Thursday, June 30, 2005

I'm Back

These last two weeks have been pretty rough and I appreciate all of the support I have gotten from my friends both here and in the 3D world.
So what's new in Charlie land...
Our new script is getting rave reviews from all the right people over there in the UK. Even I am a little surprised. As after this last fiasco I was starting to doubt my own sense of what is good and what sucks.
We just made our cast wish list and I have to tell you, it's a doozy. But hey, why not shoot for the stars (no pun intended).

I had an idea that I was working on for my Cassevetes-esque director/actor project but I have lost the fire for that particular story. So I am back to the drawing board and I need to finish the script by July 11 so I am quickly running out of time. So I am still welcoming stories and character studies from all of you out there.

TJ - one bizarre day in your life ought to do it.
CD - Perhaps a day in your life also.

I have just gotten a freelance job shooting market research interviews in and around NYC. It is stupid as all get out but I get paid to shoot and ask strangers questions. Which I do for free on my own ducumentary stuff so this is better. At least for now.

And last but not least, I finally moved my office down to the basement (as opposed to the great room feast table) and it is great. I have all of me gear set up and I can actually get things done. The only hitch is that there is no a/c down there yet and I am dripping sweat on my keyboard as I type (right now). So I am off to loews to rectify this.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Brian Pohanka - March 20, 1955 - June 15, 2005

My friend died Tuesday morning. It wasn't a surprise. We have been on what could be termed a "death watch" for about a month now. But he passed away in his sleep Tuesday morning.
I didn't know him very long (4 years) but in that time we developed a bond.

He was a well known historian and a bit of a celebrity in the world of Civil War Re-enacting and Civil War History. His was a pioneer within the preservation community (Preserving Civil War battlefields), as he was one of the first people to realize that these precious sites needed to be saved from the developers tractors and he put his money where his mouth was. As well as his time and his pen.

All of this made my friend a very important and well known person in many historical circles. He has been seen on the History Channel as one of the historians on The Civil War Journal as well as Ken Burn's Civil War Documentary. He was the technical consultant on Glory, Gettysburg, Gods & Generals & Cold Mountain. He was probably the smartest person I have ever met or will ever meet. But all of that has been said or written in the various obituaries that have spring up since Tuesday.

My friend was also one of the kindest, noble and thoughtful people that I have ever had the pleasure to know. He was truly a man of the 19th Century. He would never bad mouth anyone, even when that person deserved it. He was helpful to a fault and did not hold a grudge. He was a true example of what it means to be "A Good Person". I know my gruff "Brooklynite" manner often made him laugh and more than once he took me to task on the way I handled a situation (I was less tactful than I ought to have been) but he never tore me down for it. I learned how to be a better person because of him.

Now he's gone. He leaves a legacy of preservation and vision behind him. But more than that he leaves an example of how people should behave towards each other. He has left a hole in the hobby and in our lives that can never be filled and in my opinion should not be. What we need to do is rise to his challenge. Be better people. Take up the fight in his name. I don't know about anyone else, but that's exactly what I am going to do.

Oh Captain, My Captain,
I will miss our daily e-mails. I will miss our film coversations around the fire. I'll miss your interesting theories regarding Dick Cheney and the Yeti. I'll miss your unending wealth of knowledge.
But most of all, I will miss you.
I will never forget you.
Your Pard
Charlie

Monday, June 13, 2005

Your Ideas Wanted Here!

OK, in preperation for this large undertaking in the UK next year, I have decided to throw caution to the wind and shoot a micro-micro-micro mini (I mean small here) budget feature film this summer. I am thinking 4 or 5 actors at most, no crew but myself and my camera (with the actors taking turns holding the boom). What I don't have is an idea. A story (well not yet anyway). I am giving myself until the end of June to finsish the script so that I can shoot in August.
So, how does this affect you, my faithful readers and friends? You all have stories. ALL OF YOU, Some more interesting than others but you all have them,

ESPECIALLY YOU TJ.

So, if you fancy your story being hacked up and turned around and basically turned into something you will never recognize as your story please email me the ideas. I will give you full credit for the idea in the movie.

DON'T POST THEM HERE. THAT WOULD BE BAD.

After I choose the story I will post my choice here. Once the script is written (and copyrighted) I will post a synopsis here.
And after the film is finished I will send a copy to all who submitted "realistic ideas". Meaning that if you suggest I shoot Star Wars Xll I will ignore you.

Anyway, it seemed like a good way to kill some time this summer while waiting for the financing to come through on the UK shoot.

OK, your turn.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Two Weeks

It's done!
At exactly 3:45am this morning.
It took exactly two weeks.
I can't believe it.
120 pages.
This was the fastest first draft of a script I have ever written and it's by no means crap. I am actually quite shocked at how good it is. I am my own worst critic and I have trashed, burned and deleted many a completed script after the first read.
This one ....
This one could be it.

Jeez, I'm tired.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Free At Last ... Oh Lordy ... (You know the rest)

It’s Dead Jim …. And boy am I happy!!!!!!
I finally heard from my (ex) executive producer. As she was trying to explain to me why she hadn’t gotten back to me sooner and how she is still trying to track down the suck-butt of an investor I managed to get her to shut up long enough to tell her that we were done. That the game is over. We’re not playing anymore. It took a couple of seconds for it to register ( I really enjoyed those). Finally she said,”What?” and I said, we’re done here. Neither “P” or I find this amusing anymore. She said what do you mean, so I layed it out for her thusly;
1- Your lack of communication skills have fucked up this project from the minute you got involved.
2- You have taken the small, character driven script that had a cast attached, locations locked up and what was basically a “go movie” and turned it to a steaming pile of crap that I would be embarrassed to give to Keanu Reeves to read.
3- You have made numerous promises of which none ever came to fruition.
4- You forced us to make changes to our script that clearly you yourself didn’t even understand.
5- You don’t have the slightest clue about what independent film is.
6- You should really consider a career change
7- You have wasted a year of my life.

There was not much else to say except goodbye, which I said gladly. I feel as if a 5 year old weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Now, this new project, is a whole different story. The script is practically writing itself (I am on page 91 of what will most likely be 110 pages) and in my humble opinion it is the best 1st draft of a script I have ever written. As I finish large sections I have been sending them off to my partner “J” in the UK so he can Anglicize them. It’s great to have a new fresh project to be working on.

We are also beginning to lay the groundwork for the big move to UK. Though it’s most likely a year and half off, there are decisions we need to start making now, All in all I am pretty damn happy.

Go figure…

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Back in the US of A

Well, I have returned. Perhaps just for a little while. My desire to relocate to the UK has been tickled again. There are any number of blogs that will come out of my recent sojourn across the pond but the end result is that a new film project to be shot in England is in the works (which means I am working on the script right now, well not Right this moment) with the hopes of shooting exactly one year from now and relocating the family there not long after the film is finished.
You could say it was a productive week.
Ah, and the Guinness was damn fine.....