Passion projects. We all have them. Or at least we all should, in my opinion. That one film that MUST get made, no matter what. Your very own Megalopolis, I don't care about the costs in time, effort, and tears, it's getting done kind of project. Well, I have one too. As a matter of fact, I'm in pre-production on it now as I write this. The good people at Stage 32 (Thank you, Ashley!) are indulging me to share my story in real time, of getting this made. So, without further ado, here is the first blog in what will be a series of blogs about my passion project, "Stories".

Disclaimers:

Let me start off by saying that I am NOT an expert at any of this. I've only been doing this acting/filmmaking thing for five years. I've retired twice and don't really have to work anymore, but I do drive for Uber to get out of the house on occasion when I'm not making something.

After making, or having a small Producer role, in a few movies ("Turbo Cola" and "18 1/2" are both available wherever you go to watch movies at the moment) and being on TV a couple of times on the acting side of things (the ID Network true crime shows loved me for a while), I decided, at 50 years old, to go to film school, after retiring for the second time. I am currently attending Messiah University in Central PA at 52, plodding along, taking one class at a time, mainly so I have access to their sweet gear (tuition is my rental fee, I guess), while still auditioning and making my own stuff.

Passion Begins:

The story of "Stories" started when I was 12 years old. It was 1985. I had a sweet mullet! It was beautiful! Anyway, I was writing a short story for English class and having a hard time doing so. Writer's Block had hit me and my 12-year-old brain. In my frustration, I slipped a cassette (yes, kids, BEFORE even CDs!) into the boombox (80's term for giant oversized radio) by my bed. The song "Just a Job to Do" filled the air. It's a song about an assassin chasing down his contract. Whoa! I have something exciting to write about!

After writing about the chase through the city, the car crashes, gun fights, fist fights (John Wick before John Wick baby!) I was stuck again. Where was the chase leading? Just then, the song "Home by the Sea" came on. A song about a haunted house. Now this is interesting! He chases his prey into a haunted house! And from there, things get a little crazy. I turned in the assignment, but always in the back of my mind, over the next 40 years, I always had the thought that it would make a good film someday, knowing it would never actually happen.

Life Gets in the Way:

Well, as things go, life gets in the way. I had a scholarship to college for Acting, but I knew that I would probably not do well in a college environment at that time in my life, and instead, I joined the Marine Corps. I found that I LOVED the military, and like many young Marines do, I started a family early. We got married at 20 and had our first baby at 21, with another 3 soon to follow over the years. All girls. We just celebrated our 31st anniversary in December, and I took her to Cannes with me a few weeks ago, as a late anniversary gift.

After retirement from the Marine Corps, I opened a small business after putting my car up as collateral for a $10k business loan. Eventually, that business would be worth $1.1 million by the time I sold it, ten years later. THAT is what military training can do. I knew how to lead and manage small and large teams of varying skills to accomplish a common mission. Not unlike Producing and Directing, that would come into play a few years later.

One day, while sitting on the couch, in a quiet house after all of my kids were grown, I realized that my entire adult working life had been spent in the service of others. I thought that I should retire again and do something completely selfish for a while. I was trying to think of what I should do when I remembered that, back in the day, I had a scholarship to college for acting that I never used. I was also doing my own commercials for the business. Then I thought: "Actors are pretty selfish. Maybe I can try that again!" If any of my fellow Actors are reading that last statement and taking offense, trust me, I know better now, but at the time, that's what I thought.

Buckle Down:

Three months after getting headshots, I was doing a Scotts Lawn Care Commercial and three months after that, I was Producing my first feature film, "Turbo Cola", which would go on to win Film Threat's Award This! for Best Indie Comedy and Best Indie Film of the Year for 2023. I took as many classes as I could and joined Stage 32 around this time. Soon, I had enough of a resume to look for an Agent, and as time passed, I would go on to have three!

Now, five years later, I was driving Uber, in between rides, and listening to Genesis on my Spotify playlist, when an idea from back in a forgotten part of my brain made me remember that I had a pretty cool idea once. It was even written out as a short story already. And now, being in the industry as an Actor and Producer, dabbling in Writing and Directing now, I could actually DO THIS!

It All Starts With A Script:

I had started writing my own stuff a little more than a year ago. The first thing I wrote sucked. I filmed it anyway, with me Directing, and once again, it still sucked. I still put in on my IMDb, though! Hahaha! I put it behind me and tried again. The second thing I wrote was a short story called "Calls", which I would also direct.. I felt that it was good enough to be filmed and actually be somewhat good. So I filmed it with a Community College crew, who were in their first year of school, in a program that had only been in existence for less than a year at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC). Fast forward a year, and we are still on our festival run and have gotten a distribution deal with Echelon Studios for short films.

It was at that point that I realized that If I could get a distribution deal for "Calls" with a Community College crew, filming with a crappy DSLR camera and even crappier lights, over spring break, imagine what I could do with really good equipment and professional department heads with a script I spent more time with. I started to write what had been in my head all those years ago.

The first draft was only 8 pages. I just wanted to get the basic story on paper. From there, it grew. I added a few characters and locations I knew I could get, to flesh out the story. I also brought on a friend of mine, the Director of "Turbo Cola," to lend a hand with it. It currently sits at 21 pages. A full, encapsulated, short film.

After the script was complete, I decided to do something I had never done before. I entered the script into film festivals and writing contests, via the ol' Filmfreeway. Immediately, we started to get accepted, and in some cases, we were winning these things. It was at that point that I knew this one had some legs to it. I felt better about going into production.

Pre-Production:

Now we are in pre-production with all of the headaches that that involves. Our locations are locked on. I was able to get four out of the five of them for free. I just got free catering from the guy who let us film "Calls" at his restaurant. It helps when you put the restaurant owner in a cameo sometimes.

I just finished the contracts and am waiting to get them back, and I have an appointment next week to do a tech walkthrough of the locations.

I just did a 10th draft of the script, changing a few minor things, nothing big. The final table read will be in a few days.

There was an attempt to go SAG on this one, in an effort to work with a couple of my friends, but with the budget we were working with, I just couldn't make it happen and still get done what I needed to get done. Yeah, I know all about the ultra-low budget versions of different contracts available. It just didn't work for this one. So, I recast a few parts and kept pushing forward.

We are set to film from 14-20 July all over Central Pennsylvania. York, Harrisburg, Lemoyne, Camp Hill, etc.

It is my hope that you can stay tuned to this blog as I document, almost in real time, the making of my passion project from now until we (hopefully) get another distribution deal and festival run. Things are off to a pretty good start so far! We'll see how it goes! Stay tuned!

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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