Of Course It Was DAY 13

A smirk gleamed across the girl at Walgreens' face when I asked if there was a toll to take the bridge to Wisconsin. Hey, we don't have these free bridges in the Bay Area ok? Tonight, my media tour continues as I appear on the Walt Dizzo radio show. We'll be playing some original tunes, talking about Duluth, & contemplating whatever is fun & fancy free.

This morning my cinematographer's car broke down as we were out shooting tourist attractions. That pic of the Depot was enough to break his serpentine belt. When asked if Kevin had any words for the blog, he replied "No comment." Hopefully his car will be fixed by tomorrow and a special thanks to production assistant Libby for rescuing us. Because of this auto fail, we did have to reschedule one scene on the weekend but otherwise, things have been running relatively smoothly. Well outside of nearly everyone in the cast & crew get insulted & threatened by the hometown drunks at the Round-Up bar last night. We'll be back there in the morning when there just won't be enough time to get plastered.

Yesterday, I was given free reign of the Duluth News Tribune offices and whenever given that opportunity, I put 5 women in fanciful latin dancer costumes. Sorry, no spoiler pics. From there, we went over to the Blackwater Lounge to get a guerrilla shot of HOT Duluth nightlife (see, the film IS fictional), over to Chris LeBlanc's house for his role as the redditor troubled by litter box problems, and we went to 1:00 am getting our lead, Shane May carrying boxes & stalking people. It was a cold outdoor shoot. I was told I looked like Kurt Russell from "The Thing." I felt I looked more like Kenny from South Park.  

Today, we got the awkward date scene at Bellisio's & the anything-but-hot sex webcam scene. It all looks fabulous and the credit there goes to cinematographer Kevin Horn. This will certainly be the most polished looking of my work thus far. My prior films generally tend to have the early 80s music video aesthetic. I hope nothing gets lost in the gloss. I think it will be a good film. Pretty artsy fartsy, if you're into that. The tragedy will be really tragic and the comedy will be really absurd. It's a personal goal to adequately gel those two. I've played around with it in some of my other films (Chickens In The Shadows has been said to be really dark despite "Taste The Biscuit") but I think "Duluth" will be more of a drama with comedic elements than vice versa. I'm excited for the finished product.

The local news came by to do a story while we were filming yesterday. Here's that interview with behind-the-scenes footage: http://www.fox21online.com/content/short-movie-duluth-horrible-begins-filming. Ok, seriously what's with my hair? It's just everywhere. I really look crazy. Like a totally insane European director (despite being from Stockton, CA). You can actually see the insanity, like this man truly has no idea of where he is or what he's doing. This is all true by the way. I just don't remember being so obvious. I finally am the pretentious artist type I tried so hard for so long not to fit into. Can somebody CGI a beret & a glass of red wine into my interview scenes? 

Well off to do some radio and back to filming at 8:30 tomorrow morning! Please drive safely.

DAY 12: The Vincent Gargiulo Media Blitz!!

I don't have much time to talk. We start filming in a few hours and I still need to tell myself that I'm smart enough, good enough, and that people like me. So in lieu, here are a bunch of articles that came out TODAY about my work.

Here's one from the San Francisco Bay Guardian talking a little about Duluth, David's Pizza, & my Muppetless Movie which is playing at the SF Indiefest Feb. 17 & 19.
http://www.sfbg.com/2013/02/06/muppets-manholes-and-mayhem?page=0,0

On the local front, here's one from the Duluth News Tribune telling you where I'll be so you can properly stalk me. http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/257833/

Fox 21 News is coming later to the set, so there will probably be a story on TV tonight. The lesson here kids is if you want anybody to pay attention to your rinky dink short film, go to a random place and offend it. 

Occasionally, I like to check out the analytics of this blog. Here's what people searched for to find it. Notice anything funny here?

DAY 11: Filming Eve

I really hope my cast/crew appreciate me braving the elements to make sure we know exactly where we're shooting, even if it means making huge fashion fopas and getting Niagara-like amounts of mucus in my balaclava. But don't let's start.

We start shooting tomorrow and it will be the busiest day of all, doing almost twice as many shots than on Thu & Fri. The largest amount of cast will also be on hand. At one point, there will be 5 women dressed like this. Along with cast/crew, I'm told the local news is coming by as well as random fans & onlookers. It'll be a long, crazy night. I apologize now to the crew, but IT GETS BETTER the next two days. Why pack it all into three days? Purely financial reasons. In shoots like this, I use my "good enough" approach.

Today was jam packed getting ready for tomorrow. I stopped by Ace Hardware to get some supplies when I heard an old man complaining he had to come all the way from West Duluth! Buddy, I came all the way from California to go to this Ace Hardware. I went to the grocery store & Walgreens & the post office & ended the outdoor day, going along the lakewalk looking for "the bench" where our lead sings the title song. It was bloody cold.

I'm afraid I'm going to have cut tonight's entry short. Tomorrow will likely be short too. I have to finally do what I'm here to do and that requires rest. My curlers are in and my cucumber mask is on (Hey, I'm gonna be on tv ok!) Goodnight.

DAY 10: You've Made It This Far

I love this apartment I'm staying in but whoever lives above me walks way too hard. I shouldn't hear every footstep you make.

We start filming Wednesday and today has been spent making sure everything is in order. Had an rehearsal with Shane, who plays the Lead. He's required to sing two songs. My songs are not the easiest things to sing as I have no use for traditional song structure but we spent a good time working on the songs and with some practice, I think he'll knock it out. I know he will. After Shane, I visited with Nadia who's playing the Adult Webcam Performer. That scene is improvised so we just went over the tones & emotions of the character. We wondered if she would perform on the bed or the couch. I don't believe we came up with a definitive answer. Which would you pleasure yourself on?

From there, I went to the Goodwill store to buy some dweeby shirts for the Office Worker character. Got em'. I also looked for a plaid flannel shirt for myself, just to look more Duluthian but nothing really spoke to me. I did however find some great VHS tapes. As some may know, I collect the worst in VHS tapes. Today, I scored "William Wegmen's Alphabet Soup", the cult film starring Siamese twins, "Chained For Life", "Bible Sing-Along For Kids" (featuring the Sunshine Kids), and something called "Treasures Of The Snow: A Classic Study on How Principles of Life Were Applied To Family Conflicts." This last tape apparently was previously owned by John & Kathie of Bemidji, MN. I hope they worked out their issues. There was another video which I did not purchase called "Honesty featuring The Indian Cinderella." I didn't wanna know.

When I returned home, I received a phone call from Justin at NBC News 6 in Duluth who wanted to do an interview. He wanted to do it live in person on camera so I was forced to put my pants back on and head down to the studio. I was surprised we did it outside. I haven't mentioned it, but yeah, it's still cold here. That story goes on tonight around 10:00p. I told him to edit it in a way that made me look evil, just to keep the fury alive. Everyone asks me if I think Duluth is horrible. Not really. Parts of it are but that's every city. Even good ol' San Francisco where I reside certainly has horrible stuff - too expensive, can't park anywhere, massive homelessness, and cold & overcast in Summer, for example. The interviewer asked me why people would watch something called "Duluth Is Horrible." I'm sure they rather watch that than "Duluth Is A Beautiful Place." Sounds super boring.

Day 9: What's In A Name?

The other night I went to a house party and met somebody who was cold, cynical, and the opposite of this Minnesota Nice thing I've experienced. We immediately hit it off and she invited me out last night. I was sure she was going to stand me up, so I was amazed and slightly disappointed when she was actually there. However, she left within 10 minutes proving she has enough Minnesota Nice in her to make sure I got there before ditching me. Luckily, she left me with some interesting & nice people. One such lady named Kate gave me a book of her poetry and then escorted me to Tycoons, where she gave me a lesson about how the highway was created. I gave her a motivational speech about feeding off the people who fucked you over in life. I met other people: an older man who said his thoughts were not important, the director of the local Burlesque troupe, and a younger man successfully pulling off Grandpa's clothes. I've been terribly social here and been wondering why I'm not this cool in San Francisco.

My film is a sociology experiment. What seems interesting is that the press is making it bigger than it actually is. It's 20 minutes of just people moping around in some silly art movie. This is a threat? I can't wait till its done and actually shows here. What a shitstorm that'll be! The last time I got this much attention for a title was for my film I Am Jesus Christ, but even then I wasn't once mentioned on God's blog. I watched that Google Fiber video in which Google is presented as a little girl in a tracksuit who comes to Duluth to send old ladies on jets. This video is far more damaging to the town than anything in my film. And Mr. Mayor, I'm still awaiting my puppy dog.

I'm enjoying my celeb status here so much that I've decided to open a new midwest video division. I already bought the space and it'll be called Vincent Gargiulo's Horrible Productions.

Artist Rendering

Day 8: Terribly Boring Post About Writing Emails

Today has been the most exhaustive day yet and I haven't even left the house. I made my casting decisions this morning and then proceeded to spend the next couple hours trying to coordinate everyone's schedule. I think I finally got it. Then, I sent emails to everyone letting them know they've been cast and the schedule. I sent emails to those who didn't get in too. It's almost an entirely Duluthian cast. Most do not have alot of acting credits to their name, but I feel confident in all of them.   

Last night, I sang a few tunes at the Round-Up karaoke bar. We're filming there next week. My haunting renditions of the Doors "Touch Me" & Ray Charles "You Don't Know Me" brought down the house and prompted hugs, high-fives, and suggestions to go on American Idol. I suggested maybe Duluth Idol but they were convinced I was ready for the big show...I also got feedback on my boots which apparently make me look like I'm "from the country." I'm just glad I figured out a few days ago that it does matters which foot they're on.

What Am I Doin' Hanging Round?:

DAY 7: I'm Too Sexy For This Balaclava

NOTE: If you're an actor who tried out for the film, I will be sending emails tomorrow. I believe I made my choices but wanna sleep on it. 

Besides I have karaoke to attend! Going to make a research trip out to the Round-Up tonight. I was there earlier today and talked to the manager. He's letting me film there but it will be in the morning, not at regularly scheduled karaoke times. That is now. And I just want to see the setup. I guess you'll know where I'll be tonight if you wanna say hello or kick me in the balls.

Speaking of saying hello, I was having dinner with Meghan & Bryan at the Duluth Grill and sure enough I was approached by someone who recognized me. They shook my hand, said they liked the title and my other films. I could get used to this celebrity business. Incidentally, I've never had fish served to me in the shape of a cinnamon roll.

Today was the coldest day I've felt yet. My nose hasn't quite been the same since this morning. I blew my nose and a penguin came out. The weather prompted me to pull out my arctic clothing. So get ready girls, here now is a fashion show just for YOU.