"i thought i saw pete at the gas station"

Last night Aaron and I had our first post semester meeting about "Big Hands" and where we wanted to take the film now that it is in our hands, no pun intended. And for some reason I got the idea stuck in my head that I should start retracing my steps. I began with my most recent film prior to 24hr, which was "sleet/snow," on top of that Frank asked for some footage for his reel, and even though there is only one shot of his face in the film, I dug up the project file and began to watch the different cuts. s/s was the first film I had edited closely with someone else, er... Adrian, where we saved every cut we finished. In final cut it is never a good thing to rely on the auto-save to catch all of the little moments that changed everything. But since we were on such an expedited timeline for finishing the film, we had the aforethought to keep a record of every major step. That is something Adrian is at full credit for doing, was so exhausted when the shoot was over, I didn't have the endurance to marathon edit and to honest I don't think Adrian did either.

This 5 minute clip from "sleet/snow" was one of the first sequences to be cut from the final film. Mainly because it disrupts Robert's character arc. It isn't even the whole sequence, but I thought this worked really well when I watched it. I put some shots at the beginning to kind of add some scope and pace to the sequence. This clip also catalogues my frustration with Marian's character, and the situation I put her in. In the film who she is is very ambiguous, she is both the object of affection for Robert, but at the same time a human being that isn't in the same head space her. The clip is called "i thought i saw pete at the gas station because" that is the conversation had over sandwiches in the following scene (not included here). But that was the idea I had to reference her husband, and that her being there was an act of independence from her daily life. The trip is that for both of them, but ultimately I felt her character's arc distracted us from Robert's. I think cutting Marian arc, was and is still the choice that distances me from the final cut. That was more my failure then the anyone else's, but as shown here, in its roughest state, I can't entirely feel I let myself down. Indeed this is part of the original cut assembled while we were shooting, with just a hint of finessing. Collectively, these are some of my favorite/prettiest shots we got, and then were left on the "cutting room floor." I hope you enjoy.

"i thought i saw pete at the gas station" from Daniel Laabs on Vimeo.

Adrian Make Movie Trailers

Well you've seen the reels here's some completely awesome trailers and more for some of the films we've produced. I hope you enjoy and if you are interested in getting a screener of any of these films please feel free to contact us at adrianmakemovie@gmail.com.

Hürtgenwald Trailer from Noe Medrano Jr. on Vimeo.

Please checkout the rest of Noe's videos on Vimeo, if there is such a thing as a man behind the curtain, well that's Noe, Hurtgenwald was his narrative debut short. If ever get a chance to see it on the big screen it is a truly awesome experience. One of the most cinematically meditative films I seen from a friend and collaborator. I think Noe has shot or lit everyone of my narratives. Become a fan on facebook to find out about upcoming screenings and support this incredible film.

Sleet/Snow Trailer from Daniel Laabs on Vimeo.

What can I say I think this is the third trailer we've posted, more good news will be announced as soon as I can on this project.

Big Hands teaser from aaron holloway on Vimeo.

Aaron Holloway's latest short film was produced in association with Adrian Make Movie, but technically is a Manamal Production, and it won Audience Choice and Best Narrative at the UnderExposed 7 Film Festival. We are still in post on this one, but hopefully we'll be in a place where can start submitting to festivals very soon! Become a fan and find out news about upcoming screenings at the good ol' facebook!

Gillface from David McGinnis on Vimeo.

I guess this is the creme de la creme of embeds, this is the full version of David McGinnis' Award Winning Musical Short Gillface. Join the good fight and become a fan for Aquatic Americans young and old on... facebook.




Indeed this very first short produced by Adrian Make Movie, originally intended to be straight forward narrative short, but ended up becoming a test shoot for the film that ultimately became "sleet/snow." As rare as the screenings are comparatively to films like Gillface and sleet/snow, become a fan and get updated with news, although subscribing to this blog's RSS might be the easiest thing now that I think it, but support it anyways. North Street will be online in full by the end of the month.

Anselm from aaron holloway on Vimeo.

One of the first films I produced, this is another in association with Manamal Productions sort of deals, but I helped write and I produced it, so by my count it is Adrian Make Movie as well. This is also presented in full



Other Great Adrian Make Movie Films
The Runner (in association with INRI Films) - Facebook
The Moving Rows - Facebook
Hot/Cold (in association with Revision Films) - www.myspace.com/hotcoldfilm
That Makes Five (which will be posted online soon)
Catchers (which will be posted online soon)


Lastly I am doing this in part because June is our one year anniversary for Adrian Make Movie and it has been both an exciting and pretty successful first year, with films playing at SXSW, AFI Dallas, Fearless Film Festival, Reality Bites, Texas Black Film Festival, and UnderExposed 7. Does anyone have any ideas on how we can celebrate?

UnderExposed 7 Wrap Up Blog!

Daniel here,

Adrian Make Movie Productions and their filmmakers sweep UnderExposed Awards. The awards were selected by a jury of three, Chris Simpson, Keith Alcorn, and Melissa Kirkendall, and so here's the results. UnderExposed is a film festival made by students to showcase the work made by students, all the films are selected by the same jury, and Adrian and I were on the committee to put on the show. I had nothing to do with the awards, but it sure was neat to get one. So here's the wins.

Best Cinematography (tie)
Noe Medrano Jr. for Gillface
Bret Curry for Sleet/Snow

Best Writing
Nathan James for Gillface

Best Narrative and Audience Favorite
Aaron Holloway for Big Hands

Best Directing
Daniel Laabs (ME!) for Sleet/Snow

and

Best in Show
David McGinnis for Gillface

Other films that screened at UnderExposed 7 from Adrian Make Movie were Noe Medrano Jr.'s Hurtgenwald and Jayson Mekala's The Moving Rows. Thanks to everyone who came out.

In other news, The Adrian Make Movie team er Myself and Adrian will be joining forces with our Big Handed friend, Aaron Holloway and Manamal Productions (which I proudly have been involved with for a year now) to enter the 24hr Video Race under the Futurevision Catagory. This is our second year doing the race our first year we took home first place for our film "Schadenfreude."



We will post live updates during the 24hr Race, via the manamal twitter.

Alright well that's it for news, more festival updates for "Sleet/Snow" coming soon!

Adrian in the morning...

Beep beep went the sheep.

I'm having a "crazy" day. One of those days where I walk around and sing out of tune on purpose and let my voice crack and say things that don't make sense and make up words from some unknown space language...

Another day of back to back movies. You know... this is the true test. Festivals are the deciding factor to see if someone really wants to be a filmmaker. You would think that after a couple of movies I would be burned out and want to wash my hair in a toilet... but no, I'm still "truckin'". i enjoy watching movies, and I've always said, "Dang, I wish I could watch movies all day long and not have to do anything..." Well, now that's happening and I'm realizing that ISN'T what I want. I'm starting to feel useless and extremely unproductive. I like the movies, but sometimes I find myself wandering off (in my brain noodles), and I want to go work on my own movies or my friend's movies.

I've come to the plateau of wanting to work in production. I think I love it. I like pre-production and post, but I think I like production the most. That's weird. I always thought I was a pre-to-post guy, but when I sit down and STOP and think about it, I REALLY like production. I don't mind waking up when the sun does, and I don't mind working for like 20 hours a day. I wish I could be in production all the time. BUT....... Don't read this and think that I want to be in production all the time. Even though I just said that, doesn't mean I want to do it. "What does that mean, you're confusing me...", you might say. Well, this is what it's like aboard the Adrian Train. We ride on our own tracks and they're invisible and sometimes they do loops and U-turns and sometimes they plunge into the ocean or go straight up to the moon. Just try to hang on.... You'll eventually want off this crazy ride. That's what we think. And now I'm referring to myself as plural. I'm crazy.

Here's where I try to reason with myself, that usually ends up with me getting upset and eating.

I like production, but I don't want to do it. It's like having a "thing" for cheesecake. You can't eat cheesecake everyday, because you will explode. So the few times you get the privilege to eat it, it's SOOOO much better. I'd like to steal the phrase "pleasure delay" from Vanilla Sky. There are things on this earth that I enjoy so much... and I purposely avoid them until I almost can't take it anymore, then I give in and the cheesecake is that much sweeter. Pleasure Delay. So if I relate to production, it works the same. I'm sure if I worked on everybody's projects and was on set every weekend or all week, over and over, I might get burned out... I don't know.

I can honestly say I still like watching movies. Good, bad, weird... all of them. I also like to play video games, but I haven't played any for months. I miss it. I also like cheesecake.

So what do I want to do for the rest of life? Do I want to be an actor? I could be on set and enjoy the production from the opposite side of the camera! Do I want to be a PA? I can be on any set anywhere, anytime and have minimal responsibility, and just enjoy being a part of production. But that's a waste of the skills I have acquired! I can do anything and everything! If I'm PA-ing, that's wasting my talent! I guess I could PA to pay bills and work on my own work in between. Is that the norm? I don't want to be normal....

So crap. I have to leave now and watch more movies AFTER we find a parking spot... which is going to be hell on wheels.

Motivation... I have to get to work. 

Lemon is coming.

Soon.

Cheesecake.

Pleasure Delay.

Crazy Day.

Adrian and his thoughts.

Three day post.... by Adrian

Hello again.
Tuesday - We went to a panel in the AM for the TFPF grant through AFS. We learned some good stuff. Nothing new really, Bart already told us all about grants and how they worked.
We went to David Lowery's "St. Nick", which didn't have dialogue until 30 minutes in. It was awesome. I love kid movies. I talked to Savannah and her mother Amy after the screening and told them about Lemon. They seemed very interested in the project! Hooray!
Next we went to "We Live in Public"... It was a great documentary! Yipee! It was about this internet genius who was inventing stuff way before his time. Good stuff.
After that was "Trust Us, This is All Made Up". It was good. I felt like it was just a stand up comedy show, not really impressed with it as an indie feature, although the improv by the two main characters was amazing.
After the movies we went to the film after party where Daniel and I networked like cats in heat. Daniel downed a few drinks and loosened up and talked to eveyone he ever wanted to talk to and I took his lead and talked to everyone he was talking to and then... There was this girl... I saw this girl on Friday, the first day, and then everyday after, and every time I saw her, I was like, "Damn Gina!" Well, her name isn't Gina. It's Kristen, and she's a producer/actress in Austin. Love at first sight. She's nice, beautiful, friendly, and has amazing eyes and hair. I gave her my card and told her I'd be moving to Austin soon and that we should work together... She smiled at me. That's all it took for me to splurt out half sentences and broken words. Anyway, she's great. We're in love. Not really, she probably doesn't remember my name.
After the party we went to Kerby Lane with some new friends and made it home at about 3 or 4am. Damn us.

Wednesday - We started out the day with some shorts, then an INCREDIBLE movie called "Afterschool" that all of you will probably never see. There are SO many controversial aspects of this movie that the Church Lady would crap a Volkswagen! It was shot BEAUTIFULLY and had an AMAZING story of REAL LIFE that everyone hides from and tiptoes around. We sat next to a group of high school students who were shocked and offended by the obscenities and absurdities on the screen. They hated it, which made me love it that much more. There were some oddly composed shots that were absolutely amazing and I heard that the director is 23 and I want to kick him in the throat for being so awesome.

We met up with Chris Mangus for a little while. He was in town shooting some transportation legislation at the capitol and had some time to kill so he met up with us at a little mexican restaurant where we talked crap about school and filmmaking and graphic novels that have been converted to movies.

Next we slept through Experimental Shorts, then we went on to watch Texas Shorts which featured "Love, Sadie", our competitor at AFI at the end of this month. I can't lie, it was good... Really good. I liked the story and it was shot nicely. Keep your fingers crossed for "Sleet/Snow"... or just tell everyone you know it's amazing and hopefully it will get around to the judges before they even see it. Go Lobby Go!

After the Texas shorts we watched "Creative Nonfiction". For those of you who went to or or currently attending film school: Do you remember when your instructor said, "If the story is good enough, it doesn't matter how it's shot." Well, my friends, "Creative Nonfiction" is the shining example for that legendary statement. There are SOOO many technical errors in this movie that you would think it was an intro students "in camera edit". The story, however, is stupendous! The main character is incredible and the dialogue is fantastic and the movie in all is grrreat! I liked it a lot, and all the rules that were broken made me like it even more. Now this doesn't mean that you can go out and shoot something that looks like crap on purpose... you HAVE to have the story! I expect great things from this director in the near future.

After that we experienced the one... the only... "LESBIAN VAMPIRE KILLERS"! Hooray! This movie was all hotness and comedy and unexpected really good production value. The story was cheesy and the acting was cheese, and by the end I was feeling constipated. BUT a couple of the lesbian vampires were ULTRA hot and the "fat guy" was pretty funny throughout the movie... it was a "Shaun of the Dead" but switch the characters out with less-well known actors and all supporting actors with hot girls and change the undead to vampires... that's pretty much it... but completely different... figure that one out, geniuses.

I dropped Daniel off at Jeremy's and went to Erik's to go to sleep.

Thursday - The next morning Daniel called me and didn't know where he was. He had been "transported" in the middle of the night to a different location than he fell asleep in. So that was a little adventure in itself.

We started out our day with a Korean movie called "Daytime Drinking". It was funny. It made me miss Korea. I haven't actually been there, but I'm sure if I had been, I would have missed it by watching the pretty countryside pictures of this movie. It was about a guy and his weekend where everything bad that could happen to someone, happened to him. It was funny.

Then we watched some more shorts that were pretty frickin' good! There was one about these two boys in Italy or somewheres that swam around in the water and then went fishing and caught a dead guy. Find it and let me know what it is.

After that we slept through Garbage Dreams.

Then we went to some more shorts (Reel Shorts 3) and watched most of that showcase, there were some humorous shorts in this last package.

THEN we went to see "Sorry, Thanks". It was enjoyable. We had met the director at the closing party a couple of nights ago, her name is Dia Sokol. She is really cool and really nice. The main character was really funny. I liked his dialogue a lot and the main female actress was funny because her eyes were really big and so was her mouth and she made funny faces (not on purpose). So I liked it because I laughed with and at the movie.

DId I mention that we had lunch with Joe Swanberg? No I didn't... No big deal... He's only AWESOME and really down to earth.

That's like Andy Anderson having lunch with Ron Howard. How's that for perspective?

Tomorrow is going to be fun and hopefully I can dedicate one post to it instead of a three day post like this one...

Sorry. We've been staying up late and waking up early and it's hard to find time to keep up with this pooper.

My mom suggested we skip SXSW tomorrow and just go to Fiesta Texas and ride roller coasters all day. It sounds lovely to me, but we're on a mission and we can't take a detour!

More from Adrian

Yesterday- Sunday night- we left Jeremy's house and went to the premiere party for "Make Out with Violence". We talked to the filmmakers and one of the actresses who seemed very interested in us. There were also some old hooters girls there that were like "Hi, Adrian" and I was like "Hi".

 Afterwards we headed over to see "Humpday". Fantastic. Very funny cast, funny story, funny fun eating cheddar chex in the theater. Mark Dupass is incredible. The movie was unscripted. Incredible performances. Witty clever humor. Great.
After that we saw "The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle". Another great funny movie! It was great and funny! The opening title sequence was an incredible work of art! The movie was weird and funny and great and great and weird and funny! I loved it! There were unconventional cuts and effects and shots, but they all worked and the story was so crazy awesome that I want to watch it several more times!
"A Film with Me in It" was the last thing we watched Sunday. Daniel fell asleep through almost the whole movie. It started slow and was a tad boring, then it picked up and got a little better. We passed up seeing Raimi's new movie "Drag Me to Hell" because dizzle got out late. Oh well. So this morning we wandered into this "super special screening", not knowing what it was... Daniel asked somebody in line while I was parking and found out that it was linkletter's new film... Whoever that is... "Me and Orson Welles" with Zac Efron and Claire Daines. It was good. Huge budget, huge production, huge movie. Linklater is a cool guy.

When we got out we headed over to the Trade Show and I talked to the EP people about EP Budgeting and Scheduling and how we can get it at school and it seems pretty easy so I have to talk to Bart. Then I went over the the Texas Film Commission stand and talked to the woman there about getting a guest speaker to come to school and talk about the advantages of making friends with the film commission. It was fun.

Next we went to see "It was Great, but I was Ready to Come Home". We were standing in line next to all these important people who have movies in the feature competition and they are all friends and laughing and having a good time and I was wanting to just go over and laugh and have a good time with them... but then I got really mad. I started thinking about how they would just "shoo" us away or ignore us because we weren't on their "level" and how they would probably forget about us 5 minutes after we left.... Then we watched the movie (and I fell asleep in the end because I was so angry before the movie started and throughout it) and then Daniel and I walked over to the Convention Center and talked about our "futures" as filmmakers and I felt better. Comment if you would like to know more about my Hulk anger.

After our future planning session we headed over to see "Luckey". It was a pretty kick ass documentary with a not so good resolution. It seemed very long too. I enjoyed it. Daniel and I talked more about future filmmaking before and after the screening.

THEN we headed over to see a "TBA" screening which turned out to be Todd Haynes infamous BANNED documentary, "SUPERSTAR, The Karen Carpenter Story". It was funny... although I'm not sure if it was intended to be so. Yes... it was... and it was.

Tomorrow Erik and Carla might come and hang out with us and watch some movies. That should be fun.

I'm tired now though, so Too-Da-Loo!

Back on Track.... by Adrian

I feel much better now.

Yesterday was fun. We started out our (late start) day with "Beeswax". It was good. The 2 main actresses were "non-actors", as well as most of the rest of the cast. You could have fooled me... and you did... (insert George W. Bush joke here) I thought they were REAL actresses. Everyone in the movie was good. The great thing about "Beeswax" is it was SO simple! We definitely have the capabilities to shoot a feature on that scale.... Hmm, not sure what's holding us back...

THE John Mitchell came into town and met up with us after Beeswax. John Mitchell was our Sound Supreme on "sleet/snow"! We all went to see "Sons of a Gun", which from the trailer and initial preview/review I gave, looked pretty promising. Well, I was kind of disappointed. Daniel described it as "episodic", which it was... I just couldn't think of how to put it eloquently. It WAS about crazy old people, which I like, but I'm more into the humor of old people's craziness, not the TRUE craziness/scariness that they are or have or whatever I'm trying to say here. It was, at times, horrific. Not horrific/bad, but horrific/like I'm cringing and gripping my knees because I'm scared and worried for these old helpless crazies. 

Next we ran back over to the Paramount to catch "Alexander the Last". Well, we were actually going to see "Splinterheads", but there was a crazy line outside the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, so we decided not to go, which made us 3 hours early to the "Alexander the Last" movie. SO, we ducked into whatever was playing at the Paramount to pass the time, and low and behold, it was "Moon", starring Sam Rockwell. Moon was so slow that it helped me catch up on all the sleep I've been missing out on. I saw the beginning and the end, and slept through the middle. I won't be seeing that one again, even though it was WAY closer to my preview/review of what I thought "Alexander the Last" was going to be about. "Alexander the Last" (4th time I've dropped the title) was good. Great acting, great shots, great MUSIC, and great awkward sex scenes! The sex scenes weren't awkward, they were actually really hot, but they were awkward because you're watching what's supposed to be this intimate, private act that usually no one sees, but there's a HUGE theater full of people watching these two people "get it on"... all sex scenes are awkward in theaters... That's just what I think. 

After "that movie" we went to "that movie's" after/premiere party at the Kharma Lounge and that place was super packed. I couldn't breathe in there (my excuse), so I left to go get something to eat, take a dump, and go to sleep. I went to my friend, Erik's, house and ate Jack in the Box and watched a little bit of this crap-attack movie called "Chocolate" about an autistic teenage girl who watches "Ong Bak" and then goes out at night to beat up bad guys who work the docks. Check it out if you want, but I pretty much told you the whole movie.

I tried to go to sleep early but somebody kept calling me and woke me up every time I would doze off. I think I finally went to sleep around 2 or 3ish and woke up this morning (late again) and walked out to my truck to go pick up Daniel and my truck was gone.

It got towed. Now I don't know if any of you have ever had your truck towed but it's so infuriating! I was so mad. You can't yell at the apartment complex because 1) They don't open until 10am, even if you wait around until 10:45am, they still won't open, and 2) Even if they opened on time, they do have ONE sign posted behind a bush that visitors will be towed if they don't park in the designated visitor area. You can't yell at the tow truck company, because, GEEZ, if I got $200 for every car I picked up, I would be towing vehicles all night long, which they probably did. Good for them... but still F*ck them both and I hope they die slow, painful deaths.

My dad came and rescued me. He picked me up and took me to the impound place and picked up my truck and then I was on my way to the show. I got to The Hideout Theatre and Coffeehouse at 11:30AM, later than I wanted to show up. The showcase rocked socks. We showed last and were the best. I'm not just saying that because I produced and edited the movie, it was actually the best. It got the most applause out of all of them and it was pretty incredible. I picked out three more things I didn't like about the movie, but I guess that's what filmmakers do when they watch their own junk. I'm still really happy with the ending of the movie. It ends so strong and on such a good vibe that I can't help but smile every time I see it. 

We've been sitting around doing nothing for the past couple hours visiting with friends that came out to see our movie. I'm really tired again... and hungry... as usual. The other short that excelled in the showcase was "Martha". I had been looking forward to see that short for a long time and I'm glad I finally got to see it.

Next we're going to see "Humpday" followed by "The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle". Then we're SERIOUSLY considering going to the super screening of SAM RAIMI'S new movie, "Drag Me to Hell"! We're fans of the Sam Raimi and his Spiderman franchise. HAR HAR HAR. 

Long live The Evil Dead.

wake me up before you go,

Adrian Made Blog

One Night Down, Seven to Go... by Adrian

So, I decided to go with a different font for this post... 

Tonight was the first night of the "movie watching week"! We started the day out by going to the Austin Convention Center to pick up our badges and advanced tickets to some shows. We waited in NO lines, we walked right up and grabbed our badges then we went to the bank and Kinkos to make some "sleet/snow" fliers. The fliers were going to take a few hours to print so we met up with my dad and ate at Longhorn PoBoy's, where Daniel and I each had a "Terminator", which was quite possibly amazing.

We went to my mom's place to pick up our luggage, which we left the night before because it was raining and rain sucks and it rained all day today too... Anyway, Daniel fell asleep on my mom's couch and I watched Oprah. After a couple hours, Mr. Crabby Pants Daniel woke up and was like, "MMM, Why did you make me sleep so long? WAH!", and I said, "Sooooorrrrryyyy.", then we were on our way.

Next we argued over wether there was going to be traffic or not, and for half of the ride, there wasn't any traffic and I was all, "HA HA, you negative asshole.", then we hit I-35 and it was bumper cars, and then Daniel jumped on his high horse and rode around in between the slowly moving cars gloating about how he was right and blah blah blah.

So we made it back to Kinkos, then to Jeremy's (our home base), then to S. Lamar to catch the Music Video Competition. 

We weren't late for anything. Daniel just likes to complain when we wakes up... then complain for hours after he wakes up... then complain until he goes to sleep... but it's not like it's all the time...... it is.

So on to ADRIAN'S REVIEWS of movies and junk:

There were three REALLY cool music videos that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

The third place goes to Gnarles Barkley's "Going On", by Wendy Morgan. It was creatively shot, had some fun dancing, I tapped my foot along with the music and the dancing in the video. It was very fun.

Second Place goes to Oren Lavie's "Her Morning Elegance". This video was so frickin' cool that I forgot I had to pee for the past hour. It was stop motion of a girl sleeping and the different positions she twisted herself in while she slept took her on a journey through her bed-world. You'd have to see it to understand what I'm talking about. It's really cool and hopefully Daniel will post a link to it so I can watch it again.

First Place goes to Don McCloskey's "Mister Novocaine", Directed, Produced, and Edited by Peter Rhoads. This frickin' video was so great. I really enjoyed the song and the visuals were so good, I think I smiled throughout the whole video.

There were some other funny ones and some that I thought were poop on a stick, but whatever, I'm not a judge.

After the last music video, we rushed out of the theater so we could catch "You Won't Miss Me". It was cold as balls outside and we could feel it every time someone opened the damn door behind us while we waited in our VIP line (because we picked up "go the front of the line" advanced tickets). We got inside the theater and the director showed up (a woman) and introduced the movie and then we watched it. Daniel said he had been looking forward to this movie for a long time so I was interested in seeing what was so great about it. I couldn't remember what it was so I was just going to enjoy what ever came on the screen. Well enjoy it I did. Technically the movie was shot on like 500 different formats so the aspect ratio and graininess and fuzziness kept changing. As a film student, I notice stuff like that, but I also recognized it as the style of the film. The movie was so incredible that most of the time I thought it was a documentary because the characters were SOOOOO real. Like I said in my review of the trailer, I know a crazy girl like the lead character in this movie so I could relate to her wacky weirdness, but I had no idea that it could be captured so well. Hot damn it was good. I don't see this movie getting any kind of wide release and maybe none of you will ever get a chance to see it, but it was damn good, emotional, funny, sad, and great!

After that we went to the "Film Opening Party", where filmmakers of all shape and sizes (features to docs to shorts) can all mingle and meet each other and talk about movie making. Well, Daniel and I walked around the room like a couple of ghosts, not making eye contact with anyone. We looked for familiar faces, of which I found NONE... except for two actors who I couldn't remember the names of but one of them is old and one of them is in funny movies and has a beard now. Maybe you can tell me who they are? So we mingled with nobody and felt like dumb idiots. I mean, what are we supposed to say to people?! "Hi, we like making movies. Oh, you do too? Let's talk about it!" I don't know! It was like everyone there was already talking to three other people and we were just walking around them trying to butt in on their private conversations.

So we left that crap and went to Treasure Island where my best friend (which I earlier wrote "BF", but realized it sounded REALLY gay), Erik works. He said I didn't look as fat as I usually do, which I guess is a compliment and then he told me some funny stories about bloody faces and big butts. Sidney showed up a little later wearing glasses and sporting an afro which I laughed about for about five minutes straight. Daniel did not have fun at Treasure Island at all. He's not a "dance-club-disco-tech" kind of guy, I guess.

So we finally left there, much later than Daniel had hoped we would, I'm sure, and came back to Jeremy's and ate some chips and started writing about our first day.

Tomorrow we're going to start our day out with The Prison Rodeo Movie. I can't wait. I know that movie is going to be so awesome! We're gonna watch a lot of other stuff too but that's the one I'm most excited about.

Miss-uh-lay-knee-us: I miss my bed. Autum has it and I tried sleeping in it the past two nights, but I didn't sleep well for some reason, even though it was REALLY comfortable. I miss my TV. I miss eating all the time. I miss rock climbing. I miss my family and my friends in Austin. I'm here and I don't have time to spend with them. I miss feeling important. I miss the salami sandwich I ate in my truck in between the last movie and the crap party we failed at. I miss sleep. I miss my good friends in Arlington. I miss some of the bad ones too. I miss the carefree days when nothing mattered and everything was fun.

Until Tomorrow >>

-Adrian (tired as poopcrap and about to go to sleep)

Trailer Party!

So I watched all the FEATURE trailers that we'll be watching. We're purposely skipping the BIG movies that will be coming out in the next few weeks ("Observe and Report", "I Love You, Man", and some other junk), so that we can see the good indie films that might not ever see a theater or distribution.

Here are my thoughts on the individual previews I watched (In alphabetical order)

45365 - I think this movie looks good... Daniel says we might see it, maybe. I think I might kick Daniel in his maybe face. Dirty dumbo donkus dork.

500 Day of Summer - I have high hopes for this one. The trailer is Aamazazing. The HORRIBLE narration makes me want to pull out my own tongue, but the quick glimpses of what looks like singing and dancing makes my toes twinkle.

Afterschool - looks good... reminds me of my younger years... fighting, sex, fantasizing about crazy happenstances... or more what I wished my younger years would have been like...

Alexander the Last - There is no trailer for this movie and I don't know how to read so I have no idea what this is going to be about. However, I am hoping that it will be loosely based on Alexander the Great's conquest of Earth, but set in space. The "Alexander" will be a lone warrior starship from a historical space battle, and it's rag-tag crew of misfits and stowaways will have to fight their way through hordes of de-humans (a human-like species that are mushy on the inside and wear their bones on the outside) and other battleships. They will eventually discover that the "promised land" that they are trying to get to for most of the 4 hour movie does not exist and the only thing they have is each other. Then their ship will run out of oxygen. Credits. Or... I guess their ship could run out of oxygen in the opening credits, then it could be a short. I guess we'll see.

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo - Not what you would expect. If you read the last description of what I get from movie titles, then you can see that I hope for the most ridiculous... Well this story is about the insect crave in Tokyo and how people own insects as pets and I guess how insect marketing is a very lucrative business in Japan. The trailer has some very funky music that I enjoyed and some pretty pictures as well.

Bomber - Road Trip/Old People/Life Movie. I love old people. I think they are funny. There are some really nice road shots in this movie that I am jealous of. I think it will be one of those "carpe diem" movies, where old people teach us youngsters the value of life and let us know that we're wasting it by sitting in front of computers blogging all day.

Brock Enright: Good Times Will Never Be The Same - this is a documentary about a crazy artist. I wasn't surprised by anything in the trailer because I hang out with a crazy artist. I'm not going to say who, but his name starts with a "D" and ends with a "aniel Laabs". You want real crazy? Check out Daniel's self made bathtub documentary.

Exterminators - Wow... this is what people spend their money on in SXSW? It has Heather Hot Boogie Nights and that old lady from American Pie and Legally Blonde. It looks bad... not bad enough to be good... just bad. Daniel says it is on our list as a "place holder" but I'm beginning to question his real motives and his overall taste in film.

Grace - a movie about birthing, demon babies, flies, breast blood-milk, vampires, hatchets, bottles, rubber gloves... i just started writing whatever I think I saw in the preview. Baby horror movies are great... like enemas.

Iron Maiden: Flight 666 - Rock... Roll... Pantera behind the scenes... but not. Iron Maiden lives on forever and they prove it through their undying rockstardomism.

It was great, but I was ready to come home - College girls in a foreign country... Costa Rica? I've been there and if these girls ruin it for me, I will hate them and myself. Girls make me want to throw up. Why do they ruin everything? Why do I love them so? Oh gross... (took a break to gag myself)

Lesbian Vampire Killers - For such a corny name, and expecting it to be nothing but corny, this one actually looks pretty well produced. I think this is one of our "midnight madness" movies, so I'm sure it will be enjoyable. If not, I will blame it on the lesbians.

Luckey - Heart-wrenching documentary about a quadraplegic father and the wife and son that take care of him. I bet it's good. Tears will rain down upon the desolate earth.

MakeOut with Violence - Low budget, unique, zombies? Possibly. Might be some sick and twisted necrophiliac stuff... I'm turned on just thinking about it.

Modern Love is Automatic - Punk Rock Preview! Horrible sound! Bondage and Boredom! There's a girl named "Adrian"? That's impossible. The trailer started out cool... I had a headache at the end and might have blacked out.

My Suicide - I think this will be great. It's on our "IF WE HAVE TIME" list. It's going to be about the life of teenager and how he knows the world through media. There's some rotoscoping and other cool effects. I'm excited. We're gonna see it. I'm moving into the "We're gonna see it" list.

Over the Hills and Far Away - A journey of a father and son to find a cure for the son's autism. Horseback riding and Mongolian healers. I'm down.

Son of a Gun - More old people humor. I can't wait. This one actually looks really funny and I'm sure it has a heart warming story attached to it. Big ears, white hair, missing teeth... I love it.

Sorry, Thanks - awkward relationships and awkward moments. I'm used to that. Let's all love awkwardness together!

St. Nick - KIDS! The first line in this trailer got me. I'm gonna love it. I know it. I'm writing a short about a child and how they see the world and how it's difficult for adults to see the same things that they see, so this will help me with my movie... I hope.

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo - OMG! I watched the whole preview with a dropped jaw... Inmate gorging bulls run around and have a field day on fleeing prisoners that are ecstatic to be "off the yard". Omg. Everyone enjoys a trampling! "You don't want to see anybody get hurt or get killed, but if they do, you darn sure don't want to miss it." -random spectator of the prison rodeo.

The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle - Oh geez... crazy effects and crazy craziness! I'm ready to get my mind grapes plucked! Let's do this, Rocket Punch!

Trimpin - I thought maybe this one was about some new dance and got really excited... then I learned it's just ANOTHER movie about ANOTHER crazy old man... what's with the crazy geezers this year?

All of these trailers can be seen on SXSW.com, under film and then "trailer viewer".

We're going to see PRAYER FOR ANIMALS tonight at The Hole in the Wall. It's Jeremy's band. It will be my first time praying with animals and I'm sure I will enjoy it.

Laundry's almost done...

Oh, if anyone wants to make any donations to the Adrian Make Movie's Fight Against Starvation at SXSW 2009 Fund, please contact Daniel or Adrian and take them to lunch.

Thank you and God Speed.

-CJW3 (Adrian)

First Post - News in general.

To start us off, I'd like to first announce that Sleet/Snow Adrian Make Movie's sixth film, has been accepted into the SXSW AFS member showcase, more info can be found here, as well as AFI DALLAS, details. Adrian and I will be attending both of the screenings, and will be accepting food donations, ha ha. And for the SXSW screening Leanna McMillin, who plays Marian will also be in attendance. 

Furthermore, Adrian and I will both offer our widely differing opinions on the films we see at the festivals as well as the festival experiences in general. We are very excited and hope to see lots of people we know and meet even more people.

Bigger news, Adrian Make Movie is involved with Frank Mosley's new short film "Hot/Cold," which is currently in the middle of casting.  Adrian is working as Locations Manager, and I will be Co-Producing. I am very excited about this project and will post more updates soon! Also I will be working on Aaron Holloway's new film, "Big Hands" which will begin casting very soon. Aaron played the Artist in "Sleet/Snow" and was also my Assistant Director. 

In other Screening News, most of the films made by or in association with Adrian Make Movie will be screening at the "Movies Without Borders: Student Film Showcase" being put on by Excel and the SFVO, so if you are near or around UTA Tonight, the screening begins at 7pm in the Lone Star Theater.

If you are the Facebook please take some time and become fans of Adrian Make Movie Films, or films that were produced in association with Adrian Make Movie...

North Street Bummer

The Runner

Gillface

Hurtgenwald

Sleet/Snow

I swear to god this will be the last time I post anything as "we."

A & D