Sickness

I have been battling sickness for the past week. Though it is not the swine flu, it certainly has me operating way under 100 percent.

Cast and Crew of Knuckle Draggers attending the Newport Beach Film Festival

I had been anticipating going to Paul J. Alessi's World Premiere of Knuckle Draggers down at the Newport Beach Film Festival. And when the time came, I could barely move. It really angers me that I was not able to attend the screening.

Somehow Karen and I were able to do our Film Courage Radio Show the day before. Turned out to be a compelling interview with Filmmaker Jose Zambrano Cassella who called in from his home-base near Orlando, Florida. Our show is now available on iTunes where it is easy to subscribe. You can also listen to it here, http://filmcourage.podbean.com/2009/04/27/film-courage-interview-with-filmmaker-jose-zambrano-cassella/

(We have some great guests booked in the upcoming weeks. Filmmaker Dale Stelly, Filmmaker Joseph F. Alexandre, Filmmaker Gary King, and Filmmakers Jamin and Kiowa Winans)

Things have quieted down some, though that does not mean my work has stopped. In the next two weeks or so, we will receive notification from the Los Angeles Film Festival and Dances With Films (two LA based film festivals) on whether Night Before the Wedding was accepted.

In the meantime, I helped my close friend Brian Durkin on a short film of his entitled, Mind Over Matter Man. I am also helping him on his second short film which we will be filming in the next couple of days.

I am also contemplating an Exploratory, Experimental, Improv Feature Film.

Radio Interview with Actor/Producer Paul J. Alessi

These last couple of weeks have certainly been active for me. Ideally, we will have our website to Night Before the Wedding revamped very soon. In addition we are hoping to unveil our Official Trailer for NBTW. I am so thankful for the efforts of our Website Designer David Cosgrove and our Trailer Editor A.J. Rickert-Epstein.

While that is being worked on, I have been connecting with Filmmakers from all over the country. My brand new radio venture, Film Courage with David Branin and Karen Worden is off to a great start. The show is already booked with guests for quite a while. A huge goal with the show is for each interview to be loaded with information. Nuts and bolts info that benefits all of us.


Karen and I were very excited to bring Actor/Producer Paul J. Alessi into the studio this past Sunday. Paul doesn't hold back any punches. I do not know too many people who are as genuine and generous as Paul. This upcoming Sunday, April 26th, Paul's feature film Knuckle Draggers will make it's World Premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Karen and I bought our tickets a few weeks ago and cannot wait to get down there.

Here is a link to Paul's Interview, Film Courage Interviews Paul J. Alessi

My First Radio Show Available Online

If you want an inside look at what goes on behind the scenes at one of the fastest rising Film Festivals in the U.S., you are going to be interested in my first Film Courage Radio Show interview which is co-hosted by Karen Worden.

Karen Worden, David Branin, Daniel Sol, and Theo Dumont

HollyShorts Film Festival Co-Founders and Co-Directors Theo Dumont and Daniel Sol joined us inside LA Talk Radio Studios for an intimate chat about how they started HollyShorts, who watches the films they receive, an alternative way to get your film into their festival, and they broke news of a new Webisode launch to be judged by the creators of the Webisode sensation Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Hear all that and more.

http://www.latalkradio.com/Film.php

I'm also going to try and build a community where we all discuss topics that arise during each show. Would love to see us all grow and learn together.

http://www.filmcourage.proboards.com

It's pretty easy to sign up. Literally takes about 30 seconds.

This first show was a lot of fun. There was so much more I wanted to cover with Daniel and Theo. In this case 50 minutes wasn't enough time. Will very likely bring them back on when it is closer to the festival which is in August.

Meanwhile I am busy lining up future guests. This upcoming week, Karen and I will be joined by Actor/Producer Paul J. Alessi. I am also back and forth with a lot of active and talented filmmakers who are interested in talking about their craft and projects with us.

I am also trying to get the show up on iTunes. That is an essential part of building our audience. I hope to have that figured out as soon as possible.

Announcing the Film Courage Radio Show

For the first time since my college years, I will be returning to the radio airwaves. This time it is going to take on a different dimension. The details follow.

This Film Courage Blog is about my personal filmmaking journey. The Film Courage Radio Show on LA Talk Radio.com will be Co-Hosted by my beautiful and talented life-partner Karen Worden.

Our radio show is going to focus on other Filmmakers and their journeys and experiences. Whether they be Producers, Writers, Actors, etc. my aim is to in depth

Here’s the show’s synopsis.

Film Interviews that Inspire. Hosts David Branin & Karen Worden explore the psychology and passion of filmmakers in their dealings with rejection, adversity, and the criticism they face on a daily basis. With the help of Film Courage, you will discover how filmmakers hone their craft, where they devote their time and why.

Of course making a film is only half of this courageous battle. Aside from discussing how their films were made, Film Courage also addresses how these filmmakers find their audience. It’s all covered from Film Festivals to Theatrical to DVD and Digital Distribution.

Listen Live Sundays at 11:00AM (PST) at http://www.latalkradio.com/Film.php

The Film Courage Guarantee – You will learn something from each show even if you aren’t a fellow filmmaker, because this show gets to the heart of the journey, at the process we all go through no matter what your passion. We invite you to join us.

Contact Information: For any questions, comments, bookings, advertising, business opportunities, and/or collaborations, David Branin and Karen Worden can be reached at filmcourage@gmail.com

Join the Film Courage Radio Show Message Board, please visit http://www.filmcourage.proboards.com/ to sign up and share your thoughts and reactions.

Are you on Facebook? Become a Fan!

Update - 4/1/09

Don't worry, I do not have the time to joke around. So no April Fool's in this posting.

Wanted to take a few moments and provide you with an overall update as things are certainly getting busier for me and it is not about to slow down.

First off let me send a shout out to Paul J. Alessi for signing up as my latest 'Follower'.

Another great way to Follow this blog is through Facebook. Just log in, visit this site http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/film_courage/, and click on 'Become a Fan.'

Actors Gregor Collins and John Keating in Night Before the Wedding

I also just added a bunch of new Screenshots of Night Before the Wedding to the Facebook Fanpage. If you like what you see, please Become a Fan of my film as well.

Onto business. I have a meeting scheduled for this Friday to meet with Filmmaker A.J. Rickert-Epstein who is cutting the Official Trailer to Night Before the Wedding.

I am also in touch with David Cosgrove of David Cosgrove Los Angeles Web Design who is redesigning www.nightbeforethewedding.com for us. It is going to be an exciting day when we have our new website 'live' along with the Official Trailer to NBTW.

Filmmaker Jamin Winans continues with a slew of great news surrounding his second feature, INK. Check out this out, 'Ink' Featurette by NBC News Kirk Montgomery.

I may have some exciting news myself. Going to find out more on Friday. Hope to share this news with you very soon.

And lastly, I may be up and running on an Experimental/Exploratory Feature Film in the near future. And as I said above, I am not joking around.

World's Greatest Critic Reviews 'Night Before the Wedding'

I have slowly begun to receive feedback on my just completed first feature film, Night Before the Wedding. It has gone out to selected industry folks and the initial response has been positive and supportive.

With some of the feedback, I am trying to figure out the best way to making it public. Just know that we have some very encouraging feedback that will be making it's way to your eyes soon.

I can say that I am thrilled to share this 1st review of Night Before the Wedding from J.C. Macek III otherwise known as the World's Greatest Critic. I still remember our exchange from a few years ago when I submitted my short film, Shoot-Out, to him for his feedback. His reply was essentially, if your film is no good, I am not afraid to tell you so. Send your film at your own risk. Needless to say, he loved Shoot-Out and provided me an amazing review. He also loved my short film, Honey I'm Home.

As I mailed off a copy of Night Before the Wedding, I really had no gauge how he would respond to this latest effort. I figured with how he responded to my two previous films, the odds were in my favor, but you never know. I was nervous. Even as some positive feedback has come in, I still get nervous each time I send the DVD off to someone new.

I believe that is all the suspense I would like to build in this post. I can say that J.C. had some very strong things to say about NBTW. He was quite complimentary. Here are two snippets.

"The truth is that, ultra-indie or not, Branin's third film (and first full-length feature) is a complex and deep work that easily transcends any initial impressions its subject matter might give."

"Branin has written and directed a very smart and subtle film that shows he can make an engrossing and memorable movie."

I certainly encourage you to read the full review. If you do, know that it does contain a few spoilers. Overall the film received 4/5 Stars and J.C. was impressed yet again.

World's Greatest Critic Reviews Night Before the Wedding

The Power of Attraction

In my previous blog, I asked, "Can your life change in one night?"

And exactly one night later, a great change has occurred in my life that has me charged. After months and months of 'wanting' a web designer to come in and revamp www.nightbeforethewedding.com, I made it my top priority.

I had to step up my efforts, get more aggressive, and get the word out. And of course, nothing happened. Well, that's not totally true, but I still had no web designer. Then my mind began drifting back to...can I really turn this thing around. It wasn't just about going out and bringing in any web designer, it was also about finding the right match.

I was stubborn, yet determined to not give in. I decided to hold true to my belief that what we focus on expands. That we can use the Law of Attraction (from Wikipedia - A more modern consensus among New Thought thinkers is that the Law of Attraction says people's thoughts (both conscious and unconscious) dictate the reality of their lives, whether or not they're aware of it. Essentially "if you really want something and truly believe it's possible, you'll get it", but putting a lot of attention and thought onto something you don't want means you'll probably get that too.) to manifest what we are committed to in our lives.

And just like a character from a Darrell Womack screenplay, I used my superpowers because obviously this idea of attracting what we want into our lives is something that ordinary folk do not have the ability to do.

Or maybe there is something to it, because literally the night after I posted my blog (Can you change your life in one night?) I got a message from David Cosgrove (David Cosgrove Los Angeles Web Design) that he is going to redesign our Night Before the Wedding Website.

I am thrilled and at the same time stunned by the correlation of these events. What do you think? Is there such thing as this 'Law of Attraction?' Do you have any stories like this that you can share?