This film was conceived some four years ago when Christine and I met at a directing class at UCLA. At the time there were four stories - each about 20 minutes long. During one of our first meetings, the news broke that John Kerry had gotten the nomination from the Democratic Party. Fast forward four years later, and when I was on set shooting Love Song, news broke that Barack Obama got the nomination from the Democratic Party. Talk about coming full circle. It took us about 2 years to write the script. During the first year one of the writers parted ways because she knew she was not going to be able to raise the 5k that at the time we thought each story was going to cost - we were so innocent to think that we could shoot each story for 5k! But I digress.
By the time we release the film there will be a new President in the White House. Which brings me to the current election; I won't use this blog to take sides or to profess my preference for a candidate, but I will use it to state the obvious; The media and a good chunk of the country did Hillary wrong and now they are going after Michelle Obama. The woman is being crucified for speaking her mind and then when she tries to show a different side of her personality by going on The View they gang up on her for being "fake". The allure of being a woman and especially a strong woman is that we have many facets to our personalities. For example, if a woman is the CEO of a big corporation, or a film director, she's going to behave differently in the boardroom or on the set than she would when she's baking cookies for her kids or when she's out to dinner with her friends. Women today are expected to be Super Man, juggling career, kids, social life etc. In the case of Michelle Obama, campaigning alongside her husband, being under media scrutiny, taking care of her kids, plus all the other things she does, she should be allowed (without the media making something more out of it) to be who she is; that probably means that she's warm and sweet around her girls, smart and supportive when she's campaigning for her husband and all around Super Man/Wonder Woman the rest of the time. I have not heard anything about Cindy McCain but I've been living in the world of filmmaking where it's easy to loose touch with the world when you are in production. I'm sure Cindy is Super Man/Wonder Woman as well.
I strongly believe that behind a successful man there's usually a few women responsible for getting him there, usually their mother, wife, sisters and daughters not to mention a father, brothers or sons. Obviously the logic works in reverse as well.
Bottom line is that to be successful it helps if you have a strong support system and if that's not the case you need to be like the little engine that could and just keep moving ahead.
Which brings me to my next point - As a writer/producer/director on this project I wore additional hats, I basically did what needed to be done to take care of my crew, my actors and anything that came up, basically Super Man/Wonder Woman. As I'm watching the footage, I take pride in the strong women I created, because of that, the film is beautiful and sexy; that's my vision, those are my images up there and I need to stand by them. I had a conversation with Christine today and we came to the conclusion that in order to sell sexy we need to be sexy. We are going to embrace our inner Candace Bushnell, Pamela Des Barre and Jackie Collins - why is it that it's ok for female authors to be sexy if they are going to sell sexy books and not for female directors? We're going to change that!
We'll put the pictures of the director's photo shoot and you can judge for yourself - let's hope Suzie is available to give us a make over.
xoxo,
Lucy
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About The Three Shorts
Christine Le wrote and directed the 1st story Love 10 to 1.
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.
Christine Le (right) directs Shireen Nomura Mui (Jenny) & Justin Klosky (Jim).
Lucy Rodriguez wrote and directed Love Song.
The second story revolves around Shane, the lead singer of the L.A. rock band, Dirty Virgin. Shane has her pick of admirers but it’s her roommate Dustin she wants to be with. Shane confesses her feelings on Jackie and Jared’s show but when Dustin meets Cali, Shane’s shot at love starts to dwindle. With Dirty Virgin about to embark on a world tour, will Dustin realize that he’s the object of Shane’s affections? Will they risk their friendship to give this Love Song a chance?
Lucy Rodriguez & David Villar (Dustin)
Laura Somers wrote and directed Diving Lessons.
The final story picks up where Love 10 to 1 left off, but from the perspective of Jim, the guitarist of Dirty Virgin. Jim sees Jenny at a swimming pool, trying desperately to overcome her fear of diving. In fact, he finds out that she’s making a list of everything that she’s afraid of and trying to overcome them, one by one. He is instantly smitten and tries to convince her that he’s not just a rock star who ‘loves ‘em and leaves ‘em’. Can a rock star find love with a virgin?
Shireen Nomura-Mui, Laura Somers & Justin Klosky
Leah Anova is the Director of Photography for Love 10 to 1 & Diving Lessons.
Additional Cinematography on Diving Lessons by Erik Forsell
Matthew Boyd is the Director of Photography for Love Song.
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.
Christine Le (right) directs Shireen Nomura Mui (Jenny) & Justin Klosky (Jim).
Lucy Rodriguez wrote and directed Love Song.
The second story revolves around Shane, the lead singer of the L.A. rock band, Dirty Virgin. Shane has her pick of admirers but it’s her roommate Dustin she wants to be with. Shane confesses her feelings on Jackie and Jared’s show but when Dustin meets Cali, Shane’s shot at love starts to dwindle. With Dirty Virgin about to embark on a world tour, will Dustin realize that he’s the object of Shane’s affections? Will they risk their friendship to give this Love Song a chance?
Lucy Rodriguez & David Villar (Dustin)
Laura Somers wrote and directed Diving Lessons.
The final story picks up where Love 10 to 1 left off, but from the perspective of Jim, the guitarist of Dirty Virgin. Jim sees Jenny at a swimming pool, trying desperately to overcome her fear of diving. In fact, he finds out that she’s making a list of everything that she’s afraid of and trying to overcome them, one by one. He is instantly smitten and tries to convince her that he’s not just a rock star who ‘loves ‘em and leaves ‘em’. Can a rock star find love with a virgin?
Shireen Nomura-Mui, Laura Somers & Justin Klosky
Leah Anova is the Director of Photography for Love 10 to 1 & Diving Lessons.
Additional Cinematography on Diving Lessons by Erik Forsell
Matthew Boyd is the Director of Photography for Love Song.
5 comments:
But do you think that Michael Patrick King thought that he needed to be sexy to sell Sex and the City? Do the women who reach the top need to look good as well as be super talented?
Michael Patrick King is a gay man which pretty much makes him fabulous in Hollywood's eyes. For some reason gay men can sell sexy, romantic films. Straight men are allowed to do the same. I don't know why it's not acceptable for women so that's why I came to the conclusion that we should test the model that works in the publishing world.
PS
Sex & The City - not so great, a lot of scenes lacked heart. Just because you can show a woman crying, having friends by her side and set it against a beautiful backdrop does not = heart. The film felt like 5 forgettable episodes with about 1 minute of something sweet for every 30 minutes.
Love Actually is the ultimate, romantic modern comedy. I'd dare say it's one of the best of all times. Sex and the City didn't even come close. What a waste!
Lucy
I know I am new to your blog & I do not mean to cause trouble but - just because it works in the publishing industry does that mean it still makes sense? I know nothing about the publishing industry but selling books based on a novelists sexiness sounds potentially sexist to me. The average person has no clue about the sexiness level of male film directors. It is considered besides the point. So how are women film directors - who I support whole heartedly - aided in their work by putting themselves out there as sexy?
I liked what you said about Hilary & Michelle Obama. Thanks for that.
And how great to find such a blog!
Hi Anna,
Thank you so much for reading our blog and for your comment. You are not causing trouble and replies like yours are encouraged because every time the subject of women directors comes up people feel like they are opening up a can of worms. Even women filmmaker organizations try to stay away from the certain topics and I think that for there to be positive change we need to talk about these issues in a positive way.
In the publishing world, in order to sell books, authors go on book tours. To me, authors are sexy because they are usually smart. For me, an intelligent person, a well read person, regardless of their looks is a turn on.
Like beauty what is considered sexy is in the eye of the beholder. So when I say that in order to sell sexy we need to be sexy that's something that came out of following the rule that as a woman working on a set you need to be gender neutral (which equates to dressing like a boy). If that's what I have to do on a set that's fine but off the set, promoting my film, I will make the decision of how I want to look (I want to look like me). I want to embrace my femininity and let the world know that you can be smart, you can be sexy, and you can make a movie. You can also be an idiot, not sexy and you can still make a movie (feel free to check out the multiplex any time of year). This won't apply to everybody but I choose to be the smart/sexy person who makes films.
Now to define sexy - for me, sexy does not mean dress like the wanna be celebrity of the moment. Jackie Kennedy, Gena Rowland, Penelope Cruz, Sophia Lauren, I can keep going but you get the picture, those women are sexy. They embrace their femininity without flaunting their sexuality. Male directors don't need to worry about that and neither do male bankers, lawyers, doctors etc., as you can see these politics are not inclusive to the film world.
At the end of the day, I want to promote my film in a way I'm comfortable. It doesn't mean I'm going to pound on makeup and wear a padded bra because that's not comfortable for me either. I love shoes and I'll be wearing some sexy ones. My reward, once I've paid for the rest of the film is a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes, the highest, sexiest pair I can find. I will wear them to every Q&A. Presenting the film in those shoes, with a great mani/pedi, wearing a nice pair of jeans and a Dirty Virgin t-shirt (that's the band in the film), that's going to be me feeling pretty sexy. That is a choice I'm making that works for me. At the end of the day, sexy, not sexy, male director, female director should not come into play but unfortunately it does. So, to end this on a positive note, here's some advice that all directors should follow.
1. Be Prepared
2. Connect with your cast and crew - I feel strongly about connection because if the cast, the crew and the script are all connected, your audience will connect as well.
3. No matter how busy/crazy/hectic your day is, make sure that you acknowledge everyone at least once during your shoot. Say good morning and thank them at the end of the day. The most gratifying thing I walked off with is knowing that my cast and crew respected me. In your journey as a director you'll be lucky if you can get to work with actors you like multiple times, your crew however, you can keep with you for ever (schedule permitting). Knowing that my crew will work with me over and over is the best feeling in the world. As a director, having a strong team working with you is priceless.
Thank for your comment Anna.
Lucy
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