Copenhagen is Now

Copenhagen is now. Here's a poem from the current issue of the New Yorker to kick it off:

Last Day on Planet Earth, by Simon Armitage

Learn more about the UN Climate Change Conference here.

The Globetrotting Future Weather Gals

The Future Weather team has been traveling across the country in the continuing journey to get the film we so passionately believe in to the big screen. Last month, Jenny was at the Nantucket Screenwriter's colony, which was part of her Showtime Tony Cox Screenwriting Award. While she spent time meeting screenwriters and revisiting the script, I flew to California for the Film Independent (FIND) Producer's Lab. Before the Lab began, I was invited to attend FIND's Filmmaker Forum. The Forum is a 3-day event bringing together studio executives, distributors and filmmakers to discuss the state of independent film.

The message was not always a hopeful one as the prospects for funding and distributing independent film are suffering alongside the big studios popcorn features. The good news is that quality indie films are still finding their way to the marketplace. The best way to ensure that Future Weather will make it there is to continue staying informed on the state of the industry and adapting to the changing landscape. We got a great start to doing just that during the seven-week FIND Producer's Lab.

Film Independent selects ten filmmakers each year to attend the Lab where the Fellows are introduced to advisors who give valuable feedback on their projects. The goal of the Lab is to help the filmmakers get their projects into production by refining their budget, schedule and financing plans. Previous Lab projects have included the 2009 release Amreeka, which won honors at the Cannes film festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

This has been an exciting month in our filmmaking journey! We learned so much during our travels about how to survive and flourish in the new state of indie film. Stay tuned over the coming weeks as we will be updating the blog with all the tidbits of information we picked up along the way.

Happy Fall!

Future Weather Wins a $25,000 Science Grant!!

As we prepped to attend the Film Independent (FIND) Producers Lab in early October, we received news that Future Weather was selected for this year's Alfred P. Sloan Producer's Grant as part of the FIND program. The Sloan Foundation's mission is to support original work focused on science that they feel will have a positive impact on society, so we were ecstatic to receive such an honor. The $25,000 grant comes with access to a science advisor that Jenny can turn to for mentorship with script research. I had the chance to accept the award on behalf of the project at this year's FIND Filmmaker's Forum.

Age of Stupid Premieres at Philadelphia's Bridge and Around the World Tonight!!

The Age of Stupid USA Trailer from Age of Stupid on Vimeo.

Indie filmmakers, environmentalists and progressive culture-vultures, get thee to a movie theater tonight to catch AGE OF STUPID's historical global premiere event!

Being hailed as the future of independent cinema, the DIY-distributed AGE OF STUPID will screen via satellite from New York City to 700 theaters in over 50 countries.

The evening will kick off with a green-carpet gala featuring climatologist James Hansen, Kofi Annan and a performance by Thom Yorke of Radiohead.

I saw the film at a preview screening in LA. It's incredibly inventive and incredibly moving. If you're in Philly, meet me for the screening at the Bridge Theater at 7:30. Or click here to find a US screening near you.

Save the Future, in HD!

Future Weather's companion short is now available in HD on Vimeo. Please share with your friends!

Green Screen

Check out these great green film festivals!

First, right in our hometown, GreenFest Philly is holding a Green Film Festival as part of their annual street festival. The festival will be held on September 13, 2009 on 2nd and South streets in Philadelphia. Submissions are still being accepted.

Green filmmakers in the New York Tri-State region also have the opportunity to participate in a green film series curated by Slightly Overexposed Productions' Stacey Burgay, who we met at DIY Days Philly. Burgay is looking for fiction and non-fiction films that either "focus on issues that reflect the public and the environment" or were produced using the Code of Best Practices for Sustainable Filmmaking, which we profiled in June. Films will be screened at the Oval Film Center (12 Stuyvesant Oval, New York, NY) on August 24, September 10, and September 17.

The Going Green Film Festival shows just how far along green film has come. Offering entry categories for films created using "green guidelines", films about environmental issues and films featuring hybrid or alternative transportation, the festival honors the commitment of green filmmakers to lessen their impact on the environment. The festival will be held in March 2010; submissions will be accepted until January 15, 2010. (h/t The Thin Green Line)

Josie Maran Rocks Our T-Shirt

Model and actress Josie Maran is determined to help the environment. After working in the entertainment industry for a number of years, Josie decided to start a cosmetics line dedicated to eco-friendly initiatives, bio-degradable packaging, and natural ingredients. With a business mission like that, Josie is the perfect person to help kick off our Summer Sale. Seen above wearing the Tree Rings T-Shirt (and she wears it well!), Josie was also kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions for us. Special thanks to Josie and Polly for all of their support and a great blog about Future Weather!

What made you want to start an organic makeup company?
It was impossible to find high performance and healthy makeup. I wanted it for myself, and I knew other women would too.

How do you balance your career with raising a daughter?
I love being a mom and I really enjoy my work. When I get home from work, I'm so happy to play in her world and in the morning I'm very happy in my world. Happiness is key to balance.

What's your "eco pet peeve"?
Hardcore eco-people that scare away the mainstream from even coming close to "being green."

What about your not-so-environmentally-friendly guilty pleasure? (For the Future Weather team, it would have to be take-out containers.)
Wanting a private jet (but I'm hoping it will run on algae!)

You're an actress. We're a film production team. What kind of interview would this be if we didn't ask you: What is your favorite movie?
Harold and Maude.

Kids Experience Nature at Fair Hill Burial Ground

Karyn Gerred, former FWP contributor, sent this video my way last week. It's a moving portrait of an ecology class for kids who don't get much exposure to nature.

The Fair Hill Burial Ground is a 5-acre green space in the midst of urban Northeast Philly. Read more about this historic cemetery and how it went through a dramatic rehabilitation here. And check out more of Jean Warrington's video work at YouTube.

Media Lab Studios Efficient Film Challenge

Indie film powerhouse IFC Entertainment is hoping to spark more efficient film production by holding a green short film contest. The Media Lab Studios Efficient Film Challenge is offering three prizes of up to $3,000 for short films that tackle the topic of energy efficiency. This is a fantastic opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to get exposure on the Independent Film Channel and Sundance Channel (not to mention some cash!), while making a timely statement and raising awareness.

No Impact Man

Our friends over at Oscilloscope, who distributed FLOW, have another environmental documentary coming out which we're very excited about. The film, which was shown at both Sundance and the LA Film Festival, follows Colin Beavan (aka No Impact Man) and his family as they spend a year in New York City trying to live without leaving any impact on the environment. That means that Colin, his wife, and his 2-year-old daughter planned to make no new purchases, use no electricity, and produce no trash.

To document the experiment , Colin started a blog that has since become a resource for anyone trying to reduce their carbon footprint. In addition to the film, Colin's story is also the subject of a book that will be released in September alongside the film. Meanwhile, Colin's currently working on the No Impact Project, a non-profit project meant to "engage citizens in choosing lives that they believe will both make themselves, their communities and the planet happier."

DIY Comes To PHL

Before the days of the Internet, when a director made the final cut of a film, it was out of his or her hands. The final version went on to a distribution company, and essentially, all that hard work became someone else's product.

But a new conference has arisen to put the power back into the hands of the artist. Developed by filmmaker Lance Weiler, the DIY Days conference series is meant to help not just directors, but musicians, gamers and artists gain more control over their content. More specifically, Weiler wants to teach this group of "Self-Identified Storytellers" how to monetize and distribute their content on the Internet.

DIY Days’ latest installment is going to be held this Saturday at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. A host of Philly filmmakers, artists and innovators are going to be there, including Tom Quinn (The New Year Parade), Don Argott (Rock School, Two Days in April), Mark Schoneveld, Gretchen Clausing, and Indy Hall co-founder Geoff DiMasi. The conference, which opens for registration at 8:30 a.m., is completely free—but space is limited, so you’re better off registering online.

an e blog for e bond

Philadelphia-based artist e bond has been a huge friend of Future Weather from the start. A catalog designer for Anthropologie during the day, she dedicates her nights and weekends drawing and making handmade books. Many of you are already quite familiar with her work: she designed Future Weather's t-shirt and postcards and has written a few guest blogs for us.

design-phan (a blog about design and art in the City of Brotherly Love) recently took a tour of e's studio to celebrate the launch of e's new website, roughdrAftbooks. The blog post showcases her gorgeous books and provides some great insight into how e comes up with her book designs.

Congrats, e!

One in Three Children Fear An Earth Apocalypse

Looks like Laduree (Future Weather's protagonist) is in good company. It used to be that kids were afraid of monsters and ghosts, maybe nuclear war. But in today's world, it appears that children are more afraid of the ecological effects of an unsustainable culture. According to TreeHugger, a survey conducted by Habitat Heroes of 500 American preteens, out of three surveyed fear that the Earth won't exist when they grow up. 56 percent (over half!) worry that the planet will be "irrevocably damaged."

Recycling Heaven

For the last twelve months, Future Weather Productions has been saving all of the metals and plastics that can't be recycled curbside. While Philly’s recycling program will take Plastics #1 and #2 (soda bottles and milk jugs), there are 5 other types of plastic that we’ve been accumulating for a while now. This pile of recyclables had grown to the point of being clutter, so we decided to finally clear out some space and make the drive to Recycling Services in Pottstown, PA.

We loaded up the car and set out on Saturday, enjoying the beautiful weather during the hour-long drive from Philadelphia. We expected a pretty straightforward trip. (How exciting could recycling styrofoam and old yogurt tubs be?) But when we arrived at the end of a sleepy street in Pottstown, our expectations were definitely surpassed.

Founded in 1971 by Jim Crater, Recycling Services, Inc. (RSI) is a non-profit recycling center that collects numerous materials and resells them to be recycled and reused. RSI is an extensive operation, accepting glass, metals, papers, plastics, tires, textiles, electronics, and even vegetable oil (which is used to make biodiesel). The company dedicates two days a week towards public collection of recyclable goods (they charge an $8 per car gate fee), and if our trip was any indication, they serve hundreds of people on any one of those days.

RSI's staff was friendly and knowledgeable. We were impressed by how easily they helped us sort some of our more mysterious plastic items. While they don't take #7 plastics (that mysterious "other" category) or toothpaste tubes, we still ended up recycling a massive amount. Not only did we learn a lot about our consuming habits (we really need to curb the takeout habit), but we witnessed how people can come together in the effort to minimize their impact on the Earth.

A Life in Plastic

If there were a game show where contestants had to identify an object's plastic code blindfolded, the staff at Recycling Services might just be billionaires.

Jim Crater, Recycling Guru

Jim Crater, Recycling Services Inc's founder and president, is determined to reduce the amount of waste he leaves on the Earth to as close to zero pounds a year as possible. He lives his life according to the mantra, "How can I do what I already do, but better?" And talking with him was by far the most interesting part of our trip to RSI.

Determined to find a use for everything the plant accepts, Jim has recently taken to making functional "found object art" out of several of RSI's collections.

Take, for example, the dragonfly, Merlin 2. Made out of headlights, a dome from a street light, and a swimming pool ladder among other recycled items, this "dragonfly" also flaps his wings and has headlights that blinks. But, as Jim said, "don't get hung up on that, [because] that's not even it."

The sculpture has a bellows that breathes in carbon dioxide and exhales pure oxygen. Using solar panels to operate, Merlin 2 uses renewable resources to purify the air. This catalytic converter technology is similar to one employed by Volvo which removes 90% of noxious fumes from exhaust. Jim noted that if manufacturers had taken the extra step of using this purified oxygen for combustion as well, cars would be a lot more efficient in addition to having cleaner exhaust.

For Jim, who has a simultaneously calm and energetic aura and looks like a cross between Willie Nelson and Wallace Shawn, this illustrates just one of many missed opportunities in industrial design. Engineers and inventors need to figure out what to do with the waste products of their inventions before products can be developed for mass consumption.

For now, Jim remains optimistic about the possibility for a more sustainable, less wasteful society. "When you decide things are going to be different," Jim told us, "it'll push you out of your comfort zone. That's how things will change."

Here Jim introduces one of his functional art pieces, Ron Peyote.

Meet Mr. Peabody

Recycling Service's resident peacock, Mr. Peabody just might be the company's staunchest environmental advocate. According to Jim Crater, Mr. Peabody simply showed up one day. After their efforts to find out who he belonged to failed, the staff at RSI decided to keep the gorgeous bird around.

And Mr. Peabody fits right in at the recycling center. Peacocks have long been alchemical symbols of transformation. Pretty appropriate for a place that's designed to turn waste products into useful material.

Looking Back at Netflix

After some much-needed time away from our computers, we’ve got great news: Future Weather made it to the finals of the Netflix Find Your Voice competition, in great standing.

Needless to say, the last few days of the contest were a bit of a roller-coaster ride for the Future Weather team and our fans. We had expected the contest to end at 3am EST on the morning of the 6th, and when we finally shut off our computers, we were confident that we had finished the competition in first place. A lot of us noticed, however, that the votes just kept rolling in. We thought that the website was just catching up with the tally, but around 5pm on Monday, we learned that the contest had been extended another two days.

Jenny left for Europe on Friday, and after checking the vote via text message Monday morning (Sunday 3am EST) was satisfied with the scores. Without access to email, she had no way of knowing that Film Independent (FIND) had e-mailed her Sunday at 11:45pm to notify her of the extension. The real kicker was that this was the only attempt at contacting our team that was made. Kristin was not notified. It wasn’t until about twelve hours later that she finally spoke to our contact at FIND.

Apparently, a glitch in the contest website had left many votes uncounted. Because the five films below Future Weather had been jockeying for position so intently, Netflix and FIND decided to extend the competition, afraid that votes that were uncounted over the weekend might have seriously changed the makeup of the top 5.

After losing a good twelve hours of voting time (and watching our lead of 2,000 shrink considerably), it was a quick scramble to get the word out again. We hit up our Twitter and Facebook pages with a fury, and sent out a blitz of messages asking for your immediate support. Through the intense efforts of our team and our supporters, we managed to get 4,000 votes in under 30 hours. That was a contest record for us, and we couldn’t have done it without an incredible movement of support.

In the end, it came down to a neck-and-neck race for first place between Future Weather and Touchback. After a heated final hour of the competition, Touchback managed to take the top spot—but only by six stars.

Most of our fans and our team were incredibly disappointed with the way the extended contest played out. After all of our hard work to get Future Weather into first place, those twelve hours that we were out of the loop had a real impact on our lead. There was a lot of confusion because there had been no mention of the extension anywhere on the contest website. To add to it, many of our fans noticed odd voting behavior from one of the other contestants as we finished out the extension period. And because they couldn't be certain of the impact that the lost votes had, FIND decided to move six films into the finals instead of five.

That being said, we are thrilled with the results of the competition. Our fans stood by us and helped us rally over 7,000 fans to cast votes in our favor. They brought us new friends and great PR to support Future Weather as we finish out the final round of the contest.

This next phase is in the hands of the contest's judges, who will choose a winner from the six finalists. The fact that we're at the forefront of the vote will make a strong statement on our behalf, but the rest is up to them. Stay in the loop here at The Future Weather Report.

Jenny Introduces Food Inc. Today @ BMFI

4:30 Sunday
824 West Lancaster Avenue
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 19010

Fort Nassau Graphics

We wanted to give Fort Nassau Graphics a special shout-out today for donating to our cause. Charlie Stanton, Production Planner, did us a huge favor by printing the postcards we've been distributing around Philadelphia to spread the word about the Netflix competition. Fort Nassau prints most of their products on FSC-certified paper, including our postcards, which were also printed on partially-recycled paper. They were incredibly supportive of our cause; Charlie told us that he "would like the Earth to be here when [his] kids are old" and that "everyone in our plant would like to see our children and their children after that have the same type of environment that we grew up in."

Designed by Future Weather Love Brigadier and t-shirt designer e bond, we're hoping that these eye-catching cards will keep generating local support for Future Weather and get people online to vote, bringing us a giant step closer to making our film!

Betty's Tasty Buttons

(image courtesy of Betty's Tasty Buttons)

Betty's Tasty Buttons is a Philadelphia-based confection business dedicated to local, organic, and fair trade ingredients. Liz Begosh, founder of this local favorite, has been using her grandmother Betty's fudge recipe for about 2 years, serving up fudge, chocolate sauces, and other artisanal desserts to Philly locals. About six months ago, Liz moved into a storefront downtown and opened Betty's Speakeasy, which serves up baked goods in addition to selling Betty's Tasty Buttons products.

Liz and her company was kind enough to donate some fudge for a fundraiser we had recently, offering us up little pieces of their Brotherly Love Fudge, similar to what the company often does for wedding and party favors. Betty's Tasty Buttons is no stranger to charitable donations, either; the company will often work to try and find companies who share their goals and values. "We try to find the right fit," Liz told us.

We're glad that Future Weather fit the bill. Thanks for the fudge, Liz!

Code of Best Practices for Sustainable Filmmaking

Beckett Horowitz has been a huge supporter of Future Weather. She has worked with documentaries and television shows in an effort to raise awareness for a number of social and environmental causes, including sustainable production. Needless to say, we were glad when Beckett agreed to do a guest blog for us. She interviewed another leader in the movement for sustainable film production, Larry Engel. Associate director at the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University, Larry recently co-authored the Code of Best Practices in Sustainable Filmmaking, a collaboration between Filmmakers for Conservation and the American University School of Communication. The code is designed to help filmmakers reduce their impact on the environment during production and may be something that we use during production of Future Weather.

Many thanks to Larry for taking the time to speak with Beckett about the code. And thanks to Beckett for taking the time to conduct the interview!

1. When did was the code officially released?
It was released online (at www.sustainablefilmmaking.org) early February 2009, and we printed a limited archival run of only 500 hard copies.

2. What was the inspiration behind the code?
Ah. There were many elements. One main one was that I got tired of cleaning up my classroom after class. Picking up students’ coffee cups and plastic bottles got me angry. I announced in class one day that I would no longer allow any kind of throw-away packaging in my class ever again. Jugs and mugs were the new thing. Plenty of students whined, but following [the announcement] I spent my time leaving the classroom talking with students rather than cleaning up their mess. I also wrote up a list of a dozen or so things students could do in production to be more sustainable.

Secondly, I attended the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in 2007 and sat in on a session led by my now co-author Andrew Buchanan (a British producer) on green filmmaking and was impressed. I came back to American University and started talking about sustainability and my list. Professor Pat Aufderheide, who also is the director of the Center for Social Media [at American University], suggested that I publish a Code of Best Practices on the subject. I was also encouraged by the rest of my faculty in Film and Media Arts and by my colleague at AU Chris Palmer who, besides teaching, is also the director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking.

I contacted Andrew to tell him the good news, and he told me that he was working a similar project with Tanya Petersen of Filmmakers for Conservation. We ended up deciding to collaborate.

3. What are the most wasteful parts of production?
Probably travel, especially airline. Second is likely meat consumption, strangely because meat production overall creates about 20% of greenhouse gases. Also, plastic bottles. But we’re mixing waste and greenhouse gases….

4. What makes this code more comprehensive/different from the other ones out there?
We think the key is that we have a set of principles that lead to checklists for action and trackers that are spreadsheets for monitoring the production’s energy use, and other elements that contribute to green house gas production and which can be used with carbon calculators and offsetters. The key is that we also had a scientific review board vet our work – this is really critical. Finally we don’t claim to certify anyone. We’d like to see an independent agency created for that.

5. Have any productions adopted the code yet?
Several around the world, but the most immediately exciting news is that the Independent Documentary Association and the University Film and Video Association have endorsed the code. Further the Southwest Screen (a regional board in the UK) is adopting the code.

6. What are your goals for the future of production?
Get as many people and companies – large and small – around the world to pay close attention to their practices in media production and distribution.

7. Is there anything else you'd like to share about the code?
It’s not that hard to adopt. And by reducing, reusing, and thinking about what you’re doing you actually end up saving money not spending it to go green.

--

Larry Engel is a professor at American University. He is also the associate director at the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University. Larry is a producer, writer, director, and cinematographer with nearly 30 years of documentary filmmaking experience spanning all seven continents. He's flown into hurricanes, been chased by tornadoes and dropped into ice caves. He's fled wildfires, gotten lost in jungles, stranded in Antarctica, and spent three years traveling the globe to come face-to-face with a lot of mummies.

Beckett Horowitz has dedicated her career to development, production and outreach for documentaries and television shows oriented toward social justice and environmental issues. Since graduating from Brandeis University with a degree in environmental science her credits include PBS’s science series CURIOUS, Sundance Channel’s BIG IDEAS FOR A SMALL PLANET, and the Food Network’s CHOPPED. Whenever she has a free moment, she likes to extol the virtues of vermicomposting and material recycling to anyone who will listen.

Future Weather in the Media

As we enter the final eleven days of the Netflix Find Your Voice competition, we're glad to report that Future Weather is currently on top! Thank you all again for all of your support in getting us to over 17,000 votes and bringing us one step closer to making Future Weather a reality!

Still, we know that the other semifinalists are going to really pick up their efforts in these last few days, so we're glad that we've been receiving even more additional media attention in the two weeks since our last posts. Most exciting is the recent buzz that Future Weather has generated after winning Showtime's Tony Cox Screenplay award at the Nantucket Film Festival. Top industry publications ScreenDaily.com, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter were all quick to broadcast the news of this great achievement.

We've also had some great support from the blogosphere lately, with posts from long-time supporter Fake Plastic Fish and the Lanalogue helping to spread the word about SAVE THE FUTURE. Future Weather also received a great spotlight piece from Brain Pickings, a blog meant to find "revolutionary new ideas that no one has seen or thought of before". As if that weren't flattering enough, Future Weather also received an incredibly flattering post (part one of three!) on nonpretentious from Philly blogger Melissa J. Sachs, who calls Jenny "the hot Al Gore".

Thanks to all of you again for your continued support! And remember, we still need your help spreading the word and getting out the vote!

Netflix Short Director's Diary: Production

First shot of the day.

Kristin and I prepared as much as we could in ten days, but ultimately, we had no idea what to expect when we drove down to Asheville. Mystery is very alluring.

My assignment for this blog was to try and recreate the production diary I didn’t have time to keep during the shoot. But if I did, it would be a neurotic series of entries like: “5am, try to sleep for another hour. 7am, try not to barf.”

Instead, I will try to list a few of the moments of clarity I experienced during the process of making SAVE THE FUTURE. Think of them as notes to myself for future productions. I really hope there's another one soon.

• Write two scripts (or outlines). You won’t use one, but it'll probably be another version of what you're trying to say, thus helping you strengthen your message.

• Prep as much as you can, so you can kind of enjoy the shoot. (If you call being so exhausted you mix up everyone’s names and are at times reduced to communicating to actors in nonsensical strings of profanity enjoyable.)

• Don’t worry about shaking hands with a man who just picked up a stillborn baby bird that fell out of its nest.

• And don't worry about sleeping in a haunted house. Your brain will be so busy trying to get a metaphysical experience on the screen, you won't have time to scare yourself with ghosts.

• Rain can be like playing with watercolors. Make the best of it.

• Remember you still have time to rewrite dialog onset and during the edit (especially, if you’re working with VO). If you’re pressed for time, distill the meaning with people you trust. Dialog loves simplicity.

• Let people do their work. (You know how it feels. Sometimes the muse only comes when you have a little privacy.)

• Share. I couldn't have encountered a more generous group of artists in Asheville. There was no creative resource they wouldn’t have offered us for our project. I realized very quickly that I had met other people who believed that the act of creating something was the most important part. So no smallness showed up on set.

• Take a bath in a claw-foot tub by candlelight even if it means putting off sleep another hour. You would have spent that hour unraveling anyway.

• Chase geese. For Laduree’s ice cream shop, we stopped at a scrappy little restaurant with a red-striped awning in a country strip called “Poppy’s.” Bad hours, but took number. Meanwhile, had rural lead for field with flowers. Then Chusy suggested prep school lawn in town. Wasn’t interested, but went anyway. Too manicured; decided it was a wasted trip when we stumbled upon Exit 50, our poppy field. Way home from the restaurant Poppy’s, passed Philly Hoagie Shop. (Remember, this is the middle of North Carolina). Location was perfect for ice cream shop; hours were perfect, owner from South Philly and could not have been nicer. These synchronicities happened frequently, even through editing. Sometimes you’ve just gotta knock around a little.

Future Weather in the Media

With the launch of the Netflix FIND Your Voice competition, FUTURE WEATHER has been receiving a lot of good attention. As of right now, we're in first place of the ten semifinalists, and we're hoping to stay that way! The support we've been receiving from all of you has been great and we can't thank you enough.

FUTURE WEATHER has also been lucky to receive some attention from media outlets across the country recently. This past Thursday, Dan Gross of the Philadelphia Daily News gave us a shout-out in his column. SAVE THE FUTURE was also the subject of a great article in the Asheville Citizen-Times (look for a great quote from Chusy!). The Philly Goes Solar blog was kind enough to write about the short. And finally, our executive producers, Cora Olson and Jennifer Dubin, were interviewed by IndieGoGo about their film GOOD DICK.

As the Netflix competition keeps going, we're looking forward to getting more people excited about FUTURE WEATHER! The competition doesn't end until July 5, so keep spreading the word and help us rock the vote!

Netflix Find Your Voice Semifinalist: Future Weather

HOW YOU CAN HELP US WIN NETFLIX

DEAR FRIENDS OF FUTURE WEATHER,

Thank you so much for your incredible support. Here are a few little ditties you can do to help our little film go a long, long, long way:

• DONATE YOUR STATUS AND TWEETS TO OUR CAUSE: Show us some link-love by directing your friends, family, and followers to: NetflixFindYourVoice.com. Rinse and repeat daily.

• EMBED US, BABY: Netflix provides the handy ability to embed our short most anywhere - with voting functionality. Click on the red "SHARE" tab and get your peeps watching and voting on facebook, myspace, twitter, blogger, etc. (Best results: turn off pop-up blocker, and click "Add to account".)
  

• ACTIVATE YOUR ADDRESS BOOK: Either forward our email blasts or write your own. Send to every single one of your contacts. (They won't mind if it's coming from you, and it's for a good cause.) Say hello and give them a short, sweet rundown. If you want to save time, copy & paste ours:

"FUTURE WEATHER, an independent film based in Philadelphia, PA, has made it to the semifinals of the Netflix Find Your Voice Film Competition, and stands to win $350k in cash and services towards their production this fall. Their submission to the competition is a stand-alone short in which FUTURE WEATHER's protagonist reimagines her life as a public service announcement, blurring the lines between her family struggles and her fear of environmental apocalypse. It would mean a lot to me if you could go to www.netflixfindyourvoice.com, watch it, and rate it 5 stars! The more stars, the more votes! No Netflix account necessary. THANK YOU!"

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... THANK YOU AND ENJOY THE RIDE....

Andy O'Neil: Right-Hand Man

Chusy and Andy (right) looking over some footage

Andy O’Neil was Chusy’s right-hand-man during our shoot in Asheville. Not long after meeting Chusy and Jennifer in 2004, Andy was brought on to serve as co-producer for ANYWHERE, USA in 2005. Andy assisted with just about every aspect of production for the film; he scheduled shoots, rented equipment, worked on lighting, and helped Chusy edit the final cut.

An aspiring filmmaker himself, currently working with Chusy on several documentaries, Andy’s experience was a great asset when we were shooting SAVE THE FUTURE. In addition to lighting and recording most of the sound, he was instrumental in the post-production process, too. He went above and beyond by downloading and compressing our footage every night, so that we could take it back to Philadelphia ready to edit. And in his true-blue Andy fashion, he made himself completely available for any post work-flow questions we had.

Shane Eitner: "The Chest"

Jerry, Andy, and Shane pigging out at the Philly Hoagie Shop

Chusy’s cousin Shane Eitner, a body builder with a heart of gold, was working in “Executive Protection” (read: bodyguard) in L.A. before taking the cross-country road trip that landed him at Jennifer and Chusy's. He fell in love with Asheville, and after only a few months of living and working with Chusy, had picked up a few tricks of the trade. We were very impressed by how well he knew the 5D and the various lenses Chusy had for it.

Like Andy, Shane was a jack-of-all-trades during our shoot, switching off between lighting and sound; he built our telescope and literally shot the moon the day we left Asheville. But perhaps Shane’s most visible contribution to our short was his role as “the chest”. As part of our short, we really needed a faceless hottie for Laduree to bump into but couldn’t find the right person to be our "dude”. And then it dawned on us that Shane was the perfect person for the part. While he was reluctant at first, our persistent questions finally wore him down. And as you might expect, after a stint in executive protection, Shane was a natural.

PA's Help Us Brave the Elements

Our shoot would not have gone nearly as smoothly if we hadn't had the help of two production assistants who did a great job handling the rigors of the shoot. Jerry Ter Horst, an aspiring actor, worked as a volunteer on ANYWHERE, USA before joining Chusy again to work on SAVE THE FUTURE. He was joined by Nathan Lucas, an easy-going high school student who lives a few doors from Chusy, who was simply looking for something to do over the weekend. Whether these two were setting up a shelter from the rain or holding the umbrella over Chusy--and there were was a lot of holding the umbrella over Chusy--these two PAs rounded out our team and helped get things done.