Clean Slate, Full Plate

Don't you love the first week of January? It's like the first day of school, or moving to a new city. So full of possibilities and delusions of grandeur!

Sorry I haven't been writing much, but I can see my blog stats are down, so you haven't been reading much anyway. I know, the holidays, I won't take it personally. Same here. Also I don't like posting without a photo to give you and there just hasn't been anything photo-worthy lately. I'll try to correct that very soon.

I took a nice little break for a few weeks, following the successful Smalltimore screening & DVD release party on December 9th. Got through the holidays relatively unscathed. Pretty low-drama Christmas at my uncle's and an intimate gathering of friends on New Year's Eve. Nothing crazy, and that was good. And though I can never totally stop talking about Smalltimore/filmmaking (because people never stop asking, and that is also good), other than my New Year's Day interview on L.A. Talk Radio (see link in the sidebar) I didn't do any actual film-related work for a solid 2-3 weeks.

It was a break I was looking forward to, but I am glad it is over as it was getting a little boring and I am anxious to get back on the set, ANY set.In the past week a lot of cool stuff has come up. I hope it all pans out, we'll see. This seems to be the time of year where, much like everyone swears to quit smoking or lose 20 pounds, they also swear to get their film projects off the ground. But the best of intentions are often waylaid by a lack of funds.

In the next 3-6 months, I may be working (PM/AD) on a feature in St. Louis, another PM/AD position in Baltimore, writing on a project in NYC, directing a project in Baltimore, and even acting in a small role locally as well. May be co-producing on a short or two also. We'll see what comes to fruition. I hope they all do, but that would probably be too much to ask. In my spare moments now I am researching for two different features I want to write, and I need to reschedule the shoot for the short I was supposed to do in November that got cancelled when Michelle got sick. Probably March or April for that. I still need to continue pushing Smalltimore, and I am working on brokering a deal with a couple local shops to sell the DVDs on consignment for me. Also need to start pursuing studio distribution, haven't even touched that yet. As I have mentioned, I will also probably be losing my "real" job, and quite possibly my apartment, in the next few months. Trying not to think or worry about that, as there is not much I can do about it anyway. My friends assure me that they will not allow me to live in a cardboard box, so I know I'll be okay anyway around it.

The January meeting of the Creative Alliance Movie Makers was a really good one, focusing on cross-pollination between local filmmakers and local music artists. I even saw a young woman, Winona, there, that I had met a year ago when I spoke to her film class at UMBC. Good to see that she is sticking with it and reaching out to make contacts within the community. Lois Tuttle, a board member of the Baltimore Songwriter's Association, gave a short presentation. I have always said that there is NO excuse for making a movie in Baltimore with a bad soundtrack. Too many talented people here who would love to have their music in a movie. Next month is the semi-annual mini tradeshow, looking forward to that also. Last night I attended for the first time the monthly meeting of the Baltimore chapter of Women in Film & Video. Arlette Fletcher, President of the chapter, invited me to come and screen a trailer for Smalltimore as well as my short The Red-Headed Menace. The threat of snow kept a lot of people away so attendance was low, but it was a nice little meeting at Blue Rock Studios off of Reisterstown Road. The short was well-received and though I didn't actually sell any copies of Smalltimore, I was able to trade one for a copy of a local documentary titled, "Going All Pro". I was lucky enough to already see this doc, that focuses on a local beer vendor at sporting events known as "Fancy Clancy". It is really good and might possibly screen soon at the Creative Alliance. I saw it because I screened it for the Members Committee. Two thumbs up from me! If you get a chance to see it, go.

I have been doing a bit of that lately, trading copies of my feature for other indie features or copies of my short for other indie shorts. It is kind of cool to have movies that no one else has, and also to get your product in front of your peers in this manner. I have even swapped with some people that I met at the festivals I went to in England, Philadelphia, and California.

What else is going on... oh, full throttle back in production with Steve Yeager on his latest feature, "The Rosens." I spent a few hours with Steve Yesterday, scouting a handful of locations I came up with for him for our remaining scenes, going over schedules etc. I also re-read the entire script last weekend and broke down the remaining scenes for scheduling purposes, and in the process dredged up about a hundred new questions and suggestions for Steve, which we addressed point by point over lunch at City Cafe. I was afraid I might drive him crazy but he seems to appreciate how thorough I try to be. It's cool to talk things out and have your suggestions met with a positive response from someone you respect. These are the things that make it worth it to me to "pay your dues." I took Steve's Acting For The Camera workshop at the Creative Alliance a year and a half ago. Getting a taste of acting for the camera was a great experience and made me a better director, but I had already shot Smalltimore by then. The larger reason I took Steve's class was because I knew him by reputation and I wanted to get to know him better, with the even larger goal of working on a project with him at some point. A month after I took his class, he asked me to be an extra in a scene. Five months after that he asked me to be his AD. Three months after that he asked me to be his Co-Producer. Mission accomplished.

Oh, and coming up next weekend is the screening of the short I worked on in Virginia over Labor Day Weekend with Michelle, "Please God, Someone Normal." That set was pure fun from beginning to end and I am as anxious to see everyone from the set as I am to see the finished product!

This month, after a two-month reprieve (as there are very few film festivals taking place in the winter months), I should be hearing from the last handful of festivals I submitted Smalltimore to. I was rejected by the San Francisco Indie Fest, which is a drag because my friend Adam's film, "My Movie Girl," was accepted. I met Adam at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, and we really wanted to screen together, plus I have a free place to stay in San Fran which would have been sweet. On the other hand, though, I am really broke, and trying to pay off credit cards before I lose my job, so possibly a blessing in disguise. I'll let you know how the rest pan out.

Anyway... So, I am busy. And I am happy. Both of those things keep me out of trouble :) Now that you have an overview of the many irons I have in many fires, I'll try to stick to updating about one or two of them per blog entry. Stick with me and see what happens next! I promise to get you some photos real soon. Happy New Year, I hope it is a great one for all of you!