|
March 23, 2004
Hello Glennmovie listers and Happy
April!
Glenn Tilbrook: One For the
Road had it’s first public screening in San Francisco! My
flatmate Suzanna and I drove the 6 plus hours to San Fran on Saturday,
Feb. 28th. Excited about getting out of LA and looking forward to
staying in a posh hotel (that her mom sorted out for us free of cost),
we drove along listening to CD’s and stopping for goofy
photo ops on the way.
(Nothing says fun to me like posing next to a big fake buffalo and
hiding inside a roadside tee pee!) My friend Doug flew in from Chicago
and met us at the hotel with his friends Seph and Denis. (Congrats go
out to them as they were among the 4100 to get married in San Fran in
the past few weeks!) The newlyweds, Doug, Suzanna, and I went out for
a night on the town in San Fran! We picked up some of the local papers
to see if the screening time was listed. We found that indeed it was
and I will admit to being quite proud to see the movie’s name in
print. I was also happy with my decision to put Glenn’s name in the
official title of the movie rather than just calling it "One For
the Road." I thought it would be better promotion for Glenn if his
name would be in the title of the movie.
Everyone except for me was convinced
that the screening would go well, but I was still expecting 10 people
and a dog to attend. I felt much less nervous about the screening
after cocktails were enjoyed but I tried not to dwell on it too much.
We ate some crazy Peruvian food and I felt really lucky to have such
lovely people around me for the big event, After dinner, the boys
dropped us off at our lovely hotel and Suz and I collapsed as soon as
we got back to the room. We had a very long drive and it was going to
be a big day ahead. I was trying to think positive about the
screening, but I had just shown the movie to a friend of mine a few
days earlier who ripped it to pieces. His criticisms still rang in my
head as it hit the pillow.
The beds, though lovely and
sumptuous, didn’t provide much comfort as I tossed and turned all
night. I also have developed a lovely hack from a cold that is still
lingering so that kept me awake as well. Suz was in a coma in her bed
and I had moustache dreams in mine. Doug’s friend Seph has a big,
bushy handlebar moustache and I dreamt that I was addressing the
audience at the screening with a gigantic, big, bushy, handlebar
moustache as well. I always have moustache dreams when I’m filled with
anxiety over something. It might be a first date, a job interview or
the first time the movie that you’ve devoted two years of your life to
is going to be viewed by someone other than your close friends.
We enjoyed our hotel’s delicious
breakfast, got foxed up and made our way down to the ATA, where the
screening was being held. Suz and I were to meet the boys at noon
outside the venue and I was to drop the DVD of the movie off. We
turned up at noon, knocked on the door and were greeted by what
appeared to be a very confused janitor. He never heard of me, the
movie, or the screening in general! He promised that if I left him the
DVD, he’d ‘try and get it to the guy who was supposed to come in
later.’ Suz and I agreed that it was best not to give the movie to
some random chair stacker as it cost me over a hundred bucks to get
transferred over to a DVD, so we thought it best to return in a bit.
The boys turned up and we strolled to the nearby coffee shop next door
to pass the time before the screening. As Suz and I nipped back over
at 12:30, we were surprised and delighted to find a handful of lovely
folks lined up wearing their One For the
Road t-shirts! I was relieved that there was at least a handful of
people who showed up but I was too nervous to talk to them and was
worried about getting the DVD sorted out since time was ticking away
until the 1pm screening time. Thankfully, the door was answered and
there were several people who were expecting me! I gave them the DVD,
hung up a few copies of the
movie poster and they did a quick run through to make sure the DVD
was playing and to check the audio levels. Rachel, a girl that worked
at ATA put me at ease and told me that she was a big Squeeze fan and
that she couldn’t wait to see the movie. That made me feel better! The
levels were checked and as the movie was being played up on the big
screen and the audio was coming through loud and clear, Suz shot me an
excited look that said, "Can you believe that the movie is up on the
big screen?" I felt like jumping up and down but I remained the
gathered, calm artsy filmmaker and squealed, "This is so cool!"
Suz and I then went back to the
coffee shop and as we walked out of the ATA, there were even more
people lined up waiting to get in! It was very exciting! We scurried
into the coffee shop and told the boys of the crowd forming outside!
Doug and Suzanna offered to go take
some pictures for the
website. I figured since all the lovely people who are signed up on
the glennmovie mailing list have been there
from the beginning, it might be fun to include pics of various
screenings and such. So my team of photographers was dispatched and
the results are on the newest addition to the
photo page!
Around 12:45, I finished up my
peppermint tea (good to settle the old digestion system you know) and
headed over and there were people filing in and getting their money
out to pay to see GT: OFTR! I introduced myself to Nick,
the guy in charge of the screening who informed me that he would tell
the crowd that I was there and that I’d be available for a Question
and Answer session after the movie! Well, the Q and A thing was news
to me and just gave me something else to worry about but as I returned
to my seat in the back between Doug and Suz, I begged them to come up
with some questions in case no one stayed afterwards. We were thinking
of some general stupid questions along while I was trying to think up
a getaway plan should things go horribly wrong. "Hi Amy, I have a
question. Your car is on fire outside and don’t you think you need to
run out and take care of that?" Clever, innit?
The room was pretty packed and before
the lights went down, we were told that the ‘filmmaker’ was in
attendance and would be doing a Q and A afterwards. Suz and Doug and I
tee-heed in the back like naughty school kids. The lights went down
and the movie started. There was something strange with the DVD player
and it kept stalling a bit throughout the movie, which got my blood
pressure up a bit, but I think the crowd was easily forgiving and
assumed that it was the DVD player and not my actual movie. I couldn’t
help but think of my long suffering editor Jeff, who took great pains
to cut the movie as professionally as possible and here it is being
shown with the odd staggering frame. Harumph. Doug and Suz assured me
that it was no big deal, but I’m a perfectionist. My concerns were
quickly distinguished when I discovered the crowd laughing at all the
right places and tapping their toes along to the music! Suz and I
looked at the audience as they watched the movie and they were really
interested and beaming and chuckling throughout the whole movie! I
couldn’t believe it! Suz had seen the movie in various incarnations
and is so sick of it that she probably could recite it line by line
and even SHE was getting into it! Doug and Suz kept elbowing me
whenever the crowd would laugh and I kept whispering to them, "I can’t
believe that they’re digging it so much!" I even heard some people
singing a long to some of the songs and about midway through, I just
got completely overwhelmed and misty.
Just thinking about the last two
years of blood, sweat and tears. When I had pneumonia and had to
transcribe 65 hours of footage all by myself-the nightmare of writing
the script-just doing all of this utterly alone with no help; my
confidence completely shattered. And now, I’m in a different city in a
room packed with strangers who love the movie! They are getting it! It
seemed like such an unattainable thing for the past two years and it
was happening to me. It was so lovely. I was so moved and could’ve
easily gone into a sobbing, heap of mush but thought it best to keep
my dignity and try and hold it together.
The movie ended and everyone clapped
for a really long time and not one person left! I felt a bit bad that
they had to sit through all the credits but they were really patient
and didn’t duck out before the Q and A. Nick, then stood up and
introduced me and no one threw rotten tomatoes or asked me to ‘Get ‘em
out!’ I felt unusually shy and said "Hi, I’m Amy. I don’t know if any
of you have any Q’s, but I’ll try and have some A’s." There was an
awkward silence and just as I looked at Doug and Suzanna to throw the
old ‘The car is on fire" trick, a few people raised their hands and
asked questions about the movie! I immediately relaxed after I saw
that people genuinely wanted to know stuff about the movie and about
Glenn.
Some questions that were asked:
Has Glenn seen the movie and what did he think? Well, my answer is
yes, he’s seen the movie but he only got the chance to give it a quick
once over since his time has been consumed with making his next
record. I asked him what he thought and he told me in his very English
way, "I think it’s good!" The English are so hard to impress that I
took that as high praise. I also think it is utterly impossible for
one to be objective about a movie that is only about them. It’s a
movie that is my take on Glenn’s reality and I put it together from my
perspective. It’s a tricky thing to try and navigate and I feel
honored that Glenn trusted me to get on with it without his input or
interference. Judging by the audience response, I think anyone who
sees the movie will love Glenn’s honesty, self-deprecating humor, his
easy go with the flow attitude and his amazing, unique connection with
his audiences.
Has Chris Difford seen the movie?
I sent him an NTSC VHS copy of the film, but since he doesn’t have a
multi system VCR, it’s a bit hard to watch! However, he has been
nothing but unbelievably supportive and encouraging throughout the
whole process. I even interviewed him for the movie in England, but
his interview ended up on the cutting room floor. (I’ll save it for
the DVD Extra Features!) In spite of this brutal snipping, he’s still
been lovely and I’m saving up the money to get another DVD copy of the
movie made so I can send it to him and he can actually watch it
properly!
Do you have any regrets? Can
you say credit cards? One of my regrets is not having time to secure
financing for the WHOLE process and subsequently being forced to put
the movie on four credit cards. I regret the first of the month when
payment is due! I also regret how innocent and naïve I was. I was
easily dooped and hoodwinked on several occasions which only prolonged
the leaden process (financially and emotionally). I’m not as trusting
anymore. But what can you do?
I came across a quote from the
excellent, juicy book "Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance,
and the Rise of Independent Film" by Peter Biskind. It reads:
"Independent Film brings to mind noble concepts like "integrity,"
"vision," "self expression," and "sacrifice." It evokes the image of
struggling young filmmakers maxing out their credit cards to pay their
actors and crews, who work long hours for little or no compensation
because they believe in what they’re doing. As Quentin Tarantino puts
it, "Independent filmmakers don’t make money. They’ll spend all the
money they have to make the movie. Money they don’t have. Their
parent’s money, steal money, go into debt for the rest of their lives.
The movie can be as good as it’s gonna be, or as bad as it’s gonna be,
but it’s theirs." Quentin! Call me!
What happened to the mechanic who
had the Cruisemaster RV roll on top of him? Fred the mechanic is
alive and well and only suffered a broken leg and ankle. He sent me an
email shortly after the accident and said quite simply, "Shit
happens". Indeed.
Does the movie have a distributor?
No. I’m looking for one. I’m also looking to sell it to various TV
outlets in the UK, Canada, Australia, and Japan. The only problem
being… I don’t know any TV bigwigs in the UK, Canada, Australia, or
Japan. So, just when I thought the donkey work of making the movie was
over, the donkey work of trying to get the movie seen and sold is just
beginning. Perhaps it’s best not to know what you’re getting into,
because if you did, you would never start it in the first place!?
Whose idea was it to make the
documentary? Mine.
I think that’s all the questions that
I can remember off hand. After the Q and A was over, I just thanked
everyone for coming and for not asking for their money back! As I made
my way back to my pals, some people stopped me for a chat. Some asked
what Squeeze albums I would recommend since they wanted to go buy some
after seeing the movie and some just wanted to chat about Glenn. I
really wish that Glenn could’ve been there to see how the audience
responded to him in the movie. They were all really sweet and I went
to retrieve the copies of the movie poster that I had printed out but
fans had taken them and kept them!
We said goodbye to everyone and the
boys were waiting for me outside with Suzanna where we had a big
celebratory group hug. The boys loved the flick but had to dash since
they were hosting a big Oscar party. Suz and I were absolutely
exhausted so we opted out of the Academy Awards fun, choosing instead
to watch them from our hotel in our beds. The boys gave us a lift back
to our hotel on the Fisherman’s Warf (fab door to door service)! Suz
and I went up to the room and I collapsed on the bed happy and
relieved and ready to relax now that it was all over. Don’t get me
wrong, I couldn’t have asked for a better result for the screening but
it’s also really nerve wracking. Suz went over to the fridge and got
out some pink champagne! She’s so cheeky! She bought it the day before
and put it in her bag for the occasion! We busted out the champers and
toasted to the future, which after pink champagne, always seems rosy!
Funny that!
So it’s the second anniversary of
glennmovie.com and we are very nearly two
years old! Hard to believe! We’ve made some changes to the site; the
main and most exciting one being the new and final version of the
movie poster! When I interviewed Glenn in 91, I asked him what
made him want to be a musician and he told the story of seeing Cliff
Richard’s "Summer Holiday" when he was five. He went on to say
that after seeing Cliff travel around in a double-decker bus, hop out,
play for people; have them dance around and then get back on the bus,
he found that lifestyle appealing! I had no idea what the hell he was
going on about since I never heard of "Summer Holiday"! Once I
moved to London, I managed to catch the flick on tv and Glenn’s
toddler fascination with Cliff seemed to make sense. As soon as I had
heard that Glenn was planning on taking an RV around America, I
thought that he was living out the Cliff fantasy. When I was trying to
come up with a "look" or "theme" for my website for the documentary,
even though the movie itself is nothing like "Summer Holiday",
I thought it would be a great visual. And I love all things retro and
kitsch and it just seemed to sum up the whole feeling of the
documentary and my whole attitude towards spreading the Glenn love!
Let’s put on a show! Hope you like the new poster as much as I do and
check out the merchandise page for
updated fun stuff! We also put new
wallpaper on the site with groovy new graphics!
What’s new with the movie?
Well, stay tuned to the website and we’ll let you know when and where
the movie will be screened. I think the successful screening in San
Francisco taught me a very important lesson. My movie is a very
subjective thing. Film festivals, some critics and even some of my
friends may have some criticisms about the movie but the fact is that
not every person will like the movie, as all fans of music are not
fans of Squeeze. If it makes a connection with someone as it did in
San Fran, then I’m happy. I told a story that I felt wasn’t being told
and wasn’t being acknowledged. People told me that it wouldn’t be
commercial and that no one but Squeeze fans would be interested, but I
made it anyway and I’m pretty damn proud of it. I really hope that
I’ll be able to bring the movie to wherever you may be. I’m looking
into doing a mini tour of the movie and having the movie shown in
local art theaters. So if you know of a local arts cinema in your town
or screening space, drop me an email! Obviously, if you live somewhere
like Des Moines, Iowa, it’s probably not going to have a huge turnout!
I was thinking of places where Glenn/Squeeze do well. Boston, New York
City, New Jersey, Denver, etc…. We’re just kicking around the idea of
a mini tour at the moment…I would have to get some sort of sponsorship
in order to financially be able to do so and I’m busy at the moment
focusing on screenings here in LA and in NY. But I’m putting it out
there because, as with anything Glennmovie
related, you just never know!
With the recent inductions into the
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame, I’m more convinced that Squeeze need to be in there!
Just wanted to put my two cents in since I know they’re eligible.
Fingers crossed that they’ll get in next year! Hope all of you have a
great Spring!
Rock On,
Amy
[Previous] [Archive] [Next]
|
