• DECONSTRUCTING DAD •

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 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!

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).

Well, once again I haven’t posted in awhile, though not for lack of news.  There is some more good news, but that’s one of the reasons I haven’t been posting!  I’m currently very busy preparing to present the film as a work in progress at  the Independent Feature Project’s (generally referred to as IFP) Independent Film Week event in NYC.  This is a week long, very large market type event, which also includes panels and symposia on all kinds of topics related to independent film.  It’s a competitive event—many films get rejected—so it’s tremendously satisfying to have been chosen to participate.   Many U.S. and foreign distributors, film festival reps and cable and TV network reps attend looking for what’s on the horizon.  I’ll be screening excerpts from the film and already have meetings scheduled with distributors who are attending.

The other big news is that the film has received another grant, this one from the New York State Council on the Arts.  Again, this is very satisfying and a real sign that the work I’m doing on the film is resonating with people who have a chance to view the samples I’m submitting.

Equally exciting to me is that I’ve now received an original animated sequence that will be used in the film.  It’s been done by a wonderful animator named  Scott SanGiacomo and uses animation to fancifully recreate part of a Raymond Scott radio broadcast from the 1930s.    Scott’s friend and colleague Dave

A frame from the animation...

O’Malley contacted me a couple of months ago and volunteered their services just after the idea of an animated sequence had popped into my head—their timing was perfect.  And now it’s a reality!   To learn more about Scott here’s a link to his website http://www.scottsangiacomo.com/.

Of course another reason I haven’t been posting frequently is that I’m still editing away on the film, but do feel I’m on schedule to finish up by the end of this year or very early next year as long as I have the funding in place to do so, because as I’ve mentioned previously making films is expensive and even with the grants I’ve now received money is still tight for the production.  So if you’ve just won the lottery, or have even a little spare cash, donations are still very much needed and very much appreciated!