"Short Pay! All Out!" The Bread & Roses Strike began 100 years ago today!

Hard to believe this day is here, but today kicks off a yearlong celebration marking the centennial of the Strike that inspired MILLIES.

If you're not following us on Facebook or Twitter by now, here's your chance.

MILLIES has a fab display at the impressive exhibit housed in the Everett Mill in Lawrence, MA, where it all started. The Lawrence History Center was generous enough to invite MILLIES to participate in this 2012 celebration, which we hope will result in many more people knowing about this film project and eventually helping us in our dogged pursuit of major funding.

If we learned anything from those women who shut their machines and walked out for two months to fight for equality, it's that old cliche that good things are worth the wait and the fight. And so we persist...

"Short Pay! All out!" - The Bread & Roses Centennial begins...

Fires kill more mills (and more fantastic locations)

This awesome little mill with its own cool smokestack and unique buildings on the Merrimack River, has gone up in flames so many times, it's a wonder it's still standing. But someone keeps plaguing these mills with their gasoline and matchbooks, and the Merrimack Paper Company is not long for this world. It is sure to be razed soon, and it would be yet another skyline-affecting loss along the river. A hit to the city, and a hit to our film. It helps to storyboard shots in easily-erasable pencil, because more mill buildings have disappeared in the past few years than I can bear. What better way to get rid of an abandoned mill building than to light it up, blame the homeless, and make way for more generic stucco office space? Or more likely another fast food, pharmacy, or gasoline chain. It's unbelievable to watch, and all this amidst serious controversy over the lack of proper fire protection in town. If the people aren't safe because there aren't enough firefighters, you can bet the mills must be shaking in their bricks.

Hopefully there will still be a mill in Lawrence by the time we're ready to roll cameras. Capturing a former industrial city powerhouse is a bit hard to do when no stack is left standing. People do not realize the treasures we are losing, and more often than not it's due to shortsighted human intention and not an act of nature. We are our own worst enemy.

City Says Merrimack Paper Co Buildings Need to be Torn Down

Lawrence pushing for quick demo of fire-ravaged mill

It's the same old trick: Let the mill rot, act surprised when it catches fire, proclaim the only way to move forward is to demolish it entirely, secretly rejoice, Repeat.

Where's Lorre? e-news update

The latest e-news bulletin is posted now at:
http://www.milliesmovie.com/2010_0729_millies_news.pdf

Happy reading!

Imploding History

As you may know, we were not the only ones filming the implosion of the two historic smokestacks back in October of 2009 for our MILLIES promotional video. Though we were about the only ones who didn't think of it as such a fun and fantastic event.

If you haven't seen our version of the video, you can check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmhjIBd2Sh8

The Learning Channel's tv reality show "The Imploders" was also filming, with a nice fat budget, helicopter shots, multi-camera set ups, etc. The result of that shoot aired on TLC last night, and I found it utterly painful to watch. It is not that buildings never have to come down, it's just the way there is such a casual celebration of the BOOM, especially regarding historic places, that rubs me wrong. It was like watching little boys kill a wounded animal after kicking it around a bit and letting it suffer. Putting it out of its misery is one thing, but taking such joy in the whole process is disconcerting to me. Can't help it, just the way I see things. It may be the Learning Channel, but it seems to me we are not at all learning the lessons we really need to learn.

Mo' Money - from Cultural Council

Believe me, it's a good thing when an indie filmmaker gets a call that says, "Yes, We Believe in Your Project. Here's More Money." Those calls are not just rare, they're pretty much nonexistent. So it was a happy day to get news from the Lawrence Cultural Council, a branch of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, that MILLIES was selected to receive additional funding on top of its original grant award from a couple months ago!

Every bit helps. Buy a t-shirt, buy a photo print, or just make a donation at http://www.milliesmovie.com/millie.html.

A big thanks to the Cultural Council for putting their money where their Millies are.

Lawrence MA helps Haiti

The "Trust & Believe" charity single for Haiti is now available at http://www.lawtownvoice.com! The song was written by Lawrence electronica/dance music artist Bylli Crayone, and members of LawTown Voice.

I'm creating the We-Are-The-World-inspired music video and making-of video for this "note"worthy project uniting Lawrence rappers and singers for a common good.

Also some great bridges built on the music side of MILLIES.

A catchy little tune for a great cause.

MILLIES photo exhibit @ Wichit - EXTENDED

It's the return of "Lincoln" ;-)

"The Assassination of Lincoln: Teardown of a Century-Old Mill" - a photographic exhibit in support of MILLIES - is back on the brick. This photographic exhibit by filmmaker Lorre Fritchy depicts the dismantling of the 108-year-old Lincoln Foods mill building in Lawrence, Mass. throughout its 2008 demise. A portion of the takedown was also filmed for Fritchy's movie MILLIES (http://www.MilliesMovie.com). Witness the haunting beauty and rubbled remains of history as Lincoln falls, brick by brick.

A selection of photos from this exhibit are now on EXTENDED display indefinitely on the fantastic mill walls at Wichit - http://www.wichitsandwich.com.

Just hung the pieces this morning, and then continued working on MILLIES script rewrites at this wonderful WiFi spot. It has been a lovely day of watching people visit the cafe and admire the pics at a steady pace. Not just a polite walk-past, either, but a close-up analysis of each piece, even before getting their coffee! The best response was one woman who walked through the door, stopped in her tracks and just gasped at the pictures. She was blown away by them. Now THAT kind of immediate, gut reaction gives me the warm fuzzies.

Thanks to Rose and Chris at Wichit for hanging me in "the brick gallery." Great sandwiches and a funky ambiance, can't ask for more.

To view a selection of prints from the exhibit, visit: http://www.milliesmovie.com/lincoln_photos.html.

Fade In to Fade Out

Serious heavy lifting on MILLIES script rewrites. Flying above the story to see the holes, areas that work or don't work, and how this whole surreal story is coming together. I do not fear the red pen, I embrace it! :-)

$10 Tees holiday sale

50% off official MILLIES t-shirts for online orders only, through December 17th! http://www.milliesmovie.com/movie_tee.html

Film Snobs catch Lorre

A great Millies interview with Lorre by Nic Baisely from the fun new film site, Film Snobbery - http://filmsnobbery.com/2009/10/18/lorre-fritchy-interview/

They're not snobs at all, they just love film and they're not afraid to show it.


http://www.MilliesMovie.com

Thank you, Bread & Roses

Many thanks to the steady stream of people who visited our MILLIES booth at the sunny Bread & Roses Festival on Labor Day! We earned more fans, recruited more film Extras, and signed up more e-news subscribers. Everyone is excited to see this finished film. No one more than us, believe me! All your encouraging words and steadfast belief in this story really do go a long way toward keeping us motivated.



Many people asked about my upcoming appearance at the Northern Essex Community College speaker series November 8th. The topic is "MILLIES: BRINGING PAST AND PRESENT TO THE SILVER SCREEN." I'm sorry they did not give us more pamphlets to hand out, but I will re-post the information as the time nears. It is:

Sunday, Nov. 8, 2-4pm
White Fund Room @ Northern Essex Community College
78-82 Amesbury Street
Fournier Education Center
Lawrence MA

Meanwhile, just a note of thanks to those who came out to this fantastic festival on a gorgeous day. It matters that you were there.

~Lorre

Lorre on "Lunch To Go" radio 4/2/09

Tune in to the sure-to-be-amusing antics of the Lunch To Go radio show, broadcasting live from Salvatore's in Lawrence, MA on 980AM if you're local, or http://www.980wcap.com if you're virtual. The show broadcasts from 12-1pm EST on Thursday, April 2, 2009.

The host, "Wireless" Mike Flynn jokingly calls the show "Shackett's Hideaway" for co-host Ray Shackett and because the setup is reminiscent of Fernando's Hideaway from the Saturday Night Live skit. Should be great fun talking about MILLIES, the Lowell Film Festival, upcoming events and stuff that makes us look Mahvelous.
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MILLIES team hosts doc screening April 15, 2009

MILLIES Director Lorre Fritchy and Executive Producer Stephanie Higgins will swap roles on April 15 when they co-host a screening of their previous film project, THE GAY MARRIAGE THING. Directed by Higgins and Produced by Fritchy, this film highlights the politics, the piety and the people embroiled in the same-sex marriage debate in history-making Massachusetts in 2004.

The Lowell Film Collaborative and Christ Church United of Lowell, MA are presenting the screening at Christ Church United. The church actively pursued hosting the film because they wish to foster discussion on this topic. So don't be afraid to come to church -- it's not afraid of you. ;-)

Wednesday, April 15 @ 7:00 PM
47-minute Film Screening followed by Filmmaker Q&A
Christ Church United
180 E. Merrimack Street
Lowell, MA 01852
Phone: 978-459-9631

* RSVP appreciated by April 14th to Suzzanne Cromwell
* Daycare will be provided during the film
* $5 Suggested donation

Join the MILLIES filmmakers for this blast from their production past to see just how committed they are to making a positive difference in the world through their art.
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Lorre on WUML radio March 26, 2009

Tune in on the radio or online for Lorre's appearance on "The Long View" broadcasting live at 10:10am on WUML radio 91.5FM in Lowell, Massachusetts or online at http://www.thelongview.net.
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Millies group now on Facebook

The title of this post is pretty cut and dried: we now have a MILLIES group on Facebook. Please join the group and invite your friends to Be A Millie!

Join the MILLIES page on Facebook!

Lorre @ Hillview Montessori School

The exceptional students at Hillview Montessori in Haverhill MA provided a terrific reception to Lorre's speaking engagement there on Jan. 13, 2009. The student reviewers summed it up like this:

Lights, Camera, Action!

Independent filmmaker Lorre Fritchy recently visited Hillview Montessori Charter Public School in Haverhill. The students there recently performed a play based on the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912. She talked about a movie that is in production called “Millies” which is about a group of mill worker ghosts that come back from the Bread and Roses Strike to help a bankrupt mill owner in modern times when her future threatens their past.

“I thought that the plotline was cool because it has ghosts in it,” said Grady Maguire. Lorre also talked about the importance of preserving history and how she didn’t like how people demolished mill buildings.

“She was a very good role model,” said Abby K. To show us some of her other work she showed us a clip from the first movie she completed called “Sandy ‘Spin’ Slade Beyond Basketball”. ”Millies” is her third movie. We can’t wait to see it!

By:
CJ Axford and Kevin Greene
HVM Upper Elementary Students


To have Lorre speak at your school, company, or organization, visit the Filmmaker Speaking Series page at MasterPeace Productions.

Millies exhibit comments

Thanks so much for your wonderful comments in the Comment Book from the Assassination of Lincoln exhibit. It was a grueling effort to get that exhibit up and running, as is the process of taking it all apart. So your positive support means a great deal, on both the exhibit and the film.

A common theme in your comments was how important it was to document this process and capture the past. I appreciate you other Millies out there, believe me. You keep me going during the times when the tasks to be done are mountainous.

Eventually, I will have the majority of prints from the exhibit up on the web site for purchase, but for now we've got highlights to tide you over ;-)

http://www.milliesmovie.com/lincoln_photos.html

Video From The Set of MILLIES The Movie

From the mill rooftops of Lawrence, Massachusetts on our first day filming exteriors for MILLIES:

Lincoln Foods prints for sale on MILLIES web site

A newsletter will be coming soon, but I wanted to let you know that a selection of prints from our successful "Assassination of Lincoln" photo exhibit are now on sale in our Mill Store:

http://www.milliesmovie.com/lincoln_photos.html

Thanks to those of you who came out to join us in the raw and nasty ice storm for our fantastic reception. And to those of you who visited the exhibit on your own. It was our last big and creative event of 2008, giving us renewed energy for MILLIES as 2009 begins.

New Video on YouTube

Didn't think we'd do an event without a video to accompany it,did you? "The Assassination of Lincoln: Teardown of a Century-Old Mill" is now available for viewing on YouTube. Most of the images captured are of a place that no longer exists except on film. Very interested to hear your comments on that one.