Something To Do: Making of a short film. Part 5

The fifth day of filming was a good one, but the lead up to it was a little stressful.  When you make a film with no budget, you're sometimes at the mercy of good deeds, and people outside your creative circle.  Actors are generally up for anything.  It's hard for us artistic people to get our heads around the fact that not everyone wants to help your cause.

case in point:

The building across the street from my home is a set piece that the film had to have.  The character I play spies on his neighbor Mr. Jones.  It's a big part of the story.  It's the sub-plot that the kids are involved in.  In my head, I would simple go across the street and re-introduce myself, smile, charm the nice couple that live there and tell them I'm making a movie.  My internal story concluded with them being thrilled I asked, and of course I could use the inside of their home for an hour to make the film.  Well, all people are not interested in your creativity.  I know, I know, I was shocked as well.  Some people just want to be left alone.

About a week before we started shooting, I went across the street and re-introduced myself to (I'll call her Lisa) Lisa.  Lisa and her husband (I'll call him ...Zack) Zack have a new baby.  Zack has a real job type job and goes to work in the morning and comes back after five.  I don't have a job like that, and most of my days are wide open.  Kelly and I bonded with Lisa a  few months back after our street sweeper hit a tree and started shooting propane (or what ever it was.  I don't know what street sweepers run on okay!) out of the top and catching a tree on fire.  The cops and fire department came!  We had to evacuate for like twenty minutes!  It was sort of a scene.  Anyway, we met Lisa then and made small talk.  So in my head, I was like, "hey remember how we bonded?"  "Can I use your house?"  She told me that she had to talk with her husband and get back to me.  I suggested we exchange phone numbers and text each other and figures it out.  So we did.  I waited for three days for her to speak with her husband and then have Zack get back to me.  Three days!!!  Long story short.  People aren't the same.  Sometimes people don't want to be bothered.  Sometimes people just don't want to have extra stuff injected into their world.  Sometimes you just don't need a small movie crew invading you're home, and your new born baby life.  I get it.  I understand.

But I'm persistent.

Via text, I assured him that it would be a minimal pain in the ass, and I would greatly appreciate it.  I left it at that.  I'm persistent, but I'm not a jerk.  No reply.  I left it alone.  I tried.  I had to figure something out because this was not going to happen, and we were about to start shooting day 1.   I assured Kate that we could use our next door neighbors house, and at least that would be something and it would work as far as story line goes.

So we pressed on.

But internally, I was mad at Zack.  What?  He didn't like the arts?  He can't open up his home to a bunch of strangers for an hour to make our film work?!  It irked me so much that I made up a character, with a voice that I provided, of a guy devoid of any interest in things outside of an office job and golf.  A guy that played it safe and never risked.  It was funny to me.  Kelly thought I was being an ass.  She did laugh though.  I got over it and moved on.

..then i got a text.  bring on the humble pie.

Zack decided it would be okay.  I somehow persuaded Zack to open up his home to us, and let us film an important piece of the movie in his home.  In the end, I think he likes movies.  I also think that I didn't have any walls up.  I was showing all my cards.  I needed something and I wasn't trying to hide it.  I was clear and honest with what I was doing.  And as strange as it sounds, I don't think he was used to people doing that.  He let me use his house.  And you know what?  Now we wave to each other from across the street.  Life.  Shake it up.

..what was I talking about?

DAY FIVE OF THE MOVIE!

Now with the location settled, we had to get back to the job at hand.  The big scene between Mr. Jones and Mike.  The face off!  If you've been reading this blog, then you know that Mr. Jones is played by the one and only Robert Riechel.  Robert is an intense guy.  He brings a lot to the set as far as working with,  and that's a good thing.  At this point in the blog I would like to share an opinion that actors might agree with or might not.  It's just my opinion.  I might be a lazy actor.  I don't know.  I went to a class one time in Hollywood.  The students were asked to cry.  Think of something sad and cry.  A friend dying, or something that has brought you pain.  Re-live that and really feel that, then cry.  Sounds logical.   My only problem with that is the emotions one might be trying to conjure up have already happened, and so you're trying to force yourself into a false state of feeling something.

My thinking is that the audience have come to watch your film or your play.  It's not that hard to say the lines, be true to what's being said, listen and react to the other actors you're working with and let the audience do the work for you.  Meaning, the audience wants to believe what's going on, so just don't screw that up.  My only problem with this statement is that I consider Marlon Brando the best actor to ever breath life into a script, and he would punch me in the face if I said that to him.  Brando was THE method actor.  Robert and I are due to go for a couple of beers soon, and I'm sure we'll talk more about this.  Until then,...

Here I go...

Robert likes to ask questions, make sure he's understanding what's being asked of him.  Trying to figure out the character.  Would the character really do this?  ALL VALID.

Because really, I ask myself how come I'm not asking those questions?

My way is....say the words, believe what you're saying, and look at the other actor in the eyes, and let the audience believe...job done.  That's the craft of acting.  And there is no wrong way or right way, it's just your way.

..side note.

How I approach my craft is a combination of both "the method", and my lazy way.  Should we call it "melazy".?

Let me paint a picture.

I'll never forget the day my Grandma died.  I lived in Hollywood at the time.  Kelly and I weren't married yet, but we lived together.  My grandmother was in the hospital.  She was old, and life ends.  I should have been there, but I wasn't.  I loved my Grandma like all kids love their Grandmas.  They're magical.  They love you no matter what.  It's a very special relationship.  I was on the phone with my Mom.  It's her Mom that we're talking about.  The other line "clicks" and she answers it.  A few moments later my Mom comes back and she says, "She gone.  She just died...I have to go, I'll call you back."  My mom hangs up.  I put the phone down.  I walk in to the kitchen.  Kelly is washing the dishes.  She has no idea what has just happened.  Life is normal for a few more seconds, until  I collapse on the kitchen table and repeat, out loud, several times, "She's died, she's died. My grandmother had died."  Kelly rushes to me and holds me as I cry uncontrollably .

What does this have to do with acting?  A lot really.  I could never imagine trying to recreate those exact feeling again in the exact same way, because I've already experienced them when they really happened.  So I don't try to recreate them,  but they certainly influence me.  I embrace the emotions because they point you in the right direction.

...I'm aware that the last few paragraphs might have made zero sense, and i'm okay with that.

I've been looking forward to working with Robert for a long time.  And on this day we finally had our scene together.  It was great!  It's sort of like two fighters figuring out what the other guy's fighting style is, then you can form a little give and take and then let the scene play out.  I can't tell you what this particular scene is about, cause then I'll be giving the story away.  I will tell you this though.  It was a thrill to work with Robert.  I am so grateful for his time and talent.  I can't wait to work with him again.

Something To Do: Making of a short film Part 4

For anybody who's been reading this diary of the making of a short film, my apologies.  The last three days have been fast and crazy, difficult and at times stressful.  Sometimes there's just not enough time in the day.  So now I have the daunting task of trying to catch up on this blog.  I have the next two days off from shooting, so I know I can do it!

Day 4, day 4.....what the hell happened on day 4?  Oh, yeah.  Day 4 was the day the wonderful Kirsten Gronfield came to Santa Barbara to shoot the scenes we had together.  Kirsten plays my wife Jennifer in the film.  I was excited and nervous about this day.  I had only met Kirsten once before, and had never acted with her.  It was the first day that I really got to do some acting.  Working with the kids was great, but I was looking forward to working opposite another actor.  This was also the first time I would work with Kate as director and actor, and really dig into a scene.  And for that matter, working with our DP Sheba Legend.  So you get the idea.  First, big day on many levels.  Anyway, Kirsten is a very funny, talented actor.  Take a look.

See what I mean.  

I thought our scenes went well together.  We practiced our lines while the crew set up the shots, we talked a little between shots to get to know each other better, and we shot the scene a few times.  You'll have to ask her, but I thought it went well.  I think the thing about actors is that you really don't have personal walls up with other actors when your working on a project together.  You sort of automatically become best friends.  There's a trust thing that happens almost instantly because it has to in order to make the relationship your seeing in the finished product feel real.  It's actually one of the best things about acting.  Being real with people right from the get go is a pretty amazing thing.  It makes life easier and interesting.  That and red wine.  The scene we shot, I think, is the most important scene in the film.  The night before, my daughter helped me memorize my lines.  I had to take my producer hat off and work on the script.  I wasn't about to show up the next day, and not have my lines memorized.  Kate would have kicked my ass, Sheba would start to wonder why she flew across the country to work on this project and Kirsten would have thought I was a hack!


a lot of pressure.


So Logan had to help me.  Memorizing lines isn't hard.  When I do a play I work on them for months.  They have time to germinate in my mind.  As I keep working on film, I'll have to not take for granted that I'm only working with a few lines for that particular scene.  While working with Logan, I kept forgetting one of the sentences in a chunk of dialogue I had to say.  "What am I supposed to be doing?" is the line.  That's the question the whole story is asking!  I wrote it down and pinned it to my wall.  Once I had that to anchor the rest of the words around, I had it pretty well ingrained in my mind.  Thanks Logan!!!


Working with Kate has been a great experience.  Working on film is much different than working on stage.  I normally use my hands a lot when I talk.  I feel like I'm just normally very animated when I'm trying to make a point or telling a story.  It's my opinion, that is a useful visual for the stage when you need the audience to see what you're feeling cause they really can't see your face.  On film, the opposite is true.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard Kate tell me, "You're over gesturing".  On film, you never want to be caught "acting".  That's the kiss of death.  Being aware you're doing it and practice is really the only remedy.  Kate doesn't let me get away with any of that nonsense, so I can tweak it when I have to as we go along.  Don't ever feel you've learned everything about your chosen art.  I would like to think that is impossible.  That sounds unchallenging and boring.  That sounds like hell.  Art has no end! Boom that just happened. I'm trademarking "Art Has No End". I just blew my own mind.

...day 4, day 4, Oh yeah.  Kirsten and I had one other scene that day.  We had a quick scene with the kids.  Logan, Bracken and Henry enjoyed meeting their movie mom and we didn't take very long to nail that scene.  This scene is a set up for the big "open house" scene.  More on that later.  We've been finishing up days ahead of schedule, and this day was no different.  It was time for Kirsten to go back home.  She was a pleasure to work with, and a real professional.  Thank you Kirsten!

Something To Do: Making of a short film Part 3

Today was another non shooting day for me. I worked behind the scenes, directing traffic, keeping kids focused and eating a sweet bagel, cream cheese and bacon sandwich for breakfast. I do feel guilty, but damn if that wasn't good!

Today was all about the kids sub-plot in the story and how the mysterious Mr. Jones ties into it all. The kids have been great, and they're really enjoying their spring break. Making a movie with your kids is a great bonding experience, I highly recommend it.

...be right back, Bracken just came in.

Can't believe kids these days! He tells me he's tired of going over his lines. I told him I was tired of going over his attitude and i was about to replace him. I'm pretty certain he'll have his lines memorized by morning.

..anyway it was all about the kids story. such a fun day. They all really got into it. And Robert Reichel is having a fun time as Mr. Jones. He's knocking it out of the park. One of the best things about this project for me was bringing in all of the actors that I could possibly want to work with and show them off to Kate and then give her the hard choice of casting who it was she thought would be right for the part. Taking myself out of the actual choice of casting the parts assured I was never going to be the bad guy. My actor friends didn't know Kate, so win win.

Believe me when I say I either brought in everybody I ever wanted to work with, or invited and tried to bring in everybody I ever wanted to work with. Honestly if they didn't get a call, they lived too far away. Where was I....um.., oh yeah Robert Reichel. I can't remember how I met Robert. I'll ask him next time I see him. Somehow fate had us cross paths. There, that's how we met. What a guy. passionate guy. professional. loves the craft. loves iced espressos and has a door mat that says "Leave". I've had amazing conversations with this guy, and have wanted to work with him for a very long time. I get my chance Friday, when we have our big scene together! Love having him on the set. Thankful that he said yes. What a friend.

side note: Kelly (my wife) is scrubbing down the kitchen while listening to the Grateful Dead. We're filming here again tomorrow and she's making sure that the place is spotless. No matter what you do in life, please surround yourself with people that believe in you. AND of course your belief in them is also required. ...i hate the Grateful Dead, but if it helps you clean the kitchen, go for it.

Okay, so tomorrow I have a big scene with my "wife" Jennifer. Jennifer is played by the beautiful and talented Kirsten Gronfield. She's the fiance of one of my All-Star best friends, Josh Farrell. We grew up in the same freakin town of Sonoma C A fools! who .. didn't .. get cast in the film. Hey! Wasn't my fault, I'm not the director! Still want to work with Josh, but fate gave us Kirsten, and that rules! Excited to work with an actor whom I've never worked with before AND don't know what her style is. It's like two ninjas facing off for the first time. Look, I know I'm a nerd. I don't care.

side note: Logan gets really excited when she gets to meet her actor/pretend parents. Note sure what that means yet. Just observing for the moment.

tomorrow, we get into what makes Mike tick!

Something To Do: Making of a short film Part 2

The kids are on spring break, and I love it! The stress of getting three kids to school on time is unbearable, (i know there are many more horrible things going on in the world) , but it's freakin maddening! But on this spring break, the Flemings are making a movie! So getting up early has a different feeling to it. It's like we're on a cool vacation, but we haven't left. (By the way, Santa Barbara is beautiful this time of year. Come visit!) Today was the second official day of shooting Something To Do, and all the actors had the day off. Sort of odd, but also kind of cool. Not to say that nothing got done, cause stuff got done! Kate and our DP, Sheba Lane did a lot of location filming. Me? I took Logan out to lunch, bought a gun at Big 5 and got a location settled for one of our final shots next week.

Let me take this time to tell you what Something To Do is about. It's the story about a guy trying to figure out what he's supposed to be doing in life. We're all meant for something right? ...right? We are. What if you don't know what it is? You search. It's a comedy. Not a "family comedy". Don't let the kids fool you. I love The Big Lebowski and Anchorman, not Are We There Yet!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip6GolC7Mk0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHuyjYJCCOA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL-sWs-T97s

know what I mean.
back to today.

...So the gun I bought was a BB gun that I needed for a prop. It looks real, and I was kind of nervous buying the thing. Tristan, my six years old son, kept asking me why we were buying a gun in front of the guy working at the store. I'm pretty sure the guy behind the counter thought I'd be robbing a bank before days end. For some reason, I felt compelled to make up a story of buying this piece for my nephew, and wanted to know about the return policy just in case he didn't like it. Earlier in the day I secured a location for one of our last shots. Later Kate, Sheba and I met up at "the house". (I'll go into this location later.) Kate figured out her shots for Saturday, our biggest day of shooting.

I finally got to do some actor stuff and worked on the script. acting the stuff you helped write is a little odd. But because it came from you, it helps you connect. It's hard to go from producer to actor. It's hard because you have to allow the artist in you to get away from the organizer in you. The day goes by so fast when you're putting a thousand things in motion. The challenge has been ...well a challenge, but totally fun. See, I told you we got things done!

Tomorrow is all about the kids. The sub plot we have them involved in is so fun. Think The Goonies, but without the Spielberg budget. I won't give anything away, but lets just say they aren't about to let anything happen to their Dad.

...tomorrow. the kids arm up!

Something To Do: Making of a short film Day 1

I'm not trying to sound like anything other than I am. What am I? Well among other things, I am a creative person. We're all creative in our own way. Each of us has a talent that wants to be set free. All of us. But I firmly believe that most of us are scared to unleash our art. A lot of people fear their creativity. Why? Well there are all kinds of reasons. The biggest fear is that they wont be able to make a living from their creativity and then they get a job doing what ever it is they end up doing.

Most people don't grow up and say, for example, "I want to work for the Dental Association of America, and oppose laws that would save consumers money because that's not in our best interest". People just fall into those kind of jobs. It's safe. It pays. It eats at their soul. That's why most people hate their jobs. Because they didn't do what it was they wanted to do. But I digress.

For better or for worse I've taken the way my heart wanted to go. And if for only one reason, so I wouldn't have regret. I didn't want to be sixty and looking at myself in the mirror asking, "What if"? Does this decision always make me happy? No. There are times when I wake up in the middle of the night, staring at my sleeping children wondering what the hell I've done. That doesn't happen often, but it does. Most of the time, my life is a crazy adventure of art, love, drama, family, and life. Working on being a better me, a better husband and a better father. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. But there aren't many regrets. I know my choices are honest and not false. At the end of the day....I can live with that.

A few months ago I decided that I would write a short script called, "Something To Do". The idea was that I wanted to shoot a short film, confident that I could find someone that had a camera and also find someone that could edit, and then just let it fly. I had just finished a successful film festival run with, "A Letter from Home". (you can check that film out here: http://vimeo.com/21824690 ) The idea behind "Something To Do", was based on a series of ideas that I had written down and was saving for a full length script. I ran out of patience and decided to just go with the short film idea. After I wrote the thing, I showed it to a few friends. One of those friends was Kate Lanier, a working screen writer, and whose kids are in a band with my daughter. To my amazement, she wanted to help me with a re-write of the script, help produce, and then direct the short that I would star in!!!

The idea behind this for her, and you'll have to ask her to be certain, was that her screen plays that have been produced have been dramatic pieces, ( for the most part) and have starred, (for the most part) older actresses. Which is fantastic because there few roles for older actresses in film. I think she liked the idea of making a quirky comedy with a middle aged (yet still roguishly handsome :) ) male lead. Also she wanted to make a short film that we would use to sell the full length script. (the short is the middle of the full length script that we're currently working on.)

CUT TO:

Today was day 1 of production of "Something To Do"!

Making a movie is a lot of work. It takes a lot of organization and determination. Most importantly it takes people that have the same creative goals. AND it takes friends! Day one consisted of the first major scene with me and the kids. Between the two of us, Kate and I have five children. They're all in the film. The kids are an important part of the story. They're on spring break, and they all have work permits thank you very much. This was the first time Kate and I worked together as actor and director. Its not easy taking off the producer cap and putting on the actor hat. For one, I wasn't off book completely, which I know irritated Kate. But it wasn't long that I was in the swing of things, and we were on our way. The kids were great and had a fun time with the whole experience. We have great actors that I'll be telling you more about as time goes on with this project, but today was also day 1 for Robert Reichel! Solid actor, and friend. We get to know his character better as the story unfolds, but today we shot the scene when we see the first glimpse of his Mr. Jones. Fun stuff! The kids and I still have another three days of shooting. Tomorrow we have off, then back to work. Special thanks to my friends Tom and Jose for working as PA's today.

Always dream and work toward something. You just never know what might happen.

20 years later

Just got back from a family vacation that started off with my 20 year high school reunion and ended with a mini family reunion in Lake Tahoe. I guess a 20 year reunion can be a weird thing to go to, but since Myspace and Facebook, it only takes a couple of minutes to see what people look like and know what they've been doing for the last 20 years. None the less if was a fun evening out with my wife and seeing friends that I haven't had face to face time with in a long time. I ended up messing up my knee a little doing some break-dancing! Anyway it was a wild, fun time. The next day there was a BBQ for the grads and their families. So all the kids got to run around and have a good time. Thanks to Ali and Erin for putting on a great time.

Sonoma was a quick trip, just a day. Sunday afternoon we left the picnic and made our way to Lake Tahoe. My grandparents had a cabin in Tahoe for many years. After my grandmother died, he decided to sell it. He does things that only make seance to him. He's remarried and moved to the desert. I don't see him very often, he and my mother and he don't speak to each other any longer, and he has great-grand children he has never met. You kind of get the idea of what he's all about. Anyway, Tahoe was kind of bitter sweet. A few weeks ago my dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer, due to smoking which he quit twenty some odd years ago. He has to have his bladder removed tomorrow. The overall outcome is unknown, so the possibility of my fathers death has been a topic of late between my family and I. Some days are very sad, and other days are very optimistic. When you don't know what's going to happen, those are really the only two roads to travel down. My dad is a strong, hard ass guy, who feels like what ever happens, happens. His only sadness comes when thinking what will happen to my mom. He said to me with tears in his eyes, "She's a pain in the ass, but she's my pain in the ass". I try to reassure him that his kids with do the right thing if it comes to that. All of this makes me think of a time when I was much younger and worried about when the time came when my parents would be gone and how sad that would be. I don't feel old, but I am at an age now where the ones I love are becoming older and life is changing.

Having said all that, my father is optimistic about the future. Besides all this cancer stuff, Tahoe was a chance for the family to be together. My mom has rented a cabin in Tahoe for the last five years in order to do what my grandfather had not cared about doing, keeping the family together and creating memories for the children that were not around in the hayday of the family cabin. The kids loved the lake, and memories were made. Job well done Mom! I love you. Dad, good luck tomorrow. I love you!

A Nice Day

It's easy to get wrapped up in your own stuff when you're an artist. "Why didn't I get that part?" "How come I can't sell that script?" "Why do I have an audio problem and have to re-shoot my awesome short film?" The fact is when people are artists, we're setting ourselves up for disappointment. And I say that being the most optimistic guy you know. It's the trade off of having the best feelings in the world when things go your way. See, when people go to their office job, or the job they just "fell" into, they're playing it safe. No risk, no putting themselves out there. So of course, no disappointment. But I digress. It's Summer time! And as the saying goes, "the livings easy".

Hollywood is slow right now and the kids are out of school. For those of you that have kids and a wife/husband and are artist, you know that it is a balancing act. You love your kids and wife and WANT to give them the time they deserve. Not to mention a break from the kids for your wife, because parenting is a full time job. On the flip side you HAVE to put the time into your craft so someday you can look back and know all that time you put in is what made all the difference. And when you are a writer, director, actor, husband and dad that also had two "real" jobs it's hard to find the time to stay sane.

But as I mentioned before it is summer. My kids are now at the age where they're all about having adventures. The trick is to multitask when you have kids to keep everybody happy. My daughter Logan got a bike last Christmas, and for much of January through May it's been in storage. She's too young to take it out by herself, I'm working all the time, and Kelly has her hands full with the boys. What we've been doing is first and foremost is keeping her bike in the car so it's ready to go. I can't tell you what a world of difference that makes. Then right after she wakes up and grabs a little something to eat, we drive down to the bike path on the beach. It's about a two mile round trip route. She rides, I jog. She gets an adventure and I get to exercise. Now that's a win win situation.

Then there are the boys. The problem we have it that there are two. Twins create logistical problems that I won't even go into right now. Lets just say it's hard to take them out if only one parent is available. It can even be dangerous depending on what you're doing. We make it a point of joining up at some point of the day and getting everyone out of the house.

Living in Santa Barbara, the most beautiful place in the world (besides all those other beautiful places in the world) and there are lots of things to do. So yesterday we went down to the docks and let the kids drive "Little Toot". Thanks Little Toot guys!!!