CITY ISLAND: 8MM HOME MOVIES

I have been on a mission for archival footage and home videos of City Island for the past couple of days. The search is starting to reveal some treasures, like this beautiful antique box from Tex, a lovely lady two doors from our set house, who persuaded her niece to rummage through the basement for all these reels of 8mm home movies from the late 50's. This is a dream, my holy grail.
What I have learned about City Island is this: if you ask, people will most likely help. They still have the time and the trust to spare. Who today could believe that someone would lend their memories to an utter stranger? Not I, but I have been proven wrong. Yes, I accept my quest, and I shall guard these faded images fiercely.

Now I just need to get my hands on a projector...



We are attempting an outreach to the people of City Island, to accumulate footage for the opening sequence of the film. Keep it local.

"The Keeper of the Keys", Cecelia Bee.

CITY ISLAND'S OWN PLACE OF REPOSE

This is the Madness.



A photograph taken away from the madness.




CB.

CITY ISLAND: EMILY MORTIMER TO SET, PLEASE!

Emily Mortimer will have her first day (well, night really, we are shooting until 4am) today. Mortimer joins on a momentous shoot day as we begin to secure the final denouement on celluloid. Today the final sequence of the film is being shot, where all the proverbial worms come out of the woodwork to have it out.

In a family surrounded by secrets, there is nowhere to hide.
I should write tag-lines.


CB.

CITY ISLAND: BEADS OF SWEAT, BAND AIDS & BALLPOINT PENS

Not every picture can be exciting folks. The reality is this: there are a thousand people and many more beads of sweat (that even the most desperate of interns could not count) going in to making the sunsets and pectorals looks as sparkling as they do in reality. It is a shame, because movies may well look great, but they have the potential to smell rather bad. And there was asparagus for lunch. Oh dear.
P.S This is not diminish the intern, it is a truly wonderful creature, without whom the wheels would most definitely fall off.


CB.

CITY ISLAND: NIGHT TIME PHOTOGRAPHS

Pictures from our night shooting. It takes a surprising amount of light to render "night-time" on the screen.

CB.

ANDY GARCIA & STEVEN STRAIT IN FIST FIGHT: DAILIES CLIP FROM THE EDITING LAB

Andy and Steven appear to be growing ever more comfortable...
This is one happy household.

CB.

CITY ISLAND: CALL SHEET JULY 30TH

Fingers crossed the rain holds off...

CB.

CITY ISLAND NEWSPAPER DESCENDS: A VISIT FROM SOME FRIENDLY LOCALS

We had a lovely visit from the local press, and I wanted to profile them as a matter of courtesy and because their paper is so bloomin' cute, AND furthermore, because City Island is a endlessly nuanced place that has a rich, diverse mix of well kept lawns, patriotic flags and the occasional ghost of a seafood restaurant, which, deserves to be mentioned.



CB.

GIVING STEVEN'S PECTORALS A BREAK: CLIP OF EZRA AND THE SUNSET

PECWATCH, DAY 8 ON HOLD!
I know the Strait fan base will be disappointed, but I feel the influx of Steven's bare chest in the past few days may be a little tiresome. So, we thought we would give Steven a break from his exploitation and train the camera on the chilled out Ezra Miller for a while. This mellow clip from Monday is yet another reason why Vanja, our Director of photography is a very positive thing.





CB.

CITY ISLAND: GEARING UP FOR A WEEK OF NIGHTS

Everyone at "City Island" is readying themselves for the night shooting that awaits us. Everything seems so much more exciting at night time, more magical and lovely. It feels like we are doing something secret, or covert. It feels as though at night you can appreciate that everyone is here for the movie, that we all went that extra mile to be out of our beds. Or maybe everyone just broke through the barrier of tiredness and went a little insane... Ged our line producer did just walk in singing Bob Dylan at the top of his voice, so it is possible...
How DOES it feel, Ged?

CB.

DROPPING MATCHES AND MAKING STEVEN WORK FOR HIS MONEY

A continued take from Friday's shooting. Raymond is a sadist, pushing Steven to his limits in the name of art.

CB.

CITY ISLAND: LUCKY MONKEY LADIES COSY UP ON SET

Monday July 28th 2008:
Lucky Monkey Pictures partners Maria Teresa Arida and Lauren Versel, watched their project of passion come to life in the seafood central that is City Island. With Headsets, Andy Garcias and exciting-looking equipment surrounding them, Maria and Lauren slip into their most favorite and well-worn pair of shoes.

Lucky Monkey Pictures is an emerging company started by Versel and Arida in 2004. Lucky Monkey took Raymond De Felitta's "City Island" to the Berlin Co-Production market earlier this year and started the ball rolling on what has now become a international co-production. LMP has a strong focus on narrative and has been eagerly developing and accruing content over the past four years; "City Island" is the first to step up to the plate and take a swing.

Arida and Versel have also just recently wrapped on another: a spanish language feature "El Ultimo Verano de La Boyita" by Julia Solomonoff which also featured at the co-production market in Berlin 2007, and as a result went on to dive, hand in hand, in to the Uraguay countryside with Almodovar's company El Deseo, along with their sister company in Argentina: Travesia.

Cecelia Bee.

EDITORS PICK: STEVEN STRAIT AND ANDY GARCIA

Scene between Andy and Steven. Vince teaches Tony about the differences between Clam-Diggers and Mussel-Suckers.
For bone-fide City Island Clam-Digger merchandise click here.

Cecelia Bee.

CITY ISLAND'S POLISH BRETHREN

Lauren shows polish producer Grzegorz around the set.

City Island is currently twinned with the small but perfectly formed, polish city of Krakow.
Gremi Productions, headed up by Grzegorz Hajdarowicz, is a fledgling company that is a pioneer, in Polish terms, with their funding of international projects (see article below). This collaboration with Hajdarowicz brings yet another culture to an already diverse production. From Croatia to Argentina, France to Brazil "City Island" as a production extends well beyond the bounds of the Bruckner Expressway.
Clam-diggers and mussel-suckers unite! (see image below for an explanation)


Some of the "City Island" team pose at Cannes in May. From left to right: Lauren Versel, Grzegorz Hajdarowicz, Andy Garcia, Lucia Seabra and Raymond De Felitta.

Below is a Hollywood Reporter Article on Gremi Film Production:

*******************************************************
Poland's Gremi on 'Island' with Garcia
Project was presented at Berlin's Co-production Market

By Vladimir Kozlov

July 21, 2008, 05:39 PM ET
MOSCOW -- For the first time in Polish film history, a local company is investing in a co-production with major Hollywood stars.

Krakow-based Gremi Film Production is providing 32% of the unspecified budget for U.S. film "City Island," directed by Raymond De Felitta and starring Andy Garcia, Gremi production coordinator Bozena Cerba told The Hollywood Reporter.

"The project was presented during the Co-production Market in Berlin 2008, and that is how we entered into the co-production," she said, adding that the movie, which is currently being filmed, is expected to be completed by early 2009.

Gremi's co-production credits include Peter Greenaway's "Nightwatching" and Janusz Kaminski's "Hania."
Poland's Gremi on 'Island' with Garcia
Project was presented at Berlin's Co-production Market

By Vladimir Kozlov

July 21, 2008, 05:39 PM ET
MOSCOW -- For the first time in Polish film history, a local company is investing in a co-production with major Hollywood stars.

Krakow-based Gremi Film Production is providing 32% of the unspecified budget for U.S. film "City Island," directed by Raymond De Felitta and starring Andy Garcia, Gremi production coordinator Bozena Cerba told The Hollywood Reporter.

"The project was presented during the Co-production Market in Berlin 2008, and that is how we entered into the co-production," she said, adding that the movie, which is currently being filmed, is expected to be completed by early 2009.

Gremi's co-production credits include Peter Greenaway's "Nightwatching" and Janusz Kaminski's "Hania."
******************************************************

CB.

CITY ISLAND: THIS IS MY WEEKEND?

Welcome to City Island. Above is a view of this magical and strange place where I am currently living, working and blogging. We wrapped our first week of shooting Friday night at eleven PM. I took off for the city in the morning and somehow a day and a half has passed. Thus it's Sunday afternoon and I have everything on the "to-do" list still staring me in the face, except the laundry.

A few rhetorical questions; 1) Did David Lean do his laundry on the weekends? 2) Is this truly the first full account of a film being made being covered via the blogosphere? (Can't imagine nobody else has thought this one up...) 3) Is it alcoholism if you wake up at dawn on your day off and drink a lot of white wine?

Many kudos to my excellent assistant "Cecilia Bee" for keeping this thing going during the work week. Even though it makes perfect sense not to focus on anything but the film, I can't help but think that Soderbergh would be blogging himself while shooting--as well lighting and editing.

Quick history of this script and then I have to move on to my shotlist. It's the only script I've written (out of about thirty) that I can date precisely. Started it after the labor day weekend, 2001. That weekend my wife and I took an early morning walk to the East River and I told her the vague idea I had--a prison guard who finds out his secret love child is in his prison. Her enthusiasm and my general good mood of the moment sat me down to write some notes. And suddenly the idea that this prison guard also has a secret ambition--to be an actor--made me move from notes to script. No outline. Just started writing the people. I was on the roll of my life and got to page 50 on the eleventh of September. As some of you might remember, the immediate sensation after the attack was one of complete senselessness. Why write? Why make films? Why live a normal life? Why do anything? It seems a little odd now but that was--at least if you lived in NYC--the general tenor of things at that supremely odd moment. So I put the Rizzo family down and didn't do much for a couple of weeks. And then I realized that I was of no use to the firefighters and clean up crews downtown, that I couldn't solve the world's political problems (and indeed had and continue to have very little interest in politics to begin with--they really are the least profound thing in life)...so what the hell? Finish your fucking script. Writing and piano playing are the two things I was born understanding how to do. So I finished it--in another couple of weeks.

My agent quickly read and liked it but it became one of those infuriating "good but hard to explain" projects. Everybody liked it. But how do you make this? Answer: get an actor. But I didn't. Instead I got a producer (a few of them). They meant well. But we didn't agree on much. And a lot of time was spent talking. Like three years. I made two other movies while we were talking about this one. And finally, when it was time to renew the option, mercifully they'd had enough. Meanwhile, Michael Chicklis (great actor, good guy) had come and gone...and I was fresh out of luck. No producers, no actor, just me and my script and a few years older and wiser.

But everything happens for a reason and my agent, seeing the flounder session that "City Island" was morphing into, asked what I might think of Andy Garcia as the lead. Seeing as we're repped by the same agency, I was surprised that we hadn't thought of him before. "Send it" said I. They did. He liked it. Andy and my first phone call was write before Thanksgiving, 2006. When the film is truly done, our partnership will be two years old.

Somehow when things click into place the inevitability is astonishing. The road was still bumpy--even with Andy involved a lot of companies passed based on the reasoning that the film was "execution dependent". (Aren't they all? Who dreams up these movie business terms? And do they get paid a royalty every time some shmuck uses it?) Anyway, many months passed during which Andy and I became obsessed with finding a way to make this happen--to make our dream project a REM reality. Next aboard was my old friend Zachary Matz--excellent producer and pal who started to plot with me and Andy how little the movie could be made for. And that's when my wonderful friend Lauren Versel (pictures w/Steven Strait below) showed up--with a company she'd started with equity financing. From the beginning Lauren had a serene confidence that we would pull this whole thing off. Which is a hell of a lot nicer than having a worried producer who sees nothing but obstacles--the situation I was in a few years ago.

I have to go. Keep reading. Dig Cecilia Bee's clips--we'll be posting both behind the scene clips as well as dailies. Send this link to your friends.I can't tell you how my heart leaps when I see the stat counter take a jump. As well as when I see my characters come to life on set, courtesy of the best cast I've ever worked with. Meanwhile, since I'm constitutionally unable to blog without posting a youtube clip, check out Frankie Laine from 1954. Why Frankie? 1) I listen to his Mercury records every morning before going to set--hence I will forever associate this movie with him. 2) There's something about the way Andy is playing Vince that reminds of Frankie Laine. And 3) My excellent production designer--Franckie Diago--is...named Frankie. So is my father, Frank De Felitta. So you see...

STEVEN STRAIT BARE BACK WITH PRODUCER LAUREN VERSEL

LADIES, PLEASE! CALM DOWN!
Producer Lauren Versel of Lucky Monkey Pictures maintains her cool on set with Steven Strait, whilst I, with my eagle eye, keep the punters happy. The art department has come through with beautiful, shining colors once again. How can we ever repay them?

Cecelia Bee.

EDITORS PICK: STEVEN STRAIT COMES ROUND FOR A LITTLE SUPPER

Yesterday, Thursday July 24th: Steven Strait, in the role of Tony Nardella, joined the rest of the Rizzo family for some polite dinner conversation City Island style. At least they are comfortable being themselves around the estranged son, and make no trouble to ladle on a nuclear family sheen.



CB.

CITY ISLAND: JULIANNA MARGULIES AT THE DINNER TABLE

A clip from the diner table of Julianna Margulies being rudely interrupted by a grandfather clock.
Sometimes roles seem to fit like snug gloves and "City Island" is one of those moments.
Margulies makes Joyce Rizzo, Joyce Rizzo. And Raymond is a happy boy.



CB.

CITY ISLAND TO BE ON NEWS CHANNEL 12 (Bronx Local) FRIDAY 25th 5pm EST

"City Island" was visited by News Channel 12 this morning and a report will be broadcast at 5pm EST for all the lucky local cable subscribers. For those that are farther afield I will endeavor to post a clip. For now, here are some pictures of anchorwoman Alexis Rivera interviewing Raymond, on a day that promises to be hot, dry and mosquito-free.

CB.

CITY ISLAND: PRODUCTION REPORT WEDS JULY 23rd

(Click image to enlarge)

CB.

RADIO MAN TAKES A DAY TRIP TO CITY ISLAND & A MOMENT WITH ANDY GARCIA

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Now we know we are a real movie, the contracts have been signed, the hair sprayed within an inch of its life and we have had our mandatory visit from Radio Man.
Radio Man rolled up on his bicycle mid-afternoon took a look around had a casual conversation with Andy Garcia, then chilled out on some steps. (City Island IS in New York, but its a long-ass haul from that little place known as Manhattan. The ride up must have been tough). When I got the call, I pounded down the two blocks from the director's cottage, 'Flip' camera in hand. The blogger must not miss a beat.

Special mention to our spectacular intern, Luca Michelson who documented this encounter without a moments hesitation as I threw the camera at him.

CB.

EDITORS PICK: SHOT W/ GARCIA, STRAIT & MILLER

Overhead shot from Monday July 21st.
Each time I see the dailies, my digestive system goes a little weird: it looks so AWESOME (In the true sense of the word: a thing that induces awe).

CB

EZRA MILLER: MAD LIBS AT THE DINNER TABLE

Ezra Miller launched proceedings on Monday with a quick,'fox' like wit and style, that lifted the words from the page. Miller seems to fully grasp the sentiment of De Felitta's character (Vinnie Jr) with his off the cuff add-libs.
Food was thrown, so artfully, by Dominik Garcia-Lorido, in the role of Vivian Rizzo.

CB.

CITY ISLAND: T-SHIRTS MESSAGES No.1, WEDS 23rd JULY

More cast and crew craft projects.



I am not a rude person. But, I did forget to say 'Good Morning' to Eric Henriquez our Assistant Director two days in a row. So I made a T-shirt to make sure.
I am planning to do a line of one-off, couture "City Island themed apparel, so expect some more.

Cecelia Bee.

CITY ISLAND: TOP BILLING AT IMDB PRO, WEDS JULY 23rd

The word is spreading and spreading thick and fast, from the positive to the critically constructive.
From the top billing on the ImDb Pro homepage to the honor of two sentences from the people at New York Magazine's Vulture blog.

I feel as though there is an ethical code that underlies the blogosphere, that one should be a good sport and take the rough with the smooth. I refer exclusively to the comments made by Vulture, the industry blog of New York magazine, whose tag-line rolls: "Devouring Culture". I don't mean to fight fire with fire, but what IS in a name? Quite a lot apparently. As we slave away trying to rescue culture from the trenches, these 'commentators' feast on our bleeding veins. But lets not play at heroics. De Felitta is not hurt, and can see their point, but it is the movie that will stand up and be counted at the end of the day. Let us keep the conversation diverse and freehttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif. It is all a matter of opinion, and here is mine: any news is good news.

P.S I think there were some leftovers at lunch if they are feeling peckish...

In the name of being a good sport here is the link:
Vulture

Below are some more links to other, nicer, articles:

Cinnematical Announcement

Scoopspin mention

WALK THROUGH SET, JULY 23RD, PM

By Cecelia Bee.

RAYMOND HAS DESIGNS FOR EZRA MILLER

A stolen moment, surrounded by multicolored tape. July 23rd, AM.

I squeezed a mini interview with Raymond this morning, somewhere between rehearsal and the first call to ACTION!
De Felitta weaves a cautionary tale, lending some personal insight on the path that lies ahead for our free-styling wonderboy, Miller.



Off the Cuff interview by Ged Dickerson (Normally our Line Producer).
Director of Photography & Camera Operator, Cecelia Bee.

CITY ISLAND ARTS AND CRAFTS, ALL WELCOME TO JOIN

We like to keep it 'bootleg' down at "City Island" (Don't tell the investors) After all this is a project set in the Bronx and shot exclusivley within the five boroughs; how could we not be rolling deep with the hip kids? Click image to enlarge.


The wonderful Sherry, (Raymond's Wife) slaved for days over this wonderful poster. I made her do four versions before I was happy to let it sit on this distinguished blog. This is the best entry yet, but we encourage any others who have an artistic itch to submit, the more inventive the better!

Judging committee chairwoman, Cecelia Bee.

CITY ISLAND: EZRA, CREEPING UP FROM THE OUTSIDE

Monday Night: July 21st, City Island, Sunset.




I couldn't see the awesome Ezra Miller but I could hear him and it sounded GOOD.
As the sun went dhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifown Miller, a rising star, came up, and brought his goods to the (dining) table, literally (see image below). I am already a huge fan of Miller's incarnation of Vinnie Jr; it seems to hit the perfect note of laid-back and endearing sarcasm. Despite being a relative newcomer to 'the game', Miller has an intriguing pedigree: calmly he emerges from the raw, Cannes 2008 featured, "Afterschool" by one-to watch Antonio Campos. And in January Miller wrapped on the (soon to be) impossibly cool short by Steven Tanenbaum: "Busted Walk" (I'm putting my money on it!).


Sides from Monday: The (1st) dinner table argument.

We promise to have some clips up of Ezra giving the 'more qualified' actors a run for their money tomorrow, until then you can satiate yourselves with the links below.
Click to link to an interview with "Afterschool" Director, Antonio Campos.
Click to link to the official website of Another Urban Riff, makers of "Busted Walk".

Cecelia Bee.

TUESDAY JULY 22nd: DAY 4 OF 28

Just a few pictures for now. Today was officially (and affectionately) known as: THE DAY OF 96 THOUSAND SET UPS. Screw "City Island"; someone get Ridley Scott's people on the phone; we are making epic battle movie instead. Sorry Raymond, I guess the beautifully shot (Thank you Vanja) indie comedy, is on the cutting room floor...

Just kidding. Until tomorrow my friends, Cecelia Bee.

"CITY IS." BLOG IS BLOGGED BY NEW YORK POST

In true 21st century style, the "City Island" blog has been blogged by a fellow blogger. When will this end? Will we carry on blogging about other blogs until we can no longer remember where we began? And that my friends is the beauty of the great electronic conversation; the blogosphere. On that note my regards to Lou Lumenick at the New York Post's Movies Blog for his mention: 'DeFelitta Blogs City Island' Right Back-at-cha, Lou.

Posted by Cecelia Bee

VARIETY ARTICLE: DEBUTANTE "CITY ISLAND" IS FORMALLY INTRODUCED

"CITY ISLAND" is now being courted by the trades. Today the announcement was made online by Variety:

************************************************************************************
'City Island' begins shooting
Film stars Mortimer, Arkin, Garcia, Margulies
By PAOLA CAPO-GARCIA

Indie pic "City Island" has just started lensing in its namesake Bronx locale, with Emily Mortimer, Alan Arkin, Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies filling out the cast.

Written and directed by Raymond De Felitta ("The Thing About My Folks"), the comedy tracks a Bronx prison guard (Garcia) who recognizes one of the inmates as his own illegitimate son.

Steven Strait ("10,000 BC" and "Stop-Loss") plays the inmate son.

Paradigm's film finance group packaged the pic and will handle domestic sales, while Westend Films will handle foreign.

************************************************************************************
Click for Variety's page

Post by Cecelia Bee

CITY ISLAND: ON TWO WHEELS

This is not a real job. Yes, the hours are long, but riding a bike round a lovely, if slightly dilapidated, yachting community, is not really a job in the traditional sense. No complaints here though. Just a little sunburn.

CI seems, from first impressions, to be a real community, and a really lovely one at that. I expect to be telling y'all out there in the wire-free ether, many more a tale of my adventures on my trusty neon-green steed.

Today I met the liquor store owners. They were relaxing, in the shady (as in dark, not dodgy) store eating mangoes. They gave me gifts and advice; below is the 'Official' postcard for City Island from JGL Wines & Liquors. Go there, they are lovely and sell intoxicating substances. Bonus!




Cecelia Bee.

CITY ISLAND: FISHER SCREWS IT UP

DAY ONE OF THE PRODUCTION PROPER.

Today it all took off. And Dan 'modified' a Ford (see below) which as ceremonious as it may well have been for Raymond to whack a sledge hammer into the grill of a beautiful car, we need his health to be in a good solid condition, for at least the next 27 days. Then he can do what he likes. Which I suspect will take place somewhere at the bottom of a bottle of champagne.
For now De Felitta is on a energy laden diet of raw almonds and fiber rich cereals, which look as good as they taste (a little like cat litter...)

We have gone from slightly tense (the fatal mix of nerves and eagerness) in the early morning, to a more relaxed, yet even hotter, afternoon.



And in the words of Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous": It's all happening!

More mildly irritating quotes later!
Cecelia Bee.

CITY ISLAND: DOMINIK RAISES THE BAR

And so on the brink of the first day of filming in the Rizzo house, as all crew members grasp on to the last precious moments of the weekend, we finalise our cast profiles. And boy are we going out with a bang with the smoldering yet fresh Dominik Garcia-Lorido. We have been blessed, not only with a stella cast (from which De Felitta promises to tease a explosive performance) but we have an increasingly gorgeous cast that more than matches the breath-taking backdrop of City Island.

Dominik will let reality stroll on to the silver screen, as she joins her father's side playing the role of daughter Vivian Rizzo. Some may claim this to be an unfair advantage, yet after the table read on Friday I for one will vouch for their competency, passion and flair.
And they are all SO capable, MORE THAN capable, that watching this film (and this family) begin to congeal in front of the camera tomorrow will be truly compelling.
However, for now I must resolve myself to the last forty winks for a while, but at least I will have a smile on my face.

Cecelia Bee.

THE FABULOSITY OF J. MARGULIES

This past Wednesday, I became the luckiest filmmaker in New York when the fabulous Julianna Margulies leapt aboard the runaway train known as "City Island" and agreed to play Andy Garcia's wife, Joyce Rizzo. How the hell can a movie be one week away from shooting and still not have such an important part cast? I think I'll leave that story for my memoir--titled "Raymond De Felitta: A Life Of Waiting Around", currently scheduled for a spring 2043 paper-less release.

The truth is: everything truly does happen for a reason and there was never anybody nearly as perfect for the role of Joyce as Julianna. So why didn't we offer it to her first? This goes so far back in the putting together of this movie that honestly I can't remember what we were thinking. But from the moment her name was mentioned it made perfect sense; and as soon as I sat across from this beautiful, tough, thoroughly at home in her skin woman over lunch a couple of weeks ago I knew I had found my Joyce. Adding to my good fortune is the fact that she and Andy have worked together in the past--in a very good film called "The Man From Elysian Fields". So they're comfortable together. Believe me, that takes a hell of a burden off of a director--when two people are supposed to be married or in love and the actors playing them don't particularly like each other, it's hard to seperate the personal from the professional and you're always wondering if the performances are going to feel real or if your movie is getting screwed because of two fragile egos. (This happened to me once--actually the performances turned out great but I spent the whole movie worrying if there was any chemistry between...never mind, I think I'll save that for my memoir as well).

Below are two interivews with Ms. Margulies, the first with Charlie Rose, done about ten years ago, and a second more recent one from the CBS Early Show (I don't know the identity of the fawning interviewer but J.M. handles his obsequiousness with great panache). This last one's from 2006 after she had finished "Snakes On A Plane" and was starring on Broadway in an adaptation of the Dogma movie "The Celebration"--I hadn't heard about this project until she told me about it over lunch. I certainly would have gone to see it as "The Celebration" is, in my opinion, one of the best films ever made.

CITY ISLAND: NO WORDS JUST ANDY, STEVEN AND RAYMOND.

Pictures from the last week scouting locations.

CITY ISLAND: PRODUCTION DAY 1 OF 28

One of my directing mentors, Edward Dmytryk ("Caine Mutiny", "Murder My Sweet") once told me that he always picked simple things to do on the first day of a movie since he it always took him a day to brush the cobwebs out of his eyes, get his footing and get back to the pace and clarity demanded of film directors. Now, this guy made two or three movies a year--so if he grew musty in between jobs, imagine how I feel? I was last directing on a set FOUR years ago. (My documentary came in between that film and this one but that wasn't directing so much as writing with a camera).

So today's first day of principle was--Dmytrykally speaking--a perfect choice. We shot clothing and make up/hair tests. We shot material that will be incorporated on websites that are featured in the film. This--along with our "b-unit" day on Tuesday which was mostly driving shots and shots from a boat (all without actors)--has been a very mellow way to get back in the groove of being on set, of getting the rhythm back. In a strange way filmmaking is like jazz--I'm a jazz pianist and I've always noticed that even if I haven't played in a long time, if I'm invited to sit in with some other musicians or with a singer, jazz just...happens. Once learned, never forgotten. Indeed one feels more normal playing than not playing. Same with the film set--an environment that I first experienced as a kid and immediately felt at home in. You show up and suddenly the world makes sense again. It's the years in between--the years spent putting together the opportunity to make a film--that are when you feel pressured, stresssed, not quite yourself.

Above is our call sheet. We're now off until Monday, when the actors show and the "real" work begins. In between now and then I'll post more info about our cast, which includes a certain actress known for the television show E.R. (and much else) and another actress who may be related to somebody else in the cast...

CITY ISLAND: THE ALAN ARKIN OF IT ALL

The great actor, writer, director, comedian, folk-singer and children's book writer Alan Arkin is--I'm proud to say--a member of the "City Island" cast, playing a slightly worn out acting teacher named Michael Malakov. Though he appears in only a handful of scenes, Malakov is an important character as he is the acutalization of what Vince (Andy Garcia) aspires to be. You see, Vince secretly desires a career as an actor--but in his world (he's a corrections officer) admitting this is akin to admitting that he's always wanted to be a cross dresser. Malakov is a deeply serious man whose acting class shows Vince that the craft is a SERIOUS one and must be taken SERIOUSLY. But that doesn't mean that the scenes with Malakov are SERIOUS ones--in fact, once Alan came onto the project the scenes got a lot funnier. I had a talk with him about what happens to people who teach acting for many years and Alan's response--that they become frustrated with the ponderousness of what they're seeing up on stage--led me to suggest that he rewrite the scene so as to reflect his own feelings. Alan's rewrite produced a speech about...well, I won't give it away. I will say it's one of the great rants on the subject of acting I've ever read. And the bonus thing is, I'll get credit for it! (Robert Altman taught me this--let all the talented people you hire contribute their ideas, since you'll get the credit in the end anyway...Altman was a provocateur and always had a gleam in his eye, but I have a feeling that his tongue was only slightly planted in cheek when he passed on this bit of wisdom to me...)

Did you know that Alan Arkin was a member of a band called The Tarriers who co-wrote and performed the "Banana Boat" song that Harry Belefonte later made famous? That he is one of only eight actors to have the distinction of being nominated for an Academy Award for his first screen appearance? That he played Sigmund Freud (in the lovely 1976 "The Seven Per Cent Solution")? That he's been married three times? That he lives in New Mexico? Want more? Click here and Wikipedia will fill you in on the multifarious accomplishments of this remarkable man who truly is a walking cultural monument.

There are so many degrees--much more than six--to Alan and this movie. There's the Inspector Cloeseau one that I mentioned the other day (he was in the non-Sellers one and Andy Garcia and Emily Mortimer were in the new non-Sellers ones). Then there's Alan and Andy together in the quite amusing and little seen movie "Steal Big Steal Little" (a very funny Andy performance). Alan co-starred with Peter Falk in the brilliant 1979 comedy "The In-Laws"--twenty-five years later I directed Peter Falk in "The Thing About My Folks". (We had a funny talk about "The In-Laws" one day on the set--Peter told me that he "didn't know it was a comedy" until half way through it. What the hell could he have meant by this strange comment? Peter, I think, isn't above completely putting people on to keep himself from being bored. Which begs the questions:was I boring him?) And Alan's son, Tony Arkin (damn good actor) is in my film "Two Family House". Finally, Arkin appears in one of the sixties great social comedies, "Popi"--playing a poor Puerto Rican man in New York City, a widower with two sons, who notices that Cubans who escape their country and wash up on American shores are hailed as heroes and welcomed to America with open arms. So he decides to set his kids afloat in the sea in the hopes that they will be discovered as refugees and be taken up as "a cause"--which will lead them to a better life than they could have alone, in Harlem, with their "Popi". (The tag line on the poster was: "Better To Drown In The Ocean Than The Sewer").

Just recounting this plotline brings a tear to my eye--party because of the brilliance of the comic and emotional conceit of the story...but also because the movie was written by a husband and wife writing team--Lester and Tina Pine--who I grew up with (they were dear friends of my parents) and who were a terribly important part of my young life. Lester, a commited socialist, used comedy to tell stories of the poor and oppressed and shine a light on the absurdity of the lives of the "have-nots" in the land (America that is) of the "haves". He was an angry, funny, dear man who loved the craft of writing more than anything and taught me great respect for the process of mastering dramatic form...and the need to say something with the medium. When Alan and I first spoke about his appearing in "City Island" I mentioned this connection and he was quite moved; he and Lester went back to the 1950's when Lester was a stand-up and I imagine part of their past had to do with the fact that Lester and Alan's father, David Arkin (a set designer) had both suffered the blacklist for their association with the Communist Party.

Below is a quite interesting interview with Alan done around the time of the "Little Miss Sunshine" buzz, as well as a clip--the airplane scene--from "The In Laws".

(This has been a Raymond De Felitta early morning "I'm supposed to be on my way to my own set what the hell am I doing blogging" post).

The Cloth is Being Cut: Steven Strait Fitting

A snapshot of the lovely Steven Strait to whet the palates of his adoring fans...



The Wardrobe department is working overtime to get everyone looking suitably City Island. Steven and his impossibly likeable wife (actress Lynn Collins) dropped into City Island headquarters yesterday and the awesome Tere Duncan outfitted him in some ex-con threads.
I would like to say at this point (and I speak for all who have had the pleasure to meet the Strait/Collins) something that is always said with a tone of surprise about actors and their spouses: they are really are 'down to earth'.
This quality (at the risk of wandering into the realm of the slushy) makes the whole process feel like a great collaboration, where the integrity and quality of the end product (the film) is the ONLY thing to care about.

CB, Contented, Queens N.Y.

ANDY GARCIA GOES CACHAO-HAPPY

Simply put, without being hyperbolic, the most important musician in Latin music in the 20th century was a Cuban bass player named Israel "Cachao" Lopez, who single-handedly (with a little help from his brother) invented the rhythm we now call the "mambo". How did he do this? When? Who was he and where did he come from? ARE YOU NUTS? I'VE GOT SO MUCH CRAP TO DEAL WITH AND NOW I'M SUPPOSED TO WRITE AN INTELLIGIBLE POST ABOUT MUSIC HISTORY? Click on this Wikipedia article if Cachao isn't a name you know and dig the history created by this spectacular figure. The world of the Mambo and its inventor is one that--if you're not hep to it--is well worth investing a little time learning about. Also, the music rocks.

For many years Cachao--who left Cuba in the early sixties and moved around the US from New York, to Vegas to Florida--was a legend among Cuban's and musicians of a certain stripe. But he was more likely to be found playing "casuals:--i.e. weddings and bar mitzvahs--than to be found in the concert hall. I don't believe he felt any bitterness about this--he was born to play music and that's what he filled his life doing. But the respect level changed when, in the early 90's, he had the good fortune to meet a young movie star of Cuban heritage who'd always admired his music; that would be our friend Andy Garcia. I can say this first hand about Andy: when he fixates on something that he loves or admires, there is no greater supporter/believer. It's not that he seeks out causes: it's that he simply decides when something (or somebody I suppose) needs to be stood by, supported, celebrated and sees it as his duty to be steadfast. I felt that when he read and loved my screenplay; there was nothing he wouldn't do to help me get this done...

And when Andy found the "sleeping giant" Cachao--then a seventy-year old man--he frankly changed the aging Cuban's life. He began producing concerts of Cachao's work which led to a CD which won a grammy as well as making the first of two documentaries about Cachao and a final blast of worldwide recognition for the aging musical giant. Not every artist comes to their prime in their seventies and eighties but, thanks to A.G., Cachao was finally given his due and allowed his place on the world stage--a place he'd always deserved but which life, for various reasons had never quite...enough. You get the idea. Below are clips of Andy Garcia and Israel "Cachao" Lopez as well as some footage of Andy's very moving farewell speech to his mentor, delivered just this past March after the master's death at the age of 89.

(A Raymond De Felitta Post--now can I get back work?)

The Cameras are Rolling: Images from the Front Lines.

Day One: Pre-production Photography. So now it gets exciting. The cameras are being dusted off and powered up. Our B-Roll shoot has commenced and City Island will be begin to burn its beauty on to celluloid.
Above Raymond (whipping up mystery and noteriety in dark sunglasses) and our brilliant Cinematographer: Vanja Cernjul (fresh from the hit television show 30 Rock) bask in the magnificent City Island sunlight.
Who would have thought that the Bronx could be so beautiful?



As a traditionalist, Raymond strikes a classic pose, turns on the glamour and transports us to the south of France. The Bronx as you know it is a distant memory. (I for one, am happy to see that the clever little Blackberry has managed to fuse itself to his palm).
Today's verdict? The director hat is well and truly on de Felitta's head.

CB

Birthday's and Bastille: Just a Mini-Post.

Happy Birthday to both producer Lauren and director's assistant Amy.
It's worth a mention if only to show off the as-good-as-it-looks-cakes.
Equally, a very happy 'quatorze juillet' to our fabulous Art Director, Franckie and to France.
You can expect some bleary-eyed postings tomorrow... Oh well... Pass the chilled rose and sante!

CB.

Bagels & Boxes o' Coffee: Production Meeting.

The shifting of gears is palpable in our musty 3rd floor offices. (Being in Queens makes one feel edgy, if nothing else).



The heat really turned up at the City Island headquarters this morning as we cut the brakes and catapulted ourselves headlong into the final week of pre-production.

Suddenly the family has gotten bigger, and one must submit to the pace; get wrapped up in the whirlwind, or face being left behind. The photocopier couldn't hack it. Let's hope there are no more casualties...

You have been listening to Cecelia Bee. More Later.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: Raymond de Felitta conquers already chartered lands.

*Today Cecelia Bee dips her virgin toes in the murky waters of the blogosphere as your guest writer and documentarian. Be nice.*



From the gritty reality of the dark depths of a Queens correctional facility, to the lofty heights of an uptown law office, De Felitta has traversed them all.
After spending two long days taking the technical scout head-on, the intrepid De Felitta takes a moment to reflect upon his mission and comes to see the actual shooting of the movie as the easy part.

The technical scout is a bonding experience. Work was done, and enormous meals were eaten. Jan McLaughlin the goddess of sound battling with lawnmowers and the shooting range near our main location is one thing; taking on the grilled salmon fillet the size of a small cat, quite another. But remember kids: What is important is that it was a battle fought together.


Each location was measured from multiple angles, filmed and noted in every conceivable manner. From the more traditional pen, paper and measure tape, to Dan Fisher Property Master Extraordinaire's enviable 'Flip' camera.



The reconnaissance is nearly completed; De Felitta is getting ready to go up and over, leading the troops into the humid jungle of the Bronx.



Photographs and text by CeceliaBee