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Logline
An emotional and surprisingly upbeat story about
a terminally-ill gay man going on the road trip
of his life.
Synopsis
A Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour
is a feature length documentary about Gregg Gour,
a 48-year-old gay man with AIDS, who, when given
six months to live, takes the road trip of his life.
Gregg
had been HIV positive for 24 years and during that
time the side effects of the medications made him
increasingly sicker than the virus itself. In the
last several years he felt that his quality of life
had diminished considerably, so he choose to go
off his meds and no longer fight death.
After
giving away all of his belongings, Gregg buys an
RV and travels across the United States with his
dog, Cody, saying goodbye to family and friends
who have to come to terms with Gregg's decision:
That rather than suffer a long, painful death, he
will end his own life before allowing the progressing
illness to take away his independence.
A
Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour
is a loving and powerful portrait of Gregg's journey,
which is at turns heartbreaking and surprisingly
upbeat. The filmmakers were given access to his
most personal moments and the result is an open
and unflinching chronicle of a man's decision to
live the final chapter of his life his way.
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Director's
Statement
When I first heard Gregg Gour's story, my first
thought was: Who is this guy that went off his AIDS
meds and is giving away all his belongings, and
traveling across the country in an RV on what he's
calling the Goodbye & No Regrets Tour? And what
do you mean he's been given six months to live and
plans to hasten his death??
I
thought, if this were my friend, I'd kidnap him
and hold him against his will, force him to go back
on his meds, and convince him that life was worth
fighting for.
I
wondered HOW his family and friends were finding
the strength and courage to face what he was asking
them to do: To let him go. AND, I thought, this
needs to be documented. Someone should create a
record of this journey.
At
this point my co-director Barbara Green and I decided
to approach Gregg (through Barbara's sister Joyce,
who was a close friend of his) and see if he would
talk with us. The next day, we were three strangers
and a dog, standing in Gregg's apartment, and after
a couple of hours that began with small talk and
ended with laughter, several Diet Pepsis and a few
tears, he agreed to allow us to tell his story.
Our
instinct was to be non-invasive, although how could
you avoid that, two chicks showing up with a camera?
But we intended to stay back, out of the way, and
try and observe.
Since
much of Gregg's journey across the country would
be just him and his dog Cody alone in the RV, we
knew that we didn't want to affect that journey
by traveling every bit of the road with him. Part
of what his experience should be is that solitary
time alone on the road. So we decided to send a
small camcorder ("the Gregg Cam") with
him, which he could use to record his thoughts along
the way. We planned to meet up with him at his cross-country
destination -- his mother's home in Pennsylvania.
For the most part he did make the cross-country
journey on his own, but as Gregg's story began to
unfold, we did fly out to meet up with him in Colorado
and Kansas to capture some very important moments.
There
is a major issue at the center of Gregg's story,
and that is of a terminally-ill person's right to
end-of-life choices. Rather than cover it as an
"issue," we decided instead to follow
the personal side: the story of a man taking control
of the end of his life, and how his decisions affected
the people who shared that life with him.
Michelle
Boyaner & Barbara Green
A Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour
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Filmmakers'
Bios
Barbara
Green picked up her first camera at the age of four
and hasn't been without one since. She graduated
from Brooks Institute of Photography in 1986, and
went on to build a career in still photography ranging
from celebrity portraits to fashion and lifestyle.
Her
work in film and video started in 1993 when her
clients began requesting moving images to accompany
her still work.
She
has completed three documentary short films: O'Day
At The Races, a documentary on the life of jazz
legend Anita O'Day; Hi, You've Reached Dave's Apartment,
a glimpse into the day-to-day life of her 41-year-old
schizophrenic brother, which premiered at The SXSW
Film Festival in 2001; and Tina Paulina: Living
on Hope Street, an inspirational look at a homeless
lesbian living on the streets of downtown Los Angeles,
which is an award winning official selection of
ten major film festivals. She has also completed
several narrative shorts including I Want You to
Show Me, and the award winning festival favorite,
You're Still Young, both of which she directed,
filmed and edited.
She
continues to develop film projects that interest
her and is currently on the film festival circuit
with her feature-length documentary, A Finished
Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour.
Writer/director
Michelle Boyaner formed Greenie Films with Barbara
Green in 2003, when she wrote and co-produced their
first short film, I Want You To Show Me, a fictional
and humorous take on an hour in the life of Wynonna
Judd. Michelle also wrote and co-produced the award-winning
short film, You're Still Young, which has been an
official selection at film festivals throughout
the country, and co-directed another award winning
festival favorite, the documentary short Tina Paulina:
Living on Hope Street, an inspirational look at
a homeless lesbian living on the streets of downtown
Los Angeles.
Prior
to her film work, Michelle wrote Oh, for God's Sake
Whisper It, a book of personal essays chronicling
her beloved Grandmother's battle with Alzheimer's,
and has had essays published on FRESH YARN: The
Online Salon for Personal Essays. She continues
writing screenplays, and somewhat sporadically posts
rambling rants in her online blog, which has a large
following of readers whose loyalty is both appreciated
and mind-boggling.
She
has just completed co-directing the feature-length
documentary, A Finished Life: The Goodbye &
No Regrets Tour and is currently completing the
script for the romantic comedy "What If".
Gregg
Gour loved television, movies and Broadway shows
with a level of passion, commitment and organizational
skill that leaves the casual observer in awe.
He
was a devoted son, brother and friend to many, as
well as a dedicated AIDS fundraiser, volunteering
for, and riding in, several of the AIDS bike rides,
as well as participating in Breast Cancer awareness
walks.
Additionally
in the last several months of his life, Gregg became
an advocate for California Assembly Bill AB651 for
a patients' right to physician assisted end-of-life
choices, proving once again the selflessness of
his actions, as Gregg would not live long enough
to reap the benefits of this bill if it did indeed
pass.
In
an interview, one of Gregg's close friends said,
"Gregg collected friends the way some people
collect stamps" forming countless friendships
during his life, due to his outrageous sense of
humor, incredible work ethic, undeniable determination
and generosity of spirit.
In
the last few months of his life, Gregg embarked
on his "Goodbye & No Regrets Tour"
during which he traveled across the U.S. in an RV
with his beloved dog Cody, saying goodbye to family
and friends. This journey is the subject of the
feature-length documentary "A Finished Life:
The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour."
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Post
Production
Meghan Toohey is an LA-based multi-instrumentalist
who has toured all over the globe with critically
acclaimed artists such as The Weepies, Lori Mckenna,
and her own band, The So and So's. Recently Meghan
has been focusing on producing for artists such
as Q Music's Rachel Cantu, blog-fave Vivek Shraya,
and recent film scoring for A Finished Life.
http://www.myspace.com/meghantoohey
Michelle's
passion for sound began at age three, driving her
parents crazy with makeshift drum kits made of pots
and tinker-toys.
Since
then, she's made loud noises at Berklee College
of Music (Boston), the prestigious Little Mountain
Sound (Vancouver, BC) and in many studios around
the world. Along the way she has won many awards
for her sound skills including the Juno Award (Canada).
After
shattering Canada's legal decibel limit in 2000,
she relocated to Los Angeles to co-found Grind Music
+ Sound Inc. with partner in noise, Sangtar Heer.
Grind specializes in cutting edge sound for independent
film and television.
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Production
Notes
A Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour
was shot during the first 5 months of 2006. The
Filmmakers followed Gregg, shooting over 130 hours
of tape, and when the filmmakers were not present,
he captured his own "video journaling moments"
via the camcorder they provided. Gregg kept in daily
contact with the filmmakers via telephone and email.
During
production of the film, Gregg was interviewed by
several local and national media outlets regarding
his story, including NPR's WEEKEND AMERICA, ABC7,
The Sacramento Bee and La Opinion. He also received
inquiries from producers at GOOD MORNING AMERICA
and OPRAH that were interested in following his
story.
A
Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour
was shot in 24p on the Panasonic DVX100A and edited
in Los Angeles, California on a Mac G5 using Final
Cut Pro. Additional photographs and footage were
assembled from Gregg's friends and family members.
Funding
for the film came from the filmmakers themselves,
as well as donations from private individuals.
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Full
Credits List
A
Production
Produced
& Directed by
Barbara Green & Michelle Boyaner
Editor
& Cinematographer
Barbara Green
Story
Editor
Michelle Boyaner
Original
Score
Meghan Toohey
Sound
Designer/Re-Recording Mixer
Michelle Garuik
Grind Music + Sound, Inc.
Music
Supervisors
Michelle Boyaner
Barbara Green
Music
Rights Clearance Consultant
Kevin Dowling
MUSIC
"Laugh
So You Don't Cry"
Written & Performed by Andy Davis
"The
Shinning"
Written & Performed by Damon Gough/Badly Drawn
Boy
"Don't
Come Easy"
Written & Performed by Patty Griffin (ASCAP)
Courtesy of ATO Records
Under License from Universal Music Publishing Group
"Let
Him Fly"
Written & Performed by Patty Griffin (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Universal Music
Under License from Universal Music Publishing Group
and OBO Chrome Dog Music
"Waiting
For My Real Life To Begin"
Written by Colin Hay & Thorn Mooney (ASCAP)
Performed by Colin Hay
Courtesy of Lazy Eye Records
Under License from Lazy Eye Records
Audio Post Sound Services
Provided by
Grind Music & Sound Inc.
Archival
photos and footage courtesy of
Sue
Covington
Debbie Danneman
Gregg Gour
Cori Huston
Bonnie Paster
Tammy Price
Nichole Redstone
San
Francisco stills courtesy
of Daniel Nicoletta
Gregg
& Cody Illustration courtesy of Melody
Shickley
Fiscal
Sponsorship Provided by
The International Documentary Association
The Filmmakers would like
to thank the following people for their
generous donations:
Jane
Anderson & Tess Ayers
Hillary Carlip & Maxine Lapiduss
Jeff & Sheila Chianakas
Don & Debbie Danneman
Reed Davis
John Garcia
Jack & Gilda Green
Joyce Green & Chris Petrus
The Gypsey Players
Barbara Jo Kirshbaum
Robert Korenberg, M.D.
Tracy Lamonica
Timothy McGaughey
John Parro
Bonnie Paster
Tammy & Jim Price
Paul Putrino
Orly Ravid
Peter Reynolds
Nancy Seger
Richard Smith
Barry Wright
The
Filmmakers would also like to thank:
Jen
Baers / Studio 10 Design
Holly Bestry
John Biondolillio / ATO Records
Kyle Bishop
Barbara Bogaev / Weekend America
Morris Boyaner
Beth Brown
Christina Brown
Johann Butka
Becky Carter
Krissy Clark / Weekend America
Russel Clay
Casey Davis
Jim & Diane Davis
Thomas Di Mascio
Annie Dowdle
Marcia Ellison
Kevin Enright & Dennis O'Connor
Karen Falstrup
Jane Ford
Terri Garber
John Garcia
Brent Green
Patty Griffin
Amy Halpin / IDA
The Crew at "Hanks"
LeAnn, Parker and Trevor Harris
Colin Hay
Lyndsey Hoag & Chris Cumello
Kathy Hughes
Robert Kelley / Universal Music Enterprises
Maritza Marticorena
Lynn Mastandrea
Mighty Movers
Diane Perla
Kay Ponder
The Putrino Family
Nichole & Michael Redstone
Steve Scott / Wixen Music Publishing
Melody Shickley
Del Slowik
Richard Smith
Janet Tangirala & Family
Elizabeth Torres
Kathi Whitley / Vector Management
Kevin Wong / Universal Music Publishing Group
Gerry Vohs
Brenda Wedemeyer
Very Special Thanks:
Kathleen
Beaton
Hillary Carlip
Katie Ford
Joyce Green
Julie Hale
Kim Hall
Rogers Hartmann
Barbara Held
Maxine "Team Leader" Lapiduss
Jackie Marchand
Cynthia Moore
Orly Ravid
Julia Salazar
Tracey "Tiki" Stern
Our
heartfelt gratitude to Gregg's Family for their
kindness during
this very intimate time in their lives.
And to Gregg Gour for sharing his journey with us
A
Finished Life: The Goodbye & No Regrets Tour
©2007 All Rights Reserved
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