Our new project: The Clusterfucked podcast

So this page used to be the blog for our film I Am What I Play and if you scroll down below, you will see our previous posts detailing the making of and eventual release of this fine documentary about rock radio disc jockeys.

Now we have moved on to the wonderful word of podcasting and the subject of U.S. politics.  The premise of the podcast is liberals are too clustered in the big cities and not spread out enough across the U.S. to win more elections.  What can liberals do to change this?  The short answer is move!  And those who are already in red states can make more of an effort to persuade.

It’s called Clusterfucked: “A liberal host with red state guests.”   We did a movie trailer to further explain the concept.  Watch:

And join us at www.cfthepodcast.com for all the episodes and more info about the podcast!

Canadian Premiere

Our Canadian premiere took place Friday May 8 in Toronto at the Royal Cinema.  We were the opening film of the Canadian Music Week (CMW) Film Festival and we had a great turnout at the theater.  This premiere was well-timed as CMW’s two-day radio conference had just wrapped up so a lot of radio industry titans were already in town.  Many of them attended the screening and the film was very well received.   Also in attendance was one of the film’s 4 subjects, David Marsden, who took part in an entertaining Q & A session after the film.   We look forward to more screenings in Toronto in the near future.

Royalcinemaiawip

Royal Cinema line-up

 

I Am What I Play Premieres

Well, we are happy to announce both our American and Canadian premieres.  I Am What I Play will screen at the Boston Independent Film Festival on April 26th at the historic Somerville Theater.   Here’s the film page on their website with ticket information:

http://bit.ly/1CmE2YL

 

somtheatre

And then on May 8th in Toronto, I Am What I Play will be the opening film of the film festival portion of Canadian Music Week (CMW).  This screening will take place at The Royal Cinema on College St.  Another great venue.  CMW is kind of the South x South West of Canada so we are thrilled.

Tickets available here:

http://cmw.net/film/events/i-am-what-i-play-canadian-premiere/

 

cmw-logo-2014

Much more to come on these two premiere screenings of course!

Our U.S. Distributor

Late last year, we signed a U.S. distribution deal with L.A.-based 7th Art Releasing.  They will handle all U.S. distribution for the film on all platforms: festival, theatrical, television, digital etc.  It’s great to be partnering with a boutique distributor with a 20+ year track record, specializing in documentaries.

7thArt

We are starting with festivals and aiming to build awareness and buzz about the film.

http://www.7thart.com/films/I-Am-What-I-Play

And on that note, we are happy to announce the U.S. premiere of I Am What I Play will take place at the Boston Independent Film Festival on April 26.  The festival is regarded by many as the best film festival in New England.

More details to come!

 

I Am What I Play on Sirius XM Canada

Had some fun last week on Sirius XM Canada as a guest on the Todd Shapiro show. Lots of talk about I Am What I Play and being a radio DJ (as well as the voice-over industry). The interview starts around the 44:00 mark.

http://thetoddshapiroshow.com/2015/01/the-todd-shapiro-show-episode-211-2.html

logotest

 

Be sure and follow the film:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Am-What-I-Play/297875140261718
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/radiodjmovie

I Am What I Play trailer

Every film needs a trailer and we’re excited to share it with you now.   Here’s a first look at I Am What I Play.

 

http://

Be sure and follow the film:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Am-What-I-Play/297875140261718
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/radiodjmovie

Free-Form Ambassadors

As we shop the film and start to do promotion at the same time, the question keeps coming up:  why did we choose these 4 particular radio jocks?  I think once you see the film, you’ll agree we’ve chosen wisely in terms of personalities/characters.   That was the idea:  to showcase 4 DJs who have had ups and downs in their lives, just like the arc of a movie character.  But the big picture was to present 4 jocks whose careers would be symbolic of the profession, the medium and the heyday of rock radio.  We’re very happy with the subjects of the film but no doubt there are other worthy disc jockey choices as well.

The common theme among our 4 DJs is very much about freedom.  They fought throughout their careers to be able to continue to do what they wanted to do.  One of the things we hope the film will do is to generate a discussion about the current state of radio.  So here’s the ongoing question that we want to be a part of this film blog:

What DJs currently on air are still doing their shows in the free form tradition?  Who is still playing what they want to play and saying what they want to say?

In the comments section, please name names:  the DJ, the name of the show (if there is one), the city and the station.  Give us a short description of the show as well.  We would like this to be a place radio fans can visit and get a sense of the great radio shows that are still out there and where they can be found.

If we start to get enough of a DJ list going, we may create a separate Facebook group or web page dedicated to these free-form ambassadors.

Radio Survivor piece on I Am What I Play

Matthew Lasar has a nice piece on the Radio Survivor website about the film.   Have a look:

“I Am What I Play”: Documenting the Rock DJ

 

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2014/01/30/i-am-what-i-play-documenting-the-rock-dj/

Obligatory Frustrated Documentary Filmmaker Rant

The editor complains about not having enough visuals to work with.

The visual researcher is only working part-time.

There was a miscommunication with the music guys and they are behind schedule.

We’re on our second editor, by the way.

This photographer wants to charge $500 per photo, no bulk deals.  He has so many great photos, perfect for our film.

I can’t cut that segment but no one has any photos from the incident.

Being able to afford some of this archival footage is 100% contingent on actually selling the film.

How many times can I ask that guy to send me the fucking photo?!

65 of the photos we want to use are, at present, too low-res for the big screen.

The accountant just raised her rates.

I cannot be up until 2 am watching this edit.  I have a 3 year-old son who is up in 4 hours.

My post-production supervisor still hasn’t seen more than a few scenes.

This is privately financed.  They are asking for progress reports.

I desperately need to shoot more footage.  If I could just get an uninterrupted window to *plan* the shoot…let alone actually shoot!

I’m not 100% sure the Production Manager and I budgeted properly for music licensing and original music.

It’s the anniversary of my friend’s death from breast cancer.  She left behind a 4 year-old daughter.

All I’m doing is making a movie.  Everything is cool.

Home Stretch

Okay, it has been awhile since this blog has had any updates but this is the nature of making a film part-time.  I’m the Producer and Director but I run a voice talent agency as my “real job”.  Our visual researcher is working on another documentary about Alice Cooper so she can often only dedicate one or two days a week to “I Am What I Play”.  Our editor has been on another TV series for months so she works on weekends and occasional evenings for us.  And so the story goes.  On the plus side, the money for our film can be stretched out over a longer time period because no one is on the clock consistently through the week.

We are now getting to the point where, after one more round of edits, we are likely going to be ready for an informal test screening or two.   That’s where some random combo of friends, strangers and radio types will offer their solicited and pointed critiques which could in turn send me back to the edit suite, curled up in the fetal position.  Or they’ll love it and take to social media with a singularly focused mission to spread the word about this masterpiece in the making.  Likely… the reaction will be somewhere in between.

We are crossing fingers and anything else that can be crossed that we will be ready for the on-line edit by June.  A finished product by the end of summer?  Stay tuned!