D.I.Y. Big Time
As Do-It-Yourself, or DIY, filmmakers, we often embrace the notion of keeping things small: small budgets, small casts, etc. While we may have to keep things small in order for them to be manageable, that doesn’t mean we ever forget the other side of DIY-ness – audacity. Just because you strive for efficiency and effectiveness, [...]
Balls & Cats & Script Magazine, Oh My!
Big thanks to our friend, screenwriter, producer, and fun-time party gal Jeanne Veillette Bowerman, for her in-depth article on what we’re up to in her Balls of Steel column on the Script Magazine site. The only things Jeanne DIDN’T reveal in the article were what we ate for breakfast this morning and what color underwear [...]
DIY Physics!
It has recently come to our attention that there are some major physics experiments that haven’t been done yet. In an effort to extend our DIY ethos beyond filmmaking, Julie and I have decided to tackle physics and pursue the only award more elusive than the Golden Globe: the Nobel Peace Prize. We’re pretty certain [...]
“It Gets Better”- Kfink-Style!
Our friend Leontine brought Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” video project to our attention a couple of weeks ago, and we instantly knew that it was something we wanted to contribute to. And now that the TILT production dust has settled…we’ve done it. Made a video, that is. Dan’s “It Gets Better” project is a [...]
Feed Your Dreams. Feed Their Dreams. Feed Some Dreams.
Today we present a short, “re-purposed” birthday video in support of Flyway Film Festival’s current kickstarter campaign. Flyway Film Fest is one of a very few festivals that doesn’t charge entry fees and screens truly independent films. If you’d like to learn more, check out their Kickstarter campaign:
Get Finky. Get Inspired. Support “A Musing”.
Today we present a short video in support of David Spies and Phil Seneker’s KickStarter campaign for “A Musing,” a short film collaboration. To learn more, visit their KickStarter campaign:
As We Walk Through the Valley of the Shadow of TILT
Right now we feel like we’re in between two huge mountains: our TILT crowd funding campaign (which was successful on August 6th thanks to our 223 amazing backers) and the filming for TILT (which starts September 18th.) You’d think we’d get a little breather while in this slightly quieter “work valley.” You’d be wrong. SO [...]
Interview with Filmmaker Juliane Block
While pitted against one another during June’s War of Films on the Film Annex, we met the fascinating Juliane Block, a German-born filmmaker making films in Malaysia. Not only was her short, Ramly at War Begins a well-crafted, well-choreographed martial arts film, she was engaging and playful. We immediately wanted to know more about her, [...]
Filmmaker Meet-Up: Sean J. S. Jourdan
Last night we had the great pleasure of meeting with director / screenwriter Sean J. S. Jourdan. We’ve had a special connection with Sean since our early days on Twitter (okay, we fell in love with his website), and then we were lucky enough to see his shorts “The Beekeeper” and “An Open Door” at [...]
Good News + Special Thanks
#1 – Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to contribute to or spread the word about our fundraising campaign for TILT. Right now we’re 90 backers strong (wow!) and about 40% of the way toward reaching our $15k goal (not too shabby). If you haven’t seen our pitch video yet, check it out, [...]
Combatting Crowdfunding Confusion
We started our Kickstarter campaign for TILT with director Phil Holbrook almost 3 weeks ago, and it’s going really well. As of today we’ve raised 35% of our $15k goal, and we still have 4 weeks to go. Not too shabby. But we have a confession to make: we’re also really nervous. Yes, we know. [...]
Imperturbability Perturbed
Usually Julie and I are pretty cool cucumbers. We’re marathon multi-taskers, historically hard workers, and revved up risk takers ready to try new things and forge new paths. However, if you want to see Julie or I break out into a cold sweat or start crying for no reason, come to our house this week [...]
Happy Father’s Day
TILT, the new thriller we’re writing for Phil Holbrook, is about a father and a daughter, so we decided to dedicate some posts to some very important guys: our dads. Here’s a snippet from Jessica’s post: “The Can Opener King of Sheffield Towne” After stepping up on the diving board, my father lumbered forward at [...]
We are Micro-Somebodies (& So are You)
This week we were alerted to an Online Identity Calendar by indie movie marketing consultant (and all-around swell gal) Sheri Candler, and suddenly…we broke out in a cold sweat. Two of them, actually. Were we digitally distinct? Would everyone stop following us if we weren’t? And, you know…what exactly did being “digitally distinct” mean? So [...]
On Watching Amreeka
Last week I concluded my independent film unit. It’s always one of my favorite units to teach, partly because I am a filmmaker and partly because when I go to the movies, I tend to see independent films. One of the challenges of teaching the unit is choosing which three films to show. One limit [...]
One Nightstand: What we read before we go to sleep
Even though Jess and I get a lot of info from the internet, we’re also still fans of books: you know, those things with the pages and the chapters and that crisp dusty smell. Here’s a peek at what we’re reading now: Bound and Gagged: Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America (1999, Kipsis) [...]
The Boyfriend Experience
We have to tell you something….we are girls. Yes, we know that you probably already know this. We have long hair, we have curvy girl bodies, sometimes we wear make-up, and so on and so forth. The movies we saw at film festival screenings around Chi-town this weekend reminded us of our absolute and unquestionable [...]
How Do You Solve a Problem Like "Too Many Ideas"?
Posted by filmmaker Raffi Asdourian on Twitter (3/3/10): “I have so many movies inside of me bursting to get out…it’s not even funny!” Too many ideas. This is what writers (and artists, in general) talk about all the time, right? “I have so many ideas, but I can’t get them down on paper.” “I had [...]
King is a Fink’s Favorite Films of the Decade
Julie & Jessica have very different tastes. Hence, two lists. Jessica’s Top 10 Films of the Decade 1. Brand Upon the Brain (Guy Maddin) – 2006 2. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch) – 2001 3. Volver (Pedro Almodovar) – 2006 4. Let the Right One In (Thomas Alfredson) – 2008 5. In the Mood for Love [...]
The Kings of Queens: King is a Fink at QIFF
When we came out to New York this weekend, we had 3 main goals: To survive the screening of Snow Bunny at the Queens International Film Festival (QIFF) To catch up with old friends from high school and college To meet up with new friends we’ve made through Twitter We are happy to report that [...]
Movies That Inspire Us To Make Movies
We watch different movies for different reasons. Some movies blow us away with their special effects and star power; some movies encourage us to quietly reflect on our own lives. Some movies we watch because they make us think; others we watch because they don’t. We like all types of movies, but, as filmmakers, lately [...]
Female Directors You Should Know
Bitch Magazine just posted this list of 70 female directors. Wow. Jess and I tried to come up with our own list on the spur of the moment, and we could only come up with 20. (Okay, I came up with 5, and Jessica came up with the rest.) The Bitch list isn’t exhaustive, but [...]
Adventures in Movie Make-up
This weekend we’re filming one of our summer shorts, a horror-comedy about a young couple who moves from the city to the country and is overcome by their fears of “the unknown.” Over the course of the 15-minute film, the husband gets a bit battered and bruised, so today Jessica practiced creating bruises and wounds [...]
Top Ten Films
Even though we change our minds a lot and it’s hard to narrow down the films we love, here is a list of our top ten favorite films of all time. Jessica’s Top Ten Favorite Films (not in ranking order) Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953) The Last Picture Show (Peter [...]
