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Sunday, May 10, 2009 - 5:00 PM - Tampa Indie Film Log for Filmmaker C. A. Passinault
The 2009 "It List" and A Potential Tampa Film Future Prediction
Moving on. I’d like to
become more constructive with this blog. Sure, I have my share of people
in the Tampa indie
film scene with whom I will always have differences, but I do not see
the point of stating the obvious or attacking anyone. They’ve been
defeated.
I will, however, reserve the right to evaluate anyone or any project done
in the name of Tampa indie film. That means that Experiment 7
is on my agenda as a film to review, as soon as my network of contacts
secure me a copy. I will also be writing up a review for the 2009
Tampa Film Review film festival (the single one that they had in
January), a review covering the entire run of The Tampa Film Review,
a review of 99, a review of The Quiet Place, and I may
even publish the behind the scenes article about The Quiet Place
(Which I finished last year, and it’s around here somewhere).
Currently, the hot war in the Tampa indie film scene is over. It began
in December of 2007, and lasted until early this year as the Tampa India
Film Clique unraveled and became fragmented. We are now entering a cold
war in the Tampa India film scene, with remnants of the old order being
largely ineffective, and mostly annoying, and Tampa Bay Film and our Indie
film allies now dominant. Even Tampa film clique propaganda sites such
as a certain film blog have been rendered ineffective, and this Tampa
Film Blog is now over ten times the size, with a hundred times the web
traffic and growing. There is no way that anyone in the Tampa film scene
can approach our Internet dominance, or our influence. Perhaps a certain
blogger should abandon word press and learn now to design a real web site.
It’s sad when people realize that they have been beat, and give
up. It’s hard to respect a quitter. Their loss is the Tampa film
scene's gain, however, and this is a victory for everyone. We all deserve
to celebrate.
We have paved the way to the future by undermining the negative agendas
and the politics holding back the Tampa indie film scene.
We paved the way with conflict. We will conquer, however, with peace.
I am thankful that I entered the Tampa indie film scene as a lowly photographer
(so it seemed), helping out with projects, and that no one realized who
I was and what resources I commanded, not the least of which were a powerful
fleet of web sites and the thousands of people who read the content that
I write. With my cover, I was able to figure out who was real, and who
was not, in the Tampa indie film scene. The cover may have worked too
well, too, as the unethical people in the indie film scene, and their
misguided friends, underestimated what they were going up against when
they started the fight with me.
They started the war? Indeed they did, and I have proof. They started
it, I finished it, and many of them paid with their careers. It’s
just a pity that people will slander you and tell others that you are
crazy when they discard the facts, and the only thing that you are guilty
of is standing up for yourself and fighting back when someone violates
your rights. I didn’t roll over and go way like so many others did
when the Tampa indie film clique ganged up on me and started a fight.
I took them all on and put them all in their place.
As a result of the conflict, a war of ideas and words, I now sit here
with the most powerful resources in the Tampa indie film scene, and I
am investing in more. We now have the way paved to a new future, where
a self-serving, lying clique cannot undermine progress. Progress. This
is what we have ahead of us, now.
Alrighty. On to more positive things.
I had a talk yesterday with Nolan (before a certain film festival organizer
frustrated me and set me off), and invited him to join with me in speculating
on what the future of Tampa indie film will be like. Since study of the
past is a good indicator of the future, I spent some time reviewing what
has happened in Tampa indie film until now. At this time, I will do two
things. The first is my first “It List”, a list of
the movers and shakers of the Tampa indie film scene. I will be doing
this every year at the start of summer, kind of like a middle-of-the-year
progress report. I will also be publishing The Year In Review
of the Tampa Indie Film Scene, at the end of the year, on
Tampa Bay Film, much like Chris Woods used to do on his Icon web site.
This will occur every year, starting this year, and will serve to document
the history of Tampa indie film, beginning from the aftermath of the great
Tampa indie film war of 2007-2008 (I will also work on a historical document
covering Tampa indie film from 2000 to 2006, which should close the gap,
as there really wasn’t much of a Tampa indie film scene to speak
of in the 90's, or before that.).
The second thing will be “Tampa indie film in 2014",
which is what I predict the Tampa indie film scene will be like five years
from now. I invited Nolan to participate with the speculation of what
where Tampa indie film is going, since he is well versed in what is going
on to date, and he is more than welcome to compile his own “It
List”, too, if he wishes. If he does a write up, I will be
more than happy to publish what he comes up with here on the Tampa Film
Blog, on Tampa Bay Film, or both.
For now, here is my take.
The “It List”
for 2009
The following are who I consider to be the main players in the Tampa indie
film scene for 2009. They are the ones to watch, and who are accomplishing
a lot. This is not necessarily a 1-10 list, and could be updated at any
time. These are merely the top people at their game, and who are on the
radar in the Tampa indie film scene. These are the ones who have earned
my professional respect, and the respect of the Tampa indie film scene.
1. Andy Lalino and
Andew Allan, The Film Ranch.
Andy Lalino and his filmmaking partner Andrew Allan are,
in my opinion, at the top of the Tampa indie film scene this year. They
have accomplished some amazing things, and currently stand a good chance
of putting Tampa indie film on the map.
Lalino was the filmmaker behind the award-winning short film Filthy,
which blew me away, as it was was a brilliant film. After taking a few
years off, Andy and Andy teamed up to form The Film Ranch, and
began making some ambitious, and incredible, feature films. Last year,
they made Brainjacked. This year, they made another feature film
using state of the art equipment. These guys are talented, skilled, and
may just be the main players of the Tampa indie film scene of tomorrow.
Oh, and Andy Lalino, any time that you want to promote your projects on
the Tampa Film Blog or on Tampa Bay Film, let me know. Send me your write-up,
and I’ll publish it. I have absolutely no problem allowing people
to promote worthy projects. I support Tampa indie film.
2. Shelby Mcintyre
The king of documentaries, Shelby does some incredible
work. Strip Club King, made with the help of editor and filmmaker
Chris Woods, is a great piece of work. I look forward to seeing what else
Shelby has in store for the future.
3. Marcus Koch
Marcus Koch is pretty much the best makeup effects artist
in the Tampa indie film scene. He is also a great filmmaker. Marcus Koch
is the one responsible for the brilliant 100 Tears. 100 Tears
is one of the best horror films ever done in Florida. As it stands, I
will gladly add to my indie film library.
I saw a music video that Marcus did, too, and it was the best music video
that I’ve ever seen come out of Florida.
4. Chris Woods, Icon
Film Studios
What can I say about Chris Woods? Chris Woods is one of
the most talented, and one of the best, indie filmmakers in Tampa. His
feature film Bleed was an accomplished film. Sever was
brilliant (despite reminding me of the hours that I spent playing the
first Resident Evil on the Playstation). To live
is to die is one of my favorite Tampa short films, and it would have
been one of the best had it not been for a new Chris Woods classic short-
the film Spaventare. Chris Woods is back, after taking a few
years to work on other projects, and Spaventare is one of the
best short Tampa films of all time!
Chris Woods recently told me about a treatment that he had for a new feature
film. He told me the story. Trust me when I say that I really want to
see that film made, and that Chris Woods is a filmmaker to watch as he
is currently planning a feature film which will turn heads and set a new
benchmark in Tampa feature filmmaking. It's going to be one of the best
Tampa films ever made, and it's already on its way with an incredible
story.
5. Rod Grant
A really, really talented actor, I consider Rod Grant
to be the best male lead in the Tampa film scene. He’s done some
excellent films, and has demonstrated impressive range with the characters
that he portrays. He has come a long way since his role in 99,
which he told me was one of his first roles. Rod played the lead in Film
Ranche’s Brainjacked, and I hear that he did a great job.
He also proved to be impressive in the Chris Woods short film, Spaventare.
6. Somali Rose
Somali is a great actress and a model. She has done a
lot of interesting, and varies, feature film roles. She’s also been
a great help for my projects, and did a great job with some television
news stories that I referred her to. Somali, who was recently featured
in Brainjacked, is an “it” actor who will go far.
7. Bridget Stahl
Bridget Stahl is a talented actress who is also my good
friend. I met her several months ago when she booked me to do her actor
headshots. I seem to meet a lot of professional actors through my job
as one of the top headshot photographers in Florida.
Bridget has done a lot of solid roles as a featured actor. I am looking
forward to working with her in some of my films, including the upcoming
Reverence short film.
8. Sarah Bray
Sarah Bray is another actress friend who met me when she
booked me to do her actor headshots back in 2004. We’ve been friends
ever since.
Sarah has been on MTV television series and has a degree in theatre. She
is a professional thespian who is a qualified acting instructor. She was
absolutely brilliant in her leading role in the recent Chris Woods film
Spaventare, opposite actor Rod Grant, showing actors just how improv should
be done in film.
Sarah is very talented. She is also a model and a writer. I consider her
to be a better writer than I am, as she is very witty and expressive,
able to compose some of the best articles that I have ever read
In my opinion, Sarah is a better actress than Amanda Beck was in the Chris
Woods film Bleed, and that’s high praise, because I also respect
the ability of Amanda as an actress.
9. Krista Grotte
I first met Krista when she auditioned for the original
Reverence feature film in 2002. As a casting director, I remember
reading about her film Filthy on her headshot resume, and wondering what
kind of film that was. I remember being impressed with her acting ability
back then, but my auditions were long, and she had to leave early.
Since then, Krista had done quite a few films. I was particularly impressed
with her performance in Alarum, a short film that she did with Rick Danford
and Enigma Films.
Krista, who was recently a lead in The Film Ranch film Brainjacked,
is another “it” actress, and one who should go far.
These are the best of the best, my friends. They are the very best that the Tampa indie film scene has to offer. Want to be on the “It List” next year? Do well in the Tampa indie film scene, and you just might make the cut in 2010! I probably won’t make the cut then, but I could be a contender in 2011. I have a lot of work to do.
Now, while we are on the subject of the future, here are my predictions for the Tampa indie film scene of 2014. Nolan, are you there? You are more than welcome to add your predictions, too!
The Tampa Indie
Film Scene
May 2014
1. There will finally be a professional Tampa indie film community, leading the Tampa film scene and making progress. Many of the current Tampa filmmakers will not be involved, and some new faces will take active leadership roles. I will have a prominent position in that Tampa indie film community as one of Tampa’s best and most influential filmmakers.
2. Big Tampa film festivals will finally respect Tampa filmmakers instead of humoring them and using Tampa filmmakers as cheap labor and token figurehead sell-outs. Tampa film festivals will finally feature Tampa films over big-budget Hollywood films and films made elsewhere.
3. My film festivals will set the standard for Tampa film festivals. The Tampa Film Showcase monthly film festival and professional networking event series will be the best place for the Tampa film scene to go throughout the year. My annual film festival will be among the top film festivals. The Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival will be a standard, too, with a massive indie film library and “attendance” which will still beat out all the Tampa film festivals combined (if not in the United States).
4. The main players in the Tampa indie film scene will be the Andy’s and their Film Ranch, Chris Woods, Shelby Mcintyre, Marcus Koch, myself, and many filmmakers which are currently unknown.
5. Hollywood companies will come to Tampa to look for films to buy and distribute, not to use Tampa as a location for one of their film productions. Tampa films will be as respected as the larger budget films made in Hollywood.
6. Online film distribution will be mainstream. Many Tampa filmmakers will sell their films as downloads, and some will market and distribute their films themselves.
7. The Tampa Film Blog will still be the dominant Tampa film-relevant blog. Other blogs from the past will be gone.
8. New types of films will be made, and not films which are defined as indie films today. New, creative types of films genres will emerge, and new ways of marketing films will benefit Tampa filmmakers.
And that, my friends, is the future. At least, the future, in my opinion.
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