Q&As From KCIFF 2023

Until a better source pops up, it's better than nothin'...

The KICK ME Q&A is up over at 'The KICK ME Saga - Part 10'.

But there was much else to see during the festival:

THE UNSEEN Q&A

IT STARTED WITH A HORSE Q&A

HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS INTRO

HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS Q&A

The KICK ME Saga - Part Ten Aftermath & Exorcism

As said at the end of Part Nine, there was no word about KICK ME until last November. I was disappointed and somewhat bitter about the experience; I was a fan of Gary, from Big Jeter to Chucky Lou A/V Club and had done an article for Mike White's (The Projection Booth Podcast) magazine Cashiers du Cinemart about Chucky Lou, which didn't get publication - and from his previous short films, he's not an untalented filmmaker.

I did have a hint, however - I did work on an unfinished piece he did with Santiago and Sean Hill as a pair of sex addicts who ditch their group session; Patti Myers was also in it and I assume it was intended to be fleshed out further. I was kinda taken aback at the interplay between him & crew (Todd Norris was shooting and Joe Allen gaffing) - but found out later that he'd just broken up with his girlfriend, so I chalked it up to that; everybody has an off day, after all now and then. 

Now, to Present Day - the following is what I wrote on my FB page after seeing the finished film:

KICK ME - "The EL TOPO of KCK-based action comedies"

I didn't hate it. Was dubious of the reviews, due to my experience on the film, but I can see now that it'll attract a following - which, of course, is a good thing for all involved. In retrospect, the 10 year delay probably helped, ultimately, allowing things to be reshaped & streamlined into a coherent film. And it probably was just ahead of its time - it doesn't feel like a film shot just over 10 years ago.

 

I can also honestly say that at the time of shooting, I just didn't 'get it'. AFTER HOURS was the template - but the material we shot came off to me as chaotic & disjointed... just like the shoot itself. And I couldn't see anything coherent coming from it.

 

I was not on the same page as Gary - and if your job involves tracking the logic of the material in service to the story, it does help to have some awareness with the director. The way things were, I couldn't see any point remaining since there wasn't anything I could do to improve the situation. So I demanded that I not get a credit on the film.

 

So while I'm glad it didn't ultimately turn out to be the disaster that most assumed it would be - it's still the worst production experience I've had on a project. So, no regrets at pulling that card.

 

But enough about me...

 

Santiago Vasquez comes off really well, as this was geared as a showcase for him after FIRST DATE - the film's joke of having him in the role that would've been cast as Pasty White Guy in a more conventional film (Jim Belushi type in his sitcom phase), I finally got. Although there's also something Jon Polito-esque in his performance, too.

 

The majority of the cast were non-actors, except for Josh Fadem and Walter Coppage (THE UNSEEN - and who is a vast improvement over the guy originally in the role) and everyone is memorable; the breakout character is Eric Logan as Ro-Tel, who really benefitted from the reshoots in being more featured than originally planned (and his character trait featured came out of a prop not being present). For me, the funniest performance is still Jim Schweers' karate student.

 

The score by Jeff Freling is wonderful, helping in holding the chaos and absurdity together. There's also some background songs written by Gary and Rita Brinkerhoff (bandmate from the late lamented Big Jeter) and an acappella chorale that backgrounds the film's climatic set piece. There better be a soundtrack release...

 

So, yeah - didn't hate it. The edible did help, I admit. The Gen-Z kids looking for something offbeat and strange will give it a life and it may play well overseas - I'm guessing it'll do really well in genre-themed fests over the next year and maybe some label like Arrow or the Vinegar Syndrome partner labels will make it available.

 

Todd Norris (additional camera/other stuff, friend of Gary), Mitch Brian (B:TAS, screenwriter, friend of Gary), Bryan Colley (KC Screenwriters, KCIFF), Dave Hodes. Heavy hitters in KC film scene - IFC/KC Screenwriters O.G.s

 

Mitch Brian, Santiago Vasquez 

A gathering crowd...

Swag!

Eric Logan

Gary Huggins

KICK ME Q&A, Part 1

KICK ME Q&A, Part 2

Exorcism: Successful.

The KICK ME Saga - Part Nine

 Days 13 - 14: The End (for me)

Not really much to say; there wasn't a big blowout, no threats were made, nothing at all like that. And nothing that stuck out any more than any other day...

Back to the dojo to get wide & close-up angles of Jim Schweers and Santiago & Luthor escaping Blitz.

Day 14 started with a gas station sequence that did not make the final film:

Then back to the dojo - AGAIN - to finish it out. I STILL say Jim Schweers is the funniest bit in the movie, to me.

Some 'Fake Shemping'

And that's it. 

I can't recall what it was - it may have been a sarcastic reply to a remark Gary made that just escalated. I just wanted OUT... Leanne Reeves said something along the lines of 'Do you want to be fired?" and I responded along the lines of, "YES. PLEASE FIRE ME, PLEASE!!" And so, like Brer Rabbit, I Was Free. I said to not use my name in the credits and don't use me as The Dad. And that was it. Took the notes to transcribe and send it to the editor, slept, then packed the car up. The last thing was getting the check, which was a bit uglish: I had to tell someone that if it didn't show up in the mail, I'd drive around KCK until I found the location and demand it in person. It got sent - Overnight Mail.

It was nice, sleeping like a baby at night again. I would get texts from people just as the night's shooting started as I went to bed; then in the morning on waking up, I'd get told how the shooting went. And indeed, the crash & burn did happen.

Then - nothing. Did hear from people that reshoots were happening a year and a half later and that was a big "WHA????" That money had come in from Rooftop Films in NYC to finish it, and that after seeing footage, to feature Eric Logan's Ro-Tel more. Then nothing more again, until Gary's announcement to Kickstarter donors (I had forgotten I'd donated) in November 2022 that the film was finished and premiering in San Francisco in December 2022.

As to the end of the first shoot and the reshoots, I pass the baton to others who held on to the end and beyond... I'm certain they have better stories than I have.

That was my experience - I leave the last word to My Good Friend Andrew Wegst w/Kevin Mullin for an illustration:

How It Started

How It Ended

The KICK ME Saga - Part Eight

 Day 12:

"Down With The Indie Thing" has two distinct meanings... this phrase became a mantra.

At this point, my mood was that of the crewman watching the iceberg get larger & larger as Titanic approaches its destiny... any possible window of finishing on schedule had slammed shut long ago and nothing I could to help improve it, and most of what we're shooting seems to be an incomprehensible mess, to me. 

Been There, Done That. And by this point in my life, I'm vocal about it.

This is when I was told to 'train' one of the p.a.'s as to the particulars of my job. After I had told the producer earlier about looking for a replacement, I was told to take the next break to 'think about it' and it was insinuated that one of the co-producers had left; my 'attitude' and loud bitching being a main factor. Which smelled like the bullshit it was at the time; there were lots of other things that would make a sane person bolt and not look back, lest one end up similar to Lot's Wife. So this is getting near 'The End', at least for me - unbeknownst at the time.