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"MySpace: The Movie" In the four weeks since amateur filmmaker David Lehre first screened "MySpace: The Movie" at his 21st birthday party, the short film spoofing the MySpace phenomenon has been viewed more than 6 million times through various sites online. It's also prompted a development deal offer from MTVU Lehre has been making films with the same cast and crew since 10th grade, when he and his friends were denied parts in the high school theater production of "Little Women." "I thought, 'Let's make a movie.' They're like, 'Do you know how to make a movie?' I was like, 'I don't know. I'll figure it out,' " Lehre said. "I was sick of other people deciding if I could entertain or not. I thought, if they won't give me a chance, then I'll make my own movie." Lehre said he and his friends now have 50 films to their credit and are so well known in their town that the local movie theater premieres their latest projects. Local businesses also support their productions, which are now billed under the banner of Vendetta Studios. Lehre is completely self taught. He learned filmmaking by imitating the videography he saw and liked on TV and figuring out how to achieve the effects he wanted by researching it online. He now uses a high-caliber, digital video Canon that shoots on par with film, and the resulting look is impressively professional. Lehre posted the movie to his personal website, DavidLehre.com. On Jan. 31, the video was "leaked" to youtube.com. At 3.3 million viewings, "MySpace: The Movie" currently ranks as the site's most viewed video. “I want to be able to have the freedom in the entertainment industry to produce anything I want,” Lehre says. > from article “His MySpace odyssey” by Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times Feb 25 2006 / photo by Megan Spelman  ~ ~ ~ ~ making "Garden State" It definitely brings you down to the essential elements, as there aren't explosions, battles or special effects - but it's really about the characters, story and relationships.  So, it definitely makes it more concentrated, where all the energy's concentrated in this one thing instead of dispersed over a larger scene.  The cool thing also with Garden State was that we didn't have the time and budget to do lighting setups for two hours, so we just had to keep barrelling forward, going and going and just shooting non-stop -- so I also think that sense of urgency and energy really carried over into the film. Natalie Portman     [contactmusic.com 04/08/2004] I'm not sure why Hollywood has overlooked the twentysomething generation. Maybe the studio chiefs always think that people my age would rather see silly stuff, but I don't think that's the case.  There's a period that occurs after graduating from college and before getting married, and during this time, people feel a little melancholy.  There's a good book ("Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis..") about a generation feeling lost and confused. In this day and age, people in my age group have more time for self-exploration.  I sent all of them (studio chiefs) letters and showed them my short films, and I met with many of them. But all of the studios and financiers passed, because my script didn't follow a traditional structure.  They couldn't figure out the tone of the material, and because I was untested and hadn't done a feature before, they just said no. I kept up my enthusiasm, because I knew that everyone had also passed on "American Beauty." "Garden State" writer director actor Zach Braff  [phillyBurbs.com July 20, 2004] photo: K.C. Bailey / ©2004 Fox Searchlight Pictures ~ ~ ~ ~ Alexa Vega I'm always making home movies with my friends, I'm always writing and coming up with crazy different ideas.  It's fun writing action stuff, but I really enjoy writing real life drama things. I just did State's Evidence, which was about this whole suicide thing.  But about three years before I did this movie, with the whole Columbine incident, I started writing about that and it just so happened that when State's Evidence came on, it was very similar, the script.  So I was kind of bummed out, like man, I wanted to be the first one to come up with that. I’ve written like three scripts. It's crazy. I've had a lot of fun with them... and like 25 home movies maybe... and thanks to Final Cut Pro, we can edit them all together. I really want to go to either USC or UCLA, something like that. ... You know, a lot of people say, "Well, you're already on set, you already have the on hand experience. Why even go to film school? It's a waste of time."  I want to go one, for the experience of college. Two, because I want to know more about the background. I can see the camera but I don't know exactly how it works.  I want to know every little detail about film school. I want to know the history behind film. So I think it's very interesting, so I'd definitely like to go to college, get the experience that I need. [actionadventure.about.com interview (2003) about her film Sleepover] [photo by Steve Granitz - © WireImage.com]

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.. .. In the film industry, "making it" can be as difficult to define as to achieve. ... For anyone graduating college hoping to make money in the film industry, the shiny plastic of Hollywood studios can seem more tempting than any Miltonic apple. But that may not always be the best way to go. /// Brad Neely, a 27-year-old comic book artist from Austin, Texas, is making a name for himself in some New York circles for "Wizard People, Dear Reader," a work in which he rerecorded all the sound to the film version of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," playing every role and narrating the film. But it's not your 11-year-old sibling's wizard story. According to a June 7 New York Times story about Neely's project, "With (the) gravelly narration, the movie's tone shifts into darkly comic, pop culture-savvy territory.

"As imagined by Neely, the three main characters are child alcoholics with a penchant for cognac, the magical ballgame Quiddich takes on homoerotic overtones, and Harry is prone to delivering hyperdramatic monologues." On June 4, almost 100 people paid normal ticket prices to see "Wizard People, Dear Reader" in a Brooklyn movie theater, on the same night as the release of the newest Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Aspiring artists should take note: Success in film doesn't necessarily come with landing that huge role or directing gig. And Warner Bros. hasn't even sued Neely yet. In an artistic industry that's more business than creativity, Neely's project provides a refreshing breath of fresh air, at least for the moment. from article Hollywood work not necessary to 'make it' -  by Jake Tracer, Daily Bruin [UCLA] June 14 2004 artwork from Wizard People, Dear Reader site

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At Tokyo Filmex... the youngest director in the nine-picture competish lineup, 15-year-old Hana Makhmalbaf, received the Special Jury Award for her first feature film, the Afganistan-set "Joy of Madness."  Helmer is the daughter of Iranian festival darling Mohsen Makhmalbaf.  ... [Variety, Dec 7 2003] photo from Hana Makhmalbaf website

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The film itself ["Chance"] was not a typical Hollywood venture, with endless founts of money being thrown at the production. Instead, Amber Benson added the producer's cap to her already stacked millinery, which included director, writer, and actor.  "I knew that because I was relatively young, an actor and a woman, no one was ever going to hand me a bunch of cash and say, 'Here, make a movie. We trust you.'  "If this was really something I wanted to do, then I was just gonna have to do it myself." She funded the film herself, which allowed her total control over the end result but also set her back an imaginable small fortune.

.. .. With the help of the Internet and a large base of devoted fans, Amber recouped the investment by selling pieces of the movie -- props, scripts, and the like -- as well as accepting donations. from RevolutionSF article: Chance: An Interview with  Amber Benson by Kenn McCracken  /  film website

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My films have been received with a lot of praise so far, and they haven't even been released yet, which is fantastic! And I am so grateful to have fans and people who admire my work and what I do.  Sometimes I am not taken seriously for being a 16-year-old who has acted, directed, and filmed her own movies. And it's even more difficult for people to believe it because I am a woman. But no matter what, nothing will ever stop me from what I love doing most! And that's making movies! ...  I'm a true horror fan and I absolutely love horror movies! They're the best! I have been a fan of the horror genre ever since I was five years old and will continue to love them as time goes on. Stephanie Aldridge - filmthreat.com interview (2003-07-24)  // photo from Stephanie Aldridge site

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Jen Sachs won 2nd place in the Animation category of the Student Academy Awards. Her 11-minute film entitled The Velvet Tigress is an animated documentary of the 1931 Winnie Ruth Judd "Trunk Murders" trial as it was presented by the sensational press of the time. ...  Jen who graduated in 2001 with an MFA in Experimental Animation said "CalArts is an incredible school. The faculty are renowned. It's a mixing pot for all types of artists. It was like being at an artist's colony for three years in order to focus all my creative energy and time on my film." Jen offered the following advice for other animators and filmmakers: "Never be ashamed to accept advice, but don't compromise your vision to suit audience expectations. You'd be underestimating yourself and your audience." Kodak: Campus Beat kodak.com July 2002  //  photo from Filmmaker Magazine

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To me the great hope is that now these little.. videorecorders are around and people who normally wouldn't make movies are going to be making them. And suddenly, one day some.. girl in Ohio is going to be the new Mozart and make a beautiful film.. and for once, the so-called professionalism about movies will be destroyed, forever, and it will really become an art form. .......Francis Ford Coppola  ... [indieWIRE.com]

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Purgatory House screenwriter Celeste Davis

When I was 14 years old, I finished writing a feature length script.  A year later, an amazing cast and crew came together and made  my screenplay into a real movie.  Celeste Marie Davis ~ ~ from synopsis by Cindy Baer, producer/director of "Purgatory House" : Celeste Davis, the 14 year old writer of "Purgatory House", and I were matched through The Big Sisters of Los Angeles program... Celeste has little interest in school, and struggles to get good grades. She also struggles with all of the relationships in her life. Time was slowly dragging by. She was waiting for the days to pass, to grow up, and to be free. She liked to do artistic things like painting, drawing and writing. At the age of 13, she began to write a story. This story paralleled her own life in certain ways; her search to fit in, to say no to drugs and cigarettes, to get along with people, to find meaning or her life, and to find her Higher Power. In other ways it was an uncensored look at what a teenage girl would fantasize about; being powerful, boys liking you, people being sad if you were gone, being wanted, and the fear of making wrong choices. I was amazed at how clearly I could see the influence of the society we live in today reflected back at me through this newly 13-year-old girl. It was shocking. When Celeste came to me with the first version of her story I realized just how talented this little girl was. Never having learned story structure, she had created her own. She was effortlessly telling a story by means of four time-lines -- and it worked! ... The subtext leaped off the page, and the symbolism was profound. It was clearly a gift. As shocking and saddening as I found the content, I encouraged her to continue her writing uncensored; not thinking of how it might be received and judged by others, but from her soul- as a true expression of what was inside. She would come to me every now and then and we would brainstorm a plot point. A few months later, I typed it up for her and low and behold -- with a little twist here and a tuck there, we had a feature length screenplay. A year later, an amazing cast and crew came together for an 18-day shoot, and made Celeste's screenplay into a real movie. website: Purgatory House

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Actors usually have a directing ambition. I've got no ambition for directing. With that music kind of mentality, my thing is I would love to write and then I'd direct something I wrote. I find it so strange to take someone's work and then be the director of it and have their view and take it on as your own, it's almost unfair.  To me it's the same thing as being a singer and only singing songs people write for you. As much as I think that's sacrilege I kind of see it in the same way with scripts and directors. Clearly not as bad, but I would like to write and I think I'd only like to direct if it was something I wrote or I wrote with someone. It's not something that I really... I'd also like to be a horse whisperer. It's there with many other things. Majandra Delfino....[bbc.co.uk interview] .... < her music site: majandra.com

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I discovered I wanted to direct by doing it. I was going through a bad period in my life when I didn't want to act and I came up with this story that I thought would be an interesting filmmaking experiment. I had the idea before the urge, which is sort of backwards, but I want to keep on doing that.  I don't ever want to be a filmmaker who has to think of films to make. That process generally creates the type of movies I hate. ...  Directing uses every part of my head and every part of my heart. That's a feeling I've never had acting. I have always enjoyed acting, and recently I've really fallen in love with acting, but it feels more like a luxury to be an actor.  It definitely challenges me, but it's great to have a job where you're able to retain your analytical and objective viewpoints as opposed to completely submerging yourself in emotions. Sarah Polley***[Montage dgcmontage.com Summer 2002]

.. .. Sarah Polley on the first film she directed:  I made it [Don't Think Twice (1999)] when I was 20 because I was very depressed and I just wanted to do something.  So I did that and through the process of doing it, it was terrible. I mean it had great actors and great crew, and it was awful. I did a terrible job.  In the process of doing it I realized it was what I wanted to do. It's one of those things where if you can actually know you want do something, even if your experience with it is terrible, aggravating, and the result is a failure, it is definitely what you should do.**< more on filmmaking : page 2

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Kelly St. John went on with her life [following her rape at age 14]... Her documentary "Forever Fourteen".. won an Emmy Award last month for outstanding informational programming. In the film, which she made for her thesis project while a student at the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, St. John tells the heartbreaking story of Wendy's murder [another 14-year-old girl raped by the same man] and of her own survival. ..... more on page:  nurturing mental health : films/filmmaking

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Thirteen the movie

Nikki Reed, then 13, sat down with a friend to try to write the kind of movie Hollywood thrives on,
a dumb teen comedy. But something unexpected happened. When Reed.. began dredging up
stories from her own life, the dumb teen comedy became a harrowing drama about a young
L.A. girl who grows up too fast and finds her life spiraling out of control, fueled by a volatile
combination of rebellion, anger and a fascination with sex, material goods, self-mutilation
and drugs.

As Reed puts it: "All this stuff came out and, call it what you like, it wasn't a dumb teen comedy."

Now something even more unexpected has happened: The movie is being made. Reed [left]
and Evan Rachel Wood [right], the younger daughter in the TV drama "Once and Again," have
the leading roles, along with Holly Hunter, who plays a character based on Reed's single mother.

Called "Thirteen," the movie has been filming in Los Angeles for the last month, directed by
Catherine Hardwicke, a respected production designer ("Vanilla Sky" and "Three Kings").
Reed co-wrote the film with Hardwicke, whom Reed has known since she was a toddler.

Teen confessional books are suddenly hot properties, at least on the cutting edge of the
movie business. According to Variety, Radar Pictures recently bought "Twelve," a grim portrait
of drugs and decadence among upper-crust New York teens by 18-year-old wunderkind Nick McDonell.

"XXX" co-star Asia Argento plans to direct and star in an adaptation of 22-year-old writer J.T. LeRoy's
"The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things," a series of stories about drug abuse and prostitution.

And Miramax is developing "Teen Angst? Naah...," a nonfiction account of teen life by Hunter College
student Ned Vizzini.

[from article by Patrick Goldstein, LA Times, Aug 13 2002]

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UCLA [the MFA Graduate Film Directing program] was great for me because of the breadth of classes offered, not only in production, but also in writing, producing, and critical studies. And there is definitely an independent spirit there, even while being located a stone's throw from Hollywood.  Having made, worked on and seen a lot of UCLA films, it's pretty safe to say that you make the film that is personal to you, that matters to you. I had some really great instructors, but I felt the biggest strength of the program were my peers -- there are people I met here whom I collaborated with on almost every film, and whose opinions and feedback I will rely on from here on out.  I also really appreciated the flexibility within the structure of the program. As a production student, not only did I take classes in directing actors, but I had a chance to dabble in interactive multimedia, HTML and I even got to direct a play in the theater department.   Grace Lee from interview for National Asian American Telecommunications Association naatanet.org / Grace Lee site: gracelee.net

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I was at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for a year and I loved it. There are a lot of really creative people, there is a constant exchange of an ideas.  We talk about what's been done [in film] and all the rules for filmmaking and then we talk about how to break them.      Alexis Bledel [from The WB Television Network interview - posted on Alexis Bledel Central: alexis.sparkleteddy.com] photo: as Winnie Foster in "Tuck Everlasting"

 
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