Take Two: Vinyl Foote Productions

We've Moved For Now...

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:45:00 +0000

For our current project we are crowd-funding over at www.theindependentcollective.com Head over there to check it out! We'll be back over here soon...

Red River Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Jayce) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:12:00 +0000

Many of you who attended our amazing staged reading of Red River last summer starring the wonderful Michael Easton, Norman Reedus, Miriam Shore, Joelle Carter, E.J. Carroll, and Lynn Cohen may be wondering what is going on with the movie?! Well...aside from explaining how film financing has been crushed in the recent downturn, I will tell you that we have been spending the last year trying to attach a major movie star to help us raise our budget. I don't want to name drop so I will just say we spent a good chunk of last year chasing: Bethan Chalk, Gosh Wucas, and Matrick Jilson. 'nuff said....
So here we are in the fall of 2010, winter approaching fast, with some potentially exciting news. We have gotten the interest of an amazing actor and are trying to get this project to the next step. I know you all are wondering..."who????" But I can't tell you. Hopefully, all will be revealed soon. We have been working on the script, ideas for the look of the film, and scouting snowy locals, and we hope to be shooting the film this winter. I can't exactly remember when I started the script - maybe summer 2007 - so we are officially in year 3 of this crazy journey. Hang on, we will get there.

From our offices in Brooklyn NY.

Read, Retweet, Repost, Repeat .... Please?

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:44:00 +0000

As you know, there are two projects that need to get out there. Red River is coming along, getting attachments built into a package slowly (ever so slowly) but surely. Our other project, Tiny Dancer fell by the wayside a little. We had a reading with Elizabeth Berkley, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Josh Hamilton, but our funding hasn't been able to come together for the production of the film (imagine that.)

In the meantime, we came together with our dear friend Bryan deCastro and inspired by the success of kickstarter.com we decided to take matters into our own hands and raise the money through donations. We formed a group called The Independent Collective and we are currently applying for fiscal sponsorship through NYFA. Once we gain fiscal sponsorship, we will reach out for memberships. Paid memberships will be tax deductible because of the fiscal sponsorship and will be tiered. Members will gain access to project benefits and their fee will go to the production of various projects. The current project is Tiny Dancer.

How can you help?

CONNECT TO TIC

then REPOST, RETWEET, REBLOG

just with something simple like "Help us to build a community for funding artistic projects"...

The numbers that we build right now will help us to gain fiscal sponsorship and keep you updated. Right now, everything is FREE- so get in on the ground floor! Please help us to be successful with this experiment. We want this to work so we can do it again and again with all kinds of projects and so we can build a community that supports each others' artistic endeavors!

Thanks everyone!

Alberts I-V

noreply@blogger.com (Jayce) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:48:00 +0000

Last week, we had the amazing opportunity to create a video project for Aaron Meicht and Scott Blumenthal's OZET saga. What is the OZET saga, you might ask? In the words of the OZET masterminds - "Ten years before the historic launch of the Collective Sphere OZET, five men endure eight grueling months of astronautical training in a secret facility three miles west of Zhytomyr. Two pioneers make the cut."

The OZET saga is a truly original theatrical experience I had the good fortune of witnessing earlier this year at St Mark's Church which struck me as a cross between absurdist Soviet era inspired theater and a folk rock sing along concert for Karl Marx, all fueled by Vodka and potatoes. The next chapter in the OZET saga will featuring live acoustic and electronic music, dialogue, film, scientific exposition, boxing, duct tape, pickles and vodka August 5th - 8th, details at http://ozet.us

Our video project will be screened (shot by the uber-talented DP Andres Karu), and I can't wait for you all to see it. I haven't had this much fun in ages exploring non-narrative art film the likes of which I grew up with watching my mom document her pioneering Skyworks drops over the desert. Here are a few stills from the shoot. See you there!

To Mr. Mamet

noreply@blogger.com (Jayce) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 02:19:00 +0000

By now, I'm sure all of you have read David Mamet's amazing ALL CAPS letter/rant to the poor, unimaginative, exposition-bound writers of the now canceled TV series The Unit. I was so inspired by this amazing education in the art of writing, that I decided to leave you all with a few nuggets.

TV execs shall heretofore be known as penguins -
"OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, ARE EMPLOYED TO COMMUNICATE *INFORMATION* — AND, SO, AT TIMES, IT SEEMS TO US."

Audiences won't watch information -
"BUT NOTE:THE AUDIENCE WILL NOT TUNE IN TO WATCH INFORMATION. YOU WOULDN’T, I WOULDN’T. NO ONE WOULD OR WILL. THE AUDIENCE WILL ONLY TUNE IN AND STAY TUNED TO WATCH DRAMA."

What the freak is drama?
"DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, *ACUTE* GOAL."

What should any writer ask of themselves when writing a scene?
"THESE THREE QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?"
"EVERY SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. THAT MEANS: THE MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, PRESSING NEED WHICH IMPELS HIM OR HER TO SHOW UP IN THE SCENE."
"ANY SCENE, THUS, WHICH DOES NOT BOTH ADVANCE THE PLOT, AND STANDALONE (THAT IS, DRAMATICALLY, BY ITSELF, ON ITS OWN MERITS) IS EITHER SUPERFLUOUS, OR INCORRECTLY WRITTEN."

Should I write a scene that is boring and filled with exposition?
"DO *NOT* WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE IN BEL AIR *AND* HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU."
"IF THE SCENE BORES YOU WHEN YOU READ IT, REST ASSURED IT *WILL* BORE THE ACTORS, AND WILL, THEN, BORE THE AUDIENCE, AND WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE BACK IN THE BREADLINE."

What should i do if I get stumped?
"QUESTIONS, CALL ME UP.
LOVE, DAVE MAMET
SANTA MONICA 19 OCTO 05"

And my personal fav - "(IT IS *NOT* YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW THE ANSWERS, BUT IT IS YOUR, AND MY, RESPONSIBILITY TO KNOW AND TO *ASK THE RIGHT Questions* OVER AND OVER. UNTIL IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. I BELIEVE THEY ARE LISTED ABOVE.)"

Thanks Dave (if I can call you Dave)....

Read the full letter here.

Breathless

noreply@blogger.com (Jayce) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 04:23:00 +0000

So we finally got around to watching the amazing Criterion Collection DVD of Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, a personal favorite and inspiration for our music video we shot this past fall for the band Eva. Watching the special features on the transcendent Jean Seberg, I was struck by her tragic life and the overall rebellious revolutionary spirit of that era. Which leads me to this past Sunday's Oscars. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be happier that films like Precious and The Hurt Locker were nominated and when they won their various prizes, was heartily affirmed in the power of the "little" film and it's journey from film festival to Oscar ceremony. I was happy to see last year's Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler get honored after struggling to find distribution after premieres at major film festivals. It gives a filmmaker hope that the great and new will find a way out.
But I can't help but think back to that image of Jean Seberg hawking New York Herald Tribunes on the Champs-Elysees and the era of filmmaking that unleashed after Breathless - the likes of 8 1/2, Bonnie and Clyde, Blow Up, Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider, Rosemary's Baby, Midnight Cowboy, and the the great decade of 70's cinema to follow.

I have this dim memory of an era of great craft, great politics, and great shock value that infiltrated the Oscars, when Brando refused his Oscar for The Godfather and George C. Scott 2 years earlier for Patton. A time when every actor, writer, director wasn't so eager to spew out the name of the designer of their tux or evening gown, but when it seemed like the whole roof might fall in on the evenings proceedings. I guess it was a different time, and all we can hope for now is the occasional mumbling of Sean Penn or Michael Moore's rants when he manages to get nominated. More than Oscar interrupting politico speeches, I guess I miss the kinds of films that made you want to go out and pick up a movie camera.

Bolt Out of the Twilight Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Critics can be mean and destroy you for absolutely no reason. They can stunt a fledgling theater company's growth, cause a young NYU graduate filmmaker to find himself being talked down from a ledge by his unconditionally loving girlfriend... or they can make your day. After receiving lots of notices that were gratefully fine, and a few that kept us under the covers, this one from Movieline surfaced this week.

Music Video Release

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:59:00 +0000

The music video we make last week is up! Please rate it and spread it if you get a chance. We were so lucky to be able to collaborate with our talented crew and EVA. Please let us know where else we should post the video if you have any ideas!

The WAGE SLAVERY video by EVA

Starring Natalia Zvereva and Jabbath Roa. Directed by Jayce Bartok. Shot and edited by Andres Karu. Styling by May Elbaz. Shot in Ft. Greene Brooklyn, New York Produced by Vinyl Foote Productions.

Tiny Dancer Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:11:00 +0000

We did a reading of Red River in June this year with Norman Reedus, Michael Easton, Ginevra Easton, Kevin Breznahan, Joelle Carter, Miriam Shor, Jay Potter, EJ Carrol, Jessica Carlson, Jimmy Walsh and Kevin Holloway which was an amazing evening. Those who attended were so generous with your feedback and support. And the actors were so gracious to offer up their valuable time and talent for this reading. Readings are an amazing way to gauge the ebb and flow of the script and see how it plays with the audience. Though it is extremely nerve wracking, in the end, we always realize we managed to have fun. To hear about more Red River events, BECOME A FAN.

November 2 at Playwrights Horizons, we were lucky enough to have another reading. This time of Jayce's script, Tiny Dancer. We were so incredibly lucky to have Elizabeth Berkley, Daphne Rubin Vega, Josh Hamilton, Ed Vassallo, Karen Young, Mark Setlock, Emanuel Ancorini, Lesleh Donaldson, Francisca Vargas, Nina Howland and David Gaynes. The staged reading was directed by the director of the film, Jackson Gay.

Jayce and I actually had to laugh when we found ourselves finally relaxed enough to actually enjoy hearing the script out loud. The performances were absolutely amazing. The evening was co-hosted with Jackson's production company Yarn and a huge thank you goes out to Alaina Taylor who organized every last detail.

To follow Tiny Dancers' development, BECOME A FAN

What We Did This Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:14:00 +0000

It may seem a little retro, but a good friend called us up and asked us to make a music video for his song Wage Slavery. Well, there were several awesome songs to chose from, but we thought of a little narrative to go with Wage Slavery. We called up our awesome talented friends and shot the video this week. So special thanks to Natalia Zvereva, Eva Jabbath, Andres Karu, Chris Mayo, May Elbaz, and 67 Burger here in Ft. Greene. And a super thanks to my cousin Bobbie Reichgelt for being such a trouper.

The Cake Eaters Oscar?

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:13:00 +0000

There seems to be a pre-campaign campaign going on right now in support of Kristen Stewart's performance in The Cake Eaters. The producers are looking for 10,000 votes votes in approval of an Oscar campaign for Kristen. If you feel she is worthy of a nomination, you can help by posting THIS LINK to your facebook profile, tweeting it, or emailing it out to your network of friends. Thanks so much for your support! We are biased, but feel Kristen's performance should be seen by as many people as humanly possible.

Casting Director Lois Drabkin

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:41:00 +0000

We have had the opportunity to work with Lois on several occasions in the past and she has made quite a name for herself as a casting director and producer We are proud to have her on board for Red River. Below is her bio.

Lois Drabkin is a casting director and producer in New York City, whose latest film, Noah Buschel’s The Missing Person, premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and will be released theatrically in Fall 2009 by Strand. She has cast such independent features as the Sundance-developed feature Night Catches Us, by writer/director Tanya Hamilton; the award-winning Red Doors (Tribeca Film Festival 2005); Noah Buschel’s Neal Cassady; and the New York casting on Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. In addition, Lois has worked as an associate alongside a number of the industry’s top casting directors, on upcoming projects such as Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones, Jim Sheridan’s Brothers, Mira Nair’s Amelia, Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock and Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. Previous work also includes the HBO series The Wire, Jonathan Demme’s The Manchurian Candidate, and Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies. Apropos Films, her production company with partner Alex Kaluzhsky, is currently in post-production on the independent dramedy Weakness, a New York-shot ensemble with Bobby Cannavale, Danielle Panabaker and Josh Charles.

Friends and Allies

noreply@blogger.com (Jayce) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Many of you know that the film I worked on, The Cake Eaters, is concerned with a group of lost souls in a small town. Georgia, the teenage girl played by the amazing Kristen Stewart in the film, suffers from Friedreich's Ataxia - an inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system. Early on in the writing process of the screenplay, I wanted to explore disability, particularly, people confined physically, but internally, mentally, emotionally yearning for love and life just like the rest of us. My mom spent the last years of her life confined and it was an experience that will always stay in my heart. I researched various diseases and stumbled quite randomly on FA. I thought that FA was something fairly unknown and worth exploring, that it would have no preconceived notions.

So I put the script out to the FA community through the help of amazing people like Paul Konanz, Mary Caruso, and Ron Bartek, who work with FARA - Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance. I remember Tiffany cautioning me, "You know you are sending out this script about a teenage girl who wants to find love with an older boy. Are you crazy? You might make some people mad." Well, little did I know this was the beginning of a 6 years and running relationship with the FA community. I was showered with amazing heartfelt responses to the script and the candid relationship between Kristen's character and Beagle, played so wonderfully by Aaron Stanford. The parents of many teens with FA expressed their honest feelings about the notion of love, even sex. It was overwhelming.

We want off and made the film and all those filmlike things that go with movie making...sweating, crying, arguing, laughing, praying, bragging....blah, blah, blah. "My film played at this film festival. Isn't that great!" But out there, people with FA were dealing with the very real issues in their lives, like how to get in and out of their homes.

Many of you know the story of how long the film took to come out, and the hard work that people like Jesse Scolaro - our producer, Patrick Morris - our executive producer, and Mary Stuart Masterson - our director, put into the end result of a release in march of this year. I was so overwhelmed that I don't think I ever processed how much it meant to the FA community to see the film available on Amazon, in a Blockbuster or on Netflix or in theaters.

Until this past friday night at Mary Caruso's amazing event in Conneticut for FA where The Cake Eaters team was given a "Friends and Allies Award" for raising awareness for FA. I think the whole table of us, many of us now who've had and are expecting to have children in the 6 years it's taken to bring the film to life, got emotional realizing that we spend our days desperately begging people to make our movies, but in this instance, this film, The Cake Eaters, actually resonated within a very vibrant, community.

All I can say is right now, "I am the happiest man in the world."

Please learn more about FA at here

Red River... TV?

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Red River, the film we've been eating, sleeping, and breathing began as a TV Pilot that Jayce wrote right before the writers' strike. It got great responses from various production companies, but the strike quickly deflated any high hopes. Jayce then made the film version of Red River and planned to keep it all going toward his directorial debut. The producer Mike Frislev of Nomadic Pictures stayed passionate about the pilot and now it looks like it may have a shot at becoming a series in Canada. It is only optioned at this point with a show runner attached, and there is a long road ahead, but we are optimistic because well... why not.

Altered By Elvis Is Finally On iTunes! RATE US!

noreply@blogger.com (Jayce) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:55:00 +0000

It got 4 1/2 STARS from Film Threat and traveled the globe even winning Best Documentary!
Now Altered By Elvis is finally on iTunes-

Just click to watch!

PLEASE rate us if you feel so inclined....

UPDATED WEBSITE

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:48:00 +0000

Our awesome web designer, Jeff Castellano, has done the updates- check it out!

Red River Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Hope you can make it to the reading of Red River at The Cherry Pit in New York City at 155 Bank Street.

The event is Monday June 22nd at 7pm.

Please RSVP at us at vinylfoote.com

Readers include:

Michael Easton (One Life To Live, Total Recall: The Series)

Fred Weller (In Plain Sight, The Shape of Things)

Joelle Carter (Untitled Elmore Leonard Project, Swimming)

Miriam Shor (Swingtown, Hedwig and the Angry Inch)

Ginevra Arabia

Lynn Cohen (Damages, Synedoche, New York)

E.J. Carroll (Everybody’s Fine, The Wrestler)

Jessica Carlson (Cirque de Freak, Law and Order)

Kevin Holloway

Jimmy Walsh (The Black Donnelly’s)

Jay Potter (Che: Part One, Rescue Me)

Kevin Breznahan (Adventureland, Superbad)

Mary Crosbie (Phil the Alien, Queer as Folk)

A Little Something About Aletered By Elvis

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:37:00 +0000

Altered By Elvis played in New Zealand last night- it plays quite often in Australia, New Zealand and England- curse you, United States networks! This is an article that I found accompanying it's broadcast. Our interview is toward the bottom...
Don't forget to watch for Altered By Elvis on itunes this summer!

Massify

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Sat, 02 May 2009 14:32:00 +0000

This website, Massify, is having a contest to pitch to Killer Films. Jayce had written Buttons a while ago when I applied to the AFI Director's Workshop for Women. I was a finalist, but didn't make it- boo, but Jayce always thought Buttons would make a great short. When Massify came up for this promotion, Jayce pitched it. If you have a second, you can check it out and rate iton the Massify site. We put the pitch video below as well, but activity on the video below is not related to the pitch since it's hosted at youtube. There are a ton of rival filmmakers rating it a 1 on Massify, so Jayce is a little discouraged, but I think we can take 'em on....:)

RED RIVER

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:35:00 +0000

For those of you who don't know, we have been working on a new project for a while, we are planning a reading in the upcoming months, so make sure you are subscribed and linked up so you don't miss any of the updates:

RED RIVER MOVIE SITE
RED RIVER CHARACTER BLOG
FACEBOOK
MYSPACE
YOUTUBE
DELICIOUS
FLICKR
Vinyl Foote Facebook Group

New Screening Times For The Cake Eaters

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 19:31:00 +0000

Hey everyone, this was posted by The 7th Floor

********
UPDATED SCREENINGS 4.10.09

Old Mill Playhouse, The Villages
Ocala, FL (4/3-16)

Mission Arts
Binghamton, NY (4/3-16)

Broadway Cinema
Salt Lake City, UT (4/10-16)

Athena III
Athens, OH (4/10-16)

Fairfield Community Theatre
Fairfield, CT (4/24-30 – TBD)

Reel Pizza
Bar Harbor, ME (4/28-30)

Huntington Cinema Arts
Huntington, NY (April – TBD)

Something Fun To Do In Your Hometown....

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:01:00 +0000

Check out this little game you can play to win a free poster from the folks who produced The Cake Eaters.
Send your pictures to info@thecakeeaters.com

Mary Stuart Masterson on WNYC

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:43:00 +0000

The Cake Eaters On DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Don't forget- The Cake Eaters went on sale yesterday!
You can order straight from the website and get a free poster,
or order from Amazon any time. It is also currently at tons of retailers including Wallmart.
The film is also finally on Netflix to rent- feel free to rate it while you are there.

Little Pumpkin

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Bartok) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:34:00 +0000

There is a little bit of sibling rivalry going on here at Vinyl Foote. Jayce's film The Cake Eaters is out this weekend, yes, we all know... and Roger Ebert even gave it 3 STARS! And today, The New York Times, The NY Post and Daily News all gave it 3 STARS! I like to think of it as 12 Stars all together...

***EDIT- Jayce just informed me that The Times doesn't do stars...that I'm "seein' stars" So it's more like 9 Stars instead of 12...

But in all the hub-bub, I nearly forgot that Little Pumpkin is all alone in Austin today!... Here is the interview that reminded me. Enjoy! And don't forget to head to the theater tonight to see The Cake Eaters on the big screen. Jayce Bartok and Mary Stuart Masterson will be doing Q and A's around NY.