Pewter Productions

2009-09-23T13:19:00.002-04:00

Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School

In Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School, you will learn "...the art of lockpicking. Traveling on foot. The exhilaration of being shot at unsuccessfully. The athletic side of filmmaking. The creation of your own shooting permits. The neutralization of bureaucracy. Guerrilla tactics. Self reliance."

God love Werner Herzog.

2009-09-21T02:13:00.004-04:00

Help some WV filmmakers....

Help the guys at Razor Sharp Productions finish their latest flick.

Send them $10 and get a nice t-shirt and a copy of the DVD when it's finished.

2009-09-14T04:08:00.004-04:00

Facebook -- new kind of singularity

As I was trying to work today - editing/grant writing/lesson plan writing - I realized I need to take a more active role in my websites again. Which also made me realize that I have been posting things on Facebook that should have been posted here.

I'm going to try to do better (in a lot of ways). I promise none of that will include Mafia Wars or bragging about Bejeweled. That's about all I can promise though.

I did however set up a Facebook group for THEM THAT WORK in case anyone is interested. Surprisingly, it has grown little by little without any real prodding on my part.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=2204904383&ref=ts
Feel free to join and tell your friends.

jbrown

2009-08-27T04:00:00.001-04:00

Chance of a Lifetime

If you haven't seen this, I wanted to share.

http://www.mandy.com/1/jobs3.cfm?v=34627181

Administrative intern needed in the office of Academy Award nominee Writer/Director John Sayles and Producer Maggie Renzi:

• Writer/Director/Producer of HONEYDRIPPER, SILVER CITY, SUNSHINE STATE, LONE STAR, PASSION FISH, THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH and EIGHT MEN OUT.

• Producers of GIRLFIGHT, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

We are looking for part-time Administrative Interns who are dependable and have previous office experience.

Positions are unpaid, but transportation will be reimbursed. Credit is available where applicable. Applicants must be willing to commit a 1-2 afternoons a week beginning asap, for 3-4 months. If you are not able to commit, please do not apply.

Along with you resume, please send a cover letter that mentions your office experience and days available (NO PHONE CALLS) to Attn. INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR via this form.

Note: This is NOT an on-set position; this is an administrative office support position. Please read internship description. Serious applicants only.

No paid positions available at this time. No other solicitations will be accepted at this time. Screenplays and pitches will be deleted.

2009-08-24T04:03:00.002-04:00

Other dreams, Others' opportunities

In case you didn't know, Carolina Film & Video Festvial filmmaker Chris Perkel, "The Town That Was" - CFVF 2006, edited the new Pearl Jam video "The Fixer" - which you will be seeing everwhere shortly in ads for Target. Chris gets no blame for the Target ads.

In the world of Kevin Bacon, tha...t makes the me 2 degrees closer to Academy Award winner Cameron Crowe who directed the video. Because, of course, I don't count that restraining order.

Chris is also editing a documentary on the band with Crowe.

Who knew the eventual benefits of driving this guy around to show his movie and party with college kids? Congrats, Chris.

2008-07-19T17:41:00.005-04:00

Going to UFVA

I wanted to take a minute to update people on what's going on, and where I am. I recently accepted a teaching position at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The week before classes begin I'll be traveling to Colorado for the University Film & Video Association annual conference. I am lucky enough to be screening my work-in-progress cut of THEM THAT WORK.

I am excited to get some feedback on the project as we come toward its end.

Couple other quick notes:
- Editor Max Negin will spending August in China to cover the Olympics. Wish him the best, please.
- Blind Corn Liquor Pickers, who provided one of the songs for the trailer, have a great new album out called Appalachian Trail. You can check them out on MySpace.

Thank you to everyone who has shown their support. I will be reaching out to many of you in the coming months to help raise the final funds needed to finish the film.

j.brown

2008-05-15T23:53:00.004-04:00

End of the beginning....

Last week I was able to screen a portion of THEM THAT WORK. It was a great response which is very encouraging.

I've been talking with a couple great musicians about laying down a great roots score.

After all the work that has been done, it feels like the beginning is finally over, the rest is yet to come.

Thanks for the support.

jb

2007-12-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

Continued Support....

I've been spending most of my time looking at footage and trying to figure out how to make this the best documentary possible.

Today I got great news. I received a grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council to help pay for the post-production on 'Them That Work.' The money will allow me to pay some musicians and graphic artists ratcheted things up a notch.

Thank you very much to everyone involved. Things are going exceedingly well and it's due in large part to the help of all of you.

j. brown

2007-08-24T12:20:00.001-04:00

What a strange long trip it's been...

So, I interviewed quite a few people this summer and wanted thank them all.

Along with that, I wanted to share a little bit of what I saw.

Here's some pictures. Over the next few months, I hope to start putting up little clips of the film along the way as well.

jason.

Thanks to a mini-grant from the WV Humanities Council, I was able to go back to Hoboken and interview John Sayles again. He and Maggie Renzi have been incredibly accomodating and supportive throughout this process.

Here's my friend J. Scott Parker shooting some footage of the retaining wall in Matewan. After spending a year in New Zealand, J.Scott finished his film about the ecology of braided rivers recently. Then he spent a week with me traveling across West Virginia shooting for this project.

As you can see, it was pretty hot all week. This is Clai Lashley, a great guy who worked on 'Matewan' and is finishing his own film about bluegrass music. Clai is easily the only interview I've had that provided their own grip equipment.

This is Wess Harris, William C. Blizzard and myself. Wess published Mr. Blizzard's book about his father Bill Blizzard's involvement in the Battle at Blair Mountain and the eventual union struggles in West Virginia.

2007-08-09T00:22:00.000-04:00

Fundraising Trailer for "Them That Work" (for now)

If you haven't seen it yet, I've added my recent fundraising trailer. I'd appreciate any feedback you can give me. Also, I am still trying to raise money to cover Post-Production costs. You can make tax-deductible donations through IFP by clicking on the link listed below the trailer. Any help you can make is appreciated.

Thanks you'll hear more from me soon.

jason

The Independent Film Project (IFP) has supported this documentary in several ways, including allowing me to accept donations through their non-profit status. Directions on how to make a donation are below. Yes, all contributors will be given credit in the film. It's the least I can do for your support.

--- "Milton Tabbot (IFP)" ---

It works like this:

- Donors (YOU) should go to IFP's page on JustGive.org:
http://www.justgive.org/giving/donate.jsp?charityId=24543

- Donors (YOU) enter their contribution amount and should MAKE SURE that all check-off boxes are checked for "give the charity my name, e-mail, and mailing address."

- Donor (YOU) MUST enter your project title (THEM THAT WORK) and your name (JASON BROWN) in the space designated for "designate my donation."

[This is NOT optional, even though it says that it is. We must know to whom to allocate the donation.]

- Donor (YOU) then checks "add to basket" and proceeds to check-out. If this is your first contribution via JustGive.org, they will need to fill out a name and address profile just prior to checkout. At checkout they will enter their credit card info and confirm their contribution.

- The donor (YOU) will receive an immediate e-mail receipt from JustGive.org. They will also eventually receive a contribution acknowledgement from IFP via snail mail.

- If you lose the direct link above, please contact me so we can make sure your project receives it's expected donations.

2007-06-18T11:47:00.000-04:00

Deep in Editing

I'm lost in the thousand different ways to tell this story. I'm sorry for the hold up. In the meantime, here's some pictures.

j.brown

2007-04-02T01:11:00.000-04:00

Bits, pieces and apologies for being so tardy...

I've dug into editing and trying to find ways to finish this documentary. Unfortunately, I forgot to occasionally check-in. So, things are going slow but surely. I'm talking to some people about hosting a couple test screenings to see if I'm going in the right direction. I'll drop a notice here when that time comes.

My new great friends Chris Perkel and Melinka Thompson-Godoy have been taking their film 'The Town That Was' around to festivals. If you get a chance to check it out, I think you might enjoy it. It's screening April 14 & 16 at the Philadelphia Film Festial. Click here for more details.

I'll run away back to edit with this little spot. A big part of why I'm making this movie is Danny Boyd. Growing up in WV, Danny was THE person I identified with who was making movies. And he talked about how he identified with John Sayles, especially from working on 'Matewan.' So, here's a picture I was able to take a few years ago with Danny and John together.

Talk with you all sooner....,

j.brown

2007-02-21T17:25:00.000-05:00

Timing is everything....

This is an incredibly busy week for me. I work with the Carolina Film & Video Festival, which is taking place this week.

My good friend Elston Gunn over at Ain't-It-Cool-News wrote a nice little interview about the festival and my documentary, Them That Work.

I'm too busy to think right now, but I'm excited to see all of the positive responses both about the festival and my movie.

More to come....

j.brown

2007-02-01T00:27:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year; so, I wanted to quickly post some news about the Carolina Film & Video Festival. CFVF is the festival I work with here in Greensboro, NC, Feb. 21-24. It's a great fest and lots of fun.

The judges this year are Jim Haverkamp (a great local filmmaker), Wendy Fishman (who programs films at the Light Factory in Charlotte, NC), and Ramin Bahrani (his movie Man Push Cart is nominated for three Indie Spirit Awards). Each of them will be presenting great free workshops for the public during the festival.

We've got three nights of screenings - with the features at the Carousel Cinemas and the shorts at the UNCG Elliott University Center Auditorium. If you can make it down, Wednesday night we're kicking things off with a night of North Carolina filmmakers. I'm a big fan of films like 'One Man's Trash,' 'Taking a Sip,' 'Sadie Turns Seven,' 'The Ballad of Ray Wilson,' 'Bottle Tree,' and 'Metacarpus.' The following nights have such great films as 'Way,' 'The Wine Bar,' 'The Toll,' 'Alive and Well,' and 'Pluck.' That doesn't even include the five features - which are all great: 'The Last Stop for Paul,' 'Spirit of Sacajewea,' 'Improbable Collapse,' 'Future by Design,' and the world premiere of the powerful 'The Town That Was.' Tickets are cheap, and there's a nice festival pass for only $25.

Last year, I used this space to pimp the festival like crazy and push these films. I'm hoping to hold that to a minimum this year. Please check out the films and I hope to see you at the festival.

j.brown

'The Town That Was'

2007-01-20T14:08:00.000-05:00

Quick pics:
Just went up North this last weekend and was able to interview both Chris Cooper and Morgan Spurlock. Unfortunately, the still camera got left in the car during Morgan's interview.

Anyway, here are some quick photos of Mr. Cooper. I'm getting started editing this week.

j.brown
--------

Chris Cooper

Jason and Chris Cooper

2007-01-11T15:44:00.000-05:00

News for the new year....

Quick notes now, I'll have more on 'Them That Work' within the month. All good news.

'The Nutz' screened at the Southern Fried Flicks Festival in Augusta, GA on Wednesday night (Jan. 10). I have not heard word yet, but I hope it got a good response.

This schedule for this year's Carolina Film & Video Festival is ready to be announced. I'll post it here next week. Festival runs Feb. 21-24. All the filmmakers I've spoke to so far have been great.

I'm going to finish packing and head to Boston to see Fenway Park up-close and then interview Mr. Chris Cooper. Wish me luck.

jason brown

2006-12-21T01:28:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, I recently drove across the country to Los Angeles
interviewing people for my documentary about the impact of the film
"Matewan." This has been a tremendous project to be a part of and
something that I will treasure, if the only impact my film has is on the
people I have met along the way.

However, this project cannot continue without the generous
contributions from some of you. While major documentaries have budgets
in excess of a million dollars, I have been able to travel and continue
working thanks to the handful of modest donations I have received, along
with personal debt and credit cards. I have reached the point where I am
in need of further support to continue this project.

If you are able, I would greatly appreciate your contribution toward
this project. Please think of this as another worthwhile present during
the holiday season, or if you'd like, a worthwhile tax deduction.

The Independent Film Project has supported this documentary in several
ways, including allowing me to accept donations through their
non-profit status. Directions on how to make a donation are below. I
appreciate anything you can do to help today and everything you've done
to support me in the past.

Thank you and happy holidays,

Jason Brown
http://www.pewterproductions.com/

--- "Milton Tabbot (IFP)" ---

Happy Holidays!

Because the end of the calendar year is a time of increased levels of
giving by individuals, IFP has decided to devise an interim on-line
solution for those of you who wish to bring in quick end-of-year
donations for your projects.

It works like this:
- Donors should go to IFP's page on JustGive.org:
http://www.justgive.org/giving/donate.jsp?charityId=24543

- Donors enter their contribution amount and should MAKE SURE that all
check-off boxes are checked for "give the charity my name, e-mail, and
mailing address."

- Donor MUST enter your project title (THEM THAT WORK)and your name
(JASON BROWN) in the space designated for "designate my donation."
[This is NOT optional, even though it says that it is. We must know to
whom to allocate the donation.]

- Donor then checks "add to basket" and proceeds to check-out. If this
is your donor's first contribution via JustGive.org, they will need to
fill out a name and address profile just prior to checkout. At checkout
they will enter their credit card info and confirm their contribution.

- Your donor will receive an immediate e-mail receipt from
JustGive.org. They will also eventually receive a contribution
acknowledgement from IFP via snail mail.

- If you lose the direct link above, please contact me so we can make
sure your project receives it's expected donations.

2006-12-19T18:38:00.000-05:00

Quick photos from 'Them That Work' shoot

Here are some quick photos from my trip to LA where I was able to interview Haskel Wexler for my documentary. My friend Nicole Phillips helped shoot the interview and Emily Heyer shot these photos.

jason

------------

Jason Brown & Haskel Wexler

Haskel Wexler & Jason Brown

Nicole Phillips, Haskel Wexler & Jason Brown

2006-12-15T01:53:00.000-05:00

Digging through the past

Today was a day I've long been waiting for. I drove up to Topanga Canyon to meet Amy Marshak, who's late husband Bob was the set photographer for 'Matewan.' I had long been told be PA's and Extras that Bob had taken hundreds of photos that no one had ever seen. I was sure that someone had seen them, just not the people standing third from the left with no lines.

Amy set me up in a beautiful room in her lovely home to start looking through the dozen boxes of slides and photos Bob has taken over his career. Along with being a friend to John Sayles and his film, Bob was a prolific photographer in Hollywood and on Broadway. So, as I'm digging away hoping for the Holy Grail of photographs, I keep running across these beautiful portraits of Heather Locklear or Dick Cavett, or an Allison Janey headshot from years ago. Bob left behind these stunning photographs that captured moments in time that won't soon be forgotten.

I left there with one twelfth of the photos - not all for me. The blessing that I found in these pictures will definitely make my project infinitely better. I hope in the process I made a friend of Amy and her dog, Pearl. I certainly grew a deep appreciation for the work of Bob Marshak.

j.brown

2006-12-13T02:01:00.000-05:00

The Dead Girl and other Hollywood joys

My time here in LA is going well. Spent the morning interviewing Haskel Wexler - what an incredible person! Spent the evening with a friend from Grad School - Dan Aznavorian. Dan's a good guy. Dan's a methodical guy. Tomorrow - Peggy Rajski. It's a full week of work.

However, one of the great joys of coming to LA is always the free movies. Last trip, I staked out the Burbank movie plex to get a free pass to some movie being test screened. This trip I just waited for free movie passes to show up in my inbox from 'Creative Screenwriting' magazine.

Ding goes the e-mail, and boom, we went to see "The Dead Girl" from Karen Moncrief, director of "Blue Car." Interesting movie. It's one of those multiple vignette movies, which I like the idea of but am not always fond of. The guy beside me was writing something - I'm hoping a term paper. At the end he says, "What's the point of all these vignette movies anyways?" After I gave the nod of agreement, I realized he was actually asking a question. "I think it's to make the theme like a blunt instrument." If you see that in a review, that's mine.

If that was the case, I missed the point. Mrs. Moncrief, who was in attendance, said the movie was about the community of violent crimes. Well, yeah, now that you explain it to me.

It was a very nice movie with some good stories and weaker stories. I doubt it's going to take off because of the somber tone, but it's definitely worth watching once. The performances were very rich. Even from Brittany Murphy who I keep forgetting can act because she's had such poor choices in material lately. Ditto for James Franco, who was in easily the best portion of the film with Rose Byrne.

Next free movie - Little Children. Let's see if I need the Q&A to figure this one out.

j.brown

2006-12-10T10:29:00.000-05:00

Half way around the world?

I'm sitting in my friend's place in Chandler, AZ realizing that so many good things are in front of me today. Not just literally in this apartment, but this week's interviews and the final outcome of this project.

I started making this documentary two years ago after I made a similar trip to LA to visit a friend of mine. She was shooting music videos and cutting trailers - and she was making her life happen. That was what I wanted, and it was what I saw in this project.

Twenty years ago, "Matewan" was shot in Thurmond, WV. That says a lot. But what says even more are the lives of people touched by the film. People seeing a life lived can somehow find a way to live their own lives. It's powerful stuff to me. I hope that other people appreciate this as much as I do.

Thank you for checking in to my blog and supporting me on this journey.

jason brown

2006-10-19T22:03:00.000-04:00

Pictures from River City Film Festival

Sorry I'm so slow about this, but here are some pictures from the River City Film Festival, where 'One of Them' screened a few weeks ago. Apologies for the color of the pictures, my monitor is way-off, so I look more nauseous than usual.

This picture is of myself and filmmaker Mic Molinaro. Mic was one of the organizers of the festival and a great host. I'm constantly amazed at how important hospitality really is and how often people overlook it. In all honesty, Mic made the trip to Marietta, Ohio for the festival worthwhile.

This is a picture of myself at the Colony Theatre where the River City Film Festival will eventually be held. For now, they are using entry fees and box office receipts to help renovate the facility.

My film screened at just after Noon on Saturday, but still got a nice crowd of people. Luckily, I was programmed after "Chad Vader" and a local documentary. Either way, I was very happy with the response from the crowd.

Jason

2006-09-28T20:50:00.000-04:00

Review of "One of Them" BY Steve Fesenmaier, West Virginia Library Commission

One of Them
by Jason Brown
7 mins. 19 sec.

Jason Brown, a long-time film activist in the Charleston area, who is now working at UNC-Greensboro, has made a very interesting short film based on his own amazing life history. The film is basically one take of a young woman talking about meeting, and marrying the love of her life. She meets the unnamed object of desire during a play. She eventually goes off to NYC for the wedding where some unfortunate events take place. I watched the film twice, enjoying the realistic presentation of a quite amazing story.

I found the reversal of the situation very interesting. Brown tells a story from the woman's viewpoint whereas in fact the events are based on his own male perspective.

The theme seems to be the slippery nature of identity. When the young woman is about to get married, she panics because she is asked for a photo ID - which she has left at her dwelling in New Jersey. The final surprise takes place when she sees her new husband getting arrested by local police. When she rushes to his aid, his only comment to her is,"Are you one of them?" This shows the extreme paranoia her lover always had toward her.

I was talking to Jason last night after watching the film, and recalled the most famous recent one-take film - Aleksandr Sokurov's "Russian Ark" supposedly made using digital equipment, taking a tour of the Heritage Museum. Jason said he was more inspired by the work of Rodrigo Garcia.

I greatly enjoyed the anti-MTV style of both his film and "Ark." It's nice to be able to look at a person without a jittery camera endlessly jump-cutting. It is also nice to watch a person express real emotion without resulting in extreme action.

The film was shown at the River City Film Festival in Marietta. http://rivercityfilmfestival.com/schedule.

2006-09-18T16:07:00.000-04:00

I could use your support.

As much as I've tried to avoid this, I need to ask for your financial support.

While every film faces four stages (pre-production, production, post-production and distribution), everyone faces those financially differently. I have been paying for most of the production so far out of pocket, on credit cards and a couple small grants. Between now and when I will hear about the several grant proposals I have written, I need to raise a couple thousand dollars for travel to a couple different interviews I'm setting up.

Thanks to IFP, anyone can make a tax-deductible donation to "Them That Work" by filling out this form and mailing it back to IFP. It's not as easy as simply making a donation online - but they are working on it.

If you'd able to make a smaller donation right away, please feel free to donate through Pay Pal - which is NOT tax-deductible.

I appreciate all the support I've been given. I fill confident that all the financial support I need is available here. Thank you in advance.

j.brown

2006-09-18T15:55:00.000-04:00

ACCEPTED - "One of Them" to premiere at River City Film Festival

Got the news today that my Spring Practicum "One of Them" will premiere at the River City Film Festival in Marietta Ohio. I just want to take a moment and thank those people involved with this project - Jaime Phelps, Jeffrey Lewis, Seamus Mulligan-Ferry, Michael Blair, Jerrod Smith - for all their help and determination to help this project come true.

Obviously, I need to thank the person who inspired this project. Thank you Erin.

There are so many good things happening right now. I just want to let everyone know how much I appreciate what they have done to help and put out as much good karma as possible.

j.brown