Final Script Changes

Just going through the script and making some final changes before sending it off to cast. Several producers have warned me that I'm fighting an uphill battle with no one attached and no lucrative offer ready to go. They're encouraging in that they'll say "They should WANT to be in your movie because the script is good" - but cautious and say "it might take them a month and you need to think up some back ups." We'll see. I'll hopefully finish these up tomorrow, if I do and I feel ready, I'll send out Thursday. Friday and Monday are not great for first contacts - but if I miss Thursday I will definitely try to hit first thing Friday.

As soon as it goes out... I'm on to figuring out the back up movie. I think I should make sure it's something that I can do no matter what. Even if it isn't going to fit any necessary guideline other than being a feature film. It has to be shootable and finishable and it has to be feature length and something I think is good regardless of sales potential (as long as the budget can be limited).

How To Proceed

After a bit of pondering (read as deflated disappointment), I think the answer is in the "What do I have to lose?" If the only thing you have to lose is being rejected, then you have nothing to lose if you reward yourself with the pride of having tried.

Having Tried > Being Rejected.

Meaning, you get more points for having tried than you lose for being rejected - so your net sum points is greater even if you are rejected after trying. This rule applies for all things. I wish I'd learned it when I was 10 years old. Actually I learned and knew a lot of things at ten. Perhaps I should say "believed this when I was ten."

I am not expecting to get a yes. The people who profess that you create your own existence by what you believe have not spent much time in Hollywood. Actors always get the parts they think they wouldn't get and never get the parts from auditions they "nailed." I think the rule is - if you believe enough to try, then you believe enough to make it happen.

Anyway - Since I'm not expecting to get a yes from the talent for whom I (and I semi-alone) have deemed worthy of the investment, I am going to push the start date to allow the actors 1 full month (2 weeks per actor ideally) to read it. So, new start date would be may 15th. Blah, but takes off the stress. I will say that it is negotiable. I need six weeks to prepare the movie minimum. In the meantime, I will pick one of four projects to create, develop, finish, or push. I've started that process today.

Tomorrow and the next day I will focus on finishing a rewrite of this movie and then just send it off and wait... but not count on anything. Move forward in other directions.

Friend Declined

Apparently my friend just did a movie where the character had the same major event in a similar movie and has another ongoing offer on the table for another similar path... So she felt three would be too many. Open to doing another film, but not this one.

I just finished all that work I had to do and was hoping to jump full force into this film now, but the new goal this weekend will be to evaluate if I think without anyone attached I'll be taken seriously by any actors. I guess I could always toss my hat into the circle to find out.

I only slept 3 hours last night due to finishing up "the other job's work" and clearing my schedule... So now isn't the best time for blogging or decision making. But I thought it was important to put this into the chronicles.

Right now I'm thinking of everything from abandoning this project for doing a much more unique and specific type of film, geared specifically for actors I know I could cast (and check in advance that they'd do it)... and make sure the locations are not impossible for me to find.

There are plenty of projects to do... The problem is that I can't afford to do most of them without getting investors and I was really trying to avoid that.

Maybe I'll just go out to the other cast people anyway and hope that I get a response. I don't know. My concern with that would be to get just one of the actors... Then I'm in a bind if I can't get another one. We'll see. I do know I need a cast to justify the investment though. I have another friend I could ask - doesn't fit the profile I had in mind when I thought up the whole scheme though.

I think maybe in my over tired weary state I'll drift into thoughts and see if some new project magically materializes in my head. And if not, I'll get practical tomorrow and figure out how to go forward.

Reading went well

The reading went very well. I felt like people did like the script, enjoyed the read and I also got a couple good ideas that I'm going to incorporate. Plus a few things came to light that I need to fix. Nothing major.

There were also a couple ideas which were good, but I'm not going to incorporate them because at some point, you're just making another movie. Even if ideas seem like they'll enhance this movie, sometimes they'll just make it different. And sometimes good ideas can break a script and I don't have the time to break the script down entirely especially when all it would add is one cool moment as a pay off in actuality.

My friend has not responded yet. Grrr... if it takes this long for a friend to respond... how long will it take the other actors to respond. I may have to push the entire shoot a couple weeks, but that would be the limit. No leeway after that.

I need to get people to start working on this.

Setting things up

Helped friends with their network auditions a lot this week. That kind of stuff hopefully pays off down the line.

"Famous Friend" will give me a yay or nay by next Monday.

Sunday I am having a reading for the script. This is sort of "last looks" for the script. "Speak now or forever hold your piece" on the go ahead. I have a few friends coming to this in addition to the readers. I'm hoping of course everyone gets excited and goes "great! this will be awesome." I'm open to them going... "hm... not sure this is ready." Honestly, if people are mediocre on it and my friend doesn't want to do it, I may cancel it. It's okay - I will then just do something else instead. Maybe prepare the "other film" and plan to shoot the super low budget one instead. Or, as I warned my best friend, stop doing film all together and finish that crazy performance art piece I've always been working on. I think she is secretly hoping I do that. :)

Tonight I am doing the script breakdown (finally) which will give me a sense of the EXACT number of days all the talent will need to be there. Also shows me where character balances might be out of whack. It's a very interesting way of looking at your script. For example, I'm realizing one important character practically disappears in the middle. Seems wrong now that I see it this way. I will need to fix that.

This also acts as the base for the budgeting process - though in the case of this film, it won't affect the budget that much.

The Script

Strange. I'm having a lot of insecurity about the script right around now. I had a couple tiny changes I wanted to make to it before sending it out to talent - but then I suddenly started worrying that it was too static, the scenes were too long, there was too much dialogue - etc. I'm considering doing a table read just so I can heart it out loud. Perhaps I should try to do that this weekend. Nothing fancy - just some people in a room speaking it out loud.

It's really amazing how much tenacity fear has. At some point you'd think I'd be able to stop questioning everything. Perhaps when there are more people involved in the project this will start to be the case.

Hoping to schedule and breakdown the script this weekend. I'd like to know exactly how many days I'm going to be asking these actors to work rather than just tossing out a guess.

Facing Challenges

I'm being totally distracted. I have to say it, because I have to admit it. This is a wake up call entry for myself. Say the true state of things so I can address them.

Currently:

• I'm doing too much work that is not related to this movie. Yes, it's great that it seems my other company (which does involve directing) is going to have a great year. However, it is terrible that it is distracting me from doing important things to prepare this movie and I'd better learn to discipline myself now.
• I'm helping my "famous friend" on her pilot auditions, she's going to network on one apparently. She can't read my script until this coming weekend. I decided to wait on her response just because I felt (and confirmed with one of my producer consultants) that since I have literally nothing else in my corner (no agent, production company, distributor), I should have something that makes me seem like not a total outsider. (Actually I do have a manager who is well connected and such, but that is not related to this project really. I suppose I could ask him to make some calls on my behalf, but that would turn him into a producer and I'm not sure he wants that and I'm not sure I need that. I'll surely use him as a reference if need be.)
• I'm concerned about the time it might take these other actors to read the script and commit and will that allow me enough time prepare the production - more so, will it allow enough time for my production team to prepare. Also - if it takes a month to get a "no." That's going to be an issue as it will leave me very little time to find someone new. I should probably decide at some point what my minimum "name" requirement for going into production will be. I believe this script will make a good movie. I cannot market it as "the grossest" or "sexiest" or "blackest" or "gayest" or "religious" or "anti-religious" or... "cheapest" or... "most expensive" or... "most surreal" "most punk" "most conservative" "most liberal" - etc. There is no exploitable angle on it. This makes me feel like I need a name cast. A name cast will substitute as the exploitable angle. Note to people who can't get a cast for their film. Ask yourself what your exploitable angle is.
  

My attention in the next few days for this project is to start getting a really solid break down on the script from a production point of view. This is something someone else could do, but I don't have anyone on staff yet to do it, so it's something I will do.

For "the other project" - I mentioned a friend of my "famous friend" to her and she agreed to take the script to him. I want to bounce him off a couple people, but I think it's totally unique casting and a part he would never get normally and thus might be interested.

I still need to do this movie first.... though... as a back up option, it wouldn't hurt. If not a back-up, it becomes a follow-up.

and even more Meetings

Met with another LP. I didn't feel he was the right match for the project. Wrote up the offer letter (based on friend's existing one).

I'm concerned that my "other work" continues to distract me most of the day... even real life stuff is getting post-poned and ignored... It should be done by the end of this week - the distracting part of it at least. I'm taking a big chunk of Wednesday off to regain sanity though.

Top of my current to do lists are:

• Add scenes I've sketched to the script
• Breakdown all the Sets / Props / Art / Costumes for people to have a sense
• Talk to Art Dept person who I'm interested in doing this more
• On Tuesday talk to friend about her attaching herself to the movie

2 months, 8 days away.

Meetings and Meetings

Met with a set (and prop) builder today. Turns out we know a lot of the same people. Not a surprise I suppose. Boy - set labor could be an issue. I'm going to sketch out the sets, but he wants an idea of what I have for the budget. I always want to say. "I have $500, what can you do?" :)

Meeting with another LP/AD option tomorrow night.

I really need to get something together ready to send out to actors on Tuesday. Still feel unprepared for that.

Still finishing other job work too and the fact that this is taking up so much time is a major concern.

Assembling Assets

Oh - lets just do a bullet point list...

• I contacted a friendly stage (I've known the people who run it for a while). They offered a very nice deal. It's still very expensive.
• Tomorrow I should be talking to my first option of set builders - a recommendation from the friendly stage.
• The LP/AD (Line Producer/Assistant Director) I spoke with and liked is unable to schedule this project into his life, but is going to do his best to provide some help - he should be sending me some photos of an alternate (and cheaper) location tomorrow.... HOPING that it works.
• I've decided to NOT WAIT to approach actors. Even for my famous friend... actually - I'm waiting until Tuesday for her because she may read on Monday.
• I'm meeting with another LP/AD option and there is someone else who doesn't have all the experience, but could add to the family atmosphere of the shoot which would be nice.

About money. If I can get this talent, I should really not worry about the money as much. I have to remember that a major part of this exercise is to make me realize that these things happen. People make movies. Then they sell them. It's not something reserved for the very very lucky. And if I'm wrong... well, it will probably be worth the money to find out!

Next week should be very interesting. I will try to document my experience approaching these actors very closely because I have a feeling that this will be something that most of the filmmaker who might be reading this will be most interested in.

Waiting and Money

Feel like I'm just waiting on everyone. Need to start trying to contact people before I am ready. Is that possible? But waiting on word from Logistical types, Crew types, Actors types.

In the meantime, sketching and making budget adjustments. Seems like everytime I find a way to make something cheaper, another expense shows up. When things get expensive I, of course, start thinking "Well, geeze, maybe I should do another movie with less of that [whatever seems expensive]." But I'm sticking to the plan. Supposed to be shooting in two months and 13 days from now! I should make some sort of day countdown on this site.

Depression before the Storm

I wasn't going to write anything today - but then I realized today is EXACTLY the day I need to write something.... if not for anyone else, for myself to remember this.

For no apparent reason - no bad news. Suddenly, my momentum feels like it totally dropped.

I think this is where other people come into the mix. Even a very independent person like myself still relies on the excitement of other people. It's why actors still love theater. The live response.

What this is telling me is that I need to start including some people in the project and give them a reason to care.

Probably I got some disinterested reactions from people in an almost so-casual-I-didn't-notice way - but I did feel it. And it brought me down. It's not that anything went wrong.

Maybe it's also just coming to see the greater picture of what a huge project this will be and maybe the last week of pushing this project and attending to my regular job just wore me out. This won't be the last time. I should make sure though that I keep some people around who encourage me. And some other people who may have something at stake in this as well. Starting to understand why groups of people make movies a lot more often than solo efforts.

Gathering My Thoughts

So - the work from last week spilled into this week, but I feel like I was pretty well able to keep things moving forward. Even had a chance to do a little design work. I am trying to figure out the lay out of certain locations according to how they would be work with the dolly shots. Nothing worse than getting to a location with a shot in mind and then realizing "There's no room for the dolly here."

So here is a random catch up list for "where everything is at:"

• Asked my "famous friend" to be in the movie. Need to push her to commit soon as I want her confirmation prior to approaching the TV Actors (I'm starting to hate using these generic labels - it's sort of demeaning seeming.) Lesson Learned - approach sooner.
• Talk to the line producer type about his interest. I feel he could be an asset and would like to know his involvement level.
• I've figured out a backend offer for the actors.
  
• I really need to find someone who can talk to me about the expense for building and painting sets. This is information I'm lacking.
• I'm very much eyeing renting a studio or warehouse and building sets since they are so simple and plain verses finding the right location - unless someone brings something great to my attention.
  
• Going to keep the whole shoot to 3 weeks instead of adding on a weekend for the other location. Mentally keeps the shoot so much shorter. (LP's advice)
• Going to add a little short action scene which wasn't in the script before - but I think it needs a punch near the end - something fun to watch to break up the suspense.
• Going to add another scene which has been on my mind lately.
• Going to cut off the last scene as it locks me into a particular sequel and has extra actors and FX and props that don't help tell the story necessarily. As tempted as I am to shoot it anyway - it will get expensive.
• Going to start storyboarding it and breaking it down under the assumption that the actors will sign on. I'm being warned the actor signing can take a month - this could become an issue as if I cannot get the people I want, I need to make sure that have a cast I feel makes it work.
• I need to include rehearsal into the schedule for the major scenes even if I have to pay for the time. I need to make sure the performances work. This movie is made or lost on the performances - 'cause it's not a blood splattering horror film.