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Grassroots Moviemaker
Grassroots Moviemaker: Five Stages of Budget Grief
Coming to terms with the fact that you may have to shoot for less than you ever dreamed
At some point in our moviemaking lives we’re all going to face the loss of something very dear to us. That grief can seem unbearable, I know. I’ve been there. But friends, I’m here to tell you that grief is a normal part of the healing process. Our intense disappointment about not being able to hire who we want, shoot where we want or get that crane shot that still arouses us whenever we envision it… all of this will subside. And when it does, our sense of liberation will open the gate that inevitably leads to that golden road where all our moviemaking dreams will come true.
April 8th, 2009 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Grassroots Moviemaker: Second Wind for Rufus
The progress goddess pays us a visit
Being a moviemaker isn’t rocket science. When you’re a rocket scientist you have formulas and equations with which to solve your problems; you have colleagues who can show you the exact path toward becoming a successful rocket scientist. And when you get there, you have a salary. I thus contend that making movies is far and away more difficult than a cozy, sterile pursuit like rocket science.
March 5th, 2009 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Grassroots Moviemaker: We Are Here!
Anna’s Journey: Hope Amidst the Hand-wringing
Not many events, not even economic catastrophe, can hold a candle to war as way of putting things in perspective. As I write this, one very determined young actress just emailed me that the plane she’s been riding halfway across the world— from the Republic of Georgia to the island of Manhattan— has just touched down. She is, and I quote, “…excited, confused, and jetlagged, but most of all euphoric. OMG! OMG! I am here!” That is one happy teenager, and she has finally chased her moviemaking dreams all the way to the U.S.A.
February 6th, 2009 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Grassroots Moviemaker: Moviemakers Make a Difference
The Winter 2009 issue kicks off our 16th year, and many of you will be reading it for the first time at the Sundance Film Festival, which is always a favorite destination of mine. Although I’ll be at Sundance again this year, I don’t get to travel to as many festivals as I once did. I’ve discovered that juggling careers as a film producer and magazine publisher while moonlighting as a married father of three tends to put a damper on many travel aspirations. But getting an invitation to the Bahamas International Film Festival in December was an offer I had a hard time passing up, and I’m glad I didn’t.
January 21st, 2009 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Grassroots Moviemaker: Stop Russia! Say “No” to War!!
Georgian actress speaks out against Russian invasion
Yesterday I wrote about Anna Gurji, the Georgian star of Rufus Rex. Today I’m going to post a very powerful entry from her own blog.
Stop Russia!
Say No To War!!!
It’s 4 a.m. and a frightening nightmare wakes me up. I am wearing outdoor clothes, that is not very comfortable in bed. But at that moment, I can’t feel it, since I am too scared... too scared that a huge noise might pierce my eardrums and brightness invade my whole vision. I stand up and look outside from the window. I look at the dark, cloudless sky and I look at the street lamps. I look at the deserted, empty pavement and then back at the sky. Then I turn around and go to bed. I hug my pillow tight and try to sleep as much as I can. But I can’t stop thinking about it... all those images of horrible scenes from the TV are flashing into my mind. Then I hear noise of a jet, flying above somewhere and I feel as my heart starts to beat faster and louder. Fortunately, that night goes well. Nothing happens in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
August 13th, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Grassroots Moviemaker: Georgia On My Mind
The dreams and survival of Rufus Rex star at risk in Georgian capital
I was about to file my next update on the progress of Rufus Rex, but some things transcend moviemaking, even for me…
Almost three years ago I got a letter from a 15-year-old girl named Anna Gurji who lived in the Republic of Georgia. She said that her father was a writer-director, her older sister was a director and that she herself had already appeared in a few films and commercials. Her constant, passionate dream was to become a professional actress and hopefully work in international productions. I wrote back and she stayed in touch, keeping me updated on her career progress. She landed more film roles and recently garnered serious acclaim for her performance in a Hungarian feature called Cinka Panna. In that film she plays the famous 18th-century gypsy primadonna whose “exceptionally interesting, colorful and emotionally strained life metaphorically points out the movie’s theme, which is the individual’s struggle for recognition and a place in the world.” That quote, which comes directly from the movie’s IMDb website entry, reminds me of Anna’s real-life role, not only as a young artist seeking “recognition and a place in the world,” but as a human being whose struggle just became more dire.
August 11th, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Grassroots Moviemaker: Building a Moviemaking Team
A couple of years ago, the first night I landed in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival, my friend and I were sitting at a lively little bar, minding our own business, about to order dinner. Next thing I knew we were talking to a group of very sharp young people about grassroots moviemaking and the various projects they were doing. We ended up hanging out with them all evening and before it was over I knew that when the time came to do my next movie I wanted to try to work with them if the project seemed right. More than two years later one of those Sundancers has agreed to come aboard as the DP on Rufus Rex and one has become the producer.
July 21st, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>It’s Official—Pre-production Begins
“I never ask people for permission to make a film. Instead, I present them with the fact that I’m making a film. If they’re wise, they’ll get in on it early.”
—Francis Ford Coppola
Last week our unit production manager for Rufus Rex officially started work and I paid UPS an astounding amount of money to deliver a letter to the Republic of Georgia officially inviting our lead actress to the United States. We’re also officially in pre-production on the grassroots (my preferred term, since I dislike “microbudget”—no art should be defined by its budget) movie Rufus Rex, which my 15-year-old son, Nick, and I wrote together last winter.
July 8th, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Riding the Knife’s Edge
”I think it’s an illness,” director Isabel Coixet says of moviemaking. “It’s a virus you get somehow when you’re a kid and it’s always with you… There is a very specific word for that, a very scientific word called algolagnia. It’s the mixture between pleasure and pain. That’s why I say it’s a virus, because there’s no way you can get rid of it—no matter what.”
Isabel almost has it right. Algolagnia is defined as the pleasure one derives from inflicting or experiencing pain. But I get where she’s going with that quote, which comes from a new interview with her that will appear in the summer issue of MovieMaker. She’s saying that moviemaking is something that many of us can’t help doing because we’re hardwired to demand the kind of rush we only feel when riding that knife’s edge between security and risk, pleasure and pain, triumph and disaster. It’s not unique to moviemakers, of course—the same can be said of skydivers, high-stakes poker players and downhill skiers. Everyone who’s attracted to extreme activities craves a heightened sensation of being alive. Not to get all existential, but isn’t that what life is—a journey along the knife’s edge between heaven and hell? Moviemakers simply embrace the journey fearlessly, and enjoy the ride immensely.
June 21st, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Ben Stiller vs. Kurt Vonnegut: Respecting Your Audience of One
“Every successful creative person creates with an audience of one in mind.”
—Kurt Vonnegut
We had our first reading of the screenplay Saturday at the St. Lawrence Arts Center in Portland. I had put a call out for actor/readers and a great bunch of people replied. They sat on stage and we read through the entire script and then discussed it afterward. The whole process took three-and-a-half hours and the actors and audience members all had some good comments.
June 11th, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Persistence of Vision: Pre-Production Begins on Rufus Rex
The date is June 6th and we’ve officially begun pre-production on Rufus Rex. What does pre-production mean on a grassroots movie? When you’re the screenwriter-producer-director it means that you’ve set a date for the start of principal photography and you’ve started working backward from there. The date I’ve chosen is September 22nd and we’ll wrap 21 shooting days later, on October 18th.
Between now and then I have to hire the crew, conduct casting sessions, pick and secure locations, raise money and orchestrate a thousand details in addition to continuing to polish the script, think about shots and movement and how 100,000 or so feet of film will all cut together… Basically, I have to be half artist and half businessguy if I’m going to be successful.
June 6th, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Pardon My French: Make it Your Way or Why Do it?
Ah, Paris in the springtime… the flowers, the mist, the music... the incredible American repertory movie programming?
Jessica and I just got back from two weeks in France (the occasion being our long-delayed honeymoon) and of all the amazing things we saw and did and ate in that country, one of my favorite memories will always be our first night in Paris, when we checked into our hotel, went up to our room, set down our bags and—romantic guy that I am—immediately left to go to the movies. A few moments earlier we had walked by the L’ Action Ecoles (“The Action School”) movie theater in the 5th Arrondissement and a double feature was about to start— Five Fingers with James Mason followed by Broken Arrow with Jimmy Stewart. And both films were in English! I could hardly believe my luck!
June 6th, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Indietocin: Gauntlets, Wankers and Rufus Rex
There’s immense power in not only announcing that you’re going to do something challenging and grand, but actually getting the calendar in on the act. Saying when you’re going to do it is a far different animal than talking about wanting to do it. By giving yourself parameters you’re going from “wish” to “goal.” You’re throwing down the gauntlet and taking it up, all in the same breath. Not only that, but as soon as you vocalize the concept—even to your closest friends—you’ve put your reputation on the line. Your friends will either believe you because of what you’ve shown them in the past, or they’ll smile knowingly because of what you haven’t. You’ll be the object of admiration or the ever-lovable wanker, and the beautiful thing is that it’s completely your choice.
June 6th, 2008 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
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' . $phpAds_raw['html'] . ''; } ?>Grassroots Moviemaker: Tool to Leave an Impression
As with a parent and his children, it’s tough for a publisher to name a favorite issue of his magazine, but this annual Complete Guide to Making Movies is rapidly becoming the one I look forward to the most. Why?
September 20th, 2007 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
Grassroots Moviemaker: The Cost of Important Little Pictures
I went to two holiday parties last week and ran into two old friends. Both have the kind of careers many moviemakers I know would envy: They’ve done what they love and they’ve always kept their families in groceries, if not dinners at The Ivy. The first guy, an indie producer, told me his wife tried for years to gently nudge him out of the business. These days, though, she’s finally on board. The difference?
January 20th, 2007 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys
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