Fortunately for the jaded viewer, this documentary is anything but mainstream. It's patchwork visual style uses 16mm, pixelvision, and stock footage to match the tone of each band’s music. Baldwin's subjects speak about the emergence of an "electronic folk culture" and joke about the hypocrisy of mainstream media. Sonic Outlaws is a lighthearted look at a controversial subject and is accessible to the average viewer. Short films by other media “collage artists” appear after the credits.

Baldwin runs an independent distribution label called "Other Cinema". Sonic Outlaws and his other films can be purchased on the Other Cinema website.

Disclosure: I attended one of Baldwin's "found movie" workshops in 2008

The first half hour almost seems like a prequel to the rest of the film. It has a small scale and a comedic sensibility that is barely present during the rest of the movie.

The real movie begins when Juan and his family arrive in Mesa Verde. The full scale of the Mexican Revolution begins to affect him the moment he steps out of the train. Like many revolutionaries, he is given a role that he doesn't feel he deserves. John, a veteran of the Irish Revolution, knows better.

The epic nature of the revolution portrayed in "Duck You Sucker", is often large enough to dwarf the story of friendship that serves as the film's common thread.

It is often said that good art should make the viewer uncomfortable. This was especially true during sequences where civilians were herded against walls or into trenches and murdered by firing squads. Without these scenes, the dramatic performances would appear overblown.

"Duck You Sucker" was Leone's last and most ambitious Western. It contains enough material for two movies, but every scene is necessary to tell the story.

This 3D movie, much like Avatar, was dominated by bright lights and pretty colors. It could have been an excellent movie if the plot had received as much attention as the special effects.

Movies like Tron: Legacy often leave me wondering about what could have been. Upon returning home, I decided to write about the themes that the movie attempted to use.

What follows are my ruminations on Tron: Legacy, written around 3am on December 17th.

---------------------

What kind of world would Steve Jobs make if he could transport himself into a computer? 

I suspect that Job's computer world would be a sanitized version of our world, the perfect merger of form and function. Living in his world would be like living in an Apple store.

Flynn was the Steve Jobs of his particular world, only with bigger toys. He played God until he realized that there were consequences. By that time, it was too late.

Maniacs in pursuit of perfection have done horrible things. So have those attempting to play God. The flawed digital world of Tron: Legacy is no different.

The pursuit of absolute perfection only ends in madness. Inherently flawed beings cannot create perfect systems or programs. Their flaws will always be built into their creations.

On the other side of the coin, human beings are capable of creating beautiful things. That beauty often arises from the chaos embedded within us.

Van Gogh's Starry Night

Tron: Legacy's story contains elements of Greek tragedy. The cast of characters includes a good son, a bad son, a flawed father, and a naive orphan.

Secondary characters include an untrustworthy jester and spandex clad sirens.

We know these characters because their archetypes have been used in storytelling for centuries, though without the spandex. The actors in Tron Legacy do a terrific job of breathing humanity into characters that are walking pieces of software.

Elements of Gnosticism also appear in this story. A good deity and an evil deity battle for control of a world that has fallen into disrepair and violence. Programs in this computer world do scream in agony and can become disfigured.

In Gnosticism, the good deity is unable to communicate with his creations while the bad deity controls their everyday lives. Every once in while the good deity slips a message though to its creations.

The original Tron was a commentary on the centralized server approach to computing that was prevalent in the early 1980's. This Tron is a commentary on open source software vs. walled gardens.

Should we spend our digital lives in walled gardens, insulated from imperfections?

Or should we spend our digital lives in open spaces where imperfection is allowed?

The digitization of our world is happening rapidly. Yesterday's science fiction has become today's reality. The online world is beginning to drive the offline world in unpredictable ways.

To put in another way, the digital toothpaste is out of the tube and it's impossible to put back in.

As we embrace these new changes, we shouldn't forget who we are. The moment we do, the consequences will be disastrous.

End of line.

3 Women is an experimental movie based on a dream (Altman, 2004). As such, it is open to multiple interpretations. This essay will attempt to show that 3 Women is an artistic work by describing the feel of the movie, the technique used to create the film, and its separation from story driven films. One possible interpretation of the film will be presented.

The opening shots are composed of slow dissolves and extreme close-ups of young maidens attending to old men and women at Desert Springs. This geriatric spa introduces the elements of water and loneliness to 3 Women. Secondary characters in Desert Springs are either bland or two-dimensional. They exclude Millie (Shelley Duvall) and Pinky (Sissy Spacek) from the workplace social scene and ridicule them.

The Purple Sage Apartments is the second of 3 Women’s settings. The apartments are built around a large pool, which contains one of the three reptilian frescoes used throughout the movie. These frescoes, painted by Willie (Janice Rule), represent the struggle for identity shared by the three women. The pool is used as a gathering place for the Purple Sage residents, who also exclude Millie and Pinky. Their ridicule of Millie is a cruel rebuttal to her attempts at gaining their acceptance.

The only place the two main characters are accepted is Dodge City, a saloon/racetrack/shooting range owned by Edgar and Willie. Dodge City is the only one of the three settings that does not contain water. It is here that Edgar (Robert Fortier), the only male main character, is introduced. His character is a feminist’s worst nightmare. He swaggers drunkenly through the film, womanizing both Millie and Pinky and abandoning Willie during labor. (Ebert, 2004) He is represented on Willie’s frescoes as the lone oppressive male.

The second half of the movie begins after Pinky falls into the pool. The heavy symbolism of the pool sequence implies a birth, rather than a death. Roger Ebert describes this scene as a “tear in the structure of the film”. (Ebert, 2004) The pool scene has an emotional, rather than logical, impact on the viewer. It is best described through shot by shot analysis.

The camera shows a pregnant belly on the pool fresco. It cuts to a reflection of Pinky falling upwards toward the surface of the pool and crashing into it. The water explodes as she breaches its surface. In the last shot, Pinky is floating facedown, as if dead. Her position and the blue lighting imply that the birth is stillborn. The Mother, Willie, and one of the apartment males wade into the pool to deliver her to the outside world.

After her rebirth through this near-death experience, Pinky is a changed person. No longer introverted and childish, she is outgoing and flirtatious. She pushes Millie from her role as Maiden and exerts her sexuality on the males at the Purple Sage and Dodge City. Confused and humiliated by her loss of identity, Millie withdraws into herself. The banal façade of the first half falls away into a string of dreamlike scenes that lead to the film’s finale.

As the ending nears, she gradually takes on the role of Mother. When Willie becomes the Crone, after the stillbirth scene, Millie’s transformation is complete. Having claimed identities and independence from Edgar, the three women form a family unit and move into Edgar’s house. Their family unit is as barren as the arid landscape around them. It has no men, and therefore no children or future will be produced. The final shot is of a pile of discarded tires, which Altman jokingly refers to as Edgar’s grave (Altman, 2004).

3 Women does not resemble a typical Altman film. Shots are understated during the first half of the film, which is concerned with banality and un-fulfillment (Kolker, 1988). Active zoom shots are slow or barely noticeable. Long pans accentuate the dreariness of Desert Springs and long shots are used to accentuate Millie’s confusion. Overlapping audio, Altman’s signature technique, is used sparingly. Altman uses mirrors and expressionistic framing techniques to reduce or split his medium and close-up shots.

3 Women is an unusual, interpretive film that premiered in a year that would define the blockbuster era. Experimentation, and Robert Altman, would soon be pushed out of mainstream American cinema (Sterritt, 2004). Altman’s 3 Women won awards from the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, L.A. Film Critics Association, and New York Film Critics Circle (Allmovie.com). It currently stands as one of Altman’s most unique works and is being rediscovered by modern audiences.

Bibliography

1. Altman, Robert commentary. 3 Women. Dir Robert Altman, produced by Scott Bushnell. Perf. Shelly Duvall and Sissy Spacek. 1977. Criterion Collection, 2004

2. Ebert, Roger

3 Women, 2004

Chicago Sun-Times, c2004

Reprinted on rogerebert.com

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040926/REVIEWS08/409260302/1023 

3. Kolker, Robert Phillip

A Cinema Of Loneliness: Second Edition, 1988

[Oxford, N.Y.]: Oxford University Press, c1988 (pages 372-378)

4. Sterritt, David

3 Women, 2004

Reprinted by the authors permission on Criterion.com

http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=230&eid=347&section=essay

5. “3 Women”

Allmovie.com, 3 Women: Awards Tab

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:113641~T4

CKL: The writer, Ian Smith, was actually in several different bands growing up. He took all of these true stories that happened to him and his band mates. He wanted to do a true story about a working man’s band and some of the real life events that happened while still keeping it a comedy.

OP: Which scenes in Monday Night Gig were based on real events?

CKL: A lot of them are exaggerated. Scenes of the lead singer getting shocked by the microphone in the recording studio and the band getting reviewed by a Danish paper were true. Scenes where the band crashed with crazy tweaker people and ran out of money during a tour were exaggerated. Monday Night Gig is about 50% fiction and the true stories were blown out of proportion.

OP: What was your job on Monday Night Gig?

CKL: I was the Producer, which means that I did everything. Being a Producer is like being a Project Manager for an office. Producers have a lot to do with the creative side and the business side. They have to merge the two. Since this was a low budget film, I had to get as much as I could for nothing. I also needed a good solid crew that would be there for nothing. I interviewed people, some of whom I had worked with and others that I had never worked with. Part of the job is reading people and I wanted them to really want to be there. I would rather have someone with less experience who cares about the project than someone who just wants experience and doesn’t care about the project. That kind of person wont give you their all.

OP: So you didn’t want someone who just there for a paycheck?

CKL: Well, there was no pay. Someone people will come onto a project like MNG just for a credit or because they think its fun. I worked with that same crew on two other films right after MNG.

OP: Which films?

CKL: Damaged Goods that Dave Walker Produced and I co-Produced. The other movie was called The Heater. I just did location on that one. We had the same D.P., Todd Freeman, for all three movies.

OP: What were some of the challenges that you faced during the production of MNG?

CKL: The worst one, which I thought was actually going to be the easiest, was getting access to a Cable Access studio. We have so many great Cable Access channels and shows in the Portland area, that I thought it would be really simple. Without them ever reading the script and with me sending them an email or a phone call with only one or two lines (of dialogue) in it, they were really hesitant that we were going to make fun of them. We weren’t making fun of cable access but we were making fun of some cable access hosts. I was scrambling and I think we got the location the day before filming. Another challenge was during the filming of the van breakdown scene. You should always check when you do locations in Hillsboro because the Hillsboro Air Show can cause problems.

OP: What kind of jobs do you usually do?

CKL: I almost only Produce. I have no training. I almost always have a day job that has nothing to do with film. I don’t usually get paid. I find films or films find me that I really like doing. I started off with Sexy Chef and the Smith brothers.

OP: You started with Sexy Chef?

CKL: The Smith brothers didn’t know what kind of film that they wanted to make. When they decided that it was going to be a narrative instead of a documentary, I said I wanted to be the Producer. However, I didn’t know 100% of the time about what a Producer did. They said “No, no, we’ll find something for you”. I said, “You guys are way too quiet and you need a guy that can be the face (of the production), get a lot of crap done, and be the bad guy if necessary.” I rarely ever have to be the bad guy. You have to cold call and cold email people and say “Hey, you don’t know me but here’s some stuff I’ve got and I want to shoot at your establishment. What’s it going to take?”

OP: How do you secure a location?

CKL: I would walk around, email people, and introduce myself. I would get a lot of crap for nothing. It takes a little bit of finesse and organization. I’m also very up front. We have a location agreement that says if we break anything, we pay for it and if anyone gets hurt it's our responsibility. A location agreement is great because it shows that we’re serious and that (the production) does more for the location owner than it does for us. I think that a lot of people have gotten locations for nothing but they burn them because they don’t take care of the place or do anything with their project. When we can, we always go back and give them copies of the movie. I also offer them roles in the film.

OP: What kind of budget did you have for MNG?

CKL: Monday Night Gig was about $4000-$5000 dollars. Almost half of it went just to food. Everyone donated their time and the rest went for film equipment. We got a lot of the stuff for free. Our D.P. had his own camera and we bought him some equipment. We also had to buy clothes and a van.

OP: Did you or the Smith brothers have to max out your credit cards to pay for either movie?

CKL: Sexy Chef was more expensive than MNG only because we didn’t have a camera. We bought an XL-1 outright and paid it off by doing industrial gigs. When we did MNG it was cheaper because got people who watched Sexy Chef to volunteer and we got a DP who owned his own camera.

OP: So MNG was a two-camera movie that was made for less than Sexy Chef, which was a one-camera movie?

CKL: That was because they bought the camera outright. As Kelly Baker says in the Angry Filmmaker Survival Guide, try not to buy equipment because as soon as you buy it, it’s obsolete. I always try to find people who have their own equipment.

OP: I’ve considered shooting future projects on a digital SLR. It would be easier to capture press kit photos.

CKL: That’s what we did on Reception, which is a new short that I did with Vincent Caldoni. It just premiered at Northwest Film & Video. We shot it on the Canon 5D. We did the sound on a deck. I’ve run sound through a camera and I’m trying to avoid doing that anymore in the future. We’re limited in movement on it, but we can take photos and get some really good HD quality stuff on it. Even if you didn’t want to shoot video with it, you can use an SLR for stills and prints for the rest of your life.

OP: How important is it to have food on set?

CKL: If you’re going to ask people to be there and not get paid, you’ve got to make sure that no matter what, that people are fed constantly. Anytime someone wants to take a break or wants something to eat, you have to make sure there is something there. There was always food as long as we were filming. Every meal was a hot meal and nobody complained once.

OP: Do other productions prioritize food in the same way?

CKL: I’ve gone to other peoples sets that have more money for production than I’ve had and had nothing out there for people. That really surprised me. I saw one production years ago that rented out Oaks Park and didn’t provide free coffee. The actors had to pay for a Starbucks run on their own.

OP: What other aspects of filmmaking do you place a high priority on?

CKL: The two most important things you can do are preproduction and feeding your cast and crew. When people skip pre-production, it amazes me. A lot of low budget indie films don’t have producers. The filmmaker ends up doing everything. Which is a mistake. Everybody ends up doing multiple jobs but you get other people in there to handle tasks like getting people to set on time and securing cables. When directors try to do everything, it shows in their product. When people watch Sexy Chef, they can’t believe it was our first movie. When you start doing a movie, I recommend starting with a short.

OP: How much of a difference does pre-production make?

CKL: If we do all of our jobs right in pre-production, I don’t have to worry about the day-to-day stuff. I just have to be there to make sure that things run smoothly. When something else goes wrong (and it always does) I’ll have the time to take care of it without being pulled in five different directions. I don’t have to worry about what’s going on right now or three days from now, because that’s all taken care of. That really helped when I had to take care of the cable access location.
OP: What kind of distribution plan did you have for Monday Night Gig?

CKL: One of the mistakes that we did do with MNG was not having a distribution plan ahead of time. If you don’t have somebody noticeable in it, it’s still hard to get distribution. Even if you have a plan ahead of time. We had an offer or two for nothing up front and there was no point in it. We did some promotion ourselves. The Smith brothers were going to serialize the whole thing online and that kind of dropped. Sexy Chef had such a strong impact that they hoped Monday Night Gig would be the same way.

OP: What kind of impact did Sexy Chef have?

CKL: Sexy Chef went to festivals and it still got requests for screenings a year or two later. Where it never made back its money we did some independent screenings in Oakland and other places. It got out there.

I always thought Sexy Chef had the greater potential to get distribution. It’s weaker visually than MNG, but the story is so endearing that I thought it would go further.

OP: What was Monday Night Gig’s impact?

CKL: MNG took a little longer to make an impact. When we first showed it, I believe we had a different edit and I didn’t feel like that edit is as good as it could have been. I was able to talk to the brothers and get them to edit it down a little bit. I’m happier with the edit now than when we first showed it. It think by that time, enough time had progressed for it to languish. It (distribution) is really tough and you have to strike while the iron is hot.

OP: What was the audience reaction to Monday Night Gig?

CKL: The audience reaction kind of varied. Bands really loved it from the get-go. People that knew Sexy Chef ahead of time liked it but didn’t like it as much as Sexy Chef. I think that’s because it’s a little darker and heavier. When do an independent film for no money, you have to have some subtext. There’s still hope at the end, but it’s a little darker. The reaction has been good, but not as good as the reaction to Sexy Chef. That movie did really well at universities. People still ask me about it.

OP: How did you cast the actors?

CKL: There were certain people that we knew we wanted to work with. We learned a lot from doing Sexy Chef. We had an office set up and had people come out to read for us. With MNG, we did the same thing but with even more readings because we really wanted to have the right people. We had an open casting and we also had people that we knew come out to read. Some people, such as the guy who played the bassist (K. Adithya Ashok), hadn’t acted before. We got him through Craigslist. We had Todd Robinson, who played Tank in Sexy Chef, as the casting director. It was great because he knew a lot of actors. We filmed readings and he would read with them. He would schedule them so everyone got a fair chance. Some of the time, we ended up going with our third choices. Almost all of it was open auditions.

OP: Which parts were hardest to cast?

CKL: We were having the worst time casting the part of Christian. We were casting that role the longest. I kept Neil’s name in the running only because I had seen him in another film and we knew he had the capability. We kept him in there for either the Christian or Tom 1 parts. It was down to him and one or two other people. He had all the things that we wanted. He was somebody that you believed was in this sort of thing and drove them along. Seneca Relich, who got the part of Tom 2, was our third choice. Our first choice was an actor who had been in Stand By Me. He was good but he didn’t want to make the commitment. I think Seneca did a really great job. The original Grace that we had was also through auditions. She reread the script and wasn’t into it. I was okay with her decision because she would have never given me what she wanted from it. Casting was much more intricate for MNG than it was on Sexy Chef. We really liked Ina Strauss, who ended up playing Grace, but she couldn’t make it to the callbacks. Our D.P., Todd Freeman had worked with her on his second feature, Two Fisted, and was convinced that she would be good for the role. She accepted the role but did not get to rehearse with the other actors, did not even meet the rest of the cast and crew or talk to the director again until the first day of filming.

OP: How did you cast Tom 1, the crazy guitarist?

CKL: Aaron Babb, who played Tom 1, was our script supervisor on Sexy Chef. He there every day of filming, so we had him read for a couple of different parts. Aaron’s not an actor but he stays in character. His auditions are some of our favorite things. I don’t think we put them on the DVD, but he would be in character in the background of an audition with four actors. During filming he would stay in character even when he was not the focus of a scene. He was very professional even though he didn’t have training. That’s the kind of professionalism that you want from your cast or crew.  When our D.P. did “Come Hell or Highwater”, he had Aaron come out and play another because he liked him so much on Sexy Chef and Monday Night Gig.

OP: So if an actor does well in one movie, could they be a shoe-in for something else later on?

CKL: I’ve done that many times. I’ve done a couple of small things where I didn’t do any casting. I just call people I know and tell them “I want you for this.”

OP: How do you feel about taping auditions?

CKL: It’s good to go back and review the audition tapes. What you see in person or what you see on tape plays out differently. For some actors, the taped performance comes off as tinny or too forced. Some people come off better on the audition tape than they did in person.

OP: How many takes did the director usually do?

CKL: We had a pretty good pace. We shot in about 16-18 days. The number of takes depended on how the scene went. Ian wrote a tight script. Todd Robinson was the first A.D. and kept everything running smooth. We kept Ty insulated so that he was able to work with the actors. He didn’t need much work from there because they were ready to go. Our D.P. Todd Freeman was able to do lighting setups pretty quickly so we could spend more time shooting. He was ready sometimes before makeup. We always did 2 or 3 takes. Sometimes we were limited by the number of props but we never had to do 18 takes.

OP: What sources of funding did the Smith brother’s get to do the movie?

CKL: The Smith brothers are comic book guys. Ian’s a writer and Ty illustrates. For the movies, Ian did the writing and Ty did the directing. They had saved up money from their comic books. They didn’t need much for Monday Night Gig, but they had set it aside. When we did Cathedral Park, the money was gifted. It’s amazing how kind people can be. I know how to use the money very well. I try as much I can on screen for nothing.

OP: Where there any pre-production issues that had to get resolved?

CKL: We were able to do more pre-production on MNG in less time because we knew what we were doing. We had regular meetings and art and production departments. Ian was able to get the practice space from a real band.

OP: Did you have a good working relationship with the Smith brothers?

CKL: I really liked working with the Smith brothers and I really want to work on another film with them because the productions go so well. I’ve worked on several different projects with several different filmmakers but those projects (MNG and Sexy Chef) have been my favorites because of how things were run. I’m really organized and they are really organized and we all get together and move forward while focusing on different things.

OP: Were there any other Smith movies after these two?

CKL: No, just those two. Ty Smith ended up being a producer and editing a great documentary called “Andrus: The Man, the Mind & the Magic”. That movie and Ilana Sol’s “On Paper Wings” were two of the best documentaries I saw last year. I’d recommend those two movies to anybody at any time. Ian and I have talked about a series of shorts featuring Mike Buda, the crazy guy from Sexy Chef. I’d like to get them to do a high production short based on their comic book characters.

OP: Are there a lot of places in Portland that will let you screen movies?

CKL: We’re in luck that we’re in one of the cities that probably has the most independent theaters. Per capita it’s probably more than any other city. We have a lot of independent theaters that are really supportive of local film. Most of the time you have to rent out a theater when you do a local screening. Sometimes we did a deal when we split the door (ticket revenue) with the theater. The majority of the films I’ve produced have played in more than one town at more than one theater. Cathedral Park probably played more than any of the other ones. It was at the Living Room Theater for three weeks.

OP: I haven’t had a chance to see it yet.

CKL: Maybe you can do that one in a future issue. That one and Damaged Goods. I directed a behind the scenes documentary for Damaged Goods called “Fractured Filmmaking”. I’m not a big behind the scenes guy but I’m totally proud of it.

OP: How would you define a good behind the scenes documentary?

CKL: I like it when behind the scene documentaries are entertaining, informative, and make sense for the film. It’s gotta be fun, entertaining, and you have to learn something from the project.

OP: How do you feel about screenings?

CKL: Every time somebody shows a film I produced, I’m happy. That’s people seeing it that would have never seen it before. Everybody wants to become the next Kevin Smith, Spike Lee, or Tarantino. It’s not that easy. Nowadays with inexpensive technology, even more people are trying to do that. Every time I watch a film I produced with an audience, I get a kick out of it. I usually have it timed really well. Comedies are the best ones and I try to walk in on certain scenes to see where they laugh. Drama is a little harder to watch with an audience because they’re too damn quiet. I’ve had screenings where I didn’t know anybody in the audience. The most interesting screenings are the ones where you don’t know anyone in the audience and you get to see their reactions. It’s phenomenal.

OP: How long did it take to complete Sexy Chef?

CKL: It took 3 years to do Sexy Chef. Shooting was done in 1999. Post was done at the end of Summer 2002. We immediately got into a couple of festivals out of state. When the Longbaugh festival started, we got into that. We were the opening night screening at the main auditorium at the Hollywood Theater. It was really crowded and we played Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I was too antsy to see it on Friday. On Saturday it was standing room only and I didn’t know anyone. There were students who read it about it online and came out. When we did the DVD release a year later, we also got a really good turnout.

OP: What was the overall message of Monday Night Gig?

CKL: The overall message is pursue your dreams but pursue them realistically. Don’t pursue them at the sacrifice of all else in your life. Go for them but think about the repercussions. That works as a metaphor for filmmaking. Go for the best film you can make for absolutely nothing.

OP: You’ve produced several films. Do you have any advice for new filmmakers?

CKL: I love these first time filmmakers that come up to me and say, “My film is going to premier at Sundance”. And I have a harem at home with sushi in one hand and beer in the other. That kind of thinking is only going to get you so far. I’d rather somebody just did something and then showed me. Don’t talk more than what you are. Do the best film you can do and do it because you want to do it.

I want to be successful doing film, but if I’m not I’m ready to walk away. I’ve given it a good try and I’ve gotten a lot of films out there.

Don’t be one of those people who is 70 and says “I never made a film but I always wanted to make a film.” At least try it, but don’t give up on living your day-to-day life if you can.

OP: Where do you see your film career going?

CKL: 2010 might be my last year for filmmaking. I’ve had a good run. I’ve already produced five or six features. I’ve got 2 or 3 that I’m trying to get shot this year. I’d like to settle down, have a family, and be able to support them. I can’t do that with my day job and film on the side.

Right now I already have three projects that we’re trying to raise money for. I’ve got one with a grant that we’re trying to raise a little bit more for. I’ve got one with financing that we’re going to shoot next month. I’ve got some shorts that I’m going to write and direct myself. It’s a lot to do in the next 12 months.

OP: You’ve been on the road lately. Do you have any good festival stories?

CKL: I was at a film festival in Wisconsin earlier this year and a young kid asked me “What is the most important thing that a potential filmmaker should know?” I thought about it for a second and I told him that he should be a B.S. detector. Learn how to read people. It doesn’t matter if you end up as an actor, director, or crew person. Everyone is going to tell you that everything is great and wonderful and that your film is going to be the best film ever. Learn to tell when people are sincere or not sincere.

OP: Any other advice for aspiring filmmakers?

CKL: Always treat people like you would want to be treated. You’re a struggling filmmaker. When somebody shows your film, be thankful and work with them and not against them. I’ve met filmmakers who rented out the theater and showed up 10 minutes before the screening. I’m there at least 2 hours ahead of time. Sometimes I go to the venue a week in advance. You have to take care of everything and have to build a good rapport with the theater owner.