Scattered Pictures...

(Me during rehearsals for Smalltimore, way back in July of 2008, also known as, yesterday. Photo by Richard Payne)

I recently found a file containing photos from "Smalltimore" rehearsals that I have not previously published. As I sit in my home office, surrounded by hard drives and head shots, I am kind of floored about where I am right now, compared to the moments captured in these photos, only two and a half years ago.

It may be hard to tell from the above photo, but actually I was really happy. This was not a posed shot, I was honestly engrossed in what the actors were doing. I'll share some photos of that at the end of this post. Maybe I wasn't so much happy as... focused. I want to be able to look back at that time, of those two grueling weeks of production that came after 4 months of non-stop pre-production, and tell you how much fun I had. And I did, sometimes, but most of the time I looked exactly like this photo, i.e., stressed. That is just how I look when I am thinking. The good thing about it is, it keeps people from interrupting me while I am thinking because they are a little bit frightened of me when I am in that state. The bad thing is that I continue to look like this when, say, someone snaps a photo of me.

I could be wrong, but I think I actually look younger now than I do in this photograph. I AM thinking, and focused, right this minute, but I am also smiling from ear to ear. Yesterday I sealed a deal with a client who contracted me to adapt a script for her; we are in pre-production now. I'll be producing and directing her film this summer. Today I received a letter from the Creative Alliance, to confirm that I will be teaching two film-related classes there in April. Today I also introduced some of the soundtrack artists from "Smalltimore" to Chris LaMartina, writer/director of "Witch's Brew" that I worked on last summer. Hopefully he can use some of their music for that soundtrack. Tonight I had a casting call with another client, for a music video we are shooting next month. I'm also producing and directing that, and likely shooting both with my partner in crime, Director of Photography Extraordinaire, Michelle Farrell. Tomorrow I have a lunch meeting with a gentleman who is starting up a new film festival here in Baltimore, the Baltimore Film Festival International. I'll be speaking at their event this coming Monday evening (2/7), at Breathe Books in Hampden. After that appointment tomorrow, I will be meeting with Jineara Dawn, a young filmmaker and actor with whom I have worked on several projects. We have at least three projects to talk about, that I want to get her on board. Friday night I'll be attending my friend Mauricio Osorio's premiere of his documentary, "On One Field," at the Creative Alliance. It received an amazing write-up in today's City Paper, check it out! Later this month I will be working on the next-to-last shoot for Steve Yeager's film, "The Rosens". This is the opening of the film, a scene which I wrote.

Sounds exciting, doesn't it? It is, despite the fact that I lost my job-job (and health insurance, and living quarters, and cushy paycheck) eleven months ago. If the subject comes up in conversation, sometimes when I tell people that, they give me the sad face and say they are so sorry. I'm not. Not for a minute. It doesn't come up much anymore, and I am trying not to let it come up at all. It was another life, a lifetime ago. I no longer have one foot in the boat and one on the nice, safe pier. I am sailing the seven seas! No longer am I a former hotel manager. I am a filmmaker. That is all.



[Cheryl Scungio, one of the most dedicated actors I have ever worked with.]



[My boys! Johnny Benson, Darik Bernard, and Phil Calvert. I love this photo.]



[Kelly Coston, Johnny, and Cheryl, rehearsing one of my favorite scenes in the movie. It wasn't really an important scene, but the chemistry between the three is amazing and hilarious.]



[Kyle Holtgren and Kelly. Good lord, we laughed so much during rehearsal for this scene! Why didn't anyone take a picture of me then?!]



[Orlando Gonzales, Joyce J. Scott, and Cheryl. I have published this photo before, but it is one of my favorites. There is no scene where Gracie (Cheryl) hugs Mrs. Talford (Joyce). I can't remember exactly what happened, but either Orlando or Cheryl screwed up their line in a way that if taken out of context could be seen as offensive. And Joyce can just NEVER let something like that slide. She had us all cracking up.]



[Orlando catching his breath between rehearsing make-out sessions with Cheryl. He turned Snooki down for a make-out session in a club in Miami last year! I am not making this up.]



[and finally... if that a...? It is! A SMILE!!! It was an amazing experience, that played a big part in where I find myself today. I thank everyone in these photos, plus the rest of the cast and crew, for being a part of it. Yay, memories...]