That’s the question.  It’s not a simple answer.  And I am not going to watch the Super Bowl.

I am been offered an opportunity, which many have tried to get, to follow a group of Misfits including Anthony Ciccone (Madonna’s homeless brother.  See the irony?  She is playing the halftime show.) from Traverse City, MI to Indianapolis, IN spending only money they have raised from selling 200 t-shirts from the radio station.  Their goal, to get into the Super Bowl and hold up a banner on national television that reads “97.5 WKLT”.  The prize, $30,000.  Why would I go?  To film it.

This thing was sprung on me just a couple of days ago so I’m a bit under the gun to make a decision.  I am off to meet a pal who actual excels at making such types of programs.  After describing my opportunity in more detail to him, he thinks it’s a great idea.  We really need to sit down and make a plan and decide if there really is something here or if I am going to be cramped in a van with a bunch of jackasses for five days getting a bunch of nonsense, garbage footage.

There is a lot at stake for me with a lot of cons.  I am neck-deep in a script here at home and have some great momentum with a deadline in three weeks.  I am not this type of filmmaker, not yet at least.  We don’t have budget and it’s so last-minute we don’t have time to raise one.  And I guarantee I won’t see the damn Super Bowl!

But there may be some pros.  I have never made a documentary so why not do one?  I have two producers here in L.A. that want to jump on and give me a hand, both experts in the field.  What if we can create a plan that will really give this story a beginning, middle, and end and make you want to root for these Misfits to win or even fail?  What if we can make an emotional ride that people will want to watch or a character to fall in love with?  Maybe take it on a festival run and sell it?  All the big dreams, ya know?  Ha.

Maybe everyone wins.  Not just the money, but what if we get something great?  I got a ride, I got a crew (depending on my story pitch), I got my mom to make me enough sandwiches to last me the five days so no money spent on food, I got the passion, not sure if I have the patience, and I got a unique opportunity handed to me.  If I get my flight paid for, I think I am in, I think.  I will know by the end of the day.  Check out these names…Krazy Karen and “Drunk Girl in the Corner” aka Pammy, Anthony Ciccone (Madonna’s brother), Stuttering Mike, Big Daddy Tie-Dye, Mr. Windy, and Hard Days Robert.  How can I not consider this?  Do I go?

All this month I have prepared.  Organizing my thoughts and ideas.  I’ve written every little bit of background I can on my story.  I even met with an old high-school buddy to do some reminiscing, which was amazing.

I am doing the work.  It’s like I am back in school, but I love it.  I f#$%ing hated school.  I knew that all I needed to get this project in motion was some forced motivation.  Some assignments. And now I am flourishing.  Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m going to write and then the page writes itself.

So I’ve done a treatment, bios, recent background, plot points, scenes and scenes and scenes, dramatic narratives, free word association, the beginning, the ending (I think), the logline over and over again until it feels right and it still doesn’t feel right, the title, god it’s hard to pick a title, and even the fourteen notecards for ACT I.  I have done every last thing I could do to get ready to put the first f#$%ing word on the page and I am scared to death.

I spent a year delaying this idea.  But I spent a year delaying even the work I mentioned above.  There is a reason for it.  Don’t know why except that I am in such a good place to do this right f#$%ing now.

I am dedicated to my schedule.  I mean shit, I have to start ACT II next Monday so I better get going.

Wish me luck…

Lije

P.S.  I am going to dedicate this work to the skater sitting on the bottom row of the picture above.   RIP Jason Stutsman.  I am the chubby kid on the top, 2nd from the left.

Finally. I got my dump alert from Mammoth today. Two feet of snow. A good base. I guess it’s heavy snow, not the powdery fluffiness we long for. But it’s a good start. Hopefully I am done rehabbing my shoulder in time to make it up there this year. I say I’ll be good in a few weeks or so. I have waited for a winter storm to roll through southern California for a while now. Last year there was no shortage. It was actually so wet my visiting family left L.A. early. Who does that?

Lot’s of people are at Sundance now. I get a little jealous of that. I went a couple of years in a row in ’09 and ’10 but have taken the last two off. I felt I haven’t deserved the trip. I’ll deserve it next year.

Basically that leaves me home and warm in my house in L.A. It’s raining. That’s motivation for me to work all day. On my script. I’ve gotten an incredible start over the last two weeks. Most thankfully to Syd Field‘s DVD and Blake Snyder‘s book, “Save the Cat”. It’s nice to have assignments. It’s like I am back in school except it’s all stuff I am excited to do and learn, not forced. I had this idea for a movie last year and made a good push to get it going but for some reason I kept making excuses not to work on it. Timing maybe?

This year is structured. I actually have blocks of time scheduled on my calendar five days a week to do work. To write. I am not a writer so it’s hard. I don’t even know if I’ll ever say I am a writer. Even if I finish this screenplay, and it’s good, I still don’t think I could call myself a writer. But I’m writing and I am enjoying it.

It’s funny, I was just about to get into the grittiness of throwing down ACT I the other day and then I started reading Snyder’s book. He said you must have a title and a logline before you start to write the screenplay. I was like, “Shit!” I was so close to starting the actual script and now I need a title? And a “one-line” of what it’s about? I’ve spent the last three days trying to figure it out. I think I got it, for now at least. It can always change but I really think I have something that is close to true. Blake says I am supposed to tell people. I am not supposed to hide my idea for fear of it being stolen so I will share a bit.

Title: The Pact

Logline: A group of high-school boys who rely on each other like brothers are faced with a choice that will change their lives forever.

So there you have it. It’s supposed to make the audience want to know more. Do you? I’m supposed to ask strangers what they think. The title is supposed to tell you what it’s about. If you want to share your opinion with me, please do, it will only help.

Most of the last few weeks have been spent on the treatment, character development, organizing plot points and basically the structure of the story. I have the skeleton and a lot of the body parts and now it’s time to attach them it the correct places and do some filling in. Wish me luck. This one truly means the world to me and I believe I have something really good.

I hope it rains all week.

Lije

jai, Liz, Kasey, and Amanda...and Danny (sneaky bastard)

I am one lucky dude. I went to meet up with my old best pal/roommate/sister last night. She was in town from Nashville with her band-mate visiting old friends. I think they might have been doing a fundraiser or something too. They are big-time now. Check them out! Miss Wille Brown

Point is, there is no point, just look at who I get to hang out with. And try not to miss the guy with the tiki mug in the background. Love ya Danny.

Good night. Good times. Go to tiki night at The Surly Goat

Lije

so dead...

There were really only three things that sucked about this morning.  Waking up before the sun comes up or about the same time,  the inability to feel my toes in the cold sand, and doing the backwards bear crawl in the sand.

There are a bunch of things that were the dopeness.  At 7:30AM sharp I was playing freaking Dodgeball on the beach with about fifty other people!  I forgot how fun it is.  I actually forgot how to play, proven by being knocked out in three seconds the first game.  I was dominating by the third, obviously.

My buddy Scott Trepal invited me down to basically the end of Ocean Park on the beach in Santa Monica to partake in one of their Crossfit type beach workouts.  I did Crossfit for about a year but quit because I didn’t like the drive back and forth, time consuming, and the money spent. Lately I’ve been doing some Crossfit workouts on the beach in front of my house with a couple of buddies.  It works well but they haven’t been around lately and I lack the motivation to hit it that hard by myself.  This, however, was a bit more aggressive.  I am sore as I type.  Just took an 800 mg Ibuprofen.

Overall evaluation, I will be spending two days per week doing this.  It was awesome.  People are cool, I got to ride my beach cruiser down there from my house, it’s so f#$%ing early that it ends up starting your day out pretty awesome, and it’s good for you.  I got to wear my snowmobile suit too to fight the frigid weather.  Here is a little video I saw that got me interested.

Lije