Yes, our local SF screening was lush. Dolby theatre quality wise on a technical level is above reproach, and it’s warmth vibe is yeah, put your feet up, open your eyes & ears and enjoy - which I think most viewers in the room indeed did. Thanks to those who wrote warm filled comments of kinds words and feelings. A mental bouquet of flowers is hovering at your doorstep.

What next? We play the festival game. Will post any news as soon as I know something apart from what I now know which is very little. Future will hold a screening in LA and NYC. Facebook people, please join us on our Around June group. Any inquiries of the pleasant nature, please try around.june@gmail.com

And yes, Spring is indeed in the air. Keep your eye on the sky and your feet on the ground.

No, I haven’t tripped on a giant banana peel and fallen off into the Pacific.

As for the long time no blog, what can I say other than February. Right? February is the hump month of the year. It’s like 28 days of Wednesdays all strung together. For sure the funkiest month.

What have I been doing as the clouds hang low and the rain has fallen? Playing Beethoven in the morning as I work on a new script. He keeps the blood flowing. Then it’s Feist in the afternoons. More playful as the sun begins to shine.

Next week we have our first public screening of Around June up here in SF. We then will have one in LA and in New York at later dates. I will report back on how the screening goes. During the editing of the film, after about four weeks into it, I screened whatever the cut was at the time to small groups once a week. We did this for almost 2 months. It’s a great way to see what works and what doesn’t. All of those screenings were without final animation and any score whatsoever. So this screening next week will be the first where the film is seen in all of it’s glory.

Yikes. Have yet to usher in the new year. What the hell have I been doing? More of the same of what I usually do at the turn of each year, which is to lay low. Hide, run, keep off the grid. Think about the past and how to shape tomorrow. Spend a stretch of days pacing the floor, peering out of windows, trying to figure out which step would suit me best to take. We hope ‘08 will be kind to Around June. We’ll give it all we can at the festivals and then some. Our Podcast contest will be coming to a close shortly, as we’ll see if we have a spot on trailer somewhere out there.

What else? Reading a great book - “What Happens Next” by Marc Norman. It’s a history of American screenwriting and it’s both informative as hell and highly entertaining as the pacing is great. I give it the old get off your arse and buy the damn thing. Witnessed a slew of films which left me depressingly disappointed as the story and characters were absolutely dismal. No need to mention titles as you all know which films I speak of; Better Leave this Theater Before I Die, Sourpuss at the Funeral, The Brutals. But leaving on a good note, I did view Harold and Maude for who knows how many times and still laughed and marveled at the talent of Hal Ashbey. The framing of each shot, the music, the acting, the writing and of course the complete originality of the damn thing!

Let’s close with a quote from good old Oscar Wilde: “I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.”

Yes, the holidays have arrived. Is it wrong to wish for a Tom Waits Christmas record? Possible to have a slightly different shade of white this year? Where can we wander and when without hearing some god awful piped in holiday music? If we must endure this constant, horrific corporate onslaught of bad vibes we should insist it to posses something of the true holiday spirit, which is the sound of ice rolling in a highball glass. I think Tom would do fine with this.

On another note of ranting, can we pass out blowguns this new year and stand at our favorite intersection and take aim at every driver who passes by with a cell phone to their ear? Right? Are drivers not inept enough, they need to talk AND drive? Don’t get me totally wrong, inside the blow gun wouldn’t be bullets as I’m a card carrying pacifist. We could stuff them with Swedish meatballs or frozen peas.

Okay. To the real point. We’ve wrapped up our Around June - Cut Your Own Trailer Contest. The following is all the info you’ll ever need:

All six episodes of the “Around June - Cut Your Own Trailer Contest” are up on Podango’s website at http://cinewave.podango.com or on iTunes at http://www.itunes.com/podcast?id=267164655

From Dec  21 until Jan 19, 2008, the competition is open for submissions. Please edit your own trailer, upload it to your favorite video sharing website and let us know where your trailer can be viewed by emailing us at around.june@gmail.com. 

From Jan 19 until Jan 26, our Cinewave jury will judge all entries and make our own top five selection available on our Around June YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/aroundjune 

We will then invite the YouTube audience to vote on the five best trailers for another two weeks and we’ll have a tally and announce the winner of an iPhone donated by our great hosting partner Podango by Feb, 8, 2008. 

Many editing tips and links to sources for free music are at http://cinewave.podango.com. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact us at around.june@gmail.com

More news about “Around June” about upcoming screenings and festival participation in 2008 will be on http://www.aroundjune.com

PS: If you want to get some editing ideas for your own trailer, check out Peter Hawkins website at http://www.dphawkins.com/ He has a great selection of clips from “Around June” in his reel.