I'll chase that lead

It's like being a private eye in a way. What, you've seen a plasma screen and you're friends with its owner and we could borrow it. great. And your xbox and copy of RE4. Thanks we need it for this low budget film. The script kicks ass, even though I'm rewriting it. Called 50 actresses over the past two days. I wanted to email them the script and have them read it before they came to the audition. Trying to avoid some woman calling me a pervert when she looks at her sides. I want everyone to know what they're walking into. My main worry lately (I have many worries now) is wondering whether the glibness of the script is gonna prevent the depths being rocked. I think I'm pushing it enough. If my movie isn't risky and at least somewhat shocking, how's it gonna get any attention?

Rehearsal Tuesday was awesome. Klea and Spooner were both so great. Spooner's my melt-into-the-wall chameleonlike production manager with requisite hefty 3 ring binder, all different kinds of colors and partitions. We're working hard on getting this movie made. So Klea was great, hopped right into the work and after I dropped a few clunkers, relaxed a little as we became more familiar. She had rehearsal props. Then in the end I coached her to take the scene in a whole different direction and then it exploded and the tension was real and the message I wrote was alive. Klea's damn good. She had a series that was short lived where she was opposite Tom Sizemore, but it was just when his life went into the toilet. The second part was the hollywood scene, I worked on rewriting that today. I just added more lines. Trying to give them more so they can get used to the style and sink their teeth into more stuff. Each scene had its own surprises, Jay was great in the movie star role and he's coming(from a signing for a movie he was just in called 2000 Maniacs for New Line I think) to help read the actresses at the audition. Aaron was so good I've thought to move him to the C.Cox role. But then I'd have to find a new Mert. And Aaron wouldn't get to work until the Mammoth trip. Then I worked with Kelly on the Liesl scene, which was so different than originally imagined. I wrote it for the woman who played Veronica Mars mom. She lives around the corner and my wife was an acquaintance of hers and my buddy Ken used to date her back in the day, I thought I might be able to get her. But in the end, I decided to not even pursue her. I'm focusing on casting the best young women for Sandra, Brittney, Pearl and Donna so for Liesl I wanted to cast the person available who I happen to think is certainly a competent actress and certainly fine looking. She just wasn't my ideal for that part. I have a hunch her acting chops will make me happy I made the decision I did.

Went out to Van Nuys to rehearse with Heidi at her house. My kids watched Sailor Moon DVD and Heidi's boyfriend hid in the bedroom, and Heidi and I read aloud in the backyard. It would have been okay except that her dog was really really up in our grills and made work difficult. And Heidi was distracted. It seemed in some ways perfect to me. A 1st rehearsal just has to happen, it's no final exam. Touch base hear each other's voices share the same space. Heidi had a pencil and she smacked the dog at one point but the dog jumped at the wrong moment and Heidi lodged the pencil point into her finger and cursed the dog for giving her lead poisoning. Heidi will be good. We have to find our chemistry.

So actresses have been calling me back saying they'd love to do it and they love the script. I did hide actor catnip all over it. Maybe it's all just a phony bullshit farce, but I'm gonna do everything I can possibly to do to avoid that fate. I want a movie that is real, yet it's a powerful fantasy... with harsh realities around dark corners. I want a movie that is quick and but can be slow, beautiful, funny, but hurts, is sexy and unsettling, dangerous. Splashy.

i've been listening to Tool's demo. Brought back so much of that pain.

The truth is that I'm a happy happy guy. Married for 10 years this coming November 30, two kids, one of which is 6 and crying right now as we watch the Sasha saga unfold. I'm directing, producing, acting, writing a movie and it's got real talent all over it, and my cinematographer better be as good. I have a hunch, he'll be solid. This is the chance for him to do us both a favor and make my edgy fever dream beautiful, like silversurfer doing lines of mercury.

I have to work up a complete shotlist this weekend. I have scenes to rewrite. I'd never heard the script out loud. I like the sound of it, some other clunkers revealed themselves.

That's all for now. Tuesday night should be interesting.

If anyone out there wants to read it, I'll email it to you if you are interested. Just post a comment.

Time to walk the dogs and put the kids to bed.

And then out for a training run on my board.

I start shooting two weeks from tonight, omfg.....