Blood and Brides and Robots Oh My!

Okay there was only one Bride and one Robot… but there was plenty of Blood.  Fresh from it’s world Premiere last weekend at the Derby City Film Festival and screenings earlier this week in Muncie, Bloomington and Lafayette,  My Bloody Wedding had it’s Indianapolis Premiere last night at the Indiana State Museum IMAX. The crowd was enthusiastic and certainly not disappointed.  Director and co-writer Morgan Mead hosted the event along with actor and stunt coordinator David Fultz. David plays a crazy gardener that seems to know what’s going on long before the other main characters. Many other cast and crew members were in attendance.

The film was co-written  by The Director Morgan D. Mead and the Lead Actress Morgan C. Mead.  Morgan (the Director) explained how the two met. Both having the same name and both bring in the filmmaking business one of them had been credited with a film that the other had worked on. This mess-up with the Internet Movie Database caused them to contact each other, www.imdb.com They realized that they had similar tastes in films and vowed to work to gether at some point…

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Posted by admin on February 28th, 2010 :: Filed under Events, Film Premiers, Film Screenings
Tags :: David Fultz, Morgan Mead, My Bloody Wedding

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Tis the season to hang out with filmmakers from across the state and share some holiday cheer… and a few drinks. This year the Indiana Filmmakers Network took our holiday party to Moe’s Irish Pub at the Hamilton Town Center and the result was incredible. It was Tuesday December 8th. This was by far the largest gathering I’ve seen of indie film types. It seemed like everyone was there and ready to unwind. We had people from all over Indiana and a few that were home for the holidays from other parts of the country. The award for furthest travel to attend went easily to Logan Huffman. The Indianapolis native was back in town awaiting the resumption of shooting the new V series in Vancouver BC,  February 2010.

The Indiana Filmmakers Network (IFN) has been around for about 10 years. It’s mission is to Inform, Educate and Promote the film industry in Indiana. I joined the IFN a little over two years ago. At that time the group had all but dried up. There were only 8 people at the first meeting I attended. I was asked to become a volunteer board member early last year. We had already started rebuilding the group and the meetings in 2009 averaged about 40 attendees each month. Last year’s party was held at one of the board member’s home and was plagued by an ice storm. Attendance was a meager twelve people… though we all had a great time, it was disappointing. This year we had a very cold rain storm… and the attendance was fantastic. We had told the folks at Moe’s that we were expecting around forty people. Instead we ended up with somewhere around sixty. The crowd spilled out into the bar area of Moe’s. It was great.  The staff at Moe’s did a wonderful job keeping us supplied with food and drinks.

For those of you who were not able to make it… you missed a great night full of  food, contests, prizes, give aways, and networking. I know of many good connections that were made that night.  You might want to clear your schedule next year… I think it’s only going to get better.

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Posted by admin on December 10th, 2009 :: Filed under Events
Tags :: Chuck Budreau, IFN, indiana filmmakers network, Kate Chaplin, Zack Parker

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There’s nothing like being at a movie premiere.  Especially for a film you’ve worked on and know half the people on the screen. This was a private screening for cast, crew, and close friends.  The Film Was TOW… which stands for Tainted, Obsessed, Wayward Soul. The Screening was held Friday December 4th at IUPUI campus. Truth be told I barely can say I worked on this film. I put in about half a day as the location sound mixer(recordist). As it turns out I was there for the big climatic confrontation scene. It was fun to see how the stuff I worked on fit into the lager picture. The main cast and crew worked on this film for months and they did a great job with very limited resources. I’m glad I got to be part of it.

TOW is the brainchild of Adam Newell. He wrote, directed, and stars in the film. The female lead is Emily Wood. I had worked with Emily on a few projects over the past couple of years. She is an amazing actor. She throws some great emotion into her character in TOW. The chemistry between the two leads is a great thing to watch develop.  Another actor who stood out anytime he was on screen was Louie Lawless. He played a strong supporting role as the local Sheriff. This was the first time I’d worked with Louie… though we have worked together since wrapping TOW.  Louie is a great dramatic actor… who between the takes kept everyone laughing.  The antagonist of this film is actually a filmmaker in his own right, Kelly Lynch. Kelly at times seems to be summoning some of Keith Ledger’s Joker as he takes the main characters by surprise and leads them to his own twisted version of reality. While everyone in the film is in some way Tainted and Wayward… Kelly’s character is very Obsessed.

The film was shot During the summer and fall of 2008. Adam had the help of his sister Erin Newell as producer of the film. Though each of them took on many different roles during the production. Even the cast members helped out while not on screen. One of the highlights of the film is the soundtrack. All of the music is from local independent artists. Artist such as Mike Akers, Red Moon and Hum.V. The multi-talented Emily Wood preforms several of the music tracks in the film.  The film starts off awkward and ends beautiful as all the peaces fit together. Everyone walked away from the screening proud of their work… and for good reason.

The Film is now off to the Film Festival Circuit, where I believe it will do well.

You can buy your own copy of TOW or check out the latest news on the film via the website http://towthemovie.com/

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Posted by admin on December 9th, 2009 :: Filed under Film Premiers, Film Screenings, Film Shoots
Tags :: Adam Newell, Chuck Budreau, Emily Wood, erin newell, Kelly Lynch, Louie Lawless, Mathew Allen, TOW

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The First Annual “Wet Your Pants Comedy Film Festival” was held on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at the Carmel Community Playhouse. I was fortunate to be asked to help out with the event.  The idea for this fun packed festival came from a personal tragedy for it’s founders.  Steve Pearce fought a long battle with Kidney Disease. Along the way he became an ardent supporter and volunteer for the Nation Kidney Foundation. He did a great job spreading awareness and raising funds for the foundation. He also made a lot of good friends and was always making the lives of everyone who knew him better through laughter. When he finally lost his battle earlier this year his family decided to keep his spirit alive through what he loved most… laughter. All of the proceeds from the festival went to the National Kidney Foundation.

Heading up the Festival was Steve’s brother Brian Pearce and their parents. Brian has Produced several films and is currently a Voluntary Board Member of the Indiana Filmmakers Network. This year’s festival was arranged at a break-neck speed. They had only a couple of months to put together what most festivals take a year to organize. It was very important for the family that the festival be held on November 21st… Steve’s Birthday.

In the short amount of time they actually got twice as many entries as needed for the festival. The submissions were whittled down to the fifteen films selected for screening. Most of the films screened had some kind of local connection. There was no shortage of laughter.  There were several feature length films  including, Zorg & Andy, Open Mic’rs, and 29 Reasons To Run. There were also a dozen short films…

Waffles For Virginia

Do Pencils Go To Heaven

Delusions

Cat Clock

Clones Gone Wild

The First Date

I’m Not Talking To You

The Last Bottle

PHAT

If A Tree Fell

Das Spiel

Tree Talk

Many festivals take years before they turn a profit for their charities… not this one. The very first Wet Your Pants Festival was able to make a generous donate to the National Kidney Foundation. The attendance was great and everyone had a wonderful time. The day was split into four blocks of films with Q&A sessions between each. There was plenty of time to meet the filmmakers.

The films competed for three awards.

“Best Film of 2009″ award was decided by a group of local industry professionals and personalities. It was won by Gary Weeks’ film “Clones Gone Wild” . A story of what happens when your clone is cooler than you.

“The Audience Choice Award” as it’s name implies, was decided by the audience members…hmmm what a neat idea. This award also went to Gary Weeks, this time for his film “29 Reasons to Run”. A cross country journey by two friends who really need to get their lives together.

The Third award was the “Steve Pearce Memorial Award”. This award was presented by Steve’s family to the film that most matched Steve’s odd sense of humor. It was given to Director Steve Wright’s short film “Cat Clock”. I can’t really describe this film… it would give the whole thing away and wouldn’t nearly do it justice.

The Family has already started making plans for next year’s festival. I’m really looking forward to what it will bring.

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Posted by admin on December 8th, 2009 :: Filed under Film Festivals, Film Screenings, Film Shoots
Tags :: Brian Pearce, Film Festivals

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Is it that time already?

No, it can’t be?

Have I been doing this for 2 years already? I guess the calendar doesn’t lie. In the Fall of 2007 I started a little website called IndyFilmNews.com, little did I know how many people I was reaching out too.

Things have changed tremendously since then.  When the site first started it was predominately a forum and secondly a News Site. The Forum users were mainly a group of people I had worked with on different projects over the years. The Forum continued to grow and attract others who had similar interests. It reached it’s peak in January of last of 2009.

Then Facebook took over.

Don’t get me wrong I’m as addicted to Facebook as the next guy. But, it seems to have killed online forums. I have started a Facebook Group and Fan Page to help spread the word about IndyFilmNews.com. There’s still traffic on the IndyFilmNews Forum and I hope it continues… but I don’t think it will get back to the level it was.

The funny thing is that traffic on IndyFilmNews.com has not dropped with the Forum post count. The number of visitors is up and the page views have stayed  level. Over time the Actor and Crew Profiles and News have really grown.  There are now over 100 Actors and Crew Members listed on the Profile pages. The number keeps rising weekly.

The number of filmmakers in Indiana is vastly larger than I ever imagined. I keep stumbling onto more and more. The fact that there were 30 teams completing in the 48 Film Project this year speaks volumes.  The major film festivals in Indianapolis are also doing a great job of pushing Indiana films. The Indianapolis International Film Festival and the Heartland have both featured tracks of Indiana based films. In February of this year I joined the voluntary board of the Indiana Filmmakers Network. This group was holding meetings with 6-8 attendees two years ago. The average meeting now is over 40. There are filmmakers of all levels attending.   From guys making low budget horror film with a cheap camcorder, to guys producing $500,000 Features, and everything in between. They all share a common love for the industry and want to see it grow here in Indiana.

Actors have also been making to the meetings, and I’m glad to see it. A few weeks ago I attended a Indy Stage & Screen meeting. this group meets the last Monday of the month downtown Indy at the Elbow Room. They are a group of professional actors that also care about growing the film community. In the northern part of the state the Mid-America Filmmakers are doing a great job helping each other make and promote films.

Erin Newell at Film Indiana is also doing a wonderful job helping filmmakers in any way she can. From tax incentives to location securing. I glad to we have someone like Erin on our side in the government. She loves this stuff as much as we do.

I want to thank everyone who has supported and added to IndyFilmNews.com, your interest is what keeps this site alive and ever changing.  The site is not going away anytime soon…I’ve already paid for the next 3 years of web hosting! I’m looking forward to see what happens next!

–chuck budreau

IndyFilmNews.com

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Posted by admin on October 23rd, 2009 :: Filed under IndyFilmNews Site Related
Tags :: Chuck Budreau, erin newell, heartland film festival, indiana filmmakers network, Indianapolis International Film Festival, indyfilmnews.com

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The Indianapolis International Film Festival (IIFF) kicked off this year’s festivities with a bang! The Melody Inn hosted the IIFF Preview Party, Including two live bands and Bob & Tom’s Donnie Baker doing his stand up show. There were prizes, free drinks, and lots of film enthusiasts…who liked free drinks!

I was there to support two films I worked on. Both are up for the same award at this year’s festival, the Hoosier Lens Award. The award is devoted exclusively to Indiana Filmmakers. Kate Chaplin’s “First they Came For…”, Brian Pearce’s “Illusions of Life”, Dan T Hall’s “America On Wheels: Model T”, and Jon Moisan’s “Free Wall” will compete for this year’s award. I was the sound recorder on both “Illusions of Life” and “First They Came for.’ This gives me a 50% chance of being on the winning ticket! or a 50% chance of loosing twice in the same race… depending on that whole glass is half full or half empty thing.

Kate Chaplin, Brian Pearce and Dan Hall were all at the party enjoying the the fact that anyone of them could win and they would all be happy about it.

The staff of the IIFF put on a great meet up. The Melody Inn is a wonderful mixture of a true rock bar and a quiet beer garden… in case you actually want to talk while the band is rock’n out. The festival starts next Wednesday (July 15th) and runs through July 25th. The Indianapolis Museum of Art is hosting the festival this year.  More info on the festival can be found here…

http://www.indyfilmfest.org

photos by Chad Richards

Checkout  Chad’s blog of this event…

http://www.onlinemediajunkie.com/indy-film-fest-preview-party-at-the-melody-in

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Posted by admin on July 10th, 2009 :: Filed under Film Shoots
Tags :: America On Wheels: Model T, Brian Pearce, Chad Richards, Chuck Budreau, Craig Mince, Dan Hall, Dorothy Henckel, First they Came For, Free Wall, IIFF, Illusions of Life, Indianapolis International Film Festival, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Jon Moisan, Kate Chaplin, Kelli Safford, Melody Inn, Michael Tressler

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I first met Morgan Mead a little over a month ago. He was spreading the word about a film he had been working on for 3 years. It was quite an undertaking. Morgan is the Director of “My Name is Jerry”, a film about a 40 something guy whose life is boring and stale until he accidentally stumbles upon the wrong party. The 20 somethings at the party take an odd liking to to Jerry and it turns his life around.  The film is funny and fast paced. The premiere was beyond my expectations.

There were over 800 in attendance Thursday night at Muncie’s Horizon Convention Center. The City of Muncie and Ball State University really opened all of their resources to the film and this amazing premiere event. The university actually funded a large portion of the budget. It also supplied students, filling a huge part of the crew. The students received credit hours for their participation in the shooting of  “My Name is Jerry”.

The cast were all professionals. The lead was Doug Jones (Silver Surfer, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hell Boy). Doug is an amazingly versatile performer. He as well as most of the cast and crew were Ball State Alumni.

The attendance alone makes this Premiere something special. But the calabre of talent in the room and the appreciation shown to all involved in the process of bringing this film to life, was refreshing and inspiring. Truly a night to be remembered.

Photos by Kate Chaplin

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Posted by admin on May 8th, 2009 :: Filed under Film Premiers, Film Screenings
Tags :: Ball State, Doug Jones, Morgan Mead, Muncie, My Name is Jerry

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This past Saturday I spent the day with filmmakers from across North America. The 1st Annual River Bend Film Festival in South Bend Indiana, is a continuation of the IU South Bend Independent Video & Filmmakers Festival. This year the festival starts it’s new life off campus and in the heart of South Bend. The venue was Century Center, South Bend’s premier convention and events facility. By separating from the University festival chairman Tim Richardson says they have received much greater support from the community at large.

This was the first time I have setup a table at this kind of event to promote IndyFilmNews.com. The reactions were great. The number of people that already knew of and frequent the site was very reassuring. At the time I confirmed my table I had let Tim know I was available for any panel discussions that he thought would be appropriate. As things turned out one of the main guests, Stephen Susco, had some travel problems and couldn’t make it to the festival. This made them pull together a panel of filmmakers to fill the time slot. I was very pleased with how the panel worked out.

The Panel covered many of the hurdles of Indie films. Financing, Copyrights, Distribution, Budgets, etc. The panel consisted of Myself, Kate Chaplin(Karmic Courage), John Klein, Cole Simon and Mike Molenda(all from Glass City Films), Scott Dokey( President of Mid America Filmmakers) and Moderated by Festival Charman Tim Richardson.

For an impromptu panel it went really well. The room was packed with filmmakers and would-be filmmakers. They had lots of questions. we swapped war stories and all seemed to agree on most of the points. Even though I had never met most of the panel we go along great. Kate’s Karmic Courage productions is based out of Indianapolis and I have worked closely with Kate on many projects.  Glass City Films is based in Toledo Ohio, though they spend a lot of time in Chicago and South Bend.  the Mid America Filmmakers is a group of filmmakers that help each other with their projects, they were the sponsors of the festival.

The evening session had a great turn out. it featured films from the Mid America Filmmakers and several foreign shorts. The Festival main event was the showing of Stephen Susco’s latest film “Red”. They managed to setup a video link via Skype and Stephen Susco was able to introduse thefilm as well as do a Q&A session afterwards. It worked out really well.

The Mid America Filmmakers are a great group and I look forward to working with some of them in the future. They put on a festival that was fun to attend and even better to be a part of. I’m sure I’ll go back to next year’s River Bend Film Festival.

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Posted by admin on May 3rd, 2009 :: Filed under Film Shoots
Tags :: Cole Simon, Glass City Films, indyfilmnews.com, John Klein, Karmic Courage productions, Kate Chaplin, Mid America Filmmakers, Mike Molenda, River Bend Film Festival, Scott Dokey, South Bend, Stephen Susco, Tim Richardson

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“Soldier’s Song” is a film based on  the real-life experience of an injured soldier returning from Vietnam. Greg Raubins (Tom Sparx) has been paralyzed from the waist down and is in incredible pain. He struggles with his injuries, his family, his roommate Rick (Scott Ganyo), and an uncaring VA Hospital Staff.

The film was shot over a four day period, March 20-23 2009, at the Magichouse studios in Logansport Indiana. The studio is owed by Mark Racop, who servered as Technical Director on the shoot. “Soldier’s Song” was written and co-directed by Michelle Gusow.

The cast and crew were a joy to work with.

There were many of the usual Magichouse crew: Mark Racop, Mike Williams, Eric Ridge, Megan Werle, and myself (Chuck Budreau).

There were some great additions this time including Director of Photography Nate Savidge and Tom Johnson from Inverted Staircase Productions. Kate Chaplin, Melinda Labita, Stacy Mayo, Neal Werle, Gina Caroway, Nate Caroway, and our latest generation “The Pirates!” Josh and Justin Robbins of “The Dread Family Robbins!”

The Cast was also top notch. Tom Sparx, Scott Ganyo, Micheal Harris, LaDonna Pettijohn, Michelle Gusow, Angela Plank and Doug Bolton.

Sorry for anyone I left out of this list, the long hours of this shoot is leaving me a little scrambled.

Everyone worked hard, did a great job and we all had a great time bringing this tragic story to life. I know many new connections have been made through this film. I had worked with just about everyone before, but getting these people together has been a long time goal for me. I knew that the talent and dedication of these individuals would really shine when they were teamed together. Kate Chaplin asked me this weekend if I’m ever tired of always being right… not this time Kate.  Thanks to everyone for proving me right, you guys are the tops and I look forward to our next shoot.

photos by Nate Caroway

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Posted by admin on March 23rd, 2009 :: Filed under Film Shoots
Tags :: Angela Plank, Doug Bolton, Eric Ridge, Kate Chaplin, Magichouse, Mark Racop, Megan Werle, Melinda Labita, Micheal Harris, Michelle Gussow, Mike Williams, Nate Savidge, Soldier's Song, Stacy Mayo, Tom Ford, Tom Johnson, Tom Sparx

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There was a great turnout for the premiere of Brian Pearce’s latest film “Illusions of Life”. The premiere was help Saturday Night December 20th, at the Hamilton 16 Theater in Noblesville.  Leading up to the screening were five other short films. Including Pearce’s award winning “The First Date”, Kate Chaplin’s “First They Came For…”, Steve Wright’s “Killing Time”, Philip Paluso’s “Miracle Mile: Don Bowden”, and Mark Searles’ “The Horn Player”. It made for an incredible mix of locally produced films.  “Illusions of Life” is the story of Tobey (Timmy Tzeiranakis), a guy who needs some extra cash so he signs up to be a lab rat. That’s when things start going strange…

The film was shot in over the course of 5 days in August of 2008 at locations across Indiana, Including IUPUI Campus and The Indiana Dunes State Park. Director of Photography Angie Pop flew in from California for the shoot. The premier was the first chance that some of the cast and crew had to meet, since they were not all there for each day of the shoot.

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Posted by admin on December 21st, 2008 :: Filed under Film Premiers, Film Screenings
Tags :: Brian Pearce, Hamilton 16, Illusions of Life

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