We’ve been busy. It’s been cold. The economy has, um, shifted.

John Carroll Lynch is in a movie right now. Gran Torino. His co-star, Clint Eastwood, was also its director. It was Eastwood’s second movie out this year. How does he do that? We’re still trying to make just this one.

And despite the fact that John looks uninspired by the company he keeps, nothing could be farther from the truth. Coming off the heels of being directed by Martin Scorsese (that film is not yet in theaters), John calls his workload “an embarrassment of riches.” The rest of us here in the bunker at Remember Minnesota (now also known as Crew), call it “an excursion on coattails.”

Okay, that’s not actually true. None of us are riding John’s coattails. In our dynamic partnership of many, each of us takes a turn as the lead dog. At the moment, Diane Nabatoff is pulling our sled. Sports references aside, she has injected us with momentum, as well as a significant amount of investment capital. At the moment, reaching the final phase of our budget goals is the only thing keeping us from “Ready, Set, Action.”

What Mr. Eastwood is actually pointing to are some rather head-turning articles…

Indies Light Up the Box Office for Another Year (December 2008, The Film Entrepreneur)
“The film business has traditionally been ‘recession-proof.’ …Independent films finished 2008 with a $3.5B share of the North American box office — 3% ahead of its 2007 total.”

Suddenly, Hollywood Seems a Conservative Investment (January 25, 2009, New York Times)
“Wall Street, real estate, the art market — all of those other supposedly stable investment areas — are now such a mess that Hollywood is one of the safer places you can park money.”

Teamwork, Then and Now (January 31, 2009, New York Times)
William McNabb: “Rowing is analogous to business. It takes a tremendous amount of endurance, and you have to train a long period for an event. The sport attracts driven, competitive people, but team members must be willing to let their egos be subservient to the boat. It’s the same in business, where a company can accomplish so much more if everyone works together.”

It is a warm and sunny day in Boston as I write this. Rowers are out on the Charles and look as beautiful and graceful as ever. At least it appears that way from my perspective on the bridge. I know from my limited personal experience on the water that rowing is far from beautiful and graceful when you’re in the boat. It’s grueling – one of the most difficult sports there is.

I am still in Boston, well past the time when my part of the film Ashecliffe should have been wrapped. The film, from the book Shutter Island by Denis Lehane, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Sir Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams and many others. It is a huge film and has gone, like many things, not as planned. But it will be a great movie, I believe, because the script is great and the people making it are some of the best in the film business – particularly our director, Martin Scorsese.

Remember Minnesota, is coming along, too… not as we planned but it is coming, and since our last newsletter we have made great leaps forward. Like the film I am working on now, when it is made it will be the best because the script is great, and the people who are putting it together are the best. Our recent rewrite has honed an already strong script into what Mikael Salomon, our director, said is one of “the best he has ever read.”

Mikael scored another huge success with his latest miniseries The Andromeda Strain which aired on A&E Network in May. Starring Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, Ricky Shroder and Andre Braugher, the 4-hour film is based on the book that made writer Michael Crichton a best-selling novelist in 1969. It was Mikael’s second miniseries project with producers Tony and Ridley Scott.

(Benjamin Bratt, Mikael Salomon and Daniel Dae Kim at the premiere)

I am struck by how great it is to have Mikael aboard and very fired up. We are lucky to have him.

We are also extremely fortunate to have our newest producer Diane Nabatoff so fully committed to our project. She spear-headed our recent rewrite and is helping to finish up the last of our financing. She’s such an important part of our team, we’ve written more about her below.

While these may not be household names, they are the very best at what they do and they will serve this picture well.

In the last two months we have been in a calm and the wind is picking up again. The best thing about rowing is that you don’t need to wait for that. You just need to grab an oar. So grab one with us, take to the river, and see what happens.

All best, John Carroll Lynch

Diane Nabatoff brings a world of experience

Among the more impressive facts about Diane Nabatoff are that she holds an MBA from Harvard University and that she’s a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In addition, she’s worked in theater with the legendary Joseph Papp at The New York Shakespeare Festival; consulted with a London-based documentary film company; worked in programming at HBO; understudied both female roles in the Broadway Production of I Love my Wife; and performed in off-Broadway shows, nightclubs and television commercials as a singer-actress.

Now onto her impressive roster of film experience. She began as an associate producer before claiming the title of Senior Vice President of Production for Henry Winkler’s production company. From there, she was a Producer at Interscope Communications, where she developed and produced films that include: Very Bad Things, written and directed by Pete Berg and starring Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Stern; The Proposition starring Kenneth Branagh, Madeleine Stowe and William Hurt; Operation Dumbo Drop, directed by Simon Wincer and starring Danny Glover, Ray Liotta and Denis Leary; Separate Lives starring Jim Belushi and Linda Hamilton; Holy Matrimony, directed by Leonard Nimoy and starring Patricia Arquette; and Body Language starring Tom Berenger.

As an Executive-Producer she has worked on projects with Heather Graham, Sissy Spacek, Alan Cumming, Ted Danson and Charles Dutton. In 2000, Diane founded Tiara Blu Films where she has produced Take The Lead starring Antonio Banderas, and Narc starring Ray Liotta and Jason Patric. She is currently developing projects at studios and cable networks as well as several features that will be independently financed.

Rowing is in the news

China’s Pride: A 24-Karat Olympic Machine
From the New York Times, June 1, 2008

QIANDAO LAKE, China — When Igor Grinko, a former Soviet coach with an impressive résumé, agreed to take over the Chinese rowing team four years ago, Olympic officials outlined their expectations with a simple equation: one gold equals 1,000 silvers. “Silver? It means nothing here; you might as well finish last,” he said. “Coaches like me come, help them win gold medals, or we are fired.”

In anticipation of China’s debut as an Olympic host, officials here have seized the opportunity to prove their country is a world power in sports. Rowing is at the heart of China’s plan to capture, for the first time, more gold medals than any other nation at the Olympics.

Final Olympic Qualification Regatta
From World Rowing, June 19, 2008

POZNAN, Poland — A grand total of 100 nations competed in rowing’s Olympic Qualification process which began at the 2007 World Rowing Championships in Munich and continued through 2007 and 2008 with conti-nental qualification events around the world. This is 15 nations more than the 85 from Athens and 75 from Sydney, and is a huge step forward in rowing’s global appeal.

Fifty-eight nations will be represented in the sport of rowing this summer in Beijing, three more than at the Athens Olympics in 2004. The 29 boats qualified today bring the tally that will compete in Beijing to 204 and the total number of athletes to 550. Australia now has a full house with 14 boats qualified, while Germany and the USA will each send 13 boats to Beijing.

The Ins and Outs of Rowing
From the Detroit Free Press, June 13, 2008

The boat: It’s about a foot wide, barely wide enough to cradle your feet, firmly lashed into Velcro-topped athletic water shoes. The seat is mounted on top of the boat, riding on rails. And the oars each extend about 9 1/2 feet on either side.

Getting in: It takes some coordination. There is a single strip where it is safe to stand as you get in. If you step anywhere else you can punch right through the fragile shell.

The stroke: Done correctly, the end result feels something like sitting on a tightrope, the long oars acting like a balance bar and the gentle pressure of the water serving to keep you balanced upright.

The real deal: Once you get the hang of the delicate interplay between water and oar, once your body settles into the rhythm that uses 85% of the muscles you have, it’s delightfully… easy.

Why aren’t we filming yet?

For those of you who are wondering and checking in for updates, we are not following the production schedule we had initially set for ourselves. If we were, we would have set up a production office already and we’d be starting to film right about now. We’re behind. We don’t yet have an office. We haven’t begun the bulk of the casting process. We haven’t yet reached our budgetary goals. We are on hold until we do. However, we’re still hoping for a summer start date and that remains very possible.

Words of encouragement.

Helen Hunt has written and directed her first feature film. It has nothing to do with Remember Minnesota. But I mention it because I like Helen Hunt and I’ve been reading the considerable amount of press she’s been doing to promote the movie, Then She Found Me. The first interview I read was in the New York Times on April 13th.

“Describe your first day as a feature film director,” the interviewer said. “Wait,” Hunt responded. “You’re skipping the years of humiliation and hazing that I went through to try to get it made. Which I think were, by any standards, truly punishing.”

As I read the article, I found myself thinking, if Helen Hunt can’t get a movie made, who am I kidding? Then I got to this part.

“I was particularly defeated, so I asked someone, ‘Whose movies do get made?’ He said, ‘It’s the people who don’t give up.’”

It was a nice reminder during a month when very little happened to move us closer to production. We have not completed financing for our film. We are, however, steadfast.

We think. Therefore, we rewrite.

I wish there was a log somewhere of how many rewrites a script goes through before it makes it to film. It’s nearly impossible to tally since it’s hard to differentiate between a “tweak” (making minor changes here and there) and something more substantial that might be called a “rewrite.” In fact, I don’t even know how many rewrites Remember Minnesota has gone through at this point. It’s probably about six of them. And we just finished another. Here are John and Tess’s comments about this latest pass…

From John:

Throughout the process of writing this film, Tess and I have found each other to be challenging and engaging collaborators. We approached this rewrite with a new-found energy to bring the story to a more deeply personal place.

Even more challenging was the physical distance between us. With me in Boston and New York as I continue work on Ashecliffe, the new Martin Scorcese movie, and Tess in Los Angeles and Hawaii, getting “personal” via telephone was giving to each other in a new way.

As we combed the script for opportunities to hone the story, heightening the losses and sharpening the conflicts, we were energized again, not to just finish this rewrite but to get this film made.

The journey of any athletic season is a story of wins, losses, lulls, bursts. The making of this movie is directly mirroring the spirit of the the story upon which it is based. So I believe it bodes well.

As I experience working with a master, Mr. Scorcese, I am struck by his commitment to not only every scene, but every shot. Nothing is extraneous. So too, shall it be for our film. Even now, everything is happening for a reason. Each thing is unfolding as it should. We just need the faith to see it through.

From Tess:

I continue to be amazed by John Lynch. Entering into a partnership of any kind is risky and we jumped into writing together without ever having a conversation about how we might work or how we would solve disagreements or who would be responsible for what. What we found, however, was a natural and seamless integration that is certainly rooted in mutual respect and admiration.

Early on, even before the first draft was finished, John would refer to the project as my script. I’m not sure why he wasn’t embracing ownership but I suspected he felt he wasn’t contributing half. I was at home after our work sessions, research-junkie that I am, combing through every book and article on rowing I could find. I was making structural notes and defining character conflicts. I was breaking it all down and moving around puzzle pieces. To my great delight and envy, John does all that stuff in his head. It might have seemed like I was doing more work. I never felt that way.

John’s experience as an actor makes his sense about human dynamics and character development downright intuitive. If we’d come to a character or a moment or a word that we’d disagree on, the great debate would ensue until one of us eventually won. When we had finished the first draft and we were standing in John’s kitchen feeling the pride of completion, John said, “We did this whole thing and we only had two difficult moments between us.”

Then it was the rewriting, which is a lot more debate and a lot fewer words making it to the page. Although it seems less fruitful or productive, rewriting is when ingredients begin to combine and gel. Layers are born. And every word is wrestled with. In this most recent rewrite, we added ten pages to the script. If it were a novel, we’d call it a day but ten pages means ten minutes which means the budget goes up and the running time of the film becomes problematic. And so we also had to cut ten pages. However, because there weren’t any whole scenes that we felt we could eliminate, those ten pages had to come line by line and word by word. And this is where John runs circles around me. I’m often reading through the script on automatic pilot thinking, yeah, it’s good, it’s all good. But John is questioning, examining, rearranging, honing and sharpening. In many ways, John rewrote this script. He had all the epiphanies and by far the better ideas.

I think that John notices the mastery of Scorsese’s commitment to every moment because it mirrors what’s already inherent in John.

The process of putting together this script, and this film, is the perfect blend of people, all of whom have different gifts, and all those gifts vital to the process. Brad Melby’s unwavering commitment and enthusiasm. Susan Austin’s fearlessness, dedication, and endless resources. John Stout’s Rolodex and vault of both wisdom and patience.

Yeah, it’s good, it’s all good.

For all the latest information about the movie, download our newsletter and information packet located under the Newsletters tab above.

Recently John Carroll Lynch, Brad Melby and Susan Austin traveled to Bismarck, North Dakota, where they were seen on the local CBS station.

With reporter Brad Feldman. October 25, 2007.

With reporter Amanda Tetlak. October 25, 2007.

Here are some highlights from our recent updates. For the complete stories, click on the Newsletters tab above.

To get on our mailing list, send us an email – see Contact page.

With Tom Butler on Fox 9 Morning News.

With Rob Hudson on KARE 11.

With Bill Hudson on the Channel 4 Morning Show.

To view all media on file, visit the Press Archive.

John Carroll Lynch directed the actors as co-writer Tess Clark looked on.
Beginning with a slideshow presentation of photographs showing both the history
of rowing as well as snapshots of the 1987 U of M crew, the evening went off
without a hitch.

Casting director Lynn Blumenthal lent her considerable talents by rounding up a
dream cast, all of whom volunteered their time for the evening. Mike Rylander,
Stephen Pelinski, Bob Davis, Sara Marsh, Jonas Goslow, Maren Bush, Steve Yoakam, Sally Wingert, Brandon Ewald, Andrew Hovelson, Sue Scott. Not pictured: Toussaint Morrison.

Tess, Brad and John began the evening with thank you’s, introductions, and a little bit of storytelling.

All of it in honor of the winning Crew: Coach Lee Fielder, Tom Altenhoffen, Brad Melby, Jessica Vanderscoff, Pete Hernke, Kevin Diaz-Lane. Then and now.

Tom Altenhoffen, Brad Melby, Jessica Vanderscoff, Kevin Diaz-Lane, Pete Hernke.

Photos courtesy of Robb Mitchell, Susan Austin, Pete Hernke.

Read a review of the evening in the MplsStPaul Magazine.

To view all media on file, visit the Press Archive.

MINNESOTA ACTOR JOHN CARROLL LYNCH TO DIRECT “REMEMBER MINNESOTA” SCRIPT AT THE RITZ THEATER

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minnesota actor John Carroll Lynch (“Fargo,” “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “Zodiac”), will direct a workshop reading of his next film, “Remember Minnesota,” at the NE Minneapolis Ritz Theater May 14. The reading is open to the public.

“Remember Minnesota” follows the against-all-odds, victorious season of the 1987 University of Minnesota Crew team who came from their rusted corrugated tin hut on the Mississippi banks and, for the first time in their history, went all the way to the coveted rowing regatta championships to compete against the most powerful teams the Ivy League had to offer.

Lynch collaborated on the script with screenwriter Tess Clark (“The Fast Lane,” “For the Record,” “Young Americans,” and “Refuge”). As a producer, Clark was at the helm of the ESPN series “Celebrity Golf” and won many festival awards for her short film “The Middle Passage.” In-demand film and television director Mikael Salomon (“Hard Rain”, “Rome”) has agreed to direct the feature film of “Remember Minnesota.” Salomon is a two-time Oscar nominee for cinematography (“Backdraft” and “The Abyss”) and has won numerous awards for his camerawork and directing, including an Emmy in 2002 for directing the miniseries “A Band of Brothers.”

Lynch was told the story of “Remember Minnesota” in 1991 by his financial advisor, Brad Melby, who is the inspiration for the script’s protagonist, Brad. “After sharing the story and seeing people’s reaction,” Melby says. “I knew my experiences needed to be more than just a memory. This was confirmed by John and Tess, true professionals who literally worked for years to bring this story to life.”

The Minneapolis-based arts organization Screenwriters’ Workshop will present the reading under their ScriptNight banner at their regular host theater venue, the newly renovated Ritz Theater in NE Minneapolis. Several notable actors will read at the event. Lynn Blumenthal Casting is bringing in all the actors to the Ritz stage.

“This project has been a real labor of love,” Lynch says. “And to finally have it gathering momentum and nearing production is exciting. I got my start in the film industry here in Minneapolis, and to be able to come back here and launch a project that’s as positive and inspirational as this one, is a tribute to the experiences and the people here that helped shape me.”

The event’s sponsors include the law firm of Fredrikson & Byron, LLC, Ameriprise Financial, Ltd., Lynn Blumenthal Casting and the Minnesota Film and Television Board. MNFTB executive director Lucinda Winter said that ScriptNight “provides film lovers with a unique opportunity to experience firsthand the foundation of all great cinema—a well-written script interpreted by A-list actors.”

———————
WHERE: The Ritz Theater, 345 13th Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN

WHEN: Monday, May 14, 2007, 7:00 p.m.

COST: The event is free to Screenwriters’ Workshop members; $10 for general public.

BUY TICKETS ONLINE: ticketworks.com.

ABOUT SCREENWRITERS’ WORKSHOP: ScriptNight is a program of the Screenwriters’ Workshop, a non-profit arts organization supporting writers and their scripts for film and dramatic media, and fostering collaboration with producers, directors, and actors in a workshop setting. For more information e-mail scriptnight@mac.com or visit the Website.

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Minnesota actor John Carroll Lynch will direct a workshop reading of his 2008 film, “Remember Minnesota,” at the NE Minneapolis Ritz Theater 7 p.m. May 14.

Lynch began his career at the Guthrie Theater and has appeared in “Fargo,” “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “Zodiac.” He co-wrote the screenplay for “Remember Minnesota,” which follows the against-all-odds, victorious season of the 1987 University of Minnesota Crew team. The sport had scant support here, compared to the well-funded East Coast college teams that traditionally dominated the competitions. Still, the hometown crew, housed in a decrepit corrugated tin hut on the Mississippi riverbank, went all the way to the coveted rowing regatta championships to challenge the toughest teams the Ivy League had to offer.

The university dedicated its new $4.6 million boathouse for the rowing teams on Friday, May 4. The old facility, which had been scheduled for demolition, will remain standing as a location for the film until shooting here is completed, according to Susan Austin, the project’s publicist.

The Ritz Theater is located at 345 13th Avenue NE, Minneapolis. Tickets for the event are $10. For more information call (612) 659-8292, email scriptnight@mac.com or visit the Screenwriters’ Workshop website at ice.mm.com/user/mnsww.

Colin Covert • 612-673-7186 • ccovert@startribune.com

Read the story online here.

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According to Tess’s eye witness account, the room was abuzz with downright stereotypical accents. Chris darted through the room with tireless enthusiasm, made sure to keep one eye on the soccer game playing on the overhead screens, announced to his cohort Lucinda that their rental car had gotten a flat tire, marveled that springtime in LA feels a lot like springtime in Minneapolis, and professed his love for horror films.

David Anderson, Minnesota transplant and the LA-based columnist for Mpls/St. Paul Magazine, had a much more professional account in his blog. He writes:

****

Guthrie alum John Carrol Lynch—who plays the suspected killer in the new film Zodiac and played Frances McDormand’s husband in Fargo—was the star power of the Ice Pack night. An affable presence, he’s heading up the production of Remember Minnesota, the inspiring true story of the 1987 University of Minnesota crew team.

“It shows the beauty of sport as well as its grotesque brutality,” Lynch told me. With great detail he then went on to describe the corrugated tin hut behind the power plant on the Mississippi River where the University of Minnesota crew boats are kept—hopefully a future location for the film. He’s truly passionate about this project—so passionate, in fact, that when he co-wrote the project with Tess Clark, he didn’t think to write a clear part for himself. A reading of the script is set for Monday, May 14, at 7 p.m. at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis as part of the Screenwriters’ Workshop series, ScriptNight.

****

It was a fun evening by all accounts. And the biggest take-away was that the Minnesota Film and TV Board will not only go the extra mile to lure filmmakers to their state, but they “worked their butts off for four months” according to Chris to develop a really cool website. So check it out!

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