A friend warned me recently that unemployment can be a slippery slope, so it’s best to be disciplined, focused on work. I came into this thing with that mindset: No down time, get to work and destroy (read: Accomplish significant tasks). So far, so good, but my singular focus of late has pushed other priorities to the background. This blog, among many other cherished time consumers, has been one of them. I’ve not forgotten. I haven’t slipped. For once, I’ve pinpointed a couple of tasks instead of the usual five, eight, 15.
Main priority: Improving our screenplay – “Zeus”. In two weeks, I’ll be back in the Southern Tier preparing for a week-long shoot*. Work schedule goes like this: Up at 8:30, type out pages, send them along, comb over the script til noon, then take it outside under the sunshine for a couple more hours, then gym, dinner and learning Drupal in the p.m.
This script requires a massive time investment, more so now as April 19 approaches. With that sense of urgency comes a new round of peripheral responsibilities: Insurance, schedules, equipment, travel plans and catering, to name a few. But, to my surprise, it’s falling into place. “Zeus” is a DIY effort through and through. Friends are taking on new roles, pitching in where they can, whether that’s finding us stray Pringle’s Cans, skateboard wheels, a Buffalo Bills sweater and a wheel chair or cooking chili Thursday evening. The end product will certainly have a Western New York stamp on it, a touch of home. This excites me most.
For the next couple weeks, I’ll be dropping in here and there to share with you this movie-making process and all that comes with it.
Best of luck to you, reader, in your own creative endeavors this week.
* Talking about the film feels a little funny, a touch pompous. “Yeah, I’m making a movie”. Kinda douche-y telling people this. Relax, it’s a movie about a gym teacher.