HAPPY FUNERAL Table Reading

On Monday of this week, we had the first ever table reading for HAPPY FUNERAL, the feature-length screenplay I am co-writing with Daniel Spurgeon.

We have been working on it for about nine months together, and I had been developing the concept for about a year before then... So it's been in process for a long time.

For me, it was thrilling to see the characters come to life. We had thirteen actors performing the parts of twenty speaking parts. While it would've been nice to have all the speaking parts filled, the area was so full with performers, it probably was for the best. Everyone did a great job.

Sam Golzari, a long time acquaintance of mine read the part of the lead, while the heavy of the film, was played by Assaf Cohen.

The cool thing for me was to see the main character and the main antagonist actually played by actors of the ethnicity to which they belong.

The fact that Sam's heritage is actually Iranian and Assaf's is genuinely Israeli helped bring a lot of subtlety and nuance to the part, and both made real culturally specific elements that had been written into the script, but which actors of another ethnicities would probably be unaware.

I really should have taken some pictures, but alas things were a bit hectic.

The reading took place at a Kombucha making facility in Pasadena that is right next to Daniel's apartment. I wasn't sure about it at first- I thought it might be a little too cold an environment.

But in fact, when it filled out with an audience, it worked incredibly well.

The audience itself was a mix- professionals Daniel knows from his work as a hospice doctor and other filmmakers and artists.

I explained to the audience the genesis of the story, about how when I heard that often people approaching their death experience a great change. They begin to feel a peace they never before, they appreciate the small things of life, they are less troubled by the day to day struggles. It is, I said, not the result of changing religions, reading a book, finding a guru or having a life changing experience (other than learning they are dying).

What has happened is that they start to live in the highest pitch of awareness of what they already knew. I then explained that I thought about this, and thought, how great would it be to experience this now, while still relatively young. And then I thought about my family, particularly my Persian and Iraqi heritage, and the rich pathos and stories I wanted to mine from it.

And this thought was the the genesis of what would become HAPPY FUNERAL.

Watching and listening to the reading unfold, besides the power of watching it come to life (in thumbnail sketch-drawn-on-a-napkin form) it was also really interesting to watch listen to the responses of the audience. Their laughter and tears at very specific moments seemed to vindicate our main choices and story thrust.

At the same time, seeing where there was a drop in energy and also looking at the points where we were perhaps excessive in our exposition or a little too on the nose was also very instructive.

I look forward to advancing to the next stage and next week I plan to meet with a casting director.

We are making progress...

"We are pleased to inform you..."

For years one of my goals has been to participate in the Sundance Labs. The Labs are some of the most important efforts undertaken by the Sundance Institute, the famous non-profit that Robert Redford founded for the purpose of discovering and developing independent artists and audiences.

The mission of the Labs is to provide a training grounds for What's Next in independent filmmaking. Alumni that have gone through the Screenwriting and Directing Labs include Quentin Tarantino, Allison Anders, Paul Thomas Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Miranda July and countless others. In order to be considered for the Producing and Directing Labs, you must first go through the Screenwriting Lab. So applying to the Sundance Screenwriting Lab is the first step in a potentially long and life changing journey...

To give you a taste of what it's like, here's a YouTube video that does a good job of conveying the feeling of participating in the Directors Lab:



It's with this awareness that I submitted my project, HAPPY FUNERAL, for consideration by the Lab. I emotionally prepared myself by remembering that the odds were against me, and that regardless of the outcome I would persevere in making HAPPY FUNERAL a film, no matter what.

So when I got an e-mail from the Sundance Institute and read in the subject line: Sundance Feature Film Program Application - January 2010, I was pretty much resigned to the fact that it was going to read something like: "We receive many excellent submissions every year, and it was really tough to make our decisions and... Anyway, long story short, you didn't get in."

Imagine my surprise then when instead I read:

"Dear Samah,

We are pleased to inform you that your script HAPPY FUNERAL has been selected for the second round of consideration for the 2010 January Screenwriters Lab! Please send a hard copy of the complete script…"

I saw the words and instantly yelled out a joyful profanity. Thankfully no one was around...

After a few moments, the euphoria wore off and I realized how much work I had to do. Tomorrow I will begin the intense process of revising HAPPY FUNERAL with my co-writer, the poet and physician Daniel Spurgeon.

We have laid out an intense schedule for the next week and a half: Thursday through Saturday, we wake up at dawn, jog, eat a healthy breakfast and get our script into shape. Then, Sunday is our day of rest. My friend and Sundance Alumnus Tze Chun has agreed to read the script and give us notes by Monday morning. We will revise on Tuesday, have a handful of trusted friends who are also highly accomplished actors do a reading of the script, and pay close attention to how it sounds out loud. Taking into account the feedback we receive we will then work Wednesday through Thursday and revise, revise, revise and try to catch the lightning. Then on Friday, the day it is due (July 24th), we will edit for any errors or typos. And before the end of the day, we will release it into the universe- via FedEx that is.

To get to this point in the submission process, my writing partner and I first had to submit a cover letter, a two page synopsis, the first five pages of our screenplay and our bios.

Before we finished the packet, I made a valiant effort to find examples of the former that had gotten people into the second round, but couldn't find any.

Since i am a strong believer in studying precedence and NOT reinventing the wheel, I thought I'd share the two page synopsis we submitted to the Lab. In doing so, I want to say it's definitely not perfect, but it did help get us to the second round. Here it is below:

HAPPY FUNERAL: A SYNOPSIS

by Samah Tokmachi & Daniel Spurgeon

A while back, small-time hustler, Sulaymon Hakim, a.k.a. SULLY (27), made a desperate deal and borrowed a huge sum of money to pay for his mother’s medical bills. Now she is dead and Sully has to repay the $10,000.00 debt to UDI, (30), an underground mobster in his neighborhood. His best friend ROLLO (26) tries to get Sully to skip town, but Sully is so paralyzed by denial he doesn’t realize the gravity of his situation. Anxiety seems to be getting the best of him, with episodes of fainting spells and haunting visions invading his psyche.

Clutching at straws, Sully tries to find some money in a hurry. All of his connections, however, have gone legit, are in jail, or are just plain unwilling to help. Empty handed, Sully is on the lam but Udi still manages to track him down. Instead of killing him, Udi makes an offer Sully can’t refuse: a small job to repay his debt. It sounds simple enough-- just deliver an unknown package to a faceless client. But when Sully arrives at the rendezvous, the “package” turns out to be NATASHA (22), a forced sex worker from Eastern Europe. Sully tries to back out until Udi threatens him into submission. Sully departs with Natasha and tries to make small talk with her. She is in no mood for conversation. While driving, one of Sully’s episodes overtakes him. He slips between consciousness and unconsciousness. Natasha takes the opportunity and escapes, leaving Sully passed out on the side of a highway. While in his dream state, he has visions of RAFAELA (27), an ex-girlfriend he dearly loved, but badly mistreated.

Sully wakes up in the hospital with Rollo at his side. As he regains consciousness, Sully is overwhelmed with remorse for his past actions. After an MRI and a battery of tests, a doctor breaks the news to Sully—he has a tumor in his brain and only a few weeks left to live. Facing his impending death, Sully considers what to do with his last days. He decides he must find Rafaela and make amends with her. He finds her and discovers that she is now a mother. Even more shocking, he learns that ZION, her three year-old boy, is in fact his son.

Refusing to talk, Rafaela shuts the door in his face. Sully is about to explode with anger-- but remembers how his own abusive father treated his mother-- and instead restrains himself and patiently waits for Rafaela to open up. After telling her that he’s dying, Rafaela lets him inside. For the first time in a long time, the two connect. Rafaela slowly lets go of her anger and Sully falls in love with his son.

Back in town, Udi discovers Sully and brutally beats him, threatening to kill him for his failure. Already facing death from cancer, Sully is at first indifferent to Udi’s threats, but then thinks of his newly found son. He convinces Udi to give him another chance.

But that chance is dashed when Rollo reports Udi’s trafficking to the police and Udi is arrested. Enraged, Udi sics his thugs onto Sully and rats him out to the cops. With time running out, Sully prepares to leave town… But looking at his son, he remembers his lost father. And so, with Rafaella and Zion at his side, Sully sets out to find him. On the road, Sully has his final episode and passes away, leaving Rafaela and Zion to complete his journey for him…

I hope that was useful in at least providing perspective on one project that has managed to make it at least this far in the process...

And now I conclude this post to begin my journey into the Land of Story, a scary and magical world of astonishing sights...

A Sundance Director's Cheat Sheet

Keith Gordon is an actor-turned-director whose work has been extremely varied, and lately he's been directing episodes of Dexter. But one really cool thing he does is work as a mentor for the Fellows at the Sundance Labs. As part of that experience, he wrote a great 'cheat sheet' for filmmakers working on set:

KEITH GORDON'S SUNDANCE DIRECTORS' CHEAT SHEET

I was working with a young director who was very talented, but who was also prone to panic — causing her to lose her perspective and clarity (an issue I’ve had to deal with myself at times). So I wrote this ‘"cheat sheet" for the fellows to carry with them for when they felt lost. To be honest, I created it just as much for myself…

The Unofficial Sundance Shooting Cheat Sheet

You may never need this, but if you’re feeling a little lost, or out of control, or not sure, remember…

1. Breathe. Calm down. Fear and anxiety are the enemies of complex, open, creative thought. A calm leader inspires confidence. If you need a minute to clear your head, or decide what you want, take it. Everyone can wait.

2. Slow down — rushing is not the same as efficiency.

3. Remember what your scene is really about: Why is this scene in your film? What do you want the audience to feel or understand from it? What are you trying to achieve emotionally with your use of camera and image? What do each of the characters want in this scene? How are they trying to achieve it? Which character’s scene is it? What is their journey in this scene?

While all of the above SHOULD seem obvious, there isn’t a director alive who hasn’t lost sight of some or all of the above while they were shooting a difficult scene.

4. In both rehearsal and shooting — try giving your actors actions — things their character is trying to achieve in the scene, instead of emotional states to play. Get back to what the character WANTS.

Let’s say you’re doing a scene where one character wants to intimidate another.

If you tell the actor "yell" you may just get a general, obvious performance.

But if you give them something to DO (e.g. ‘try and scare the crap out of the other character’), you will allow them into the creative process, and they may find ways of achieving what you want that weren’t what you expecting, but that are more interesting. Maybe instead of the screaming you imagined, you’ll discover they’re more frightening with a whisper. Maybe a chilling smile is more effective than a glare.

Be brave enough to let your actors (and your crew) make you better. No one is genius enough to do it alone. Then you can gently guide those creative impulses, picking the ones you like best, and helping the actor shade what you find together

5. When you have the scene on film the way you think you want, if you have a little time, do an extra take or two in a different way. Why not see what happens if you try something a bit different. If your actor has been intimidating the other with a lot of outward emotion and intensity, suggest they try one with everything held in, like a snake. See what you get.

What’s the worse that happens? You hate it and don’t use it. What’s the best that happens? Unexpected magic. Plus, a good actor will often have something they want to try, but are scared it might not work or will look foolish. Give them their chance to go out on a limb.

6. Remember the scene will NEVER be just like it is in your head. It may be better, it may be worse, it may just be different. But if you get stuck trying to make it "just the way you imagined it" you may well get stuck on the road to hell. Remember what Truffaut said: "The secret of good directing is knowing exactly what you want, but having no ego about giving it up the second anyone has a better idea."

Remember the script is a blueprint, an outline. But when building a house you often deviate from blueprints to make things better. — Keith Gordon

7. Remember to thank, praise and take care of your cast and crew. They’re your team. They’re your army. If they feel unappreciated and ignored you will not get their best efforts and thus your best scene. Don’t leave your actors standing out in the sun, wondering what’s going on while you talk to your DP for a half hour.

8. Have fun. Breathe. Smile. There are so few people lucky enough to have the adventure you’re on.

The cracks are just breakthroughs waiting to happen...

I was talking to a friend of mine about the screenplay I'm working on.  He pointed out a possible weak point.  Instead of trying to justify the idea that's there, or contort the idea as it exists to meet the gap in logic, I went down the rabbit hole.

I asked myself, "well if this is where we go, how would we get there given these circumstances."

 

And I realized something- when I have been brave enough to manfully confront the weaknesses in my work, often those very points of weakness yield and alchemize before my eyes.  Suddenly, those points that were the red-headed step children I was trying to hide from the penetrating gaze of the audience become turning points.  They evolve from distracting details into revelatory windows that elevate the entire project...

And so, to my co-writer on HAPPY FUNERAL, i wrote this following note:

let us see:

the cracks
as breakthroughs
waiting to happen

the weaknesses
as points of strength
ready to emerge

the moments of confusion
as opportunities to bring clarity

---

it came as a revelation to me:

before: i saw cracks and holes to be filled with spackle-

now: i see walls to be torn down, for on the other side waits a new room, a new hall, a new something...

...something to astonish the world...

The funny thing is- it seems this insight is just as valid in life as it is in the process of creating art...  Don't you?

Going Global: Learning About Film Distribution for a Global Community

A while ago my friend (and sometimes collaborator) Todd Brown referred me to Stacey Parks.  Stacey was looking to make a viral video for her website, www.filmspecific.com, a distribution resource for filmmakers.  As part of the deal for making the video for her, Stacey gave me a pass to her weekend boot camp on global distribution.

So here I am at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, listening and learning about global distribution at a time of world disarray.  The funniest thing was running into the Carberry twins, who I've blogged about in the past.  These 19 year old kids managed to finangle a job videotaping the event.  I'm convinced in 5 years we're all be working for them.   Sitting next to me right now is Bilal Khan, a graphic designer/social media consultant/businessman who is doing a documentary on relief work done by Islamic charities during Hurrican Katrina.  Such an interesting person who effortlessly blends piety and modernity.

I've learned a lot of interesting things from the event, and when I finish producing the marketing video for Stacey's site, I'll post it in the future.

Sleep Dealer

There's been some great sci-fi in the last few years, work that's really brought the best of the tradition of sci-fi in its ability to critique and present insights about the world we live in.

Sleep Dealer seems to fit into this mold.

This is the description I found on IMDB:

"Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology."

What made me really want to see this film was this- a walk through one of the scenes by the director Alex Rivera.

One In A Million

The New York Times has a great series profiling various interesting people in the city: there's the maid to New York mayors, a tabloid photographer, and my favorite, the principal of a Muslim high school. The essays are told through photo essays and narration by the subjects themselves.

Check it out here.