June 2012 Review
June started out with a trip to LA. As most of you know, I always love my time in Tinsel Town. I go there twice a year now and as a result know many different people in the LA film business. I always seem to naturally pick up meetings that matter. However, one has to always be aware of what one calls Hollywood Bullshit. LA attracts the bullshit artist like no other town.
However, I do feel now I have built up an attennae for the bullshit artist. These days the Hollywood Bullshit Artist is very easy to spot. One only has to check out with IMDB and Google to find out if they have any credits. IMDB is an essential listing for any successful film maker. I always work on about one in four meetings being actually worthwhile. However one has to go to all of them to work out which meeting is worthwhile.
Sunny LA definitley lived up to its name with beautiful days in the high 20s or in the 70s. Also I managed to get to my favourite hotels The Roosevelt and the Beverly Hills hotel. Both hotels are famous iconic Hollywood hotels where the famous often hang out. I always feel I fit in LA where people love movies and film makers who make films.
Back in Sydney I only had a week to catch my breath, when I had to drive to Victoria for the Melbourne 4 Month Film Course Shoot. We shot on location in a beautiful village called Warburton where we all stayed as a group in the local hotels and motels. If you have never been to Warburton, please place it on your To Do List. Warburton is nestled between towering mountains of eucalyptus rainforest and rural farms. It is a quaint village full of New Age and Craft shops.
We shot “Imagine That” a short film about a magic IPhone app that when pressed sends you to all of your dream worlds and allows you to be with your dream soulmate. Very imaginative film and it took two and half days to shoot. The Crew and Cast did very well. In fact so well, I slipped off on Sunday afternoon for a treck in the mountains.
On the drive back to Sydney , I stopped in the old gold mining town of Beechworth. Another first for me and I definitely recommend a visit here. I managed to leave the town with only buying some Honey. At the hotel, I really enjoyed the outdoor hot spa which I spent half an hour in at 1o pm in 4C weather. It makes you feel alive especially when you are running back to the hotel room.
The Sydney 4 Month Film School is moving along well. Casting happens tonight and the shoot happens at the end of July. The course group are very enthusiastic and of course once the film is cast, the excitement of the imminent shoot starts to build.
On Tuesday last week , I flew to Adelaide for one day. It was a truly momentus day. Needless to say when I arrived back to Sydney on the same day, I knew that certainly my world had changed for ever.Maybe I will write about that another time.