DECONSTRUCTING DAD: Raymond Scott documentary film by Stan Warnow

Library of Congress Screening

Stan Warnow — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:24:39 +0000

More good news! The film has been selected for screening at the Library of Congress’s Jazz Film Series in Washington DC. How cool is that?! The date is April 12th. Here’s a link to their website listing for the series, http://www.loc.gov/rr/perform/concert/0910-jazzfilm.html. I’ll be there for a Q&A after the film, hope to see you there!

Attn Brits: Two UK Festivals!

Stan Warnow — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:57:40 +0000

The film is now scheduled for two exciting UK events over the next few months! Event one takes place March 28 at the Sage Gateshead Jazz Festival in Newcastle Upon Tyne, and is presented in co-operation with the Northern Lights Film Festival which occurs at the same time. It includes excerpts from the film, a performance by Stu Brown’s Raymond Scott Project, based in Glasgow, and a panel discussion with Stu and me that will be chaired by Alyn Shipton, author and Times jazz critic. For more details about the Sage Gateshead dates click on this link

The second event is at the cutting edge Sensoria Festival of Music and Film in Sheffield. This is the official UK premiere of the film–the festival runs from April 23-29, and the film is now definitely scheduled for showing on April 27, though the specific listing is not yet up on their website. I’ll be posting again when more details but here’s a link to the overall Sensoria Festival website–the schedule is not yet up on their site. I’ll be attending this event as well….

I’ll be posting with more info as it becomes available…

One Viewer’s Reactions….

Stan Warnow — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:58:13 +0000

I recently received an email from a young woman who had seen the film on a preview DVD–not a critic or filmmaker, just someone who had an opportunity to view. But her comments struck me as so gratifying that I felt I should post them here. It’s tremendously satisfying to me that she perceived the film pretty much as I’ve hoped people would and that the film can appeal to those who don’t have a prior knowledge of Raymond Scott or a particular interest in electronic or swing music, animation etc. beforehand (of course I want the film to appeal to those people too!). Here’s what she wrote:

“Just saw the documentary…..I must say it was an experience for me. I’m 25 years old and I grew up listening to your dad without even knowing! It was wonderful to know how electronic music started and it was delightful to acknowledge the genius that he was. The film is beautifully made, so personal, loved the photographs and interviews, I almost felt like I was there, behind the camera with you! He was a truly fascinating man and I left the theatre thinking “everyone has to know him, and what he’s done”. Thank you for showing me another person to really admire. All the best!!!”

Leonard Maltin Weighs In

Jeff Winner — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:15:34 +0000

From Stan:

I recently sent Leonard Maltin, one of the country’s most recognized and respected movie critics and historians, a preview DVD in hopes he would screen the film. Very gratified to report that he has, and here’s his reaction:

”A fascinating look at a musical genius and the way he lived his life. Stan Warnow allows us to share his journey of discovery as he pieces together the story of his father. I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

It’s a real thrill for me to get such positive feedback from one of the best known film critics in America!

Biografilm in Bologna

Stan Warnow — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:18:54 +0000

I finally have a few minutes to report on the festival. It was a great experience and the film was very well received at our screening–which was attended by a good mix of other filmmakers and the local audience, and a whole new group of people now knows about the music and life of Raymond Scott. There were lots of good comments and discussion afterwards and some other filmmakers were very enthusiastic about the film.

It was also a really enjoyable to participate in other festival events as jury member, and there were panels about music in film and the Woodstock film that were a trip back in time for me.
I’m now making some further revisions on the film but will be locking it up within the next few weeks as I now have a mix scheduled for early August.

I’ll be posting more as news develops….

Festival News–Film to be shown at Biografilm Festival in Italy

Stan Warnow — Sat, 23 May 2009 03:53:57 +0000

Deconstructing Dad has been selected for showing at the Biografilm Festival (website is only in Italian) in Bologna, Italy! In many ways this is the ideal festival for my film because it is a “celebration of lives,” and it’s always been my intent for my film to celebrate my father’s life as whole, not just one of its many and varied phases. The festival runs June 10-15, and the film is scheduled for showing on the Friday, June 12th, and I am going to be there. I will actually be there for the whole festival, as coincidentally this year’s festival also is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival, and as I was a cameraman and editor on that film, they’ve also asked me to participate in their Woodstock events. And as my film is being shown out of competition, they’ve also invited me to be a Juror for the films in competition. So it will be a busy week, but one I’m really looking forward to….

I’ll be postiing more news as it develops….and in looking at this site tonight I realized I hadn’t posted in over three months. The main reason for that is that this is very much of a one man operation, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I need to do, and my highest priority has to be working on the film. Also, there hasn’t been much new until this recent festival development. Once I finish the final version of the film, which should be fairly soon, I’ll have more time to keep this site up to date!

A New Title–Deconstructing Dad–The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott

Stan Warnow — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:47:50 +0000

Yup, after a lot of discussion and thought I’ve decided to retitle the film! (This is news that I referred to in my previous post).There are a lot of reasons for this–while I liked the old title of Raymond Scott–On To Something, there was something undeniably vague about it, and if you happened to be distracted when my half-sister Deb spoke that phrase in the beginning of the film, it would always be a mystery. And in fact at one of my screenings for an old friend, that’s exactly what happened–at the end he asked me why I had used the title, he didn’t understand it.

Also, the original title, while intriguing in it’s way, didn’t really convey enough about what the film was about, in particular that it was a film made by one of the children of the subject. Now, it does, and I did want to make that aspect of it clear. And finally, there are some other, family related reasons for the change as well, and perhaps I’ll go into those at a later date

If any readers out there have thoughts about this new title I’m certainly interested in learning about them, comments are welcome.

Still Moving Forward…

Stan Warnow — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 06:03:53 +0000

Well, again it’s been quite awhile since my last post–there just hasn’t been that much to report. However work is still proceeding on the film. In November I went to California and did some more interviews there, and have been incorporating that new material and doing further editing and revising. Raymond Scott’s life and music are so complex and dense that it’s a constant quandary for me trying to do justice to all the extrordinary events and music that make up the story. So I’ve actually had several different versions of the complete film, and am now honing in a final cut.

I’ve also begun submitting the current version to various festivals and will of course be posting any relevant news on that front as it happens.

And to all who have contacted me with various thoughts and forms of support, as always that support is hugely appreciated.

I expect to have some more significant news within a week or so, so stay tuned!

A Quick Update…

Stan Warnow — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:43:46 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I spent the week attending the Independent Feature Project’s Independent Film Week event in NYC. It was a great week, and I met lots of representatives from film festivals, cable networks and distributors, as well as connecting and reconnecting with other filmmakers, and there was a lot of interest in the film. I even encountered some Raymond Scott fans among festival programmers and other filmmakers! I’ve begun the process of submitting to festivals and in coming months I’ll be posting the film’s festival schedule on this site, so stay tuned for that!

Happy Birthday Dad….1908-2008

Stan Warnow — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:48:44 +0000

Drew's Print

Today, September 10th, 2008 is Raymond Scott’s birthday. And it’s a very special birthday–the centennial of his birth, the beginning of his centennial year. One of my goals since starting this film was to have it finished by sometime in the centennial year, and I’m on track to accomplish that. So I feel that as well as being a way for me to finally get to know the father that in some ways I barely knew, my film is also my 100th birthday present for my father!

Also, here’s a link to Irwin Chusid’s Raymond Scott blog which has two wonderful birthday tributes from Irwin (Director of the Raymond Scott Archives, as well as Raymond Scott authority and album producer), and Jeff Winner, who runs RaymondScott.com and is also an RS authority and album producer: http://www.raymondscott.blogspot.com/ AND, on the blog you’ll also find info about a limited edition centennial print by renowned caricaturist (and Scott fan) Drew Friedman (shown at left).