* Post-shoot grubbing at The Original Thai BBQ in Ventura last Saturday with Albert and Steve definitely got me thinking about putting together another film project. But first, I need to put in some time at the day job so I can get back on my feet and handle some of the expenses I’ve accrued during the move.

* After a working on sets for the past year and a half, an 8 hour day is cake – Yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting from Amy’s Bread cake!

* Dollhouse is really disappointing me. The premise is interesting and all, but I can’t really buy it because the writing and acting is way subpar. Eliza Dushku is hot and all, but damn…she’s not very good.

* Got some pretty good feedback and notes from Mike about The Transaction. Gonna try to put in some time this week for revisions.

I’m not shocking anyone when I state the internet is the next major distribution channels for filmmakers. But who knows when the internet will supplant the current guard – institutions like movie theaters, network/cable tv, and DVD. I wonder if Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and now Dollhouse) will play a role in the tipping point. In so many words, he’s pretty much given up on television.

Started the new day job this past Tuesday. Pretty run-of-the-mill, I guess. Did the whole orientation thing for half the day getting to know a bit about the company and the facilities. The company occupies two and a half floors in a building just outside the southern border of LAX in El Segundo. The office isn’t as nice as other offices where I’ve worked, but you can’t beat the view. On a clear day (like today), you can see all the way out to downtown, the Hollywood sign, or the Pacific depending on where you happen to be in the building. I was told smog reduces visibility most days, but since it has been raining the past couple of days, it looks like the smog got washed away temporarily. It was especially beautiful today around 5:30 when the sun began to dip behind the horizon.

Unfortunately, my team is cooped up in a small window-less training room placed smack dab in the middle of the floor. 16 of us fill up the room pretty good – 3 rows of desks with 4 computers per. There’s also a desk along the side wall with an additional 3 computers. We sit less than a foot from each other – almost as tight as a small NYC restaurant. Again, I’m used to having a bit more real estate – like a pod or a cube – but it’s fine for the type of work I do (which I’ll get to in a bit). Oh, and for some reason, we get to draw on the walls. The drawings I remember: an outline of a toilet, a picture of someone that looks like the guitarist Slash who stands behind a half-open Dutch door, and an inaccurate rainbow connecting happy-faced clouds. It’s been years since I took Physics, but I still remember ROYGBIV. (more…)

“It’s a job, that you DO, so you can do the things you actually LIKE doing in life.”- Kimmie (from Lydia’s Funeral Video, a play by Samantha Chanse)

Tuesday marks my re-entry into the rat race. I will trade 6am call times, 30-minute lunches, and 14-hour days for a rush hour commute, one hour lunches, and cubicles. And I’ll probably have to get reacquainted with Windows XP too…yay. It’s been about 21 months since I’ve worked the 9-5 hustle and I’m excited for the most part. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of perks in the freelance world, but the Hollywood juicer said it best:

for any of you who might suffer delusions that the freelance life sounds somehow cinematically romantic (like a cowboy strapping his bedroll to the saddle, then mounting up and riding into the setting sun), it’s not. We’re more like itinerant farm workers, really – braceros — going from crop to crop as the harvest rolls in. And that’s in good times — in not so good times (like now), a more accurate comparison might be with dumpster divers, foraging for food and whatever else we can find amid the stinking alleys deep in the shadows of that big white sign in the Hollywood Hills.

This comes from a guy who’s been in the business for over 30 years compared to the 1.5 I’ve logged. But suffice to say, I’m closing the chapter on the freelance grip/electric lifestyle for now – at least as my main source of income. Jobs may pop up here and there and I’ll take them if I’m interested and available. (I’ll need to anyway to retain the ability to write off some minor business expenses) In some ways, I feel like I’m growing up (again) – choosing a course of action to ensure financial responsibilities are handled, instead of one that satisfies my own creative passions. But there’s plenty of time for that and some things in the horizon. (more…)

Jeff Goldsmith, the moderator of the screenwriting panel I attended the other night asked the panelists how they liked to write – pen and paper or a laptop? Almost all of them stated they would pick up a pen and paper as part of their process. Me, I’m the same way. I have a Moleskine notebook on which I jot down thoughts and ideas about new and current scripts. I use the index card method of organizing plot points and scenes. And of course, it all comes together on the laptop with Final Draft.

In recent days, it became clear that I, on both a professional and personal level,  wanted to improve my writing – creative and editorial. I examined my process and realized the value of where and how the thoughts get translated to words. (more…)