Universal Groove
Encyclopedia
Universal Groove is a long-delayed independent film starring Corey Haim
, Chris Mulkey
and Anne Nahabedian. It was officially released on DVD in December 2007
.
Jim (Corey Haim), a film director, struggles with writer's block
.
Eve (Anne Nahabedian) , a painter, searches for inspiration.
Beamer (Jordan Perlis) is a stockbroker looking to escape from a hard day at work.
Gina (Rami Yasin) is a party fixture, who likes being around people.
Zed (Robert Rudman) is a waiter who needs a reason to let go of his pain.
Candy (Kianha Daniels) and Kane (Marie-Eve Blackburn), are party girls are ready to go on a moment's notice.
Push (Corey Besner) is an opportunistic dealer.
Each of the main characters grapples with one of these themes while attempting to wrest themselves from the problem that currently confronts them: Jim has writer's block and is late on a difficult deadline; Eve is wholly uninspired; Beamer has just lost a pile of money on the stockmarket; Zed is too wound up to enjoy life; Gina is uncomfortable in her own skin; Candy and Kane have nothing to ground them in life except each other; Push needs a party to confirm his existence.
The original version also intended to explore the global connection that exists between people as a party grows. However critical footage was stolen during a robbery at a post-production facility, and thus this element was lost.
Writer/director Sandeep Panesar completed the screenplay during the winter of 1998/1999. The shooting of particular scenes and some western footage took place in a single day at Upper Canada Village during March 1999. Other shooting took place during a week-long excursion in May 1999, leading a crack team of four guerrilla filmmakers through Los Angeles
, Las Vegas
, and Searchlight, Nevada
(where the film's closing scene was shot). Until this point, the film's pre-production and initial production proved to be easier than the producers had imagined. However no one could have predicted what was to come.
Principal photography began on July 11, 1999 in Montreal
, continuing for eleven days around the city. For Montrealers the return of Corey Haim to his home city was media-worthy, and the production was followed relentlessly, inciting visits from People Magazine and other large media interests. Haim's presence on set was marred by his inability to stay drug-free and perform at his peak. He was frequently noted to be confused and high; leading to his overdose during production. The tight schedule allowed little time for Haim's recovery. The film wrapped on July 22, 1999, leaving producers with approximately 36 hours of digital video footage to comb through.
Before post-production, the producers took a one-year hiatus on the film while they experimented with digital effects, post-production processing tests, and interviewed post-production facilities. In 2000, the first facility proved unable to complete the editing process due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict which caused them to back out of the deal six months in. A second facility was found. However due to the dwindling post-production budget, the producers needed to raise more finance in order to complete the film. The film went into hiatus for three further years. At the end of 2003, post-production once again began in earnest, only to come to a halt when the studio was broken into in mid 2004, nearly shelving the project completely.
In late 2005/early 2006, footage began appearing on the internet, made accessible through torrents, peer-to-peer file sharing networks and on websites. Initially the producers had the unauthorized material removed from sites, but toward the beginning of 2006, footage was moving so rapidly over the internet that it became too difficult to prevent. Ultimately, the producers released the escaped footage on the internet to waiting fans.
Universal Groove went on indefinite hiatus while the producers tried to determine whether the production could be salvaged.
In 2006, the project was revived when director Francois Garcia involved an acquaintance who was interested in film editing and creative consulting. Between Garcia, Panesar, and a new post-production facility, a plan was crafted to rebuild the film while preserving as much of its intended vision and integrity as possible. In December 2006, Garcia and Panesar released a clip on Youtube
, inferring that the film would be released shortly afterward.
A press release issued in July 2007 stated that the film would be made available to fans and collectors as a limited edition DVD later that year. However, this would not be the first time the film was slated for release. The film was eventually released on DVD in December 2007.
The final version of the film contains alternate takes of some scenes that were released on the internet, and some scenes for which the original footage had been stolen but had been assembled. The end result is a stitch of high quality scenes with the story as originally intended as possible. The intended running time was 92 minutes, however in spite of the break in the film sits at around 100 minutes.
e.g. All parties hit a groove at one point when the ebb and flow is natural and anticipated. You are able to ride that wave and be one with the music, the people, and its rhythm. This is the moment when your party hits its Groove. There is another moment that occurs just before the party begins the steep tumble toward its end. At this new moment, just before the party climaxes, your Groove reaches its apex and connects itself to all other parties reaching their apex around the world. Each apex is a point that connects to each other by tapping into the Universal Groove. In that instance, we are all connected...
Corey Haim
Corey Ian Haim was a Canadian actor, known for a 1980s Hollywood career as a teen idol. He starred in a number of films such as Lucas, Silver Bullet, Murphy's Romance, License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream...
, Chris Mulkey
Chris Mulkey
Chris Mulkey is an American actor who most recently appeared in Against the Wall, Cloverfield, the NBC TV movie Knight Rider, and as a corporate executive in season 7 of 24...
and Anne Nahabedian. It was officially released on DVD in December 2007
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
.
Synopsis
Universal Groove is an opportunity to experience the pre-millennium underground party scene through the eyes of eight people who all tap into the Universal Groove - the moment when a party connects everyone to each other. Each character starts the night with a personal mission, but all leave the party changed by their interactions. The film uses an after-hours backdrop to draw eight characters together at one event - Groove. Each is pulled through a night of inspiration and escape through drugs.Jim (Corey Haim), a film director, struggles with writer's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
.
Eve (Anne Nahabedian) , a painter, searches for inspiration.
Beamer (Jordan Perlis) is a stockbroker looking to escape from a hard day at work.
Gina (Rami Yasin) is a party fixture, who likes being around people.
Zed (Robert Rudman) is a waiter who needs a reason to let go of his pain.
Candy (Kianha Daniels) and Kane (Marie-Eve Blackburn), are party girls are ready to go on a moment's notice.
Push (Corey Besner) is an opportunistic dealer.
Themes
Universal Groove explores many different themes, each centering around the film's eight characters. These themes include free-spirited drug use, release, escape from one's troubles, the first-time experience, homosexuality, and man's everlasting struggle to blend in and leave a mark.Each of the main characters grapples with one of these themes while attempting to wrest themselves from the problem that currently confronts them: Jim has writer's block and is late on a difficult deadline; Eve is wholly uninspired; Beamer has just lost a pile of money on the stockmarket; Zed is too wound up to enjoy life; Gina is uncomfortable in her own skin; Candy and Kane have nothing to ground them in life except each other; Push needs a party to confirm his existence.
The original version also intended to explore the global connection that exists between people as a party grows. However critical footage was stolen during a robbery at a post-production facility, and thus this element was lost.
Filming and post-production
Universal Groove was shot in the then emerging digital video format. The producers felt that this medium would allow the gathering of additional B-Roll footage that may not have otherwise been shot. At the time, the technology was quite new and had only recently made accessible to independent filmmakers for modest fees.Writer/director Sandeep Panesar completed the screenplay during the winter of 1998/1999. The shooting of particular scenes and some western footage took place in a single day at Upper Canada Village during March 1999. Other shooting took place during a week-long excursion in May 1999, leading a crack team of four guerrilla filmmakers through Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, and Searchlight, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
(where the film's closing scene was shot). Until this point, the film's pre-production and initial production proved to be easier than the producers had imagined. However no one could have predicted what was to come.
Principal photography began on July 11, 1999 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, continuing for eleven days around the city. For Montrealers the return of Corey Haim to his home city was media-worthy, and the production was followed relentlessly, inciting visits from People Magazine and other large media interests. Haim's presence on set was marred by his inability to stay drug-free and perform at his peak. He was frequently noted to be confused and high; leading to his overdose during production. The tight schedule allowed little time for Haim's recovery. The film wrapped on July 22, 1999, leaving producers with approximately 36 hours of digital video footage to comb through.
Before post-production, the producers took a one-year hiatus on the film while they experimented with digital effects, post-production processing tests, and interviewed post-production facilities. In 2000, the first facility proved unable to complete the editing process due to an unforeseen scheduling conflict which caused them to back out of the deal six months in. A second facility was found. However due to the dwindling post-production budget, the producers needed to raise more finance in order to complete the film. The film went into hiatus for three further years. At the end of 2003, post-production once again began in earnest, only to come to a halt when the studio was broken into in mid 2004, nearly shelving the project completely.
Studio break-in and release
On the morning of August 18, 2004, editors arrived at the Universal Groove post-production facility to find it vandalized, and robbed. Other films at the facility had suffered a similar blow in that they had all lost footage. Of the 36 hours of footage originally shot, only 12 remained. The stolen 24 hours of footage contained screen tests, B-Roll footage, digital effects tests, post processing effects, test trailers, assembly scenes from the film, and unedited shots for critical scenes necessary for the development of the plot.In late 2005/early 2006, footage began appearing on the internet, made accessible through torrents, peer-to-peer file sharing networks and on websites. Initially the producers had the unauthorized material removed from sites, but toward the beginning of 2006, footage was moving so rapidly over the internet that it became too difficult to prevent. Ultimately, the producers released the escaped footage on the internet to waiting fans.
Universal Groove went on indefinite hiatus while the producers tried to determine whether the production could be salvaged.
In 2006, the project was revived when director Francois Garcia involved an acquaintance who was interested in film editing and creative consulting. Between Garcia, Panesar, and a new post-production facility, a plan was crafted to rebuild the film while preserving as much of its intended vision and integrity as possible. In December 2006, Garcia and Panesar released a clip on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, inferring that the film would be released shortly afterward.
A press release issued in July 2007 stated that the film would be made available to fans and collectors as a limited edition DVD later that year. However, this would not be the first time the film was slated for release. The film was eventually released on DVD in December 2007.
The final version of the film contains alternate takes of some scenes that were released on the internet, and some scenes for which the original footage had been stolen but had been assembled. The end result is a stitch of high quality scenes with the story as originally intended as possible. The intended running time was 92 minutes, however in spite of the break in the film sits at around 100 minutes.
What is the "Universal Groove"?
The Universal Groove is the moment when each and every party in the entire world is connected at once; you can feel that moment when the party you are at hits its own groove.e.g. All parties hit a groove at one point when the ebb and flow is natural and anticipated. You are able to ride that wave and be one with the music, the people, and its rhythm. This is the moment when your party hits its Groove. There is another moment that occurs just before the party begins the steep tumble toward its end. At this new moment, just before the party climaxes, your Groove reaches its apex and connects itself to all other parties reaching their apex around the world. Each apex is a point that connects to each other by tapping into the Universal Groove. In that instance, we are all connected...