Going to Cannes!

I am thrilled to announce that To Rest in Peace will be screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May, as part of the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmakers Showcase!

There is more festival news to come in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, we are busy preparing for Cannes and developing some feature film projects.

Today is also important on a more personal level. It would have been the 41st birthday of my friend and mentor, David Stein. Every April 29th, and December 12th, I watch his Chasenjah music video, as a way of placing a virtual stone in remembrance. If you have a moment, click on the link to see it. His spirit is very much alive in his art.

There was a time in high school when the enormity of my dream seemed too daunting. I wanted to write and direct historical epics, like Gladiator and Les Misérables, but thought it was impossible. David assured me that no dream is too big. There are people out there making those films, so why not you? Just take it one step at a time. I had to recall his advice many times along the way. With To Rest in Peace, that dream now seems a tangible reality. It is one of the many reasons I am thankful to have known David Stein.

Ridley Scott

DGA Quarterly has a great interview with Ridley Scott in their Fall 2010 issue. The bit about his early directing days is particularly interesting. I won't spoil it with a summary here, but look for the advice he got from actor Ian Hendry. "From that moment on, I just changed gears."

Ridley Scott's work was an inspiration for To Rest in Peace from the very beginning. Sean Conaty and I watched Body of Lies and Black Hawk Down. And Leah Curtis and I listened to the score of Black Hawk Down and Gladiator.

Going way back, it was Gladiator that inspired me to study history in undergrad, with the dream of directing historical epics. Which is why it was such an honour to have Mr. Scott as an Industry Mentor on To Rest in Peace. His guidance raised the film to a whole new level.

Enjoy the interview!

Remembering Nina II

Two years ago, Nina Foch passed away.

Every once in a while, I pull out my notes from Nina's class, and try to relive her presence and teachings. There are pages and pages of notes from every session. In remembrance of Nina, here are a few quotes I found while perusing the notes today.

If you're smart about your brain, you will memorize things all the time. It keeps your brain alive.

Whenever a student in class used the colloquial "sort of," "just," or "basically," as in "well, the story is basically about..." Nina would interrupt and make them rephrase.

'Basically' is a cop-out. Because if you say 'basically', you can deny what you've said.

She demanded the best from us, and was very direct, harsh and critical with her notes.

My purpose in life is to be as harsh as possible, to make sure you're ready. Because I'm nothing compared to what you will face.

I can still hear her voice when directing, writing or even editing, commenting on the scene, making it better, stronger, more alive.

This is the second post 'Remembering Nina.' The first one is from April 20, 2009.

Since then, a tribute DVD has been produced by Randal Kleiser. It includes hours of footage from her classroom, and some interviews about her approach. It's a great glimpse of her for anyone who wants to discover or remember Nina Foch.

Music

Leah Curtis wrote a haunting score for To Rest in Peace. Since we recorded last Tuesday, the music keeps coming back to me in every moment of quietude, crowned by the exquisite voice of Lisbeth Scott.

Here is the cue from our final scene, leading into the credits.

To Rest in Peace - End Credits by Leah Curtis

I'm astounded by what Leah was able to create, and the talent she was able to bring on board. Armen Anassian and Nancy Roth on violin, Lynn Grants on viola, Mary Anne Steinberger on cello, M. B. Gordy on percussion, Chris Bleth on duduk, Dean Parks on oud. Plus music consultant and contractor Alan Steinberger, scoring assistant Karim Elmahmoudi (fellow USC alum!), music editor Dave Lawrence, recording engineer Charlie Paakkari, and scoring mixer John Rodd.

One of the notes we got from our industry mentor, early in the rough cut stage, was to make the music bigger. He recommended we listen to Black Hawk Down, which we did, playing the entire soundtrack against sections of To Rest in Peace. It became the model for our opening cue, and for the scope of our music.

But Leah really outdid herself with it. I'm very proud to have her art included in this film.

Unsung Heroes of Production Design

To Rest in Peace is unofficially picture locked, awaiting a thumbs up from its faculty mentor, Amanda Pope. This is a good time to reflect on some of the great work that never made it into the final cut.

Films often have to cut out lines, scenes, or even entire characters. (Compare the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven to the theatrical release, which is missing a key character in the story). Fortunately, To Rest in Peace has not lost any scenes or characters. But there's a lot of great production design that won't make it onto the screen.

My personal favourite is the 'emergency room' sign in the hospital scene, pictured above. The art department did an amazing job of transforming a drab Santa Clarita set, into a Kuwaiti hospital. At a test screening in Kuwait, several people in the audience were convinced that we filmed at a local hospital. Thanks to Katie Byron the production designer, Henry Alvarado the art director, Rebecca Eskreis the set dresser, and the art PAs Julianne Dome, Cynthia Fox, Monica Sender and Stephanie Wooten.

The scene ended up playing best in one continuous steadicam shot, beautifully operated by David Baldwin. But the shot never looks in that direction. So, dear 'emergency room' sign, we'll miss you.

There was a lot of great work by the art department that never made it into the final cut, or even into the dailies. But what it did was completely free us to shoot in any direction we needed. We were standing in the spaces of our imagined world, and every detail around us was true to the characters and the story.

The Eve of Production

On the eve of production. Call time 6AM.

Everything is prepped and ready to go.

As a reminder of what we are trying to accomplish, I watched some of my favourite scenes from my favourite films. I watched the opening of Gladiator, and the Non Nobis Domine scene from Kenneth Branagh's Henry V.

Also watched this inspiring and informative interview with my favourite director, Ridley Scott.

Tomorrow is the first of ten days, after which production on To Rest in Peace will be past tense. I look forward to sharing this journey with you.

David Stein

Today would have been David's 39th birthday.

I met him in 1997, when he came to make a video yearbook for my high school. I had already discovered my love for film, so I asked if I could help. He took me under his wing, and over the next couple of years, brought me out on commercials, documentaries and TV shows. And he would look at my little films, and give his honest feedback, often critical, but always constructive.

His goal was to direct his first feature by 35. In 2005, I came back from Christmas vacation and called to wish him a happy new year. Instead, I found out he had fallen ill and passed away. He was 34.

I owe David a lot. He was an inspiring example of a filmmaker, an artist, and a decent human being. But there is one piece of advice he gave that has shaped my life. He was the one who told me not to study film in undergrad. Instead I took history, and found my inspiration.

You can see one of David's music videos, "Chasenjah", by clicking here.

Remembering Nina

Today was the birthday of Nina Foch (1924 - 2008). I was fortunate enough to take her directing course at USC. Every one of her classes led to pages and pages of notes. I went through them today, and found this gem:

A success in work is when you don't know whether you're working or playing.

Nina always said her intention in teaching was "to transfer the fascination." She certainly did. Rest in peace, Nina Foch.