day the vet had been there and did his job. The whole experience would have made for a tear-jerking documentary but I didn't want to exploit my dog like that!

Last night I went for a much need walk (as I'm getting more and more out of shape) and I couldn't help but remember how much I enjoyed Ricki's company when I was out at night. Just me and the dog!

04-19-02 "Karaoke Suicide!!!"

I was really planning on getting a good night's rest but somewhere around 10:00 my brother called and asked if I'd come down town to party with the cousins. He managed to apply a little well placed guilt and so I shook off my exhaustion from yet another taxing week of kids and headed to the old Marion Rec! I was glad I went though as I rarely get a chance to rip it up with the cousins! Crazy Little Cousin Joe was there and in great form. We got into a karaoke suicide contest (you don't get to pick the songs) and he ended up getting stuck with Barry Mantello. I had to do Johnny B. Goode and while I'm not sure I was entirely deserving I won the thirty bucks and became the King of Karaoke for the night! Ha ha Joe... you suck!!

Joe does have a number of ideas he's kicking around right now including some comic book scripts. It'll be interesting to see what he comes up with. His diabolical mind is a dangerous thing... much like another Knitt you may or may not know?!

Here's another quick little thing... I caught a presentation by one of the main guys behind the web site Weird Wisconsin. It was pretty informative but poorly attended. Where was it you might ask? Well in the basement of our very own Marion library of all places!

04-21-02 "A Great Connection!!!"

Here's some of the coolest information I've gotten lately! I made a connection with a guy named Bill Rebane. We'd been doing a little phone tag but it never registered with me who he was. Imagine my surprise when we finally hooked up and he explained to me that he was the director responsible for the highest grossing film of 1975! He is the guy responsible for "The Giant Spider Invasion"! Now, let me take a little time to explain a few things here... I've always wanted to know more about an actual movie studio that existed near the Wausau area a number of years ago. It's always been a bit of an urban legend for me, as I could never find any information on the place. I had heard mention of it from a few people who only could offer a tiny glimpse on this lost gem of the north woods but nothing ever substantial! The last piece of info I had heard was that all the camera equipment was put into a storage shed somewhere and the roof collapsed on it all. Everything was ruined. Cameras, Editing equipment, the whole works were gone!

Now here I was, face to face (or voice to voice) with the one guy who knew all the answers. We chatted for a good half-hour before I realized I had better let him go. I totally enjoyed the conversation and I could tell he was enjoying himself as well. Heck, I'd made him laugh a couple times! He's anxious to see "The Hunt" and sounded very interested in possibly doing a project together. I was walking on air for the rest of the day and I called Tom immediately. If I'd have had Darby's number on hand he'd have gotten a call too! I also realized that I hadn't asked a single question about the studio!? Maybe next time. He had gotten a hold of me because I had recently signed up to become a member of The Academy Of Video Arts And Sciences (AVA) and Bill is it's head honcho.

04-25-02 "Liar!!!"

Tonight I traveled to Green Bay to shoot a play that was being performed at UW-GB. My pal Mike Eserkahn wrote the play that is very loosely based on an old 16th century play. Mike is the owner of Comedy City and one of the funniest guys I know so I knew I was in for a treat.

The play went well and I had to turn away several times so the camera wouldn't pick up my laughing. I was pretty much a simple camera monkey though as all I did was aim and change tapes. The tripod did all the work. A good master was needed though so I did my job. I'm glad I could help Mike out though as he and Darby are going to be helping shoot the first ever Wisconsin Indie Club short film this coming Sunday. I'm excited about that yet a bit leery, time will tell. I asked Mike if he'd be interested in playing the lead role in the piece and while he doesn't care for the script at all I might just be able to convince him to do it.

04-27-02 "A Shoot, An Art Show, Another Talk With Bill, and Lumpy's Birthday Party !!!"

Yesterday I found some free time to shoot a little commercial for the upcoming teacher's banquet. We decided as a group that we'd do a skit and I'd also play a few shorts for the night's entertainment. I went up to the elementary school and shot first graders for an hour. It's been a few years since I worked with the little kids and it felt nice to deal with the itty-bitties for a while. They had fun and I think the piece will be fun to watch.

After school I had to take a van full of paintings over to Waupaca for their 39th annual art show. There were more entries this year than any year before and many of the pieces I saw were really good! I got a chance to talk with a number of old friends from the festival and I even got a chance to talk with a cute little artist from Clintonville. Here's a little side bar... remember Lori? Well I had met her when I was judging an art show in Shawano. I gave Lori and her daughter the third place ribbon. A while later we had hit it off and shared life for a few months. Well, low and behold this little Clintonville girl is the person that won the second place award for that same show! Ah, what a fine movie it'd all make. I'd like to get to know her more as her artwork tells stories! I'm very intrigued with what she creates.

I talked with Bill Rebane again and today's conversation went even better that the earlier one. We both apologized for not getting anything in the mail yet but guaranteed that we'd both get something out the following week. Get this... one of his current projects is a history of his studio! A piece that would certainly answer all my questions. Here's the best part... he's considering asking a young director to interview him for the documentary. That director might be me?! That would kick!! Again, I was walking on air the entire evening. It feels like doors are squeaking open and folks are starting to look out!

The day wrapped with a birthday celebration at Kastle Kampgrounds for Lumpy and family friend, Brooke. I had to leave early as tomorrow I will be shooting in Baraboo. It looked like a good time was to be had by all, cept me. Responsibilities!! Actually with Mike and Darby on board I'm actually looking forward to this shoot. While I'm far from confident with the script I'm very confident with what I can bring to the piece. Carlie wants me to shoot two scripts but I'm sure she'll want to use my piece by the time it's all said and done. It should be a much stronger movie.

04-28-02 "DVR Diner!!!"

This morning I took a few extra minutes to make a copy of a tape for Carlie Cross, the chairperson for the Wisconsin Indie Club and the producer for today's shoot. In retrospect I should have gone to school and made copies of my script rewrite instead. It would have been a lot more useful for the day!

I loaded the van with anything and everything I thought I might need to make this effort a successful shoot and off I was to Appleton. Thankfully I had a few extra minutes in the Media Play parking lot to empty the garbage before Mike and Darby pulled in and we were off yet again for Baraboo. While the weather outside was less than desirable the conversation inside was quite refreshing. We covered past and future projects and ideas churned like butter! Carlie's directions were great and we arrived in Baraboo around 11:00. We pulled up to her house at the same time as Brad, a high school actor who was to play a cook in the story. Brad was positive and polite from the start, plus he looked pretty good for the part.

Carlie's house was beautiful. We joked that she rented it to impress us. The decor was a bit too feminine for my tastes but I immediately thought it would make a great set for a production! Waiting for us were Chuck (a writer), his wife, and Marsha (the worker). I was hoping that Chuck was going to be one of the actors as he has a good look and seems to have a nice presence.

Mike agreed to be made up for the role of Jason and I sighed a long silent sigh! Shortly after that Brian and Eric (our makeup crew) arrived and we got started on disgustifying Mike's face.

The rest of the crew arrived about a half-hour later and, after more makeup, we headed down to the location that was to become the DVR Diner. The first thing I noticed was that it was smaller than I had originally thought. While I had seen pictures of the place I had never actually been there and I quickly realized that my three pages of storyboards were not going to work. We had to start from scratch and compose as we shot!

While things were OK there was tension developing. We were still trying to shoot two scripts. It wouldn't have been a problem if we had been allowed to be on set all day long but I couldn't help but pick up on the fact that the owner wanted to go home!

After about two scenes I realized we needed to kick it into high gear if we were ever to get the entire piece shot. I removed the camera from the tripod and started shooting from the shoulder. Now, I'm pretty darn steady but this is something I try to avoid at all costs.

All in all, things went pretty well.

Tiffany, Tiffany's daughter and Byron did a fabulous job as the family. It was easy to see that both Tiffany and Byron have a ton of potential and will be going places! They also seem to have the drive to succeed. I really liked them.

Marsha was dead-on as far as the social worker is concerned! At one point she took off her glasses and stared forward. It was absolutely perfect for her character. I could tell that she's got a great background in theatrics! She was great!

Eric's patience was greatly appreciated as he sat in one spot for four hours as he played the part of our old man. Even though his whole character was a last minute element I think he'll be one of the most humorous characters in the piece, simply because it was approached with such seriousness. All he did was sit there and wait!

Chris (who traveled from Kansas to help out) did a great job breaking up some tension that was forming in my crew with some inappropriate ad-libbing. It was very obvious that he had more talent than we captured but time was getting tight. Also tensions were building.

We wrapped the shoot in about four hours with a fabulous shot of Eric sitting alone in the dark. A sense of relief took control and all was right in the world again. After the shoot I took Eric, Brian, Mike, Darby, and Brad out to the Log Cabin for a little bonding! I felt I owed these guys that for being so helpful and patient. Plenty of laughs made it obvious that we all had a pretty darn good time.

The ride home was long but the conversations were even better than the way down!!

04-29-02 "The Day After, a Weird Coincidence!!!"

I was an absolute weirdo in school today and the kids loved it! I can't even begin to describe my emotions! I was overly positive and enthusiast.

After school I headed to Waupaca to see how my students did in the art show. They got one third place ribbon in Photography and an honorable mention on a painting that wasn't quite done (naughty Sheldon)! I received an honorable mention on a little robot sculpture that I wanted to call "The Iron Bastard!" but I was sure no one would get it... not that it matters.

After the art show I typically frequent a little pizza joint in Waupaca called Uptown Pizza (great place) but I felt like something faster so I opted for the Dairy Queen across the street. As I was pulling into the parking lot another car was pulling in at the other end. I thought I had plenty of time to get parked but the other car was coming too fast and I ended up cutting them off. As I got out of the van this kid came rushing at me from the car! It was Eric from yesterday's shoot!

We chatted a bit and commented that it seemed real weird to have run into each other like this. Five seconds sooner or later and we'd have passed like ships in the night! The weirdest thing about it was that it seemed so absolutely normal!!

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