Just got some news about Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty, which is in post-production right now. (I posted about the film way back here, and have been following its progress over the past several months.) They're very close to finishing, and have a new sneak peek available for those who've memorized the trailer and were waiting for new material. :)
Here's the scene, featuring my favorite actor Eric Sheffer Stevens.
Right now, the team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the film, including color correction, sound mix, and the title sequence. Their website has more details on the process, if you're so inclined.
Once the film is complete they'll be submitting it to film festivals and hopefully gaining interest from distributors, so I'll keep you posted as news crops up.
Also, and slightly off-topic, director James Yaegashi has been putting a lot of effort into fundraising for Japan. Here's a vid about the project he's working on, which includes some actors I recognized (and you might as well...)
Showing posts with label LLRT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LLRT. Show all posts
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Interview Part Two: James Yaegashi, Director of Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty
As promised, here's part two of my interview with James Yaegashi, director of Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty. Find out more about James and the movie - including what makes LLRT stand out from the crowd.
The movie's website is now up, with the trailer and information about the film. Prior to this, however, you had a "soft" opening of the site, including information about supporting post-production with donations (a common practice for indie films on a nonexistent budget). Despite the lack of official publicity, you managed to raise the initial $15,000 for post-production in about two weeks. To what do you attribute that success?
Well, we actually were not planning on going public with the website at all, until we had finished the teaser. But, some fans of Eric Sheffer Stevens, who’s one of my buddies starring in the film, found our website that was still under construction and the information spread among his fans who have been enthusiastically supporting our project—it’s been UNBELIEVABLE. We had no idea we’d meet our minimum goal so quickly. So, a million thanks to all you ESS fans out there!
Would additional donations be helpful, even beyond that initial push?
Yes, additional donations are absolutely helpful. The minimum goal we set was essentially to make sure that we could raise enough funds to go into editing right after principal photography. However, post production costs include much more than just editing, and any funds that we are able to raise beyond our initial goal will help us do a lot more in the post process (visual FX, audio enhancement, color correction, title sequence animation) and will also help cover festival submissions--which is like $50-$150 a pop, and the list goes on. Truth is $50,000 is close to "no budget" in this industry, and we're trying to pull this off with half that cost!
What are you currently working on?
Besides parenting a 7 year-old and a 4 year-old while working on LLRT? As an actor, I’m going to be doing a small part on Man On A Ledge, which just started principal photography; I’ve also been working on an upcoming video game called Homefront; and, also on the voiceover front, I’m going to narrate a new novel by a talented new author named Charles Yu this month. I’m actually a theater person—as are most of the actors in LLRT—and I’ve been developing a couple new plays as well: a stage adaptation of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (which we premiered earlier this year in NY, but are continuing to fine tune it); and I__NY, which I’m doing with some other wonderfully talented Asian American actors at the Ma-Yi Theater (2010 Drama Desk Award-winning company) in New York. I’m also advising a Japanese translator who’s working on translating Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who’s Sylvia for a Tokyo production in the spring. Wow, now that I’ve listed them, that’s kind of a lot on my plate, I guess...
Why should readers of this blog check out Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty? Why was it important that this movie be made, against all the odds?
Well, I think the story will resonate with a lot of people out there—it’s funny, but it’s very real in terms of the observations it makes and the characters who inhabit the story. It’s extremely relatable (is that a word?). [Kate's note: Yep.] I hope it’s the kind of movie that people can watch and get different things out of—humor, affirmation in life’s hard places, poignancy about how fleeting life can seem, etc.
And the acting is really good—these are actors who have proven their mettle on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and the quality of acting is one of the huge selling points of the film.
Who are you, anyway? Where did you come from? How did you get here?
Getting metaphysical? [Kate's note: No, just going song-lyric on you. LOL]
My name is James Yaegashi.
The movie's website is now up, with the trailer and information about the film. Prior to this, however, you had a "soft" opening of the site, including information about supporting post-production with donations (a common practice for indie films on a nonexistent budget). Despite the lack of official publicity, you managed to raise the initial $15,000 for post-production in about two weeks. To what do you attribute that success? Well, we actually were not planning on going public with the website at all, until we had finished the teaser. But, some fans of Eric Sheffer Stevens, who’s one of my buddies starring in the film, found our website that was still under construction and the information spread among his fans who have been enthusiastically supporting our project—it’s been UNBELIEVABLE. We had no idea we’d meet our minimum goal so quickly. So, a million thanks to all you ESS fans out there!
Would additional donations be helpful, even beyond that initial push?
Yes, additional donations are absolutely helpful. The minimum goal we set was essentially to make sure that we could raise enough funds to go into editing right after principal photography. However, post production costs include much more than just editing, and any funds that we are able to raise beyond our initial goal will help us do a lot more in the post process (visual FX, audio enhancement, color correction, title sequence animation) and will also help cover festival submissions--which is like $50-$150 a pop, and the list goes on. Truth is $50,000 is close to "no budget" in this industry, and we're trying to pull this off with half that cost!
What are you currently working on?
Besides parenting a 7 year-old and a 4 year-old while working on LLRT? As an actor, I’m going to be doing a small part on Man On A Ledge, which just started principal photography; I’ve also been working on an upcoming video game called Homefront; and, also on the voiceover front, I’m going to narrate a new novel by a talented new author named Charles Yu this month. I’m actually a theater person—as are most of the actors in LLRT—and I’ve been developing a couple new plays as well: a stage adaptation of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (which we premiered earlier this year in NY, but are continuing to fine tune it); and I__NY, which I’m doing with some other wonderfully talented Asian American actors at the Ma-Yi Theater (2010 Drama Desk Award-winning company) in New York. I’m also advising a Japanese translator who’s working on translating Edward Albee’s The Goat or Who’s Sylvia for a Tokyo production in the spring. Wow, now that I’ve listed them, that’s kind of a lot on my plate, I guess...
Why should readers of this blog check out Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty? Why was it important that this movie be made, against all the odds?
Well, I think the story will resonate with a lot of people out there—it’s funny, but it’s very real in terms of the observations it makes and the characters who inhabit the story. It’s extremely relatable (is that a word?). [Kate's note: Yep.] I hope it’s the kind of movie that people can watch and get different things out of—humor, affirmation in life’s hard places, poignancy about how fleeting life can seem, etc.
And the acting is really good—these are actors who have proven their mettle on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and the quality of acting is one of the huge selling points of the film.
Who are you, anyway? Where did you come from? How did you get here?
Getting metaphysical? [Kate's note: No, just going song-lyric on you. LOL]
My name is James Yaegashi.
I was born and raised in Japan, went to college outside of Chicago, grad school in Kansas City, MO, and now live in Brooklyn—it appears I’m becoming a New Yorker.
I drove to New York 12 years ago in a big yellow Penske truck with my, then, newly-married wife (I think I may have violated traffic rules by driving it down the Sawmill Parkway en route to Manhattan)—not sure if a moving truck is considered a “commercial vehicle.” What do you think? [Kate's note: I have no idea. Whichever gets you in less trouble. LOL]
What didn't I ask you that you wish I had?
What do you want to be when you grow up? (Answer: I don’t know!!)
****
Thanks, James, for a great (and insightful!) interview. I really appreciate it!
To the reader, thanks for stopping by! For part one of the interview, click here. For an overview of the film, click here. And if you want more info (or to donate), check out the official website. I'll be sure to keep you posted as I get more information on the film and its progress!
What didn't I ask you that you wish I had?
What do you want to be when you grow up? (Answer: I don’t know!!)
****
Thanks, James, for a great (and insightful!) interview. I really appreciate it!
To the reader, thanks for stopping by! For part one of the interview, click here. For an overview of the film, click here. And if you want more info (or to donate), check out the official website. I'll be sure to keep you posted as I get more information on the film and its progress!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Interview: James Yaegashi, Director of Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty
This week, I'm fortunate enough to welcome James Yaegashi to the blog for a two-part interview. James is the director of Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty, an indie romantic comedy currently in post-production. I was curious about the film and how it all came together, so I decided to go to the source for some information. Luckily, James was gracious enough to put up with my questions. :) Here's the result! Hope you enjoy.
Tell me a little about Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty. What was the inspiration behind it? How did you go about putting it together?
I was talking to a friend who has a bunch of HD equipment (he ended up not being able to be in the project), and he was encouraging me to use his stuff to make a movie of my own, because I’ve been wanting to direct, and I have a great pool of resource in terms of actors from having been an actor in NY for 12 years.
So, I approached Pat, a college friend, about maybe making a movie together, since I’d read several of his screenplays in the past and thought he was good. The whole idea was to do something strictly among friends, a family affair filmmaking that’s outside the box of the business-as-usual that we know.
Pat & I tossed around different ideas for a few weeks, I asked Pat to go off and write something, and he came back with LLRT. We worked on the script together for several months, put together a reading of the script in NYC with my actor friends (most of whom ended up playing parts in the movie itself) and went back and did more rewrites. Then we called up Judson, another college friend, who got into filmmaking after doing a similarly low/no budget project with a bunch of friends (I was in the cast), and got him on board as DP (Director of Photography). The film is cast entirely with the good people I’ve come to know over my career in NY, and we also got a lot of production help from other college friends and younger folks who graduated more recently.
Did you end up using your friend's HD equipment even though he himself couldn't participate?
We ended up using some of my friends equipment, but the cameras we used were Judson's and Sven's: Canon 5D and 7D. We actually used both cameras for almost every scene, so we were shooting with at different angles/range each time. It helped enormously with the time constraint.
The title intrigues me. What does it mean? (Other than the obvious, jar-opening version.) How does it relate to the film?
The obvious jar-opening reference is actually kind of the point. We tend to complicate life so much, but maybe it’s a lot simpler than we make it. Sometimes all we need are simple reminders--like “lefty loosey.” Besides, it’s kind of quirky and sounds funny.
Did you know everyone involved in the movie prior to filming, or did the show bring you all together?
I guess I answered this prematurely in the first question! Yes, the movie is entirely made with people I know —that was the point: create something good with good people, both in talent and as a person. There were several people on the production team who came on board that I didn’t know at first, but they were all only two-degrees of separation, a friend of a friend, and they all came highly recommended.
LLRT was filmed on a very tight schedule. Was that a deliberate creative choice, or dictated by outside forces (scheduling conflicts, etc.)? What was it like filming that quickly? Did you see any benefits to a shortened production schedule?
It was absolutely by necessity. Since my friends are all working professional actors, we had to get this done in a timeframe that wouldn’t encroach on their other work (especially since this film was no “payday” for them). Scheduling was a nightmare. Shooting was insane. Judson and I (and Sven, our assistant DP who did a yeoman’s job) essentially had 17 hour days for 14 straight days. We were always under the gun to get all the scenes of the day shot—there was no margin for error. So, if we had a large budget, I would have DEFINITELY taken my time! LOL
Once the film is finished with post-production, what are your plans? Where do you see it going from here? Have you considered submitting it to the Seattle International Film Festival? (Okay, yes, there may be an ulterior motive involved in that part of the question.)
We are going to submit to as many film festivals as possible. Big ones, little ones, niche ones, wherever we think we have a shot. We would really like to get a rough cut completed in December (the first big one is SXSW, but it’s early December, so we’re not sure if we’ll get it in time). Looks like Seattle’s final submission date is early January, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t submit! [Kate's note: YAY! Fingers crossed, because if it screens during SIFF I am so there. Maia, Karen, you coming with? LOL]
And there you have it, Part One of my interview with James Yaegashi. Tune in tomorrow to find out more about James, his upcoming projects, and the one question he wishes I'd asked but didn't!
Tell me a little about Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty. What was the inspiration behind it? How did you go about putting it together?
I was talking to a friend who has a bunch of HD equipment (he ended up not being able to be in the project), and he was encouraging me to use his stuff to make a movie of my own, because I’ve been wanting to direct, and I have a great pool of resource in terms of actors from having been an actor in NY for 12 years.So, I approached Pat, a college friend, about maybe making a movie together, since I’d read several of his screenplays in the past and thought he was good. The whole idea was to do something strictly among friends, a family affair filmmaking that’s outside the box of the business-as-usual that we know.
Pat & I tossed around different ideas for a few weeks, I asked Pat to go off and write something, and he came back with LLRT. We worked on the script together for several months, put together a reading of the script in NYC with my actor friends (most of whom ended up playing parts in the movie itself) and went back and did more rewrites. Then we called up Judson, another college friend, who got into filmmaking after doing a similarly low/no budget project with a bunch of friends (I was in the cast), and got him on board as DP (Director of Photography). The film is cast entirely with the good people I’ve come to know over my career in NY, and we also got a lot of production help from other college friends and younger folks who graduated more recently.
Did you end up using your friend's HD equipment even though he himself couldn't participate?
We ended up using some of my friends equipment, but the cameras we used were Judson's and Sven's: Canon 5D and 7D. We actually used both cameras for almost every scene, so we were shooting with at different angles/range each time. It helped enormously with the time constraint.
The title intrigues me. What does it mean? (Other than the obvious, jar-opening version.) How does it relate to the film?
The obvious jar-opening reference is actually kind of the point. We tend to complicate life so much, but maybe it’s a lot simpler than we make it. Sometimes all we need are simple reminders--like “lefty loosey.” Besides, it’s kind of quirky and sounds funny.
Did you know everyone involved in the movie prior to filming, or did the show bring you all together?
I guess I answered this prematurely in the first question! Yes, the movie is entirely made with people I know —that was the point: create something good with good people, both in talent and as a person. There were several people on the production team who came on board that I didn’t know at first, but they were all only two-degrees of separation, a friend of a friend, and they all came highly recommended.
LLRT was filmed on a very tight schedule. Was that a deliberate creative choice, or dictated by outside forces (scheduling conflicts, etc.)? What was it like filming that quickly? Did you see any benefits to a shortened production schedule?
It was absolutely by necessity. Since my friends are all working professional actors, we had to get this done in a timeframe that wouldn’t encroach on their other work (especially since this film was no “payday” for them). Scheduling was a nightmare. Shooting was insane. Judson and I (and Sven, our assistant DP who did a yeoman’s job) essentially had 17 hour days for 14 straight days. We were always under the gun to get all the scenes of the day shot—there was no margin for error. So, if we had a large budget, I would have DEFINITELY taken my time! LOL
Once the film is finished with post-production, what are your plans? Where do you see it going from here? Have you considered submitting it to the Seattle International Film Festival? (Okay, yes, there may be an ulterior motive involved in that part of the question.)
We are going to submit to as many film festivals as possible. Big ones, little ones, niche ones, wherever we think we have a shot. We would really like to get a rough cut completed in December (the first big one is SXSW, but it’s early December, so we’re not sure if we’ll get it in time). Looks like Seattle’s final submission date is early January, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t submit! [Kate's note: YAY! Fingers crossed, because if it screens during SIFF I am so there. Maia, Karen, you coming with? LOL]And there you have it, Part One of my interview with James Yaegashi. Tune in tomorrow to find out more about James, his upcoming projects, and the one question he wishes I'd asked but didn't!
Monday, November 08, 2010
Monday Movie Musings - Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty
So a month or two ago my favorite actor, Eric Sheffer Stevens, mentioned in an interview that he was working on a new film, Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty. There wasn't a lot of info on the film out there, but eventually we discovered that it was an indie rom-com set in Brooklyn, put together by a group of longtime friends and colleagues. Their website had a "soft launch" a few weeks back (translation: it wasn't officially open for business yet, but ESS fans discovered it and started spreading the word), and some more details were available there.
Like all indie films, it was made on a shoestring budget, and there was an opportunity to donate toward post-production costs. (Check out the funding request here. It's hysterical.) The minimum amount needed was raised in under two weeks, and editing has begun! Check out the result of that work below, a teaser that looks more like a big budget release than the title "indie" would indicate. (And I mean that as a compliment.)
FRANKLIN (Eric Sheffer Stevens) is a recently divorced college professor who’s convinced he’s a loser and no one will love him ever, ever again. He does have cerebral suspicions that his 19-year-old poetry student MARY wants his body bad, however. This creates an internal crisis of significance; even for a man who’s viewed his entire adult life as one long series of continuous internal crises.
LLOYD is an aspiring novella-ist and reluctant part-time notary who’s most successful at eating nachos and shunning commitment from his longtime on-again/off-again “friend” KIT. When backed into a corner by Kit’s newfound romantic certainty, does Lloyd opt for a free lifestyle of syndicated daytime television and semi-competitive sports involving Kooshballs? Or, does he choose love…
“Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty” is the story of three friends on the precipice of middle-age. Too old to be young. And too young to be old.
****
Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? I can't wait to see the finished product. And if you're interested in learning more, stop by Wednesday and Thursday for an exclusive interview with the director, James Yaegashi!
Like all indie films, it was made on a shoestring budget, and there was an opportunity to donate toward post-production costs. (Check out the funding request here. It's hysterical.) The minimum amount needed was raised in under two weeks, and editing has begun! Check out the result of that work below, a teaser that looks more like a big budget release than the title "indie" would indicate. (And I mean that as a compliment.)
LLRT from Lefty Movie on Vimeo.
Here's what the film is about:
MICHAEL is a former college indie rocker who’s now a new dad and not sure how he feels about his life of comfortable domesticity. His wife HELEN is not sure how she feels about Michael not being sure…especially when he’s the one always opting for “crazy” evenings of watching Netflix on the couch with a six pack of tall boys safely nearby. Perhaps Michael can make one last great grasp at rock stardom and finally find that complete 100% certain no-doubt-about-it contentment that hasso far eluded him.FRANKLIN (Eric Sheffer Stevens) is a recently divorced college professor who’s convinced he’s a loser and no one will love him ever, ever again. He does have cerebral suspicions that his 19-year-old poetry student MARY wants his body bad, however. This creates an internal crisis of significance; even for a man who’s viewed his entire adult life as one long series of continuous internal crises.
LLOYD is an aspiring novella-ist and reluctant part-time notary who’s most successful at eating nachos and shunning commitment from his longtime on-again/off-again “friend” KIT. When backed into a corner by Kit’s newfound romantic certainty, does Lloyd opt for a free lifestyle of syndicated daytime television and semi-competitive sports involving Kooshballs? Or, does he choose love…
“Lefty Loosey Righty Tighty” is the story of three friends on the precipice of middle-age. Too old to be young. And too young to be old.
****
Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? I can't wait to see the finished product. And if you're interested in learning more, stop by Wednesday and Thursday for an exclusive interview with the director, James Yaegashi!
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