Remember My Isa Screening

Remember My Isa event poster

The Remember My Isa Screening is coming up this weekend!  The cast and crew of RMI are all really excited to see the film on the big screen for the first time.  The bar and reception area will open at 1, the doors to the theater will open at 1:20pm, and the show starts at 2.  Come early to see a slideshow of the behind the scenes photos from the filming as you are being seated :)  The theater boasts 325 first row seats where everyone will have a great view.  

In preparation for the event, my dad Kenny Jenkins (Producer) and myself (along with my husband Kent and our friend Tim Jackson), met with the Manship Theatre Technical Director Kyle Harless on Saturday to do a test run of the film and to visit the theatre.  There is no way to describe the feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air while watching the film in the empty theatre.  It was pretty amazing to get a glimpse of what Sunday will be like.  Kyle has everything set up perfectly for the event, and it is sure to be a fun experience for everyone!

Kyle works his magic at the Manship Theatre

Behind the Scenes at the Theatre

Kenny Jenkins, Kent Villnuve, and Tim Jackson look on as RMI plays on the big screen

Following the photo slideshow, at 2pm a short documentary (about 4 minutes) produced by Brett Bodin, Matt Dolney, and students from LSU about the making of Remember My Isa will be shown.  The film will begin shortly after!  The film has a runtime of 1:37, and we will be meeting for cake in the reception area after the show!  Drinks and snacks will also be available for purchase.

We have space reserved at Lucy's Restaurant  (http://www.lucysretiredsurfers.com/) downtown after the screening!  We hope to see everyone at there!

Working with Horses on the RMI Set

Well, to begin, I would like to officially announce that the first ever screening of RMI will take place at the Manship Theatre on September 15th, at 2pm!  I would like to thank to theatre for giving us the opportunity to show our film at their facility.  The feature will be in conjunction with the theatre, and because of their support admission will be free!  The theatre is a magnificent location with seating for 350, so we should have plenty of room!

While we prepare to watch the film, I would like to take the time to remember Velvet, a Tennessee Walker who played a very significant role in the making of RMI.  Horse owners Ti-Lou and Gordon Hutchinson were kind enough to help us with the making of the film by giving us the chance to work with their three horses, Velvet, Buster, and Lady.  I have just recently found out that Velvet has passed away, and she will be missed!  Velvet was an all black horse that was ridden mainly by our lead actress Alicia Hanley and child actress Margaret Beatty Joffrion.  She was gentle and kind, and a great addition to the film.  She was the horse that we could put anyone on, without worrying about her spooking or getting too excited.  She was a beautiful animal, and we will all miss her!

 Director Kerry J Villnuve riding Buster, Actress Kristin Bodin riding
Velvet, pictured with horse owners Gordon and Ti-Lou Hutchinson

      The famous comedian W.C. Fields once said, "Never work with animals or children."  With Remember My Isa, we managed to do both...at the same time.  This was mainly thanks to Gordon and Ti-Lou Hutchinson and their horse Velvet.  They opened their doors to their home and their barn to the cast and crew.  We had riding lessons for the actors and actresses in preparation for the scenes, and the gentle nature of the horses even allowed for child actress Margaret Beatty (then age 12) to ride unassisted for the film.

Actress Margaret Beatty riding Velvet while preparing for a
scene with horse owner Gordon Hutchinson

Of course, we had our share of crazy incidents!  Alicia Hanley, who plays the role of Onyx, had to learn to gallop in a very short time.  After a few tumbles, we have some great footage!  We also had several scenes where the actresses and actors rode the horses bareback, which can be difficult for even the most experienced riders.  Again, actors managed to successfully ride while staying in character to produce some great footage!  We all came away with a few bruises and many wonderful memories.

Favorite RMI Memories

Plans are currently in the works for the first RMI screening, which hopefully will be at the Shaw Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge this fall!  Dates and times to be announced!

While we are waiting to see the movie on the big screen, I thought it would be fun to remissness about so many of the fun times we had on the set.  While there are too many memories to pick a favorite, I immediately think of one that definitely stands out!

The Spit Scene

There was a line in the script that involved the protagonist, Onyx (played by Alicia Hanley), to spit in the face of the antagonist James Bonny (played by Paul Orr).  When we got to that part in the script, I told Paul not to worry about it; Alicia could just spit at his feet instead.  But Paul, being the hard-core actor that he is, didn't want to sacrifice the feel of the scene for the sake of his face.  He told Alicia to go for it.  We rehearsed the scene several times, and filmed all of the other parts that didn't involve the dreaded spit.  Each time we got to the spit, Alicia made a cute little "puh" sound and very daintily pretended to spit in his face.  Finally, the time came to actually film the spit.  We were filming at the church at the Rural Life Museum, and the pews were filled with spectators.  Alicia said she needed a minute to prepare, and she needed some water.  An assistant ran to help her out.  When she finally said she was ready, we didn't know what to expect.  After the cute little "puh," I don't think Paul expected what he got!  We acted out the scene and she hocked the hugest loogey any of us had ever seen!  Paul, who was always super prepared and never ever broke character, completely froze!  The entire church full of people was dead silent for about 10 seconds, waiting to see what would happen.  Finally Paul just busted out laughing and the whole church erupted in laughter.  Luckily, Paul held his expression just long enough to use the take, so we didn't have to film it again!  James Bonny's look of shock was very much a real reaction!

View the footage of the spit scene here!

Do you have a favorite memory of RMI?  Comment on this post to share it with us!

RMI Current Status

I am always getting the question,"When will RMI be finished?" And finally the answer is, "It is!". Besides a few minor tweaks, RMI is ready for viewing. While I could spend hours and hours fixing things and never really be finished, at some point it needs to be released! We filmed the movie in about 2.5 years, working only on weekends when our volunteers were all available. Once filming was complete, we began working on the soundtrack and audio. This took the longest, with the work changing hands several times as different people ran into different obligations. Finally, the RMI soundtrack is complete (with the work done by Greg De Iulio).

 

(Greg De Iulio on the piano)

In addition, I learned to do overdubs myself so we could complete the project. While I wish we had more time to dedicate to the audio, I am excited to have a product that tells a story that everyone can watch and enjoy!

A little about Greg - he is a graduate student in the School of Music at LSU.  He was recommended to me by Dr. Willis Deloney as a student who was ready for this type of large project when he was still an undergraduate.  This recommendation proved correct!  Greg's addition to the team has brought RMI a whole new feel.  His work brings out the emotions of the characters in a way that wasn't there before.  We have been very pleased with all that he has accomplished for us, and we know to keep an eye out for him in the future!  To listen to some of his samples of RMI, you can visit our YouTube playlist here.

We are currently working to find a venue to host the RMI cast and crew premiere.  If you have any ideas or recommendations, please let me know by emailing kerry1280@gmail.com.  We are currently looking into possibly premiering at the Manship Theatre, the LSU Rural Life Museum, or another location on LSU campus.  I look forward to seeing you at the viewing!

Welcome to the RMI blog!  This is the first RMI blog post, and I would like to start by saying thanks to those who have made this film possible.  This is one of the most ambitious projects I have ever tackled, and it was also one of the most rewarding.  Actress Alicia Hanley said it well when she said, "We really grew up on this set."  I plan to use this blog to post about memories, bloopers, and anything else that comes to mind!  I will also post about the future of RMI and all events coming our way.  Stay posted for more :)