The 4 Horsemen

Aaaaaand.... we have a title. And a story no less. I'm quite proud. Draft? Draft you say? I'm workin' on it Mr./Mrs. Hurry pants! It takes time to hone such genius... of course I've heard it takes time to hone anything... even the ability to eat cereal can sometimes require days - nay - MONTHS to achieve some sort of mastery.

But, I digress... quickly. The script is coming along. My problem (as is the norm) is that I always have difficulty with the first 10 pages. Act One is always a chore, while Acts Two and Three come much more easily. In this case I've practically written the last two acts and am now just struggling with the first. I think I feel the most amount of pressure surrounding these first few pages as the audience is either going to be drawn in or walk out in those first few moments of the movie.

Of course, being afraid of those first few pages leaves open the room to be a procrastinator... as I always have been. If I can just obsess about an action line here or there... if I can pull my hair out over whether or not a "cut" is the right way to handle this transition (perhaps a dissolve is better?)... if I can bang my head against the wall over dialog like "hembras loca, me have tieso." Then I can actually prevent myself of getting a WHOLE lot of work done.

But enough of that junk, let's get to the nitty gritty (a phrase I absolutely hate, but find myself using numerous times throughout the day. What's it about? That's a good question. Plot wise it's about a gang of outlaws in 1895. They take on the personas of the Mythic Four Horsemen from the Bible. Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. Together, they lead a gang called "The Horde" and cut a swath through the west. On the run, the four reach a small, isolated town in Montana and quickly ravage it. In the middle of the night, Famine (the leader) is attacked by a townsperson. The townsperson fails in his mission to kill Famine, but gets off a lucky shot from his revolver. It strikes Famine in the head... but doesn't kill him, rather induces amnesia.

This is the "inciting incident" if you will. How do the other 3 horsemen react to this? What does Famine make of his disturbing life? All questions that I try to answer. Sssssssslowly... but only in 30 pages... fun yay!

Anywho, enough with this pesky procrastination and onward to the writing thing.

Cherios... wait... Corn Flakes?

Under the Weather

I hates bein' sick. Seriously. I got this weird sinus infection thing going on and it's knocked me on my ass. I guess better now that I'm out of school and have the luxury of just sitting around this weekend.

Being sick has left me able to get some writing done (or at least get some thinking about writing done). Right now, with thesis time staring me in the face and the possibility of doing a western as said thesis, I'm trying to think of something kind of exciting to do. I've always wanted to make a western. I love the genre, but I guess more than that, I love a sub-genre of the western genre. I love the "Man With No Name" series of Clint Eastwood films. My personal favorite is High Plains Drifter. That's movie makin' right there. And so I've set my mind to making something similar... at least in tone.

Right now I'm seeing a strange expressionistic film about good and evil. Nothing new, but I'd like to put my own spin on it. That being said... it's a hell of a hard thing to accomplish without a budget. We'll see.

Anywho. Back to the grind of being sick. Couch time. I think I'll watch some Buffy... something to make me feel mo betta.

And the semester comes to a close. WOW!

Ye gads... that was an exciting two months... no really, it was.

With my second short film done (titled GONE) I'm feeling more confident with my ability to direct actors and create a visual voice for each piece I'm working on. That being said, it's hard work. And, more to the point, my big challenge still lies within writing. It's not that I'm a bad writer, as much as I tend to write films full of quiet moments and soft dialogs which talk about everything except what is actually going on. I like that in some ways, but it sets up a tone that's very monotonous at times. Hmmmm... working on it.

Now, with two short films under my belt (one of which I'm sending to festivals, for better or worse) I'm looking forward to my thesis film. Three scripts are in competition with each other for my attention. Two of which are drama/psychological studies... i.e. easy to shoot in terms of production. The third is a collaborative effort with another filmmaker and an actress to make a western. I don't know about that. It may work, it may not. I've always wanted to make a western, but the production problems that surround something like that are pretty impressive. That's not to say I'm writing it off, rather "approaching with caution". I'm not deluding myself into thinking this will be easy.

So, here I sit. Two years into my graduate degree (and only one year left) and 40 pounds lighter... I'm still chunky though... DAMMIT! But I feel good. My bad knee still bugs me, the rib I separated earlier this year still reminds me it's there, and the bills pile up. But I feel good. I feel like I'm doing what I always wanted to... and that's worth some aches and pains... definitely. ;)

Until next time, I am - and will always be - your Lonely Director.

Bits of Things... 'n' Stuff...

This semester is flying away from me. It's nice in some respects as I'm nearing my thesis year and my MFA will be complete... YAY! But, I'm also going to have to shoot, edit, and score a 12 page script in, roughly, three weeks (not consecutive, I just have a window of time in there and I'll be picking days to shoot). Scary stuff. Too much? Don't think so, just stressful. Can't wait to get to work on this script with my actress (a wonderfully talented lass) and finish casting so's I can get moving. I'm approaching this piece in a more Cassavetian (sp?) way. Which is to say that I'm letting some of the creative work fall into the lap of my lead actress, who seems excited by that. Where do I leave the character? Is this scene right? If not, how would you fix it? i.e. what would the character do instead? Also I can leave allot of the physical work in building a character to her. That's the dream anyway.

Music of the Moment: Angel - Live Fast, Die Never...

Great script writing music... at least I think so.

The Time Crunch

It's a difficult thing, filmmaking. Mostly, it's a time consuming thing. And time is never on your side, especially in a university environment where not one person can really commit to the project on the level you can (as writer/producer/director). What is most frustrating is trying to organize my time with other filmmakers in the program. Helping them on their own projects (which I enjoy) and trying to get the same from them. Thankfully, it almost always works out well. This semester, everyone is taking on so much that it seems I may be wearing ALL hats on my production.

At this moment, I do not have a complete cast. I do not even have a final draft of my script. I'm working long hours into the night on the script but I'm not much of a writer... well, I'm not a fast writer. I have moments that ideas come but translating them to the page is quite difficult. I have one actress cast (who is quite good) and we are going to be working together on the script, kind of taking a Cassavettian approach to the project. That's great, but it does put pressure on me to get these early drafts "right" so my actors are enthusiastic about the process. If the script sucks... then what? Well, I'm hosed if that happens.

But I have enough faith in myself to make an interesting script, keep people keen on the project. It's the time it takes that worries me. TOO LONG! Good lord. In some respects writing a full length script might be easier as you have time to lay things out and slowly develop things. Short scripts are so immediate that the pressure to complete them in just several pages is at odds with the pressure to make those several pages as deep and important as I can.

Ug. Back to work I go... wish me well...

Not Fit to Be A Fan...

Ok, I'm not the only one. I'M NOT! But when my hero, Randy "The Natural" Couture, came out of retirement at 43 to face the giant Tim Sylvia for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, I doubted him. I worried for Randy's health facing the 6 foot 8 inch Sylvia with 17 knockout victories to his credit. I was angry at the UFC for putting my hero into harm's way. I was depressed that Sylvia (a champ that I really didn't like very much... nothing personal, I just didn't enjoy watching him fight and he had a real antagonistic relationship with fans) would be coming out to brutalize my Hero.

I guess a little background is needed here for those of you not familiar with the UFC. Randy "The Natural" Couture was the organization's first two time Heavyweight champ. Then at age 40, after consecutive losses to much larger opponents, he dropped down in weight to 205 (light heavyweight) to face possibly the most dangerous striker in the entire sport, Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. No one gave Randy a chance. So, in answer to that, Randy spent three rounds beating the crap out of Chuck, earning himself the Light Heavyweight Championship belt thus becoming the first fighter in UFC history to own two belts in two different weight classes. Randy would then spend nearly two years brutalizing younger opponents in that weight class until the belt was taken away from him by Chuck Liddell in consecutive knockout matches. At 42, Randy Couture retired from the sport.

Or so we thought. Three months ago it was announced that Randy would be coming out of retirement to face the Heavyweight knockout artist Tim Sylvia for the Heavyweight belt. I was sad. I thought after two knockout losses to the smaller Chuck Liddell, the UFC was just placing the ever popular Randy against an unpopular champ to boost Sylvia's popularity.

So, I was wrong. I was so wrong that I feel like I betrayed my hero. This guy came out like a man possessed, not only repeatedly dragging Sylvia to the matt and having his way with him, but also completely dominating the stand up aspect of the fight. The first 20 seconds of round 1 saw the first punch landed in the fight send Sylvia flailing to the ground. Which shocked each and every one of us. 25 Minutes of complete domination from Randy Couture...

So, am I a TRUE fan? I didn't believe in my guy. I lost faith. I let logic get in the way. But, as one reporter said about the event. "Again Randy Couture is making me eat crow. But sometimes it's worth eating crow if you get to witness a miracle." I think that applies. I came out of UFC 68 feeling rejuvenated and fresh, like I wanted to be a better person.

Ok, Randy, you got me. I don't know what they're feeding you but I wanna eat it. And I will NEVER EVER EVER EVER bet against you ever again. EVER! I don't know how you're going to dismantle and destroy Mirko "Cro Cop" Fillipovic, but I'm sure you'll figure out a way. I'm in your corner. But I feel as though I don't deserve it.

Writing 'n' Stuff

I hate writing... there, I said it... OH YEAH! It's a form of creative expression that lends itself well to some, and not so well to others. As I sit here, again, working on a script that I will be shooting in about two months, I find my mind wandering.

I think I work better as a director and cinematographer as I like working with what I do have as opposed to making up what I will have. There's a sense of play in interpreting the script and working with actors. As a DP, there's always a sense that you could fail at any second, but when the shot comes off right, SUCCESS!!!!

Writing also leaves me cold as it is, for me anyway, a lonely process. It's a time when I have to focus on what EXACTLY I want to say, then try, with my own little hands, to make it come out on paper. Sure, I can workshop it with other writers and directors, but that is almost too late. I've already done all the work. I've written a first draft and now have had a chance to look at it and see many of the flaws that must be corrected.

So... here I sit... I have 2 more pages written than I did an hour ago... I need to write 10 more pages... my iTunes has just switched to Rob Zombie's Two Lane Blacktop which is completely inappropriate for the script I'm working on... I flip through songs until I find something a little more depressing... ah, Loreena McKennit, that'll do... I look back at the page... still need 10 more...

I always bring the script together in time, but I wish it were easier. Not that directing or shooting a film is "easy", but I have a handle on how to make the process work. This writing thing is for the Birds... and that wasn't even a good script... CRIPES!!!!