My new movie "Tre" -- Theatrical trailer, film print chaos, etc.

While I was in Vegas volunteering for Barack Obama I got an urgent call (actually several) from people saying there were big problems with the first answer print of my new film "Tre."  The producer yelled at me for doing the Obama thing when I'm supposed to be post-producing a film.  It was an agonizing decision, but I decided to stay and I'm glad I did for countless reasons which I'll try to convey in future blogs and videos.

Anyway, I the first answer print this morning and it does have some big problems.  Cinematographer Rob Humphreys and I will be hard at work over the next 9 days to get it done in time, starting tomorrow morning with a re-do on color timing (making the colors of the light match from shot to shot). 

Here is a bunch of info about the film, what I think about it, and the theatrical roll-out that begins Feb. 1.   I didn't write that last part about "please forward" and all that.  Tomorrow night is an advance screening that I hear is 3 seats short of sold-out.

A.      ARTIST STATEMENT:

"'TRE' represents a more poetic, less political canvas for me.  In life as

with art, my aim is to give voice to those who find their self-identity

challenged by a narrowing definition of what it means to be American.  For

the Asian American community (as well as the Latino community), there is a

strong interconnection between the representation we seek in mainstream

media and the representation we seek from our government. If you don't like

the representation afforded you, you must seize the reigns yourself.  In

this way, my artistic and political endeavors are two sides of the

same coin: one side has more political discourse, the other side has more

sex scenes."

—Eric Byler Jan. 2008

Eric Byler is the director of  “Tre,” “Charlotte Sometimes” (nominated for

an Independent Spirit Award) and “Americanese.” His is also an APAP board

member and a very active activist.  His YouTube video series on the

immigration debate, called 9500Liberty, has been featured it he Washington

Post.

B.      COMMUNITY STATEMENT:

"The all-Asian cast I chose for "Charlotte Sometimes" confused some viewers

because they had come to expect an overt political commentary when

confronted with ethnic faces in American films.  My follow-up "Tre" feature

mixed Asian (“hapa”) romantic leads and also ignores ethnicity, favoring

humanity as its focus and theme.  At its core, "Tre" is an exploration of

how the idea of love, and our near religious faith in it, can lead us to

make promises we don't intend to keep, to covet what is not ours, and to

submit to impulses and compulsions we may spend the rest of our lives

regretting.  This can be true for an Asian American, a half Asian, or any

person for that matter.  In a sense, "Tre" reasserts the right of ethnic

artists to tell stories about our communities without focusing on the issue

of race…without political agenda.  You might say that claiming this right is

an artistic agenda with political implications."

—Eric Byler Jan. 2008

Eric Byler is the director of  “Tre,” “Charlotte Sometimes” (nominated for

an Independent Spirit Award) and “Americanese.” He is also an APAP board

member and a very active activist.  His YouTube video series on the

immigration debate, called 9500Liberty, has been featured it The Washington

Post.

C. THEATRICAL TRAILER:

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fm6z7Rpjjw

D. SYNOPSIS

Tre arrives unannounced at a secluded mountain home where his friends Gabe

and Kakela allow him to crash on their couch.  But Kakela becomes

increasingly annoyed with Tre when he begins a revenge-fueled sexual affair

with her best friend, Nina.  As Kakela watches Nina's marriage unravel, she

begins to question her devotion to Gabe. Unsure of her motives, she accepts

a dare devised by Tre -- a simple 10-second experiment that changes her life

forever.

Sexual competition and moral ambiguity are the only constants in Eric

Byler's searing follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2003 Independent

Spirit Award nominated film, "Charlotte Sometimes," the sexy anti-romance

celebrated by film critic Roger Ebert as a "breakthrough for Asian American

cinema."

“Tre” was co-written by Byler and lead actress Kimberly-Rose Wolter

 (“Kakela”) also featuring Daniel Cariaga, Alix Koromzay and Erik McDowell.

Winner of the Special Jury Award at the San Francisco International Film

Festival.

www.trethemovie.com

PREMIERES IN LOS ANGELESIN LOS ANGELES ON FEBRUARY 1st:

Laemmle's Sunset 5 (8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood, CA 90046, 323.848.3500

SHOWTIMES: 12:30, 2:45, 5:10, 7:30 & 9:55

Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS AND CAST on Friday (2/1) and Sat (2/2) following the

7:30 pm shows and Sunday following 2:45 pm

Laemmle's One Colorado (42 Miller Alley, Old Pasadena, CA  91103,

626.744.1224)

SHOWTIMES: 12:45, 3:00, 5:25, 7:40 & 10:00

Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS AND CAST on Friday (2/1) and Sat (2/2) following the

7:40 pm shows and Sunday following 3:00

CHICAGO THEATRICAL PREMIERE FEB. 8TH Facets Cinematheque

1517 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, IL

773.281.4114

Premiere Party TBA

www.facets.org)

SAN FRANCISCO THEATRICAL PREMIERE FEB. 15TH

4-Star Theatre

2200 Clement St. @ 23 rd Avenue

San Francisco, CA  94121

(415) 666-3488PREMIERE PARTY TBA

www.lntsf.com/4-star_theatre

PLEASE SUPPORT "TRE" by:

1)      Please attend one of the opening weekend shows and help the movie run a

second week!

2)      Organize a group of 25 ppl to attend one of Sat 2/1 or Sunday 2/1 shows:

Laemmle Group Sales

If your group wants to come to a specific film on the same date and time,

fill out the online form to make a group rate request. You bring a printout

of the e-mailed confirmation to the theatre which enables you to purchase

discounted tickets at the box office for $6 each. Requests can be made for

any number of people from 25-100. If your group is more than 100 please call

(310) 478-1041 to check for availability.

3)      Post a comment to IMDB PROFILE IMDB Tre

4)      Request it on Netflix

5)      Forward this email on to your list of friends….