Cast and Crew Screening

Saturday May 31st was the Cast and Crew Screening and the first time the finished film was seen by an audience.  Thanks to the graciousness and generosity of my old and very dear friend, Jimmy Honore, we screened the film in the beautiful William Holden Theater on Stage 5 of the Sony Studios Lot.  Both the sound system there and the screen are amazing.  We were able to screen the D5 Master, which was full resolution HD and quite beautiful. 

It had been extremely stressful leading up to the screening as we encountered various technical snafus with the render and creation of the D5 - first of all, Justin's machine went on the blink and he had to rush the film to an outside post house to record the film to a master tape.  Then the outside house misunderstood when we needed it by (which was Friday morning so we could run a print check at Sony during the Friday lunch break - The Holden, the Novak and the Cary Grant are in constant use at Sony as they are dubbing stages and they are mixing the new Will Ferrell film, "Step Brothers" in the Holden at the moment) and our print was not ready in time to check it Friday... 

So we were actually not able to check the print until half an hour before the screening - that was horrifying.  Justin had given me a back-up DVD in case the worst case scenario occurred... but I told him I would rather slowly slice my head off with a butter knife in front of the audience for ninety minutes than screen a DVD (very dramatic of me and probably not very appealing to our particular audience).

As we ran the print test Saturday evening I noticed that the sound synch was off and I started freaking out.  Peter Carlsted was there too and he agreed that the synch was soft.  Luckily, the staff at Sony, starting from Mike Rizzuto (Director of Post Production), to Mike McClarin (Tech Director for Projection) to the 2 projectionists, Nate Oishi and Greg Giacona and Mark Onks, who was in charge of running all the dubbing stages on Saturday were not only top notch in terms of their training and ability, but extremely sympathetic and helpful to me.  They easily made the adjustment to the sound, by delaying it about two and a half frames, and it fell into synch.  The incredible thing is that the D5 was not out of synch, but the room was so big that by the time you heard it, it was!  Apparently these things always need to be adjusted based on the space in which they are being projected.

Once the print had been adjusted both for sound and color, we were ready to let in the audience; and what an audience it was!  Many of our wonderful cast came including Jeanmarie Simpson, Elizabeth Pena, Judd Nelson, Karen Black, Rich Flisher, Mary Kay Riley, Kate Connor and Andy Hirsch, Traber Burns, Cassidy Lehrman, Joel Marshall, Jeff Simpson, and Terri Simmons. 

And at about 7.05... in came Joni Mitchell with her dear friends Shell Burton, Chris, and Valentino -- that was absolutely thrilling.  Joni had never seen the film or heard how we had used her music throughout it.  Danette Christine, our Music Supervisor, had been hoping against hope that Joni would be there to see the film and there she was!  The screening was ready to start!

I spoke a few words before starting the film, thanking the crew and cast for their invaluable support and passion for the project.  It meant so much to me to be finally standing up there with a film that I was proud of and having all the people there who had believed in it and in me, that I just sort of lost it.  Hopefully most of what I was saying was intelligible.

Earlier in the day I had received a letter from Dennis Kucinich, an idol and role model of mine, the Congressman from Ohio whose efforts on behalf of peace stand head and shoulders above anyone else in our present government.   I was so touched by his letter; I read it before the screening.  Here it is:

"Dear Kamala, 

Congratulations on the screening of A Single Woman.  We can't wait to see it.  Your work will make it possible for the singularly important life of Jeannette Rankin to receive much deserved attention.   Her life becomes more relevant for this nation and the world as we continue to proceed along a path of war.  Perhaps your film will point the way to a different path, the road less traveled, the path of A Single Woman.  All of our love is with you as your work begins to emerge.  We look forward to introducing it to Washington, DC so that our nation's Capitol can rediscover the deeper meaning of Jeannette Rankin's life, and, in doing so, it may discover the possibility of peace.  

Sincerely, Dennis Kucinich"

This really made me cry.  Anyway, I made my way back to my seat and my mom leaned over and said, "What a crybaby!"  (Note that she was crying when she said this!) My husband grabbed my hand and the movie started.  Through the whole film the audience was very quiet and I was shaking like a leaf.  I though I was going into hypothermia.  It was much much scarier to watch a film that you've directed with an audience than watching one that you've acted in - at least for me it was.

After the film, people were very effusive.  Many stayed for hours afterwards talking. Our close friend Alex Webber (who had also catered the film shoot) catered the reception and the food was fantastic.   Joni Mitchell really enjoyed the film and even suggested other songs of hers that could be used, should we ever open up the sound again - that was the greatest compliment ever and something to keep in mind when a distributor steps in.

I would like to share with you some of the highlights of what people said about the film.  Elizabeth Pena's daughter, the beautiful eleven year old Fiona, kept telling her mom throughout the movie, "That lady is right!" referring to Jeannette Rankin.  After the screening I spoke with her and she thought that the film would be very good for middle schools and high school kids to see.  My dear friend Lily Moussa's daughter Rebecca, who is fifteen, also really loved the movie.  

Here is what Lily said to me later by email: 

"I was going to bring a date with me to the screening and decided on Rebecca instead. I was so grateful to have had Becky there because it's a movie every young female should see." 

That to me is SO important and such a coup.  If I can speak to these young women, I have accomplished one of my main goals with "A Single Woman."  Now it's a matter of getting it in front of them. 

Other wonderful comments included, from Police Officer Guillermo Campos, the Law Instructor (specializing in teaching ethics) to the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department):

"Hello Kamala!

I was truly blown away by the story and the film.  Best wishes to you in a broad exposure for the film.   It was truly enlightening and it makes one truly ask again, have I settled for the situation?  Am I doing enough to make a difference in the world or settling for the status quo?  Her life is an inspiration.  If only all of us had the courage to live our convictions and beliefs about what is right and wrong.  It is truly dangerous, but the rewards are everlasting. 

Thank you for living your life that way.  It will help change the world." 

And from Thomas Carter, Chandra Wilson's manager and owner of management and production company, Station 3:  

"You obviously put a lot of work and research into this project. Rankin was a major influence on many issues that I wasn't even aware of and I am compelled to thank you for being a conscious 

filmmaker and perpetuating the spirit of this important woman.  I can imagine that because of your efforts many will be inspired to do the same or maybe take up the same fight as Rankin. Congratulations on your achievement!"

From filmmaker and friend George Hickenlooper ("Factory Girl," "Hearts of Darkness"): 

"Suzanne and I really enjoyed ourselves. You film really moved us. Congratulations on an impressive effort." 

From Patty and John Sharaf, activists and filmmakers who made "Citizen Stan" about Stanley Sheinbaum and are working to finish a film about the flawed Diebold voting machines: 

"What an inspiring movie!  Thanks for the terrific evening and congratulations on all your hard work.  You have accomplished a creative feat that Joni Mitchell can be proud of too. Bravo."

From Sally Marr and Peter Dudar, the fearless and dedicated filmmakers of "Arlington West," who spend their lives going to schools and presenting an opposing view to the military recruiters that are on the public school campuses by showing their film and holding discussions with the students:

"Kamala,   

Thank you for a wonderful evening and for sharing your beautiful film.  It will inspire so many women, girls to stand up and be heard!  We loved being there!!!!"

From our marvelous cast member Traber Burns, who flawlessly portrays Truman and Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn in the film: 

"Kamala, that was a profound experience to finally see the film Saturday night - the love and passion you've poured into it was a perfect union with the love and passion Jeannette Rankin brought to her life and work.  You should be very proud and hopeful."  

From Jeanmarie's brother, Danny, who has dedicated his life to helping others all over the world in the Peace Corps and working for Habitat for Humanity, most recently in Madagascar: 

"Just a quick note to thank you and congratulate you, again and again, for the terrific work you did on your film.  My experience in the screening was remarkably similar to my experience reading an early draft of the play.  I had expectations, of course, that I would enjoy it, based on numerous conversations with Jeannie, simpatico politics, your involvement, etc.  But in fact the experience far exceeded my expectations, caught me by surprise in many ways and made a fresh impact.  In translating the play to film, you've added tremendously to how the values of the material take shape in my mind.  Two obvious examples are the seminal story of the young mother with her baby and the Indians, and the young woman's recounting of an atrocity in Nanking.  You really embraced the moral challenge and difficulty of Rankin's philosophy and so did an excellent job of creating a context for her politics."

And from our dedicated and ever supportive co-producer (and co-star) Rich Flisher and his beautiful wife, Leigh, who have stood by the project with their support and resources when times were very tough: 

"Congratulations. Your movie made us so happy, inspired and proud. It has such a strong, relevant, timely message, a message so poignantly and visually pleasing. It's uniquely informative and beautiful. Passionate. I've never seen anyone make so much, so well, so powerfully, with so little money, time and support. Your tenacity and commitment are impressive. You have worked so hard, in such an honest manner, that I can't wait to see you receive some payback. And you will. We want to be on your team." 

I want to thank everyone who came to the screening for making it a profoundly rewarding experience for me. My deepest gratitude to all of you who have been and continue to be of great support to the project and to me personally.  And most of all, I want to thank Jeanmarie Simpson for writing this play and bringing the life of Jeannette Rankin to my attention.

Hopefully this is film is the beginning of a movement to bring her legacy into the mainstream consciousness, where her message and her life can live on and show us another path - a path towards peace and non-violence.  

With love,

Kamala