Film Courage: When you look at a script whether you plan to produce or direct it,
how are you analyzing it to see if this is a project you want to be a part of?
Joey Travolta, Filmmaker: Well with Carol The Bells movie most of it I mean I've developed a lot
of the scripts that we did end up making because I had development deals with
several studios but they never got made that's why it went independent with them
putting them together and some of them have certain elements that's do it and
maybe some cash or whatever but like for Carol of the bells
I was in Bentonville at the Bentonville Film Festival [Arkansas]l and we always make short
films at the studios so up until the time that I was I I was doing like two
features a year and then when I started doing the programs I did a couple of
documentaries but I hadn't done a feature in a while but at the workshops
throughout California we teach camera we teach lighting set building anything
that goes into filmmaking we teach we develop a short film and that film
becomes a lesson plan for that semester so we're constantly making content so I
looked at the overall picture we have six studios that have pros working there
and all these students that we've trained I said why don't we do a feature
it's time to do a feature and at the film festival I had run into a woman
named Gail Williamson who is an agent for folks that are neuro-diverse and we
were on the same panel and I said hey I said you you have any scripts I'm
looking for something that features somebody with a disability that's simple
to do small cast simple locations and that's when I read carol of the bells
and it met that criteria I'm looking to do you know because like in Bakersfield
the community works with us so locations you can get for free
they just opened their doors to you there so you're getting really good
production value we made a great deal with the hotels and the the the way we
did it was each facility like Bakersfield has mine I own and the other
ones are like franchises so they sent two pros down and two students and then
we used all our students that were ready to work to make this and so the criteria
for that was limited locations getting as much production value as you can with
no money and again its borrowing stealing whatever but it's going in and
you know going in to someone's house and saying hey you know we'd love to shoot
here we don't have any money would you let us use your house and finding some
beautiful locations and people working with you so it's a good way to learn
filmmaking you know to do without when you produce something because then later
when you have money it's like oh I remember the first time a direct that a
union issue it was Honey I Shrunk The Kids movie and all
of a sudden they had a staff of like 75 people in a production meeting and we're
talking about okay we'll do this and we'll do that it was when I just joined
the DGA I had to because I was directing an
episode John Landis was producing the show at the time he was a friend of mine
and so we're at the meeting and and we're talking about we were talking
about there was a scene where they were putting a dog on trial and I said okay I
said you know would be really cool is when that dog is sworn in if he had a
jury of his peers and have all dogs and they said we love that okay great like
that so we got all dogs and it was really cute scene and then they were
talking about you know they'd like to get someone this special outfit for it
and I was like well you know I said there's a mall right over by my hotel I
can go and get that you know after and they said you don't need to do that you
know you don't need you don't need to do anything we have people that do all that
because you can't add on a set you can't touch anything when it's a union issue
if you're the light lighting people touch the lighting crip touch grip you
know and I'm used to like you know really being involved and we needed to
move a light you move the light you know so it was it was a little tough getting
used to having that many people working with you but I did get my jury of the
peers and it was really very cute when you looked at scripts previously to
carol of the bells what were you looking for I mean it is it something that a lot
of them are created you know we developed ourselves so we
were just looking for good stories either about when we create well if not
I was involved with the creation like the movie male Navajo blues detour these
are all scripts that we were da Vinci's were these are all scripts that we
developed in-house so you just look for a really good story and I have a couple
of scripts I want to eventually do but you know I'm a little busy right now so
it's I spend all my time at you know doing camps and traveling around but I
want to do one more and I don't know what that's going to be yet so knowing
that you were a teacher I don't know if you had your teaching credential or
okay when do you think an artist should leave their day job
suppose an artist has something well they leave that that when they can
afford to you know when they can afford to do it I guess I don't know I never
really had a day job I don't think I ever had it
well the tire shop if you consider that where was this and new Travolta Tire
Exchange in New Jersey oh that was not I was changing tires up until I had a
record on the chart I got a call and and it was Jimmy Einar
and the guy said hey your record is like 50 with a bullet and I was like well
tell him I'll call him back I gotta finish balance so and so you're working
on that car what's going through your head at that moment oh it was pretty
exciting you know to have a charting record that's what you that's what you
hope for when you were an artist but I was still working at the tire shops oh
and when did you finally say listen I don't think I'll be putting in as many
hours here uh when I moved out to California I I was still I mean I was
still putting it to help out my dad and stuff like that so he's dry excuse me
sorry did you drive out did you drive no no no we flew out and I remember we
would I was stopping in at a development there with paramount we stopped in Vegas
to do the Jerry Lewis telethon and then we move right there and then I started
Sunnyside shortly after that what was your first apartment in it was in
Westwood and we got robbed so we moved to Beverly Hills and we got robbed again
so we moved further into Beverly Hills yeah it was I crazy
it was quite we got robbed like twice it was there like a rash of like burglaries
or what would really not just that you know they won they broke through the
window the other oh my god they my father-in-law who is a comedian Dick
Shawn and he was in movies like the producers and it's a mad mad world and
he used to get us gifts and it was just when those duffle bags came
they were becoming popular and on this trip he gave us three huge duffel bags
that were stuffed with Chinese newspaper and he says you gotta go this is
unbelievable because again you do a lot of traveling you're gonna need this
he goes you would be surprised what you can get in these bags so the next day I
got a Wendy and I just got married and I think was at the racetrack or something
I got a call and they said Mrs.Travolta you you know your wife just called your
house was robbed and I'm going oh man so this is Beverly Hills now they literally
took the front door in midday off the hinges and we had a goal that we still
have golden retrievers we had a golden retriever that was sitting in the middle
of the living room with Chinese newspapers all around him they used the
duffel bags to rob us so when he said you'd be surprised what you can get in
these bags they took everything but if they had gone another room over my
wife's diamond ring was in there and cash and a camera and all that but the
golden retriever was just pointing out the most expensive things and and so and
then we we move further into Beverly Hills but they left the dog alone the
dog was just said it was like I said he was probably pointed to things now yeah
that over there so did you want to go back to New Jersey
you