ZEUS SEN

Our beloved cat, Zeus, tragically and unexpectedly, passed away this morning. We found him on the stairs, unable to breathe and we were unable to save him. The Dr. believes he had heart disease, and has told us there is very little we could have done.

Zeus was an aloof cat, who liked to do only what he liked to do. That made us love him even more. He loved chasing any insect and anything else that moved that he could find. He was a hunter who loved the outdoors. If I had known his condition, there were so many things I would have wanted to say to him- how I thought he was silly, and loved the softness of his fur, and most importantly, that I love him.

First Projects

There are four initial projects I am attempting, in addition to working 5-6 edit shifts to bring home the bread for the family. My plan is to committ at least ninety minutes every night to the writing/creating process. After that, I can surf the net and play penny poker online.

First, I want to finish a feature script that explores another aspect of how machines will one day rule the world. I have had the first 40 pages done for years but have always stumbled trying to figure out the perfect way for man to overthrow the machines.

Second, adapt "Bunny Rabbit", a short film script whose filming was interrupted by 9/11 itself, into a feature film starring an Indian woman who wakes up one day and thinks she is a rabbit.

Third, figure out a television series involving a cast of Indian characters in America that can be sold to cable networks in India.

Finally, try and assist a friend from work who is pitching a dramatic series to the networks.

Film/TV Project

Not sure what my next project is about, but I really need to make it happen. ASAP. One of my friends from undergrad film school recently contacted me and mentioned how she liked my blog. While the comment was very nice, I think I have only done 3-4 posts in the past year - but I did feel my blog was good and helpful to me as I was finishing and conceiving HAPPY SAUCE. So, I am going to try and figure out a new film project in the blog. If someone steals it, well, then, I guess they steal it.

HAPPY SAUCE, by the way, has been rejected by many many festivals. Probably 10 or 12, with another 10 or 12 more rejections pending. There are two companies that are interested in acquiring the rights for distribution though. No cash will be transferred until the distributor makes some sales and some cash themselves, so basically, it is just another way to get the filmut there. The festival route is definitely not helping.

Now, film/tv projects. First of all, any project I do will have an Indian theme to it. Time to suck it up and really sell myself out as an Indian American film maker. At least, that is a very basic way to differentiate myself from other film makers in NYC. It could be a new start.

Aniya update

Life is growing and changing quicker than you can imagine. Aniya is now waving and clapping, and still walking everywhere like no tomorrow. She really likes the slide at the playground but is now somewhat afraid of the swing (she liked the swing when she was younger). She is growing new teeth, I think her molars, and we think that she is teething and in some pain as she now yells out every hour or so in the middle of the night and then falls back asleep just as quickly.

The biggest difference is that is she is now eating all sorts of food, from baby food and apple cinnamon purees to pieces of meat, veggies, crackers, and one of her favorites, ice cream.

We are also starting to see the first words out of her mouth. Ka, Da Da, Ma ma, and Na na.. she is slowly starting to associate us with the sounds, though I have no idea what Ka refers to.

Aniya update

So I guess a blog a month is a decent goal to try and maintain. I would like to do more, but things just aren't as simple as I would like. After working all day and then trying to help the wife with dinner and Aniya I just don't have any energy left once they go to bed. I am very good about staring at useless bank account information and g checking and re-checking the spam that my email addresss invites, but writing, whether a script or in the blog is really difficult. There have been some work happenings that will hopefully motivate me, but you'll hear about those if I can properly motivate.

Now, to the real reason I am writing.. Aniya. I feel like I have missed out on so many details that will forever be forgotten between my wife and I. We are pretty sure she started crawling in her 5th month of October and was doing a full crawl all over the house in November. She started walking between the couch and the ottoman or her exersaucer 3-4 feet away in December/ January. And now, she has really started walking everywhere the beggining of the February, so at around 9 months old. Nothing to be ashamed about as a parent.

She was able to say dada a month or two ago, although she was never able to associate me with the word. She does say mama a lot these days, and although it is not 100 percent, I am pretty sure her mama sound is for her real mom. She changes a little bit everyday. Totally amazing.

Last day in India

It is the middle of the night right now in New Delhi. We have spent the last two weeks here and things have been relatively good. I would, however, never recommend flying anywhere for 16 hours with an 8 month old baby. Aniya is a good traveler but she is into anything and everything! Allison also has been sick the past 4 days with a horrible stomach virus that doesnt seem to go away so the return trip back to NYC is not looking very appealing right now.

I initially had the intention of making a short film of sorts while I was here, but realized within the first few days that with an eight month old baby any film would be impossible. More importantly, I have come up with several ideas that will hopefully better direct my feature film effort and possibly even turn into a TV show.

Happy Sauce Update

So Happy Sauce has joined Pilferer in the universally rejected from film festivals category. The Sauce has been rejected from relatively big festivals- Slamdance, South by Southwest, Clermont-Ferrand, Cinequest and probably a few others, but I really thought it would get in to one of the big ones. I knew PILFERER was not my best work, but I was positive that the SAUCE, being short, funny, and unusual, would get into a lot of festivals.

I initially send the SAUCE only to the biggest festivals at the start of 08, but with it's failure, the new directive is to send it to any festival, big or small, and pray that someone somewhere wants to screen it.

If I am going to make a successful feature, I am going to need a lot of help.

A new Year

I keep saying that I am going to do it, and this time I really mean it!
More posts, more everything in 08, and most importantly, time to finish writing the feature!
What is the feature about?.. I am still trying to figure it out, but that's where the blog comes in real handy- it acts like a draft as opposed to lines and thoughts and doodles on random pieces of paper, different notebooks and the worst place of all: my head.

I am in India right now for another night, and have been amazed by the huge number of cable channels that are now available.. and I think I might even have a TV idea somewhere in the back of my head, but time to get it all on paper.

A new post

A new blog post. Many new projects to come to finish this year and to start the new year which is right around the corner. Baby Aniya is doing good.. she is growing quickly and faster with each new day... too many things to describe but I should try and make an effort anyways.. before they are long forgotten and I am already freaking out about the age of her latest boyfriend...

Pilferer has been rejected from film festivals left and right. Happy Sauce has so far been rejected from one festival and I am waiting to hear from a number of major festivals that take place in the next few months of the new year. Honestly, I am not sure what kind of film gets into these festivals anymore.. at least none of my mine so far.

That is all for one night.. a modest return to the blogger of ole!

This is my angel, Aniya, 6 months old.

BLUE OWL FLICKS

Blue Owl Flicks Pours Maker's Mark Screening

Blue Owl and Maker's Mark team up to present the big-screen premiere of six internet indie films at Village East Cinema. These short films capture the essence of New York's cocktail culture and the spirit of independent filmmaking.

Blue Owl, Will Candis & Ed DuRante invite you and a guest

Monday, September 24, 2007

Village East Cinema
181 2nd Avenue (across the street from Blue Owl)


• RED CARPET ARRIVALS: 6:45 – 7:00PM

• SCREENING: 7PM

• AFTER PARTY AT BLUE OWL: 8PM - 10PM


Blue Owl Flicks Pours Maker's Mark
Bar Life - Six short films that started online make their big-screen debut as Blue Owl and Maker's Mark team up.


Blue Owl, www.blueowlnyc.com, one of New York's preeminent nightlife venues, is thrilled to announce the debut of the Blue Owl Film Series. The series features six short films, each less than five minutes long, that address the life of a bar - Blue Owl, circa 2007.

Brothers Ed and Paris DuRante, filmmakers, New Yorkers and Maker's Mark enthusiasts, decided to each make a short film incorporating their favorite libation and bar. They invited four friends to produce films under the following guidelines: the maximum budget was $100, each films had to be shot within a four-hour time constraint at Blue Owl, and creators were allowed only one day to edit. This was independent filmmaking at its finest – and most challenging.

The results of these six efforts will debut during a special evening that begins with a screening at The East Village Cinema, followed by an opening night party on location at Blue Owl.

In honor of the film series, Blue Owl will offer the Jules Winnfield cocktail, an ode to PULP FICTION, which is made with Maker's Mark Bourbon, French apricot liqueur, fresh lemon juice and dash of fresh orange juice with pulp. The Jules Winnfield is part of the much anticipated new fall cocktail menu that will debut from mixologist Charles Hardwick. The new menu will also feature the Rucker Gimlet made with lime vodka, pepper-infused apple liqueur and fresh lime juice, served in a Demerara sugar-rimmed glass.


About Blue Owl

In keeping with the zeitgeist of East Village nightlife, Blue Owl is a modern-day speakeasy featuring an extensive menu of classic cocktails and innovative creations. Owner J. Ashley Smith maintains a refined, spirited ambiance that captures the festive elegance of the Roaring Twenties. New York revelers return nightly for the live music and DJs.

Located downstairs at 196 Second Avenue (between 12th and 13th), Blue Owl offers top-shelf spirits, house-infused vodkas and an acclaimed specialty cocktail menu created by master mixologist Charles Hardwick, who made a name for himself at Mercer Kitchen and The Odeon.



Filmmaker Bios

Ed DuRante
Ed DuRante is a graduate of NYU's Graduate Film Program where he was awarded the Graduate/Professional Opportunity Fellowship, NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program where he received the ASCAP Foundation Yip Harburg Scholarship and Yale University. His work has been produced by Talking Drum Theatre Co., the Vineyard Theatre, Theatre for the New City and Playwrights Horizons where he was an original member of the Black Playwrights Unit. His play "Homeboys" is part of the literary anthology Patchwork of Dreams. He directed the webseries "Wire" for Eyestudio.Net. and has written, produced and directed several short films including "America", which was a Wasserman Award Finalist and the recipient of awards for Editing, Acting and Production Design. He taught lyric and playwriting at the Musical Theatre Writing Workshop at London's Theatre Royal Stratford East and he was awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Filmmaking. Presently, he is in post-production of the feature film "JAKE GETS PAID."

Paris DuRante
Paris DuRante is a graduate of Deerfield Academy and the United States Air Force Academy. He served for 10 years and reached the rank of Captain. He has appeared in the films "Not Again!, "2 Manhattans," "digger," "Man In Polyester Suit," "Jake Gets Paid," and in the webseries "Wire." He is best know as one of the murderous DuRante Brothers in Charlie Huston's novel "Caught Stealing." His collection of erotic haiku "Hard & Black" is the number one selling book of poetry in Finland.

Andre Morton
A Brooklyn native and former front man for New York based rock and roll band Ratchethead, Andre relocated to Oakland California in 2001. Andre then began to pursue his lifelong dream of making narrative films. In 2002 he received a STAND grant from San Francisco's Film Arts Foundation to produce the experimental film "America Remembers" - a critique of mainstream media post 9-11. Andre has worked as director and cinematographer on a variety of documentary and narrative films including PSA's for The American Cancer Society, and The Greater NY Hospital Association. He currently resides in Brooklyn.

Adria Petty
Adria Petty was born and raised in Los Angeles, but has been a New Yorker for 14 years. After college, she immersed herself in film production and worked for the award-winning directors Johnathan Demme, Penny Marshall and Johnathan Stack. Later, she attended the Graduate Film Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She directed many music videos as part of a directing team with Anna Gabriel. During their collaboration she became fascinated with new media and innovative ways to market and explore music. This inspired the creation of "low flame" the site-specific video installation, which exhibited at the P.S.1 Museum of Contemporary Art, a division of MOMA in New York City. She directed her first commercials for clients: Converse and Volkswagen. She developed a highly successful marketing campaign and series of videos for Regina Spektor. She has also made videos for Mat Kearney, The Veronicas, Kings of Leon, The Ditty Bops, StellaStarr*, Johnathan Rice, and The Crimea. Ms. Petty has art directed numerous album covers and printed materials for music artists. She was also commissioned to create tour visuals for legendary rock band The Who. The year 2006 brought Adria's first foray into feature filmmaking. She spent the year shooting a controversial feature length documentary about Paris Hilton and the culture of celebrity.

James Francis Richards
James Francis Richards has a BFA in Commercial Art and Illustration from St. John's University and a MFA in film production from New York University's Graduate Film Program. He has directed several short films one of which, Warm Tide, starring Quentin Chestnut and Gilbert Glenn Brown, tied for first in the short film competition at the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in Oakland in 1997 and was invited to screen at the first annual Martha's Flavor Fest in 1998. He has written for Blackfilm.com and co-created with Tish Benson the Poetry on Video series on the Urban Box Office. Currently he is on staff at the film department of New York University.

Rohan Sen
Rohan Sen is a writer/director/editor. He was awarded a scholarship to study physics, but after taking an undergrad Third World Film class at UCLA, he decided to be a film director. His films have screened at film festivals across the globe. His short film SHANTI won the BEST SHORT FILM PRIZE at the 2001 Doubletake Documentary Festival. He has also edited two feature films, HOW I KILLED A SAINT and JAKE GETS PAID. HAPPY SAUCE was shot and inspired by the events and emotions during the final months of his wife's pregnancy.

PILFERER rejected again

Pilferer was rejected from the 10 or Less Film Festival. I think that makes it 0-4 or 5.. need to keep sending it out... no further updates on Happy Sauce screening except the mad rush to get the film in the can. I should deliver tomorrow on schedule.