My Muse

I cast my previous film out of desperation. I needed actors bad, and I was willing to let anyone fill the roles, so long as they could read and memorize. While perusing MySpace for people interested in acting, I ran across an old aquaintance. We had worked at Applebee's together, and he had actually starred in one of my early experimental shorts. Well, he jumped on board and even brought along another actor.

While shooting that previous film (Up in the Air), we were plagued with issues. My main actor was unfamilar with the script, and needless to say, did not know his lines. I enjoyed working with him, but the process ended up being slow and tedious while we went over lines and character motivations.

BUT while editing, I noticed just how much talent he really had. In scenes where he knew his lines, he nailed it. In scenes where he ad-libbed, he really really nailed it. Unfortunately, we couldn't use any of the ad-lib scenes. Regardless, I recognized something inside him - a talent - a charisma - a charm. I had a feeling that with the proper role and direction, he could really prove himself and shine.

He sorta' became my muse for this next picture. I wrote one particular character with him in mind. In fact, in my mind, the character was him.

Here recently, the actor/friend had been very busy and difficult to get in touch with. That coupled with the fact that actual financing didn't seem that out there, we began thinking about casting the film with actual paid actors - actors with resumes and training and all that good stuff. We even had a few actors in mind. Then, my actor/friend finally got back in contact with me... a few weeks ago. He wanted to assure me that he was totally committed to the film. Well, naturally I felt bad for ever doubting him. Of course, we still just had to see how well he would read the part.

He came over last night, and we all sat around and chatted and laughed. I pulled the script out, and we read about half of it... and the consensus... NO ONE could play this role but him. Sure, he needed some direction, so he could understand where the character was coming from or what direction the character might be taking... but he NAILED it. He was the character.

It seems that every time one of the actors comes over and reads, I am that much more excited about this movie. It's so amazing to see them bring to life my words. It's just so exciting to see actors do what they do.

But basically - what I mean to say is - I was wrong to ever doubt my friend. He's been with me nearly since the beginning... since that first experimental short. I see great potential in him... And I think eventually, the world will see it too.

New Ally

In the past few months, the movie had taken a backseat to several hairbrained ideas I'd come up with. Most of them were Okay ideas, but ultimately, they were taking me away from my primary objective - which is to make this movie.

It all boils down to reality. I really hate reality. Reality tells me that I'm never going to get all those people together to do this - for 3 straight weeks. Reality tells me I'd never be able to ask off from work for that long of a period. Reality tells me that there are just so many minute details that have to be ironed out before anything can happen, and because of the fact that I (and all the others involved) have to work and have normal lives, many of those details can only be ironed out in the days preceding filming - and if one thing goes wrong, we are potentially screwed. It really makes me dizzy just thinking about it.

The key however is financing. By paying people, I can ensure that they will be there. I can ensure that I am getting professionals. I can raise the production value and make the potential for an audience greater.

While covering an AIDS benefit recently, I interviewed an organizer who mentioned that they had raised $30,000 from private donations even before the auction began. At that moment, I realized that there were a great many people out there with the ability to give out money at will. I also realized that many of those people were arts and gay friendly - many might be gay themselves.

See, the movie is a gay coming of age story - a new twist for gays in cinema where they are not the sadistic villain (as is often the case in Hollywood films) nor the victim of disease nor hatred. In my screenplay, the characters exist in a world where it takes "all sorts." It's how I remember college - it may not be how things have become again - but it was how I remember it used to be. Perhaps this movie can help turn things around again.

Well, I made the aquaintance of a man with a lot of connections within the gay community (and investment types) here in Shreveport. I gave him the run-down of what we were doing, and he has decided to help us. He came over last night and we went over the script with him. From his reaction, I think he liked it. I also think we found our demographic (although I was already pretty sure about it). Gays are going to LOVE this movie.

He is making phone calls... and giving us lots of names. We are currently trying to get another person involved - a local cinema and art person. She knows more about fundraising and hopefully how to approach investment types.

I am totally rejuvenated. This movie is going to be BIG. And it's going to blow Shreveport off the map!

Oh yeah! The movie is now called "All Sorts." We felt it had a better ring to it than Welcome to my World.

Budget

We have decided that this movie is too important to do without some sort of financing.

Last week, we had a small read-through with some of the major players, and they were very impressed with the script and concept. One declared that we just couldn't make this movie without some money - saying it deserved much more.

Of course, I agreed with her, but I never thought it possible. Her pep talk, however, was all it took to get me motivated.

I have now downloaded a budget template, and I'm working on coming up with a realistic budget that we can present to financiers and others interested in helping us raise money.

I'm optimistic. Shooting in HD-DV will lower the costs. We could never afford film and all the processing necessary for editing and distribution. We own a great deal of the equipment (lights, jibs, dollies, and camera and lenses). We will only shoot in free locations. We don't need to rent studio or office space. Some of our actors are free - other will just have to be cheap. There is no doubt in my mind that we can do this for an unheard of minimal amount of money - however, money will be needed. That's why we are looking into financing.

Shooting has been postponed just a bit, while we search for money. We are shooting for Spring. I get two weeks off - and could feasibly take off a week without pay to get this done.

Updates on fundraisers coming soon - hopefully.

The Lead

Even before I had finished the script, the lead was cast... but as the script evolved and the character changed, I began to feel that the actor was no longer really suited for the role. For one, the character went from straight to gay.

But this left me with a predicament. Who was going to play the lead role of Chuck?

Well, while perusing some theatre pics of another actor friend, I discovered a young man who seems absolutely perfect. I mean, the moment I pulled up his first pic, I said to myself, "THAT'S CHUCK!"

Of course, we haven't heard him read yet. He's coming over Saturday evening to read from the script. Exciting! I really hope he works out.

As for the other actor, he will still be seen in the movie. I think I've found a role that he'll have fun with.

Laura Campbell

As I was expanding the screenplay from short to feature length, several characters got more development and focus. One in particular forced her way to the forefront. Her name was merely mentioned in the original script, but in the revised script, she became a very important supporting character. Honestly, she's only a back story away from being a main character. Her name is Laura Campbell.

I don't want to say a lot about the character, because I don't want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say, she's going to be a break-out character. She's going to be the character that everyone gets a kick out of. She has so many qualities and quirks that she practically begs for a terrible spin-off... not that I would ever let a Flo, Jacke', or Joanie Loves Chachi situation happen to one of my characers (unless gobs of money were offered).

Anyway, I was really worried about casting the role. It's not going to be an easy acting job. She has to be sexy. She has to be sassy. She has to be intelligent. She has to be sarcastic - without being that high-school play-style sarcastic.

I was beginning to think we'd never cast the role... And then, I was suddenly struck with the idea. I have an old friend - from way back in the day. We acted together in several theatre productions. She is incredibly attractive, a good actress, and incredibly charismatic. She's also made for film with distinctive features like big Disney eyes - just because someone is pretty (or even hot) doesn't mean they work on film. Generally, Hollywood types have large heads, skinny bodies, and very distinctive features that sorta' pop. That's why regular people - not matter how hot they are - don't really work on film (for one thing, their little normal heads are just so un-eye-catching)... but I digress...

The point is - the old friend would be perfect. The only problem is - I can't find her. She hasn't been on MySpace since April. Her phone number didn't work anymore. So... Tomorrow, I am going looking for her. I know what town she lives and works in... And I think I know what business it is... I guess I shall see. If not, I'll hire a private detective to track her down. We have to have her in this movie. It's literally a make or break thing.

Cross your fingers.

Script Read-Thru

We had a little impromptu script read-thru tonight. It was short notice, so only two of the actors could show up, but hearing the words spoken out loud really brought the story to life. This is really going to be a good movie... and I think I've made the right decision as far as the actors go.

I can't wait to see how the rest of the cast does.

The Lonely Work of Pre-Production

For the last few days, I've been working on some pre-production stuff... mostly sorting out the scenes, characters in those scenes, and costumes. To do that, I also went through the script and marked each page to show what day (in the movie) it is. For example, day 1 pages are marked with a circle at the top of the page, day 2 pages are marked with a triangle - and so on...

Breaking down the scenes in this manner will make the shooting process much more efficient. If we have multiple scenes in one location - even if they take place on different movie days - we should shoot them all in one big block. We shoot one scene, then the actors change costumes, and we shoot another scene. With my Scene Breakdown, we can easily see what actors need to be there, what costumes they need to be in, and what time of day it is.

Now, I need to further break-down the scenes by writing in which direction I need the actors (or action) to movie. In the story, character go to and from various locations. To help orient the audience, they always need to be going in one direction (say, right to left) when going TO the location, and in another direction (say, left to right) when coming FROM the location. Make sense?

This isn't the "fun" part of movie-making, but I enjoy it. It allows me to think logically - something I don't do very often. Unfortunately, it's a lonely job. No one really wants to help with this part. :(