Shooting DV on a microbudget......

Christine has been bugging us to use this blog. I am a very private person and prefer to keep my opinions to myself but for the sake of the project and to get the word out - here it is.

My name is Lucy Rodriguez-Watson and I wrote & will direct Californication. I’m quite cheerful and optimistic today so this will be more of an introduction to our project and not a bitch fest about how expensive it is to get a location permit for a no budget film in LA. Believe me, that one’s coming……

We started collaborating on Love 10 to 1 around May of 2004. The premise was simple. Get four people to each write a 20 – 25 page script and each person would direct what they wrote. We had some guidelines. The cast was to be diverse, the story had to be about dating in LA and leave room for the characters to briefly appear in each of the stories – and it had to be directed by women.

Originally there were 4 writers.

Christine’s story is about Jenny trying to loose her virginity before her 30th birthday.

My story was about Dustin (Jenny’s boss) and the love triangle between him, his roommate and an old flame.

Nick’s story was about Caitlin, a lesbian sex addict who plays bass in the band Dirty Virgin fronted by Dustin’s roommate Shane. (Because Nick wanted to act I was going to direct Addict in addition to Californication.

Amelia’s story was about Doug, an older guy dating Kim, a college freshman and groupie of Jim, Dirty Virgin’s guitar player.

We knew we had a good premise and raising the 50k needed for a budget was going to be a piece of cake. We decided to start casting ASAP, again with such diversity raising the $$ was going to be easy. We were on our way to hitting the big time. One year and five months later we are only doing three of the stories. Virgin, Californication & Addict. Amelia parted ways after we couldn’t raise the money. The three of us stuck together and are hoping to shoot in November with no $$$.

Thank God for our great actors who have stuck by us through this whole process. Our cast has been encouraging and supportive from day one. We had so many great people audition and a lot of times it was very tough because we wish we could have used almost everyone who auditioned. It’s funny because there are a few people who did not make it to the project who still call to find out how it’s going and to wish us well.

The original actresses cast in Addict parted ways. We are still looking to cast the lead in Addict and I still need to cast Dustin (the one male lead in a story with about thirty female characters).

Since there are now three stories, the premise for Californication has changed slightly. Instead of it being Dustin’s story, Californication now revolves around Shane and the ramifications her secret crush on Dustin has on her career when she thinks he’s in love with another woman.

We brought Gabriela Sosa on board to direct Addict so that each story has a distinct feel. We are planning to work with one DP to help us achieve a cohesive yet individual look for each of the stories.

We still have $0 so it will be interesting how we pull this off.

Synopsis and Log-line

LOG-LINE: Love 10 to 1 is a romantic comedy told in three vignettes. The film explores the highs and lows of relationships and love in the city of Los Angeles. The film circles around a morning radio show’s rant about the men shortage and the single women who outnumber them by ten to one. The statistic serves as a profoundly motivating factor for the characters and as a constant reminder of the harsh reality of dating in LA.

SYNOPSIS:

“Virgin”: The first story explores the life of a 29-year-old virgin, Jenny, who desperately wants to lose her virginity before her 30th birthday. As she encounters one loser after another on dates, Jenny pines after her boss, Dustin. While at her grandmother’s retirement home, Jenny learns a powerful lesson from her grandmother about sex and the meaning of life.

“Californication”: The second story takes an intimate look at the love life of Shane, an up and coming LA rock star. When Shane lets her secret love for Dustin get in the way of her and the band's success, she risks losing her friendship with Dustin, and jeopardizes her band's national tour.

“Addict”: The final story examines the life of Caitlin, a lesbian sex addict who has finally attained the stable, healthy, loving relationship she has always wanted. But when her addiction ultimately resurfaces, she risks losing the only woman she’s ever loved.

Love 10 to 1 is akin to "Sex and the City" meeting "Love Actually", with a diverse cast that truly reflects the face of Los Angeles.

Lucy