Ah yes...the thrill of Victory in battle. It was touch and go all week, but my Team pulled together in the clutch and helped me film some crucial pick up shots that enable me to complete the rough cut and ship it to the film festivals on time. What we have now is not only a great final sequence to Beautiful Noise, but also an ending that leads perfectly into the sequel. I didn't compromise. Now it's the movie I intended to make...and not some smaller version of what it could be.
So now it's on to the Sunday night invitation-only private screening of the rough cut - which will no doubt generate some insightful critiques of the film - and then Marc and I will adjust and polish as necessary. It's amazing what a little creative writing and a handful of well-placed 5 to 30 second scenes can do to immeasurably improve the understanding and pacing of a feature film...
Heartfelt thanks to Isaac, Ryan, Jerry & Ralph and to Jim Minor at Riverview HS for making the day happen.
As a Bonus I also got word from Jim that Riverview just cleared the date of Friday, April 1st for the "Beautiful Noise Concert" Event starring Cast members singing songs from the movie and Jay performing his full-blown Neil Diamond show. We'll probably sell out 2 shows for that extravaganza. It's more than a concert - it's gonna have theatrical elements and clips from the movie and all sorts of musical surprises...so it's a show not to be missed. The cool thing is that our Concert in the fabulous 1,000 seat Riverview Performing Arts Center takes place just days before the Sarasota Film Festival, where we're hopeful to have our World Premiere of Beautiful Noise.
So once again, the teachable moment here for aspiring filmmakers is simply this:
Never give up and never give in when it comes to doing whatever it takes to get your movie made the way you want to make it! It's your Voice...it's your Dream...it's your Art. To hell with the mountains you gotta climb to make your film. Just go for it! Surround yourself with people who believe in your Vision and then don't let go of the reins - no matter how hard the circumstances and distractions try to buck you off course.
If you don't quit, you can't fail.
See it through...no matter what.
Steve
