Almost There...Hal Hartley Musings

Well, all the deliverables for the film are ready to go at long long last. Just awaiting approval from my music supervisor that I've hired over the net to secure the rights to a piece of music for the film.

Licensing music, especially well known pop songs is a nightmare. Never again. Never again.

I've completed my next screenplay I want to shoot. Another off the wall comedy in the same comedic vein as the first one. Now I just have to secure financing. No more self-financing for me. Just gets too blasted expensive.

Once the approval for the rights for a certain piece of music comes through I'll Federal Express the deliverables to the distributor and that's that. Something I thought I would never accomplish all those many moons and months ago. Independent filmmaking takes so long. I wish I was a low budget auteur like Hal Hartley (but without the need to alienate my audience as HH has seemingly done in recent years). Does he WANT people to dislike his films?

After sitting through the gawdawful motion blur effect that was present through Hartley's The Girl From Monday and the endless use of dutch angles in the cryptic Fay Grim. And the use of digital video over the vastly superior image quality of 35mm. Well, you get the idea.

Still, Hartley manages to live off the profits of his films. And is able to live comfortably and make the small, off the wall films that he wants. I'd want my stuff to be a bit more acessible than his works though. Henry Fool wasn't a Hartley flick in need of a sequel. Far from it. But Fay Grim is somewhat a return to form than his last few films.

You can't be another filmmaker though. As hard as you try. You can only be yourself.

Innovate. Don't imitate.

Adios, for the memento, true believers.