Belly of the Whale, Part I

So the update on work stuff here in the land of diminishing returns is...

Get Low (aka The Duvall Script) is in some kind of limbo again. This is not a news flash or some new development, just the subtle wearing away of my confidence in the project. There was a time when I was told that they were still hoping to shoot it this year, and that the likely start date would be the first of November. That was sort of a drop-dead date for still getting it done within the year. Since the film is set in the south during the height of the summer, they'd now have to either shoot someplace outside the US where fall (or winter) looks like summer, or just wait until next year, when it's real summer. So what I'm saying here is that the window has closed.

There was a time, also, where I sort of had a timeline worked out, what with shooting, editing, scoring, mixing and all that nonsense leading up to the release. Needless to say the timeline was a tad premature.

So there it stands, off in the distance, a memory of a thing that never happened. I'm not upset about it (...I mean, shit, sure I am) but I'm more whiplashed. Even though it's taken up three years of my life and looks like it will take up more, I feel like the whole thing has whizzed by me at a breakneck speed. Not like, wow, time flew! but more like the way college just passes you by without you even feeling it...one day you're at your first kegger, next thing you know you're hugging your girlfriend farewell. Of course, the glaring difference is that I actually enjoyed college. But just to keep the metaphor going one more moment, I will say that amid all of the frustration and heartache and FREE LABOR and everything else, what came out of this experience was an education. There's no other way to see what it's really like inside the belly of the whale unless you go on in. And so I did. And maybe the movie will get made and I'll go further in, have all sorts of adventures in the lower intesitine, and eventually get spit out the whale's anus like every other writer that's ever walked The Boulevard of Broken Dreams out here. Until then, there is just the experience, the education, the knowledge, and, of course, the bitter, bitter resentment.

As for other projects, there are a few.

There's the Rock n Roll pilot that I've developed with my friend Matt. We're going in to pitch it to VH1 next week, and we've heard good things about their interest. Maybe they'll pay us to write it. That would be as best as we could expect. And we'd have a good old time writing it. Music will be played loud, as it should be when writing a thing about Rock n Roll.

There's also the script I've been working on with my friend Amy. It's been a pleasure to work on it because not only is it a great idea (hers) and a wonderful story (ours) but working with her gets me up to Santa Barbara at least twice a month to have some great home cooked (vegan) meals, play with her amazing and energetic children, and talk Peak Oil with her husband. Did I mention they live in a cabin right by Lake Cachuma? It's paradise. Literally, they live on Paradise Road.

Anyway, the script is pretty well done, in terms of a first draft, and as such, I'm going to take a break from it while she beats the shit out of it and gets it into readable shape. When that's kaput, I'll take a pass, we'll crack some champagne, send it to investors and wait for the money truck to arrive.

There are other things in the works, which I'll get to in Part II... Stay tuned.