Check In October: Finding Eddie

PREPRODUCTION > OCTOBER CHECK IN

So the project seems off to a good start. My fears of attempting a project outside the nest of film school have been alleviated by the fact that most of my peers are itching to do something creative with their time as well. I've got two great producers on board, and am being courted by the illustrious Claudia Vasquez to bring her on as well. AND, apparently Christina may have recruited not one, not two, but perhaps 3 superstar prod. designers. Thats an Art Department!

On top of that I think I've finally hit the groove as far as where the script needs to be. It may not be perfect - in fact it may need a lot of work, but I feel like I know the characters a lot better, and have a lot of meat as it were to work with as a director.

I also just got an email back from the magnificant Peter Frintrup, who in answer to the request the he supervise the special effects for the movie wrote back a "hell yeah."

Of course peril will surely come, as it always does with these things.

The Challenges

The biggest challenge is the boy. I've never worked directly with a child actor before. Getting a performance out of a kid is a new challenge for me and one I welcome. Also, its just plain difficult to find a great kid that can act. Not perform, or ham, or ACT!!! - but a natural who can just be in the moment. The film hinges on this element. If I can't find an Eddie - whats the point?

The next big element of the film are the special effects. Again, something I've had almost no experience with. But I'm confident that between Peter and Christina - we'll come up with something that looks really great.

Then theres money. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, this project is just going to have to be a little guerrilla - and a little ghetto. Rings cost me about $14,000. And thats just not going to be an option this time around. Granted I'm not recreating the rural south and I'm shooting on HD - but movies are an expensive thing. We'll see...

At any rate. Despite the obstacles looming on the horizon - I can't help but feel a sense of momentum on what was once a small idea I wondered if I could even pull off. To November!

EARTHQUAKE : Or How I Learned To Love The Mother

PREPRODUCTION > CONCEPTION / DISCUSSION

So there’s a new draft of the script and its reception was not as good as the last. It introduces a new plot device and a new character – and a few new complications. The mother seemed to exasperate Christina and Jack, my producers – while the addition of an earthquake seemed to vibe with Gianluca.

It just occurred to me I never stated what the film’s about here. For whatever its worth…

Pretend follows a special boy who discovers he’s telekinetic. Not the best logline, but its what its about. Got any suggestions? Let me know.

Anyway – the comments from the latest draft leave me to one conclusion. I got to get to know the mother better. In the scripts first incarnation, she’s little more then an offstage voice. As the script has grown from 5 to 9 pages – I realize I’ve been stretching it a little to thin. Back to the desk...

Filmmaker By Night

PREPRODUCTION > CONCEPTION

It's tempting to claim to be a filmmaker but the truth is a bit different. Most of my time and efforts, due to nessecity and the pursuit of well roundedness go towards a job. A great job. But a job nonetheless. One that can not allow me to claim to be anything other then, for the time being, a filmmaker by night.

Filmmaker by night. A romantic notion. One that clouds the reality, which is a constant battle with my own desire for sleep and dinner and television watching when I get home at 8ish or 9ish depending on the day. It speaks nothing to the creeping sense of encroachment on my "free time" which to be clear at this stage in my life is at best an illusion.

My time isn't free. It costs me a great deal. Especially when I'm not spending every waking moment making this or any other film. But that is a lifestyle I've not had any experience with, nor any suitable flesh and blood role models.

***

And still, I know there's a problem with the mother character in Pretend. Something isn't ringing true. My favorite filmmaker of all time has a very famous quote, of which I can only remember four words exactly as he said them. "Sincere and with daring." Meaning that to him, those were the two most important qualties of a picture. That it say something true about the human condition and that it say so in a new daring voice.

So if a film is original looking - and is told in a fresh and interesting way but says nothing of what I know to be real life - then I got to pass. The best thing, and is what I'm trying to do with PRETEND, is say something truthful about the nature of our hearts desires and our human potential - and put it in a fresh context. But the film has two characters. A mother and son. If it doesn't feel like a flesh and blood mother and a son - whats the point?

And so. I must drag my used up mind at the end of my day to my desk. And keep hammering at these 7 pages. Until each and everyone rings true. Until I am a filmmaker by day as well as by night.