Five Sisters Productions Blog Archive (July to December 2005)

Archived: Happiest Day Film Shoot, January to June 2005, 2006 Entries, May to September 2007

January 18, 2006
EVERYDAY I WRITE THE BOOK... OR THE SCRIPT, THAT IS
Getting in-company notes on the script -- good thoughts. We're ready to move forward. We feel we've cracked the story now, which is a great feeling. Now, it's an issue of continuing to do more research to get all the facts and, of course, rewriting! Waiting for two more sets of notes. Then we'll jump in.

January 14. 2006
THE CONGRESS REEL
Looked up some Congressional Records for research on a script -- fascinating stuff. It took a some digging to track down what we needed, but finally found it -- did you know many public libraries store the Congressional Records? How fantastic. And microfiche is a remarkable invention. Makes you think that all our computer backup files should also be on microfiche...!

January 13, 2006
MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG...
Working on a script and also a proposal for our next film project. Got the first draft of the script done AND got the proposal printed up. Cheers to that!

January 10, 2006
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Ursula sat down with THE HAPPIEST DAY composer last week, after exchanging thoughts and the composer's writing musical themes for the score. The composer will keep working on the notes given.

January 5, 2006
DON'T STEAL MY POOR HEART AGAIN... or CRIME DOESN'T PAY (THE FILMMAKER)
Interestingly, we've had some conversations over the holidays about piracy and downloading movies from the web without paying and if it has any impact on filmmakers. In short, yes it does, and it ain't good. A number of movie watchers have asked us about how this works, so here's an explanation.

The arguments for not paying for films include that it might help a small movie get wider release. Or that it will increase sales because people will buy the film after watching it for free. This statistically doesn't bear out, however. What it comes down to is that people seem to see the film as a product made by a huge, faceless, and rich studio, and they separate the film itself from the hundreds of people who made it and the costs of making that piece of art/entertainment. While it's been a compliment of sorts that people have been selling bootlegged copies of MANNA or offering it on p2p websites, the loss for indie films such as ours, is exacerbated in that they simply don't have the resources to overcome this kind of stealing. Indie film releases are more limited, relying on people's interest to drive future indie films. Also, sales are stacked up against all films, including major blockbusters, so that a film in a video store with 50 copies is compared against a film with 2 copies in a simple bottom-line equation: how much did the film rent -- meaning it's typically not put in proportional context. For instance, if the 2 copies were rented at all times by 4 people (whereas the other film rented 25 of 50 copies for one rental each), the indie film would be dropped from doing poorer sales -- 8 versus 25. The same is true for movies in theaters. What this means is that the filmmakers who stand to benefit from the sales finally, or from getting another movie deal, do not. So, piracy and stealing of films off the Internet, etc. truly is a hurtful action for films.

January 1, 2006
WE'LL DRINK A CUP OF KINDNESS YET, FOR AULD LANG SYNE
Happy new year to all. Thanks for your support of our film work, and we look forward to a great 2006.

December 16, 2005
RIGHT DOWN MANNA CLAUS LANE
Working on getting out emails to our list. It's great how many responses we get of support for the movie. We really appreciate your replies, thoughts, and good wishes. Back atcha! 

And thanks too, to all of you who have been telling people about the film. People often don't realize what an impact they have on a film's future. One person's buying a ticket to the movie, or buying a dvd -- it's truly counted like a vote in an election. This is highly important for smaller films which can't afford to pummel the market with advertising. We have found over and over again that people telling a few friends (we suggested telling five friends about the movie -- one for each sister!) spreads like six degrees of separation.

November 28, 2005
HERE COMES MANNA CLAUS
Getting ready for the holidays. Excited to hear that MANNA FROM HEAVEN is on a number of holiday gift guide recommendation lists, and Blockbuster's recommendation list for family films!

If you know people who are thinking about doing some holiday shopping, tell them to search no more! MGM/Sony's DVD of MANNA FROM HEAVEN makes a great gift for the whole family (rated PG), and with an easy mouse click on this website, shopping is DONE!

BONUSES:
Save 15% on a holiday gift package! (MANNA DVD + small poster + tshirt or script!)
Buy 10 DVDs and get a FREE tshirt or poster!
Get a family pack (MANNA DVD, 3 tshirts, script, + poster) -- save 20%!

And remember, with every DVD, people are VOTING with their pocketbooks -- telling Sony & MGM that they want more movies like MANNA with its great cast!

November 22, 2005
...SO SEND A SMILE, WE’RE ON OUR WAY BACK HOME
MANNA FROM HEAVEN's screening last night was a lot of fun. I met and had coffee with Frank Gorshin's sister, and I couldn't believe it's been half a year already that Frank has been gone. He always feels right there because of MANNA. A number of people commented how happy they were to see him. We feel honored that we got to work with him on his last starring role in a feature film. He was a great actor. Pittsburgh once again had a terrific audience, with interesting, thoughtful questions. I signed DVDs and talked more with people after the film, then hit the sack pretty late, and am headed home again, home again, jiggity jig.

November 20, 2005
GIVE A LITTLE BIT...
We are doing a charity screening of MANNA tomorrow to benefit the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Come to THE OAKS THEATER (www.oakstheater.com) and you can see the movie for free with a can donation. Director Gabrielle Burton (that's me!) will be there to talk with movie-goers and sign DVDs both before the screening at the Boulevard Bistro cafe next door before (4:30 pm) and after the 7:30 show. I love Pittsburgh and am looking forward to it. Also to seeing people I met when the movie opened there. Pittsburgh has great movie audiences!

And happy Thanksgiving!

November 17, 2005
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
While MANNA continues its DVD release, it's still playing on the big screen! It's playing this weekend in Seguin, Texas at the Palace Theater (314 South Austin St.). Seguin is between San Antonio and Austin, Texas. Davideo Productions and the Chicago Institute for the Movie Image are hosting a film series "CINEMA FOR EVERYONE" with 100% accessibility to Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing people. MANNA is showing with CAPTIONING.

When MGM bought the DVD rights for MANNA, we talked with them about putting on closed captioning, but the studio had no funds for it. There are 28 million people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and we wanted to make the movie accessible. So we sisters decided to pay for it. As Ursula said, "This is a film about community coming together -- about reaching out to one another. The same holds true in reaching beyond the story in the film, to reaching out to everyone." The DVD is now closed captioned and subtitled.

Ursula acted in a play with a deaf actor at the beginning of MANNA's theatrical release, and she was introduced to a whole community who were not able to be part of the film's release in theaters. When Ursula spoke with Louise Fletcher about her parents being deaf (you remember, she signed her Academy award winning acceptance speech), it moved her to think about how to bring the film -- which was having a great response from hearing audiences -- to the hearing-impaired. We were delighted when David Pierce of Davideo Productions suggested partnering on this.

More info is on their website: http://www.davideo.tv/subpage.html

November 8, 2005
HERE GOES, BABY HERE GOES... NO SOUND?
A piece of sound from the opening of TEMPS has somehow been dropped off of the film's transfers (which will be used to make the DVD/video and television versions). It's my character Ally saying, over the beginning of the film, "Okay, here goes." We discovered it a week ago, and no one can find it on any of the elements! Now we have to go through everything in storage to find a version that has it (it's on the film, but we want to get the sound off a DAT or BETA tape). Multiple companies are involved, and sometimes accidents happen with transfers between one company to the next, without anyone noticing. We're glad we noticed when we did the commentary that it wasn't there, because the film could have been mastered that way for videos, DVDs, and tv. It took a lot of poking around to figure out that the sound was missing, where the original was, and to get it back on. One small detail in the long history of a film's getting to the public!

November 3, 2005
YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
I'm working on a film festival list for THE HAPPIEST DAY OF HIS LIFE. The film is in the final stages of post on its effects, so that's great. We have to do the credits, a few more tweaks on the effects, color timing, and the music and then sound mix, so there's a lot of work still to do. Post always seems to take a long time, and it's particularly so on this film, as we're working on other people's schedules. It looks good, and that's exciting. The composer Tom Griep is going start work this week -- yay! In the meantime, I need to compile a list from the hundreds of film festivals in the world and whittle them down to what would be good for the film. I then have to make a calendar for applications and dates... Yes, a bit on the drudgery end of work, but it's gotta be done!

October 31, 2005
ON OCTOBER THIRTY-ONE, WHEN THE SUN GOES TO REST...
Happy Halloween! We've been working on an interview for WORKING FAMILY Magazine that Ellen Neuborne is writing. Interesting questions. Finished it today!

October 29, 2005
HAVE YOU MET MR. JONES
Saw Bill T. Jones perform at the Wexner Center for the Arts, as well as an exhibit including Marcel Duchamp's found-object-type sculptures and other "Part Object-Part Sculpture" works. It's always refreshing to go to a museum and to see art performances. This exhibit in particular is challenging, and it makes you wonder: Where is the line between art that is innovative and pushes the envelope, and work that's bogus? A great debate. For instance, Duchamp's Urinal was revolutionary in that he took a urinal and signed it, and mounted it in a gallery and called it art. And why not? Why couldn't we look at everything around us, even the most basic objects as forms of art -- art that was made by working people, art that we live with and don't even notice? What's more interesting is that the original urinal was destroyed, and Duchamp then recast a urinal as a sculpture to look exactly like the first -- but it wasn't a real urinal, so then, was this more real as "art" -- what difference did intent and origin make in the work?

Some of the work was beautiful and interesting, and some I didn't get at all. I wondered: if a piece of art is irrelevant to the viewer -- particularly if it needs a long explanation -- then is it relevant at all? What makes art relevant, and can that change through time? Looking at Duchamp's urinal is a completely different experience now than when he first showed it around World War I. For me, it seems that some contemporary artists make art that is more conceptual and about style, rather than substance -- yet is that impression, in fact, a fault of my ignorance of the art world?

That leads to an interesting debate about film criticism and if critics should be trained in filmmaking and film history in order to be critics. (I think yes.) What qualifies anyone to be a critic? I suppose my criticism of some modern art could be considered hypocritical, then, as I have only a limited schooling in art history. But actually, I am not working as a critic and don't get paid for my ideas, so there's the difference. What do you think?

Another interesting issues: with the internet now open, everyone can be a critic. In my opinion, movies are the most accessible art form, so it leads people to feel confident in their opinions, more than they would perhaps in another art realm. Is that good? Bad? Unimportant? How do artists remain true to their visions when criticism is so rampant? Is there a pressure to conform to an idea of what constitutes good/cool art, with its somewhat predictable elements, or is that where true art lies -- in the arrangement of perhaps predictable, but deep human elements that move us all?

Jones' dance was both inspiring and confusing, at different times. Even though I felt lost in some parts. I absolutely loved half of the performance. His passion and conviction were stimulating, and I had an interesting conversation with one of his troupe's dancers and the stage manager. Jones won the Wexner Prize this year, and I felt lucky to have been there to see him.

Joe Kurzer invited me to the events, and the Wexner was decked out in silver. There was a great piece of sculpture -- a chandelier that glass/metal artist Josiah McElheny designed with the assistance of the Ohio State astronomy deparment, to imitate the big bang. It was pretty phenomenal.

I must say I was a bit disappointed to notice that only two women have won that prize in 13 years, though (Louise Bourgeois and Yvonne Rainer).

October 3, 2005
JUST FRIENDS, BUT NOT LIKE BEFORE
Working on the extras for the DVDs of JUST FRIENDS and TEMPS. They are at Cannes at MIPCOM, where they're being sold internationally, and in a couple of months, they will be sold for domestic distribution -- tv, DVD, etc. We've made some neat extras.

All this work after finishing a film takes a huge amount of time. The technical details and requirements have to be managed between multiple companies. We are getting close, though.

October 1, 2005
SOUND LIKE THE LYRICS OF A SONG...
You might have noticed I've been trying to title all the blog entries with song lyrics. Don't know why I started that; just popped into my head, and it's fun, but sometimes it's getting pretty tricky to find a song. Maybe I should have used movie titles.

Speaking of songs, have you heard ETHAN GOLD? He's a songwriter and plays many of the instruments on his songs. He's great, and I find a lot of his melodies play in my head when I'm writing. Check him out at www.ethangold.com.

September 23, 2005
DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND... AND INSURANCE, AND NEWSPAPERS, AND RESTAURANTS
I'm shooting a short film with Dino Tripodis, a Columbus DJ, and we've shot a couple of nights in a restaurant here. It's called FUNNY MAN, about a comic who's caught in a rut and meets a woman (that's me!) who kick-starts him out of it during a conversation at a restaurant. I've also been in a few commercials recently -- from diamonds to insurance to Dayton Daily News to Tee-Jays restaurant to.... It's fun stuff!

September 17, 2005
DELIVER ME (REPRISE)
Working on Delivery for TEMPS and JUST FRIENDS for PorchLight, the company repping them. It's a lot of work!

September 19, 2005
WHO ARE YOU, WHO WHO, WHO WHO -- WEXLER TELLS YOU!
Another movie rec: Mark Wexler's TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE -- a documentary about his father, director of photography Haskell Wexler. A subtle, intelligent, touching film about a human life and the complexities each personality can have. Mark Wexler is a talented documentarian, and his work is really worth checking out. Additional camera work was also done by the excellent filmmaker Joan Churchill.

July 30,2005
'NEATH ITS TOWERS FACING NORTHWARD, WE SHALL ALWAYS BE EVER FAITHFUL, ALMA MATER, TO YOUR MEMORY
We went back to our high school (Amherst Central Public High School) for the 75th reunion, celebrating the opening of the school and including every class who went there. It was fun to see our former teachers and catch up with people we knew. Ellen Marshall organized a lot of the events, which went off without a hitch. She was very supportive of MANNA FROM HEAVEN, and it was really nice to see her again.

We signed DVDs and posters, and we went to the talent show, which highlighted a few people from different classes. The most wonderful performance was from Suzi Stern who sang "How Are Things in Glocamora." She told a story of how she'd immersed herself in the musical world at Amherst with a dream of being the lead in the musical, and her senior year, she was devastated when she didn't get the part. She worked behind the scenes instead, and she said she learned a good lesson -- that it takes many people to put on a show. It was such a touching story, and it was something most people related to. Her singing was gorgeous, and it brought down the house. She's an established jazz singer now; you should check out her music at www.suzistern.com

It was also a good story in relation to filmmaking -- there are so many people who help make a film happen. Even in this DVD release, dozens of people were part of getting the word out. If you emailed friends about it, you're part of it too. It's remarkable how much impact these things have on a film -- positive reviews online, emails to friends. We're grateful to all of you who have been a part of this. It's helping get the film seen.

July 28, 2005
DON’T LEAVE A DIVA, NEVER MAKE A DIVA WAIT
So much fun -- we were in the Diva by Diva show last night -- all of us sisters and mom. It's a great show, run by Mary-Kate O'Connell, who is an incredible woman, full of energy and who does an extraordinary amount of charity work in Buffalo and Western New York. She also writes a new show each week, which a changing group of women perform. It's funny, poignant, and moving for the men and women who come to see it. It was a real treat to be included. We signed DVDs for people after. This has been an exhausting couple of weeks, but the celebratory events are what it's all about. Sometimes, at festivals or markets or even things like this, it can feel like -- as our 2-year old nephew put it at the Toronto Film Festival last year -- "Too much party!" But, of course, too much party is better than too little party!

July 19-20, 2005
STITCHING UP TIME WITH MY HANDS ON THE WHEEL, OH CHAUTAUQUA DAY
We went to Chautauqua, NY to screen the film. Ursula, Maria, and I went to talk with audiences after two of the shows. It was a great place -- a kind of artistic and intellectual enclave, with people who go there to be stimulated, to learn. It was started as a Methodist retreat and has grown into a place where people "summer" along the lake, and professors and national advisors come and lecture on themed topics, which change each week. MANNA FROM HEAVEN was there during the topic of "Geography," which might sound boring at first, but in fact was fascinating. We heard part of a lecture on the importance of geography in learning, with an example that the professor gave of being in a meeting with the government top officials when they were deciding to go to war, and their not knowing where Iraq was or the countries bordering it, nor how far it was from countries in Africa. It seems unthinkable and shocking, but the truth is, I don't know the geography of those areas, and I remember as a teenager deciding I was going to learn the geography of Southeast Asia. I put a map on the wall and memorized it, but it takes practice, and I'm not so sure about country size and exact borders anymore. You would think that our officials would know all this, but the point of the lecture was that the US has been such a world power, that the need for geography has been lowered in our priorities. In order to stop attacks on the US, however, we must prioritize geography in our schools again, so we understand the world as a whole. Who knew geography could be so interesting?

So, Chautauqua is filled with these kinds of lectures and learning opportunities. Another one was on bats and their migration habits.

We were delighted to see an old friend of mine who's now an opera singer -- Ethan Herschenfeld -- in THE CRUCIBLE, which was opening in Chautauqua while we were there. He was great, and it was a fascinating experience to see a dress-rehearsal of the opera, and then the real deal.

The audiences in Chautauqua were perceptive and engaged, and we enjoyed talking with them, answering questions, and discussing the movie. Paul Schmidt, who runs the Fredonia Opera House movie series also, was wonderful to work with, and we stayed in a lovely cottage with a high school friend of mine. In the midst of all the work on the DVD release, it was a treat to be in such a beautiful place and celebrating the movie with such interesting people.

P.S. I can't believe there's a song lyric with Chautauqua in it. What are the chances?

July 13, 2005
HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD...AND INDEPENDENT FILMS!
This has been an amazing week. We came home to Buffalo to celebrate MANNA's DVD release -- had a party for the investors here, a DVD release party at THE LEFT BANK in Buffalo also, and events at bookstores and media stores and TruTeas cafe. We're doing a ton of interviews and working on getting more press awareness, as the movie kind of slipped through the cracks, what with Sony's buying MGM. It's last minute, unfortunately, but there's a great PR firm that Sony assigned this week to it, and that is so great! It feels wonderful to be working with a PR firm on this!

It's very interesting to see how much advertising goes into DVD releases -- with huge displays up for months about other books/cds/DVDs. Once again, MANNA FROM HEAVEN is the indie underdog -- we have little 2-cent fliers, and just our persistence and energy -- but it's been a fantastic turn-out. People all around Buffalo have helped too -- Kathleen Betsko, Jimmie Gilliam, Geri Grossman, Tom Dixon, and many, many more....

It's interesting that, even with MGM releasing the DVD, it's still been so much work. We just aren't able to do it all, and I feel bad about not doing events in other areas, but it just takes too much time to make all the calls for every event; we've run out of time. With bigger budget film releases, different companies handle all of these things. We're just 7 people and our friends. So, we've been working our tails off. Now, it's all happening -- the DVD is OUT, which is exciting, and it is a true relief that it is in stores and available nationally. That is such a wonderful feeling.