Trust me, I'm a huge fan of your music... really, I am.

Who would have known that wearing a Minor Threat T-shirt to high school would have paid off almost twenty years later?

When I changed Crystal from a cello player to a punk rock singer, I wanted her to sing a classic punk rock tune during the opening scene.  After speaking with Joe Escalante (The Vandals bassist and an entertainment lawyer) I learned it would be easier to use music from band who had not sold their publishing rights.   

I made a list of favorite songs from my long history with punk rock and checked their rights.   One song stuck out. 

Minor Threat’s self titled song Minor Threat has been a favorite punk rock anthem since I first heard it while watching Another State Of Mind in the 7^th grade (circa 1986).  Twenty years later, it was the song I chose to sing when the Punk Rock Karaoke opened for Nerf Herder in Santa Barbara (Halloween 2007.)  If I was going to pick one dream song to license, that would be it.

Having followed Minor Threat and Dischord records for many years I knew that they don’t care much about making a quick buck at the expense of their reputation.    Dischord has been able to be a successful record company in an era when record companies are selling their chairs and copy machines just to keep their doors open. As I am not offering a lot of money, nor will Peace & Riot be a studio backed movie with millions of dollars pumped into publicity, the only reason a band would allow me to use their music is to make that fan happy.

I called Dischord Records (based in Washington D.C.) and spoke with a really cool guy who handles this type of stuff for the label. I explained my movie to him and he thought it sounded like an interesting premise. But to grasp it completely he wanted me to email him the details which forward to the person in charge (lead singer of Minor Threat and Founder of Dischord Record – Ian MacKaye.)  

If you didn’t know, it’s the details that scare people away.

I’m asking them to give me a blessing to do whatever I want with their original composition and make money with it.  This sounds like everything that Dischord has avoided for thirty years. 

  

As expected, I didn’t hear back from them.

I knew I was doing the right thing, almost like a religious experience, with Peace & Riot.  From three thousand miles away, I needed to convince them that I was not some chump scam artist looking to make a quick buck off of a song that started a music/sub-cultural empire.   I knew I had to disprove their skepticism and show my good intentions.  I thought about having my mom call the company and tell them I was a good guy and not to worry.  Not sure how that would work, I took another approach.

I went through my high school yearbooks.   Back in the day, when the school yearbook staff took the photo for the drama club in 1992, I was wearing my Minor Threat T-shirt.  Then, in 1993, when the photographers  took the picture for the Protect The Earth Club, I was wearing that same shirt.   I took photos of these yearbook pages and sent them to the Dischord Records.

Dischord responded.  Ian MacKaye had one requirement  before signing off on the deal; each band would be paid the same amount.  He wanted to make sure that no band would benefit more from participating in the movie than another group.  Ian wasn’t just looking after his legacy, but the other bands.  Minor Threat might be the “biggest” band to sign on (even though the band broke up in 1983), but he wanted to make sure that we didn’t exploit some lesser known band touting that they could be in a movie with such a punk rock legacy and therefore did not need to get paid.

A few days, inside a Dischord envelope, I received a signed contract from one of the coolest record companies of all time.

It is a really great feeling to know that if you liked a band for twenty-five years and you finally get the chance to do business with them; that they turn out to be a great bunch of guys.   

Seriously awesome.

Shooting Jake Busey.

If someone asked me “How did you get Jake Busey to be in your movie?” I’d tell that person a tale that involved police dogs, golf and a good script. 

My brother, Jason Stephens, is a sheriff’s deputy in Southern California and has made a few movies himself. Jason met Jake Busey some years ago through law enforcement connections.  Jake is a regular participant in a celebrity golf tournament; the money raised goes toward the purchase of Ventura County police dogs.  Jake's an talented actor, but also plays bass for the rock band “Sons of the of Lawless."  When we decided to cast for the role of Richard Allin we wanted approach talented actors with a musical background.  Jake combination of music and talent seemed to fit the role perfectly.

During pre-production, my brother watched Jake’s band play at the Viper Room in Hollywood and reintroduced himself since it had been a few years since their last exchange.  Jason returned from the nightclub and told me how much of a down to earth, and easy-going guy Jake was.  Personality was a factor in casting as we knew the shoot would be demanding for all our actors.  We didn’t want any Princess walking off the set because it was freezing cold outside or they were being bitten by bugs.  We also knew it would take a really cool guy who would do the job for the money we offered.

We sent Jake a script.  He read through it and told Jason he thought it was good, and that the character of Richard Allin was one he would like to portray. 

We were able to speak on the phone, and his demeanor was pleasant and welcome.  

We spoke briefly about the character of Richard, and I gave away just enough information to give Jake some back story.  I tried not to overwhelm Jake with information regarding his character because I wanted him to keep with the character on the page, meaning, anyone we cast as Richard would have a different interpretation of the character and I was anxious to see Jake’s.  If he went far off my original vision, I would certainly work with him to get it back on track. 

I had gotten his costume sizes and knew he was going to be tall, but that didn’t prepare me for when I met a guy who has killed giant bugs from outer-space face to face.

Jake shot for three days in Los Angeles before leaving the country; he returned for the last weekend of production.  In those few days, I came to admire him as a true professional. Jake worked certain scenes beyond the level that I wrote them.  I provided a good base of a character, and Jake shaped that base into a person with multiple levels. Watching Richard come to life on camera was the biggest surprise I had making this movie.  

On the set Jake approached me about specific lines of dialogue that if delivered incorrectly would have changed interpretation of such words.  I spent a short time with Jake going over my feelings about how these some situations can exist in your mind, which can make then even more painful in to you rather than if you were aware of their existence.

I don’t want to spoil the movie, but I will say that the impact that Jake Busey made is one that audiences will remember after the credits have rolled. 

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.

Finding a Crystal in the rough.

Crystal Green was a character I had created over a 10 year period. During those years, her personality has changed and she has grown into a woman whom the audience will have a strong opinion about. When it came time to cast, I had an idea of who I wanted for Crystal, but knew it wasn't as easy as wearing a bra on my head and creating some Weird Science.

When Peace & Riot was released to various casting services, our production team was swamped with over two thousand submissions. Our Casting Associate extraordinaire, Alysia Hudson worked with me and the other producers to come up with a list of possible matches. Alysia contacted managers and agents of hopefuls. Unknown productions set up an open audition at my friend Mike Skelton's office to begin working on the heart of our production: finding Crystal.

That weekend, a group of producers watched prospective Crystals enter, give their best impression of the character, and leave. After each girl left, a round table discussion followed.

We needed someone with talent.  Crystal goes through a collection of emotions and interactions with various characters throughout the film. Second, she had to have the look, not only did she have to have the “pretty face,” but she had to be a girl that wouldn’t mind crashing on a couch or drinking from the carton. Lastly, I wanted to see how she took stage directions, since I knew we were going to be on a tight shooting schedule, and I needed someone who could react quickly to direction.

Of the thirty-plus actresses who read, we narrowed the field to about a dozen possible Crystals for call backs the following weekend. We set up a video camera, and I included two females in our round table to rule out male bias of one girl over another. We wanted Crystal to be rooted for by her own gender. All the girls who got called back had the look and the ability, what we were looking for now was at personality.  On first audition, an actor might get four minutes in front of the table, the second time around we might keep a lady in for twenty minutes.

Although we disagreed on our secondary picks, everyone agreed on feisty and young Anna Pheil. It was obvious that Anna was the girl who would gladly hop on a bus to play her guitar in Omaha for one adoring fan, or the girl the ladies invited to a baby shower to turn it into a party. Her presence screamed Crystal Green.