My Next Film: WAIT

As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a filmmaker. I’ve simply never envisioned anything else for myself. At the end of July, I moved from Virginia to Los Angeles to fulfill my dream. The final push in me moving here was the drive of a few film producers who saw my last short film, Earrings, and expressed interest in working with me. When I spoke to these producers for the first time in early 2013, I told them about this script I had just written. This raw and unconventional examination of love, and the things it motivates us to do. I sent them the script, and they quickly agreed to help me finance it. My girlfriend and I got in the car, headed west, and in five short days, announced ourselves as citizens of the City of Angels.

After giving myself a month to get used to the city (which is silly, because you can never fully get used to this city), I dove headfirst into pre-production on my new film. Pre-production is a hard thing for a film director, mostly because, of all the steps to the filmmaking process, it requires the least amount of actual creativity (or at least the type of creativity I prefer). Location scouting, wig shopping, car renting, actor auditioning (a horribly strange step in the process) – it never ends. Money dominates every conversation, scheduling conflicts become your new normal; you fight and claw toward that first day of shooting, hoping it will arrive, but certain the film could fall out at any moment. In fact, I didn’t blog about this film sooner because I genuinely feared that it could be buried at any time.

Well, tomorrow my first day of shooting arrives. As I’m typing this, I honestly can’t believe it’s here. I’m excited, eager, nervous, anxious, you name it. But mostly, I’m ready. I’ve lived with this film for the better part of two years, and I’m going to live with it for many years to come. The way the film reads on the page is exactly how I envisioned it in my head. And the way the actors have delivered their lines at our table reads is so unique and new; it’s as if I can see the film organically coming alive.

A few of my actors at a recent table read

A little about the picture. First off, it’s a “real” movie. Feature length with three weeks of shooting, 10 speaking parts, seven locations in two cities, a stunt driver, a prop master, catering, and on and on. Although it will have the same intimate feel as Earrings (which you can watch here), it will be a more technically controlled film. As a filmmaker, I’m more interested in what a character is thinking, rather than saying. It’s why my first two shorts contain very little dialogue. This film, while equipped with a healthy share of emotional expression, has far more dialogue than anything I’ve done.

In fact, the scene we’re shooting tomorrow is an extended dinner conversation. Four people, one table, a crowded restaurant, and tons of words. Most films shoot 4-5 script pages a day. We’re doing 18. In five hours. When you make a low budget film, your time is often at the mercy of the people who own the locations. But it’s all good – I’m ready, my crew is ready, and my very talented cast of actors (including Catherine Warner, the star of Earrings) are certainly ready. Time to go do this thing.

One last note. I’ve recently been more absent on this blog and social media than I prefer to be. This film has occupied my every waking moment for the better part of three months, so making time for film criticism has been harder than usual. Despite this, I remain in awe of my readers. The people who stop by And So it Begins often, leaving the kindest, most inspiring comments imaginable. Thank you all so much for the continued support. I’ll be blogging about the film often, so I do hope you enjoy what I have to say about the process of making this film.

This film. This film that’s called Wait. This film that’s about love.