Happy Stinking Holidays!

Ah, a 70 degree Christmas and New Years! This is really the only positive aspect of Florida living. But I have to say bye bye. I'm moving in a few weeks, and couldn't be happier. I once again am shopping for cameras. This time, I actually have the money allotted, and in the bank, so I am becoming quite anal as to which camera I want. I'm pretty much looking at 4 cameras-3 of which are Panasonic-the DVX100A, DVX100b and the HVX200. Along with the Canon XL2, they all have what I want, but at 3 wildly different prices. The Hvx is the best of everything, but the price is at the very least $5,999. In a pipedream, I could acquire this, but I have to be realistic-it would break me. So that's out. I like the DVX picture better than the Canon,and the Canon is $2,000 more, so Canon is out. What's left? Two Panasonic models which are essentially the same camera, but the 100B has several new updates/upgrades. It's about $500 to $1000 more than the 100A. I'm leaning toward the DVX100A and an anamorphic lens adapter so I can shoot in true widescreen. That combo would be about the same amount as the DVX100b alone. So, there you have it.

I also reinstated my internet access. Obviously.

Hiatus

As you may have noticed, my updating has been quite lacking recently. So I'll fill you in on a few things before I depart for the next 2 weeks or so. I have made great progress with my story boards for Generator. I'm about 55% finished. I also have many new ideas for the movie which I'm excited about. Since I have a background in construction, I figured I should use what I know to my advantage. My old boss, who is married to my mother, has a huge work shop (which I'm shooting Generator in) He has lifts and cranes, bobcats and scaffolding. I have many camera angles in my head that can be acheived because of these 'weapons' and I plan on exhausting everything that resides at the warehouse. I want the camera to be on the move in almost every shot. Not MTV style, quick cutting garbage, but slow steady tracking shots and other moves like in The Shining and Halloween. So that's what's going on with Generator.

I cancelled my cable modem, and my internet 2 weeks ago, because I wasn't getting enough work done, hence my lack of updating. But in the last two weeks, I have several script ideas, watched and broke down my top 10 horror films(The Shining, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, April Fool's Day, Suspiria, The Thing, Black Christmas, The Wicker Man and...?) and tried to figure out why they work so well, and almost uniformly, they had three things in common-music, cinematography and a tense atmosphere. I of course found other similarities, but these three are my man concern. Blah blah blah.

Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well, and writing the next big independent hit. I'll see you soon.

Camden NJ On TV tonight!

If anyone cares to take a gander at the human pile of feces that is Camden NJ, there's a feature on it tonight on that new Geraldo show on Fox, Geraldo At Large. It is a horrific place,(though there was an attempt to create a waterfront of upscale condos and stuff), and should be laid to waste as soon as possible. See for yourself!

I'm Back

I have started immersing myself into Generator fully. And I also have begun the preliminary outlining of a cool little crime/drug film I will be able to shoot myself after Generator. So, I have been working, and working fairly consistently. I can't believe how many shots I have already for Generator. I was expecting somewhere around 200, but I'm above that number now, and I'm only half way.
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I listened to the commentary on Mean Streets, and it's among the best I've heard, with Scorsese talking about his early career and his influences. Very informative, and he shows a great admiration for it.
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Looks like I will being working at the post office again this holiday season. My feet were killing me last year. 12 hours standing on a concrete floor will do that. The money is fairly good, and a nice jolt of income for Christmas. I loathe it, of course, but I am moving in January, and this can only help me get going a little earlier.
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Katie bought us Billy Joel tickets for Philly in March. He's a favorite of mine because he was(and probably is) a drunk, bitter, angry young man in the 70's, and I relate well to his sarcasm. A lot of my friends didn't get the Billy Joel enjoyment, until I made them listen to the lyrics. A few actually began to like him, and a few didn't, but did understand why I had my huge Joel faze about 8 years ago. At any rate, I am excited, especially since that bum Elton won't be hogging the stage.
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Ah, the new idea I'm outlining is called GUPPY, and is a sort of throwback to the 70's type of revenge flicks, with a little organized crime in it to boot. Set in my South Jersey playground, which is not unaffected by having Philly 5 miles away, and NY 200 miles away. A lot of crime occurs in between those two cities, and most all of it I am privy to. A ton of mobsters actually live/lived nearby, like Nikki Scarfo and Gotti. And they had their hands in everything, including Ecstasy that kids sold to the ravers. And sometimes, a shady looking character would come and ask for the money...and well, it didn't take a genius to see to who and where the money was going. That's another reason I miss it up there...I was in the middle of everything, though I really didn't do any of it. You have Philly, and the beach, within a half hour of your home. Great fun. You have Camden for drugs, and mansions in Cherry Hill 5 miles from there. Anyway, Guppy is a very personal story, with a seemingly quiet suburban setting. But as we all know, underneath the gloss of silence, you have a million dirty little secrets.
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Speaking of Camden NJ, it was just voted the most dangerous city in America...again. I grew up within 10-20 miles of that place. I went there on drug runs...I was ripped off , or 'beat', as we called it. I went to the liquor stores at 4am because they stayed open when others were closed. (cops didn't enforce the law there) And yet, I never got into huge trouble there.

Lucky indeed.

A Little Update:

Take a look at these upcoming releases, and tell me what you see(this is an actual list of movie news):


TOP NEWS
Hodder On 'Friday The 13th' Remake

Donnie Wahlberg On 'Silence'

'Masters of Horror' Set Visit

'Black Christmas' Remake

Miner To Direct 'Day of the Dead' Remake

Jackson Comes At 'King Kong' Anew

Adam Baldwin In 'Thirst'

'The Hills Have Eyes' Remake Pics

Wray's Spirit Lives In 'King Kong'

'Castlevania' Movie

Carmen Electra back for Scary Movie 4

At Least I'm Not Swinging A Hammer!

Before I get to this totally enlightening post, I want to state that I will be showing this Francis Ford Coppola pic on every entry until I don't feel exactly like that.

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I am basically treading water down here in Florida. I have no cohorts down here. I have no money. I have no drive except the one that tells me to get out of here. I'm basically living in a sloth like state. Ideas come and go, yet I stare into space. "Do I want to start a project?" "What's the point?" Of course, I do want to take this on like a job, but I feel very out of sort with knowing I'm moving and making a film up in NJ, and it's contrasting with my anemic life down here to kind of leave me floating somewhere in purgatory. Which way do I go? I just feel I'm being distracted from my work with other concerns. I think I should just focus on Generator, and finish everything I can with regards to that film. Be totally prepared for the shoot. Make a budget sheet, finally finish my stinking storyboards and stuff like that. But it's that writer in me who is balking at this idea. "You don't write, you cease to be a writer! Muhahahaha!" I am so paranoid when I'm not writing. I feel like by not writing every single day, I am wasting away. That was the main problem with me storyboarding. I thought of it as beneath my writing. (Not being able to draw worth a lick has something to do with it too) I should just whip myself back into shape and realize that Generator should be first and foremost. A lot depends on it.

And maybe that's the real problem I'm having-knowing that my entire life depends on making this, or else I'm a failure. I left everything behind in order to make movies-my job, my family, my girlfriend, my friends-and maybe I'm just afraid of taking that last step to where there is no turning back. Where I am forced to run the show, keep paperwork in order, make cuts, direct actors, stay up editing at night, dealing with the disappointment when something doesn't work, buying the equipment-doing all this, and then finding out my film sucks...and being devastated.

I have to fight through this growing malaise and fucking focus.