Still Holding

Yes, we’re still on hold. I’m getting sort of pissed. We’re going on 3 weeks now that we’ve had this wrench in the system. I’m tired. I actually canceled my meeting with Miguel yesterday because I’m completely throwing out the Voice Overs. I never intended to use them through out the whole writing process from now till back in November and they just feel forced. So I read through half the screenplay last night and I’m going through the other half today looking for ways to strengthen the screenplay. Miguel did as I asked and went and saw Love Actually. He responded saying he loved the film. I’m glad he saw it so now we both can have a frame of reference as far as structure. And it’s fresh in his mind. I’ll admit that some good stuff has come from this wrench. We did get the screenplay down to 98 pages. Which will make everything easier, and I mean everything. So I canceled my meeting with him and he’s headed out of town for the weekend so the earliest time we can meet is next Tuesday.

I offered the SAG roles to the SAG actors. They both accepted and both sent me there Bio’s for the website right away. Wonderful.

We brought Jamie into the meeting on Wednesday to hear him read. He did a great job. I’m about 90% sure I’m gonna cast him. I need to check out a few other actors and work out some details before I make an offer though.

We had a member of the producing team step down on Wednesday. I’m glad he was able to come to me and tell me he just couldn’t make the large commitment. We’ll work on something else together later on. Believe me when I say I know what it’s like to juggle responsibilities.

Not Cool, Cool, Not Cool, Cool

Yesterday Miguel didn't approve the script. That was not Cool. Today I saw the shuttle discovery take off today. That was cool. Then I heard that North Korea test fired 3 missiles, one capable of reaching the US. That was not cool. Then I watched fireworks from the top of a tall building. That was cool. It’s been a rollercoaster of a day.

It’s actually been a rollercoaster of a weekend. I talked to Miguel yesterday. I was able to squash a lot of his main problems, issues I’ve heard before as far as too many characters and police car usage. He said his biggest problem over all with the screenplay was that it lacked a central point of view. I explained to him that it’s from Jeremy’s point of view (Jared(Me)). He said he got that the character framed the story and that it was a good device but he didn’t feel he was a central character. I asked him if he’d seen love actually and he said no. I told him to see it and he’d see the structure I’m going for. Anyway, he said he still wanted a stronger central character so I pitched him the idea of adding two voice overs. One at the beginning and one at the end, both by Jeremy. He liked it. So I did it. I sent it to him this afternoon and he’s going to go over it and get back to me by Thursday the latest. He had some notes and spelling errors and I took them into consideration in this version of the screenplay. Well everything’s still on hold till he approves it. Sigh. Just going to have to wait.

I had a busy weekend and had a lot of emails from actors and crew over the last couple of days that I still haven’t answered. Guess what I’m doing tomorrow?

Also I’m gonna update the website. I got some bios. Yippee.

On Hold

Man did I cut. I cut and cut and cut and cut. I got the screenplay down to 98 pages. Phew. Molly read it and said she couldn’t tell where I cut so that’s good. I guess it needed to be shorter.

I talked with Miguel yesterday and we’re getting together on Monday to go over any issues he has with the screenplay. He said he’s going to read it twice this weekend and make notes. I’ll be glad when this issue is all wrapped up and done.

I was supposed to call linnaea’s son Jason about storyboarding but decided not to. I was also supposed to make a list for linnaea of all the characters and there physical descriptions. I decided not to do either. In face, I’m doing nothing but working on the screenplay till Miguel gives it the final ok. I’ve printed out a copy of the 98 page version and am going through it for formatting, spelling, and grammatical errors. Something I’m not good at but oh well. I just am sick of wasting time doing things like the shooting schedule and stuff when the script keeps changing. Every time it changes it causes a ripple effect through out the whole production. so all aspects on the creative side are on hold till the screenplay is locked. Hopefully that’ll be this Monday. We’ll see.

I talked to Brad Golden and Josh McDermitt and they both said they wanted to accept the roles (pending the contracts of course). Well needless to say I’m excited to work with both of them.

We’re bringing in Jamie Israel to read for us on Wednesday the 5th. I’m excited to see what he brings to the table. I think it’ll work out nicely. Well I hope.

The drama has started. Some of the producers, and although you think you (producers reading this) know what I’m talking about you don’t, have expressed some concern about other members of the team. I’m gonna have to start kicking some ass. Well, not really. But this is the politics that comes with filmmaking so here I go. I’m pretty good at this stuff so I think I’ll be able to handle it well.

I’ve started directing. Kind of. I had an actor email me with a lot of questions regarding their character, character background and stuff. I emailed them back with very little information. I’m a big fan of the David Mamamet style of directing. His book “On Directing” is awesome. I suggest anyone pick it up. I hope the actor isn’t frustrated with the lack of info I provided them. I still haven’t heard back from them when I sent the email.

Speaking of the email by the actor about their role, I’m so happy with all the support I’m getting on this film from the cast and crew. It’s really really uplifting and when things are hard it’s nice to know I’ve got such great support. Thanks guys. Let’s make a great fucking movie!