A YEAR IN MOORING

Pre-Production: Oct, 2009
Principal Photography: Nov - Dec, 2009
Completion: 2010
Location: Traverse City, Michigan
Director: Chris Eyre
Cast: Josh Lucas, Ayelet Zurer, James Cromwell
Genre: Drama
Logline: A man spends a season restoring a sailboat, learning to reconnect with the world after a painful tragedy.

FLAMENCO SCHOOL

Pre-Production: May, 2009
Principal Photography: May - ??? 2009
Completion: Early 2010
Location: Albuquerque
Director: Brent Morris & Reinhard Lorenz
Cast: Eva Encinias-Sandoval & the students/professionals of the National Institute of Flamenco
Genre: Documentary
Logline: A master teacher’s dance school explores the culture, traditions and passions of flamenco – from its gypsy beginnings to its role in the twenty-first century.

FRIENDSHIP!

Pre-Production: Oct-Nov '08
Principal Photography: Dec 08 - Jan '09
Completion: Fall, 2009
Location: Albuquerque, other NM TBD
Director: Markus Goller
Cast: matthius Schweighofer, Friedrich Mucke
Genre: Road Movie - serio/comedy
Logline: Two East German buddies travel cross-country in 1989, searching for a mysterious father in San Francisco.

BEER FOR MY HORSES

Pre-Production: December 07-January 08
Principal Photography: Feb-March, 2008
Completion: August, 2008
Location: Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico
Director: Michael Salomon
Cast: Toby Keith, Rodney Carrington, Ted Nugent, Claire Forlani, Tom Skerritt, Willie Nelson
Genre: Country Road Comedy
Logline: An Oklahoma Sheriff and his posse head down to Mexico to rescue his girlfriend from the bad guys...comedy ensues.

TO LIVE AND DIE

Pre-Production: July, 2007
Principal Photography: August-Sept., 2007
Completion: February, 2008
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Director: Robert Kurtzman
Cast: Sean Patrick Flanery, Joe Pantoliano, Carmen Serano
Genre: Action Thriller
Logline: A police officer with a painful past returns to Albuquerque, enlisted by the FBI to help capture a mastermind assassin.

PISTOL WHIPPED

Pre-Production: March-April, 2007
Principal Photography: May, 2007
Completion: Fall, 2007
Location: Stamford & Bridgeport, Connecticut
Director: Roel Reine
Cast: Steven Seagal, Paul Calderon, Lance Henriksen, Renee Goldsberry
Genre: Action Thriller
Logline: An ex-cop with a heavy gambling debt is coerced by a mysterious group into assassinating top criminals in an East Coast city.

THE GRAND

Pre-Production: April-June, 2006
Principal Photography: July, 2006
Completion: Tribeca Film Fest-4/27/07; Theatrical release 1/08
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Director: Zak Penn
Cast: Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines, Chris Parnell, Dennis Farina, David Cross, Ray Romano, Werner Herzog
Genre: Mockumentary
Logline: Various characters enter the Texas Hold 'Em tournament at the Grand Championship of Poker, determined to win big bucks to satisfy their various agendas.

HOW TO ROB A BANK

Pre-Production: Jan-Feb, 2006
Principal Photography: Feb-March, 2006
Completion: Early 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Director: Andrews Jenkins
Cast: Nick Stahl, Erika Christensen, Gavin Rossdale, Terry Crews, David Carradine
Genre: Bank Heist Comedy/Thriller
Logline: When he inadvertently walks into a bank robbery, a young man forges an uncertain alliance with his captors while negotiating his release with the SWAT team outside.

12-21-09 | NM Incentives draw fire again

The Albuquerque Journal continues to sponsor articles that seem aimed at attacking the successful film incentives our state uses to compete with an ever-increasing field of contenders... here is my response to the latest article, which in their defense they printed. Friday, June 26, 2009 State Keeps Close Eye on Film Incentive Claims I READ THE HEADLINE for “You Pay Millions for Secret Film Costs” with dismay. As a freelance producer and unit production manager who was enticed to move from Los Angeles to New Mexico in 2006, my existence here is largely due to the progressive state film incentive program which has been so successful it is now drawing fire from politicians like Rep. Dennis Kintigh. I feel your salacious headline on what I read as an otherwise fairly objective column by Thom Cole presents yet again the film industry as some secret evil empire out to bilk the citizenry of New Mexico. This kind of policy will do nothing to help our status as a destination for filmmakers and production companies who spend millions more than they are rebated in our economy, on crew salaries, location rentals, equipment and supplies, and many more legitimate expenses. These are outside dollars, from Hollywood and other parts of the globe, that would otherwise be spent elsewhere. As a producer in the process of obtaining a rebate from the state of approximately $4800 on a $25,000 project, I can testify first-hand that the auditing process for film expenditures is extremely precise and I must present multiple documents verifying eligibility for each claimed expense. The people at the state are professional and respectful of the process and if that includes keeping some information classified in the name of privacy, I think that is a small price to pay for the excellent job the film program is doing to keep millions of dollars of annual production coming to New Mexico — no small feat in this economy where many other states have caught on and are offering even more lucrative offers to producers. BRENT MORRIS Albuquerque

5-21-09 | Flamenco School ... or going off the deep end

I'm co-directing/co-producing my first doc, a first-person look at a cultural treasure here in 'Burque -- the National Institute of Flamenco. After witnessing a couple of street performances by the troupe, my friend Reinhard Lorenz and I approached the exec. director, Eva Encinias-Sandoval, about documenting her school and her approach to life. She agreed and off we went. Three weeks in, we have shot about 7 hours of material and edited that down to 6 minutes for promo purposes. We're submitting to various entities for funding to enhance the production value. We envision staging dance sequences in front of iconographic New Mexico locations. It's a little like jumping into the deep end of a swimming pool, a little scary at first but immensely pleasurable. Flamenco is like an onion, peel away a layer and there's a lot more underneath. More updates later. Meanwhile -- looking for a paying gig as well to finance my obsessions!

10-23-08 | Friendship! (the film)

Fall finds me working on a German serio-comic road movie about two young guys from East Berlin ca. 1989, who set out cross-country in search of a mysterious father in San Francisco. Produced by Oscar-winning producers Wiedemann & Berg ("The Lives of Others"), it is a great script from which we hope to make a funny, touching film with the majority of shooting days in New Mexico. I have also consulted and budgeted numerous other projects for 2009 and am gearing up to produce and direct a documentary about the "Tamalewood" production scene. As the season is upon us, let's Vote For Change and keep pushing forward more progressive films and inspiring visions.

3-19-08 | Spring has Sprung

Wrapped "Beer for My Horses" March 15. What a great shoot, starting with the generous spirits of stars Toby Keith, Rodney Carrington, Willie Nelson, Ted Nugent and Greg Serano. The film is due out this summer theatrically then DVD and Country Music Television in the fall. The New Mexico crew was extraordinary and despite snow, wind and the ever-present flu making for some difficult logistics we pulled off a funny, winning project. I am looking forward to going up to Maine April 6-12 to teach the AD/UPM/Line Producer workshop for the first time in two years. BTW Pistol Whipped has just been released on video and gotten some surprisingly good reviews for a late-career Seagal movie. The Grand opens in a limited and expanding release later in March.

11-20-07 | Thanksgiving

This fall has been good to me in New Mexico. I finished up UPM'ing some add'l photography on "Sunshine Cleaning," a great independent comedy from the producers of "Little Miss Sunshine." I am next going to be one of the producers on a comedy called "Beer for My Horses" by country star Toby Keith and Rodney Carrington. This film will shoot early 2008. With the Writers Guild and threatened Screen Actors Guild walk-out summer next year, a lot of producers are putting projects in the works and the crews are working non-stop here. We all hope for a quick resolution to labor unrest, but I have to support the writers who have asked for a fair piece of the digital pie. With Thanksgiving here, I give thanks to all those who have helped me on my way and hope I can repay the kindnesses in passing.

8-28-07 | Livin' and Dyin'

Shooting "To Live and Die" as Co-Producer/UPM, my first gig in New Mexico. Couldn't be happier working with a great crew & producers, director (Bob Kurtzman did visual FX on "The Devil's Rejects"). We are filming mainly in downtown Albuquerque featuring the Carom Club, the old Courthouse and Burt's Tiki Lounge. Joe Pantoliano is awesome as "Kaplow"... a Hannibal Lecter type with bomb-making skills.

6-26-07 | New Mexico summer project

Back from Connecticut, I will be the UPM of an Albuquerque shoot, "Angelmaker." More news on that as pre-production begins in July. The Seagal movie was a challenge on many levels...and now editing in Los Angeles. The director, Roel, was terrific in handling the limitations thrown at him and all in, we tried to elevate the quality of the film with heavy-duty action sequences and amazingly gritty urban locations in Connecticut. Met some good people back East but am happy to be back and enjoying the New Mexican summer.

2-20-07 | Connecticut Bound

I've been hired to produce the next Steven Seagal movie, "Marker", that will shoot in Connecticut this April - May. While I wanted to establish myself in New Mexico this spring, and had some good productive meetings with people about projects, ultimately everything I was up for pushed or "went another way" with a line producer. Connecticut has a 30% tax credit on eligible spend, and they don't exclude a lot of items. The challenge will be finding a local crew and pulling the film off in a tight 4 week schedule with 6 weeks of prep. Hope to work in New Mexico later this year.

1-10-07 | The Snows of Albuquerque

Arrived in New Mexico 12/29/06, the day the biggest snowstorm hit the state in 50 years! Quite a welcome. We lost power for four days and sat around the fire to keep warm. Talk about family bonding. The sun's out now and the snow's melting and the lights & heat are on... looking for my first NM project at present. The film office says 7 features are shooting here this Spring. Sounds promising.