Moving House

Hi friends - just a note to let you know this blog has moved and we are live and kicking elsewhere. Find us with immediate effect at www.theinsatiablemoon.wordpress.com

There's even a brand new post ready and waiting for your reading pleasure!

All the best.

How Not to Do It

Fascinating, wince-inducing article in The Guardian this morning - about how a first time producer spent several million on a piece of work that, after struggles including his lead actress' hair going on fire, and his lead actor refusing to die properly on screen, may (or may not) see the light of day next April. City trader Robert Fucilla wanted to be famous, so scraped the cash together to get a movie made - an endeavour that deserves to be applauded, no matter what the outcome - it's HARD to make a film; and we the family of 'The Insatiable Moon' have discovered, one of the hardest aspects is getting finance for a project that might seem unconventional. Now, to me, a person who read and has been in love with the novel for the past 12 years, the story of a homeless Maori with serious mental health difficulties who believes he is the second son of God and labours under the conviction that his Father has called him to impregnate a disillusioned housewife so that she can give birth to the future of the human race, well that is of course PERFECT material for a film. Not unconventional at all...

Alas, people who say they know how these things work aren't always so sure; and so our little film has had to struggle to surface in the same waters that disproportionately soak bigger films with bigger budgets. But, as we enter the fourth week of production, I'm glad to say that we're swimming upstream, and doing just fine. Last Friday's shooting schedule was tweaked due to some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen (note to self: make sure you get the right bus next time; you know, the one that doesn't leave you ten minutes walk from where you need to be, in the middle of a torrential downpour and without an umbrella); but in a swift and deft decision our director and crew moved to an indoor location and got some lovely work done. Today we're shooting in a house, and so there will be significantly fewer people on set than when we were shooting scenes of a public gathering last week. The sense of family and relaxed relationships mingles with a commitment to professionalism that deserves to be compared to far larger scale productions. Reading the article about Mr Fucilla's film, which appears to land in the middle ground between a labour of love and a folie de grandeur makes what's happening here in Ponsonby seem both more exciting and more challenging: it's HARD to make a film, and so we wish Mr Fucilla well, and hope some of the goodwill being expressed on the set of 'The Insatiable Moon' will somehow transfer to anyone struggling to get their movie made today, wherever in the world they may be.

Frugal Film-making on Jervois Road

Tom on set with Director Rosemary Riddell

There was a time when the term ‘independent film’ was a near-guarantee of quality or at least interest – making a film like ‘sex lies and videotape’ or ‘Reservoir Dogs’ required so much superhuman effort that it was a miracle if they were even finished. Distributors, alas, needed an economic reason to invest, rather than merely their aesthetic sense, and if your small film with no stars didn't happen to be lucky enough to attract the attention of a wealthy gatekeeper, it wasn’t likely to be released.

It was easier for big-budget special effects-laden extravaganzas to get seen simply because audiences can be trusted to flock to them simply because we all want to see ever more spectacular ways of destroying New York, or to the latest film starring whoever happens to be really famous at the moment merely on account of the fact that they're in it. Without the stars, or a decapitated Statue of Liberty for much of the audience, there is no show. Or so the superficial received wisdom goes...

Independent film-making eventually adopted major stars, and you’re now as likely to see a marquee name in an independent film as you are to see a well-known character actor from the 1970s in a Roland Emmerich disaster movie. The lines have become blurred – indie has become cool, and of course, indie has become far more accessible than ever. The equipment has never been as cheap, the opportunities to learn from the internet never more available. Everybody wants to make a movie. And sometimes remarkable things occur when people put the resources of time and talent and money to the service of a human story. Tom Burstyn, Director of Photography on ‘The Insatiable Moon’ has been on both sides of the indie/corporate canyon, having shot more than 70 movies, and worked with actors including Oprah Winfrey, Matt Dillon, Jessica Tandy; he shot Paul Newman’s late classic ‘Where the Money Is’, a vastly underrated, smart little film, and has worked on massive mini series such as a recent endeavour to represent the life of Marco Polo on screen.

Why, then, do we find him in a small Baptist church on Jervois Road in Ponsonby, shooting with a hand-held Fig Rig, only using two lights, and with a crew small enough to fit in my living room?

One obvious thing about Tom is his love of the local, so when we sat down for some food to talk about his philosophy of cinema, it was for the most amazing bowl of Vietnamese chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had. He had some mint spring rolls, but they sat quietly on the plate while he talked at length about what he calls 'frugal film-making'.

Tom’s critique of the status quo could be summed up as his view that ‘Producers are too often obsessed with gimmickry rather than being interested in expressing an idea’ – so fifteen lights and computer generated graphics and an exploding suspension bridge take precedence over the way the breeze is bending flowers and the look in a character’s eye. ‘The system of film-making is fear based,’ he says, with the ultimate fear being that the film being made won’t turn a massive profit for whatever bank owns it. Of course, the possibility of profit is partly determined by how much is being spent on the movie in the first place; and fear, you might imagine, and creativity do not happy bedfellows make.

Hence Tom’s passion for frugal film-making; a manifesto rooted in the notion that, as he puts it, once you have ‘a good script, a good director, and a good cast…artistry is taking things out, not adding them’. (You can read more about frugal film-making here.) Tom’s made two films with a crew of two; so ‘The Insatiable Moon’ must feel like a riot; but as I’ve observed him work over the past few days, it’s clear that his unruffled demeanour pays dividends among the rest of the crew. Too often film sets and other creative endeavours are full of anxiety; writers will perhaps contend that you need this – that a creative foment can occur when you take a work seriously enough to be anxious about it. Fair enough – but I think us writers would also say that, for the most part, it’s up to us to feel the anxiety and turn it into words before we arrive on set.

The principles of frugal film-making being applied to ‘The Insatiable Moon’ certainly make it a set not driven by fear; but it doesn’t diminish the quality of the work either – the actors are given room to breathe because they’re not worried about being in the right position vis a vis an invisible Godzilla that will be painted in later; and they’re not worn out by unnecessary multiple takes. The people embodying the characters of the people on Jervois Road go in, incarnate their lines, and the crew collect the information. Tom Burstyn once wrote a document called ‘Kamikaze Film-making: A Sociopolitical Manifesto on the Enlightenment of a Film-Set’; I’m not sure what the ‘kamikaze’ was referring to, because I think he’s slaying myths about the way movies are supposed to be made, rather than shooting himself (or anyone else) in the foot.

BTW - comments are now open for business on the blog: please feel free to add your thoughts below. Hope you have a great day!

Is it, or is it not, A Movie?

A friend of mine who used to make movies before he realized he was a better writer than director once told me of a conversation he had with a producer. My friend was telling the producer of his struggles to make the script bear the emotional weight he was trying to convey in the movie they were making. After a couple of minutes of striving eloquently to express the inner mountain climbing known so well to artists of all stripes, he was interrupted by the producer, whose exasperated admonition brought a swift end to the conversation:

‘It’s f***ing not a f***ing movie, it’s a f***ing deal.’

Pip Piper is not that kind of producer. Having worked with disenfranchised youth on the streets of Birmingham, Pip got into film-making the textbook way: by accident. Called on to provide some visuals for a social justice initiative, his steps into the world of cinema were organic and surprising. Seven years ago he found himself at a table with Mike Riddell, as they toasted the gentlemen’s agreement to turn Mike’s words into the film we’re now making. It’s been, as they say, a long and winding road, with more than its share of setbacks; but one principle has guided the process, and it’s not the assertion that this is ‘not a f***ing movie’ nor is it merely ‘a f***ing deal’. It’s the principle that Pip summed up for me when we had a breakfast meeting yesterday (he may not be that particular kind of producer, but he still is a producer, so a breakfast meeting was inevitable. He paid,though.)

Pip cares about stories and journeys that tell the truth about people. Simple enough, and perhaps easy to ignore or dismiss in an age when ‘Transformers 2’ seems to suggest that stories about robots are more compelling (Let me declare an interest: I felt that watching ‘Transformers 2’ was the cinematic equivalent of sitting beside a person obsessed with changing the TV channels every 30 seconds, remote control in one hand, while hitting me in the face with a shovel in the other.) Let’s assume that ‘Transformers 2’ is an anomaly,and that what people really want is to see stories that reveal the truth about life – that we see in cinematic narratives and characters, journeys that remind us of ourselves; that we observe brokenness and redemption, joy and laughter, horror and despair, and the little shafts of light that dapple through the branches of whatever forest we happen to be missing because we’re so preoccupied with the trees.

‘The Insatiable Moon’ aims to be a film full of this dappled light; Pip Piper is a producer who wants to create the conditions whereby that light will be captured, so that the rest of us can see it, and say ‘Yep. Life’s like that. Isn’t it fantastic?’

Where Are My Cigarettes?

Ponsonby Road

Let me introduce myself - I'm the new ghost writer for this blog dedicated to the revelation of how 'The Insatiable Moon' went from being an idea in Mike Riddell's head, to a novel, to a screenplay, and especially a film. As Mike wrote yesterday, I'll be writing the blog (mostly) from now on, leaving the film's writer much needed extra time to deal with one of the many surprises each day brings. We'd love the blog and facebook page to be places for conversation and anticipation about the rising Moon, so please do feel free to comment here or there. I'm delighted to be able to use some of my vacation in New Zealand to drop in on set and will do my best to keep you posted about what's happening in and around the making of the film.

This morning, my second observing the set of ‘The Insatiable Moon’, I was walking up Ponsonby Road on the way to the church where one of the pivotal scenes was being shot. Walking through mild rain and high humidity, to the emotional soundtrack of mild annoyance at being highly lost, having taken a wrong turn from the Production Office. Had a bag of strawberries in one hand – one of the pleasures of being here from the US/UK is the fact that I’m experiencing my first December summer, and therefore get to eat fruit that went out of season where I live a couple of months ago, and my MacBook bag in the other, looking forward to what would unfold in the church as one of our beloved characters makes a speech that we hope will be something audiences remember for a long time after seeing the movie.

But it wasn’t meant to be – I was stopped in my tracks by a bloke wearing a long black leather coat, also carrying two bags, eyes hidden behind massive dark glasses. As he passed me, he let out an agitated scream: ‘WHERE ARE MY CIGARETTES’. The surprise made me jump, feel a little uncomfortable, and it was a few seconds before I could focus my thoughts. Who was this man? Why was he screaming? Screaming for the location of his smokes, on a wet Ponsonby afternoon? People sat at the sidewalk cafes looked up at him, and then at me; some tried to conceal a smile – let’s face it, a bloke shouting on the street is funny in the way that someone tripping on a pavement is funny. It’s a natural reaction to the misfortune of others. But it’s also unfair. What was strange to me was the fact that the pity of the crowd seemed reserved for me, rather than the poor guy who’d lost his Pall Malls.

I remember first reading the novel ‘The Insatiable Moon’ twelve years ago – it was the Clinton era, the year the Paul Thomas Anderson’s first feature ‘Hard Eight’ was released and had to compete with ‘Men in Black’ for an audience; the year Princess Diana and Mother Teresa died; and a time when the New Zealand film industry was yet to receive global attention in the form of a shot in the arm from J RR Tolkien. One of the motifs to which the book returns again and again is the place of marginalized people in our society, in the story, on Ponsonby Road. Blokes who walk up and down the high street screaming for their cigarettes, part of them trapped inside the complex labyrinth of mental health difficulties and God knows what else. The film being made here in Ponsonby is part love story, part drama, part postmodern religious epic, and part whatever you want it to be; but one of the most beautiful things about it is the fact that it focuses on people that usually get sidelined by the stories that often get told at the movies. It’s about the occurrence of magic in everyday life; it’s about the sacred and profane meeting each other, and being mixed into something new that becomes far more than the sum of its parts.

The ostensibly innocuous moment when I was confronted by a guy shouting for his cigarettes collided with my need to get to the set to see what was happening next. And on the way, I remembered something that one of my favourite actors used to say. The sadly late, and undeniably very great Jack Lemmon used to close his eyes just before the cameras rolled, and repeat a mantra that got him in the right zone to perform, to create on screen the heightened vision of reality that always occurs when movies work. His two words could serve as the motto for what’s happening here, as a motley crew of people dedicated to very-hard-working the vision to fruition, in the hope that together they may make a film that entertains, compels, challenges, inspires, makes the audience feel grateful to be alive and maybe just a little more ready to see each other for what we are; in short, to turn a story of ordinary people on Ponsonby Road into something that transcends our sense of just what is ordinary. I think Jack Lemmon might be right at home here. His two words? Magic Time.

A Dozen Days

It's Tuesday, so it must be week three. Great to have (nearly) a couple of days off. Scary to think that by tomorrow we'll be exactly half way through the shoot. Everything happens so quickly that it's hard to find the time to reflect. We're into December already, as no doubt everyone has realised.

One of the good things that happened yesterday was the arrival of my dear friend Gareth Higgins.

He's a lovely man, originally from Belfast, but now married and living in North Carolina. He's come out to help with the film, and from tomorrow will be writing this blog - giving me a little more time as producer to sort out other stuff.

Gareth runs his own film blog in the States, The Film Talk, which you can access here. He's a real cinephile with an encyclopedic knowledge of the craft. It's great to have him on board and to join the team.

Today we're off out to Waikumete cemetery to film a burial scene - for once we're hoping for rain! Given Auckland's weather there's a better than even chance.

But Never on a Sunday

Well Saturday morning and here we are again, our sixth day on the trot in the boarding house at Point Erin. We're all a little bleary eyed after a 10.00pm wrap last night. But on the other hand this has been a wonderful time - all of us working together in the one location, and building a sense of family among cast, crew and of course the residents who live here.

I can't speak highly enough of Lynda and Cerise (the managers) and the wonderful staff who have not only tolerated our invasive presence here but have been enthusiastic supporters of all we're trying to do. They've been friendly, supportive and kind to us throughout, even when we've taken over their office space entirely.

And so we head toward the end of week two, looking forward to a couple of days off. It's been another productive time, and we're still pretty much on schedule. One of the tasks is getting a cat to perform for us. No problems.

We're living a dream.

Ten Days of Glory

Just back from watching assemblies over at the edit suite, and we're all stoked with what we're getting. It's very much the raw material - ungraded, unmixed etc - but the story is unfolding before our eyes. Even with our most critical hats on, we know we're getting the material we need.

Long day yesterday, going through to midnight. But a load of fun with Ray Woolf providing the music for a great celebration wake, which had all of the boarding house guys bopping along. It's a great thing to be enjoying your work, and our cast certainly seem to be.

The legendary Ian Mune makes a great alcoholic. When we were casting I told him I always had him in mind when I wrote the part. He wasn't sure whether it was a compliment, given that the part is that of a derelict!

I note that Auckland is concerned with its 'homeless problem'. People want to clean the streets up. Maybe as much concern could be given to clearing minds and hearts, so that we still had the vestiges of a society that cares for the least in their midst.

Day Nine

Later start today which is a welcome relief. We get to film the party scene in the boarding house which I'm really looking forward to. Looks like we'll be working through to nearly midnight. But it never feels like work - more like play.

Both Lynda and Cerise, the wonderfully generous managers of the house we're using, sat in on the rushes last night. This morning Lynda wrote: "Just a quick note to say how touched I was yesterday watching the film. You have captured the essence of these guys and I am proud to be a part of it." To have their support means a huge amount - we want this film to be grounded in reality.

It's been interesting to watch relationships growing between the crew and actors and those genuine residents who are still around. It's a great atmosphere to be working in.

We're getting great performances still from our actors - and they seem to be really enjoying themselves.

Day Eight

The sun is shining, and the film is too. Yesterday we had one of the most satisfying days so far on set. It's great to be settled in one location for an extended period of time. The actors are brilliant and having a lot of fun, and there's a good atmosphere all round.

I'm loving having a number of the actual boarding house residents still round while we shoot. It grounds the whole film in reality. We're slowly getting to know some of them, and a few have found their way into our shots.

Last night when we watched the dailies we found that we'd captured more magic. The story is coming together and coming to life. It seems like an unfolding miracle. I'm full of gratitude to all who have been helping to bring it into reality.

Arthur Does Twitter

Today Arthur, second son of God, began his very own tweeting. He has much wisdom to impart. His first tweet was 'I see things other people don't. It doesn't mean they're not real.' Look out for him on Twitter - you can find him here

Become a follower. As Arthur says, "Follow me".

The story of Arthur is spreading through his boarding house. People in Ponsonby are talking about it. Soon he will be speaking to the whole world. He has a mission to accomplish.

He recommends this facebook page to keep track of the film about him. Arthur is spreading the word! Join the movement.

From My Computer

A quick shot from my computer on set at the boarding house. We just started down here this morning and are in the midst of what will be a six day run. The boarding house scenes occupy around 30% of the script or more.

It's great to have the use of an actual boarding house. Most of the residents have gone for a summer holiday up the coast, with just a few left behind as extras. There's the odd one or two who weren't that keen on moving out so have opted to stay and add some spice to our shots.

This is the first day of having our scrum of characters who surround Arthur. It's brilliant to see them interacting with each other round the table. Each of them brings something unique and distinctive to their roles which both goes beyond and brings to life the script. They're having a ball with it all.

No doubt it'll all get better as the week goes on...

Day Five

And so we come to the end of week one - and what a satisfying week it has been! Very hard work, with filming on the busy streets of Ponsonby and a huge number of setups and relocations. The value of a smallish crew has been proved, as has the decision to shoot with minimal equipment. It's meant that we are a very light and mobile operation.

The final shot of the week was around 9.00pm last night at a cafe on Ponsonby Road. The place was humming with the usual Friday night party atmosphere. We're happy to have achieved our objective of getting all the Ponsonby location work done in the first week, and doing it before Christmas decorations start getting in the road.

The rushes are fantastic. It's incredibly exciting to see this film coming together shot by beautiful shot. Next week we head down to the boarding house for six days on the trot. More magic to come.

Day Four

What's with this cold weather? Back to wearing winter clothes. Just as well we're fortified with fine food from Les Yule who's doing the catering out of her home.

Yesterday we had a blessed late start but the payoff was a late finish, with wrap after midnight. Our first round of night shooting - interesting to be in Ponsonby late on a Thursday night and observe life on the streets.

A particular thrill for me was to have my friend Chris on set. Chris in a former life was manager of the boarding house where the real Arthur lived. He was a great father figure for the guys in his Shelly Beach Rd house - even though most of them were older than him. The character of Bob was loosely based on him.

We swapped some stories about Arthur and some of the other great characters we knew back in the day. And Chris was pleased to meet Rawiri and give him a bit of insight into the person who had inspired his character.

Everyone is hitting their straps now, and the production is flowing with much good grace and humour. We could just use a little summer...

Day Three

And the rain came down. And the wind blew, and it was bloody freezing. But the filming continued. We contemplated calling it off at one stage when it was hosing down in Point Erin reserve, but persevered and eventually a bit of sun came out.

The good thing was that by the end of the day we were on schedule. And the dailies were great once again. There's a whole lot of satisfaction when all the faffing around to set up shots ends up with those moments of magic which you hope for. Great performance from our lead actors, and terrific work from the crew to get it all on screen.

At the core of the process is the willingness for all involved to trust each other's abilities. It's a great exercise in temporary community building. Author Scott Peck wrote about communities that they require the relinquishment of the temptation to control others. Ironically, in the highly structured chain of command of filmmaking, this is as true as anywhere else.

Every person brings something special and unique to the process, without which the entire enterprise would fail. The secret is a deep trusting and respect of those around us as we work in highly pressured situations. It allows the love to flow, and the wonder to be captured.

Day Two

Another day in the foundry of filmmaking. Coping with lost locations, massive traffic noise, trying not to constrict the footpaths in Ponsonby etc etc. The usual jostling as people sort themselves out on crew.

But at the end of the day, everyone is happy, we've shot to schedule, and the dailies are to die for. Two days in we were shooting one of the most important scenes in the film, where Arthur and Margaret meet for the first time. Over the years we've had lots of notes about how difficult it would be to portray this unlikely relationship on screen. But our leads, Rawiri Paratene and Sara Wiseman, nailed it completely. Beautiful to watch.

So here we go on day three, scheduled for rain which has yet to eventuate. Everyone is up to speed and giving their best. Director Rosemary is in her element and making the right calls and DOP Tom is doing his thing in style...

Day One

We assembled in the dark at Costley Park, ready to begin. The night had been filled with wind and rain, and some of the crew worried about what the day would bring. Me, I slept like a baby. I woke to the first day of filming with a huge sense of anticipation.

It was dull and grey to start with. But then, with perfect timing, the sky turned golden, the birds sang, and we had the perfect dawn opening we'd all been hoping for. It was a bit of divine magic which either happens or doesn't, and we were fortunate enough to be on the receiving end.

The rest of the day followed as it should - a keen team of crew traipsing around Ponsonby following Arthur on his adventures. It was a chance for everyone to hit their straps and get used to working as a team. And apart from our DOP putting his back out, it all went swimmingly. We kept on schedule and wrapped early.

So strange to see a story which has only existed on paper and in imagination come to life. What a great privilege for a writer. I'm looking forward to every day of this.

New Moon

Tomorrow is... new moon. And new MOON. The elements are in alignment with our start date of shooting. At 5.30 am on Monday morning the crew assemble, and thirty minutes later the camera will roll. Unusually for a feature film, the first scene we shoot will be the opening scene of the film.

How can words express what it means to have this film being made? The years are a testament to the perseverance, determination, planning and hope which has marked the dogged journey toward production. I doff my hat to my colleagues in crime. It was more than 6 years ago when 5 people ate dinner together in London and committed themselves to make a film. All 5 are still part of the adventure, all this time later.

Pip Piper and Rob Taylor (UK producers), Tim Sanders (Exec Producer), Rawiri Paratene (Lead), and moi (Writer/NZ Producer). That night a fat full moon hovered over our deliberations. Somehow it seems fitting that as we go into Principal Photography, it's a new moon which will smile upon us.

I couldn't be more delighted with our first rate production staff, crew, and cast. As Rawiri said some weeks ago, "I believe that the people who are meant to work on a project end up working on it." Certainly in our case there's the sense that a special group of people have been gathered for a special film.

Enough of talk: let the cameras roll!

Countdown

The excitement and workload are both ramping up. Hard to believe that we're standing on the threshold of making this film after so long. And it's all fun (with just a tad of hard labour)!

There's a constant raft of small problems to be solved each and every day, but with a good team we manage to get through them. Yesterday one of our locations got canned when we discovered Coca Cola were constructing a huge Christmas tree right where we were going to be filming. But within an hour we'd found an alternative and had it permitted, thanks to the brilliant team in the production office.

There's a buzz of anticipation, and we find constant small reminders of the goodness which has followed us all the way along the long and winding road of The Insatiable Moon. There's a magic here which can only be spoken of quietly from respect for it. It's a delicate but gentle force accompanying us as we go.

May the goodness shine on.

And yes, that is the photo of the real Arthur who inspired the story.

It Must Be True

The acid test of a film project is if it makes it to IMDB, and we seem to be up there. You can see it here.

Today the sun shines in Ponsonby, and there's an air of anticipation as we head for next week when the crew hits the streets in style. We're already picking up a bit of buzz around the town as we talk to locals.

And everyone here believes in the goodness of this film.

Seven Years Later

Hard to express how important it was to me to have a contingent from the UK join us on Saturday. Pip Piper, producer from the UK, is a good friend of mine who 7 years ago took an option on my novel to make a film. And now here he is, with a group of helpers, on the ground in Ponsonby as we head toward shoot.

It's important to stop and reflect on the significance of such events. Seven years is a long period in anyone's life, and for all of that we have worked and struggled and believed together that The Insatiable Moon might become a reality. Now the process is reaching its high point, it's all the more reason to feel the deep satisfaction which flows from the period of gestation.

Over the weekend we had our very first cast read-through of the script, which was magic and helped to bring the story to life. Then Sunday was spent on tech recce, touring all of our locations with the crew who are charged with doing the practical work of making the film.

Today the production office was buzzing with people - meeting, planning, discussing. What a great feeling to be in the presence of so many creatives bringing their talents to the story! There's a huge amount of aroha and goodwill flowing amid the necessary planning. Let's hope it makes it onto the screen.

Arriving on a Jet Plane

So, tomorrow the UK crew arrive in Auckland. Seven years ago the UK producers including Pip Piper met over dinner with Rawiri Paratene, Tim Sanders and I to discuss making a film. As of tomorrow, we'll all be in the same country and doing it. It marks the closing of a circle, which began on that night so long ago. It was a special time because we stumbled out of the restaurant to see a huge full moon at the end of the street. None of us could have foreseen how long and difficult the road would be.

But all of that fades into history as we join forces again to watch the dreamed-of story unfold before our eyes. The mojo flows...

Big Moon

I have a grandson by the name of Finn. Last year when we were down in Wanaka, the full moon rose over the hills, and we taught the wee man to say "big moon". He got really enthusiastic about it, and still repeats it to this day.

Last night there was a fat moon hanging alongside the Auckland skytower, full of portent and potential. A pity about the clouds, but tonight we hope to nail it if the sky clears. Of course we can always add the moon later with a bit of movie magic, but it would be great to shoot it in the raw.

The momentum is mounting and so is the workload. We're on track but getting a feature film up with 3 weeks pre-prod is a big ask. Fortunately we've got great people working in the production office, giving their all.

And the moon shines on.

Musique

Saturday night Luke Hurley worked his magic with guitar and voice as a contribution toward raising funds for The Insatiable Moon. He's a great performer, and his unique blend of guitar work coupled with strong original songs never ceases to entrance.

Along with other local musicians, including singer/songwriter Johnny Matteson, we hope to include fresh and indigenous performers for the soundtrack of the film. Even though that's largely a matter for post production, we're already collecting bits and pieces and feeding them through to our editor Paul Maxwell.

The soundscape of a movie is a dynamic part of the emotional tone of a film, and it's important to get it right. I have a personal objection to mood manipulation, but recognise how evocative a simple piece of music can be to the way an image is received.

I'm delighted that our lower budget model means that we can incorporate some of the great local talent who are willing to offer their own compositions without charge. It's part of giving the story roots in a real and existing community.

Moon Over Ponsonby

The front page of the local newspaper has a story about the film under the photo above (of Mike Riddell, DOP Tom Burstyn and lead Rawiri Paratene). It's a good piece. The film must be going to happen - I read it in the news. Link here to read.

Getting There

Amazing what can be accomplished in a day, with the right attitude and a good team of people committed to the cause. Every night I wake up with my mind buzzing - a raft of tasks that need to be completed, and conscious of how little time there is left.

But the astonishing thing is that by the end of the day, a huge amount has been achieved, and we are that much closer to getting there. And in this business, getting there is a significant achievement. Film is perhaps the highest form of art collaboration - no way of doing it without real teamwork and interdependence.

And so it is as we draw near the end of the first week of preproduction, that there is a certain sense of satisfaction alongside the constant panic. Also, many small events are convincing us that the mojo is flowing - that there's a sense of rightness and timeliness about this whole project.

Time will tell, but there's a massive amount of soul pouring into this production.

Seeing

It was great to tour round some of the locations with our DOP Tom Burstyn last week. Strange how you see things with new eyes when you're looking alongside a cameraman. The image to the left is of the interior of the church which we'll be using for the funeral scene. Tom could immediately see the beauty and potential of it.

This afternoon I was down at the boarding house (another location), drinking coffee and talking to the owners. They are the very best of people, and in the midst of a million distractions it was good to be with them. We had a wide ranging conversation about all sorts of things, but primarily about allowing people the dignity to be themselves without the constant pressure to be someone else.

There's not only stigma with mental illness - there's the constant attempt by agencies to make people 'better' or 'normal'. It was so wonderful to be in an environment where aroha is the norm, and you're allowed to be mad if you want to be mad. We swapped some stories of the enriching moments we'd experienced by living with people who are 'different'.

Film, like life, is a way of seeing. Cropping the boundaries provides focus and perspective, so that sometimes you are aware of things which have always been there, but become newly evident.

Pre Production

Today marks the start of our official pre-production. Just three weeks left to get ourselves organised for the shoot. It's akin to the mounting of a significant military operation - no good getting part way through and discovering you didn't organise the supply train.

So the busyness increases, the decisions multiply, the demands grow. But so does the excitement and the anticipation. And it's a chance to get to know the team who will be working together to bring this dream to reality.

I was out of my depth some weeks ago, but it hasn't stopped me yet. The idea is to learn from the duck, and keep all the frantic paddling below the surface.

At the end of all this labour, something will be born among us.

We started out on this project to be producers who were open and transparent in our dealings with all. And that has continued to be our guiding star. There's something about integrity and honesty which affects the atmosphere of the whole team. We've also looked for cast and crew who were not only talented but who believed in the story and wanted to be part of it.

This week has been a difficult one in which we've engaged some of the darker aspects of the industry. It's been a challenge to maintain equilibrium and stick to our principles as we were caught up in some issues not of our making. But all credit to the main players who have found a way to get through in the interests of getting the film made.

Yesterday we looked at the camera test images for the Sony EX1 (night shooting, close-ups, depth of field etc) on the big screen, and were delighted to confirm that the data levels were within the ranges necessary for effective post production, and for printing to 35mm at the end of it all. Plus, it looked pretty damned good.

Of course it helps to have a DOP who knows how to play the instrument!

A great deal of buzz for me personally yesterday as we had our first HODs meeting up at the office, and there was the sense of a team on a mission. Everyone there was making some sort of sacrifice to be part of the film, but bringing their professionalism to it.

So. Official pre-production begins Tuesday. Here we go...

Dreams

Today we're doing a test shoot with the camera setup we'll be using for the film. DOP Tom Burstyn is up here to coincide with a couple of days when our lead Rawiri Paratene has some space in his busy schedule. It's something of a tech rehearsal, but it also marks another staging post on the way toward shoot.

Tomorrow will be the first gathering of the clan, with most of the HODs for the film getting together for the first time with the director.

In the midst of the constant problem-solving and fire-fighting which occupies most of my days, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that what seemed impossible not so long ago is actually under way. Our former director Gillies Mackinnon describes the process of filmmaking as 'from dream to shit and (hopefully) back to dream again'.

We're just entering into the shit phase, but hoping to keep the dream in sight as we go forward.

Writing?

It's a salutary lesson for a writer to be a producer. I've done it several times before, though never quite at this level. It does make you appreciate how easy it is to write something which will create headaches for the production team, and how pragmatic writers need to be when it comes to the telling of their story.

Unfortunately one of the side effects of production is that the process becomes all-consuming, leaving little of the unencumbered time that writers need for that final honing of the script. About the only thing I'm writing at the moment is contracts! And even that is just filling in the blanks for the most part.

But now we've taken on a Production Manager (Laina Cheung), I'm hoping that some space may miraculously appear so that I can do my final polish. And of course there will be the inevitable tweaks as we go along and the actors make their own contributions. Now, back to the contracts...

Meet the Director!

There's an old adage that the best position for the writer is to be sleeping with the director. I've taken it to heart. Our new and fabulous director is none other than Rosemary Riddell. We've put together the old team which was so successful with the international play Jerusalem, Jerusalem and took out the Sandcastle Award for Best Short Film at the Moondance Festival in Hollywood, for our short film Cake Tin.

Rosemary is very much an actors' director, with a keen eye for drama and what works on screen. And she brings to this project an intimate knowledge of the story, gleaned from more than ten years of living with its various incarnations. So she was ideally qualified to step into the breach when Gillies Mackinnon needed to pull out.

We're giving her highly experienced people around her to supplement her skills for her first feature, including the veteran Director of Photography Tom Burstyn.

Rosemary is a formidable director, much loved by all those she has worked with over the years. As an actor herself, she understands the importance of quality performances. And in her other life, she's a judge - so it doesn't pay to mess with her!

Doing it Hard

When the NZ Film Commission declined our application for production funding in August, it created a crisis of huge proportions. This was followed shortly afterwards by the news that Screen West Midlands would be unable to process their proposed contribution in time for shooting. Then, with the funding evaporating, our UK director Gillies Mackinnon pulled out. Any sensible producers would have closed the production down.

We came very close to it. On one dark day in September it seemed that the only option was to call it quits. But, as has happened so many times in the tangled history of this project, we found a way through. We made a commitment to make the film using private equity. That meant the complete reinvention of the production from the ground up. A low budget film might look at a budget of NZ$1m. We moved into micro budget territory of just over $300k.

It has meant lots of negotiation with talent and crew. It has meant the producers who have invested time and money over seven years taking no money out of the budget. Likewise the writer and director. It has meant finding work arounds and compromises in all areas. It has meant making a positive out of the negatives, by adopting a philosophy which our DOP Tom Burstyn calls 'Frugal Filmmaking'.

It has also meant the surfacing of huge amounts of goodwill and generosity by the core people, because they believe in this as a film which needs to be made. This is turning out to be a collaboration of artists who love cinema, and are keen not just to get the film completed, but to make a great film which will showcase the best of New Zealand talent and win audiences throughout the world.

So - we're doing it hard, but we're doing it honest!

A Place to Stay

We've got 5 people arriving from the UK, one from Canada, a confused Irishman from the States, and several from out of town to work on the film - all of whom need accommodation in the central Auckland area. Through the generosity of supporters we've managed to find beds for a fair number of them. But we still need more.

If anyone can offer a bed, or even better a furnished flat or house sit in or around the Ponsonby area, please let us know by emailing here. The shoot dates are 16 November to 25 December, so it's a while for house guests. But we promise they'll behave themselves, and they'll get fed on set.

If you know someone who knows someone who knows someone... please chase it up. If anyone has questions, they could ring Mike at 021 2952963.

Meanwhile, the madness continues...

Cast

We've assembled a brilliant cast for the shoot. Above you'll see some of the faces of the main players. Thanks to all the actors for their passion, commitment and belief they're bringing to making this a great film.

Moon Buggy

Meet the Moon Buggy... our slightly used people transporter which will be used for a production vehicle. Cheaper to buy than to lease for a couple of months, and we can sell it again at the end of the shoot to put some money back in the budget.

These are the sort of work arounds that we're needing to achieve on a daily basis in order to make the budget stretch. Vehicles are a real need and expense. Speaking of which, if anyone has a small truck which would be available for loan, can you let us know?

Another need is a camper van or caravan (preferably one with a toilet) which we could borrow for 5 weeks before Christmas - to be used as a changing room/toilet facility during our outdoor shoots. We promise to take very good care!

If you can help with any of this, please write to us here. Many thanks!

Good People

It takes a village to raise a movie!

We are making this film with a shoot budget of just NZ$300k.

Many would think it not possible, but the key to it is having a great team of people who believe in it and are prepared to bring their talents to the project. It's a difficult task to be offering so little reward and yet asking so much from the people who must give their very best if the film is to be successful.

One of the ways we are doing this is by the writer, producers, and director taking no money out of the production budget up front. Instead we're spending those valuable dollars on an excellent cast and crew. Given the producers have spent seven years developing the project at their own expense, this is a way of their expression of faith and confidence in it.

We're trying to assemble a team of the very best people, all of them talented and all of them believing that cinema can be more than an industry churning out a product. But as everyone knows, in the film world "no one knows anything".

Last Call

We're deeply grateful for the private equity investors who are making this film possible. I guess art has always had its patrons, but the high costs of producing films raise the stakes to a new level. We're doing something to address this by doing the shoot in innovative ways, but without our investors we'd be down the tubes.

We've begun to circulate the investment agreement to our donors, and sometime soon we'll need to draw a line under that. So if anyone is sitting on the fence, trying to decide whether to get on board or not, please make the choice now. You can simply email your interest here. We're accepting investments as small as $1,000, and remember there are significant tax breaks, a 10% premium and a share of profits.

Of course there are other ways to contribute. You can simply send donations of any size, and through our charitable trust, Te Tutua Trust, receive a tax receipt for your contribution. Or donate through the link to Givealittle on this blogsite.

It's a movie about the triumph of the little people against the odds, and it's in the small ways that we will make it a great story. Thanks for your help.

Tom Burstyn

We're delighted to have cinematographer Tom Burstyn attached as our DOP. Tom has more than 30 years experience, from his beginnings in his native Canada and including a stint in Hollywood. He eventually washed up in New Zealand as an intentional move to begin a new lifestyle.

Tom comes into the project as much more than just a DOP. He has both a commitment to the story and a philosophy of how to make a great film on limited resources. He will come onto the core production and creative team, and bring his vast experience and passion to the venture. It's a great honour to have him on the team.

Currently in Vancouver, where the film he both directed and shot is opening in the festival, Tom has a commitment to the art of cinema. The film "This Way of Life" has been singled out as one of the must-see screenings in the festival, after sold-out screenings in New Zealand. It is a beautiful and compelling story, one which I can't recommend highly enough.

Keeping Up

In case you hadn't noticed, it's full moon again this weekend! Time for all you dreamers to buy another lotto ticket for The Insatiable Moon, and post it to us at 46 Williams St, Cambridge 3434. The added bonus is that we're up to $22m for Powerball, and I promise we won't need all of that!

Sometimes you think you're not making much progress. And yet, in the last week we have finished auditions, had the draft schedule completed, welcomed our new and fabulous DOP, made offers to all our principal cast, booked airfares for the UK guys who are coming out, and finally got the internet on at the production office! In addition the props list has been drawn up, costuming suggestions completed, and draft investors' contracts sorted.

We're approaching 6 weeks until we start the shoot. Momentum is building. The moon is big and round.

Come the Revolution

I don't want to get too esoteric about what is often a mechanical process, but we are entering a new era in the making of films. We thought Peter Biskind had documented the revolution with his Down and Dirty Pictures, but all he was noting was the subversion of the studios by the indies.

Now for the first time, the making of a feature film is within reach of people who have only a fraction of the finance and resources that the great indie filmmakers have enjoyed. The real revolution is the digital one - and it's arrived for film as it came for music.

What we are doing with The Insatiable Moon is part of building the future - the making of a film for the love of the art and the story. No studios, no funding bureaucracies, no bond, no bank managers. Just a bunch of people who believe in cinema as a way to tell stories, and who have found a way to make it happen.

And you know what? Once the film hits the screen, 99% of the audience will neither know nor care how much has been spent getting it there, or whether it was shot digitally or on film. They will care whether it's a story which draws them in and captivates them, and allows them to leave the theatre somewhat different from how they came in. At long last, the power of filmmaking is back in the hands of the storytellers, where it belongs.

Vive la revolution!

Warming Up

What to do when you're typing an email and your two phones ring at the same time?

That's what the days are like for me as I negotiate with agents, talk to potential crew, book flights, check the schedule, arrange locations, send out contracts, organise volunteers and sweat over the budget!

The good thing is that we're assembling a fine cast and crew, with a wide skill range and huge passion for the story. Each day is a day closer to the first day of Principal Photography.

I do a bit of cooking for my friends, and the great secret of this is timing - making sure that everything is ready at the same time for people to sit down and eat. Making a film is a lot like that. Getting the preparation right doesn't guarantee a good result, but it sure helps the possibility.

Bird by Bird

One of the best books I ever read on writing was by Anne Lamott, entitled 'Bird by Bird'. The title comes from the following incident:

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write [it] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

It's a philosophy of life as well as a technique for writing. Rather than being overwhelmed by the number of tasks to be completed, simply focussing on the next one at hand provides a means of moving forward. Producing a feature film, I find myself needing to reclaim this approach time and time again. It has a way of simplifying and purifying the necessary demands.

A meeting with a potential director of photography on Friday was enormously energising. Should he come on board, I think we may hope for spectacular cinematography.

What - Me Worry?

Crisis - what crisis? It's just in the daily run of things. Juggle chainsaws while skateboarding across a precipice? No problems - this is the film industry we're talking about.

Who has room for self-doubt when they're attempting to fly a jumbo jet which only has one fault - no fuel? It's not the problem solving which is difficult. It's the problem of the number of problems.

But one of the life lessons which I'm trying to hone is that of making something out of nothing. For those who suspect this is evidence of delusions of grandeur, I can only agree! Who better to make a film about the 'mad' than a mad bugger. Certifiable? Quite possibly.

But there was a time when people just made films because they wanted to get a story on screen, and so they did it. Ah, what did we ever do before nostalgia?

The Gap

Some great talent from the auditions over the weekend. Getting through 50 auditions over 2 days is a fair old ask. We're keen to have acting of the highest calibre for this film. We need to run another day next Saturday.

Meanwhile things are picking up apace. Cast and location schedules should be done this week. We're about to bring on a production manager, and have begun negotiations with an experienced DOP, sound operator and editor.

We only have one problem at the moment - money! We're about $200,000 short of what it needs to get the film shot in the way that it deserves to be made. It's not very much in the world of film financing. But sufficient to be an ongoing headache.

It's the gap which needs to be bridged. If only we had some support from some of the bodies charged with getting NZ films to air (NZFC, NZ on Air), there wouldn't be a problem. But we're forced into going it alone.

It's an agonising struggle at times, but it was encouraging to find the enthusiasm for this film from the people who were auditioning for it. With a little help we'll find a way across the chasm!

Ring Ring

Neo won't answer, but we now have the phone connected at our Auckland production office. It's (09)3601643. With any decent luck the broadband will be on tomorrow, which will make the office a lot more user friendly.

It's a great base to operate from in Ponsonby. Feel free to drop in, but best to ring first to make sure someone's around.

Talent

All systems go for auditions this weekend. The logistics of doing the schedule have kept me out of trouble for a while. It'll be a relief to finally get the chance to watch some very talented actors trying out for various roles.

The major mission is to find our Margaret, who will play opposite Arthur (Rawiri Paratene). Somewhere out there is exactly the right person... But there's a number of other roles to fill as well in terms of major cast.

In the meantime, the phone will be connected and internet installed for the production office tomorrow. Looking forward to having a functioning base for the film. Onwards and upwards.

Eclipse?

This has been a tough week for the project. Without going into details, we have had to rejig the entire production, and for a time seriously considered whether we should close it down. The producers had a two-day 'tea-break' in which to consider our options.

The result was a renewed determination to press forward, drawing on the steely resolve and creative manoeuvring that has become our trademark. The decision to press on is either madness or inspiration, and I guess only the results will demonstrate which it is.

For a time it looked like a total eclipse of the Moon. But during an eclipse, even when the sky grows dark, that which is eclipsed is still there. It's just disappeared from sight for a while. I learned a long time ago never to doubt in the dark what you saw in the light.

Very few people would have stayed on this journey as long as we have, given the obstacles which have been put in our way. But perhaps that's the test which sorts out the achievers from the tryhards.

We remain dependent on the goodwill of all those who have believed in this story and this film, and have committed with us to bring it to the screen.

The Moon shines on...

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Spent Wednesday with the great guys from Rubber Monkey in Wellington. They have one of the sweetest production houses that I've ever seen, with gear to die for. It's a digital studio, fully equipped.

But kit envy aside, these are great guys who have somehow retained a passion for getting films made amongst the daily commercial realities of running a profitable business. These are the people who enabled Second Hand Wedding to fly - both by supplying gear and doing the post.

Anyone who's thinking of doing a digital feature should be making the Monkey their first stop. Just wait a little while until we've been able to occupy their talents for making our own movie!

NZ Film Month?

Ant Timpson, redoubtable cheerleader for film and father of the 48hours film comp, the Incredibly Strange Film Festival, and Headstrong, has issued a call for greater support for NZ film. In it he cites the successful NZ Music Month and writes:

"Could we transplant that concept to NZ FILM, where there's a focus on local content with plexes offering screen space to whole new audiences for a limited time? There could be a concentrated effort from all involved to celebrate local features/shorts and get these smaller films onto screens that are usually completely out of their reach. There would be direct and focused energy to celebrating NZ FILMS of all shapes and colours.

At present there is so much time and energy devoted to making these films by hard working (often with no pay) cast and crews but very little has been thought about the end game for all these films. The end game also means trying to get money back to these people for all their hard work."

In this piece he also raises the question of dedicated digital cinemas in the main centres of NZ - a great call. You can read the full piece here. Spread the word.