The Rest of It

How did my show go?

One person showed up. Fortunately, that one person was The Film Panel Notetaker, who does a good job of explaining the show so I don't have to.

Friday and Saturday, I hung out with my friend, Frank. We were supposed to go see Dandi Wind at Studio B. They cancelled out right before the show, so I got my money back. Frank was disappointed, since he'd seen the band before and had been all dressed up for the occasion.

The next afternoon, I met up with Frank and his girlfriend, and we hung out at Coney Island, since it's going to be "renovated" (re: gentrified). I shot plenty of video, so I preserve it while I still could. (I also shot some footage Labor Day.) Then we got on the F train, eventually parted ways, and I went back to my apartment and started packing.

I finished packing, then went into midtown Manhattan for the last time just to walk around. I left the apartment @ 9:20am. It was a pig to lug all my luggage around, but other than that, my ride back went okay.

I wouldn't mind moving down there, but I'm not sure if I'd want to be in that neighborhood in particular. It's not a bad neighborhood necessarily, but what given what you're paying for rent, I don't know if it's necessarily worth it. Maybe Fort Green? Mott Haven? Sunset Park? Harlem???

Finally, I made some videos, and I'm hoping to get one or two of them uploaded soon.

I HAVE THE CAMERA!!!

Today I stopped off at B&H Photo & Video and saw the camera that I am going to shoot my movie on.

The Canon XH G1 HD is so rich and clear with lots of details. The guy was showing me all the frills, telling me how well it works at night, and showed me the night vision part of it.

I'll be heading back in that direction tomorrow, so I plan on stopping by again, and ask a few more questions. There's only one problem: the camera costs $6K. I suppose there has to be some place where I can rent it from.

Happy Birthday Dave & Joe Swanberg! Yay1!!

My trip to NYC so far has been okay. I've been down to New York many times in the last decade, but this is the first time I've had a chance to experience what it feels like to be a New Yorker--conversations with random people, jumping on trains without a second thought, and so on.

After I arrived at my apartment Friday afternoon, I took a nap, then went over to Greenwich Village, bought the movie tickets, ate a pizza, then headed back over to the IFC Center.

The first movie I saw was Aaron Katz's Quiet City, which was really good. An awkwardly adorable slice-of-life piece set in New York. A girl comes up to visit her friend, whom she can't get ahold of. She meets up with this guy and ends up spending time with him.

After the screening, Aaron Katz, the cast, and crew answered questions about the movie. When that was over, I came to the front, gave him a copy of Are You From Bingo?, and told him what an inspiration he, Joe Swanberg, and Andrew Bujalski are. I told him that I hoped that we would meet again. He said the same.

The next movie I saw was Hannah Takes the Stairs. That movie was AWESOME, but before that, I saw the movie's director, Joe Swanberg, outside, talking on his cell phone. I would've gone down and given him a copy of my movie as well, but he left before I had a chance to get him.

Anyway, as I said, Hannah was RAD. Greta Gerwig plays the title character, and we see her going through relationships with three men. The movie seamlessly transitions from one relationship to the other. If this movie comes out to your neighborhood, run out and see it! If not, put it at the top of your Netflix Queue.

I'm really tired. I would like to take the opportunity to say "Happy Belated Birthday" to Mr. Swanberg. He recently married his longtime collaborator (and frequent co-star), Kris Williams. Below I have linked to his wedding video, along with Hissy Fits a short film of his that I uploaded.

Finally, I'd like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Dave. He also turns 26 today (it's after midnight as I write this), so HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!! You, Mr. Indie Rock, you! Yippee!!

Erin takes the Greyhound

I apologize for not blogging the past couple of weeks. I've been working on my show--and working out. In addition, I've also been copying and reading like crazy.

For weeks, I've had plans to work on something--what, I'm not so sure, but that it would criticize some aspect of the movie business. For awhile, I was thinking screenwriting gurus. Now, I'm not quite sure. Whatever it was that I was going to write, I'm not ready to write it. It would take time, energy, stability, and knowledge that I do not yet have. Besides, when it comes time for me to make my movie, I'll be able to structure it anyway I want to. I'll be in charge of the material, not some producer or studio head. Or another director.

One thing I may still have in the pipeline is an essay on mumblecore. My goal for the essay is to take the works of Bujalski, Swanberg, Katz, Duplass, Russo-Young et al and contrast it with how the rest of the movie world works. Right now, I have some quotes that illustrate "the other side" of the equation. I still have yet to see a few of those movies, and I still need to get all the interviews with the directors in one spot. However, unlike the project I was mentioning in the previous paragraph, I do think that writing this essay is a goal within reach. The big question is...where will it be published?

Speaking of "mumblecore", I discovered that Hannah Takes the Stairs is opening at the IFC Center in New York on August 22. I really hope it's still playing by the time I arrive August 31. Here is the trailer for the movie: