Downtime Decisions

Back from the Park City / L.A. trip with a new perspective and the seeds of a revised Game Plan taking root.  One of the biggest dangers a filmmaker faces is tweaking the "finished product" so much that you completely screw it up. At some point you simply have to let go and let the movie gods take your film and do what they will with it. But here's the thing...I was lucky enough to be able to screen Beautiful Noise to over 2,500 people in 3 completely different geographic locations over the last 6 weeks or so and can now incorporate their response to the film into my thinking. The happy dilemma I now face is to leave the movie as-is after a quick re-edit of some small things I noticed that could be improved...or reshoot entire sequences that are good...but that I've decided could become great. It's not just an artistic decision, but a pure business determination as well. The feedback from the film fests and from industry pros I've shown the film to thus far has formed a consensus in my mind that we're closer than I ever dreamed to having something that could rival some of the best indie musicals ever made...in particular, the wonderful film Once. If you haven't seen Once, do yourself a favor and go rent it today. The same formula I used in making BN was employed: Great original Soundtrack; unknown actors who were accomplished singer/songwriters; a poignant Story; and shot on an extremely low budget. I love the film and it not only found distribution worldwide but had a terrific box office run and dvd/soundtrack sales thanks to the skilled rollout marketing approach Fox Searchlight utilized. I actually like our Soundtrack far better overall and, like Once, believe that if we get any kind of traction that one of Kimber Cleveland's songs could easily be nominated for a Golden Globe or Academy Award. Bold words to be sure...but no hype here. Buy our Soundtrack online at ITunes or at our website and you'll understand my bravado on the subject.

So there it is. I can choose to leave Beautiful Noise pretty much as-is or double down and redirect resources targeted for the prequel and sequel and go for the potentially bigger return that could come from some targeted reshoots. After all the excitement and non-stop running I've done over the last few months to get to this point in the process, I'm prone to take the advice of close associates to just chill for a week or so and do nothing but get my tan together at Siesta Beach and catch up on some sleep. Sounds like good advice.

I have an important conference call today that I think will help me determine the next move. A member of an entertainment family considered by one and all as "Hollywood Royalty" is now in the mix to review Beautiful Noise and give me her unvarnished take on the best course of action. The accomplished producer/story editor comes from a legendary Family Tree of directors, producers and actors that have created some of the most memorable and successful dramas and comedies of the last three decades, so once again, I'm very lucky to have access to that kind of professional critique. At the end of the day, it's my call...and with so much riding on this next critically important decision I'm blessed with the option to just take my hands off the wheel for the moment, take a breather, go walk the beach and get my mind right. I'm confident that once things settle a bit and after I make the trip to SoCal to huddle with the new Hollywood contact that Clarity and Direction will once again rule the day.

It may be a little while before I make the next post to this blog 'cause nothing much is gonna happen until I decide which path to take...but when I do, it will be full steam ahead.

ST