From Adam Abrams, HC Mailing List, March 1997

Subject: Melanie's New Project - Inside Details!
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 19:38:44 -0800

Hi Creatures!

OK. Hang on to something. Have I got a scoop for you!

I have been contacted by the director of the new independent film which Melanie Lynskey is to star in!!!

What's more, he needs our help with a key aspect of the production! (Being a cautious fellow, and to avoid being deluged, he wishes me to withold his name and email for now - so I will just use his first name, Mark. However, I am more than happy to pass along anyone's questions or comments to him!)

Here's the details (and a little update on what Mel's ben up to). The film is tentatively titled "Foreign Correspondents" and is set to film in July/August in LA.

To quote Mark: "It is a feature film split into two separate stories. Mel has agreed to star in the first story, as a young woman living in LA whose lonely life is shaken up by these mysterious postcards she receives, which are meant for somebody else... The character is actually American; I've been waiting for some time for Mel to send me a tape of herself trying out the Yankee accent. I told her if she just doesn't feel comfortable with it, I can make the character a New Zealander with no sweat.

"I spoke to her last in late January. She's going back to school this month in New Plymouth, and she just acted on the stage in a production of Jean Genet's "The Maids," in a role she admitted felt a little too similar to hers in HC. I mailed her a couple of weeks ago with my request for the tape, so I really hope to hear from her soon. NZ'ers tend to do things a little slowly, I'm afraid!

"So why am I telling you this? Well, two reasons:

"First of all, one of the key points in my film's story involves several postcards and letters sent from France. I don't live in France. I don't know anybody who lives in France. So I'm looking for somebody in that country who can help me out by sending me proper French postcards with cancelled French stamps on them. I figured my best shot would be to find someone who was an HC fan - they might have more personal interest in helping out. So I was wondering if you could do me a HUGE favor and put something on your site saying

"ANYBODY OUT THERE FROM FRANCE WANT TO SEND THIS GUY A FEW POSTCARDS SO HE CAN USE THEM IN MELANIE LYNSKEY'S NEXT FILM?"

"The other thing is, well, bigger:

"Like every filmmaker, I'm looking for more money. Right now I have enough to shoot the film - and Mel was gracious enough to accept the part for no salary, I just have to pay for her plane fare and accomodations. But if you know of anybody (i.e. web surfers with money who chance upon the news on your site) who may be interested in either "investing" in the film (requires big bucks, professional contracts signed, potential payoff) or "donating" to it (small bucks, no contracts signed, maybe a copy of the script or production photos as a thank-you gift), that would help out so much. I don't have to tell you how incredibly hard it is for an indie filmmaker to raise money for a film."

He admits that he would be pleasantly surprised if big-time investors actually appeared, but he's happy to make use of any possibility for further financing. So I'm posting the above information and requests on my website. (Though I'm sharing his quotes more extensively with you all on the mailing list here!)

Finally, he says he is a big HC fan (of course) and is thrilled to have Melanie appearing in his film.

So there you have it! All Melanie / HC Webmasters (Bryan, Thai) - feel free
to post this information on your sites (naturally!). And if anyone can help with the postcards, email me and let me know.

It's been a delight to be in a position to share this info with everyone! Thanks and TTYS.

Adam