Missing Muse, Updates and Big Food

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

As it turned out, I never got around to posting during the week. It was the usual insanely busy week, but I found myself without any energy to do any kind of writing when I wasn’t working on something that’s in development. We were both on some heavy antihistamines (You know there is something bad in the air when Jon actually asks for sinus meds). The air at the beach where we are was unhealthy most of last week. We were at the furthest point out from the fires. Some neighborhoods had ash in the trees and on cars. The air toward downtown was brown early in the week. You really shouldn’t be able to see the air you’re breathing. One of my conference callers said I had a Brenda Vacarro voice happening in the morning. That implied to me that my voice isn’t always sultry and sexy, but I let it pass. We have little to complain about though. There have been a lot of people displaced with doubtful prospects. Fortunately, the losses were primarily property though in this economic climate, those losses are a catastrophe.

Missing the Muse

The big drag about being involved in all of these film projects is that I haven’t had the time to do any kind of creative writing just for me. I can’t justify using any of my free time to work on anything save for the films. That always makes me feel somewhat down. Aside from the creative rush I feel when I’m hanging out with characters I’ve created, it is the only outlet I have that doesn’t involve input from anyone else. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a thrill to hear actors say words you’ve written exactly the way you heard them in your hear or even better than you’d imagined. And it’s an amazing feeling to see scenes that were in your head come to life. However, that means a lot of sharing of the vision in a given work. That sharing always changes what was originally written. There are a number of writing projects vying for my attention. I’d love to tinker with any one of them, but I can’t right now. That throws me off a bit. My happiness meter isn't as high as it could be. For now, the trade-offs are enough that I can cope.

Updates and Panic Attacks

We’ve been having a lot of panic attacks lately. While watching the stock market roller coaster every day, it is easy to start worrying about our films and their funding. So we do – a lot. Still, we keep working on developing them to keep the schedule that is currently in place. The last word that we have is that we are still on schedule with The Gunslinger and Luv U 4 Ever. I have been adding previously deleted material to The Gunslinger since we found out it will have a theatrical release. I’m glad to have the scenes back though I’m still wrestling with the pacing of the script. They’re a lot of fun and it gives my cast more opportunity to shine. Meanwhile, I did a make-up and hair test with Matty Ferraro for Blood Oath. I’ll put those up on the newly minted myspace page for the project later today, and I’ll make an announcement here for those interested. He really has a living anime character thing happening (he’s a very pretty Vincent Greven). I’ll also reveal our pick for Rik Heron. He has a Willem Dafoe thing happening. Thus, this Rik will have a lot of intensity. We are on track to finish that shoot before everyone leaves for Christmas. I can’t wait to work with Matty in front of a camera. He is ever so patient and personable and trusting. I tell him that I need him in the bedroom on his knees and he doesn’t bat an eye (so very trusting). I like that kind of cooperation in attractive men. As for the features, unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be in a position to name the casts of the two features until early next year. You’ll have to stay tuned.

Foodie Things

Though I haven’t been doing much fiction writing, I have been engrossed in all things related to Thanksgiving cooking. That means that I am watching new shows about things I’ve been making for years and old shows that I’ve seen dozens of times. I puts me into a near zen-like state necessary for cooking all that food. Jon is very lucky to have headphones and an endless collection of soundtracks. We aren’t planning on entertaining this year. The holiday is an opportunity to rest from our routine (which we really need to do) and, more than likely, work on the projects in development. I say that I’m not planning to entertain. There are friends out there whom I haven’t heard from in a bit. I’m not sure that people won’t show up. I’ll be ready if that happens. I am making pies for some actor friends, as usual. It’s really hard for me to make one sweet potato pie (no pumpkin pie here, sorry). Cooking is my form of meditation, so I don’t think of it as a chore. And since there is Jon to do the dishes between rounds of cooking, it’s even less of a chore. I would cook even if we went to someone else’s place for dinner. My Mother always did that, because we wanted our own source of sandwiches and leftovers. The Thanksgiving meal is mainly about sandwiches and leftovers, after all. I have to warm up my kitchen mojo. Friday is the beginning of the great holiday baking extravaganza. This will be a happy smelling place for the next few weeks.

Since I’ll be posting later in the week, this blog will be a little short. Stay tuned for more rants and updates on the doings here mid-week.

Blog Delay

While we physcially safe from the current round of fires (the LA/OC fires are all an equal distances from our part of LA in different directions), there is an ongoing concern about loss of power to the entire area. There are also irritants in the air blowning from the affected areas. Thus, concentrating has been difficult and unlikely to change today. I'll post later this week or wait until next week. Keep those affected by and fighting the fires in your thoughts.

Holograms, Updates and Little Richard

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

Seriously, hunters from the search engines. If a search for a person, place or thing has brought you here, this is not the place you seek. Return to the list and hunt on.

As for my regulars, there will be much in the way of digression and obscure references.

A New Day

I know there were readers looking for me to blog on Election Night or shortly therafter. Frankly, I’ve been busy trying to process it all and crying intermittently. And I have been really reluctant to discuss anything political in this blog. But this was more personal than political, so I will share what happened in the wake of the election. Initially, I found myself thinking of a quote from Captain Peter Blood. I often quote Captain Blood, but this was different from yelling ‘Avast me Hearties’ during a production meeting. My first thought when I realized the concession had been made was ‘For me, this changes the shape of the world.’ Apparently, the world agreed. I was really thrilled about the reaction to the election in various parts of the world. Though, I am still confused as to why Athens, Greece and Australia were so happy about it. If I have readers in either place, drop me a line to satisfy my curiosity. Everyone’s reactions brought me to tears. It started with Jesse Jackson all but sobbing during the speech afterward. Colin Powell really got me going. I don’t know how I’ll get through that first chat about it with my Dad. He grew up in the south during Jim Crow . My memories of that time are only glancing ones. If his voice breaks, I may never recover. Meanwhile, I found a really cool photo of Obama on Yahoo that I may print out. I got very tickled at the thought of doing that. I wondered if I should just get a photo of Christ and Martin Luther King, Jr. and have a set like Grandma’s. I am certain she already has a photo of the President elect next to those others. He would probably be next to Little Richard in the row of honor. Yes, I know that sounds odd, but the performer went to Sunday school with my Grandma’s younger sisters in Macon, Georgia. They ran into each other a couple of years ago. She asked him why he was ‘acting the fool’ on the Geico commercials. He remembered her by name and gave her a photo.

The news coverage, as it has during the entire two-year election ordeal, flummoxed me. I think my favorite bit of silliness was CNN’s hologram technology that brought individuals stationed in different parts of the country to CNN news headquarters via holographic projection. But why? I have no good answer. Maybe the network enjoys giving fodder to The Daily Show http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Show. Largely, the best actual coverage of the election were from the CBC and the BBC. I am an avid watcher of CBC’s The National and they did not disappointment with their excellent and professional election coverage. But even Canada has some odd quirks that find their way onto the news. Jon and I have been puzzled by Canadian viewers obsession with The West Wing since witnessing the overflowing, passionate panel on the subject at Toronto Trek. None of my Canadian friends could explain why they found a fictional White House drama more compelling than the real White House drama. And I thought the obsession was limited to fans avid enough to attend conventions. Imagine my surprise when it is mentioned on Canada’s premier news broadcast that the man Obama chose as Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel was the real life model for Josh Lyman on The West Wing. Mind you, I have never watched the show, but my friends have gone on about Bradley Whitford’s Josh that I feel like I’ve dated the guy. It was all very surreal.

All in all, I am overjoyed though still trying to wrap my mind around it all.

You Go Girl!
I must take this opportunity to congratulate my dear friend, Sarah Freligh. She has just heard the news that she will be the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She was chosen out of filed of 10,000 applications. Congratulations! It is well deserved. Again, I must insist that you tell everyone to check out her wonderful book, Sort of Gone.


Film Updates
There isn’t much new that is happening. We did see an interesting report last week that made us all less annoyed at the push on Luv U 4 Ever’s start date. A major and surprisingly early snowstorm blew through New Jersey last week making a mess of everything and causing widespread power outages. I can’t tell you how much film dislike big surprises like that. There would have been days lost getting the outdoor locations to look like they did at the beginning of the shoot. Not a lot of fun to be had there.

We expect to be doing some road trips for that film and for The Gunslinger between now and the end of the year. That will be varied and interesting. We’re looking at everything from amusement parks to old west ranches. There will be tons of photos, for sure. I think we’ll wait on scouting in New Jersey until after the New Year. I don’t want to get stuck in holiday air traffic. I’m really not keen on flying when everything is running smoothly. We’ll be getting detailed photos from our production partners in the locations (save for the amusement parks). The photos help, but Jon and I both need to stand in the space to know if it will work. He has to do blocking, and I need to get a feel for the space to know if it matches what I had in my head. Ah well, there will be frequent flier miles, I think. And I’ve been making notes from shows like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, because it’s all about the food. As for Blood Oath, I hope to have my choice for Rik nailed down this week. Meanwhile, I’m designing a lot. Now that the script is done (A big thank you to my beta readers. You were a big help), we can pick a location and start thinking about the wardrobe. And I’m working on the website. I think that’s everything. No wonder I’m confused.

A New Rant
Warnings: Spoilers for CSI and CSI: Maimi
This doesn’t have anything to do with a particular show (though I have a rant on this weeks episodes). I’m really ticked at the advertising of new episodes on CBS this season. They have been deceptive. In the case of CSI and CSI: Miami, it’s been strongly implied that main characters are in mortal danger or that the show will end with a loss of a character. In the cases I’ve seen, the ‘jeopardy’ is dispatched by the time of the first act break or before the main credits even roll. I really don’t like being deceived like that. Surprise is great. Deceit is annoying and unnecessary.

Speaking of annoying, somehow the CSIs on CSI: Miami have become US Marshals. There were Delko and Calliegh guarding a witness and preparing to escort him to court. Jon was yelling ‘don’t those two have to go swab something?’ It was bad enough that they are actually interrogating and investigating and not just doing lab work, but is the fantasy these shows have chosen to do. But witness protection? Please!!!

However, the return of Lady Heather on CSI did not disappoint. She was as wonderful as ever and just what Gil and the show needed. I also think we have seen the last of bitchy and self-centered Sara.

Okay, I’ve got to make some soup and get back to my sketches. Stay tuned.

Updates, Mud Watch and Riots

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

It’s been a busy week, but Jon and I are coming off really nasty colds. This will likely be a brief blog.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

No, I don’t mean The Sergio Leone film. I actually didn’t like that one as much as High Plains Drifter. I know that wasn’t a Sergio Leone film, but it had the Man with No Name, and the plot was more coherent. Where was I? Oh, yeah. The World Series. I managed to not get emotionally involved until the First game in Philly. There, Tim McGraw threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Philly isn’t necessarily a big country western town. All things being equal, they’d prefer to have Springsteen – if anyone at all. Tim McGraw is the son of the much loved Tug McGraw, the winning pitcher in the last series the Phillies won – 28 years ago! I always liked Tug. He had a lot of personality on the mound. That is a touching story in itself, but later I read that Tim had secretly left some of Tug’s ashes behind on the mound. Of course, I burst into tears. Then, I was really invested in them winning and winning in Philadelphia. Bet we never do anything easily in that town. I’m not saying that the 45and a half hour rain delay was the fault of the city. It’s just that if this unprecedented kind of thing is going to happen, it’s most likely to happen in Philadelphia. I happened to be home for the final out after being sidelined by the office cold for half a shift. I heard from friends here which was nice. I was really pleased to hear from Gideon and my former co-workers in Philly that night. I haven’t heard from them since they reported that cars were being flipped and things were on fire. They were off to find tequila at the time. I’ll start worrying if they don’t turn up in a day or two. My favorite comment about the aftermath of the game came from my very dry humored father. His e-mail read: As you know, the city is going crazy. I’ll send you a newspaper. That, too, is the way of our people there. It was familiar and heartwarming to see them trying to tip over a news van. Good times for all. I can finally let go of 1993. It turns out, to our deep surprise, Philly already had. At least, they’d forgiven enough to let Mitch Williams back within city limits to be a sportscaster. We have truly turned a page as well as overturning some cars.

Chance of Lightning and Threat of Mud

Surprisingly, LA is on Stormwatch! once again. I say surprise, because despite the numerous Doppler weather systems in HD with numeric suffixes, the weather guy was surprised that it had rained over night on Thursday. Since the skies were really overcast on Friday, I paid close attention to the forecast on the noon report. They said there would be ‘sprinkles’ through the weekend. Saturday we woke to find ourselves on Stormwatch. There had been torrential downpours, movie FX level lightning and mudslides in the burn areas. Either these weather forecasters have a warped sense of what sprinkles means or they need to go back to technology of 20 years ago. Accu-weather radar sans Doppler or HD worked just fine. So does looking out the window in a pinch. At least fire season has been put on hold for the time being.

Various Updates

Jon is slogging away on Luv U 4 Ever while fighting cold medicine fuzziness. I often find him blinking very slowly at the PC monitor. That film is proceeding at a far more leisurely pace, so the fuzziness isn’t a problem. Meanwhile, I’ve been involved in some odd kinds of scriptwriting this week. I’ve been trying to figure out how to put back scenes removed from the current draft of The Gunslinger without losing the pace of the film. It’s interesting to re-write when you have an actor in your head for the part. Typically, we don’t. Now that we have our leads and a strong indication of who almost everyone will be, it’s affecting how I write dialogue. It’s not that I write to make the character sound more like the actor. It’s more that I’m familiar with the actors’ strengths tend to play them up. It’s fun and much more easy to write lines when I have an idea of who will be performing them.

Along with The Gunslinger re-write, I am getting into the development of the Blood Oath short. Yep, there is a website. I’ll be loading up the character dossiers later tonight. I’m not going to put up photos of the actors on the website until I have them in full make-up and costumes. The short will only have three actors in it, but we have people in mind for the proposed series. I surprised myself by writing the ten-page short in just two days. In it, I distilled the major themes of both Soldiers books. Jon was impressed, but I’ve been living with these guys for a couple of years now. Once I figured out a set up for the action, hitting all the important notes with the dialogue was relatively easy. Jon thinks I could trim some stuff and still keep all that I have to cover. We’ll know for sure after a table read with the actors. It’s hard for me, as primarily a novelist, to hear that dialogue is running too long. I have a lot of interior monologues in my fiction. My characters are yakking all the time. It usually takes hearing the lines performed to realize that there are too many words coming out of their mouths. And this is why a writer should never put the words final draft on a script they are shopping around. That’s a mark of a novice. A script isn’t considered final until the DVD extras are wrapped(in the case of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, the last scene recorded happened after it won best picture). We always do adjustments after an actor is attached, because their performance choices may change how we view the part. At any rate, I have a script. Now, I just have to figure out how to shoot all the elements before we’re pulled away to start Luv U 4 Ever. And the holidays are coming.

Alas, this will be a shorter blog than usual. I am very tired from cold meds, and I have a lot of work to do and actors to call. But next week will be filled with rants and other fun stuff. Stay tuned.

Updates, Adutions, Tramps and Cannibals

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

We’ve been enjoying an interesting fall, weather wise. It’s been a bracing 90 degrees, but the humidity is mostly gone. Delightful...right. I tried to screen capture one of the Doppler-ganger forecast last week, because it had an animated map of the region charting the likelihood of a brush fire. This is an exciting new weather development. So we had sunny, warm with a 90 degree high and a 30 percent chance of fire as a forecast. My brother was quite astonished when I told him this. ‘You live in a city that has a fire forecast. Doesn’t that sound screwed up to you?’ It may have ten years ago, but not so much now. I find I’m more annoyed that I can’t cook the very yummy looking fall recipes I’m seeing on all the cooking shows. The thought of a blazing hot over on a 90 degree day is not very appealing.

And a big good luck to Philly tonight. I’m not just talking about the World Series. I wishing a good luck to the citizens in south Philly who have the World Series game, an Eagles game and a Who concert in the same afternoon/evening. Fun!

Film and Concept Updates
This week came closest to high level of crazed I feel when we’re fully in production. Ralph and I are working on three projects at once. This confusing on its own. Add to that the fact that three of people we interact most have the same first name. I began insisting on Mafia style nicknames. To quote my South Philly paisan, Gideon: ‘When you have three Vinnies, two Louies and four Tonies in a room, you gotta do something.’ Ralph opted for three versions of the same name. He’s no fun. Confusion aside, we’re on track with the two films. Recent developments with the Gunslinger that give us more days for the shoot will likely prompt us to replace a couple of scenes we’d cut to trim the running time and the budget. We’ve also come up with a way to return those scenes and still keep the crisp pace of the film. This film is turning into a more ambitious project than first thought. The changes are exciting, and as soon as I’m free to speak about them, I’ll dish.

The Script for Luv U 4 Ever is largely in Jon’s hands now. We’ve worked out the character arcs. He asks me a question now and then about the timeline, but he’s in his scene blocking while writing more and I really can’t help much with that. We have made a wish list of songs from the 70s. There really sticky issue will be how much the licensing will cost. Full budget film in no way means big budget film. My composing friends are submitting tunes for Billy Swain and Dave Martin’s band. That’s been fun to review.

Meanwhile, I have my own issues to deal with aside from the conference calls with Ralph and the three guys with the same name. We had an audition this week for Rik Heron of Blood Oath. We have a high profile Casting director for Luv U 4 Ever doing the first contacts with potential cast, but I still prefer casting actors myself. Aside from experiencing such things as Travis Willingham (I have no good reason for the photo. I just wanted to see it again)flirting with Jon who was reading the leading lady role (rather convincingly) or conversely, watching Jon play Shadow Smith to Jennifer’s KD when she auditioned (he was equally conniving there, too). Hey, he was flirting with Matty as while running lines with him before the blood oath audition. I beginning to think that my director is a tramp. That aside, it is always fascinating to see the spin that actors put on words I’ve written. This was a particularly interesting set of auditions, because we usually don’t have someone we’ve cast to read against an auditioning actor. Since each reading was different, Matty responded accordingly. We saw three different versions of Vincent from him and all of them were valid. We found our Rik Heron. I can’t say who he is, because he hasn’t been signed. However, I will say that he’s as dark and gorgeous and intense as the character I wrote. This will be quite a trailer. I’ve also found a good stunt coordinator who still makes time for smaller projects. The interplay between Matty and our choice for Rik reminded Jon and I strongly of interactions between Obiwan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Yep, dorky minds think alike. The characters in that film had a playful chemistry while projecting an aura of deadly confidence. I liked that in that pair, but what made them really appealing is the often hapless nature of the way they executed their missions. This was an inspiration I desperately needed. Believe it or not, despite the 500 pages of material I have between the Soldiers novels, I was really finding it difficult to pick a scene that encompassed the nature of the characters and the challenges they face. I now have a handle on the scene and, in fact, wrote a third of it last night. All of this Blood Oath stuff has my mind wandering to the next Soldiers book. I am keeping that firmly on the back burner now. One more project and I think my head will explode.

Now, For the Rants
Warning: spoilers for CSI: Miami

As I expected, there wasn’t much to the cannibal episode two weeks ago. Admittedly, killing someone by chomping a chunk of jugular is unusual, but it wasn’t like the man in question was routinely dining on his neighbors. To top it off, he was dead before the first commercial break. Thus, there was not the constant menacing threat implied in the commercials. But that wasn’t what makes me rant about this episode. Our Horatio Caine has a new nemesis – the Russian Mob. It seems that the cannibal incident was part of a large nefarious scheme to extort yacht owners out of ownership of their very expensive slips in an exclusive marina. To what end, I’m not sure. Aside from this being a highly unlikely interest of the Russian mob, rich people do not react to such extortion in the ways others might. They tend to call the authorities. The Philly mob had notions of extorting Willard Rouse 3rd to cash in on the huge developments he was building in Philly. The phone call Rouse made resulted in convictions of a Mafia Don and a Philadelphia City Councilman. Even if the couple in question didn’t call the authorities, the owners of the exclusive marina would call after slip after slip was bought by someone they hadn’t approved. They barely let people who can afford it into those places. It was silly. And so is the new, teenaged coroner. I find it insulting that the producers seemed to think that if she’s attractive and black, she’s a good replacement for an actor the caliber of Khandi Alexander.
I had more to rant about, but it’s escaped me completely. I am off to do some warm weather cooking and get back to the script.

Pitches, Film Updates and Geekiness

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

Where to start? So much has been happening. I’ve been off those pain meds for days and I’m still hearing and seeing strange things. Since Jon is seeing and hearing them as well, I must face the fact that they are happening.

The Philadelphia Phillies are somehow in the World Series. There was some puzzlement amongst my Dodger fan friends as to why we weren’t more excited. The reasons are simple, my friends. That would be the 1993 World Series. For those of you familiar with this rant, you may skip this section. I know it’s been a long time, but for us, game 6 never ended. Mitch Williams didn’t really walk the winning run. We’re stuck there for now. The '93 series had been so much fun – particularly the playoffs against Atlanta. Our team looked like the Gashouse Gorillas from Bugs Bunny while Atlanta was all class. Meanwhile, Phiily fans were wonderfully awful in their behavior. My favorites were Lenny Dykstra who liked to rip his t-shirt off and snarl, Hulk style at reporters and John Kruk and his mullet. Kruk also delighted us by appearing on Aqua Teen Hunger Force as himself. At any rate, only the Phillies winning a World Series will change that and bring back the excitement. Still, we are quietly riveted and hoping that the Red Sox or the Rays are so beat up and tired that there won’t be much fight left.

I won’t even mention the weirdness we saw on our way to a photo shoot yesterday. Not that it isn’t really interesting weirdness, but it involves a motorcycle gang with enough net savvy to have a wikipedia page updated to the beginning of this month. Suffice it to say that I have never seen so many Culver City police cars at one time (frankly, I didn’t know they had that many police cars), and I wonder how much in the way of ATF, and LAPD we didn’t see.

Here’s the Pitch

It has been commented that we are very calm before pitch meetings or funding meetings. That’s not true. I managed to get only one hour sleep the night before our most recent meeting, and that was while I was still on the painkillers. I was one wound up micro-mogul. We don’t appear to sweat these meetings because we’ve given up on anticipating the outcome. They never go in any way that we expect them too, so it’s easier to just try to relax and make sure we have all the information that may be asked for. As pitch meetings go, it was typical. In the car ride home, the question ‘What Just Happened’ came up as it always does. Like always, we weren’t sure. Incidentally, though I’m sure it’s a fine film, there is no way that Jon and I would ever see ‘What Just Happened.’ It looks like a howlingly funny film, but too much of it rings true. Our experiences are challenging enough on this level. I don’t want to ever face that it’s more of the same running in the A-list.

Anyway, the pitch was at the execs’ 20s era Bel Air Mansion. Inronically, it was a five minute drive from the Archive. Very conveniently located. The house was owned by a meat magnet then a big TV actress before the TV execs. It had lovely Art Decco accents and a kidney shaped pool in the back. All-in-all, I was much more impressed with Bel Air than I ever have been with Beverly Hills. Even in the Hills of Beverly the houses were too close together. When I worked for Fabio (I told you, don’t ask), his music was a problem for the neighbors. I can’t imagine paying that kind of money for a house and still being plagued by annoyances we’ve had in tiny apartments. At any rate, the house was a distraction. My mind kept wandering from budgets and guilds to observations that I’d seen the livingroom in a really explicit scene from a recent DVD rental. I also recognized other rooms from the same film. I wondered how they fit 700 people on the grounds (vast as they were) for a premier party and where did they all go to the bathroom? Somehow, we’re discussing developing one of the projects we pitched. Then, we were on our way. I’m fairly certain it was a successful meeting. The devil will be in the details.

Film Updates Redux

The Gunslinger had some action this week. We had some conference calls about a number of things including plans to pick a shoot date. Ideally, it would be a couple of weeks after we wrap the LA portion of the Luv U 4 Ever shoot. We’ve also found more resources to up the production values on screen. That little film has a lot of attention because of the interest that the trailer generated. Those numbers helped a lot in attracting said attention. For those who haven’t seen it, click here. As for Luv U 4 Ever, aside from the re-write, we are almost at a point where we can finalize the cast.

Flexibility and the Sock

Every time I spend an afternoon talking about socks in sex scenes, it means I’ve been hanging out with actors. For the uninitiated, when there is an explicit love scene on film or TV, the man is usually wearing a sock on his er...equipment. I have been unable to ascertain if it is an actual sock (for people that will strip in front of me without blinking an eye, I’ve found actors surprisingly tight lipped about sock details) or some sort of sock-like tube. Anyway, the discussion as about the contortions actors have to endure to be in frame without the sock showing in the frame. And one must be in character and sexy while twisting in ways not intended by nature. We were shooting some reference photos of Matty Ferraro for Blood Oath’s opening title sequence (that’s the pitch we’re going to develop right now). I’ve come up with a face for Vincent based on Matty’s, but I needed to get action poses of him for the full image of the character. I also had to work out a movement Vincent would make before using his skills. Since Matty knows Tai Chi, we went with that and I really liked what I saw. Today, will be spent working on storyboards for the opening sequence.

Star Wars: Clone Wars – Baby’s Got Back
Warning – Geek speak and HUGE spoilers to follow

The last episode of Star Wars Clone Wars was something to get excited about. It was the first appearance of Padmé Amidala. I actually liked her character design (she has an amazing amount of booty for an animated character) and I really liked her attitude. She was as dangerous and daring as her film counterpart and lots of fun to watch. The Episode, Destroy Malevolence, had far better pacing for me than the first three episodes. And the action sequences with Obi-wan Kenobi (great voice performance and a wonderful smirk on the character’s face) and Anakin Skywalker were fresh and exciting. I was delighted at how Obi-wan used the shilded droids against General Grievous’ own squad. Then, there was how Anakin creatively protected Padme using the force while fighting some huge droids. He kept in mind that she was one tough chick even while being gallant. They were all Jedi moves seen dozens of times, but they had a new twist that made them refreshing. The episode was funnier than the ones before. One chase scene reminded me very vividly of a Ratchet and Clank sequence. They were even smashing crates, and I swear there were bolts in them. It was hilarious. Mind you, I have complaints (Why would General Grievous’ violation of direct orders continue to be tolerated? Why would you name your flagship Malevolence when you’re trying to get support for your separatist movement?), but they are minor compared to the fun I had watching the episode. Another note about the character design, I read somewhere that they were inspired by The Supermarionation series, Thunderbirds. I could see that in this last epsidoe. There was a scene in which Anakin and Padme are in an elevator and they looked just like Scott Tracy and Lady Penelope. When I say, geek speak, my friends, I’m talking advanced Geek speak, baby. Jon really liked Thunderbirds Youtube link, but I was more of a Captain Scarlet gal. Where was I? Yes, I saw the resemblance and found it amusing. Overall, Destroy Malevolence was a heap of fun.

Snare of The Lair

Okay, I hooked. It’s not even the mystery behind the painting and the curse or the Vampires. That’s all great fun, but I really need to know what’s up with that plant. I really want it to say ‘Feed me, Seymour.’ Meanwhile, Ian continues to enthrall. I so want him to escape his fate and that hunter. The Vampires are gleefully enjoying their bloodlust. Ian (Matty Ferraro) is increasingly tormented by it. He is always compelling to watch. I can’t wait for the next installment.

Final Thought
I must acknowledge the passing of the great Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops and Voice of Audry II in Little Shop of Horrors. His voice filled my childhood. He’ll always be remembered.

Film Updates, Cannibals and Naked Rugby

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

I hardly know where to begin this week. There is so much happening personally, professionally and creatively, it’s hard to prioritize. Why not start as I often have with the weather. I’m not sure if it’s Hurricane Norbert (huh?) or what, but yesterday I was actually cold on the way home from the weekend errands. Cold as in goose pimples and shivering in the afternoon sun. The temperature dropped almost 30 degrees from Thursday to Friday, and it’s been very windy – tree felling windy. It’s typically windy this time of year, but the Santa Anas are hot winds from the desert. This was cold air from the ocean. It was refreshing, mind you. And it was nice sleeping without fans and with blankets. It was just surprising. I’m seldom cold in LA.

I’m on major drugs today for my back. It was a necessary step to get me to sleep through the night and further the healing process. I’m a bit disappointed though. My dreams aren’t any stranger than they are normally nor are my hallucinations. And I still can’t sleep through the loud and enthusiastic choir soloist who takes the microphone each and every blessed Sunday promptly at 10 am in the church across the parking lot from our bedroom. Bless her and that snare drum. I’ll never oversleep on a Sunday, nosiree. I may drift onto wild tangents. That is, I may drift onto wilder tangents, but I don’t think so. My back is feeling better though.

Sign of the Season
No, I don’t mean the Christmas decorations that are already up at my local Costco or the Freddy Kruger scary stuffed people lurking near the laundry room. Seeing them at 12 midnight while tired was almost very exciting for our sleeping neighbors. I mean the appearance of the Dieux De Stade calendar and making of video. My dear ami in France sent me a link which I enjoyed thoroughly. Those lovely men always find just the right place for that rugby ball and they still remind me of Greek statues. I have been without that calendar for far too long. This year, I’m making sure it once again adorns my work space. It provides inspiration. Though I grumble about the ever earlier Christmas displays, Jon and I have already begun the early cookie prep. The list (even with yearly culling) has become ponderously long. And we’ve added to our variety of treats. Jon’s compiling a spread sheet of recipes and ingredients, so we can take advantage of sales and get in all the necessary supplies. Last year we did 2 gross of cookies and dozens of mini-fruit cakes (and they are quite good) and baklava. The organization must begin early.

Film Biz, Silver Linings and the Re-write
The current financial craziness has had some effect on our current film’s development. Mainly, it has distracted our funding source and slowed the process down considerably. In the short run, that means that Jon and I remain at the Archive until the film is fully under way, and it means the pace of the re-write is not likely to change anytime soon. However, we find a huge silver lining in everything slowing down. The release date will be pushed from spring to the fall. Thus, the main part of the shoot – the Jersey scenes – will be pushed back to the spring. We are more than a little relieved about that. There is a lot that needs to be done in LA prior to the Jersey shoot (the opening of Billy Swain’s hit 70s show in the amusement park, a video of Dave Martin’s band on the 3rd Street Promenade – hopefully next to the Psychic Cat, and at least two 70s style video’s of Billy and his band). Then there is the opening scene in the Bel Air Mansion when the IRS kicks Billy out, and there are highway scenes that have to shot in the desert as Billy makes his way across country. Every one of those locations is more than one day and quite complicated. I didn’t know how we were going to squeeze them into the initial schedule and have them look like anything resembling good. We were very worried about that part of the shoot and more worried about shooting the rest during the dead of winter in New Jersey. The weather is really unpredictable and that can eat up a budget and the contingency. I’d prefer a slower pace even if it means working the day job longer. This also means that my Thanksgiving will be here. Plans for the Christmas holidays are still in flux. We’d still like to go back to Paris. The nice people who rent apartments there moved our reservation from Oct to Dec. I’d really love to spend the holiday there.

All that said, the re-write is progressing nicely. I received a good comment about how difficult it is to re-imagine a story once it has been written. That is very true. It isn’t easy to re-write a completed work. Time helps. Six years changes perspectives to be sure. We didn’t change the events of the script as much as we’re giving depth to the motivation behind the characters actions and sharpening the focus of the story. I’m hoping that the lines are as funny to other people as they are to us. We won’t know for sure until it’s finished. We crack ourselves up, but that may not be true for anyone else. Comedy is really hard.

When It Rains
When a casting breakdown is run for a show, all sorts of attention is paid to the production company. We get no end of composer resumes and reels. There are tons of stunt resumes and other key crew resumes filling all of our mailboxes. And we hear from people we’ve approached about funding for older projects. It’s that old situation where if you have money for one show, you get offered money for other things. It’s always harder to get money when you don’t have it. If that makes sense, please explain it to me. At any rate, in addition to Luv U 4 Ever and The Gunslinger and the cable TV pitches, we’ve been contacted about two other films we’d been trying to mount for a few years. I have to push aside my annoyance (oh, now this show is worthy of attention, eh) in favor of the notion of working back to back shows for a couple of years. We’re also getting a lot of practice at writing business plans. Our attorney said there will be even more interest in our older work once we start filming. It’s really scary how often making it in this industry is all or nothing. That’s why we seldom think about it in those terms.

Fine Young Cannibals

Warning Spoiler for CSI: Miami

Well, there was no spontaneuous human combustion two weeks ago on CSI:Miami, and last week's episode was sort of blah. But this week, it seems that at least one cannibal is staking our brave lab techs in the everglades. Or there had better be one. I was promised werewolves and zombies on other occasions only to be disappointed.

Food Stuffs
I’d been asked why I’m not talking about cooking much anymore. The blog has been too full of late. I really want to talk about the CBC’s The National news broadcast, but I haven’t had the time. I’ll get to that eventually. Back to food. I have been cooking up a storm amidst all this stress. I’ve been expanding my repertoire to include more Mediterranean foods and more and more home-made items that I used to order from take out menus. I have some new Food Network chefs that I really enjoy. There is Anne Burell who growls at her food and says things like ‘meat good.’ I like that. She’s also taught me a lot of new professional short cuts in a short span of time. There is Alexandra Guarnaschelli who solved my problem of getting my pizza dough crispy without a wood fired oven or a pizza stone (pan fry that sucker fist in a cast iron pan, top the slightly fried dough then put it in the over – yummy). Then there is Aaron McCargo, Jr., winner of The Next Food Network Star. He hails from Camden, NJ (yeah!) and sometimes cooks with Velveeta, but he has some mad skills otherwise. His method for an 18 minute chicken parmesan was the best I’ve ever done. I think it is even better than my cousin’s and hers was my favorite. I’m also very happy about the return of Ina Garten and Giada de Laurentiis. These are two of my favorite chefs and they never fail to inspire me. I look forward to their new shows. Jon looks forward to them as well. Aside from the yummy meals, nothing keeps me calmer than my time with the cutting board and the stove. In fact, it’s calling me now.

Tranya, Puka Shells and Bizzarro Production Meetings

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

I will reiterate the warning above for those on search engines. If you read further, do not send me any irritating e-mail. You have been duly cautioned – twice.

That said, this will be a wandering and incongruous blog. There may be some whining. There will definitely be musings on extremely geeky topics. It’s been quite a week with some momentous occasions to be marked. Right now, I’m ignoring the sudden appearance of the Eagles/Redskins game. Fox switched games in the 4th quarter because the Seahwaks were being badly battered by the NY Giants. Thus, I am both wide awake and cold sober when the Eagles appeared and immediately did something silly. Forgive me if my mind wanders more than the norm.

Elvis, Tranya and Studio 54

Ten years ago this past Friday, Jon and I got married at the surprisingly tasteful Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Since we were at such an establishment, we went with the full Elvis wedding package. We weren’t married by an Elvis, that would have been really weird and I think our parents would have keeled over (as it was, we had been very surprised that they went along with any of it). The minister was very nice and it was a sweet ceremony. Jon had an under-aged Gabriel Koerner as his best man, and I had a male and female maid of honor (I really commend my southern born, ex-Marine, ex- cop father for not saying a word about that). And after Elvis finished serenading and gyrating, we gorged ourselves at the Hilton Hotel’s sumptuous buffet, then took a ride on Star Trek: The Experience, in our wedding clothes (I warned you of the geeky). But that wasn’t the weird part. There, at Quark’s Bar, the Borders posse in attendance, Jon’s folks, our set guru, Randy and the wedding party enjoyed amny a glass of Tranya and other Trek themed alcoholic beverages. My father and his lovely wife sensibly bailed at the first mention of Klingons. Speaking of Klingons, we naturally made a great target for these costumed actors. We were serenaded frequently in an alien language and given a lot of odd advice for the wedding night. Some of us downed more Tranya than others, it seemed. By the time we reached Studio 54 to enjoy some dancing, one of our Borders crew, a man we thought was straight, went tonsil diving on a most unsuspecting Phil. Fortunately for all concerned, Craig had left by then. He really wasn’t keen on seeing live Klingons either. Where was I? Oh, yes, while we were dancing and watching well-built, scantily clad men and women undulating on chains above us, Phil and our heretofore straight co-worker were involved in this very torrid encounter. And though Phil was a gentleman in the end and did not succumb to temptation, that night reverberated through our bookstore for months. Happy memories for almost all of us.

Jon and I had planned on celebrating this milestone in France. But the upcoming shoot altered those plans drastically. Thus, I’ve been moping and occasionally whining. It certainly didn’t help that one of Samantha Brown’s new shows featured a trip to Paris on The Travel Channel that spotlighted some fabulous looking neighborhoods we’ve yet to see. I was most whiny this week, indeed. However, this film is a big break for us, and we have a lot of work that we have to be here in L.A. to accomplish. Our backers and our partners would not have reacted well to the sudden disappearance. And ultimately, I’m not in the best of shape for such a trip. I’m too tired physically to do all the walking that we’d typically do. I think we’ll need a vacation before we can think of taking a vacation. We celebrated the anniversary more quietly than we’d thought we would, but it was still fun. I whipped up a meal we used to have a lot while we dated, and we watched the newly released DVD of Speed Racer, the movie (yes, we’re geeks, I thought that was clear). Then, we got back to work on the script. Still, a fun time was had by all.

Re-writes, Pinching Pennies, and Collectible Panties

The re-write of Luv U 4 Ever is chugging along nicely. It’s an even funnier and edgier script than the original. Everyone professes to be happy with the progress. The recent financial craziness has everyone on edge, but we’re proceeding. We should have our cast named by sometime next week (I’m very excited about who’s on board so far. They’ve been a blast to work with before, and we’re pleased they want to work with us again). The only downer is that the unique needs of this pre-production (songs must be written, stage performances must be re-created with a digitally de-aged singer, opening credits for a non existent show must be shot) will likely have us working in east coast winter weather. It can’t be helped, but that will put pressure on our budget if we have cost over-runs caused by delays. Thus, we are looking at creative ways to save money with product placement and donated props (guitars, gold records, etc). Our line producer thinks we’ll be able to attract sponsors easily, because the film is a nice family movie (who’d would have thought that from the pair of us). Meanwhile, we have to give specs on re-creating the insane array of memorabilia that pop stars of the 70s generated around them. There are the t-shirts, lunch boxes and magazine covers. And, of course, puka shell necklaces have to be found (though that seems easy). I swear that I had panties with some of my favorite pop stars on them, but I’m finding no evidence of that. What a strange thing to imagine. We realized that we’ll have to shoot some videos of both Billy Swain’s Band (no name there yet, but Electric Cumquat keeps coming up) and Dave Martin’s Band (currently called Redacted), because each band will be seen on youtube-lie clips played on camera during various scenes. Jon’s always wanted to shoot music videos, so it’s been fun for him to block them. And I’ve been enjoying pouring over youtube.com guilt-free. The only draw-back to the research (aside from realizing how old I am) is that many of those songs get stuck in one’s head. This week, it’s been Taking Care of Business by Bachman Turner Overdrive and Radar Love by Golden Earring. I’ll spare readers the same fate by not putting up the link.

Notable Quotes from Actual Meetings

Things I have said or have been said to me. If you’re a close reader, you’ll know who they are or who they are about.

‘The last staff meeting was about creating a digital dog penis.’

‘Even if I wanted him to have plumber’s crack on screen, I’m not buying him a merkin for his ass.’

‘This season’s episodes are all about Matty’s bottom.’

‘How do you tell a guy he has to lose the man-boobs?’

‘Acting is only part of the issue. I really have to want to see him naked.’

‘But why would we need a 40 pound rabbit?’

‘It’s a band that dresses like clowns while covering Marilyn Manson songs.’

‘He’s been a Carny. That’s a perfect reference for location work in New Jersey.’

Advanced Geekiness or Star Wars: Clone Wars

The reviews for Star Wars: Clone Wars have not been very kind. Most take the stance that it’s George Lucas’ way of milking the very last drop of blood from his franchise. I don’t think that’s entirely fair. Plot and character-wise, there is a huge gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith that are worth coverage of some kind. I was very curious about Anakin and Obi-wan’s relationship during that span of time, and I was very curious about the interactions with the Clone army – particularly between Commander Cody and Obi-wan. The first two episodes aired this week on Cartoon Network had some wonderful interplay between the clones and the Jedi. And it was way cool to see just how dangerous Yoda could be in a battle against a whole druid army (Episode #1: Ambush). However, I could also see where critics lost patience with the series. The pace is leaden. Clearly, there is not enough script to fill the time allotted for an episode. It was really maddening in the second episode, Rising Malevolence. It was all I could do to not fast forward the DVR to the end just to have it done with. And I have to agree with Jon about the look of the show. I really liked Genndy Tartakovsky’s work on shows such as Saurai Jack, but we really didn’t like the character design in the cartoon version of Clone Wars. It’s clear that the 3D computer models for the 2008 version are based on his work. They look even uglier in 3D. How can you have an ugly Anakin Skywalker, for Pete’s sake? And while I’m far from the animation geek that Jon is, even I noticed that the walk cycles of the characters was lumbering and unnatural. That’s a terrible thing for a graceful warrior and incomprehensible for a Lucsfilms production. I fully understand why the series was panned by critics. However, it does have some compelling relationships that I have been curious about. It’s likely that very geeky me and even more geeky Jon will continue viewing and complaining.

Class Acts, Autmn Leaves, and Film Perils

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.


This has been a very difficult week. We’re working on the script in every spare moment. The pressure on us for more progress is growing, but we can’t leave the day jobs until we know that our support is secure. The news this week on the financial front does not make us feel secure in the least. My notion of stuffing the film’s entire budget in various mattresses doesn’t look so silly right now. In this instance, I would have preferred not being right. The stress is taking its toll. Even cooking therapy hasn’t helped. Though I did make a very nice pizza dough (that didn’t try to eat my fridge) and a very yummy Tuscan White Bean Soup. Jon finally dragged me off for a full massage on Saturday. He may have figured out that I was having trouble turning my head. The poor masseuse was exhausted when she finished. I felt a lot better though. More on the re-write and such later.

Much More than a Pretty Face

My love for movies and my extensive experience with them began with my mother. She liked all of them from the earliest to the newest opener. I spent a lot of time with her watching older films on Channel 48. Click on the link and you’ll find out how Jon and I got exposed to so much anime as kids. Channel 48 was also the first station to run Star Trek in syndication. Yep, spent a lot of time glue to that station. Click here for more of its history. It was through that experience watching films with my Mother that I fell in love with the big stars like Errol Flynn, Katherine Hepburn, Betty Davis and many others. Paul Newman was a big favorite. He is responsible for the very high bar I set for beautiful actors. Aside from the amazing color of his eyes, there was a lot going on in them. And those eyes had something different going on with each new character. He could be sexy or naughty or sardonic, or self-effacing or dangerous without ever opening his mouth. Paul Newman was always more than a very pretty face on screen and off. His passing is a hard thing to think about. Hopefully, there will be a tribute marathon on TV somewhere. I highly recommend The Long, Hot Summer for it’s very steamy sensuality, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the razor sharp dialogue, or The Sting, my favorite caper film. It’s also the film that caused me to closely watch plots unfold. Few films since that one can pull a twist ending with me. The Sting actually began my scriptwriting career. So be enthralled and even inspired by enjoying a film from Paul Newman’s brilliant career.

Autumn Leaves, Winter Snow and the Perils of Film Making

Since we have no idea when principal photography begins, we have no clue what the streets in New Jersey will look like. We’re hoping for a stark fall days through the shoot. Jon would like to try to get leaves saved from the neighborhood for the option of having leaves blowing on the ground. That should be interesting. I don’t even know how we’ll go about that. The bigger problem would be snow. That part of the country seldom sees snow before January, but there have been big exceptions. We’d have to really clear it out of everywhere we’re shooting. It can be done and has been done fairly often. It’s just a bit pricey (though sometimes the production insurance will cover it), and there is the worry that what has been cleared will get snowed over. And then there is the specter of working through both Thanksgiving and very close to Christmas. The over time, holiday pay and the cost of flights at that time of year all gives me agita. But it’s what we may have to do.

I finished the first pass on the schedule last Sunday. Schedules are as fluid as scripts are in film. Depending on the weather and actor availability, it will change many times over the length of the project. Fortunately, this is the only one I will be generating. The most important part of the schedule for me to finish was the actors’ day out of days (how many days each actor is working out of the entire length of the shoot). That data heavily influences negotiations for salaries and perks. I am so glad to have that out of my hands. We’ve also resolved the problems with all of the character arcs last week as well. Thus, Jon is finally starting on the new draft. He’s a fairly quick writer once all of the character issues are resolved in his mind.

Meanwhile, we did the pitch to the cable network. I have some work to do on tailoring the material that has gotten the most interest to the mission of the network. I’m hoping to get some of the concepts online this week to get feedback. No guarantees though. The aftermath of the massage has left me better relaxed but exhausted. And I’m still working on the current film budget with out partners today. Really, how do I know how many store patrons we’ll need in the furniture store? I haven’t seen any of the potential locations yet. Stay tuned.

The Fall Premiers
Possible Spoilers for CSI: Miami and Criminal Minds

First off Horatio Caine lives. He was back before the first commercial break on CSI: Miami, I believe. The ‘faked’ assassination was exposed in short order. And despite his cryptic statements about going underground until he could unmask those trying to kill him, Horatio kept turning up in places where anyone could see him – like his office. I could see if he were being Ninja-like and appearing from thin air or dropping from the ceiling behind his staff. But he was just lurking around the building. It was a little creepy. Most of the plot made no sense, but there were more sci-fi type whizzes and bangs in the lab, and everyone looked pretty. In other words, it was a typical episode. Kind of a let down from the cliffhanger, but not surprising. The next episode seems to involve spontaneous human combustion. I’m not sure. In the promo, there are people bursting into flames. Whatever. Criminal Minds was really taught drama and fast paced action that played well during the episode. But after thinking about it, I must agree with Jon that it was a slicker, better performed Wo Fat episode from Hawaii 5-0. – convoluted and completely implausible. Overall, I’m left a bit disappointed.

I had some other fun stuff for this blog, but it’s late and I have so much work to do. I’ll save that for next week.

Pitches, Re-Writes and The Fall TV Preview

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.

There will be much in the way of wandering to follow. I’ve had a long, crazy week.

I feel like Joe Friday when I report on the weather in Los Angeles. It was sunny in Los Angeles, Jon and I were working on the romantic comedy division our boss is the guy with the money. My name is Warner. I’ve watched a lot of Dragnet lately. It’s free on Hulu. It’s easy to listen to while working on something else. Probably because it had been a radio show before it reached TV. I think Joe Friday has a record sized police beat. It almost covers all of LA County. Only Fred Dryer’s Sgt. Hunter had a bigger one. I think his goes to Dan Diego. But back to the weather. The humidity is gone for the moment. I think it returns later in the week. There was talk of a monsoonal trough in our new, doppler driven micro-climate forecast. I have no idea what a micro-climate forecast. I’d think it would be a climate so small that no one would notice.

Re-Write and Divining Dramaturgy

The re-write continues. How close it is to being completed, I won’t say. We’re keeping to our original deadline to make sure that we aren’t unduly pressured to rush through the draft. Since this is such a big film for us, we’re being thorough in detailing the underpinnings of each character’s action throughout the individual arcs. Most of it will never be put on the pages of the script (I think it would be 300 pages, if we did). But we have to know everything about every one of these characters. Now, we don’t have experience with these disparate walks of life. I’ve been pestering most of my musician friends about why they do what they do (there are a few of you still out there I want to talk to). I’ve been pestering my contracting guru about house renovations. Jon’s been pestering me about the dynamics of a catered event (one of my thousands of careers involved bartending for a caterer). We get a lot of input from wherever we can find it. The effort is worth it. We’ve discovered during our past shoots that rehearsals and blocking movements on set are far smoother when we can answer any question about the characters quickly and succinctly. It’s also a better acting experience for our performers. Though the work can be tedious at times, we have been enjoying it. I like all of these characters, and I enjoy spending time in their heads. The big excitement beyond the re-write is the big banking scare. We thought the funding was jeopardy. Thus far, I’m only partially convinced that we shouldn’t keep the entire budget of the film in our mattresses until it’s needed. Barely convinced. The latest in casting news is that all of the leads we are interested in are ready to have meetings with us. I hope to be told the schedule for these meetings this week.

Speaking of the meetings, we have our pitch meeting this week with the cable network execs for the shows on the Dragoncor Concept page. We know one of the execs very well, and even cast him in one of our projects, so I’m not as nervous as I usually would be. Nervous, yes, but not panicked. Success would mean one more task on the pile that we’d have to attend to, but we’d rather be insanely busy than creatively idle for years at a stretch. In a move that some might consider arrogant (even I do), I’m going ahead with developing a title sequence and some scenes for Blood Oath, the like action version of the Soldiers novels. I am anticipating having to do a proof of concept trailer. The show has a lot of stunts and special FX. We maintain that they can be done within the budgets of the network’s other programs. We may have to prove it. As I do with everything I work on, I’ll be developing a web page to follow the progress.

Fall Preview
Spoiler warning for CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds, CSI: Crime Scene Investivation and Whatever, Martha

The Fall TV season sort of snuck up on me. Honestly, I haven’t seen a single preview until today while watching the Eagles torture their fans against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I checked my cable guide to find that almost everyone is back. When last we saw Horatio Caine, he was lying on an airport tarmac with an allegedly fatal gunshot wound. I had my suspicions. Storyline wise, one must remember that his brother, Ray Caine, faked his own death twice. Reality wise, if David Caruso left the leading role of another series, it would have been all over the news and the internet. Lo and Behold, the episode title for the season opener is Resurrection. Surprise! Now, we’ve established last year the show won’t go so far as having zombies, so he has to have never been killed (yes, that sentence is messy, so is the show). Meanwhile, a show that usually has a lot more common sense than my beloved CSI: Miami is having it’s own dubious opener. Criminal Minds ended last season by blowing up a car containing one of the main cast. All the black SUVs looked the same, so we don’t know which one it is. Horrors! Again, any defection of a main cast member from a hit show would have made news in a lot of places. There hasn’t been a peep. And now I’ve just seen a very revealing promo during the football game. really don’t like being arbitrarily manipulated in a cliff-hanger. Criminal Minds doesn’t need to do that. Of course, we saw Warrick Brown get shot at the end of CSI and we know that the actor, Gary Dourdan (hot Philly fellow) has left the series. No resurrection there, but there will be much angst.

A new show that I must recommend is Whatever Martha on the Fine Living Netowrk. In short, Martha’s daughter, Alexis and her best firend are skewering segments from Martha Stewart Living. Since Martha herself is in the opening credits and the executive producer, I doubt she minds. The women are wickedly funny and Martha’s own acntics make the show hysterical. I lughed so hard, I cried. Mind, I have the Martha chip in my brain that makes me engage in all sorts of extreme entertainment related projects (thought I refuse to wrap an entire turkey in puff pastery). I can’t wait until they do my favorite Halloween episode where Martha was dressed like a pirate. One of the lines in the segment was ‘You can get a navigation wheel for your pirate ship at your local yatch club.’ Sure, Martha. They let me borrow from them all the time. And then there is the egg nog segment that I watch religiously every year. I’ve never made it according to the recipe though. I’ve never had that much liquor in my house at once. If memory serves, there was rum, buurbon and Napoleon brandy. She says that a small punch cup wouldn’t cause any harm. I’d still have to collect car keys after just one. Take a look at a clip on making s’mores and proper s’more sticks here.

I’ve got cooking and scheduling to do. Stay tuned.

Jitters, Puppies and Re-Writes

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.


It’s cloudy in Los Angeles. It’s been that kind of gray that makes the summer colors really pop. It’s a nice change of pace. They may be autumn colors, but since they are not the oranges, reds and yellows I associate with that season, I still think of them as summer. And it’s still freaking hot here. I’m more scatter brained than usual today. We were exiled from our apartment for the second time is six weeks. Thus, we had an unexpected six hour tour of Culver City and Marina del Rey while our building endured another landlord action. Then, we spent the evening putting the apartment back together. I’m really, really tired and punchy.

White Knuckles, Actors and the Re-write

This week was really crazy. We had a 24 hour period where we received some extremely important contracts just after noon. We had to get them singed and notarized ASAP. Of course our lawyer was in meetings, then we had to get the language corrected and have new contracts sent. Then the printer died while generating the document to sign. I think aliens briefly abducted the messenger. The documents were returned in a timely fashion by all accounts, but I was left feeling jittery – 20 cups of coffee in an hour jittery. Shortly after that, we were contacted by our New Jersey partners about hiring key crew (art director, costume desisgner, etc). Things are moving along.

Meanwhile, the re-write continues. We now know how many original tunes we’ll need for the film, and we’ve started generating a list of existing songs that we’d like to license. If anyone out there has some suggestions for dance music from the early 70s (pre-disco), send me your list at deborahlwarner@gmail.com. We’re now looking at the flow of the story and where each character arc ends. Ideally, each of the main characters will go through an experience that makes them different people from when the film began. We had to move around some scenes, because the arcs were over a while before the ending credits roll. That’s not good. Also, in comedies, there have to be funny bits scattered throughout the film, but not in a predictable fashion. It takes some trail and error to get the scenes to flow in a natural manner. After this version is complete, we’ll likely stage a table read with some of the cast and some substitutes to figure out if the jokes and timing work as well as judge the film’s length.

We’ve been having a lot of fun with one aspect of the re-write. We have worked with some of the actors that are to be cast in the film. It’s a lot of fun writing dialogue for someone familiar. It’s easy to know what will sound good coming from them. And we know to give them some wiggle room for adlibs and changes. There is a new character that is omni-present in the B&B as it is being renovated. The character, Carl Yablonski, was inspired by Eldin Bernecky from Murphy Brown and Carl Brutananadilewski from Aqua Teen Hunger Force, a show set in Red Bank, New Jersey, ironically enough. I know it sounds disparate and weird, but the character works and the actor is really funny. Though he is way cuter than either of the characters that inspired Carl. The casting of the leads has caused slight problems with the re-write. The prospective Michaels and Lindas are different enough that we will have to do a little more refinement of the character arcs depending on who is ultimately cast. I know it’s maddening not to know, but I can’t blab yet. It’s driving me crazy.

No Time for Fun

Not fun like going out to dinner and having fabulous clam chowder and a big hunk of warm crusty bread. Hmmm, that sounds really good. Where was I? Oh, I have no time for following up on some really cool ideas for the next Soldiers sequel. I actually have enough ideas for a couple more books. All of these tantalizing notions are coming to me when I have no time to follow up on them. I have jotted them down. After all, I have to come up with enough storylines for a full series run in the live action version. That meeting should take place very soon. It has to bee soon as I’ll be traveling a great deal in the next several weeks. The other profound distraction is an erotic romance script that has been tugging at my mind for months. I am working on that in very short bursts when I have a rare lull in the action. I may have an opportunity to get the script to the actor I really want in the lead role this February. I’m doing a long treatment that I’ll work into a draft after the shoot wraps. I suspect I’ll find moments to work on it as a diversion during the shoot. Yes, I am quite pleased to say that I still write as a pleasant diversion. It has yet to become a chore. Also, for those who have inquired, I am still working on Vincent Greven’s Cookbook. Cookbook writing is a new skill set, so it’s slow going. I also keep getting distracted by testing the recipes. I plan to put up the free e-book next month.

Concho and Craig
As the days wind down for us at the Archive, we have a new addition to the staff that has caused much happiness for all. One of the librarians has been bringing her puppy, Concho, to hang out on the patio outside the breakroom. He’s a mix breed, shelter dog with floppy ears and a wonderful personality. He bounces while frolicking in the grass, and his tail is almost always wagging. He’s adorable when taking a nap while stretched out in the sun. Everyone looks for him as they come in for their shifts or breaks. He gets loads of attention. We’re planning on buying him a chew toy. And Concho loves Craig to pieces. Of late, my conversations with Craig consists mainly of listening him say ‘Who’s a good dog? Who’s my best buddy?’ It’s been highly entertaining to see such a gruff, acerbic guy turn all cuddly and silly around this very happy critter. It’s making these last days at the Archive a lot of fun even with the white knuckle moments.

Pop Music, Re-Writes and More Naked Men

Warning: If you find yourself here via a google search for such things as TV shows or films, recipes or cities, this blog has some facts. However, this blog is one author’s very twisted musing on many weird things. It is sometimes graphic in content. If you read on, don’t write to yell at me.


Are You Ready?

For some football? My favorite time of the year is here. It’s the time of year when I stumble out of bed on Sunday to recline on the sofa and watch football with one eye open (or both eyes closed) until I wake up enough to pay attention. Unless The Philadelphia Eagles are playing. Then I have both eyes open and my brain set to the spew obscenities option. This is a complete non sequitur, but I was titckled to see Will Smith wearing a discolored Eagles cap in Hancock. There was a lot of speculation on the net about whose team the hat was from, but come on. What else could it be? I knew what it was from the shape of the Eagle and at a distance. Anyway, the season will be somewhat annoying for me, because of the New York Giants being the reigning champs. They are a nemesis of the Eagles (the team has more of them than Horatio Cain). Though I’m still glad they beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl(the Patriots and Arlen Specter know why). The problem is that we’ll be deep in the heart of Giants country (they play in New Jersey – I dunno) and there will be rabid Giants fans in our midst on set. Ah well.

Speaking of autumn, the weather here has gone nuts. It’s actually been humid for the last few weeks. This past week, it felt more like we were in New Jersey in July than late summer in LA. It’s been down right funky. And not in the fun musical way. Maybe that’s a good thing (though my sinuses and hair would beg to differ). It may still be funky when the shoot begins. We would be acclimated. Though it could also easily be freezing.

The Re-write Stuff

Yes, it’s a bad pun. Jon is on the last scenes of his detailed, line by line treatment. He likes to block every single action and the underlying motivation in single sentences for the entire film before going directly to the script. It’s a great way for him to think out everything for each of the characters making it easier to direct the actors. But it can drive me a little crazy. Questions like ‘Why would Michael do that?’ often draw a response from me like ‘Because he’s a man.’ That’s not very helpful as far as Jon is concerned though it’s a reasonable answer from my point of view. We typically resolve the confusion with a more specific question. Clarity has been very important during this re-write. And it can be surprisingly difficult to achieve for the more subjective aspects of this film. For example, what makes a rock band successful or not successful? That can be a highly subjective question. The answers can cause a fight if poorly phrased. One of the characters is a young man who heads of band (The band has no name as yet. We were going to call it Codfish Aristocracy after a strange book Jon recently processed at the Archive. However, there already is an active band with that name. Go figure.) that plays incomprehensible music. Most folks who read the earlier draft of the script thought it meant that Dave’s band was bad. They can play their instruments and can sing; however, they have trouble connecting with an audience. Their lyrics are odd. And their style of performing is more like performance art than playing rock music. I watched a lot of live music in my clubbing days in a part of the country where some great acts were born. Still, it was hard to articulate what I thought was wrong with Dave’s band. I’ve seen weird acts that I’ve liked. One of them, Sparks and the tune I Predict, were an inspiration for Dave’s band. Being weird isn’t enough for a band to fail to connect with an audience. I thought Sweet or The Sweet had the weirdest lyrics I’ve ever heard (Ballroom Blitz, Little Willie, Fox on the Run), but I liked them a lot as a teen (Lord, I’ve just dated myself). And I’ve seen bands where the audience was irrelevant to the performance. Some of those worked for me, because the band was having such a great time that it was just fun to watch them be with each other. It took a lot of Youtube surfing and annoying a radio jock friend of mine, Bruce Kline, in the wee small hours of the morning to figure out how to explain why Dave’s band gets bad reactions from most of the other characters in the film yet the aging Pop Star, Billy Swain, thinks they could still make it.

It’s a matter of the members the band completely owning the material they are performing. There is an energy level among band mates who are confident in the material and their performance of it. That energy is infectious even if the lyrics are inane or even incomprehensible outside of the performance. I was finally able to explain Dave’s band enough to Jon for him to find a way to make that problem cinematic. Early on, we see a Youtube performance of Dave’s signature song performed by his band. It is not fun to watch. Later, Billy performs the song during the battle of the bands at the climatic Reunion Dance. If Billy was nothing else, he is a consummate performer who knows how to own a song. When he performs it, everyone is on their feet dancing. One script problem solved. I’m still trying to explain teenaged girls’ brains to Jon. I don’t think Youtube or Bruce can help me with that. Still, we think the script will be finished soon. I almost finished with the initial schedule. The negotiations with the actors is going well. We should be able to start talking about them in a couple of weeks, if not sooner.

Two Sides of Naked

I am most often chided by my friends back east for being jaded about working in film, even on my heretofore modest level. After all, what isn’t fun about seeing gorgeous men live and up close in various states of undress? In theory it’s fabulous to see someone like Karl Urban or, more recently, Travis Willingham, half naked. But that’s only if you don’t have work to do while around such distractions. You have to look that them really critically, make adjustments (I’ve often been on my knees in front of the most amazing torsos trying to get trousers to lay correctly) and send them on their way to the next scene. I don’t even really notice what’s actually in front of me until the day is over. Then, there is poor Jon who really doesn’t think about what he’s actually looking at until he’s almost asleep long after we’ve wrapped for the night. Then, he’ll just exclaim “Woo-hoo” and go to sleep. Maybe that’s why the ladies are so comfortable in states of undress around him. They sense his oblivious-ness. My crew guys like Randy almost never get to see the beautiful women undressed or nearly so. He always ends up talking to some guy who is quite comfortable hanging out in his boxers. Randy is not comfortable talking to men in their boxers. Early in his career out here, I overheard him telling an Ohio buddy that he really liked Apollo on Battlestar Galactica, but doesn’t that guy have any pants?

There are times, however, when I am supposed to look at an actor’s performance and evaluate everything about it, including his appearance. That can be quite a challenge to my professionalism. This week, Matty Ferraro, debuted in the second season opener of here!TV’s The Lair as Ian, a troubled young man who is also a werewolf. Matty was one of our very small crew that worked on the The Gunslinger short in February. He is also a talented actor. One of the more pleasant things I do out here is watch actors I know work. It’s hard to get to the plays sometimes, but we’ve gone to screenings and catch most of the TV appearances. My favorite until yesterday, was Garett Maggart’s guest appearance on CSI: Miami. It was only usurped because there was no nakedness as there was in The Lair. Garett and I talked while I was watching. He asked what I was so happy about. Upon hearing that I was watching a homoerotic werewolf, he dryly replied ‘well, of course, what else would you be watching?’

My prurient nature aside, I enjoyed Matty’s initial performance on The Lair. Ian is mysterious and compelling and vulnerable all at once. Even before the audience gets to see his scars, it is clear that he is a wounded soul. When Riley picks him up hitching on the road, it is clear that Ian is more hungry for human contact than he is interested in sex. Thus, when the men come together the encounter is tender and truly intimate and not just carnal. I could still see Ian and Riley during the sex scene. And it helped that both men are beautiful. I was very interested in seeing Matty in these scenes because I want him to portray Vincent in the live action version of the Soldiers novels. He did not disappoint. He is elegantly built and graceful in movement. I never lost Ian’s character while he was in a love scene. His performance was everything I had hoped to see. My biggest challenge was telling Matty all of this without sounding like a drooling lech. I think I managed to pull it off.

On the flip side, is Matty’s talent manager and our production partner, Ralph Lliteras. He, too, hears from many who are not in the business that his job must be a lot of fun. I think he should have a web cam in his office, because even to my jaded eyes, most days for Ralph are truly bizarre and unbelievable. I think he’s had everything short of a llama stampede in his office over the years. Weirdness aside, Ralph is a dedicated manager who makes sure to see as many of his clients’ performances as humanly possible. Ralph is also very, very straight. He approached viewing The Lair with a far different mindset than mine. He gamely watched through the scenes with the muscle bound leathermen in a group grope-fest and other fun things until Matty appeared toward the end of the episode. I was speaking to him on the phone when he commented on understanding why the producers were impressed with Matty. His wife, Marguerite was loudly commenting in the background that she saw why the producers were impressed with him. Ralph just sighed. He was very happy with Matty’s performance. And don’t fret for his sensibilities. Two of his more lovely female clients have some risqué appearances on the horizon. He’ll be a much happier manager then.

This has been a really long blog. I’ll have to save the return of Craig from Ohio and the Adventures of Choncho, the library dog, for next week.