WHEN LOVE WALKS IN... TO THE DRIVE-IN

Friday night, July 28th, 9:00 pm...

When Love Walks In will light up the night sky at the Friends Family Drive-In in Ypsilanti, Michigan. This showing is FREE and so are the popcorn & drinks... all sponsored by Friends Family Theatre.

If you happen to be near Ypsilanti, or if you know anyone in that region please let them know.

For directions or more information call (734) 483-6380.

When Love Walks In...Still Walking

The Paladin Pictures film When Love Walks In has been accepted to another venue: the 2006 Gloria Film Festival.

Celebrating its fifth year, the Gloria Film Festival aims to showcase films that "stir the soul, heal the heart, and enrich the world." More than 25 short films will be shown, along with nearly a dozen animated shorts and documentaries, but When Love Walks In is one of only three feature films that has been accepted.

The festival will be held August 16-26 at the Radisson Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. To learn more, visit www.gloriafilmfest.org

The Dove Foundation Seal of Approval

It's official: When Love Walks In is a family-friendly motion picture.

The Dove Foundation--a non-profit organization established to promote the creation, production and distribution of wholesome family entertainment--has provided their seal of approval.

These are the thoughts of film reviewer Donna Rolfe:

"Grief is always a difficult subject to deal with, but this movie does an excellent job. Even though this is a serious topic, this film gives you a few laughs as Art tries to set things in motion for John to find a new mother for Sierra. John has other thoughts about the future. This movie has many emotions such as sadness, comedy, joy, and love all wrapped into one. Watching this may give you thoughts about changes in your life."



A four-dove rating isn't too shabby...

Check it out on the Dove Foundation's site.

An Unlikely Audience

As a film that has been hailed a "believable, tender love story," When Love Walks In has certain target audiences that you might come to expect: the romantic soccer mom, the reminiscent older woman, the day-dreaming high school girl, and maybe even the kid trying to impress the day-dreaming high school girl. But you probably wouldn't anticipate the audience that will soon cuddle-up to enjoy this family-friendly film: the 101st Airborne Artillery group.

In collaboration with Crutchfield and other local donors, Paladin Pictures is participating in an effort to supply DVD Christmas gifts to soldiers in Iraq. One hundred copies of When Love Walks In have been donated to the cause, to compliment a number of Toshiba DVD players that have also been contributed. So, although the film is far from "Rambo" or "Jarhead," perhaps When Love Walks In will provided a much-needed break from the the usual daily grind...

WHEN LOVE WALKS IN - MISSOURI PREMIERE

I'm bummed today... I'll get to reason in a moment, but first let me tell you the good news!

Today, Thursday, September 15th, 2005, is the Missouri premiere of When Love Walks In. It's part of The Pathway Digital International Film Festival in Kansas City, MO, where we screen three times over the next three days at the AMC Theatres Ward Parkway 14.

Here's the schedule:
Thursday, September 15th, 2005 at 1:45p.m.
Friday, September 16th, 2005 at 8:00p.m.
Saturday, September 17th, 2005 at 3:20p.m.

If you happen to be in the Kansas City area this weekend or know anyone who is, let them know that this is their chance to catch When Love Walks In through digital projection on the silver screen.

Now, without further delay, the reason for my mild depression...

I'm a bit bummed today because I'm not going to be at this festival. These are the first public screenings of When Love Walks In where I won't be in attendance. You see, I'm still at the point where I love to watch the film play before an audience... so in a way, I feel like the father who drops his little girl off for their first day of school... then sits in the parking lot, wishing he could be inside watching her.

Re-reading that last paragraph I realize you probably think I'm a sick man in need of counseling... sigh!

Here's more good news... the weekend of October 14-16 we screen at the Urban Mediamakers Film Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. Check in for details.

Day 1: The Maine Photographic Workshops

I arrived in Rockport, Maine today and enjoyed the first afternoon of my week-long adventure at The Maine Photographic Workshops. My specific course of study: Film Production Management.

In the vein of vacation (disguised as career development), I've been afforded the opportunity to sharpen my production management skills by learning from some of the industry's finest teachers. I, along with five other producers in my specific class, will be mentored by Mr. Brent Morris--an accomplished professional who has functioned as producer, line producer, UPM, or assistant director for more than thirty feature films. Some titles you may recognize: American Gun, Love Happens, The Devil's Rejects, The Only Thrill, Monster, and many more.

Tomorrow, we get an early start: breaking-down scripts, considering the budgeting process, and working through the scheduling procedures for a major motion picture...

WHEN LOVE WALKS IN POSTER... FREE TO THE FIRST EMAILER

Yes, you read that right, ladies and gentlemen, the nice guys at Paladin Pictures have decided to give away a full-size limited edition When Love Walks In movie poster to the first person that replies to this email with the correct answer to the following question...

"What happens when John & Anna are about to kiss for the very first time?"

This is not the unintentioned kiss in John's house, but the first REAL kiss attempt on Anna's porch... (the scene from the main image on the poster).

For those curious souls... when we say "limited edition" we mean "very limited edition." We only had 15 of these posters made. One was displayed at the Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI. One was given to Dr. Neal Smith who helped put on the screenings up there. Brad received a couple, the Paladin office has a couple, the Virginia Film Office is set to receive one, so that leaves only 7 or 8 left.

The laurels say:

Winner of 7 Awards
including... Best Dramatic Feature & Festival Director's Award
THE INDIE GATHERING 2005
Best Clean Flick, Best Actress (Terri Moore), & Best Soundtrack
BARE BONES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2005

We'd love to give them all away, but they ain't cheap in that small quantity... so for anyone wanting to purchase one, we'll be selling the remainders for $20 plus a few bucks shipping. Not bad for a 27"x41" piece of When Love Walks In history... it will look fabulous hanging above the mantle!!! For those with smaller mantles... we also have the original laurel-less 11"x17" version for $3 plus shipping.

WHEN LOVE WALKS INto THE VINTAGE VICKERS THEATRE

Overflow crowds at the Vickers Theatre… Great Screenings of When Love Walks In… Engaging (and touching) Q&A… and free popcorn to top it all off…

The adventure began with Brad and I driving to South Bend, Indiana for a radio interview with Hummer & Deb on B100 fm. We had a great opportunity to plug the film, the Vicker’s screenings, give away some tickets (don’t be a “contest hog” or you’ll end up caller number “8” instead of caller number “10”), and we even got to play Terri Allard’s Dance Again from our award-winning soundtrack.

We spent the afternoon dealing with last minutes details prepping for the shows and continuing our steady diet of Tums, Rolaids, and Malox... It wasn't that bad, but I do tend to get butterflies gnawing at my gut whenever we screen When Love Walks In... especially in a crowd where a number of our friends will be, and since Brad lives just up the road from Three Oaks, we knew that a good number of friends would be in attendance over the two nights.

We arrived at the theatre at around 5:30, got set-up and began to greet those coming early to buy tickets, reserve seats, etc. By showtime we had filled the theatre and relied on overflow seating to help satisfy the crowd.

The butterflies diminished earlier than normal as the crowd was very into the film... laughing and audibly groaning at all the right times. It must've been due to the "high" of receiving free popcorn courtesy of Dr. Neal Smith who helped put on the shows.

At any rate... we concluded the evening with some great Q&A from the crowd. One couple drove 150 miles round trip to come see the film after hearing us on the radio that morning. They loved it and stated that they we're very glad they came.

We also had some touching commentary from a woman whose family is living the story of When Love Walks In. Her nephew's wife of 3 1/2 years died of cancer and left him with two young children. She had just returned from celebrating the nephew's recent engagement to a new love. The screening helped confirm for this family that in spite of the tragedies we all must face, new opportunities do come along and life does continue. It was a beautiful moment to listen to this woman's story through her tears. It was a great reminder of why we make films... for the hope of connecting with people and somehow, someway contributing to the richness of their lives.

WHEN LOVE WALKS IN - NEW TRAILER

Just want to let you know that we have the new Trailer for When Love Walks In posted on the website. Sam Voelkel did a fabulous job producing the spot and Matt Uncapher performed his editing magic to create a piece that really sells the film without giving too much away. Check it out... and let us know your thoughts.

Also, don't forget the WLWI screenings next Tuesday and Wednesday at the Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, MI.

And... check us out at IMDB... for those who've seen the film go and post your review.

WHEN LOVE WALKS IN TO SCREEN AT HISTORIC VICKERS THEATRE

Take a look inside the Vickers Theatre... isn't that fabulous? The quaint town of Three Oaks, Michigan is known for it's charming Main Street, Drier's Meat Market (a must stop for any visitor), the filming of the 1989 motion picture Prancer, and the vintage Vickers Theatre where When Love Walks In will screen August 16th and 17th, 2005, at 7 o'clock.

As some of you know, the Brad-half of The Brothers Williamson lives along the shores of Lake Michigan just a few miles from Three Oaks. We've been wanting to have a Michigan premiere since we released the film in April and now we have the dates... and what an event it will be.

Dr. Neal Smith and Bridgman Family Dental Care have generously agreed to mail special limited edition When Love Walks In post cards to 3500+ of their patients and friends, inviting them to attend the screenings... AND the post card will get you FREE pop-corn at the show, $5 off the When Love Walks In DVD, and a chance to win a signed copy of the film (for whatever that's worth!!!).

The Vickers Theatre seats 125, so get your tickets early to this one-of-a-kind event (actually "tw0-of-a-kind" if you count both screenings!). It's only 20 minutes from South Bend, Indiana, 90 minutes from Chicago, Illinois, and a quick 12 hours for all our friends in Charlottesville, Virginia. Brad and I hope to see you there.

THE INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE

When Love Walks In has been added to the "Earth's Biggest Movie Database"--the IMDb.

Now, not only are we accessible for the "27 million movie lovers" that visit the sight each month, but we're also able to welcome reviews of When Love Walks In. In fact, our first review has been posted--an encouraging 8 of out 10 stars from a Michigan viewer.

Please feel free to visit our page on the Internet Movie Database and post your own comments about When Love Walks In.

Steven Spielberg and Paladin Pictures

When Love Walks In has certainly made some waves in the independent film community recently--but to be mentioned along with the latest Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise production is another thing.

Along with War of the Worlds and two other major motion pictures, When Love Walks In is currently featured on the website of the Virginia Film Office. Having received six festival awards since its April release, When Love Walks In is being recognized as a quality family film shot regionally. The New World, a New Line Cinema production starring Colin Farrell, is also featured on the site, along with the film Cry Wolf, directed by Jeff Wadlow.

Visit the Virginia Film Offices' website to read more... look for the link on their main page titled Virginia Film Wins Festival Awards. You can read the same press release on the Paladin Pictures Website.

THE INDIE GATHERING - DAY 3 - ACTORS, AUDITIONS & ADIOS

Well, another festival is behind us. Brad and I wrapped up The Indie Gathering in Cleveland on Sunday and now I type from a hotel in West Coxsackie, New York.

The festival itself was fun and interesting. Sunday was spent attending a couple of seminars, one on Marketing and one on 4 Walling Your Film. Following that, Brad and I we're invited to be judges for the Actor's Showcase, a competition where thespians of all ages perform a 90 second monologue and we the judges rank them based on their performance, delivery and talent. Cleveland has a broad range of actors, some with great range and potential.

Following the showcase we watched our final film of the festival Saving Star Wars, which I thought was going to be a total spoof, but was interesting and quite poignant at times. We spoke with Gary Wood, the film's director a bit about some of his experiences shooting in Indianapolis. Then we made the rounds, said our good-byes and farewells, and drove off into the sunset so to speak.

All in all we had fun. Two festivals down, six awards, lots of friends, but zero distribution offers... let's see if we can increase that final category.

All for now,

Kent

THE INDIE GATHERING - DAY 2 - AWARDS, SCREENING, ETC.

I can honestly say that I've never been to a festival quite like The Indie Gathering... Interesting people, interesting films, interesting people... did I say, "interesting people?"

There's the young, black filmmaker who made a family film about a 12 year-old white Jewish chess player. Then there's the older Jewish man from Brooklyn who's preparing to make a film about young, black Kung Fu artists. Then tonight we had the pleasure of meeting a guy who acted in one of J.P. Nickel's films (we met J.P. last April at Bare Bones)... it's a small world.

The festival events started for us at 11:00AM with the Awards Ceremony. It was another good day for Paladin Pictures and When Love Walks In. We won two awards... Best Dramatic Feature and the Festival Director's Award for Savannah Grace's performance. Festival Director Ray Szuch said that all the judges commented about how fabulous her performance was. That was a great compliment due to Savannah, but also to Brad and the crew for their skill and patience working with a three year-old actress.

Our screening was at 11:30AM... not the ideal time, but hey, we don't get to choose these things. It was good to see the film again, but not nearly as fun as watching it at the Roxy in Muskogee. One viewer mentioned how much they liked the music from the film. It's amazing the difference great music makes for a movie. Congrats again to Stephan and all the musicians who contributed work to our "award-winning" soundtrack.

Later in the day we met a film rep who's taking a look at When Love Walks In for consideration. We'll see what happens there.

More later... Kent

THE INDIE GATHERING - DAY 1 - WELCOME TO CLEVELAND

After driving non-stop over 400 miles from Charlottesville, I was welcomed at the IndieGathering festival by four TV remote trucks, all with their masts raised prepping for the news.

I'M NOT JOKING!

I pulled into the hotel parking lot and there they were, probably 8-10 news cameras all ready to interview the filmmakers... okay, that's the joke. They weren't there to interview us, they we're waiting paitently for someone far more important than a collection of film-types assembling from around the country. I saw the man, but have no clue who it was... sorry I can't give you "all the juicy details" - to steal a line from Art Redgrave.

Anyhow, I got checked in and went and met festival coordinator Ray Szuch. He told me about some cool upcoming events in the globalization of IndieGathering Festivals. Then Brad arrived and the Brothers Williamson officially began our festival experience.

The first film we saw was The Way Home - a story of a boy torn between his foster family and his natural aunt who only wants him for the land his parents willed him. It's centered around a chess motif. The film as a whole was a bit campy, but it certainly had it's moments. It was a very family-friendly film, one that would make a good after-school special, but the entire film needs to be tightened and ADR'd.

The next film was a 30 minute short called Guys. It was well-made, mostly well-acted, and mostly vulgar. The premise was three guys treating their friend to a pre-bachelor party. This one too had it's moments, but it definately would NOT make a good after-school special. It will probably do great on a late-night cable station that loves sex-talk.

If you could take the production quality of Guys and merge it with the storyline of The Way Home you'd have a good film.

After the screenings we tried to enjoy the after-party at the hotel bar, but the band was soooo loud... or was it that we're getting soooo old... yeah that's probably it.

Anyway, the awards are handed out tomorrow at 11AM right before our screening of When Love Walks In. I better get some sleep.

Kent

THE INDIE GATHERING FILM FEST - CLEVELAND ROCKS!

I'm prepping for Cleveland. When Love Walks In plays this Saturday at The IndieGathering... a film festival in Independence, Ohio (just outside of Cleveland). I leave Friday AM and will be driving 7+ hours to the festival.

Sam bailed on me... (thanks, Sam!). He was going to drive while I ate beef jerky and snoozed, but at the last minute he thought it would be more fun to spend the weekend with his girlfriend. Matt thought a better time would be had spending the weekend pouring a stamped concrete parking area... these guys have got their priorities all out of whack!

Brad and I are planning on meeting in Cleveland Friday evening, so it will just be The Brothers Williamson hanging out at The IndieGathering... if you're in or near Cleveland come and see our film. Details of the screening can be found at the When Love Walks In site.

More later.

Kent

WHEN LOVE WALKS IN... IN THE HOOK & DAILY PROGRESS

Hawes Spencer gave us another write-up in this weeks edition of The Hook. He includes some great quotes from ShIronbutterfly Ray, the Bare Bones International Film Festival coordinator and mentions our four awards. Pick up a copy or check it out online at:

The Hook - Charlottesville, Virginia
Paladin's Progress: Local Film Lands Awards by Hawes Spencer

We also got a blurb in the Wendnesday, May 4th print edition of The Daily Progress.

When Love Walks In Continues Tour!

Well, we were just beginning to settle-in after our festival appearance in Oklahoma--and then an email appeared in my box this afternoon. It was an acceptance notification. When Love Walks In has found its next stop on the independent film festival tour! "The Indie Gathering" will host our film during the weekend of June 3-5 in Cleveland, Ohio. Check back for more information to come...

BARE BONES - DAY 7 - AND THE AWARD GOES TO...

Well, it's over... Our first festival with When Love Walks In has come to a close. Wow! What an experience! Here's the breakdown on the awards... we took four altogether!

Best Clean Flick - When Love Walks In
Best Soundtrack - When Love Walks In
Best Actress - Terri Moore
Best Marketing (aka Best Shameless Self- Promotion) - When Love Walks In

These are some great awards that will hopefully help us get into more festivals, sell more copies, etc.

I couldn't be disappointed for long about not getting the Best Actor award. It went to Joe Scott who far and away deserved it. His performance in Ocean Front Property was fabulous. You must get your hands on a copy of this film and check it out. It also won Best Feature which it also deserved. It was my personal favorite of the fest.

Congratulations to Terri Moore for winning the Best Actress award! She did a fabulous job as Nora.

Congratulations to Stephan Prock, Terri Allard, Toy O'Ferrall, Elysian Skies, Carbon Leaf, Stone Kitchen, and Messenger for earning us Best Soundtrack with all your great music. We've known that our soundtrack is one of our strengths for a long time. It's great to get recognition from outsiders that its great. Congrats to all.

Tell all your friends to get a copy of When Love Walks In and the soundtrack to check it out.

WHEN LOVE WALKS IN... AND THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE

Here's a recap of our nominations for the Bare Bones International Independent Film Festival 2005:

Best First Feature - The Brothers Williamson
Best Clean Flick - The Brothers Williamson
Best Actress - Terri Moore
Best Actor - Kent C. Williamson
Best Youth Actress - Savannah Grace
Best Ensemble Cast - Maggie Jones, Terri Moore, Melissa Dawn Bryant, Savannah Grace, Bill Williamson, Kent C. Williamson

2:30pm Sunday is the red carpet walk at the Roxy, followed immediately by the awards ceremony.

BARE BONES - DAY 6 - WHEN LOVE WALKS IN... CON QUESO

Day 6... Grief may conquer them... Fear may ruin them... But everything changes on Day 6... or does it?!

The final day of screenings began with Brad and I giving our Secrets of No-Budget Filmmaking Seminar. It went well. We had a decent turnout of folks from a variety of production and non-production backgrounds and we had a lot of fun doing it. Matt was able to give some valuable input from his perspective as well.

We then went and had lunch at El Charro with Jim, an attorney from Tulsa, and Richard, an actor from Michigan (one that I'm up against for Best Actor from The Mongol King). It was a good time and good to get to know them a bit.

During the matinee of Venom (a short film about a psychiatrist counseling a killer with some awesome twists) my cel phone rang and Terri Moore told me she had arrived. So Brad and I left the film and went outside to meet her near the red carpet in front of the Roxy. It was great to see her and get caught up a bit.

Speaking of the Roxy... I spoke with a woman from Muskogee who told me that there used to be two theatres in town, the Roxy and the Ritz. The Ritz is long since gone, but she grew up going to the Ritz, because that was the white theatre. The Roxy was the black theatre, but if you were white and wanted to see something at the Roxy you always got the best seat in the house. It didn't work the other way around. Interesting history from a bygone era.

While Terri freshened up her hotel, the guys went and saw Ocean Front Property. Wow! What a great film, definately my favorite of the entire festival. I'm calling it "fantastically beautiful!" I think Joe Scott, the film's lead actor/director is a shoe-in for Best Actor. He did a fabulous job. This is one film I'm glad I traded a copy of When Love Walks In for.

I saw parts of The Mongol King and Echo: Fall of an Empire and some various shorts, before our 10:15 screening at the Civic Center. Speaking of shorts... J.P. Nickel's Grim was funny. The character Death (one of the riders of the apocalypse) decides he wants to settle down and get married.

The When Love Walks In screening was interesting to say the least. We had a very small audience, since most folks had seen it on Thursday, but the real kicker was that in the room next to us at the Civic Center they were having a massive Quinceanera. Now for those who don't know what a Quinceanera is, it's a Mexican girls coming-of-age party. When she turns fifteen every friend, relative, neighbor, acquaintance, etc. within a three-day drive shows up to party the night away... we're talking Fiesta Grande! And they did it last night... in the room right next to ours.

Our wall was literally vibrating from the larger than life open-holed guitars and tex-mex accordions blaring through the stack of speakers they had. To give you an idea as to the size of the event, the Muskogee Police Department had four squad cars out front with officers inside and out trying to stabilize the situation. I'm not joking.

Back in our screening room, our quaint little film is trying desperately to be heard, but every time it gets to a quiet part in the movie you hear Salsa or Tejano music pumping through the wall. I leaned over to Matt and referring to characters in the film I whispered, "I never knew that both John and Anna lived in the Bario!" It did give us a sense of what the film would've been like if we would have set it south of the border. OH MY!!! When Love Walks In Bell Grande!

It finally ended and with even the nightmare-of-all-nightmare screening rooms we seemed to connect with the audience. More strong feedback... and not just the kind blaring from the speakers at the Quinceanera.

BARE BONES - DAY 5 - MORE MUSKOGEE!

Day 5 of the Fest...

This was our "off" day. No When Love Walks In screenings, just things like... speaking to a class of High Schoolers, an internet radio interview, and a bunch of screenings.

The High Schoolers didn't really care if we were there or not... typical high school response but very different than Thursday's appearance at the high school across town.

The internet radio interview was a trip! We had a lot of fun and made some great memories (ask me about them when you see me and I'll "fill you in on all the juicy details..." to steal a line from Art Redgrave in our film).

The feature screenings included Lucky Stars (a flick about a woman and her dog actress), A Cowboy's Silver Lining (a movie about a hitman who knows there's no way out of the biz), and Good Teeth (an interesting film about the modern slave trade biz).

Cowboy is one my personal favorites of the festival. It was very well made. The story itself was a little confusing at times, but the acting, the directing and editing were first rate. Of course, I can only like the film so much, because we're up against it for Best First Feature and I'm up against Ralph Hatley (the Hit Man's Boss) for Best Actor... but It's definately one of the best films of the fest. Awards are on Sunday.

After the showings everyone again partied way into the night at the Hollywood Pizzeria... we left the party early and crashed around 2AM. Saturday Brad and I have our Secrets of No-Budget Filmmaking Seminar, Terri Moore arrives and we screen at 10:15pm at the Civic Center.

WHEN LOVE WALKS IN... IN THE NEWS

Here are a couple of links to articles about When Love Walks In and the Bare Bones Fest:

The Hook - Charlottesville, Virginia
Festival bound: Williamson's okay with Muskogee by Hawes Spencer

Muskogee Daily Phoenix - Muskogee, Oklahoma
Bare Bones comes into its own: Muskogee earns rep as place for 'indies' by Leilani Roberts Ott


Enjoy, Kent

BARE BONES - DAY 4 - WOW!

Day 4... Well, we did it! Tonight was the world premiere of When Love Walks In at the Roxy Theatre in Muskogee and all I can say is, "WOW!" Finally, after 8 years of sweat, blood and tears... and it was very well received.

I cannot describe how good it was to sit in an actual theatre and watch the film play. There is an indescribable satisfaction therein. I knew about 15 minutes in that it was playing well. People from around the theatre were laughing at the right times. They were dead silent at the right times. I knew we were connecting with the audience and slowly the knots in my stomach started to untwist. They bursted out in laughter at Brad's line, "You mean, since I got out of prison?" That's when I knew we were on the right track.

I was amazed at how well the image held up on the large screen. But I was blown away at how good the film sounded. Thank you to all the musicians that gave us an incredible soundtrack for this picture. Your work takes the film to a whole nother level.

We received a strong ovation once the credits rolled, but it wasn't until I began to speak to audience members that it hit me as to how well the film worked for them. As the credits played, one of the "Chamber Chicks" (from the Muskogee Chamber of Commerce), leaned over the row in front of Sam and I and said simply, yet sincerely, "you guys rock!"

We expect that from the females in the crowd, since it is a romance and all, but it was the comments from the guys that shocked me most. I had several of them tell me how much they liked the film and how much they connected with it. One gen-Xer could only say "Wow!" He then went on to talk about the tears he shed during the film. It's an amazingly bizarre, yet good feeling to know that a piece of fictional film that we've made has the power to make grown men cry. I'm still trying to soak that all in and I'm not certain I ever will. I'm a blessed man. 8 years... wow...

Well, it's 2:40AM... I'd better get some sleep. Kent

BARE BONES - DAY 3 - RADIO, RADIO & MORE SCREENINGS

Day 3 of the festival events.... We started earlier than normal with a 6AM wake-up call to prep for an 8AM radio interview at the studios of KTFX Radio. Bill Payne and Julie brought us into the control room along with a few other filmmakers from the fest. Sam, the genius that he is, grabbed a copy of the film's soundtrack and gave it to them on the air which helped get us a lot of publicity for the film. They played portions of three different cuts, including the When Love Walks In theme song by Messenger, Good, Good Love by Terri Allard and Anna's Theme by our composer Stephan Prock.

We then traveled out to KFOX Radio and dropped off films, soundtracks and posters for them to giveaway on the air. Lunch was at Jasper's where we then filmed a segment with Brad and I for Rebellion of Thought. Sam had worked us a deal where we received lunch on the house and four $20 gift certificates to use as giveaways at our showings. If you happen to win one of those gift certificates save room for a slice of their Turtle Sundae Cheescake!

Next stop was at the Roxy Theatre where we hung posters and took pictures of ourselves out front with the signage behind us. Thursday night is the big filmmakers welcome followed by our showing at the Roxy. We're hoping that the welcome events will turn into a good crowd for the screening.

We've seen a number of features already including Pen Pals, Get Rich Quick, Messages, and The Man Who Couldn't. Some have been good, others struggled. The Man Who Couldn't had some strong story elements and good acting, but the audio was horrendous. The entire film should be ADR'd, tightened a bit, and then Matt should spend a few weeks on it for color correction and it would take the film up to level it deserves. The lead actor in that film has been my favorite so far.

Happy To Be Healthy

Three days and two boxes of Kleenex later, I'm finally moving past the sickness that has infected me since the start of the Bare Bones Film Festival. What's even better is that I'm getting over my cold, too...

It would seem that my first head cold of the year has arrived at a less-than-ideal time, as I try to meet and greet the media of OK with a glazed look, a scratchy throat, and a dripping nose. Radio interviews, television appearances, and filmmaker meetings have been slightly blurry through the headache and medicine, so I'm thankful most of my prep work has been finished prior to our arrival. Now, I simply show-up at our scheduled engagements and let The Brothers Williamson work their magic!

Nearing 100% recovery, I'm ready for the action-packed second half of the week that will begin tomorrow--another talkshow appearance, the filmmaker's welcome, and much more!

BARE BONES - DAY 2 - "MORPHINE FOR THE AFTERNOON"

Well the pace is starting to pick up for us here at the Bare Bones Film Fest. This morning Brad and I had a radio interview with KFOX 102.5 that Sam set up for us. They're putting together a two minute package to air durring their newscasts which should help promote the film.

Then we started the broadcast day for When Love Walks In Radio when we climbed into our rental SUV, fired up the transmitter and cruised downtown to hang posters and flyers promoting the film. We received a warm reception from the Chamber of Commerce ladies who seemed thrilled that we were in town. They requested that we give them a poster and sign it to the "Chamber Chicks"! It was a good time.

After that we went to Magnolia Gardens for our screening at the Assisted Living Center. That was a very interesting good time. About twenty elderly (some somewhat senial) men and women gathered around the big screen in the dining area and watched the film. Most of them made it all the way through and afterwards we received some positive feedback about how they liked the film. Just as the credits began to roll, one old woman blurted out , "Well that lasted longer than some marriages!" It was very funny.

Assisted Living Centers can have an air of depression within them. I told Brad and Sam that perhaps our film was like "morphine for the afternoon" for some of the folks there... something to help ease their day.

After the screening we again signed some posters and headshots and I spoke briefly with one old woman with Parkinsons named Maxine. As we wrapped up our conversation I said to her, "God's blessing upon you!" She looked me in the eye and said, "I love you!" It was a rather touching moment. I felt caught somewhere between reality and dimensia. But it reminded me of our calling; not our calling to make films, but our greater calling to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Tomorrow will be another day at Magnolia Gardens, but for today we did our part. Today we did to them what we would want someone to do for us if we were in their postition. So the only question left is... to whom can we do it for tomorrow? To whom can we be morphine for the afternoon?

Bare Bones - Day One Redux

What an adventure! At the end of day one (Monday) I was basically at the point of exhaustion - collapse in a heap and off to dreamland.

We started off the day with a television interview back in Tulsa that will air on cable this week during the festival, then back to Muskogee where we checked in with the festival organizers and hung out at the Darkwood office discussing our adventures with Bare Bones festival organizers Oscar Ray and ShIronbutterfly (yes, that's her name - I have to get the back story on that!) have been terrific hosts for our first exposure at a festival. Two hours spent talking to them about the ins and outs of the business were worth the price of a seminar admission, not to mention an absolute blast getting to know.

Over and over Oscar stressed the importance of knowing your target market. Aiming for a specific genre, and ultimately, a specific audience focuses your story and film-making in a manner that makes it compelling, and attractive to distributors. Having accurately diagnosed When Love Walks In as a "chick flick", Oscar dispensed wisdom as a wizened sage. "The key to your success is women", he proclaimed, perched on his stool in the Darkwood offices.

"The key to my success is women" I ruminated, as I allowed the truth of his wisdom to sink in. (If my wife is reading this, well, ...gulp...) No, seriously, the key to the success of When Love Walks In will be women, and the key to my success is one women, my wife Margaret, who is holding together family and soccer program while I'm on the road. Thanks, Margaret. Without you, this would not only not be possible, it wouldn't even be worth it.

Oscar was very enthusiastic about When Love Walks In. He was confident that our publicity work and effort we have put into marketing would hit the right buttons with potential buyers, and lead to a sale. We are eagerly hoping he is a prophet.

Oklahoma is beautiful - the weather, though threatening rain, has been super, especially compared to my hometown at this time of year. Days in the seventies, and the fragrance of blooming azaleas everywhere. It doesn't hurt that we show up in the middle of the azalea festival.

For those of you worried that we aren't getting enough to eat, well, it has been difficult, and that's only because there are too many choices. Bar-b-que, mexican, and catfish are all competing for a spot on our top ten favorites list, and we are committed to giving each food genre a sincere and dedicated exploration.

My biggest wish is that my family was here to enjoy this with me. It is a terrific experience so far, and I wish I could share it with them. More tomorrow.

Brad

BARE BONES - DAY 1

Day 1 of the Bare Bones Experience is officially over.

Brad, Sam and I spent the morning checking out of the Travelodge (the bizarre, movie-set, hotel that Matt found for us. We won't blame him, we'll just make him stay there when he arrives on Thursday!) Then we checked into the La Quinta and spent the rest of the AM waiting for our breakfast over at Denny's, which took nearly an hour from the time we ordered until the time we ate... they warned us ahead of time that they had a problem in the kitchen... they weren't lying.

Shortly thereafter we drove to Tulsa to the studios at KWHB where Brad and I recorded a segment about When Love Walks In and it's Bare Bones Festival screenings for their show Vision 20/25. The show airs 5 times this week on 81 cable systems throughout Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas.

After the taping we hit Taco Cabana again, then came back to Muskogee and went to the Bare Bones Office and hung out for a couple hours with festival coordinator Oscar Ray. He felt confidant that we'll find distribution for When Love Walks In based on the quality of our film and the marketing elements that we're putting into place.

We also started broadcasting the When Love Walks In Radio Network (our "pirate" radio station). Sam created a fabulous radio show with samples of many of the songs from the soundtrack of the film along with bios, backgrounds, fx, etc. So we're podcasting it out of the rental truck. The iPod plays the show and a .9 watt transmitter broadcasts it in approximately a one mile radius from wherever we are. So anyone scanning their radio dial within that 2 mile diameter circle will find us at 89.9FM. The show plays some great music and plugs the screening we have later this week.

MUSKOGEE OR BUST!

We made it to Muskogee! I finished my drive from Virginia and picked Brad up at the Tulsa airport at 5pm Sunday. We went straight to Taco Cabana and killed a few hours waiting for Sam's flight to arrive. Once Sam got in we picked him up at the airport then went and had another dinner at Don Pablos. After that we pointed our rental vehicles toward Muskogee, Oklahoma and buzzed down here.

The Travelodge (our hotel) is on the way into town, so we haven't seen much of Muskogee yet, but boy we're we shocked to find that the hotel is in the middle of a massive face-lift. It's like we walked onto the set of some strange and bizarre film. This place was in it's prime around the same time old Route 66 was. You can envision young families hanging around the pool in the Oklahoma sunshine on their way somewhere west... Mothers telling children not to run near the edge... Classic cars filling the parking lot... Now it's more like a hotel ghost town from another era. I'll try to post a picture soon.

We chatted with Ron (the night clerk) a bit about our film. Turns out he's a musician trying to get his music into film soundtracks. Then Sam and I hiked over to the Kum & Go (a convenience store) and picked up a couple copies of the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. When Love Walks In made the front page (above the fold) of the Entertainment section. Hopefully that will be the first step toward getting the buzz out around Muskogee about the showings we have this week.

More later on the Adventure!

Live from Sin City

Well after reading Kent's and Brad's blogs, I felt compelled to write.

All I can say is that the Travelodge looked like a nice place on the website. Free breakfast, cheap room rates, and a pretty good rating. I guess the one thing that should have tipped me off is that when I would call to check on the reservation, a strange woman would answer the phone and let me know everything was fine. The strange part was that she never asked for any confirmation number or name, so I can only assume now that they have no business and we could have had the entire place to ourselves.

Well my expierence here in Vegas was something a little different when speaking of hotels. Vegas is known for their expensive to dirt cheap motels, and at NAB you don't want to be anywhere close to being in a dirt cheap motel. The Sahara is comfortably in the middle. I mean the Sahara was playground of Elvis afterall. Well when I checked into the Sahara I had know idea what a bargain it would be ($109 a night). I checked into the hotel via this kiosk which assigned your room and gave you your room key. I proceeded to the room to find out that my room key didn't work. Its just one of things that bothers just about everyone I know, partly because you have been traveling all day. After I lugged 2 weeks of luggage back down the elevators and through the casino, I spoke with someone at the desk and he informed that those kiosk seldom work, but promised me the 2 new room keys would work. So with my 100 pounds of luggage I went back through the casino and up the elevator to my room. I could understand being locked out once but twice?!? That red light just kept blinking at me which made my blood pressure increase with every blink. I wanted to rip it off the door. This time I wasn't quite as chipper to speak with anyone at the desk, but I wasn't rude either. I just asked if I could be put into another room because obviously something was wrong. As he was searching, I casually made the statement that he could just upgrade me to another room. Jackpot!!! My first bit of luck in Vegas. He upgraded me to a suite. Little did I know that it would be on the top floor with 15 foot ceilings and an entire wall made out of glass overlooking the entire strip. It is the size of probably 2 rooms put together. Needless to say (Insert Elvis) I Was All Shook Up!!!

So the one thing Vegas teaches us is persistance.

I'm off to check in at the roulette table.

BARE BONES - T MINUS 2

I'm currently in transit to Muskogee, Oklahoma to spend the week at the Bare Bones International Independent Film Festival. I'm in some hotel in the middle of Illinois... I think. I'm about to fall asleep as I type. It's been a CRAZY week of prep for this festival.

Sam's been working real hard at getting us TV, Radio and Print time, and it's starting to pay off. Friday the Phoenix (the paper out of Muskogee) called for an inteview, as well as Charlottesville's Hook. The Hook then sent out a photographer to get a few shots which should appear with the write-up in this Thursday's edition. The article in the Daily Phoenix should appear in Sunday's paper. We'll have to buy a copy when we roll into town tomorrow night.

I said good-bye to Sam Thursday night. He left Friday for Auburn to go to some crazy boxing tournament where drunk college co-eds pound each other silly. I'll meet up with him and Brad in Tulsa Sunday night. Matt left the studio at 3:00AM today after completing the DVD Brad and I will use at our Secrets of No-Budget Filmmaking seminar. He flies to Vegas on Sunday for NAB, then out to Muskogee on Thursday for our premiere.

I went to bed around 1:30am, got up at 7 and contuinued packing the gear and loading the rental van. Around 11AM I kissed the wife and kids and drove nearly 700 miles... sound like fun? I stopped in Louisville along the way to get some footage of the bridges spanning the river. Beautiful place with great evening light.

more later... zzzzzzzzzzzz!

WHEN LOVE WALKS IN TO SHOW AT ASSISTED LIVING CENTER

Sam has done it! He's set up what I believe will be one of the coolest events for us during the week of the Bare Bones International Film Festival.

On Tuesday, April 19th, 2005, right after lunch, When Love Walks In will be showing at the Magnolia Gardens Assisted Living Center in Muskogee, Oklahoma. I've had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time visiting people in nursing homes, assisted living, and retirement centers. The imagry of well-aged people shuffling down hallways in slippers with their walkers is not far-fetched at all. I've also had the opportunity to watch the weathered faces of these same men and women light up with joy at the sign of a visitor.

It's two hours on a Tuesday afternoon. When Love Walks In will probably not be the catalyst that changes their lives, but I look forward to the little bit of joy that we may be able to bring to some of the folks at Magnolia Gardens who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to get out to see our film.

Check back later... I'll plan on letting you know how it goes.

Kent

When Love Walks In Radio

As we approach the final week of festival preparation, there's a certain buzz of excitement in the Paladin office. The morning meetings last a little longer and our to-do lists continue to grow with all the details of spending two weeks on the road. As part of our marketing strategy to promote the film, we've decided to produce a radio show--an hour-long loop of soundtrack songs cut together with interviews, movie show times, info on the actors, audience comments, and station liners that inform the listener "You've found When Love Walks In Radio." Having just finished producing the show, we're now set to broadcast the program during the week of the festival. For those of you within a city block of downtown Muskogee, Oklahoma in late April, be sure to search your FM dial for the When Love Walks In Radio Network...

Creating the DVD

In the next few blogs, I will attempt to talk about some of the problems with DV in regards to color correction, film looks and DVD compression.

Stay tuned as I start this blog....

PRIVATE WLWI SCREENING

The Brothers Williamson held a private screening of When Love Walks In this past Friday evening. (Doesn't that sound impressive?!) Actually, Brad and I and a handful of others viewed the film on my not-so-state-of-the-art, 1988, 19", Zenith television. We peeled off the shrink-wrap of one of our thousand copies of the film, popped it into my $50 DVD player, sat back and watched it. It went off without a hitch!

Both Brad and I were blown away. It is amazing having lived through the last eight years of creating this film and to finally see it as a completed piece. The story is solid... the cinematography is great... the color correction and effects give enormous punch... the soundtrack takes the film to a whole new level...

But it wasn't always this way. When Love Walks In went through ELEVEN revisions before finding it's final form. We added Sierra's (the three-year-old's) Voice-Over along the way that really helps make it her story. (We did this after screening the film to test audiences and found out that they really loved her character. This helps deepen her character's role in the film as well as deepen the audiences connection with her).

In the audience Friday night were a few folks who had seen very early version of the film (without all the sound effects and music), plus a few who had never seen it before. There reaction was very positive.

There will always be the things I wish we would have done differently, or had a bigger budget for, etc., etc., but regardless, When Love Walks In is a great date movie. As a member of one of our test audiences from a few years back said, "see it with someone you love!"

Kent

So You Want to be in the Movies?

I remember when I first got involved in When Love Walks In. I was doing a musical with a friend of Kent's and she told me about this guy she knew who was making an independent film, and I might be right for the part of the mother. Knowing nothing about film or film making, "independent film" to me meant documentary, but acting is acting, and I was excited about the prospect of trying something besides live theater. I had no idea what a wild, wonderful, exciting ride I was about to take.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a "movie star." I have always had the acting bug, and had limited my abilities to live theater. Being in a movie, WOW! You know the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for." I had really glamorized film making in my mind. I had no idea the hard work it takes to make a film, and the incredible amount of waiting around there is to do. The very first scene I had to shoot was one where the ring on my hand was caught on the garbage disposal of the sink in "my kitchen." Having all of my training in the theater, without knowing it, I am naturally projecting as I speak my lines. (I apologize to whomever was doing sound that day for any hearing loss I may have caused.) Brad was so patient with me. "That was really good, but you just need to say your line a little quieter." Next, I was way too animated. So much so, I was moving out of the shot. I am surprised Kent and Brad did not replace me the first day. Especially after it took me, I know, at least 15 takes to sign the name "Annelise Machiavelli." Remember that, guys?

But, they didn't replace me. They stuck with me, and helped me learn so much about acting in a film versus acting on the stage. I began to learn that I could be so much more subtle on film, and that opened a whole new avenue of experiences for me as an actor.

I feel like the completion of the filming was that roller coaster car just reaching the top of the hill, and now seven years later, we are careening down that hill with the festival. I can't wait to see what curves and hills are in the future of this "When Love Walks In" ride.

WLWI Arrives!

It's 12:30 and we are sitting in the Paladin Pictures offices in post-celebration bliss. 1000 copies of the WLWI DVD arrived this morning courtesy of UPS and Discmakers, and we are still in a bit of shock.

Hard to believe that it was almost eight years ago when this idea started coming together. Writing the script in 97', production in 98', and six years in post-production.

Two thoughts - first, we owe many people thanks for making this happen. We couldn't have done this without a stellar cast and crew and patient wives and families. Second, to those of you who still can't believe we pulled it off, we did. Proof will be arriving shortly in the mail. For all the cast and crew, we will be mailing you a copy of the DVD in the next couple of weeks, so watch your mailbox. So if you have moved, make sure you email us your address!

Last thought - cast and crew, watch your email for an invite to blog with us as we continue the adventure.

Brad

WLWI on DVD - Nearly 8 years in the making!

I was informed by our Associate Producer, Sam Voelkel, that tomorrow (Friday the 1st of April, 2005), the DVD's of When Love Walks In should arrive here at the Paladin Pictures Worldwide Headquarters. He told us to bring the champagne, because this truly is a day for celebration.

It was 1997 when this whole ordeal began. I was working as a Producer at the University of Virginia and had put in for a producing spot at Golden Dome Productions in South Bend, Indiana. In early June, I learned that I was Golden Dome's number 2 man... which of course means I didn't get the job. My reaction included a dramatic case of mild depression and hurt feelings from not being number 1 along with a very serious commitment to making a feature film... instead