Self-Published Work: An Interview with Robert Mark Kamen

In 2010 I was interning at SF360.org, an online publication that kept up with the film world in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was an awesome six months and I tried to take advantage of all of the opportunities that come with being associated with such a prestigious publication. After hearing that Robert Mark Kamen, one of the most successful working screenwriters ever, lived nearby in Sonoma, I reached out to him to see if I could interview him for the site. He generously agreed and I spent an afternoon at his Kamen Wines location.

We talked about he got his start, how he ended up in Sonoma, his partnership with filmmaker Luc Besson and how he structures his work day. It was an entertaining couple of hours to say the least. He even kindly sent me home with a bottle of his wine, which I cracked open after finishing the draft of the feature script I was working on at the time.

Unfortunately, SF360.org halted publication before the interview could be published and it’s been chilling on my laptop ever since. I figured since Kamen’s latest produced project, TAKEN 2, was just released last weekend, now was a good time to self-publish the piece on my own.

However, instead of just offering up the text of our conversation, I thought I’d make it a more visually stimulating piece. You can find the magazine-style published article here. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.

KPFA Recording Is Up

The recording of my conversation with Veronica Faisant on KPFA last night is now available to stream/download. I come in around the 60 minute mark. Thank you to Veronica for allowing me to speak on her show.

You can stream/download the show here.

Sly Sylvester Featured in Oakland North

I intend to have a more extensive recap of this weekend’s 10th Oakland International Film Festival. We were able to catch a handful of really good movies throughout the three days.

As for now, I wanted to pass along a nice little write-up the film was blessed to get for the event. Karmah Elmusa of the online news site Oakland North generously included Sly Sylvester in her preview for the festival. She asked me about the script and about shooting in Oakland. Karmah particularly loved Jay Krohnengold’s performance!

The landlord, played by Jay Krohnengold, is certainly a highlight of the film, and an easily identifiable cinematic archetype. With his pitbull-esque aggression and a no-nonsense attitude, he quickly establishes himself as our hero’s foil, there to mess up not only his financial life but his valiant attempts to woo the cat sitter. Will love conquer all? Check it out at 11:30 Saturday morning at the Oakland Museum of California to find out.

Thank you to Karmah for the piece! Check out the entire article via Oakland North.

I’m on the Local Radio Tonight

If you don’t have any plans this Easter evening, consider listening to me babble on about Sly Sylvester and my decision to focus on writing as a career with Veronica Faisant on KPFA.

I’ll be on around 8:30. You can listen via kpfa.org, or at 94.1 if you’re in the Berkeley/Oakland area.

I’ve Gotten RDQLUS’d.

You’ll notice there have been a number of changes around these parts as of late. I reached out to Steve Gordon Jr. of RDQLUS Creative, a friend of mine who’s design work has always caught my eye and inspired me, and asked for his help with developing a creative branding identity that would represent me as a writer of stories for film.

As you can see, he blew it out of the water.

The logo he created, visible above, features an inkwell/shield with my initial at its focal point, with crossed quills and ink drips providing balance and alluding to my craft as a writer.

I am blessed that Steve was willing to share his time and talents to provide me with such a special and distinctive professional branding identity. Thank you Steve!

* Speaking of Steve and his talents, in addition to providing creative design and direction, he also releases his own line of gear.  This week he presented his “RGC Spring 2012 Lookbook,” which showcases his latest offerings. You can view a couple photos below, but check out the entire project via RDQLUS!

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Sly Sylvester Movie Poster

After months of sleep deprivation, I’m excited to announce that Sly Sylvester is complete!

Starting tomorrow, we will be submitting the film to an array of film festivals. On our list are some major festivals like Tribeca, as well as some smaller ones, such as our local Oakland International Film Festival. We’re smack dab in the middle of the festival submission deadline craze. The review process is rather long, but we’ll find out if it gets accepted in a couple of months.

If you’re amongst the backers who are slated to receive a digital copy of the film, you’ll receive access to a password-protected site to watch the film on November 14. Festivals have rules about films not being generally available online so access to this will be limited to cast, crew and our Kickstarter backers.

For now, I’m happy to present our official Sly Sylvester movie poster. The poster was designed by Jennifer Pyle in New York. She did an awesome job! We’re ordering the prints of the poster this week.

In addition, starting tomorrow (Tuesday, November 1) I’ll be rolling out our film stills– one each day through Friday. Visit the Sly Sylvester blog to see each daily upload.

Thank you for your continued support!

- til next time – Kim

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Published: ‘Teens Tackle Production at SFFS Youth Filmmaker’s Camp’

HILARY HART/SFFS

An article that I wrote about the San Francisco Film Society’s Young Filmmaker’s Camp is up this morning on SF360.

Hanging with these kids was one of the highlights of my month.

The article,’Teens Tackle Production at SFFS Youth Filmmaker’s Camp,’ can be found here. You can view their finished short films via San Francisco Film Society.

- til next time – Kim

Published: ‘Torres Story Gains Focus’

A few weeks ago I did a Q&A with Sundance award winning filmmaker Chusy Jardine, who is currently working on a feature-length documentary on San Francisco Giants center-fielder Andres Torres. If you remember, I had mentioned the project in a previous post.

The Q&A is now available via SF360. Jardine and I discuss a variety of things, including his motivation for making the film, how he got Torres on board and his distribution plans for the project.

Thank you for taking the time to read (and comment on!) the article, titled ‘Torres Story Gains Focus.’

Quick Site Update

I’ve been continuously tweaking the site over the last couple of weeks. At the end of last week I updated my ABOUT page with a new photo, which features items that represent me.

The items include some of my favorite things as well as pieces that represent some of my most important relationships.

“Don’t Take No for an Answer!”

“You can’t take no for an answer!”

That was amongst the statements spouted by my wife as she was on my butt last week about getting my work out there to agents.

I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to promoting my work. I don’t like not looking GREAT at anything, which is why even though I have rhythm and can dance a bit, you won’t find me participating in the festivities on any dance floor (that is, however, unless I’m four glasses of wine in). A character flaw, perhaps, but I don’t feel comfortable showcasing my dancing unless I can moonwalk like Michael.

I know I have talent and that I’m doing what I need to to continue to improve, but if I’m going to keep it real, I guess I’m still building up my confidence.

I’ll bring it when the time is right. I’ll promote my work valiantly once I feel comfortable that my work is ready to kill it.

I personally wouldn’t go looking for a one-on-one hoop game against a talented player until I’m confident that I can dribble.

The key is… I’ll practice dribbling, or in this case screenwriting, for hours and hours so that I can eventually get to that point where I feel 100% comfortable to show it off. At that point, I’ll shove my work in the face of agents, believing that it truly deserves their attention.

And at this moment I do have confidence that I possess the work ethic needed to become a quality screenwriter.