SPECIAL REPORT: Downtown Independent Screening

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, partly because they always seem to go well, so it gets repetitive, but also because I haven't been to one in awhile. Also, theaters are dark places, so my pictures don't turn out as often as I'd hope, except when I take pictures of hallways for some reason.

Anyway, as usual The HAPPY Movie had a SOLD OUT screening, this time at the fantastic Downtown Independent theater. I've never been there before, but I may start going regularly because they have an excellent facility, an incredible staff, and great taste in movies. This screening also featured special guests Darlene Mininni, author of The Emotional Toolkit, and Mark Adler, composer for the film.

We'd also like to give a HUGE thanks to Project Fresh for making it all happen! Couldn't have done it without you!

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking (click for bigger versions):

The stage.

Roko introducing the movie in front of an outdated ad of Carlos for some reason. (Carlos is excellent, by the way. You should see it, but the long version is five hours long.)

Roko doing the Q&A with Mark and Darlene after the movie.

The packed audience. Some people sat on the stairs.

Mark Adler talking about his composing methods.

The lobby area reception after the Q&A.

A view from the roof of the theater. Looking at the interesting parking garage across the street.

And now some artsy shots of lights and hallways and stuff. Hopefully they'll expand your mind or something:

Casual Friday: The Blog Turns 100! And SPECIAL REPORT on the Roxie

Here's a photo of the blog today. From Trustar Vibrations.

Yay! Today the blog turns 100! Well, not 100 YEARS old, but 100 POSTS. Yes, this is my 100th post here, and I intend to use it in the laziest way possible.

If you don't want to be as lazy as me, go to San Francisco tomorrow. Why? Because you can see a "sneak-preview" screening of the documentary HAPPY at the Roxie Theater at 7:00 pm. Director Roko Belic will be there, and so will Melissa Moody, one of the people featured in the movie. They will hold a Q&A session after the film.

Tickets are $10, or $6 for seniors. You can order online or see more info at the Roxie website. You can also pay at the box office. As this is a non-profit, fully independent film, proceeds go toward a proper theatrical release (expensive costs borne by a movie studio or distributor on most films).

Remember:  Tomorrow, February 19, 7 pm, at this address:

Roxie Theater
3117 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-1087

Hope you can make it!

SPECIAL REPORT: Underground Screening of HAPPY in Kansas

Mmm, what a great place to watch a movie! From the Lope.

Do you live in a cave? Do you also live in Kansas? Perhaps you're a vampire or ghost? If so, then this is the screening for you! Our friend and colleague Omid Heidari will be presenting the movie in the Kansas Underground Salt Museum on Wednesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. Tickets are FREE, but you have to click here to reserve them now! Director Roko Belic will probably not be attending, but we may be able to work out some kind of video conference.

Children of the night, this is your time to shine!

SPECIAL REPORT: Paradise Cove Screening

WAAHH, another screening in the same week!?!?@(*!$& Yes, but this time it was a much more private affair for people in the neighborhood. Again it went pretty great! I might as well just copy and paste at this point! I also got a lot of good video footage of the Q & A. I wish I could post it right now, but video needs editing, so I can't just dump it all and walk away--like this:

An artsy shot of the screening room. Foggy day outside.

The fire pit.

Another artsy shot during setup.

Roko hanging the movie screen. We ended up using a screen plus a bed sheet.

The audience sitting down.

Roko introducing the movie.

A shot of the screen.

SPECIAL REPORT: Sony

Wow, that went pretty well! If I sound like I'm repeating myself, it's because the Sony screening was just as much of a success as the Vallejo one. And like Vallejo, you'll have to wait for video to see the good stuff.

Highlights include a live Q & A with the pregnant (!!!) Sonja Lyubomirsky and motivational speaker Michael Pritchard. Also, the picture quality was absolutely gorgeous, which I would hope for in a projection system tied directly to Sony's computer production. The film played just as well to the movie industry crowd as to the Vallejo crowd, with much laughter and standing ovation a-plenty.

And we sold out of DVDs again!

Kevin and Adrian setting up a video camera

Alex and Roko setting up a water pump

Setting up food tables for the reception

Adrian eating everything and ruining the party. No, I kid, I kid!

SPECIAL REPORT: The Vallejo Screening

Wow, that went pretty well! HAPPY played like gangbusters in yesterday's nearly sold-out screening. The Empress Theatre is a beautiful place to show a movie and has a wonderful staff. Unfortunately, it is rather low light, being a movie theater and all, so I didn't get as many great pictures as I would have liked. I also missed the entire Q & A because I was setting up our DVD and T-shirt store in the lobby, but video is forthcoming!

ALL of these DVDs, plus one or two more boxes full, were sold by the end of the screening!

At the theater. From right:  Roko Belic, Richard Freedman (the man responsible for setting up and publicizing the screening), and Adrian Belic

One of the projectors

Roko doing brightness and contrast adjustments before the show

People lining up outside the theater

Next up, Sony Studios!

SPECIAL REPORT: Screening of HAPPY in Vallejo, California!

The Empress Theatre. From the California State Library.

Yo, wanna see a movie with Roko Belic and me? Then come to Vallejo, California on Sunday! We'll be at the Empress Theatre at 1 p.m. to show HAPPY. Tickets cost $10, plus a $2 preservation fee for the theatre itself, for a total of $12. We prefer that you buy tickets online, so go here to do that.

Roko will answer questions at the screening, or just sit around and talk if you want. We'd like to thank our friend Richard Freedman at the Times-Herald for setting up this whole event. You can read his article about Roko and the movie here.

Don't know where the theatre is? Look at this map:



330 Virginia Street
Vallejo, CA 94590
(707) 552-2400

This looks to be even better than our screening in San Francisco! See you there!

SPECIAL REPORT: Happy Movie Pre-Order!!

Buy buy BUY!!

Yes, I'm selling something, but hopefully that's okay because you'll like it. We at the Happy movie are selling a pre-release DVD for $19.99. Order now and get it in time for Christmas!

This is Oscar-nominated filmmaker Roko Belic's latest documentary feature. It is a journey across 14 countries on 5 continents featuring interviews with extraordinary everyday people, as well as positive psychology superstars Ed Diener, Richard Davidson, Sonja Lyubomirsky, the people and leaders of Bhutan, and many more. Also features appearances by Daniel Gilbert and the Dalai Lama.

So head over to our buy page for more info. You can get special deals on three- and ten-packs if you have a lot of Christmas shopping to do. You can also try our "Award Winner" pack, which includes Happy, the Oscar-nominated Genghis Blues, and the multi-award-winning Indestructible, an inspiring documentary about an ALS patient who travels the world one last time. If you like T-shirts, you can also get those in children's or adult sizes.

And that's not all! Roko Belic, the man himself, will personally sign all pre-order DVDs of Happy! We won't stop until his signin' hand falls off! He has worked very hard on this film for four years, and now it's ready for release.

I have seen the film many times (I even transcribed it word-for-word) and I can attest to both its emotional power and its educational value for people learning about happiness science. It never loses its ability to move, especially when seeing it with a crowd (like I did in San Francisco).

So give it a try. This limited edition pre-order will end December 31. After that, you'll have to wait until the official release.

SPECIAL REPORT: Global Happiness Summit Part 2

The first annual Global Happiness Summit was an interesting experience with a lot of room for improvement. Setting it on the U.S.S. Hornet was, in theory, an inspired choice, as it symbolized the repurposing of a harmful machine for more hopeful goals. In reality, however, the location may have contributed to the somewhat-low turnout. As you can see from the photos below, it also had a lot of empty space, which became somewhat oppressive over the conference's two days.

Don't get me wrong, though:  even with only around 40 attendees, I and the rest of the team enjoyed meeting each of them. The speakers also gave some fantastic presentations, and our screening of Happy was a resounding success. Even with rough sound work and a few stock images, the audience laughed, cried, and gave a standing ovation. I wish I had pictures of it, but unfortunately my camera had run out of juice, so I only have pictures of the second day.

So without further ado, here are some of my photos (wish I could post larger pics, but it screws up the formatting!):

Robert Biswas-Diener helping the team carry our stuff.

Walking through the entrance to the carrier.

A view of the conference floor.

A view of the stage area.

Aymee Coget

Roko, Omid, and Robert at our booth.

Macaiah Tillman

Roko and Omid looking positively rapturous at our booth.

A view of the flight deck upstairs.

Robert Biswas-Diener talking with Kevin and me.

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.

Tony gave one of my favorite talks, even with a slightly annoying intro. He and his co-workers started by playing one of those new-fangled viral videos, with kids hip-rappin' and rap-boppin' about a bus or something. The song has a catchy chorus line, but it seemed to go on and on and on. After that was over, though, Tony gave an excellent presentation about how corporations should be run to maximize happiness (and therefore profits).

Laura Delizonna

A view from our surrogate house in Tiburon.

(Fans of Genghis Blues will be interested to know that we stayed at Ralph Leighton's beautiful house for the entire five-day trip.)

Kevin and Roko apparently reenacting The Sorcerer's Apprentice on a mountain.

Everyone in Muir Woods, the redwood forest.

This trip as a whole was fantastic, even with a few now-infamous events involving a flat tire on the way up and me falling off a ledge, skinning my knee and elbow. (Roko had the brilliant idea of hiking up a foggy mountain at night with no handrails or lights of any kind.)

I have a lot more photos and possible things to talk about, but this post is already really long, so just ask if you have any questions!