Pinch me! I am so excited to tell you that SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS was accepted as 1 of 18 feature films by the International Documentary Association for its annual DOCUWEEKS Theatrical Showcase. By participating in DOCUWEEKS, our film will qualify for the Oscars!!!! press release
There have been so many details that I don't know where to start. We had a major snafu with our post house in NYC. First, they were too busy to help me convert my project to an HDCAM so I had to hunt for an AVID in Arizona. Turns out that no one in Phoenix had the right kind of editing machine that was compatible to what we used in NYC. So I had to find a post facility in Los Angeles. When the project was finally opened, it was apparent that my NYC post house didn't even copy all the files properly!!! .....so in the end I had to rebuild our project. Can you believe it???? I knew I had to redo the sound to make SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS acceptable to Academy standards, but I didn't anticipate having to re-cut the sound simply because original files were missing on the hard drive. It was a nightmare last week, running from Phoenix to LA but thank goodness LA post houses are open 24 hours and there are so many of them in LA that they were also very competitively priced. It all turned out well in the end and we are preparing the DCP process this coming week. (I've no idea what DCP exactly is or does to the picture, but the Academy requires it so it's getting done.) I'm omitting a 1000 details on the 24 hour/7 day process to get this done because I will bore you to tears and I'm wiped out from dealing with it myself. Thinking about it again makes me want to grab another beer. Anyone have an aspirin for this big headache of mine? :)
So what's next? The hard work is done and the IDA will now do their magic and screen SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS in both Los Angeles and New York City. After that I have forms to fill with the Academy and DVD screeners to send by September 1. There will be press and publicity details also. If you are in Los Angeles between July 31 and August 6, or in New York between August 7-13, come see SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS on the big screen!!! It's a great popcorn movie!
Here are the show times and theater details for SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS at DocuWeeks:
LOS ANGELES, July 31 - August 6:
ArcLight Hollywood
6360 W Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
Show times:
Fri 31-Jul 12:00 PM 5:40 PM
Sat 1-Aug 2:00 PM 7:50 PM
Sun 2-Aug 3:55 PM 9:45 PM
Mon 3-Aug 12:00 PM 5:40 PM
Tue 4-Aug 2:00 PM 7:50 PM
Wed 5-Aug 3:55 PM 9:45 PM
Thu 6-Aug 3:55 PM 9:45 PM
NEW YORK CITY, August 7-13:
IFC Center
323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street, New York NY
Show times:
Fri 7-Aug 2:55 PM 9:50 PM
Sat 8-Aug 12:00 PM 4:30 PM
Sun 9-Aug 1:30 PM 6:10 PM
Mon 10-Aug 2:55 PM 7:55 PM
Tue 11-Aug 12:00 PM 4:30 PM
Wed 12-Aug 1:30 PM 6:10 PM
Thu 13-Aug 2:55 PM 7:55 PM
Hope to see you at the movies!
Lee
Jun 12, 2009
Pulling Quotes from pullquote reviewing our doc!
Dear fans,
In case you didn't see this comment from a viewer of SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, I pulled a few quotes from pullquote for your reading pleasure. You can read the entire blog at http://pullquote.typepad.com/pullquote/2009/06/cant-stop-the-music-part-2.html.
"A confession: I went into this doc with only the vaguest notion of what Up With People (www.upwithpeople.org) was, aside from shorthand for clean-scrubbed, conservative, and insipid, and the hope it might shed some insight on a very popular organization that appeals to clean-scrubbed do-gooder youths where I teach, FCA [ask your Christian friends]. Smile 'Til It Hurts, with its mix of talking-head interviews and epically cheesy archival performance footage [the 1986 Super Bowl halftime show!], did much more than deliver the goods. What I discovered about the history of these singing and dancing "radical moderates" was equal parts fascinating and fuuuuucked up."
"Cynical capitalism may have supplanted ideology, but despite it all, the members really believed in the Up mission. And they were like missionaries at first, impressively integrated from the get-go with African-, Asian-, and Native-American members singing and dancing with gusto everywhere from Watts to Washington D.C. alongside bright-eyed white go-getters [like a very young Glenn Close]. Over time, Up With People moved from a missionary to a tuition-based model, and escalating costs resulted in less racial and economic diversity."
"By the early 80s, reports a queeny former cast member, Up With People was a preserve for closet cases. His account drips with scorn, but it's balanced by passionate testimonies from other members, including one African-American woman who tells an amazing story of a Southern tour stop during the Freedom Riders summer. Ultimately, what's remarkable and endless engrossing about Smile is how many of the participants who appear in the doc still cite their time in the troupe as not simply life-changing but positive."
"A final word of warning if you manage to see Smile [and you should]: Good luck getting those earnest, catchy, campy songs--"Which Way, America?" "What Color Is God's Skin?"-- out of your head."
If you see any blogs on Up With People, please let us know. Also, please be sure to let others know about SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS and follow our tweets: www.twitter.com/storeyvision.
Enjoy the weekend!
In case you didn't see this comment from a viewer of SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, I pulled a few quotes from pullquote for your reading pleasure. You can read the entire blog at http://pullquote.typepad.com/pullquote/2009/06/cant-stop-the-music-part-2.html.
"A confession: I went into this doc with only the vaguest notion of what Up With People (www.upwithpeople.org) was, aside from shorthand for clean-scrubbed, conservative, and insipid, and the hope it might shed some insight on a very popular organization that appeals to clean-scrubbed do-gooder youths where I teach, FCA [ask your Christian friends]. Smile 'Til It Hurts, with its mix of talking-head interviews and epically cheesy archival performance footage [the 1986 Super Bowl halftime show!], did much more than deliver the goods. What I discovered about the history of these singing and dancing "radical moderates" was equal parts fascinating and fuuuuucked up."
"Cynical capitalism may have supplanted ideology, but despite it all, the members really believed in the Up mission. And they were like missionaries at first, impressively integrated from the get-go with African-, Asian-, and Native-American members singing and dancing with gusto everywhere from Watts to Washington D.C. alongside bright-eyed white go-getters [like a very young Glenn Close]. Over time, Up With People moved from a missionary to a tuition-based model, and escalating costs resulted in less racial and economic diversity."
"By the early 80s, reports a queeny former cast member, Up With People was a preserve for closet cases. His account drips with scorn, but it's balanced by passionate testimonies from other members, including one African-American woman who tells an amazing story of a Southern tour stop during the Freedom Riders summer. Ultimately, what's remarkable and endless engrossing about Smile is how many of the participants who appear in the doc still cite their time in the troupe as not simply life-changing but positive."
"A final word of warning if you manage to see Smile [and you should]: Good luck getting those earnest, catchy, campy songs--"Which Way, America?" "What Color Is God's Skin?"-- out of your head."
If you see any blogs on Up With People, please let us know. Also, please be sure to let others know about SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS and follow our tweets: www.twitter.com/storeyvision.
Enjoy the weekend!
Jun 11, 2009
Been tweeting...
It's a shame that I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been busy tweeting---or figuring out how to tweet facts about Up With People and the making of SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS. Right now I have about 300 followers---which is great! If you are one of them, thank you! If not, you can sign up to follow from the blog page. The thing about tweeting is sending short messages and sending them more often. I think I've tweeted over 200 times by now. But I'm not sure how to get the word out about the film, either in Twitterland or here on the blog. We are still getting 1000s of hits per week on the website and I need to be more diligent in putting up content. For example, I've been promising to put up the Q&A from Slamdance, Florida and now NewFest but haven't done it yet (bad girl!). The trick is cutting the clips down to YouTube length while keeping the visual interest. It just takes time.....anyone got a few minutes to spare?? :)
The other activity has been working with our sales agent, Films Transit, on the next steps toward distribution. We've been focusing on film festivals. I get requests to apply to various festivals every week. Most I haven't heard of before, not because they aren't important festivals, but because I simply don't know the festival circuit. It takes time to coordinate the festival application and materials and "Without A Box" is a big help. I've no idea how to approach the requests made in foreign languages though. :) I'm really enjoying the festivals we've had the priviledge to attend and I hope that we get to participate in many more. The audiences love the SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS and seems to learn a great deal by it. I always get a kick out of being there and expieriencing the laughter, joy, heartbreak and intellectual reactions first hand.
My next blog.....on NewFest!
The other activity has been working with our sales agent, Films Transit, on the next steps toward distribution. We've been focusing on film festivals. I get requests to apply to various festivals every week. Most I haven't heard of before, not because they aren't important festivals, but because I simply don't know the festival circuit. It takes time to coordinate the festival application and materials and "Without A Box" is a big help. I've no idea how to approach the requests made in foreign languages though. :) I'm really enjoying the festivals we've had the priviledge to attend and I hope that we get to participate in many more. The audiences love the SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS and seems to learn a great deal by it. I always get a kick out of being there and expieriencing the laughter, joy, heartbreak and intellectual reactions first hand.
My next blog.....on NewFest!
May 17, 2009
Screening at NEWFEST in NYC June 5!
Hello everyone,
We are screening SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS in New York City at the NEWFEST film festival on Friday, June 5 at 8:15pm. Woohoo!
http://filmguide.newfest.org/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/Title/SS
If you are in New York City, come join us for a fun-filled night at:
C or E to 23rd Street and 8th Avenue
1 or 9 to 23rd Street and 7th Avenue
F to 23rd Street and 6th Avenue
For tickets, check out the NEWFEST website at:
http://filmguide.newfest.org/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/
Here's what they are saying at NEWFEST:
"The amazing true story of the singing phenomenon Up With People, a performing youth group formed by an ultra-conservative religious sect in answer to the 1960’s counter culture movement. This curious tale reveals how the Moral Re-Armament religious movement created this performing group made up of both multiple closeted performers as well as great talents including a young Glenn Close. Was Up With People an uplifting symbol of the power of positive thinking, or a propaganda tool for everyone from the Nixon administration to America’s biggest corporations?"
Come see for yourself and you can decide!
"Up With People---all that and more!"
We are screening SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS in New York City at the NEWFEST film festival on Friday, June 5 at 8:15pm. Woohoo!
http://filmguide.newfest.org/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/Title/SS
If you are in New York City, come join us for a fun-filled night at:
School of Visual Arts Theatre
333 West 23rd
Between 8th and 9th Avenue
C or E to 23rd Street and 8th Avenue
1 or 9 to 23rd Street and 7th Avenue
F to 23rd Street and 6th Avenue
For tickets, check out the NEWFEST website at:
http://filmguide.newfest.org/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/
Here's what they are saying at NEWFEST:
"The amazing true story of the singing phenomenon Up With People, a performing youth group formed by an ultra-conservative religious sect in answer to the 1960’s counter culture movement. This curious tale reveals how the Moral Re-Armament religious movement created this performing group made up of both multiple closeted performers as well as great talents including a young Glenn Close. Was Up With People an uplifting symbol of the power of positive thinking, or a propaganda tool for everyone from the Nixon administration to America’s biggest corporations?"
Come see for yourself and you can decide!
"Up With People---all that and more!"
May 5, 2009
Rocky Mountain Womens Film Festival
News Flash:
On May 3rd in Colorado Springs, SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS screened as a very special sneak preview at the "Best of the Fest" event for the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival. We hope to be back to participate in the main festival from November 6-8, 2009.
Woo hoo! This is so exciting!
Smile!
On May 3rd in Colorado Springs, SMILE 'TIL IT HURTS screened as a very special sneak preview at the "Best of the Fest" event for the Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival. We hope to be back to participate in the main festival from November 6-8, 2009.
Woo hoo! This is so exciting!
Smile!
Apr 23, 2009
Twitter and then some
Hello friends and followers,
I'm tweeting Up With People factoids under StoreyVision! You can check out tweets on the right side of this blog too.
Lee
PS: We had a great private screening in NYC on 4/21. Woohoo! The next private screening will be held in Phoenix, Arizona to those who are in the documentary, plus a few from Up With People headquarters who are anxious to view the film. We'll follow the screening with a lively discussion!
PSS: Look here soon for video postings of the Q&A's. More to come!
I'm tweeting Up With People factoids under StoreyVision! You can check out tweets on the right side of this blog too.
Lee
PS: We had a great private screening in NYC on 4/21. Woohoo! The next private screening will be held in Phoenix, Arizona to those who are in the documentary, plus a few from Up With People headquarters who are anxious to view the film. We'll follow the screening with a lively discussion!
PSS: Look here soon for video postings of the Q&A's. More to come!
Apr 17, 2009
Industry Screening in New York City 4/21
Films Transit is holding a private screening for the industry on April 21 in New York City. This is the day before Tribeca opens. We hope for a good turnout!! If you are interested in attending, email Diana Holtzberg at diana@filmstransit.com. Seating is limited.
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