stress eating cashews

the [daily] hustle of a producer

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one week until principal photography. 

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i'll take care of you

i used to preach about how Drake's version of this song was just a remix of a remix (by jamie xx) of a beautiful song by the incredible soul + jazz musician Gil Scot Heron, but turns out i was wrong. the original track, which has now been done over + over again (from O.V. Wright to Elvis Costello) was recorded by Memphis musician Bobby Blue Bland in 1959 + released by duke records. this may be my favorite version yet. 

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dogs, homemade map, + a selfie. closing in on the second full week in Memphis. 

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this may or may not be on repeat in the "office." even jb has given it the stamp of approval. 

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a wednesday night at The Crystal Palace

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lunch at the gay hawk, memphis, tn

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okay okay! day one memphis.

a bit of a delay getting here after missed connecting flights + an unexpected overnight at a DC/VA Hampton Inn, but i made it! today consisted of getting right into street casting, a visit to an epic beauty/wig shop in south memphis, sitting in a passenger van for an hour listening to a woman's incredible life story, + a quick tour of the city. so far, it reminds me a ton of baltimore. it's nice to feel there are some familiarities but i have no doubt that i'm about to understand all of its differences. 

  (cashew consumption has definitely already occurred, but not due to stress)

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stand clear gems

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"Weekend Away" screened last night at Videology in Williamsburg to a room full of friends, family, crew members, + cast. The film, while having received great feedback from many, hasn't found its festival premiere yet, which is a super frustrating feeling. The short looks great, sounds good, is the right amount of comprehensive + mysterious, but no one has bitten! Obviously I am quite biased, but the festival circuit process makes me wonder about how much power we put in the hands of festival programmers. These are the people + festivals that we allow to become the tastemakers after all!  

But, I was always taught to be patient + that each film finds its home.

"Weekend Away" will too, + if not, maybe we'll just make it accesible to everyone so all can enjoy!

Weekend Away

Director: Michael Lavine

Cinematographer: Mark Schwartzbard

Starring: Sophia Takal, Grant Harrison, Ashlie Atkinson, Rae C Wright

Art Directors: Alex Egan, Olivia Peebles

Wardrobe Stylist: Jami Villers

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The 2013 Tribeca Film Fest lineup was announced last week, and I am ecstatic to say that the film I co-produced in the fall is among some other great films in competition.

It's extremely fitting that Stand Clear of the Closing Doors is premiering in New York, where not only the film takes place, but where Hurricane Sandy hit us hard - temporarily shutting down the whole production. We were four days away from finishing about a month of filming when Sandy hit. on Sunday, October 28th we rode the subway, filming along the way, until it shut down and dropped us back at our home, which was Rockaway Beach, Queens. We ran out to the boardwalk to watch these mammoth waves crash in the moonlight, and tried to take pictures. We went back to our house, packed our cars with all our belongings, and drove back to Brooklyn and Manhattan to wait out the storm. 

The next time we would next go back to Rockaway Beach it would be to help in the relief effort. Our house was now headquarters for Occupy Sandy, and the last thing most were thinking about was the movie. Of course the resilient team finished, editing the storm into the film, and creating a truly beautiful last look at Rockaway as it was. 

standclearclosingdoors.com

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this is what it looks like when your director tells you your film was awarded a major grant + is fully funded. and this is what a killer NYT review by Manohla Dargis for his first film looks like: http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/movies/pavilion-directed-by-tim-sutton.html. Tim Sutton's first feature film, Pavilion, premieres today in New York City + Chicago. for showtimes + theatres click here. support a beautiful, dreamscape of a film.

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worked on this with Ghost Robot, Alex Christenson, + Charles Philipp. solidifying further that music videos remain completely rad to produce - short + sweet.

While We're in Love by Viceroy ft. Ghost Beach. 

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valentine's day on set

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took a day off last week to shoot a short improv video/film with friends. no money, in a construction site, skeleton narrative, total fun.

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by mack closmore.

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PA: Enjoy the cookie for being so sweet. Not from PC I promise. xoxo Me: Thanks! It was delicious PA: Me or the cookie can’t tell

A [male] PA I had never met before and did not know brought me a cookie at the end of a long prep day. He then sent the above texts.

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this is what pizza in Missouri looks like