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November 11, 2004
Hooty hoot glennmovie goers!
October was quite possibly the
busiest and most fantastic month we’ve had here in OFTR land. The sold
out London screening with the
Raindance Film Festival at the beginning of October and then the
jam-packed screening at the glamorous and trendy
Tribeca Grand Hotel
at the end of October! Before I get to the gossip about the NY trip,
just wanted to point out the new Holiday
merchandise available, the new links on our
links
page, the NY pics on
the photo gallery, how you
can get a print of the movie poster autographed by Glenn and most
importantly, the announcement of one last
screening in 2004 on the East Coast!
As you can see on the
SCREENINGS page, GT: OFTR will
be shown as part of a special showcase:
7:00pm, Thursday, December 9th,
2004
Stafford
Township Branch of the Ocean County Library
129 N. Main Street Manahawkin, NJ 08050
For more information call 609 597
3381.
Admission is free.
Please don’t email me for more
information as the number listed will tell you everything you need to
know! I would dearly love to be there but sadly, the London and NY
trips have completely tapped out an already tappity tapped to death
budget and I simply cannot afford to make the trip. You’ll all have to
turn up to sing and clap along without me. Obviously, Glenn will not
be there either but that shouldn’t stop you from going and spreading
the love!
Let’s talk about the New York
screening, shall we? It was amazing, fabulous, overwhelming,
glamorous, class in a glass and one of the best nights of my life. But
this only came to be after I was forced to have several litters of
kittens on the night since nothing goes as planned with OFTR
and I narrowly averted disaster. The screening was to take place at
7pm at the Tribeca
Grand Hotel. I had never been to the Tribeca Grand, only the
unbelievably cool Soho
Grand Hotel so I was eager to see what the place was like. I was
staying with my friend Sunshine in the East Village and on the day of
the screening, I was tired from the flight in the night before and
still exhausted from working non-stop for two weeks on setting the NY
screening up. I worked like a bandit for the London screening and as
soon as I landed back home in LA, I began working immediately on the
Glennmovie screening for NY. This includes sending out press releases
to every human known to man, contacting radio, TV, print, etc…. I also
had to sort out the guest list myself and this took a great deal of
time and energy. The day of the screening, I woke up early and
answered last minute emails. I borrowed a great dress from my generous
friend Alison Powell, got some fabulous high heel shoes (sadly, the
highness was painfully felt the night of the screening) and I was
ready to go. Almost. I made a very impulsive decision to go have my
makeup and hair done. This could’ve gone horribly wrong since I’m a
pretty low maintenance girl but, I figured that if I don’t take that
many taxis while I’m in NY and if I get that check from the freelance
TV job I did last week, it will even out. Also, that night was going
to be the biggest night ever since bigwigs from the
Independent Film Channel,
Sundance Channel, and a
few DVD distribution companies were going to be there and I needed to
not only sell the film, I had to sell Glenn and sell myself. It’s
great to have a movie to sell but it really helps having different
marketing techniques available to help sell it and get it out there.
(i.e.. Glenn performing and promoting the movie.) I felt like death on
a stick and was exhausted and thought that having someone else do my
make up and hair would not only boost my confidence, but add that
extra spark needed for my first ever NY film premiere!
I strolled over to the
MAC store for my makeover
and walk in to find the entire staff in day-glow makeup. I have second
thoughts. Will I leave looking like a clownish
Tammy Faye Bakker? Then I
remember it’s close to Halloween and I begin to relax. For years the
‘smoky eye look’ had intrigued me but I never had the skill to pull it
off let alone the event to wear it to, but I figured that I would
allow enough time to go back to Sunshine’s and wash it all off if it
all went pear shaped. I had a death grip on the hand held mirror in my
lap as the MAC lady weaved her magic and I was constantly keeping her
handy work in check. The final look was subtle but unbelievably
glamorous and different to anything that I’d know how to do and I felt
fabulous swishing out of the store with my free MAC mascara in hand
and a brand new face. It was then off to the hair salon across the
street from Sunshine for my naturally curly locks to get a good seeing
to. I decided to go glam all the way and have a pro blow my hair dry
pin straight. Well, as straight as my curly hair would go. This could
also go horribly wrong but I had enough time to wash it if I looked
like a frizzier version of Stevie
Nicks. My hairdresser was lovely and took her time and as she
patiently flattened my hair, I took time out to close my eyes and
attempt to relax and think about the night. I love having my hair
played with and when it’s blown in straight, it’s as soothing as a
mother cat licking its young so I was in pampered heaven!
Sunshine answered the door and was
amazed at my transformation. I was amazed at seeing the time and how
very little of it there was left in order for me to get ready so I
changed into my dress and heels and gathered my copies of the movie,
movie posters, tickets, guest list, business cards and digital camera.
Sunshine was going to go glam, but since it was so close to election
time, she chose to wear her “Axis
of Evil Doers” t-shirt with an anti-Bush slogan on the back. Can’t
say I blame her for getting the most mileage out of her shirt before
the Nov. 2nd election. The dress on loan is a fab number (check out
the pics on the
picture
gallery) and unlike anything I’ve ever worn in my life. I figured if
you can’t tart up on the day of the New York premiere of your first
movie at the swish Tribeca Grand… when can you? This is a once in a
lifetime thing. I didn’t go full on glam in London because the movie
was to start at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon. Since this was an evening
event at Tribeca, I had license to glam! On our way to Tribeca, I
waltzed into the hair salon and they all just looked at me blankly and
said, “May we help you?” I felt incredibly stupid because I literally
just walked out of their salon 20 minutes earlier and already they had
forgotten who I was! I said meekly, “Oh. I uh. you just blew my hair
in straight. I had curly hair and I’m going to my NY premiere of my
movie tonight and uh … I said I’d come in.” They had no idea who I was
until I reminded them and they couldn’t believe my transformation.
They asked me to give them a twirl and were, to coin an already coined
phrase, shocked and awed. I tee hee’d out of there and Sunshine and I
hopped in a cab. I had phoned ahead to make sure everything was sorted
and was told that all was well. I felt relieved since nothing ever
runs smoothly with this movie.
I plop into the cab in a very
unladylike manner but we are now in a slight rush. As Sunshine and I
settle in and go over the guest list one more time, the taxi takes a
sharp swerving turn that forces us into each other and just as we look
up to see the pedestrian that we just missed hitting, we hit a bump
and literally levitate in the backseat. It seemed like we were
weightless astronauts and I will forever remember the look on
Sunshine’s face as we both defied gravity convinced that we were going
to die. After crashing back down on the seat, and avoiding bashing our
heads on the ceiling, I thought about the screening going on in spite
of my tragic sudden death in a NY taxicab. “Amy Pickard October 10,
1968 - October 29, 2004 RIP”. I would die nobly on the way to my
first NY screening. How fitting! Sunshine and I giggled over the
precarious taxi ride but managed to get to the Tribeca Grand in record
time! The hotel is simply beautiful and trendy and cool without being
intimidating. I loved it. I couldn’t wait to see the screening room.
The Tribeca Grand also sponsored the event. I still find this
unbelievably generous and touching. They have always supported the
movie and Glenn. If you stay at the Soho Grand or the Tribeca, you
will find a Glenn CD in every room! How cool is that?
Sunshine and I walked downstairs to
our ‘check in’ table in front of the theatre and there were fans
waiting in line already! Tickets were on a first come basis and I was
told to overbook by a hundred, but that made me far too nervous so I
overbooked by 75. I talked to the fans a bit but was starting to feel
unbelievably nervous. I just wanted into the screening room to test
out the copies of the movie. I was told to bring a DVD of the movie
and knowing that things always go wrong, I brought a VHS of the movie
as well. Just in case. There was an easel for the movie poster but
since the poster is just that, it was too floppy so we had to manage a
quick ‘make and do’ project, cutting up fed ex boxes to make a more
firm backing and then clip the movie poster to the boxes. This worked
a treat but I was nervous that a fan would steal the poster! At all
the screenings I’ve had, fans take the posters, which is great for
them and expensive for me. I had tried getting new posters made for
the screening. I planned on selling them afterwards but as with the
curse of Glennmovie, the printers mucked up the order AGAIN, they said that the head
chick was on vacation and had assured them that all the clients were
taken care of. They were. Except for the OFTR client. There was also
no way they could print any posters up in time for the screening, so
we did without. I’m telling you the brief version of the poster story,
but suffice to say, it was a true nightmare. So, I went to NY with two
posters in my possession and I was hoping to leave with two as well. I
am still convinced that the movie is cursed though.
The projectionist was a bit late
turning up, which made me slightly nervous but the staff at Tribeca is
so lovely and professional, I was put at ease. I raced into the room
with my DVD. As it played, I informed him that at the beginning of the
DVD, there is a minute of color bars and tone, then there is a card
that has my name, contact number and running time of the movie, then
there is a countdown from SIX until the movie starts. In Trenton at
their film festival, I specifically requested that they start the film
after the countdown so my number isn’t shown to all and sundry. That
was overlooked and apparently, my number was up there for all to see.
GREAT! The engineer said he understood and began playing with the
settings. I got nervous as the movie was being cut off slightly on the
screen. He said it was the DVD. I panicked and called my editor who
assured me that it must be his machine since it’s not adjusting to the
proper setting. I’m making this hysterical phone call in front of all
the fans in line. At this point, I don’t care who sees me. There was
plenty of tech talk by the projectionist and by my editor, but all I
understood was that the DVD wasn’t working. I had the VHS backup, but
know that it’s lesser quality and a last resort. It was making me too
nervous to stand there and watch the engineer fiddle about so I came
out up front and was overjoyed to see some of my friends arrive.
Doors were supposed to be at 6:30pm
and the screening was due to start at 7pm. Glenn had called me saying
he was on his way and that he didn’t really feel comfortable
performing since he thought the performance after the London screening
was a bit weird. I was really bummed, but at that moment, I didn’t
really care since that was one less thing I had to worry about. I was
more concerned with the DVD working.
John Wesley Harding arrived with
his lovely girlfriend and old friends
Ritchie Coster (who
is a little movie star you know! Check out his work in “The
Tuxedo” and “The
Thomas Crown Affair”.) and his wife Jan (who works for “The
Guiding Light” soap opera) arrived and I hadn’t seen them in five
or six years. I also had friends Tara and her hubby Ted arrive. I
lived with Tara in London and hadn’t seen her in several years as
well. I wanted desperately to catch up and chat but I was running
around at this point. It was already 6:30pm and people were beginning
to fill up the lobby and we hadn’t even checked people in yet. I was
still waiting for word about the DVD. My friend John Chapple, who
filmed the entire Grand Central Station bit in the film for me free of
charge turned up looking stunning in his bad ass suit and we both
commented on how foxy we both were! He had phoned me earlier and when
I told him I was going all out, he decided to go all out as well.
After all, his camerawork was going to be seen on a big screen as
well! I ran back into the screening room and asked for an update. The
DVD isn’t working and now the VHS wasn’t working. I was told it was my
fault the VHS wasn’t working since it was dubbed on a fast speed and
the machine they have (which is a professional VHS player) only plays
VHS copies that were dubbed at professional speed. Since my bedroom at
home is my dubbing station, I knew that my tape wasn’t professional
quality but I didn’t know it couldn’t be played on other decks. So at
6:45pm, fifteen minutes before my movie was to start, I was told that
neither copy of my movie could be played and that we have no movie to
show.
Let’s all just take a moment to
breathe here. I was in shock and just as I was ready to leap off the
balcony of the Tribeca Grand, my friend Anthony Gigante showed up. I
met Anthony from interviewing him at a NY GT show and became friends
with him and his cousin Jon over the years. Jon and Anthony did a
great indie film called “Cugini”
and they know the hardships and the drama surrounding making a film on
your own. Anthony also works in equipment sales and rentals now so
when I told him what was going on, he very calmly said, “This is what
I do. Let me take care of it.” And he swaggered up to the control room
and assured me that he would handle it. He told me to go out and
mingle and relax and that he would take care of it. I thought relaxing
was the furthest thing from my mind since my head was literally ready
to bleed from the stress. They went to handle the crisis and I sat
down in the reception room by myself to try and handle my own mental
unraveling. I mean, I spent all this money to get here, all the time
and energy spent trying to drum up publicity and coordinate with
Glenn’s schedule, all the friends and fans traveling to see the movie
and here I am, in high heels with straight hair and my tits out in a
dress and there isn’t going to be a movie!!!! I will admit to a “Why
can’t things go smoothly?” pity party for one. Hoping the trauma
wouldn’t show on my face, I went back out front to see that Glenn had
arrived and I gave him a big, fake smile and a warm hug in front of
everyone but then immediately ushered him into the closed off
reception room. He said, “What’s wrong?” I just asked him to hold my
hand for a moment. I took a deep breath and said, “I’m trying really,
really, really hard not to cry. I don’t want to lose it and I’m so
close to losing it!” He laughed and said, “What?” Deep breath. “They
told me that there is no movie. They can’t play either copy of the
movie that I brought and all the people are out there and we’re
running late and I don’t know what to do. There is no movie.” I sort
of laughed nervously and the look on his face was one of disbelief and
an unspoken of understanding of knowing what it’s like to plan on
something and then have it go horribly, spectacularly WRONG in the
most hideous, outrageous, hilarious fashion. He laughed awkwardly and
I remembered that laugh from when he found out that there was no RV to
begin the RV tour with. He squeezed my hand and said, “It’s alright.
It’s going to be fine. I don’t have to go onstage at Irving Plaza
until midnight. So if we start a little late, it will be fine. It’s
going to be fine.” Although I appreciated his chirpy optimism, I
wanted to know specifics. How exactly is it going to be fine? I would
love to know. I told him I had to run in and check and see how it was
going and left him to go off and share the great news with our closest
friends. Sunshine had gotten me a stiff
jack and coke to
calm my nerves.
As I wandered back into the reception
room, I saw my friend Wes, aka John Wesley Harding who asked if there
was anything he could help me with. I answered “Acquiring heavy
medication” and then told him that there was no movie to show at that
time and I’ve never seen his eyes get so big. A million things were
racing through my mind. What to do if there is no movie? Could Glenn
and I act out the film charades-style in front of the audience? Should
Glenn and I just do a Q&A? Should I interview Glenn in front of the
audience about the Squeeze book and songwriting and such? I thought if
there were no movie, I’d at least have Wes, Glenn and the lead singer
Chris, from the Fountains of Wayne there at the screening to sing or
adlib or something. I could get Tribeca to sort out a guitar or
something and the three of them could maybe ad lib. Alternatively, my
friends Ritchie and Jan and Tara and I all worked at a 50’s diner in
Piccadilly Circus years ago and we had to perform dance routines for
the customers. I ran over to them and told them what was going on and
that we might have to whip out the “Choo Choo Cha Boogie” dance
or “Greased Lightning” if need be. I left them laughing as I
had to dash back to the control room for an update. At this point,
John Gigante turned up and was helping Anthony. They had managed to
get a VCR from one of the rooms and were in the process of hooking it
up. We decided that it was probably best to start checking people in
as the more people who arrived, the more difficult it would be to
differentiate who got there first since tix were on a first come
basis. Luckily, Sunshine and her lovely friend Nick were covering the
guest list and checking people in and taking care of it for me.
Sunshine was cool as a cucumber all night and it was so comforting to
know that I could trust that she’d handle everything! I also was
working on a glass of wine at this point after I made my jack and coke
disappear.
I was telling everyone that it would
only be ten more minutes since that’s what I was being told from the
control room. Luckily, the bar manager Chad, came over to calm me down
and said that it was alright to move the cocktail reception from 8:30
to 9:30 and not to worry and he’d start passing out beers to make the
wait more enjoyable. I ran out to make the beer announcement and
everyone seemed pleased. Actually, before I made the beer
announcement, everyone seemed pleased. I was more worried about the
scheduling of the night being thrown off and the people who came to
catch the movie AND the Irving Plaza gig but it seemed like everyone
was in a great mood and that they were just chilling. Looking back,
I’m still amazed at the lovely vibe in the lobby. There really weren’t
any impatient comments. Perhaps because some of the fans were old
veterans to the glennmovie.com list and
knew that a screening never goes off without a hitch! I desperately
wished I could mingle and relax and talk to everyone because I’d dash
in occasionally and everyone would grab me and want to talk but I
couldn’t. By this point, I had done so much running around and running
up and down steps, that I was ready to saw my feet off at the ankles.
I was wearing the highest heels I’d ever worn in my life and already
felt that I was walking around like a football player with a beach
ball between his legs, but I couldn’t believe the excruciating
shooting pain in the balls of my feet. Not to mention the hearty sweat
I was working up which was making my straight hair decide to go back
to its curly ways. Never mind. I don’t care. I just want the movie to
be shown. It has to be shown.
I ran back in and was told “Ten more
minutes”. I didn’t know this on the night and didn’t find out until I
got back to LA on the following Monday, but apparently, they had
gotten a VCR from one of the rooms and hooked it up. It worked fine
and we were ready to go until someone accidentally dropped the coaxial
cable into the machine. No big whoop as they could get another VCR
from another room, but a very big whoop when that was the only cable
that you had to hook the VCR up and show the movie. So, they sent
someone out to get a new cable, another VCR was dispatched and hooked
up and it was all ready to go at around 8pm. I told the Gigantes later
that I couldn’t believe that they didn’t tell me that happened and
they both said smiling, “Would you have wanted us to?” The answer is
no. If they informed me of this little glitch, I think that I would’ve
spontaneously combusted from the stress. Bless them both. I went in
and they said they were ready to go and Anthony and I checked the
sound levels of the movie and the sound levels of the screening CD and
then opened the doors and let everyone in FINALLY. I stood behind the
check-in table, as everyone filed past. I saw Wes, gave him a relieved
wink and took a very manly chug from my wine, which made him laugh.
Sunshine assured me that the IFC and Sundance people were checked in
but that the DVD distribution people did not show. One lovely guy from
a distribution company showed instead of the bigwig and we called it
the ‘orphan’ ticket. In the biz, if you get sent an invite for
something like a screening or a party but can’t or don’t want to go,
you give it to the office runner or mailroom person or ‘orphan’. He
later came up to me after the movie raving about how much he loved it!
He also said that he wished there was something he could do but he’s
too far down on the food chain to help. Oh well. At least he enjoyed
it!!!
I was told by the staff to make an
announcement to everyone before the flick that they would be coming
around to collect their drinks since they were naughty and brought
them all in with them. Well, I didn’t know they weren’t supposed to
bring the drinks in with them and I was so eager to start the movie
that I flung the doors open and practically chased everyone in! I
numbered the tickets (which were little mini movie posters) and out of
100, 98 turned up. I suppose I should’ve overbooked by 100! But I was
happy that it was packed. Once everyone was seated. I calmly walked to
the front and grabbed a microphone to greet everyone. I took a deep
breath, and smiled and everyone clapped! Wow…easy room! I just said,
“Hi, I’m Amy Pickard and I made the
film. I just wanted to let everyone know that there will be some
people coming round to collect your drinks since you were naughty
and brought them in with you and then after that, we’ll start the
movie. Sorry for the wait, but we were having some technical
difficulties. Glenn isn’t going to be performing tonight but he and
I will be doing a Q and A afterwards so you’ll have to sit through
the credits. (Sorry about that.) After the Q and A there will be a
cocktail reception afterwards and we can chat then so just enjoy the
movie and thanks so much for coming!”
No sooner did I put my mic down than
the lights went off. I bolted over to the Tribeca guy and said, “I
thought you were collecting the drinks?” He said he guessed that they
weren’t. So I ran back in and yelled out to the dark “I lied! They
aren’t going to collect the drinks!” And the crowd cheered. Bless
them. I headed for the back of the cinema where Glenn and Suzanne were
supposed to save me a seat only to find that Simon Hansen, the
Fluffers drummer, blatantly stole it. Cheers. John Gigante thankfully
saved me a chair in the back back row and I collapsed into it.
Wes was in the back back row as well
and kindly offered the couch that he and his girlfriend were sitting
on in case I wanted to lay down! Didn’t sound like a bad idea. So I’m
sitting there in the dark. Waiting. Waiting. Nothing. Then the movie
comes on but with absolutely NO SOUND. I yell out that I did that on
purpose and then the Gigantes and myself spring out of our seats and
run to the projection room and say that there is no sound and the
movie needs to be started again from the beginning. I go back to my
seat and the screen is black. Everyone is waiting. Then much to my
surprise and delight, a minute of color bars appears and then the ear
piercing tone, then my phone number comes up and I hear Wes say
loudly, “That’s handy if anyone wants to call.” I had to laugh. But
finally, the movie started and it had sound and it was fine. The only
bad thing was the quality of the movie. Since it was screened from a
VHS and a VCR, the image was nowhere near the crystal clear, crisp
image from a DVD. I later shared my concern with Glenn but he said
that it didn’t matter and that no one had noticed. Right off the bat,
everyone is laughing and singing and I have to go the bathroom a
million times from the drinks that I downed. Each trip means my feet
hurt even more and that I miss out on the response that the crowd have
to the movie.
I come back in and sit down and Wes
pops over from time to time to tell me something funny or to share an
encouraging word and it calms me down. John and Anthony Gigante both
pull me aside and say how tremendously proud they are of me and the
journey and how honored they feel to be there on the special night.
They are lovely and the fact that everyone in the theatre - fans and
non-fans alike are enjoying the movie gets to me. I stand up and move
to the corner in the back to have a little weep but I’m careful not to
cry too hard because my makeover will be ruined! When I made the
movie, I didn’t think of how people would react to what I’ve done, if
that makes any sense. All I thought about was what Glenn does. How he
performs, how he connects with his audience, how he works his ass off
and how funny and charming he is. I always knew people would respond
to that. But at the screening, I felt overwhelmed that they were
responding to Glenn but they’re also responding to the work that I’ve
done. The way I’ve constructed the story, the way I’ve told the story,
the work that I have put into it. And a lot of credit for this goes to
my editor as well. I mean, we spent hundreds of thousands of hours
with no pay, in his dark room with his AVID going over and over and
over the movie and what works and what doesn’t. I could count the
potholes on the road to Jeff, my editor’s house from my house as I’ve
made the journey so many times and now I’m feeling all of that. Glenn
bounds out to go the bathroom as I’m in the corner having a cry and I
tell him how overwhelming it all is and he says something about not
being surprised by that. He then gives my shoulder a pat and goes back
to his seat. I wonder how he must feel seeing himself on the big
screen with people reacting to him. It must be strange. Of course,
we’ll never talk about this with each other but I do wonder!
The subtitles don’t seem to annoy
anyone too badly. Someone emailed me recently to ask if an
un-subtitled version of the movie existed. No version of GT: OFTR
exists without subtitles if that answers anyone’s question! I found
that not being able to understand what Glenn says is universal so
there is no need to send out different versions for different
screenings! One of my favorite bits in the movie is when Glenn does a
blistering version of the Jimi Hendrix song “Voodoo Child (Slight
Return)” and here in NY the entire crowd erupts into applause
after it’s over. I love it! In England, they wanted to clap afterwards
but daren’t. As the credits begin to roll, I feel relieved. Enormous
relief. And I start dancing in the back to get rid of some of the
tension I feel for the upcoming Q&A. John snaps a picture as I’m
boogying on down and I tell Glenn that I’ll go down first and then
introduce him. As the credits roll, I run into the guy from the
Sundance channel as he’s leaving. He loved the movie and he gives me
his card and apologizes since he can’t stay for the Q and A as it
started late and he has a birthday party to go to. I’m bummed but
thank him for coming and tell him that the print is crappy but that
the actual movie is crystal clear. He smiled and said that it doesn’t
matter because everyone loved it! That seems like good news. I ask
John to take some pics of the Q&A for me since I had no pics from the
London screening. (It’s tough being a staff of one.) I walk down and
get the mic, John (who is a deeelight!) does the roadie thing without
prompting and sorts out the chairs and Glenn’s mic and everyone
applauds. YAY! I introduce Glenn and he bounds down with his usual
boyish enthusiasm and then in keeping with his boyish ways, sits down
in the chair like a restless seven year old at a wallpaper store. If
one could actually lie down in a chair, Glenn manages it. I know this
is not Glenn’s favorite thing to do, but I feel GREAT! I’m completely
comfortable in front of people and enjoy answering questions about the
film and about Glenn’s music. I feel triumphant! Invincible! I’ve had
three drinks already! I try and make some jokes to help Glenn relax,
but he is ‘unrelaxable’. I suppose if he asked me to get up and sing
something, I’d feel exactly the same way. (Although I do a mean
harmony on “Too Many Teardrops” WITH double hand claps. Er… in
my car.)
Someone asks why Glenn didn’t sing.
He explains that the London thing seemed weird and that he feels
almost like he’s competing with himself since everyone just watched 70
minutes of him singing. I do understand that but then I was compelled
to interject that in London, he sang four songs. One of which had to
do with being caught holding his penis and another was about
masturbation - so I think song choice had a lot to do with it. I also
pointed out that he was playing a full set later that night and needed
to save his energy for the ROCK! But secretly, I wanted him to play “Untouchable”
which is off his new album so everyone could hear a new song of his
and I wanted him to sing “Annie Get Your Gun” since that wasn’t
in the film. Two songs. Bish Bash Bosh. It would’ve been fab. But I do
see where Glenn’s coming from. I announced to the crowd about the
quality of the VHS copy and they all applauded so that tells me that
they thought the quality was crappy and were happy that it was just
the VHS. And as I looked out into the crowd of all the smiley faces, I
saw Chris the lead singer of one of my favorite bands the
Fountains of Wayne, I
saw Wes (JWH) in the back row and I had Glenn sitting beside me. I
interviewed Wes in 1990 through my local video show and I have loved
FoW for years and years. I just love their latest album “Welcome
Interstate Managers” and have not stopped listening to it for the
past six months. It is the perfect pop rock album. I was just struck
at how important their music is to me and has been to me! So I told
the crowd as if I needed to explain, that growing up in Dayton, Ohio
was like living in a prison. And when bands would come through Ohio
and when I interviewed them for my show or I’d meet them backstage, it
was like they were visiting me in prison with news of the outside
world and what it was like and that I was just so grateful that some
of those bands are here tonight. I mean, think about it. I had Squeeze
posters on my bedroom wall when I worked at the local Video store in
Ohio and here I am in NY at my film premiere. HUH? How did that
happen? It was just indescribable. I used to go pay to hear Wes play
and he’s made the trip into the city to see what I’ve done. I bought
every FoW album, couldn’t wait to get home and play it and learn the
words and sing along in my car and now here is the lead singer making
the effort to come and watch something that I’ve done. It’s nothing
short of amazing.
Glenn said that he didn’t want to get
gushy or sound like some Academy Award acceptance speech (I had to
chime in that we all know that will never happen! The Oscars that is.)
but that he just wanted to thank me for all my hard work and blah blah
blah. I don’t remember what else he said because I was focusing on not
bawling. I was looking at him as he was saying this but then I had to
turn away and I locked eyes with Wes in the back standing up and
mouthing “DON’T CRY! DON’T CRY!” Which made me laugh but more
importantly, made me not cry. I wish I could remember what else he
said, but suffice to say; he appreciates what I’ve done. Rather than
say something mushy back to him and turn this into a love fest, I just
thought that the movie encapsulates everything I want to express and
so I just moved onto the next question.
After wrapping up the Q&A, I thanked
everyone for coming and encouraged all to go have a drink on me at the
cocktail reception! (It was on the Tribeca Grand Hotel, actually!) The
reception went by in two seconds. I was busy talking to everyone and
John was my photographer on the spot ready to snap at any moment! Wes
had never met Glenn before, so I was glad that they had a chance to
meet and chat. I got to talk to Chris from Fountains of Wayne and gush
to him how much I love his band. He was very modest and shared that he
dug the film! I forced my opinion that he and Glenn should work
together down his throat because I just think that combo would be the
best!!! What a great tour that would be as well!!! I’m jealous that I
missed out on the London show! I was so busy trying to find the
bigwigs to chat to; I had to diss my good friends. But at the very
least, I was able to hug them and see them and promise to call after
the craziness subsides.
After the reception, Sunshine, Nick,
and I went to my second favorite restaurant in NY,
Café Habana for
their outstanding
grilled Cuban CORN! I dream about the corn and it
was the perfect meal for me since I hadn’t really eaten all day. After
CORN, I left Sunshine and Nick behind to go to the Irving Plaza gig. I
had never seen the Fluffers. (only the Party four years ago in
Leicester.) The energy of the Fluffers is amazing. I can watch Stephen
Large play the keyboard for days. If Jerry Lee Lewis and Prince had a
lovechild whilst smoking crack, Stephen Large would be the product of
that union. The energy that this man has onstage is amazing and when
you hear his keyboard playing on Slap and Tickle, you’ll be
callin’ on Jesus! And Lucy is such a sweetheart offstage and such a
bad-ass bass player onstage! Simon Hansen is simply insane and hits
the drums harder than a hooker on Main Street. The gig was great but
far too late. (I made a rhyme!) I hobbled backstage and promptly sat
on the couch and took my girly shoes off. Fans came over to me to chat
about the movie and it was really a testament to Glenn that they came
to the movie and then went across town to see him play. It was decided
that we would go back to the Tribeca for a drink. I wanted nothing
more than to be in my kitty suit, but since I didn’t really get to
relax that much in the evening, I didn’t want it to end. I thought I’d
turn into a pumpkin when I went home and I wanted to have the evening
last as long as possible. Upon returning to Tribeca, Glenn promptly
went to bed, clearly not wanting the evening to last as long as
possible! I spent most of the evening talking with Sean, Glenn’s tour
manager and Suzanne, Stephen, and Lucy joined us later at the bar.
Sean had me laughing all night and was very kind enough to drop me off
at my doorstep on his way home. It was 4:30am and I had to rouse poor
Sunshine from her sleep in order for her to let me in. I immediately
threw off my shoes (thinking of burning them or turning them in as
weapons of mass destruction) and washed all the MAC makeup off of my
face. I was so tired, I couldn’t really sleep and I just ended up
sitting on Sunshine’s couch and rehashing the night’s events. I
must’ve fallen asleep sitting there because when I opened my eyes, it
was light out so I crawled into bed.
We both were woken up by the NY alarm
clock also known as a shouty, mentally ill person. We call him “Vagina
Man” because he screams “Vaginaaaaaaaaaaaa” repeatedly until he is
hoarse. Occasionally, he shouts something different but one can’t
mistake his vocabulary when he yells the vagina talk. If you look at
the LINKS page, you’ll see a new link to
New York’s finest English tea shop called
Tea and Sympathy.
If you live in NY and you haven’t been there and tried the Welsh
Rarebit, you are dead to me. It’s on Greenwich Avenue between 12th and
13th. You gotta go! Nicky Perry, the owner, has known Glenn since he
was 14 or something silly like that and she is also one of the
kindest, warmest, most real people I’ve ever met. Check out the lovely
photo
that makes me drool in the
photo gallery! Nicky has been completely supportive of the movie
and was amazed at the response of the crowd at the screening. She
spent almost two hours with me in her office the day after the
screening going through her Rolodex trying to figure out who could
help with the movie! I love her. She is the queen of Greenwich Avenue.
Sitting outside on the bench with Nicky in front of her tea shop is
like sitting with Santa Claus at the North Pole. Everyone knows her
and those who don’t, want to come up to her and sit in her lap! Nicky
has this innate way of making you feel like you’re the only one in the
world that matters to her while she’s talking to you. I want her and
Sean to adopt me. But seriously, if you live in NY, pop in and tell
them I sent you. If you work in NY, call them to cater your lunch
British style. They’re amazing.
As soon as I got back from NY, Glenn
arrived in LA. Seeing Glenn in town is a bit like trying to see
friends with kids. The only time you get to see your pals is if you go
to their house while their kids are there. The only way of seeing
Glenn is to just be there for the few spare moments of “quality time”
that crop up. Stalking is a harsh word, I think. But seriously, I
literally only see him now once a year if that and so just being there
for the ride in the van to the gig to have a quick chat or to listen
to music on the radio together is nice. I got to know the Fluffers on
their trip to LA and their company almost makes me pine for the road
again. (Notice I say almost!) Glenn let me listen to all the Squeeze
demos and it was thoroughly enjoyable listening. It will make for an
interesting collection. Listening to the demos has renewed my love for
Squeeze. I haven’t really been able to listen to them that much since
I just associated Squeeze with the pain of making the movie. So I’m
relieved to actually be interested in Squeeze again since it was one
of the great pleasures in my life. I am positively salivating over the
U2 IPods that are out
there now. (Santa, are you reading this?) And I couldn't help but
think how cool it would be to have a Squeeze IPod. Universal are
putting out the Big Squeeze, their Greatest Hits... I know
they're not as big as U2, but with so many 'gadget heads' in the
universe clinging to every new Apple product, they'd surely sell a
ton. Just putting it out there.
Glenn appeared on my favorite radio
show “Jonesy’s
Jukebox” on Indie 103.1 FM in LA.
Steve
Jones from the
Sex Pistols hosts a daily radio show and it’s utterly fantastic!
You should check it out since it’s
web cast. I was
overjoyed to meet Jonesy because I listen to his show almost every
day. He was absolutely lovely and I managed to get a picture of Steve,
Glenn, and I. I’m holding a space for it on my
photo gallery since I’m
waiting for Sean to email it to me! Steve was a big fan of Glenn’s and
just loved hearing him sing and play. He even managed to have Glenn
sing an Elvis tune! Glenn played the Knitting Factory and the Coach
House in San Juan Capistrano and I hung out for the duration. Sean’s
mum Patricia hosts a public access show called “Things That Matter”
in Marina Del Ray and on the way down to the Coach House gig, we
stopped in for an appearance. I was curious and excited to check out
the Public Access studio here in CA since it was going ‘back to my
roots’ in a sense. I was surprised to discover that Patricia expected
me to interview Glenn on the show and that I would making an
appearance being interviewed by her! I had a wee panic over how to
interview Glenn with Patricia and what to say, but when I remembered
it was Public Access and how it's a go with the flow type vibe, I let
go and relaxed and the show was absolutely hysterical. We had a blast
and I’m hoping to obtain a copy of the show to include on the movie’s
DVD if we ever manage to release it! My favorite bit was when Patricia
said to me on camera, "Well, Amy, why don't you introduce Glenn
because he's ready to shoot one off." I then said, "Well, Glenn is
always ready to shoot one off, so here he goes with 'Tempted'!"
Classic. It was really lovely to see Glenn again but it was very
brief. I found myself getting a bit nostalgic over touring with him
and being able to hang out in a more relaxed fashion, but I think
after three years of hardcore glennmovie
focus, it is only right to sort of move away from all of that. I
definitely felt a closing of a chapter when Glenn was in town. And I
mean that in the best possible way!
Since my budget is tapped out, some
mad dashing has been done to sort out some new
merchandise for the holidays. Any
proceeds after costs, will go directly to trying to sort out more
screenings and getting the movie out there to be seen. I am struggling
to cover the credit card bills for the movie as well as the expenses
for screenings, promotional materials, and the expense of sending
copies of the movie to potential DVD distributors or TV networks. If
you buy the merch, it helps a lot. If
you buy the new autographed movie posters, it helps even more! I’m
also going to be auctioning off a copy of the new Squeeze book called
“Squeeze: Song by Song” on my website as soon as I get it in my
hot little hands. The book will be autographed by Glenn, Chris Difford,
and the co-author Jim Drury and the book isn’t going to be available
in the US until December. So you need to check back to the site for
news of the auction on Ebay. I’ll
send out an announcement letting you know when the book will be
available for bidding. Although the screenings I’ve had in the past
month have done wonders for filling the empty reservoir of my
glennmovie commitment tank, they have only done damage to my little
glennmovie piggy bank which, three years later, has become a full
grown blue ribbon County Fair hog and it’s overwhelming my life!
I was touched by the fans’ reaction
to the movie in NY and knew that they’d love it but was really
surprised at how much. Everyone came up to me and asked, “What can I
do to help?” I don’t really have the answer except to have a good
think as to whom they might know in the business or if they have a
friend of a friend. If you know any journalists, try and convince them
to do a story on the movie. Anything to get the word out! If you know
any celebrities who are down with the indie film world, let them know
I need help. If you know of any lawyers who can help renegotiate the
music publishing licenses so it would be more financially viable to
release the movie myself on DVD, give them my email address. If you
know of any art theatres that would like to screen the movie without
me having to rent the space out or to pay for anything, let me know.
If you know of anyone who could donate money, use the PayPal on the
site! If you know of anyone who works at a print shop, let me know.
Posters, flyers, VHS labels, etc… eat up the budget faster than
anything. Get more people to sign up on my mailing list. Do you know
of any corporations who would sponsor a small RV tour to take the
movie around the country myself? Have them get in touch with me. And
of course, the most important thing is to show up if there’s a
screening in your area!
I want everyone to know how grateful
I am for the support they have shown. I also want to give a big thanks
to the Tribeca Grand Hotel for being down with the glennmovie cause. I
want to do another one next year!! I am still trying desperately to
get the movie shown on TV in the UK and the US. I’m still trying to
get distribution companies to show interest in distributing the movie.
I’ve contacted Universal, who are planning on releasing the Big
Squeeze in the US in the new year about possibly piggy backing OFTR onto that somehow, but I haven’t heard back.
Miramax in the UK turned down
the movie. The BBC,
Channel 4, and
VH1 in the US have never gotten back
to me. Word Magazine,
Uncut,
Mojo, and
Rolling Stone have never
gotten back to me. I’ll be honest; I’m running out of ideas. I know
all it takes is one glennmovie soldier to get behind the movie and
help it get out there, but I’m wondering where that one person is
hiding!
I’m going to take time out over the
holidays to have a think about how (or if it’s worth it) to carry on
with this project. I’ve given myself an end date of Spring 2005. If
nothing happens by then, I need to put GT: OFTR to bed and cut
my losses. Although I am far from giving up, I eventually need to
focus my energies on paying off the debt from the documentary and move
onto other projects. I’ll never hang up my hat as Squeeze ambassador
to the world since I love it so much, but the movie and the whole
journey has taken a toll on me. I hope everyone has an absolutely
brilliant holiday season. I hope you keep in touch with the website
for the Squeeze book auction and take care of yourselves.
Keep on Rocking,
Amyx
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