Improving Life and Sad Deaths

Well, I have been meaning to post a blog for sometime now, but have been quite tied up. Aside from still struggling to get back on track financially, I have had a pretty good week or so. But when things go well, something is bound to come crashing down. Damn Murphy’s Law!

Well, on the up side, I was able to get back onto a film set and work a day on a small, no-budget film in St. Louis entitled ‘Bedlam Street’. There are some stills from the shoot in my photo galleries. I was brought on the shoot because I know the AD, Tim Gorry, who is also the GM of KCFV where I do my radio work. I also know actor James Gianoulakis who helped put in a few good words. I came on the film for one day so far to do some Glidecam/Steadicam work and assist with other aspects of the production including assisting the Gaffer with G/E. I hope to be able to get a few more days on the shoot, but only time and my crazy schedule will tell. I truly do miss being on set all day long.

Also, the St. Louis International Film Festival is going on through the 23rd at multiple venues around St. Louis. I worked on three films screening. I was a Co-Producer on ‘Streetballers’, which had a SOLD OUT screening yesterday at the Tivoli; I worked the reshoot for the ending of ‘The Doubtful Martyr’, which screens during St. Louis Filmmaker Showcase Shorts Program 1 on Thursday night at 5 PM at the Tivoli; and I worked the second unit/exterior shoot on ‘The Thacker Case’ up in Alton, IL, which screens on Friday night at the Tivoli. Aside from the screenings for these films, I am working 4 other nights at the Tivoli for SLIFF. I worked the Opening Night this past Thursday and Tonight, Sunday. I still have Monday night and Wednesday night, both at the Tivoli. So I encourage you to come by, say “Hi”, and catch one of the shows screening.

Another big thing in my world, I have decided to push forward on a short film I recently came up with. I have to work a few details out for a location and some resources I need at that location, but I have faith I could be shooting between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I even had a long meeting with the actress I plan to use, and she is excited about the film.

Overall, the past week has been pretty uplifting. Of course I could use more money coming my way. In fact, I even got news about how that might become a reality soon as well. Things have definitely been looking up.

Now for the bad news… As you know, Murphy’s Law always screws with things. Well, I got news Saturday that my Dad’s Sister in Brazil lost her husband. My dad’s Brother-in-Law, my uncle passed away either Friday or Saturday. I don’t have any specific details. Then tonight on my way to the Tivoli to work for SLIFF, I got a phone call asking about a friend posting on his MySpace page. I made one phone call to get details and got the sad truth… A friend, Daniel Rivera, whom I had seen at Mandarin, where he worked, the night before while attending a SLIFF function, died late Saturday night, early Sunday morning. I worked with Danny at Club Buca and Bar 101. I don’t have details other than it was a car accident. Now, I am extremely frightened, because as you know, deaths usually happen in 3s. So I’m afraid of who might be number 3. As a show of respect to Danny, I have changed my profile photo to a special photo created by a friend to honor Danny. I will leave it on the memorial photo for at least Monday, November 17, 2008. I will most likely repost it when I learn more details about services and so forth.

Rest In Peace, Both of You! And DAMN MURPHY’S LAW!

Live on the Radio and Internet Now!

Tuesday, November 4, I’ll be live on the radio. I’ll be on KCFV 89.5 FM. It is the Low Power station broadcasting from St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. It has about a 10 to 15 mile radius around North St. Louis County.

I’ll be on The Morning Jolt from about 9 AM until 12 Noon. Then I’ll be commenting on election night coverage from about 6 PM all night long. We are expecting to broadcast until about 1 or 2 AM. We’ll mixing commentary with updates on election results.

Now, you all know that KCFV has a limited broadcast radius, but that doesn’t stop you ALL from hearing the broadcasts. The station now broadcasts online. You can hear KCFV on either of the two following places online:

http://www.stlcc.edu/kcfv (Click the Listen Live link)
on iTunes (find KCFV under radio)

So please take some time and listen to the show. Whether you are at work or sitting at home, listen to the show. Then, please take a moment and let me know you listened. I would love to get your opinions, as well as just know who got hear me on the radio. Plus, it allows me to show the station who is listening to the show, either on-air or online.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing your feedback about the show.

MY Movies

Well, in this edition of the MY List, I don’t plan on doing too much venting. I actually want to put out a list of all the projects I’ve worked on over the last year and what their status is:

Up-and-Coming Screenings:
‘Streetballers’ – Screens again during the St. Louis International Film Festival on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2:30 PM at the Tivoli Theater

‘The Thacker Case’ – Screens during the St. Louis International Film Festival on Friday, Nov. 21, 7:15 PM at the Tivoli Theater.

‘The Doubtful Martyr’ – Screening during the St. Louis International Film Festival on Thursday, Nov. 20, 5 PM at the Tivoli Theater

No Screenings Scheduled:
‘Pinks: All Out/All Outtakes’ – Aired on Speed Network on Sept. 11
‘Baggage’ – Screened October 25 in Los Angeles.

Films Still in Post-Production:
‘Jim’ – Post-Production
‘Edgar Allan Poe’s Ligeia’ – Post-Production
‘Confined’ (AKA: The Awakened) – Post-Production
‘Morning Rounds’ – Post-Production
‘Charter Commercial: Cable Theft’ – Post-Production

Still in Production:
‘AKA Bongos 3’ – Still in Production around the US
‘Legacy of Shadows’ – Still in Production around St. Louis

Aside from the previous projects which I worked on, I do have a few of my own. I won’t give out too much information about them because most are still in development. Once they begin shooting, I’ll start giving out details about each one. Some of the projects are creative projects and some are aimed at being income producing projects.

On the creative project side, most are short films. Some very simple and I hope to be able to get one or two produced over the next few months. The others are rather detail oriented and still being developed. On the other side of production, I am working on a few project ideas that I intend to sell as an extra source of income. Some of the incoming producing projects I am pushing forward are:
- A training DVD project
- Shooting music artists, musician, comedian and bands performing

If you get to see any of the projects I have worked on, please post a comment and let me know. Thanks and I look forward to hearing your responses.