Watch The First Ten Minutes of St. Nick!

David put up a great post about the seeds of St. Nick, a web series that only got as far as the first episode provided the conceptual beginnings of what would become the feature film. You can read about it and watch a comparison between that episode and the opening of the actual film St. Nick here: http://www.road-dog-productions.com/weblog/2009/07/the_beginnings.html.

Embedded below for your viewing pleasure is the first ten minutes of St. Nick. (Note: You can watch it in full HD on the actual Vimeo page.)

St. Nick - Clip 1 from ST NICK on Vimeo.

A Wonderful Meal

I just got back from having such a lovely meal prepared by Valerie and Curtis that I feel compelled to report it here.

Mustard Greens
Roasted Brussels Sprout
Sweet Potato Fries
Black Beans
Brown Rice
Grilled Butternut Squash
and Tahini Dressing to drizzle upon whatever you fancy.
To drink was Mint Ice Tea and Moscow Mules.

Delightful.

Some Things

I'm very happy to say that a fine group of young filmmakers have stepped up to the plate to create a coalition of Fort Worth Filmmakers called: Fort Worth Filmmaker! On the front page of the site you'll find a video that includes me espousing why I love Texas and making films here.

They also have a great Vimeo site that collects videos of Fort Worth Filmmakers.

Below are a couple of small, short videos I made for their 5x5 Filmmaker Challenge which is simply a series of vignettes containing five 5-second shots.






…………………………

Here's something really awe inspiring that Poyser directed me to:

Inspiration

I've been writing furiously these past two days. I draw inspiration from a song.

Knife
by The Theater Fire (lyrics by Don Feagin)

Oh, I've been carrying a knife (repeat),
Between my smiling lips (repeat).

I do not need a mighty sword (repeat),
My knife is sharp as wit (repeat).

And when I split the pearly sheath,
And release it from the gash,
A shaft that spits and swallows greed,
For a moment of relief.

A name is written on it's blade (repeat),
It has a broken tip (repeat).

So when I see that name again,
Oh when I see that name again,
Slip it between his ribs,
Twist it between his ribs.

IFC Narrative Lab - SUBMIT!

One of the critical first steps we took in getting St. Nick out into the world was submitting to the IFP Narrative Lab. Getting accepted and going through the program really gave us the leg up we needed to realistically prepare for festivals and distribution and the prestige of the program placed us on the radar of many important decision makers in the indie film world. Thus I encourage all of you first time feature film directors to please submit. It's free and it could be one of the most important things you do for your film!

Word came down yesterday from Rose Vincilli the Program Manager at IFP that they are extending their deadline through next Friday, April 24 so now's your chance.

All the details can be found here: http://labs.ifp.org/.

Me As A Painting

By Valerie.

St. Nick Wins Grand Jury Prize at AFI Dallas

St. Nick took home the Grand Jury Prize in the Texas Competition yesterday at AFI Dallas. Not only did we get a nice award made of pure crystal, we also got this: $9,000 unrestricted cash prize and $11,000 in goods and services from MPS.

In David's acceptance speech he delivered this wonderful line: "This confirms my suspicion that this is a good movie."

If you didn't get a chance to see St. Nick at AFI don't miss your chance to see it in Fort Worth at Modern 'til Midnight.