Tuesday, February 27, 2007

The Premiere & Things to Come

The only thing I can say about my premiere was that I didn't get to film any of it and my opening speech sucked. The whole week before I was a nervous wreck as early reviews came in and I realized this film may not go over too well in the heart of the "Bible Belt," we've come to know as Hickory, NC. I was petrified. The night before the premiere I watched The Departed. (Best Movie I've seen since... Maybe the English Patient.) Anyway, this movie relieved me for the simple fact that it was up for Best Picture and had every cuss word known to man it. There was blood and guts and well-- A hugely opinionated movie like Meter is really not all that bad. The next day, I found myself worried again, but as Mark and I took a break from lining chairs, Mark had a really good point when he said that, " Intelligent people come to these sort of things. They are open minded and we should not have an issue." As two people strong filed into the CAST Theatre. I began to get nervous. My introduction was terrible. My mouth was dry. My eyes wouldn't focus and I kept saying, "Uh..." The lights went down and I stepped out of the theatre and watched from outside the doors. As the final blast went off I stepped back in as the credits began to roll. We had a small response and three people got up and left before the credits were over. As the lights went up and I drug Freddy and Mark up to the front the ovation was loud. In fact they were standing. I spotted friends of my parents up on their feet applausing the movie. My nervous level shifted to relaxed and controlled as we began the Q & A. As people asked questions I realized that this film had become much bigger than I had ever imagined. It may do OK at film festivals. If nothing else put us on the map in North Carolina, so when the time was right we may be able to garner a couple of investors to take a chance with us. I walked out of the theatre with perma-grin. It was over. Now, we would only have to do it again when we entered and were excepted to festivals.

I hadn't felt this good and inspired since I showed Jobbers to the cast and crew and we realized that the movie nobody understood had become a cult classic. Mandi said the day after that she had never been so proud of me. My father had not shown in fear that if the film would have gone the other way his reputation and standing in the community would have been jeopardized, but I found out later he had stepped off the slopes, (he went skiing,) to call Mom because he couldn't wait to find out how it went and Mom had to tell him... " Your son did it. They all loved it." I had made my mark. Three days later, I'm still having a hard time sleeping. I just can't shake that moment when we walked to the front and people were standing, smiling, overwhelmed.

When one was asked, "How did you like the film," his response was, "words can't describe it. It was something you are just glad you were apart of." I was glad I was apart of it too. This is the last entry I will do in the 'Meter Journal.' If this film is excepted to Film Festivals, I will begin a new journal of the journey it takes. I almost can't wait to see what happens next...

Here is a small video tribute of the process of 'Meter.'
The Making of Meter

Shooting 24/7

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    I shoot stuff. I edit stuff. Period.

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