Gita and Aron's Wedding - Behind The Scenes...

For those of you who are interested in the amazing FREE wedding Gita and I were given in Maine a few weeks ago-- courtesy of Real Weddings Maine and the 60+ wedding vendors who joined forces to form RWM-- I thought I would offer to you these links as a full tour of the wedding... a six-part blog posting on 'Style Me Pretty' wedding blog which takes you through the entire 3-day event...

Style Me Pretty – 6 Part Wedding Blog...

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/11/11/veterans-day-wedding/

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/11/11/veterans-day-wedding-part-ii/

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/11/11/veterans-day-wedding-part-iii/

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/11/11/veterans-day-wedding-iv/

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/11/11/veterans-day-wedding-v/

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2009/11/11/veterans-day-wedding-vi/

It pretty much sums up the gift of a lifetime Gita and I received. Hope you enjoy it. We sure did!

The Way We Get By heads to Washington DC

Today is a big day for THE WAY WE GET BY! The team is heading to the Hill for a special screening. The keynote speaker is Dr. Jill Biden and the Maine Delegation is sponsoring the event. The USO has a special reception beforehand with some big names in attendance.

POV has been spearheading this event with us and we'd like to personally thank the POV team for all of their help!

Click here for additional information on the event

We've got some national press coverage of this so stay tuned for those updates. This is what was posted on Time Magazine's THE PAGE.

And at 10am today, Rep. Michaud from Maine will be making a statement about THE WAY WE GET BY on the House floor--so watch this morning and as soon as we get it, we'll be posting the video!

Up next...Walter Reed screening tomorrow so look out for details!!

It's great to get an unexpected phone call...

Throughout my grassroots marketing adventure, I've had the unique opportunity to interact with people from all backgrounds. From retired professionals, to active service members, to Vietnam veterans, every person I speak to has their own way of relating to The Way We Get By. As someone who's father and brother are both military veterans, I find the people I personally connect to the most are other family members of veterans and active service members.

These folks, often belonging to groups called Blue Star Moms, know how important the Maine Troop Greeters are, as they're the ones who receive the phone calls from Bangor when their loved-ones depart and return home from Iraq and Afghanistan. It's especially moving for them to know that strangers are opening their arms up to their sons and daughters and welcoming them back the first time the set foot on American soil.

One day last week as I was working on our Los Angeles outreach, I emailed an L.A.-area Blue Star Mom group to notify them of our screening times at the Laemmle Music Hall 3. About 30-minutes later, my phone rang and I didn't recognize the number. I picked up and on the other end of the line was Maria Riley, a Blue Star Mom from L.A.. The leader of her Blue Star Mom organization had forwarded their group members the movie info and she wanted to personally thank me for The Way We Get By. All three of her children served in the military and had gone through Bangor, Maine. Just watching the trailer had brought her to tears. According to Maria, whenever her children called from Bangor, that was when she knew they were finally home safe. Needless to say, speaking with her was incredibly moving. This post is dedicated to all military and veterans family members. The production team here at The Way We Get By sincerely hope your loved ones return home safely with a hero's welcome-- even if they don't get the pleasure of passing through Bangor!

Don't forget to buy your tickets to see The Way We Get By in Los Angeles now playing August 14-20!!! Click HERE for tickets!

Jessica Barnthouse
Associate Producer

Moviemaker Article -The Way We Get By

The MOVIEMAKER magazine article on THE WAY WE GET BY is out in stores now! Get a copy and share with your friends. Learn what we did to make our film and get it out into the world.

Click here to read the article

And then buy a copy of the magazine and support outlets helping independent filmmakers!

Maine Philanthropy Center- Annual Meeting

Today I will be presenting at the Maine Philanthropy Center's Annual Meeting about THE WAY WE GET BY! Carol Colson from the Bangor Savings Bank and of course a huge supporter of the film will be co-presenting with me and our Executive Producer, Warren Cook. Together, we'll talk about the importance of foundations and funders supporting films and the impact these films can have on social issues and the communities that utilize them.

Bangor Savings Bank has been so helpful to us-- and so supportive of the film. The bank has made the largest commitment in its bank history to the film to make sure THE WAY WE GET BY gets seen in communities all across the state of Maine.

After the presentation, I'm off to SILVERDOCS with Bill, Joan, and Jerry but we're also continuing our screenings in Maine ---kicking off in Portland at the SPACE Gallery Friday and Saturday!

Hopefully you will come out and see the film in Washington, DC or Portland, Maine this weekend!

Another SOLD OUT SCREENING!! 3 for 3!

For three nights in a row now, the NarrowGauge Theater in Farmington, Maine has had sold out screenings of THE WAY WE GET BY. People are recommending the film to their families members and telling them to come out this week to see the film. Go MAINERS!! We're off to a great start with our theater run and I am so proud of everyone helping make this film a success!!

Crowds Come Out in Maine

So just a quick update here....we got the final totals for our four screenings at the Collins Center for the Arts in Orono, Maine. According to the venue, 2, 248 people came out to our screenings! That's huge!!

We're kicking off our 12 theater run in Maine so please check out our screenings page for additional information. Tell your friends and family to come on out and see the film. We'll also be announcing theater showings in other states shortly so stay tuned!!

Maine Premiere-- Collins Center for the Arts- Orono, ME

The Way We Get By had its Maine premiere on Thursday night. Bangor Savings Bank sponsored the screening for us and treated us all like stars for the night.

It was an unforgettable evening. Bill, Joan and Jerry were picked up in a white Cadillac Escalade limo. They were surpised as it pulled up to the Collins Center for the Arts with a line of military members greeting them as they walked on the red carpet into the building. They were taken to a VIP reception where they as well as the rest of the troop greeters were honored for their service. Aron and I also received a Proclamation from the State Legislators.

People were escorted into the theater--there were about 1300 people in attendance. The Color Guard posted the flags and the Governor and a number of other key people recognized the greeters and our film. The Governor then presented us with a special award for the film and community service. It was all surreal since we hadn't even screened the film yet. Then, finally the lights were dimmed and the film began.

The audience was really into the film--the crowd laughed and cried through all the right spots and afterwards Bill, Joan, Jerry and our film team received a standing ovation. I could see Bill, Jerry and Joan beaming throughout the night. I know they never expected all of this but it was so amazing to see them recognized in this way.

The next day, there was a great film review by the Bangor Daily News in the paper and a front page article about the Maine premiere. We're told this is the largest Maine movie premiere in the state so for us--we're just blown away.

It was a night to remember and I don't think I'll ever forget it.

The Way We Get By Photos!!!

Check out our production photos for THE WAY WE GET BY on Flickr!! We will have many more photos coming soon but this will get us started. Share and send the photos on to your friends and family.

1st Rough Cut Screening-Camden, Maine

Aron Gaudet, Bill Knight, Joan Gaudet, Jerry Mundy, and Gita Pullapilly
at the 1st Rough Cut Screening of The Way We Get By.

We are getting close!!! We had our first rough cut screening at Camden, Maine to see what a general audience would think of our film and where we needed to cut the film to make it as strong as possible. The Camden International Film Festival sponsored this rough cut screening for us. 350 people were in attendance as well as our three characters from the film---Bill, Joan, and Jerry. We showed a cut that was 93 minutes--knowing that in order to get it to our target time, we would have to cut roughly 10 minutes from the film.

The showing was so emotional! We were really nervous since we were showing this rough cut for the first time. We really didn't know what people would think. But when the lights came up and we went to greet our characters, we were shocked to see that people were cheering and clapping. We received two standing ovations and the crowd cheered our characters! Everyone we spoke with really connected with the film and said that this film was speaking to them. We stayed in Camden over the weekend and were stopped by a number of people on the street who came up to us, hugged us, and thanked us for making this film.

Aron and I are still overwhelmed by the response we received in Camden as well as the e-mails since then from those that have seen this first cut. We can't wait to see what happens at our upcoming rough cut screenings before we begin submitting to film festivals! Keep your fingers crossed and please continue to help spread the word about the film!

Independent Film Week- NYC September 2008

Aron and I just returned from Independent Film Week (IFP Market) in New York City. For the filmmakers out there, you NEED to attend this week when your film is close to ready. There were 75 documentary films chosen for this week. We had the opportunity to meet with key film festival programmers and distributors. One on one meetings are arranged with industry professionals who are interested in your film. We came to NYC with a number of meetings and then had just as many side meetings while we were there.

One of the highlights of the week was meeting other filmmakers who were accomplished in their own right and were working hard on some amazing projects as well.

For a few years now, other filmmakers told us we should apply to IFW. I now know why so many people talk about IFW. This week will not only benefit The Way We Get By but also our future projects!