Cape Cod Times

I was interviewed by a reporter from The Cape Cod Times the other night. Check out this article!

WOODS HOLE — "Running Funny" is Anthony Grippa's first feature film and Woods Hole Film Festival is his first film festival.

The 25-year-old filmmaker from Hoboken, N.J., was excited to show his movie and meet people who are actually interested in what he is doing.

"My friends back home don't always get it," Grippa said. "And it's great to talk to people who are doing the same thing."

Grippa is the personification of what the Woods Hole Film Festival is all about — an independent filmmaker eager to meet and talk with other filmmakers, according to executive director Judy Laster. The festival, now in its 16th year, offers a place for independent filmmakers to come together, talk shop and have an audience. According to Laster, getting an audience is regarded as the highest validation for filmmakers, because most of them work in anonymity.

"Festivals are like art galleries for films," Laster said. "It's about bringing people together and helping them to bring their work to the next level by providing an audience."

There was no shortage of audience on opening night Saturday for the special screening of the 1971 feature documentary "Blue Water, White Death."

It was a reunion of the original crew and a tribute to the film's late director and producer Peter Gimbel, who set out on a 12,000-mile journey to get the first footage of a great white shark underwater. In 1971 most people didn't know much about sharks and it was a major box office success, earning $6 million, which is the equivalent of about $40 million today.

Jim Packer, president of worldwide television distribution at MGM, came from Los Angeles for the opening speech of the re-launch. Packer told the audience he promised old family friends Ron and Valerie Taylor, who are in the film, to get the documentary digitally remastered and distributed on DVD.

Last March he found the negatives buried in a vault at CBS in a legal mess. "It was my pet project," Packer said. "And I am really proud that a whole new generation can see this great adventure."

Artist Deborah Davidovits was impressed by the documentary. She didn't come particularly for the special screening though. "I came for the whole experience," she said.

Davidovits made the animation "Shadow Plays Volume 4" that was screened in the firehouse last night.

"I didn't know what to expect," she said. "But so far the crowds in the audience are bigger and the gatherings smaller."

The opening night party, with entertainment by the Last Minute Swing Band, was indeed not that busy, but Judy Rosenblum, a teacher from Miami, said she had an amazing night.

"The beauty of Woods Hole is that there's always something going on," she said. "I came here by chance and this film festival is the perfect way to spend your night."

R.I.P. Ingmar Bergman

I just found out that Ingmar Bergman, one of the greatest filmmakers, died this morning at the age of 89. He was a master and a huge influence on a lot of filmmakers, myself included. The last film of his I watched was "Scenes From a Marriage," which is fantastic. There is a big article in the New York Times today about his life and work. Check it out if you can.

-Anthony

Day 1 of the Woods Hole Film Festival!!

I arrived in Woods Hole yesterday afternoon after a quick flight from New York to Boston and a short bus ride to Cape Cod. Immediately after checking into my hotel in Falmouth I took a cab to the Woods Hole Film Festival headquarters, where I was given a festival badge, which allows me free entry into every event and screening during the fest, as well as a tote bag with a bunch of goodies. I especially liked the chocolate covered cranberries. They really know how to treat filmmakers here because after checking in with the festival I went to the opening reception at a bar called the Fish Monger, where I was given more free food and drinks.

This is my first film festival, so I didn't know what to expect before coming here, but so far it's been great. I met a lot of filmmakers and we traded a lot of war stories. I didn't go to film school so I don't have a lot of friends who are filmmakers, so it is really cool to meet other people doing the same thing as I am -- making movies on their own and trying to screen them where ever they can.

After the opening reception I went to the opening night screening of the restored documentary "Blue Water, White Death" which is about a group of divers searching for the great white shark. The movie was originally shot in the late 60's, but somehow the print was lost for a long time and MGM recently found it and restored the film. I think it's being released on DVD this week. It was a fascinating documentary about these divers who were obsessed with filming the great white in it's natural habitat. I recommend seeing it if you can.

Following that screening I watched a few short films and met more filmmakers at the opening night party held at a bar in Woods Hole. Everyone is really nice and very welcoming to the filmmakers here. From what I can tell the town of Woods Hole is really psyched about this festival because there are signs, banners, and posters up all over town promoting the festival. So for an out of town filmmaker, it's a relief to see that the people here are supportive of independent artists. That means I might actually have an audience at my screening!

After the party I got a ride back to my hotel in Falmouth and collapsed. I had been up since 6am and was completely exhausted. And this is just the first day! There are 7 days left!

I just got back from a brunch with all of the attending filmmakers at a beautiful home on the bay. Strangely enough, I found out one of the filmmakers here is from Allendale, NJ which is about five minutes from where I grew up in Upper Saddle River. She even went to the same high school as me! What a small world.

Now I'm sitting in a coffee shop drinking an iced latte trying to cool off before I go to another reception at 3:30 followed by a night filled with more screenings!!

Thanks for checking in. I'll be posting all week, so stay tuned!!

-Anthony

Back to School!

"Running Funny" has been officially selected to screen at the 2007 New Jersey Film Festival!! The screening is set for Friday, November 16th at 7pm on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. I'm really excited that I'll be able to go back to Rutgers, where I went to school, and screen "Running Funny" there. I haven't been back to New Brunswick since I left about two and a half years ago, so it'll be cool to walk down College Avenue again. I will definately be making a stop at the grease trucks!

T-minus four days until I leave for Cape Cod! Can't wait!

-Anthony

P.S. My uncle's movie, "Adopt a Sailor," starring Bebe Neuwirth, Peter Coyote, and Ethan Peck begins shooting on August 6th. Stay tuned for more news about that. If "Rescue Dawn" is playing in your area, go check it out. Christian Bale is awesome and it's definately worth seeing.

Done and Done!!

Running Funny is officially completed! We were finally able to finish the sound mix last week and the movie sounds a lot better thanks to Jesse's great work. He did a lot of cool stuff with it and I'm really thankful for his help.

It feels good to have a finished film in my hands that I'm really proud of. Filmmaking is a long process, but it's a process I love, and I'm so psyched to screen it at the Woods Hole Film Festival in a couple weeks. It will be the first time I screen Running Funny for people who aren't my close friends or family, so it will be interesting to see how the audience reacts.

The posters just came in a couple days ago and they look great! They are going to be posted all over Cape Cod, so look out for them!

-Anthony

P.S. The website for my uncle's movie is up and running! Check it out at www.adoptasailormovie.com

Finishing Up

Thanks to my brilliant new sound mixer, Jesse Flower-Ambroch, we are finally finishing the sound mix on "Running Funny." It's been a long, long, long, long process, and I am so relieved that it's finally coming to an end. The movie has been stuck in limbo for the last several months with an incomplete soundtrack, and it's been really frustrating to not have the movie finished. Since I don't have thousands of dollars to go into a professional studio and pay someone to do the mixing, I have to rely on the kindness of strangers to help me finish my movie. It's just that sometimes those "nice people" turn out to be the complete opposite and hinder the progress of your movie instead of helping to progress it. There are good people out there who will want to help you make your movie. The hard part is finding them.

I brought Max and Gene into Jesse's home studio tonight to do some additional ADR work, which will really help the movie sound a lot better. It was a lot of fun to see those two guys together again -- they seriously are like the odd couple in a lot of ways. It's hilarious.

Are there any good movies out? I think I'm the only guy in the world who isn't psyched to see "Transformers."

Anyway. Hopefully the next time I post a blog I will finally have a finished film in my hands. Keep your fingers crossed!

-Anthony