Mr Writer

i wrote a film in 2007 for an nsi first features competition. i drafted it for about a year with the help of chad tremblay. we put it on the back burner and made "a reasonable man." then i did my documentary and worked with a band. now, since january, i've been re-drafting the full length again. it's gone through quite a bit of work to get here, table reads, meetings, story ideas, but i am proud to announce that we project that we will be filming "MR WRITER" in mid-2011. our budget is modest, our crew and cast will be legendary. the soundtrack will kick ass. it will be very winnipeg.

met with a few actors this week to discuss the film. one of them, i didn't even know her, found her website online, she's a great stage/screen actress here in winnipeg, she read the script, we met, we shook hands and said we would love to work together. i can't wait to make this film, as there are so many talented, wonderful people getting behind it.

i just watched an edward burns film from 2004 that i bought in 2006 but never watched, it's called "looking for kitty." i've always been a fan of his subtle style, his rich and natural dialogue, though most people online seem to hate him for various silly reasons (which is what most people on the internet do, they complain and don't bring anything new into the world except for negativity).

so i was just reading up on him, and his first film ("the brothers mcmullen") was shot for about $28,000 in 1995 (basically the cost of the 16mm film and processing). he shot it over eight months, i'm guessing by not paying anyone (his cast was all unknowns) and shooting it largely at his parents' house. he worked for entertainment tonight at the time as a gofer. he passed it along to robert redford and it got into sundance, becoming the most profitable indie film at the time (making about $10 million).

films made for under $100,000:

The Brothers McMullen ($28,000)

Primer ($7000)

Super Size Me ($65,000)

Blair Witch ($35,000)

Clerks ($27,000)

over -

Mad Max ($200,000)

Night of the Living Dead ($114,000)

Napoleon Dynamite ($400,000)

Once ($150,000)

Evil Dead ($375,000)

stories like this make me realize that a budget of $40,000 isn't so bad to shoot a basic film with a talented cast and an amazing crew. all you need is a good story, it doesn't matter what you shoot it on.

i get a little tired of people thinking that films aren't real films unless hundreds of people work on it, waste time and money, and spend over a million bucks. even coppola on "youth without youth" wanted to be a minimalist, allowing only the necessary crew on set at all times.

if you make a record in your bedroom on a computer and it sells a million copies because the songs are good and you can sing them well, the logic should be the same for film. unfortunately, there is a mass consensus that films must be made a certain way to be considered "real." art is art, and i think we lose sight of that. any medium in which someone chooses to tell a story is acceptable in my opinion.

kaeleigh and i have been working pretty hard to get the ball rolling on this one. the more i put into it, the more excited i get. we've been officially working on it since the beginning of may, breaking it down, budgeting, shot listing, location scouting, all of that fun pre-production stuff.

i would love to tell you who we've got on board to star thus far, but i'd rather reveal a whole cast list once everyone has read the script and agreed, as there are a few people i'm still waiting to hear back from. let's just say that everyone involved thus far is fantastic, and i cannot wait to work with them! additionally, a local fashionista will be involved in the look of the characters. once again, can't say who, but it is really cool.