Welcome to Bernadette's blog

Photo stills from my new film The Stronger One 2012

2012-01-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

Goal Setting

2012-01-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

Setting goals for the new year at times seems exhaustive....Instead I have started small with daily goals....So far I've achieved 3 of the 10 goals today, and it's only 10:30am.....Not bad.....So now it begins....On with the baby steps! Bring it!

Welcome the New Year!

2011-12-31T10:34:00.000-08:00

I am grateful for the new year coming and happy that the old one is gone. It was not too bad a year for me, but for many, it was terrifying and awful....2012 looks busy and constructive....Many goals to achieve...So let's get on with it!
Happy New Year!!!!

Christmas finally

2011-12-18T20:34:00.000-08:00

It has been a long, creative week, but the film is in the can. The bulk of it anyway....I think it's going to be a good one. I feel it...When you work hard and do it your way, it always feels better...And now I'm ready for the holiday and the new year to come...Cooking, baking, being with friends and loved ones, hiking, reading the classics, meditating and napping...A graceful end to a fairly good year, compared with the 3 years before. No gift exchanges, just being around people I love. What a great gift! Merry Christmas to each and everyone!

Rehearsal with good actors

2011-12-05T04:19:00.000-08:00

It's exciting when rehearsing actors for the first time...The beginning or the germination of something always sparks ideas for new images, provided one has great actors to work with...And in my new film, I am blessed with two extraordinary actors...A good film requires 80% casting and the rest is passion, guts, technique and luck....I think I have a good one this time....

Morning!

2011-12-02T08:58:00.001-08:00

Morning! Yes the morning after two blustering windy nights. Trees are down in Pasadena where I want to film. Could not even get there yesterday. Maybe it was a blessing that I could not film there on December 5th and 6th....Life has a way of reminding you to be flexible...

A Stormy Sunday

2011-11-20T07:22:00.000-08:00

Don't you love stormy Sundays? A Bronte novel and a piping pot of Earl Grey calls you to take part. Today after reading the New York times over my morning cup of joe, I'm picking up an obscure novel of Charlotte's called Vilette. Yes I have read it many times, but I never tire of reading Charlotte's work. She's an inspiration.

Going in the right direction

2011-11-15T12:27:00.000-08:00

When you're going in the right direction, the universe follows you. Always go in the direction of your dreams, not somebody elses.

Details

2011-11-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

So I go once more into the maze, trying get a location for my shoot. I hope it turns out...I would love to have a producer to help me with this, but hey, when doing dogma, you cannot be too choosey!

Pre-Production

2011-11-12T15:44:00.000-08:00

It is quite an ordeal when one takes on a short film by one's self. There's scheduling, casting, locking locations, costumes, camera, audio, set design, budget, etc...And that's just pre-production. Then there's the edit, fundraising and distribution...It's incredibly challenging, but there is nothing that I would rather do and I am completely grateful that I have a chance to do it!

I'm building a new website

2011-11-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

Building a new website at Danu Films...Working on new re-working of film...Life is good. More later....

Getting to do it the right way

2011-10-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Take it or leave it...When I was in graduate school I had a bad experience with a certain teacher who shall not be named...She was against my thesis film from the start. The first words out of her mouth were "It's old." Of course she had not read the script nor did she even know who August Strindberg was and on top of everything this person had never done a film in her life. Since she was a first-wave feminist, and had not graduated from that role in a VERRRRRRRRY long time, she proceeded to insult me and stop me from making the film the way I wanted to make it...Talk about a shitty predicament to be in. I ended up doing my film, but from the moment I started the film it did not feel right. What I realized years later was that I was seeking the approval of an inexperienced amateur, who had no right to stifle my work and creativity like that. I learned a great lesson to never to do that again. I'm doing the film again now, a few years later, the way I initially wrote it and envisioned it and all the dots are falling into place. It feels right in my heart and in the marrow of my soul to film it this way....
DON"T EVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU HOW TO DO YOUR ART! Just do it!!!
And to all of you teachers out there who are unfulfilled artists....Stop messing with other people's creativity. If you have a theory get up and do it. Don't impose it on your students. Thank you and till next week.

The end of August already

2011-08-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful summer, full of reading, writing, relaxing, gardening, traveling, working hard, and sharing great food and wine with friends. Finishing up new adventures and progressing to new heights...Cannot believe summer is almost over but looking forward to the Fall....Again...starting anew...

Inspiration

2011-05-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

I'm in the zone again...Writing, thinking, re-writing, etc...It seems like an endless process, but after it's finished, I feel a great sense of accomplishment and relief. To become more inspired, I go to a museum or a theatre piece, or listen to an opera. Somewhere, somehow, I catch a spark of inspiration and it helps me back to the beginning again...Allowing the process helps in completing it. Getting it out of your body onto a page. It is not as immediate as taking a photograph, but by the end of it, there's a diamond. Whether rough or soft, it's the work, and one needs to respect it. Good or bad.

Being in Los Angeles

2011-04-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Another lovely day, another writing project underway...Settling in... feeling glee... but missing getting tea and my bubba dee...may beeeee....

Being here!

2011-03-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

David Lynch is right. The light in Los Angeles is so beautiful. Especially with the smog cleared after the rain. Getting my photos of actors and their reels up soon. Hang on everyone. Work is being done.

Lovely City of Angels

2011-03-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

Much to the dismay of many of my friends, I love Los Angeles. No I don't like the traffic, the bad drivers, overpriced everything, and elements of the ridiculous...But there are so many possibilities here. A collective of multi-talented people that I can only learn more from...It's a joy to be here...

Cleaning up to make way for the new

2011-01-30T07:44:00.000-08:00

Back home from Sundance...Wonderful films, great artists who inspire me to keep searching as an artist and a human being...Going into the places of misunderstanding and seeking to understand and then to be understood...A new desk that allows me to stand as I write and create...cleaning out closet, books, clothes, and negative thoughts as the rain falls...A good and healthy cleansing to start the year off right...I am ready...

Sundance

2011-01-15T07:39:00.001-08:00

Packing for Sundance. Excited about this season's films. More to come this week! See you there!

2011 - Hello body!

2011-01-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

Recently, I began yoga again after a long hiatus - a ten year hiatus! Had it been that long? My body certainly feels the ten years and now I'm trying courageously to release ten years of sitting in a classroom or looking at a computer...Sitting and staring at a computer screen has been potentially hazardous to my health, so much that I am in the process of lifting my desk up and standing while I write on the computer...I might even be tempted to get a treadmill to place underneath so that I can walk and write at the same time....The yoga has left my body sore, but the years of neglect are releasing...Sleeping better and creating more...It's all linked...Hello 2011...Year of release and discovery! Welcome in!

The end of 2010

2010-12-22T12:20:00.000-08:00

Many things happened this year and I am forever grateful for the wisdom I gathered. I feel healthier and happier for it. Needed this year to merge creativity with action and in manifesting this, I welcome 2011. It's going to be cool!!!!

Thanks and Giving

2010-11-24T20:52:00.000-08:00

On this holiday, I always take the time to give thanks for my beautiful life and try to give as much as I can to friends and people in need. It does not take much. And it feels good. A little kindness makes everyone's day better...

Fall Back

2010-11-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

I love when we push the clocks back, when we get to wear sweaters and watch the leaves color and fall, and sip ginger root tea. Favorite time of year...Blessed and graceful...A peaceful end to another year.

Please vote today!

2010-11-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Exercise your rights as an American citizen. VOTE! It is a responsibility and a privilege. Enough said.

NEVER LET ME GO

2010-10-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

A Dystopian Romance about children raised to not know the real world. Raised to be sacrificed for the good of science. Creepy. Still lingering with me through my days and nights. Thinking about how beautiful life is in all its oddities and absurdities. And tragedies. A gem of a movie.

Cyber-Bullying

2010-09-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

I am deeply shocked and saddened by the recent case of the Rutgers student who killed himself due to the true selfishness and unethical behavior of a few kids who had no right to do what they did. I hope there will be more legislation regarding cyber-bullying...It has got to stop. It is killing our children.

A lovely day for a wedding

2010-09-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

Today on this equinox day before the harvest moon, I attended a lovely wedding out in the redwoods. Tranquil, fecund, earth around the newly married couple, impromptu music, a true celebration of Truth, Love and Understanding...Congratulations Pete and Amanda! A love that is truly rare and beautiful.

Awake at 3:30 am

2010-09-08T04:01:00.000-07:00

I've been training lately; getting up early, eating right, setting goals. In the Fall after Labor Day, I set goals and always seem to accomplish them by the end of the year. The Fall is the end of the year, but it seems to be a new beginning, a shedding of skin to make way for the new. Only I'm so excited about this time of year that I awake at 3:30 am!!! What am I thinking? I feel something good on the horizon.

Filming "real" people

2010-09-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

I did a film shoot yesterday with a friend who needed a biographical tape for her online Accounting class. At first, she wanted to be seen as very "very" serious, but after seeing herself on camera and viewing how "serious" she was, she got comfortable, lightened up, and eventually started revealing the fun-loving person that she truly is inside. And it was a lot more fun filming her as well! I love my job, especially when I can bring out the true essence of people.

Lee's 60th Birthday In Paris

2010-08-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

I have so much footage of my time in Paris. After a few months, I always like to look at all and start de-constructing it....Here is Lee's favorite raw footage. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqbZV9ZgfGs

Eat Pray Love.....Hmmmm.

2010-08-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Julia Roberts and will always go and see her, especially in this movie adapted from a book I truly enjoyed. The problem I had with the movie was the direction. There is not enough conflict in the movie to contemplate the major breakdown/breakthrough this woman is going through. It was too easily handled like a made for tv version of Glee. The stakes were not high enough for me to care. This person is having a nervous breakdown-- Everything in her life is turning to smash and she wants out of it...She wants to make a new enlightened life for herself. And the director just fell into the Hollywood trap of it, turning it into a little more than serious romantic comedy. Unfortunately it came up so short of its message. Tepid at best.

How to deal with Narcissists, Victims, Splitters, etc...

2010-08-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

Judith Orloff has written a great book on Emotional Vampires. You know. The people that drain your energy. Covet you. Envy you. And then put you down for it once they get their hooks into you. And then when mentioning it, take NO responsibility for their messed up behavior. Orloff's book offers an enlightened approach to these people. I have employed Orloff's suggestions and have found true emotional freedom from the Major League Draculas! Here is a video link to dealing with narcissists. Now I know how to spot one. Enjoy!

Project Runway

2010-07-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine, Christopher Collins is on Project Runway Season 8. I am wishing him the best and hoping like mad that he wins! He's a very talented designer and an extremely sweet man. Tune in July 29th at 9:00 pm on Lifetime!

Beware of the spiritual posers.

2010-07-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

When someone asks me if I'm spiritual, I always answer yes, of course, but I end the conversation right there from now on. Because in all honesty, I am not attached to any one thing in terms of spirit and I cannot fully describe it. I've read about Buddha, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, Zen, the Bible, and the Tao de Ching as well as Rumi, Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay and countless other New Age Writers. I also love Nietzsche, Plato, Aristotle, Camus, Huxley, Barthes and Folcault. There are many teachings and lessons I find and discover all the time by reading these texts. They sooth my intellect as well as enhance my creativity. But I try not to force my interpretations of those ideas on people. I try to practice it everyday, whatever it is. Sometimes, I don't do too well with it, because I'm human and I can really fuck things up at times. I can just say that I am aware and that I practice. Within the past 2 years, I've been running into people who claim that they are spiritual, yet they don't seem to practice what they preach. And Brother, are they loud about it! For some reason they have missed the point. They keep wanting to get, get, get, but they fail to realize that they need to give, give and give without expectations of getting anything back. They are given so much, yet the next minute, they are still feeling empty, so then they start coveting your talent, your life, taking your money and violating your personal boundaries, all the while talking about THEIR spirituality. It's quite absurdist. It's like a play by Genet. I have seen this SO many times, and with great compassion, I just say, "They just don't get it, so kindly avoid them, LIKE THE PLAGUE." Be very, VERY careful of these people when you are on your spiritual journey. They are so full of their own shit, there isn't any room for spirit to dwell. Proceed compassionately yet cautiously!

Inception

2010-07-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

A mind-bending dream logic film. A must see...over and over again. Because everything we see is still just an illusion...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3XzUYd6nrU

Be Here Now by Ram Dass

2010-07-15T12:44:00.000-07:00

I finally picked up a copy of Ram Dass' Be Here Now, written in 1971 about his journey from being a Harvard Psychology Professor Richard Alpert to a spiritual profit. To this day, Ram Dass still practices his teachings that he learned while traveling in the Himalayas. Many have followed him. For example Wayne Dyer sees Ram Dass as his spiritual guru. In my journey of higher consciousness, I am sorry I did not pick up this book sooner. In deep meditation the words in his book transfer thoughts of pain to thoughts of pure love and possibility. No one is bound by negativity, unless they let it. We all have a choice to live our life with compassion and focused, serious love. I cannot say that it is easy, but I have learned so far that my deep meditation is getting a lot easier, by just calming down my left brain chatter, not giving it any power. By clearing my head, my life work gets more creative and focused. I can't really label it except to say that "it is."

Great to be home

2010-07-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

My journey through Paris and London ended on a sweet note. I am happy to be home. Met so many wonderful people and it was great to catch up with old friends. Old friends give you a sense of belonging, no matter how much space has passed in between. Memories come alive and dance around, reminding you of who you were then and how far you have come...Age is a good thing...It shows how well you've danced through life! Keep on dancing!

Dreaming of Paris

2010-06-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

I am on another journey...this time to Paris...perhaps my favorite city...at least one of my favorites. I have not been there since 2001 before 9/11...When I think of how different the world was then and how much my life has changed, I wonder if I will view it with the innocent eyes I had back then. I still have a sense of wonder and adventure, but there might be some patina on my pov, but I'm still so excited to go and this time meet up with great friends, take photos and walk the lovely boulevards! Paris, Here I come!

The BUBSY

2010-06-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

My cat is hilarious. Especially when he's asleep. Out all night, he catches up on it a lot of it during the day. Any questions?

Getting to Re-Know you!

2010-06-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

The mind is funny. Well, at least my mind is funny. The other night I was listening to an old musical and started thinking about my long lost friend Barbara from school, who I have not seen or spoken to in 20 years. I started thinking of our great times together, and in one of my crazy dreams that night, she was sitting on a lounge chair sipping a diet coke, asking me to call her. They next morning I was looking through early photos and found 2 old pictures; One of Barbara and a picture of two of her kids. I had to give it a try to find her. I searched the internet, found one of her sons on FB and then found her number. I just got off the 2 hour phone call with her and it was as if we never parted our lives....It was oddly magical. Since I last saw her, she re-married happily and is a grandmother. We laughed like old times the way we used to laugh...Both our lives went through a lot but the two of us turned out to be happy and content with who we were and who we now are, as I always knew we would. She asked me to visit when I'm on the East coast next. I think I'll look up flights!

To FACEBOOK or NOT TO FACEBOOK!

2010-06-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

Within the past few months, something weird has been happening on my FB page. If too many people are on it at once, half my friends get deleted and then I receive these emails like "Hey, was it something I said?" The first time it happened, I sent a global out saying, "I did not delete you", but that did not seem to help. After getting too much spam and wasting too much of my time, I am slowly weaning off of FB. I keep it there for people who are far away, family and who I am networking with...But for people that I can call up on the phone, or because they live 5 minutes away from me, I do not see the point of putting them on my FB page. I'm old fashioned I guess, but there's nothing like a human voice and human contact that outweigh the social media of this age. I'm always more comfortable seeing someone face to face to share my ideas and thoughts and emotions. And since I have weaned off of FB even a little bit, I'm seeing more friends, and socializing the way I used to, and physically, mentally and emotionally I feel more fulfilled...More content...More at peace...I guess I can't help being human, but I always like the flesh and bones of a human so much more than words from a human. I say this with a wink and a smile, because I Am still on FB, but I'm just taking a break from virtual reality and checking out my material reality with new eyes. I'm back and it feels good!

Winter's Bone

2010-06-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

Waiting in the cold at Sundance this year created every bone in my body a winter's bone, but it was worth the wait and a tremendous film! Catch it when you can!

The Woods

2010-05-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

After a long haul in front of a computer, writing down the bones of a screenplay, I always get out into the woods. Nature has its way with me, calming my thoughts so that I can think about my characters more vividly, and enlivening my juices so that I can come home with new ideas and work through the troubled spots. I almost feel guilty stepping away from something that I know is unfinished and needs work, but going to the rainy woods, splashing my feet in muddy puddles and listening to tranquility quiets the chatter of my left brain and opens me to my creative and peaceful side. In other words, it helps bring out the 5 year old in me! I feel lucky that she's still in there reminding me to still find some time for fun and creativity.

Another one finished!

2010-05-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

Again I feel on a roll of creativity. I have not gone back to look at what I wrote but the discipline of just sitting down and doing it releases the doubts, the struggle and the pain of it. Gearing up for another to bang out by the end of June. Then to Paris to play and film......AHHHHHH.

Anne Briggs

2010-05-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

For Daniel Paris 1989 - 2010 We will all miss you Danny.