Screening

We had our first official screening last night. The picture still needs color correcting and the sound in the theatre was pretty bad, but it was the first screening of the final cut with the completed sound mix for about ninety people. It was a hastily put together screening but a lot of the cast and crew were able to make it.

The screening went very well. I was more nervous about having to address the theatre beforehand than I was about the reaction to the film. I always get very nervous in front of a crowd. I don't remember what I said but have little doubt I was charming.

Everyone said they liked the movie but they've said that before at our test screenings when it wasn't true. You can tell what people really think of the film by the energy in the lobby afterwards. It doesn't matter how complimentary people are, if the lobby is funereal and people talking in hushed tones clam up as you, The Failure, walk by, it's a bomb. But the mood last night was very upbeat and even elated.

And I could tell the movie was playing well. I can't really articulate where the instinct comes from to know how it's playing, I just measure the pints of flop sweat that run down my back. Last night there was none. It was just fun. You could tell everyone was into the story and it got a lot of laughs. It did take about ten minutes for the film to gel, but after that it was fine.

There are two jokes in the movie my wonderful producers were sure would flop. Well, one killed. It got the biggest laugh of the night. The other layed there like a turtle dying in the sun. So, we traded "told ya so's"

Most surprising was the reaction from the 10 to 14 crowd. A number of younger kids were really enthused by it. That they were able to follow the story is quite a credit to the structure we created, and that the story would appeal to kids that age wasn't ever something I considered. It's a small sample that means little, but when I saw parents bringing young kids I groaned at the thought of the restless sounds they would create. But there was none of that.

Here's a little irony for you: The screening was at the AFI building in Hollywood. Two years ago when it was just me and The Hot Little Script Supervisor trying to make this movie one of the first things I did was go to the AFI to post a notice for a cinematographer. And last night there we were screening that insane pipe dream in the exact same building.

Not everyone was there, so we'll have other screenings after the film is finished finished, but so far so good. I don't know how in the hell you sell an oddball little film like this, but for now the people that matter most seem to feel it was worth the effort. And to be honest, that's all I really care about. Anything after is gravy. If I wanted to get rich I'd be a porn star.