Film Review: Mother’s Red Dress

One of the things I can always count on when watching a No Restrictions Ent. independent film is that producer John Paul Rice and writer/director Edgar Michael Bravo will tackle tough social issues that few indie filmmakers dare to touch.  Mother’s Red Dress was no exception.

Coming off the heels of the success of  One Hour Fantasy Girl, a drama that put the spotlight on the issues of women trapped in a life of fantasy role-playing, this filmmaking duo tackled the painful issue of child abuse and PTSD in Mother’s Red Dress.

Set in Northern California, Mother’s Red Dress follows the life of Paul Ullman, a college-age young man who’s a witness to his mother’s murder of an abusive boyfriend. Paul leaves and makes the decision to restart his life in the first town that feels normal. Immediately Paul meets and feels a connection with Ashley, a cashier at a local coffee shop. Ashley works with Brenda, an overweight co-worker dealing with self-esteem and anger issues related to being teased, scorned and rejected because of her weight.

In fact, while the primary message of Mother’s Red Dress is about the affects of child abuse its secondary message, I feel, is about bullying, a type of abuse children inflict upon each other. As recent events have proven, unchecked bullying can lead to disastrous and even fatal results.

In penning Mother’s Red Dress, Bravo uses Paul’s inner reflection, “Something happened here” to weave a complex tale of innuendo and evidence to slowly reveal the abuse Paul suffered as a child. However, unlike most films about child abuse, Paul is an adult, yet still deeply and emotionally affected by the trauma of his abuse. In fact, Paul is so damaged by the abuse that he has concocted an alternate reality that is slowly revealed throughout the film. The message here is clear: the affects of abuse follow you. You cannot simply shrug it off and go on with your life. Children of abuse, even adults, need treatment.

I was most touched by the true-to-life manner in which Paul bonded with Ashley. Ashley best friend Brenda has been bullied most of her life about her weight causing her to immediately lash out whenever she believes she’s being mistreated or neglected because of her weight. Ashley is quite aware of Brenda’s reactionary coping mechanism and she immediately begins to suspect Paul’s coping mechanism (the need to help or protect), and thus his pain.

Teasing and bullying is something most of us are familiar with. All through elementary school and junior high school I was a victim of bullying. Kids can be cruel and they took every advantage of my chubby body and introverted nature to tease me.  What was my coping mechanism? I started lifting weights in high school until I was big enough that no one dared tease me. More than anything, however, is my open reception of quiet, shy people. I tend to befriend and defend them faster than any one I know.  Mother’s Red Dress does a solid job of illustrating the post-trauma effects of abuse and why it’s so important to stop and then treat the abuse early.

In April, my friend and producer, John Paul Rice, joins Family & Children’s Place and returns to Louisville, KY (his hometown) for a theatrical run of Mother’s Red Dress at the Village 8 Cinemas, during Child Abuse Prevention Month from April 20th through the 26th.

To learn more about Mother’s Red Dress and other films by No Restrictions Entertainment visit the website here: www.norestrictionsent.com

To learn more about Family & Childrens Place visit the website here: www.familyandchildrensplace.org

Best Picture or Blockbuster Status?

Excerpted from Main St article

Since the Oscars were first handed out in 1929, the most popular movie in the country has won Best Picture a scant 18 times. In the past 40 years, the only box office champions to break through to the Academy voters were The Godfather (1972), Rocky (1974), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Rain Man (1988), Forrest Gump (1994), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). That’s right, it’s been almost a full decade since the last time it happened, and the gulf between popularity and prestige has only widened since.

“There exists a huge audience out there that doesn’t want to think when they go to the movies,” says John Farr. Those numbers are rarely reflected in Oscar nominees from any given year.

That audience tends to vote with its ticket stubs and popcorn money. Statistician William Briggs pored through the box office receipts and found that, since 1940, 15 Best Picture winners made 25% or less of the haul of that year’s highest-grossing pictures. It’s happened four times in the past decade: Shrek 2′s $441 million crushed Million Dollar Baby’s $100 million in 2004, the final Star Wars installment’s $380 million dwarfed Crash’s $54 million in 2005, Spider-Man 3 trounced No Country For Old Men by $336 million to $74 million, while the record $750 million raked in by 3-D spectacle Avatar in 2009 more than quadrupled The Hurt Locker’s $17 million take in its opening weekend alone.

So…are you looking for your first Oscar, or to break the theatrical glass ceiling of your movie’s potential box office?

Film Review: The Waterhole Movie

After far too long I finally sat down with my personal copy of The Waterhole, a film by Ely Mennin, for review.  Waterhole is billed as follows:

The Waterhole is the story of Miller, who takes sanctuary in a friend’s bar rather than deal with a failed relationship and pending college graduation. While his two best friends, Jim and Murphy, are taking steps to start new lives, Miller sinks in a world of one-night stands and hangovers, until a friend from his past returns bringing his world crashing down around him.

I have to admit, I had the wrong idea about what the film would be like. Three guys drinking too much in a small town would surely lead to some fateful fatal accident that would be poorly concealed and later revealed by someone who’d captured it all on his/her mobile phone. Nope. The Waterhole is nothing like that. It’s an indie skein about the wild dynamics of relationships between buddies, their women and their dreams.

Ten minutes in, The Waterhole hits you with an “Oh shit!” moment that forces you to settle into your seats and pay attention. Soon after, it’s clear that you’re watching the steady decline of an obviously heartbroken man, whose obliviousness to his inner pain sets him on a path of self destruction. In hindsight, the “oh shit” moment mentioned above is a clear indication of how deeply troubled the main character Miller is, played by Patrick J Adams.  No one would go through such lengths if they weren’t hurting badly.

The supporting cast of The Waterhole is sufficiently rounded out by Rebecca Mozo (who has an uncanny resemblance to both Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman), Jade Carter and Matt Stasi.  There is a notable performance by Joey Klein who plays Cracker.  From his first appearance Cracker appears edgy, off-kilter and almost suicidally psychotic.  Klein plays the role like a loose cannon  hanging on by a very thin thread and when we finally see him at the end he proves our theories correct.  It was a captivating performance.

The Waterhole is a solid indie effort; the dialog was fresh and smart, the locations and production values helped tell the story.   Most importantly, I believed each of the characters.  Every performance rang true, and that very important in a low budget indie film.  To Adams’ credit, he made me feel about Miller the way I feel about most men who mope their way through life: I want to smack them upside the head and say, “cowboy up!”  I would have liked Adams to offer up more action/behavior indicative of the character’s downfall, however.  In lieu of Miller hitting rock bottom because of his own devices, he indirectly hits the bottom through a friend.  While the sequence is shocking, I felt like something was missing because I’d spent so much time with Miller but he wasn’t the initial focus of the breakdown.

In the end Miller has to grow up. Part of growing up means reconciling with his hurt feelings and admitting certain things to himself instead of trying to drink his troubles away.  We see that Miller gets it and is on a new path, a path that begins far away from the water hole.

The Waterhole is available on Amazon.com

IFTA: AFM Will Stay in Santa Monica thru 2017

AMERICAN FILM MARKET^® TO STAY IN SANTA MONICA THROUGH 2017

 Los Angeles – Dec. 8, 2011 – The American Film Market (AFM^®), the premier event of the Independent Film & Television Alliance^® (IFTA^®), will remain in Santa Monica through 2017, IFTA leadership announced today. 

 New agreements will keep the AFM at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, its home since 1991, with additional exhibition space continuing at JW Marriott’s Le Merigot Beach Hotel and with conferences continuing at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows.

 IFTA Chairman Paul Hertzberg noted, “We tirelessly explored every option to ensure the AFM would have the best long-term home.  We look forward to many more successful Markets with the beach as our backdrop.”

 IFTA President-CEO Jean Prewitt commented, “Our stated goal from the start of this process has been to provide the best environment, resources and value for the world’s buyers and sellers and, after long and careful deliberations, we believe remaining in Santa Monica will achieve all of those goals.”

 “In Santa Monica, the AFM will soon have access to a new 12-screen multiplex, a 2,000-plus seat world class venue for red-carpet premieres, more hotel rooms, light rail transportation to Los Angeles and Hollywood, and even a spectacular new park across from the Loews.”  IFTA EVP and AFM Managing Director Jonathan Wolf said. “We are thrilled that everyone in the city came together to make this happen.”

 Over the next few years, Santa Monica will be transformed by a variety of public improvements and development projects that will significantly enhance the American Film Market, including:

• AMC Entertainment is developing a new Santa Monica cinema complex with 12 screens, including an IMAX theater.  It is anticipated to open in late 2014 or early 2015.
• ·         The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium will be rehabilitated and expanded, providing AFM with an ideal venue for red-carpet premieres.  Expected to be completed in late 2014, the renovated auditorium will include a removable seating system that can accommodate more than 2,000 or create an open space for large events.
• At least 700 hotel rooms will be added to the downtown area, including mid-priced hotels from Marriott and Hampton Inn.
• A light Metro Rail terminal at Fourth Street and Colorado Avenue, a five-minute walk from the Loews, will connect Santa Monica to Los Angeles and Hollywood.  Dubbed the “subway to the sea,” it is expected to be operational in 2015.
• A stunning seven-acre park on Ocean Avenue directly across from the Loews Hotel is scheduled for completion in late 2013, along with an adjoining new mixed-use urban village with restaurants and shops eyed for 2014.

Confirmed dates for AFM in Santa Monica are:

• October 31 – November 7, 2012
• November 6 – 13, 2013
• November 5 – 12, 2014
• November 4 – 11, 2015
• November 2 – 9, 2016
• November 1 – 8, 2017

Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau research estimates that the AFM will contribute more than $100 million to the local economy over the next six years.

About the AFM

The business of independent motion picture production and distribution – a truly collaborative process – reaches its peak every year at the AFM, when 8,000 industry leaders converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, screenings, conferences, premieres, networking and parties.  Participants come from more than 70 countries and include acquisition and development executives, agents, attorneys, directors, distributors, festival directors, financiers, film commissioners, producers, writers, the world’s press and all those who provide services to the motion picture industry.

Founded in 1981, the AFM quickly became the premiere global marketplace where Hollywood’s decision-makers and trendsetters all gather under one roof.  Unlike a film festival, the AFM is a marketplace where production and distribution deals are closed.  In just eight days, more than $800 million in deals will be sealed – on both completed films and those in every stage of development and production – making the AFM the must-attend industry event.

The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance, the trade association representing the world’s producers and distributors of independent motion pictures and television programs.  More information is online at www.IFTA-online.org.

 

Focused on Results Through Constructive Criticism

This weekend I assembled an diverse crowd to join a focus group session for one of my films. Going in, the team knew there were issues with the film/story but I felt I was too close to make that judgment alone.  I needed insightful, varied and constructive criticism to decide the best story and format for the project.  Focus groups are scary, intimidating and necessary. Like most surveys I learned it’s good practice to discard the best and worst comments and focus on the meat in the middle.