When does it get fun again? A short rant on not being an artiste.

To the supporters of my film, The Folks Behind the Funnies, I'd like to thank you for continuing to believe in the project and standing by me. Several of my biggest supporters are those artists who were actually in my film and who I had the great honor of interviewing.

Here's a bit of insight in to the filmmaker process and my bad excuse for not having this thing on Kickstarter sooner...as threatened. With anyone who is interested, we usually like to talk about our subject matter and perhaps the artistic process (I don't fall in the latter if I can help it).  This is what keeps us motivated, believe it or not, because like a lot of artistic endeavors, film making can be a lonely process.  If others are not jazzed (can I still use that word?) about our project, we lose interest too, especially if we have other projects in the works .We need fresh ideas and feedback, even if we think we have it all locked up.

Here's the truth.  Most of film making is about planning and fundraising...not fun for most.
 If you're an independent filmmaker, you generally don't have a marketing department, so while you long to get in to your creative process and not lose your groove, you have to find your patrons first and that takes time.  That said, to my patrons, connectors or just anyone in to me and/or my film...please keep my fire burning.  That's all for now. 

Girl's Day Off

Today was an unabashed girl day. Yep, I said I would blog about this too, but don't give me grief about the "girl" word.  I know I'm a woman, but I like to stay in touch with my inner girl as much as possible, which means being playful and having no particular agenda sometimes. Men, I recommend that you try this too and get in touch with you inner boy, but don't tease the girls OK? 

Any who, being creative is important, no matter what you do in life. Getting there means letting the uncensored, real you wander around, explore and not worry about anything in particular. Seriously, just have an unapologetic I'm-not-going-to-accomplish anything day and be totally OK with it.  And by the way, don't wait to go on vacation, because if you're like me, you'll be waiting for a long time.  When the little nagging voice starts getting on your case about something you think you have to do, just tell it to take a hike.  Remember, you are in charge, not your mother. You will have to revert back to the adult for a moment to do that part, but then just go on being whatever age pleases you.

So why have these non-structured days of doing nothing in particular?  Notice I didn't say unproductive, because it might turn out productive in surprising ways.  One, you need it for your sanity, and two (and here's the Oprah aha moment), you get your best thoughts and ideas sometimes when you brain goes off the grid.  Sometimes you can even get an epiphany.  Note to parents: please please stop with the "play dates".  They will play whenever they damn feel like it, so don't bother.

I'm a kind of mystical believer (or whatever you want to call it) in letting life just happen once in a while and then sitting back and seeing if you recognize some patterns that the universe it trying to throw in your general direction.  Hey, my non-structuredness is not random!

 In the last 48 hours (OK it was two days), I've watched two movies about gals reclaiming their power.  One was called "Millie" from 1931.  This was in the pre-Hayes Code era of Hollywood, which meant that women drank, smoked, had unmarried sex and acted independently. When you realize that this was your grandmother's era, it kind of blows your mind. The clothes were to die for too.  I also watched "Big Eyes" which is up for Best Picture and was better than I expected. 

 I read some of the book Outlander, which has been out for a while but on my meaning-to-read list. This is like Scottish Highlands romance, time-travel soft porn so far.  Let's see, I also experimented with washing my hair with Club Soda (ooh fluffy) and making gluten-free cookies. I snuggled with Bella the Boston Bull Terrier who I'm taking care of, along with crazy Ozzie.  Bella is a dog-doll and is beyond cute.  I will report back on any great epiphanies, but for now, I'm OK with lolling around in girl land.  

PS.  True confession - In my 20s, I wrote stories for magazines called True Romance, True Confession etc.   How girl can you get?

Something about Sari: Inside the Documentary, The Folks Behind the Funni...

Something about Sari: Inside the Documentary, The Folks Behind the Funni...: Hello fans of comic strips.  As many of you might know, I am getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to finish m...

Inside the Documentary, The Folks Behind the Funnies

Hello fans of comic strips.  As many of you might know, I am getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to finish my film The Folks Behind the Funnies.  It is beautifully shot and now needs post-production.  Please join us on Facebook where you can see clips and the trailer!


If you have ever wondered who is behind some of the most famous comic strips (we're talking Beetle Bailey, Dilbert, Dennis The Menace, For Better or For Worse, Rhymes with Orange, Bizarro, Hagar the Horrible and many more)....they're all here, giving us great insight in to what makes them tick.

Even better, they talk about each others strips, current and in the way-back-comic page-machine.  For example, have you ever seen the old classic comic strip called  Krazy Kat ? It was a totally cool and post-modern strip that was set against the desert plateaus of Arizona, which ran from 1913 to1944.  Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the tremendously popular and adorable strip Mutts has always been a huge fan of George Herriman's work.  You might see some similarities in their styles. 

Here's another insider bit about the film.  Many of the cartoonists in the film were true friends of the late, great Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts.  Stories of their friendships are recalled and are incredibly moving.  "Sparky" as he was affectionately called (after a character in the old strip Barney Google) was a mentor to so many artists.  We follow the artists to the The Charles M. Schulz in Santa Rosa, to pay homage to a great man. 

If you are not a comic strip reader, you may become one after getting a glimpse at the people who have had their fingers on the pulse of what makes us chuckle and nod with recognition every day.   Now let's hear from you.

Sari

 

The Interview takes comedy to a weird and wacky place

In the unlikely event that Sony had actually planned the hacking story as a big publicity stunt, it worked like a charm on me and apparently the thousands of other VOD movie viewers, who had to take a look at what was causing all the excitement.

Seth Rogen and Co-Director Evan Goldberg could not have asked for a better publicity vehicle when Sony yanked the picture from a large-scale Christmas day opening, in response to North Korea's extreme (and partially successful) attempt at keeping Kim Jong-Un safe from comedic assassination.  While Rogen is not generally my go-to movie motivator, I was curious as all get-out if The Interview lived up to the brouhaha.

As a comedy, it certainly hits its mark in the weird-is-funny category and not just in its far fetched premise. Rogen plays Aaron Rapaport, tabloid TV producer to excitable talk-show host Dave Skylark (James Franco). Franco plays Skylark in a hilarious no-holds-bar approach to anything for the "dirt". Rogen is a great straight-man to Franco's goofy take on talk shows' earnest superficiality while interviewing celebrities.

Dave and Aaron can barely contain themselves when Dave gets the scoop on Eminem being gay and Rob Lowe's baldness confession. But Aaron longs for a show with more news heft, particularly after a run in with a smarmy 60 Minutes producer colleague, who gets his superior on at Aaron's expense.

In a twist of fate, Aaron scores an invitation and an interview with Kim Jong-Un, who is a fan of the cheesy Skylark show.  It all seems too good to be true for the talk show duo, until CIA agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) shows up at their door with the directive that while getting the exclusive in Pyongyang, they also assassinate the Supreme Leader.  From here, hijinks ensue as they venture out where few Westerners have gone before.

Rogen and Franco make a terrific comedy match.  Franco's screw ball antics and hilariously weird expressions play off Rogen's deadpan to humorous effect. I could dismiss the extended potty joke (does the dictator actually "pee and poop?") to find myself laughing at a high-stakes scene involving petrified Rogen (CIA code named Aardvark) taking remote direction from Skylark (Dung Beetle) to retrieve and conceal in his back-end a large capsule containing the assassination weapon. "Take it to the end zone Aardvark" directs Dung Beetle, as hapless Rogen is closed in by the enemy.  Yes, totally juvenile humor that manages to be incredibly funny slapstick.    +

The bro-mance between Skylark and Randall Park's excellent Kim Jung Un, is also a hoot as the dictator confesses his masculine insecurities involving Margaritas and Katy Perry, while playing basketball and showing off his recreation military tank. It's bits like this, where The Interview nails the humor with the all to possible love-hate relationship that we suspect Kim Jong-Un and his cronies might have with America and its popular culture.

Screenplay: Dan Sterling