Rocky Mountain High & California Dreamin'

Now that the first leg of taking Beautiful Noise on the film festival circuit is complete, I get a chance to sit back and reflect on things a bit. The response to the film in all 3 markets that it has played - Sarasota Florida, Dayton Ohio and Park City Utah - was exactly the same. Audience reaction was uniformly positive, at times emotional, and in all cases in complete agreement that the Soundtrack is amazing. It hit me at Wednesday nights' Park City screening that the film really works on multiple levels. There's something in it for every demographic. I saw where I can tighten up 2-3 edits in the first 20 minutes of the film to help the pacing and I still wanna oversee some additional work on the color correction - but other than that, I came to the realization that the movie is extremely entertaining and marketable. Yeah, I know...I've been saying that all along...but there was just something in that Rocky Mountain environment that allowed me to really critique the film in a way that I haven't been able to do before. I was flying solo in Utah as my stars and co-producers were not available to attend with me, and there were no distractions like the sheer excitement of the Sarasota World Premiere or the rush of family and friends who attended the Dayton screening. Wednesday night it was just me, the movie and Park City film enthusiasts who had no ties whatsoever to Beautiful Noise...and in those moments sitting with that new audience I finally got the chance to see BN like any other movie goer will. And I liked it a lot. The theatre was a major venue that's used for the celebrated Sundance Film Festival. The sound was fabulous as the music rang through the theatre in the richest stereo mix I've heard at any of the screenings so far...which is vitally important for a Musical. Chatting with people after the screening, fielding their questions and explaining how we made the film, I had the overwhelming feeling that it's not going to matter where Beautiful Noise plays. It's a damn good indie film that makes people laugh, makes 'em cry, and makes you think a little bit about the message of the piece. What more can a filmmaker ask for?

I flew to SoCal from Utah to spend a coupla days to rest up, finish polishing the prequel, Serenade, and review the Game Plan to secure a distribution deal. The film festival circuit cranks back up later this summer and fall, so I have time to work all the distribution angles and raise $ for the upcoming Dublin trip. I not only want to test screen BN in Europe to gauge the foreign box office appeal (another selling point to acquisition agents) but we're also holding auditions for a key role in Serenade. I'm on the hunt for an Irish version of Kimber Cleveland. Adding a new cast member who is a singer/actress from Ireland, as yet unknown to USA audiences, holds a lot of interest to me. I want to populate the Beautiful Noise Trilogy with amazing performers and produce Soundtracks that are unique from each other...which is another reason I'm here in L.A. - as I'm catching Ana Popovic's show this weekend and working to add her to our international Cast of Serenade.

It's almost June. This time last year we had a Table Read of Beautiful Noise in Sarasota and held the fleeting hope that we could somehow find a way to shoot the movie. Now here I am, a year later, writing another blog post about the completed film, its current success at film festivals across the country, the planned European premiere of the movie and the prep of the next 2 BN installments that will start principal photography this year. It's incredible how your dreams can be realized if you're willing to draw a line in the sand and make a firm decision, work your ass off, and never ever give up.

ST