John Berka, Todd "Tiddy" Wojcik and I met this afternoon to update the progress on our action items (great term, eh?) and to start nailing down some times and dates. We're auditioning some actresses to play the role of "Melissa", one of the main servers in the film. I'm looking for someone with a unique Eastern European look who can do bits and improvise and has chemistry with our two main waiters, Jyo and Duane. This film, as with "American Legacy," is all about the relationships and chemistry. I think anyone can improvise (we improvise everyday) but few can do it well. We call our films "comedies without jokes," and for that we need real, honest reactions, not wild and crazy characters. So we decided today to hold screen tests with our DP Jason on September 20th. Also decided today, the shooting dates will be October 31, November 1, November 3, November 4, November 7-10, with pick up days of November 14 and 15. If all goes according to plan, we should be able to complete shooting in 7 days. We had some discussion today about the title for the film. Berka had a good point, that "Trubadeux" doesn't say anything about this being a film about a restaurant. He's great at keeping an eye on what we need to say to the studio folks to get this film sold and distributed. We had spent a previous meeting talking about possible names: 86'd, Miso, Mis En Platz, Carpaccios, Reservations, The Industry, Synthesis, Blend, moto's, ID...the list went on and on. (The original title was "Dijon's" but we decided to change it due to certain reasons.) Everything we liked, we found out was already taken by another film or tv show. So we're moving forward with "Trubadeux" but are going to add a restaurant specific tag line.
The great thing about Group Mind Films is that the films always come first. Our egos have to be taken out of any decisions made. That's been a successful equation for us.
As for the meetings, there is so much more we achieve when we meet in person or talk on the phone than if we sent emails or text messages. But these meetings also have to have agendas and be productive. And there's a difference between activity and productivity.
Other things we decided at the meeting:
Tiddy's wife Courtney will be our set designer.
The menu
Our social media options and plan
Securing the shooting dates with the restaurant
Wardrobe for the servers
Main casting
Secondary casting
Music vision
Kitchen crew
Chef advisor
We're still talking to a special guest, who we're hoping will make an appearance for a couple critical scenes in the film. I don't want to say who it is, but we are one step closer to a meeting with this person and their people.
October 31...that's the first day of principle photography, my friends. That's the first day.
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