The Dance

I know when I look back on the making of "Beautiful Noise" I will have a treasure trove of memories to smile about. One of them will undoubtedly be the Dance Sequence. Set to the Kimber Cleveland composition "The Story of Us", sung by Jay White and choreographed by Sarasota dance legend Dewayne Barrett, The Dance, as we all refer to it, is as beautiful a scene as I've ever seen in an indie film...and in films of any kind! It was the perfect blend of the beauty, grace and youthful vitality of Dez (Danielle White) mixed with the fear and apprehension of the damaged Noah (Jay White) - which made for an incredible cinematic moment. Director of Photography John Goodbrad, Assistant Director Jerry Chambless, Sound Producer Ralph Barnette and ace Camera Operator Rod Millington and Company did a magnificent job with the sequence. Danielle, dressed in a fantastic 'Dez-like' dress provided by Florys of JFlo Boutique in SRQ and Jay, playing the downtrodden Noah to the hilt, both delivered a truly wonderful performance. My thanks to them, to their choreographer and to the additional dancers that came together to work on this wondrous section of our film. Dewayne's creativity and direction of The Dance was flawless. The results on screen will both amaze and delight.

As if the Dance wasn't enough of an emotional lift, Danielle White's soulful singing of yet another Kimber Cleveland tune called "Maybe You'll See Me When I'm Gone" brought us all to tears when I directed her in her close up. Danielle's the real deal and will soon be a major star. And the same goes for Kimber. You heard it here first. I have two gorgeous, talented women playing the roles of their lives and giving it up, all-out, every single day on the set. They are going for it and literally reaching for their dreams in every scene they appear in...just like their Characters in the film. Yes folks...there is a method to the "madness" of casting unknowns when I had bankable stars available to me. I'll put Danielle and Kimber up against any two female stars in Hollywood right now and bet the farm on them. When you put the Voice and the Songwriter together on a movie like ours - you literally get instant "Beautiful Noise"..

Steve

Local Boy Makes Good!

Drum roll please...the last second replacement for the role of "Brody" in the Musical-Drama "Beautiful Noise" is Sarasota's own Dane Dandridge. Dane is a veteran performer with the Asolo Repertory Theatre, the Florida State University Asolo Conservatory and numerous other regional theatres. He's a great actor and singer (check out his pic on the Home Page) and he jumped right into his new role at 6:00 am this morning after a short but spirited audition process against two other excellent Suncoast performers. After the first few hours Danielle commented about how she felt like she's known Dane for a long time, though they've never met...and the entire Cast & Crew quickly embraced this talented young man right from the start. His presence on the Team was immediately felt during his initial unrehearsed scenes with the dynamic Steve Garland, who plays "Brian", the proprietor of the fictional Myakka Music Club. Playing off a pro like Steve no doubt helped Dane ease into his role...still, he walked in cold into a full blown feature film production and really did his thing. Can't wait to hear him sing his spotlight song on the movie Soundtrack.

Like I said yesterday, I somehow knew that we'd have no problem filling the void left by a California-based actor in spite of the short notice. Dane is a welcome addition to "Beautiful Noise" and another great example of the kind of raw singing and acting talent that calls Sarasota and the Suncoast home. I'm looking forward to working with him on the set, especially tomorrow when Dane and Danielle light up the screen with a little romance that definitely gets 'Noah's (Jay's) attention. Nothing like a steamy love triangle to get the sparks flying...

Steve  

Speed Bumps

We had an unbelievably productive day on sets located at Top Secret Studios & Cosimo's Too Restaurant. Kimber & Danielle continue to expand their Characters and have ramped up their individual and collective performances beyond my wildest expectations. Throw in the terrific work by supporting cast members Doug Frasure, Chris McCarty, Bernard Broyles and Brett Jones and you have the recipe for Movie Magic. And adding real spice to the shooting day was the sensational performance turned in by veteran actor Steve Carroll. Steve's dynamic take on his character, record producer extraordinaire 'Mick Jonas', is simply mesmerizing.  The guy took my dialogue and turned it into a star-making, manic 'Ned Beatty in Network' kind of showstopping scene that blew the Cast & Crew away - and that set the bar even higher for everyone working on "Beautiful Noise". My thanks to Casting Director Victoria Rowett for helping me find Steve. What a great actor living and working here on the Suncoast.

We hit a semi-major speed bump in the afternoon when we learned that Chester had to drop out of our production at the last minute due to an opportunity in L.A. popping up that forced him to duck out and head back to the West Coast. These things happen from time to time in indie filmmaking...and on major Hollywood productions for that matter. I should have been more upset about this development than I was...but somehow I felt like the Universe was sending the signal that, even though Chester will be sorely missed, this is somehow not a bad thing - and that we'd find a terrific replacement by tomorrow mornings' 6 am actor call time and that everything will work out just fine. I'll let you know tomorrow night what happens as I now have to recast a significant role on the fly and keep the production moving ever forward. Somehow and for some unknown reason, I was actually re-energized by having to scramble to replace a talent like Chester in less than 24 hours in the middle of our tight shooting schedule. It meant a lot to me to see how quickly people like Victoria and Danielle and even my co-Soundtrack producer Roger Hughes and others on our Team scrambled to help find a great local talent to be on set in the morning. It's gonna be fun to see who gets to step into the limelight. It could be a life and career changing experience for a local unknown actor...reminiscent of Rocky Balboa getting his sudden shot, right out of nowhere, at the Heavyweight Title in the first ROCKY. Opportunity is certainly knocking for someone. Can't wait to see who's going to play 'Brody' and how it all pans out for him long-term...

Steve

An "EASY" 14 HOURS

We had the longest day of the shoot today, spending 14 hours on two sets - but it was well worth it. Sterling performances were turned in by Kimber Cleveland and Doug Frasure this morning, then Chris McCarty joined the action in the afternoon in time to watch Danielle White perform a terrific original song written by Kimber called "Easy". The Crew hung in with me like champs through a grueling day as we started to unveil the "Candy" subplot. And the Cast really delivered in every way. Highlights, in addition to some very well-acted scenes, were the jam sessions between takes performed by these multitalented musician/actors.   

Looking forward to all the scenes we're shooting tomorrow at the recording studio. Should be fun...and a little lighter day for us. Chester See makes his debut on the "Beautiful Noise" set and Jay White rejoins us Wednesday. When the film is over I'm thinking about creating a "Beautiful Noise" Concert Tour. With all this talent on one stage it would be one of the most awesome concerts you ever heard! But first things first. We have quite a Story yet to tell with the movie!

Steve

The Gang's All Here!

The reviews worldwide on the Teaser Trailer and "Lonely Hearts" music video have been tremendously supportive. My thanks to all for your wonderful comments. Tomorrow morning at 4:45 am Cast & Crew begins the final two weeks of principal photography. It's going to be great working with the full compliment of Actors for the rest of the shoot. Myakka was cool working with Jay, Danielle, Kimber and King. Now the whole gang descends upon the "Beautiful Noise" set locations to finish what we started. I can't wait for tomorrow morning.

I'll strive to give you daily updates. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Steve