PJ song in documentary
Hey Everyone,
I’m Don Hardy, the co-director of the film Witch Hunt and I wanted to share a quick story with you about how Pearl Jam became involved in our film. First off, my filmmaking partner Dana Nachman and I are big fans of the band. We’re also first-time filmmakers who know absolutely nobody in the entertainment industry.
So, we’re out in middle of nowhere Nebraska doing a shoot for our film when the first notes of Long Road begin flowing out of my iPod and through the speakers. It’s the live version from the Mansfield, MA show in 2003(We use the version from Merkin Ball in the film). Dana and I both knew immediately that this was the perfect song to use at the end of the film. Not over the credits, but as an integral part of the final 6 minutes of the film. Now, we had to find a way to make it happen….with no money and even fewer contacts.
We set out to get a hold of the band’s management and seek the band’s approval. It’s no easy task, so as Dana began making phones calls, I began editing the scene together with the song. Kind of a ballsy move I guess, but I felt like seeing and hearing what we wanted to do would be the only possible way the band would ever say yes. After a couple days we got an address and a friendly voice on the phone who told us to drop off a DVD and someone from the band would get back to us…we never thought that person would be Eddie Vedder.
Yep, about 4 months after we dropped off the DVD, he called…directly! My partner Dana missed the call, but the voicemail message was one for the ages. “Hi this is Ed, from Seattle…” Truly one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. Dana returned that call very quickly and she and Ed had a simple conversation about the film, the people involved and where the cases stood now. He said he’d be happy for us to use the song, but he needed make sure it was cool with the band. In fact, his exact words were,”It’s an incredible piece of work and we’d be honored to be a part of it.”
His call came at the perfect time too. We were in a really bad place with the film. Things weren’t coming together and we were out of money. Getting a boost like that from a person you respect as much as Eddie turned the whole project around for us.
I could go on and on, but here’s the best part. Last September, after Sean Penn had come on board as the executive producer and narrator, Dana and I were lucky enough to get a couple of tickets to the Into the Wild premiere. It was a first for us, attending a huge red carpet affair in Los Angeles, so we got there pretty early. We stood in the back as people started to arrive, then Eddie came in. He went through the back, behind the cameras and out of sight to most people. Dana and I didn’t want to bug him, so we hung back. A little while later Sean came over to us to say hello. The first words out of his mouth were, “Did you meet Eddie yet?” When we said no, he said, “Well, come on.” And suddenly we were speeding through the building, following Sean Penn, on our way to meet Eddie Vedder! Never thought I’d be doing that.
In mere moments, we were there. Sean says, “Hey Eddie, these are the guys who did the Witch Hunt movie.” He reached out a hand and I shook it. We had a short conversation about our film and the amazing work he'd done on Into the Wild. Perfect. It was the thrill of a lifetime and I was so glad to be able to thank him in person, not just for the song, but for believing in us. Believing in the story we were telling. I’m sure he gets a million requests for his time and we will never forget what he has done for our little film.
Witch Hunt has been a long time in the making…about 4 ½ years. Now we have a couple more film festivals on the horizon including Denver in a couple of weeks. Then, we’ll have a TV premiere on MSNBC in 2009. Please check it out and spread the word about the film. It’s an important story about ambition, corruption and the generational damage of wrongful convictions.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Don Hardy
I’m Don Hardy, the co-director of the film Witch Hunt and I wanted to share a quick story with you about how Pearl Jam became involved in our film. First off, my filmmaking partner Dana Nachman and I are big fans of the band. We’re also first-time filmmakers who know absolutely nobody in the entertainment industry.
So, we’re out in middle of nowhere Nebraska doing a shoot for our film when the first notes of Long Road begin flowing out of my iPod and through the speakers. It’s the live version from the Mansfield, MA show in 2003(We use the version from Merkin Ball in the film). Dana and I both knew immediately that this was the perfect song to use at the end of the film. Not over the credits, but as an integral part of the final 6 minutes of the film. Now, we had to find a way to make it happen….with no money and even fewer contacts.
We set out to get a hold of the band’s management and seek the band’s approval. It’s no easy task, so as Dana began making phones calls, I began editing the scene together with the song. Kind of a ballsy move I guess, but I felt like seeing and hearing what we wanted to do would be the only possible way the band would ever say yes. After a couple days we got an address and a friendly voice on the phone who told us to drop off a DVD and someone from the band would get back to us…we never thought that person would be Eddie Vedder.
Yep, about 4 months after we dropped off the DVD, he called…directly! My partner Dana missed the call, but the voicemail message was one for the ages. “Hi this is Ed, from Seattle…” Truly one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard. Dana returned that call very quickly and she and Ed had a simple conversation about the film, the people involved and where the cases stood now. He said he’d be happy for us to use the song, but he needed make sure it was cool with the band. In fact, his exact words were,”It’s an incredible piece of work and we’d be honored to be a part of it.”
His call came at the perfect time too. We were in a really bad place with the film. Things weren’t coming together and we were out of money. Getting a boost like that from a person you respect as much as Eddie turned the whole project around for us.
I could go on and on, but here’s the best part. Last September, after Sean Penn had come on board as the executive producer and narrator, Dana and I were lucky enough to get a couple of tickets to the Into the Wild premiere. It was a first for us, attending a huge red carpet affair in Los Angeles, so we got there pretty early. We stood in the back as people started to arrive, then Eddie came in. He went through the back, behind the cameras and out of sight to most people. Dana and I didn’t want to bug him, so we hung back. A little while later Sean came over to us to say hello. The first words out of his mouth were, “Did you meet Eddie yet?” When we said no, he said, “Well, come on.” And suddenly we were speeding through the building, following Sean Penn, on our way to meet Eddie Vedder! Never thought I’d be doing that.
In mere moments, we were there. Sean says, “Hey Eddie, these are the guys who did the Witch Hunt movie.” He reached out a hand and I shook it. We had a short conversation about our film and the amazing work he'd done on Into the Wild. Perfect. It was the thrill of a lifetime and I was so glad to be able to thank him in person, not just for the song, but for believing in us. Believing in the story we were telling. I’m sure he gets a million requests for his time and we will never forget what he has done for our little film.
Witch Hunt has been a long time in the making…about 4 ½ years. Now we have a couple more film festivals on the horizon including Denver in a couple of weeks. Then, we’ll have a TV premiere on MSNBC in 2009. Please check it out and spread the word about the film. It’s an important story about ambition, corruption and the generational damage of wrongful convictions.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Don Hardy
EV Solo Berkeley 2008 1,2, EV Solo Santa Cruz 2008
Hawaii 2006 - Bridge 2006 - SF 2006 #1,2,3
Bridge 2004 - Bridge 2003 - Shoreline 2003
Hawaii 2006 - Bridge 2006 - SF 2006 #1,2,3
Bridge 2004 - Bridge 2003 - Shoreline 2003
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-my dad after hearing Not for You for the first time on SNL .
Can't wait to see the film.
Take Care.
Hail Hail HIPPIEMOM
Wishlist Foundation-
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
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It's amazing that you brought this up today. I was searching just this morning for some sort of film or documentary I could use to tie the play The Crucible -- which I am currently teaching to my 11th grade students -- into the issues and injustices that have transpired since that time (the play, of course, deals with the Salem witch trials, which remains one of the most shameful periods in American history).
If I get the gist of your film, it sounds like it is exactly what I'm looking for. My only regret is that it's not out yet...but I am excited to maybe be able to use it for next year (without breaking any "public viewing" laws, of course).
Thanks again for the awesome story.
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” - Albert Camus
Here is a link to our website. We try to keep it as current as possible.
http://www.ktffilms.com
If you're in the Denver area, please come out and join us at the festival:
http://www.denverfilm.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=22195&FID=43
Take care,
Don
Hawaii 2006 - Bridge 2006 - SF 2006 #1,2,3
Bridge 2004 - Bridge 2003 - Shoreline 2003
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Best of luck with the film.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Shouldn't you be in school, young man?
I suppose your teacher has already connected the dots between the witch trials and the Red Scare, right?
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” - Albert Camus
Maybe this story could be your Witch Hunt II.
and no, I have no clue what that is haha :P
but we just finished reading The Scarlet Letter and have been looking a lot into Protestantism and the time period
You're right, the story in Wenatchee is brought up quite a bit when we screen the film. Also, we did all of the post production on the film in Seattle, at Bad Animals and Alpha Cine. Many of the folks who work at those facilities told us about the Washington story. Scary stuff, and incidents like that occurred all over the country during the 80's. You might remember the McMartin case in Los Angeles got a ton of attention too. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/mcmartin/mcmartin.html
-Don
Hawaii 2006 - Bridge 2006 - SF 2006 #1,2,3
Bridge 2004 - Bridge 2003 - Shoreline 2003
They can buy but cant put on my clothes
Throw down my ace in the hole~~~~~~
Let's go for three in a row, no sorry i can't think of anything thats not funny. - Paul Merton
London96,Manchester00,Berlin06,London07
Thank you for sharing the story.
I just watched your trailer (very interesting indeed) and I'm looking forward to the film.
Congratulations and good luck with the festivals and premiere!
Very powerful trailer..
Will be watching this for sure..
See These Bones
I'll surely be watching this documentary.
Won't let the darkness swallow me.
http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=307828
No seriously that is great stuff. I wonder if Ed knows he's probably the coolest mother fucker (pardon me) in the world.
Sydney 14/02/2003
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Sydney 18/11/2006
Sydney 22/11/2009
EV Sydney 18/03/2011
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Melbourne 24/01/2014
Sydney 26/01/2014
EV Sydney 13/02/2014
Ed is a very cool guy.
It's growing up just like me.
Ed is the man.
Film looks like it will be a great documentary.
Where I'm not ugly and you're lookin' at me