(BUSKER ALLEY) Busker Films has released the intriguing "Busker Alley - The Movie" promotional here at Busker Alley. Pure art-in-motion, it's a film any busker will find amusing, entertaining, and even philosophic - all in the unique Busker Alley style. You simply won't believe your eyes as the lights dim and the movie unfolds in the brand new HD theater. The motion picture raises the artistic bar and is guaranteed to entertain. The film will début online soon so be sure to check back!

"In the Beginning, there was Busker and Earth. And the Busker moved with the Earth. And it was good.
Since the dawn of Civilization, millions of Buskers have come and gone. They roam the Earth forever searching for that elusive perfect pitch. Just like a cloud, they come from nowhere into the somewhere to perform with wonder their artistic Alchemy. Then they vanish into thin air on their journey to follow the sun. It is their Calling, their Destiny, their Blessing.
And it was good. It was all good."

(BOULDER) Well, it's about time...Busker Alley - The Movie has just wrapped up filming on Siesta Key, Florida. Shot at a midnight drum circle on the Suncoast's white sand beach, it reveals the color, culture, and impact that represents Busker Alley.

Next up is an assembly of hours and hours of shots that will debut next year as a feature length film portraying busking and street performing in an artistic form.

"It really surprised me a ton," says a wide-eyed Zoobie, the director & producer of the movie. "I really learned a lot. It's not just throwing together clips of buskers in a documentary style. Things like lighting, props, screenplay, wardrobe, makeup - it's totally amazing. I can now help others with their films having the first-hand experience of how it's all inter-connected."

Let's start sneeking a peek at over 25 performers shot in HD and keep the spirit of busking alive with a film depicting - what else but those bloody buskers?!

(BUSKER ALLEY) Ever wish you could listen to songs by like-minded buskers? Here at Busker Alley, you can. Our Soundstage features unique and special busking euphony for you to enjoy while surfing Busker Alley and beyond.

Lean back and listen to some cinematic compositions by the Busker Alley Buskers including "Sleepy Little Town" and "Road 2 Freedom". Simply visit the Lifestyle department for the Songs link or click here.

Tell them you heard it first in Busker Alley!

(BOULDER, COLORADO) Let's catch a glimpse of Busker Alley - The Movie as we meet Zoobie yet again at a local café on Pearl Street.

This may be a different kind of interview. We're high in the mountains of Colorado so things may move a bit slower than, say, the big bustling city sizzling at sea level.

"We're still at it - don't worry," says the producer, director, writer, key grip, gaffer, and general menace to buskers everywhere. He continues, "By Summertime come, Thy will be done - One Busker, under God, Invisible, with Liberty and Entertainment for All."

Boulder is a spiritual Mecca for those in need - and even not in need. It has more religions and spirituality than any city in the USA. It's not uncommon to discuss your relationship to the Great Spirit with fellow believers as conversation over coffee at a local café.

"You lookin' at me? You lookin' at me?" Hey, it's Bobby De Nero. Quit it. No, don't. It's good. It's all good. "Keep in mind that when it comes to this busker film, I'm quite literally a one-man band. I'm hoping people like my sense of humor. There may be some campy violence in it but I'm not trying to be PC here. I'm trying to tell a story."

"It takes a village to...," blurts Zoobie as I get a call on my cell. Hold on that a sec. Hello? Yeah. OK. Bye. Zoobie has fallen asleep. I wake him and continue. When is this film to be expected and why the Hell isn't it finished yet? I always enjoy adding pressure to producers.

"Actually, a lot of the time has been spent having fun making some props. It's lucky for me that music is my forte which really simplifies things. Video has nothing on music but I'm probably biased being a muse. I will soon be the proud parent of a brand new 5 pound bouncing baby film. When? Soon - monsoon - We'll start revealing it this Fall and should end up completing it by next Summer. We're essentially building a movie online. That's the beauty of it."

"I shall then edit it in the high country and finish it in cool comfort. Buskers have come and buskers have gone. What's the hurry?"

(BOULDER, COLORADO) This Summer brings busking & film enthusiasts a free screening of the invigorating Busker Central movie Street-Performer Extravaganza. Featuring almost 700 performing buskers, this important work embodies the pure essence of street-performing.

Boulder is known for it's street-performing pitches along the famous Pearl Street Mall where hundreds of buskers were filmed. It is expected that many performers attending will see themselves somewhere in the production.

The movie will be shown at the Main Library Canyon Theater as part of the Summer Cinema program. The spacious theater will project the larger-than-life buskers and street-performers in all their magnificent glory.

As a Special extra, the Busker Alley movie Sideshow will follow the main event featuring even more gaga street-performers doing their thang. Sideshow is the first public screening of those awe-inspiring performers including Those Bloody Buskers, the world's first docu-comedy all shot in brilliant HD. Both movies are produced by Busker Films and will feature almost 700 street-performers.

Both free films will be shown at 7pm on Monday evening July 9th in downtown Boulder's Canyon Theater - 1000 Canyon Blvd. More information can be found at Summer Cinema Program.

(BOULDER, COLORADO) Let's check-in with Busker Alley to see what's up. The film was announced eighteen months ago but, such is often the case, independent film-making has untold trenches and pitfalls. We catch up with Zoobie as he exits through the book store onto Boulder's Pearl Street Mall on a sunny Thursday.

"We are building a movie. We are building it better. However, that seems to be the problem. Some of it had to be re-written because it was so depressing. This is pure comedy. I'm just now beginning to edit it all together and sprinkling some magic dust on it. I can even romanticize a bit to bring out an interesting and funny story with all those bloody buskers," says Zoobie, the executive producer of the film Busker Alley.

"There's still a lot to do but it should come together by the middle of next year. As I've told the buskers when I shot them, this picture may actually take years to create. I'm kind of a slow-poke. It's already been a few seasons since we've started filming. We should be approaching the finishing line soon. The nice thing is - the longer you take, the better the production."

"It's such a beautiful concept with everything falling into place very nicely. The music is coming out better than I could have ever imagined. I've found some cool stuff to add to mine so I think we're in the clear. It's easy for me because I have tons of originals laying around - so it's more of a matter of recording just the right ones."

"I completed a busker music-video that came out earlier this year called "Road 2 Freedom". You can watch it on Busker Alley and it's in the movie. It's kind of a travel and performing art film. It seems it takes me years to make mere minutes - but, considering the source, the footage came out amazing."

"I'm getting excited now as my own stuff is being integrated. It takes me back to silent cinema. A piano player was usually down front looking up at the screen trying to match the music to the scene. That's the spirit of this movie."

(BOULDER, COLORADO) Let's catch-up with the crew of Busker Alley as they shoot their way into history. "Now, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. When you get close to editing, the show is about to begin," says Zoobie, writer, director, and producer of the film Busker Alley - The Movie. "We're still taking our sweet time before we now go, strangely enough, inside the studio."

"We wanted to be sure there was enough creative footage as well as including some of the classic routines. This film is a lot different from shooting on a regular set. Out here in the field, the street is the actual set. We don't have the slightest control of what's going to happen. We can't wait to get inside the studio now to apply some finishing touches."

It was snowing outside the café on a dark night as Zoobie continued - the snowflakes catching in his long brown hair under a shop's light on the corner of "The Hill". "This is what happens when you become a busker for 20 years. I can call on my own experiences when it comes to telling this story."

Zoobie continues, "Writing and performing the film's soundtrack, I tend to be picky in the recording studio. I've somehow gotten hooked shooting over a thousand buskers - maybe two thousand counting stills. I know that ending this film is inevitable but I'll keep shooting them to make future shorts and misadventures for a good laugh."

"This is a narrative that's pushing comedy in a direction never pushed. We're aiming for a perfect 3-point landing with the online debut of Busker Alley - The Movie. Maybe we'll enter a few film festivals to see if people relate. They probably won't but maybe they'll like my technique."

(BOULDER, COLORADO) And awaaay we go! The film "Busker Alley" is currently in production featuring those crazy buskers and street performers in a quite original movie. Let's check in on writer/director Zoobie and see how things are going.

"We've gotten some really great shots of what we're trying to portray with some excellent performers," starts Zoobie. "It's fun to write, direct, then shoot something that's kind of different than anything else around. Both narratives and documentaries are valid and unique by their natures. In contrast to this film, the documentary is way easier to make because you just film the subject matter and add a voice-over commentary. You're simply documenting. With comedy, I've discovered pure creation and it's a lot more fun. I'm definitely not going back to 'bleh'."

"Competition is fierce out there. Some of my comments have been mentioned a few times in some other crazy documentaries. I didn't even perform. These days, it's like smash and grab - scrounging around for ideas - then ripping everyone off and moving on to the next film. That just goes to show how competitive any area of indie movie-making really is. It's totally exploding."

"This a lot more involved than I've ever dreamed or imagined. There's some really cool stuff out there. We've extended our shooting schedule twice. We were simply going to go out and shoot documentary style but now we've found a different angle. We're going to keep everything pretty much under wraps since websites are really raked over by other film-makers. I guess the internet is probably the first stop in this whole process. I've even seen an attorney para-phrase something I've written."

"I never thought it would take this much effort. I'm not a perfectionist but sometimes get carried away. However, I think we are having more fun making it than we anticipated. Now that the economy has gone bonkers, it should be interesting to see whether it increases the number of people busking both here and globally."

"It's pretty strange trying to communicate to fellow buskers exactly what we're doing because I'm not sure myself," Zoobie continues. "Some love it, some want money, and some don't get it. We used to give everyone cash but that's expected. The busker now gets a nice DVD which ties them over until they see the movie. One busker said the disc was the greatest thing he'd gotten all Summer."

What about the Blu-ray version? "We'll cross the Charles bridge when we get to it."

(BOULDER, COLORADO) It seems there's just no love for buskers. To celebrate the start of Busker Alley's third year, an announcement to start the filming of "Busker Alley" this summer was made official by producers Jack Carter and Zoobie at the Boulder Café July 4th. Unlike previous movies of buskers and street performers, Busker Alley will not portray the classic busker love story gone wrong. There's just too much talent.

"We got very tired of this overused format. Almost every studio film ever made features a busker falling in love with another. It goes all the way back to the silent film "The Street Singer" and always with the same result. It's time for something different," said Jack Carter of the film.

"This movie will represent the finest in busker comedy mainly because there isn't any. Instead of love, Busker Alley will be an outrageous, wild, and filled with hilarious escapades. They go on a fun-filled journey featuring lots of authentic buskers," Zoobie added.

Zoobie, himself a busker for twenty years, will write and direct the effort drawing on his years of experience filming buskers worldwide. Exclusive distribution will be on BuskerAlley.com with the movie streamed over the internet. Shot in full HDV, it is yet another in a long series of firsts developed from the Busker Central reference site Zoobie created in 2005 and published in 120 Jobs That Won't Chain You to Your Desk - 2007 (Princeton Review).

"We're going for creativity in this production. I'd rather see a good narrative than another sleepy documentary at this point. We can't reveal the crazy plot to the film but let's just say it's a study, refinement, and result of standing on the shoulders of giants in the industry with several funny twists and turns. But you'll find no love story here except the pure love, humor, and joy that resides deep within the art of busking."

"It's really quite a technological achievement to be able to create, direct, then distribute this Indie production conveniently on the web. It's great. Independent film is exploding and this is indicative of the art now being produced, thanks to the internet, that may not have been created otherwise."

The film will première online @ BuskerAlley.com

(HOLLYWOOD) A stunned Glen Hansard was already in Heaven. He had just performed his nominated song center-stage at the world-famous Oscars. Although the odds were against his winning, the magic of the moment was more than enough to satisfy his artistic prowess.

Here was an Irish lad at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles waiting for the proclaimed winner in the wildest contest ever conceived. His dream was in full bloom as he stood starry-eyed out at the audience filled with famous Hollywood writers, producers, directors, and even stars.

Hansard flashed back to the time he was a busker on Dublin's Grafton Street for five years before forming the band The Frames. Although a rough and tumble lifestyle for a mere muse, his homeland was now on the other side of the world. He had made it to America and was honored to be here in more ways than one.

Then, it all turned into a fuzzy blur as Hansard heard "Falling Slowly" announced as the winner and suddenly would be speaking to the Hollywood elite. As he returned to center-stage to accept his Oscar, through the fog he realized an incredible thing had happened. A bloody busker had just won an Academy Award for Best Original Song from the Indie film "Once".

"Thanks! This is amazing! What are we doing here? This is mad! We made this film two years ago. We shot on two handycams. It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we would come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It's been an amazing thing. Thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us. Thanks to the Academy, thanks to all the people who've helped us, they know who they are, we don't need to say them. This is amazing! Make art. Make art! Thanks!"

Hansard was ushered offstage where a huge round of paparazzi awaited his presence. The dream was just starting when he thought it was ending. "The Oscar for Best Original Song goes to...Falling Slowly...words and music by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova" kept playing over in his head. He was now famous. He had made Oscar history. The film was famous. Speilberg had mentioned it at Cannes. Hansard wasn't even supposed to be in the film initially. Now all that was left was the red carpet receptions and floating through the mist all the way home to the Emerald Isle.

Glen Hansard's accomplishment is an inspiration to us all.

Strive to be the best at what you do best.