Sun, Jan 20th, 9:30pm
Thurs, Jan 24th, 4:30pm

Song Sung Blue is a portrait of Mike an Claire Sardina, who as ‘Lightning & Thunder’, a homegrown Milwaukee husband & wife singing duo who pay tribute to the music of Neil Diamond in their nightly act.

Where were you and how did you react when you were told you'd been accepted to Slamdance?

When I received the call from Slamdance programmer Sarah Diamond, I was writing a check to the gas & electric company. At first, I thought it might be a friend screwing with me, Sarah "Diamond"? Yeah right. Fortunately, I went with it, and as a result I am heading to Park City. I was, and am still - psyched!

What drew you to the Lightning and Thunder initially?

I was initially drawn to Lightning & Thunder for the same reason everyone else has been for almost 20 years - the great music of Neil Diamond. But while Diamond's music captured my interest, it was Lighting & Thunder's uninhibited passion, persistence and honesty that captured my heart - enough to keep me filming their amazing story for nearly ten years.

How have your experiences working on "NFL Films Presents" informed your style as a documentarian? Was working in a more cinema verite style challenging for you?

My "captured not contrived" approach to filmmaking was born out of 10 years making films with Steve Sabol at NFL Films. Downloading & loading 5 - 400ft ARRI M mags in -20 degrees at Lambeau Field during a 13 minute halftime and then putting the camera on my shoulder to shoot the 2nd half in a blizzard is as "captured" as it gets. Every season, Sabol awarded one filmmaker w/ an all expensed paid trip to the Super Bowl for having the "Most Spectacular Failure" of the year. I never won the award but it did result in a few emmys. Some view "verite" ask risky. I'm fueled by it. To me, verite is a balance between trust and risk. In the case of Song Sung Blue, I risked the mortgage and trusted my gut.

Is Neil Diamond aware of the film? Are there any plans for him to see it?

I know his "people" are aware of my project. I am not aware if Neil has seen it.

What were your biggest challenges when constructing the film in post-production?

Proximity. The first 11 months of editing was long-distance. I remained in NJ and my talented editor, Nick Kleczewski worked from his home in Virginia. The results were sensational, but there came a point, where the proximity created a barrier to progress. The last 8 months of cutting became less challenging as I finished the film from my home in New Jersey.

Any other projects in the pipeline?

I am a huge fan of Pee Wee's Big Adventure and would love to direct his comeback film. I also have two projects in the works but please don't tell my wife. One centers around an important historical event that took place in the Midwest in 1913. The other, is a doc that features an important American rock band from Milwaukee, WI.

# posted by Brandon Harris @ 1/20/2008 04:17:00 PM

Comments (0)

Post a Comment