Breaking Silence

Ahhh, finally! Anybody who knows me well knows I don’t do well with secrets. But back in February, Tohubohu Productions made a little video, about which I had to keep my big yap shut. And somehow, I managed to do so. Until today, that is.

NBC just announced the cast for the upcoming show The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. And one of the contestants (Sarah, the 25-year-old event planner) is a coworker of mine. But back in February, of course, she was just another hopeful.

So in a bizarre revisiting of past events — we had previously made an (ultimately unsuccessful) audition video for a prospective contestant on the Donald Trump edition of the show — we got behind the camera for yet another Apprentice audition.

Only this time, the contestant made it.

Don’t get me wrong — our part in this accomplishment is exceedingly minor; we could have made the greatest video in the world, and it wouldn’t have gotten an unexceptional candidate in the door. But still, it’s nice to feel like we’re progressing just a bit, from merely garnering a follow-up interview before to getting a competition slot.

And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited at the prospect of potentially seeing even a few frames of our work show up on NBC (or conceivably on the eventual DVD edition of the show).

(Oh, and before anyone asks, I have no idea what happened on the set, or what Martha’s much-debated “catch phrase” will be. Beyond what I’ve just revealed above, I’m as much in the dark as anyone else.)

Tohubohu on the Big Screen

You’ve waited, you’ve wondered... and now here’s your chance to catch not one but all five Tohubohu short films on the big screen.

And as if that’s not enough, you’ll also see award-winning shorts from Gann Films (“Signs,” the Best-of-DC entry in last year’s 48 Hour Film Project) and WIT Films (“Occupational Hazard,” the Best-of-DC entry in this year’s 48HFP), a new short from Burning Toast Productions (“The Real Life: Garden of Eden”), as well as the long-awaited public premiere of the Red Baron/Team Jabberwocky production “Bystander.” Not to mention a stand-up performance by comedian Rory Scovel. And a filmmakers’s Q&A afterward.

It’s all happening as part of the Local Filmmaker and Community Night at the Avalon Theatre on Connecticut Avenue on Wednesday, August 24th. Tickets are just $8.50 apiece — and we’d really like to sell out the house. So if you’re in the area, please come out and see us. Hell, I’ll autograph your... whatever.

Ernest Lehman, 1915–2005

Just heard that screenwriter Ernest Lehman has passed away at the age of 89.

Lehman was, of course, the writer of one of my all-time favorite films — and inspiration for the Tohubohu team names “Kaplan” and “Thornhill” — North by Northwest (I still remember his insightful commentary on the DVD edition of the movie). Sure, the movie’s more often remembered as a Hitchcock picture, or maybe a Cary Grant vehicle, but next time you see it, pay careful attention to the dialogue — this is some of the wittiest stuff Hollywood ever produced. I actually used a scene from the picture in an acting class back in college. Never honored with an Oscar win, Lehman was nominated six times (four times as a writer, twice as a producer), and in 2001 was awarded an honorary statue.

Good-bye, Professor. Thanks for helping us make sense of this whole alphabet soup.

I Guess We’re Taking a Break

Well, the official roster of teams for the Baltimore 48 Hour Film Project has been posted (though, oddly, I have not yet received any notificiation via email), and alas, Tohubohu Productions is nowhere to be seen.

Given the fact that there are only 26 teams in the actual competition (which means only 16 were selected from the random-drawing pool), I can’t really complain. But it’s still disappointing.

I suppose this gives us an excuse to work on prepping “Some Kind of Hero” (the script we were going to shoot before we got our last-minute slot in the D.C. contest) for shooting. Which is probably just as well, since that script’s generated a lot of enthusiasm. And if we take our time, we can really make that one a top-notch production.

Tohubohu Rides Again... Maybe

Well, this past weekend’s Tohubohu birthday party project was a hoot — although the biggest lesson the girls learned was that moviemaking isn’t nearly as glamorous and exciting as TV makes it look. For the most part, you’re sitting around and waiting. Or doing the same thing repeatedly (though we certainly tried to minimize that for this group). We’ll see how it looks once I edit it all together (we did do a couple of pickup shots with my daughters on Sunday, just to cover ourselves a bit).

As for the Baltimore edition of the 48 Hour Film Project, still no word as to whether we’re in or not. We did end up signing up for the random entry drawing, though at first it looked like they’d closed the signups a bit early (according to Mark Ruppert, it was due to a website glitch, and he assured me we’d be placed in the drawing). So now we’re just waiting. And unfortunately, I have to jet off to Atlanta for another video shoot in about 20 minutes, so I may not know for a while.

I’ll try to post notice as soon as I hear, but no promises as to the timeliness (though if anyone else is watching, you could post a comment here as well).

And That’s It for This Contest

Well, the official lineup for the “Best of the 48 Hour Film Project” has been announced, and it looks like neither Tohubohu film made it. Still, there are some really good films in the lineup, so I’d still wholeheartedly recommend attending the screening this Thursday evening.

I’m still trying to decide if we should enter the Baltimore contest — I’ve gotten a few enthusiatic participants, some more definite “nos” — and a whole lot of “no responses.” I’ve theoretically got until Friday to decide, but it’d be nice if I had a more confident feeling about it at this point.

As for Chicago, I assume I’ve got a little time, though they haven’t published an entry deadline date yet.

Of course, both our movies are up on our website — and very shortly (as soon as I get around to updating the site), our latest offerings will be available in stunning new Quicktime 7 format! Sorry to all of you PC people out there (for whom QuickTime 7 is not available — yet), but the quality improvement in the new H.264 codec is just too good to pass up (but don’t worry, we’re not taking down the older versions right away either). So check the site soon (and regularly), then sit back, grab some corn, and... it’s movie time!

Audience Awards

Unfortunately, it looks like neither “The Big Lie (That Solves Everything)” nor “Quite Contrary” won their respective “audience award” honors. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I am disappointed, particularly in the case of the latter. “Big Lie” lost out to DC WIT’s entry, which is completely understandable, but “Quite Contrary” lost out to the entry from team Digital Tronics, which is affiliated with local video production powerhouse Henninger Video. Don’t get me wrong — their submission was really good (and technically impeccable), but I didn’t think it had quite the response of “Quite Contrary.” Still, I’m clearly biased (and their was actually in competition, a psychological if not a technical advantage).

Okay, all griping aside, congrats to all the audience award winners, and I look forward to hearing the lineup for next Thursday’s “best of” show.