Jan. 7.10. When You’re Strange will have its American television premiere in May on PBS. The US theatrical release is still pending. Keep the faith.
The Black & Blue Orkestre has recorded another track; “St. James Infirmary.” The intent was to snap the dust off this old chestnut. I believe we succeeded. Once again, Will Crewdson and DiCillo arranging, Will on guitars, drums & synth, Grog writing and performing on bass and DiCillo on vocals.
Nov. 18.09. I am pleased to announce that a sale has just been made to Germany for a theatrical release of When You’re Strange. As of this writing the major territories that have bought the film are France, Britain, Australia, Canada, Japan and Germany with a few more I can’t remember. This is really good news and extremely encouraging.
There is progress on a US distribution deal and as soon as something definite is definite I will definitely post it here.
Oct. 27.09. Will Crewdson, Grog and I have recorded a song I wrote called Will Been Done.
We recorded with The Black & Blue Orkestre which is normally just the two of us but in this instance we invited Grog to join us. She wrote and performed the bass part. She’s the lead singer, writer and bassist in her own band called Die So Fluid. Their music is strong, beautifully structured and Grog’s voice is as clear, sharp and soaring as a well-thrown knife.
Will Crewdson is an extremely gifted musician and composer living in the UK. His guitar-playing is astonishing and his talents with arrangement are massive. He’s always up to something. He was in LA and NYC a few weeks ago playing in another band. We met for the first time when he came over and laid down 8 guitar takes in a row for the whole song.
WILL BEEN DONE. Written by Tom DiCillo. Guitar, percussion, synths and arrangement by Will Crewdson. Bass by Grog. Vocals, Tom DiCillo
Oct. 18.09. When You’re Strange has been sold to the UK for theatrical distribution. A company called The Works has bought it and I’m extremely impressed with their passion for the film. They’ve been tracking the film since Sundance. Here is the press announcement.
There is strong forward momentum on sales to Australia, the Benelux countries, Japan, Germany and all the other major territories including the US. As you can see these deals take months to finalize so keep in mind nothing is definite from this 2nd list until you hear it from me. But, things are happening. Patience.
Sept. 16.09. Looks like the dates have been set for the London Film Festival: Friday, Oct. 16 and Sunday, Oct. 18. Here’s the direct link to the Festival site: When You’re Strange London Film Festival.
Sept 9.09. Back from Deauville today. Working on a post. Screening dates for San Sebastian have been set: Sept. 24, 25 and 26–all at 4:30 pm.
August 28, 09. When You’re Strange has just secured an official theatrical distribution deal for France. The company is MK2, a well-respected French distributor with experience in both documentary and narrative features. MK2 will be assisting at the premiere of the film at the upcoming Deauville Film Festival Sept. 6, in France.
I know it seems to have taken months for this development. It has. But this development is huge. Others are looming.
August 10.09. As I stated in Dog Daze When You’re Strange has been accepted into the Documentary Section of the Deauville Film Festival in France. A tentative screening date is Sept. 6 but that could change. We are all looking forward to screening the film before French audiences.
In addition, we just found out this morning that the film has been selected for a series of Special Screenings at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain toward the end of September. San Sebastian, like Deauville is a wonderful, highly respected festival. Their inclusion of When You’re Strange is a strong vote of confidence. My last film was very well received there, winning Best Director and Best Screenplay awards.
Plus, San Sebastian is right on the north coast of Spain and has an established surf scene with some truly spectacular waves.
July 15.09. Hard to believe almost a month has passed since the last news update. I went to Koln, Germany for a week to teach a class on Film Acting to a group of wonderful actors. The subtitle of the class was, How to be your own Director. When I get a chance I will recount some of what happened in the class. It was extremely rewarding to me.
I’ve also been putting the finishing touches on the 1st draft of a new screenplay. That does take time.
There has been great response to the new version of When You’re Strange, from both US and foreign distributors. I am reluctant to say anthing else until things are more definite but the news is good. I will share it aspca.
Also, it is summer. And I must say the cold beer goes down nice.
June 23.09. Apparently the Sunday night screening at the LA Film Festival went very well. Several people who were there have written comments detailing the event and their reactions to the film. There is another screening Wednesday afternoon, followed by a buyer’s screening on June 30th here in NYC. Once things start to settle down and some of the new information has been processed I’ll write a specific update post.
I am pleased to announce though that Johnny Depp saw the film over the weekend and was extremely complimentary.
New post added, GIFT HORSE. Beware.
June 16.09. The mix is almost done. It sounds amazing. The best news of the week though is that Frank Lisciandro, editor for Morrison’s film HWY, has located the original 35 mm negative. These shots have now been cut into the film and they look breathtaking–as if they were shot yesterday. The only thing dampening my excitement is my fear that this incredible footage will now serve as only more fuel for the morons who keep blindly assuming we used a double for Morrison. Doors historians out there; spread the word. Morrison wrote and acted in his own film, shot in 1969. This is what we use in the film. THERE ARE NO FUCKING RE-ENACTMENTS.
June 7.09. New post added, LIFE ON SET. This one gets deeper into the tricky waters of the Director’s role on set. When, and when not to use a crowbar.
Added 16 Tons, to SOUNDS. Joint effort of Will Crewdson and meself. Independent filmmaker’s theme song.
June 4.09. Well, the picture is just about locked. Johnny Depp’s voice is completely cut in. It’s pretty amazing, I must say. He had been my first choice. My sense was always that the film needed a real actor to perform the narration, someone who could genuinely relate to the Doors and tell the story as if it really meant something to him. He has succeeded. The final mix is set to start on Monday. The first screening at the LA Film Festival is Sunday, June 21. Several of you have already bought tickets. Here we go again.
Added some stills from my first film Johnny Suede in the Photo section above.
May 27.09. Still workin’ away. Little trims and adjustments to go with Johnny’s different timings and inflections. We’ve been accepted to the LA Film Festival which is coming up fast–mid-June. Looks like we’re going.
New post, number two in the Whacked But Fact series. This one’s called CHRONIC. See why.
May 20, 2009. Johnny Depp has recorded his narration. It sounds fantastic. He brings something very personal to the film. We are in the process now of cutting it into the picture. At least a week’s worth of work before it is all put together.
A new page was added, SOUNDS, which I’m guessing will have to do with stuff you can listen to. First up is a radio interview I did recently that covers many things including details about the making of my films, working with actors, casting Brad Pitt, working with Steve Buscemi, writing, music, The Doors and the joys of distribution.
May 16, 2009. New blog post ROLL MODEL, about how to keep from killing someone when you’re directing your film.
May 10, 2009. “Sabotage”–1st in a new series called WHACKED BUT FACT. The posts will come as I remember them. They are all true except for the stuff I made up and even that is true. Of course names have been changed because as we all know people are very sensitive and a lot of lawyers are looking for work these days.