JakeTheMovie.com

Making JAKE, Part 1: The Idea.

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:26:00 +1300

This is the first in a series of short articles about the process of writing and directing JAKE, by Doug Dillaman.

Everything starts somewhere, and JAKE, the sixth feature film script I've written and the first one that I've directed, came from the combination of two ideas which I had near simultaneously.

The first: Sometime in 2007 - I think it was June - I was not having a particularly good day, and was in a bad mood, and as I laid in bed that night, exhausted, I thought about the elements of my life, and as I considered them, I realized that all the raw material that was there - the people I knew, the family that believed in me, the job I had, and so on - was a good foundation. And that perhaps the problem, my unhappiness, was not with the elements of my life but what I was doing with them, and that perhaps somebody else, if given the opportunity, would do a much better job.

The second: Maybe that night, or the night before, or the night after, again, lying in bed, I thought about Jake Gyllenhaal. Why? I have no idea. I had seen ZODIAC recently, and he was on the cover of terrible magazines, the kind whose covers are plastered in enlargements on the outside of every dairy in New Zealand, because he'd recently started dating Reese Witherspoon. And I wondered what his life would have been like if he went by Jacob instead. Would he get big movie roles? Would he date movie stars? Or would the very fact of choosing a less tough-sounding name change the very way we perceive him - not only that, actually, but the way he perceived himself? It seemed likely.

This business of how we choose to name our selves - why I go by Doug instead of Douglas, why some of my friends go by Dave or David, Robert or Bob, and so on - has something to do with how we perceive ourselves. And that choice then bubbles out into the world.

And so, those two seeds cross-pollinated, and I imagined Jacob and Jake, and how they would take the materials of a life, and what each of them would do with it.

And thus began the 18-month gestation period for the first draft of JAKE.

FAQ #1: "When can I see Jake?"

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 11:10:00 +1300

The short answer: sometime in 2010, we hope!

The long answer: we are currently submitting Jake to film festivals around the world. The application process for film festivals is expensive, especially factoring in shipping from New Zealand, so we're being selective in what festivals we apply to at this point, but if there's a festival that you think we should be applying to for whatever reason, let us know in the comments and we'll take a look!

As we hear back from festivals, we will also be talking to distributors. This is uncharted ground for us and we don't know exactly what's going to happen, to the point where it would be foolish to guess. And in 2010, the distribution landscape is ever-shifting - internet distribution is becoming more and more mainstream, and the typical "play festivals/get limited theatrical release/go to video" or "get into festivals/don't get theatrical release/go directly to video" paths are no longer the only two options for indies.

But one way or another, we are committed to making sure that as many people see Jake as possible, in the best quality possible, as soon as is reasonably possible.

When we know more, you'll hear about it right here!

What is Jake?

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +1300

Jake is an independent feature film produced in Auckland, New Zealand by the DIY movie-making collective Hybrid Motion Pictures. We're the first theatrical feature film in New Zealand to shoot entirely on the RED camera.

We have finished editing Jake; while we put the final touches on the colour grade and sound mix at Images and Sound and our composer Paul Velat finishes the music, we're sending the movie to festivals around the world.

We're very proud of the final product, and look forward to being able to show it to all of you.

Welcome to JakeTheMovie.com

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +1300

Welcome to the new Jake website! We'll still be updating our Facebook page but this will be the main hub for news and information about the movie. We've released some brand-new behind the scenes stills, and our very first still images from the film itself as well as our first teaser trailer are coming soon. We'll also be publishing blog entries about the experience of making Jake. So welcome!