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Diary

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Production notes from the Director, Amy Pickard
 


 

May 5, 2006

Long time no chat!

It's taken me absolutely ages to post a new diary entry but Glenn has yet to post a single diary entry on his site since its inception, so I don't feel so bad. I’ve just been unbelievably busy with - what else - the film! Yes, the film is out into the world and available on DVD!

The months leading up to the DVD release were unbelievably busy for me. I am pretty much handling all of the press for the US by myself. Sony/BMG and PPR Publicity handled the PR in the UK and it doesn't take a genius to see who was more successful! But, I did everything I possibly could on my own for the US. I put in 12 hour days on the computer literally emailing every major newspaper, every alternative newsweekly, every triple A radio station, every magazine, every in-flight magazine and every major music blog on the internet. I also emailed every TV talent coordinator on every show I could think of. My favorite reply from the Letterman show was “We have nothing to offer Glenn.” Next time I’m asked out on a date by someone I’m not particularly interested in, I’m just going to nod and politely say, “I have nothing to offer you.”

The press that the movie has received has been overwhelming and beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I am amazed that almost everyone who has reviewed or written about the film ‘gets it’. They are able to look past the crappy camerawork and crappy audio and non-existent budget and understand the message of what I worked so hard in trying to convey. When we were in the green room at SKY TV studios, Glenn actually said to me that he has gotten more exposure through the film than both of his solo albums combined. That realization single-handedly justified my decision to embark on this five-year odyssey. The journalists who have covered the film even told me that there are a million singer/songwriters angling for press. But the FILM is what makes a story about Glenn a bit more unique. So needless to say, I’m thrilled to bits because the main reason I did the film was to expose Glenn’s music to more people and to try and reach out to filmgoers who might not be aware of Glenn.

My trip to the UK in January for the DVD release was quite simply, astonishing and life changing for me. After five years of feeling like the invisible girl putting every drop of energy into the invisible film day after day, for the first time, I didn’t feel invisible anymore. I wish I could describe in words what it was like to see my film in DVD form for the first time! Every color, every sentence, every placement of every word-all in place and in the perfect DVD package that I spent countless hours agonizing over! And my name was on it! I can’t explain the thrill of walking through the throngs of pink British people in Piccadilly Circus and going to the magazine rack in the basement of Virgin Records and opening up one of my favorite UK music magazines to see an ad for my film and a positive review. I wanted to grab anyone nearby and squeal, ‘This is my film!!!’ (Knowing how reserved the Brits are, I don’t think that would have gone down to well!) After hearing I had gotten the go ahead for Glenn and I to appear on Jonathan Ross’ BBC Radio 2 show, I floated back to my friend’s flat and decided to listen to Squeeze on my headphones for the journey home. For the first time in a long time, I was able to hear Squeeze like I used to rather than associate it with the festival of pain that the movie had become. I remember listening to Squeeze 20 years ago when the only light in my room was the glow from my stereo and their music took me places my feet couldn’t. I fantasized about coming to London and going to Piccadilly and to find myself in London all these years later, getting positive feedback for something I created, was nothing short of a miracle. Even though it was freezing cold in the middle of winter, I was grinning to “I’m so made up I feel I could take off and fly!” from “This Summer”. I think the folks on the double decker bus must have thought I was crazy since I was grinning like an idiot the whole ride home.

PPR Publicity and Sony/BMG handled all the print press for the film in the UK and did an outstanding job. They were very supportive of the film and I think their enthusiasm for Glenn’s music and the DVD really helped it get attention. I couldn’t help but stick my oar in though and ended up booking the TV appearances and most of the radio appearances myself. If I could have had a bit more time and resources, we could have gotten almost twice as much press! I called in so many favors and so many of my mates helped put me in touch with talent bookers and producers. Everyone was lovely and it meant such a lot to me that everyone involved pulled out all the stops to help and were genuinely enthused about the film. I never worked so hard in my life. The schedule was insane.

After a lovely feature on the film appeared in The Guardian, the Daily Mail on Sunday commissioned me to write a piece on my experience touring with Glenn and making the film. (Wow! I was going to get paid to write an article for one of the UK’s leading newspapers??) So while I was doing TV and radio WITH Glenn, I was booking press FOR Glenn and writing a feature for the newspaper mentioned in a Beatles song!!! I was also trying to generate future employment from the UK trip and took several meetings where I was treated like a film director! (After seeing the DVD the night before, one bigwig enthusiastically told me that I invented a new genre of documentary called the ‘fanumentary’ and that music DVD’s in the future need to have a strong storyline with music in it like my film instead of your everyday concert/backstage footage DVD!! Uh... who knew that I could foretell the newest trend in music DVDs?! haha) I left London in 1999 after unsuccessfully trying to work steadily in radio and TV as a presenter/producer. But now, after the DVD was released in London, I was taking meetings as a Director, giving good ‘mic’ on the radio (and possibly hired by the BBC in the future), getting paid as a writer and getting positive feedback from the TV people. I no longer felt like a ‘pop idol’ who had deluded herself into thinking that she could sing all these years! I was completely spoiled and validated as a professional and I’ll be honest with you, I basked in every glorious minute of it. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I was living the life that I wanted in London rather than the life that I had back in LA!

Although I’m sure Glenn is used to talking about his latest project, I was unbelievably excited to talk about the film and to talk about Glenn’s music to the press. (If you think you guys have tired with the last five years of ‘we’re almost there’ or ‘we’re still working on the film’. Imagine LIVING it.) It was slightly surreal to be interviewed WITH Glenn, (that will be the fan in me then) but it was such a hoot! If any of you have met me at Glenn’s merch stand at his gigs will know, I love talking about his music, but that’s just the music geek in me. And Glenn, being quintessentially English, would rather be peeled than partake in any kind of self-promotion, so I’m sure he found it more enjoyable to have me talk about the film and how great he is, as opposed to him doing it. (And anyway, I’m better at it than he is! He even said to me, “Amy, you’ve been doing press for 1 day and you’re already better at it than I am and I’ve been doing it for 20 years.”) Don’t get me wrong. Glenn is very funny and warm and charming when being interviewed by the press, but when it comes to you know, mentioning the website, promoting his upcoming projects, etc... his brain takes a vacation and it doesn’t occur to him! So before every interview Glenn and I did, I drummed into his brain, “Mention the websites. Talk about the upcoming acoustic tour. Talk about the special features on the DVD.” The whole purpose is to make sure you get across what you think will make people buy the DVD!!! Don’t just sit there passively and answer the odd question without thinking about the listener/viewer/reader and what they might want to know about the DVD/CD in order to buy it! (Am I being too American when I say that? Oh well.)

Due to the re-scheduling of a Channel 5 TV interview, Glenn and I had two hours to kill before our BBC London Live radio interview. Since it was the day that the DVD was released, I had the brilliant idea to drag him to the local HMV to see if they carried the DVD. As soon as we walked in the door, Glenn made a beeline for anywhere but the DVD section, but I looked under G, under T, under O, under Squeeze and found nothing. I asked a lovely Scottish guy who worked there if he happened to stock the rather fantastic film “Glenn Tilbrook: One For The Road” and he looked on the computer and said, ‘We’re supposed to have two copies in, but I don’t see them anywhere.’ Undefeated, I dragged Glenn the next few blocks into the HMV at Oxford Circus and there it was! In all its DVD Glory! Right next to the other REAL DVD’s by Travis, Thin Lizzy, Justin Timberlake,etc... I was freaking out. It had the English price tag on it and was wrapped in plastic, just like all the other DVD’s. tee hee. I begged Glenn to take a picture of me with the ‘nonchalantly perusing the DVD section and then happening upon...wha? Why look! Hmmm...there is a film that I’d like to see “Glenn Tilbrook: One For The Road” look’ on my face!’ I then asked him to pose next to the DVD and I don’t think I’d be exaggerating when I say that he would have rather had his eyes poked out with a hot stick but in this case, I had to go for a little more Amy and a little less Glenn at that point and I told him to suck it up and say, ‘cheese’ so I could click a pic. As humiliating as it was for him, I’m glad he humored me because it was a big moment for me! FIVE YEARS LATER PEOPLE!!!!! It’s the least he could do right?

My appearance on the Jonathan Ross show is up on the PRESS page if you’d like to have a listen to my 16 minutes of fame. Andy Warhol said we all get 15 and I managed to eek out another cheeky minute! I was THRILLED to be on JR’s show. For those non-Brits reading this, JR is a bit like the Jay Leno of the UK. He’s one of the UK’s biggest broadcasters and when I met him, it was like we had known each other for years. JR hadn’t seen the film since the booking was made so last minute. (Many frantic emails and calls were made, people stayed late at their offices, I ran half way across London to deliver the DVD personally and a lovely, lovely mate of mine put in a call to the bat phone and made it all happen for me!) But, JR is a fan of Glenn’s and he said he had heard many good things about the film! I sat down and JR and I just talked about music. A Joe Jackson song was playing and we were both singing out loud and we just were like two music geeks. Our conversation went something like: “Have you heard this?” “No! Have you heard this?” “If you love that, you’ll love this”. He was such a sweetie and the appearance couldn’t have gone better. As JR said, ‘Glenn pulled a sickee’ at the last minute and couldn’t make it, which was mortifying for me after all the strings I pulled to book us both on the show, but I’m just thankful that they went ahead and let some unknown chick from Dayton, Ohio that didn’t actually write “Tempted” on the show. JR was super cool about it all and even asked me the rather controversial question, “If the RV was on fire, which Squeeze member would I rescue? Glenn or Chris?” You’ll have to listen to the show to learn my answer! JR was very generous with his time and we had such a laugh together. I want him to give his sidekick the boot and hire me!!!! JR was such a pro - mentioning he website and he did his very best to promote the film. I worship him. My appearance caused my inbox to be very full afterwards from lovely, lovely Brits (and even some non-Brits listening online elsewhere in the world) who told me that they enjoyed the show and that they were going to order the film! I’d like to say a big thanks to those who shared their lovely stories with me and to JR and all his staff for being so amazing. I left with a bit of a crush on our Jonathan.

The DVD is now out in Australia and we got a great review in the Sydney Morning Herald and, apparently, there will be more Aussie press to come. (Thanks so much to Karen Conrad, who is promoting the film down under!) We are posting new reviews/features often so please check back. If you want to know what journos and bloggers have to say then click here. There is also a new link to my Japanese distributor, the lovely Yoko (also featured in the new page up on the Photo Gallery!) for any press inquiries in Japan. Yoko also tirelessly promotes Glenn’s CD’s and tours in Japan and sorted out shooting the Tokyo Q and A for the special features on the DVD. (and a thanks to Tadd for the excellent, enthusiastic hosting and translation!)

We also have a heap o' new merchandise up on the merch page. And, we've added a few new links. We've joined the wacky music crowd on myspace.com/glennmovie and Glenn has his own solo page as well! Check it out on myspace.com/glenntilbrook! Many thanks to David Bailey who set the spaces up for us. And, speaking of David, you need to check out his excellent website www.packetofthree.com. Also, Andy Metcalfe has a new fantastic business and the website is www.bluegrasscollege.org. It is a revolutionary online, interactive learning resource for bluegrass players of all levels! You’ll never learn bluegrass the same way again. It makes me want to pick up the mandolin and start a-pickin’! You can actually watch the world’s top players pick a bluegrass tune online and you’re able to rewind it, pause it, see where the fingers are placed and see how the pros play your fave tunes. If you need to improve your bluegrass skills, check out his website! It’s such a great idea and please tell any friends who are in need of some schoolin’ too!

Many people have asked me what’s next! Well, as far as the film goes, I’m still entering it into festivals here and there and will be sure to let you know. I would like to do a “One For The Road” series. Paul McCartney: One For The Road or Neil Finn: One For The Road sounds good to me. (One can dream!) I’m still working on some final bits and bobs of press for Glenn when he’s next in the US. I’m still trying to get the film on British Television and just having no luck whatsoever - in spite of the great reviews - which is frustrating to say the least. But, the major donkey work is pretty much done believe it or not. After the fantastically fun and successful UK radio appearances, I'm working on a new podcast that you'll be able to download soon, so stay tuned to the website for that. The success of the DVD hasn’t really sunk in with me yet because I’m so immersed in the struggle of getting it out there. And when I say success, I mean the fact that it’s out in the world and enjoyed by the press and the majority of people who have seen it. I’ve received the loveliest, most inspiring emails by people who have been genuinely affected by the film and since it is likely that I will forever be in ‘the red’ over the film, it is really lovely to hear that people have enjoyed the film and connected to it in some way.

And, if any of you in the US order anything from amazon.com with any frequency, please go to glennmovie.com and click on the amazon.com link before you browse and purchase! I get a very small commission for any items bought from my site’s link to Amazon! Every little bit helps me cover the expenses of the trip to London and of course, the past five years making the film. I had to laugh because not only do I get a commission for items purchased but I also get a report telling me what people have bought. It’s fascinating to see what people purchase. I was very happy to see that many people bought the excellent Squeeze: Song by Song book as well as Chris and Glenn's solo albums! You guys clearly have excellent taste! But, a Glenn fan out there also bought a book called “Riasing Earthworms for Profit”. A note to that fan: let me know how that works out because I could use some tips!

What’s new in Glenn’s future? We’re working together on a new energy drink called GLENNERGY! It is a combination of a secret ingredient and as Glenn said, ‘Various herbal compounds’. We’re jumping on the bandwagon by developing a new energy drink and I’m suggesting that Glenn work on a personal fragrance for men as well. KIDDING! Seriously, Glenn is awaiting the birth of his second child with Suzanne and he’s busy working on his solo album due out in 2007. I’m still hustling my ideas for TV shows, other docos and radio shows and will keep you posted on the latest news. Don’t forget to go see Glenn’s solo acoustic at the Jazz Café in London on May 23th! And, buy the DVD at the merch stand while you’re at it!

I’m very grateful for the support that I’ve received in the past five years and wanted to let everyone know that there is truly “nothing you can do that can’t be done”. And, I’ll leave you with this quote that sums up how I feel about the film, Glenn’s career, my career and life in general!

"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." - Bob Dylan

Preach it Bobby Z!!!
Amyx

 


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