Official: Out of Omaha, the movie

jsheets · Post by **jsheets** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:14 am

I've heard from a fairly reliable source that a movie has started scoping for a shoot in Omaha. She wouldn't give any details because the film has not been announced yet, but she said it will be good for Omaha.

I'm guessing another film by the Sideways, and Election director Payne, but who knows. Has anyone heard anything on this?

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:28 am

I doubt it would be a Payne film..

But a good heads up on a rumor that hopefully becomes reality..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:58 am

It might be a movie called Omahahaulin. I seem to remember reading something about it a while back in the WH. I think one of the producers or something is from here.

adam186 · Post by **adam186** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:05 pm

I wish more producers and directors that aren't from Omaha would direct films here also. It seems like only past residents want to do it. Anyone else notice that?

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:40 pm

Yeah....its pretty much common sense why this is true. Omaha isn't exactly a hotspot for film production.

cosmoguy · Post by **cosmoguy** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 5:50 pm

I found this site....which is the first I've heard of it.

http://nohofilms.com/whatsnew.php

eomaha · Post by **eomaha** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:03 pm

Dana Altman... the Omaha movie guy.

Patricia Payne? Is the lastname just a coincidence?

The cast actually is fairly accomplished (including the Tool Time mom

)... not exactly a typical independent film anyway.

Those corn stalks can't be a good sign though.

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:44 pm

Wow thats a really good lineup. Dave Foley is the |expletive|! Kids in the Hall is one of the funniest shows of all time.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 2:43 am

Where did you find out about this?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 1:33 pm

This is the movie I was thinking of but apparently they changed the title. Linda Vorhees I think is the one from Omaha and Patricia Payne is no relation.

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 2:28 pm

Kids in the Hall was great. Foley also played Jack's boyfriend on Will & Grace. Lea Thompson has also been around a while and was in the movies "All the Right Moves" and "Some Kind of Wonderful" as well as the televison show, "Caroline in the City."

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 8:07 pm

Don't forget "Back to the Future"!

I wonder what the budget is on this? Although these aren't "bankable" actors, they are highly recognizeable.

I'd never heard of Linda Voorhees before so I researched...this is her second directing gig (for features at least). The other was called "Raising Genius." Plus she has a handful of writing credits and one associate producer, which of course means nothing.

I can't find Raising Genius on Netflix...I wonder if it was her thesis movie or something?

edsas?

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 9:48 pm

I think this is great and look forward to it, but find it hard to see how this movie could be a good Omaha movie....is there even such a thing in existence? At this point no. I hope I'm wrong.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:23 am

There hasn't been a love letter to Omaha film such as Woody Allen to New York or countless chick-flicks to San Francisco.

Also...I talked to someone who met and talked to both Dave Foley and Lea Thompson at a bar within the past few days. I know that's not concrete enough to move it out of the rumors section but....

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:49 am

Looks interesting. But as Streets said, this looks like no love letter.

Dana Altman's a great guy, though. I've spoken to him on the phone once (in Nebraska) and met him in person once (in LA). He pulls no punches about how much he loves living and working in Omaha. Said he plans to die there. (Long, long term plan.) So if anybody does a love letter to Omaha, it will probably be him. Looks like he's just trying to build his company at this point.

Speaking of positive Omaha films, I'm doing a polish on my CWS script. I'll be putting that in the grapevine by December, hopefully.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:51 am

Oops. That "guest" is supposed to be me...

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:18 pm

edsas, I'm finishing up a script right now. what steps do I take to get it out there?

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 3:05 pm

http://www.omahacityweekly.com/viewblog ... 11&post=36

Omaha’s Hollywood connection continues – it’s Patricia Payne this time, not Alexander Payne, who is producing a comedy feature film here, “Out of Omaha,” with a shooting schedule that begins next week and a veteran cast that includes Dave Foley of TV’s “Kids in the Hall.”

“We’ll be shooting the heck out of Omaha,” said Payne, an Australian native whose L.A.-based NoHo Films International production company does TV and movie projects for English-speaking audiences that span the globe (Payne herself wrote the six-part TV miniseries, “For the Term of His Natural Life,” starring Anthony Perkins and Samantha Eggar).A co-producer on the project is Omaha’s Dana Altman (North Sea Films), an indie director/writer/producer who shot his “The Private Public” movie here a few years ago.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:20 pm

That's spectacular! So apparently since they're shooting the heck out of Omaha, the film will take place on Lake St.? *zing!*

All joking aside, thanks for getting us confirmation, Swift. Hopefully one of us will be able to spot some production locales!

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed Sep 28, 2005 4:38 pm

I heard that Lea Thompson was making out wiht Denver Dalley (of the band Statistics) at the Goofy Foot.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:56 am

Swift wrote:edsas, I'm finishing up a script right now. what steps do I take to get it out there?

Wrote a rather lengthy response, then my server dropped before I could post it. The short version:

1. Make sure the script is ready for Prime Time. Get lots of feedback. If there is a consensus of problems with your script, fix them. Revise until the feedback is either 90% positive or the criticism seems random.

2. Do you know any producers? No? Go to step 3.

3. Get an agent. To do this you send queries to agencies that accept new writers. Get the Hollywood Representation Directory. You will find the names of agencies and their phone numbers. Call and ask if they are accepting new writers, if so, get the name of the person to whom you should send your query.

There are many in-between steps. I can get more specific if you'd like to email me. eddysasquatch7@hotmail.com

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 1:36 pm

Thanks!

Do agents cost anything before they start making you money?

Also, what if I'm planning on directing it too?

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 2:55 pm

Swift wrote:I heard that Lea Thompson was making out wiht Denver Dalley (of the band Statistics) at the Goofy Foot.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 4:35 pm

Swift wrote:Thanks!

Do agents cost anything before they start making you money?

Also, what if I'm planning on directing it too?

No. Lit agents take 10% of your script sales. They don't make money unless you do. If
an agent wants to charge you a fee up-front, they're not legitimate. Never pay an agent
anything. The studio pays them.

To direct your movie, you will need to do it independently. Studios never buy a script
and a director. All they want is your literary property so they can rape and pillage it
and turn it into Hollywood fluff.

To become a director, you need a reel of two or three short films that prove your directing
mettle. Once you have that, you negotiate yourself as director in the event that you are
lucky enough to have a script purchase. For new writer/directors, the typical negotiation
is that you waive your writing fee (usually in the 100 to 200 thousand range) for a
director's fee. This varies greatly and is almost always less than a writer's fee. You trade
the privilege of directing your work for the paycheck a screenwriter would get.

My honest suggestion is to let your first script go. Let someone else direct it. If you have
a two short film reel, plus a feature writing credit, you will be in a heck of a bargaining
seat. So plan your directing debut for script number 2.

What I've told you is a best case scenario and will be very difficult to accomplish, but it
can be done with plenty of persistence, so good luck.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 6:03 pm

Thanks for all the info, this incredibly informative!

I'm in the process of compiling a short film reel. By the end of October I should be finishing up three shorts (all shorter than 5 minutes), including a music video. I have a lot of friends in various bands (incluiding some Saddle Creek bands and sattellite SC bands) so I am sort of planning on making a bunch of videos first before attempting a feature.

Also I am in school for directing and you need a thesis film to graduate so I'll have that too (but god knows when I'll be graduating!).

Also, does it help if you win contests (not that I have yet), because I'm entering in a number of them.

Just curious (plus networking is what film industry is about right), where did you go to school and what did you study?

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 6:17 pm

Sorry for all the qustions, I'm a curious kid

How much does it cost to make a movie anyway? Say there are no stars, no special effects, and say I was shooting it in Omaha. Very indie-esque but on 35mm, with say...Bob Yeoman as the DP. How much would that cost? Like in what range?

I was thiking that it'd be like 5 or 6 mil, but I wasn't sure.

*eyes piggie bank*

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 7:09 pm

There were a number of dressing trailers parked on a lot on Galvin Road in Bellevue earlier this week. They were there for three days, and now they are gone. Off to another location, perhaps

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 7:18 pm

Oh that's encouraging! Hmm...maybe now is the time to ask my lawyer brother for a loan.

(He also majored in philosophy at UNL, btw! he graduated in ought-3)

I want the movie to have good distribution, and I would actually want one or two mid level stars in it. My brother has this friend (he actually is a lawyer now too) who got accepted to some really prestigious acting school in LA out of highschool. At the same time he got offered the lead role in some movie (I've long since forgot what movie it was)...anyway the short of it is that he turned both down to go to UNK so he could stay close to his girlfriend (they broke up about three months later). I've been talking to him about being in this movie I'm writing since I started writing it (which was january or february I think).

He's probably one of the most natural actors I've seen and he could very easy go the route of Owen Wilson (i.e. accidentally stumbling into movie stardom). But I digress...

...um. |expletive| I forgot what I was going to say.

I would want most of the money in the movie to go towards making it look good. That's why I would want to use 35mm film and Bob Yeoman as the DP (which I imagine would be the two most expensive things in the film).

Yeah, I'm only 20, but it's not nearly as impressive as it seems. I probably won't even attempt to make a feature for 5 years or so.

edit: also, that's the first time I've had any of my curse words be censored to say |expletive| and I have to say that I found it delightful!

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 4:40 am

Film stock (and equipment) and DP won't be your big ticket items on a 500,000 dollar movie. You'll spend most of that money on actors, food, sets, props, and music rights. You can always find deals on film stock. A DP who is in high demand, like Robert Yeoman, is not likely to do a shoestring feature unless the material is such that he can't resist. If that's the case, then his price will come down to a standard rate that is proportionate to the size of the budget. It will essentially be a labor of love. I've heard of actors doing this -- a $20 million star doing a role for $100,000 -- because the part is too irresistable or it tests their range or whatever. DPs, as far as I know, don't normally get the urge to do that, though. It's a different creative mindset completely.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:14 pm

Today around noon they were shooting at the slides in the Gene Leahy Mall. I saw Patricia Richardson and Lea Thompson there but none of the others. They took a break for lunch and Lea went charging for the Old Market.

I spoke to a woman who was there to be an extra and she told me the gist of the movie. Disfunctional Omaha family always vacations in Branson (not good) decides to go to California for vacation, something happens and so they spend the vacation in Omaha. Not sounding to promising on painting Omaha in a good light, but I could be wrong. Safe to say it's not a rumor anymore.

the1wags · Post by **the1wags** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 11:16 pm

That was me.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 2:06 am

Anonymous wrote: Safe to say it's not a rumor anymore.

I agree..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:05 am

Dave Foley and Lea Thompson were at the Two Gallants show last weekend. I know some people that talked a while with them and they mentioned that Altman (who is only 20) is a true talent. Maybe he will continually return to his roots like Alexander Payne.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 1:46 pm

Dana Altman is only 20??? WOA!

Finn · Post by **Finn** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 2:21 pm

Somewhere around there - my source got pretty drunk that night and I am not holding him to details!

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 2:26 pm

Haha.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:49 pm

Dana Altman is around 40. He produced "Omaha The Movie" in 1995, which would have made his film career start at age 10, by Finn's friend's estimation.

Dana read a script of mine and I spoke to him on the phone in 1995 when he was running a company called "No Coast Productions". I also met him about 4 years ago in LA. He's around 40.

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:59 pm

Its amazing he has time to produce this movie with the Creighton season closing in. Dave Foley must have season tickets.

....yes...i'm joking.

edsas · Post by **edsas** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:47 pm

That always threw me for a loop too, Tuna. It's not like "Dana Altman" is a common name and then to have two prominent ones in the same city...

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:14 am

Yeah me too!

is the coach related to Robert Altman too?

Have you ever talked to Dana about being related to Robert? He's his grandson, right?