Demonica Preproduction: The Calling…
Chris “Turnip” Simmons
Hey everybody we are still raising money for Demonica. You can donate on our indiegogo page or to your right by clicking on the thermometer. We’re working really hard to get this movie and we need your help. Please donate today. Every dollar you donate goes to putting this movie together and making the best movie we can.
“Hi there! Is this [enter name here]?”
“Yes.” They say warily.
“This is Chris ‘Turnip’ Simmons from Prescribed Films. How are you?”
“Good,” they reply, still unsure of who Chris “Turnip” Simmons is and why he is on the line bothering them.
It’s not until I say the words “audition” and “offering role” and “Demonica” that they really seem to know / remember what I’m talking about. Of course I’m referring to what happens after all of the auditions are done and the casting choices are made. The call backs. This can be a particularly long and tedious process. Deep down you just want to e-mail people to let them know or send them a Facebook message but you know it needs to be a more personal touch. Film making at this level is all about personal connections.
The first couple of times you connect with someone and offer them a role in the film (especially if it is one of the main roles) it is exciting. They’re happy and excited while you feel good to be the bearer of good news for once. However, as you make your way down the list of characters that have fewer and fewer lines the conversations change. “Congratulations. We’re offering you the role of Teenager.” “Oh, okay” they reply.
And that is even if you actually talk to someone. Half of the time it’s messages left on voice mail, waiting for a call back. I’ve gotten to know the one man and one woman who seem to make up the voices for 99.99% of all voice mail message voices. Even worse is the wrong numbers because I’m unable to decipher what is on the audition forms. Eventually I contact everybody or, at the very least, leave a message.
While all of the call backs can be arduous for someone like me who doesn’t like being on the phone, this is the first step in the road to this dream we’ve had for the last few months called Demonica. I may complain and poke fun but every call I made was a step closer to that goal. Each person I talked to another individual who was going to help that dream become a reality. Each number dialed means that we’re really going to make this mother fudger and I couldn’t be more excited to do it.
Join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as Chris “Turnip” Simmons relays the often rewarding but sometimes harrowing journey of an indie film from page to screen to release.
Demonica Preproduction: Post Seven
Chris “Turnip” Simmons
Hey everybody we are still raising money for Demonica. You can donate on our indiegogo page or to your right by clicking on the thermometer. We’re working really hard to get this movie and we need your help. Please donate today. Every dollar you donate goes to putting this movie together and making the best movie we can.
Speaking of the movie, can you believe we start filming in about two and a half weeks? I know I can’t! Tonight we had our last regular monthly PF meeting before filming starts. We went over all aspects of the movie and started a dialogue on where the various departments are at (make up, costumes, locations, etc…) The little detail aspects that make this all possible. And from where we stand it hardly looks like we’ll be able to finish everything that needs done.
Then again, it always seems this way. Always…every time we go to make a movie it seems like we’ll never pull it off. I remember “Insane Mike” asking as far back as The Bagman, “How in the hell did we do this last time?” The Bagman also had a character that had to be recast several days into shooting which required completely re-shooting several scene. Regardless, it always seems to get done in the end and we produce a movie we’re all proud of.
Anyway, that’s it for this Wednesday. Given that we’re short on time I have a TON (that’s metric not empiric) to get done over the next few days.
Join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as Chris “Turnip” Simmons relays the often rewarding but sometimes harrowing journey of an indie film from page to screen to release.
Demonica Preproduction: Post Six
Chris “Turnip” Simmons
Just as a reminder, we are still taking donations for Demonica. We have a long way to go on our budget and we need each and every one of you to help bring this dream to life. Now we have two ways you can donate to the film. you can find Demonica on Indiegogo or you can click the thermometer to the right of this post and donate directly to us. That’s right, Prescribed Films cuts out the middle man for you!
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve spent a lot of time talking about the conceptual script writing faze of film making. This is an amazing period that lets you joy in your own imagination as you create this world. If film making was just this time of creativity and making BS up, everyone would do it. Eventually you have to leave this world and actually make a movie. This week we’re going to change gears to talk about one of the most fun (and most frustrating) part of film making…CASTING!
Casting is such an interesting process. It takes you from the potential future held in the pages of a pristine script to the nervous, hand wringing, mess of a film maker. It is in this faze that the cast can go one of three ways. They can be just what you saw in your mind when you we’re writing it. This can fulfill expectations and make it a smooth transition from page to screen. Secondly, they could be terrible and, if you’re forced to cast them, make it a painful process that leads to a less than satisfactory movie. Third, they can take a character and do amazing things you never even considered. They can make you see this character that you wrote, that you know intimately, in a brand new light. In case you’re wondering, when this happens, this is awesome.
Possibly the greatest headshot ever.
We started our casting for Demonica April 29th in Iowa City at the public library and finished it (mostly) yesterday in Ottumwa. We had several of the first, a couple of the second, and a bunch of the third and, regardless, I want to thank everyone from coming out. We should have the cast list finished by the end of the week as well as notifying all the cast. Once the cast is notified we’ll post it on the website for all to see.
Over the next few weeks things are going to get real…busy. There is so much to do between now and the start of filming that it almost seems like we won’t be able to get it done. Luckily we have a crack team of people who are committed to seeing it through. Through out the filming and beyond these people will be called out in this column to showcase what a great job they’ve been doing. Since we’re on the topic of casting, this is the perfect time to highlight our first PF’er that, with out their contribution, this whole process would be a lot more difficult.
Katie’s favorite things in the world are her daughter Lily, her boy-toy Jason, and liquorish…evidently. Sure, why not.
This week, that person is long time Prescribed Films alumni, Katie Miller. Katie has been seen in lots of older PF films and was most recently scene in “The Bagman” playing a reporter. On Demonica Katie will be filling the role of assistant costume designer but has really made her mark as the person putting in the hard work wrangling the hopefuls waiting to audition. Katie is the one that makes sure everyone is signed up, gets their head-shots, and brings back their paperwork. All the while trying to keep those of us in the audition room on task and moving. When the line gets long or we need someone back in to do another read, Katie (along with her beautiful assistant Cory) makes sure that happens. This is just the first of many people that I can honestly say, we couldn’t do this with out you. Thanks Katie (and Cory).
And that is where the post for today ends. There is lots more to say but even more to get done. As always please leave your comments below. We love to hear from each and every one of you.
Join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as Chris “Turnip” Simmons relays the often rewarding but sometimes harrowing journey of an indie film from page to screen to release.
Demonica Pre-production: Post Harder! (Or Five)
Chris “Turnip” Simmons
Before I get started on this post I just wanted to remind everyone about the second round of auditions happening in Ottumwa this Sunday May 6, at Indian Hills Community College Arts and Sciences building room 120 from 11 am until 2 pm. We still have lots of roles available and would love as many people as possible to come by. For more information head over here.
Anyway, when we last left our story Mike had just given his approval for my 3rd draft of Demonica and we were ready to move forward with notes and rewrites. We pulled together a committee consisting of “Insane Mike,” Jason, Justin Beahm, and myself to provide notes and discuss the finer points of the script. As much as it must have been hard for “Insane Mike” to give up his baby to me to tear apart and remake into a better baby, it was equally difficult to turn what I had created lose onto a group who’s entire purpose was to find it’s flaws. I had a certain amount of pride in what I had done and, as such, I had a hard time of seeing where it was terrible. Let me tell you, there is nothing like a bunch of rabid movie fans to find the plot holes and terrible dialogue.
Justin Beahm along with John Carpenter. Admit it, you kind of hate Justin just a little bit.
The group immediately went to work and had our first meeting to discuss the script, line by line and page by page. After about three hours we had made it about twenty pages into a one hundred page script. This was going to take awhile. One problem we immediately ran into was that the four of us were geographically dispersed. Well, really just Justin, but we don’t want to single him out…Justin…Justin Beahm…who lives two hours away from the rest of us. Fortunately, just when it looked like it would take us months to find time to workshop the script, technology came to the rescue!
During this process Skype wound up being our best tool. There were a few meetings, several hours long, conducted conference call style on Skype. These calls consisted of a LOT of back and forth. One person wouldn’t care for a plot point that another would defend. Another would have to fight to keep a beloved scene by agreeing to lose two others. It was a hard process and the script that emerged was similar to what I turned in but changed…for the better. It was an amazing expereince to work with a great group like that on a labor of writing love.
So where do we stand now? Why, tune in Monday to find out of course!
Join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as Chris “Turnip” Simmons relays the often rewarding but sometimes harrowing journey of an indie film from page to screen to release.
Demonica Pre-production: Post Four
Chris "Turnip" Simmons
A few days after I had turned in the third draft (my first draft) of Demonica I was waiting with baited breath to hear what the group would think. As I said, I had completely rewritten the script and I was honestly worried about what “Insane Mike” would think of my changes to his script. Would he hate what I had done? Would he be mad at the changes? I honestly didn’t know. Then, as the days went on with no word, I became even more nervous.
I remember going to see Jason, because I could wait no longer, to ask him what he thought of the script. I had hopped that, if anything was wrong with it, Jason would let me know before I went to see “Insane” about it. Jason looked at me and, in his characteristic style, said, “Well…” That “well” hung in the air until, what seemed like, twenty minutes past forever. Eventually he continued with, “… There’s some big changes.” I pressed him for more information. “Oh, it’s okay,” he said, “but we’ll have to see what Mike thinks.”
Jason Bolinger
To anyone not familiar with the relationship between “Insane Mike” and Jason this may have seemed like Jason was passing the responsibility of telling me it was terrible onto Mike. Even though I have known them for a decade or more that is almost what it felt like. However, Jason and “Insane Mike” share a very interesting relationship and, when it comes to matters of film making, they have to go back and forth and have a dialogue before either of them can firmly decide anything. I think actor (and all around cool guy) Chris Mulkey said it best when he said, “The thing you have to understand about Mike and Jason is that they share a brain.”
Finally after what seemed like forever (and if you know how fast Mike reads then you know how close that is) I got to talk to Mike about the script. I was beyond nervous. Had I gone too far in my changes? As it turned out, yes and no. “Insane” actually liked some of the bigger changes I had made to the script. He liked how I changed character introductions and moved plot points around. What he didn’t like were a lot of the small things. Little points that he wanted put back in or referenced. Though, all in all, he enjoyed what I had turned in and would let me turn in another draft, though the notes process was going to be a new experience for both of us.
Next time: Notes…Of the Living Dead!
Join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as Chris “Turnip” Simmons relays the often rewarding but sometimes harrowing journey of an indie film from page to screen to release.
Auditions Day One:Wrap up
Yesterday PF just finished up with day one of our two days of auditions for Demonica and it was amazing. We saw a lot of really great people that came out to the Iowa City public library to audition and we saw a lot of great talent. We would like to thank everyone who auditioned from the very bottom of our hearts for coming out and sticking around most of the afternoon.
But Prescribed Films isn’t done with the auditions yet. Next Sunday May 6 from 11 am – 2 pm we will be having auditions at Indian Hills community college in Ottumwa and we still have lots of roles that are ready and waiting to be filled. We hope you’ll join us there!
Demonica Pre-production: Post Three
Chris "Turnip" Simmons
Before I get into today’s post I wanted to point out the there are auditions for Demonica this Sunday in Iowa City. If you want to be a part of the movie you’re reading about then click here and here. If you can’t make it to Iowa City this weekend then fear not. We’ll also be holding auditions the following Sunday in Ottumwa. For more info click here. Now, back to our story!
"Insane Mike" and Turnip
As soon as I read the first two drafts of Demonica I knew that there was a really unique and fun horror movie with black comedy elements on the page. It was just covered up with slapstick and all of the disparate elements of what “Insane Mike” loves most about 80′s films. I wrote thirteen pages of notes on things I thought could be tweaked and changed because it managed to ignite a creative spark in me that made me chomp at the bit to play in the world “Insane Mike” had created. I immediately wanted to do a draft of my own but, not wanting to step on toes, didn’t push too hard for it, at first. Eventually “Insane Mike” graciously allowed me to do so. I say graciously but, so far as I know, he could have been stewing about it but kept quiet. Mike’s a trooper.
Taking criticism on something that you worked hard on, something that you put your heart and soul into, is not an easy thing. “Insane Mike” is intensely passionate about the things he loves. He knows them intimately and holds them up as something to aspire to and the early drafts of Demonica bear out his love for 80′s horror-camp. So handing it over for someone else to work on and put their own spin on it is a whole order of magnitude higher on the “difficulty scale.” “Insane Mike” to his great credit did just that when he allowed me to do a rewrite on Demonica. It must have been doubly hard when the first thing I said I wanted to do with it was strip out all of the comedy out of his horror-comedy. As I said, Mike’s a trooper.
"Insane Mike's" 1st Draft
When I sat down to plan out the third draft I already knew there was a great horror movie there but some of the slap-stick had to be pruned away. Originally I planned to pull out all of the comedy but as I got more into the rewrite I found that there was an undercurrent of dark humor running through out, so I decided to try and emphasize a few moments that stood out. In the end, I think leaving it as a dark horror-comedy works best as the subject matter is a little silly. If we had taken it too seriously, it would have taken the audience out of the experience and. if that happened, they wouldn’t have been along for the ride to enjoy the scares that are most definitely there.
One of my biggest pet peeves in any movie is when they don’t spend enough time developing the characters and why I should care about what happens to them. Therefore my My biggest goal was to get to the heart of these characters relationships and interactions. Just because it’s a horror-comedy doesn’t mean that the audience can’t care about these characters as real people. Not only in whether or not they survive but in how their relationships develop between each other.
Turnip's 3rd Draft
The third draft was actually a pretty large departure from the first two. I completely rewrote it from beginning to end. While I kept the main story beats and the major events (and even some of the jokes) I really put it through the wringer. Some scenes I moved around or changed their order to better fit the narrative I was creating. In some scenes I kept the spirit but changed what happened completely. Some scenes I scrapped entirely. As I reworked the narrative, characters that died early on wound up lasting until the end and others that were barely heard from got a larger role. My focus was on nailing the structure and delivering a strong three acts.
Once the third draft was done (It only took me a week and a half because I was so excited) I turned it in to the group to see what they thought. Would they like the changes I had made or, more importantly, would “Insane Mike?” Tune in Monday Wednesday (Auditions update Monday) to find out!
Join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as Chris “Turnip” Simmons relays the often rewarding but sometimes harrowing journey of an indie film from page to screen to release.
