I am currently co-producing the short film “The Best of Betty” through the MDIA 419 Advanced Production class in the School of Media Arts & Studies. I have helped to organize the crew, shoots, and locations. In addition, I have organized the printing of our most important props – newspapers – through The Athens Messenger. Our budget is $6,000. After we premiere it at our college in June, we plan to submit it to film festivals and distribute it on DVD. Past MDIA 419 productions (including “Trailerpark” and “The Dying Western”) have won numerous awards at national film festivals.

Last summer, I interned at Principato-Young Entertainment, a major talent management agency in Beverly Hills, California.

During the ’09-’10 school year, I served as Marketing Manager for AVW Productions, a student-run video production house at OU. Their 150 members produce 13 local television programs for Internet and public broadcasting channel WOUB-II.

The summer before that, I shot and edited interviews/b-roll for AkronNewsNow.com, the daily news blog in Akron, OH.

From 2008-2009, I produced and co-wrote the  mockumentary show “Life in Adams” at OU. It tells the “true” story of RAs in Adams Hall.

In the spring of ’08, I was an assistant producer of the 30-minute short film, “Jim.” Produced for the MDIA 419 class mentioned above, the film is about a thirtysomething Sears employee named Jim who prepares for the birth of his first child.

You might not be able to guess who directed this childhood classic.

GEORGE LUCAS – American Graffiti… The man behind the Star Wars saga took us to a land of drag races and soda shops before Luke Skywalker even graced the silver screen. In 1973, he premiered American Graffiti, a nostalgic look at the early ’60s in Southern California. The film was made up of short segments involving teens over the course of one night. To say it was the perfect lead-in to Happy Days, which premiered the following year, is an understatement. Ron Howard starred in both, although he didn’t play the same character. The film also marks the first time Harrison Ford worked with Lucas. Graffiti garnered the director his first Oscar nominations…

TIM BURTON – Pee-wee’s Big Adventure… Yeah, that’s right. The first feature film from the Modern Master of the Macabre starred everyone’s favorite manic, bow-tied manchild. While many of Burton’s films are wild, creepy mindtrips, Adventure is not. Sure it has a psychic and a crazy truck driver but in the end, it’s just about a goofy guy trying to recover his shiny red bike. The film followed a stage show/HBO special that introduced us to Herman. Paul Reubens went on to play the character in the national show Pee-wee’s Playhouse, and recently returned to the stage. Up next? A big-screen adaptation of the show due next year, and another film similar to Big Adventure, in which he is working with 40-Year-Old Virgin director Judd Apatow. (Sounds fitting, right?) Okay, so this clip is actually a little creepy…

MICHAEL MOORE – Canadian Bacon… Before he became the most popular face (and Michigan State hat) in documentary filmmaking, Moore directed, wrote, and produced a comedy. But not one made up of sarcastic jabs at conservative politicians – rather, a screwball flick about an American President who starts a war with his country’s “hat” – Canada. In his last role before his death, veteran funnyman John Candy is up to his usual antics when he plays a U.S. Sheriff who leads the fight. The film also stars Alan Alda, Rhea Perlman, and Moore as a gun-wielding anti-Canuck. Despite his monumental success in the past decade, Moore bombed with this movie, which cost $11 million and made $178 THOUSAND – yes, THOUSAND – in the U.S…

DAVID LYNCH – The Straight Story… This one’s a full 180°. Since 1976, Lynch has been twisting viewers’ minds with tales of disfigured people and surreal happenings. Viewers can expect one thing with his films: they don’t know what to expect. Even critics debate what they mean, and Lynch isn’t one to divulge anything deeper than the surface. So you wouldn’t expect him to direct a Disney yarn. But that’s exactly what he did in 1999 with this TRUE tale of a WWII vet who rides 250 miles on his John Deere tractor to visit his dying brother.

I was 11 when I saw it in theaters with my friend and his parents. Probably my first independent film experience. I was touched by its real-life drama and it opened my eyes to cinema like that. I must admit I haven’t seen any of Lynch’s other work. (They’re on my endless “to-watch” list.) It’s ironic though that his least-known work was so influential to me, ten years before I even knew about him…

On his attraction to the story…

But maybe Lynch’s most surprising credit is as the voice of, and inspiration for, Gus the bartender on the Family Guy-spinoff, The Cleveland Show. Even David Lynch’s truth is stranger than his fiction. Watch it to believe it (start at the ’1:05 remaining’ mark)…

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039HWM84

In the United States, there are few dreams as sought-after as making it big with your rock band. The genre is firmly rooted in the last 60 years of American culture. Four high school buddies pick-up guitars, drums, and a mike, line a garage with sheets, and shake the house until their parents threaten to ship them off to military school. The trend continues until the wannabe-Beatles play their first gig in front of a dozen adoring fans (their friends) in a local backyard at a graduation party. The quartet starts a MySpace, plasters gig flyers on every wall imaginable, and starts a street team composed of said fans. They play and play and play, hoping to score that record deal that will sell-out stadiums and provide for enough sex, drugs, and chicks to actually kill Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx for longer than two minutes.

But few ever make it that big. The ones who do succeed – they’re the heroes of the decade. The rest – well, they resort to plans B-Z.

One from the former category is Metallica. They’ve played on six continents, sold 100 million records, and endured more drama than General Hospital. Sounds like a great story for a feature-length documentary, right?

For every Metallica, though, there are thousands of Anvils. What may sound like a statement of jibberish is actually the theme of two unrelated rock-documentaries. The goals of the bands are the same, but the stories behind them couldn’t be any more different. The results of the films might just surprise you…

I watched Some Kind of Monster in a contempory doc class. I was eager to take a more personal look into the band that made me love metal, Metallica.

What I watched was an unabashed attempt at further stardom that was more akin for a VH1 “Celebreality” show. The doc follows the band into the recording studio as it records its first album in six years – all while it searches for a replacement for its newly departed bassist. Then frontman James Hetfield suddenly leaves the band and checks into rehab for alcoholism. He returns to the band, but is allowed to work only four hours a day. What ensues is a childish feud between Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich about their sounds, attitudes, and everything in between. The management company hires a pseudo-therapist to try to quell the fire between the only two original members of the band.

As a budding documentarian, I appreciate the directors’¹ attempts to show the lives of one of the most successful bands ever. It’s interesting to see how the members act outside of public events, including in their roles as fathers and sons. There hasn’t been such an unflinching account of rock stars behind the scenes since Gimme Shelter.

As my professor and classmates agreed, though, the casting is questionable. For those who are not well-versed in the church of “The Mighty Met,” the look into the crazy life of a rocker is enjoyable and intriguing. However, these same viewers also broke into laughter on several occasions at the explosive bickering between two multi-millionaries. We’re supposed to feel empathy for human beings who have mansions and custom-built cars, when they’re fighting like small children? Why Tipper Gore might have to call a Senate hearing for that one.

And for “Alcoholica” fans such as myself, we must criticize the issue of intended audience. If we are indeed the prime viewers, then we also will laugh at the group – but for another reason. Most of us lost our respect for it 14 years ago. Metalheads across the country were outraged when James and the boys chopped off their hair. It must have contained their metal awesomeness. Since then, the band has slowed down their tracks, shyed-away from face-melting solos, and sued Napster. St. Anger, the album they recorded in the film, is not even respected by fans of the “new” Metallica.²

I was further disappointed that the doc just touches on the tragic death of former bassist Cliff Burton and the feud with ex-member Dave Mustaine. Obviously these issues are not the focus of the movie, but they could have been included more as influences into how the band was at the time of filming.

The second part of the series will be posted soon.

¹ Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky used Metallica songs throughout their three-part documentary series, Paradise Lost. The teens accused of murder in the films are fans of the band.

² The band did regain much of its critical and consumer support when it fired that album’s producer and retooled for its 2008 release, Death Magnetic. Diehards, however, are still not convinced.

And I enjoyed every minute of it.

As much as I want it to reap the successes seen by Trailerpark or The Dying Western, I am content if it doesn’t. I’ve already accomplished what I wanted to do.

After rewriting it several more times, I plan to submit it for the MDIA 419 class. If it is selected, fellow MDIA students will produce it from the ground up. I was an assistant producer for the 419 film “Jim” in 2008, and it was one of the most important experiences I’ve ever had.

At this point in my life, I want nothing more than for “Deadline” to be produced. Time will tell, though.

• They’re original. They do not rely on catchy choruses or repetitive chords. They don’t sing about the usual sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, either. (Not that I’m opposed to those themes in my bands of choice.)

• Maynard James Keenan. I relate to his lyrics on a very personal level. Both of us have encountered some major hardships in our lives, although mine were unlike his. He grew up in an “intolerant and unworldly household.” (This experience influenced Keenan’s lyrics for “Prison Sex,” a “symbolic dealing with the sensitive subject of child abuse.”) The band’s two-part masterpiece, “10,000 Days,” tells of the roughly 27 years in which his mother was paralyzed after a brain aneurysm. Listening to his visceral lyrics provoked me to finally turn many years of pain into cathartic release – and I feel better by doing so. (Because I have a terrible voice, though, don’t expect me to front a Tool rip-off.) And at risk of sounding like some crazed fan, I’ll add that he lived the first four years of his life mere miles from my childhood home. (He’s about the only good thing to come out of Ravenna, Ohio. I kid – but seriously, Go Riders.)
• Danny Carey. My main inspiration to learn to play drums. Seriously, this guy is talented. He has not used only snares, bass, and high-hats, but tabla and electric drums, as well. His set ain’t Rollback, either – I counted 30 pieces on this bad boy:
  

  This takes some serious talent!

But pictures definitely don’t do this man justice: Now for me to just swallow my pride, get off my ass, and actually try to learn the instrument. Then again, there’s always Tool on Guitar Hero: World Tour.

• Their artwork. It’s a trip without the hallucinogenics. The band has drafted visionary artists such as Alex Grey:

From "10,000 Days"

and the guitarist himself, Adam Jones, who has directed most of the band’s haunting videos:

From "Sober"

They also used lenticular and stereoscopic effects in two of their album packages.

• They’ll never sell out. The band has appeared in only one of their videos, they hardly do interviews, and they rarely license their songs for movies. They spend several years perfecting their albums, and don’t bask in the spotlight in between. (Surprisingly, Maynard, a recluse, has publicized his wine company more than anything.) Without a doubt, the band aims to produce amazing music and nothing else – oh, and also…
• Amazing concerts. Lasers shine on giant projections of the videos and art, Maynard lumbers around in blue body paint/Kabuki makeup/mohawks/you name it, and the bass jolts your face for, seriously, two hours. Makes you think they’re not even human…

Allen: No Beezlebub in this club

“These people ought to be ashamed of themselves,” said the 87-year-old great-great grandmother. “There’s these young floozy girls dancing around with their bosoms hanging out and their bodies all covered in the devil’s dust¹.”

The resident of Old Creek Road was shocked when she visited the workplace of her granddaughter, “Krystle.”

The 24-year-old was a stripper.

“She just said she was some sort of dancer,” Allen said. “So I expected tap, ballet, jazz – but not this!”

“Krystle,” whose real name is Amber Edwards, disagreed with her grandmother’s dismay.

“I don’t git what the big deal is. I’m supportin’ myself, I’m supportin’ my kids. I’m doin’ sumthin’ I like. The money’s great. This ain’t the 50s no more, granny.”

But Allen’s sense of horror was not restricted to what she saw.

“As if the the harlots weren’t sinful enough, there was this God-awful music blaring. I thought my ears were going to burst.” It was, in fact, the classic stripper’s anthem “Girls, Girls, Girls” by Mötley Crüe that prompted Allen to run out of the club, brandishing her bejeweled crucifix necklace. “I’m never going to return there ever again.”

“As if I want her here, anyways,” Edwards said between dances. “Family always wants to see what you do – I just don’t get it. She heard I was a dancer, and the next thing ya know, she’s in the front row stuffing her face with fried mushrooms. She’s a pig, if you ask me.”

Allen said she plans to file complaints at the Gallia County Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau.

“If I don’t act now, sooner or later, there’ll be kids having sex for money. And we just can’t have that, now can we?”

¹She refused my correction that the substance was not devil’s dust, but rather angel dust.