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D.I.N.K.s WINS!!! This past weekend at the Route 66 Film Festival in Springfield, IL, D.I.N.K.s (Double Income No Kids) won in the BEST COMEDY FILM category. Here is a “play by play” account of what happened.

DAY ONE: I arrived on Friday evening, November 2 at the Legacy Theater (that’s right, The LEGACY Theater) when the doors opened. On the outside steps to the theater, I was greeted by the Festival Director, Tom Szpyrka and Special Events Coordinator, David Gutierrez. “You’re Robert Alaniz? D.I.N.K.s, right? We’re so excited to have you here. We loved D.I.N.K.s! Some newspaper and radio people contacted us and were asking about you!” I was quite surprised and as they continued to praise D.I.N.K.s, all I could say was “thank you” over and over again. I am not used to that kind of admiration.

Inside the theater, we were greeted by more committee members who were just raving about D.I.N.K.s. I continued with thanking them for their compliments, still taken back by their enthusiastic praises. As the festival began, we watched the first set of films which included the feature film A Blood Red Sky by Director, Chad Calek. I’m not into ghost stories or paranormal documentaries, but did enjoy the Q&A with the Director afterwards.

Later that night, we met up with Michael Stoskus (Key Grip and Harlan Avery in D.I.N.K.s) and his Dad at the first of two after-parties. While there, I found out that D.I.N.K.s was in competition with six other films in the Comedy category. What I thought was strange was that the other films were shorts (19 minutes or less). When I asked one of the committee members about it, they said that they agreed it was unusual but it was a result of only having the theater for two days instead of the usual 3 days as in previous years.

This was not the first time I had a film in this festival. Some of you may already know that my second film, Barrymore’s Dream, won BEST FEATURE at the Route 66 Film Fest in 2007. When I was notified, it was a done deal. However, this was the first time they decided to have film competition at the festival to be judged by the audience, no less! I thought it would be just my luck that D.I.N.K.s would lose to one of the short films who had more people in attendance than D.I.N.K.s did.

As the night went on, I was approached by another film fest committee member who was also a local radio personality who saw D.I.N.K.s and asked if he could do an interview with me on the air in the next couple weeks, to which I agreed to do.

DAY TWO: Met up with actor, Steve Parks (who played Leonardo Randall Tolstoy III) and watched the film Coin Toss by Director, Satya Kharkar. The film also featured Steve in a supporting role. I was thoroughly impressed with the film, being Satya’s very first effort. Having grown accustom to Steve’s unique portrayals of slightly over-the-top characters, I was even more impressed with his amazing heart-felt performance in the movie.

After several films and dinner, it was time for the Comedy Session. I was nervous but not so much for how the audience would respond, but hoping that I wouldn’t experience the same mishap that occurred at the Illinois International Film Festival the previous year when the film froze halfway through the movie and wouldn’t play. I had to get up and explain the rest of the movie to the audience. Fortunately, the film played all the way through and the audience once again responded as I knew they would, based on previous showings.

Then came the awards ceremony. Was I nervous? Yes and No. I was happy that D.I.N.K.s was chosen to be a part of the fest, which was an honor within itself, so if for whatever reason it DIDN’T win, I could live with just that. The time came, my name was called and the audience CHEERED. It was clear that D.I.N.K.s was the audience favorite as the “buzz” at the fest over the two days had indicated.

At the second after-party, I was swamped by the new fans of the film, signing autographs and taking pictures. I agreed to come back to Springfield and speak at the next Illinois Film Commission meeting in November about the making of D.I.N.K.s. It was truly an overwhelming experience. But the raves weren’t just for me and the film.

The Director of the Fest, Tom Szpyrka specifically asked that I pass it on to Deborah Craft that he was now her biggest fan. Deborah’s great comedic timing and reactions got much praise as did the strip tease scene which got one of the biggest audience reactions. Another compliment went out to both David Tibble and Deborah’s performance in the film. Many saying that it was their sincere portrayal of the Brooks’ that makes the movie work. Several people complimented Marco Garcia’s performance as the Mayor. The maxi-condom scene between Marco and Devorah Richards again had the audience roaring. Many people said that the courtroom scene was one of the best scenes in the movie if not, THE best and that David’s heart-felt plea to the Judge won the audience over. As a matter of fact, during the screening, the audience cheered for Richard and Rachel (more than previous showings) when the Judge announced his decision. Not to mention a HUGE gasp and laugh when the Judge told the Mayor off. And, oh my God, EVERYONE wanted to know if there would be a sequel; no doubt a result of the ending getting the usual audience “gasp” of surprise when Maryrose says “And so do you.”

Finally, I just wanted to say how proud I am of this film. The story means a lot to me and I am so happy that it has proven to me again that this is a great concept for a film and that the potential is still there. I’d like to thank my Assistant Director, Sarajane Crowley, Michael Stoskus and the crew. And thank you all again for making D.I.N.K.s an award-winning film. My most heart-felt thanks go out to my co-producers, Max Nayden, Dave Branigan and Billy Wagoner for their continued support (financial and otherwise).

Robert Alaniz – Producer/Director

After six weeks of intense filming, we are wrapping up filming on my latest film You Don't Say!. As was the case with my previous films, we shot scenes in local Frankfort businesses such as The Softer Side, White Street Gallery, and The Blissful Banana in Orland Park.

For those who don’t already know, You Don’t Say! is a contemporary comedy about a successful career woman who gets caught up in a comedic whirlwind of events when a mystical necklace given to her as a gift from her boyfriend may be causing her to uncontrollably speak her mind in the politically-correct world of corporate business.

We live in a world now where saying what you really feel has become wrong. You read something in the papers or on line almost every day about how someone said this word or that word and then some organization gets in an uproar with protests and demands for apologies. I mean, Billy Crystal getting slammed for doing his Sammy Davis Jr. routine on the Oscars? Give me a break! We’ve become an over-sensitive silent society. Freedom of speech has become a freedom under someone else’s terms. You Don’t Say! addresses that issue and has a lot of fun with it.

Post production begins in a few weeks. That's where the filmmaking process REALLY begins as 29 hours of footage is edited down to a less than 2 hour running time. Then the film is turned over to film composer and fellow Frankfort resident, Doug Adams who will create the music to complete the film. Doug recently received his first on-screen credit in the Academy Award winning film Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese. He has also been working with film composer Howard Shore on the upcoming film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. This will be Doug’s fourth music score for Sole Productions, which include Bitterblue, The Vision and D.I.N.K.s (Double Income No Kids).

Another exciting addition to the soundtrack of You Don’t Say! will be the title song “You Don’t Say” which was written and composed by Grammy Award nominee, songwriter Alan O’Day, who had a number one hit in the 70’s with “Undercover Angel” and has written several other hits for other performers, such as “Angie Baby” for Helen Reddy, “Train of Thought” for Cher and “Rock ‘n Roll Heaven” for the Righteous Brothers.

I am honored to have had the privilege of working with the likes of actor Larry Thomas (Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi”) who plays the role of Mr. Melendez, songwriter Alan O’Day and looking forward to once again collaborating with Doug Adams.

Robert Alaniz - Director

You Don’t Say! is a contemporary comedy about a politically-correct young woman named Bobbi Evans who is climbing the corporate ladder. This is due mostly to the fact that she never says what she truly feels about anything. Bobbi is in a relationship with Jerry Brownwell, a man 15 years older than her, who one day buys her a necklace from a local occult shop called the Mystic Side as a joke. The necklace, when worn, will supposedly force one into sincerity and frankness, something that throws a huge monkey wrench into Bobbi’s professional and personal life.

“We live in a world now where saying what you really feel has become wrong,” says Alaniz. “You read something in the papers or on line almost every day about how someone said this word or that word and then some organization gets in an uproar with protests and demands for apologies. I mean, Billy Crystal getting slammed for doing his Sammy Davis Jr. routine on the Oscars? We’ve become an over-sensitive silent society. Freedom of speech has become a freedom under someone else’s terms. You Don’t Say! addresses that issue and has a lot of fun with it.”

Auditions for You Don’t Say! were recently held in Chicago where over 100 actors from as far away as Atlanta, Georgia came to compete for roles in the film. The film goes into production in June 2012.