Apologies for another 2 months of silence. The great army responsible for “BEASTS” has largely dispersed to all corners of the country, but the skeleton crew of the Court remains in New Orleans. Benh Zeitlin, our editor Crockett Doob, and our script supervisor-turned-assistant editor Gordon Bell are immersing themselves in the footage, toiling long hours to emerge eventually with the best version of the story we wanted to tell.

How was the making of the movie, you ask? That’s like asking “How was the raising of your child”? They were an unruly, wild animal that exhausted the hell out of you and drove you totally crazy, but you made it out alive and when you look back you kinda loved every second of it. And now your child is turning into a fine upstanding gentleman. Shot in Super16 millimeter.

Our new feature film, formerly titled “BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD,” on which we’ve been working and yammering about in the blog the last year and a half, is officially greenlit! THIS WHOLE THING’S REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN!

Through a partnership with our insanely generous friends, New York-based non-profit Cinereach, Court 13’s latest project is all set to start filming April 28th. Our budget’s approved, our crew is assembled, and we’ve hit the ground running.

A mighty brigade of 50 has settled way down the bayou, in Montegut, LA, with our headquarters at its epicenter: a former gas station / 18 wheeler garage turned production office / Art Dept shop. The whole operation was recently featured in two articles in the local newspaper — check them out here, and here.

But words do not do justice to the vibe on the ground here; the sense of community and common purpose in our group is overwhelming. I’ll let the slideshow give you an idea.

Blog posts may become increasingly infrequent as we jam through the rest of pre-production and charge through our 7 week shoot, but every possible effort will be made to update you, loyal Court 13er. Stay hungry.

February has been a cross-continental month for Ray Tintori. First, he broke free of New Orleans for Mr. Jefferson’s Academy in the Appalachians, the University of my home commonwealth, Virginia. Yes, the Court now has scholastic cred: Prof. Tintori was on campus to serve as pedagogue for a one-week crash course in filmmaking for UVA undergrads. Wahoo-wa! You can get the full story here.

A few weeks later, Ray traversed the Atlantic to be on hand for the Court 13 Retrospective at the Glasgow Film Festival, entitled THIS IS NOT A BOAT: The Improbable Story of Court 13, which featured the long awaited United Kingdom premiere of “Glory at Sea.”

A mere seven year career thus far and already we get a retrospective? Are we the John Cazale of indie film? Do the Scots think we’re all going to die suddenly of bone cancer? Either way, we’re very humbled, and appreciate kind words like these:

GLORY AT SEA is the collective’s most ambitious project; the culmination of trial and error, several unwanted breaks due to funding issues, five month’s work and the generosity of a ruined city. It is evidence that Court 13 have a vision, and while many would stumble at the first impossible hurdle, this collective have a way of achieving their goals.This perseverance is more than simply a means to an end – it is the ethos of the Court… Just as Werner Herzog famously dragged a real ship over a mountain to create FITZCARRALDO (1982), the actions of Court 13 echo the actions of their characters in GLORY AT SEA, adding layers of meaning and strength to this already powerful and resonant short.

Also the culmination of trial and error: on-site blogger Paul Gallagher finally caught up with Ray after the retrospective to talk the future of the Court; you can read that post here.

Now Ray is back in Saints-land, where we win football games with our hands and not our feet. WHO DAT!

A high res version can also be seen at http://court13.com/sunnyday.mov

Any donations toward Sunny Day’s cause, or to Court 13 in order to make up for the billions lost in the FBI deal, would be much appreciated.

In Sundance’s own words:

Sundance Institute and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) today announced the winners of the 2010 Sundance / NHK International Filmmakers Awards. The four winners were selected from 12 finalists by members of an International Jury…

Originally created to celebrate 100 years of Cinema, the annual award recognizes and supports four visionary filmmakers from Europe, Latin America, the United States, and Japan on their next films. Each winner receives approximately $100,000 ($10,000 as a cash award and a guarantee from NHK to purchase the Japanese television broadcast rights). In addition, Sundance Institute staff works closely with the winners throughout the year, providing creative and strategic support through the development, financing and production of their films.

“This year’s winners unsettle, delight and move audiences with their innovative and inspiring work. We celebrate each of their distinct styles and the unique lens through which they view the world”, said Alesia Weston, Associate Director of Sundance’s Feature Film Program, International.

As we head into pre-production in just a few short weeks, we wholeheartedly promise that we will deliver cinema that will unsettle, delight, and move you (but probably not in that order).

Thanks to Sundance for accommodating the Court in the last week. We had a grand old time, especially being the only Saints fans in a bar room full of Vikings fans, during the NFC Championship.

GO SAINTS!

What follows are links to some articles about the very community in Southern Louisiana where this is happening, the very same community where we’re making the movie. Our film focuses on towns like this–people on the very edge, literally and figuratively, of our global disaster’s front line. We have the environmental dynamics come to a head in a matter of days instead of years, but the issues faced are the same:

What are you expected to do when your natural environment breaks down? When land sinks in front of your eyes?

How do you deal with a government that cuts you out of its protection?

That tries to pay you off to leave the only home you’ve ever known?

Our film makes an attempt to answer these questions through human drama. But for the people we’ve come to know on Isle de Jean Charles, in Pointe-Aux-Chenes, in Dulac, this is no fictional story.

Perhaps it is the brilliant soundtrack by Dan Romer and Ben Zeitlin or the delicate and earthy visual tone. Maybe it’s the way that the film gathers up all the pain and shame of of hurricane disaster and wraps it in hope and courage without ever whispering the word “Katrina”. For me it has to do with my father, who I lost ten years ago, and would give anything to sail out into the sea and find again. But for all of us, and this film is truly for all of us, it isn’t about anything. It is a work of mythical grandeur, which takes our great tradition of imaginative storytelling and unapolegetically applies it directly to our human struggle. Thank you Court 13 Collective. Thank you very much. (more)

Ain’t no thing, Mark. Thanks to you for dropping the praise bomb.

And as a season greeting to you, enjoy this little article on the new movie from the Houma Courier, hometown paper of the area where we’ll be shooting the film. It focuses on the grass-roots casting we’ve been doing in the bayou community ever since July. First kids, now adults (although we’ve found out the hard way the danger in advertising “Adult Auditions”).

Tryouts for us are less your standard line-reading exercise, and more like an informal interview. As says the article,

…Auditions for a movie to be shot in Terrebonne Parish call for storytelling and descriptions of life along local bayous.Some discuss the huge fish they caught, the fun music they play or the detailed designs they paint onto faces. Some even tell jokes.

These unconventional auditions help the filmmakers gain a better sense of the unique people, environment and experiences found here, in the place where they plan to film… (cont.)

Special thanks to Laura McKnight for the coverage.

Brees the Savior is Born,

The Court

Excuse me--mash-up tracks, plural. Me likes this one better, even:

“Throw Your Arms Around Me (Remix)”

DJ Danger Mouse, beware.