The Antenna Diaries

Well, that critique went extremely well, better than expected and made me feel like maybe I know what I'm doing. Maybe a little. I feel like things are about to start moving at a more accelerated pace. I can easily see how to cut the movie down to 90 minutes, which I had thought was impossible.

Today we take down the wall of cards and start a new wall, a wall of clarity and broad strokes. I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready.

Actually, I think we're inserting Donovan and Bomar. We can't do anything til the existing interviews are incorporated. I'm still ready tho.

Bob came over (with JD) and watched some stuff last night and loved it apparently. I wish Milf was still alive. But I don't really think people like that are intended to live very long.

Edit: Today we have an impromptu 4+ hr meeting. I like talking about how to make things better.

The Antenna Diaries

New beginning.  Hmm. It definitely gets the party started earlier.

Lunch meeting with RAP and his co-director, during which they want us to review their rough cut. I think they should try to sell it to PBS or the MCVB or something. It has potential of being much more widely acceptable than our movie. And it doesn't have any cussing, nodding-off junkies, or full frontal male nudity.


Current running time 2:06:56:10

I love Angerhead.

The Antenna Diaries

Yet another new beginning. Because people don't know this, but Memphis is cursed.

Elvis's funeral is Kennedy's brain.

The Antenna Diaries

Oh great. The advice she gave you is to make our movie. Fucking fantastic.

Screening today with JMM and maybe Mr. Ross.

Whatever happened to Stuart Sikes?

Current running time 2:08:14:23

once upon a time

I was a very very party girl.

a day in the life

9:14 am

9:22 am

9:24 am

10:00 am (Rockettes)

10:47 am

11:13 am

12:59 pm

12:59 pm

2:07 pm

2:10 pm (back deck kitty is not amused)

2:22 pm

2:28 pm (The Music Man)

3:20 pm

3:32 pm ( November daisy arrival)

3:38 pm (champagne anticipation)

3:55 pm

4:17 pm

4:16 pm (waiting for Adam)

4:17 (Adam is here with green bean casserole!)

4:22 pm (Adam brought champagne)

5:15 pm

5:18 pm

5:53 pm

6:41 pm

6:59 pm

6:59 pm (trek break)

7:11 pm

7:33 pm

8:17 pm

8:47 pm (Adam Scrabble contemplation)

12:14 am (fin)

The Antenna Diaries

Current running time - 2:09:34:19 (without credits). At 20 minutes, Jimmy appears. At 30 minutes, the Modifiers appear. Not bad.

Next up for screeners - Brett, Craig, Guerrilla Monster, Hubbell, Buddy.  The Craig makes me nervous.


Where has this been?

Damn that Ricky Branyan was cute. No wonder the Well was packed with girls.

I forgot I took this picture. Pixies, Orpheum Theatre, Memphis 11/14/11. Orchestra, row H, seat 13. I really need a phone with a better camera, although this is pretty spacey nice.

Current running time - 2:20:24:06

I love this flyer.

The Antenna Diaries

Current running time 2:24:08:19

The virtual cutting room floor needs sweeping.

Cut a minute out of the Raid/hardline section, but for the whole it probably remains longer than it needs to be. It's just fascinating to me how that scene got so dark.

I love this picture by Jamie Harmon.

End of day edit: current running time 2:23:32:01

film fest preview party

I look troubled for some reason. I'm moderating a panel, I'm introducing a film, I'm throwing a huge party, I'm networking.
I want to be done with my movie.

Today I'm starting a script for a short I want to direct next year, a mashup of "in the year of the casino wars" and "spewfish and the golden horse". Demons, prepare to be awakened. Pope, prepare to shave.

The Antenna Diaries

I nearly typed The Antenna Diarrhea.
Had a screening of the 2:30 cut last night. This is an example of my notes:
"transitions are good.
I hate the movie.
pezz is so choppy.
I hate the movie."
etc.
ugh. I want to select all and delete.


Went to Salant's tailgate party for the Sears tower lighting.  Was told that I was going to be on a panel at Indie Memphis called "Female Directors and Actors".  I was, I don't know, so un about it. "How can I be on a panel when I suck so much? I can't finish this fucking movie! All of those women will be so much cooler than I am!" blah blah blah.
I didn't say any of that.

I'm lingering on the set of "Tennessee Queer".
No editing today. I'm watching other people work instead.

The Antenna Diaries

Current running time 2:30:48.

Currently tearing up the first 2 minutes of the movie. We liked the beginning and hated the end. Now we like the end and hate the beginning.
These guys are making it back in the movie. For some reason, they had disappeared.

Saw TABLOID yesterday afternoon. I immediately wanted to come home and work on things in the movie after I saw it. I didn't really like the dip-to-colors, but the graphics package was pretty awesome. Lots of newspaper clippings of course, and I like the pans over them. Also, Joyce McKinney is a dream interview subject. She is about a bubble off plumb.

The Antenna Diaries

Three screenings in 7 days. Emotional rollercoasters, each one. Yesterday was the first screening for someone not in the immediate family. I hated the movie.

But the screener fell in love with the Modifiers, so I guess we did something right. Current running time: 2:36:45.

The Antenna Diaries

People seem to think they can march up and tell us what to do with this movie.

"Conventional wisdom states that you should make it 79 minutes long."

Since when did following conventional wisdom get anyone anywhere? How boring.
Since when do I follow conventional wisdom anyway? And why would I start now?

Also, fuck that woman who told my husband to let one of her fucking 19-yr-old students edit the movie down to a conventional 79 minutes. Yeah. That would be a great documentary about the Antenna.

People have been dismissing me and ignoring me for as long as I can remember and now I'm supposed to all of a sudden give a shit about what they think. Interesting.

I'm doing this my way if it kills me, which it may well do but at least I'll go down fighting. I refuse to comply.

The Antenna Diaries

It's just so frustrating sometimes. It seems like it's never ever going to be done.

The Antenna Diaries

'You've seen "Memphis: The Musical", now see the real Memphis music.'

or

"Dive into the chaos."

Something.

Also, I hate when people want us to make a movie like other movies. "Have you seen blahblahblah? You should do that."
Huh. That would be the easy way out, wouldn't it? Why would I want it to look like something else? I want it to look like nothing else. I want people to sit the fuck up and listen and watch and learn. I want them to have their minds fucking expanded. I want them to be disturbed and shocked and I want them to remember what the world was like before everything was so goddamned internetty and socially fucked up. And if it was this feel-goody, everybody-likes-it movie, if it didn't piss a couple people off - then I wouldn't think we'd be accurately representing the Antenna. As Harris Scheuner said, "Back then people openly showed contempt for each other." People are such pussies these days.

The Densmore/Scratch show could look better. I think it needs to be recaptured. It's kind of wiggly, but awesome all the same.

I thought we were going to be able to cut 10 minutes out over this weekend, but somehow we've added 4. Very depressing.

Current temperature 68F. Good. I'm ready for tights and boots. And I guess my third winter of the fingerless brown editing gloves. I should retire them after this movie.

Where the hell is that Blues Explosion poster? I want to hang it in the kitchen. Fuck those stupid ornate measuring spoons.

I like the hell out of not waiting tables. I need to not wait tables a lot more often. It keeps me from considering suicide.

I love this picture of the Modifiers in California, probably about 1986 (?). I wonder who those girls are, and where they are now.

The Antenna Diaries

Someday we'll look back at this time, and say, "Ha! Remember when we were so stressed about the movie? HA!"

Having trouble capturing the Modfiers/Densmore/Derf Scratch show. Fuck.

today.

take this.

The Antenna Diaries

New deadline - October 31. Please let it happen, universe.

In other news, I love this picture. It makes the club look even crappier than it already was. And smokier, if that's even possible.

The Antenna Diaries

And the beat goes on.

Had a Skype interview the other day with Dave Catching, who used to play with the Modifiers (and Randy Band and Cock Rock and Four Neat Guys, etc). Very cool guy - had an email conversation with him and it's possible that he was responsible for selling me quaaludes and placidyls back then. Small world. Or is that more like a circle of life thing?

The day after his interview, he found an old vhs tape that he sent us. Angerhead (the band), Modifiers, Gun Club, an experimental noise thing he did on Channel 7 (sample-y, very proto-New Intruders) AND Modifiers with John Densmore and Derf Scratch. Fucking amazing.

Also, I found pictures I had forgotten. I love this one.

and this.