Production Timeline Moves Up Three Weeks

Stopped by the Bridal Shop the other day. Now that casting's nearly complete, I wanted to touch base with the shop owner and finally sit down to plan her 30-second spot and sign the contract.

Although it's only been two months (yes, we've been busy!) she informed me that the only days we could shoot in January would be Jan 11-12-13 (Mon-Wed), a full THREE WEEKS before we had scheduled the shoot. While I had selected the dates with the cooperation of the shop manager Jill, put it in their booking schedule, and also left a contract with late January dates, these didn't matter. We were moved. No negotiation.

Not great news, but we'll make it work. But I quickly had to inform the actors. Were they all still available? Also, this date is the Monday following our fundraiser fiesta, and that is not the way I had planned to spend the weekend before shooting. My cushion time to get production pieces together just got scrunched. That night I went to yoga class, but it didn't seem to help. So I went home and laid on the heating pad and worked on the laptop until midnight. I Am A Worker. I think that's the title of my next film.

Fortunately, the cast is still on board and they're very excited about the schedule of events.

Sun Dec 13 -- Rehearsal: Cast table reads
Sun Dec 20 -- Rehearsal: Cast blocking with DP

Sat Jan 9 -- Meet the Cast Fundraiser
5 pm to 11 pm
1300 Ordway, Berkeley

Mon-Wed, Jan 11-13 -- Production
* plus 2 shoot dates for Gil & Joan characters, TBD


We're currently still trying to find a rehearsal location, but all things considered we're okay on our status. There's just no fat left in the timeline. Lean. Lean. Lean.

On a happy note, progress on our 27-minute casting piece is moving along well. We were able to interview the lovely Emmanuelle as Casting Director and she was smart, articulate and just plain good. The whole thing should be done before Thanksgiving and will be broadcast on Santa Rosa Community Access Channel. We'll keep you all posted on when this will be broadcast. Hopefully we'll be able to show it at our little fiesta.

Check out the Fiesta invitation here:

Blessed or Damned? That is the question...

This week we reviewed actor submissions and have come up with our list for the first round of casting -- Ta Da!

I'm tired. It's taken longer than I thought it would to get here, and the road has been bumpy at best.

The production of this short, lovely, marvelous film was early on blessed by the gods. An enthusiastic team, a core group jumping in with enthusiasm, great script feedback, and the joy of joys... a location that's already beautiful, needs very little set dressing, and is allowing us to use their space gratis, including all the designer gowns fit specifically for each actress!

As time has gone on, reality has chipped away at my little island of paradise. We have had nearly every imaginable challenge thrown in our path. It really truly started with the loss of JC's job... JC, our driver and "behind the scenes" shooter. From there, we had the resignation, no, the *divorce* of our beloved co-writer and editor Mick, the success of our storyboard artist (who graciously bowed out due to her pending gallery exhibits), the blunt *pass* of our composer, and finally, most recently, the crash derby destruction of my car, which is currently in the body shop getting $5k+ worth of work. This was further compounded with the tragically sad news of the passing of Emmanuelle's uncle -- Emmanuelle, my always positive friend, my casting & visionary guru. In the midst of this, the IRS is auditing me for 2007 & 2008. At the same time, the store owner is truly an artist at heart, and we just can't seem to sit down and sign the contract.

While these small and seemingly not insurmountable challenges may seem individually piffling, together they combine to create a huge swell -- and it's me that's tumbling in the green room. But I am moving forward positively, my great eye fixed on the prize.

We made our casting choices and we will have our auditions despite the tribulations. I will secure the stage for Round 2.


Much thanks goes to Emmanuelle who, in the midst of her tremendous grieving and her own uncertain future, had the courage and strength to run through the casting, encourage me and pass her positive thoughts toward the production of this film. She asks the big questions, plus she drank martinis with me.

Casting with Emmanuelle

In the midst of real-life craziness, I'm meeting my casting gal Emmanuelle Anatolin at Rizzo's Cafe in Oakland. I've already sent her a CD of potentials, and we have a whole bunch more to view online. I trust her judgment and know she'll have some insight about working with the team we pick out. Our ideal scenario is to have 4 candidates for each role, and narrow down the key roles to 2 people for the follow up casting call. I'm hoping to cast the secondary and background actors all at once -- view the card and resume, shoot them at the casting on video, and then a quick decision: How do they interact and how do they look on film?

My key crew is a team I worked with years ago on Emmanuelle's film, Ode to Donuts. Shooting was fun and a great learning experience for all of us. She had a great cast and did a lot of work to get them to work together well. The film ended up 180 degrees from what we thought we shot, but it was a good creative effort for her, and yes, O's little part with the donuts is still in the final cut. That's sweet.

While producing and directing your own short film is a challenge on its own, it's clear I've taken on a giant gorilla while doing it with a full-time job, a home life in disarray, and now, I've just crashed my car and will have to spent a chunk of money I've planned for the film to get it repaired. These are the hurdles we overcome during the process, I suppose. I've decided to drink more tea to keep it calm. Chamomile is my new friend, if only because it slows the machine down...

Today is the Big Ass BBQ. For those in the know, it's a big day. And so I will drive down to Oakland, do some casting work, and then head into the great fiesta, drink in hand, hopefully to rock out a little and play some music with my posse, the amazing TWO STICKS. My DP and Art Director will be there as well. But no film talk allowed. It's a party, my friends.

Until next time...