Posted by Fetch
Tue, 06 Jun 2006 16:21:00 GMT
Visiting the South of France in May is the trip of a life time, but to be able to travel to the Cannes Film Festival with your own film is truly a wild ride. Matthew Tritt, Jessica Arinella, Matthew Rashid and I reunited on the French Riviera to celebrate the success of What are the Odds? We’ve been all over the country with the film, but the International success was worth the jet lag. Sadly Chris Borg and Justin Spitzer weren’t able to attend due to their schedules. (stay tuned for updates on Justin, as he’s busy writing the latest season of The Office in Los Angeles.)
All the films we saw, won’t make it to the United States for several months. It’s always a thrill to see something before anyone else has the opportunity. We saw Babel by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Marie-Antoinette by Sofia Coppola, Bug by William Friedkin, and Red Road produced by Lars Van Trier and directed by Andrea Arnold.
One of our favorites was the latest triumph from Pedro Almadovar - Volver. We predict that you’ll hear a lot about Penelope Cruz at Oscar time. It was a very moving film about mothers and daughters that made us laugh, cry and want more. I, for one, have never seen a male actor capture women with such accuracy.
Shortbus by John Cameron Mitchell was the unanimous favorite. Not only was it fantastic, but it’s a true tribute to the city of New York and made us all homesick. The film starts with an animated arial view of Manhattan and Brooklyn like What are the Odds? Was John Cameron Mitchell chanelling the folks at Asterisk when he settled on his titles?
I cannot leave our Cannes memories without mentioning the strangest most intense film I have ever seen. Hungarian director, György Pálfi, brought his sophmore effort, Taxadermia, to the festival. It involved a fire breathing penis, sex with animals, flesh eating cats, projectile vomitting and a man removing his organs while still alive. On top of all this excitement, the production design and cinematography were wonderful. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, but it was great seeing something that would never been produced in America. I truly hope this makes it state-side because if you aren’t squeemish, and have a desire to see some truly original filmmaking, be sure to check it out.
the two Matts leaving Taxadermia
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Posted by Fetch
Sat, 03 Jun 2006 01:05:00 GMT
Cannes is the granddaddy of all film festivals, and it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of everything. People long to fall under the alluring promise of walking the red-carpet. What they don’t tell you is how insane people become in order to obtain a ticket to a premiere at the Palais. The crowds start to collect outside the theater hours before the screening in order to glimpse a star. In French tradition, they push without any sense of order and expect you to move or be bull-dozed. If you do gain admittance, seeing a film in the Lumiere Theater is an amazing experience. The plush velvet seat cushions are the most comfortable seats in movie theater history, and the kind folks at the festival translate the film into multiple languages for worldwide viewing pleasure. Since these films will most likely get distribution in the United States, getting trampled just to enter this famous theater isn’t for the weary. It’s a little overwhelming, but it’s Cannes.
One of the more exciting opportunities of The Cannes Film Festival is stumbling into a screening without any prior knowledge of what you are about to see. With our badges, we were allowed access to all screenings outside of the Lumiere Theater. We were able to see all of the films entered in Un Certain Regard and the Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs).
Certain Regard has become the largest category of the festival, and it screens films that are innovative in one way or another; films are entered by first time filmmakers, or seasoned filmmakers taking risks in their careers. Think Richard Linklater’s A Skanner Darkly, Rodrigo Garcia’s Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her, or Pedro Almodóvar’s All About My Mother. Directors’ Fortnight, created by the French Director’s Guild in 1969, is another division of the festival. The included films highlight new directors in world cinema and directors who are still little-known in the West or in international festivals. In 1999, Sofia Coppola premiered her first film The Virgin Suicides at Directors’ Fortnight. This years highlights included: Jean Claude Brisseau’s The Exterminating Angels, M. Blash’s Lying, Ray Lawrence’s Jindabyne and William Friedken’s Bug. How William Friedkin was included in this category is still a mystery to me.
We were able to see some pretty amazing films months before their US release. And the best part - we breezed past the lines.
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Posted by Fetch
Tue, 30 May 2006 16:46:00 GMT
Arriving at the Cannes Film Festival induces sensory overload. There are people everywhere and they all have a mission: to meet as many people as possible and to see the hottest thing.
This time around attending the festival was very different for me. The first time I went to Cannes was in 1999, and I worked as an intern with the American Pavilion. If you’ve never heard of The American Pavilion, you can think of it like the Olympic Village. It’s a place to check your email, eat american food and converse in english. It’s a small taste of home. In 1999, I was a receptionist, and I was able to get a first hand look at the workings of the festival. It allowed the magnitude of the fest to come down to size, and I decided that I would return to Cannes with a film of my own.
This year I had the opportunity to attend with our film What are the Odds? We were selected to be part of the Short Film Corner, a sidebar at the festival. Started in 2004, The Short Film Corner is a continuous showing of the best that international short films have to offer. You log into a computer and you are allowed to watch which ever short you would like to see throughout the entire day. As we found upon our arrival, people can sit at these stations for hours on end. Some days we had to wait interminably to gain access. We got great feedback on our film. As usual, it stood out against the other dark and intense shorts. Seems that most people making shorts these days like to include sex, violence and drug use.
One of the best parts of the festival was being able to attend with my director, Matthew Tritt. Due to his schedule, he wasn’t able to attend the pervious festivals that have screened What are the Odds? I guess if you’re going to attend any one film festival, Cannes is the one to experience.
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Posted by Fetch
Fri, 26 May 2006 14:03:00 GMT
With any new project there is a lot of anticipation and a tremendous amount of anxiety. You want people to like it, be entertained by, support and tell their friends about it. What you don’t expect, is the difficulty of actually getting it out there. On the Leesh has wrapped our first set of episodes for our podcast, “The In-Betweens of Holly Malone.” The goal is to launch these episodes, among other places, on itunes. However, what we didn’t anticipate is how difficult itunes is with launching new podcasts! Thus, you can check out this great series on Holly’s myspace page (www.myspace.com/hollymalone), on utube and of course on our website: www.ontheleesh.com (google video is currently reviewing our episode). Check back here for the latest information on our itunes launch…. Which hopefully will be anyday now…
Most of all though, be sure to check out each episode of “The In-Betweens of Holly Malone!”
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Posted by Fetch
Tue, 23 May 2006 00:34:00 GMT
Two weeks ago we had a reading of Daria Polatin’s screenplay, “Happen To Know.” We are slated to shoot the script during the summer of 2007. Daria is an amazing writer who has written a quirky, fun script that we’re all excited to dive into. And, while we’ve all been looking forward to working on this project, there is something about hearing it out loud – hearing a different voice for each character – hearing how the pace of the story takes shape and hearing the small audience’s reaction, that makes you even more thrilled and eager.
Of course, having the cast led by none other than the notable Broadway actor, Frank Wood doesn’t hurt either! Now, if possible, we’re even more excited to pursue this amazing project! Be sure to be on the look out for more information on this one…
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Posted by Fetch
Mon, 01 May 2006 19:30:00 GMT
Getting ready for the launch.
We’ve been busy getting The In-Betweens of Holly Malone ready for launch next week on Itunes. Last week, we shot the next three episodes. On a gorgeous day on the Upper West side of Manhattan,
Matthew G. Rashid made his directorial film debut as did a very happy poodle named Atticus. The following day, we headed down to Le Gamin Cafe on Hudson street in the West Village. Le Gamin opened their doors for us as a premier location. Nancy Robillard directed episode 4 and under her direction, finished ahead of schedule.
The following day Jon Schumacher transitioned from a theatrical On the Leesh director to a cinematic one. We were stationed outside The
Pleasure Chest on 7th Avenue. It was a bit of a chaotic scene. Not only did we have to account for glaring light (not good for shadows and exposure), but every day The Pleasure Chest is visited by the “Sex and the City” tour. About half way through our shoot, 75 people exited a commercial bus to get their photos taken in front of the store. Luckily our actors and directors are professionals, and no one missed a beat. We remained unswayed even when Jake Gyllenhaal stopped by on his way home.
We’ve been busy editing the first four episodes which will launch next week. Check back for more information.
If you’re looking for a great meal while visiting NYC, please visit – Le Gamin Cafe, www.legamin.com. If you’re looking for some fun, visit The Pleasure Chest at www.thepleasurechest.com.
To find out more about our great directors, please visit their websites. For Jon Schumacher – www.singularitycompany.com, For
Matthew Rashid – www.mattrashid.com, For Nancy Robillard – www.nancyrobillard.com
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Posted by Fetch
Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:34:00 GMT
So they tell you in any business, if you are smart-never ever work with your friends.
They fail to mention what you should do if one of your dearest friends and favorite writers offers you a tailor made role and asks your sister to produce your project….
Hmmmmm….
Well we’re in. I met PG Kain back in acting school where he became my resident Madame Defarge as he knit happily while I was acting and throwing myself around in hysterics. He offered me a comedic scene to do with him, and confused (as I never was offered comedic roles) I accepted and a wonderful friendship began.
Through our time together PG and I have become close friends and fine allies. He has helped me thourgh the woes of acting and a slew of personal dramas. We have acted together in smaller projects- one notably where although we shared a stage for 15 minutes we shared no lines-but we never found a project we wanted to get behind together.
Then I got the phone call. PG’s calls are more like a call to arms rather than friendly chat and he informed me that he had a project and we were doing it. It was a new idea for a nano series on the web and as far as he knew hadn’t yet been tried yet. No wasn’t an option nor was it a choice I wanted. And we’re in. So far we have shot four episodes of Holly Malone and getting to work with “my friends” has been my favorite experience in NYC yet.
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Posted by Fetch
Tue, 18 Apr 2006 21:44:00 GMT
What is it like being interviewed? Well Jessica and I learned some lessons when we were at the Sarasota Film Festival with What are the Odds?
We learned that if you’re given the opportunity to be on the news to promote your film. you will wake up at 5A to make your taping. (Notice how alert we look in our photos below. Those were taken at
6A). If we might have slept through our wake up call, the fire alarm would have gotten us out of bed. Always good to have a connection from on high. We learned that it’s best to pack outside of your norm of white t-shirts and jeans in case you will be video-taped. White doesn’t read well on camera – it reflects too much light. This unfortunate packing decision necessitated some last minute shopping –
no complaints here. Lastly, we learned that if you’re recording a radio interview, it’s good to keep the subject matter light. Sometimes people don’t like hearing the upsetting side of stories. Apparently radio is around to make people feel good. All valuable lessons courtesy of ABC-7 Sunrise Morning show, Tampa Bay’s Media Talk, and the Sarasota Film Festival.
We really enjoyed our stay in Sarasota. Holly Herrick and Tom Hall (Sarasota Film Festival) treated all of us wonderfully. They really made us feel at home.
Check back – the footage from ABC-7 Sunrise Show with Ken Jefferson and Silke Rible, and Tampa Bay’s Media talk hosted by Janet Sherer and Rob Tisler will soon be available at www.ontheleesh.com for download.
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Posted by Fetch
Sat, 08 Apr 2006 02:36:00 GMT
The Sarasota International Film Festival was incredible! Mind you, staying at a fabulous hotel like the Longboat Key Resort was no small shakes either. Arriving at any locale with a view directly to the ocean while holding a strawberry daiquiri in your hand is quite a nice way to spend your afternoon after an early morning on a plane.
It’s always really encouraging to be at a film festival in places like Sarasota or Durango where the community embraces it so much. The community of Sarasota lined up to see everything – not just the bigger movies with bigger names like “Lucky Number Slevin,” with Josh Hartnett and Bruce Willis (though this was sold out and we sadly couldn’t get a ticket in time!), but also smaller movies, documentaries (“No Vacancy” was particularly interesting) and shorts (check out “Lucid” if you can) also got their attention. After being in a city like New York for so long where there is so much going on all the time that it’s hard for any one arts festival to stand out, it’s very refreshing to see the enthusiasm that’s present in places like Sarasota.
One of my personal favorites from the festival had to be, “Wristcutters: A Love Story.” This off-beat movie, I’m sure, will get distribution (if it hasn’t already) so be sure to check it out! It has Patrick Fugit of “Almost Famous” fame and has a great, fresh feeling to it. I don’t want to give too much away about it because I think you should see it as soon as it’s in theaters!
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Posted by Fetch
Wed, 05 Apr 2006 14:10:00 GMT
They Love What are the Odds in the Sunshine State!
We’ve just learned that What are the Odds? has been selected to participate in the 10th annual Palm Beach International Film Festival. That will make our third acceptence to a film festival in the great state of Florida. The first was the 1st Annual Delray Beach Film Festival which we sadly had to turn down in order attend the Sarasota FIlm Festival. Sarasota has a sentimental history for the Arinella family and everyone at On the Leesh.
In addition to the screenings in Florida – What are the Odds? was short listed at the 2006 Bermuda Film Festival. And as you know by now, we’ll be traveling to Cannes for two weeks in March.
I guess shooting for five intolerably cold days on the streets of Manhattan has been rewarded with tropical festival locales.
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