Please vote for "A Friend's Take" on Vimeo!

Dear friends:
Please take a second to sign up on Vimeo and vote for my video, "A Friend's Take" in the Project Pushback contest!

http://vimeo.com/4957872

A Friend's Take from Project Pushback on Vimeo.

Every Little Step

Just watched Every Little Step at the Arclight, a documentary about dancers auditioning for a show about dancers auditioning for a show. I saw a community theater version of A Chorus Line with Catherine Ho in high school. I left the theater and ran to the Borders across the street hunting for the CD.

The most interesting thing about the film, I thought, was how it revealed the lineage of each character in the show as auditionees attempted to capture the essence of the roles. One thing I didn't know about A Chorus Line was that it began as a taped interview, Michael Bennett assembling a group of dancers one night to talk about their lives.

All great theatre is an experiment. A Chorus Line was based on the lives of real dancers, and in the original, those dancers played themselves. So what's interesting about the revival is how the auditionees are vying for roles that were originally created from and inhabited by other real dancers. Asian-American dancers auditioned for Baayork Lee--not just the original "Connie Wong," but the woman on whom "Connie Wong" is based. "Cassie" hopefuls danced to "The Music and the Mirror," a song tailored to Donna McKechnie's unusually large range.

What I liked about the film was its communion with the past, with the original actors and the actors who reprized their roles.

Staglevision: Birthday update

Dear friends,

Happy spring! I've got some exciting news to share with you:

FILM - "Street Kid Book Factory" Airing on Current TV
The short documentary I shot with Sarah Gilbert in Buenos Aires last year is finally playing on Current TV! Here's a synopsis and the link:

Eloisa Cartonera is an independent book publisher in Buenos Aires that sells recycled, handpainted books written by some of Latin America's most dynamic young writers. In this pod, VC2 producers Steven Tagle and Sarah Gilbert profile the publisher's founder and interview some of the young street kids who collect the cardboard and paint the books.

Watch "Street Kid Book Factory" and let me know what you think:
http://current.com/items/89633872/street_kid_book_factory.htm

WRITING - Spork Piece in Progress
I've begun writing a piece for Spork, a literary magazine edited and constructed by Richard Siken and Drew Burk. Siken has been one of my favorite poets since I read his debut collection, Crush, in college. I emailed Spork asking how I could get involved, and Drew very generously, very quirkily invited me to write a piece. I think that's all I can divulge for now, but with luck, you'll soon be seeing me in one of Spork's beautifully bound hardback issues! This will be my very first publication.

See what Spork is all about:
http://sporkpress.com

LIFE IN LA - Birthday Brunch and Beach, 4/26/09
Next Sunday, April 26, I'll be celebrating my 24th birthday at Panini Garden in Santa Monica. I discovered Panini Garden a few weekends back on a writing adventure with Amy Aniobi and Reena Magsarili. They have a Secret Garden-esque backyard patio and a breakfast panini with a side of fresh fruit that makes my mouth water.

If you're in town and want to spend an afternoon brunching and hanging out at the beach, I'd love to see you there.

Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Time: 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: Panini Garden then Santa Monica Beach
Street: 2715 Main Street (at Hill St.)
City/Town: Santa Monica, CA
Parking: There's free street parking around 6th and Hill,
or use the Farmer's Market beach parking.
Link: http://www.yelp.com/biz/panini-garden-santa-monica

Hope to see you next Sunday!

Best,
Steven
--
http://www.steventagle.com/contact

The Election Reactions

Reactions from around the US as Americans discovered their new President was Barack Obama. Featuring footage from Amy's party!

My First Rally - "No on 8" in WeHo

Dear friends,

Sunday's "No on 8" rally in West Hollywood was the first political rally I've ever attended. I caught up with some old friends, yelled and waved signs on the corner of Robertson and Santa Monica. The energy was contagious, and it felt great to help the cause.

Please vote No on Prop 8 and stand for equality in California.
http://www.noonprop8.com

You can watch my footage on Current TV here:
http://current.com/items/89484582_my_first_rally_no_on_8_in_weho

Current TV Project Updates

Dear friends,
Hope you’re all having a spectacular summer! Here are a couple updates about my Current TV projects:

1. FOOD FIGHT SPECIAL now airing
2. LITTER INTO LITERATURE bought by Current
3. OUR GENERATION’S WAR segment in production
4. I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU TRENT AND GREG screening at SIE Film Fest
________________________

1. FOOD FIGHT SPECIAL now airing
GOT RICE?, a pod I produced about the rice shortages in LA, is now airing on Current. The piece is part of FOOD FIGHT, an hour-long Vanguard and Collective Journalism special that investigates the promise and peril of using food for fuel, and the far-reaching consequences of the global fight for resources.

To find interview subjects for this pod, I visited over 20 rice-serving restaurants in Alhambra and Monterey Park. Thank you to Xiao Qi Liang, owner of ACC Chinese Fast Food, for agreeing to speak with me, and to Jerome Jiang, one of her customers, for serving as our interpreter. Thanks too to Kimpo Ngoi for sharing his family’s reaction to the rice shortage with me.

The segment that I produced runs from 31:20 – 33:20.
You can watch it below:

2. LITTER INTO LITERATURE bought by Current
I have finished editing LITTER INTO LITERATURE, the short documentary I co-produced in Buenos Aires with CJ Contributor Sarah Gilbert. The film is about the cartoneros, Buenos Aires’ unofficial recyclers, and Eloisa Cartonera, an independent book publisher where cartoneros can get a good deal on cardboard and contribute to great art as well. Current bought the doc and will be airing it soon. Thanks to Henry Goldman for bringing it in.

3. OUR GENERATION’S WAR segment in production
Current contributor Alex Paris and I have also begun work on a segment for another Current special called OUR GENERATION’S WAR. This piece examines the sacrifices that our country’s service people have made in the War on Terror. The piece attempts to document the entire cycle of service: from recruitment to extensions of service commitments, to what our service people find when they return home and the families they leave behind. For my segment, I will be profiling a service person who has been stop-lossed. If all goes well, we intend to shoot the piece next weekend.

4. I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU TRENT AND GREG screening at SIE Film Fest
My first Current pod, I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU TRENT AND GREG, will be screening at the Stanford in Entertainment Film Festival next weekend. This is the film festival’s 10^th anniversary, so the group is planning a jam-packed afternoon of screenings at Cinespace, followed by a reception. My film will screen with the other shorts from 3pm – 4:30pm, but I plan to stay for the whole event. Come check out TRENT AND GREG on the big screen—I’d love to see you there!

Date: Saturday, July 26
Time: 3pm – 4:30pm screening of short films (including mine) / 5pm – 7pm feature screening / 7pm - 8pm reception with appetizers and cash bar
Place: Cinespace / 6356 Hollywood Blvd. (corner of Ivar and Hollywood) / Los Angeles
Price: Free for members plus a guest; $15 for non-members
RSVP to Amy Taylor, ’98 at amytaylor1@verizon.net

Hope to see you next Saturday!

Sincerely,
Steven

Call for Stop-Lossed Soldiers

To Whom It May Concern:

I am a video journalist looking for a stop-lossed soldier who is interested in sharing his or her story. I work for Current TV, a cable news channel and website for the 18-34 year old demographic.

For our parents, it was Vietnam; for our grandparents, World War II—-the War on Terror launched after September 11th is OUR GENERATION’S WAR. With previous wars of this magnitude, our country as a whole was asked to sacrifice either through rationing or drafting of their service. The War on Terror—-funded mostly on debt—-has not asked much of our society as a whole, but it has demanded a tremendous sacrifice from those who entered the service before Sept. 11th and those who have joined up since. What exactly does this burden look and feel like?

Rather than focusing on stories of direct combat, we’re focusing our attention on the home front. I am working with Current journalists from around the country, attempting to document the entire cycle of service: from recruitment to extensions of service commitments to what our service people find when they return home and the families they leave behind.

In particular, I am looking for a soldier who is being stop-lossed or was stop-lossed in the past. I would like to spend a day with this person, first conducting a filmed interview, then shadowing this person to see what a “day in the life” is like.

If you would be willing to speak with me, or if you know any stop-lossed soldiers who would like to be interviewed for this project, please send me an email. If anonymity is an issue, I would be able to blur faces, etc. The deadline for submitting pieces for this Collective Work is July 23, so I would like to film as early as next weekend, July 19-20.

Thank you for your help, and for your sacrifice.

Sincerely,
Steven

P.S. Here are links to similar short documentaries I have done for Current in the past few months:
http://current.com/items/88807958_trent_loves_greg
http://current.com/items/88817993_the_volunteers
http://current.com/items/88927129_litter_into_literature

Litter Into Literature

Eloisa Cartonera is an independent book publisher where Buenos Aires’ cartoneros can get a good deal on cardboard and contribute to great art as well.

Jack Conte's "Yeah Yeah Yeah" Video

Hey everyone,

Make sure to check out Jack Conte's music video for "Yeah Yeah Yeah," a song on his Nightmares and Daydreams album.

It's absolutely stunning, and it just won an award for Best Music Video in the 2008 Alice 3-Minute Film Festival.

Jack and I have collaborated on numerous projects together. He was my director of photography on MODEL MAN, and an instrumental version of "Yeah Yeah Yeah" is featured in I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU TRENT AND GREG.

Here's the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzr32OqGlOA
If you like his music, visit him on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jackconte

Marble Madness

Thomas, Dean, and I build the world's tallest marble tower!

Lemonade Research

Here are some of the articles I've run across while researching for my new short script, LEMONADE.

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000479perfect_lemonade.php

FindArticles - Lemonade stand nets profits for soup kitchen
Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Aug 29, 2004, by CARY LEIDER VOGRIN THE GAZETTE

Voter Profile: Bruce Mayhall and Tom Rastrelli

Meet voters Bruce Mayhall and Tom Rastrelli, two members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.

BEAR WINS!

We are very pleased to announce the winners of the BlueCat Screenwriting Lab Short Screenplay Awards:

LAB WINNER: Maude by Emily Marcuson

BEST COMEDIC SHORT ($2500): A Delightful Discovery by Gabriel Vallejo

RUNNER UP ($500): Lou Reed, But Sometimes He Gets On My Nerves by C.M. Velazquez

BEST DRAMATIC SHORT ($2500): Bear by Steven Tagle

RUNNER UP ($500): Uncirclelight by Donovan Fletcher

emera.tv - Argentina Videos

Argentina Intro


Nonna Bianca


Mansion Dandi Royal


La Boca


El Obrero


Bahrein

emera.tv - Brazil Videos

Brazil Intro


Corcovado


00 (Zero Zero)


Mangueira Samba School


Stone of a Beach


Ipanema Beach


Academia de Cachaca


Rio Scenarium


Maracana Football Stadium


Pao de Azucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain)

Four More Days...

On Wednesday, February 13, I'm leaving SFO at 12:10pm, arriving LAX at 1:35pm. The flight is Virgin America, #835. Hooray!

From Lima

Our final destination...

Robbed in Buenos Aires

I was just robbed at gunpoint in La Boca, a barrio of Buenos Aires. The two guys took my wallet; I wouldn't let them take my camera. More soon.

For Thomas--

Ran into a mutual friend in Rio...

Unexpected Benefits

I'm the beneficiary of Angela and Marita's dieting rules.