Paris Trip, Day 2

(It is recommended by the author that you read Paris Trip, Day 1 before you read this post)

March 27, 2012.  It was the start of my second day in Paris, filming for my Joel-Peter Witkin documentary, “Joel-Peter Witkin: An ObjectiveEye”.  I was awoken by the smell of freshly baked bread, as the aroma from the bakery below the hotel was beginning to creep in through my open window.  I couldn’t imagine a better way to wake up.

When I booked this trip, I made it a point to try to get a hotel as close as possible to the BnF, and Baudoin Lebon’s gallery.  Luckily for me, they are not far from one another.  The location of the hotel was great, not only were we close to our shooting locations, we were also within walking distance to many great bars, restaurants, cafés, and local shops.  We were not staying in the tourist part of town, so there was no bombardment of tourist shops, McDonalds, or any other hints of western civilization. 

The agenda for this day was to interview Baudoin Lebon in his gallery, and from there we would shoot close-up B-Roll footage of the new works from Witkin before the official opening later that evening.   Most of the staff working at Baudoin’s gallery, we had met the prior evening at the opening of the exhibit at the BnF, and a special thank you goes out to Elodie Hodge and Hélène Cardalliaguet for all their help.  After the interview with Baudoin was complete, he was nice enough to offer an invitation for my crew and I to join him at his house for a celebratory dinner after the gallery closed that night.  We gladly accepted his gracious invite.  When B-Roll footage was wrapped up, the boys and I decided to get some lunch.  We chose a local spot, and I found myself eating a  cheeseburger that cost me 19 euro, and drinking Coke in a bottle… So much for the authentic French experience.

We got back to the gallery an hour before the official opening, and we started to get the gear ready.  Ernesto Galan was going to be capturing the footage from inside, while Nickolas Rossi and I were going to be outside for some “man on the street” interviews.  Once again the crowd came and there was definitely no shortage of footage.  Nickolas and I were able to capture some good interviews outside.  Some memorable ones are a woman named, Clementine, a photographer named, James, and a student named, Martin. 

As things began to wind down at the gallery, we packed up the gear, and got ready for the after-party dinner.  Baudoin’s house was only a block away, and we made our way over there after we dropped the gear off in the car.  When I walked inside of Baudoin’s house, I instantly knew I was out of my element.  His house was beautiful and magnificently decorated with many great pieces of art.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 

Taking the quick tour of the house I was able to spot where the essentials were.  In the dinning room there was a large spread of a variety of high quality cheeses, fresh bread, and plates of blood sausage.  Towards the kitchen area there was a table with a butler standing behind it.  On the table were many glasses of champagne and wine.  I chose the champagne, as did Ernesto and Nickolas.  The rest of the people invited began to show up in one big group, and within the crowd of people was Martin, the student we had interviewed earlier.  It turns out he began to talk to Witkin before the gallery closed, and soon found himself invited to the party.  I was quite impressed with Martin’s social skills, as I talked with him throughout the evening, I found him to be quite entertaining.

I think I was on my fifth glass of champagne when I took a moment to observe what was going on around me.  A couple of days prior to that moment, I was in the United States, stressing out and was a nervous wreck from preparation for the trip to Paris, and yet here I was… at a major art dealer’s house for a private party, drinking the finest champagne France has to offer, and surrounded by good company.  Those in attendance included Joel-Peter Witkin, and his son Kersen Witkin, Joel’s twin brother Jerome, and his son Christian Witkin.  Along with the four Witkin boys, there was also Baudoin’s family, and many of Witkin’s closest friends.  Once again, I felt as if I were dreaming.  It was a pretty surreal moment for me, as I never would have imagined myself in such a position.

After the party was over, the boys and I decided to go get more drinks.  With a stomach full of champagne and blood sausage, what would be better to put on top it?  Scotch.  There was a bar that was still open down the block and we preceded to have our own little post celebratory toast to the end of another beautiful day in Paris.  However, it was shortly after that first toast, when I realized how important the hotel selection was.  It is safe to say by the end of the night, I was drunk, and thank Christ it wasn’t too far of a walk back to the hotel from the bar.

Stay tuned for Paris, Day 3    

Paris Trip, Day 1

“As I can’t think of a suitable excuse for not writing to you sooner, let’s just say ‘better late than never’, and move on from there.” – Hunter S. Thompson

I realize it has been eight months since my last blog entry, and I am severely overdue.  I originally started this blog with the intention of making a post every week, a goal in which I have failed miserably.  So, without further ado, let’s back to it, shall we?

In March of 2012, Joel-Peter Witkin contacted me about the possibility of joining him in Paris, France for a week in order to film him at some major events in his life. Witkin was getting ready to debut his latest volume of work at Baudoin Lebon’s gallery.  Along with the new gallery showing, there was also a retrospective exhibition at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), where his new book, “Heaven or Hell”, was to be released. Add to that, he was scheduled for a book signing at “Art Paris Art Fair”.  This would be a great opportunity for my crew (Ernesto Galan and Nickolas Rossi) and I to capture some amazing footage for the “Joel-Peter Witkin: An Objective Eye” documentary… How could I say no?

What can I say about Paris that hasn’t already been written by so many great writers before me?  Truth be told, Paris left me speechless.  I had always hoped that one day I would be fortunate enough to make a trip to Paris, and now after all this time, I still can’t believe it happened.  I simply fell in love with the place and I can’t wait to get back there.

First thing on the agenda after we arrived in Paris was the opening of the exhibition at the BnF.   This was quite an event, as there were 45 engravings from the Renaissance to the twentieth century displayed in counterpoint to 85 of Witkin’s photographs.  It was truly magical to see the works of Witkin paired up with such master printmakers as Dürer, Goya, Ensor, Picasso, Rops and many others.  Aside from seeing Witkin’s work in a book or in his studio, this was the first time I had ever seen his photographs in this kind of proper setting, and to see the original prints up close, it had a profound effect on me.  Another thing that I found interesting about that night was the number of people who were in attendance.  The rough estimation was somewhere between 2,000 to 3,000 people, with a line stretching down the block and around the corner.  It was only then that I began to understand how much the French embrace the works of Witkin. 

Joel had been present throughout the whole exhibition, stopping and talking to many of the guest, discussing his technique, and answering questions.  Afterwards he was set up at a table and began to sign books for the eager crowd who had been waiting in line, a line that was rapidly growing.  But Witkin handled it with grace and spent a good deal of time with each guest, as he signed their books, and exchanged small conversations.  The line came to an end, and it was time to call it a night.  I went to bed that night with a sense of disbelief, as the first full day of filming in Pairs, went off without a hitch.  As I suffered with jetlag, I began to wonder if it was real.  

The week had only just begun, and the crew and I were scheduled to wake up early the next morning to spend the day at the Baudoin Lebon Gallery, in preparation for the premiere of Witkin’s latest works later that evening.

Stay Tuned for Paris Trip Day 2

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Albuquerque (Part 2: Panic!)

(It is STRONGLY recommended by the author of this blog to read Part 1 before you read Part 2.)

When my eyes opened on that Saturday morning, I instantly knew I was fucked. The display on my alarm clock showed an hour and a half past my desired wake up time. My flight was scheduled for takeoff in just over three hours from that moment. I lived 80 miles away from the airport, and I had very little room for error if I was going to make my flight on time. I couldn’t miss this flight, as the entire plan for the documentary relied on me actually being in Albuquerque to interview Joel-Peter Witkin. I jolted out of bed and began to get ready at a rapid pace, and that is when it hit me.

With the nervous energy coursing through my body, and the turning of my stomach, I quickly ran to the toilet. I sat on the toilet with a horrible case of explosive diarrhea, wasting precious time I didn’t have to spare. 

After my business was done, I showered and finished getting ready at great haste. I originally planned and budgeted to use the local service of the Park & Ride bus to get me to the airport. Taking the bus is much cheaper due to the low cost of parking. However, the bus was no longer an option for me. I know LAX like the back of my hand, and my flight was on United Airlines, which is one of the last terminals as you drive through the LAX complex. I couldn’t waste time with the thought of the bus having to stop at every terminal. There was no longer a decision to be made, I had to drive straight to the airport and bite the bullet on the expensive airport parking. Just another expense I wasn’t planning on.

Driving at racecar speed, I maneuvered in and out of traffic like a pro. I couldn’t have been more happy that it was Saturday and traffic wouldn’t be as bad a weekday. A stroke of good luck hit me, as I was fortunate enough to get a parking spot immediately after pulling into the lot, and it was right up front.  This saved me some time. I made my way inside the airport and noticed the line for check-in was gruesomely long.  After standing in line for over 45 minutes, I had less than a half an hour to get on the plane, and I had yet to go through the security gate.

With plenty of practice under my belt, I have become an expert at the TSA security check-points. I know the procedure, so I’m always ready. I grabbed three plastic bins, threw off my shoes and put them in the first bin along with my wallet and hat. The second bin was designated for my laptop, camera, and hard drives. TSA is always quick to tell you to take those items out of your bag. The third and final bin was for my backpack. I was “randomly selected” for extra security. After going through the X-Ray scanners and being patted down, I was able to grab my stuff and start walking towards my gate.

Halfway to my gate the thought occurred to me to make sure I had my driver’s license. I started to feel through my pockets as I walked. I came to a dead stop when I realized it was missing from my pockets. I hurriedly began to rummage through my backpack, desperately fighting off the urge to have a heart attack, as I couldn’t find it anywhere. There was only one place it could be, and that was back at the security checkpoint.

My first stop was the security desk by the checkpoint to see if anyone had turned it in. It wasn’t there.  So I ran over to the end of the line where I had gone through and saw the stack of empty bins piled up. I frantically started lifting out the bins one by one and tossing them off to the side. After I pulled out the 5th bin I noticed that I was now surrounded by a team of TSA Agents. I pulled the 6th bin, nothing. As I reached for the 7th bin I heard a voice behind me say “Everything okay, sir?” I pulled out the next bin, and there it was staring right at me. I grinned ear to ear, grabbed it, held it up in victory and exclaimed to the TSA Agent “I found it! Everything is just fine, thanks.” I gathered the bins around me and started to restack them.

After the bins were back in proper order, I had to run to my gate. The clock was counting down and I was cutting it close. I reached my gate only to realize that it wasn’t a real gate. It was a ruse as the tarmac led me outside to where a shuttle bus was sitting idle. This so-called bus was going to provide me transport to another terminal, which was halfway around to the other side of the airport, where the real gate for my flight was.

I sat in the bus alone for a good eight minutes. The air-conditioning was not running, and I was roasting like a duck. Looking at my watch my breaking point came. “Can we get this thing moving?” I shouted out to the driver who was outside waiting. He got in the bus, shut the door and we were on our way. 

I reached my gate just as they were preparing to close the door. As soon as I was on the plane the door closed behind me, and as the stewardess began her announcement I was staring at a flight full of people looking up at me as if they knew I was the reason why the flight is five minutes behind schedule. A sigh of relief came as I sat down and the plane started backing up.

- Thomas Marino

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Albuquerque (Part 1: Preparation)

(It is recommended by the author to read the first four blogs, "In the Beginning",  "I Had a Dream", "Finding a Crew" and "Funding the Dream" in order to follow along on the series timeline.)

It was a Friday afternoon when I got the good news.  My flight out of Los Angeles to Albuquerque was scheduled for the next day.  I had spent the prior two days trying my best to fight off a panic attack as the final days of pre-production for my documentary about controversial photographer, Joel-Peter Witkin, were counting down fast.  There were many loose ends that I needed to tie up before my trip to New Mexico.

There was insurance that needed to be paid for, and most importantly, a mutual friend named James in Albuquerque who had agreed to supply the lighting equipment, was missing in action. My executive producer, BC Furtney, had been trying to contact him for a few days to confirm our rental reservation for the equipment, and he wouldn’t answer his phone or call back. This was a problem and we needed a solution quickly.

While Furtney worked frantically in his office in Pennsylvania to track down other lighting sources in New Mexico for last-minute quotes, I was hitting up companies in Los Angeles to secure the insurance.  Anytime you plan to rent equipment for making a film, most businesses will require you to have insurance for your production needs. I had been sitting with an insurance agent for over an hour, making revisions to a quote.  After making some changes I was given a new quote that was twice as much as I expected. I told the guy I would be back the next day to pay for it.

In the meantime, BC and I were constantly on the phone going over the lighting and insurance issues.  All of the new estimates for equipment rental were not sitting well with me. Again, numbers were coming in that were twice what I had budgeted for. We settled on a new lighting company and were on our way toward solving the problem.

 

Friday morning I returned to the insurance office with money in hand. I talked to the agent about what could be done to shave off some of the cost. We reworked some numbers and changed the address from mine in Los Angeles to BC’s in Pennsylvania. The number started looking much better and I paid for it.

Shortly after getting home Friday afternoon, I got a call from Furtney letting me know that James had finally called back. Apparently he had lost his cell phone earlier in the week and had gotten a new one in the mail just in time to hear the voicemails from BC. Things were starting to look a lot better as our original equipment rental agreement was back on track.

I had spent the rest of Friday evening packing and preparing for my trip, making sure all my paperwork was neatly organized. Flight information? Check. Insurance information? Check. Release notices and contract? Check. Interview questions? Check. I was ready.

I planned to go to bed early that night as I needed to wake up around 4am. Living 80 miles north of LAX with an early morning flight, it was absolutely imperative that I get a good night’s sleep. It was around midnight when I finally got my eyes closed, and I managed to sleep through my alarm by an hour-and-a-half. I awoke with a gasp.

This was the start of a Saturday I would never forget.

Stay tuned for the next installment "A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Albuquerque (Part 2)."

Official Website

- Thomas Marino

 

Funding the Dream

(It is recommended by the author to read the first three blogs, "In the Beginning",  "I Had a Dream", and Finding a Crew in order to follow along on the series timeline.)

Nobody ever said it was going to be easy.  When I told my friends and family I was setting out on a quest to make a documentary about world-renowned photographer, Joel-Peter Witkin, most of them thought I was crazy.  Maybe they were right.  I had two of the main ingredients to make a great film.  Mr. Witkin had given me his permission to capture his life story, and I had a great crew behind me to make it happen.  The only problem was I had no clue as to how I was going to pay for this new venture.

Making a film, no matter what genre it may be, is not an easy process when it comes to funding.  There are a great number of factors you must take into consideration before you can even turn on the camera.  When you break it down, it’s all about the money.  There are travel cost, equipment & lighting rental fees, rate fees, insurance, transportation, food for the crew, and many other factors too long to list.

I approached anyone who I thought might be in the position to help me out with the funding process.  Things were not looking good, as most people were quick to say no.  I was left with only a few options.  After giving it some thought, I figured out the best move was to make sure I had enough money to cover the trip to Albuquerque, and I would worry about raising the rest of the funds when that portion of the film was complete.  So I sold some stocks I had, but even then I was only halfway to reaching my goal.   

I met Sid Wimbish in 2008.  Sid and I became writing partners shortly after we realized we had great chemistry when it came to sharing ideas.  While he and I were working on a script together, I pitched him my idea for the Witkin documentary.  He thought about it for a couple of days before deciding to sign on as a producer, then he contributed a large portion of the funding I needed for the New Mexico trip.   With his contribution and what I had brought to the table, I was almost there.  I only needed another $1,000 to secure the budget for Albuquerque.

Three weeks before I was scheduled to leave to New Mexico I received the remaining funds for the trip.  My cousin Shawn Leyva stepped up to the plate and signed on as a producer and contributed enough money to get my crew and I to Albuquerque. 

(Now that the Albuquerque portion of the film has been competed, I am seeking the help from viewers like you.  I have put the project up on a website called Kickstarter where you are given the chance to become a Backer for this documentary.  There are special rewards for those who choose help this film out.  Such rewards include advance copies of the completed DVD, Blu Ray, Movie Posters and T-Shirts.  There are also a couple of "Associate Producer" and "Co-Producer" positions available.  Click the link below for more information.  We could really use your help, and every little bit goes a long way. Thanks.)

KICKSTARTER LINK

Stay tuned for the next installment... "A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Albuquerque."

- Thomas Marino

 

Finding a Crew

(It is recommended by the author to read the first two blogs, "In the Beginning" & "I Had a Dream", in order to follow along on the series timeline.)

The dates were set. I was finally on my way to making a documentary about the controversial photographer, Joel-Peter Witkin. I obtained permission from the artist himself, and locked down some dates in July of 2011 when my crew and I would descend upon Albuquerque, New Mexico for a series of interviews with Mr. Witkin. 

Two problems presented themselves right away. The first being: I didn’t have a “crew”. And the second: I had no ideas for a budget. It was time to start calling in some favors.

Writer-director, BC Furtney was the first person that came to mind. Having been a fan of his work since I met him ten years earlier, I always wanted to collaborate on a project with him. BC’s list of credentials includes two award-winningshort horror films, Disposer & Mister Eryams, as well as his most recent film, a bloody modern-noirfeature called New Terminal Hotel. I sent him my proposal and he agreed to sign on as both Executive Producer and Co-Writer. Furtney had some ideas about who we could use for our crew.

Nickolas Rossi is an accomplished Director of Photography with a long list of credits to his name. Along with being the DP on New Terminal Hotel, he has also been behind the camera for the documentaries Incest: A Family Tragedy & Reality Show.  Rossi has been a long-time fan of Witkin’s work and was very enthusiastic to sign on to our new project.

Ernesto Galan was next on the list. Galan is the owner of Scalped Productions in Boston, and is a highly-skilled professional in all aspects of filmmaking. He has produced and directed commercials, music videos and documentaries. Ernesto was also the editor on New Terminal Hotel. Furtney asked him to help us out in the audio and lighting department and he agreed.

The team was almost complete.  BC had tapped Rossi & Galan, and now I needed to ask an old friend to help me out with the music. I met Trevin Pinto when I was 16 years old. He and I became friends while working together at the library. The truth is, I was a little nervous about asking him to score my documentary. He was one of the first people I showed the Witkin book to after I found it in the library. He found the book’s content very difficult to look at. Trevin has been a life-long musician and has scored many of Furtney’s films, as well as having written and recorded music for a ton of other projects.  I proposed my idea to him and to my surprise; he agreed to compose the score for my film. His thoughts about Joel-Peter Witkin had come full-circle, and he was now interested in learning more.

That was it. I had a great crew, and things were looking up.  I couldn’t have been more excited to see it all coming together.  Now all I needed to do was put together a budget.

Stay tuned for the next installment… “Funding the Dream"

- Thomas Marino

I Had a Dream

(It is recommended by the author to read the first blog, "In the Beginning", in order to follow along on the series timeline.)