I've posted 35 movies. Logged 51 posts. Re-edited a masterpiece. Handed out awards. World premiered lost films. Written another novel. Finished another documentary. It's been a hell of a year.
Out of all this effort, one bona fide superstar was born: Joe. Above is a recent discussion he and I had about creating (and, almost 20 years later, reliving) the Danman Productions. You ought to watch it. It's funny. It's insightful. It ends with a montage set to the Perfect Strangers theme song. Wait, that last one caught your attention?
Francis Ford Iowa has been a ridiculous amount of fun. I'm sad to see it end. But end it must, because there is simply nothing left to post. Maybe someday I'll return to this project--after all, there remain a few unproduced scripts--but for now, it's time to move on.
Good night, sweet prince.
I loved this. I had actual tears. Joe Adam, I love you man. And that tennis racquet cosby-style sweater. -jenny
Not enough has been said of the clothing in these movies. The Cosby sweaters, the short shorts, the oversize t-shirts. Who was in charge of our costumes??
Seriously!! Are we still talking about Joe Adam!! Screw this, I've got lawns to mow.
Thanks so much for putting all this together. I am sure it wasn't easy. I haven't seen them all, but what I have, has been extremely entertaining. I can see the progression in your work. From the first hand full that looks like you were, messing around with the camera, with whoever may be at your house. To the later works, where you had intricate plots, characters, scripts, costumes, locations, special effects and editing. I can't imagine the logistics of even gathering all the actors together at one time. After all, these are active high school kids that aren't exactly getting paid, or receiving class credit to participate in this. But I do recognize the allure of being a part of it. It looked like a lot of fun. But I bet the real fun was when the camera was not rolling. And people were able to laugh and be themselves.
Without getting to "James Lipton" on you, I do have a few questions for the director/producer.
As most of the first films were done in, and around your house. How did you keep from getting interrupted in the middle of the scene. I mean, you are not the only one living at your house. You couldn't exactly scream out "Quiet on the set!" And did anyone ever get annoyed at you for taking over the house. That is, if they weren't chosen/forced to be in the movie. And what about the scenes around town, when someone might be pointing a gun in a dark parking lot. I could just see some old lady seeing this, and calling the police.
Did anyone besides yourself, get inspired to further any sort of acting or film making later on in college? I seem to remember Shad and Craig being in at least one school or town play while I was in town. And Matt K. used to draw amazing cartoons, as if he was a Matt Groening starter kit.
Like I said, I haven't seen them all, and have sort of used these as a guilty little pleasure at work, when I needed a good laugh. In fact, I had a buddy I work with, walk in and catch me watching "Sitter Splitter." He had me start it over and we watched it together. He said that he didn't get what was going on. But it didn't matter. Because by the end of it, we were both rolling in laughter. I can't say for sure what made them so entertaining, but whatever it is, it has a lot of it.
Well, thanks for making the last 12 months a little more fun. It was like having a little toy box at work. That I could crack open and toss the squishy ball up against the wall for a few minutes every once in awhile. -Tobin
Nothing makes me happier than the thought of you watching "Sitter Splitter" at work. My life is complete.
About your probing questions:
I don't recall spending much time asking people to shut up. In about half of the movies you can hear the TV and my mom talking in the other room. I think my family did get a little pissy at times, especially when I had decided to shoot a scene *in their room* and it was starting to get late. Fairfield as a whole didn't seem to mind what I was up to. The end of THE GODFATHERS featured about six kids all shooting guns at each other in the middle of the town square and we didn't get more than a few askance looks. That probably wouldn't be the case today. It's a different world.
I think Shad is the only one who went on to an acting career. He's still at it and is good. Matt K. makes videos and is still making art. Aside from that, everyone got out of "the biz." They probably knew that it's all downhill after Danman Productions.
If you haven't seen them yet, check out my four favorites, in this order: THE BLOB, TWILIGHT ZONE, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and BREAKDOWN. All are top-notch bullshit.
A footnote: when sifting through all my old tapes, I came across the video Jami and I made for you. It was called "For Tobin." Originally I considered posting it, since it was from the same era, etc. After viewing it, I realized that it was basically 30 minutes of shaky footage from inside Jami's car. But it was fun to watch us peeking into the empty house where you used to live. And it was a little sad, too.