Deja Vu

dé·jà vu
n.

1. Psychology. The illusion of having already experienced something actually being experienced for the first time.
2. 1. An impression of having seen or experienced something before: Old-timers watched the stock-market crash with a distinct sense of déjà vu.

Yeah that is what happened to me today. It has happened a few times the past few months but today was very very strong. One of the strongest Vu's I've ever experienced.

There I was working away when I FELT IT COMING!!!!

I was doing the same thing, seeing the same things, and thinking of the same thing...er....person when all of a sudden WHAM!!!!!

The most vivid deja vu I've ever experienced in years!!! I have felt it very vividly before but not this vivid in a long time. What does it mean? Well I can't say for certain but I can tell you that it was one of the most amazing things I've felt when I've not been dreaming.

Lately my dreams have been very interesting and very vivid....very happy dreams. This deja vu though made me very happy!

It was very surreal but in a very good way, my words can't even begin to describe it the way I felt it so I'll stop.

Not A Bad Weekend!

A decent werewolf movie, quality time with friends, the problem with a place for rehearsals resolved, and nice weather!

All of the ingrediants for a good weekend were at hand these past two days.

I wish everyone's weekend was as nice as mine was!!

Parts Accepted!

All parts have now been offered and accepted!
Rehearsals have been set for next Friday and Saturday and the following Friday and Saturday with filming set for March 19th!!!!

Looks like my CPA isn't going to get my taxes done before filming starts so I probably won't be able to get the camera I want for the shoot. However I will have enough to finance the travel for my out of town actors and feed my cast and crew!

It isn't much....right now but it is a start!

Things are going very well, thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers!!!!

SUCCESS!!!!

YES Success!!!!
I cast 9 out of 10 parts!!!!!
It was GREAT!!!!
I was very happy with the turn out and the results!!!!
For this area that just isnt' a hotbed of film activity I had about 15 people show up!!!!
I am on my way to a successful film!!!!!

Today Is The Day.....For Now

Yes, today is the day that will start the process of a successful movie or a not as successful movie.
Anyone who has read my modest script will tell you that it will be as successful as the actors portrayal of the characters.

It is very dependent upon the actors. There just isn't enough going on in the script that isn't dependent upon the actors so they will really carry this movie. There isn't much that I, the director, will be able to do if the characters aren't fully realized other than offer instruction and encouragement.

In this regard I am helpless and dependent upon the talent. I am both anxious and confident that the talent of those who will be cast tonight and this week will shine!

I'm thrilled and excited beyond words!

A Fine Response!

With the auditions on Monday I have had a fine resonse from the ad I placed and am anticipating between 20-50 people to show up!

I have had a wonderful experience with the board of directors from the Gaslight! They have been very accomodating and willing to go the extra mile with this production! I will include them as well as the incredible folks at Big Country Meat Market in the film credits somehow.

So now on to my week's DVD purchase: Donnie Darko the director's cut.
This was a very David Lynchian production. You aren't sure what you are watching until it is over with and then you really start to wonder what you saw.
An amazing and original movie that is quirky, tragic, tender, dramatic, and at a couple of times comedic.

This is a movie that should inspire indie filmmakers to pursue their concepts no matter how bizarre they could be.

Coffee Cards And Vanilla Candles

This morning I was one stamp closer to obtaining a free cup of coffee at the quick shop where I buy my morning coffee. I get excited when I get a free cup. I pay for five get the sixth free, not bad?!
On my way home I decided that I haven't had a vanilla candle in about three weeks so I got three of them!

I like it when my Hopperesque house smells of fine vanilla;)

What does this have to do with filmmaking and my auditions on Monday?
I thought about what my life would be like without a coffee card. It isn't just a mundane worry you know. Coffee and Tea are what gets me going in the morning. I used to drink a bottle of Coke and have a couple of bags of M&M's when I was younger and more bullet proof. However I'm not as bullet proof so I stick to coffee and tea now. I have found that it is easier to concentrate when the world isn't vibrating away during my sugary binges while I bounce off of the walls.

So now I have my coffee card to look forward to helping me get through the week. Monday I usually get my free cup after a whole week of looking forward to collecting that beautiful red stamp of a steaming cup of coffee on my little tan card. I keep my card just behind my ID and in front of my time card in a little plastic holder I wear around my neck at work. The free coffee day rotates ofcourse but it always seems to be the best when my week starts with the free cup.

So how could two mundane events be relevant to this blog? I just keep thinking that if a free cup of coffee and the amazing smell of vanilla candles are one of the things I really look forward to right now then I really need to do a great job with Locker.

Somedays I get up and dread going to work but I KNOW that there are some people where I work who can't wait to get there in the mornings. This is wonderful!! If everyone didn't love their jobs then nothing would ever get done. Vital social services would degrade and fall into ruin. However I don't think I'm cut out for this anymore.

I have found my passion and when you find your passion you only want a few things afterward.
1. To be able to experience your passion everyday. You can't wait to do it again when you finish up for the day!
2. Someone to share it with.
3. Friends and family around you to share in the joy of your passion.

So for now I am enjoying the incredible aroma of Glade French Vanilla candles and tomorrow I look forward to getting my fifth stamp on my coffee card.

APPROVED!

Yes!
The audition location site was approved last night for the Gaslight Theater!
My ad for auditions starts today in the paper!
I have already had several requests for scripts, times, and the location which I can now tell them exactly when and where to be!

I'm going to have to come up with a word for beyond excitement if it keeps going this well!

In other news, I received my copy of the first season of Deadwood yesterday. An amazing show with simply the best villain I have seen since Vic Mackey from The Shield. Yes Al Swearengen is much better than Tony Soprano, much better than Darth Vader, much better than Kyser Soze, well Al is simply the best bad guy in the biz right now!

A belated Happy V-Day and to all of you who received my ecards, yes you really do mean that much to me or more!

Ad in the Paper!

Yes my excitement knows no bounds!
I have placed my audition ad in the local paper today! It runs from Tuesday till next Monday which is the day of the auditions!!!!

Audition Call!!!

Yes I have begun advertising for auditions!

No my taxes haven't been done yet which I was counting on, however I am pressing on anyway and doing everything I can afford at the moment!

Excitement just isn't the word for what I am feeling!

Successful Meeting!

Yes last night was a very successful meeting! Much was accomplished as the priorites were laid out with auditions being up at the top of the list!

Yes I don't want a situation where we have the auditions and no one show up!
So now the auditions are scheduled right now for Monday the 21st.

My taxes are being figured and hopefully next week they will be filed so I can give a definitive answer as to what I am going to do with the refund!

They Don't Make Scary Movies Anymore, Do They?

Well hello film fans and welcome to my corner of the web this morning!
I take keyboard in hand this morning to fill you in on something I have found disturbing the past.....ten or twenty years or so.

They quit making scary movies.

Allow me to place this into context. When I was in high school a very good friend and I saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for the first time. I remember in my childhood after 10 P.M. the tv trailers of this scared me to pieces!!! I never had the courage to actually watch it in fact!

So one day after running the paper route with my friend we decided to rent it at a local quick shop and watch it. It had such an effect on me that I haven't watched it since! It was raw, brutal, it was one of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. It had very little blood in it but the images were horrific and stuck with me!

Now fast forward to today's movies, in my case most recently Hide and Seek and Boogeyman. You can actually replace any contemporary horror film title in here, it really doesn't matter. They are a mix and match of cliches now. Take one person, add a messed up event in this person's life, add a goofy legend, twist, tradition, or idea hook mix, rinse, repeat until the body count is high enough.

Hide and Seek was just stupid, as I posted earlier. The person who cut that trailer should get a bonus for making that film the number one film of the week because that is what did it! Boogeyman? Well it was about as bad. I was impressed that there was only one foul word used in the past TWO (Hide and Seek and Boogeyman) movies. And that was in Hide and Seek, as I earlier posted, the "F" word was used by DeNiro. Again not that I'm against such language at all, I just know that a strong movie doesn't depend on language, gore, or CGI effects. If they would understand tension and how to create it they could have raised these movies to a much higher level instead of using cheap, stupid scares to get an audience to jump.

Somewhere someone decided to get away from creating true tension in a film and substitute sudden, jolting noises with fast movement on screen....or the "Cat in the Closet" scare. Where somehow the cat got into the dark scary closet and when the door is opened the cat jumps out in a cheap scare to get the audience to jump. Well it has been done too much and now the things that they think are truly scary on screen....fall flat.

To illustrate this point. I nearly predicted what would happen in almost every step with probably 75% accuracy to a friend who genuinely gets scared at these movies. I tried to calm her by telling her about the cliches that they use and when to see when they are going to be used. By the end of the movie she started to see that it was kind of funny and they were cheesy!
Honestly I don't think she will have a problem seeing most of today's scary movies now. I wouldn't recommend the original TCM, Jaws, or Alien but just about anything else done in the past 15 years is no problem and can be funny when you can see things coming!!!

Pre Production Meeting Scheduled!

7 p.m. at a local coffee shop!
Yes that is correct, the meeting that will lay the groudwork and responsibilities for everyone involved!

Vicariously excited?

Well I'll be excited for the both of us!!!!