First few days in la

So, I have a general impression that I gave to someone about my first few days in La, first I will give you the skinny.

Sat--moved in, missed a great panel I'm super bitter about.

Sun--went to a scriptwriter's network group. found that the first people I met were really good and insightful about writing. Was told to get my butt to CineGear, which I will.

Mon--First, had a job interview, which I think I did okay on, but might have talked myself out of the job in the final minutes of the interview. She's interviewing 7 people, but the place is so hip, it has a pool table. Then, i went to a birthday for the screenplay lab's founder, Gabrielle. The people were really nice and I got an offer from the President of Scriptwriter's network to coordinate all the writer's groups. So in one day i went from a new member of one group to the Director of all the groups. Pretty cool right. I'm already moving up the ladder. I also saw Gary Durant, from CSI at the DMV. Someone recognized him, and he left.

Tuesday--Went to Bank of America for 2 hours, looked for a Hyundai Dealer, bought a bike, went to the 3rd St. Promenade 2x, once on a bike. There's nothing like cruising on a bike along the beach to tell you everything will be okay.

So, down to the nitty gritty. If you're looking or thinking about moving, here is an email I sent to someone in DC today. Minid you, it's only based on my very limited, not even week old, opinion:

Dear XXXXX,

the best advise i can give, even though I've only been here for 2 days, is to get your ducks in a row. Make sure you have material to show people when they ask, that you have quality projects you can talk about, that you've worked on a lot of formats, that you know the industry inside and out, and that you can give people material if they ever ask for it. luckily, I have been working on projects as a producer and director and writer for several years, so it helps when I meet people to discuss my projects and send them to my reel online.

Have tons of business cards made out. I have already regretted not having them when I first got out here with my new information on it. I must have passed up on giving out 20-30 cards already.

After that, find a nice place, not a shit hole, nut up, and move. I've already found people in 2 days that could potentially help my career more than I did in 3 years in DC. The people are pros, they know they're shit, and they can spot a fake from a mile away. However, at the same time, they have been overwhelmingly nice, gratious, and giving of their time. I have found actually the opposite of the cut-throat, is that because everyone needed a break at the beginning, they all recognize and want to foster new talent.

If you're into tv, there are lots of fellowships closing this month or next month. If you're into features, try the screenplay lab, scriptwriter's network, and UCLA extension. If you're into production, try film independent and AFI. There are also tons of public access stations out here. One station is housed on the old lot of a major studio. Try to find that in DC.

That's it. I say NUT UP and MOVE ALREADY!

Last Day in Dc

I'm freaking out. In 24 hours I will be in an airport, waiting for a plane, that will take me to California.

Assets I am taking with me:

-2 completed Feature Scripts
-3 completed original pilots
-5 spec scripts
-3 fellowship applications
-1 job interview
-1 half-edited movie
-0 money


A few contacts are just not enough, I feel. Now, for the scared-ness freak out moment:

-My entire life, at least since high school, I have wanted to be in films. I have begged, pleaded, worked on shit, lived in shit, taken out loans, and killed myself, all hoping for one day to be able to get to LA with enough confidence to allow me the opportunity to make it.

Now, I think I'm in pretty good shape, but I still feel as though I am destined for failure.

So, what am I going to do today? drive to Brandywine with Jon, do some last minute errands, drinks with the in-laws, dinner with friends, try to squeeze in my lawyer in there. I'm sure there will be plenty of freak out moments.

Next time I post a blog, barring some freak out. I'll be in La. So, I'll be discussing La, how to get ahead, where to get ahead, and what events are worthwhile.

Austin Film Festival

So, I applied for the Austin film festival as both a screenwriter and a teleplay writer. I think the pilot turned out really good. I may have wanted another week, but I was just tweaking tweaks.

This starts a new period in my life. I was once a screenwriter who produced my own content. However, now I would like to move into a writer who is noticed for the writing, not the directing.

We'll see how it goes.

Working on a proper film

Okay, so I've worked on tons of films, from no budget to millions. However, I've been off the production wagon for a while, both because of my old job as an executive producer and my disability.

However, this past week I was able to work as a production assistant for an IMAX documentary "We the People". Now, I've been director, DP, producer, and Writer on different projects, but I needed the money to help me move, and I liked the premise. Not to mention, I've never even seen 70mm film, let alone a 70mm film camera, so it was exciting to be able to work with the format.

I made sure to take extensive notes on how their production was set up, ask everyone what their history with the project was, and take stock of how the ADs ran a set. And I have to say, it was refreshing to be with people who know what they are doing. There was no yelling, or belittling, or confusion. Everything ran properly, like a well-oiled machine.

And, it comes down to this...plan properly. The thing that separated them from the new production companies with less money...yes, the food was better, and yes the equipment was better, and yes the people were more experienced... was the preparation, and the fact they knew exactly what they wanted and how to get it. In addition, they had plenty of crew to work in the positions they needed. They brought their own generators to set and had their own trailers. But, the major thing is, they were prepared and they treated their people with respect.

So, take a lesson from it, if you're in production, treat everyone with respect and figure out what the heck you are doing, don't yell, it's not becoming, and keep your nose clean.

LA/Budget

With the moving to LA, things are getting hectic. I have been writing, rewriting, and worrying like crazy. The thing about LA is, you have no more excuses. The past three years I've said that it's because I'm not in La, but now if I'm in LA there are no more excuses.

Also, we have finally received a budget for JBF and looking it over, we are not happy. We are logging all of the errors and problems in order to discuss with them at our next meeting. We hope that it will be productive and happen before I move to LA, but there is nothing that guarantees it.

The thing about dealing with independent producers, lawyers, or financiers is that nothing is quick. There are deadlines that are constantly blown, forcing x to happen when y should happen. We have probably blown 10-20 financial opportunities waiting for this budget, and when we received it we were very underwhelmed. Maybe of the sections were not complete, there were several sections that were ALLOWS instead of actual weekly numbers, and the detail in the sections was not adequate. To top it off, it was a budget I could have put together in 2 days, not 6 months. To top of the top off, there was no line item for a writer. I wrote the script, did 3 revisions and a polish, and there was NO line item for it. One of the many joys of independent production.

See, this is one of the reasons I am happy about LA. There is a professionalism about the town, I would hope. There are TV studios, Movie Studios, production companies, producers, and people who understand business.

Update and restarting the blog

I haven't done very much for the past few months. But here is an update.

-Jan 21--Fired from my job.

-Feb. 12--got m********d.

-Fed 21st-Meeting with B** ***k in P********h. Told to expect budget and such in March.

-March 29th- Got married for real. With the ring and everything.

-April 14th--Back from the honeymoon.

-April 15th--Still haven't gotten Budget.

-April 18th--Decide to write 8 specs, including three originals.

-May 1st--Still no budget. Got interest in Red Bicycle from 2 dc producers.

-May 10th--Karen got a job, and we're officially moving to LA on June 14th.

-May14--Released from Medical Care.

-May 17--final 8 specs right on time. Eat it everyone else.

-May 27th--Got budget, finally, which needs to be fixed heavily.

Now that I'm feeling better. I'm going to be blogging again, but not everyday, that's just stupid, but whenever I can.

free flow of ideas

After the football games, and the self-medication, and the whole thing, I would like to take a moment and reflect on my accident. Basically...I hurt...alot. I can't lift my head up without help. I can't take my brace off except for a couple of seconds. I slept with it on last night and it sucked a lot. The way my computer is set up, I need to look down to write, which is an incredible challenge.

I did however, finish act 1 of Red Bicycle. I think it's pretty good, but I have very little idea what to do with act 2. I always find act 2 is the hardest to do. I always have a good sense of how I want to begin and how I want to end. It's all that in between garbage that's a problem. But, it'll get through it.

I don't really have much more to say. I hope my boss doesn't fire me for this, though.