No Turning Back Now

Thanks to the glory of package tracking, I can see that my videos arrived at Project Greenlight. I’ve also uploaded at least a preliminary draft of my Holding Pattern screenplay; I’m still planning to do some final edits before Saturday’s deadline, but this way I can at least be sure I’ve got something entered.

I remember the first PGL, when — thanks to network overload — folks had a bear of a time getting their stuff sent in at the last minute. I really don’t want to be that guy.

Well, It’s Off

Just sent out the Project Greenlight tapes. The Director’s Contest is now out of my hands. I still have to finish my feature screenplay, but since that’s an electronic upload, I’ve got some time. Well, a couple of days, anyway.

I’ve started putting together a “Loose Ends” DVD — which will have a pretty sizable chunk of supplemental material. I won’t be offering it for sale — licensing agreements prohibit it — but at some point, I may put a QuickTime version of the movie on-line.

If you’re interested in updates, drop me a line.

Well, It’s Official: I’m Entered

Just finished the final audio mix last night — for both the “Director’s Cut” and the “Project Greenlight” versions — for “Loose Ends.” And this morning I filled out the official entry forms.

So all that’s left to do is send it out. And by my original reckoning, I’m a day early. Of course, the prudent course of action would be to use that extra day to make any last-minute fixes, changes, etc., but a part of me just wants to get the thing out the door. We’ll see.

Eventually, I’ll probably post a version of it on-line, but for now, I’m going to hold off until I see how things go in the contest. The first hurdle — the announcement of the “Top 250” scenes — is scheduled for March 25th. Assuming I make that cut (and for the record, I’m not assuming anything just yet), I’ll have until April 12th to submit a “Fimmaker Video,” a sort of bio piece that’ll have to grab their attention. Given some of the videos I’ve seen in years past, that’ll be a tall order.

But one step at a time, eh?

I want to thank everyone who helped out with this piece — and there are a lot of you. Let me make special thanks to my co-producers Adam Young and Ginny Filer; I really couldn’t have done it without you. To my stars — principals Nello DeBlasio and Wallace Garner, and featured players Richard Wilt, Courtney Davis, and Collin Klamper — let me say the scene would not have been nearly as polished as it was without your invaluable creative insights. And Tom Bridge, thank you for the use of your camera — some of the most dramatic shots in the finished piece would not have existed without your assistance (which just goes to show you that some of the best material results from “happy accidents”).

I’ll keep everyone posted on the results, and we’ll all just have to see what happens. In the meantime, I’ve got to get back to work on the screenplay competition part...

I Love Caffeine... Though It’s Not Quite So Fond of Me

First edit’s done.

And comes in at... four-and-a-half minutes (not including credits). Exactly the length the script indicated.

Snip, snip, snip...

More updates later. Once I get something workable and actually get some sleep.

One Night Down, One to Go

Well, I’d call last night’s shoot a success. Granted, we didn’t come close to hitting our planned 11:00 wrap time — well, unless you consider 1:00 a.m. (not including breakdown time) “close.” On the plus side, though, we got some fantastic material, in most cases better than I could have hoped; and this despite the increasing fatigue of folks going through the scenes for what seemed like the millionth time. Both cast and crew were unbelievably helpful and dedicated, particularly given my own frequent uncertainty. We also managed to get all of the shots at that particular location finished, which makes today’s stuff a little less stressful, as we won’t have to go through the whole setup/breakdown there again.

So one more quick shoot this afternoon, and a couple of scenes this evening, and we’ll be finished with principal photography.

And with luck, I’ll get more than the four hours of sleep I managed last night. Before editing begins bright and early on Saturday.

Waiting for the Other Shoe

Am I crazy to think that things are actually going well on this Greenlight scene? I mean, I know we still haven’t completely locked casting decisions, but given the success of this weekend’s location scouts, I’m feeling irrationally optimistic.

Not that I’m planning to get any sleep for the rest of the month, you understand...

Last Call for Stardom

I didn’t want to spam everyone in my address book — a lot of folks just plain aren’t interested — but assembly of cast and crew for my Project Greenlight director’s scene is well under way. In fact, despite its being a holiday weekend, we really need to get most of this stuff finalized by the beginning of next week. Right now, it looks like we’ll be shooting either Thursday or Friday evening (or both, depending on how well we keep on schedule), with editing (and maybe some pickups or even second-unit photography) over the weekend.

So if you want to participate, let me know now! For those of you with my direct contact info (which I won’t post here, obviously), the best way to get me is via my cell phone — I’m largely “off-line” today and across the weekend (I think there’s some holiday or something tomorrow; I really should do something about it). Still, I’ll check e-mail periodically, so if you want in — believe me, we can use all the help we can get — drop me a line and I’ll pass along what details I’ve got.

Okay, so participation might be a little tougher for those of you not actually in the greater D.C. area, but I’m open to suggestions.

And... Action!

This just in: Project Greenlight is back! Not the series (yet, though it’ll be airing on Bravo this time around), but the contest behind it all. I’ve entered twice before, and I’ll be doing it again this time.

This year, however, I’ll be entering both the screenwriting and directing contests (as of last season, the contest was split in two). I’ve already put together a working script for my three-minute directing scene (entitled “Loose Ends”), as well as a potential shooting location (casting will be a little tougher). The feature screenplay (Holding Pattern) is coming into shape, though the mandate this year is to go with more of a “genre” film — so I’ve still got more work to do to be able to (realistically) think of it as a “romantic comedy.”

Hey, if anyone wants to offer a critique (as opposed to just reading for fun), let me know. And if anyone wants to help out with the scene — a far more collaborative effort than writing, to be sure — I’m more than happy to have you.

But at the very least, I recommend that everyone head over to the PGL site and take a look. You don’t have to be an aspiring filmmaker — you can sign up as a reviewer, which means you’ll have a chance (but not an obligation) to read and critique submitted screenplays. Chosen at random, naturally, so I won’t be able to game the system by having my friends all give me glowing reviews.

Though if I figure out a way to do that, believe me, I’ll let you know.