Podcast!

Alright boys and girls, here's your chance to hear some never-before-heard facts about "billy". Such as script, festival experience and the most secret of all the actual budget. So listen for a good time!

http://apartofhim.com/2010/09/22/podcast-27-billy-was-a-deaf-kid.aspx


Thanks to apartofhim.com

So here is another one of Rhetts famous texting arguments with random people. It's becoming a favorite past-time of his. This girl had it coming though:



I'm thinking of texting Rhett from a random number, just to get him going.

We were driving through Wyoming a few weeks back to buy some fireworks and came across this sign. Not only did we enter, but we lit of some fireworks in the middle of said "poison gas."

We came out fine. Thanks BP for risking the lives of so many.

Making Fun of a Loser

So the other day while driving, Burke and I happened upon a loser in a blue Mustang, with pimp racing stripes. He/she was tail-gating everyone in sight. They were also trying to sell said Mustang, and so their number was written huge in the back window. The following conversation ensued...



I love screwing with people like this. It warms my tender heart.

Random guy dancing in Jamba Juice

We saw this guy randomly dancing in Jamba Juice. He really gets into it until his order is ready, then he snaps out of it and walks up to the counter.

Bless his heart.

Where filmmaking happens.

We made this little flick highlighting some of the great thinkers of indie film. It might look like we ripped off those NBA commercials and well...we did. Don't tell anyone, ok?

Enjoy:

Kinda smart, but mostly dumb phone.

So, I'm sitting here at work bored out of my mind. Sometimes the only thing I can do to stay awake is text as many people as I can think of. I use the same method to stay awake during church. I know, I know, I should pay attention during church...but hey, I can sleep and not pay attention or I can text and not pay attention. Either way I'm not paying attention but by texting I avoid hitting my head on the bench in front of me.

Anyway, I've kinda hit an annoying wall with my phone. I got a new phone a few months ago and it's been pretty good to me. It's just a regular old slider...minus all the bells and whistles. When I first started texting with this phone I found out that whenever I typed a word using predictive text that it didn't already know then it would "remember" the word. Turns out they're even making these POS phones kinda smart now days. This was great when I'd type a name like "Rhett" because normally I'd have to switch out of predictive text, type the name, and then switch back...kind of a pain if you ask me. But my phone quickly learned how to spell "Rhett" along with a handful of other names. Great? That's what I thought.

Soon into this new relationship with my new phone (some Samsung model) I had to type an address and the street name was "Meadow Pine Ct." I know your thinking "what's the big deal" right? If you know anything about texting, you'll know that the predictive keys for "Ct" and "at" are both "2" and "8" on a phone. So the problem I'm running into is, now whenever I type the word "at" my phone (with a small helping of man given sense) thinks I'm trying to type "Ct" and automatically inserts "Ct" instead of "at"...forcing me to scroll down to "at". That was just the beginning. I once messed up and in my haste I misspelled the word "with" and scrolled to "whuh" instead. They both use the same numeric keys. So now my genius phone inserts "whuh" every time I try typing "with". Whuh? For real? Come on Samsung, either give me a smart phone as a free upgrade or make my kinda-smart phone dumb again so I can use it. Instead of "any" I get "BMW", "fhe" instead of "did"...and the list goes on. I swear once this phone "remembers" then it never forgets.

The point is, now that I've been using this phone for a handful of months it has developed a whole library of misspelled words that the phone manages to choose instead of the correct versions of them. It's become a chore texting people. Now, in order to send a coherent text, I have to type it, proof read it, scroll up and fix any words that the phone assumed I wanted, and then send.

A word of caution to all you texters out there, don't misspell words or your phone might never let you forget. I'm starting to think that my only option is buy a new phone, one that hasn't learned how to misspell words.




Peace out.

Adios B-Side...

B-Side the innovative independent film distributor and film festival partner is shutting it's doors on March 1. It's a sad day my friends. They were a great company, and we got to know Chris Holland, one the staff members, really well.

I'm sure they're already going on a new project though.

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/blog/2010/02/b-side-entertainment-announces-shutdown.php

Rhett

Fests are the Best.

We're so used to getting rejected from festivals, we're not quite sure what to do when we get accepted. I often read and re-read the acceptance email just to make sure I know what it says, and then I have Burke read it.
Anyway we are stoked to be a part of Indie Memphis and Rappahannock. They both seem like great fests. I wish we could go to both, but the funds are tight, so we'll only be attending Indie Memphis.

Indie Memphis is run by Erik Jambor, who I met at SXSW. We weren't in SXSW, but we went just to see what it was like. And boy oh boy is it an awesome fest. Janet Pierson is great too. Anyway, way back in January, Burke and I went to Sundance and Slamdance as we always do. We wanted to talk to the programmers of those festivals to see what they liked and didn't like about our film. Well when we walked into the Slamdance offices the staff started yelling "Billy! Billy!" We weren't sure what was going on. But come to find out they really loved our film, but another one beat us out (they probably always say that). BUT, Drea Clark gave us a list of fests to submit to, and Indie Memphis was on top of her list. So, when I met Erik Jambor (Thank you Chris Holland for introducing us) I mentioned that Drea thought he would like our movie, and $2.13 for postage and a few months later we're extremely excited to be part of Indie Memphis!

As for Rappahannock, which is one crazy name that I still don't think I pronounce right, we met the director of that festival, Ryan Poe, through email, through Paleo, the guy who did the music in the film. Ryan made a music video of David (Paleo) singing Woman Like Me. We found the video on The Face, and asked Ryan if we could work in parts of BILLY to use to promote the film. He agreed to, and then asked us to send us the movie. So we did, and now we're part of his fest as well, and we couldn't be happier!

So...that's that in the name of love.

Rhett

"Woman Like Me" music video

We just got done making a music video to a live version of Paleo's "Women Like Me."

While we were at Cinequest with "Billy Was a Deaf Kid" we were able to make it to one of Paleo's shows in a little town north of San Francisco. We were running real late, tempers were getting short, there were 6 of us packed in a Durango, and worst of all we had no idea where we were going. When we finally made the the little convention center we were only able to hear Paleo play two songs. As we sat there trying to calm down from the stressful day I remember hearing the first few notes to "Woman Like Me", the theme song for the movie, and we all looked at each other and non-verbally agreed that it was worth the trek to see Paleo live. Here we were, in California, at the world premiere of "Billy Was a Deaf Kid" listening to the iconic song from the movie...live. It was rockin'.

I think that's partly to blame for the inspiration to make this music video. Check it out...and enjoy:



Click here to view the High Def version: http://vimeo.com/5006064
Or check it out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=83597667862

John Cassavetes says it all.

We love this clip of John talking about audiences and film. He had such great mannerisms.

Poker Face...

So, I'm listening to Lady Ga Ga as I write this. Poker/Zipper Face. It's pretty rockin.

Anyway, as Burke previously posted, Cinequest was awesome. They have some of the best festival staff of any festival we've been to. Mike Rabehl is an amazing guy. If you're a filmmaker you MUST submit to Cinequest. They treat you right, know how to have fun, and they really want to see your film succeed in this crazy industry.

We hauled the couch from the film out there and gave people rides before and after our screenings. It was pretty fun. We actually staged it so when the huge crowds came out of "All About Dad" (a great film from Mark Tran) we would basically push the couch right in-between groups of people. Annoying? Probably. Effective? You bet your booty.

We also met some amazing filmmakers. One of our main goals for film festivals was meeting as many people as we could. Fans and Filmmakers alike. Actually, we made good friends with some of the people who hated our movie, like Cynthia. We read her scathing review the day after one of our screenings, and told her to come find us, which she did. So, we snapped a picture of her and have become good friends. She still doesn't care for Billy or his escapades, but she'll come around. Some of the great filmmakers we met were Rob Margolies (Lifelines), John Michael Thomas (Corpse Run), Alejandro Adams (Canary), Chris Cannuciari (New Brooklyn), Don Hardy (Witch Hunt), Mark Tran (All About Dad). I'm sure I'm leaving someone out...I'll update it when I remember. So go check out their films. Please.

Cinequest in pictures...

So Cinequest has come and gone. We had a ton of fun and met a lot of great people. "Billy Was a Deaf Kid" got a lot of great reviews and some not-so-great ones. There were honestly some people who said Billy changed their lives. Even I'll admit that the more times I watch it the more and more I get out of it...and the more I understand things about my own life.

After Cinequest I thought back to when we first screened Billy to test audiences and the mixed reviews we got. What's interesting is some of the people who have hated it, hated it because of how some of the characters acted...and that's interesting because we based a lot of the conversation and characters off of these people who hate it. It's funny that when people see themselves from a 3rd person perspective they don't even realize that they're looking at themselves. They think they're watching someone who is oppressive, mean, and has no likable quality to them....when really they are seeing certain aspects of their real life and they won't accept that, either consciously or subconsciously. It just goes to show that people aren't aware of who they really are. People look at movies like "the Bourne Identity" and think "I'm a lot like Jason Bourne" or they think they're Leo Decaprio in "Titanic" or Keira Nightly in "Pride and Prejudice." When really we're not these always-perfect, never-a-dull-moment, get-along-great, happily-ever-after people...in fact, we're all less than perfect and that is what keeps us human. How many of us snap, for no reason, snap at the people we care about most? Are the majority of our arguments based on things worth arguing about? Or are they usually based on superficial things that if you stopped for a second and breathed in you'd wonder why you started arguing in the first place? I'm willing to bet it's almost always the latter.

There's quote at the end of the flick that I think sums up peoples reaction better than it sums up the movie:

"I used to have a girlfriend that thought I was the funniest man alive.
Whenever I went out with her and thought I was being romantic and
dashing, she simply used to roar with laughter - at everything I said and did.

This taught me a very basic, necessary lesson: that we really aren't
ourselves, and the impression we make on people is often the direct
opposite of the one we intended."

John Cassavetes


So there you go.

Burke.

Here are some of my fave pics we took during the festival:

Microphone Thief.

During shooting one night out on the street, we set Billy's microphone down for a minute as we adjusted some of our lights. A few minutes later we went back to retrieve said microphone and soon realized it was no where to be found. We thought at first we had just misplaced it, but after searching all of our cars, street blocks and houses we realized some poor soul had stolen it.

The economy must be worse than we thought. It's forcing people to steal toy microphones off the street.



Now, it wasn't just your run-of-the-mill microphone. It was a vintage 1984 Fisher Price Karaoke/Microphone. We searched and searched online for one, but had no luck. So, Rhett being the mad artist that he is, set to work on building a replica out of paper mache and foam.





It took him about 2 days, and a ton of patience, but we're confident no one will be able to tell which is which in the film.

Hopefully the dude that stole it in first places rots with guilt. Or at the very least, goes to see the film.

Candyce Foster. The Loogie Girl.

Yes, we know, that's a disgusting title. But once you see the movie it will all make perfect sense.



We want to take the time to highlight members of the cast and crew, so everyone can see what great people we had to work with. Instead of giving a little bio, we thought we'd put together "lists" of dif. facts about each person. It's more fun, plus lists are easier to read.

This is what Candyce had to say:

5 Random Things:

1. I sleep with my eyes open. "Freaky."
2. I love to shop-judge me.
3. Once I find I good book I can do nothing else.
4. I am an honest to goodness Madonna fan. Her old retro stuff ROCKS.
5. I have Osgood Slaughter disease. Look it up.

Fav. Foods

1. Mexican.
2. Movie theatre popcorn. I dont care how much you pay for the box from a store, it just isn't the same.
3. uh... Mexican.
4. Mashed Potatoes.
5. Ice Cream, Raspberry Sorbet in particular.


Things You Want To Do
What like before I die? What?
1. Travel. A lot.
2. Sleep on a beach. Naked.
3. Open a flower shop.
4. Become a good cook.
5. Relax.

"Billy" is Candyce's first feature film, and we think she did a phenomenal job.