Tuesday was spent promoting the film.  Mike and I met Chad at the theater around 4 and as the screenings let out, we would tell people about the show.  We even had a few other filmmakers, championing our cause, passing out flyers.  Mike, Chad and I were all interviewed by a few different newspapers and magazines and then we had a chance to see a really good documentary on immigration called, Beyond Borders, which was well done.  There was an afterparty thrown by the star of a doc called Ahmed, Say Something Funny at Mojitos restaurant which we attended for the requisite amount of schmoozing…it’s Hollywood after all.
Wednesday was the big day… Fagan Patterson and Chris Viteychuk got into town around noon. We picked up my good friend Jonathan Case, who’s done a lot of music for me over the years and caravanned to the ‘Dena (as we’re now calling it).  Traveling back and forth to Santa Monica has been a bit trying, so we got a room at the Pasadena Inn.  We found a “Texas” BBQ restaurant close to the venue and thought that would be a good place to have a little pre-party for the screening. A very nice crowd joined us and then at 9 we headed to the screening.  Among the friends and family, it was really great to see some familiar faces there. Among the cast that showed were Joe Fury and Estella Perez, who came with her friend Efren Ramirez (Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite). Our friend George Huang (writer/director Swimming with Sharks) showed as well. I was also happy to see several other filmmakers from the festival there for the cause.  We did have a few sound issues during the screening, which we resolved, but for the most part we got a great response.  I think people were genuinely impressed with our little film. We had a nice Q & A after the film and continued the festivities at a restaurant down the street.

A few of us are meeting up at the Barn Burner in Pasadena at 7:30pm tomorrow for a little pre-game meal. It’s a BBQ restaurant located at 1000 South Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena, Ca 91105. If you’re planning on coming to the screening and would like to join us for some beef and beer, we’d be happy to see you. Yesterday was a day of R&R. Mike and I met with Chad (Wes in CS) and another friend Jonathan Case (composer of Wesley Cash) for breakfast at Swingers in Santa Monica. After relaxing at Mike’s for while, we met up with the DP of Deadland at Mike’s favorite beach bar, Big Dean’s. Jonathan and I rekindled talks about another project, The Bail Bondsman. The remainder of the day was spent watching movies and resting up. Today we are heading back to Pasadena to promote the screening tomorrow. More to come.  

Sleep late this morning. The previous day had been long and I needed to rest.
Mike and I leave Santa Monica around 11:30 am. There is a panel today which begins around 1pm that we’d like to see and there are only 40 seats available. It takes about 30 minutes to get to Pasadena and when we arrive there is already a line for the panel. While standing in line we meet John LaFlamboy and Matt Brookens, the filmmakers behind The Art of Pain.  We get a seat no problem. Inside we eat some free pizza and the panel begins. On the panel are Alan Bailey (CFO of Paramount) Sean Haley (owner of MultiVisionnaire Media – a worldwide sales agency) some documentary professor from UCLA, Mark Mahon (writer/director of a film called Strength and Honor, a film staring Michael Madsen and Vinnie Jones) and the producers of Red Canvas (a film staring Ernie Reyes Jr.)
Much time during the panel is spent discussing how much the film industry has changed in the past few years because of the changes in technology. The majority of the panelists agree that the market has become extremely saturated and that in order to obtain distribution your film has to have a good story and be technically sound. The documentary professor from UCLA is the Debbie downer of the group - Informing all, that the reality is the majority of us will not make it, it’s too hard (I don’t particularly remember what she said but it was mostly negative)… the Red Canvas guys fire back that failure is not an option and that you have to keep plugging away until you make it (I like the Red Canvas guys). After the panel I introduce myself to Alan. He tells me he enjoyed watching Cowboy Smoke and we should be proud because we made a really good film.
After the panel Mike, John, Matt and I grab a beer with Sean Haley. I actually met with Sean (a solid guy) while I was looking for a foreign sales agent for CS this past March.
Around 6pm we head over to the Red Canvas screening. I have been excited about seeing this film because it was shot on the Red (a new High def camera). The movie looks really dark and the colors are muted – which does not leave much of an impression on me. I wonder if it is the DP, the camera, or the projector. Any one of those factors can effect how the image looks when projected. I’m not a big fan of martial arts movies but the film manages to hold my attention. Kudos to the Red Canvas guys.
Mike and I leave the festival around 8pm and drive to Hollywood… he has tickets to the Secret Machines show at the Viper Room (a club formerly owned by Johnny Depp.) After the show we swing by Pinks (a famous hotdog stand in Hollywood) for a late night snack but the lines are too long so we opt for Carl’s Jr. instead. We finally get back to Santa Monica around 2pm. I immediately crash out.
  

I arrived in LA at 11:35 and Mike Lutz, who plays Joe in CS, picked me up. We immediately headed to his apartment in Santa Monica where I unpacked, grabbed a quick shower and a bite to eat.
From Santa Monica we headed to my folks place in Winnetka, which is in the valley. My brother Cody had printed out a bunch of CS posters for me and I needed to pick them up. While at my parents house I visited with my dad. He works on a TV show called Without a Trace on CBS which is currently on hiatus. Most TV series shoot for about 9 months and then go on a 3 month hiatus for the remainder of the year. It’s kind of like working for a school and getting your summers off. My dad will typically work on a pilot during his break in order to keep busy during this down time.
Around 3:30 we finally headed over to the festival to check in. Once there I panic when I out found out that they have listed the Cowboy Smoke screening time incorrectly in the festival program. I am told by the nice lady who checked me in to hang out for an hour and wait for the festival director to return from lunch – there is nothing she can do.
Mike and I head over to Gordon Biersch for a beer. My brother calls me – he is on his way to Pasadena. I check my watch, it’s been an hour, so I head back over to the check in but the festival programmer is still not there. I grab another beer at Gordon Biersch. My brother arrives, I check my watch, it has now been two and half hours so I head back over to check in. Josh Nuefeld, the festival programmer is there. I explain the situation and he apologizes and we devise a solution. The festival will email blast everyone who has purchased tickets the correction, which actually brings more attention to the movie so I was pretty satisfied with that.
We then head to Echo Park for a BBQ at a DP friend of ours house. I see Damon O’Steen there. Damon is a good friend who recently directed a feature called Deadland that I feel is going to do very well starring Mike and Chad, funny enough. They are finishing up post production and will be on that same indie movie path of trying to get into festivals as well.
After the BBQ we head BACK to Pasadena, for a mixer.  We meet many of the other filmmakers there, and there’s a lot of talk about how hard but rewarding independent film can be. I had a chance to talk to Ernie Reyes Jr., who was interested in talking about some future projects, so we exchanged info to meet at his office soon.
All in all, a good first day.
More to come.

Do you know anyone in the Los Angeles area that you would like to invite to the screening of Cowboy Smoke on July 30th?

If so, go to http://www.cowboysmoke.com/postcard/ and send them a personalized postcard inviting them to attend.

Cowboy Smoke has been awarded the AOF 2008 Alan J Bailey Excellence Award for Best Director. This is a pretty big honor considering Alan Bailey, the CFO of Paramount Pictures and founder of the AOF Film Festival, hand picked Cowboy Smoke for this award. You can check out the list of Alan J Bailey Excellence Award winners below.

Best Drama: “Break” Best Drama: “Break”
Best Action Feature: “The Korean”
Best Documentary Film: “Borrowing Time”
Best Cinematography: “ Waiting In Beijing”/ De-Guang Wen
Best Short Documentary: “ Flashover”
Best Supporting Actor: Vinnie Jones “Strength and Honour”
Best Screenplay: “ Strength and Honour”/ Mark Mahon
Best Director: “Cowboy Smoke”/ Will James Moore
Best Foreign Film: “Kids in Shanghai”
2008 Will Rogers Pioneer’s Award: Michael Madsen

Cowboy Smoke will screen at 10pm on July 30th at the Laemmle theater in Pasadena in theater 3.

Cowboy Smoke has been nominated for “Best Western” and “Best Fight Choreography”. The awards ceremony will take place on Friday July 31st. For event and ticket information, please visit:
http://www.aoffest.com/2008-event-info.html

Please pass the word to friends and family in the LA area about the Cowboy Smoke screening. Our goal is to fill the theater.

The screening time for Cowboy Smoke has changed to 10pm. The screening will still take place on Wednesday July 30th, but the time has changed from 1pm to 10pm. I figured the later screenining would make it easier for people to attend.

Cowboy Smoke screening at Action on International Film Festival - July 30, 10pm at Laemmle Theater, One Colorado Blvd Pasadena, CA.