Raining...

When it rains it pours. The family stuff continues to pile on. And in really bad ways. It is what it is... not much I can do about it except be there for my peoples.

I have had a few conversations in the last week or so that have lifted my spirits in terms of working here. I have a few things to set up hopefully soon.

Working on the latest revisions has been a bit of a longer process than I expected. It boils down to me not getting it done in a timely manner more than anything else. I have a small piece of paper with the remaining rewrites. These equate to about 2 new pages I wrote that need to be surgically pieced in the proper places.

About to do that now...

I started this blog days ago and it isn't even long. I'm on point!

It is snowing outside.

Goofing off...

The strange story of Machete...

I was going to write something semi-serious, but I'll save that for tomorrow. Today (or this past weekend), I learned that Robert Rodriguez's Machete was purchased by Fox for distribution in theaters across the country.



This is all based on the fake trailer starring Danny Trejo from the financial failure, Grindhouse (a piece of work I think has some merits, but I understand its detractors).

It was originally slated to be directed by who knows who and made for direct to video. Just something quick, cheap, and fun for the fans. Rodriguez decided to lens it his self. Now, that ups its stature automatically.

What do you think? Are you on board? Still seems a bit low end though, right?

What if I say Steven Seagal is in it? How about Jessica Alba? Michelle Rodriguez? Anything yet?

Tom Savini? Rose McGowan? Lindsay Lohan? Cheech Marin? Have a pulse yet?

Don Johnson?

OK... how about Robert De Niro? Seriously. How this direct to video became such a big piece of fun, I have no idea. Will it be good? Probably not. Will it be a blast to watch? Probably.

Star studded cast and a director who knows how to direct action (and that is about all he knows how to direct, but he is one of the best at it). A fun movie to watch along side the hopefully fun Expendables. Star studded, throw back fun. It is the thing to do in 2010.

This is all based on the fake trailer starring Danny Trejo from the financial failure, Grindhouse.

Amazing and strange.

Locally implanted headaches...

Man. Long have I wanted to make a film here. Where I am from.

There are a number of reasons for this, all of which feel pretty right. But man... there are some headaches and lows that come with trying to do this. The people behind the camera are in fairly large abundance around here. Which is great. I love working with people who want to work on something like this... something they can apply their skills on and not be the same stuff they normally do. They get stoked. And I think they should. And the people I speak to I feel very confident in what they can bring.

Someone told me that was the hard part. The behind the camera part. You could always get people to be in front of the camera. No problem. I will have to respectfully disagree with that sentiment. Or maybe it is just not easy to find certain qualities.

Having met with a handful of people, I am very confident that smaller roles will be filled with competent people. I am working on getting the larger roles read for... some are filled, some will be hard going.

But so much of the film hinges on the lead. THE FILM hangs upon the lead. It is about as main character centric as you can get. And no one has come close to matching my vision. I have met with some solid actors, but I don't want to have to compromise so much that it is nowhere near where I wanted it to be.

We will see... shooting here makes me happy... but also can give me large headaches.

Meet n Greet

I have been re-reading and cleaning up some areas in the script. Most of them are the newer things that have not been read over that much. Which always happens. At the same time, I am reminded of why I like it and how strong my vision is for the story I want to tell.

After many, many delays.... weather and others... I should finally be sitting down face to face with my composer Sunday to flesh out some ideas. I'd like to get some sonic ideas out there before filming to help on a number of levels. And of course these can be (and will be) tweaked and worked on further after filming is complete and in post.

I have met with a handful of actors this week and will continue to sit down with more as time goes on... I have a fairly full day of this tomorrow. I enjoy doing this, but it can be tiring and it makes my throat sore from talking all day. Almost all of these have gone fairly well and it has been nice to meet some local talent. I hope to be able to do some readings/taped auditions in the near future. I still fear the look for the lead will be a long and painful one.

Here's hoping...

And that was all serious... here is the fun.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

Terry Gilliam is back in true Gilliam form. If you are a fan of his work... this is fabulous news. I will stay mainly spoiler free and I just now watched a trailer. I recommend going in blind to the film as well if at all possible.

I have a huge admiration for the works of this man and really feel for him as he has had some of the worst luck of any director working. Not to take away from the tragic death of Heath Ledger, but the fact that he died while working on a Gilliam film seemed an "of course it happened while on a Gilliam film" situation. Given the hammering the production took due to the loss of Ledger, it is amazing the film was completed at all (not to mention some of the brave choices made with what they had already filmed). Even more astounding is the fact that the film works and that the film makers creative fix for the situation makes for a really strong device. I feel it actually enhances the film and surely pushed all involved to give their best.

This is the first film in over 20 years that feels 100% like a Gilliam film. This sits alongside Time Bandits, Brazil, and Baron Munchausen as a work that could only spring from the man who started out as Monty Python's cartoonist. His signature style is represented here in a number of ways. Even some goofy CGI, which is a first for his style. Some critics try to blast the look of the CGI as being distracting for lack of realism... but knowing his work and what he likes to do... how could anyone expect any form of realism? How would that ever be perceived as a goal of his?



Seriously.

Gilliam's faults are on full display here, but those come with the Gilliam. If you enjoy his movies, you know this already. Not a good handle on narrative and pacing. In fact, his narrative sometimes spins out of his control... but this just seems to be a product of his vast imagination. I say, go with it. This film seems very personal, it seems like Gilliam is speaking to everyone... but much like the message in the film (one of them, anyways)... no one will listen. Except those already in the know. He is preaching to the choir and he knows it.

All the actors give fantastic performances. The core group is fun. Tom Waits is in true Waits form. The three actors who stepped in to save the day play their parts wonderfully and blend perfectly with Ledger. Each actor's part even plays to their public persona a bit... which is a brilliant stroke. Dr. Parnassus is the titular character and seems to be the canvas... but Ledger and friends' Tony character seems to be the true main character. It is a bit of a strange structure, but one I enjoyed.

This bit of praise is all over the place... much like the film and his other works. It felt like an honor to see a true Gilliam vision piece on the big screen. He is trying to ramp up his Don Quixote project yet again... hopefully it gets up and stays up and he can complete his dream project. See the documentary Lost in La Mancha to get a sense of his troubles with that project and in general.

A daily planner...

Is this a sign of getting old? I don't know. I do know I am starting to get a lot of stuff going on... and a lot of meeting with people I don't really know... so I have moved to the daily planner to make sure I don't miss appointments and such. Hooray.

Working on meeting some actors and things of that nature. Just plugging along. Things continue to look up on that front. For the most part...

If I was to have theme music that followed me where ever I go... it would be this. Thought you would like to know. Long live John Carpenter.

Pixar short... featuring characters from UP.

Enjoy this...

I love the acoustic version of this song. I remember catching him playing it over a decade ago on the telly. Great stuff.