International Women's Day

Las Contemporaneas of the Museum of Ventura County held their First Annual Latina Short Film Festival on March 8^th 2014. They were generous enough to screen both The Big Deal and Day of the Girl.

I was moved by the audience’s love and appreciation of both films. I am always humbled when I get such a great reaction to my work, it makes me proud of what I have achieved and motivates me to keep going.

The Chicana Role Model gave a fabulous

 

 

 I was honored with a spiffy award

 

Accepting my award

 

People want a feature film based on How to Be a Chicana Role Model - fingers crossed we make this happen.

xoxo,

Lucy

2012 San Diego Latino Film Festival

On Saturday, March 10th, 2012 The Big Deal shared the screen with some amazing films at The San Diego Latino Film Festival. The film was programmed under the Cine Mujer Shorts Program – films about women or the experiences of women.  

Matt and I spent the weekend at the festival and had a great time watching films and enjoying the festivities. Lisa Franek, Ethan Van Thillo and the rest of the staff did a great job organizing the event.

Below is a list of films and filmmakers that attended the screening and took part in the Q&A.

Repost from Dizzident Films' blog about BHLIFE

Thanks to Teri for covering this wonderful event on her blog - below is a link to her post about the Boyle Heights Latina Independent Film Extravaganza.

http://dizzydentfilms.blogspot.com/2012/03/boyle-heights-latina-independent-film.html

Read her blog and watch her film Heartbreak in 209 Cuts - I LOVE this movie, it's pretty sick and twisted - anyone who's suffered for love can relate.

Heartbreak in 209 Cuts screens at the San Diego Latino Film Festival - March 18th at 1pm

The Big Deal screens at the San Diego Latino Film Festival March 10th at 1pm.

xoxo,

Lucy

Imagen Award Winner Best Theatrical Short - The Big Deal

I am beyond words right now. All I can say is follow your dreams - I'm following mine and it feels great.
I met so many inspirational people tonight.  I share this award with my friends, family, the cast, the crew, my Mateo and my Chicana Role Model, Michele Serros.

Now back to work on preproduction for The Brown Widow and Alone.

xoxo,

Lucy

ps
That's me with Esai Morales who won Best Actor for Gun Hill Road - the film also won Best Picture

Imagen Awards Tonight

I'm super excited and I can't believe it's finally here. Any excuse to get dressed up is a good one. My husband and I are going to make a date night out of it. I wish my sister was coming with us but she's filming an episode of Against the Wall (Lifetime) in Toronto. I'm looking forward to meeting all the nominees.  It is an honor to be in such great company.

I'm currently writing the next short - The Brown Widow, my first horror script my sister and I will be producing and I will be directing. We've cast the film  (now we need to ask the actors) but they are our friends and we know they will jump on board - more on that soon. Ona doesn't want to be in it,  she wants to focus on the producing aspect. We are projecting an end of year shoot and then Alone in NYC either April or late June of 2012.

I'm developing two feature scripts and I'm looking to option one that's ready for production. I'm also taking a writing class at UCLA and contemplating enrolling in one of their certificate programs. I'm undecided whether I should go for the screenwriting program or the creative writing nonfiction program.  I need to make sure I can juggle this along with my full time job and still have time for directing classes with Judith Weston.

I'm looking forward to tonight. I'm so grateful for the reception this film has received.

xoxo,
Lucy

Imagen Award Nomination

The Big Deal has been nominated for an Imagen Award in the Best Theatrical Short film category. Check out the link below to see all the nominees - I'm proud to be sharing the honor with so many talented and prolific people.

http://www.imagen.org/awards/2011

I'm currently in NYC scouting locations for the next project. I'll post some pictures so you can get an idea of how amazing this film is going to be.

Onward & Upward.

xoxo,
Lucy

Almost Time for Picture Lock

I gave my final notes to the editor today. We will lock picture sometime this week (when all changes to the film cut have been done and approved). Next step is sound mixing and color correction.

I am happy with the cut and I hope you all enjoy the fruits of our labor. I'm in a bit of shock, it's hard to believe this moment is finally here. This process has been so much easier in comparison to the hurdles we went through and are currently going through for Love 10 to 1 (the feature film I co-directed with two other female directors in 2008). As I said before, I went to film school making Love 10 to 1 and the experience has paid off.

I am planning pre-production on my next film, my last short before I jump on my feature film. I will begin preproduction on Alone at the end of January. I can't believe it's two weeks away. The film is named after an Edgar Allan Poe poem that inspired me to write the script.

Alone is about a twelve year old Latina who is bullied in school and abused at home. She is plagued by thoughts of suicide and seeks refuge in an unlikely place. I wrote the script in 2009. I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits and Odessey and Oracle by The Zombies. I was in a dark place emotionally, what came out was a very personal script, some based on me (the bullying), the rest, based on statistics about the rate of Latina girls and suicide. I equate the writing of Alone with walking naked in Times Square. It was a challenging script to write.

The film takes place in New York. I will shoot the interiors in Los Angeles and the exteriors in NYC. I wish I could afford to shoot in NY but crew costs more there and I can't afford to pay for travel and lodging for the entire cast and crew.

I am putting some thought into my crowd funding campaign...

xoxo,

Lucy

Adapting "The Big Deal"

I have a deep admiration and appreciation for a great book.  When Michele Serros gave me the OK to adapt “The Big Deal”, one of the chapters from her LA Times Best Seller book, How To Be A Chicana Role Model, I was flattered, grateful and scared. I wanted to make an adaptation that was true to the story Michele wrote.

I’ve reluctantly come to understand the need for a screenwriter to change things to make a book more cinematic, visually stimulating and/or to tell the story better. As a filmmaker, I had a responsibility to tell the story in the best way possible and as a fan of the book (one of my favorite books of all time) I wanted to see a film that was true to the story in the book. 

I wrote about 10 drafts of the screenplay. The first few drafts had Michele’s voiceovers (as they appear in the book) and in the last 5 drafts I did away with them. Everyone who gave notes on the script told me to get rid of the voiceovers and figure out another way to convey that information. It was hard to get all the juicy tidbits in the script without those voiceovers.  So I made the first change.

Some pictures from the shoot

Catalina Maynard as Aunt Alma & Onahoua Rodriguez as Michele

Michele Serros gives Onahoua some tips on How To Be A Chicana Role Model

Two Days Before Production

Since Saturday, I have been averaging about 3 hrs of sleep per night, it must be anxiety. Last night I was able to sleep through most of the night. Things are falling into place. I got my crew together, most of the equipment has been rented and I bought most of the props.

Again, I will be wearing 50 hats; director, producer, production designer, errand runner, you name it, I'm on it. When I feel like I'm at the breaking point, I always say next time I'm hiring someone to do all of this but the reality is that I can't afford to. I can barely pay the crew and the actor's salaries are deferred. I have to admit that as hard as this road has been, all the heartache and stress that this production has caused me, I LOVE IT. I get off on the rush of figuring out how to make it work, how to make it look as good as an HBO show on a microbudget. Fine, I admit it, I'm a masochist!

I have one last rehearsal with the actors tomorrow night. We will be working on blocking and scene transitions. I need to take a picture of their scripts, they have more notes than there are lines.

I need to make the final decision on what camera we are shooting with. I got an amazing deal on the RED but it shoots at a 4k resolution and all that footage will be a nightmare to deal with, not to mention how much money post will cost. Matt Boyd, my kick ass cinematographer suggested we shoot on the Canon 7D, I got my research done on that workflow only to have him call me last night saying he can get an amazing deal on the new ARRI Alexa. His connection just got it and is giving us a great deal, (about 66% off). I need to check with the insurance company to make sure we have enough coverage for the camera and the lenses. We have the 7D as a back up plan but Matt is stoked to work with the new ARRI.

While I am glad for having choices to make, I won't have much time to get familiar with the camera before we shoot. I don't know if other directors get as involved w/these details but I'm a bit of a control freak and I like knowing what I'm working with. I've worked with Matt before and I trust his judgement so I am going to let him make the choice. I checked out the ARRI website and it is a pretty neat camera.

Off to work I go, I am not a woman of leisure. I have two full time jobs, one that pays the bills and one that nourishes my creativity.  My two full time jobs have been kicking my butt this week.

xoxo,
Lucy

PS - I Can't Afford Your Fee Either - Response to Michele Serros

I do believe that the excerpt I read came from Latina Magazine, the magazine was fairly new at the time so they probably had no $ to pay your fee.

Wow, I forgot that our relationship started with me wanting to option Role Model Rule #3. As the myspace letter stated, I wanted to submit to AFI's Directing Workshop for Women (DWW). One of the requirements was a 5 page script. I like that story a lot, it's one of my favorites and it seemed appropriate for the entry. However, I chickened out and did not bother to apply.

On 11/18/2007, we wrapped production on two of the stories for Love 10 to 1. Read my other blog if you want to find out more http://indiefilmlove10to1.blogspot.com/ I made the decision not to apply to the DWW because I did not feel ready. I started taking directing and acting classes focusing on working with actors. I had taken enough technical classes through the Extension program at UCLA. I needed to work on finding my voice as a filmmaker. We filmed Love Song in June of 2008.

On a technical level, the Love Song shoot went smoother than the previous two. I faced personal challenges while making that film and there are many things I wish I could do over but once you say CUT, you rarely get to go back. I was going through a divorce, the company I had worked for since arriving in LA was closing and my mother was sick. Making that film is what kept me sane. I cashed out my 401K to get the film made. I know Suze Orman would not approve but when the economy went kaput in September 2008 I would have lost 85% of that money, at least I have a film to show for it. I used the rest of the money to spend my unemployed summer in NY.

Last week I downloaded the application to apply to AFI's DWW. As you were typing your response to my first blog, I was probably downloading the application. I feel ready for that challenge. Yes, I am aware of the fierce competition but I have nothing to lose, well, ok, it costs $100 to apply but that's chump change in the piggy bank of following my bliss.

I have a strong connection to The Big Deal. When I first read it, it reminded me of the experience of bringing the tattooed, long haired, half Jewish boyfriend who sang in a metal band to meet my Dominican, Catholic parents. Through the years the story has taken a different meaning, especially after my mother got sick. What I love about The Big Deal is that the subtext is so strong. I'm not sure how you felt about it as you were writing it but to me it's all about the absence of the mother and that's where I'm drawing a lot from. After my divorce, I wondered if I would get married again. I also wondered if my mother would be around to meet my future husband or if one of my Tias would be filling in for her.

I'm making your story as personal to me as possible in the hope of making a great film. I hate it when bad movies happen to great books. I want you and your fans to like it, or better yet, love it. Yes, that's a lot of pressure but I'm up to the challenge.

PS

I can't afford your fee either

My mom and my husband Matt at our wedding. I am greatful that both my mom and my favorite tia were there. Check out Michele in the background.

Lucy

The Big Deal

Sometime in late 2000, I read an excerpt for the book How to be a Chicana Role Model by Michele Serros.  I don't recall which chapter Latina Magazine used for the excerpt but I was hooked. I loved Michele's voice, it was fresh, sassy and vibrant.  The first line of Publisher's Weekly's review of Chicana Role Model sums it up better than I could - "The wisecracking, bicultural/bilingual, self-deprecating, post-Valley Girl author..." that description sounds a lot like me (minus the author part) and I'm sure most of her fans feel the same way.

I've always been an avid reader but this was the first book that felt like it was written just for me. Every time I read a book, images pop in my head and in the case of Chicana Role Model, those images always lingered. I've read the book many times, given it as presents and continue to buy it (currently out of print but used copies are available at Amazon). 

Reading the book, I got to know Michele.  She  became a pen pal, sort of, one that I did not write back until late 2007. I emailed her via Myspace and asked if I could adapt a chapter from her book. She was amiable about the whole thing and here I am almost three years later about to direct it as my second film.

Michele (left) and I looking fab at my wedding. 

She was my Maid of Honor. 

July 3, 2010

xoxo,
Lucy