DIRECTOR'S JOURNAL
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1,000 PEOPLE saw the film in 2 theaters...

March 20, 2000 -- Spent the weeknd at the Cleveland Film Festival. We're not really hitting the festival circuit too hard -- that's not our focus right now, but we're getting invited to several nonetheless. And it's been a lot of fun. I hadn't heard much about the Cleveland Fest, so I wasn't expecting much. but it was incredible. They had an amazing crowd -- we had 2 screenings 2 theaters each... all filled. 1000 people saw the film. Great response -- one of the greatest reactions occurred at the climax, when Sean is on top of a trailer, a guy in the back of the theater screamed out, "Yeah, way to go, Momma!!" It was so cool, I nearly wept... nothing like inappropriate outbursts to complete the film viewing experience. Q and A afterwards also went well. I berated a guy who thought he saw a microphone in a shot, made a comment, then left. He waited the entire Q and A to comment about a mistake he thought I made. I told him there's GOT to be something else he got out of the movie! Anyway, I was treated like a friggin' king. First class air fare, Ritz Carlton, great food... they even listened to my insane demands to turn the sound up "as loud as it possibly can go." Next city: Dallas.

CINEMAX followed me around to do a piece on the PWT team....

February 13, 2000 -- The POOR WHITE TRASH world premiere at the Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen was a big success. We had two screenings... the first one got some buzz starting, and by the second one, we had a packed house ,with people sitting in the aisles creating a fire hazard. Everyone in the audience got an official PWT beer coozie.. of course, with a cheap beer in it (perhaps part of the reason our audience was so loud). Several people told me that our film was the most talked about film at the fest among comics, execs and civilians. Cinemax followed me around to do a piece on the PWT team -- I'll let you all know when that's appearing.. a lot of embarrassing stuff -- thankfully, my mother doesn't get premium channels. [A] review appeared in the hippest indie film site on the net, Harry Knowles' Ain't It Cool News (notice the 5 out of 5 friggin' stars! No other film got such a rating). Next up... we'll be screening in LA.

TWO YEARS of work culminating within 7 days...

February 01, 2000 -- On the third day of sound mixing. We're mostly concenrating on dialogue editing.. must finish with all sound mixing by Friday. 3 days from now. It's truly the 11th hour for the film...one week from the premiere. I've been spending an average of 14 hours a day in this tiny studio. Today, I got to work on the postcards -- most went out today. We mailed to anyone we thought would be at the Comedy Arts Fest. The postcards Siggy made are incredible. Lori's idea -- they look very cool and retro. The movie is starting to sound amazing -- dialogue crystal clear... added stuff which will get a laugh if people listen very closely. But still... as relaxed as I am right now, I know... we still may not finish. It's scary. We're prepping for our premiere... but what if the film isn't finished? I rack my brain to think of what might go wrong in these next few days... the myriad details coming together... the producers on top of everything... the sound designer working long tedious hours... it's almost done. Two years of work culminating within 7 days.

COMEDY ARTS FEST in three weeks...

January 18, 2000 -- Stress is at an all time high. The premiere is in 22 days Comedy ArtsFest in Aspen. 3 weeks and an audience made up entirely of comedy fans / critics / judges will be watching the film. The names going to this festival are mind-boggling: Jerry Lewis, Eric Idle, Robin Williams, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Mike Nichols, Rob Reiner, Barry Levinson... the list goes on. Some of the greatest comedy directors that ever lived may be watching Poor White Trash... and will be humbled by it's splendor!! [uh, well, anything's possible, I guess...] There is no breathing room on the post schedule. If anything goes wrong, we're screwed. The triumvirate of tasks are all being monitored daily, and seem to be smooth. 1. Neg cut -- going well, Rennie Johnson is one of the best in the business. 2. Music composing is smooth -- Adam Hirsh officially kicking ass, and 3. Sound designer Martin Lopez has hired another employee. Miraculously, an old friend of mine from when I was in a band in San Diego has come to our aid... he's now a top paid sound editor and is doing this job as a favor. We just completed Sean Young's ADR (dialogue replacement). She was an amazing pro. A joy to watch her work because you can see the years of experience and talent -- which I still feel people will be surprised at. We need this kind of professionalism. If ANYTHING goes 1 day behind schedule, we can kiss our big premiere goodbye. The travel arrangements have been made for the Aspen excursion: 8 people in a 2 bedroom condo, and 6 people driving 12 hours from noon to midnight. Several of our actors are going... some have been invited to sleep on the always plush and luxurious linoleum.

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