"Toaster in Space"

Brian,

I'm flattered that you remembered my script and liked it so much.

I guess enough time has gone by that I can share some of the story without weeping uncontrollably.

Our team, Off Stage Films, had done 6 short films before "A Toaster in Space" and we felt like were getting better with each film. We decided that "Toaster" was going to be our first professional production.

We had a budget of $15,000 and we got a contract with SAG so we could use profesional actors. We prepped for 3 months. We held auditions in NYC, had rehearsals, built sets, acquired antique props, purchased costumes, purchased loads of new equipment and even had everything catered. Our crew was 15 strong and the most exciting member was Norm Li. Norm is a member here and his cinematography is amazing.

We scheduled our shoot for 5 days (Saturday through Wednesday). Now, Norm is from Vancouver, Canada. I had booked flights and a hotel for him. On the morning of the shoot he was to fly from Vancouver to Toronto and then down to New Jersey.

Saturday morning, I got a phone call from Customs Agents in Toronto. They had detained and processed Norm for attempting to work in the United States without a permit. They also threatened to arrest me if I attempted to get him or any other foreigners to work in the US. I tried in vain to explain that this was just a little short film being shot in my basement, but they weren't interested. I probaly should have been aware that this could have happened, but honestly it never occurred to me.

So, there we were, on the first day of our shoot and our D.P. was being fingerprinted 1,000 miles away. We did our best without Norm. But the mistakes and our inexperience (in particular working with the fabled Cinemek G35 Adapter) began to pile up. We finished shooting 5 days later, but it wasn't pretty.

Unfortunately, the footage looks so-so. And so-so just isn't good enough. It breaks my heart every time I look at that footage. I care far too much about this story to release it as some half-baked effort.

So what's next? I'm not really sure. I still love the story, but now raising the funds and the crew to try and tackle it again feels even harder then the first time. I hope we do though.

Chris

p.s. I should add that everyone who did work on the film (including a few members from DVXUser) were fantastic. It just wasn't meant to be.
 
Ouch! I remember reading the script as well. It has stuck with me since. I hope it works out at some point. I would love to see it.
 
Chris, that is some story. I am not sure if this is exactly the same thing but I read a similar story (well may be not exactly similar) but who knows it might inspire you to re-launch your film again.

You know the famed canada based indian director deepa mehta who's latest entry "Water" is nominated for oscar's in the best foreign film category.
The story of water is so sensitive (it deals with child marriages) that when deepa was shooting it in varanasi, India the local government got real agigated. They felt that the story portrayed a wrong image of the region. They did everhting in their capacity to shut down the movie. Deepa couldnt complete her movie and was bitterly dispointed that she spent all the time in pre and production but still couldnt complete it.

Four years passed, and one day she decided to re-launch the movie and this time she shot the whole thing in Sri Lanka. The movie got completed and rest as they say is history(the oscar nod etc)..

So there you go my friend, never give up and never surrender. If you feel strong enough about the subject then go for it. After all we are filmmakers for a reason and setbacks or no setbacks we keep chugging along.

You never know, it could be the next big thing at Sundance or Oscars!!

Cheers,

-Kris
 
What a terrible story. I don't know how to respond. Have you had others view the footage? played with it in post? Is it really that bad?

Really sorry to hear this.
 
I know hindsight is 20/20, but could you have postponed the shoot? I know that would have cost you a lot, but you might have been able to salvage this with a replacement DP. There are plenty of very talented people in the NYC area that might have been able to fill in on short notice.
 
First, thanks everyone for the kind words.

The footage isn't terrible, it's just ordinary. We were so close to great, except for an overzealous customs agent.

At the time that it happened and for a few months after, I was pretty down. I do hope to tackle it again some day, a little older and a little wiser.

Chris

Hairy, you are 100% correct. If I had it to do over again, I would have postponed the shoot. It would have created headaches and cost some more money, but I would have the film I imagined. My background is theatrical and I had this "show must go on" mentality and even though the mistakes kept piling up, we kept plowing ahead.

Joe, you can stop by anytime and I'd be happy to show you the wreckage. :)
 
Chris -

I've never forgotten that script.
Honestly, one of the better short scripts I think I've ever read.
I'm terribly sorry to hear the story on what happened.

As horrible as it may have been - no one can take away the script.
You still have that and I'm sure you have many more in you as well.

Looking forward to whatever you do next.
:thumbsup:
 
Maybe, I should have told the story sooner. Everyone is cheering me up. :)

It's strange, I've written a lot of short scripts, but there is something special about that one. I've never received so much positive feedback about a story I wrote.

I think that is why it was so important for me that the film not be ordinary. I didn't want to waste that story. Does that make sense?

Chris
 
That makes complete sense - but you also have to remind yourself that YOU wrote that story...and if you really thought it was the ONLY story you were going to come up with that was worth telling...well..I don't think you'd be hanging out on these boards.

Im not trying to take anything away from the script - because it is good and you're right to care about it - I'm just trying to say that you shouldn't let it be any more special than it needs to be....

Trust me, the next one will also be "special"... as will the one after that... and the one after....

you get the point.
 
Chris,

If you'd like to someday have it still made, why not throw it over at inktip.com and sell it there to some director/producer?

EJ
 
Chris. Wasn't it your first round entry for the 2005 Midnight Madness short competition? I don't think I ever read it. But ironically, my first round submission for the same contest was the best thing I've ever written.
 
Hairy,

"Toaster" was written for the NYC competition. I'm definitely one of those writers who needs a deadline. Sometimes I find I do my best work during timed competitions.

Chris

p.s. If you'd like to read it you can check it out here.
 
I'd just like to echo what everyone else was saying and say that even though I was just sort or lurking at that time, I remember reading that long long ago. It's always stuck with me and it's so sad hearing that story. I'd love to see it one day as an actual film, but hmmm who knows. One day...
 
Ryan,

It means a lot to me know that so many people dug the script. It makes me want to try and tackle it again, no matter how hard it might be.

Thanks a lot,

Chris
 
I remember reading that, but for the life of my I can't remember where! Still dig it, though.

And if you're ever going to/from Canada on business, don't tell them that! I've been once -- it was for a lovely sightseeing trip to an animation studio. Ha!

Too bad about Norm -- he's awesome.
 
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