Interview for a Research Paper

From: Marianna Palka <************@*****.com>
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:47:29 -0800
To: Reyhan Bekar <*********@***********>
Subject: Re: Interview for a Research Paper

Reyhan,

This took me so long due to the holiday! Here you go My Love. Thank you, Love Marianna x.

How did you get into filmmaking?
I just decided to make a film and I think that's how most people get into it, they take the bull by the horns.

Are there any filmmakers that have inspired you and influenced your style of filmmaking?
Peter Mullan. Ken Loach. Wajda. Kieslowski. I am mostly visually influenced by photographs more than films.

What inspired you to make the film, 'Good Dick'?
I couldn't believe a statistic I heard that 1 in 3 women are sexually abused before adulthood. That was reason enough for me to make such a film.

Who was your intended audience for 'Good Dick'? Did you make the film with a target audience in mind? Did this affect the decisions you made while making the film?
I definitely kept in mind that hopefully people recovering from sexual abuse would see the film, and experience its sweetness. It is not a negative tale, nor a graphic one in anyway, but its intention was catharsis. I was always thinking of the realism of this character. There are truly beautiful survivors who have made a great deal of their lives and the film was made for them, to help express the quality of light that is available through the healing process, which they know a lot about. I had to take that charge very seriously, and I did and still do. The film is theirs more than anyone's.

How would you define the genre of 'Good Dick'?
It is a Love Story.

Most of the film was shot in L.A, California with an American cast/crew. Were there any particular reasons for this?
I live in Los Angeles and all of my friends are American here. Most of the people I know are American. It was an American story. LA is a great place to shoot when you want to shoot for cheap but get good results.

You're credited in the film as director, screenwriter and actress? How involved would you say in the other aspects of filmmaking such as editing, cinematography, sound? (I'm assuming other people carried out these roles but you made the final decisions?)
Yes, I had a great DP Andre Lascaris www.andrelascaris.com
Editor Chris Kroll (hear an interview with him that is brilliant about the Good Dick editing process click here)
Sound on set was done by Reza Moosavi www.rezamoosavi.com
Our post sound work was done by Sonic Magic here in LA

How did you manage to get financing for the film?
The financier wanted to make a film for a small budget with a first time female writer/director and it happened to be me.

How did you go about distributing the film?
We self released in America to great success. The four producers of the film, Jason Ritter, Marianna Palka, Cora Olson and Jen Dubin (who are Present Pictures) Our DVD is in every major retailer, we are on Showtime this fall, we are in 50 million homes on VOD, we have done very well. In the UK the film was distributed by a company called The Works.

Are you satisfied with the overall outcome of the film?
Beyond satisfied. Beyond. Beyond. I still find it so wonderfully joyful that the film has had its own life and broken ground in some areas, the subject matter for example and the self release. I recommend working with Peter Broderick if anyone wants to self release their film. www.peterbroderick.com

Load of people have been getting jobs after working on Good Dick, me included, so it has been a blessing for all. I recommend turning the voices in your head down that give you reasons not to do something and turn the voices up that give you reasons to do something. It is always better to just make your big dream happen. It's so easy once you start. It all unravels before you and it makes you understand your art even more, to have people actually see it. I love acting, a lot of actors have a problem with being seen, artists in general sometimes get shocked by it, but if you have a purpose, and you are working for a greater good, you never have to think about what people think of you or your work, because you are focused on the intention of your work. And I believe every film should be intended to help somebody. Even if it is just one person. The intention ought to be positive.

Going to Argentina & Brazil

Just got so many vaccines in this arm to go to Argentina and Brazil to visit Jason's brother Tyler. The man who gave me the shots let me hold his arm with my hands, because that made me able to relax; and I asked him to breathe with me. I think it was an original experience for him!

My scarf also comforted me. My "mums"
Cora Olson and Jen Dubin gave it to me for my birthday this September. When i opened the box, I thought, "Oh this scarf is ao fancy, I'll be able to wear it on special occassions." Now I wear it everyday. We call Cora and Jen "mums" because they are so nuturing. They see the possibility in every situation, in every person. They are the best producers because they really grow the people they work with like plants in pots or in a garden. They've always been able to see more for Jason and I than we have for ourselves. They are fervent listeners and they map out the unknown for those who can't do it themselves, then they keep adding to that map for you. The greatest producers are technically efficient, but they are also deeply creative. The great directors are genius artists, but they are also masters of the technical workings of their craft. We all grow both sides of our brain by working together. It is a supreme partnership, between Morning Knight (Jason and I) and Present Pictures (Cora and Jen) I wish for every artist that they find their perfect producers. Because once they do, they'll have found family.

Erotica

Good Dick is a film about a woman who watches erotica, not porn. If you don't know the difference:

"Erotica is as different from pornography as love is from rape, as dignity is from humiliation as partnership is from slavery as pleasure is from pain" Gloria Steinem