Hellboy 2, originally uploaded by jeffries17.

It is guillermo del toro! we hugged!

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Thanks to my friend Megan we got in to the Closing Event, Hell Boy 2, with a miniature awards ceremony and presentation by Guillermo del Toro, director extraordinaire. He had funny things to say, like the story  came from “his brains and his gonads”, and was very jovial.

The movie was also a pretty solid summer action movie, not too much thinking involved and a lot of pretty pictures upon which to gaze!

Megan had to leave as soon as it ended to help deal with after party tickets, so I ran out with her and who is waiting outside the theatre but Mr. Guillermo himself! We were able to get a picture together, a hug and a handshake (picture coming soon, it’s on a “real” camera), so that was a pretty amazing stroke of luck. Basically following around an intern is the best way to have a great festival experience, I’ve realized. The best parts about the days (minus my Entourage experience) have come as a result of her, so I’m quite grateful for the connection.

The after party was pretty fun as well, all outside on Broxton Avenue. Cool decorations, big crowd, great snacky snacks, people watching, hanging out with film directors (once again, because Megan worked for Guest Services and kindly introduces me to these very warm, congenial folk), and even a small bit of dancing toward the end once the party started dying down and getting compacted.

It is sad to say I only have one more shift as a volunteer at the Los Angeles Film Festival, another party after a screening tomorrow night. I haven’t had many better weeks than this past one.

LAFF Day 7: way cool, originally uploaded by jeffries17.

Volunteering has been pretty uneventful. just so happens that entourage is being filmed at the same hotel im volunteering at, the w. talked to kevin connelly, kevin dillon and plain ol adrien grenier. he and i talked about a potential screening of his documentary and perhaps entourage too. pretty good day!

LAFF Day 3, originally uploaded by jeffries17.

Another day at the festival for good ol’ Alex J! Today’s shift was a “Mixer” which is Hollywood for “Killer Party at a Swanky Museum”. DJ, drinky-drinks, people trying to bargain with us to get in and yelling that their name was on THE list (when in reality, we were told to let anyone in, regardless of whether or not they had tickets/there was no list to begin with)… I did many more things than I normally do! I fetched shirts for the bartenders because they were too hot in their jackets, I fetched water bottles because the other volunteers were getting thirsty, and I was a sexual object to the evening’s theatre manager!

I’m partially kidding about the last one, but she was a little overly flirtatious. I was her shadow for the evening, following her to and fro and doing her bidding, fetching her boxes and standing by as she showered me with hand-squeeze after back rub after coy smile.

Only one way to get to the top of this town!

In simultaneously interesting news, I met a few fellow filmees, one from the University of Michigan who is interning in LA over the summer and doing way more things than I would ever think to do, which is inspiring and intimidating. I actually gave him my card (time to refill the wallet!) and he gave me his reel (impressive gesture), which I will watch at some point and probably be made jealous. We shared some similar thoughts about filmmaking, Los Angeles, and agreed to meet up and film something this summer. Then he found a guy who knew a lot more about French and German film, so I was left the object of affection of the theatre manager while he talked shop…

Then I saw my first screening of the festival, the Shorts Program 2! There are five in all, and I have goals to catch three of them. I was very impressed! Most of them were good, the animations were superb, and a select few of the live-actions were nearly perfect. The one from Tisch/NYU was by far the worst, so that’s comforting (in a pretty sadistic way).

After spending much of today at work narrowing down to the 13 or so festivals I’d like to submit Sole Mates to, it was interesting to see what is being made in the world of short films today, to see what goes on in people’s heads in terms of shorter form ideas. It was almost reassuring to see that my film could have had a spot in the line-up. Though not as professionally made, the story makes sense… though in this backwards town, sometimes vagueries mean more than fulfilling stories.

Anyway, that’s enough for tonight. School tomorrow and another volunteer shift to attend to! Summer’s over!

LAFF Day 1, originally uploaded by jeffries17.

I know, right?! Isn’t my camera phone just the best?! Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly what you were thinkin’… but I bet you WERE thinkin’ about my first volunteer shift at the Los Angeles Film Festival!

It was amazing… it was like everything I’d ever imagined it could be… it was like working at a movie theatre without pay… That’s what I did. Just took some tickets, gathered up and tallied ballots. Not too glamorous, but it felt IMPORTANT. Whether or not that is actually true is another matter, it’s just HOW I FEEL.

Then I took that feeling to Ralph’s at 2:30 in the morning and prowled through the whole store until I found me some Entenmann’s Donuts. I would say I have discovered true freedom, the ability to buy donuts on a whim at any hour, any time.

Oh, and happy summer. Make sure to suck the marrow out of life, and so forth.

(I don’t know why it gets squished…)

As it’s almost Film Festival time down here in LA, I thought I’d update you on my own potential film festival entree, Sole Mates!

Since we last met, I was able to crank out a rough cut of the footage and send it off to an elite team of super-critiquers. I knew I’d have my work cut out for me, since I trust in their opinions… and they were very opinionated about the movie, so it has a bit of work left until there’s another draft.

That brings me to the point of this post, that I’m treating this film as one of drafts, stages and progress. I’ve really never approached one like this before, even The Experimental Generation, though many helped me create it, I never thought to ask for help in the later stages. The people I asked were people from work (co-workers and bosses), some people from the film school, and a few people whose sets I’ve worked on, so the feedback I got was as wide-ranging as the experiences I was drawing upon.

Working on a film like a longer-term project and treating it as a multi-faceted thing is really strange ground. To layer sound? Add a soundtrack in addition? Color correct for more than just aesthetics? Completely cut-up a shot I really like? The point is, as I should have realized a while ago, that film is really a collaborative thing, and I hadn’t really stepped away from a project and let people in before.

It has complicated things, but that’s not a bad thing. It feels now that I am stretching myself and learning more, finding even smaller details I’d change if I could shoot it again that didn’t even cross my mind before. Though it’s not like I’m taking Final Cut to its very limits, I am beginning to probe those shadowy areas with the light of experience.

The plan at this point is to tinker a lot with it. It is pretty cute and simple right now, but I’d like to add some layers and complexity and make it something worth watching a few times. For better or worse, I tend to be ashamed of most of the projects I’ve worked on, finding it very difficult (borderline painful) to watch anything I’ve done before over again, and this could have a couple explanations. It could be that I’ve learned a lot since then and would want to change so many things that watching it would just cause frustration. Alternatively, I could just be a Negative Nancy. The end goal is still to submit this to some festivals, and if it actually got into one I would want to see it there… and that would mean creating something that I’m interested in watching again.

Now, I hope to have another draft done by this weekend and I’ll seek out another round of criticisms, and then have a final version done for public viewing by next weekend. Hold me to this!

You were all involved in this project, either in the actual filming or in helping me think and brainstorm before hand, so you deserve to see it (I just don’t want to burden you with asking for your observations on minute details if it’s not something you have an interest in).

If you’re wondering why it is taking a while, just realize that it’s summer and a boy can find himself easily distracted by a book, basketball, or babes… and what do those all have in common? Chasing unattainable dreams… *chuckle*