Caffeine

I do not need caffeine. I am not supposed to have caffeine. I have really dry eyes, and dry skin, and am always thirsty. I’m usually pretty energetic too. Lately I’ve been drinking coffee. Andrea and coffee equals complete spaz. Yesterday in the office, I was so silly. I can’t wait until the first day of the shoot. I can’t wait. I’m freaking out I’m so excited. I get emotional just thinking about what I’ll say to everyone on set on that first day. This process has been tough, but that first day, with all the people, and all the equipment, that’s when it is all worth it. Until then, I’ll drink my coffee and practice old cheerleading moves in the office while I work on the budget.

A chimpanzee firing an AK-47 from the back of a snowmobile

What constitutes ‘gangster rap’ music.

I am the Production Manager of ‘We Got the Beat’ and while my job title may sound cool, I am basically mired in paperwork. To date I have been insanely busy hiring, organizing, and managing but with nothing very exciting to blog about. This week as I was filling out our application for Production Insurance I came across the following little tidbit.

Qualification Questions (check yes/no):
Any: Stunts, Pyrotechnics, Aircraft, Boats, Animals, Race Tracks, Race Courses, Helicopters, Motorbikes, Snowmobiles, Blanks, Squibs, Guns, Live Gangster Rap Music, Hard-Core/Soft-Core Porn?

That’s right: LIVE GANGSTER RAP MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They just slipped that one in there didn’t they. I thought about this for a moment and then realized that while there is a lot of rapping in the film gangster rap didn’t exist as a genre until the late 80’s. Bullet dodged. Still how could a live music performance put you in the same risk category as a film featuring a chimpanzee firing an AK-47 from the back of a snowmobile as he pursues a couple of rogue hookers (on motorbikes) across a minefield. Looks like I will have to rethink this scene for my ‘Arctic Chimp Bordello’ screenplay if I ever want to insure it.

The evolution of a heavy metal mascot.

How do you develop a mascot for a metal band. Well, first you need take in consideration the bands name. Suck It. That’s right, Suck It. So what’s better then a mosquito for a band called Suck It.

After a few redesigns, I have come up with one badass mosquito!

Ladies and gentlemen, I have now the pleasure to introduce you to the Suck It Mosquito. Oh, and to the boy in second grade that told me that I couldn’t join the Evil Drawing Club…… Suck This!

Rob Russ

There was a local kid who auditioned for We Got The Beat. His name was Rob Russ. He was awesome. I wasn’t sure where exactly he fit in the movie, so in true AA FILMS fashion, Andrea and I decided to create a role for him. He’s super funny and he will stand out in the movie. I’m wondering what audiences will think about our cast. We have a good number of roles being cast out of Hollywood, but we are also casting the majority of supporting roles locally. What do people want to see? All known talent? A mixture? I love seeing new people on screen. It makes me feel like I am doing more than just making a movie, I’m also giving unknown talent a chance to do something they love.

Art Dept update & prop search

For the Art Dept, 1982 has been fun to explore in terms of design – especially for residential homes. We have secured the private homes where we’ll be shooting and are now starting to convert their 21st century modern homes with their contemporary furniture and hardwood floors into early 80s floral print couches and high pile carpeted madness. In one home, the kitchen will enjoy a trip back in time to the late 70s with warm autumn colors of orange, yellow, and brown while in another home, the living room will showcase the trendier side of 1982 with mirrored end tables, overstuffed white leather furniture, and dusty pink and turquoise art work. Meanwhile, the hunt for period cars for the film pushes on as we continue to collect such vehicles as a 1979 El Camino and 1980 Nova. And now the holy grail of our prop search is an early 80s BMX bike for our main character – we welcome any leads on this one! To contact the Art Dept, email us at aafilms.artdept@gmail.com.

Cristina Bauer, Art Director

Lack of sleep

For two years my life has been trying to get this film made. Now it’s happening and I’m so nervous that I’m going to do something to screw it up, I’m forgetting to enjoy it. Do you know what I mean? There’s a lot of stress on the Producer – insurance, payroll, SAG paperwork, hiring crew, making deals with companies to save money, cast, logistical things, mansion concerns (our crew is living in a mansion turned college dorm in Worcester).

Anyway, I love making movies. If I didn’t, I never could’ve pulled any of this off. Right now, what’s making it worth the lack of sleep, super long days, and constant feeling that I haven’t done enough as I lay in bed at night, is my team. My Production Manager Dave is amazing. My assistant Christina is keeping everything organized. I’m very lucky to have the team I have. It’s everyone’s movie now. OK – I have to try and go to sleep. What can I count in my head to try falling asleep? I’ve tried sheep and I know this makes no sense since my eyes are closed, but it hurts my eyes when I try to count sheep, because I move my eyeballs from left to right trying to watch the imaginary sheep I’m counting.

Orange Ocean CD release party.

Worcester felt like NYC or downtown LA this past weekend when I mc’d the Orange Ocean CD release party on the top floor of an office building. They had guest list girls, a huge security guard, a DJ, a diverse fun crowd, and duck yao.

I was introducing the director to the ORANGE OCEAN – my favorite Worcester band. They are amazing and I hope to get their music into the soundtrack somehow. Opening acts included Baker and Afro DZ Ak.

Amazing day for New England sports fans thanks to Jon & Andrea.

The Boston Celtics won their first championship last night since the 80s. Even though the trades for KG and Ray Allen were factors, another big reason is that Jon Artigo and Andrea Ajemian are doing a movie here in Massachusetts.

Every time Jon & Andrea make a film in the area – another New England sports franchise wins their first championship ever or first in many many years.

Check it out:

“RUTLAND, USA” >>> NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (1st Super Bowl win ever)

“FREEDOM PARK” >>> RED SOX (1st World Series in 86 years)

“WE GOT THE BEAT” >>> CELTICS (1st since 86)

Are the BRUINS NEXT???

BRUINS FANS CLICK HERE TO HELP BRING THE STANLEY CUP BACK TO BEANTOWN.

Designing costumes

First of all I have to say that designing costumes for this movie is quite possibly the most fabulous project in the world. I basically get to live it up 80s style in a dorm room with a bunch of hilarious talented people, and that my friend is inspiration in itself.

So as the costume designer I basically do a whole bunch of multi-tasking like shopping, sewing, fitting actors, and harassing companies, schools, or anyone who happens to glance in my direction for free stuff.

But before I can do all of this I must first complete what is called the “design process.” The “design process” involves me reading the script until it becomes my life. Then I find every piece of research I can get my hands on from libraries, the internet, old magazines and yearbooks, etc. etc. etc. Next I meet with the director and talk about the characters and share ideas. Once I have my direction I stick a whole buncha pics on the wall and throw on some 80s music and let the wave of inspiration fill my head. This results in sketches which is where I’m at right now.

Stay tuned to find out how I take the sketch and turn it into reality!

-Jennifer Tremblay – WE GOT THE BEAT “COSTUME DESIGNER”

Lakers win!!!

I know. This is hard for me. I want the Celtics to win because there are many people I love out here in MA that want them to win, and quite frankly, their lively hood seams to depend on it, but I am a Lakers fan. I want them to beat the Celtics down to a tiny bubble of a team. The Celtics do seem to be a stronger team though. Remember Celtic fans… what ever victories you get, you are getting them against a Laker team that is missing one of their big three, Andrew Bynum. Imagine having the Celtics play without Pierce, Allen, or Garnet, although… many would argue that Garnet hasn’t really been there anyway.

I finalized more locations.

Today I finalized more locations with the production designers. I also got the script to a point where it won’t be changing much at all – although I will be changing it. That’s just how it works. Andrea won’t want me to change it but I can’t help it. Actually before I go to bed tonight I think I’ll spend some time working on the script, trying to cut it down by a couple pages.

Hooray for HOLLYWOO

If you take all the D’s out of Hollywood you have HOLLYWOO – aka “The Woo” aka Worcester MASS – a much better place to go sledding, eat apples, raise a family, or make a teen comedy about the world’s first ever boyband than the crowded highway known as Lost Angeles. You’ve heard it before and I’ll say it again – Hollwoo is the new filmmaking capital of the world.*

REPLACED & UPGRADED: Melrose & Vine has been replaced by Portland & Myrtle, Echo park by Elm park, the Griffith Observatory by Bancroft Tower, sunset strip by the canal district & the pacific ocean by Lake Quinsigamond. (leave more replacements in the comments)

*if your world is central massachusetts

Can anyone find early 80′s uniforms??!

Yes, it’s very fun making a film set in the 1980′s, but it’s also very difficult. For instance, gone are the days where I can send out my Director of Photography and a couple of P.A.s to shoot an actor riding his bike down the street. Now I have to get the street closed off, have police detail, and find 70/80′s cars to line the streets. Ugh. Thank God I have great people on my team to make these things happen. Here’s the biggest problem right now – cheerleading and football uniforms from the early 80′s to become the Worcester High uniforms. We’d like them to be blue and yellow, but we are open to other colors providing the styles are right. We cannot find them anywhere. This week we have to make a final decision on the mascot (example: The Worcester High Rockets, The Worcester High Grinders) I’m pretty sure that the Art Dept. and Jon have decided, but if we find uniforms that say “Warriors” on them and we can have them for free, we’ll be the Worcester High Warriors. A challenge to you – we’ll give a special thanks credit at the end of the film to anyone who can find early 80′s uniforms for us that work for Worcester High. Any thoughts?

We Got the Beat (Behind the Scenes) 2

It was going to make my life easier. $%^*(#

So as we increase from film to film with regards to budget, we are able to have more help on each film. For instance, for this film I get to hire more people, pay a lot of them, have more Hollywood actors, etc. In the past, I always used Excel to do my budgeting and the shooting schedule. In fact, both the budget and the schedule for this film have been done with Excel. BUT, I decided that after 3 films I would splurge and buy actual software for budgeting and scheduling. For just $800.00, or something like that, the software arrived and Jon installed it on my computer. I have no clue how to use it. I cannot find a free tutorial online, and Dave just told me there’s a tutorial but you have to pay for it. WHAT? Does anyone else agree with me that if you spend that kind of money on software that is supposed to make your job easier, that the company (Entertainment Partners/Movie Magic) should offer a free tutorial that is easy to find online and easy to use? This is stupid. It’s easier to use my Excel spreadsheets. Now I have to spend tons of time I don’t have learning this software.

Worcester Telegram & Gazette June 13, 2008 (Press)

From the Worcester Telegram:

Jon Artigo and Andrea Ajemian are looking for a little help from their friends, their acquaintances and anyone else willing to pitch in.

After two years of hard work, the filmmakers have raised enough money to shoot their third teen comedy set in Central Massachusetts. They have raised $500,000 from local investors to make “We Got the Beat,” the minimum needed to move ahead, Ms. Ajemian said. Originally, the goal was four times that amount.

“Persistence pays off,” Ms. Ajemian said from her office in the Printers Building in downtown Worcester. “We’re excited to move forward, but we are going to rely heavily on the Worcester community to come through with donations in order to make this movie look like it was shot for $2 million.

TO READ THE REST CHECK OUT:

http://www.telegram.com/article/20080613/NEWS/806130603

My Rap Video (Writer/Director Jon Artigo)

I’m not really one to toot my own horn, or… yank my own chain, or… spin my own bottle, but I am one of the better rappers when it comes to performance and lyrical genius. It’s just something I was thinking about on a Friday. If making movies doesn’t work out for me then I am going to take Nation 6 on the road. The only weird thing would be… if we do end up getting Justin Timberlake in our movie, he might be offended.

We Got the Beat (Behind the Scenes) 1

I must do what I think is best

I have some people, who may or may not unmistakably be from L.A., who are trying to tell me who I should or shouldn’t cast in this movie. As the director I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on what I want out of the roles, and as the writer I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what I was going for when i wrote them. The question is, should I cast the movie solely on what I believe is best, or should I make decisions that incorporate the market value of the person I am trying to cast? Personally, I think I have to take it all in to consideration, but what do you think? Casting is one of the biggest decisions in a film. It can make or break your movie.

The rain didn’t come from the sky, it came from the side.

We watched the Laker game last night. Sorry, I call it “The Laker Game” because I am a Laker fan. At the 3rd period break we ran over to the Price Chopper to get some snacks. On the way back we were hit with a thunderstorm that produced rain falling sideways and up from the ground, it seemed at times. We were drenched. Mind you, we (Kaz the music producer and Dave the production manager) were all in flip flops running through the streets carrying groceries. Branches were falling, lighting was hitting trees, and we had all kinds of sh%# in our eyes, Anyway, all I could think… how great it is to be in New England making this movie. These are the times I will not forget. I love the rain. We don’t get much of it in LA so I sometimes I pay my neighbors to spray me with their hose.

Does anyone understand this?

Does anyone understand this:

A bunch of football players are about to get into a fight, and one of them calls someone else a “fairy.” Then when the one group walks away, someone yells “Yeah, I won’t clap for you, fairies!”

I don’t get it. Jon thinks people are gonna get this joke. Right now, if this gets posted, he’s gonna come into my office and say “Andrea, why are you giving away the movie in our blog?” But as the Producer, it’s seriously my job to make sure the humor all works, right? So, if any of you understand this fairy humor, you can let me know, because I don’t get it at all. I think it’s supposed to have something to do with Peter Pan. I was in Peter Pan. Granted it was years ago in a high school play, but I still have no idea why this is funny.

-Andrea

Make a movie and live like we are in college

Our entire crew is living in a college dorm. OK, it’s technically a mansion, but Becker College in Worcester has turned a ton of beautiful mansions into dorms. These have got to be the nicest dorms I have ever seen. I’ve seen a lot of dorms because I worked in college admissions, I went to college, AND I used to be a Regional Manager for a summer camp company that ran computer camps at top universities. This dorm is no ordinary dorm. First of all, we have a midget bathtub. That’s right. AND, when I stepped on glass the other day, I just soaked my feet in the midget bathtub until my feet got soft enough and the glass came out. 2nd, in some of the rooms there are gnome closets. I’m not lying. Some people think they were contraptions to send things up the floors long ago, but I’m not buying that. There are naked gnome babies engraved above some of the fireplaces. That’s a hint. 3rd, we have a semi-professional baseball team living across the street from us, also in a Becker College dorm. The Worcester papperazzi won’t leave us alone. (That was a joke by the way) We have a parlor, two shower rooms, and our own RA named Christy. We get to make a movie and live like we are in college. This is so much fun!

I’m dating someone new. Her name is air conditioner. I think she’s French

The air conditioner was mixed and working all day. That is most certainly a highlight. Yizzay for that. The other highlight would be the incredible people I am working with. Andrea (The producer) and Dave (The Production Manager) have found an incredible group of people to work on this movie. I will mention them all at some point, but here are two that have really hit the ground running. Alecia Jean Orsini and Christina Bauer head up our production design team. In a word, they are “incredible”. I am blown away by their organizational skills, their welcoming personalities and their creative insight. I couldn’t ask for a better production design team. They are the best. It is so great to be here in New England working on this movie with such an amazing group of people.

EAST VS WEST

Paul Pierce is a hero, and Kobe Bryant should buy his wife another giant ring. I love Jon. He’s a brilliant director, but why does he have to be a Lakers fan? He flew in to Boston on the night of game 2 in the Celtics/Lakers series, so we watched it together. My father said he needed to apologize to Paul for calling him a baby, in order to be allowed in their basement to watch the game on their giant TV. Jon didn’t apologize, but I guess he got away with it because my parents feel bad that I’ve been such a loser for two year, bumming off them and living at home trying to raise the money for the film. If Jon’s upset over the Celts beating the Lakers, it could throw off his humor and we could fail miserably at making our film and both end up working at video stores…if they existed anymore. So, my parents probably decided they had to let him in the basement, for the good of my future. If Kobe is such a great guy, why didn’t he step up to finance the film? Huh Jon???

-Andrea

Oh hey- look… a heat wave. Yay!

I had no sleep my first night here because it was just too hot. I don’t know why, but I find it difficult to fall asleep when my body is sticky and moist like a freshly birthed alien child from Aliens. The air conditioning wasn’t working in the office either, so I spent most of the day in slow motion. It’s hard to do things, let alone think, when heat is walking around slapping you in the face all day. We did get a lot done, but I don’t know if I can handle it if we don’t get that air conditioner in the office fixed.

-Jon

New “Artigo Ajemian Films” Logo

NEW LOGO:

WHY THESE COLORS?
Orange is Andrea’s favorite color and Jon’s favorite is blue.
And brown is deeply balancing and with nourishing feng shui energy.

and they’ll fit in with WGTB all the other films colors without
clashing too much.

Thank you for jetting with us

I flew Jet Blue to come out here. Why? I wanted to be able to watch the Lakers/Celtics game if, by chance, it were on during my flying experience. Wait, sorry,… I mean… jetting experience. Jet Blue says, “Thank you for Jetting with us”. The best part of my “Jetting” experience was jetting on the runway for 3 1/2 hours before taking off. All in all the trip out East from LA was a good one. I am very excited to be making this movie so I didn’t mind spending some extra time on the runway. One little added fact: I sat next to the mother of the new star of Adam Sandler’s next movie, Bedtime Stories. The odd thing is I taught him at at a performing arts camp in LA last Summer. His name is Jonathan Morgan Heit. He might be the most talent kid I’ve seen in a long time.

-jon

Our biggest film to date!

Two years ago, we had $250,000 lined up for this film. Then we lost it. Then I decided a brilliant idea would be to send the director and his assistant Hillary, a Clark University student at the time, to L.A. to audition actors, on my credit card. Why not get more in debt? We cast Michael Copon as the lead role of Brad Roberts. We had no idea that he was friends with Lou Perlman, the guy who started N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys. Since our film is about the first ever boyband, who supposedly paved the way for the other boybands, Perlman loved the concept. Cut to: Jon (writer/director), Kaz (Music Producer), Michael Copon, and I at Perlman’s steakhouse in Orlando during the fall of ’06. This guy practically owned Orlando. He tells us we should shoot for $2,000,000 and he’ll finance it. Kaz played footsies with him under the table, and knew his music producer, who randomly had just finished producing Jordan Knight’s latest love ballad cd, which sounded just like Clay Aiken’s latest love ballad cd, at the time. It was apparent then that we were to learn entirely too much about the history of boybands, what former boyband members are doing now, and all that is boybands. I’m not sure if Hanson is considered a boyband, but Hillary is obsessed with them, which I find weird since I don’t know anyone else who is a fan. I’m aging myself. Anyway, so we got Perlman on board. Cut to: Hollywood actors, Hollywood agents, Hollywood sleazebags. And then, two days after my phone conversation with Perlman when he was about to deposit $500,000 in our account to get us started, it was all over the internet and the news that he was being sued for like 60 million dollars. He fled the country. (This was last February.) He got arrested last June in Indonesia, turned over to American authorities in Guam, and just got 25 years in prison a couple of weeks ago. Now, two years after we started this process, we finally secured the minimum we need to shoot. It’s not the $2,000,000, but it is our biggest film to date, and our best chance at making a hit.

I gave up my apartment by the beach in L.A. two years ago to move home, live with my parents, and raise this money. I never thought I’d go crazy in debt, have so many rollercoaster rides, and finally two years later get the chance to make the film Jon and I have planned for years. I thought it’d happen faster, but I guess with everything in life, good things come to those who wait. Perlman should’ve waited longer to scam those elderly people out of all that money, and maybe he would’ve only gotten 12 years.

-Andrea