Monday, November 12, 2012

The magic of the movies

One of the most satisfying things about being in a “creative” industry is that everyone can see your final product.

Like…LOOK! I DESIGNED THAT FLYER!!! ON MY OWN COMPUTER!!! AND NOW IT’S IN…A WINDOW!!!!

Or…LOOK AT MY NEWSPAPER ARTICLE, MA!!!! SEE, THERE’S MY NAME!!!!  ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME!!!!!!!

(Uh, for example.)

It’s the opposite of say, a doctor, who, yes, can technically show off a living, breathing person he or she saved as a “final product,” but you can’t very well parade that person around to everyone you know or keep them in your purse for special occasions.

And you CERTAINLY can’t put them on a movie theater screen and have everyone you know come see them.

…But movie editors can!!

And that's exactly what my CREATIVE brother, Franklin, did last month when a movie he edited was screened at the New Orleans Film Festival!!!

LOOK MA!!!! MY NAME ON THE SCREEN!!!!  IT’S SPELLED RIGHT AND EVERYTHING!!!!

(OK, so Franklin didn’t actually say that. My twin sister, Joy, and I said that. We were so proud of him it felt as if it were OUR accomplishment, too. Ha.)

Our whole family knew that Franklin had spent a considerable portion of 2011 editing this film, a hilarious doomsday comedy called It’s a Disaster starring Julia Stiles and David Cross.  

During the time he was editing it, we only heard from him during odd hours and sometimes not for days at a time.

During Christmas last year, he brought the early cut of the movie with him on the plane from Los Angeles and we all watched it after our holiday dinner, cheering when his name showed up on the screen.

WOOOHOOOOO!!!! We screamed and clapped, trying not to spill our wine.

“Ok, guys…” he said.

Fast forward seven months and our whole family was together again, watching the same movie, (possibly in the same seating order) only THIS TIME we were at a THEATER surround by friends and family and 100 strangers, watching it on a big screen. It was magical.

We cheered again when his name came on the screen.

“Ok, guys…” Franklin said.

There’s something quite awesome about being able to come back to your hometown and share your work with everyone you know, AT A FILM FESTIVAL, especially a movie that is funny and well-made.

Unlike some other movies I saw at the festival that made me squirm and/or want to burst into tears in the bathroom, the movie Frankin edited was the hit of the weekend!!!

Everyone laughed when they were supposed to!

LOOK MA!!! COMEDIC TIMING!!!

And then, after the movie, Franklin and the film’s director did a question-and-answer session where all the questions were not questions at all, but praise for making such a great film.

LOOK MA!!!! POSITIVE FEEDBACK!!

It was especially gratifying for me…I mean Franklin…because our entire family was there to see his hard work pay off.

It’s only about twice a year when all of us are together in the same room.

Family members flew to New Orleans from opposite ends of the country to attend the film debut. Our uncle even flew in from Pennsylvania, his first trip back to New Orleans in over 10 years.

Our mom threw an elaborate party before the screening, with catered food and plates shaped like those rectangular things directors snap when they say “action.”  

There were oversized balloons shaped like film cameras and little gold sequins stars everywhere. We almost put a "You're a star!" banner on the wall.

("OK, guys..." Franklin would have said.)

Haha

As we were waiting for the movie to start AT THE SOLD-OUT THEATER, I thought back to Franklin’s homemade movies from high school where we would eagerly watch the final version from the couch in our living room.

(It was especially exciting when Joy and I had cameos in his movies. We were usually cast as “girls screaming.”)

And look at him now!!!

Look at us ALL now!!!

Franklin is still making movies.

And Joy and I are still girls screaming.

-Jenny

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