THOMAS VERRETTE / filmmaker

As you all know, I lied. I said I was going to update this blog once a week in order to keep myself motivated and to keep you fine people who’ve been reading my musings to keep reading!

I’m sorry. Things came up. We can all relate to that, right?

Let me start by saying I am sincerely going to try and redeem myself here by writing once a week from now on (unless something comes up!)

So what came up, you ask? I was thinking. About many things. Too many things in fact, to the point where my thoughts became so convoluted it took me a while to decipher them. So here it goes:

Don’t make movies without recognizable actors (even if its a horror film). You will hurt yourself in the end, I promise. “I Am The Bluebird” is not a horror film, but a high-concept sci-fi drama, with no recognizable actors (I hope they aren’t offended when I say that — some of them will be, I have no doubt). In truth, you may have seen them in something, but that’s not good enough. You have to say, “Oh! That’s the guy from (insert show/movie/whatever here)!” If you were searching in the store, and saw my film in its pretty white case with a bluebird necklace on the front, you’d probably say something like, “WTF is that?”

I’m going to be riding on the WTF question. “What is that about?!” “That looks interesting, maybe I’ll read the back, and maybe if I like what I read, I might take it with me to the counter.”

I hope that person doesn’t have second thoughts.

“Bluebird” doesn’t have distribution yet, but in time my friends….in time. While I was thinking over the past few weeks (and not updating my blog like I promised), I was working on a plan of attack! But first, I have another point to make — another thing that has made my film something I both love and hate — the soundtrack.

When I created my film, there was one thing that stayed consistent throughout the ever-evolving process called filmmaking, and it was the soundtrack. I had always planned to have an indie sound that I hoped would transcend the film, and hopefully find an audience on its own, and for the people who had found the soundtrack, or liked the artists, that they would find out about my film. The soundtrack includes the likes of Mogwai, M83, The Cinematic Orchestra, On!Air!Library! to name a few. We have all the rights to the music for special screenings and festivals, but because of this, the option of self-distribution, and even traditional distribution, in limbo. Luckily, I am a composer as well, and have a contingency plan — me!

Of course, that’s just another thing to add to the list, but at least I have the option. The point is simple. In retrospect, I love my film and wouldn’t change the experiences and what I’ve learned from them, but be realistic about where you film fits in the grand scheme of things. I like my soundtrack just as much as Garden State’s and Wicker Park’s, but I don’t have their budgets nor their actors.

Alas, I love actors. I can’t wait to work with more of them soon.

In Bluebird Unrelated (that’s what I’m calling it right now), there is another little project I like to call AIA, or “Arab In America” to the uninitiated. You could call this my first mainstream project, and with my fellow co-writers Nabil Abou-Harb and Colin Ferri, both great filmmakers in their own right, we are inching closer to making this thing a reality. Let me stress the word inch. Maybe I should say centimeter, but that just doesn’t sound right.

Anyway, the final draft is complete. That’s a BIG awesome! And we’ll be shopping it around in the next few months. I know your thinking, “shopping it around?….how do I do that?!” I’ll put it this way. Whatever way you can. Call everyone you know, find a connection. There is always someone, and if there isn’t, the only other peice of advice I can give you is to move to LA. Yes, you might be stuck in traffic half the time, but at least you’re here….in the city of angels.

I don’t know why they call it that. I never thought there would be smog in heaven.

Until next time, I hope this gives a little insight into the difficult world we have chosen to make our careers in. Someone told me the other day that this time in their life sucks…the struggling specifically…making ends meet…finding out where you belong…I find myself both irritated and inspired, frustrated and content, and always willing to walk out the door. Sometime my roommate kicks me out, but sometimes all it takes is a little push.