Adam Baran

I did some screengrabs of Jinx! I could send an image to LA Shorts for the program, and I think they’re really nice so I’m posting some here. I got the email about my screening time for the festival, it’s not great, but I’m not complaining - Thursday, September 6th at 3:15PM. I mean, they are the biggest short film festival in the world, and they have been doing it for 11 Years so there must be people who go or else why would they program screenings which start at 12Noon or 3:15PM on a weekday right? I’m still psyched for my trip to LA, but the trepidation and nervousness is creeping in too. I don’t like traveling - it’s not that I’m scared to fly or anything, but I just get uneasy on trips.

That’s Spenser Carrion Leigh as Rachel, Emily Holwill as Shannon, Melissa Brooke Ellowitz as Wendy, and Cassie Blair as Eleanor. I’m going to try and update regularly when cast and crew are doing exciting things, so check back here if you’ve seen the film and want to know more about them.

Spenser made a really great villain. She really knew how to tap into her inner mean girl, even though she couldn’t have been more different from her character.

That’s Mia Procida as Kim, about to stick her tongue out at poor Eleanor.

This is my personal favorite shot - it’s the one I greyscaled and sent to LA Shorts for the program. Have I mentioned Reed Morano, who I somehow managed to get to shoot my short, even though she’s super up and coming, and extremely talented.? Here’s how up-and-coming - Reed spent a part of last year shooting a documentary called “Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa,” about a group of disenfranchised people who live in an area near the Southwestern border.

Here’s the synopsis: In northern New Mexico lies a patch of dry, sandy land, 16 square miles in size, 25 miles from the nearest town, a world away from our own. Welcome to the Mesa, a community of misfits, veterans, runaways and more than a few outlaws. This loosely woven family lives without running water or electricity––literally off the grid––and in their postmodern Wild West, they consider themselves patriots. But their underground economy is fueled by the growth and distribution of marijuana, which has brought the community under the suspicious eye of the government. When some of the rebellious runaway teens begin to stockpile arms and food taken from others, this fringe society has to take steps to keep their world from falling into chaos.

Disillusioned after the death of their father and the outcome of the 2004 presidential election, film editor Jeremy Stulberg and his sister, artist Randy Stulberg, took to the road, happening upon this melting pot of forgotten Americans. They documented not just the alternative community but also the many stories of the disparate individuals who exist at the intersection of utopian ideals and post-apocalyptic nightmares.

Off the Grid is going to premiere at Lincoln Center on Thursday 8/16 at 8:00PM, check out www.filmlinc.com for more info.

Anyway here’s the rest of the images I screengrabbed. Hope you like em.

That’s a very John Waters kind of shot in my opinion. Wendy Stuart Kaplan as Mrs. Wyckoff, a character named after a disturbing trashy William Inge novel about a sexually frigid teacher who starts an affair with a black janitor after school one day. I actually first read about this book in an interview with John Waters. I had to buy it on ebay and have been trying to get friends to read it forever. I know there’s a movie out there starring Dorothy Malone but it’s as hard to find as the book.

Here’s one more, and now - to bed.

So apparently whilst I was sleeping the other night, there was a tornado in my area. Apparently my friends were woken up at 6AM to deafining thunder and lightning, and flooding the likes of which they’d never seen.

I wouldn’t know. I was sleeping comfortably in the arms of my long term lover, Ambien.

Anyway, so when I woke up - and I know this is old hat to most of you New York readers, I had no idea this had happened. There was no evidence of it on the street - they looked dry as a bone to me. I went to the subway, it was closed. Hmmm. I wonder why? I went to another subway station. Ditto. I took the F halfway across town and walked the rest of the way. It was steaming hot, and really a horrible experience. I mean, not as horrible as the Holocaust obviously, but…

Anyway, and yes, this has probably been extensively blogged, by New York magazine’s blog and elsewhere, the following day the New York post ran the funniest cover, that brightened and continues to brighten my day.

It’s got a shot of the tornado damage, with a picture of Judy Garland as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, saying “This Ain’t Kansas!” There’s something so ludicrous and retarded about the New York Post, which obviously is the dregs of legitimate newspaper reporting, using this as their cover, and obviously that’s a recipe to win my undying love.

The New York Magazine blog was saying that Dorothy wouldn’t say “Ain’t,” that she would say, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” But if Dorothy was in New York she would totally say “Ain’t.”  So screw that.  It’s funny.

I’m thrilled to announce this news, which some of you know about, but which I’ve been sitting on making an official announcement about for fear of jinxing it - no pun intended (and really that’s not technically a pun, more like a groaner). Anyway -

The Independent Film Channel, also known as IFC, have acquired Jinx! to premiere on cable TV this fall!! The film will be included in one of their short film blocks which air several times a day. As soon as I have the premiere date and times, I’ll update you all, and we’ll probably have a party.

Congratulations to everyone who was involved with this project!! And thanks to everyone at IFC, and even more special thanks to Harris Dew at the IFC Center, who helped arrange this.

I couldn’t be happier about this news - it’s going to be great exposure for the film and all the cast and crew, and a pretty decent resume booster, too. It was a difficult experience making the film, and I’m sure everyone who worked on the film, and all the people I know who probably felt like they did from listening to me bitch and moan for 2 years straight, is happy to see all the hard work has paid off.

Okay, back to the funny posts about insane movies. Believe me, they’re coming.