Hey everyone! No new videos today, just me doing some talking! I know, what else is new ;-) … But, our 2nd Meet the Cast video is coming soon and Update #9 will be Behind the Scenes photos from our trailer shoot & location scout! So be sure to check back soon for all that! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading this update.
I almost always come up with my film titles very early on in the writing process, sometimes knowing the title before even beginning to write. But I had not decided on this one by the time I showed the script to Chris, Ryan, and Matt, or even once they all jumped onboard and we decided to make it into a low-budget feature film.
What’s kind of unique about Summit is how quickly the film moved into being “green-lit” after I wrote it. I kicked the idea around in my head for about 2 or 3 months (as I tend to do before writing) and then sat down at 2am one night and wrote the first draft of the script in less than 2 hours. I then didn’t look at it again for about a month (something I also tend to do). And then I went back, reread it, and revised it (that version only slightly different from the current/final version) and showed it to some of my team members, as well as objective audience type people. What I didn’t expect was for everyone to latch onto it so much and so quickly. I was getting awesome feedback; and then, before I knew it, I was posting casting notices and aiming for production in January 2013. I wrote the script in late June of 2011and was holding auditions by early December 2011. The whole process moved rather swiftly. But anyway, I’m going to stop going on and on (something else I have a tendency to do, as I’m sure you’ve gathered by now). The point I’m getting at is, in all that time, with the rapid movement into pre-production and planning for kickstarter, I had not officially decided on the title of the film.
A lot of titles were thrown around between Matt, Ryan and myself in very early stages of pre-production. After a couple of weeks of non-stop suggesting of everything that popped into our heads, I came up with Summit. Finally, everyone agreed on a title! And I absolutely love that it’s what we went with!
But, for fun, I thought I’d share some of the others that were thrown around and actually (though some very briefly) considered. So, without further ado:
Ryan’s suggestions: Dead Cold, Last Resort, and (maybe) Desolate (I can’t remember if Ryan suggested it to me or if I suggested it to me during a conversation about isolation… either way, we decided it didn’t have the right sound to it).
Matt’s suggestions: Desolate (he actually texted it to me the day after Ryan and I vetoed it on our own without mentioning it to him), also coincidently suggested Last Resort via text, and Dead End (one that Ryan & I had automatically eliminated due to a horror film already onNetflix).
My suggestions: Shiver, Bitter End, Bleak Rising, Dispatch.
Also, once Lauren Ashleigh was cast as Jesse, she jumped in on the name-game as well and threw out Trek and Trigger as suggestions.
So there you go; most were rejected due to previous films already using the title (or similar titles) and others were simply not liked by the crew members unanimously (or because they just didn’t feel quite right to me).
Hopefully seeing these title suggestions has piqued your interest a little more inSummit, and also why all those specific titles were suggested. So, for those of you who have not made your pledge yet, if you’re interested in knowing whySummit was the most suitable over all the rest, you’ll have to help this film get made by backing this project! Pledge high enough and you’ll get to watch the film and find out!
Also, side note, the very first title I came up with was one as a joke: Snowhere to Hide. I still kinda love it. If Summit were meant to be a parody, it’s totally what I would call it haha. This early suggestion led to ones like Ryan’s,Snowman’s Land, or my favorites, Slashing Through the Snow and Cold Cuts (both suggested by my younger cousin Sonia Datta). Due to my love of campy puns, I’ve decided that, on the DVD special features:
the Behind the Scenes Documentary will be called Snowhere to Hide
Deleted Scenes will be called Cold Cuts
and Bloopers (as I’m sure there will be some) will be called Slashing Through the Snow.
So, be sure to pledge high enough that you get a copy of the special features DVD with the full cut of Summit! :-)