There are over
300 sunsets in my new film. That's right. 300. Why? The same reason that just
this past weekend (10/20/2013) while shooting at the scenic, serene Holy Hill
Basilica in Hubertus, Wisconsin, I made the decision to add the footage to my
post-apocalyptic epic. The reasons...
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Because these
images beautiful.
Because I can
extract meaning from its images.
Because I
can.
Because I can not
stop.
You may know
others that have made "post-apocalyptic" films, but Ashley is a true
epic for it possesses a production history of great magnitude, it has developed
a bizarre, yet fascinating mythos about it. The film has been forged by
obsession, built out of madness, and over time has defied those limitations of
being "just a movie." Ashley has become not just a piece of artistic
expression, creative output, and experiment in self-discovery, it is an
extension of its creator, and letting it go has become difficult. As this film
moves into its final phase of production, this 4-part journal will serve as my
catharsis.
PART 1:
GENESIS
The creative
process is almost impossible to articulate because both the sources of
inspiration and true genesis are difficult to identify. Where did this movie
come from? How did we get here? What am I doing?
Film School,
Chicago, 1997. I spent a lot of time during film school trespassing through
dozens of abandoned buildings, and navigating through some rough neighborhoods.
I shot a plethora of 16mm B/W Reversal of the Windy City's more impoverished
areas. These experiences became the seeds for this film. But, the idea
really began to take root in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin when I lived in what
appeared to be a derelict, and practically abandoned part of town. In fact, the
area is still adorned with such condemned, depressing structures, some
struggling businesses, and a terrible long-term business strategy Oddly
enough, it is here (where some of the film is shot), where Ashley began to take
shape. The neighborhood maintained a gloomy, listless atmosphere, it was sad
even - especially in the Winter where seclusion is the norm for many in
Wisconsin. The first and final season of the year is tough for many; they
retreat during the cold months, they hibernate physically and psychologically.
Those downtown Kenosha Winters; those were peculiar, and lengthy. Those long,
drawn-out cold spells were tolerated from an apartment right off Lake Michigan. Fortunately, artistic types,
such as myself, well…we turn this hermit-like existence on its head and with
much introspection, get creative. So in 2004 I bought a Sam Cooke Greatest Hits
CD (remember those?) and used his soulful, melancholy spirit to write the first
drafts of my "2004 untitled post-apocalyptic film." In fact, many of
the gospel singer's best songs were featured in the my first cut of the film;
this cut, a bloated, but beautiful 6 hour and 17 minute “long version" as
I like to call it, utilized tunes such as "A Change is Gonna Come,"
"Another Saturday Night," “Bring It On Home Tonight,” and "Hem Of
His Garment” (an amazing decision in retrospect, this being such a devoutly
religious song – however, my respect for such an amazing talent supercedes
matters of faith). The screenplay would undergo many changes as various
subplots would be eliminated and or altered significantly; the most important
of these goes chronicles the main character’s complex marriage. A decision to
truncate the subplot between husband and wife arose from my concerns over
replicating Director John Hillcoat’s 2009 film The Road based on the novel by
Cormac McCarthy. Additionally, as shooting began, several other facets of the
screenplay were altered, namely the main character’s experiences while serving
in the military and his subsequent PTSD he suffers once he returns to civilian
life. We will discuss these aspects of the story in future blog posts.
Paddock Lake, Wisconsin.
2010. While shooting my science-fiction suspense film Dove throughout the State
of Wisconsin and Michigan, I met a Milwaukee-based actor named Tony Lee Gratz. After
discussing my desire to begin work on a “small, in-between Winter project” (in-between
meaning the film I would produce and direct while cutting Dove in early to mid-2011 as I prepped my still-to-be-made-revisionist frontier western Tormenta, Gratz
signed on as shooting was expected to take us into no later than Fall, 2011.
Ashley officially
began principal photography on Saturday, February 19th, 2011. As of
this writing, Sunday, October 21, 2013, the film is still considered to be
in-production as I am continuing to add new footage to the now 11th
cut of the film. To understand the grand complexity of this film and the sheer
volume of footage at hand, try to imagine a standard PC-based linear editing
platform such as Final Cut pro or the far more efficient Adobe Premiere CS6. Now
construct a timeline in your mind that goes on for 66 hours. That is how much
footage I have amassed for this picture. Ashley’s catalog of coverage possesses
over 400 folders, that is, footage taken from over 400 separate days of
shooting. The current 103m cut contains over 4,000 edits, 71 different pieces
of music, 140 effects shots - footage taken in almost a dozen states over the
course of its immense production. To make things even more interesting, I
recently determined that over the course of shooting, the total cost of Ashley
has remained relatively small; less than $2500K.
Today, Sunday,
October 21st, 2013, marks the 976th day of continuous production.
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