I served as editor for the first three short films: "Skokie"; "Austin"; and "Tampa." Rita K. Sanders edited the final segment, "San Francisco."
The film screened at the historic Paramount theater in downtown Austin. While I have had a number of films screen here in the past, it never gets old when your work plays at the Paramount. The theater is almost one hundred years old. It can seat somewhere near 1,200 hundred patrons. It's home to live performances (I saw Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band there a year ago), red carpet premieres, and the Classic Films Summer Series.
With a warm and funny introduction by Paul Stekler (who represented co-sponsor the Department of Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas at Austin), plus some further kind words by film programming director Curran Nault, director Kyle Henry was brought on stage to thank everyone for coming to the screening.
The opening credits for Fourplay sets the mood in graphic detail. Like the rest of the film, its playful while it also doesn't shy away from the content it explores. I think the credits is a great lead in to "Skokie," a short that manages to find the cross section between desire and absurdity.
This post will not serve as a review of the film (seeing as how you would never trust my judgement on it) nor will I go into detail as to how I think the audience responded to each segment. Let's just say I think the fun and adventurousness of the project is found in how each short has the potential to elicit a wide range of reactions from its audience. Each one has the potential to be just as divisive it has the potential to be embraced. I think we entertained 99% of the audience Friday night, but there may have also been a few who felt the movie crossed a line for them - and that's perfectly fine.
Afterward, we had ourselves - as Kyle quipped - Altman-esque Q and A. This project was years in the making and involved a number of talented cast and crew that took up the entire Paramount stage. We provided insights into some of the productions elements in the movie; Carlos Trevino, the writer of three of the shorts, discussed his inspiration, including a personal revelation even I had not heard before; and our only four legged member of the cast - Sassy the dog - made a delightful appearance.
I was not expecting to be called up seeing as how large the cast is, but I was humbled and honored to be the last to be invited up to the stage by Kyle as "the man who put these all together." (Full disclosure: It was a team effort shared by myself, Kyle, Rita, and producer Jason Wehling).
Curran asked if the project had an impact on our own sexual lives. Glad I didn't have to answer that one! He also asked everyone at one point how we got involved with Fourplay, and we went one by one telling our stories. The common thread: We all wanted to work with Kyle and the project had a significant impact on each of us. For my part, I explained that I was working late one night in the halls of UT-Austin RTF (probably in 2009 or 10... hmmm....) when Kyle pulled me aside out of the blue and asked, "Will you screen something for me? It's over twenty minutes and I'm just looking for a fresh pair of eyes." We had been familiar with each other's work (and hung out at local parties and bar gatherings); he provided amazing notes and assistance on the first feature I edited, Spencer Parsons' I'll Come Running. While I jumped at the opportunity I was also nervous. What if it isn't good, I thought. I don't want to tell Kyle I don't like his movie.
He showed me "Fourplay: San Francisco." It was just Kyle, Carlos and me in a screening room at UT. When it was over, I felt bad for a different reason: I had few notes. I really, genuinely loved the movie. What the hell were they showing it to me for? Isn't it done? I thought. Kyle, always the consummate professional, was just trying to find ways to make it better from where it already was. Maybe they just needed a cheerleader that night because they found one in me. I was an instant fan of the project.
I knew he had three other segments to come as he was making each short one at a time. Seeing as how Rita did such fantastic and beautiful (seriously - beautiful) work with "SF," I just assumed she would cut the next one. But Rita moved away from Austin (now based in LA, she's doing great!), and then I got a call from Kyle asking me if I'd help him with "Austin." He was so apologetic that he didn't have much to pay me, but I knew I'd be gaining invaluable experience and mentorship if I could cut even just one of these shorts for him.
And I did. And when "Austin" was done, things were quiet for a little while as he balanced editing a documentary and prepping "Tampa." When he called me for "Tampa," I thought, Well, he still wants to work with you - didn't screw this one up, Fabelo! (Something like that, I'm sure, if not exactly like that). And we cut "Tampa," which is the most purely visual storytelling I have ever done seeing as how there's nary a line of dialogue. And finally, after some time went by, he called me again for "Skokie." Voila, Fourplay was assembled into one feature from four beautifully complex, vibrant parts.
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