Gone Doggy Gone / Friday at the San Diego Film Festival

October 25, 2014

Friday was pretty chill. Lots of down time. Brandon and Kasi dealt with the nagging issue of syncing up their movie with the theater's projection system. They had been less than successful getting that done on Thursday. They finally got with the projectionist at the Reading and were able to sort it out. It was also party night! Almost Famous party at the Tin Roof - mostly drinking, schmoozing, and playing life size Jenga....sorry, Tumbling Towers.

Final transfer of the film to the theater

Brandon, Edward Winters and his fiance gather in the lobby of the Palomar

Strutting under the marquee lights of the Reading Gaslamp

Kasi with the final pull.  Kasi and Brandon were honestly 2 of the best Jenga (tumbling towers) players I've ever seen! — Kasi with the final pull. Kasi and Brandon were honestly 2 of the best Jenga (tumbling towers) players I've ever seen!

Follow the Filmmakers Thursday - 2014 San Diego Film Festival

October 24, 2014

For the last few years I've gone Behind the Scenes at the San Diego Film Festival. This year, in order to keep it fresh, I decided to follow one of the filmmakers during their time at the festival. Festival producer Stephanie Inscoe gave me a couple of movies to screen ahead of time so I could see who might make for an interesting follow. I watched several films and wasn't too inspired until I saw Gone Doggy Gone. It's a small indie film by Kasi Brown and Brandon Walter. The premise is simple. A childless couple with a dog they love "too much" and what happens when that dog disappears. It's not an epic tale like the other films I watched tried to be. It's just a well crafted comedy written, directed, and starring Brown and Walter.

I knew through Stephanie that the 2 filmmakers would be in town for the festival. She also said many of the cast and crew would be in attendance. It sounded like a perfect fit. My first contact with the Gone Doggy Gone folks was a couple of hours prior to the Night of the Stars event at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla. So at the last minute I grabbed my cameras and met Kasi, Brandon and Laila (Kasi's real dog and co-star in the movie) at their hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. From there we headed out to La Jolla for their debut at the festival.

While they were not officially on the list of celebrities in attendance for the Red Carpet they made the most of it. After all that's what an adorable Yorkshire terrier is for, right. After a brief stint on the carpet they lined up with the rest of the VIPs and waited to enter the theater. And waited....