Never Land

 About

A modern retelling of the myth of Peter Pan from the perspective of Tinkerbell, Never Land centers around Charlie, an outcast girl who scores the part of Tinkerbell in the high school play. "Teen angst is...given original treatment in this whimsical yet bleak look at the pain and confusion of growing up and not fitting in." - Patsy Kotsopolous, Victoria Film Fest Juror "The teenage misfit...takes her role in the high school production of "Peter Pan" to its logical if supernatural end. - Peter Crimmins, Berkeley Daily Planet

Produced in the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute Best of Fest, Berkeley Video and Film Festival Shown on Public Television Screened in LA Freewaves, American Digital Arts Festival, Golden Shower

 Back Story

In May 1999, I was lucky enough to be accepted in the Directing Workshop for Women at the American Film Institute. The program is incredible. They give eight women the opportunity to make a short narrative film: donating funds, equipment, and three weeks of workshops. It was a great opportunity and a wonderful experience. Here are my letters home from LA: detailing my excitement, my homesickness, and the making of Never Land.

05/09/99: LA LA Land
Hello all, I have arrived safe and sound in LA. I always have an intense culture shock on arriving in the city of Angels. I get almost claustrophobic from the lack of character. I can't tell one street from another, every strip mall looks the same, filled with discount stores and suspicious pastries. Happily, in my wanderings I found a totally hippied out natural grocery, a public library with lots of windows and dark wood, and a cafe with coffee that was fine. I'll survive another day. I head over to AFI this afternoon for my first event: a screening of a film by a former Directing Workshop for Women participant. The actual workshop, and all the attending getting-to-know-you, begins Monday. But this may be my first glimpse of the other participants and I am thoroughly excited. Tonight I have a party to go to. My friend Phil, of "Circus Re-dick-u-less" fame, invited me along. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to go to a party where I would know no-one. But he laughed at me. What party in LA is going to be any different. Yes, it's true, it's time to go out on a limb.


05/10/99: LA LA Letters
After a rocky start, LA is growing on me. Tonight I went to a party with my friend Julian Nitzberg (director of "Bury Me in Kern County" and a wonderful doc on Hasil Atkins, the father of Psychobilly). I don't think there has ever been a more attentive host. He told everyone that Kia Simon from Berkeley had just moved to LA. One great thing about LA is that almost everyone is involved in the movie business. Sofar, I'm not just meeting struggling actors. I'm meeting producers, composers, editors, and special effects artists.

Anyway, not only was Julian a great host and I met lots of interesting people (including Penelope Spheeris who directed Wayne's World and all those "Decline of Western Civilization" docs!), but there was a Michael Jackson/Jackie Chan impersonator (aptly named Jackie Jackson) who had all the moves and attitude to match, and a cowgirl named Noodle who juggled and ate fire. This doesn't happen in San Francisco. Sure, you can see some quirky folks at ATA on a random Saturday, but dance routines to Michael Jackson with crotch grabbing contortions, PLUS KUNG FU. A girl on stilts with cow hide chaps a mile long. I have to say, "only in LA."

So there's good and bad. But the good's gaining.

I'll let you know who wins.


05/12/99: LA LA Laser Liposuction
Hello all, The workshop is a blast. I've just finished day two and I've been on a perma-high since it began. The first day we spent getting to know/meet and greet. All that. It was so impressive to hear everybody's background and I think all of us were sitting there wondering how we got a chair in the group. One of the awesome moments was when the head of AFI told us "We have been waiting for you." We all got chills.

That night we got to meet last year's participants, and grill them. And grill them. They have been so helpful and supportive already.

My co-participants are talented and fun and interesting women with really varied backgrounds. I feel like we all bring so much to the process. Already we are learning so much from each other. One woman is a professional screenwriter and teacher and she has given me tremendous feedback on my script. Never Land continues to transform.

Our mentor for our "boot camp" (short shoots we do during the workshop) is, Nancy Malone, a totally kick ass babe. She has acted, produced, and since the early 80's directed. She went through the DWW, and has directed a million TV shows. Including Dynasty (her first gig), 90210, Picket Fences, Melrose Place. Basically all the Spelling shows, TV movies, and more. She has so much to teach us and share. So now that you're bored with all my effusions, here is an entirely different note (this will help you understand the subject heading):

"BIKINI SEASON IS COMING..." to LA, and the advertisements in the LA Weekly are in full swing. Bringing you the latest advances in micro liposuction, lip augmentation, forehead lifts, and the new "imported French Pre-filled Implants."

If you look in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, there'll be ads saying 'swimsuit season's coming, get in shape at our gym.' In the LA Weekly, you think you're seeing the same thing, except where are the gyms? It's eerie, and deep down disturbing. Not only that but the before and after pictures are like from normal to skinny. I keep examining the pictures, and thinking 'what's wrong with that butt?' Sorry for that, but I had to get it off my chest. I mean, share it. Take care, and stay away from the surgeon's knife, or microlaser.


05/17/99: LA LE Lapin
Hello all,

It has officially been over a week in LA and I'm settling into habits and friendships. Griffith Park is only blocks from my house and it is enormous.It houses a golf course, the LA Zoo, an observatory, numerous hiking and biking trails, and rabbits and coyotes (I saw them this morning).

On Saturday I went out and about with my friend Jason White. He is a long-term fan of Looking for Sly. He was doing acquisitions for HBO and strongly recommended it. Of course it never came to anything, but it's still nice to hang out with him. And he knows all the great trails, both for hiking and for celeb watching. We saw Janeane Gorafolo power walking with a friend on the main trail, and then minutes later KD Lang said hi to us on a small side path. Her dog was friendly too; she sniffed Jason's dog. After she passed, Jason and I turned to each other simultaneously "That was..." Jason's a newcomer to LA too (I met him in Austin at SXSW) so his joy was also complete. He says he usually sees Rupert Everet ("He's not that good looking. He's kinda dumpy," was his oft repeated remark), but we missed him that day.

The workshop continues to astound me. We are total VIPs. There is a delicious, catered lunch daily, and dinner if we're going late. We can enroll in AFI classes for free (ranging from $75-$1000) for the rest of OUR LIVES. The faculty/mentors are very accomplished and excellent teachers. I'm learning a ton. And this week we begin putting it into practice. We were casting today for short scenes we'll be shooting Thursday. Actual, professional actors, card-carrying members of the Screen Actor's Guild, came to read for parts in these dinky little test scenes that won't even be edited. AFI is cool.

I'll sign off as bedtime is fast approaching. One of my new habits (I hope it lasts) is early morning jaunts into the park, so that curtails my nighttime chatting. Take care, and remember, LA's a lovely place to visit.


05/24/99: Walking In LA
This weekend started off very well. Just as I was beginning to get lonely for friends, JD came to visit and brightened up the landscape considerably. When we exited the apartment on Saturday for a day of fun and frolicking, however, we discovered a calamity. My dear Old-smobile was missing. Only fragments of glass remained. I don't think that Cutlass Supreme has ever been so lovely as it is now in my memory. Maybe it's like the cliche husband who rediscovers that his wife's attractive when someone else wants her. Those fuzzy dice. The sky blue paint job like a mirage in the desert.

Perhaps this is a rite of passage for the LA newcomer. No I did not have a club. Or an alarm. I also didn't think I had much to protect. No stereo to speak of... Happily, my roommate has a bicycle she never rides and I'm not far from AFI. And I believe my car will come back to me. It's out there searching too.

We drove across LA looking for it. I had less than a quarter tank, how far could they go? (Don't answer that.) It's hard to imagine them taking it to a gas station for a fill up. So I'm hoping that they'll leave it out for me on Los Feliz Blvd. Here the cars get towed every day, so I'll have it back by tomorrow. More likely it will take a few days, or even a week or two, for anabandoned car to rack up enough tickets to be towed.

Okay I know that's still the best case scenario. But I can hope, right? I've also been exploring other means of retrieval. My dear friend X knows a professional psychic. Unfortunately she's out of my price range. $400 for a consultation. I only paid $1000 for the car. A money back guarantee might convince me, but I don't know. It's pretty steep.

On another note, I went and saw "All that Jazz" tonight with Casey Kelly (a screenwriter from Houston who's also in the DWW). It's such an incredible, fearless, moving, and risky film. And it succeeds incredibly. It's not the first time I've seen it, but it is the first time I really saw all that it is. It's both intimidating and inspiring to see a film that is working on so many levels, in so many layers. How does one even begin to make the choices in writing and camera and design and editing to support a vision like that?

Okay, I've bored you all long enough. Sleep tight. And treat those cars extra special, you never know when they'll be gone.


05/24/99: Nobody Walks In LA
Just a short update for all those waiting with bated breath for auto news. My darling Olds remains MIA. However, Dan Jenkin has come to my rescue. Dan is well known by the Baja Travel Maniacs for his hospitality and generosity. Here is another example of it: He's loaned me his old truck, replete with surfing and travelling stickers, making me look much cooler than I actually am.

Thanks for all your concerned notes and well wishes. Even though I am in the strange land o' LA, I feel very close to home.


05/26/99: Oldsbituary
The olds had a distinguished career. It played a starring role "In Public Space." It hit a few things. It lost mirrors. It got crummy mileage. It looked great in sky blue. It carried me everywhere I wanted to go with minimum fuss.

Now it misses an engine and transmission. It's not going anywhere.

Goodbye Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 1FAR697.


05/27/99: Collection Of Memories
Here are some thoughts from those who knew Oldsmobile, 1FAR697:

Commiserations on the loss of a dear and trusted friend. I remember with fondness the graceful way it sheared the mirror off a parked car as you pulled out into traffic one chilly summer evening in the Castro long ago. I'll treasure the memory.
--Esther Eidinow, Oxford, England

Woe is she whose steed is stole.
I know the pain of a lost auto.
Twice my truck, snuffed from the burbs
Was left upon some lonesome curb.
--Eric Pape, Venice Beach

I will sing the song of mourning and lament for the Olds that carried you so far in this life. Bless this Olds, for it was sacred.
--Jesse Hendrich, New York

Now I want to go and hug my car and tell Little Red that I love it. Poor smobile. It had a happy life. But most importantly, it had fuzzy dice, and that's what really matters.
--Julia Lowenthal, San Anselmo

My one ride in the Olds was certainly a fine one.
--Mary Ann Brewin, Berkeley

Thanks so much for all your lamentations and comfortings.

06/04/99: Raining
I feel like I'm in blade runner, or the matrix. I thought that people used rain in Sci Fi movies to differentiate the Futuristic LA from the Real LA. But the last two nights Los Angeles has been pounded and pelted. It's not like normal rain. It's movie rain. I expect to see a giant water tower parked in front of my house.

But in the morning the sun comes out and everything is clean. I went walking in Griffith Park and I could see forever in every direction. I waved to all of you.

WARNING SAD NEWS: Okay, one of these days the sad Oldsmobile reports will come to a halt. But I saw it today finally. I also turned it over to the tow lot. I thought I was prepared for it. I knew that the engine and transmission were gone. But it was something about how empty the chassis looked, and how callously they had gutted it, severing all the hoses and the steering column in the process.

They also stole the fuzzy dice. But even worse, they didn't disentangle them from the mirror, they cut them off from the string. How can that small indignity sting? I don't know. But for those of you that don't know, those dice were brought all the way from Geneva Switzerland. From Elise's grandmother's Volkswagen golf.

Standing there in the lot, I felt compelled to eulogize, to tell the attendant what a good car it had been. How it so rarely needed anything. I thought to myself, My God he must hear people's sad stories all the time. How inured he must be to it all. But I couldn't help it. I needed to commiserate with someone.

Take care, and don't get caught without wheels in LA.


06/19/99: Back In The Saddle
Back in LA after a week up north.

It was a pleasure to be home, celebrate JD's birthday and Drake High School's graduation, and finish yet another revision of Never Land. Some friends and former Drake students participated in a reading of it. A thrill to finally see it on its feet.

But even in the midst of all the fun, I was eager to be back in LA. Driving into the LA basin I found myself looking fondly at the now familiar landmarks. Freeway intersections and of course Griffith Park, which at night just shows as a massive black hole in the sea of lights.

More than the place, I am excited to jump back into the frenzy of pre-production. My script work has kept the blinders on, not looking ahead to the next stages. After all, the upcoming decisions hinge on the final draft. Where will it take place, who are the people we'll be casting, what will it look like. The screenplay is approaching its final form. It's tighter and funnier, and only 14 pages.

Tomorrow I start a class that's right on time: Simple sketching for filmmakers. The teacher is awesome, she came into the DWW for an afternoon, and talked about much more than sketching. She introduced practical tools of the pre-visualization process (storyboarding) and showed examples of the impact from different choices thematically and emotionally in the finished film.

I'm looking forward to jumping into the pre-visualization process. At the same time I'm looking for a production designer to collaborate with on this stage... let me know if you have any leads. The look of Never Land is so important. We have to create a magical world in which flying away is possible, but not expected.


07/13/99: Casting Couch
PROLOGUE: Finally another missive from LA. It's gotten pretty hectic around here, and I've had so little creative juice left to share my endlessly fascinating experiences with everyone. But here's an update on casting.

FEATURE PRESENTATION: The casting experience is odd. It really skews the way you see the world. All of a sudden it's fine to talk about people in the most embarrassing detail. Body type, looks, talent, nervous twitches. And it spills over into the rest of one's life. How can it not? So as I traverse LA it is with a hyper critical eye. Even if I'm not going to ask that woman in AstroBurger if she's an actress, I'm still wondering, "Is she Alicia?"

It's been more difficult than I thought to cast these parts. As I've often heard said, successful directing is 90% casting, and I think it's true. For the audience, these actors are all they'll ever know of these characters I've created on paper. It's not just finding the most talented actor. It's finding the person that has the right look, the right height, the right demeanor.

The other interesting phenomenon, one which Jessica (producer) and I share, is that of feeling like an instant expert. We've spent days in casting, watching so many people read the same lines every day, and you learn quickly. I can't say that I would do a good job on an audition after this. But I feel like I could give excellent advice.

WARNING, ADVICE: It's funny how flat the obvious reading begins to sound after a dozen reads, the one that's most easily inferred by the script. The instant anyone does anything different it's like a cool breeze on a hot LA day. And an actor should never use the scene direction on the page. I never imagined that actors would actually do my scene direction... I wrote it for those reading the script, so they would know what the movie might look like. But my screen directions are used by actor after actor and they look ridiculous, everyone's waving their arms in the same way. As much as I try to look for range and talent, if people read the script in the way I've heard it a hundred times already, it's hard to get past that.

It's like this story I heard in which an acting coach was giving advice to a student. In the script it had the direction "screaming." The coach told him not to scream. At the end of the day the writer/director said, why was everybody screaming? This guy got the job.

AFTERWARD: Casting has been a blast. It's thrilling, and only occasionally very painful, to see people bring these words to life. This week we pair our final callbacks, discovering chemistry and finding people who look right as mother and daughter or teacher and student. Wish meluck.


08/22/99: Still Snacking On Craft Service
Well that's that. After all the hoping and striving, planning and praying (despite my seriously agnostic leanings), I have directed my first narrative film. Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty to do.

Post-production. Distribution. Etc. But we've made it through the shoot. Not just survived it, but enjoyed it, and thrived on it. There were some tough moments: when our location fell through just a few short days before the shoot, when the generator broke down, when it turned out we didn't really have a sound person or a key grip. But the crew pulled together, learned quickly, and became a well oiled machine. A very silly well oiled machine.

I've heard that the director sets the tone on the set, the working atmosphere, even the style of dress. I didn't know whether this was actually true until I spilled a delicious tomato bisque all over my light colored ensemble. That day it seemed everyone was bringing me the evidence of my influence in the form of dribblings down the front of their blouses. Happily, the deleterious effects of my spillage on the cast and crew were temporary, and Daisy, our lovely costume designer, had Shout wipes.

I can't imagine a cooler job than film director. While I assume there will be a million excellent things about directing a movie with a real budget, I loved the camaraderie of coming together to make a movie for nothing. Everyone was there because they love filmmaking and theythought Never Land will be a cool movie. There was no other reason to be there, oh, except for the food being really good. (Thanks to Monica our caterer.)

Over and again, I was struck by the care and attention to detail that everyone gave to their jobs. Even in the morning, a few short hours after yet another 18 hour day, they all came back smiling and ready for more. Most everyone working on the film ended up with multiple titles and credits, and many got promoted. Congratulations, you started as PA, now you're an assistant director or an associate producer.

And then there's the stunt. Charlie flies away at the end of the movie you know. When I first started calling around, people were quoting me thousands of dollars to do that stunt, more than our entire shooting budget! And then Jessica found Leslie Hoffman. The moment when Leslie and her friend Tom flew Kate into the air, everyone was awed and thrilled. Kate looked so beautiful. This was a real movie, and this was movie magic.

Now that I'm watching the footage, and starting the edit with Jacob Bricca, I am awed by the performances, the cinematography, the lighting. I'm also pleasantly surprised that all that AFI paperwork was handled so well. In short, we did it!

Thank you to all those who helped, provided moral support, or donated time or money. Thank you!

PS. I still have leftover Peanut Butter OdwallaBars and Snyder's Honey Mustard & Onion Pretzel Pieces, in case you're craving them.


09/17/99: Updates, Movie, Never Land
Picture is locked. Our offline is complete. Jacob Bricca and I frantically wrapped it all up at 11pm Tuesday. One enormous stage of post-production is finito. Make that two stages; Sean McLean made fairies fly, wires disappear, and brought stars to the LA skies. All in one day.

I believe what they say now, that the movie is truly made in the edit. Of course that was always my experience with documentaries, but in docs there's no other way. I had intended to edit my piece together more or less as it was on the page and be done with it, be done early even. Au contraire, the edit was a transformative, tumultuous experience. We rediscovered the heart of the story, and jettisoned all that was extraneous. We added voice over to help set the tone and to convey information. A lot happens in 13 1/2 minutes, and we had to make sure the audience was along for the ride. We also took every minute of our time in the editing lab.

Making a movie is a huge undertaking, even on a short film. There are so many considerations, so many options, possibilities, joys and set backs. I guess there was a part of me that was sick of it, because I had a dream...

Jessica Linsky told me her theory on pun dreams a while back. Example: Jessica dreamt that a friend was playing with a gun and it shot her foot. Upon awakening Jessica realized, 'she shot herself in the foot. Anyway, I had my own pun dream the other night. In it, my friend Michelle Weiss was still alive (she died in a drunk driving accident at 19), but she was really sick. We were out shooting a movie on a street corner and a mafia guy came over and strong armed us. He told us we couldn't shoot there and that we had to go see his boss. He insisted that we all come. For some reason, I was convinced that Michelle would die if she came, but for the good of the film, she was insisting on coming. The dream ended with me on my hands and knees, pounding the pavement, "Don't kill yourself for the movie!" I guess my subconscious decided the time for subtlety was over.

So our third sound mix has fallen through, and AFI has gotten super busy with classes (making other elements more difficult). It's important to remain philosophical (so says my subconscious) at a time like this. One way or another, the movie will be completed. If not in time for one deadline, than in time for another.

I spent this evening designing the cool box cover that will make people want to watch Never Land, instead of putting it at the bottom of their review pile.

There is a lot to do, but don't worry, I won't kill myself to complete it.

 Credits

Charlie Jack Mrs. Boucher Miss Winston Jessica Jessie Lost Boy Lost Boy		Kate Luhr Adam Brody Terri Novak Lisa Roumain Shannon Jones Jasmin Solzano Phillip Jean Marie Michael Rizzi
Written & Directed by Produced by Director of Photography Score by Edited by		Kia Simon Jessica Linsky Jonathan Crosby & Kia Simon Michael Knight, HHM John David Moyer Jacob Bricca & Lara Loory
Special Effects Fairie Cam Stunt Coordinator Stunt Rigger Post-Production Sound Casting Director Tinkerbell Costume Costume Design Make up and hair Slim ass design Wishes words Opening title Aerials 1st Assistant Director 2nd Assistant Director Associate Producer Casting Assistant Location Manager Assistant Camera 2nd Unit Camera Gaffer Key Grip Best Boy Grip Grip/Electric Sound Mixer		Sean McLean Bryan Boyce Leslie Hoffman Tom Morga Joe Milner Naomi Yoelin Christy Lucken Daisy Kramer Liza Mae Nettles Greg Camilleri Kate Luhr Bryan Boyce Bob Burton Kate Crawford Connor Ryan Jordan Weill Sena Baligh Connor Ryan Bryan Boyce Kia Simon Jordan Weill Eric Von Doymi Michael Rizzi Eddy Weiss James Robbins Troy Takaki Jonathan Crosby Eric Von Doymi
Boom Operator Editing Assistant Costume Assistant Production Assistant Craft Services		Jordan Weill Tae Kim Sena Baligh Greg Camilleri Trevor Cralle