Things have been moving FAST. We're definitely at the point in prep when I have ZERO time. Every second of my day is taken up with something for the film. And it'll only get more intense as we get closer to Day 1. Which reminds me... ...we've set a start date! Friday, March 13. Yes, we're starting production on Friday the 13th. But it's a horror film, so it works. Plus, Friday the 13th has
My DP is on board, in the form of my dear friend Rob. This was probably a foregone conclusion, but it still makes me happy and relieved he's now officially on the team. I met with Rob last week, as well as a few other potential crew members. No one else is officially on yet, but one of them was a Casting Director, and the thought of diving into casting has me super excited. Patience,
We have a new title! Today, 'The Gateway House' was born. I mean, we're somewhere in the middle of draft 3, so the story was born a long time ago. But we had been operating off of a working title that, while Brian and I both liked, it didn't quite work for a few reasons. Draft 3 is starting to really come together. This whole endeavor is starting to feel more and more tangible. But
It's apparently impossible for Brian and I to tell a "simple" story. Thankfully, we didn't involve anything like time travel or a nonlinear structure this time. And almost the entire film takes place in one location... a house. Should be easy, right? Except this story takes place across four different planes of existence. This has been a tough script to break structurally. Between navigating the planes of existence and how to dish out the necessary
A few weeks ago the SCA community received devastating news... beloved editing professor Norman Hollyn passed away suddenly. Today was his memorial. The entire event was a conflict of emotions. To celebrate Norm's life and to mourn his death, a generation of students, faculty, and staff convened for the memorial... some people I hadn't seen in many years. On one hand it was wonderful to reconnect, though the circumstances made it much more difficult. But
For the last few years, I've been taking headshot-type photos for all of my Front Desk student workers during their new hire process, to be put in the "on duty" display case during their shifts. I've received countless rave reviews from students, faculty, and staff... as well as the student workers themselves. Last week another student named Anna (who doesn't work for me) asked if I would be willing to take headshots for her. In
There was something that was said by the producers in the meeting on Monday that I kinda glossed over at the time, but it was around the moment that the tone of the meeting changed. Thinking back on it now -- and reading between the lines a bit -- it seems to be a recurring theme with the initial excitement and then sudden cold feet we've experienced when it comes to financing Red Yesterday, and
Brian and I had the follow-up in-person meeting today. They're not interested in financing the film, but instead they may be providing an LOI for distribution. Not quite the homerun we were hoping for, but at least it's
This afternoon Brian and I had a fantastic Skype meeting (virtual meetings are WEIRD) with the producer and owner of a small production company/international sales agent. He loved our pitch for 'Red Yesterday' and seems very interested in financing the film. We're scheduling an in-person meeting soon to go into more detail. Fingers crossed, but this is the most solid development we've had in quite awhile, so it's hard to keep my optimism in check.
If no one is going to help you along the way, then I guess you gotta do it yourself. That's not the epiphany. This is... We have everything we need to make a feature with the tiniest of budgets (okay, okay... not Primer or El Mariachi tiny, but not a whole lot more) and not have to rely on industry people to give us money. Talented friends to crew. A professional camera package. A house