GIRLTRASH Blog

I don’t know why I raised my hand when Stacy Codikow, Executive Producer and Founder of POWER UP, asked if anyone had a spare bedroom. After all, she had just looked me square in the eyes, told me I had a reputation for being a hard worker and that I more or less better not f*ck it up. No pressure.

But in that preproduction meeting for “GIRLTRASH: All Night Long,” I somehow found my hand in the air agreeing to house two fellow mentees, Fontessa and Erin. They were homeless because they had come in from out of town for POWER UP’s mentorship/educational program. In that room of 40+ women who were experiencing their first day in the program, Stacy somehow instilled a sort of immediate team work ethic. We were all about to embark on a big project with lots of women we already admired.

I certainly wanted to make the most out of the experience. Perhaps I expected that others in the room had a spare bedroom; but regardless, I offered my roommate’s vacant room to not one, but two fellow mentees without asking either of my roommates’ permission. Oops.

You see, we have three bedrooms in our house. One room is occupied by my dear fellow UC Irvine Alumni, Trevor. We’ve lived together for over three years at this point, so we are used to each others’ ebb and flow. The other roomie, Tara, had to head back home to Alabama for a few months while recuperating from an accident. She’s been paying rent on an empty room and I thought some unexpected subletters might be an awesome option to give her a bit of a financial break.

After smoothing over the fact that I hadn’t asked before agreeing to house two mentees, I informed Trevor and Tara that it would only be two girls and only for two weeks. Boy, did I misinform them.

The falsity wasn’t on purpose though! I mean… how was anyone to know that it would rain through a vast majority of our shooting schedule, pushing our wrap day by two weeks? I also had no way of knowing that Morgan would get drunk and need to crash on our couch. Nor could I anticipate that Sky and Marybeth would fall in love and need a place to crash as well. Or that the two original subletters, Fontessa and Erin had girlfriends who lived out of town that would want to come and visit.

I’m sure you’re picking up on the fact that during the course of filming, my home turned into the unofficial Hotel Girltrash. For those couple of weeks, there were at least two extra bodies in my house at any given time. Shoes, showers, and carpooling, Oh My! It was like being back in college, only the dorm was full of lesbians and we all had the same classes. On paper, this may seem like the premise for a porno, but in reality, it was crazy!

While it’s easy to complain about the constant come and go of the mentees, and Trevor and I are certainly content to leave Tara’s room vacant for the rest of her recuperation… the experience of playing Hotel owner was also fun. After all, I’ve personally traveled and crashed on couches all over the world. It’s the traveling Jew in me- I like to play host. http://www.facebook.com/pages/POWER-UP-films/99261618727#!/video/video.php?v=404542549904

I loved group grocery shopping. I loved getting home at 7am after a 15 hour shooting day and greeting the sunlight with all the girls and a big glass of wine. I loved getting to have a group study therapy session after working our asses off. We supported each other, learned from each other, and I’m sure will connect again on future projects. After all, we’ve all seen each other in our pajamas, laughed at each others’ jokes, and wished each other the best on our careers. That is perhaps what makes the POWER UP mentorship program so valuable: the connections.

I heavily encourage you to sign up for the program, or any of the other countless opportunities POWER UP has to help you in career as a filmmaker.

My only advice is to be careful what you volunteer for.

Janelle K. Eagle finished the POWER UP mentorship fully intact. Trevor and Tara are still recovering  She has now returned to her regular life as a documentary filmmaker and travel blogger. You can read more about her adventures at www.journeywithjanelle.com

GIRLTRASH: All Night Long Blog # 4
El Niño or how an 18-day-shoot became 28 and counting… One ambulance drive to the hospital; one doctor visit to the set; one terrifying 5-ton truck tire blow-out on the freeway, with one generator jackknife; one honey-wagon bathroom overflowed; one gas shut-off at a location; one (almost) electricity shut-off at another location; shutting down production for the holidays; shutting down production for two (2!) sick actors; and shutting down production for rain, rain, rain, rain, rain & hail, rain and rain.

One might think we are making a disaster movie, but, wait … aren’t we making a musical? Principal Photography started December 1st, 2009. There is something increadibly excitng about the first day.

You have a crew who is looking forward to the work; a wonderful cast (Lisa Rieffel, Michelle Lombardo, Gabrielle Christian, Mandy Musgrave and Rose Rollins) that have all been excited to make this film for a while; a director with a grin from ear to ear; and a Mentee program filled with people who flew in from all over the world just dying to get their hands dirty. The best part about the first day is everyone is super excited, super awake and intent on discovering their next BFF! Sure, we are shooting from 4:00 pm to 4:00 am six days a week, but the food is amazing, the frigid weather is a rustic & quaint backdrop for our new “survival” adventure and we have all the time (and money) in the world! VIDEO: Behind-The-Scenes, The First Day on GIRLTRASH:All Night Long

”It never rains in California, but, girl, don’t they warn you, it pours, man, it pours…”
By end of Week One, we were scheduled to move from our cozy Interior Sorority House location to the Exterior Sorority House location. But, as the first of many storms that would come to be foretold by all the meteorologists — with the steadiness of Chicken Little -– so became location change number 1.

Typically, when you schedule a film you have what is called a “Cover Set.” A Cover Set is generally an interior set or location that you can substitute for one of your exterior locations in case of the occasional rain day. Occasional rain day. Occasional rain day! I just wanted to say that again -– occasional! Not a monsoon! Not in LA!

Well, yes, I might describe the weather from December through February as a GIRLTRASH: The Monsoon. The weather almost turned GIRLTRASH: All Night Long into GIRLTRASH: All Year Long! Our schedule called for us to shoot more than half of our days in Exterior Locations. Instead, we kept being forced to shoot all we could inside and dance around IN the rain with our exterior days.

So stopping and starting was the rhythm to be … it certainly was challenging, but like anything worth doing, it IS worth doing right!

We won our perpetual battle with Mother Nature! We officially wrapped on February 15, 2010 — a dry and dark night, in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot. The following Friday, February 19 was our wrap party and true to form, our Swim, Jacuzzi, Mariachi Fiesta was pelted with torrential rains, but also true to form for the GIRLTRASH: All Night Long cast and crew, we weathered the storm and partied like we just didn’t care.

Next week: The Mentees! or How many people traveled from all over the world to come hang, learn, participate in GIRLTRASH: All Night Long.

In March 2009, Lisa Thrasher and I decided to greenlight “GIRLTRASH: All Night Long — the movie.” Like we had done before with “ITTY BITTY TITTY COMMITTEE,” we started with an idea.  Angela Robinson called Lisa and me to a meeting at her office with her and her wife, Alex Kondracke, who was 5 months pregnant at the time. They pitched us the movie.

“We have all the same actors ready to go and we want to make it a musical that takes place in all one night,” Robinson spouted off.  “Ok, where is the script?” I asked. Robinson, who is one of the most prolific writers assured me that, when she wrote it, I would love it. Oh, and one more surprise, she wanted Alex to direct.  Robinson, by then, had become a major player in television and was a co-executive producer on HUNG – created by POWER UP filmmaker Colette Burson – and was therefore unavailable to direct the feature.  For many producers this would have been a deal breaker, but for me, the self-proclaimed “queen of the virgin” that was no big deal. In my professional career, prior to launching POWER UP, I was considered an expert in (or maybe crazy for) working with first time directors.  In my own defense, this was not done by choice but rather circumstance.

OK, so here we go: With our money in the bank and a script to be written from an idea based on characters created in a successful web series by Angela, we agreed to move forward.  Our original plan for production was to be late summer 2009. This would give Alex a chance to birth her baby and get back on her feet. It would also give Angela a chance to write the script. Of course it also meant we would have to do contracts, negotiations and a lot of pushing and explaining back and forth.  Over the next several months, we would hook up and discuss, negotiate and concede. More time would pass, again discuss, negotiate, and concede. Early November, Angela called with good news and bad. Good news: we had a script that she felt ready to share. Bad news: we would have to start production right away due to actors’ schedule conflicts in early January.

Ok so now, our obstacles are: agreement between parties, not signed; we had less than our needed 6 week pre-production; a first time director; and of course our biggest obstacle a tiny budget for an extremely ambitious production schedule.  OR, what the fuck, we are out of time!  A few days spend on the phone and in meetings with attorneys, and the four main players, Stacy, Lisa, Angela and Alex and the 8 months of negotiations finally comes to an end.  Contracts signed.

Pre-production in half the time we’d planned. With casting already in place, we did breathe a sigh of relief in the hopes that we’d be able to do the impossible: prep in 3 weeks.  Johnny and Lisa – of rock band Killola – had been writing music for the film since the summer and their awesome songs were pre-recorded and ready to go. Our script was ready, charming, funny and fun as expected. The director had been working on her shot lists and developing her vision. Our work was cut out for us. Crew, locations, design, style, rehearsal, equipment, insurance, permits, vehicles, hair cuts, catering and of course more negotiations, points, concessions, arguments with all parties concerned.

Principal Photography started December 1, 2009.

Next week:
El Niño – aka how an 18-day shoot became 28.

Blog number 2: Hey I am a blogger. That really feels weird to say. Been wanting to blog again since my first blog about the wrap party, but don’t know the blog etiquette yet. Would it be weird to blog daily, or do I appear uncaring if I do it once a week? There hasn’t been any movie yet to teach me the protocol of blogging. Waiting for Meg Ryan to do “You’ve Got Blog,” or maybe not.

How “GIRLTRASH: All Night Long” came to be. When I started POWER UP one of the most important programs we had was the Filmmaking Grant Program. There, we would match directors and writers together and we produced their short film. These films were shot once a year and we made three (3) of them at the same time. This program put POWER UP on the map. A complete success. Each year the program produced a film that was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. POWER UP produced the most award winning short films seen by more people all over the world. This was the beginning.

In 2002 we had a little script written by a young women who won the opportunity to have her script made as well as the opportunity to be a director. Even though it was our mandate to mix up writers and directors, common sense and knowing a good thing when it’s standing right in front of me allowed me to give Angela Robinson her big opportunity. “D.E.B.S.,” the little movie that could, was born. So, I make it sound easy, but it didn’t happen with out a strong phone call from Jamie Babbit calling me “an idiot” if I didn’t read the script and fight for it.  A POWER UP employee was overstepping their bounds and burying the script because she thought it would be to expensive to make. All things got straightened out and a read of the script “D.E.B.S” by me changed the course of history for Angela and POWER UP.

The folklore goes that this was one of those very rare occasions were everything lined up just right. Angela made a fresh, fun, funny film. We premiered the film at our annual fundraiser The Power Premiere, where the president of Showtime was being honored. That night Showtime’s President requested we go pitch them “D.E.B.S.” as a TV series, Ilene Chaiken asked me to introduce her to Angela (she had just filmed the pilot of her TV show “the l-word” and thought Angela would be a great addition to her writing staff), and producer/manager Larry Kennar chased Angela to the parking lot see if he could represent her. As they say, the rest is history.

We went to Sundance with the short, Screengems bought the rights to make the feature “D.E.B.S.” with Angela directing, Angela was hired on “the l word” and Hollywood History was made.

Angela, you could say, is the greatest success story directly linked to POWER UP

and of course we have been wanting to work with her again for a long time.

After the success of “Itty Bitty Titty Committee” and POWER UP’s foray into feature films was solidified, we began developing projects for our second feature. Many good writers and projects came our way and the development process was and is proceeding.
A few times over the past two years Angela has read and given thoughts and notes on some of our projects. Early 2009 when Lisa (my partner on and off the field) and I had raised enough money to produce POWER UP’s second feature we asked Angela if she had a project she wanted to do. Knowing Angela’s talent and the fact that she has two sequels for “D.E.B.S.,” I wasn’t at all surprised that she pitched us “GIRLTRASH” as a movie based on her successful webseies “GIRLTRASH.” Angela is full of ideas and what is so cool about that is she has tons of ideas for projects she’s done, or doing, or will do. She has many different versions and scenarios for how things could go with these character’s she creates and loves. I think her passion as a writer make you fall in love with these characters as well.

So how did a little gritty web-series made with small equipment and running around the city of LA hiding from the law become “GIRLTRASH: All Night Long” the rock musical comedy that we just wrapped? Come back next week.

Meanwhile we have 2 spots left in this weekends POWER UP workshop. The ultimate directing workshop with Angela Robinson in Los Angeles. Please check it out.