Now on DVD! Order Your Copy Now!!!    Buy it from Amazon.com  

 

Just Glenn

 
Who is Glenn Tilbrook?
What Is  GT: One For The Road?
The OFTR Book
Biographies
Press
Photo Gallery
Amy's Diary
Movie Trailers
Merchandise
Links
Contact Us
 

Subscribe to the
Glenn Tilbrook: One For The Road Newsletter
for all the latest updates on the movie and the website

Name:

Email:

Subscribe

Unsubscribe

 
Diary

[Previous] [Archive] [Next]

Production notes from the Director, Amy Pickard
 


 

June 9, 2004

Happy Summer!

What a festive, busy May we had for the flick! We've got a few new changes to the website! Notice we have a new flyers page with the fab new poster and Glenn's new Transatlantic Ping Pong album info! There's plenty of room at the bottom to write in when Glenn's playing your town next, making it easy and convenient to promote Glenn AND his movie! The Finn Brothers have announced a summer tour and since they fall in the same lovely demographic as Glenn, the shows would be a great opportunity to flyer and spread the love!

We also have the toptastic addition of Glenn’s fantastic song "One For the Road" and you can find it on his new album "Transatlantic Ping Pong" as well! From now on, when you go to www.glennmovie.com, you will be able to hear the rocking tune! Glenn wrote the song with the movie in mind, but due to his crazy schedule, was unable to get it over the ocean to me in time for inclusion in the movie. DOH! So, I’m putting it up on the website for all to enjoy! I love it and feel that it evokes a musical landscape of traveling across the country. It rocks and then you hear some pedal steel (reminding me of the tour going through Texas) and then ends up almost surfy (reminding me of wrapping up the tour on the West Coast.) If this isn’t a feel good summer tune, I don’t know what is!

I’ve also added a link to Glenn’s US label Compass Records. They are a fantastic label and are very supportive of independent artists. The staff are on the ball. Bless their hearts for helping share the glennmovie love! Click over to their site and read the fab bio on Glenn! And order Glenn’s new album "Transatlantic Ping Pong"! (and may I also recommend their Colin Hay album "Man At Work".)

I’ve received my copy of TAPP in the mail recently! I will have to admit that in my opinion, Glenn's put everything but the kitchen sink on there - he never could keep his hands off of the knobs - but I can’t wait to hear the album in its rocking stripped down glory LIVE! I like my rock the simple way and I'm sure Glenn and the Fluffers deliver in the flesh. Glenn is currently spreading the love on his first solo full band tour here in the good old US of A. Sadly, they are hitting the East Coast only but hey, they’ll be around to the left side of the country in the autumn hopefully. Glenn started the tour in NY. I can’t imagine squishing all the band members and road manager into the little Cruisemaster since there was barely room for me to film Glenn when I joined him on the road all those years ago, but where there’s a will, there’s a way! I heard that the first show went down a treat and rocked the New Yorkers hard! Sadly, Glenn and the Fluffers were apparently rocked hard after leaving the NY gig to go onto the next city: the RV broke down shortly thereafter in Trenton, NJ somewhere! I started having flashbacks due to my RV post traumatic stress syndrome! A little bird has told me it's broken down a few times since then as well. Who was it that once said the Cruisemaster RV neither cruises nor masters?! I am anxious to hear what the band are doing now for transportation and such but I’m sure Glenn has a song in his heart and smile on his face! So let’s all put our positive thoughts out there to the RV gods and hope that the trusty mobile home will carry Glenn and the Fluffers safely from gig to gig. I think the next US tour should be of RV Repair shops, that way, they’ll be guaranteed to get from city to city!

In other movie news: Sadly, I was unable to attend the OFTR screening at the Trenton Film Festival on the East Coast. I heard from those who attended (thanks for all the emails!) that it went over well and that approximately 40-50 people turned up. Not a bad turnout when there was basically little or no advertising! All of the emails I received after the TFF were lovely and told of everyone leaving the screening happy. Only one niggly thing: Apparently, someone from the festival told the crowd that ‘someone with the film’ was going to speak and asked the crowd to sit through the credits and a short film festival promotional film. I was told that everyone sat patiently through the credits and endured the film festival promo. Then the TFF rep stood up and said that the person with the film decided not to speak. Was this a ploy to dupe loving glennmovie attendees into sitting through their shameless self-promotion? Or was someone ‘with the film’ really there and then decided that they did not feel like speaking? I think the answer to the first question would be yes and the answer to the second question would be no. You gotta love the old TFF for trying to get as many bums in seats as possible, but I wasn’t crazy about people possibly getting the impression that I was there and ‘didn’t feel like speaking’. Anyone who knows me, knows there are but few occasions I don’t feel like speaking!

I worked for about two months on trying to publicize the LA screening. With the help of some lovely Glenn fans, I was able to send out press releases to all the media outlets. Radio, TV, and print. I would pick up any newspaper and magazine, peruse the ‘masthead’ (list of credits) and I emailed/faxed any appropriate departments the press release about the movie. Not one person responded! It’s a bit like throwing a dart at the dartboard blindfolded and hoping you’ll hit a high score. I just emailed anyone in any arts/music/film dept desperately hoping that some journalist somewhere would write something about the movie. Since no LA radio stations play 2004 Glenn, I contacted the stations that play 1980’s Glenn songs during their lunchtime blocks or on weekends. I asked them to do a ticket giveaway. No one responded! I also approached several companies, asking for sponsorship in order to cover the bar minimum. No one responded! I wrote People Magazine here in the US and they actually DID respond! They even offered to buy me lunch! A tear came to my eye at the mere thought that there might be a wee story to promote the movie in one of the world’s biggest mags! I sent them a preview copy of the movie and then when I emailed them to see if they watched it or if they still wanted to have lunch, they never responded! Is it something I said? Or didn’t say? When you’re just one person doing all of this donkey work, rejection or uh…no response at all is a bit depleting. In Hollywood, no means no and yes means no!

I posted on damn near every musician’s website I could think of announcing the screening.

My posts usually looked like the following: HEY! (band/artist name here) FAN SHOWS SQUEEZE DOCUMENTARY IN LA! Hopefully, that would lure people to click on the post. Then I would post: "Hello (band/artist name here) fans. I’m a huge (band/artist name here) fan and thought that you might be a Glenn Tilbrook fan as well! He is the former lead singer of Squeeze and I made a documentary about him. If you’re a fan of his music, Squeeze’s music or (band/artist name here)’s music, you’ll love this documentary. I would love for you to attend the LA screening of my movie on May 11th at CineSpace. Feel free to go to my website for more information!"

I posted on the obvious sites like Aimee Mann and Ron Sexsmith and also posted on Neil Finn, Paul McCartney, and Sheryl Crow amongst a billion others. Hopefully, it convinced at least one or two people to come on down but I fear it only convinced people that amyglennmovie is a shameless spammer. Oh well. It’s publicity and it doesn’t cost to post, so I did it. My lovely friend at a radio station here in LA apologized for not being able to promote the screening on air since they don’t play Glenn’s music, but instead offered to post the date and time of the screening on the radio station’s website under arts and cultural events. I thought that was unbelievably sweet until someone at the screening said they saw it posted on the site… listed on the wrong night. DOH! Somehow I don’t think that CineSpace was bombarded the next night with throngs of angry Glennmovie fans desperate to see the flick, but I suppose it’s the thought that counts, eh?

I also flyered as many British and Irish pubs that I could visit. I was desperate to meet the bar minimum of CineSpace and thought those crazy foreigners would be my perfect target audience! And hey, let’s face it, you crazy UK’ers love Glenn! I also faxed a million of the press releases to the ‘calendar’ sections of all the local papers in the hopes of someone listing it. LA Weekly was the only one that took the bait and instead of just stating "Independent Film Screening" at CineSpace, they wrote, "'Glenn Tilbrook: One For the Road' Premiere of Amy Pickard’s documentary about the front man for the popular 80’s band Squeeze, who toured America in a mobile home in an attempt to go independent in 2001. For more info, visit www.glennmovie.com."

I also invited every human being I’ve ever met in my whole life to the screening. I invited some bigwigs in the industry as well as celebs. (I thought, what the hell?) I invited known fans of Glenn’s: Mike Myers, Christopher Guest, and I even invited Rick Springfield! I had to unexpectedly fly home to the Midwest for a family matter (all is well) and guess who was on my flight from LA to Chicago? RICK! I found my seat, scribbled an invite to the screening on the back of my glennmovie.com flyer, which I have on me at all times, and blagged my way up to first class by feigning the loss of an earring. I saw Rick, sitting there reading a book on The Beatles (see, he was meant to be my husband!) but then some guy sporting a mullet started rapping with him. I suspect he was a roadie since he was clad in black and looked unclean so I just gave the flyer with note to the steward and asked him to give it to the gentleman named Rick. I invited Rick to the screening and signed it "your friend in coach, Amy 33C". I didn’t know if he got that I left my seat number rather than bra size, but what does it matter? Rick never showed at the screening and one suspects that he would’ve been jealous if he had.

On the day of the LA screening, I decided that it wouldn’t do me any good to get nervous and freaked out like I did before the San Fran screening, so I approached the evening with a zen-like confidence. I did everything a pleb like me could do to get people in and now there was nothing left to do. I went to my Tuesday yoga class and felt fantastic afterwards. My roommate Suzanna and I decided to treat ourselves and go for ‘manis and pedis’. (manicures and pedicures). There’s a "nail bar" around the corner from where we live that only charge 12 bucks for both. The last time I went there over a year ago, they asked if I was my roommate Suzanna’s mom! (If you do the math, I would’ve had to give birth to Suzanna when I was 5 years old.) Suz thought it was hilarious. Fast forward to a year later- as we sat at our respective pedicure stations, she kept saying, "Hey mom! Mom! Mom!" until I looked over at her. Real mature! Thankfully, there was no mention of age or young motherhood this time around. My friend Katie Puckrik topped this mom story when she told of her manicurist looking at a recent picture of Katie and asked if she was the woman in the picture’s mother! So the only thing worse than being accused of being your 30 year old roommate’s mother is being accused of being your own mother. Now that sounds positively Appalachian. (I kid because I love!)

Painted and buffed, (if you must know: "Lilac I Care" on the fingers and "Pikes Peak-A-Boo Purple" on the toes) we then changed into our foxy outfits. We were both feeling rather relaxed and sassy… until my phone started ringing off the hook… with people telling me they couldn’t make it to the screening. I like to lounge on the couch as much as the next person. In fact, I’m quite proud of the fact that sloth-like behavior runs in my family. I have a high tolerance for dormancy. However, I never realized how hard it is to get people to leave their houses and come to a screening. I think if Glenn had been there in person, a few hundred would’ve turned out, but seeing as how it was just a movie about Glenn and little old me, I was expecting 10 people to show after all of my last minute cancellation phone calls. I told everyone to come at 8pm since we’d start the movie at 8:15pm. At 7:45pm, Suz and I were the only ones there. I started to panic and the bar owner even bought us the first round of drinks out of sympathy!

The CineSpace staff is amazing. All the employees there promised to buy a few drinks to help out and they were politely tolerant of my running around. Suz helped me leave glennmovie.com flyers on the tables and luckily, friends started arriving! Then much to my amazement, people I didn’t know started arriving! I made a groovy mix CD alternating between Glenn’s new solo stuff and Squeeze’s Greatest Hits. (Well, my favorite Squeeze hits that is!) The CD kept the energy high and there was actually, dare I say it, a glennlicious buzz about the place. And that’s not due to the fact that I was on my third cocktail of the evening before the movie even started! Dammit, if there weren’t enough people to meet the bar minimum, I personally would try and meet it! Where are Glenn’s Hens from the UK to crank up the bar tab when you need them? (Again, I kid because I love!)

Family friends from Dayton who happened to be in town showed up, good pals who had helped with the movie showed up and brought friends! Three folks drove from San Diego for the screening and then drove back after it was over! A musician friend Kevin (now drumming with Grant Lee Phillips) showed up and brought three of his friends. I met Kevin over 13 years ago when I interviewed him for South Side Video in Ohio! He was drumming for John Wesley Harding. And to top it all off, Pete Thomas, fabulous ex-Squeeze drummer and current Elvis Costello drummer showed up with wife and (The Like drummer) daughter Tennessee in tow and they all felt the love throughout the night! My mate Debbie was deathly ill and dragged herself to the screening in spite of already having seen the movie at her house a month or so earlier. That’s dedication! Debbie counted about 60 people there and I was relieved and happy to know that if I didn’t meet the bar minimum, I’d certainly come close. Dave, a guy that works at a record store in LA, had emailed me before asking that I email him a flyer for the screening. I did and he printed it out and hung it up at the store. Dave showed up, enjoyed the movie and was feeling the love! My friend Chris came straight to the screening from the airport, bless her.

As the movie began playing, I was reminded how cool it is to watch the flick on a big screen. The audience responded enthusiastically, as they did in San Fran and I couldn’t have been more pleased. The DVD was sticking though, in spite of testing it the night before. I don’t understand why it does that. I tried the DVD on three different players and on my computer and it was fine. I have two public screenings and it sticks throughout. Oh well. Everyone just assumed that the occasional slow motion glitch was some groovy editing technique. Sigh. Everyone laughed in all the right places, sang along to some of the songs and clapped when it was over. I was ecstatic. And drunk. Katie had bought me another cocktail, which I went to fetch with her at the bar and when I returned to my seat, Suzanna had another one lined up. I was ‘double fisting’ the Midori Sours much to the amusement of my table. Feeling no pain and teetering on my high heels, I hung out at the bar afterwards and talked to everyone who attended. The mix CD that I had made was playing and it truly ‘carried on the love’ after the screening.

I chatted to as many people as I could afterwards and was very touched by well, how touched everyone was by the movie! It was touching! Many said how much they laughed and how cool they thought Glenn was. My friend Tammy, who has been to a million screenings since she was in the movie business, told me that she had never been to such a ‘positive’ screening and that she was really surprised at the lovely vibe. I would have to agree with her. Everyone was just happy! Was it because they were drinking heavily to help with the bar minimum? I’m sure it didn’t hurt, but I was truly amazed at the glenn love!

The love turned to hurt though, when I went to collect the two movie posters that I had printed up especially for the screening. Someone stole them! On one hand, I suppose that I should be flattered, but on the other hand, they cost me a lot of money to make! Oh well, I suppose it’s a small price to pay. After shaking hands and hugging everyone I could, I went to the CineSpace folks and asked how much I owed and the manager looked at me and said, "Don’t worry about it." YAY! I met the bar minimum! The screening was successful! Hoorah! Suzanna drove me home where I poured myself into bed, exhausted and happy. I just wish Glenn could’ve been there to feel the love and I wish that all the glennmovie listers could have been there as well!

I definitely am working on trying to get the movie seen in the US and the UK, it’s just a matter of money unfortunately. Ideally, I want to try and set up a screening in DC, Boston and NY in October. I came up with the idea of showing the flick (which is only about an hour long) at a rock club and then having local bands come on afterwards to play Squeeze and Glenn covers. It would be a ‘hoot night’ and each local band would do one or two songs a piece. It would be a real celebration of Squeeze! I’d also love to try this in London and maybe somewhere up north like Liverpool or Manchester. Obviously, this would take a great deal of planning, not to mention dough, but I think it would be worth it. So, watch this space! For you Londoners, I was thinking of somewhere like the 12 bar club or the Jazz Café. (the Jazz Café is a bit too ritzy but the size is about right) The gig would need to be somewhere that had seating since I wouldn’t expect anyone to STAND during the flick. The idea of having local bands play Squeeze covers was to help bring in an already established fan base since I can’t afford to ‘rent’ out a space for the movie. Obviously this is all tentative but it never hurts to try and plan stuff ahead of time, right? It’s fun to think about.

The film biz is a funny one. On a good day, I’m enthusiastic and proactive and on a bad day, I feel that no one will ever see this movie since I’m the only person working on it and that I’ve let Glenn down. On one of these bad days I emailed a filmmaker friend of mine for advice. Rather fantastically, assuming the role of cheerleader and therapist, he assured me that I wasn’t crazy and that he knows exactly what it feels like to have your work go unrecognized. He also informed me that his film was rejected at several festivals but that once it became 'repped' by a huge consulting firm, film festival doors magically swung open and they pursued HIM. Well, this was a huge wake up call for me and I’m shocked at how naïve I was in thinking that my ickle film could get into these big festivals without huge industry representation. Bummer.

I cannot afford to release the movie on DVD by myself. In order to do this, I’d have to go back into the studio and edit all the DVD ‘extras’ which is not going to happen since that takes an infinite amount of time and money. I’m not even entering in the cost of music publishing as well as the actual DVD production costs. So, right now, I’m just trying to get the movie seen and out there. I’m trying to get people to see the movie so they can tell other people about it and perhaps some ‘important’ (or rich!) person will be able to step in and help. All it takes is one person to get behind the project and the course of the movie could change. That’s the hope that I’m clinging to! I'm also still trying to pitch the companion book of the movie to people. So if any of you know any publishing people, email me!

I’m waiting to hear back from the Glastonbury Festival whether or not they will show my movie in their cinema tent. They are only showing ‘shorts’, meaning films 50 minutes or under. My film is 63 minutes and I sent it to them anyway, so who knows if they’ll make an exception. They promised to call me or email me but I haven't heard back from them. Surprise. Glenn is playing Glastonbury this year so I think it would be perfect to show the flick! I heard back from the London Film Festival and we didn’t get in for this autumn. A devastating blow since I really think the film would play well in London. But as my Londoner pals would say, "Never mind, eh?" I've entered the Raindance Film Festival in London and hope that they see the light!

I hope everyone has a safe and lovely summer. If you're lucky enough to catch Glenn and his Fluffers, give them a hug. Have a pub side Pimm's for me and I hope to see you guys soon when the movie hits your town! As always, we’ll keep you up to date if any fun stuff happens with the movie.

Rock On,
Amy


[Previous] [Archive] [Next]

 

 

Who is...? | What is...? | OFTR Book | Biographies | Press | Photo Gallery
Diary | Trailers | MerchandiseLinksContact Us

Copyright ©2002-2010 PlusOne Productions. All Rights Reserved