It’s been a few months since our last post. We’ve been distracted by other things (including Chicago’s beautiful summer!), but now we’re back at it!

We’ve revised the website, updating its look and particularly that of the blog, as well as adding some new features – the new trailer is up, as are some Thorne family photos.

If you want to start your Christmas shopping early, producer Jay Delaney’s documentary, Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie, is being released on DVD this Tuesday, September 29th! You should buy a copy for everyone you know! It’s also available on Amazon and Netflix. To buy directly from the distributor (the best option for the filmmakers!), click here. We’re very proud!

We’ve been wrapped for over a month now. In some ways, it feels like an eternity ago. In others, it feels like yesterday. It’s very strange trying to get back to normal life. Because it’s not just the three and a half weeks we were in production. It was months and months of having a ridiculously full schedule. I always had an impossibly long To Do list and scads of meetings.

I’m still busy. Full time grad school, teaching a class, helping in another class, working, editing, packing my house… Yet I feel like I have so much time on my hands. It’s hard to get motivated. I need an AD telling me where I need to be when! I want a call sheet each day, outlining my day’s schedule for me!

I’ve started editing and I really wish I could just be swallowed up by it. It’s hard to juggle everything though. It’s coming along really well. Editing a feature is a very daunting task. I haven’t quite figured out the best system for it yet. I’ve decided to just start at the beginning and cut in order.

We are now one month and eight days away from shooting. Yikes! I am miraculously still in the relatively-calm-though-constantly-busy phase. I am sure the too-busy-to-sleep-frantic-stressed-can’t-stop-thinking-catastrophic-thoughts phase is swiftly approaching. I think knowing that I have a really great team of people on board is dramatically helping with my sanity.

I’m finding that the hardest part of making a microbudget film is not actually making a microbudget film, but is convincing everyone that you can make a microbudget film. I’m really proud of how low we’ve been able to keep our costs, but it’s been really difficult making some people fully grasp and believe in what we’re doing. I know it’s not a common thing, but I see no reason why films can’t be made inexpensively. What matters ultimately, whether it’s a $5,000 film or a $50 million film, is the story. I really want to believe that a group of people can so believe in a story and believe in its need to be told and to be heard that they will make huge sacrifices to help make it a reality. And I intend to prove it!

I think we’ve really been able to find people with this quality in choosing our crew and cast. It blows my mind, day after day, to see all these people working so hard and diligently to bring Hope For A Thorn to life. I am so grateful to each and every person who has helped us in any way, shape, or form. And I hope we can all be proud to see the final product and know that the vast majority of the money we’ve received from our generous donators and investors is going to what you see on the screen, not getting caught up in all of the other expenses that drive a film’s cost up.

A quick update: We are in the final phases of casting, I am aiming for a locked script by Monday (or my line producer might kill me), we’re signing the location agreement with our main house tomorrow, money is coming in (but we still need more!), the crew is almost complete, and all is well!!

To be a director of a microbudget independent film… well, how do I explain it? It’s also being a businesswoman (which anyone that knows me can tell you I abhor!), a legal intern, an accountant, a researcher, a location scout, a teacher, a coach, and so many other things… It’s pretty crazy all the hats I have to wear. And it’s not just me. I think just about everybody on our team is doing so many different things at once and our minds are in a zillion places at once. By the time we get around to shooting, it’ll be a wonder if anyone’s brain is working at all. At any given time when 3 or more crewmembers are gathered, you can bet that one is giggling inexplicably and another is not even aware a conversation is going on and the third is just speaking gibberish. But somehow a movie gets made! And it’ll be a darn good one! It is amazing what we’re capable of doing when pushed.

Okay enough rambling…. time to get writing. Happy weekend!

-Erin

Well we are back from the festival, unfortunately. I would have loved to have stayed the entire week, but business/school/work/life calls in Orlando. We had a blast though. Sarasota certainly knows how to throw some parties. The Girl Who Couldn’t Dream screened on Saturday, April 14 and we had an excellent turnout. The film seemed to be well-received. My second screening was Tuesday, but I wasn’t able to make it, so hopefully that one went well, too. Saturday morning was also the panel of short filmmakers. I had a lot of fun doing that and met some interesting filmmakers. Tom Cruise’s producing partner, Paula Wagner, was in the front row. No intimidation there.

Hopefully we can make it again next year! I highly recommend checking it out, if you’re able. We got to see Edward Norton and Patrick Wilson, which was amazing. It’s exciting to be screening at a festival with such high calibre stars!

Just got word from the Sarasota Film Festival that I’m receiving a $1000 scholarship, the Dr. John Welch Scholarship. The scholarship will be announced at the Awards Press Conference on Saturday, April 21st.

Pretty exciting!