It was late October, 2016 and I was sitting in a restaurant in
downtown Baton Rouge with Ethan Hawke, his wife and producing partner,
Ryan, and producer Jake Seal. Up until that day, I had never heard of
Blaze Foley, never listened to his music.
We discussed plans for a film about Blaze. There was a 60-page outline of the story distinctly broken into three colors, each representing a period of Foley’s life; periods Ethan wanted to explore in his telling of the singer-songwriter’s life.
We discussed plans for a film about Blaze. There was a 60-page outline of the story distinctly broken into three colors, each representing a period of Foley’s life; periods Ethan wanted to explore in his telling of the singer-songwriter’s life.
The film was going to be ultra-low-budget, shot entirely on location
and, due to budget constraints and actor’s schedules, had to be “in the
can’ in four weeks – ambitious considering we were just over a month
away from the targeted start date, had no crew assembled and there were
over 20 locations that had to be scouted and secured. We also didn’t
have a script.
Later that night, as I sat alone in my hotel room, I discovered Blaze Foley’s music for the first time. I read articles about his life as I listened to Clay Pigeons, Picture Cards Can’t Picture You, If I Could Only Fly and many others. I was hooked on the truthful lyrics, the rawness of the recordings, the details of his life I was unearthing. This was a story worth telling.
I am very proud to have been the 1st AD on this project. Proud to have worked with such a talented director and DP, a cast who put their heart and soul into performance, a crew who also gave their heart and soul, ebbing and flowing with the ups, downs and sideways that go with a low-budget production.
From that October night in the restaurant in Baton Rouge to the final scene we shot in Blaze and Sybil’s Austin apartment, we had quite the journey. I met so many wonderful people who came together for this passion project. And like any family, we loved, we fought, we were sometimes dysfunctional, but in the end, we grew and found a unique rhythm that allowed us to create art.
Or maybe we just tapped into the rhythm of Blaze Foley – crazy, chaotic, never pretty, but oh so beautiful.
----James Cullinane
TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXvwFdTTwhI
Later that night, as I sat alone in my hotel room, I discovered Blaze Foley’s music for the first time. I read articles about his life as I listened to Clay Pigeons, Picture Cards Can’t Picture You, If I Could Only Fly and many others. I was hooked on the truthful lyrics, the rawness of the recordings, the details of his life I was unearthing. This was a story worth telling.
I am very proud to have been the 1st AD on this project. Proud to have worked with such a talented director and DP, a cast who put their heart and soul into performance, a crew who also gave their heart and soul, ebbing and flowing with the ups, downs and sideways that go with a low-budget production.
From that October night in the restaurant in Baton Rouge to the final scene we shot in Blaze and Sybil’s Austin apartment, we had quite the journey. I met so many wonderful people who came together for this passion project. And like any family, we loved, we fought, we were sometimes dysfunctional, but in the end, we grew and found a unique rhythm that allowed us to create art.
Or maybe we just tapped into the rhythm of Blaze Foley – crazy, chaotic, never pretty, but oh so beautiful.
----James Cullinane
TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXvwFdTTwhI
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