"...Feel The Force Around You."

Starting to feel Star Wars fever setting in...

Just 3 weeks until the Star Wars Celebration III in Indianapolis. Woohoo! God Bless It!

Work on the Lifetime promo series is wrapping up. Still looking at sometime next for the actual end date. Nothing lined up yet after that, although I continue to try and get in touch with my contact at KO Creative. Gina, the post production coordinator and scheduler who initially brought me in to Autonomy for the Bowl project last year, is leaving the company this coming Friday, April 1. I want to give her a thank you/good luck gift and asked a friend of her's (who also works there) for some advice in picking something out. There's a sushi restaurant Gina and her husband love that she recommended so I'll be getting her a nice sized gift certificate to the place.

Look forward to seeing "Sin City" this weekend, and one of the places it will be premiering is The Cinerama Dome. And of course "The Greatest American Hero" season two comes out on DVD next Tuesday...I'm sure they'll be stocking large after the huge success of the first set. Still up in the air about "Wonder Woman" season two. Of course I have season one which I loved best in part for it's 1940's setting. 2nd and 3rd seasons got a little weird when the show switched networks and was updated to the 70's. Warner Bros. just released an extremely early teaser 1-sheet for the proposed movie directed by "Buffy" creator Josh Whedon. Whatever you do just don't cast Sarah Michelle Geller as the Maid Of Might. No way, don't do it, stop and reconsider!!

...Oh Really!

Found out something very interesting this past week...

Had a lengthy conversation with a 23 year old staff editor at Autonomy. During most of last year I thought this guy was freelance but it turns out he's been staff for around a year and a half. Anyway, I was curious about how long he had been there as a staff editor since I noticed he was working days now.

Upon asking this, guess what he came back with...???!!

When that other staff editor left in early November of last year they gave this guy the position they had promised me! How do you fucking like that?! But before getting too bent out of shape, let's back up just a tad...

By early March I started wondering what I was getting myself into. Yes a staff position has that whole stablization appeal. But damnit I'm getting impatient to make the oh-so-short leap into the film world. I've been doing broadcast work now for at least 5 years...5 YEARS! The Bowl project being one of the exceptions. Don't get me wrong work has been good, not to mention the great experience I'm accumulating. Maybe I'm starting to (God forbid!) feel older...yes, I'm aging!! But I'm right at KO Creative's door, and a step or two through that door will have me in their living room watching the game and munching on pizza, feeling very much at home and wanting more.

Thought provoking moment...
Say I take the staff position at Autonomy...BPPFFFFFF!!!!! Hey what was that? That was 100 other editors pushing past me to attain the jobs I would have gotten at top flight trailer houses if I hadn't stopped to accept this offer. This has been foremost on my mind of late.

So back to our story about the staff position that had been given to this other guy...
Due to his unknowing revelation I feel a little less uneasy about turning around and letting them know I've recently acquired some new job opportunities (true) and that I'd prefer to stay freelance. But I've been concerned that in some screwy Hollywood way they might begin treating me a bit differently because I turned around in my tracks. Possibly not even bring me in as much for future gigs...sad, but could happen. The whole situation of giving my supposed job to another editor and allowing me to think otherwise has put a little dent in my perception of what I thought was on the table and the people I'm working for.

Then POW! surprise, surprise...Rick came by Thursday and Friday of this past week asking a few more questions about me and my background, saying we should get together soon and have lunch...obviously an indication that this will be some type of 'meeting'. I feel like they're trying to keep me on a fishing line for future commitment...I don't doubt there interest in me for a staff position, just that it could be anytime from now into infinity! Sometimes I think to myself, 'hey you guys had your chance, but the window of opportunity is almost closed. You gotta snap the good people up right away before someone else grabs 'em.' Of course I'd never say that...no I'm not getting an ego, I'm allergic to those!

Laterally, I did hear some nice kudos from Rick and the producer I'm working with regarding my work and performance. The producer said he really appreciated my ability to be very creative with little direction, capturing the tone Lifetime would be looking for. A day later Rick remarked that the producer has continued to comment how easy I am to work with, as well as my talents. I do love hearing all this feedback, knowing that I continue to be a valuable player as the palette of producers I work with at Autonomy expands. This is definitely a project I'm gonna want on my reel...very trailer-esque.

The Lifetime gig will now be ending sometime during the week of April 4 - 8. Based on the buzz I continue to hear there may be a follow up project shortly thereafter. In lieu of the Star Wars Celebration III, I'll be returning to Albany sometime in mid April to prepare for my trip to that galaxy far, far away.

Last and horribly least, HERE is the worst movie that will come out this year. Just look at the title and glance at the characters pictured on the movie's web site. B-fucking-AD!!! You don't even have to watch the trailer. It will probably be like viewing the videotape from "The Ring". Stop now and destroy it!! "Wait...it's a trick...get an axe."

Saturday...March 24, 1985. Shermer High School, Shermer, Illinois 60062.

Dear Mr. Vernon,
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong. What we did WAS wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us...in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed.

20 years ago The Club made it through the day...

Action Yoda!

Boy this is the longest I haven't posted in some time. Work continues on the Lifetime promo project. 'Lifetime welcomes "Will & Grace", "Frasier", "Still Standing", and "Reba" to our sitcom family...plus new seasons of "Missing" and "Strong Medicine"...That's pretty much the gist of what I'm cutting. It's a wrap on April 1st. Before that I'll be priming KO Creative for my first project with them.

Rick, the president of Autonomy, was talking to me a few weeks ago about a technical process I should learn to post cuts to the web for clint approval. At the end he said, '...but you'll be staff in a few weeks anyway'. It's now been 4 months since I was presented with the opening to come in as a staff editor. But it still won't be official until Rick makes me an offer. Clocks ticking. A new friend of mine (who's an editor and has been in the industry for 25 years) said it's possible they may not come forward with an offer for a few weeks, a few months, even a year. Everything depends upon steady work which warrants a need for said staff editor. I knew this over the holidays but assumed things would come together perhaps sooner than this. I'm far from sweating it, in part because I have other post houses showing interest in my talent and abilities.

I'd have to say that The Oscars, and taking my trip to The Kodak a few days before the ceremony, brought home once more that I have even bigger plans than Autonomy in the cards. As usual I continue to keep my eye on the prize and am certainly not assuming anything anyone says until it actually happens. When something comes along in the meantime thats even more rewarding, they'll certainly get my full attention.

New "Revenge Of The Sith" trailer premiered on Friday which looks fantastic. Saw it first online with a group viewing at work then in front of "Robots" Friday night. Will have to see it a few more times to catch everything. Once again I say please God let there be some nice satisfying moments that tie us in to The Holy Trilogy (tm). Caught the blockade runner, cool Vader with the Emperor shot at the end. Plus it looks like Yoda might be having a one on one with Palapatine. His leaping-into-action pose on the new 1-sheet is too funny. "Hiiiiii-yyyyaaaa!!!" should be the caption. Note that everything in both this and the first teaser omit any dialogue scenes with Padme. It's all about Anakin turning. More rumors abound of a PG-13 rating.

As of Thursday I now have my 4 day ticket and hotel reservation to go to the Star Wars Celebration III in Indianapolis April 21-24. As mentioned, I swore after the first two events I would not miss it this year. Especially since this will be a prelude to the last of the new Star Wars movies ever released. My schedule at the moment is open for April and I want to keep it that way at least for those days. Can not wait!

MY GOD I FINALLY FOUND AND BOUGHT "THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO" DVD!!! It happend about a week ago when Best Buy restocked 30 copies to the store a block from here. Jeez, Ralph! April 5, Season 2...I'll be there when the doors open.

Total aside, Paul Newman has said he will make one more film before retiring from movies. Apparently there's been talk of a re-teaming with Robert Redford which I think would be a perfect topper to his amazing career.

Oscar's Bad Judgement Call And A Job Response

Very happy with the outcome of last night's Oscars. Sure I wanted to see Scorsese finally get his...someday it'll happen. Glad to see Swank, Freeman, and Eastwood bring home the gold. "Baby" certainly deserved the kudos. Hilary Swank had a few words to say that inspired me during her acceptance speech and mentioned to reporters that when she first came to Hollywood she lived in a car with her Mom for a time. Now that I'm in the industry I find myself really appreciating those hopes and dreams realized by winners and nominees alike.

Thought Chris Rock did a fine job (still missed Billy Crystal). He really rode the line during his opening monologue and it seemed the audience felt that way as well. Of course Sean Penn had to retort Rock's crack about Jude Law ('Studio casting; if you want Tom Cruise for your film but can only get Jude Law...wait!'), stating that he was in fact a very fine actor. I understand his point but the man needs to get a sense of humor.

My one big complaint about the show was how some of the awards were handed out to recipients in the aisle near their seats. What if you're the guy or gal whose been waiting your whole life to walk up on that stage, accept your award, and say thank you. Along with having some catagory nominees stand in a line on stage like a beauty pagent, this was more like a Letterman moment, a segregation which didn't even apply to actor awards. On the up side they had seated the nominees for these catagories one row after the other. As each was announced the camera would dolly back to show their faces. Usually with these awards you'd only hear and see their names, with the winner in full camera view upon reaching the stage. Yes it's a time saver when you're trying to bring the show in around 3 hours; walking to the stage can eat minutes. But I hope they do not continue this aisle award presentation in the future. Or at least get rid of it by the time I'm nominated. ;)

I also appreciated that all of the technical award winners given Oscars at a special ceremony a few weeks ago were present to be acknowledged. They don't usually do that.

E-mailed my resume to a post house called Route 66 about 2 weeks ago in response to a posting on Editorsnet.com for Final Cut Pro editors with trailer/promo experience. Received a response today asking to see my reel. Nothing from KO this week (I called to check) although I did receive an e-mail from Autonomy asking if I could come in to start the Lifetime gig this coming Wednesday instead next Monday. Schedule was moved up so I'll be on that now for the next month.