PERFECT 10 PRESS KIT
PERFECT 10: TECH SPECS Running Time: 1hr 44m Shot with two HVX200s in 720p DVCProHD Presented on HDCam Filmed in Seattle (Capitol Hill, Greenlake, SoDo, Aurora) and Cheney, WA Principal Photography: 14 days
DIRECTORʼS STATEMENT: LINDY BOUSTEDT
Perfect 10 is a personal story. At first I didnʼt know if I had the courage to tell it; however, when I started to toy with the idea of writing a script it was the story I had to tell. Growing up there were very few movies featuring plus-sized women who looked like me. Sure, curvy women sometimes played the funny best-friend or the perky secretary, but the story wasn't about them. Until Circle of Friends premiered in 1995 – finally a movie about a women who looked just like me and who stayed that way throughout the whole film. She didn't lose weight to gain happiness or the boy; she stayed true to who she was. Circle of Friends changed my life – it let me know I was okay.
In addition to being a story about personal acceptance and growth, Perfect 10 is a story of love, honesty and friendship. Specifically beautiful, dysfunctional friendships - because those are the ones worth having. The character of Libby is a friend not afraid to make you face the truth when no one else will. Relationships like this aren't “perfect” but challenge you to be the best version of yourself.
Perfect 10 started out as a movie for women but developed into addressing identity issues on all fronts, especially those revolving around ten-year High School reunions. Some people go back to these reunions to prove they survived high school and made it on their own. Some go back to recapture what they once were in their younger years. Some go to show off their growing families as a sign of success. Some go because they never left and have no other place to be. Mara initially goes to prove her worth to her unrequited first love and ends up proving it to herself instead.
At the end of the day I hope Mara inspires people to look in the mirror and love what they see. She continues to inspire me every day.
DIRECTORʼS STATEMENT: KRIS BOUSTEDT
(First, I'd like to answer one of the most frequently asked questions that comes up when people find out we, a writing/directing team, are married: Yes, after making our first feature, we're still happily together.)
As people who have long dreamed of making films, we had opted into the well-worn idea that one must make short films until some generous, external entity decides youʼre worth investing in and provides the financial means to complete a feature.
Then, in 2008, we saw several features that were inexpensively produced, made with small crews and shot quickly. But above all, they were great films with compelling characters, unique
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 2 conflict and wonderful stories! We had seen amazing micro-budget films before, of course, but for whatever reason, that year, the stars aligned and the films reached through the screens, grabbed us by the metaphorical collar and shook. They made us ask ourselves a very important question: whatʼs stopping us from making our own?
The answer, it turns out, was nothing (but ourselves). The spell was officially broken. We could do this. We couldnʼt just write like a normal team, though. That would be silly. We had to give in to our most primal, competitive instincts and make it a contest. We both started working on outlines; we would develop whichever one was finished first. I am now contractually obligated to say: “Lindy won, I suck” (if you would like to hear the accompanying “nyah nyah nyah”, give her a call).
Three months later, feverishly ping-ponging the script back and forth between our computers, the first draft of Perfect 10 was complete. Now, as Ernest Hemingway famously quipped, “all first drafts are shit.” Ours was no exception. It took another six months of writing, revising, questioning, crying, sweating and bleeding (long story) to turn that first draft into something worth making. Writing, after all, is re-writing. And so is production. And editing. The (re) writing never stops.
While the story may be based on Lindyʼs life, it is one that is incredibly personal to me, as well (I donʼt think I could write any other way). Sure, I didnʼt go back to my High School reunion to win the affection of a hunky guy (though I could name a few that…er…never mind), but I do have a deep connection with the themes: how we let the way others see us define the way we see ourselves; the redemptive power of honesty; the question of how far we'll go for second chances; and the universal need to be desired.
While our story may be female-centric, there is no gender bias in those ideas. Guys may not talk about their need to be desired but – believe me – we do.
THE LOOK OF PERFECT 10
We are gear nerds. Thereʼs no question about it. And so, when our budget became clear, we went to work trying to figure out how to use the latest, greatest gadgets, trying to cram as much technology as possible into a small production.
We scraped together some extra cash and rented an HVX200, a fancy “depth of field” adapter, a small army of lenses, follow focus accessories, LED lights, an HD preview monitor, etc. for a weekend. We wanted to run all the equipment through the paces so that weʼd know exactly what to expect when it came time for principal photography.
We started testing. And we soon realized something. All this fancy gear, while certainly nice, didnʼt fit our story. We wonʼt lie: we love shallow depth of field, love the way that light interacts with the various levels of glass in a DOF adapter. But sometimes, what you love and what you need are two different things.
Story first. Shiny equipment second.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 3 Intuitively, we always knew that we wanted to capture our scenes in long, uncut shots; that we wanted to give the actors space to explore emotions; that we wanted our characters to be integrated into, not separated, from the world around them; that we wanted the majority of the film to be handheld to help the audience feel participative; that we wanted the characters, not focal marks, to dictate movement within a scene; and that we wanted the film to have a feeling of “enhanced realism” (not heavily stylized, but also certainly not Dogme 95).
And then it hit us. The equipment was actually getting in the way. The weight of the camera rigs did not allow long, handheld takes; the careful focus pulling didnʼt let the actors be free; the lens adapter ate too much light and the tethered nature of it all meant less time shooting and more time setting up.
So we stripped it down. By eliminating a lot of the superfluous gear, we were actually able to afford a second camera, and let us just say: we couldnʼt have made the film any other way. We embraced the deep focus of the HVX200 and let it work for us, rather than trying to fight it: we used the integration of foreground and background to help underscore the primary themes of the film.
We lit the scenes with cheaper lights, which in turn allowed us to afford a greater variety – primarily high-frequency fluorescents, (a lot of) china balls, and tungsten-halogen, supplemented with DIY shop lights, gelled household fluorescents, Christmas lights, practical lamps, you name it. The high-frequency fluorescents – similar in quality to LEDs but less expensive – gave us a cool-to-the-touch, silken light that enabled us to work in tight spaces without the actors sweating buckets. The china balls let us set up lights quicker than you can say “c-stand” and provided warm, flattering, circular diffusion.
In the end, we finally got over our incessant need for New and instead let the script and the characters dictate how to film it. Form follows function; story rules us all. And efficiency never hurts, either.
LOG LINE
Mara, now hovering between the plus-size and regular-size worlds, leaves her husband at home and drags her equally outcast best friend to their ten-year High School reunion. Mara wants a second chance with her unrequited first love and learns he's come back for her. Perfect 10, a semi-autobiographical tale, is a film about identity, self-respect and the beauty of dysfunctional friendship.
LONG SYNOPSIS
Mara Andersson has the perfect life. She's recently lost a lot of weight, owns her own successful business and is married to a wonderful man.
But she can't shake the feeling that something is missing.
When a former classmate cajoles her into attending their ten-year High School reunion, Mara seizes the opportunity to finally prove to Danny, her unrequited first love, that he should have loved her back.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 4 Mara lies to her husband to keep him at home and barely manages to convince her equally outcast best-friend, Libby, to join her. Together they head back to the small town that made their formative years a living nightmare.
At first, things seem fine and Mara and Libby get some much needed therapeutic retribution against those who wronged them so many years ago. But then people from Libby's sordid past creep back into her life and Danny finally arrives. And he's come back for Mara.
But is Danny what Mara really needs?
Perfect 10, a semi-autobiographical tale, is a film about identity, self-respect and the beauty of dysfunctional friendship.
THE DIRECTORS
Lindy Boustedt Writer/Director Lindy has been producing film in Seattle for the past five years. Her love for movies started as a young musician studying the work of famous film composers. Lindyʼs artistic talent and keen business savvy came together at Eastern Washington University – where she met her muse and husband Kris.
Together Lindy and Kris started First Sight Productions through which they create promotional and fundraising videos for corporations and non-profits in addition to making films. Lindy and Krisʼ short film, Collect All Four (in which Lindy also starred), premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival to a sold-out crowd.
Perfect 10, a semi-autobiographical tale, marks her first feature screenplay and directorial effort.
Kris Boustedt Writer/Director Kris has been experimenting and working with digital video since 1998. Recipient of the prestigious Edmund J. Yarwood Deanʼs Honor Student Award, Kris formally studied film at Eastern Washington University, graduating both magna cum laude and with University Honors distinction.
He is a festival screened, award-winning director, editor and screenwriter and has had his work broadcast internationally.
As and Apple Certified Trainer, Kris has spent the last few years teaching post-production technologies at film festivals and throughout the Northwest. He currently teaches all aspects of film at Shoreline Community College. Perfect 10 is his first feature.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 5 THE CAST Karie Gonia / Mara Karie Gonia caught the acting bug early; age 11 to be exact. Her theater career began with stripping off layers of clothing in front of 200 students at an assembly. Luckily she followed her heartʼs desire instead of becoming a stripper and continued performing in front of audiences everywhere. She toured with a teen acting ensemble, won a playwright competition, and performed in Community Theater — all before her 18th birthday.
Early in her career Karie performed Shakespeare in the park with GreenStage but it wasnʼt until January 2007, when she met esteemed acting coach Colleen Patrick, that her life changed both professionally and personally. Colleenʼs method to acting is vastly different from others. She has you learn about yourself first so you can get out of the way when it comes time to create your character; thus giving your character its own voice. The complex nature of actors is that we know the characters we play exist but the characters should have no idea that we as actors exist. Colleen has taught many actors to let go, be free, and allow our characters to have their own soul.
Equally successful on stage and screen, Karie has most recently been seen on screen in the lead roles of Kay in 4:44 and Mrs. Bordeaux in Film Haze. She is looking forward to taking this journey with Mara; one she hopes will inspire women everywhere towards greater self- acceptance and love!
Morgan Elizabeth / Libby http://www.morgyliz.com/ Morgan Elizabeth began acting in first grade, but it wasnʼt until she took a mask course from Don Correll (who received his masters in acting from the University of Washington) that Morgan began to develop her craft. Through the use of a neutral mask that took away the ability to speak, Morgan learned how to internalize emotions and use her body to bring to life different characters.
In 2002, Morgan studied film at New York University. Continuing to study acting while pursuing her film degree, she spent her entire Sophomore year learning from Marketa Kimbrell. This is where Morgan was first exposed to the methods of Stanislavski and the various interpretations of his teachings. Another acting professor, Tish Hill, asked Morgan to join her acting group, which propelled her into a two year intensive journey that brought her craft to a whole new level.
Hillʼs training was developed through various conversations with acting coach, director, and author Larry Moss. With a small, select group of dedicated actors, Hillʼs Acting Group taught Morgan how to breakdown and analyze a script. Experimenting with exercises and meditations from all of the different styles taught her how to discover a character and bring them to life. The mentality of the group was not to follow any one process of acting, but to try different techniques so that each actor could discover what worked for them.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 6 Aaron Heinzen / Danny Aaron Heinzen performs around Seattle in both film and theatre. Acting highlights include Horatio in Hamlet, a disgruntled customer with a real dog in a backpack in PC Panic by Charles Waxberg, and Kenneth McAllister of the Irish play A Night in November, a one man show. His favorite part about acting is working with a group of people towards a common goal of storytelling. When he is not acting he loves reading books and getting outdoors in the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest.
Gavin Sakae McLean / Topher Gavin Sakae McLean is a 2008 graduate from Cornish College of the Arts and has been performing in such stage shows as the Seattle Shakespeare Touring Cast of Othello and Romeo and Juliet and in Backwards Ensemble Theater Companyʼs The Rez as I Saw It as the part of Bear. He has recently appeared in a film short for Oni Productions and another titled Checkstand for Two. Mclean is very excited for his feature film debut as Topher and one day hopes to be in more film and theater than Clint Eastwood.
Thomas J. Brown / Steve http://www.alifelessordinary.com For his entire life, Thomas has enjoyed entertaining others. His first real role was in a commercial for United Airlines, which he shot while in kindergarten in Honolulu, HI. In fifth grade, Thomas was cast as the main character – an alien from outer space – in a class production.
Thomas excelled in his high school drama class taught by Wayne Kischer, receiving high praise from Mr. Kischer and his fellow students alike. In an “intro to theatre” class in college, he directed a scene from Much Ado About Nothing, as well as played the role of Benedick. Although his degree is in the technical aspects of filmmaking, Thomas played many roles in his college classmatesʼ films and earned kudos from his teachers for his acting.
Lately, Thomas has been wanting to expand his acting career, which is what attracted him to Perfect 10. Thomas feels the character of Steve is a natural fit for him, and will be his first feature role.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 7 Ernie Joseph / Rick http://www.erniejoseph.com Growing up in a small town outside of St. Louis, MO, Ernie became accustomed to performing in front of large audiences at an early age. Primarily a singer and musician, he moved to Seattle via Philadelphia in October ʻ91 and embarked on a musical journey for the better part of the 90s.
In the spring of 2006, in an effort to overcome a fear, Ernie decided to take an acting class. Since that paltry beginning heʼs continued to train and has acted in over 30 films, starring in more than half of them. He has also worked extensively in commercial and print and currently co-stars as Ben in the web-series Family.
Wonder Russell / Liz http://myspace.com/wondersings Wonder Russell is a papillon-owning, boy-recycling Make Believer with credits ranging from backwoods church talent shows to feature films with fancy-pants marquee names. She lives on Seattleʼs Capitol Hill and attends snobby rock shows when sheʼs not in a fabulous project like Perfect 10.
Recent feature film credits include The Choke, Mozart and the Whale and The Cutter.
Her on-stage education and passion for all things theatre also led to roles such as Thyona in Big Love, Catherine in Proof, Hermia in A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream, and the title character in Emerald and the Love Song of Dead Fishermen.
She also writes and sings songs about how great it is to be broken-hearted.
Brooke Bailey / Cindy Brooke Bailey is an actor, director and educator in Spokane, Washington. As a performer, Brookeʼs credits include London in the feature film The Choke, Elizabeth in the stage premier of Dusk, and multiple roles in All in the Timing. Recent directing credits include Museum, Antigone (Bertolt Brecht), Our Town, and Cootie Shots.
She works extensively in the field of community-based theatre and recently co-wrote and directed a production that addresses issues of police power in Spokane. Brooke has a masterʼs degree from New York University and is a member of the theatre faculty at Whitworth University.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 8 THE CREW
Susannah Lowber Assistant Director/Production Manager Susannah, a self-proclaimed Freelance Filmmaker Extraordinaire/Starving Artist, was instantly addicted to the creative chaos that is feature filmmaking after walking onto her first “real” movie set a few days after graduating college. Ever since, she has been helping filmmakersʼ ideas go from the script to the screen in various production roles with a smile, a bit of sarcasm, and can-do-girl-Friday attitude.
Susannah has worked on feature films in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and California with crews from all over the globe. Learning what to do and what not to do from big name veterans and up and coming rookies.
When not on set, Susannah can be found painting, writing, documenting, and dreaming in the sunny Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles that she calls home.
Aaron Thomle Camera Operator/Gaffer Ever since spending a good chunk of his childhood watching old war movies and reruns of detective shows instead of doing schoolwork, Aaron has had an interest in working with film.
After pursuing acting in High School and Community College, Aaron decided his future was behind the lens. He studied film at Eastern Washington University and graduated in 2003. For a few years after college he worked as a production assistant and editor for a small production company specializing in educational films dealing with natural disasters. Some of his work there was broadcast nationally on PBS.
Since then he has worked as a freelancer, usually as a camera operator, and has frequently collaborated with Kris and Lindy on a variety of corporate and narrative projects including their short film Collect All Four. He plans on writing and directing his own fiction and nonfiction films in the not so distant future.
Kit Boyer Sound Recordist A prior First Sight Productions collaborator, Kit Boyer returns to the fold to wield the boom pole once more.
A budding filmmaker in his own right, Kit has fulfilled most major production roles through the Film & Video program of Seattle Central Community College. While his ambitions lie in directing, he attacks every position with the same fervor and dedication. Kit is here to make film happen, no matter what.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 9 Harmony J.K. Arnold Hair/Makeup/Costume http://www.harmonyarnold.com Harmony is an accomplished costume designer and stylist (hair, makeup, wardrobe) with over ten years of experience in stage, print, and now film. She is Assistant Professor of costume history and design at Seattle University where she manages the costume shop at the award winning Lee Center for the Arts. Harmonyʼs 30 plus production credits include one Off Broadway production, ten world premieres and ten West Coast premieres. 2008 Seattle-area production credits include: Seattle Repertory Theatreʼs Boom, Hand2Mouth Theatreʼs Project X: You Are Here, Onward Ho! Productionsʼ WAKE and Undine, which kicked off the 25th anniversary of the NW New Works Festival held by On the Boards.
Tim Vernor Location Manager Tim started working in film about a year in a half ago when a friend asked him to help out as a production assistant on a feature. He has gone on to work on four other films from the contacts he made on that shoot. He likes being a location manager because he can use the logistical skills he learned from running his own business to help the production run successfully. He also recently joined the staff of Seattleʼs True Independent Film Festival.
Brien Houston 2nd Assistant Director/Gaffer Ever since he could comprehend the basics of stories, Brien has shown an interest in the ability to tell them. He is still young and new to the film world, but has always been drawn to the art of storytelling through motion pictures. He has been working in film for two years throughout the greater Seattle area. His recent work consists of being a production assistant on the shorts My Time with Betty and Your Lucky Day, as well as doing grip work on the feature film Vital Force.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 10 Karl Gustavson Editor Before learning anything else about the craft of cinema, it was editing that first piqued his interest. At once miraculous and beguiling, the idea of finding the story of the footage, of exploring emotions through juxtaposition — essentially screenwriting, but with shots as the vocabulary instead of words — became his obsession.
Even in those, the earliest days of non-linear desktop editing, Karl could spend 15 hours in front of a timeline all the while thinking only two had passed — thatʼs when he knew he was perfectly suited for such a job.
While attending film school, Mathematics was his mistress. To some, his seemingly bi-polar academic passions were disjointed; to him, they were the perfect combination. For Karl, the arts and the sciences are like peanut butter and jelly; you can have them separately, but together theyʼre a sandwich.
Vickie Riley Assistant Editor Vickie started out in Photography when she bought her own camera at the age of 14. She majored in Photography in college and became fascinated with putting sound to picture; at the time, she had no idea what she really wanted was to edit. She went on to receive her masters degree in film/video from Columbia College in Chicago and got the editing bug there. After spending 3 years in Chicagoʼs post-houses working on everything from McDonalds Happy Meal commercials to documentaries for PBS she moved to Seattle. She had the wonderful opportunity working for the Seattle Channel for 6 years producing and directing award-winning documentaries ranging in topic from Title IX and Gender Equity in Sports to Seattleʼs Deaf/Blind Community and The Vera Project which won her an Emmy nomination.
Amy J. Enser Colorist A Washington State native, Amy graduated with a BA in film from The Evergreen State College in 2002 and continued north to Seattle to pursue her award-winning editing career. While this remains her bread and butter, Amy expanded her business in 2009 to include professional HD Broadcast color-grading. Under her post-production company, Higher Ames Productions, Amy color-graded award-winning short The Heart is What Remains and the PBS Documentary Spirit | POV Short Film Award winner, A Healing Art. Perfect 10 is Amyʼs first narrative feature.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 11 Christi OʼDonnell Composer Christi OʼDonnell is the founding owner of CAO Productions, an independent production company. She makes demo CDs for singer/songwriters, produces full albums, composes original music, and offers audio engineering services.
Christi is in love with music and has been composing for 19 years. Her first experiment with recording was on her hot pink boom box at age 9. She eventually went to school to learn about audio engineering and midi.
Her main passion is writing music and is currently composing the music for this film. She loves the story line and immediately started composing for it. She works off of emotional themes and uses a variety of sounds and instruments to bring the emotions across. Christi is very excited to be working on this film and is excited for things to come!
Topher Farrell Sound Designer/Mixer http://topherfarrell.com Even as a child, Topher was fascinated by the concept of sound. With pacifier in mouth, Topher grabbed for headphones and records and pointed feverishly at the turntable. Luckily, he was surrounded by a loving and nurturing family, and his demands were almost always met.
As Topher grew older his love of music and sound took him to pursue higher education in the field of Audio Engineering at the Art Institute of Seattle, Washington. The collegiate environment afforded him the opportunity to participate and be educated in the process of Audio Production of music, field recording, sound replacement, absorption coefficients and sound for film. He recorded and produced albums for Seattle musical talent such as The Left Hand Army and has worked on several independent feature films and shorts.
Jeromy Smith Illustrator Jeromy is a freelance illustrator battling his way out of a mundane life in Eastern Washington. Ever since he first picked up a pencil he has had a passion for anything creative. Although pen and paint have always been the form of the creativity, the real drive has been in the telling of the story through the medium. This led him to obtain an Associates in Video Production from the Art Institute of Phoenix. Since returning home to Washington he has taken up writing and had a story published in Crossed Genres magazine. He has also done freelance work for First Sight productions over the past two years, culminating in his work on Perfect 10.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 12 FILM CREDITS WRITTEN, DIRECTED and PRODUCED by: Kris Boustedt Lindy Boustedt
CAST: MARA ANDERSSON: Karie Gonia TOPHER ANDERSSON: Gavin Sakae McLean DARREN (PHOTOGRAPHER): Simon Hamlin WARDROBE SUPERVISOR: Harmony Arnold MODEL: Kat Johnson LIZ STONE: Wonder Russell LIBBY JENKINS: Morgan Elizabeth GYM JUNKIE: Meghan Doughty FASHION STORE CLERK: Alyssa Giesler PLUS-SIZE STORE CLERK: Mandy Bailey BEEFCAKE NEIGHBOR: Mike Lengel SANDY: Sara Abrahamson STONER: Michael S. Duncan CHEERLEADER #1: Erin Hemenway CHEERLEADER #2: Amanda Cherry CHEERLEADER #3: Elisabeth Kanyer CINDY: Brooke Bailey STEVE SNYDER: Thomas J. Brown DANNY THOMPSON: Aaron Heinzen PENELOPE: Emily Kratzer MR. ROBERSTON: Tom Mullin WAITRESS: Anne Murphy DJ: DJ Crow JASON: Tom Olson RECEPTION GIRL: Brooke Weatherby BARTENDER: Kevin Benson RICK: Ernie Joseph PEACHES: Mireya Fernandez KIRSTEN: Sherry Miller GRACE: Morah Brown MRS. ROBERTSON: Pat Kondas CHEERLEADER #2's SON: Tyler Cecil
CO-PRODUCERS: Aileen Boustedt Robert Boustedt Mandy Hopper Michael Eickmeyer Patricia Nelson Peter Nelson
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 13 ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Kelli Amell Kenton Vance
CREW: UPM/1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Susannah Lowber 2nd ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Brien Houston CINEMATOGRAPHER: Kris Boustedt CAMERA OPERATOR: Kris Boustedt CAMERA OPERATOR: Aaron Thomle ADDITIONAL CAMERA OPERATOR: Lindy Boustedt ADDITIONAL CAMERA OPERATOR: Kit Boyer SCRIPT SUPERVISOR: Alyssa Giesler SOUND RECORDIST: Kit Boyer COSTUME DESIGN: Harmony Arnold HAIR/MAKEUP/WARDROBE: Harmony Arnold HAIR/MAKEUP/WARDROBE: Anne Murphy PROPERTY MASTER/CLAPPER LOADER: Meghan Doughty SET MEDIC: Michael S. Duncan GAFFER: Aaron Thomle GAFFER: Brien Houston LOCATION MANAGER: Timothy Vernor PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Mireya Fernandez PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Devin Greenman PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Deb Matthews PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Mystic OʼReilly CRAFT SERVICE: Sara Abrahamson CRAFT SERVICE: Emily Kratzer CRAFT SERVICE: Timothy Vernor REUNION DESIGN: Sara Abrahamson REUNION DESIGN: Meghan Doughty REUNION DESIGN: Emily Kratzer EDITOR: Karl Gustavson COLORIST: Amy Enser ASSISTANT EDITOR: Vickie Riley SOUND DESIGNER: Topher Farrell COMPOSER: Christi OʼDonnell
MUSIC CREDITS: All I Want No One Said It Would Be Easy Performed by Ahn Trio with Susie Suh Written by Craig Minowa Courtesy of Sony Masterworks Performed by Cloud Cult a division of Sony Music Entertainment Courtesy of Earthology Records Publishing by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing and Minowa Publishing
Looking Robot Love Song Music and Lyrics by Wonder Russell Music & Lyrics by Wonder Russell Arrangement and Instrumentation by Arrangement & Instrumentation by Joe Varela Joe Varela
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 14 In Between Wars Come on Strong Lyrics by Brook Lee Lyrics by Brook Lee Music by The Brook Lee Catastrophe Music by The Brook Lee Catastrophe Performed by The Brook Lee Catastrophe Performed by The Brook Lee Catastrophe Produced by Rick Parker Produced by Rick Parker © 2005 - 2010 BLC © 2005 - 2010 BLC
What If The Sun Donʼt Shine A Devilʼs Truth Lyrics by Brook Lee Lyrics by Brook Lee Music by The Brook Lee Catastrophe Music by The Brook Lee Catastrophe Performed by The Brook Lee Catastrophe Performed by The Brook Lee Catastrophe Produced by Rick Parker Produced by Rick Parker © 2005 - 2010 BLC © 2005 - 2010 BLC
Pardon Me Music & Lyrics by Wonder Russell Arrangement & Instrumentation by Joe Varela
SUPPORTERS: Tonie Gonia Joseph Bentvelzen Deandra Hee The Boyer Family Lauren & Matt Hipp Tyrone Brown Debra Huke Sharon & Tim Bruhn Norman Johnson Wally Bush Kris Keppler Pamela Collingwood Annette Leonard Arlene Bryant & Kevin Connolly Billy D. Morey Nathalie Roy & Colin Connolly Jamie Morley Jessie Gonia Beverly Ogata Ilona Rossman Ho Liz Pilati Brian McGuire Jasmine Prieto Anthony Miles Michael Sausaman Debbie & Tom Moser Michael Shema Julie Ruffell Sarah Skilling Wonder Russell Jane De Lange Skinner Jane Spalding Robert Spencer Pat Whitney Suzanne & Gene Yellin
FRIENDS and FANS: EXTRAS: Maya & Kevin Anderson Lindsey Bekemeyer Jennifer Christian Raymond Britton Laura Jean Cronin Gabby Brooks Barbara Dolby Landon Brooks Seth Dryden Rhoda Brooks Corey Feist Tim Bruhn Steve Galatro Declan Callahan Mary Gardner Rebecca Callahan Sarah Gonia Rebecca Chu
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 15 Tyler Chu The City of Cheney Sheree Davis The City of Seattle John Driscoll Diane Kenley Meagan Driscoll Domaine Kate Duske El Rodeo Tasia Duske Michael Foster Ean A. Esch Melissa Goad Mark Fretts HD Cinema Group Jerome C Funchess III Jennifer Parker Phoenix Gabriel Jeromy Smith Brendan Genther Kacey Shiflet Ruth Gregory Marco Polo Motel Henrietta Hadley Michael Kung Theodora Hadley Monica Chilton Josh Hammar Noahʼs Bagels Michelle Hare Rainier Square Roof Park Kameron Heckathorn Road Apparel Patrick Heckathorn Romney Humphrey Chris Hoppe Runic Games Dion Keeton Ruth Gregory Michael Kratzer Ryan Hughes Travis Kubicek Seattle Central Community College John Mainio Seattle Film and Music Office Mitch Manning The Seattle Mac Store Amber Munou Seattle Parks and Recreation Marla Numberg-Oleniacz Seattle University Adam Ovenell Shoreline Community College Cassie Wharton The Spalding Household Steve Galatro SPECIAL THANKS: Subversionz Media Aero Rent-A-Car Vermillion Laura Arnold William Brody Paul Buerk Willow Springs Motel CC McKenzie Willow Springs Station Cheney Lanes/Rosaʼs Pizza Women in Film/Seattle Cheney Parks and Recreation Zach Martin at Skywalker Sound Cheney School District TCM Models and Talent Cheney Rob The Snook Family
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 16 STILLS – FULL SIZE STILLS AVAILABLE @ PERFECT10THEMOVIE.COM
Karie Gonia (as Mara Andersson) Karie Gonia (as Mara Andersson)
Karie Gonia (as Mara Andersson) & Karie Gonia (as Mara Andersson) Gavin Sakae McLean (as Topher Andersson)
Karie Gonia (as Mara Andersson) & Morgan Elizabeth (as Libby Jenkins) Morgan Elizabeth (as Libby Jenkins)
Karie Gonia (as Mara Andersson) & Morgan Elizabeth (as Libby Jenkins) & Aaron Heinzen (as Danny Thompson) Thomas J. Brown (as Steve Snyder)
Brooke Bailey (as Cindy) & Wonder Russell (as Liz)
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 17 PRESS
Link to full article: http://inlander.com/content/arts_culture_lindy_and_kris_boustedt_shoot_perfect_10_movie_cheney
Degree of Difficulty It ainʼt every day 50 people shoot an indie film on a miniscule budget, especially in Cheney Michael Bowen
Exterior. Day. We open at a park in Cheney. Two women are sitting on a bench and would be talking casually — except for being hovered over by a dozen people, todayʼs crew the shoot of an independent film called Perfect 10. Supposedly weʼre at the casual- picnic portion of the womenʼs fictional high school reunion.
There are a couple of light stands, a sound boom, two men holding surprisingly small high-def digital cameras.
“Quiet, please! Pictureʼs up.”
“Sound is rolling. Sound has speed.”
“Camera has speed.”
The girl with the clapper board announces “Scene 47, Alpha 2.”
“Whenever youʼre ready….”
The two women, off-camera but already in character, start arguing over whether to say hi to that dreamboat Danny over there. They stroll into the shot — one brazenly, the other reluctantly. Back in high school, theyʼd both lusted for Danny.
For writer-director Lindy Boustedt, high school was 10 years ago in Colville, and she was the self-described “fat girl” being ridiculed in the hallways, in gym class, everywhere. But marriage to Kris led to their dream of collaborating on a movie, and film school at EWU got them much of the cast and crew for Perfect 10. And so it was that at her real-life reunion last summer, her
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 18 answer to the predictable question was: “Actually, Iʼm writing a screenplay about us.” In the Boustedtsʼ movie, “Mara” has lost weight, gained a husband, built a successful cosmetics business — and is still carrying a torch for Danny, the guy who would look at every girl except her.
The Boustedts have co-written an “off-beat dramatic comedy” with some pointed satire: Thereʼs an eavesdropped conversation among young mothers who care less about their children than they do about their plastic surgery. (Lindy heard reports of just such a conversation at her Colville reunion last summer.) And the script is aimed directly at the self-image of plus-size women. Though Mara has her snarky side (“Come on, donʼt you want to see who stayed, who got fat, who had a bunch of ugly babies?”), sheʼs more or less dragged to the reunion by her slutty-outrageous sidekick of a girlfriend Libby (Morgan Elizabeth who gets great lines like “Iʼm the queen of causing inappropriate erections”). Despite her successful marriage and business, Mara is still searching for self-affirmation without quite being sure how to get it. Maybe if Danny pays her some attention….
By all accounts, the Boustedts thoroughly planned the shoot (a week in Cheney, then a week in Seattle). Simply having months of rehearsals (instead of the typical week or two) sped up shooting considerably. With the blocking already decided, actors could just tweak each take and then move on. In addition, says Lindy, since both she and her husband-collaborator Kris are both editors, “we knew exactly what shots we wanted.”
As Lindy Boustedt remarks, “Usually in this area, indie films are horror, documentary, or stories with a few people over the course of a day — not a movie with a number of days, locations across the state and lots of people.”
Next month, the Boustedts will finish post-production and send a qualifying rough cut of Perfect 10 to Januaryʼs Sundance Film Festival. Plans are to have the DVD ready in January for shopping around to other stops on the festival circuit like New York Cityʼs Tribeca Film Festival (in April) and the Seattle International Film Festival (May-June).
The odds may be long (Sundance, for example, selects 200 films from 9,000 applicants), and the production is on a “micro-budget” of less than $100,000. But the combination of a well- planned, relatively large-scale indie production plus the significance of the womenʼs-body-image theme have the Boustedts hoping to score a Perfect 10 on the film-festival circuit.
Visit perfect10themovie.com and facebook.com/perfect10themovie .
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 19
August 20, 2009
Link to full article: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/aug/20/filmmakers-shoot-in-cheney/
Filmmakers shoot in Cheney Movie will be an offbeat comedy, according to co-producer, an EWU graduate Ryan Lancaster - [email protected]
A few Cheney landmarks saw action last week during filming of “Perfect Ten,” the first full-length feature movie by Seattle-based First Sight Productions.
The company is owned by husband-and-wife team Lindy and Kris Boustedt, who met eight years ago at Eastern Washington University, where she majored in business and he studied electronic media and film.
“Ironically, we met while he was following me around with a video camera,” said Lindy Boustedt. “I worked in one of the dorms and we ran a program that was captured on video and broadcast on the college network.”
After graduating in 2002 they were married – with a movie-themed wedding – at Easternʼs Showalter Hall. The two moved to Seattle soon after to launch First Sight Productions but have maintained ties with the university, where Lindy is on the Alumni Board of Directors.
Their company has seen some success since it was launched five years ago, with an extensive project résumé and a short film, “Collect all Four,” premiering to a sold-out house at the 2007 Seattle Film Festival.
Boustedt said she initially wanted to film “Perfect Ten” in Colville, where she grew up, but a scouting trip for filming locations revealed the town had changed too much to provide an ideal setting. “Itʼs just not the town I grew up in anymore,” she said.
A chance visit to their alma mater on the way back to Seattle revealed the perfect stand-in, however. “We were driving through Cheney and we thought, ʻIf you cut the university out, itʼs the exact small town weʼre looking for,ʼ so we created the fictional town of Coleville.”
Boustedt describes “Perfect Ten” as “an offbeat dramatic comedy” that centers on a married woman who leaves her husband at home and attends her high school reunion, hoping for a second chance with her teenage crush.
The screenplay was co-written by Boustedt and her husband, a business arrangement which works well for them, she said, but one she wouldnʼt recommend to every married couple.
“We feed off of each other. If he comes up with an idea, Iʼm able to take it to the next level, and vice versa. I wrote the first draft of this script – just got it all out of my head – and when I handed it to Kris it was crap. Eleven drafts later, here we are making it,” she said.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 20 Tom Mullin, Cheney resident and a professor in EWUʼs electronic media, theatre and film department, was on set last week to play a small role in the movie. “Every three or four years a group of students come forward after graduation with a worthwhile script and enough energy to make it happen,” he said.
About six of the Boustedtsʼ fellow EWU alumni also played a part in the film as cast or crew along with numerous people from Seattle and Los Angeles.
Mullin said this isnʼt the first time Cheney has attracted a bit of interest from a movie maker; Spokaneʼs North by Northwest sometimes uses downtown to capture small town exteriors. The 2008 family film “Dog Gone” was shot in Cheney, and a major motion picture, “The Ward,” is being filmed near Medical Lake.
“This community is very cooperative – good about blocking off streets and things like that,” said Mullin.
Boustedt agreed, saying most locations, such as Cheney High School, Sutton Park and the Willow Springs Station Restaurant, charged nominal fees or were willing to let them film in exchange for their patronage.
“This town is such a special place for us,” she said. “Itʼs been great to be back here.”
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 21 CHS Interview: Capitol Hill filmmakers to premiere "Perfect 10" at SIFF Posted 04/29/10 12:30 AM | updated 04/29/10 08:51 AM By hobbes84k
A married pair of Capitol Hill filmmakers will be premiering their first full-length feature film at SIFF this June. Kris and Lindy Boustedt are the writers, directors, and producers of Perfect 10, an off-beat dramatic comedy that takes place in Capitol Hill and Eastern Washington. It is slated to be shown June 7th and 8th at SIFF Cinema in Seattle Center and will be released online and on DVD through IndieFlix.
Kris and Lindy met in college where Kris studied film and Lindy studied business. Together they have previously made the short film, Collect All Four, which premiered at SIFF back in 2007. They also wrote, produced, and starred in the web-comedy, Couples Therapy, and are also the creators of First Sight Productions which produces promotional and fundraising films for corporations and non-profits. In addition, Kris teaches filmmaking and film studies at Shoreline Community College.
They spoke with CHS about making Perfect 10, staying married, and being part of the Capitol Hill community.
CHS: Briefly sum up what Perfect 10 is about and what it means to you as film makers. What did you want to accomplish with this film? Kris Boustedt: The basic plot is about a married woman, hovering between the plus- and regular-sized worlds, going back to her ten-year High School reunion for a second chance with her unrequited first love. And then discovering that he's actually come back for her. The film asks that essential question: is what you wish for what you really need? Is the grass greener on the other side, so to speak? We also wanted to deal with the themes of what it means to be desired, how our perception of ourselves is impacted by how others perceive us, and the very nature of trust and honesty in relationships (marriages, friendships, etc). Lindy Boustedt: Short answer - it meant that we could do it - we could make a feature film. From start to finish. That accomplishment alone lets us know that nothing is stopping us in achieving our dreams of being filmmakers.
CHS: As your first feature-length film, how has the movie making experience compared to creating short films? Are you going to keep doing it? LB: From my viewpoint I believe that short films are a building block to features. For me I break down a feature into smaller chunks - chunks close to the size of a short film. But, when you are on set it is a whole different story. My brain doesn't know how to sleep on day 1-13 (out of 14 days of principal photography) when it knows there is still so much to do! That makes it a little difficult to function but luckily the adrenaline keeps me going. Absolutely we will do it again. It may be some of the hardest work we've ever done but it is also the most rewarding. I love everything about it - the difficulty is what makes it great. KB: While they are certainly related, feature filmmaking is an entirely different beast. I don't know if I can really quantify exactly why a feature is not simply several shorts strung together, but it's definitely more than the sum of its parts (or, in this case, longer run time). Mostly, though,
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 22 I think it just has to do with the fact that in a feature, you can create much richer characters and environments – you simply have more time, therefore you can have more gradated arcs and explore deeper the essential themes. To answer the second part of the question: we're already writing the second feature. :-)
CHS: Your production company, First Sight Productions, mainly creates short films for non-profit corporations. Do you do both types of movie making? What is the relationship between this and Perfect 10? LB: Basically we are storytellers. Whether it is a film for the silver screen or for corporations and non-profits we try to find a story to tell. It all relates. KB: Yep. Story is king. Find it and tell it.
CHS: The making of a feature film must be a very expensive thing to do. What was your budget for this film like, and how was it funded? LB: It is expensive and we did it with a very small budget. We don't really want to say what exactly we paid but we are in the category of Micro-Budget. Perfect 10 was funded primarily by us - self-financed with our bank accounts. But we also had funds contributed by family and friends. It was an 80/20 split - 80 being us. KB: Yeah, we're certainly not ashamed to say that we got a lot of support from family and friends. It was a great honor that so many people had faith in us. I can't say enough about the nature of micro-donations. Every $20 or $50 or $100 counts and matters. We couldn't have done it without them! In fact, in the credits of the film, there is a long list of supporters/friends/fans. We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude. The great thing about doing it the way we did (small donations + our own pockets) means we didn't have to answer to anyone creatively. We could make our movie the way we wanted to, and didn't have to worry about someone else forcing us to go one way or another with respect to story.
CHS: In what ways did a lack of funds limit the vision you had for the film? In what ways did it help? LB: I wouldn't say it limited us at all. We went in writing the film knowing we would have a limited budget and finding a story that could be told with locations and items we could afford. However, I wish we had more funds to pay our actors and crew more - we paid them a little but I would have liked to pay them a lot. Lack of funds is also being seen in how much we can spend on marketing. I wish we had more money for that. It is also nice, when working with locations, to have a little money to help grease the wheels. When you pay for a location you get a lot more support and flexibility from the location managers/owners. That helps. KB: I couldn't agree more. “Limit” is an interesting thing...because really, all art or creative endeavors are limited somehow. Usually money. But out of limits, I think, you can do some amazing things. I'll just add, too, that I am so happy we made the film with limited resources. We learned an unbelievable amount because of how we had to make things work within the confines of time and budget. Great learning experience, great training. Now we know we can do it again, only more efficiently. But yes. If anyone out there is reading this and has money they don't know what to do with, we'll take it to pay cast and crew more money on the next film. We need Seattle to be a sustainable filmmaking community for everyone, and that starts with paying cast and crew.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 23 CHS: You are both listed as the screenwriter, director, and producer for this movie. How did you split up the duties? Was there a lot of butting heads? LB: The only time we didn't do things 50/50 were on Pre and Post production. On Pre- production it was more of a 70/30 split with me at 70 and swapped with Kris on Post-production. Then on set since Kris was the DP he was focused on the cameras, the equipment, telling the crew what he needed and getting the shots set up and 30% on the actors. I was 70/30 with my focus being on the actors and 30% on the shot/equipment/etc. We definitely want to change this for the next feature. Hire a separate DP so Kris and I can focus on the actors together. KB: And, I mean, we'd be remiss if we didn't say that yes, sometimes we argued. Heck, we're married AND working together AND doubling up on certain jobs. But, really early on in the process we actually sat down and said that we could argue as long as we were arguing for the betterment of the film, and as long as we both recognized that the other person was doing the same thing. This way we could disagree in a safe place.
CHS: You have described Perfect 10 as semi-autobiographical. Since the movie is partially about a desire for an extramarital affair, how difficult was it to work together as a couple? Do you feel as if the movie is airing your dirty laundry in a way? Was it scary or cathartic? LB:It wasn't difficult at all. Because we know that every marriage goes through these situations - even if they don't talk about them. I think if anything it was really healthy for us to write these situations and really talk about what they mean, what the characters mean, etc. And also, I don't know if the movie is really airing any dirty laundry since we don't feel it is "dirty" per-say. We feel it is honest and real. KB: Yeah. Perhaps I'm going out on a total limb here, but I think it's safe to say that married people who say they never think about what it would like to be with someone else are lying. Is it weird that we made a movie about it, based on our own experiences? Maybe...but, hey, we're still married! We really feel that the need to be desired is an extremely powerful, universal force; one that we don't think anyone can truly escape. Now, whether you act on that, or are duplicitous about it...that's an entirely different story.
You are residents of Capitol Hill and part of the film and a lot of scenery in the movie is based in Capitol Hill. Was there a reason in particular you focused on this locale? LB: We love living and working on Capitol Hill. When we were deciding how to visualize Seattle for that portion of the movie we wanted to show the view point from the neighborhood we live in. It was a very purposeful choice to do so and makes it have a special Seattle feel.
CHS: The soundtrack also seems to have some connections to Capitol Hill. How did you find most of your music? LB: Well, one of our singer/songwriters lives on Capitol Hill - Wonder Russell. And we met her through the casting process as she not only sings on the soundtrack but plays the Liz Stone character. We really lucked out finding her! We found the rest of the music through musicians we know – the Brook Lee Catastrope has a drummer that is a dear friend (Mike Duncan) and also plays the Stoner character in the film. And the other two groups, Ahn Trio and Cloud Cult, are favorites of ours.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 24
CHS: Your first feature length film is going to be premiered here locally at the largest film festival in the United States. That must be quite a sensation. Are you nervous? KB: I now wake up every day kind of wanting to poop myself. LB: Nervous but completely excited!! I love that we are having our World Premiere in our city. KB: Yeah. It is completely, utterly, fantastically awesome.
CHS: What have you been doing to prepare for SIFF since finding out about being accepted? LB: We have been getting the word out to the press and getting our ducks in a row to promote the crap out of it once the festival starts - we need to get people to our screenings! Also, we've been building a partnership with IndieFlix. They are going to help us release Perfect 10 on DVD which will be available at our SIFF screenings for those who join us and online the day after we screen - June 9th.
CHS: You also have had a short film, Collect All Four, show at SIFF a few years ago. What was it like to be a part of such a large festival? LB: It was magical, amazing, life changing. To be a filmmaker in a festival we've been going to for years. We admire the art of film so much and it was great to finally be categorized fellow filmmakers.
CHS: What is next for Perfect 10 after SIFF? LB: The DVD release online and further festival screenings! The next festival on the list is the Okanagan International Film Festival in Kelowna, BC in July.
CHS: What is next for you two after Perfect 10? LB: We are writing our next feature film. We hope to have the script finished by the end of this summer, start pre-production this fall/winter and film it early 2011. KB: It's kind of funny. For the rest of our lives, the answer to this question will always be the same. “What's next?” “Another film.” It's a never ending cycle. And we LOVE it.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 25 ʻA movie everyone can relate toʼ Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Colville graduate makes a film
BY SOPHIA ALDOUS S-E Staff Reporter
High school reunions are a usual beast at best, reminders of bygone hopes, fears, and desires. 1998 Colville High School graduate Lindy Boustedt captures those sentiments in her new film Perfect 10, an offbeat dramatic comedy.
Written, directed and produced by Boustedt and her husband Kris, the film follows the story of Mara (played by Karie Gonia), a woman who hovers between the single-size and plus-size worlds after being teased about her weight in school.
Now a happily married, successful businesswoman, she journeys back to her hometown to attend her 10-year high school reunion and see what happened to her unrequited first love.
The story is somewhat autobiographical, since it is based loosely on Boustedtʼs own ex- periences in high school and her 10-year reunion.
“There are questions I think the idea of going to your high school reunion brings up,” said Boustedt, who still has family in Colville and Arden. “Like have I succeeded enough to go back? Guys worry about if people will notice that their hair is thinning, women worry about how they look after they have had a baby. There are identity issues that revolve around this event that are really interesting. Perfect 10 looks at those, among others.”
Lindy and Kris Boustedt review a shot together.
Libby (left, played by Elizabeth Morgan) and Mara (Karie Gonia) take time out of shooting Perfect 10 to pose for the camera.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 26 “Coleville” on film
While Boustedt talks about her high school days without bitterness, she does not sugarcoat the treatment she received at the hands of some of her peers for being the “quintessential fat girl.” She was teased in gym class and once had a male classmate tell her, “Youʼd be perfect if you were skinny.”
“I was a golf junkie, band geek and honor student, so my nerd status was taken care of,” laughed Boustedt. “By my senior year though, I was able to straddle that line of popularity, because I stopped giving a damn what people thought and developed this attitude where I had no problem speaking my mind if someone thought they could give me a hard time and get away with that.”
Perfect 10 follows life outside of high school and how those memories can resurface when faced with oneʼs past. The film was shot in Seattle and Cheney and set in the fictional town of Coleville (spelled the same way many outsiders mispronounce Colville). It was made in a span of 14 days with a micro-budget of under $100,000.
Boustedt said she and her husbandʼs original goal was to shoot the film entirely in Colville, but time constraints, plus the fact that floors at both the high school and junior high school sites were being refurbished, caused the husband/wife collaboration team to choose Cheney, where Boustedt and Kris attended film school at Eastern Washington University.
“We rehearsed the script for months prior to actually shooting and figured out the blocking, so all the actors had to do once the cameras were rolling was tweak it here and there, but we pretty much had the vision of what we wanted to create, so we were able to do it fast,” said Boustedt.
Real relationships
So whatʼs it like working with your significant other? While Boustadt joked that it was, “not for everyone,” she credited Kris with being able to write the things in the script that she didnʼt feel she had the courage to address, and to explore the frailties that surround every romantic rapport through the making of this movie.
“Our relationship is stable enough to where we could have those conversations about why would a character do this when they are already married? What causes attraction and desire, particularly when youʼre faced with an old flame? We were able to talk about those things and debate and argue and still be good friends at the end of the day,” Boustedt said.
Perfect 10 is scheduled to play at the Seattle Film Festival June 7 and 8 and at the Okanogan Film Festival in July.
“Itʼs a movie that everyone can relate to,” summed up Boustedt. “Itʼs about being able to look at yourself in the mirror and like who you see, about being honest with yourself, which are themes that men and women can identify with. Plus it was just wonderful to make. It was a lot of work, but we couldnʼt have asked for a better experience.”
For more information, go to perfect10themovie.com and facebook.com/perfect10themovie.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 27 Northwest Newbies at SIFF: Hollywood Is Not the Goal
By Brian Miller Published: May 19, 2010
Life into art: Perfect 10 directors Kris and Lindy Boustedt. Photo by: Peter Mumford
Let's say you want to make a movie and you didn't go to NYU film school. You don't have a trust fund. You're not a video-store clerk who can recite all the trivia on IMDb. You don't have Hollywood family connections. And, though your heart is set on getting into SIFF, your feature idea doesn't include violence, sex, snark, or whining hipsters. So you should just stop right there, right, because you haven't got a chance?
Each year, SIFF sets aside an undetermined number of slots in its massive schedule for locals. (This year's Northwest Connections sidebar lists 11 titles.) Is there a quota? Is it a matter of pity or pandering? I have no idea. But it's always fascinating to see which Seattle-area filmmakers make the cut. Not because their works are masterpieces, not because SIFF programmers—let alone film critics—are so discerning. Rather, because an untutored love for film shines through their efforts—the enthusiasm, the persistence, the determination to make their movie so far from Hollywood with such remote chances of ever getting a theatrical release. The festival is the goal, and since SIFF is the largest film festival in the U.S., it's a worthy one.
To get noticed, Seattle directors have made movies about sex with horses (Zoo, SIFF '07) or non-gay homosexual stunt sex (Humpday, SIFF '09), but what about that ultimate taboo— ordinary polite white suburbanites who keep their pants on?
Those characters have stories, too—like the teenagers at Mountlake Terrace High School nervously preparing for the prom in Senior Prom, a mockumentary improvised and performed by students at that same school, directed by 17-year-old Nicholas Terry. Or the two women nervously preparing to go back to their central Washington high school for a 10-year class reunion in Perfect 10, written and directed by husband-and-wife filmmakers Kris and Lindy Boustedt. There are no horses or hipsters in sight. The results may not be career-making Spielbergian cinema, but there's a pleasingly positive spirit to both endeavors. They're not aiming to shock, not aiming for Hollywood, not trying to be trendy. These first-timers just have simple stories to tell.
One of those films may be Perfect 10, whose directors recently spoke to Terry and his Mountlake Terrace classmates about filmmaking. Lindy Boustedt is frank about the true-life origins of their movie. In 2008, "My 10th high-school reunion was coming up," she says over tea at the Capitol Hill Caffé Vita. "I had recently lost about 70 pounds." Thinking back to her teen
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 28 years in Colville, a small town outside Spokane, she recalls, "I had a guy tell me he'd date me if I was skinnier."
Now happily married to Woodinville-raised Kris, whom she met at Eastern Washington University, Lindy wanted to make a film about the average-bodied women (and men) with a little extra at the waistline—those "looking to reclaim something they had in high school and don't have now, and that's a little sad."
When you're 28 looking back at 18, the distance can seem vast. A few years' growth can make a huge difference. It's a topic addressed in her touchstone film, Lindy explains, the Irish Circle of Friends (1995), in which a then-zaftig Minnie Driver tries to land the handsome hunk who seems out of her league (Chris O'Donnell). "Circle of Friends changed my life," she says. Driver's character "didn't lose weight to gain happiness or the boy; she stayed true to who she was."
In the autobiographically inspired Perfect 10, married Mara (Karie Gonia) and her loudmouth sidekick Libby (Morgan Elizabeth) drive a rented Mustang convertible back to their hick town to settle old scores. There, too, is Mara's high-school crush—considerably hotter than her schlubby husband, and the kind of guy who makes you take off your wedding ring for a night. After enough drinks, Mara declares, "I'm gonna go fuck up my marriage." (See also SIFF's The Freebie for a similar exploration of marital trust, what Kris calls the "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" syndrome.)
With a heavier heroine struggling for self-acceptance, Perfect 10 lacks the sting of, say, Neil LaBute's play Fat Pig, which takes a more confrontational approach to plus-size sexuality. It's closer to romance-novel territory than your usual indie, more affirmative than cynical—not unlike the wholesome kids in Senior Prom. Here's a case of nice gals trying to shed their niceness.
But Perfect 10 is autobiographical only to a point. Lindy and Kris are still married, and their "microbudget indie," shot in 14 days, still represents a significant undertaking for a young couple. "We could have bought a house, but we made a film instead," says Lindy. "We have no shame in renting. We can take bigger risks because we don't have to pay back our investors." (Kris estimates they borrowed only 20 percent of the budget, financing the rest themselves.)
Unlike those of Senior Prom, their cast and crew were paid, raising the budget to six figures. And unlike Nicholas Terry, the Boustedts have had prior experience at SIFF, with a short film in the 2007 festival; and since 2005 their small company has created the animated roster of sponsors that is projected before SIFF screenings. Kris also majored in film at EWU and now teaches the subject at Shoreline Community College. So they're newbies, but not exactly rookies. "We were very realistic," says Lindy. "You just gotta make it available in as many places as possible" (i.e., IndieFlix, Amazon, Hulu, and selling copies at SIFF). "We're looking at the festival run as the theatrical run." [email protected]
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 29 A 'Perfect 10' of a movie Capitol Hill plays major role in local film premiering at SIFF By Wilhelmina Hayward
■ Lindy Boustedt (on right, with husband, Kris, behind her with a camera) films a scene with “Perfect 10” characters Mara (Karie Gonia) and Danny (Aaron Heinzen) reconnecting after attending their 10-year high school reunion. photo/SARA ABRAHAMSON
Hitting the streets of Seattle to promote their latest movie are the cast and crew of “Perfect 10,” the first film from the husband-and-wife team from Capitol Hill, Kris and Lindy Boustedt, to be screened at this yearʼs Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF).
“[ʻPerfect 10ʼ] is about a married woman who goes back to her 10-year high school reunion for her second chance at a high school crush,” Lindy Boustedt explained.
The lead character is Mara Anderson, a successful businesswoman and wife, who has lost a lot of weight over the years since high school.
“Itʼs a semi-autobiographical story…. I lost 70 pounds, so I was starting to experience being stuck in between the plus-size and regular-size world,” Boustedt said. “…And then I was about to go back to my 10-year high school reunion, so I just kind of constructed my own world.”
Where the plot becomes fiction is when Mara lies to her husband and attends the reunion without him.
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 30
But many events and characters, including the two other main characters, Danny and Libby, are culled from Boustedtʼs life.
“So Danny is a guy who told me in high school if I was skinny, Iʼd be perfect, and Libby is loosely based off a best friend of mine and my sister, kind of a combination of the two,” Boustedt explained. “And so, the high school they go back to is kind of based on the high school reunion that I experienced.”
Personal touches The story also deals significantly with the issue of healthy body image, especially in women.
“I wanted to see a representation of a lot of women that are out there that are not, you know, in perfect shapes and sizes,” Boustedt said. “Itʼs really about body image, and we have a woman you donʼt normally see in a lead role. Sheʼs a healthy, active, curvy woman. So itʼs a lot about learning to accept yourself and love what you see in the mirror.”
The actress who plays the lead role in the film is Karie Gonia, who was born and reared in Seattle. She said she learned a lot from Mara, her character in the film.
“Taking that journey with [Mara] was amazing, and I admire that she sought out the truth for her own life, even when it meant taking the rougher road,” Gonia said. “You might not agree with the characters or their choices, but I think this film will strike a chord.… Itʼs all about second chances.”
Gonia added, “I think [the Boustedts] were brave in writing, producing and directing this truly personal piece.”
Being a local movie, exclusively filmed in Washington, the filmmakers incorporated their devotion to the Capitol Hill area in the film.
“We love Capitol Hill — thatʼs why we live here,” Boustedt said. “And we very purposefully wanted to show Seattle from the viewpoint of Capitol Hill.… The identities of the characters (are) about the environment they live in, and we show the environment they live in as very specifically Capitol Hill. So itʼs very obvious to us, and hopefully obvious to others.”
Part of the crowd The Boustedts met in college, at Eastern Washington University, nine years ago. She was majoring in business, and he was going to film school — disciplines that would eventually serve them well and make them a powerful team.
“He was following me around with a video camera, recording me because we were doing a project for the campus, and he was one of the videographers and I was working in the dorm,” Boustedt said.
Following graduation, the pair started First Sight Productions, a company that provides video services for clients who request video projects for their organization.
“We tend to focus on smaller businesses and nonprofits that think they canʼt afford video
Perfect 10 Press Kit • 31 projects because theyʼre too small and they donʼt really have a budget,” Boustedt said. “But because itʼs just us, weʼre able to keep our costs down and able to provide them a service.”
They also help SIFF with video services, such as creating trailers and a slideshow of sponsor logos that shows before every film at the festival. The Boustedts are avid fans of SIFF: Kris has been an attendee for 13 years, and Lindy for nine. But this year is special because they will attend as filmmakers of one of SIFFʼs feature films.
“Itʼs so freaking awesome,” Lindy Boustedt said. “We idolize these filmmakers. They are our mentors and the people we look up to and that we want to garner as much information from them as possible, and now, we are a part of that group — thatʼs like a dream come true.” “Yeah, thereʼs no other way to say it,” Kris Boustedt added. “Film festivals are better than Christmas.”
“Weʼre talking to so many cool people, trying not to be giddy teenagers at a Beatles concert,” said Lindy Boustedt. “I just want to, like, scream, ʻI love everything you do,ʼ but try to hold it back.”
Promotions Perhaps taking a more unconventional route, the Boustedts want to connect with the community about “Perfect 10.” They have put up flyers, have a website and Facebook page, but they want to talk face-to-face with people about their film. Theyʼre encouraging their actors and crew to speak personally with the community.
They are also handing out buttons with the quote, “I am perfect,” to encourage healthy body images, and their website address to support the movie.
“Even in this social networking world that we live in, we still believe in making those one-on-one connections,” Lindy Boustedt said.
The writing, producing and directing of the film took about two years and was largely self- financed. Both Boustedts work additional day jobs to make ends meet and to provide health insurance.
Kris teaches film courses at Shoreline Community College, and Lindy works in the fund-raising department at Seattle University. They say the situation works very well for them, as the colleges have been supportive of their work in film.
Itʼs show time “Perfect 10” screens at the film festival Monday, June 7, and Tuesday, June 8. On Wednesday, June 9, the Boustedts will release the movie on DVD through Indie-Flix, a local Seattle film company.
For more information on the movie, visit the website at www.perfect10themovie.com. For more information about the Seattle International Film Festival, visit www.siff.net.
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