FEARLESS FILM FESTIVAL
Fort Worth, Texas
Sat Apr 10, 2010 @ 11:45AM & 2:30PM, Sun Apr 11, 2010 @ 1:00PM
David L. Tandy Lecture Hall, Fort Worth Central Library

LONDON INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
London, England, United Kingdom
Thu Apr 22, 2010 @ 5:30PM
Roxy Cinema, 123-132 Borough High Street

CONNECTICUT FILM FESTIVAL
Danbury, Connecticut
Sat May 8, 2010 @ 12:00PM
Common Council Chambers, 155 Deer Hill Ave

SWANSEA BAY FILM FESTIVAL
Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
Sat May 8, 2010 @ 10:00AM
Dylan Thomas Centre, Somerset Place, Swansea

DANCES WITH FILMS
Los Angeles, California
Date/Time TBA (festival is June 3-10, 2010)
Laemmle’s Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood

WASHOUGAL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Washougal, Washington
Date/Time/Venue TBA (festival is August 11-15, 2010)

WORLD MUSIC AND INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
Washington, DC
Sat August 28, 2010 (Time/Venue TBA)

Here’s the new DP reel.

The music is from my good friend at the Dead Beat Project, which I highly recommend if you are looking for awesome original scoring for any projects.

I’m very proud of this new reel but remain humbled by how much there still is to learn. Hope you like it.

Corpse Run will make it’s Los Angeles big screen debut at the Sunset 5 theater on June 5th, 2009 at 9:30PM as part of the Dances with Films Festival.

In case your new here, “Corpse” is a little movie we made with some friends a few years ago. It’s written and directed by our friend John Michael Thomas. Oh yeah, he also stars in it, what a control freak (just kidding JMT). Dani produced it and pretty much single handedly carried it on her back across the finish line of production. I did all things camera related. It’s got a huge cast, it was very ambitious and best of all, its supergeektastic. Yes, that’s a word. The picture has been getting a warm reception at several festivals around the country for the last few months but this is the first time it will be seen here in LA.

Now… The Sunset 5 is one of my favorite theaters in LA. I used to live close enough to walk there and I often did. It plays mostly movies of the “Independent, Art house” variety and maybe that’s why I love it. There have been many movies I eagerly went to see there because it was litteraly the only theatre in the country running them. In fact as I think back it’s the first theater I ever went to when I moved to Hollywood. It was “Dogma” from Kevin Smith. I remember standing in line to get popcorn next to John Popper of Blues Traveler. That’s my name drop for the week. Anyways, “Corpse” is pretty much the first real feature I DP’d so hows this for a full circle moment… If you make it to the screening I’ll let you buy me a drink afterwards at Bar Marmont across the street. yes, the Sunset 5 is right across the street from the Chateau Marmont and pretty much at the mouth of the Sunset Strip. I’ve been writing about Hollywood lately and this is pretty much ground zero for me. It’s the part of town that feels most like the Hollywood I imagined as a teenager.

Here’s the info again.

Friday, June 5th, 2009 at 9:30PM
Laemmle’s Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, Ca 90046

I hope we see you there.

The feature that Danielle produced and I shot in 2007, Corpse Run will be premiering at Cinequest tomorrow night at the San Jose Repertory Theater at 9:30pm.

And here in LA, BOY|MAN will screen at the International Family Film Festival at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood at 3:30pm.

Much has been written on my little bathroom wall here about both these little movies so I won’t say anymore except that we are both very proud. Dani and I will be attending the BOY|MAN screening here in town and hope to see some familiar faces!

-Staley Out

• International Family Film Festival – Hollywood – February 26th – March 1st, 2009

• Women’s International Film Festival – Miami – February 27th – March 8th, 2009

• Cleveland International Film Festival – Cleveland – March 19th – 29th, 2009

I knew this great little film would have a life out there. I am excited for more people to see it. And of course, CORPSE RUN will be at CINEQUEST at the end of February too. It’s exciting to see Present Day Pictures making a strong representation on the festival circuit. Our little company was created out of a love and passion for cinema and it feels good to be able to share that love and passion with larger and larger audiences.

And this morning I awoke to an email from (Awesome) photographer Cynthia Karin of KARIN+RAOUL informing me that they were honoring me with a very complimentary plug on their excellent blog. To be in the company of the other selected works on their site is both immensely gratifying and humbling. The best compliments always come from other artists you respect and I feel very grateful for the nod from Karin & Raoul. Please take the time to browse both sites I mentioned, you will not be disappointed. Indeed Cynthia’s personal work is one of my favorite recent discoveries. I get the bulk of my inspiration from music and photography and her lighting and compositions instantly planted the seeds for future stories in my head.

If you choose this kind of life, many days are filled with rejection and failure. Or worse than that, simply silence and non-response. You are often left waiting, never achieving even closure for your failure. But you keep working. Keep creating. Keep putting yourself and your work out there. And then sometimes you get a couple days of very positive response and it feels really good. And you are grateful. And you enjoy it. And then you go back to work.

Ramon, Jennifer and the rest of the organizers have built a classy, respectable and enjoyable little festival. They also lead a program called Script 2 Screen where they teach children from ages 8 or 9 up to mid teens about the art and techniques of filmmaking. We went to a screening of the best of these selections on Saturday and were very impressed with what we saw.

After the final screening and awards ceremony Sunday night, we drove home and watched the Golden Globes and that felt pretty strange, I have to say. The dichotomy of our little film competing in a little bitty theater and then 20 minute later… The Golden Globes, live on TV. Essentially the same type of competition, times about 80,000. Like losing a T-ball game and going home and watching the world series. Maybe like that. I never played T-ball. I just make movies. I guess events like the Globes are really about community and being recognized by your community. I guess that’s the best thing about being in even a little festival. The sense of community. Being with people who understand what it takes to put even the simplest of stories up on the screen to see. And how it feels to share the experience.

It’s going to be an interesting comparison to the last two festivals when we take Corpse Run to Cinequest next month. Apparently it’s a pretty big one.

Go make something…

- Staley Out

But let’s back up. What is Corpse Run you ask? Well, it’s a little movie Dani & I helped make last year. I have posted some photos in the GALLERY from the shoot and tomorrow I am going to continue this story with more specific details on the exact part I played…

Stay Tuned

- Staley Out