Memories from the Set: August 9, 2009

We decided that we had much more than a trailer out of the footage we shot with Jack & Eddy, but not quite everything we needed for a completed short film, so with only weeks to edit & post, our team (including respectively brilliant cinematographer Eric Adkins & editor Brandon Balin) made a mad dash for Academy Award consideration – as documentaries must play in the theatres for at least one week prior to August 31 in order to qualify?!  Jack would laugh at me every time I would say that I wanted to sit between him & Jeannie at the Oscars- but he moved mountains to be there for the shoot, because he agreed with me that whether or not we even got a nomination, it was important to put the truth in front of the Academy voters one way or another.  So, Jack & Chuck jumped back in the van and drove down from the Seattle Hemp Fest just in time for our 2^nd Day of principal photography at Big Vision Studios in Burbank, CA on August 9, 2009!

There was delicious organic catering provided by the Green Truck, Make-Up & Hair by Celebrity Stylist, Mario Lara, and you can see great pix on WireImage by Becky Sapp of some of our favorite celebrities & activists, like Scott Levy, Rochelle Balin, Ralphie May, Rob "420" Griffin, Money Mark, Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion, Bruce "King of Pot" Perlowin, and DJ Dre Ghost, who all showed up at the literal drop of a hat to support this important cause:

http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls====384682

Everyone donated their time and it was really beautiful to see inspirations within the movement meeting each other for the very first time!  It was a long exhausting day, but Jack had his Double Barrel Double Venturi Ricocheting Vortex Effect Pipe close to the monitor and people’s spirits were high!  I was so proud of this brave group of outspoken Freedom Fighters and reminded of the important lesson we learned from the Vote For Change Video Postcard Campaign I co-directed with the pop icon, Shepard Fairey- that nothing can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for Change.

Check out this awesome article written by Matthew Henss of OC Weedly that captures the spirit of the special day:

Cultiva Interview about Emperor on Urban Grower!

I had the honor of meeting and interviewing Remo of Urban Grower in Vienna during Cultiva and he shared some great memories of Jack Herer & how Jack's "Hemp Bible" affected his perceptions of Hemp! He then turned the cameras on ME & here is a fun 3 minute clip about our doc, featured on Urban Grower's YouTube channel:



Obviously, as indicated by my voice (or lack thereof!), I had a great time enjoying Viennese hospitality and really overdid it talking & smoking... thanks to Harry Schubert of Cultiva for inviting us to participate in such an important emerging market for the movement. & Thanks to Remo & Advanced Nutrients for such a great & informative site - to find out how you can be an Urban Grower with "Freaking Huge Big Buds" - you should definitely check out http://www.urbangrower.com on the regular:

Check back with us soon for our exclusive footage from the High Times' Cannabis Cup & Cultiva!

Melissa Balin
producer/director