#16 RESOLUTE.

As the late, great Michael Jackson said, “This is it.” I believe when Michael said, “this,” he was in fact talking about 2011 and when he said, “it,” he meant GO TIME.

You heard it here first: 2011 is go time.

According to my friends’ status updates on and around New Year’s Eve, 2010 will not be missed.  Granted, 2010 did not greet me with job offers galore or send me diving into gold coins like Scrooge McDuck but personally, I had a pretty great year watching my baby grow into a toddler,

moving to a new part of the city, hopping to some great film festivals… To boot, just before the end of this complicated year, Jennifer Westin called and told me some of the nicest news a filmmaker could hear. Apparently, I’ve been named one of the Top Ten American Indie Filmmakers to Watch by the prestigious Raindance Film Festival! So, happy 2010!

Alright, so in honor of being named one of the Top Ten American Indie Filmmakers to Watch (Beware, I’m going to use that phrase as often as possible… at drinks meetings, baby birthday parties: “Hi, this is Luna and I’m one of the Top Ten American Indie Filmmakers to Watch!”) I’ve decided to kick this wicked cool year off with my own Top Ten list.

Here are…

TARA’S TOP TEN RESOLUTIONS TO BECOMING 
A BIGGER AND BETTER FILMMAKER IN 2011 
(ALSO, WHAT A LONG A TITLE THIS IS)

10) Get another film in the can, namely The Cynics, which has yet to be written. Watch out though – it’s top of the list this month… even though it’s number 10.

T. Summers in
The Lake Effect

9) Collaborate with all the talented artists around me. I’m coming for you, friends. By the way, speaking of ridiculously talented people I’m lucky to know – The Lake Effect’s very own Tara Summers is going to be on ABC’s Private Practice this Thursday, January 6th at 10 pm! Watch and be amazed. Tara is gorgeous and talented and is one of the reasons that THE LAKE EFFECT turned out to be so lovely.

8) Watch more films by amazing directors. I’m going to pick one director per month, watch four of their films, do some research on their process at the nearby Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and then blog about it.This month, I’m thinking James Brooks because he’s a writer/director, he’s epic, he’s funny, and he’s someone who does dramedy right (eg: Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, and As Good As It Gets) and his new flick HOW DO YOU KNOW is still in theaters.

7) Create for the web. I’m totally eager to explore the web as a new format for storytelling. If anyone needs one of the Top Ten American Indie Filmmakers to Watch to help them write or direct some webisodes, you can find me here.

Chase Maser plays the guitar
as "Jace" in The Lake Effect

6) Start playing the guitar again. As a writer, it’s good to have a habit (er, hobby…) that clears your head and doesn’t involve caffeine, drugs, and/or drinking. I had been learning to play guitar when I got pregnant and started work on The Lake Effect… Despite the fact that there are lots of guitars in the film, a year and a half later, my poor Yamaha acoustic is gathering dust. But this year, my baby’s demands for me to, “Strum! Strum!” will be answered.

5) Read more. I mean news, reviews, articles, etc. That’s where my best inspiration has come.That and from my crazy family and friends, which brings me to…

4) Spend more time with my crazy family and friends (and convince them that their lives should be fair game for me to write about).

3) Read the trades (or at least Deadline Hollywood) more. Once a week. Okay once a month… at least.

2) Get a steady writing gig! Seriously – this little writer needs to support her indie film habit which is why when I’m not scribbling this blog, I am busy scribbling lots of words on pages intended for the television. Hopefully, I will land a sweet gig on a TV writing staff and you will be able to see my name on the TV screen sometime this year, which brings me to…

1) Get The Lake Effect to a screen near you. Be it movie, TV, or laptop. You wanna see this movie? In 2011, you will!

Blog #5 Nerves and Things

Tonight's the big night!  

Tonight, we project our nicest HDCam copy of The Lake Effect to the British public… I’m suddenly struck with the few images I’ve seen of British Parliament (Verbal assaults from a flurry of white wigs, or is it whigs?) American indies have a tough time here, so I hear. 

I'm a bit... nervous.  Maybe it’s the bustling metropolis that’s right outside the theatre doors.  Or maybe it’s because the line-up at Raindance has been so impressive or because the programmers and staff are so incredibly cool...  

I shouldn’t be nervous.  We have at least a dozen friends coming to cheer us on (thank you thank you thank you), not to mention an entire fan club for our British actress Tara Summers (who does a flawless American accent as Natalie, btw).  We’re having a pre-party and an after party and it’s going to be all good.  Right?

To keep my mind off of it, let’s change the subject.  Let’s talk about…

Things you might not know about what it’s like to be a filmmaker on the indie festival circuit:

• You get very close to your producer.  For example, Jenn and I are sharing a double bed in a flat in Pimlico. 
• You try to stay under budget.  For breakfast this morning, Jenn and I ate oatmeal packets that I brought from the hotel we stayed at in Colorado.  No joke. 
• You walk a lot.  Cobblestone streets plus boots with heels = sore calves.
• You become a pack mule.  Laptop, umbrella, big posters, small posters, postcards, water, emergency granola bar (chalk that up to the mom in me). 
• You stay up very late.  Our first day in, Jenn and I arrived at 6 AM.  20 hours later, with the Spice Girls pumping at the very divey, very awesome Phoenix Club in Soho, we called it a night.
• You, for a short while, are reminded that you are an artist, that you have a community, and that what you are doing is totally, totally worth it. 

(An addendum:  If you haven’t seen it yet, read the “Mompreneur” article that the popular British parenting site London Mums wrote about me! http://www.londonmums.org.uk/busmums/busmums.html  A big thanks to Monica Costa!)