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&comments

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:

Getting Close.

So, getting ready for film festivals is a full time job. With no pay. With this being our first major film festival, I wonder if we've done all that we can to prepare. We've read and read all about different strategies, studied books, read a bunch of blogs (Joe Swanberg has some great advice) and talked to as many filmmakers as we could have. But you still wonder if it's enough!

We've made a lot of mistakes so far, and I'm sure we'll make a lot more, but it's all part of the process I suppose. It's a fun experience. We are getting really really excited for Cinequest though. Hopefully people will come to our screenings.

At least my mom will be there. So now we only need to worry about getting 299 more people to attend.

Rhetty

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.