So, we're one week away from the start of principal photography (Cue dramatic music).All kidding aside, everything seems to be running smoothly. We've been doing camera tests with the Nikon D5000 for over one month now and the stuff we shot looks absolutely fantastic. We've gathered an amazing crew and a cast to dream of. A meeting of professional artisans and eager newbies, like yours truly.
A lot of you are aware that this is a second chance thing for me. My second directorial debut, so to speak. You see, I wrote and directed a feature film in 2005 entitled Hallowed Halls. I got a distribution deal based on my script alone and was flying high. I was quickly put in touch with a producer and we got the ball rolling. Except that this particular ball was quickly deflating.
It all started when half of my cast decided not to show up three days before we were supposed to start rolling. Luckily, we were shooting at Bishop's University, in Lennoxville, Quebec, which has a pretty respectable theatre department. I filled out my cast, again with some eager newbies and was, for the most part, really satisfied with their talent. If only my troubles had ended there! I had to fight for every shot because my producer was off preparing a second feature to be shot on the school grounds once this production wrapped. I had no one to turn to, no one to fight for me. A producer should have your back. This one had my ass. Anyway, he wound up losing the financing for post-production, the film was never edited, and no one got paid. Two years of my life down the drain and all I have to show for it is a trailer.
The whole experience turned me off filmmaking completely. I was done. I had my shot and blew it. I never thought I would ever go back. That's until I read Kate MacDonald's brilliant script...
We don't often get another shot in life, I'm ready to really make this one count.
Dom
P.S.: I was interviewed by Montreal's La Presse newspaper last week about Conversion and how we got to do this. It's the first of at least two interviews we're going to do with them, for a story running sometime next month. Will keep you posted...
