THE PINK HOTEL DVD RELEASE SHOW! SEPTEMBER 1st 2o1o

Hello!  I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves this summer and staving off the delirious grip of sun madness with a healthy regimen of shady pursuits.  I’m imposing upon your inbox tonight to let you in on the happy news that my film The Pink Hotel will be enjoying a free screening at the wonderful Lincoln Hall on the occasion of the release of the limited edition dvd of the film!
Yes Sir & Madam!  DVDs!  Real, replicated and be-snapcased, non-dvdr, play-in-any-player, big-kid DVDs!  Available for the first time ON THE PLANET EARTH at Lincoln Hall on Wednesday, September the First!  Also available will be posters from our Music Box premiere in April, designed and signed by the inimitable Mr. Tony Fitzpatrick!
(I also signed them)
Better yet, the evening’s entertainment is FREE of cover charge and on account of it’s a school night, begins at 7pm.  The feature will be preceded by a brief selection of short films I’ve put together for the occasion (including but not necessarily limited to Lilli Carré’s “Head Garden” and Guy Maddin’s “Night Mayor”, both gorgeous films well deserving of your rapt gazes).  And guess what else: Lincoln Hall is also a bar!
So, if you missed out on our illustrious premiere or have a notion to secure a copy of our handsome new DVD for your very own, I sure hope you’ll consider spending the evening of Wednesday, September the First with us at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Avenue (AKA the nostalgic former home of the Three Penny Cinema and directly across the street from the deathplace of Mr. John Dillinger himself, The Biograph Theatre)
Your pal,
-Chris Hefner

THE PINK HOTEL DVD RELEASE SHOW
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST
7PM
LINCOLN HALL
2424 N. LINCOLN AVE
CHICAGO U.S.A.

AT LAST! THE PINK HOTEL WORLD PREMIER! • 9.APRIL.2010 • MUSIC BOX THEATRE

Hello friends and family!  I’m very, very pleased to announce today that The Pink Hotel will be premiering on April the 9th at 9:45 in the evening, at the Music Box Theatre here in sunny Chicago, U.S.A.
As most of you know, I have been hard at work on this project for roughly the past three years, and I can’t tell you how enthralled I am to see it all coming together.  The process of making “The Pink Hotel” has been a hugely rich and rewarding experience for me, and I hope the same goes for all of the truly remarkable people I’ve had the unspeakably good fortune to work with.
More details concerning tickets and official programming are soon to follow, but for now, and without giving too many surprises away, I can certainly promise you a top-notch, one night only event worthy of getting all dolled up and making an evening of.
I hope that you’ll consider joining us at the Music Box on the evening of April 9th to help bring our work into the world properly.  I’ve never worked harder or longer on any one project, and I would be honored if you’d come and share it’s inaugural evening with me and the cast & crew.
Thanks endlessly for your support,
Your pal,
-Chris Hefner

Kickstarter Fundraiser Campaign NOW LIVE!!!

Hello everyone! It’s been a very busy few months for the Pink Hotel. Post production is coming along quickly and the time has come to start thinking of the exhibition process! It’s for this reason that I’ve undertaken a new fundraising campaign through www.kickstarter.com. If you’re unfamiliar with Kickstarter, here’s how she works: I have set up a project profile on their site, a fundraising goal and a time limit to reach that goal. I now have 30 days to reach my fundraising goal (which happens to be $3,000). If I don’t reach that goal, I get nothing, and nobody is charged. If I do, however, people can keep pledging until the time limit is up and I’ll also get all additional funds OVER the proposed $3,000! Exciting!!!
So! Please take a moment and have a look at my project profile & pitch video, won’t you? Also, if you’d be so kind as to post this information anywhere and everywhere you think any interested parties may come across it, I would be hugely grateful.
Here’s the link!

www.kickstarter.com/projects/1159634368/the-pink-hotel-completion-and-exhibition-fund

Thanks a boatload!

C

TRAILER!!!

Wow, I was late in putting this up here, but better late than never!

Hope you enjoy the trailer! The music is by Jacaszek, and incredible musician who kindly let me use this beautiful track from his equally beautiful album “Treny” (check him out here: http://www.myspace.com/jacaszek)

Editing is coming along strongly, I hope to be done with a rough cut by the end of January. Foley will take much time and energy, but I have some good help as always, and I think we’ll nail it.

If you enjoy the trailer and think you know anyone else who may be interested, I’d be very, very appreciative if you would be so kind as to pass the link along!
Thanks very kindly!!

A Wrap for Most

I promised myself I’d get enough sleep tonight, but I’ve just got home and am feeling just the combination of wakefulness, the nostalgia of the season, guilt for not having kept up with this silly blog and excitement for the bittersweet milemarker of an actor’s wrap, that I’ve finally gotten around to posting something new.

The good news is that last Monday, the 5th of October, marked the final scene involving actors to be shot principally.  Yes, there are pick ups and b roll things to be addressed, and still much work to do.  But as far as full crews (or as full as my crews ever get), scheduling, rehearsing, properties, location hunting and the like, that, my friends, is a wrap.

Our final scene was on the rooftop of my dear friends Kate & Mark’s apartment.  Fittingly, as wall-scribed portents and serendipitous turns have been the Pink Hotel’s stock in trade for the duration, it was discovered when we got to the location that our lead actress, Stephanie Wyatt’s name was still on her former mailbox in that very building.  of course I had no idea she’d ever been anywhere near the building, but not only had she lived there, but lived in the VERY apartment Kate and Mark now inhabit.  Furthermore!  She had sworn aloud only DAYS before the shoot that she would never again enter that building, and would rather it burned to the ground.

No such luck, dear Stephanie.  The Pink Hotel seems to have had its own plan since the word go, and there hasn’t been any getting around it.

Nor should there have been!

So a chilly, early morning shoot wrapped us up happily before work on Monday.

Next up!  A few pick up shots at the gorgeous, historic and, yes, haunted Willowbrook Ballroom on Monday.  And!  Very excited to report that Chicago’s own blindingly lovely Ambidextrous Acrobats will be lending their talents to our modest movie’s circus dreams later in the week.  I feel like I should stress this: these women are incredible, and it’s terribly exciting that they’ve deigned to grace the picture with their talents.  After that, the only thing left to shoot is the wonderful zeppelin model being constructed by the skilled hands of the inimitable Ms. Erin Foley.

So much finished, so much to look forward to.  Things roll along.

I hope you’re all enjoying the chilliness.  I am.

Your pal,

Chris Hefner

Lobby Creepers! 40 Ribeye Steaks! Rare!

Last Wednesday we all met at the Illustrious Music Box Theatre & shot all of our lobby scenes.  The day was exciting and filled with good looking people, as you will see.  I have to admit that directing this many people is outside of my comfort zone, but I feel like people had fun and things went well.

We had two serendipitous incidents with the telephones that acted quite well for themselves.  Things that, had I written them, would’ve never, ever been possible to make happen.  Always refreshing when the movie acts itself out.  A little sign that it didn’t die on the table months ago.

Chris Bower put in a remarkably vulgar turn as our Hollywood Director.  I don’t know if the poor Music Box has ever heard the terms “Penguin paintied jackass” or “Faggy little pigfucker cowtown” growled so venomously in it’s demure, velvety ear, but Chris made no bones about it, and it was astounding.

Thank you TREMENDOUSLY to Daniel Knox for arranging everything with the music box, Whitney Bradshaw for the staggeringly generous donation of her skill, film and lunch hour, Angelica Rivera at Tiger Lillie for yet another round of breathtaking hairstyling, and everyone who came and helped.  There were a lot of you, and you were all wonderfully helpful.   I’m thanking you very, very sincerely.

I don’t know what else to say, honestly.  Other than that I think it’s safe to say that the Pink Hotel has probably the most alarming yet strangely endearing bellhop in Chicago.  Ring the bell if you don’t believe me.  It’s…upsetting.  And yet…

Windermere! Fundraiser! HANDSOME SPOILS!!!

More to come soon, dear readers.  However!  I felt I should make haste and post something right away to express my dear appreciation for everyone’s help and support over the past two weeks during our Windermere Hotel shoots, tremendous fundraiser soiree, and now through the procuring of the benefits of our benefit: a new macintosh pro editing computer!  To put it plainly, this was the biggest roadblock between me and the completion of the film, and Saturday’s fundraiser made it possible to tear down this baracade in one mighty fell swoop!

Your support has been nothing short of humbling, and I am very happy to report that our most recent fundraiser was a resounding success.  This, coupled with the astute assistance of the charming & knowledgable online Apple Expert, Janet R (Hi janet!), has brought us closer than ever before to realizing the mammoth goal of completing this monster.

Pictures to come!  Promises, promises…

Thanks gushingly everyone.

Hunting the Elusive %25 Percent

Hell, it’s been a while since I’ve posted!  Sorry for the drought, if you happened to be reading this regularly.  At any rate, things have been in a bit of an enforced planning stage lately.  Since the Edgewater Beach Apartments dropped out as our principal location for the remainder of the film, I and some diligent friends have been combing the city for other suitable loacales to shoot the remaining approximately 25% of the picture.  I’m very happy to report grand results!  (see above)

Yes sir, the Windermere House of Hyde Park Chicago has agreed to host our little show for a couple days of shooting later this month and early next!  The building is gorgeous, and not to sound as if talking with a mouthful of sour grapes, but it’s honestly visually more interesting than the EBA.  That building is gorgeous as well, there’s no doubt about that, but there are certain architectural details at the Windermere that, until now, have honestly only existed to me in the script.  Things I was actually beginning to fear I’d never actually find.  Also, the floor upon which we’ll do most of our shooting apparently used to be occupied solely by Muhammad Ali and his entourage.  Now, strange coincidences have peppered the production since the beginning, but this is one of my favorites: in addition to a kind, enthusiastic staff, letting us shoot for free (!), and being a generally enthralling location, the icing on the cake is that apparently the Windermere House actually used to be PINK!

It’s true.

At any rate, the credit for this tremendous score goes squarely to one Ms. Jennefa Krupinski.  An endlessly generous crewmember, friend and neighbor throughout the production, Jennefa just got a new job which just happened to have it’s offices in the back of the Windermere.  Being all too familiar with the PH and it’s location woes, she did a little light sleuthing and secured the contact information for the building manager, passed it on to me, and within 48 hours I was in a meeting with the magnanimous Mr. Peter Cassel discussing the possibility of a shoot!  NONE of which would be possible without the quick-witted energies of Ms. Krupinski, so if you happen to see her, shake the gal’s hand and buy her a cupcake.

In other, previous news: the shoot at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s warehouse was quite successful.  New pictures below, including several AMAZING shots by Mr. Rob Karlic!  The group shoot was a hell of a good time, everyone enjoyed themselves immensely I think.  Nothing like a good, costumed lurk around a leaky, endlessly musty basement with extremely limited lighting to brighten up your Wednesday afternoon, I always say.  And here’s a tip on the hush-hush:  Should you find yourself in the MCA basement anytime soon, bring a flashlight and do some snooping, you may still creep up on my little secret zoo…
SHH!!!

Warehouse

Sunday & Monday were used to gather and fabricate props and set materials for this week’s shoot.  Jennifer came over and assisted with the fake animal concern yesterday, and Brent donated an overflowing bike basket’s worth of the finest deer antlers in the city of Chicago.  Thanks tremendously to both of them.

Today we began shooting at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s storage warehouse on the west side of the city.  We lost about two hours due to some sort of communication snafu that was outside of our control but resulted in us being locked out for the first bit of the day.  Luckily, Mr. Duncan Anderson came to the rescue (as is his way), got us in, and we were working by 11.

The lost time resulted in a somewhat cramped sensation later in the day, and I’m not 100% sure I’ve got what I need out of the day.  But it’s all the day had, and there was no getting more, so it’s best not to fret over it.

A more substantial setback came upon getting home from the set, when I received an email from the Edgewater Beach Apartments informing me that they’d held a board meeting and decided not to allow me to shoot in their building after all.  Clearly this is disappointing to say the least, but in the best interest of everyone, I’m going to leave it at that and not be a jerk about it.

(punches wall)

So!  It’s back to the drawing board ladies and gentlemen.  Any and all realistic leads on vintage hotel or apartment buildings which may consider hosting a tiny, polite & unobtrusive no-budget (or as SAG terms us “Ultra-Low Budget”) production may be directed to tonichousemovies@gmail.com

Tomorrow we shoot a scene in which a room filled with hidden, discarded & apparently consumptive showpeople is discovered in the hotel’s sub-basement.  From what I’m told, there should be a pretty impressive cross section of individuals on hand to languish deliciously for the camera.  We shall see.

Two Days in The Jetsettress’s Room

This week we shot all of Stephanie’s scenes as The Jetsettress in her dressing & bath rooms.  Day one was a bit of a scramble to find makeup & someone to apply it.  Thankfully Stephanie picked some up on the way to the set and Lynnette very generously came to the rescue in the application department.  Wednesday was a bit stressful, to be honest, but that was no one’s fault really.  Anxieties aside, Stephanie & Elita turned in stupendous performances as always, and we were once again extremely fortunate to have Stephanie’s hair styled by the upsettingly talented Ms. Angelica Rivera.  Beautiful!

Next time I make a movie, though, I will remember to tell the crew.

Day two was worlds easier and went very smoothly.  We began the day with a nice bath for Stephanie, a little seaweed, a little telephone conversaition.  Then in the afternoon Dan Sutherland came and put on a tremendous performance as our desperate Concierge, during which he very daintily dispatched our poor leading gal with a derringer while serenading us with “Hey There” by Ms. Rosemary Clooney.

A fine day!

To add to the good times on Thursday, when I got home I met the UPS man who was dropping off about 14 reels of new footage, including everything shot in the Jungle and with Lynnette in her dressing room!  I’m happy to report that, amazingly, seemingly every foot of it came back looking just marvelous.  This may sound like I’m patting myself on the back, but rest assured I feel most of the time I have very little control indeed over what things actually come back looking like.  So when I say it looks great, I say it with the prepetual mystification I seem to have concerning the mysteriously fickle mistress that is an auto-exposing super 8 camera.

I’m also very excited to say that a new little fragment of the film will soon be viewable on the Pink Hotel facebook page.  The first actual, official, probably-really-going-to-be-in-the-picture scene I’ve released publicly!  It’s called “Dinner”, and I hope you like it.