Posts Tagged ‘Italy’

I’ve actually been working this up for a bit. For some reason, I’ve become a bit persnickety about the photos I sometimes glean off the internet and couldn’t quite come to a resolution on ones I might want to post. But, tonight is a perfect night for it. I’m exhausted. The play is almost wrestled to ground. It’s tennish. I don’t feel like staying up late and I have a ton of work to do tomorrow and thereafter, as always. So, without further ado, a gallery of images that spark moods, characters, stories, or memories inside of me. Hopefully, they may do the same for you. (Helps if you listen to some Miles Davis or Coleman Hawkins while you look at them, just saying.)

These last two are a bit more about me and thus deserve some captions to explain:

Near Positano in Italy. This is where I will retire to write novels for my own amusement. Literally to a balcony just like this. Mark my words.

Where I will be joined by my faithful companion, Fellini, whom I will play fetch with on our long afternoon walks together along the coast and through the hills. He may have a companion, that looks just like him, named Ford. It all depends on the size of the Villa we decide upon.

Ciao!

On time and even a little early this week! Let’s get right down to it. We had a sunny, upper seventies day today and hopefully it means summer is underway here in SoCal. Not that we have rough weather, but we’ve definitely had a funky run this winter. Lots of hot-cold, rapid switches. It would be nice to settle in. (I’m not complaining, just making conversation here, jeez! I’m thankful for what we’ve got!)

-Went to dinner tonight with my good friends, JJ and Cheyna, who are back from a Guatemala trip/adventure. They took me to a Santa Monica, low key trattoria called Fritto Misto. In a word? Fabulous. It’s a real simple, store front pasta joint. A good go to, italian dinner. Not too expensive, fresh food. So, along with the always good conversation and stories from their trip, they introduced me to a great new restaurant right down the road. And they brought back Guatemalan coffee for me, which I’m cold brewing as we speak.

-We went to dinner at six. When we walked up to the restaurant, which is on the corner of 6th and Colorado, near the Promenade, their were about ten or so simple plastic chairs – like lawn chairs – you’d find in a patio or around a dinner table in a frat house – on the sidewalk. In a perfect neat row, empty and waiting. We all cast a glance at them as we strolled into a mostly empty restaurant, grabbed a table, and commenced with dinner and catching up. When we left near 8:00 o’clock, the restaurant was full and had that storefront clatter to a busy night; but when we hit the sidewalk I did a double take – all the chairs were full up with people waiting and their were an additional ten or so in little clusters waiting as well. That’s usually the mark of a great restaurant. If nothing else, the manager or owner is smart and prepared.

-Did anyone catch the Cardinals-Pirates game tonight? I didn’t either. But, true to form, I checked the Cardinals box score upon arriving home from dinner. (What? You didn’t? I know my Father did. Anyone else?) In the top of the ninth, with the score tied 3 a piece, Joe Mather (a.k.a. Joey Bombs), came in as a pinch runner at first with two out. Joey got the steal sign from TLR or The Secret Weapon (Jose Oquendo, Current Third Base Coach, Former Utility Player Extraordinaire) and took off from first. Risky call, but you gotta push it – even in May. What transpired next was a thing of absolute hardball beauty. You see, Joey Bombs was dead to rights, out by about two steps, but being the bench player he is (A young Tony LaRussa bench player) who doesn’t want to head back to Memphis if he can help it, dove for the bag. BUT, as the Shortstop swept his glove for the tag, Joey Bombs – in mid-leap, outstretched, all his kinetic energy committed forward to the bag, arms outstretched – raised his arm AND then tilted his body a half-turn UP, completely avoiding the tag in an improbable moment of gravity defying, split-second baseball physics. Joey Bombs barreled into the bag, slid over it, but had the presence of mind to clutch the bag with his right toes to kind of brake his runaway forward momentum. SAFE! Even on the replay, in slo-mo. Yadier Molina doubled Joey Bombs in for the winning run five minutes later. That’s how you play May baseball, people!

- I gotta finish my play this weekend. At least the first draft. Plays evolve. Kind of like novels. So, this is more a just do it thing. Though, I’ll have to do a quick burst of serious rewriting because it will be read by actors in a workshop table read the Tuesday before graduation.

-I think I mentioned that I went to a series (three) of the one-acts from my classmates in the playwriting class. They were all really well done. That’s not meant as a polite bit of propaganda. That’s an honest critical statement. You don’t always see that in your peers in grad school. I was completely enthralled with each piece. I did notice in the course of the night, that I have successfully immersed myself in the theater side this year. Even the professors I haven’t taken know me now and were saying hello and I was there with one of the playwrights. It made me think, this year has been – in terms of school – all about theater. Even though I’m in a Screenwriting 434, I don’t feel of the screenwriting side, like you normally do when that’s your main focus. Part of that’s because my 434 is on a Thursday, which is opposite most everyone elses (which are normally on Monday’s and Tuesday’s.) I’m pretty thrilled that I have had the experience I’ve had in my playwriting classes. It’s the one part of graduating that I’m sad to leave behind. I’d love to keep taking classes – some theater history, more playwriting. It has had a fantastic effect on me.

-Been knocked off the new sleep regimen lately. I have this current determination to see a movie or some TV and read before I turn out the lights. It’s one of those rituals to end the night. Three hours is the usual block, though sometimes it’s two. (I know. That’s a serious chunk of time.) It’s hard for me to give up or get around the drive for it in my head, even when it doesn’t make sense; which with the new sleep schedule is anytime (like last night) that I go out and I’m out past 11. I have the strangest time coming home and just going right to bed. For some reason, I can’t do just that. That’s gonna have to change.

-May go to AZ next weekend to see Big Daddy and Aunt Ginger. I’m planning on it. Hopefully nothing will crop up and disrupt my plans. I have a great time to go over. They’re the absolute best. I’m pretty fortunate to have them relatively close. Plus, I should be able to swing through Prescott and see Tiff, which is an extra added bonus!

-Figured out finances for June, which is good. We’re at the one month at a time point. It’s a tough spot – not the lack of cash flow or uncertainty, though. That I’m used to. I’ve been there plenty of times before and am decidedly non-phased about it right now. It’s more so the in-betweeness careerwise that the option puts us in. It’s not all that unlikely that we could make some money sooner rather than later. When that is (as JJ and I talked about tonight) is anybody’s guess? Is it next month? Is it in six months? Just saying six months is a fantastic thing. Heck, even saying we should make some money in the next year (which I would say, yes, we will almost certainly right now. Like ninety percent certain and rising fast to a hundred,) is a major accomplishment as far as I’m concerned. But, can I hang out for a year until that happens? That becomes the question. And a rather slippery one. Of course, at first blush, I can’t. But the financial space between no and yes for an answer to that question is shorter than one would think, so how do I traverse it, if I have to? Don’t know that yet. Not even close.

- Consider this a part two to the above. You see the trick is momentum and really that’s the core of the dilemma. Sure I could pick up a variety of jobs, patch together a means to make rent, and gut it out. BUT, I can’t stop writing. You have to keep that forward momentum. You have to keep taking meetings, keep pushing, be ready to redirect your efforts on a moments notice, all in, all the time. So, taking on that barista gig is dangerous, because it’s not as flexible as it appears. Momentum must be maintained, now more than ever. In fact, I’d go so far as to say, it has to be pushed harder to make the final summit to paid, working writer. It’s a hustle and if you’re not focused on the hustle, it can pass you right by and getting back becomes a difficult proposition.

-Still haven’t watched The Lovely Bones yet.

That’s all I’ve got tonight, folks. Be good to yourself and do something nice for your Mother or a Mother! Nine months is a long time!

Thought, why not? Though I’m a few days behind, I do like to write this particular post, most of all in the week. Not completely sure why, though it probably has to do with the lighter, rapid-fire nature of  the writing of it. Without further ado:

-Did a lot of reading today. A lot. Sometimes you just have to do that. It’s all part of the package, just like the meetings and attending a fair number of events to network. I tend to forget really quickly that it is part of the work load, so I’ve been trying to work on that a bit. Give myself a slight break. Realize, maybe, that I can’t do it all at once in the course of a day.

-I was mostly reading scripts for the UCLA Professional Program Screenwriting Contest, which my score sheets are due tomorrow. I was also reading and giving notes on a script for an alumna Bruin Scribe. The Professional Program is, of course, what I attended online that was a key factor in my eventual acceptance into UCLA. This is my third year reading for the contest. Always an interesting experience, I will say that. The Professional Program is a mixed bag, basically. I love it to death, and am grateful for what I experienced and learned while in it. But, and I saw this in my PP classes, some people are serious and others aren’t, or lack the wherewithal to actually write a script. That being said, this year the six scripts I read were, unfortunately, average. Decidedly average. Which struck me as strange. I mean average in a contest way, not a professional way. These are all usually first or second drafts, at best. So they’re rough to begin with. But usually you have that dazzling script that leaps out at you, amid a few that you can’t believe you have to read. In the end it is a great reminder that I was just there three years ago and in three years, I may look back on my UCLA work and think, “How was that ever any good?” In other words, keep learning. Keep growing. Keep reaching.

- Okay, that one wasn’t so random, or light or quick.

- Upon recommendation of a few trusted fellow screenwriters, I finally checked out the Zac Effron/Matthew Perry comedy 17Again, last night. I have to say they were spot on. It was good, fun entertainment. Better than expected, even. Definitely a solid film. Also, I’ve come to realize I’m a Leslie Mann fan. She probably made the movie for me. That is one funny lady.

- I finally have The Lovely Bones to watch from Netflix. This is one of my most favorite, if not tied for most favorite novels of all time. Truly a stunning, heart breaking, and ultimately, uplifting story. the movie didn’t fare to well. I wanted to catch it in the theater, but it slipped away from me in the holiday season onslaught last year. I’m a little hesitant to watch it. I want to love it, like I loved the book, but I know that’s going to be one tall order because of the way the story unfolds.

- I am in the final stages of the first, rough, get it down draft of my play. I have to say, I’m very happy that I’ve taken this journey. Luckily, it’s just begun – with this play and with other plays. I’m already circling two different ideas for my next play. I won’t be able to leap into it right away, but sometime over the summer. One idea would involve a fair amount of research. One would require me to really ponder how I would use the stage to tell the story, what the tone would be, and what the frame of the story would be (a weekend, a lifetime, one day, a night, etc…) And right now has only two people in it, but would need more. Hmmmm. My instincts are twitching towards the second already…..

-Then there’s the idea of fiction and two novels I’ve dwelt on forever. Well, actually three. But, that’s getting a bit ahead of myself, probably. I keep thinking I should return to trying my hand at short stories, first. To just test the medium a bit, find my rhythm in it. That’s a tall order, though. Not sure it’s quite feasible, yet.

-Our friend and fellow UCLA Screenwriter, David is doing better. So if you’ve been saying a few prayers, thank you, and if you could say some more, I’m sure he would appreciate it.

I think that’ll do it for this late edition. Thanks for playing. Have a Happy Monday. Go Redbirds!

Had a long, but fun day out in the streets of L.A. Glad to be home and about to watch a movie. Even more glad to be able to sleep in a bit tomorrow. But, Lord, is there work to do!

- No trainer this morning. Which I’m fine with. Honestly, we might need to part company. I do not like this feeling of not wanting to be in the gym. That’s not the point. You know what follows that feeling? That I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want because I’m run through the mill so hard with him. That is definitely counterproductive and defeats the whole purpose.

- Had lunch in Studio City at Aroma Cafe with a UCLA Alum. Aroma Cafe is fantastic. Too bad it’s all the way in Studio City. Joint was jumpin’ for lunch, though.

-Even better, I had dinner at Susan Fenniger’s Street Restaurant with a not so recently transplanted Chicago/Second City friend who landed in L.A. after doing time as Tobey Maguire’s personal chef in Seattle and Hawai while Maguire and family were on a shoot.  Street was fun. It is exactly that – popular street vendor fare from all over the world with Susan Fenniger’s unique twist on her favorites from her travels.

- We stuck to the small plates to share. We had the signature Kaya Toast (Sublime), Panni Puri (Red Hot Kick), Mandoo Vegetable Dumplings (Maybe too subtle), Argentine Ricotta Noquis (as in South American gnocci – which were the star, easily), and Ono Sashimi (Not always my cup of tea, but pretty darn good.) Then for desert we had Turkish Doughnuts and the Toffee and Cookie plate (Donuts were fun, but the toffee and the pb&j cookies were fabulous.)

-Spent the past two days with the Write Brain/Nala Crew breaking story on the feature script, Dead Man’s Hand in the “Tank”, the conference room at their offices in Santa Monica. It was me, Alan – who’s an assistant/junior development guy there, and Seth Abel, their head of development. This is what breaking story looks like after two days of three heads brainstorming:

- That’s a six foot by six foot white board (or something like that.) In other words it’s huge. Of course those two pictures are two halves of a whole. And that’s just the main plot/A story through the major beats of a screenplay. The scaffolding, as the wise and brilliant Howard Suber says. We’ll turn that, as well as a bunch of other notes, character breakdowns, B and C storylines into a two pager, prose synopsis which will determine the fate of the script (keep going or kill it – though we’re pretty much looking at a keep going at this point.)

-Before we get to the two pager though, good friend and supremely talented screenwriter – Jason Latshaw – will come on board. We’ll grind over the story again. See what we can’t do to it. He’ll bring his magic to the stew and then we’ll produce the two pager. From there, Jason and I will bang out the outline and then script.

-Speaking of that, The Rose Cross Brotherhood may just be going legit. Very exciting news!

- Almost there on the first act of my play. It’ll only be two acts, so I guess you could say I’m just about halfway there. I still have a bunch of shaping and rewriting to do, but it’s gaining steam.

- I’m stepping into pages on the Serial Killer script. Which is good. I want/need to get that one of the table.

-You heard it hear first – Kathryn Bigelow, for The Hurt Locker, will get best Director; but James Cameron’s Avatar will win Best Picture at the Oscars Sunday Night.

- The Oscars are always a special time of the year for me. Almost twenty years ago, at Roseneath Apartments in Milwaukee,I finished my very first screenplay just in time for the Oscars that night. The date was Sunday March 29th, 1993. It was the year Unforgiven won best picture, but what I remember most is Sophia Lauren presenting the great Federico Fellini with a lifetime achievement Oscar. Fellini would pass in the fall, later that year. I would turn 22 almost two weeks after the Oscars’ telecast. That night was the first step in the long journey to now. I was instantly hooked on the rush that came with the two best words in the english language: “Fade Out.”

-I knew that night I wanted to be where I am now. I dreamed it that night, but didn’t dare allow myself to believe it possible. Wonder what my younger self would think were he able to peer into the future, past all the tough times, and see the dream come true – so far beyond what he could even begin to picture then? I am either one stubborn, insane, dense individual to have held onto that flash through the years and the wrong turns. Or, I’m one of the most fortunate individuals to ever get a second chance at life the way it should be lived.

- With that I’ll say this….Sweet dreams.

Went to see some old, old friends of mind – The Brians (who are one half of a wonderful band The Great Crusades) at the Cat Club on Sunset, right next to the famed Whisky A-Go-Go. Which, although, The Whisky’s known as the epicenter of the late 60s club scene in L.A. where the Doors and many others were launched; I remember it more fondly for its appearance in The Graduate. The Cat Club is owned by the drummer from the Stray Cats of all people and the bartender operates as the soundman as well as serving drinks – no thank you!

I digress. It was nice to see Brian and Brian play. They have a new album out and I never got the story on why they were in L.A. They’re very far afield from their home base in Chicago. Usually, any band related travels take them south to Missouri and east to Germany where they are much more well known than in the States (sadly.) I walked into the club just as they started. I’ve seen the Great Crusades many, many times – and worked quite a few of their shows. I’ve even ridden to Saint Louis in their econoline tour van. I’ve lost touch with them in the last few years in Chicago – seeing them only intermittenly. We had all revolved around the infamous (and reviled) dive The Pontiac Cafe, where I tended bar for five years in the heart of Chicago’s hipster/artists ghetto Wicker Park. Brian Krumm lived across the way with his now wife Laura Coy and were regulars. Brian Leach was a fellow rabble rouser and running buddy with me, before I hung up my dancing shoes.

I won’t lie, though. I’m not one to look back too much. When I move on, I tend to move on. It’s a fault of mine. I work on it, but I haven’t gotten much better at it over the years. Therefore, it struck me as quite strange to be standing in a dingy rock club listening to the two of them play, as I had done almost regularly – a thousand miles away – ten years ago. I’ve had a few Chicago folks visit – some Second Cityites I’ve met up with when they were in town, Brett came west and Simeon is here; but the Second City folks were more work friends and Brett’s family, basically, and Simeon’s just a citizen of the world. So, this was different.

Like I said, it was nice, but it also made me see just how far I’ve come since those days (Thank God) and reminded me just how profoundly grateful I am to be here now. I won’t lie about this either – I’m almost three years into my Los Angeles residency and I can’t imagine EVER living anywhere else. I am fully and deeply in love with this city and the life I live here. All, I want to do is move closer to the Ocean and be able to travel. Okay, I take that back a bit. I’ve never been to Italy, but Aunt Ginger and I believe that I would like to live there, too – but that’s when I retire to go write novels in my old age and it won’t be year ’round. Until then, I can’t wait to see what Los Angeles hold for me next.