Juliet Landau Faces Fans on Facebook

For the second time in two weeks Juliet Landau took questions from fans on the internet. She took questions this part February 18th at a Facebook site, mainly about her new documentary, Take Flight, which looks at how actor Gary Oldman made a music video of a Jewish hip-hop group, and only used cell phones to film it.

From Mapi Vera: Hi, Juliet, nice to meet you here! Who had the idea of turning this "making of" into a film?
When I saw the footage I had gotten, I got excited by the rare POV I had and i asked Gary if it could develop into short documentary

My question: After doing this, and if you wanted to direct again, would you do another documentary, or try to direct a feature or TV episode?
I co-directed the Hero music video for the band Godhead and I am co-directing the TAKE FLIGHT viral campaign. I'm looking forward to directing a narrative.

Jayme Vellante: What was your favorite part of working on the film?
I loved coming up with the structure. Since Gary operated one of the cell-cam's we get this rare POV that is like being in his head, seeing through his eyes. I intercut the cell footage with the standard def and high def footage. First we get glimpses, then longer more expansive pieces and by the very end, we are completely released into Gary's view. I also loved choosing the music for Gary's internal creative world.

Lucy Moore of The Grove School: Would you consider working with Gary Oldman or Chutzpah again in the future?
Yes, Absolutely. Gary is sooooo talented!

Charles Norton: What scenes did Gary Oldman direct with you on Take Flight?
Gary directs the music video within the film. The film chronicles his process during that shoot.

Jona Sims: Was it fun working with Gary? Do you have any other projects that you are going to do together?
I loved working with Gary. He is one of the best artists of our time. I'd absolutely love to work with him again

Anthony Ryan: How/where do you find music for a film? How do you get past copywrite?
I cleared all of the music rights. It took a lot of time... Because I self financed the film, I have huge thanks to The Vaughan Williams estate, SourceQ and Universal for working with me and making it possible

More from Charles Norton: So, relying on Gary's cell footage, you were pretty much on your own then? That is you shot all the film other than the music video?
I had 3 cameras and access to all of the cell footage. Yes, I directed everything in the film. Gary gave me free reign. I was really nervous when I went to show him the movie, because he hadn't seen any of it throughout the editing. He loved it and was very excited that it shows a different side of him.
Also: The music credits are at the end of the film.

More from Jayme Vellante: When are we ever going to see you in front of a camera again? Are you still working on the movie you were raising funds for? Do you have any other directorial plans?
Is there going to be a public screening for Take Flight or is it only going to be available online?
Yes, I am still raising funds for It's Raining Cats and Cats. it is an ambitious project. Lots of other projects brewing!
At this point it will be available to purchase for streaming online. I am excited to get it out there. Feb 25th is only 1 week away! Yay!

Mary Emmons: What was the best advice you received when taking on this project?
My producing partner suggested that I make an outline prior to the shoot, of what I wanted to be sure to capture on set. He also told me to watch the footage as many times through until it "spoke to me." I watched all 50 hours 3X through, and indeed I discovered the structure I wanted to use. I passed this advice on to a friend the other day who was going begin editing her first project, as I found it invaluable.

She also said that some of the music in the documentary had bird names in their titles. She said it was "unintentional but pretty magical considering TAKE FLIGHT and all."

Then, a good question from Bryan Curry: Do you think that the ability to reach such a large audience via social media like you are doing right now will allow more projects like Take Flight to reach a larger audience and other non-studio projects to achieve greater success? Or are there still a lot of hurdles in the industry that technology and social media has yet to overcome?
I hope so! There are still some hurdles in terms of it being financially feasible for filmmakers on the internet. But hopefully people will support this and other cutting edge, cool, exciting Indie projects. I love the ability to connect directly with people on forums like this. It is amazing!

More from Anthony Ryan: Can you tell us more about the interviews for the film that you have been talking about on Twitter? When will those be available?
The TAKE FLIGHT viral campaign is a sister project I put together. Since TF is about Gary's creative process, I talked with other artists I admire about their creative process and also asked them how they would market a film about Gary, Jewish Hip Hop and cell phones?! There are so many great answers!! These will be available on Youtube. We will be releasing 1 every other day starting the 25th. I have enjoyed working on them tremendously! :)

Another question from me: When you were directing, did you apply any lessons you may have learned from seeing Joss Whedon at work? That is, how does he affect your work in this documentary?
I have been fortunate to work with great directors like Tim Burton and Joss Whedon. I have learned from them immensely!!

Another from Charles Norton: Are there any plans for a DVD version?
Not as of yet, but there may be...

Lindsey Day of Vista del Lago HS: What inspired you to direct Take Flight?
Gary asked me to direct a behind the scenes making-of and it bloomed from there. I have always been inspired by the depth, range and power of his work.

More from Mary Emmons: Which do you prefer, being in front of the camera or behind it?
Both!

Deverill Weekes: Hey JL, Can you talk about the crew you worked with on TF and how was that as a first time Director.
As a debut director, I was lucky to work with unbelievably skilled and talented people: Not only was I filming one of the most talented movie stars of our time, I worked with two-time Emmy winning sound editor Pembrooke Andrews, who produced TF, was one of the cinematographers and did the sound editing, Jeremy Alter, who produced David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE, Ingela Ogard who edited with me tirelessly, Jon Vasquez who produced and was the much needed technical advisor, the extremely busy Larry Benjamin who was our amazing re-recording mixer, William Haefeli, who is a cartoonist for The New Yorker and did my credits/titles and FotoKem, who did an amazing job of color-correcting!!!!!!!

Anthony Ryan: Are you planning on submitting Take Flight to any of the film festivals, like Sundance or Toronto Film Festival?
We'll see! I am screening it at the Vineyard Film Festival in Cyprus, where I am serving on the jury. (My film is not in competition, but showing there.) I'd love to show it somewhere like Comic-Con cause I think it would be way cool! Last year was my first CC and it was so much fun!

A third question from me: After your first time as a director, what skills do you hope to improve as you take on future projects?
I have so much to learn. That's one of the things I love about what I do. One can always absorb and learn and grow.

She concluded the chat by saying: Thank you everyone for your great questions! I had a wonderful time hanging out with you! Thank you Jenny Christodal for putting this together! You are fantastic! Meant to thank you on Twitter last night after the Kat Von D shoot, but failed to do so. So, thank you for all your hard work yesterday as well. it is much appreciated!
If you guys like the TF virals... tell Jenny because I may carry on with them when stuff calms down in a month and a half or so... ??

Take Flight will be streaming on February 25th at http://www.julietlandaustakeflight.com

Singing the Praises of Firefly

One thing you can say about Joss Whedon shows is that they inspire a lot of music.
This is especially true of Firefly and Serenity. The Big Damn Heroes have been immortalized in song by several musicians, from the Bedlam Bards to Marian Call.
The latest group to add to the Browncoats Hit Parade is a band out of St. Louis called he Browncoats. Three of its members, and a crew member, visited the Serenity Salute recently in Los Angeles. They allowed people to sample its first CD, Space Age Loser. It also includes a DVD of its first video, a cover of "Hero of Canton" that has been popular on YouTube and MySpace. The video won an award at the Serenity Salute.

Co-Pilot Gary Miller and Air Marshall Buckley Roberts had been in an industrial rock band for years before they decided to perform songs based on Firefly. Their version of "Hero of Canton" was the first song. "We just gave the mp3 away, and just spread it to as many people as we knew," Miller said. "Later, we decided, hey, let's just do a whole album out of this and create an entire band."
They were joined by lead singer and Captain Paul Moerke, and bass player Dominic Anthony. Moerke was also a pilot, and played a big part in the music video. It premiered last September during DragonCon in Atlanta. Amy Jordan also appeared in the video, but is also a lighting engineer, and helps promote the CD.

Both Miller and Roberts admitted they were late bloomers as Firefly fans, but they were hooked when they first saw the show. "When I saw Firefly," Miller says, "I was like 'oh, my God, how could I have not seen this? How could I not know this existed?' I come to realize when we started selling this record that the majority of the people that at least know Firefly that are buying the record are also late bloomers. Bought the DVDs later on"

The band is also influenced by people close to them. "Trans-Siberian Railroad," for example, was written for Gary's wife, while "Amelia" was written for Paul's daughter.

They have done some gigs in the St. Louis area, and plan more in the next few months. Their shows are different from typical rock concerts. Their opening acts are actually comedy groups like "Clown-vis", which is Elvis as a clown, and an improv group led by Bill Cott, who appeared on Saturday Night Live.

They've also been able to give their CDs to Adam Baldwin, and Rafael and Yan Feldman. They've also using social media websites including Facebook and Twitter.
"We just want to keep the train rolling and the keep the variety up," Miller says. "We want to give people a package that doesn't just give them a rock album, gives them a lot to soak in."

They also want to do another CD next year. Before that, they plan an EP that includes bluegass versions of their songs and new songs. They also hope to make more videos, including a planned spoof of Star Wars. t will also produce a song for the "Browncoats: Redemption" fan film.

More information about the band is available at thebrowncoats.org, including links to MySpace, Twitter and iTunes.

It's Codex's World, and We Just Live In It

It's official..."Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" is an world-wide internet hit.
The BBC just discovered it, after the song went to number one on the UK iTunes chart.
Felicia Day, who co-wrote the song with Jed Whedon, is "filled with glee" with this new attention. However, the real point is that it's possible to make good entertainment without relying on the major media companies.
"Most people would be working with a label and going through a lot of hoops," she tells BBC News. "I think our success empowers everybody who feels like they can't get their art out there."

It also helps the video has been embedded in thousands of blogs, Twitters, Facebook pages and even Entertainment Weekly. It's one reason why after four days, it's received nearly 1.7 million hits on YouTube.
The song has been number one overall in the Amazon mp3 charts, but now it's at number two below Black-Eyed Peas. The video conquered the iTunes charts in the States for three days before being replaced by a Disney Channel charity video.

With all the attention the video is getting, people may forget that it's just a promo for the web sitcom called The Guild, about a group of RPG players who try to get along when they're not playing online. Many people will be surprised to learn the Guild isn't the next Black-Eyed Peas..at least not yet...but is a show that's making a good case for web-based shows that can hold their own against the sitcoms we get from another screen.
The world is starting to dance to the Guild's tune, and soon it will laugh along with them when season three starts next Tuesday.
For more info, plus episodes from past seasons, go to watchtheguild.com.

The Guild Goes MTV: She's a Star, and Hotter Than Reality By Far

It's been a few hours since the Guild's music video "Do You Wanna Date By Avatar" went into general release, after XBox owners got first dibs to this.
So, how has it done?
Well, the video at iTunes hit the top five in a matter of hours, and even reached #1! The mp3 at Amazon is also doing well, and should do better once iTunes releases it. Once more people know about this video, thanks to Twitter, MTV may even consider airing this video...then do it.

For the record, Felicia Day wanted to make a song that, as she said at Comic-Con, was a little like Stacey Q. Actually, it would fit into the current dance scene. She and Jed Whedon (yes, Joss' brother) co-wrote the song, by the way.
It starts with Felicia putting on her costume, and touching parts of it in provocative ways. Then we see the cast, making poses as if they were living characters in World of Warcraft or that ilk. Once Felicia starts singing, you know she's a girl who you would want in the video games of your dreams.
The lyrics aren't bad, either...

Hang with me in my MMO
So many places we can go
You'll never see my actual face
Our love, our love will be in virtual space.

You can see the rest of the lyrics at the The Guild site.

You see Clara (Robin Thorsen) munching on fruit, and Bladezz (Vincent Caso) making time with a couple of maidens. But Tink (Amy Okuda) has some great moves as one of the backup dancers. Amy has a dance background, along with her acting, but she looks great here. She's joined by Maurissa Tanchareon, who happens to be the wife of the director....Jed Whedon.

Vork (Jeff Lewis) and Zaboo (Sandeep Parikh) try to be hip when they dance, but their rapping is better. You haven't lived until you hear this....

Vork: Single white human,
Looking for group
My stats so high
Don’t be out of the loop

Zaboo: Got an uber-leet staff
That you can equip
Close your mouths ladies
This is pure nerd-nip

Then we see Felicia looking very sexy, laying on an ocean of coins. Take note, Don Draper. That's how you sleep on a bed of money.

The video ends with the crew enjoying a feast, while Felicia is showered by coins, maybe a bit too much. The last shot is the Guild, posing as a living logo of their show that will now take MTV by storm.

It's rare that music videos from the internet make it to MTV, mainly because MTV doesn't show as many videos as they should. It reserves those for the digital channels. Still, this video shows the real talent these guys have. If you think they make a great dance video together, wait until you see them battle a mean group of fellow RPG players.
Then again, that may be tougher than making a video. We shall see as the Guild goes into season three on August 25th. Learn more at Watchtheguild.com