"There are certain elements that label a film as an indie. I’m so surprised by the major studios definition of an indie film, it’s very inaccurate."
Image courtesy of http://www.angryfilmmaker.comDoes this man appear happy to you? Maybe not because his best work has been overlooked by big Hollywood distibutors.
He is known as the self proclaimed, "Angry Filmmaker". He has rubbed his blue collar work ethic elbows with some of Hollywood’s most well known Directors as a Sound Designer, most notably along side a near genius filmmaker known as Gus Van Sant, the mind behind films such as: Finding Forrester, Good Will Hunting, and To die for.
But this of course is only a mere smidgeon of Kelley Baker, an amiable every man consumed by the undeniable task involved with guerilla filmmaking. He’s a man on a mission, one that began during his high school days in Portland Oregon when he was told his love for filmmaking was one in which he could make a living. "When I found out my passion was something I could get paid for, I was surprised, " Kelley says. " It was never for the money, but I knew then filmmaking was what I’d do for the rest of my life."
At age 50 Kelley has a few well-earned Hollywood battle scars obtained by his long and often frustrating adventures with trying to get studios to market his independent film endeavors. Touring for three years across the United States to various colleges and universities, he [Kelley] emits his vast knowledge within the minds of many aspirig film students. When asked about his previous work with Gus Van Sant, which began when the two met while Gus was working on a live action film, his voice fills with a nostalgic tone, "Gus and I became friends rather quickly," he says. "We met on a film set, and before I knew it we were talking about movies and future projects."
One of those future projects was the critically acclaimed my own private Idaho, which starred Keanu Reeves and the late River Phoenix. "As far as one of my favorite experiences," Kelley begins, "I’d have to say working with Gus on my own private Idaho has to be number one. We were so young then, and we had so many great ideas."
Poster image courtesy of http://www.impawards.comA chance meeting with Director Gus Van Sant lead to this surprise hit featuring Keanu Reeves and the late River Phoenix.
Those ideas developed a working relationship covering more then a decade, and furthermore to many well- received films, one being the Oscar winning story about a whiz kid from Boston named Will Hunting (Matt Damon) for which Kelley served as a sound Editor. Since then he [Kelley] has ventured out on his own, writing, directing, and producing films showcasing the many facets of Oregon and the people residing within the state. One film in particular, "Bird Dog" is always a crowd favorite. "I love this film," Kelley says. "Honestly, I’ve gotten to the point where I no longer look for distributors. It’s frustrating when you have something original, and they tell you it’s great but they can’t market it because you’re working with a cast of unknown actors."
Which brings us to the part about being angry, and why Kelley loaded up his van, shepherded his chocolate lab named Moses inside, and headed off across the country to vent his frustrations while showcasing his quality films to film students. "I’ve been at this really hardcore for three years now, and the students are so appreciative and have good questions for me," he says. He adds jokingly, "It’s just me and my dog, and we’ve logged 40,000 miles for a good reason."
Those reasons stem from a definitive disdain he has for major film festivals such as Cannes and Sundance; you can somehow feel the angst running from Kelley’s pores as he relays his gripes about the A-list film festivals, and how there so called independent films have actors everyone seems to know. "To me a true independent film has unknown actors and production staff working within a small budget," he says. "There are certain elements that label a film as an indie. I’m so surprised by the major studios definition of an indie film, it’s very inaccurate."
Low and behold Kelley’s anger will not allow to him to give up doing what he loves, recently his film, Kicking Bird, released during 2005, and constructed on a true indie budget for the same price as a modest used car ($6, 000 to be exact) tells the story about a young teenager named Martin "Bird" Johnson, and his penchant for simply running because he often has to as it seems no one likes him. But while doing so the manipulative high school cross country team coach has his eye on the potential prize of Martin’s gift of being fleet of foot, has also done well, and this all from a film shoot spanning only eighteen days! Furthermore, older work, such as the independent release of Gas Cafe, which has been quoted as being an ode to early editions of The twilight zone, and Samuel Beckett’s Godot, have caused positive reactions within the indie film community.
So don’t pay attention to the caption under the picture here below, it comes from thestar.com, not from me.
