BlueGreen, my third serious effort as a film maker is being released world wide on September 28th, by earthNOW!, an eco-oriented label imprint from Cinema Libre. I already gave that news up a few weeks ago here, but you can now pre-order the film at http://store.cinemalibrestore.com/bluegreen.html
It's a really, really exciting thing, and quite frankly, a little bit overwhelming. No one in this business ever wants to admit their naivete about how the biz end of it all works, but I am here to say, it can be confusing and sometimes unnerving. Even though this is my third serious effort, it is the first time that I have had to deal with hurdles I never even considered, contracts, and my reputation as a film maker. There were a few mis-steps and a crazy learning curve.
Like this little one for instance. Netflix is a huge way for a film to get seen, reviewed and brought to others attention. But! They won't pick up a film it seems, unless there is interest from the Netflix community. What this means is, that to get Netflix to pick up BlueGreen, I need a little help from you all. Put BlueGreen in your Netflix queue. The more folks who want to see the film, the more chance there is that they will pick it up. You can do it here:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/BlueGreen/70125109?strackid=5f123914b6c...d0caf_0_srl&strkid=1980134918_0_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&trkid=222336+
You may ask yourself... do I even want to see this film? Well check it out here:
http://www.bluegreenconnection.com
Amazing surf, beautiful locations and an illustration of how we are all connected to the big BlueGreen? Well, of course you want to see it.
So thanks in advance for putting BlueGreen in your Netflix queue, and helping me out while I am navigating some of these business hurdles.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Trying, without trying...
I am probably the worlds lamest self professed environmental activist.
Sure I give a lot of lip service, belong to the organizations that fit my lifestyle, attend the odd beach cleanup, pick up the occasional piece of trash off the beach- maybe. But I haven't been able to truly dig my heels in (unless there is an issue that directly effects me and my stretch of water). Oh I have lots of excuses, too many to bore you with here, but excuses are just that.
This came to my attention when I did a few shows with BlueGreen in Washington State. The excellent folks from the Surfrider chapters that helped out with the organizations of the shows out there teamed the screenings up with a couple of anti-plastics activists (Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen) who work for the 5 Gyres group. If you don't know about these folks they are doing some amazing and hugely important research.
They had just returned from a trip aboard the Algalita (another group doing incredibly important ocean research) and started the evening off with a presentation about how plastics are choking the life out of our oceans. The presentation was so powerful and disturbing I could not sit through the whole thing, and watched one half one night and the other half the next.
What was truly impressive to me, and perhaps even made me a bit envious, was that here were two folks that had chosen to pursue this life, a life of ocean activism, of anti-plastics campaigning, because it was the right thing to do. These two people (yes they are part of a larger team as well) have added their voices to the cry of outrage, and the effort to stem the tide. It is an hugely amazing and admirable thing. Why can't I?
Oh, I have work. School. The kids. I am tired. I went to the Surfrider meeting last month. The list goes on. I know I am not the only one either. But there are things, small things, things that help, without hardly any effort at all. They are everywhere. For instance, stop buying Happy Meals for your kids with the stupid little plastic toys that can't be recycled and end up in the trash hours later. Don't use a straw when you order a drink. Bring a bag to the grocery store. Yes! Pick up that bottle on the beach!
But for me, one of the hugest, easiest things I could do was saving up all the money from the hundreds of plastic bottles my family returned on a monthly basis- soda, bubbly water, bottled water- and bought one of these babies. Sure it's a little more work, but the carbonation is fantastic (it carbonates exactly like they do at the factory) and plastic bottle consumption has nearly disappeared in our house. Have you read the statistics on America's plastic bottle usage? (Americans buy an estimated 29.8 billion plastic water bottles every year, Nearly eight out of every 10 bottles will end up in a landfill or the ocean, Less than 1 percent of all plastics are recycled. Therefore, almost all plastics are incinerated or end up in a landfill or the ocean) Terrifying. I am glad that with very little effort here I am no longer part of the problem. That was pretty easy. It seems I have made a tiny difference without even really trying. Why can't you?
As a side/related note, Cinema Libre has announced that pre-orders for BlueGreen are now active! You can grab them here: http://store.cinemalibrestore.com/bluegreen.html. Ocean pollution by plastics and other non organic materials is a big part of the message of the film. Help spread the word about the release and grab a copy for yourself....
Sure I give a lot of lip service, belong to the organizations that fit my lifestyle, attend the odd beach cleanup, pick up the occasional piece of trash off the beach- maybe. But I haven't been able to truly dig my heels in (unless there is an issue that directly effects me and my stretch of water). Oh I have lots of excuses, too many to bore you with here, but excuses are just that.
This came to my attention when I did a few shows with BlueGreen in Washington State. The excellent folks from the Surfrider chapters that helped out with the organizations of the shows out there teamed the screenings up with a couple of anti-plastics activists (Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen) who work for the 5 Gyres group. If you don't know about these folks they are doing some amazing and hugely important research.
They had just returned from a trip aboard the Algalita (another group doing incredibly important ocean research) and started the evening off with a presentation about how plastics are choking the life out of our oceans. The presentation was so powerful and disturbing I could not sit through the whole thing, and watched one half one night and the other half the next.
What was truly impressive to me, and perhaps even made me a bit envious, was that here were two folks that had chosen to pursue this life, a life of ocean activism, of anti-plastics campaigning, because it was the right thing to do. These two people (yes they are part of a larger team as well) have added their voices to the cry of outrage, and the effort to stem the tide. It is an hugely amazing and admirable thing. Why can't I?
Oh, I have work. School. The kids. I am tired. I went to the Surfrider meeting last month. The list goes on. I know I am not the only one either. But there are things, small things, things that help, without hardly any effort at all. They are everywhere. For instance, stop buying Happy Meals for your kids with the stupid little plastic toys that can't be recycled and end up in the trash hours later. Don't use a straw when you order a drink. Bring a bag to the grocery store. Yes! Pick up that bottle on the beach!
But for me, one of the hugest, easiest things I could do was saving up all the money from the hundreds of plastic bottles my family returned on a monthly basis- soda, bubbly water, bottled water- and bought one of these babies. Sure it's a little more work, but the carbonation is fantastic (it carbonates exactly like they do at the factory) and plastic bottle consumption has nearly disappeared in our house. Have you read the statistics on America's plastic bottle usage? (Americans buy an estimated 29.8 billion plastic water bottles every year, Nearly eight out of every 10 bottles will end up in a landfill or the ocean, Less than 1 percent of all plastics are recycled. Therefore, almost all plastics are incinerated or end up in a landfill or the ocean) Terrifying. I am glad that with very little effort here I am no longer part of the problem. That was pretty easy. It seems I have made a tiny difference without even really trying. Why can't you?
As a side/related note, Cinema Libre has announced that pre-orders for BlueGreen are now active! You can grab them here: http://store.cinemalibrestore.com/bluegreen.html. Ocean pollution by plastics and other non organic materials is a big part of the message of the film. Help spread the word about the release and grab a copy for yourself....
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Huge News!
It's been a long road, but I am pleased, no- totally psyched! To announce that BlueGreen, my latest documentary about the human connection to the ocean (through a surf-centric lens) has been picked up for world-wide distribution! The release is September 28.
That's right! Cinema Libre Studios', earthNow! imprint has picked up BlueGreen for DVD, VOD, broadcast and select screenings world-wide! I can not even express how exciting this is for me and the film. (check out the cover to the right, and the trailer at http://www.bluegreenconnection.com)
As far as extras go, (every DVD needs 'em!) this DVD has extended interviews with Keith Malloy, Jim Moriarty of the Surfrider Foundation, and of course the eloquent Rabbi Nachum Shifren- the surfing Rabbi. It will also feature a 6 minute mini feature of surfing in a little trafficked corner of the US- The Northeast. Additionally it will have the soundtrack as DVD-ROM content, and features French and Spanish subtitles! It's loaded!
AND! The excellent folks at Cinemal Libre Studios have teamed up with the group that helped promote the documentary 'The Cove' to help promote BlueGreen. Which is pretty much unbelievably huge in itself.
I am incredibly excited on so many different levels. It's a huge deal for me as a film maker, and I think it's a huge deal for the message of the film. Which (very broadly) is that we are all connected, whether we acknowledge it or not, to the ocean. And if we continue to abuse it, we are done for. There is more to the film but that is part of the core.
I know I leaked this news to some folks, but generally I tried to keep this under my hat until the release date was set. Not that it's ready to roll on September 28, I hope you will look for it. It's a great film that I am very proud of. Whether you like surf, you love the ocean, or just colorful personalities, it connects on a lot of different levels.
I will have more news in the coming months about what is happening with the film, in terms of screenings, festivals, where you can find it and more. The website and the Facebook page (and even twitter!) will be carrying more as well. Stay tuned, and thanks so much to all of you who have supported me through this process. You know who you are!
That's right! Cinema Libre Studios', earthNow! imprint has picked up BlueGreen for DVD, VOD, broadcast and select screenings world-wide! I can not even express how exciting this is for me and the film. (check out the cover to the right, and the trailer at http://www.bluegreenconnection.com)
As far as extras go, (every DVD needs 'em!) this DVD has extended interviews with Keith Malloy, Jim Moriarty of the Surfrider Foundation, and of course the eloquent Rabbi Nachum Shifren- the surfing Rabbi. It will also feature a 6 minute mini feature of surfing in a little trafficked corner of the US- The Northeast. Additionally it will have the soundtrack as DVD-ROM content, and features French and Spanish subtitles! It's loaded!
AND! The excellent folks at Cinemal Libre Studios have teamed up with the group that helped promote the documentary 'The Cove' to help promote BlueGreen. Which is pretty much unbelievably huge in itself.
I am incredibly excited on so many different levels. It's a huge deal for me as a film maker, and I think it's a huge deal for the message of the film. Which (very broadly) is that we are all connected, whether we acknowledge it or not, to the ocean. And if we continue to abuse it, we are done for. There is more to the film but that is part of the core.
I know I leaked this news to some folks, but generally I tried to keep this under my hat until the release date was set. Not that it's ready to roll on September 28, I hope you will look for it. It's a great film that I am very proud of. Whether you like surf, you love the ocean, or just colorful personalities, it connects on a lot of different levels.
I will have more news in the coming months about what is happening with the film, in terms of screenings, festivals, where you can find it and more. The website and the Facebook page (and even twitter!) will be carrying more as well. Stay tuned, and thanks so much to all of you who have supported me through this process. You know who you are!
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