12 Films. 12 Weeks. There are worse ways to spend a summer.

2009 Film Race Results — We’re #9!

January 18, 2010 at 10:59 pm | In Keith Boynton | Leave a Comment
Tags: 8th loser, Film Racing, Minneapolis, not the winning but the taking part, Vancouver

That's right. It's GRAY.

The results of the 2009 Film Racing tour are in, and the good news is, we made the top ten! Ninth place may not be the rousing endorsement we were secretly hoping for, but hey, we’ll take it. Our heartiest thanks and congratulations to everyone who worked on (or voted for) “The Queen Bee of Mushroomtown”! In our hearts and minds — no matter what Minneapolis, Vancouver, or any of the rest of them have to say — it’ll always be #1.

As for the 2010 Film Race: it’s anybody’s game at this point. But I wouldn’t bet against us …

Posted by Keith

“The Queen Bee of Mushroomtown” is in competition again!

January 12, 2010 at 9:47 pm | In Keith Boynton | Leave a Comment
Tags: mushroomtown, quee bee, race, racing, win, winning

Graphic by Mike Lavoie, Photoshop badass. And yes, you can vote by clicking on it!

This is a bit of a coming-full-circle moment for this blog. Last spring, before any of the 12 Films 12 Weeks madness was underway, a group of future 12in12 collaborators (Mike Lavoie, James Creque, James Fauvell, Angela Perri, Robb Stey, Brian Testa, Arthur “Not Yet the Jogger” Chan, and yours truly) gathered up at 378 Bond to participate in the 2009 New York Film Race. With a post-production assist from James Bruffee, Chris Bruffee, and Billy Greenfield, we managed to dominate the New York awards, as documented in this post from waaaay back in May.

Now the 2009 Film Race has completed its tour of the country, and “Queen Bee” is up for awards again — this time going up against the winning films from 19 other North American cities. Among the prizes we’re competing for? You guessed it — an audience award!

So if you missed out on voting for us the first time around — or if contributing to our stirring victory was the highlight of your life to date, and you’re looking to recapture the magic — by all means, vote! Voting closes Thursday evening (1/14/2010), so there isn’t a moment to lose.

Click here to vote! You won’t regret it!

If you’d like to do even more for the cause, you can RSVP to our Facebook event, and invite your friends to it too! (Just be sure to explain that it’s not an actual party. You don’t want people showing up at your place with casserole! Or perhaps you do.)

If you haven’t seen “The Queen Bee of Mushroomtown” yet, I highly recommend that you check it out. It’s a pretty unique little movie. We couldn’t be prouder of it.

Posted by Keith

“Outfits” Victorious! We’ve done it again!

December 9, 2009 at 3:26 pm | In Keith Boynton | Leave a Comment
Tags: best actress, brooklyn, filmracing, under the gun

The results of the Brooklyn Film Race are in, and Gluttons for Punishment (a team consisting of 12in12 alumni) made a strong showing with the film “Outfits,” which won the Online Audience Award, was the second runner-up for Best Film, and landed Brigitte Choura a Best Actress prize for her enchanting performance as “Gilda.” As promised, here’s the film in question:

Thanks to all those of you who voted; we couldn’t have done it without you! Congrats to James Fauvell, Clint Byrne, Sumi Lee, Jenessa Kornaker, Abby Holland, and Rick Lattimer — and, of course, to Brigitte “Award-Winning Actress” Choura. Way to represent, guys!

Yeah, we're awesome.

Posted by Keith

12in12 Alums Compete in the Brooklyn Film Race! (Please Vote!!!)

November 28, 2009 at 6:18 pm | In Keith Boynton | 1 Comment
Tags: aluminum foil, Florida, pajamas, spirit guide, tin foil

On Friday, October 16th, a small group of 12in12 alumni — Clint Byrne, James Fauvell, Brigitte Choura, Jenessa Kornaker, Sumi Lee, Rick Lattimer, Abby Holland, and yours truly — gathered at Clint’s apartment in Brooklyn to participate in the Brooklyn Film Race — the last stop on the 2009 FilmRacing tour.

"Adorable," I think is the word.

As loyal readers of this blog will recall, the first stop on the tour was New York City, where Mike Lavoie’s Giant Bull Pants team dominated the awards with “The Queen Bee of Mushroomtown” — the first film Mike and I produced together, and the direct precursor to 12 Films 12 Weeks. Unfortunately, Mike was in California on October 16th, making vital showbiz contacts, so the rest of us had to carry on in his honor. The result was “Outfits,” a sweet little romantic fable starring James “Dock Guy” Fauvell and Brigitte “It’s Pronounced ‘Bridget’” Choura.

The film is up for voting right now at http://www.filmracing.com/Films/competitions/brooklyn2009.htm (it’s the farthest-left film on the bottom row). If you have a moment, please check it out, and if you like it, please vote! I’ll post “Outfits” on this site as soon as the voting is concluded.

Brigitte gets ready for her close-up.

Wait till you see the final result ...

Clint's first film as a DP! You won't believe how good it looks.

Posted by Keith

“Be Like a Duck” Victorious!

November 24, 2009 at 9:18 pm | In Keith Boynton | Leave a Comment
Tags: ducks, grass roots, PBS, public television, waterfowl

After a tense day of frantic last-minute exhortations to friends and allies the world over, the voting at Reel13.org has closed, and “Be Like a Duck” has emerged victorious! It will be broadcast on Channel Thirteen this Saturday night at 11 PM, following An Affair to Remember.

I had a lot of fun today watching the “Be Like a Duck” cause be taken up enthusiastically by my Facebook friends and e-mail contacts. At close of voting, we had garnered 710 votes, a nice ways ahead of our closest competitor’s 645; however, that outcome was far from certain (we were behind this morning), and it took a real grass-roots effort to put us over the top. It truly was heart-warming to see my friends and family (and their friends and family) rally around the “Duck” banner.

It’s also worth noting that the vote totals for all three films were way beyond anything seen on Reel13 in the two weeks prior. Last week, “Spirits” won without even breaking 100! Nothing like a little competition to get the pulse racing …

Our thanks to all those who voted. Be sure to tune in Saturday night!

Posted by Keith

Only Sixteen Hours Left to Vote for “Be Like a Duck”!

November 24, 2009 at 12:00 am | In Keith Boynton | Leave a Comment
Tags: call to arms, grass roots, teamwork, torches and pitchforks, wisdom of crowds

Dire emergency bulletin! Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, voting for this week’s Reel 13 contest will close today, Tuesday the 24th, at 4 PM. Last week, our films were competing against each other; this week, “Be Like a Duck” has been thrown into the breach against two other films by people we don’t even know, and the race has been extremely tight. “Be Like a Duck” and “Replay” have been trading the lead back and forth for days; yesterday, “Replay” pulled ahead for a pretty daunting lead. But it’s not over yet! If you, our lovely blog audience, will take a moment to vote and send the link for voting out to just a few friends, we can still take the coveted Saturday night slot on New York’s hugely popular Channel Thirteen.

To vote, just go to reel13.org. Do it for America! Do it for freedom! Do it for ducks everywhere! Do it because you’re bored at work!

And God bless you, every one.

Posted beseechingly by Keith

The Report from Bethel

November 23, 2009 at 12:35 pm | In Keith Boynton | 1 Comment
Tags: connecticut, family, Friends, good things, small packages, The Spot

Saturday night’s screening at the Center for New Media and the Arts in Bethel, CT was a huge amount of fun for a very small number of people. Including me, Mike, my friends and family, and the Center’s staff, there were fifteen people at the screening. Apart from me, Mike, my friends and family, and the staff, there were two. But those two really seemed to enjoy it! And, for that matter, so did the rest of us, so all’s well that ends well.

It never did get much more full ...

It was interesting for me to watch all the films in order — something I’d never done before. It gave me the opportunity to relive the summer’s madness in a compressed, unstressed, reflective sort of way. I kept thinking to myself, We did this. We set out to do it, and we did. The films aren’t perfect (well, not all of them), but they exist, and that’s a bit of a minor miracle, when I think about it. Also, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed “The Jogger.” At the time, it felt like an afterthought, but as a coda to the whole experience, it holds up remarkably well.

Me, Robb, Stephen Snow, Mike, and Rob Tawse, posing victoriously after our Connecticut début!

Our thanks to Stephen Snow and Catherine Howard of the Center for New Media and the Arts. It’s a great space they have up there, and we’d love to come back and show the films to even more people. The sky’s the limit!

Posted by Keith on his birthday

And the Winner Is …

November 20, 2009 at 10:27 am | In Keith Boynton | Leave a Comment
Tags: homelessness, public television, the English Channel

Update: “Spirits” plays right after Look Back in Anger, which starts at 9. According to IMDb, Look Back in Anger is 98 minutes long. So tune it around 10:38! Or else.

The voting at Reel13.org is concluded, and “Spirits” is the victor! If you’re in the New York metropolitan area (and you’re not coming to our Bethel screening; see previous entry), tune in Saturday night to Channel Thirteen (WNET) and enjoy this historic moment. Looks like the film will run between Look Back in Anger and On a Clear Day, which means around 10:45; I’ll make a more confident update later. (Incidentally, On a Clear Day is quite good. I haven’t seen Look Back in Anger, which is a classic. Oh, the shame!)

Our heartiest congratulations go out to the cast and crew of “Spirits.” You guys are famous!

Posted by Keith

We’re on TV! We’re in Connecticut! We’re Ubiquitous! At last!

November 18, 2009 at 3:01 pm | In Keith Boynton | Leave a Comment
Tags: connecticut, PBS, premiere, public television, screening, Sesame Street, TV

I’ve been really terrible about updating this blog, with the result that there’s now a pretty significant backlog of exciting news. I’ll be working my way through it willy-nilly over the next couple of days, so expect a quick flurry of updates. It’s never too late to change!

I’ll start with the most urgent updates, of which there are two:

First Urgent Bulletin: Three of the summer’s films — “Spirits,” “Moving Pictures,” and “The Jogger” — have been selected to appear on Reel13.org, which is the website of Channel Thirteen’s film program. (Channel Thirteen is a New-York-area public television station — the most-watched public station in the country, apparently.) The films are up for online voting right now, and the winning film will be shown this Saturday night on Channel Thirteen. Vote now, and check back here to see which film wins!

Our thanks to Rich Siegmeister for getting us in the door, to Ginger Brown for hooking us up with Rich Siegmeister, and to Colleen McHugh for selecting the films. We’re gonna be on TV!

The flyer for this weekend's event. Don't it look official?

Second Urgent Bulletin: All twelve films, plus “Be Like a Duck,” will be screened this Saturday night at the Center for New Media and the Arts in Bethel, CT. This is the first time the summer’s whole output will be shown at a single event, and it should be a grand old time. The screening starts at 7, and tickets will be $15 at the door. Mike and I (and hopefully other 12in12 participants) will be on hand to introduce the films and take questions afterward. You can go here to see the event on the Center’s calendar. Hope to see you there!

Our thanks to Stephen Snow for setting this up, and to Giuseppe Pugliese for connecting us with Stephen Snow. Networking works, baby!

Posted by Keith

12in12 Goes to Florida!

October 7, 2009 at 10:04 pm | In Keith Boynton | Leave a Comment
Tags: Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry, Disneyworld, Florida, hurricanes, old people, oranges, retirement, swamps

Mike and I are pleased to announce that our appearance at the Student34 benefit in Ft. Lauderdale — previously postponed due to intense Floridian weather — is back on for this weekend! We’ll be flying down to Florida tomorrow (Thursday) morning, and Friday evening we’ll be screening “The Orchid Man,” “The Queen Bee of Mushroomtown,” “Old Love,” “A Summer’s Day,” “Sublet,” “After Perfect,” “Captivated,” “Spirits,” and “The Proposal,” talking a bit about each film, and answering any questions the audience may have. Mike and I both love hearing ourselves talk (and can usually stand hearing each other talk), so this should be great fun. And it’s all for a good cause, too! Student34 provides funds to college students who would otherwise be unable to complete their education.

If you or anyone you know lives in the Ft. Lauderdale area, please come on down! Details (and tickets) are available at Student34.org.

And if you can’t make it to the benefit: wish us luck. Neither of us has ever done anything quite like this before. Heck, I’ve never even been to Florida! Judging by the graphic below, though, it must be a paradise …