IT'S OFFICIAL:

 Fans of DEUCE OF SPADES can now buy and advanced copy of the film!!!!!

The goal? To generate the money needed to print the first batch of DVDs. Advanced DVDs will be special, I will hand number them, autograph them, as well as have the main stars of the film sign them.

Currently I have raised 40% of the funds needed, so I need more to step up to the plate and land a hand. If you have followed this blog and film progress and have felt in the least bit inspired by my story, you can now make a difference and help me take this film to the finish line!

PLEASE ORDER AN ADVANCED DVD HERE.

Thank you for your support!

THE CHALLENGE:

Make a two and a half hour full feature period drama bringing back to life the 50's hotrod era, entirely by myself and on a no budget, having never been to film school and never made a film before.

One daring renaissance woman and her camera.

Accept no funds from investors - Never sell out - Never consider short cuts - No matter how hard it gets.

Retain complete artistic and cinematographic freedom. Remain true to my vision.

Make a film that is pure Labor of Love.

Complete it in three years OR DIE TRYING.

This is guerilla indie filmmaking at its best, and purest.

SHARE THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE HERE.

This is my blog, where I say it like it is. This is what it took to get here.

Enjoy! And please tell others about DEUCE OF SPADES. 

I have decided that setting up e-commerce on a website is MORE DIFFICULT than making a 2.5 hour feature period film on my lonesome was.

All 163 of my IQ has been working overtime on overload for the past TEN DAYS trying to figure out  all the technical stuff as well as all the banking stuff needed in order to have verified e-commerce. Boy they sure don't let just "anyone" open a merchant account. I had to go through rigourous applications, background checks etc etc...  But I am happy to report I passed all the tests with flying colors and our store was officially approved a few days ago.

I then had to create a new online store and add all the cool merchandising  to it.

The first shopping cart looked nice but was dead in the water. After spending 6 days on the phone with their tech support and having now no less than 6 trouble tickets, none of which was ever addressed, I decided to finally give up and start again from SQUARE ONE.

Never give up - Never surrender!!!!!

I have been working on this for DAYS now, and staying at the office until 9PM every night, just to overcome this last obstacle. And being the resilient little beast I am, I did overcome it in the end.

But not without a few battle scars. Aggravation and frustration were running in the high RPMs and I almost thought I was gonna melt me a rod ... But as soon as I let go of the defective cart and went to another company everything was instantly fixed. New cart worked great from try ONE and after staying up ALL NIGHT (No, I am NOT kidding, I have been working on it since 10PM last night, so basically 12 hours straight - no break) I totally mastered all the programming aspect of it, configuration, customization, look, custom buttons, drop down menus, options, links, redirects, codes, urls, shipping tables, taxes, prices, inventory...

And the list goes on and on...

AND THE RESULT?

See for yourself (drum rolllll) : 

http://www.deuceofspadesmovie.com/online_store.htm

So now, while I finally get to go to sleep, you guys can go to town and order the advance DVD again (YEYYY!) , as well as Tees, key chains, and the new super cool laser etched artwork serie.

The goal? To continue raising funds to finish the film and keep my momentum going.

Thank you for your support. I hope you enjoy the shopping cart (YOU'D BETTER!!!!   , and the new merchandising line. Special thanks to Lea and Rick for advancing the funds to make the first batch of merch.  You guys rock!!

Well, this is pretty much what I look like right now:

ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzZzzzzzZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

(over and OUT)

When the going gets tough, the tough get going: I'll be damn if I'm gonna let Paypal tell me I cant sell advanced DVDs. Nobdy puts baby in a corner .

Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA - USA - Halloween night - 2AM.

A limo pulls alongside the deuce:

GIRLS (packed in Limo)- "Hey!! What kind of car is this?"

ME (aviator cap, goggles, B3 bomber jacket - what do you expect it's freaking COLD at 2AM): "It's a hotrod - a 32 Ford roadster...."

GIRLS - "We LOVE it!!!" (they all giggle and take pictures with their cell phones)

From sidewalk, people hauler: "LOVE YOUR CAR!!!!!!!!"

HONK. It's a taxi next to me. Driver gives me the thumb up. Passengers are also taking photos with their small cameras...

It's Halloween and I had zero plans until 2PM that same day. No time to throw together a costume, no time to think about Holidays...

It's been three years and Christmas, New year, 4rth of July,Thanks giving and Halloween have come and gone and I could tell, judging by the various Holiday decorations at my local grocery store that the years were unfolding and passing, but where time went, I do not know.

It's like I was GONE for three years. Missing in Action. Or maybe like I was in a deep coma for three years. Now I am slowly awakening and returning to a more "normal" life....

Going to a Halloween party was a treat (or trick??? LOL)... I am actually enjoying sitting in a bumper to bumper traffic on Sunset Blvd now.

People talk to my passenger. He's also wearing goggles and I am not sure whether he looks more like Sting or Biily Idol at this moment, with his blond hairsticking straight up in the air LOL.  He's got a smile from ear to ear on his face. Pretty much hasn't left his face since we drove off at 6PM.

The deuce has that effect on people. Never seen a passenger not have a HUGE smile on their faces  the entire time they were riding in my hiboy...

People are asking him questions about the car. They assume that he's the owner and they must be thinking: "Geese he sure is nice to let his girlfriend drive his car!!"

Except it's not his car. And I'm not his girlfriend

2AM - Sunset Blvd - Halloween night. It suddenly duns on me that even though I do not have a costume tonight, I DO HAVE the most expensive and elaborate 'costume' on the blvd.

Go figure.

So today I sat down and rolled up my sleeves. In front of me, a HUGE stack of feedback forms. Hours of intense work staring me in the face.

Bring it on! I dived right in, determined to get the job done in ONE setting. Of course.

The tools at hand? Paper clips, post it notes, a yellow highlighter and most importantly a Microsoft Excell spreadsheet. This is where I wear yet another hat: Miss Organization in now in motion. Used to get 20 + over 20 in math back in highschool... Guess I have not changed much. The nerd is me is thrilled at the idea of compiling some stats.

I sorted through all the forms, and made two piles: Males on one side and females on the other.

I then took each pile and divided it by age range.

I then sorted each small pile by ratings. And then started adding it all up.

Six hours later, I was done. My spreadsheet showed stats for each gender and by age range and I was able to see trends and determine where my audience was. For the most part it was exactely what I had expected: A LOOOOT of great ratings and very very good numbers.

Numbers that spoke eloquently.

But I was in for a couple big surprises.

The male hotrod owners age group 20  to 30 surprised the heck out of me. I had written them off in my head thinking they would not like the film because it is a love story at the core. I thought the drama would be too much for them and the spiritual aspect of the film would require a more mature audience to be appreciated...

I WAS DARN WRONG!!!

Sorry guys, I stand corrected! I discovered these younger hotrodders were MY AUDIENCE by 100%. The feedback forms exploded in abundance of enthousiasm for the film: 100% rated it 5 stars out of 5 and 100% wanted to a)- buy the DVD b)- see it on the big screen and BRING ALL THEIR FRIENDS and c)- see a sequel !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When asked if they would recommend it to a friend 100% selected the "HECK YEAH!" box.  Way to go!

Another big surprise awaited me right around the corner. Teenage girls.  Let me rephrase: 'Teenage girls that know nothing about cars'. There were not a large number at the Test Screening but there were a few and they absolutely went GAGA over the film, stating they stayed for BOTH showing (so basically 5 hours worth of DEUCE OF SPADES) and wanted to see it again and again and again... They also stated it had become their favorite movie of all time and that they were in love with Johnny Callaway (who can blame them? LOL). I was surprised to also see that they LOVED my character, the hotrod girl.  X 2...

Looks like I have an audience I never thought existed!

The old timers, as can be expected, loved the film and the majority gave it 5 stars, stating it was very period correct "brought back their youth" and "it's about time a Hot Rod film of substance comes out!"

So there you have it, DEUCE OF SPADES is a hit with both genders and age 14 through age 80.

Amongst the feedback forms were, needless to say, a few really funny smart comments. The one that made me laugh most was one guy who said: "the girl who plays the lead is not credible as a hotrodder or working on her car"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!

Can't wait to see that guy's face the day he finds out the "non credible girl" in question is actually the REAL DEAL, the car's real owner, a real hotrodder and has been wrenching on her own car for three years now and will be on Patrol Duty at the SCTA November meet, cause she also is a Sidewinders, America's oldest hotrod club.

But other than that, she is not credible ... I find it is hard for people to "think outside the box" for even one moment of their lives... And me... Weeeeelllllllll..

I LIVE OUTSIDE THE BOX.

I must confess I am STILL laughing about that comment ...

Now that I was done with entering the data in my spreadsheet, I hit the "crunch" button.

And the winner is...... (drum roll)

NUMBERS TALK (AND THEY SPEAK ELOQUENTLY!)

Overall average rating of film 4.5 stars over 5

95% of DVD buyers said they want to buy DEUCE OF SPADES 

99% said it was very period correct (even the ol' timers who LIVED the era!!!)

73% want to haul their fannies to a local theater to see it AGAIN on the big screen

89% want to watch it again

99.5% would recommend it to a friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!

82% want to see a sequel


DANG. Overall pretty darn GOOD!

LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A WINNER ON OUR HANDS.

Below: Looks like the wind is blowing in my sails!!

And YES, she does work on her deuce herself
 

Below: Asleep under the deuce at the end of a straight 24 hour marathon spent rewiring. 

Below: Don't worry, volunteer hotrodder Jimmy was not in any better shape at the end of that famous 24 hour marathon... LOL  here litterally caught sleeping, his nose smashed against the 53 Chevy steering wheel LOLOL...

8PM. The phone rings. Or should I say the phone "Ahoogals", since my ring tone is a Ahooga horn (how appropriate!!). I pick up.

JERRY: "Faith (cough), Kyle called Garth and Garth (cough) called me and I am calling you to (cough cough) tell you the website is down: Says the traffic exceeded allowed (cough) quota for this month"

I am not sure which is more shocking: That the film has become too popular for its own good (NEVER SUCH A THING!! HAHA!) OR... The way the news travelled, from person to person, all the way to me... (complete, with cough)

Pretty cool. (except for the cough that is  

So I check and sure enough, the site is down. Well, one of the portal, that is, since we now have TWO URL ADDRESSES, two portals to access the main website:

So use the second portal: www.deuceofspades.com until I can call my hosting company and increase my allowed traffic. Looks like I'm gonna need it!

Yeyyy!

Meanwhile, Jerry, on the other side of the line, is still coughing. Cought a bug on the flight back from Daytona Beach.

Wait. Let me put my surprise look on: ... I was 100% sure this would happen. .

"Quick Jerry: Run to Trader's Joes and get fresh squeezed OJ, garlic and (yeah, you've guessed it) Spinage!" LOL

Hey, whatever works, right?

Jerry did more than just run to his local TJ. He actually drove over the hill and dropped off a package in front of my office door and ran away before any bugs could hop off of him and infect me... THANK YOU JERRY!

In the package, some merchandizing samples, cash from DVD sales the night of the show (sure need that!) and... A STACK of feedback forms...

I am not looking forward to a)- having to sort through them and b)- read the comment sections...

But a filmmaker has to do what a filmmaker has to do in order to insure they know where they are at.

Tomorrow is gonna be PAINFUL.

Where's the OJ, garlic and spinage?

PS: "I'll be just fine!"

Below: This is what tomorrow is gonna feel like: I'm gonna be bleeding from every orifice. Oh brother.

Feeling like a woman who just gave birth to a two ton baby (ouch) I am now resting. Well.. "Resting" is a relative term for me, but basically I am getting 6 hour sleep every night instead of just two. My body is slowly bouncing back. Large quantities of fresh squeezed Orange Juice, garlic and spinage have been ingested to insure my poor little body (still in shock) can bounce back graciously .

So far so good.

Stayed at the office until 8PM though, organizing my spreadsheet to keep track of incoming orders and this is where I put, yet, another hat on: My bookkeeping hat. I am real good at this since I have been doing this for years now, so organizing everything was a breeze and accurate, detailed records are being kept from Day One to insure all who order will get their DVD.  

It was a strange feeling to then find myself sitting at a local trendy Italian restaurant, sipping on a glass of Merlot and nibbling on a plate of appetizers in company of a dashingly handsome fireman.

No, we're just friends. But hey, it sure was nice to feel like a "normal" girl for one evening.

"Normal" being, needless to add,  a relative term for me .

Last Saturday I launched my ADVANCED DVD PAGE and now it is official: Fans of DEUCE OF SPADES can buy the film. The goal? To generate the money needed to print the first batch of DVDs. I decided my Advanced DVDs will be special, and as a token of gratitude for my hard core supporters, I will hand number them, autograph them, as well as have the main stars of the film sign them. So these should be very personalized and (hopfully) become collectors items.

I was very touched to see that many, across the world, were wanting to help me raise the funds I now need and purchased one or two copies of the film. I found that a large number of hotrodders are ordering the 2 copies for $35 package deal, probably getting a friend or relative covered in the process.

Currently I have raised 40% of the funds needed, so I need more to step up to the plate and land a hand. If you have followed this blog and film progress and have felt in the least bit inspired by my story, then now is your time to become involved in this worthy endeavour:

PLEASE ORDER AN ADVANCED DVD HERE.

It has been wonderful to see people ordering from countries I didn't even know I had fans in.

It does warm my heart everytime I see a new order in my inbox. Makes me feel that all this insanely hard work and three entire years spent slaving on this feature film were not in vain...

So I stepped down from the ledge and decided not to leap to my death afterall .

Oh yeah, and I took off the rock hanging from my neck, too.

"We're not gonna make it Didier..."

Didier and I are staring at my gas gauge which shows I have nothing but gas vapors left. The deuce has been devoring fuel like crazy, cruising up and down the lake bed all day today... I was counting on my usual gas station to fix the problem, so imagine my surprise when I pulled in front of it only to find that both gas pumps have been ripped out.

Closest gas station? 16 miles.

Amount of gas left in my gas tank? Unknown... Probably no more than one gallon.

Gas consumption of deuce? 10 miles per gallon.

"We're not gonna make it but what the heck, let's go for it anyways!"

Didier seconds the motion, just like me he is an adventurer at heart. We are forced to take a side street and head to a town just north of our location... Hoping to make it... I remember my Beirut war days... Riding my motorcycle on winding mountain roads with almost no gas left... Killing the engine and coasting downhill as much as I could... All my gas saving instincts return... The deuce is gliding down the slight hills.. Gracefully...

Didier and I still both have smiles on our faces. It si the perfect day for a roadster ride and the perfect exciting ending to our perfect week-end.

Suddenly, I see a traffic light in the far distance, and soon buildings... And the promised land... A generic gas station!  YES! The deuce took good care of me, as always...

Today was spent taking photos of the deuce and driving Didier around, introducing him to my friends... It was great to see Gene Winfield again and update him on the outcome of the Test Screening last night... He gave me a huge hug... The news that the film had been screened for the first tiem last night spread on the lake bed like a wild fire... Pretty soon everyone is coming to me and asking; "Hey!! Why Daytona Beach?????? When are WE going to have OUR screening???

LOL

Nice problem to have...

It was nice to relax finally after sooooo looooong spent working 24 /7. It suddenly dunned on me that this was my first week-end off, I think for the past 2 years... Pretty much...

Got home and could not wait to get back on the computer to see what emails might have come in... And in deed there were quite a few from spectators that were expressing their excitement for the film and how happy they were for me... I posted some of them here. The phone is ringing too, a young man trying to reach Jerry... He is surprised to end up with Faith Granger on the line, instead, "the" filmmaker of the feature film DEUCE OF SPADES (boy that sounds so pompous- although true). "It's an honor to talk to you"

ME:

This is gonna take some time getting used to LOL. I am now wearing a head brace 24/7 to make sure my head doesn't swell. Thankfully I do drive an OPEN CAR hahahahahaha!!

When I look in the mirror (ouch) I just see same little ol me. Looking a but tired in fact. Obviously.

I like little ol' me. Want to keep her around .. So no, no head swell for me. I am too well aware that I could have never done this without the big help of the Big Guy upstairs... And a little help from all my friends..

So here's to you, actors, crew members, artists, car owners, location owners, volunteers, fans and all who worked on or helped in any way to make this dream of a film become a reality:

I SALUTE YOU!

4PM - The louvers are spewing hot air in my face... Before me, a black top road shooting straight far as the eyes can see... The deuce dances up and down, a communion with the road... A glance to my right and I catch, from the corner of my eye, the elated smile on Didier's face... It has not left since we drove off over an hour ago... We are not talking, just enjoying the ride. My mind is floating... I think of the sequel and let ideas come to me... Keeping my mind busy and off of the most important thing right now...

THOUSAND MILES AWAY - ON THE EAST COAST

Jerry hands the DVD to the projector operator and he pops it in... In front of the screen, people are piling up with their lounge chairs, blankets, pop corn... It is hot and humid, and you can smell the ocean breeze... Spectators have showed up early to get he best spots, some as early as two hours before show time. Jerry is texting me updates every 15 minutes... Not knowing I can't read them right now.. Cause I'm driving.... The sun has set over the marina and it is now time to roll...

After a nice introduction from Lea, publisher of STILL RUNNIN MAGAZINE, who, along with Rick promoter of the Daytona Beach Dream Cruise, presented the event, the operator hits the PLAY button...

And DEUCE OF SPADES SPREADS ITS WINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND TAKES FLIGHT .

Black screen... Sound of wind... fade in "FAITH GRANGER PRESENTS" fade out... fade in DEUCE OF SPADES fade out.... Sound of wind... Fade to blurred image... Screen turns beige... A strange, slowly moving red shape in the center... The audience's mind engages immediately.. What is it? Where are we? What is the wind sound all about?

MEANWHILE ON THE WEST COAST...

I get off on Pear Blossom Highway and pull over as soon as I can. Who am I kidding? I'm DYING to know what's going on in Daytona Beach... I read all of Jerry's texts... Some new ones now pop in: "Film has started!!" "Audience is laughing at such and such line".... "Everyone watching the movie attentively"... I got stomach acid now shooting out both my ears... But other than that, I'm JUST FINE!! As Didier and I travel further East on desert roads, texts keep coming in. I glance on and off... "Audience very solemn right now"... "some people crying"... As Act three of my film unfolds, the deuce and I land on the lake bed. I just did a huge burnout for Didier, who has been snapping hundreds of photos already for the big feature story he intends to do in his magazine in January... It is sunset and the sky is BREATHTAKING. I am in awe of the beauty around me... Didier snaps more photos of the deuce and I, my B-3 bomber jacket on my shoulder, standing next to the roadster with my levis, combat boots and severely messy hair... Not exactely a pinup shot. .

We lose daylight... The deuce is now purring its way across the lake to the West end, where the SCTA meet will take place tomorrow. Didier and I have no idea where we will be sleeping tonight but I trust Providence. And Dan Warner . We land in a plush trailer (thank you Lee for being such a gracious, wonderful host!) and soon are offered a wonderful meal, which we eat while sitting by the campfire... The sky is filled with stars.. The fire reflects on our faces... I think about the film... It must be almost over now... I am hopeful the audience will like it... Please Lord I hope they GET IT...

BACK IN DAYTONA BEACH

The climax scene unfolds... And the audience starts applauding at the KEY moment... Every filmmaker's dreams... The film ends in MORE APPLAUSE... Jerry, a big smile on his face, texts me immediately to share the awesome news!

WE HAVE A WINNER ON OUR HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EL MIRAGE DRY LAKE

I see Jerry's text... I am elated! It's like a million pounds of worries has been lifted off my shoulders... They liked it!! In fact, I think it safe to say they actually LOVED IT. Considering the feedback Jerry is now getting from, pretty much, all who are walking up to him... ...

"I got goose bumps!" ............... "I am not one to tear up easily but the movie made me cry three times!!!" ............ "You have done such an AAAAAMAAAAZING JOB! We LOOOOOOVED the film!!!"

The most amazing part of it all, is that the audience remained attentive the entire two hours and thirty five minutes, and noone left, not even to go to the bathroom.   I am sure most spectators felt the film was long (cause it is) and the American pubic is no longer used to film that are slow paced and cerebral... tanks to the recent Hollywood trends action packed CGI orgie new block busters...  But my film must have kept them interested because they stuck with it. Furthermore, I was able to take their hand and walk them through a difficult journey, taking them places most people don't want to go or experience and they let me. They walked with me until the end and ripped the reward, the phenomenal lifting feeling at the end... When the film soars again...

I had taken them on one wild roller coaster ride that would tug pretty hard at their heart strings and they followed me until the final destination was reached. 

As I laid down on my large bunk that night, tired but happy, I was wondering whether my body was levitating above the mattress....

Cause it sure felt like it

Today is "D" day. "D" as in Deuce of Spades... "D" as in Daytona Beach.

Jerry is roaming around the city, from venue to venue, ranting and raving about how big the event is and how many venues are involved, how much there is to see, the number of cars etc...

Wish the deuce and I were there, rigth now, cruising up and down that boulevard, by the ocean.

Never been to Florida. Maybe one day I will. If God grants me this wish I want to see the entire country from behind the wheel of my Deuce, and visit every town that will welcome me. If the movie was to do well... This wish might be granted...

But for now I am stuck in LA. And the deuce is resting inside its garage... Although not for long. At noontime, Didier Soyeux, editor of the brand new plush French Hot Rod Magazine "American Muscle Cars" is coming over and him and I are heading out to El Mirage for two days. This time I am NOT bringing my filming gear. In fact, I am not bringing ANYTHING. Just the deuce, a sleeping bag and me. I will retreat far away from everything and return to the sacred grounds and reflect on my journey and what it has meant. Tomorrow, SCTA meet. It will be nice to see all my friends again and to actually have TIME to hang out and TALK. Cause I won't be running around with a frazzled look going: "We're gonna lose daylight, quick let's move the camera over there!!!" 

TODAY IS "D" DAY.

I'll admit it, I have a bit of butterflies flying around in my stomach... Quite a few of them in fact... And, other than the fact that I have stomach acid shooting out of both my ears LOL, "I'll be just fine!"

I am not too concerned about people liking the movie. I am more concerned about the venue and whether the setting will be appropriate for them to be able to WATCH the movie under good conditions, so they can actually GET IT and then get SUCKED into it.

The movie has the power to do this.

YESTERDAY

LYNN (in his fifties, a big smile on his face): "Faith, it's been a week since I saw the movie at your house, and am STILL thinking about this film"

BLUE (movie producer): "Faith, I am calling you to tell you one thing, and one thing alone: I AM SO PROUD OF YOU"   (Blue saw the film Monday night)

SAMMY STRAY (recording artist from the fifties); "Faith I wanted to let you know my wife and I took a vacation and flew out to Florida just so we could see the film tomorrow... I am soooo excited!"

KURTIS (all the way in New York): "Faith, today it is! It's all about You! So proud to say I met you! Faith enjoy the hell out of it!! Best wishes!!"

DERRY (all the way in France): "With you in thoughts today!!"

 X 5

There were more, but you get the point....

TODAY IS "D" DAY. And I am going to spend it in the desert. With the deuce. Pray to God that the hotrodders GET IT. And wondering how many people it will affect... In some powerful, impactful way.

Went to bed at 6PM yestersday. Woke up at 2AM. Ate and created a shopping cart on the website, so my volunteers in Florida can have a credit card option to sell the Advanced DVDs.

Yes, it is official, the DVDs of the film are NOW on sale.

Cause a film, WE NOW HAVE.

I intend to hand number them and autograph them, along with Tim (Star of the film) so they'll be very special.

I am hoping to raise money this way so I can press my first batch of DVDs and maybe even pay for the DVD authoring process, which I will have to seek professional help for, cause I don't know (yet hehe) how to do this myself. It is my desire that the DVD will look just as pro as any of the big studios. So when you pop it in, it has animated image with scoring and menus and all that great stuff which makes a movie look pro and bigger than life.

So I guess for all of you who have been following the film since day one, if you want to help me finish it, you can now buy the DVD and be first ones to receive it. Target date is December / January.

To buy the DVD click here.

Below: Lea, publisher of STILL RUNNIN MAGAZINE, busting her ass in Daytona Beach to promote tonight's screening. What a great gal she is!!

Last day of sleep depravation and worse one yet. I only slept one hour. Strangely enough, my body seems to be in such a state of shock that I am not sleepy anylonger. I am BEYOND sleep. having no time to sleep makes it convenient. but when I finally laid down for an hour, hoping to catch a little Z, I found that my nervous system was giving out a strange vibration... A slight tremor coming from deep within me... Oh boy...

Impossible to sleep. I had to give up and got up and roamed around my house, ate some breakfast at 11PM. I look at the progress bar on my computer screen and it is screaming at me:

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT FAITH...

Stressed. Tired and a bit anxious.

It is at moments like these that I love hearing JOHNNY CALLAWAY'S voice inside of me and he is yelling:

"I'll be just fine"

A little prayer helps too. I am praying to God everything goes well, that I will not face any technical problem during the final rendering and burning process. I am at the mercy of all these chips, wires, resistors inside the belly of the BEAST... My PC...

I dial Jerry's number:

"Hey Jerry, remember how I said you could come by to pick up the DVD at midnight tonight? Well, I lied. It's not going to be ready until tomorrow morning. What time is your flight?"

I am relieved to find out his flight is at 8AM, so I have another 6 hours to pull this major coup de force off. But still not certain I will make it by that time. Jerry, ever so supportive, my Guardian Angel as I recently starting calling him, a well deserved title, is willing to do "whatever it takes Faith" to make this happen.

In this case "whatever it takes" = driving out from LAX area at 3:30Am tomorrow (actually - TODAY) to be at my house at 5AM and pick up (hopefully) the DVD and zip back down to LAX just in time to fly out to Daytona Beach.

Any day now, Jerry is going to put a contract on my head .

2AM - TIMELINE #2 is still rendering....

3AM - Still rendering...

4AM - I am able to lightly snooze for an hour. I wake up on my own, because my mind is still thinking about my deadline. I get up, walk up to the screen (now asleep), wake it up and...

RENDER COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I immediately fire up DVD architect and start putting together the dual layer DVD project. Run into a brain fart there, having only done it once before. It is 7AM on the East Coast and Perrone's cell phone rings and wakes him up.

ME: "Perrone... I am in deep shit. I can't remember where to progran my dual layer break point... and have less than an hour to complete this final DVD burning process".

He is a good sport, and walks me through it again. Ahhh the GOOOD man!

4:30AM - Jerry will be here any moment now... Oh wait.. He's HERE. I hear the door bell and open the front door to see Jerry, a concerned look on his face:

"Are you OK Faith? How are you doing? Are you getting enough sleep, fluids, food?"

"Never!"

We walk to the backroom.

I hit the ENTER button and the DVD starts to render...

"Jerry, if this attempt fails we don't have a film..."

We both sit by the computer and talk, trying not to think about the fact that, a mere two feet away from us, the BEAST is crunching like crazy and our fate is in it's (lack of) hands... I catch Jerry glancing up at the monitor to look at the progress bar.

DON'T LOOK AT IT! YOU'LL JINX IT ...

We both agree to pretend nothing is going on and we talk about the trip, show, and screening...

Progress bar is now about 25% done when...

ERROR MESSAGE!!!

Now my stress level is UP THE ROOF. I speak French (eloquently) and it goes something like this:

 *&^%$%^###^ !!

God don't abandon me now!

I throw away the dud DVD and put a new dual layer DVD in the burner... This is IT. If this last attempt fails we will miss our deadline. The PLAN B is to send Jerry with last week version of the film, the non yet improved version we screened last Saturday.

Progress bar goes from 10% to 20% and then 35% then 50%....

60%.... 70%...... 80%....

90%.... And....

BURNING SUCCESFUL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I even have a chance to burn a safety copy - just in case - and send Jerry off, FILM IN HAND to Florida...

SHEEEEEESSSHHHHHHHH that was close.

I have two hours to sleep before going back to work.

It is going to be a long day.

Third day of sleep depravation. This is the LONGEST I have ever gone without normal sleeping pattern and adequate sleep/food. I am unsure of how my body is going to react. Not too adversely, I hope.

The film is layed down on two timelines, being too long to fit on one without having my software crash. I currently am done editing all the scenes contained in TIMELINE 1 and just finished wacthing the first half of the film from top to bottom. No glitches to report

Now, with less than 24 hours left to deadline, I tackle the second half.

Across the globe, Frank is sleepless in Germany. he is working dligently to finish several CGI shots for me by tomorrow. Three fire shots, three crash and explosion shots and 8 dust shots. A volunteer who believes in what I am trying to accomplish, he is doing all this work pro bono to help see the film through. I truly am blessed to have support of enlightened people like him.

Not so far down the road from me, Chris, yet another CGI artist, is trying to finish his shots best he can, despite battlling a fierce flue. ... He will be dropping them by to me later tonight. I already have my plastic gloves and paint mask (the real deal with filters and all LOL) ready so to not ctach whatever it is he got.

I am starting to feel like Howard Hughes now... Locked up in my house, with gloves on to interact with the outside world LOLOL...

I am hoping I can make my deadline, but not sure I will...

If ANYTHING goes wrong.. Computer stalls, DVD burner burps or software blinks, I am DEAD DUCK.

I am buckling down and bracing myself for the impact. One more day of pushing my body well beyond the limits... Hope it can take it...

This is how I feel:

I have now earned my black belt in sleep depravation.

Friday morning, at 8AM, Jerry flies out to Daytona Beach, Florida and the film is going with him.

That is, if I can GET IT DONE IN TIME...

The pressure is becoming increasingly overwhelming. I am alone, to finish the film. I am living sitting at my computer desk, CHAINED TO IT. I am stopping for NOTHING.

I have no idea what time it is and it doesn't matter. I edit, edit, edit and edit... When I find myself falling asleep in my chair (and I mean that LITTERALLY), I walk to the bedroom and get in bed, under the covers, with my clothes still on. Usually a two hour nap will do and I am recharged enough to sustain another 8 hours of editing.

Occasionally, my body signals it is time to put some food in it or I will pass out. I reluctantly stop my work and walk to the kitchen, staring at the womb of my fridge, eating whatever I can find. I am hungry, starved in fact, but food is the last thing on my mind right now.

All I can think about is that I am afraid I am going to miss the deadline and Jerry will not have a film to give to the Daytona Beach Promoters.

AGHHHHHHHHHH 

I am pushing my body well beyond it's limit and pray to God (literrally) that I will not collapse now. I edited all night, had lunch at 2AM, breakfast at 2PM and I think I must have skipped dinner altogether cause I can't remember for the life of me what I ate... Sleep depravation will cause short memory loss, so I found myself calling my ex boyfriend and telling him what a great guy he was.... And how badly I want him back into my life LOL ... Really? No, not "really" HA!

I'm just pulling your leg.

Earlier today Jerry came by and we did the Al fins insert that was missing from a scene. My test screening indicated that my non car savvy audience could not figure out what they were talking about in the scene (I should have figured this one out from minute One, what was I thinking? Not a lot of women know what a Buick finned drum is - coming to think of it, not many men know either) HA! So I decided to create an insert. This shot would be filmed a YEAR after the scene was filmed and yet integrated SEAMLESSLY into the scene. You cannot tell it apart from the others.

When I shot that scene a year ago I had 8 hotrodders hovering all over the car, my beloved actors. Today there was no one else here but Jerry (a retired man) and a girl. ..

It is at times like these that I wish I could find my magic wand...  but I can't remember whre I put it cause I am sleep deprived LOL... Short of the magic wand, I turn to my impetuous ingeniosity and it immediately kicks in in high gear.

 TILT light bulb !

"OK Jerry, here is pair of Levis 501 from the wardrobe. And here are the shoes Zip was wearing in the scene (since I own these, it was easy to pull them out of the closet). Go put them on"

Meanwhile, I put on another pair of Levis (I believe those were Frank's pants - Fresno's pants) and I own them as well hehehehe... And I put on "Bob's" shoes on (I own those as well). they are 4 sizes too big, but noone will be able to tell... Walking around in them is cute, I feel like a little girl walking in her Daddy's big shoes!

We now have the bottom part of two characters in the film/scene "Zip" and "Bob". Our pants and shoes match, and since this is the only thing the audience will see in the shot, who cares if from the waist up, it is a man in his sixties and a girl in her... (haha! You didn't think I was REALLY gonna tell you, did you?? LOL)...

I set up my shot, match the light, color, quality angle and the shot looks mighty nice in my monitor.

Let's shoot it!

To pull this magic trick off, I will have to both stand as an extra (moving extra) and do the camera pan. basically being on BOTH sides of the camera at the same time. I move my tripod arm to the front so I can steer the camera while standing in front of it. Doing a smooth pan while also moving my legs in the shot will be interesting.

Luckily I nail it in only a few takes...

Back inside the studio, I download the footage and insert it right there and then into the scene.

Result?

AMAZING!!!!!!!

Noone will ever be able to tell.

Ahhhh the magic of movies...

Below: Pulling an insert shot out of my (you know what) for this scene below and once again making Lemonade out of ROCKS.

I'll rest when I'm dead. Which at this rate, will be SOON.

Got my three "vacation" (haha!) days and plunged head first into an ABYSS of non stop work around the clock.

I am not using the words "around the clock" loosely here. I mean:

AROUND THE CLOCK.

Days are blending into nights, time vanishes... I have locked up myself into my home and turned my phone off... Locked myself into my Ivory tower and gone to town on the film, implementing every change I had noted needed to be made. Guided by some of my audience's feedbacks, I was able to fix some of the problem areas.

It is always fascinating to see how an audience will perceive things differently then you do. I thought my close up shot of the fortune cookie was exagerately big and long, yet none of my spectators could read the whole thing. (??) Go figure. So I made it even bigger and longer... Same with signs along the road... The omminous tree was a mystery for some of them as well... Not everyone was able to connect the dots. And although I do want my audience to do some thinking and refuse to handfeed them with a spoon, I must confess that I also do want them to "get it" in the end... So I had to step in and give some more "obvious" clues as to how the tree was connected to the story...

Sound kicked my ass big time trying to dial in levels... The M416 Sennheiser mic I used was worth all the money spent. Glad I was smart and listened to my pro friend's advice and didn't cut corners there. The mic saved me more than once. Which is more than I can say about the crikets, dogs, birds, cars, and especially commercial AIRPLANES that snuck in the film, no matter how careful we tried to be. Oh and add to that the refrigerators hums. When you film with no budget and can't pay for locations, it's not like you can tell a house owner: "Hey dude, your fridge is making a hell of a rockus, so turn it off, and NO I don't give a damn about all your frozen low calorie diet entrees."

Might need to do some overdubs there...

Talking about overdubs... Did a session with Tim today. It was nice to see him again. He showed up at my door bare chest (I think he did that purposely, just to torture me LOL) and with a smile on his face... I was not about to complain about either . When a gorgeous man shows up at my door with his shirt off, it is generally a good day . If I was half asleep from lack of sleep, I am wide awake now LOL . But work is work and filmmakers can't get distracted with stuff like that so I have learned to turn the blind eye and we immediately set off (shirt ON) to a local park up a hill, away from traffic.

We sit down on the ground, I put my camera down and hold the boom over his head...

My butt cheeks had barely touched the ground that a ranger arrives.

And follows the usual ritual:

RANGER (not so pleasant): "Do you have permit to film here?"

 ME (calm and friendly): "No, I don't, but I am not filming, I am merely recording"

RANGER (suspicious): "What's the camera for then?"

 ME: "To record the sound... If you look closely, you will notice the camera is pointing AWAY from us and does not even have a lens on it at the moment"

RANGER:  -blank- (realizes he is not very well versed in matters of filming HAHA) 

 ME: "It's just I am doing overdubs and they need to be done outdoors to match the ourdoor scene and my neighborhood is so noisy with cars etc... I just needed a little quiet..."

RANGER (stubborn): "Well, filming or recording, you still need a permit... If the other rangers come by they will site you"

 ME (nice friendly smile): "I will take my chances, but thank you for the warning though "

He drives off...

What kind of world do we live in? When a girl with a little camera, is recording someone reading, sitting in the far corner of a park tucked in the far corner of a hill tucked in the far corner of a residential neighborhood tucked in the far corner of a valley.... WHAT HARM CAN SHE POSSIBLY DO????

America is choking it's up and coming cinematographers... Silencing them... Making it nearly impossible for them to do their craft.

The reasonning behind this escapes me. Shouldn't the Art be encouraged and treated as a most valuable part of our culture?

A woman on a part time job trying to make a no budget home made indie flick has to (get this) PAY THE SAME FEES AS METRO GOLDEN MAYER STUDIO to have official permission to film on a street, or corner of a park.

Basically there are only two classes and two rates: Film school student and Big Ass Rolling on dough Film Studio.

And me, well, I simply fall in the crack of the system. It's like we, the small indie filmmakers, don't exist.

If I was president, this would CHANGE.

But then, I am not president, and nothing is gonna change and I am left with the delightful fear at the pit of my stomach each time I go out there to shoot, knowing I could get in trouble, as though I am committing some horrible crime...

Making a beautiful film. Go ahead, lock me up like you did JOHNNY.

(sigh and shaking my head in discouragement)

Rest of the session went well. No other rangers showed up that afternoon and we were able to record all overdubs peacefully... Maybe my stomach ulcers won't reopen after all.

Below: Hard to not get distracted when you open your front door and this is what is waiting otuside...  Good thing I am harmless (for the most part HAHA!)

As the last image faded on the screen and the room turned to dark, the sound of thundering applause confirmed what I had believed, in Faith, all along:

This is a very special film.

I turn the lights back on and take one look at my audience. Seventeen people, crammed into my livingroom, sitting wherever they could find a spot... And I could see it on their faces...

The film had deeply touched them... And still had a hold of them even now that it was over.

I noticed there was not a dry eye in my audience.

My friend Oak, who is a seasonned producer and one of the most brutally honest critical guy I know, walks up to me and gives me the hugest of hugs....

OAK: "I am SOOOO proud of you! The film is excellent!!!! The cinematography is amazing! I mean the tunnel sequence, how did you come up with this concept? It is so beautiful! You are a GENIOUS... How did you do it???? Never been to film school and done it all on your own???? HOW DO YOU DO IT???? You are a genious Faith. A genious".

ME:

I thanked him, flattered yes but also embarrassed. I never expected to be called a genious. And maybe he's right about this, but all I could think about at that moment, is that the fim was a miracle and that there no way in hell that "I" could have done it.

Yet I had.

Little Faith + Big God + a little help from friends = Great results

Next comes Brandon, also producer and seasonned critique. He says: "I hope you are prepared for a promising career in filmmaking!"

ME:

Then Robert (high performence engine specialist) leans and whisper in my ear:

"Faith, you have a winner"

ME:

Bliss.

Complete and ulter BLISS.

Tonight is a night I will remember all my life, possibly the most beautiful night of my life.

Tonight I not only got to watch my film for the very first time but I also got to share it with 17 other people. A very first screening of DEUCE OF SPADES.

I have a film.

Better yet, I have a SCREAMING film.

What an amazing feeling... I am in a daze, on a total high... I cannot believe that I, I made this amazing film. It blows my mind. I am unable to wrap my mind around this miracle, how it could be???

But it IS.

I was excited but also apprehensive about sharing the film with these people. They had been picked for their diverse backgrounds... In the audience, several industry pros, several hotrod gear heads, a car customiser, a high performence engine builder, a few everyday people too, including about 6 women who knew nothing about cars and knew nothing about the film. Some of these people didn't even know me. I was hoping to get a cross section of the general public and also a sample of my hotrod audience. and hoping to get some honest feedbacks (hence the "strangers").

Myself included.