Director's Cut

speaking foreign language

>>...of course, absolutely, this landscape that looks really sort of innocent and normal, and yet you can't move through it with out somehow ejecting you, and it's that magic place where you can go and get what you wish for, which is never what you think you want. >> Hello, today we have a special treat for you film buffs out there. Think Christmas morning, your birthday and your first kiss all rolled into one. A celluloid creme de la creme. The light at the end of the movie tunnel. Today we reach the pinnacle, the apex, the top, the culmination, the summit, the climax if you will, of Wisconsin independent filmmaking. Yes, it the annual hour-long Wisconsin Film Festival special edition of Director's Cut. We're going to talk to a number of different filmmakers throughout the hour and see lots and lots of clips. So stick around. But first, Jim Healy, of the Wisconsin Film Festival. >> Hi. >> Thanks for being here today. >> Thank you. >> So, the film festival has about 150 films, all these things. How do you handle it if you're just a normal person, like, I want to go see some movies. What advice so you give to people? >> Well, read about the films and go to the ones that most appeal to you, first off. There's plenty of chances to be a daring film goer here. There's lots of movies that people will never have heard of before, from countries they may have never seen a film from before. So I would say, just go with your first instincts. Go with that. And if you're planning on seeing a lot maybe see one that you just take a blind chance on. >> Yeah, that's a fun idea I think, just take one blind chance. I'm curious, these film festivals around the country, including this one, are so successful. Why don't movie theaters do film festivals all the time? >> Well, I think the answer is that the movie industry is vast and huge and it's in, maybe the best interests of those who make the most money off of movies, to keep it down to you seeing five or six movies a year. >> You're being cynical. No you're right, it probably is why. Make you see bad films and pay money for it. For people who are watching this right now, that are looking and are like, Wisconsin Film Festival, that's in Madison, right? What is it? Tell people, what is the Wisconsin Film Festival? >> It's five days of concentrated film screenings for people who are wanting to take part in conversations that are national and international about films. Oftentimes, the films we're showing have a lot to do with what is going on in the world right now, and sometimes the films we're showing have to do with national film movements taking place. Like for instance, we have a group of films from the Quebec region of Canada this year, a group of films from Iran, where there's an amazing national cinema movement that's been really strong for about 25 years. >> You also have a group of films that I'm interested in from Rwanda. I counted at least three, and they were non-fiction. >> Yeah, two fiction films and one documentary. One, "Kinyarwanda," which Roger Ebert had on his top-ten list last year, and another film called "Grey Matter," which is the first film shot in Rwanda by a Rwandan director, the first narrative fiction film. And it's really an audacious movie. >> Wow, that sounds amazing, because I watched, like, an extended clip of it, like five, six minutes of it, and when I found out that it was this first Rwandan film made I was thinking about the genocide and what the film was about. I was mesmerized by watching. The thing that's interesting is that, an Ethiopian fiction film called "Grey Matter," I think if I saw it written down I'd be like I would never choose that film. So it's kind of one of the ones you might have gotten on accident, that you chose to go there. >> Yeah, and it's a very odd and unusual film, it's also about filmmaking too. >> Well, thank you for being here, of course. >> Thank you. >> We have lots more this hour. We're going to talk to different filmmakers and we're going to do a lot. But right now we're going to show some clips, a little bit of a montage we did of some of your great films from the Wisconsin Film Festival. Thank you very much. Let's roll that tape. >> Paul Williams was born in Omaha, Nebraska. As a small child his family would move from town to town. His 6'2" father working in construction on large government projects. At night, the man would drink and make his young son sing "Danny Boy," promising to take him to a ball game. >>

We're driving at like 4

00

or 5

00 in the morning through this horrific rain storm, and my dad is like, you know,

slurring

or 5

: "I can't see..." Over his shoulder talking to me. And I'm like, don't watch me Dad, watch the road, you know? >> I'm going to skip around a little bit, but do you remember being entered into talent shows? >> So we're interrupting this meaningful conversation about my dad taking me to this ball game to talk about talent shows? >> Also the reason I'm doing that is 'cause I... >> But I want you to put this in the film. Because this is actually, this conversation we're having right now is more important than the story of the talents shows or the... >> Well, I know. >> Okay, talent shows... >> You guys ready to reel 'em in? >> Pop the trunk. >> I think we need to recharge a little bit. >> Recharge? >> Yeah, recharge. I think we need a little bit of, you know, a little bit of food, a little breakfast, a little coffee. I know Stanley's in a little bit of pain at the moment. >> What's wrong with you? >> I'm fine. >> He has a headache. >> I don't have a headache anymore. It passed. >> He has a headache. He's in pain. I think we just need a little bit of... >> Why the hell did it take you so long to get out here this morning? >> You know, I overslept a little. I didn't mean to. >> You overslept? In the motel, on your big comfy bed? >> Yeah. >> You knew we couldn't put that piece of

###

or 5

tent together. You know we basically got nothing out there. A

###

or 5

little corner of a corn field, nothing but beer, and you

just stroll in at 10

30 'cause you happened to have overslept. >> What do you want me to do, apologize? >> Yeah. I'd like you to apologize. >> I apologize. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to oversleep. >> Is that the only thing you're apologizing for? >> What else do you want do you want me to apologize for? You know, if guys are hungry I've got some Frosted Flakes back at the motel. You guys like Frosted Flakes?

water running

just stroll in at 10

>> Some great clips from the Wisconsin Film Festival. We're joined by John Powers from the Wisconsin Film Festival. You focus on the Wisconsin films, right, of the Wisconsin Film Festival? If there's about 150 films in the festival, how many are from Wisconsin, about? >> I think this year we have something like 35 movies from Wisconsin. Yeah, they range in length from a minute to, I think, like, 110 minutes. >> Yeah, that is a big range. So what do you do? Do you just watch Director's Cut &nbspand then pick ours, or do you have a different method of picking? How do you pick the Wisconsin films? >> The Wisconsin films are all submissions so filmmakers submit work to us throughout the year, and then we look at all of the films and then make decisions based upon our kind of vision for the festival this year. >> And you even have a separate category. You also have student films, from Wisconsin students, right? >> Well, the student films when they're actually chosen for the festival, there's no really distinction between those and the other films. They play out on the same programs, but when they submit we try to give the students a little bit of a financial break for the submissions. We just separate them that way. There's also, in the awards, there's a separate student award. >> And there's also the Wisconsin jury prize. That's kind of a big deal, right? I'm getting the name wrong. >> The Golden Badger. >> The Golden Badger! How could I forget that? >> Yeah, the Golden Badger committee of three people choose films from the group of Wisconsin's Own films to receive awards. This year, we have four awards we're giving out, including to "Glue Man," a film that I think will be on later in the hour, right? >> Yes, absolutely. It's interesting as I think about it, because, if I understand this correctly, they're the first films to sell out, is the student shorts and then the Wisconsin films, Wisconsin's Own films. They're what people want to see first, right? >> Often. They're often really popular. >> Why do you think that is? I shouldn't say this maybe out loud, because I do Director's Cut, where I interview Wisconsin filmmakers. But you would assume that a film from France, or Quebec, or somewhere else is maybe going to be a higher quality. Why do people want to see the films made by people here? >> Well, I think, there is always interest in seeing your own environment represented. I think that once you see these films, I think I would even argue with the fact that the quality of a film from some other country is better of worse. These are really interesting and good films, and often it's your only opportunity to see work like this, that's made right here. >> Sure, it's almost harder to see the local film sometimes, than to see the film from Quebec. What theme were you going for this year for the Wisconsin's Own? >> Man, this year we wound up with a lot of documentaries. There were a lot of good feature-length documentaries. I don't know if it's really a theme, but we have "Last Day At Lambeau" about the Brett Favre thing. We have "The Entertainers." We have this film called "I Have Always Been A Dreamer," sort of a personal essay documentary. We just wound up with a lot of really good feature length. >> Oh, so you guys are clever. You let the theme come out as the films come in instead of the other way around. >> Yeah, there's not really some kind of pre-determined idea about what's going to happen. >> It's interesting you say that. I have a lot of friends. I have a friend who came to town last year to see some films, and chose the Wisconsin films, and came up with the same. He's like, whoa, I didn't know they'd be this good. >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's really nice. Well, and it's also more of a surprise, right? Because you don't really know what you're going to see. That's part of why it's fun to program Wisconsin's Own, because you don't really know from the title what you're going to get, and sometimes it can be a nice surprise. >> What a cool job you have. >> Yeah, it's nice. >> Doing local artists, supporting local art. >> Yeah, it's great. >> Thank you very much for joining us. Obviously, we will be seeing a lot of you during the Wisconsin Film Festival. >> Yeah, thanks for having me. >> Thank you very much. And we're going to be spending the rest of this hour talking with a bunch more filmmakers featured in the Wisconsin Film Festival. First up, we're going to do this film, I can't remember what his name was. It's this guy. He was a quarterback. Brett something. Not Aaron Rodgers. I can't remember his name. I think it was Brett Favre. Brett Favre, yeah. And the film is called "The Day At Lambeau." We're going to check out that, and talk to the filmmaker in just a minute. >> I always felt, through this whole ordeal, that the fans kind of got left out, quite frankly. That Brett Favre did what was best for him and the Packers did what was best for them, and I don't think anybody really considered how the fans felt about all of this. >> I think Ted Thompson was hoping that the situation would go away. >> The Packers, they just wanted to take the high road the whole time and they didn't want to fight back and they didn't say anything. They knew this guy's legendary status in Green Bay so they just kept quiet, and by doing that they lost the PR battle, time after time, after time. >> This is now at the height of Favre mania in Packer nation. There are people marching outside Lambeau field with banners, you know, talking about bring Brett back. The Press Gazette is being inundated with hundreds of letters every day about people, why is Ted Thompson trying to run Brett Favre out of town. The next day a member of the Packers' PR department calls one member of each paper, to go and talk with Ted Thompson. >> I want to say it was in a conference room that's located near Mike McCarthy and Ted Thompson's office and McCarthy was there, and Thompson was there. And they had very detailed notes, they were very prepared to talk about this. >> That was the only time I've ever seen a sort of humanity behind the mask of Ted Thompson. He puts on this aura as though he's never going to show you any emotion, he's never going to reveal anything about his thinking. And that was the one time where you could physically see, it was tangible that there was a pain on Ted Thompson's face, that there was a confusion, that there was a hurt. It's not to paint Ted Thompson as the victim here, but he didn't know what to do. How do you tell the greatest player in Packers' history that we're not going to bring you back, but we also are not going to release you? >> A clip from "Last Day At Lambeau," director, Michael Neelsen. First, for people who don't know, if people don't think before Aaron Rodgers, what is this film about? Take us back to that minute. What is this film about? What happened? >> Well, it's about people and their heroes, and more specifically, sports fans and their heroes. You know, I've always been fascinated by, kind of, relationships that don't necessarily make a whole lot of sense. And the relationship that fans have with their icons has always fascinated me, because I am a fan. I'm a die-hard Packers fan, always been my whole life. And when the whole Brett Favre separation from the Packers was happening in 2008 through 2010, I wanted to understand a bit more of why I felt so strongly about it even though I had no stake in it really, other than a fan. >> Okay, that's fine. I get that. I felt the same way. But you did something I didn't do. You started collecting, I would assume, footage, and started making a film, like, right then. Some of these interviews are done right at the time, right? >> Right, well, we started filming the week before his last game at Lambeau Field on October 24, 2010, as a Viking. >> So, you knew. Of course we all knew, I guess, in some ways. B ut you knew this was going to be a big deal. Did you know it was going to be dragged out as much as it did? >> Well, no, not at the time. I actually don't know that anyone-- We knew it was going to be his last game at Lambeau Field ever, and that just, a lot of Packers fans and Wisconsinites were very ready to kind of say, oh, Brett didn't mean anything to me, kind of that defense mechanism, you know, when they felt so strongly about it. I felt like a lot of people didn't acknowledge, throughout the media or even personally, just how significant this was. This was the last time he was going to take a snap of any kind at Lambeau Field. That's kind of significant after, you know, 20 years. >> I see what you're saying. Your film is obviously going to be popular in this state, and it's going to be at the Wisconsin Film Festival, hugely popular. Everybody I know wants to see it. Are you a little nervous about the expectations or what people are thinking about this film? They don't know what the film's about. They know it's about Brett Favre, the last day of Brett Favre, I'm going to see it. >> I actually made the mistake of going to on some message boards in the last couple of days and from both sides, there are people who are totally supportive and people who think this should have never been made. And the idea of, why do we need to spend one more second on this guy. This is totally unnecessary. We're over it. I think their vehement reaction is kind of my point, you do feel strongly about this. >> What did you learn? This is a film about us and our heroes, and you have a hero and it happens to be this guy the film's about. I liked him too, and of course, now suddenly our hero's been replaced way easily. I was so surprised for myself, to another quarterback, who I now love and now is my hero. I often think all the time, I don't know why I do, I remember when Aaron Rodgers won the Super Bowl, like, Brett Favre must feel bad. >> Yeah. >> That was my first thought. Then I thought Aaron Rodgers must feel good. How does Brett Favre feel, for some reason in the back of my mind. He certainly hasn't seen this film. >> Who, Brett? He should know about it. I've contacted his agent. We haven't heard anything, no. But I'm more interested in the fan reaction. Because if you have-- A lot of ex-fans are very quick now to say, Aaron Rodgers is better. Immediately. Well, if Aaron Rodgers were to go to the Minnesota Vikings next season, people would be upset. I don't think it'd be quite the same thing. We can't dismiss the fact that this guy meant something to Wisconsin. He was more than a football player. Aaron Rodgers has made a concerted effort to not be Brett Favre, to not live his life in public. Brett, for better or worse, was totally a public figure, and he would be on the Mount Rushmore of Wisconsin, sports or not sports, at the time. >> Yeah, I would have voted for him to go on there. >> Yeah, and so the idea that people are no quick to, kind of, dismiss him now, I think is a defense mechanism. They're still feeling it. >> It's interesting. Well, thank you for joining us. I'm really looking forward to seeing it, because I like Brett Favre, too. Thank you very much, and coming up next we have the film "Glue Man" from writer and director Alex Pickett. First we're going to see a great clip from it and then we'll talk to him. >> When you've been doing this as long as I have, you come up with little tricks that help you in the job. For example, whenever I'm at a loss for words, and it happens more often than you'd think, I'll just insert the phrase "cultural touchstone of our generation." John Stockton was a selfless player, but he would become a cultural touchstone for our generation. It was Pac-Man this, and Pac-Man that. It would become a cultural touchstone for our generation. I'm not saying Studio 54 was a cultural touchstone for our generation, but I am saying, if you were alive in the late '70s you had to be there. What does that mean? I don't know. It sounds smart. >> His specialty, his absolute specialty, is the music cue. He's the guy we know is going to deliver us into the perfect music cue for the stock footage. >> It was wild. It was unhinged. It was the '60s. In a white room With black curtains... >> He could lead us into music cues that are ironic. >> It was a bleak time for America, and things would only get bleaker. And I think to myself What a wonderful... >> He could lead us into music cues that are playful. >> It was the 1950s. You know, it was "Ozzie and Harriet" and "Lucy" and people sleeping in separate beds, but behind closed doors, things were pretty wild. Crack that whip >> He can even lead us into music cues that don't make any sense. >> Of course by then Hitler had already decided that Poland was next, and there was no turning back. Jeremiah was a bullfrog Was a... >> Oh yeah, I call Nick whenever I'm doing a documentary. It doesn't matter what it's about, baseball, the Civil War, he's the guy who's just written a thick book on it. I don't think Nick's ever written a book in his life, let alone some 600-page doorstop about Lincoln, but when I need an expert, he's Nicholas Douglas, author, The Great Emancipator. I mean, nobody checks these things. >> Nobody checks 'em. Nobody checks these things. Alex, that is fantastic. >> Thank you. >> So, where in the world did this film idea come from? >> Well, it basically came out of Joe and Nick. Nick is the actor and co-writer and Joe is the director and writer, and they did a documentary a few years ago called "Dirty Country" about a dirty country musician, because they had a story that they wanted to tell, but they needed people to cooperate. It was, like, rural Indiana, and people weren't always very forthcoming with, or knowing how to just give a pithy little sound bite. But they had one guy who they would always go to, who they would kind of tell, we need to go from this to this. >> Oh, it wasn't a satire documentary? You're talking about a real one there? >> Yeah, they did a real documentary. And this one guy was perfect at giving them exactly the thing to go from one to another. So then we all started watching documentaries, and we realized everybody does this. That's how we tell stories, you know? You have a story you want to tell and you, kind of, use the talking heads to prove it, in a way. >> Did you steal? You guys must have sat around. Well, you're one of the writers on the film, right? You sit around and watch loads of PBS documentaries, just loads of documentaries, and just be like, I'm taking that one, taking that one. You're right, I was thinking about this film. I watched a documentary the other day. It was a good documentary. It was about JFK, or something, and there's one guy that came on and said something, and like oh my god, it was so contrived. >> Yes. >> So set up with the music, and I'm like, oh, my god. >> Yeah, it's funny. When we were writing it, we watched a lot of things, to look at backgrounds and look at fonts, and you know, get specifics down. As you're watching it, you're just like, that has nothing to do with it. If you take that 12-second sound bite, they're not saying anything, you know? I know that they probably talked for two minutes and said something substantial, but that doesn't matter. It's when they sum it up, the 12-second sum up at the end of the question. They take that. It's just like, that doesn't say anything substantial. >> It's so interesting to me. If you had set out to make a documentary critiquing documentaries, which is a reasonable thing. I think they get pretty pretentious. If you did it in a serious way and critiqued it. It would be horrible. >> It would fall flat. >> It would fall flat. I wouldn't want to watch it. You wouldn't want to watch it. But then when you get into satire, it's the perfect ground for satire. I thought to myself, why hasn't this been done before? Ken Burns kind of needs to be made fun of. I can't believe he's never been made fun of before. >> He was really good about it. He was hilarious. He was really good. He's a total pro, but yeah, he loved it. We shot the whole thing, and then we got him. We made up the scenes for him, luckily. But he was great about satirizing himself, like nobody checks these things. We loved that line, because obviously they do. If they say it's PhD, it's a PhD. But yeah, he needs to laugh at himself. It's nice to see that he does. >> It's interesting, in this whole thing. I work in radio as well, and this whole issue with This American Life. Recently we had a guy that came on that lied. He told a story that wasn't true because nobody checked it. And I don't think people always do check it. There's a trust inside of there. >> Right, right. Yeah, you're right, and if we'd just had an expos on it, nobody would care. Documentaries, you know, their heart's in the right place. >> Now, I'm curious. Yeah, it's true, if your heart's in the right place, it's not enough, is it? I can't imagine the email or phone call to Ken Burns. Hey, Ken, we want to make fun of you. >> It was kind of funny, because it was a totally like indie filmmaker thing, where we tried to lie at first. We tried to guess at his personal e-mail. And Nick, the guy who worked for Colbert Report for a while, so we kind of played that up, like it kind of had something to do with Colbert. And then finally we just called his company and they're, like, "Oh, that's great." And then they saw the trailer that we cut and they're, like, "That's great. He loves it." He was fine with it. He was a total pro. He read anything we put on the prompter for him. >> I love it. >> Yeah. >> What has been the reaction? How have people reacted, who've seen it? Other than Mom. >> She hated it. No. No, it's been good. Really, we're going for laughs. I mean, if people laugh, we think it works. If they don't. It's a comedy, I think. >> Is it a comedy, or is it a satire? Because from what I've seen, it seems to me, that you're also trying to, that there's a political motive. >> There's a definite message there. But I think, I don't know. I mean, we're comedians, mostly. Joe and Nick are on the Found Footage Festival that started here in Wisconsin, and you just want to hear laughs. >> Laughs are good. >> So that's the first objective. And then I think that also makes you think about it more. If the jokes fall flat, nobody's going to think about the message because it didn't work. >> So that's my take away for today. Laugh first, learn second. >> There you go. >> Thank you very much for joining us today. I'm sure a lot of people are looking forward to this film. It's great. >> Thank you. >> Coming up next, we have another montage from the Wisconsin Film Festival. >> It's almost like waiting to see a dentist, before you get your teeth pulled out.

laughs

just stroll in at 10

No, I'm not the mayor. I'm the congressman, you're right. >> It's a democratic district. Two years ago, they elected an Asian American republican over a black democratic incumbent. >> Unfortunately, I think he's in the wrong party. He's in the party that's representing the interests of the upper classes in America, and not the marginal people. Not even his own people. >> Congressman... >> It's racial politics. Even as a republican, he might win, but he's not black. >> You all are Baptist, but we're all Christians. We're all Christians. >> All along, he's said that he's going to do the right thing and he doesn't care what the cost is. He may be now paying the cost. >> Did you find what you were looking for when you left the seminary and decided public life was the way to go? >> The Euro has dropped 9%.

phone rings

just stroll in at 10

>> Hi. >> Thank you again. >> The bubble has finally burst.

sirens blaring

car engine starts

just stroll in at 10

>> Oh!

starts scooter engine

glass breaks

just stroll in at 10

>> The Wisconsin Film Festival takes place in Madison, April 18-22. With over a 150 films to choose from, it's a movie heaven. The festival attracts more than 30,000 movie-goers that watch films on eight different screens in Madison. It's like a roving city of popcorn. It's like a roving city of popcorn-munching zombies. It's awesome! It's when Madtown becomes Movietown! Go to wifilmfest.org that's wifilmfest.org and start picking your films right now! Or right after the show. And speaking of the show, we have more directors and movies coming your way. Up next, the director of the documentary "Frames." Toss to clip. >> You weren't supposed to read that. >> I'm not supposed to read that part? >> No.

indistinct conversations

just stroll in at 10

>> I didn't see you all day. >> Miss me? >> Do you want to come in? >> Is that okay? >> Dad won't be home for an hour, or so. >> A clip from the film "Frames" from director Brandon Colvin. Brandon, thanks very much for being here. >> Thanks for having me. >> You know, the film, as we see from that clip, has very little dialog, right? What are the strengths and weaknesses to doing that, as a filmmaker? >> Well, it makes it tough. For the kind of aesthetic we were going for on the film, it really worked. One of the things that I really wanted to explore in the film is how to make the small large. And this is kind of a concept in minimalist art, is the way you make the small details speak is by bringing the field down. So if we bring the stimulus down, if there's not so many words to listen to, then every word means more. So that's kind of a creative principle that I've followed while making the film. >> Is there, like a dogma-esque thing going on here, too? Not to get over filmy with everyone, but it seemed that there's no-- Is it sound edited, or is there music or sounds added? Or is it also just done by what the camera picks up? >> No, there is some music, there is some music. And the music is mostly, like, drony, kind of, electronic music. I understand why you're saying dogma and that's because the film operates according to some pretty rigorous principles. There are things we do not do. And so in that way we definitely have something in common with the dogma filmmakers, but our rules are somewhat different than the rules they're going by. >> Maybe you have new one. >> Right. I should write a manifesto. >> Write a manifesto. You'll be famous. The one thing I also noticed, I can't remember why-- I was looking up to see something about the film. I looked it up online, and I'm searching for it, and I come on Kickstarter, is where I come to it first. For people who don't know this, please tell people what Kickstarter is, and how you funded this film. It's pretty interesting, I think. >> Right, so we used Kickstarter primarily for completion funds, and for festival submissions. Kickstarter is a crowd sourcing, fundraising website. You basically propose a creative project and you put it out there for people, and people who are interested in it can support it financially. Then in return, they often get credit or acknowledgement, or some kind of special privilege for their donations. >> It's an amazing website, by the way. I sometimes go there and just check it out. You did a smart thing on Kickstarter that a lot of people don't do and that is that you had something partially done, so people can consume what's partially done and say, wow, I'd like to see this finished. I want to do that. Now, how much did you raise and how long did it take you to raise the money to finish it? >> Right, we got about $1,500 on Kickstarter, and it took three weeks. So it's really just a matter of knowing your resources and knowing how to access them. I think a lot of indie filmmakers are doing this, and some that have bigger names are actually funding entire films through Kickstarter, for hundreds of thousands of dollars. >> It's pretty interesting. What is your film about? Not in a bigger sense of, like, what it's about, but what is it about? How would you describe it to someone? What's the narrative? >> I would say the film is about a young filmmaker who lives in a Wisconsin small town. He starts off making a documentary about his town. It's this, kind of, an unusual, abstract documentary and he's working on it with one of his friends, Vera. Halfway through the film, Vera sort of mysteriously vanishes without telling him really where she's going or what she's doing. So the rest of the film, he spends time trying to figure out what happened to her. It's kind of a mystery, but it's not a mystery in terms of, like, you know, boiler plate suspense. It's very slow burning and kind of contemplative in it's tune. >> A slow burner. >> A slow burner, yeah. >> Well, thank you very much for joining us today. It's very intriguing. You've got a good process to get there, too. I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it at the festival. Up next, we're going to have "The Amateur Monster Movie." "The Amateur Monster Movie," I like that title. We'll have the director on, but first, here's a clip from the film. >> I was sorry to hear about what happened to your friends on Cadaverous Island. >> Me, too. >> We may have a serious problem on our hands if we're dealing with what I suspect. >> No one can be certain at this point. Everything so far has been inconclusive, a bear, a wolf, a cougar, your guess is as good as mine. >> Walter, I'll tell you what killed your friends on Cadaverous. It was a

###

just stroll in at 10

werewolf. >> A werewolf? >> A god damn

###

just stroll in at 10

shootin' werewolf. >> But I didn't think werewolves were real. >> Oh, naive little Walter. How little you know about what's real. >> I suppose you think centaurs are made up, and that elephants are real, huh? >> What? Walter, I'm convinced this is a werewolf. Everything about this travesty just screams werewolf to me, the time of the attacks, the killing method, the clean finish. No wolf is that sophisticated. No man is that primal. Only a half-man, half-wolf hybrid could conceive such a kill. Yes, Walter, a werewolf. >> So, you're saying that my friends were killed by a mythical beast? >> You got it, Bub. >> "You got it, Bub," that's the "Amateur Monster Movie" by Kyle Richards. Kyle, first and foremost, you sat down with yourself and said, I'm going to make a werewolf movie. Why did you want to make a werewolf movie? >> Well, it was a little more complicated than that. I did want to make a werewolf movie, but I also wanted to make a zombie movie. So I decided I'll just combine them both, because I don't have enough ideas for either one. >> That's perfect. Don't make two shorts, make one feature film. >> Right. >> Now, before we get into the werewolf genre, which I'm not as versed in, the zombie genre, which I know a little bit about, there's some rules, right? >> Yeah. >> In the zombie world, they're unwritten, but there are some rules that you've got to follow. Did you follow the rules? >> Yeah. I had to learn about that, because there's, of course, different zombies. There's fast ones and slow ones. And apparently if you're using the rules similar to the George Romero films, like "Night of the Living Dead," "Dawn of the Dead," that's called Pittsburgh rules. He's from Pittsburgh. So we followed the Pittsburgh rules of slow zombies. >> Do you go to a website? George Romero didn't write the Pittsburgh rules. >> No. Well, I don't know if there is a website, there could be. Somebody could make one now and claim that website. >> So, what are the Pittsburgh rules then? How did you know what to do? >> I just watched all the movies and based it on that. You know, they're not very fast. You have to kill them in the head, the brain is the only way to kill them. I don't know, it varies. >> I remember somebody saying there are different rules were, if they're speaking zombies verses non-speaking zombies. >> Yeah, these are-- >> "Brains," verses no words. >> Yeah, these are like non-speaking zombies. They just moan and they're pale. Sometimes they're not pale on the back of their heads, because we forgot to cover it.

both laugh

just stroll in at 10

>> Now the other thing you have, of course, is a werewolf movie. There are certain rules around the werewolves, as well. Like, I was surprised, that's right, you can only kill a werewolf a certain way. Did you try to follow that so that people enjoy the process? >> Yeah, I guess what I found, I researched zombie movies and werewolf movies. The werewolf movies, they all sort of follow the Jekyll and Hyde story of like man turning into a wolf, and I kind of wanted to just focus on the wolf part of it. So we don't really go into much with that. I also don't like when silly movies over-explain things. I try to just have fun with it. >> The other thing you did, which I've always liked, which is campfire/young kid island thing. I'm like, oh my god, that's always been scary to me. I think I could go on and on with kids, and play that up. Now, I also know that we were talking about off-screen, one of the actor we saw in the clip, who's kind of the guy that's the guy to go and kill the werewolf, the zombie. He's a actor I've seen in a number of films, isn't he? >> Yeah, that's Bruce Spielbauer. He plays the guru. I had actually worked with him on a short film I'd done a year before. I got in touch with him online and he's a really great guy to work with. He's totally fine with coming out to the swamp in the middle of the night in Wisconsin, and working with us. >> Were you able to pay him? >> No, everybody who worked on this movie, up front, worked for free. If I make any money, then of course I want to-- >> Divvy it back out? >> Yeah. >> Here's six dollars for you. >> Right. People might have a less than a dollar check coming in the mail. >> Now, we covered the zombie and we've covered the werewolf, but then this is also a spoof. >> Yeah. >> Which I think is a clever way to deal with some of the problems you have on a lower budget. Are you the writer of the film as well? >> Yeah. >> That must have been kind of fun. I can picture writing that. >> Oh, yeah. It was a lot of fun to write. I knew I wouldn't be able to raise the budget I wanted for other ideas I had, so I looked at this one and I thought a lot of the stuff I had in mind was a little elaborate. Like somebody falling in a fire and having their face bit off. I just was like, how can I do that? Well, if I don't have any money and it's called "The Amateur Monster Movie" it would probably be funny if I just tried to do it without any money and see what happened. >> But I think that works actually. I thought that was really clever. >> A lot of people think it turned out a lot better than I expected, and it's actually creeped some people out. To me it's just a straight comedy, but to some, it has it's moments. >> Why do we like these genres? I mean, there's so many films in these genres, why do we like them? >> I guess, for me, personally, what do I enjoy about zombie movies is, I think just the absurdity of it is funny to me. I think most zombie movies are comedies, whether they say they are or not. >> Right, on accident. Were you surprised when you were selected for the film festival? Or were you, like, I'm getting in for sure, when you submitted it? Or did you say, man they picked a werewolf zombie comedy? >> It's hard to say. On one hand, I'm like, we have so many Wisconsin connections, and I feel like it was an impressive feat to have done this for no money. But on the other hand, yeah, it's a comedy horror, and those are the two least respected genres. >> You did everything the way you shouldn't do it! What do you expect from the crowd? What kind of reaction do you expect from the crowds? >> So far, from the screenings that we've had so far, everybody laughs a lot and, it's been a really good time all the time. We have some great shows, 4/20 and 4/21. >> Yeah, I could see that as a midnight movie sometime, you can make it as one. >> So, I mean, maybe it will catch fire. >> This interview will be huge later when you're famous. Well, thank you very much for joining us. >> Yeah, thanks for having me in. Up next, "The Entertainer" which is co-directed by Nick Holle, and we'll se a clip first. Thanks.

laughter

just stroll in at 10

playing "The Entertainer"

just stroll in at 10

>> One of the tricks that I've been working on is the Chico Marx Gun Finger. And this is tricky for me with my left hand. I can do it easily with the right hand. Left hand, it's a little harder.

applause

just stroll in at 10

But I feel I need to do it with the left hand, because the way the stage is set up, the piano's facing the audience, so in order to get maximum claps for maximum showiness, I think I have to do the Gun Finger with my left hand. >> Oh!

applause

just stroll in at 10

>> Boom. That is a great clip from "The Entertainer." It's a great documentary by Nick Holle. Nick, how are you? Welcome back, you've been on before, of course. People recognize you. First, you're wearing the t-shirt for the world championship for the old-time piano playing. When you heard, in Peoria, Illinois, there was going to be the world championship for old-time piano playing, did you say to yourself, that's it, I'm making a documentary? >> No, we actually had to be convinced to come and check it out. >> Really? >> Yeah. A friend of my co-director, Michael Zimmer, is in the movie, Ethan Uslan, who you just saw. He was, like, you guys have got to come and bring cameras and film us. We decided to go this one year, in 2008. We brought a few cameras, just to kind of check it out and see if it would be a cool subject to film. Lo and behold, it was. We met these great people and they loved the music so much, they're funny, they just have really interesting backgrounds. So we decided we would make a movie out of it. >> Now, as everyone knows, a great documentary is like a great film, it needs a star. It has to be about characters. So who's the star of the piano playing film, "The Entertainer" and who are the characters? >> The movie is centered around six of the piano players, and we selected the ones who had really interesting stories to tell, who had a lot of fun with it, had fun in front of the camera. And they're also extremely amazing piano players. >> Right, yeah. >> We thought that, you know, we'd take each of them-- For example, there's the high schooler-- >> Yeah, tell me about him. There's a high school kid in this, isn't there? >> Adam Swanson, and he is just highly regarded as a piano player and is just a wizard. He's kind of the phenom, and the up and comer in the whole Ragtime community. He definitely, in the year before we shot the movie, he won the contest as a 16 year old, so everybody was out to get him. >> It's interesting, I'm just thinking of the Heisenberg principle, where you observe the experiment and you effect it. This is a pretty small event I noticed, and you guys come in with how many cameras? >> We had between seven and nine. >> Right, and I could see the angles and the cuts and you're all in people faces. That must have affected the contest. It must have affected the performance. They don't get that much attention, I would assume. >> Not really. We had the opportunity to film them for one year during the contest and it was footage we didn't end up using over all. So they kind of got used to us. And we around and filmed each of them before the contest for several days each, so it kind of started to blend in a little bit, and we had so many people hanging around in the background, that people started to ignore us. We, kind of, caught a lot of the great moments during the weekend. >> So tell me, like I said, you've been on the show before, and I've seen actually a number of your films. What's the Wisconsin Film Festival, as a festival? What does it mean to Wisconsin filmmakers? What does it mean for you to go show this at the film festival in such a venue? >> For me, and my partners who are from Wisconsin, it's the best. We just have so much fun here. Obviously, when our films have played, we get to have a lot of friends and family join us, but I guess the thing is, as a film fan, it's so well attended, people are so excited about it and it's just really cool to experience, just going to different movies. I try to see 10 or 12 every year when I come here. It's a great experience. >> What advice would you give to other filmmakers out there? Who are, like, "Man, I want to make films." You've made non-fiction and fiction and different things. I want to make films, I live in Wisconsin, I don't have any money. What do I do? I want to make films, I want to be at the film festival. What advice do you give them? >> Well, I mean, you've just got to find a couple of people that are game for doing it with you and, just do it. You have to just put your head down and try to write something or come up with a subject, or something. Just do it. Figure out a way, no matter what. You don't need money to do this. Just do it, and if you really want to tell a story, I think that's the way to go. >> There's the take away now, for everyone. If you want to make a film, find some folks who are game and do it. Sounds like good advice to me. I'd like to live my life that way. Thank you very much for joining us today. I'm sure you'll be back again. >> Thanks. >> And we're going to see another montage from the Wisconsin Film Festival, a bunch more great clips. So let's roll that tape. >> Germany. November. November 11. Spain. Spain, kilo four. Spain, kilo five. New Zealand Six, Australia. Bulgaria. Six, Australia. France. Germany. Spain, kilo seven. Singapore. Return to sender. Return to sender. Germany. >> Zero, USA. >> Australia. >> Spain. France. >> Africa. >> Australia. >> Belgium. >> Australia. Kilo six. Germany. Kilo seven. >> Germany. >> Australia. >> Belgium. >> Norway. >> Hello! You are my first costumer. >> Of the day, or? >> Forever. >> Okay. I think I'm just going to go for the ice cream for lunch today. >> Ice cream for lunch. >> Yeah. >> How old are you? >> I'm 26, but my birthday is next week. >> All right. I have 17 flavors today. I've got 16-- I've got a delicious cherry.

whistle

just stroll in at 10

>> Stop. We have. >> We have. We have 17 flavors today. Are you going to get into this? I'm serving out first costumer. We are partners in this business. I'm making a transaction here. >> If you want to say, "Can I get you...," sure. If you want to say, "I have...," no. >> Are you serving ice cream to this gentleman from there? >> I don't want to bring this up, but how much money did you put into this place? >> I put my heart and soul into this place. >> That's true. >> Yeah, um, I just going to order-- >> Go ahead. >> From you. >> Go ahead. What kind of ice cream can I get you? >> You're such a

###

just stroll in at 10

! >> I'm going to go for a neapolitan in a cup. >> No neapolitan. >> No neapolitan? >> I consider neapolitan a pale version of spumoni. >> Okay, well, I guess I'll have spumoni. >> No spumoni. >> None of that either? None at all? >> Spumoni and neapolitan are the striped creams that come in a frozen block. That's a freezer item that you buy at the grocery store and take home. The striped ice creams don't work very well in a cup and cone establishment, which this is. >> Okay. What are to topping situations here? >> Well, we have-- >> Hang on, sorry, can I finish? And also, in addition to the toppings, is there a whipped cream, cherry option? >> You're being difficult. >> No, no. >> I'm getting the feeling-- >> We're-- >> We're starting to think that you're not going to be our first costumer. >> That is a great clip! I love it. Jim and John, we're running out of time, but please, each one of you, give me a highlight of what you think, for you, is a highlight of the Wisconsin Film Festival this year. >> Well, you know, we showed a lot of clips from contemporary films, but we have a lot of retrospective and revival titles in the festival. We have an 85-year-old W.C. Fields comedy with live piano accompaniment, and also Milos Forman's first American movie, "Taking Off," which is a masterpiece. So, see some of those. >> That sounds great. Well, thank you both very, very much for being here today. We are very excited about the Wisconsin Film Festival. And thanks for everyone, all the directors, for joining us today, and hey, thank you for watching Director's Cut. For more information on the Wisconsin Film Festival please go to wpt.org and click on Director's Cut. While you're there, send us an e-mail, because we like hearing from you. I'm your host, Charles Monroe-Kane. Check the gate.

whimpering

gunshot

gunshots