Good day for those still recovering and thinking back on the recent South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin. There must be a few. If you're still checking in with this blog, it's likely that you couldn't get enough of the festival, wanting to relive the Sleater Kinney show or any number of other parties. I just arrived back in New York, and began going through some festival withdrawal myself-- for the past couple of months we have been alternately mixing, color-correcting, traveling to and from LA for meetings, then Sundance, Rotterdam, Berlin, more color-correcting and mixing before traveling to and from Austin.

I was just IM'ing with Greg Gilpatrick and I think he put it best: "I am so glad to be back. I was so sick of nice weather, fun parties and old friends."

For all of you who came to the screenings of GRETCHEN and OLD JOY, thank you. It was a great time. If anything, the lack of blog entries from me is a testament to that.

The elation of sitting among an audience during the premiere of a film that you have been a part of is such a fun, exciting and anxiety-ridden blur. When it goes well, it's comparable to a near death experience that gives you a new lease on life; when it goes poorly, it's like getting dumped by your lover and then stabbed through the heart. For GRETCHEN at SXSW, the crowd lined up around the block, filled The Paramount theater--well, mostly--and their laughter filled the hall from the very start.

Going into the film we couldn't control our own giddiness. This was the first time any of us who had worked on it would see GRETCHEN on a big screen with the sound, music and picture all polished up. We did a test right before and knew that the film looked great, and the projector in the Paramount exceeded our expectations. But while we were completely excited by the film, you never truly know what's going too make people laugh until you're in the room with them. Approximately 800 of our closest friends, only some of whom we actually knew, were laughing, crying, gasping, cheering. Giving themselves to the film, they gave us the near death experience. Yes!!!

After the premiere, with a new lease on life, we had some serious fun. It started with a fun premiere party off the beaten path at The Peacock on Sunday night, that hosted a gathering of filmmakers, actors, musicians and goers from the festival. Then, the next couple of days were all about meetings and getting ready for the next screenings for both GRETCHEN and OLD JOY. I, for some foolish reason, had the misconception that the second-screenings would be easy-going. Not so. As soon as the premiere was over, the reality hit me that we would have no time to relax. GRETCHEN played at Alamo South Lamar, which during the hour leading up to the screening seemed like the middle of some desert. I was convinced we were going to have an empty theater. After all, this screening was at noon on a Wednesday. We got there and set up our posters, and watched the clock until people started to show up. As it turned out, they did, and festival volunteers had to turn away about 40 people--which if you have ever been through it, is actually a very uncomfortable experience because they are so bummed. I ended up giving my seat to our production coordinator (also good friend), who wasn't able to make it to the Sunday premiere and had just then arrived in town from San Francisco for this screening. It was fun in that theater. GRETCHEN wouldn't be getting dumped at SXSW.

After a week or so at SXSW, some alchemy of beer, spring-time, barbecue and good movies forms the filmmakers, film lovers and lots of people from the press and industry into a real community--not unlike a SUMMERCAMP! Needless to say, we were extremely happy to premiere GRETCHEN at South by Southwest. And not just because the sun was shining on everyone, or there was a movie called FUCK there, or because we could learn about the sobering realities of the credit card debt we wracked up to make the film in MAXED OUT then feel the shock of OILCRASH or witness Jake and Bryan's exciting CASSIDY KIDS. Where else could a group of Rollerskater JAM Ladies square off with a bunch of Medieval DARKON Men inadvertently playing out their own zany sequel for all to behold.

At SXSW the sun is shining or the first time in any given year of a festival tour, and you're doing all sorts of strangely liberating outdoor activities like walking from place to place instead of driving or catching a taxi. You fantasize about some other life you might have lived, where the Tex Mex you had for lunch was actually followed by a siesta. And friends that you have been bumping into over the previous 6 weeks of non-stop travel are all there. At SXSW, it just feels more carefree--like people could actually relax a little.

I volunteered at SXSW under Mocha Jean Herrup in the Interactive portion of the festival in 1999 (and still have my T Shirt), so this felt like some sort of personal achievement to be back with the first two films that I had a hand in producing. Beyond that, Steve's film GRETCHEN AND THE NIGHT DANGER won at SXSW before moving on to Tribeca and other festivals. That win put us on the map when we needed it most, looking for financing and bringing the film together logistically. And during last year's SXSW we were shooting GRETCHEN the feature.

But we weren't the only people that were back. Tons of other filmmakers returning from years past were there in person and in spirit. Dia Sokul, who I met last year, for instance (she produced MUTUAL APPRECIATION) went back to Austin this year as a juror. Bradley Beesley and Sarah Price. Joe Swanberg was back with another great film that he directed: LOL, that had umm. . some very special contributions from Andrew Bujalski, Susan Buice and Arin Crumley--all of whom had films at the festival last year. ***Is it too romantic to think that they all met at SXSW, and gave in to the laid backness of it all--then decided to film each other making noises with their mouths? Who knows? Regardless, the more I think back on LOL, the more I love it. It will hit soooo close to home for anyone that owns a lap-top and is in a relationship--or anyone who has had an argument over the finer points of cell-phone sex.

I also caught Paul Gordon's MOTORCYCLE. I couldn't resist going to MOTORCYCLE. After all, Paul saved GRETCHEN by fixing Ricky's motorcycle with time to spare for the biggest night of shooting on our schedule--the Prom scene. This is actually a much more involved, rambling story: but briefly, Pope John Paul II had just died. Important, because our production office was housed in an abandoned dormitory behind a Catholic church in East Austin. The church bell ominously tolled all through the afternoon leading up to Gretchen's prom, and we needed that motorcycle running. It was a night scene, and the sun was setting. Paul calmly did much more than tap the carburetor to get Ricky's bike up and running. Paul did indeed save our skins. But back to his MOTORCYCLE. I had caught one of the parts of this film previously at another festival, and found myself drawn right back into it on Thursday at the Alamo downtown. I relished every last bone-dry moment.

Speaking of relishing every last moment, you might just have the foolish thought that it should be SXSW all year round? But NO!!! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. Summer in Texas is so hot it makes people go insane. Growing up there, you really have only a couple of choices to save yourself: either go to the movies or. . . walk the aisles in an air-condition induced haze at your local Wal Mart.

So if I catch any of you hanging on to your relished moments in the heat of the Texas summer, you better get over to your local movie-house and see the films that you missed at SXSW because you were too busy hanging out in Austin last week with other filmmakers and friends you met making mouth-noises in the sun!

Here is what I learned from my SXSW 2006 experience:

1. If you have a virtual sell-out in the grandest theater in your hometown, all other screenings will pale in comparison. Even though we sold out the Alamo Downtown for our second screening and the reaction was very positive, with lots of laughing in the right places, it still felt somehow subdued. But, if the screenings had been flipped, with the Alamo one first, I would have found that one ecstatic & transcendant and the Paramount one even more ecstatic & transcendant.

2. My cell-phone ruins my life. This I learned from Swanberg & Co.'s excellent LOL. The device I'm writing this blog on right now also ruins my life and makes me less of a man. Yet I continue to write...

3. In the right hands, the Panasonic DVX100A can perform miracles. This I learned from Los Hermanos Nee with their hallucinogenic vision of New York City in The Last Romantic. They spent months on color-correction alone and the first shot you see of a phospherescent-green Times Square tells you that it was all worth it.

4. High school is a Hitchcockian nightmare. This I learned from Gretchen. Steve Collins has such a precise vision of Gretchen's deadpan, obsessive worldview and with the help of cinematographer PJ Raval & the entire art department, that vision is all over every single frame of the movie.

5. The Dark Elves can't be trusted. This truism comes courtesy of Darkon, a doc that seems to be just about a group of dorky Baltimoreans who like to dress up in padded armor and whale on each other with fake swords, but is actually a fascinating meditation on the nature of perceived reality and the search for meaning in a deadened, corporatized, suburbanized America. As the film goes on, the "real" world of Starbucks, Diet Pepsi and shitty white-walled apartments starts to seem like just as much of a fantasy world as Darkon. But seriously, stay away from the Elves.

And finally...

6. If Paul Schneider tries to hand you a flyer while you're eating breakfast, just shut up and take it. I was sitting at Las Manitas on Monday morning, scarfing down some Spicy Huevos a La Mexicana when Paul Schneider got up and started handing out flyers for Live Free or Die. These two guys across from me somehow disrespected the flyer (I wasn't paying attention at that point) and so Paul had a 10-minute, very public argument with them, along the lines of "If you didn't want the flyer, just say 'No thank you.' Then I'd respect you, then you'd have some fucking balls!" Needless to say, I took the flyer and said thank you.

And thank you to SXSW for teaching me these valuable lessons.

-Bryan Poyser
Co-Writer, Producer, "The Cassidy Kids"
www.burntorangeproductions.com
www.myspace.com/thecassidykids

Our part of SXSW is over. We packed the Paramount Theater for our second screening yesterday at 1:30pm in the afternoon. I was in heaven. We ended up starting really late to get everyone in. I kept turning around and looking at all of the people and thinking "oh my god, oh my god" over and over in my head. I had no idea. Most of our cast and crew were able to make this screening. Some of them I haven't seen since last summer when we shot the film, so it made my day.

The first review came out in the Austin Chronicle. I was terrified of what it might say. I never have any clue how people will react. I don't think I've ever gotten such an amazing review. And then when a friend emailed me at work and said he saw our hearts in every frame, I started to cry at my desk.

We're eternally grateful to SXSW, Matt, Jarod, the whole team for the opportunity to get our film out there. It's been an incredible week full of tears, good friends, Diet Cokes with Grenadine (which I know doesn't really make sense), amazing films, yummy peanuts and jalapeno stuffed olives from the Driskill bar, meetings for future projects, and a whole lotta pride for the Austin and Texas film community.

--Kat Candler
www.jumpingoffbridges.com

The Dobie's tech set-up and our new NTSC HD copy has got to be the crispest we have ever seen our movie!

Our last day in Austin, and sadly we won't even be able to introduce our second screening today as we have to head out to the airport. For those still in town it's 4.30 at the Dobie theatre - "Bata-ville: We're not afraid of the future".

We've had a great time here and hope to return with our next film in a year (or two!). Maybe more on the Blog front later (the experience of watching the Beastie Boys film last night with their huge fan base certainly merits comment) but for now off to catch the last movie on our list: Summercamp! and handing over the hotel keys to the Japanese music crowd ...

I can't say enough about LOL, directed by Joe Swanberg. The film is innovative in so many ways and though it may be a little rough around the edges at times, that adds to its charm and its revolutionary new genre: internet-love romantic-tragedy. Kevin's music is brilliant, Tippur's acting is fantastic, the story is frightening and funny, and the crew behind and in front of the camera are brave and true. Good luck with the film, guys.

Went to the closing night party last night at a grocery warehouse that doubles as a nightclub. Sleater-Kinney played... never heard them before (I'm a music retard), but they were great. But I must be getting old because the thought that kept running through my head was, "how come it's so f*#king loud?! If they just turn everything down just a little bit, I'd be able to listen to the nuance within the melody, etc etc." Then someone pointed out that everyone who goes to these concerts is either deaf or has cotton in their ears, so the band HAS to play loudly. I'm the idiot who forgot his cotton.

Porta-Potties are communal. You wait in line with friends that have to pee like you. But nobody talks about that. It's the white elephant in the room who's taking a dump on the coffee table and yet nobody wants to bring it up. Or maybe everyone's talking about it and I just can't hear them because the band is so fucking loud.

-Jake
Director, The Cassidy Kids

Ok, I'm bad. I need to write "I suck at blogging" on a chalkboard one thousand times. I think the last time I posted on here was two days ago. Now we've had two great screenings and some dust is starting to settle. Our first screening was completely sold out. We had to turn away tons of people. Our second screening was nearly sold out. There were just a few seats open in the front row. And that's not too bad for a screening that was taking place simultaneously with the awards show. The Alamo Drafthouse is the absolute premiere place in the country to watch movies. It's just terrific. We've been getting all kinds of wildly varying reactions to the film. There's a strong love/hate thing going on that I really dig. Now I need to start seeing more films! It's been hard to make it to everything with all the preparations going on for the screenings. Some great bands later today too. The Ponys and Wolfmother and tons of other rock n roll. Thanks for reading, and remember: "I suck at blogging...I suck at blogging...I suck at blogging..."

- Chris Sivertson
THE LOST

I always feel really nervous and actually sometimes rather sad when I have to sit through a screening of the film with an audience. No matter how hard you try you are continually distracted by anyone who moves or looks uncomfortable or worse still leaves (!) even though in most cases here they're just going to the loo due to the amount of enormous drinks (not to mention food) consummed during screenings!

Yesterday morning pre-screening I was beginning to feel a little like I'd been back on the Bata-ville bus, the combination of parties and jetlag is reproducing the eye-bag and blisters combo I've previously only experienced on the trip. We had a pretty good audience turn out and they seemed to laugh in all the right places - although how much of the Maryport dialogue came across remains a mystery. It was quite odd to watch something we've made so intimately with people from Britain in the US ... it makes you really aware of how specific to Britain but more importantly the current regeneration climate in Britain the film is. I found myself trying to imagine watching something about a village in Texas and how I'd see that. It somehow felt more anthropological than when I've seen it with a UK audience ... where there's always a real intimacy with the film and the characters. I'm certainly not saying that the audience didn't enjoy it or find it interesting but it did maybe feel less intimate.

That said Lya from the festival has been such a fan of the project that it has obviously touched her in some way that can cross a UK/US divide ... hopefully we'll get to catch her again before we leave as now we've seen it here there are lots more questions I'd like to ask her about how it comes across away from 'home'.

Straight afterwards we went into a screening of Danielson: a Family Movie and I felt a palpable sense of relaxing into the film and enjoying someone else's hard work! It's a hard won film made from 4 years of footage following the fascinating Danielson Family ... I actually can't wait to get back and do some more surfing on the film's site but also Danielson's own site - hand crafted artworks as well as songs. The director is our new festival friend and we talked most of the evening until Sleator Kinney cut through all conversation with an impressively wild set.

Alas, it's time to say goodbye...

As far as exciting news, I'll say this: we've sold the film and it will be released theatrically in the fall. I can't go into more details right now, as I don't want to steal the thunder from the official press release, but I think...well, I'll just leave it at that right now. Should be announced in the trades in the next day or two. It's very cool.

Had a great day yesterday and was too busy to blog. Went to the AICN panel and it was a blast. I've been reading that site for years so it was funny to see Harry and the boys get up and tell some war stories. Then I went to see 'Air Guitar Nation" which was awesome, definitely check it out if you can. Then, after a short nap, we met all our old friends at the AFI party. We premiered "Fuck" at the AFI Fest this last year so there was some great karma to being able to thank them for their part in getting our movie out there. I think the film will always be associated as getting picked up at SxSW, which is great, but it was at AFI where we first popped our fuck cherry.

Even though we weren't eligible for any awards, we attended the closing ceremony. It's always cool and inspiring to see others get awards. I love seeing smiles on the faces of filmmakers, because for most of our lives there's just a confused and bewildered look there. Matt Dentler was incredibly nice in giving a special shout out to our film, so if you're reading Matt, thanks man, much obliged as they say here, it really means alot. Then at midnight, we had our second screening and it was packed, we had to turn away a huge crowd. We tried to get a second screening set up, as we had a second tape with us, but it proved to be impossible, so Steve K gave away a huge pile of Fuck shirts and everyone seemed happy.

The screening itself was fun, though the audience seemed a little more subdued than our other screenings. My guess is the midnight hour had taken it's toll, I know it had for me. But almost everyone stayed for the Q&A and had incredibly nice things to say. It's very cool, after you spend so many hours alone in a little dark room editing a film, to see so many people so enthusiastic and laughing. The audiences here at SxSW have been just perfect for our film. It plays again at midnight on Thursday, if you can make it, but I'll be safely home in bed. In fact, I plan to get in bed at 4pm today when I get home and don't plan to get out for about three days.

So, yes, we did our best to keep Austin weird while we were here. I'd like to tell all the other filmmakers that I met in person or through their films that it as a pleasure just to be included with y'all. There was some serious talent and passion on display here this year and I hope you had as great as experience as we had. Rock on, motherfuckers and keep up the good work. And a huge thanks to everyone, from Matt to every last volunteer at SxSW,. You guys offered up a Texas-sized heapin' of luv and it won't soon be forgotten. If Austin-ites are as weird as they say they are, you guys are the fuckin' weirdest!

And so, for now, I'll say farewell. In a few hours I'll board my American Airlines flight and head back to Santa Monica. But I can honestly say it feels like I've found a second home here and hope to be back soon.

Adios, y'all.

The four or five hours of sleep I've been getting every night since last Friday finally caught up with me. I'm back at my day job nodding off at my desk. Sitting still makes my eyelids very, very heavy. Last night I made the mistake of going to the Austin Chronicle Party instead of going to sleep. I looked for my people ... the Zellners, Heather Courtney, Bryan and Jake, but nothing. So I ate more appetizers, drank more Diet Coke and got stupid silly with Stacy, Tracy and Leslie. Tonight it's the Awards Ceremony, I think. I was hoping I might steal a nap beforehand, but I don't think that's gonna happen.

We're anxiously awaiting reviews. I've been on pins and needles. This is the part of the process that makes my belly ache. Well, shit, actually the whole process makes my belly ache.

A few of the bands/musicians from the film will be in town to play for SXSW ... Jose Gonzalez, Bosque Brown and Jeff Hanson. My music supervisor, Daniel Gill gets here tomorrow. Usually it's the music part of SXSW that draws all of my friends to Austin. I'm excited to show them the movie. No more tears on Thursday. I might be too tired to cry this time around.

We get to hang out with Alan and Eunhee from Inner Circle Line Thursday night. We met at the IFP Rough Cuts Lab last September and have been swapping stories, advice, experiences with each other ever since. I can't wait to see their film. I hear it's pretty wonderful.

Helping to keep Austin Weird ...

"Keep Austin Weird" apparently the city's by-line and a damn sight more inspiring than the usual "Cumbernauld - better than you might have expected" style catch-phrase towns in the UK are often lumbered with.
Yesterday we did our bit to live up to the challenge and it certainly paid dividends - if you want to promote your film here make friends and meet people I can't recommend dressing up in a uniform highly enough!
Obviously we didn't just adopt these for the festival our dresses you might have seen us around town in yesterday are the very same (now rather crisp-under-the-arm-pits) hostess outfits we wore to travel half way round Europe on a bus during our film. We began yesterdays tour of town with the fantastic Darkon screening (hopefully more of which with more time) which we managed to squeeze into, sadly having to miss the very end to head out of town for a slightly surreal interview on the Austin Movie Show (hence the outfits).
Then it was back to town via Kinkos (unbelievably we seem to be the only people who could come to SXSW without thinking to bring a poster!) and into the plexi-glass SXSW studio at the convention centre. Here we were interviewed by the totally delightful Lya who has been somewhat of a champion for our film, her relaxed style and sheer enthusiasm made the interview a breeze.
Thinking we'd pop straight out for a much needed drink then head back to change, we began the nights party trawl. Kindly chaperoned by the charming Michael Saleman (hot off the apparently sell out legal panel!) we then drifted on for the rest of the night from one party to the next ending up at the Austin Chronicle event, bemused and almost hoarse from the amount of shouting we'd been doing in response to an endless stream of what felt like genuine interest into what we're doing here and why the hell we were still dressed up as "air hostesses"!
What's amazing to me is that in the massive crowds here it is possible to meet the people who run the festival (I put faces to the whole crew I already knew from email yesterday) but also the people who've made the films you really want to see. On the N&K wish list we had Darkon, Summercamp! & Danielson: A Family movie ... last night we managed to meet the team/directors of all of them ... only Lifelike to go! As a bonus we also had an interesting chat to one of the directors of Cruel and Unusual, like many of the other Directors here about our age she opperates as part of a collaboration working together in a way that maybe undoes some of the pre-conceptions people might have of the lone auteur/director behind most movies.
Anyway we had a fantastic time last night talking not just about films, but Austin and US/UK culture. If this is Austin Weird ... Bata-ville likes you this way.

Well we had our World Premier on Sunday and it was an amazing experience. Check these photos out. It looked and sounded great and the audience seemed to really get into it and enjoy it. Afterward we went over to the Karma Lounge and soaked in some music and friends. There were at least 2 more parties after ours, but I couldn't muster the energy to go out. I had to go home and crash.

Yesterday I saw a great film called LOL, directed by Joe Swanberg. I had seen his previous film, Kissing on the Mouth, and was impressed. LOL though is a huge step up/forward for him, I think. The music is great, the characters and their experiences hit very close to home, and the themes that Joe tackles are relavent and universal. The thing that struck me the most about Joe's film is the way in which he portrays our email life/communications as compared to our real lives outside of the internet. He reveals the way that we lie to ourselves about the reality around us. I think Joe is on to something here and I hope that he pursues it further.

Just did an interview in the plexiglass booth at the trade show with Mocha Jean Herrup. Mocha did a great job, though I think I was a little 'off' in my game. Not enough coffee I guess.

Going to The Last Romantic at 4pm. The Brothers Nee -- what a cool name.

-Jake
The Cassidy Kids, Director

During the tech check for The Cassidy Kids, I wept. Seriously. Standing on the upper balcony of the Paramount Theater, home to so much of my film education here in Austin through the Summer Film Classics series, seeing and hearing this movie we've been slaving over for months in a tiny, windowless cramped editing room suddenly alive on an enormous screen - words couldn't describe it, so tears did.

I cried again about ten minutes in when the sold-out audience gasped at the five thunderous gunshots that kick the story off. They jumped. They cringed. Tears sprung again.

And I cried again at home at 3:30 in the morning after drinking & partying & shaking hands all night just cause I was so glad we got through this alive.

Movies hurt, but it's good pain.

-Bryan Poyser
Producer, Co-Writer, "The Cassidy Kids"
www.burntorangeproductions.com
www.myspace.com/thecassidykids

First off, let me be the first to break the news that we'll have some very cool news to announce in the next day or so.

It'll make this fest all the more memorable. And it's obviously just not about movie's here. Erykah Badu's show at the "Before the Music Dies" party was simply off-the-muthu-fucka-hook. With a supergroup band that included Doyle Bramhall II, Wendy and Lisa, and DJ Jazzy Jeff, they all had the Austin Music Hall on fire. It was a super-blues-funked-up burst of juke-joint jammming. I think I could watch that girl sing the phone book and still be mesmerized.

Though I have to say that all the movies, the conferences, then the parties and music shows make a boy pretty tired. I feel like I should be doing business during the day, but all can do is look forward to my next Advil. You think with all these fests I''ve been to I'd have learned to pace myself. But no such luck, it's just too much fun. I'll sleep when I"m dead...

Anyways, stay tuned...

Well it feels like we're getting into the swing of SXSW and Austin now ... spent most of yesterday in a glut of docs. related panels, which were pretty good. Always interesting to see the system from someone else's view point (obviously mainly the US in this case).
In the evening we went to check out the Dobie cinema where our screening is tomorrow, then post curry (we are from the UK it's hard to pass the waft of a prawn korma on the street) we headed for the Darkon party.
Now we are pretty interested in Darkon as we've spent the last 3 summers in the UK joining in with the one of the most established Tudor re-enactments there at Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. For any other re-enactment fans you can read our blog from both Tudor and WW II eras at:www.sometime.org.uk. We've been filming there for 3 years (starting out with spy cams hidden in our costumes!) and this year we're hoping to return to complete our next feature length doc..... SO we love the look of Darkon and were very keen to meet up with some of the film crew.
In an uncharacteristic way (for someone British) Karen just went straight for it and asked the SXSW staff to point them out, so we had a really interesting chat with Brad the film's editor (unless he was also a very good role player!) obviously a man of great patience judging by how long the edit apparantly took. We also got to meet the 'president' of Darkon himself, which made for a really interesting comparitive chat about UK vs US re-enactment scenes.
So all in all a good night ... I just hope we can get in to actually see Darkon today ... we're going to look pretty odd in the queue as we'll be wearing our uniform/costumes from Bata-ville ready for our Studio SX session straight afterwards!

It needs to be said - Austin is a great town.

Maybe it's just because I'm happy to be here with the film, but can't just help but smile as I walk along the street. Very laid-back vibe, great music, cool attitude, beautiful woman and everything else. I could seriously consider moving here.

I'm writing this from inside the historic Paramount Theater this morning, waiting for a movie to start. After a long nurse-the-hangover day yesterday I'm feeling much better today and am going to try and see a few movies, go some conferences and check out the trade show just to see what's up. I'm like a film festival tourist in the land of plenty.

The beautiful La Quinta hotel continues to inspire. The tag line, which is placed on every little advertisement in the hotel is "La Quinta - Spanish for...Free Wireless" or whatever little hotel chain perk they are pushing. Now regardless of the fact that there is no wireless on the premises I have appropriated their little jingle as my own and discovered it can be adapted for just about anything, as in "La Quinta - Spanish for...let's do another shot of tequila" or "La Quinta - Spanish for...my head fucking' hurts" or "La Quinta - Spanish for...not The Four Seasons."

I think I'm starting to annoy my friends, but I don't care. I'm smiling.

Gotta go, movie is starting. "La Quinta - Spanish for...Austin is a great town."

Sorry for my absence yesterday. This festival is just flying by in a blur. There is so much going on that I've already missed tons of stuff I was planning on going to. Luckily most of the films I've missed will be showing again. We've been promoting the film all over town, spreading the good word about THE LOST. Now we'll see if anyone shows up tonight. I have no idea what kind of a turnout we'll get. Ok, gotta run, eat, do last minute stuff, try to ensure that we have an actual audience. It's weird to think that a couple years of work has now come down to this one night....

Chris Sivertson

Most exciting run-in from yesterday: As Heather Courtney and I were headed to Maggie Mae's for the IFC/Brothers of the Head party, I saw a familiar face headed toward me on crazy-packed 6th Street - Rico from Six Feet Under, Mr. Freddy Rodriguez!

You know how when you meet someone in person that you've watched on TV or seen in movies, you feel like you know them intimately? Well, you don't, and I think it freaks these actors out. Emboldened by drink I just went ahead and started talking to him as if we were the old pals we're not, but he was friendly and even took postcards for The Cassidy Kids & Heather's movie Letters from the Other Side. Don't think I'll see him at the screening today though, cause he's not here for SXSW. He's here to be in Robert Rodriguez's new film (I assume he was talking about Grindhouse).

So yes, the screening. It is indeedy happening today at 7pm. The Cassidy Kids will be no longer ours, it will belong to an audience for the first time, to be loved, spurned or only vaguely remembered years from now. My money is on "loved."

See you tonight! 7pm at the Paramount Theater.

-Bryan Poyser
Producer, Co-Writer, The Cassidy Kids
www.burntorangeproductions.com
www.myspace.com/thecassidykids

Greetings from England - we're in town for the US premiere of 'Bata-ville: We are not afraid of the future' which we wrote, produced, directed, 'star' in and - ahem - distribute! Its playing at Dobie on Tuesday at 2pm and Thursday at 4.30 but we're also doing a Monday Studio SX interview at 5:30 with Lya Guerra and the Austin Movie Show the same day. Bata-ville's a leftfield road movie doc feature about a bus trip to the Czech Republic with some old folks - BUT its so much more interesting than that sounds. For starters we wear costumes throughout (and we'll be donning those for our TV appearances too). But one thing that makes it interesting for US audiences is that the target of the trip is the city of Zlin, the 1930's modernist town and shoe factory complex in the CR begun by one Mr Tomas Bata. Bata was one of the worlds first multinationals, starting from nowhere and founding a global corporation - in fact he is the Henry Ford of Eastern Europe.
So far in Austin we've done nothing more but have dinner and crash out at the lovely La Quinta (top marks for location but zero for broken toilet & cranky broadband connection in room!). Jetlag is fair to moderate at the mo, so we're looking forward to a pretty relaxed day doing a few of the seminars, getting the lie of the land and getting rid of the bags under our eyes. An expat friend have put us in touch with some folks involved with another doc feature here 'Summercamp' so we'll try and hook up with them too at some point. Say hi if you see us - one's blonde, ones a redhead!

It's been a pretty crazy day. Our first screening sold out. I heard we turned away about 300 to 400 people at the door. Everyone was clamouring to get on the guestlist. It was kind of freaky. I had to hide around the corner of the building just so I wouldn't cry in front of everyone from nerves. It's moments like that when I feel like going home and riding out the madness. But we got some really, really wonderful feedback. And now I'm so emotionally and physically exhausted. And happy. And proud.

Hi everyone. The reason that I'm in Austin for SXSW is that two of the films that I had a hand in producing (with Lars Knudsen and Anish Savjani) are screening here: OLD JOY and GRETCHEN. Which is super exciting. OLD JOY screened yesterday and will be screening again on Thursday, GRETCHEN will have her world premiere tomorrow afternoon at the Paramount. So for the first few days of the festival, I don't expect to see too many other films. Will be catching many of them on their second or third screenings. Looking forward to seeing as many as I can, including the short films.

Today, Kelly (director of OLD JOY) and I took a drive around Austin to check out some sights, thrift stores, record stores, and the LBJ Library/Museum. We had a pretty nice time, although it seems there are less and less record stores. As anyone who is here can tell you, the weather was warm today. As I write this, Kelly's at a film. BROTHER'S OF THE HEAD is playing tonight. I saw this film in New York, and loved it and have a bunch of friends that are heading over there now. I'm about to go meet up with Steve Collins, who directed GRETCHEN. Should be a fun time tomorrow at the Paramount, 1:30pm.

Anyway, today, Kelly and I snapped a few photos that I would like to share with you. The first two pictures, Kelly and I took of each other in masks at a thrift store on South Congress. These are the creepiest masks that I have ever seen/worn in my life, from the Order of Odd Fellows. . . indeed! We had fun, scared each other a little. (The effect is something like the Butthole Surfers Hairway to Steven album.) Then, a snapshot of a regular Austin treasure whose hand might wag out and scare you! LBJ Animatronic, at the time of this photo LBJA was telling a joke about a boy that told a lie to his momma about seeing a lion in the backyard, and was ordered to say prayers for an hour.

I've noticed eye contact is out the window. It's all "badge contact." Initially I thought everyone was just looking at my well formed, adolescent breasts, but soon realized they were trying to read my badge. I do not judge this new form of human interaction. I myself have fallen into the habit of the chest stare to see who I am about to, or in some cases not, talk to. If it's someone in the narrative competition I'll certainly say hello, then promptly wrestle them. If it's someone with a film I'm looking forward to seeing or have seen and enjoyed, I pat them on the back, then wrestle them...

These party's are confusing. I've met many interesting and delightful people, but I can't help feeling like a phony, even if I'm trying to be geniune. If I smile, I smile too big. If I comment, I comment too long, and often times fall into a confused mumbling, where my eyes are darting from the floor to the outer corners of the room. I'm sure I'll improve with time.

At the end of last night's opening party I found myself talking to two very lovely girls when Andy Dick grabbed my hand and started to pull me away. "I want him to come home with me." He said. I did the only thing I knew how; I wrestled him, then went home and fell asleep.

Also, THE LAST ROMANTIC and LOL have started a gang. Somehow I knew this festival would end in bloody street fights. Please come see our film on Sunday, the 12th at 8:45 at the ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE. If you don't like it you can write me a note saying so on the way out. Just please be gentle, I'm a rookie.

Adam NEE

I officially finished post-production on The Cassidy Kids yesterday morning after an all night sound mix. I laid back the final sound onto the final picture HD tape and then breathed a huge sigh of relief. I spent the rest of the day making clip reels and then I headed over to the very strange, and yet incredibly profitable, Texas Film Hall of Fame. All I know is that this event is the single largest fundraising evening that the Austin Film Society puts on. It's a brilliant idea -- pull together a $10,000 per table event, have an auction, give out a few awards, and go home with $300K in grant money to distribute to struggling filmmakers. Snap!

After that I headed over to The Whiskey Bar to congratulate Heather Courtney on her successful screening of Letters from the Other Side. Then I went over to the opening night party and waited in line to go out onto the balcony. Who ever heard of waiting in line for half an hour to go out onto a silly balcony?!

-Jake
Director, The Cassidy Kids

Here's a pic of our marquee...

OK, so now I see how this works - this might best be renamed the "morning after hangover blog."

So, I'm lying in bed in the beautiful La Quinta after opening night here at SxSW and my head is still somehow pounding to the beat of the band that played at last nights opening party. Apparently someone, or a few people, seemed to think that tequila was the best drink with which to welcome ourselves to Texas with and apparently I agreed, and, well, agreed, and then agreed some more. Let's just say this is a real welcoming place. At the party I danced for awhile with a local lass whose boob kept falling out of her dress so I guess I can go home now if I want to as I've already seen my share of the local sites. And hey, things are bigger here in Texas.

Had our first screening last night. Went great. Well attended, big laughs and some great questions in the Q&A. People seem to really enjoy our film and it's always great to have such a great audience. It was in the beautiful and huge Paramount Theater, such a thrill to be able to play a movie called "Fuck" in place that's been around since the turn of the century. My favorite memory will be hanging out in the lobby for awhile as the movie played and watching a few of the ushers and usherettes, all of whom seemed to be around since Sam Houston was running for Governor, as they sat in their golden gilded chairs with their hands folded in their laps, trying to somehow ignore the plentitude of "fucks" coming from within the theater. I think they couldn't wait for "A Prairie Home Companion" to start. Very funny.

We tried to sell Fuck shirts in the lobby and sold a grand total of eight. Though I did see a guy who came to the party later wearing one and for some reason it made me so happy I couldn't even begin to explain. Maybe I was just still in my after-boob haze. After the party I wandered Sixth Street for awhile, saw some great local music and hung out in a hip-hop bar where they had monitors that subtitled all the songs that played. It was kind funny to see "Mutha-fucka, mutha-fucka, shake that thing..." written out on the screen.

Today I plan to see a couple films, go down to the Convention Center and see what all the workshops are about and try to get my head ready for another long night. Film festivals are funny that way - even in college I didn't go to parties for seven nights in a row. Maybe they should have tests here every morning to keep everybody honest.

OK, so my head is a little better now. I heard that blogging, Advil and Gatorade have a good effect on this sort of morning malaise. Now I'm going to go down to the breakfast bar where they have make-your-own waffles and see if I can manage to construct some sort of meaningful breakfast...

More to come...I hope...

It's the morning of our first screening. I'm not as freaked yet as I expected to be. Maybe because yesterday was a rollercoaster of a day. I woke up at 5am to do a few interviews. After the second, I headed to my day job to brave a round of layoffs. Thankfully I wasn't one of the chosen, but several of my friends were. Needless to say, the day sucked. Big time. I left early because I couldn't take it. And on top of that, I'd only gotten three hours of sleep the night before because my parent's plane was late. But last night it all sort of disappeared Two of my high school friends that my film is loosely based on came into town. I haven't seen one of them in over ten years. We hung out on the porch reminiscing and drinking Lone Star for a good while. I kind of forgot why they were even here.

This morning I got up, went and worked out at the gym with my producers (we're retarded like that) and now we're about to head out for a full day of parties, screenings and more parties. My belly isn't doing somersaults yet, but I imagine it will pretty soon. I do feel a need to hide in a room during the screening. Just sit there, wondering ... will they hate it, will they love it, will they even care? But you know what, "Fuck it". That's been my motto of late. I'm really proud. I'm proud of everyone who's hands and hearts will be up on that screen this afternoon. So yeah, today is for them.

March 10, 2006 9:00 AM

I am traveling today, changing planes. Allison Sie talking on her seldom-used cell phone, jean jacket and sunglasses. Chris Tashima is wandering around the airport somewhere. We’re in San Francisco for 90 minutes.

Whenever I feel the wheels touch down on the runway, I think to myself, this means I’ll live to do _______. In other words, I can now expect to survive until the next time I fly. I’m not afraid to get on a plane, I do it all the time, but this is just something I can’t help thinking every time the wheels touch down.

Except this time. Because I was fast asleep and also this is a layover not a destination.

Yesterday, I saw three reels of the 2nd answer print of AMERICANese. The other three reels had bubbles on it-- I think he said water bubbles, is there such a thing? Instead of watching the whole movie, we watched reels 1, 4, and 5 twice.

Our 1st answer print also had some issues. Saw it Tuesday. There were several shots that were off. Wrong hue, too dark, too bright, that sort of thing. We called South by Southwest Film Festival. Print trafficker said we must ship the print no matter what shape it’s in. We were one of 250 films they had to deal with, and they’d already given us a deadline extension. We asked for more a day. They said no, so we shipped it.

Tomorrow night, our world premiere will have the kind of mistakes that first answer prints usually have. I’m wondering whether to mention this before the screening. They might notice the bumps less if I don’t. United Flight 1248 to Austin is now ready to board.

So things are really cracking now. Got there early to the registration sign-in, bonded with some fellow filmmakers (especially the crew from LOL - we're officially good friends now as far as I'm concerned. They're from Illinois and I love folks from there). Continued to put up more posters, hand out more fliers and buttons and all that stuff. Then our actresses and the author of the novel of THE LOST, Mr. Dallas Mayr, aka Jack Ketchum, arrvied. We all hung out and had a few drinks together at the bar in the Hyatt. Now I've come back up to the hotel room for a moment to grab a quick shower and figure out what the hell is next. This is a very boring post, huh? I apologize for that. I will make it up to you all with wild tales of sex drugs and rock n roll next time. I gotta bathe now. This city has been very hot today and walking around everywhere makes me sweat. I will conclude by saying that the Alamo Drafthouses are absolutely wonderful places of cinema, beer, and jolly good times. And hell, I still haven't even seen a movie at any of them yet. I will be better next post. Promise.

Chris Sivertson (of THE LOST)

indieWIRE has invited several filmmakers to blog about their experiences screening their films at the South by Southwest this year. Along with indieWIRE's daily coverage at SXSW also check back here to get the latest. On board to blog with us so far are the following SXSW '06 filmmakers:

Eric Byler
narrative, "Americanese"

Michael Cain and Matt Radecki
documentary, "TV Junkie"

Chris Sivertson
narrative, "The Lost"

Jacob Vaughan and Bryan Poyser
narrative, "The Cassidy Kids"

Aaron Nee and Adam Nee
narrative, "The Last Romantic"

Mark Woollen
documentary, "Jam"

Steve Anderson
documentary, "Fuck"

Jay Van Hoy (producer)
"Gretchen" and "Old Joy"

Nina Pope and Karen Guthrie
documentary, "Bata-ville: We Are Not Afraid of the Future"

Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson
documentary, "The Life of Reilly"

For those of you coming in from out of town there are some things you need to know about good eats here in Austin. First of all, Austin is all about breakfast. I mean, it's a cottage industry. The place to go for breakfast if you're downtown is Las Manitas (3rd and Congress, East side of the street, has a sign that says "Avenue Cafe"). It's a renowned Tex-Mex restaurant with excellent breakfast selections. Try the migas. Don't know what migas are? Scrambled eggs with tortilla strips, tomatoes, onions and salsa. Delicious.

If you're South on Congress, then head over to Nueva Onda, another breakfast haven with breakfast tacos and migas. It's near Oltorf and S. Congress. For evening dining on S. Congress try Gueros or El Sol y La Luna. Both are excellent Mexican food choices.

Maybe you want something other than Tex-Mex. Then try a great Italian place called The Treehouse Grill (Live Oak and S. Congress). Order the cannelloni.

For Sushi downtown try the Kyoto restaurant above The Elephant Room at 4th and Congress on the east side of the street. For a real treat, check out Fonda San Miguel -- they have exquisite interior Mexican "cuisine". (I know, I know.... enough with the Mexican food -- but we've got so much of it and it's so much better than other parts of the country that I emplore you to load up on it before you leave.)

Any other recommendations guys? Let's show our guests from out of town how well we eat here!

-Jake
Director, The Cassidy Kids

About to scramble off to my dumb dayjob. I'm going to the Texas Film Hall of Fame tonight for the first time. Jake & I did a short little video promo for the Austin Film Society, the wonderful organization that's supported us through the years and made Austin a great place for filmmakers. It's actually gonna happen in the exact same hangar at Austin Studios where The Cassidy Kids shot for three days last summer. Lot of history in that little building...

Finally got our TCK posters yesterday, screenprinted up in Seattle. They look fucking beautiful. I can say "fuck" on this thing, right? I mean, it's the title of one of the movies being blogged about.

-Bryan Poyser
Producer, Co-Writer, "The Cassidy Kids"
www.burntorangeproductions.com
www.myspace.com/thecassidykids

OK, headed out to Austin in the morning on American Airlines 1182.

Last time I was there, about ten years ago, I was shooting a doc for Japanese TV about the bats that live under the Congress Ave. bridge. Little did I know I'd be back with a film called "Fuck." I hope the bats are still there...I'm guessing they are.

We're playing Friday night at the Paramount right before the official opening night film. With any luck at all, (with apologies to Mr. Altman) the marquee might read "Fuck The Prairie Home Companion." There's also some sweet irony in the fact that the first person who agreed to be interviewed for our film was the aforementioned Mr. Altman, though the interview never did quite come together. The fun fact is that the first fuck uttered in a major studio film was in "MASH." Doesn't seem like all that long ago...

Look, I'm thrilled to be in Austin at SxSW. Audiences across the country seem to really dig our film and I can't wait to play in Texas, one of my favorite places. I'd also like to shout out to my other filmmakers here. I'm sure that some of you are going to prove to be a better blogger than I and I look forward to your dispatches from the front. Please if you see me anywhere, say hey and I'll do the same. I'm looking forward to seeing your films.

If you'd like to see more about our little fuck film, go to www.fourletterfilm.com

And hey, let's all have a couple of beers and go watch the bats while we're there...

After spending a very mellow night with some local friends last night, I dived into the town itself today. Met lots of locals, put up fliers, passed out postcards, gave away buttons, and made some new friends. Throughout the day I often found myself continually surprised by how nice everyone I met was. People seemed honestly interested in both my film and myself. Nearly everyone had a nice big smile for me. It makes me think, it really does. It makes me wonder why that seems so unusual to me. Why do I live in a place where everyday courtesy and interest in your fellow human beings is not commonplace? Shouldn't everyone being nice and friendly be the norm? I love Austin. Also went to the Alamo Drafthouse on Lamar to check out the screen THE LOST will be showing on. I love it. It has a great vibe to it. And the nearly 20 beers that they have on tap sure as hell doesn't hurt my opinion of the place either. Things are going to really kick in tomorrow, but tonight I'm going to hit the bars, and probably make some more new friends. Did I mention that I love Austin?

I'm preparing to pull an all-nighter tonight working on The Cassidy Kids. We're laying down the final sound reels. My ears are totally shot, so I can't tell if something is out of sync or not. I think things are in sync but I'm constantly doubting my own judgement. Maybe we should pull three random people into the room, play the film for them, and if two or more out of the three people think that the audio is out of sync then we slip the shot one frame later or earlier. On second thought this sounds like a horrible idea -- I'm dropping it.

Sounds like a lot of filmmakers are now arriving into town. Welcome to Austin, the only blue part of the state!

-Jake Vaughan
Director, The Cassidy Kids

Two days away from our SXSW world premiere of jumping off bridges, and I've crossed off almost everything on my list of "things to do". Finish movie = check. Drum up some press = check. Premiere party = check. Set up some meetings = check. Finish latest draft of new script = check. I'm not sure what to do with myself. I woke up at 4:30am wide-eyed with a belly ache. I just know that before 2:30pm on Saturday, I will throw up. I just know it. Sitting at my desk at my artificial intelligence day job, staring at my computer screen this morning, I could feel my stomach circling. Or at least if I don't throw up, I will cry like a baby. And I'm totally serious about that.

One of the best things to come from all of the SXSW promotion ... I got asked to speak to a local Boy Scout Troop. Apparently they have a Cinematography Merit Badge. According to my Director of Photography, Jim Eastburn who is a proud Eagle Scout, this Cinematography Merit Badge is a new thing. I'm so stoked about this, I can't stand it. I asked my friend if it mattered if I'm a girl. "Nope". Done and done.

-Kat Candler
www.jumpingoffbridges.com

7 Austin filmmakers (including yours truly) are featured on the cover of the Austin Chronicle, our dope arts weekly. Check it out. I'm the one on the far right looking at all my bed-mates. I wore the robe to kind of hide my gut, but I don't know if it totally worked. I also had just gotten my hair cut the day before. It looks like I just woke up, but that works for the concept, I think. Does anyone get what the concept is? Or isn't everyone too young now to remember that 70's swinger movie?

So, yes, me & the dude right next to me are about to throw The Cassidy Kids up on the big screen on Sunday. As Jake mentioned below, we're still working on the sound. But Jake & our sound angel Tom Hammond will get it done today while I'm at my mind-numbing day-job. I unfortunately had to take this day-job just a week before SXSW because the money I got paid for TCK ran out. Yes, that miracle did happen - I got paid to make a film. Not a king's ransom, but enough for me to survive for a number of months doing nothing else but making it. Here's hoping the miracle happens again.

-Bryan Poyser
Producer/Co-Writer, "The Cassidy Kids"
www.burntorangeproductions.com
www.myspace.com/thecassidykids

On Sunday, March 12 at 7pm, The Cassidy Kids will have it's world premier. It's been a long, sometimes painful, occasionally euphoric journey but we're finally almost nearly there. We're actually finalizing our sound mix here in Austin. The film has been laid out to HiDef and we just have to finish things sound-wise. We're lucky to have Tom Hammond as our sound designer -- he is truly an artist with sound. He's mixed most of Richard Linklater's films as well as a host of other films. He has taken the film to whole new place.

I had a layover in Chicago (Midway) coming from New York. There's no assigned seating at the Midway airport. It's all first come-first served. I chose a seat with ample leg room, sitting next to an elderly woman in an orange sweater. As soon as I sat down she began telling me about taking the bus to the airport and how much colder it is in Chicago than it will be in Texas. This made sense. I agreed whole-heartedly and shook her hand. I don't know that the situation called for it, but it happened and I have no regrets.
Later she went on to tell me about movies after finding out I was going to Austin for SXSW. "Movies are violence and sex... and foul language." I went on nodding, agreeing with everything she said. "I didn't see that best picture movie, but I was glad it at least beat that other movie, the worst movie of the year."
"The one with the cowboys who do it?" I asked. She ignored the question then went back to her electronic scrabble game. I pretended to fall asleep, then really did.

I wandered around Austin trying to put up posters for THE LAST ROMANTIC in window fronts. I asked one bartender if I could put a poster in his window and he said, "Sure." Then as I turned to go outside he said, "We'll just take it down when you leave." I thanked him and shook his hand awkwardly.

I spent some time in the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown getting a feel for the theatre, and what it's like to stand around in and outside of it so that when our screenings come up I'll be prepared to stand in and outside of it.

As I took the route 6 bus back to where I'm crashing tonight a big strong man came aboard. He looked at me funny then kicked me in the shin and said "what's up?"
I looked up, wearily.
"Oh sorry. I thought you were someone else. "
We shook hands, then he walked to the back of the bus.