48-HOUR FILM FESTIVAL

For weeks I had blocked of Saturday the 16th of May to participate in the 48-hour film festival in Salt Lake. The night before I called Becky, my friend from years ago from whom I received the invitation to participate, and found that I'd be cast as an extra for the purposes of the film. At first I had some sharp feelings in my heart - mostly because I got work off and wouldn't even have a supporting role. But, I committed - so I decided to do it anyway.


The 48-hour film festival is a concept that originated in Washington D.C. and has become a global phenomenon over the last few years. Each team draws a genre, prop, line of monologue and a character that must be used in the film. The body of the film must be no more than 7 minutes and each team has 48 hours to write, cast, shoot and edit a final draft. It is a wild ride.


At the appointed hour we got together and Steve, the director, decided to read through the script. After introducing the cast I found I was sitting next to the person called on to fill the role of the Leprechaun, Johnny O’Kearny. He looked the part but immediately blurted out, "My accent is crappy - I'm going to ruin it". I then leaned over to him and said in a moderate Irish dialect, “Have a shot of whisky first = you’ll be fine”. He immediately stopped the director from speaking and nominated me to take his place as the Leprechaun. Steve turned to me and asked if I’d like to do it. My response was, of course, “yes, I’d love to”. I ended up spending a substantial amount of time on my knees wearing a fedora that was 2 sizes too small, but I’m really glad I was able to do it. I met some good people and had a great time.


Also, Terry Wood (formerly a news anchor in Salt Lake) and Chad Booth (producer and star of ‘At Your Leisure’ – an out-door show based in Salt Lake) were able to participate with our team. The genre we drew was a mockumentary (documentary style with Michael Moore accuracy wading up to it’s waist in sarcasm).


Enjoy the Uncovered America report, “Holiday Inn”.


http://www.vimeo.com/4699390