The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,300 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 55 trips to carry that many people.
Phynes is one of those shorts that I, personally, thought would never see the light of day. I think over the years, you, as an audience, grew to believe you’d never hear about it, let alone see any piece of footage for it. Ever.
It’s funny to look back and realize it was 2008 when Dominick and I last tried to make to this movie. The film seemed to false start as we moved into pre-production in every attempt we tried to make it. But the property has been in our hands since 2007, and there’s a chance the finished film won’t hit the web until Early 2012. To put it in perspective, that’s about 5 years of time passed before it’s all said and done.
And while my initial plan was to shoot a BTS, making-of feature for the web and DVD, our tight budget on the film didn’t allow much leeway, so if I still have your attention, here are my thoughts, experiences, and reflections on making Phynes.
Phynes
Pre-Production: Restarting Phynes for 2011
Coming off Project: Elysium, I wanted to direct something smaller. I wanted to make something more personal and different as I prepared for the monster that Project: Elysium 2 is turning out to be. I didn’t have any ideas, and started to develop something that was inspired by Apricot, as that was the driving force that led me to want to do something more intimate.
4 years ago, Dominick pitched me this short story he had written for an audition and felt it could be a really good short. I adapted it into a script and we went from there. After the first false start, we brought on Vanessa Bronson, who helped him with the original idea, to come rewrite my draft. We went through 5-6 drafts, before failing to get the movie going again. In 2008, Dom and I went as far as to shoot a teaser trailer that ended up pretty awful. We took it down, failed to get production going whilst in pre-production, and decided the film would never get made.
Fast forward to July 2011. Dom and I began discussing what we wanted to do, as it had been as far back as See Ryan since we worked together. I brought up the idea of Phynes and we began discussing. I updated the the most recent Vanessa Bronson-scripted draft with two revisions of my own, and began prepping in August for a September start date.
The only difference between now and 2008? We actually got the movie made.
Dominick Aznavour as Scott Phynes
Casting completely changed this go-round. Dom stayed on as the title character, for obvious reasons, but I had to recast from the ground up. Brigitte Graham was the first actress to come aboard, playing Phynes’ girlfriend Beth. As I got further into pre-production, I had run into some criticisms from Project: Elysium regarding casting, and decided I need to cast this film differently than I did the former. I had cast Zoe Winter in Project: Elysium but she had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict, and when it came time to decide what to do with Beth, Zoe and I had been discussing what we wanted to as we both wanted to work together. I don’t want any of you to think there was a huge falling out, argument, or any sort of problem that called for a recast during pre-production. It was purely a creative decision – no more, no less.
Zoe Winter as Beth
Justin Downing joined the cast as Phynes’ boss, and I did minor rewrites on the script to tailor the character to Justin. He’s really great. He talks so little, yet says so much.
Justin Downing as Derek
The rest of the cast came into place, we had a minor panic attack leading into day 2 of production, and on September 23rd, what Dom and I thought was a joke, had actually become a reality.
Phynes was in front of the camera.
Production: Years in the making. Hours in front of the camera.
I shoot really fast. I don’t think you’ll hear anyone that’s worked with me say any different. The script was around 15 pages and like Project: Elysium, we shot it in two days. Well, three if you count the 2nd Unit day of shooting.
I’m very fortunate to be surrounded by some of the most talented people. I have production designer Marcy Silver in my arsenal along with costume designer Angelina Coscuna and it’s an incredibly creative combination. The budget on this film was the definition of ‘shoe string,’ and these women were able to do so much, with so little, without compromising the production value of what you’ll see on the screen.
Let’s not forget about Luke Dejoras. This man is a magician with a camera and can pull any trick I ask. I think you’ll see the same visual cues that he and I brought to See Ryan and Project: Elysium, yet define Phynes in its own way.
But I will reveal, I almost pulled out of this movie a few weeks before production began after Luke and I discussed the script, and he felt he didn’t want to shoot it because it was too similar to See Ryan. I won’t shoot without Luke – period – so we needed to figure out a way to make it different enough, and I think we found the right medium. This film is much more personal than See Ryan, because it’s set in a time that is so incredibly relevant to today’s news. Needless to say, Luke was back in.
Production couldn’t have gone any smoother. We rarely fell behind, our days we’re pretty short, the actors brought their best work, and the crew did tremendous job dealing with me.
Actors Dominick Aznavour (L) and Justin Downing (R)
Post-Phynes
It’ll be weird, honestly, to see this film through to 100%. I was convinced – utterly convinced – that the script would sit in a folder on my desktop and not see the light of day.
Yet, this is all so satisfying.
I couldn’t be happier with the end result. As of now, editor Aaron Robinson is only on the 2nd cut, but it’s shaping up to be as true as we wanted it to feel. This isn’t a fantasy movie, this isn’t a sci-fi or action movie, it’s very much a personal story. I have warned and will warn again, it’s not a feel-good movie.
But I think you’ll enjoy nonetheless. 
Now… onto do more Project: Elysium 2 prep.
-dn
Right off the bat, I wanna thank everyone for their continued support regarding Project: Elysium. Too kind of words have been spoken, the love has very much been felt on our end, and we only strive to be better in the future.
For those that haven’t seen the film, or read the interview I recently did, then you’ll need to know that Project: Elysium 2 is very much in the works – and with a pretty awesome surprise! But let me tell a story to justify why I want to approach this surprise…
I’ve always been anti-3D. For the longest time. So much so that my closest friends were floored when I said I wanted to do the sequel in 3D. You look at the flood of 3D pictures coming out today, and quirky realize none of them benefit from 3D and most weren’t even shot in 3D. I always found it to be less of an experience, but more of an expensive ticket; I was paying to wear special glasses.
But if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Instead of trying so stray away from 3D, why not embrace it and pursue setting a standard for the 3D experience? That’s the problem right now with the technology – there isn’t a real standard for it. Sure, Avatar and Transformers: Dark of the Moon is your best bet for some awesome 3D, but that’s 2 movies out of many that have gotten 3D really right, in a narrative/blockbuster form.
With that in mind, I can confirm Project: Elysium 2 is being tested for 3D. Not confirmed… just yet. Luke Dejoras, Aaron Robinson, and I have yet to play with 3D, so we’re spending a day in October or November to prep some 3D tests to get ready for March 2012, which is when we’re tentatively scheduled to start shooting the sequel. We want to make sure we can do 3D, and do it properly, so that we can really bring Elysium’s world and experience to the next level, without sacrificing our characters, our direction. I’m really hopeful it works, and I’m not afraid to scrap the idea if it doesn’t reach a standard I feel comfortable with for this chapter in the story.
So, hopefully y’all are excited for what’s coming. Alastar’s story continues in a very big, a very emotional, a very personal, and a very exciting way.
But while I prep that with writer Michael Demas, I’ve been prepping Phynes with Dominick Aznavour. A short that’s been long in the making.
We shoot on September 23rd and 24th, with a 2nd unit day scheduled for October 2nd.
And trust me when I say, everything is coming together smoothly. A few demo scenes have been shot, the cast/crew is excited, and it’s all so surreal that we’re finally making this when we thought that it was dead in the water.
I’ll try to be better with giving more visual aids regarding it, but I gotta keep you interested!
I’ll be back.
-dn
After months of talking about it.
After weeks of prepping it.
After days of shooting it.
After the final minutes of finishing it.
After all of the delays.
It’s here.
By now, you should should know much about Project: Elysium, yet, nothing at all. It’s important that I give my sincerest thanks to my cast/crew, whom could’ve done this without me, and yet, I couldn’t have done it without them.
And thanks to all of you who have supported us and stuck with me through all phases of production.
I ask two things of you now:
Thank you all. So much.
Also, in case you missed it yesterday, I did an interview about the film that can be read here. Please, check it out!
Now, enjoy the film! I won’t ask you to read anymore.
-dn
We’re edging closer.
Project: Elysium will go online August 9th, 2011, but until then, I’ve got the official one-sheet for you. I couldn’t decide on which version I liked, so I decided to release both of them. A HUGE thank you to Samantha Holt, who designed the poster for us.
With a very successful presentation at the LA Int’l Short Film Festival, we can officially go public and release the film. I hope you’re ready.
I’m more than ready.
-dn
8.9.11
8.9.11
Update: 8.22.11
Official dates are now September 23rd-24th, with a day of 2nd unit shooting that is TBA at this point.
Zoe Winter has joined the cast as Beth, the love interest for Dominick Aznavour’s title character, Scott.
I’ll update more as we go along. Maybe I’ll have some early pre-production stills for you next week.
-dn
He we are… again.
Dominick and I have been trying to get this short off the ground for years. We’ve tried, and tried, and tried again.
Now, we’re going at it again. But this time? We have a shoot date. We have a crew. We have an (almost) completed cast.
We shoot on September 3rd and 4th. Dates are tentative, but looking 85% official. Below is the cast/crew, as of now, and will be updated as we move on.
Phynes is the story of a man who decides he has no control over his luck and his only solution for turning his life around, is by ending it.
Phynes is aiming for a January 2012 release.
Written and Directed by: Devon Newberry
Based on the short story by: Dominick Aznavour and Vanessa Bronson
Produced by: Andrew Baron-Vartian
Director of Photography: Luke Dejoras
Edited by: Aaron Robinson
Music by: Tin Pang
Executive Producer: Devon Newberry
Executive Producer: Dominick Aznavour
Boom Op/Sound Mixer: TBA
Sound Design: TBA
Sound Mixer: TBA
VFX Artist/Supervisor: Aaron Robinson
Hair & Makeup by: Kristen Koskella
Costume Designer: Angelina Coscuna
Production Designer: Marcy Silver
Unit Production Manager: Max Keller
Production Coordinator: TBA
1st Assistant Director: Alli Leung
Script Supervisor: TBA
Gaffer: TBA
Key Grip: TBA
Grip: TBA
DIT: TBA
Production Assistant: TBA
Production Assistant: TBA
Cast:
Dominick Aznavour… Scott Phynes
Zoe Winter… Beth
Justin Downing… Derek
Beth
It’s been far too long.
If you’ve been following my rants and shameless self-promotion on Twitter, then you know that Project: Elysium was selected into the 15th annual LA Short Film festival.
It was the first festival we submitted to, but certainly not the last. I’ll, obviously, update you as we get accepted and/or rejected from other festivals. But for now, the focus is simply on LA.
Which sort of ties into why I promised you guys the film on May 17th, followed by May 31st, followed by… an indefinite delay. The reason I’m not allowed to go public to show y’all the film is because certain festivals require that their screening is the film’s first; any sort of screening outside of the festival is considered ‘premiered,’ and will automatically disqualify the film from the festival. So, for obvious reasons, we had to delay the public/online release. I have a good feeling that I’ll be able to go online with it after we screen at the LA festival, but I won’t have confirmation until next week at the earliest.
If you’re in the Los Angeles area and/or SoCal area and want to come support us at the LA Film Festival, you can! Tickets are $12 at the door (sorry, no online ticket purchasing, for whatever reason!), and we screen on July 26th, 2011 at 7:45pm at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theaters (8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90046). The screening as a whole begins at 7:45p – where Project: Elysium screens in that block is TBD.
July 26th also happens to be my birthday. So there’s two reasons to come celebrate! The LA Film Festival screening will most likely be the best way to experience the film as well. We screened the film at the CSU Long Beach Spring Showcase back in May, (a small, private school showing), and the response was incredible. And that was with an unfinished version of the movie!
I ask you support us. Spread the word, and thank you for sticking with us!
The image above is the image going into the program for the festival. An official poster will be presented as well as soon as it is ready to premiere, I’ll give you guys a first look!
All info regarding the LA Fest will be presented at the official site here: LA Shorts Fest
I’ll be back.
-dn
PS. Come back tomorrow for the official press release/announcement on my next directorial effort. You may have heard of it before.
PSS. The two teaser trailers for Project: Elysium are embedded below, if you, for whatever reason, haven’t seen them.
Project: Elysium was scheduled for release today for the masses, but due to the heavy-load of post-production the film requires, we pushed it back two weeks to May 31st.
It’ll be worth it. The VFX have come out much better than we could have ever anticipated. Our hiccup right now lies in sound mix. The reason we needed to push back our public/online release was because our mix isn’t ready for you all!
We premiered the film at the CSU Long Beach Spring Showcase over the weekend, and the response was incredible. I felt confidence going into the premiere, and now I’m completely confident that you, the audience, will really enjoy Alaster’s origin.
I just wanted to let you know that you haven’t been forgotten – we’ve just been busy getting the film ready.
Also, we’ve submitted to the Los Angeles International Shorts Film Festival, with NBC Universal Short Cuts Festival being our next submission.
If you haven’t seen either of the teasers for the film, you can do so below.
-dn
I’m back.
Over the past few weeks, on WordPress/Twitter/Facebook, I’ve been working pretty hard to make sure people are aware of this movie and how much it means to the entire cast and crew. I’ve posted pictures, updates, and a teasery teaser. But I’m not done.
The second, and final, teaser is here. It’s slightly longer than the first teaser, gives you a few more shots and brief looks at the locations within the movie.
I hope you enjoy it, and enjoy it enough to show your friends, family, and e-friends all over the social networking sites you’re a part of.
I’ll have some behind-the-scenes grabs and videos for you guys in the near future, as well as a 10-15 minute ‘making-of’ doc on the movie at some point, but until then…
Here’s the final piece of our reveal.
The film is next.
-dn
(Like us on Facebook here)
You saw a bit of Alaster, wonderfully played by Kevin Herrera, in the first teaser trailer.
This week, I have a new shot for you.
Next week, I’ll have the second teaser trailer for you.
We’re about 5 weeks away from premiere/release.
I hope you’re still excited.
I still am.
-dn
