Getting Legal Advice From a Vandal.

When I wrote Peace and Riot I actually thought you could use a few bars of music and not have to get permission from the composer.  My reasoning for this is because when you listen to talk radio, you often hear a bumper (a bit of music at the before/ after commercials) and I figured the talk radio station wasn’t paying any type of music license fee.  I figured I could do the same thing for my movie.  I was wrong.

I emailed Joe Escalante of Barely Legal Radio.  Joe is not only a radio lawyer, but he is has been playing punk rock for 30 years with The Vandals.  If you looked at his resume, you’d see he was an entertainment lawyer (for a main player in the business) and also ran a record label (that also distributed movies).  Somehow in his busy week he finds that time to do the radio show and keeps it entertaining and informative.  If anyone was going to know about what kind of rights I needed for this movie, he would be the guy.

Mr. Escalante responded the email asking me to come on his show and talk about my movie.   It was great to finally hear a guy who has been in the music industry for three decades and also had a law degree.  He has been on both sides of what I was attempting to do.  The Vandals have licensed their music to movies like “Glory Days”, “Dudes” “xXx” and of course my favorite punk rock film “Suburbia.”  

During our on-air conversation, I learned from Joe Escalante Esq. that I needed publishing rights.  My actors would be playing the music and therefore wouldn’t be licensing the master recording.  He suggested going directly to bands that still owned the rights to their music.  Going through a publishing company would be costly and take more time.   However, if I could contact the owners (bands) directly and they thought my movie sounded like something the group could support, they might give me publishing rights at a discount. 

While on the air I described the movie briefly, which Joe thought sounded like a cool idea. I asked if The Vandals would be interested in licensing some music.  He said it would be considered.  A week later, I emailed him with the scene that I’d like to have included some tunes by his band.  He gave me a great deal on licensing “The Legend of Pat Brown” for my feature.  “Pat Brown” is one of those iconic punk rock songs by The Vandals which appears on their “Peace Through Vandalism” CD/Album and was featured in the movie “Suburbia.”  

Having the blessing of Joe Escalante behind your movie helps out a lot when talking with other bands.   With his endorsement, I became legitimate.  I was no longer some winky-dink production and also I had the credibility that I was not just another suit trying to make a fast buck off the punk rock world.  

As for The Vandals and “The Legend of Pat Brown”, I can only hope my movie just adds to their legacy. 

I was a fan before I set out to make this movie and after the little bit of communication I’ve had with them, I like them a whole lot more.

Finding Scott Kossman.

Looking for a Scott Kossman, I wrote a short list of about a dozen actors I thought could play this complex character.   The leading man had to find happiness in being alone yet not be so introverted that he would come off as creepy to the social butterfly Crystal Green.

I called a dozen or so agents and pitched them the idea.  We’d be shooting the movie with SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild) so I could approach every level of talent, but we’d also be shooting very low budget, so I was asking the stars to take a huge pay cut .  Most every approach was met with negativity, but there was one agent who never said no.  I’d call him every couple of days to see if he’d give me an answer, and he always responded that he’d be getting to my script in time.

Eventually I moved on and started calling other agents and managers.  No agent wanted to give up their client’s time for the small amount of money that we were offering.  Another strike against the production is that it was being orchestrated by an unknown writer/director.  With it looking bad, Unknown Productions decided to have an open casting call.

A few days before the audition, I received a phone call from one of the top agencies.  The agent that I had been harassing said that he had read the script and that he would be giving it to his client.  I told him that we were already holding auditions, but would suspend them if he gave me an answer in two days.  Two days later, he called me to say that his client, Ben Savage, was interested in the leading role.

The agent said Ben wanted to meet us before signing on to do the movie. I informed his agent that we’d suspend casting for Scott and that Ben was welcome to stop by and meet our crew at the casting session that weekend. 

We didn’t know Ben’s ETA, or if he would show up at all.  We started casting for the part of Crystal Green at 10AM and planned to be done by 6PM.  We went through about ten actors before I left the room to take a break.  As I stepped outside the room I found Ben walking the hallway, looking for us.

I ushered him into the room and we were greeted by the other producers of Peace & Riot.  After a few “hellos,” we called in the next girl to read with Robert Ryan (who was reading the part Scott).  Ben, interested in the whole casting process, was asked if he wanted to read with a few of the actors.  Like a seasoned professional, Ben took the script and read the part with charm and heart.

Ben stayed a few hours with us, even staying through our lunch.  He was polite, interesting, and charismatic –all the qualities you hope someone has before you meet them. 

Monday morning I called his agent and told him that we liked Ben and hoped he’s sign on to do the movie.  We were told that Ben also had a great time with our crew and that he would be available to do the project. 

 

I won’t bore you with the contract negotiation details; just know that it’s a lengthy process that involves lawyers and lots of time.  The important thing was that we had found our Scott.

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Stephens.

Before we got started we knew that filming a movie in 13 Days would be difficult. We planned the first day of shooting to be an easy one, hoping not to scare off any cast or crew.  Two actors in one location and an eight hour day. 

The first location was in the Malibou Lakes area of Los Angeles.  Tucked away in the mountains between the San Fernando Valley and Malibu, Malibou Lakes is a man-made housing community that feels isolated even though it's only three miles from the freeway, nestled in the second most populated city in the U.S.  Motorcycle enthusiasts might recognize it as that little lake on the way to The Rock Store, a popular mountain café.  The lake itself is so small, if you're on a the back of a crotch rocket and blink you just might miss it.

The Unknown Productions van was packed full with a few thousand dollars worth of rented lighting equipment, and unloading was the first amongst many chores.  The home (cabin) is being renovated and some rocks that make up the staircase are loose or missing, so that getting everything inside was an adventure.

In a studio, there would be a place for make-up, craft services (food), and equipment. In a house that's under construction, you have to make do with what you have.

Once inside, we arranged materials so the shoot would go as smooth as possible.

Again, because time is of the essence, we scheduled shooting so that we would be setting up before actors arrived.  Then, once they showed up, they would be busy with make-up and costume as we were finishing up the final touches on lighting and set. After filming a few scenes, we'd break for lunch.  After lunch, we'd shoot for a few more hours before wrapping for the day.

Normally, during the pre-production phase of a movie, the cast and crew will get together.  Unfortunately, Peace & Riot does not follow all the rules of traditional film making.  On Day one of shooting, our two main actors--Ben Savage and Anna Pheil, met for the first time. In a way, it was in our favor because the movie is about two strangers, Scott Kossman and Crystal Green, meeting for the first time.

As we are trying to arrange schedules as well as not film in horrible weather (too hot or too cold) there was not an opportunity to get some things done (like meeting the cast before we started shooting).  

Once we started rolling film, the actors were on it.  They hit their marks, they delivered their lines with believability, and I felt the movie coming together.  

End of Day Three

When I told the producers I would be blogging through the production, they told me that I'd be too tired/busy to do it.

I didn't believe them.

They were right.