I've been trying to figure out a way to capture the excitement of this moment... and then I realized, "What excitement?" Film Making is a long, slow process, not unlike building a building. The excitement in building comes with the first shovel of dirt and, maybe, when someone cuts a ribbon. Finishing the building is a cause for a nice beer, but not a ticker tape parade. Same with a film.
Here's how I finished the movie. I was making some final tweaks to the film and as I was doing so I kept thinking to myself, "Wow, I am so bored." And then I realized that the film was done and that I really never wanted to see it again. I saved the file and shut her down. Tonight, I'm burning the film onto film. And tomorrow onto a DVD.
Which isn't to say that the film is bad or that I am already sick of it. But the editing cycle is one where you start off wondering how the hell you're going to get a film out of the mess of spare parts, then where you start seeing a film emerge, then where you think about all the cool things you can do to improve it, and finally, when you realize that it doesn't need any more work. It may not be perfect, but its definitely finished.
Lucas said you never really finish a film so much as abandon it. Well, I'm kicking this thing to the curb. So long, don't write!
Anyway, all kidding aside. Twelve Step Jedi (complete with cool "original" soundtrack) will mark its World Premiere hopefully sometime in February. I'm still working on that.
Script work on our next feature begins immediately (we've been doing preproduction now for about two months) with an eye towards filming sometime this summer in locations around San Francisco. Come to the World Premiere and maybe catch a preview of the new film.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
The Calling
The Calling of the First Disciples
18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 4:18-22
What was it about Jesus that caused the first four disciples to drop what they were doing and follow Him. I've often asked that question to myself - certainly every single time I've read this passage. But even beyond that, the motivation to do things completely out of the ordinary has to come from somewhere.
As a school kid, I'd read that Adolf Hitler's voice was hypnotic and that listening to him in the German language was to listen to a master orator and to become enticed by his message. He would soothe his crowds with pride and false promises and make his people believe whatever he had to say. It didn't hurt that he was able to deliver on a lot of his promises early on and his early victories only helped promote the power of his speeches. But I still wonder, was his voice enough to bring people to commit genocide? How about places like Rwanda? Or the killing fields of Cambodia? Or Dresden? Must there always be a compelling figure to push people to do things they'd never do in normal circumstances?
So, if it wasn't Jesus' gift of gab, then it must have been his eyes. He must have cast a spell on them with His eyes. One look at the disciples and they must have seen that Jesus was God - even if they didn't recognize it just yet.
But wouldn't that be cheating? Wouldn't that be a tipping of the hand? Surely all of God's power and authority rested on Jesus's shoulders, but then why didn't the entire ancient world flock to his side? Why only 12 disciples? Why only fishermen and tax collectors?
I finally received my answer yesterday and the implications were profound. Jesus did use his God given powers, but not to bewitch his disciples. He merely looked into their hearts and knew that they were ready to follow. It wasn't that Jesus picked them out of the crowd and said, "He's good with catching fish, I'll bring him along." Jesus looked at a crowd and found twelve whose hearts were ready to find the truth. Twelve who were ready to serve the son of man. It was nothing that Jesus did to make them ready. It was already inside of them.
So, if you were in a crowd of other folks and Jesus walked by, would He call to you? Would you hear Him? Would you drop what you were doing and come to his side? Jesus won't beguile you with His power. He won't bewitch you with His words. He will simply call you and hope that you answer.
Are you ready to serve Him?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Images
For more than twenty years now, hurricanes have meant high winds, downed power lines, boarding up windows, and hunkering down for safety. Pearlington, despite its relative closeness to the Gulf of Mexico, has never experienced flooding of any kind.
For Lee, this meant putting up boards over his windows on his cedar home. His wife, Phyllis, who suffers from severe arthritis watched as he went about this normal everyday chore while the clouds overhead began to get darker with the impending storm.
For Frank, he and his wife had their truck packed and ready to go just in case. They'd be listening to the radio to see where the hurricane was going to make landfall. They weren't terribly worried since their home sat on top of a little hill so that even in the unlikely event that the Pearl River crested its banks, they should be affected at all.
In the meantime, Hurricane Katrina started to flatten as it approached land. Instead of going quickly and narrowly across a small area of land, it broadened. Its winds swirling counter clockwise meant that it started to bring waves counter clockwise from the west, built them up as they swept east, and turned them loose on the coast east of New Orleans.
In New Orleans, many people with the means evacuated. But for the poor and the needy, buses were to be made available... except that the bus drivers had already been evacuated. Everyone hunkered down for the storm and waited.
The Pearl River started to crest its banks and began flooding the relatively flat bayou country of Mississippi east of New Orleans even before Katrina made land fall. Giants waves were being pushed ashore and before they had a chance to recede back into the ocean, other waves rose on their backs and pushed even further inland.
For Frank, by the time it was obvious that they should leave there was already a foot of water on the ground. The only thing to do was wait it out and hope for the best.
For Lee, the only thing was to help his wife up into the attic and hope for the best.
New Orleans, other than the hurricane remained relatively unaffected - the winds knocked down trees and power lines. The rain battered houses. The swelling seas sloshed over the levees in a few places and beat the heck out of the roadway over Lake Pontchatrain, but for the most part, Katrina left New Orleans unscathed.
The water continued to rise along the Pearl River. It rose 5 feet. Then 10 feet. Then 15 feet and it showed no signs of abating. Buildings were torn from their foundations. Cars and trucks disappeared. Wildlife was killed. Less fortunate people drowned and were never seen again. It continued to rise. 20 feet. 25 feet.
Frank made it to his roof and managed to untie a boat that had become tangled in the trees. He and his wife huddled in a boat while Hurricane Katrina lashed them. Somewhere nearby, Dallas was swept from her home naked. She climbed up a tree and managed to save ten dogs. Lee and Phyllis prayed for rescue as the water crested just six inches below their attic.
When the water receded, almost the entire town of Pearlington, MS was gone. Churches, Post Offices, homes, businesses, people... almost nothing remained.
In New Orleans, those left behind clamored for help while those outside of the city clamored to be let back in. But the city remained locked down in both directions.
Two days after Katrina hit, the levees broke and New Orleans flooded. Most people who had homes in the lower class neighborhoods lost everything. Those left behind had nowhere to go. Shelters were overcrowded and unprepared. Chaos reigned and television images burned.
Pearlington was as silent as a grave. There were no cameras there because there were no people there to use them.
My tent was on the site of the former Post Office - just a long stone's throw from the Pearlington river. Down the street, a tall fire building - newly restored - and about the size of a small warehouse stood watch over the area. At a point some 26 feet up, there is a red line on the warehouse to indicate where the river crested.
Pearlington had never experienced flooding before - certainly never enough to concern its residents. Since 2005, its been flooded three times. And each time, a little more of the community washes away.
For Lee, this meant putting up boards over his windows on his cedar home. His wife, Phyllis, who suffers from severe arthritis watched as he went about this normal everyday chore while the clouds overhead began to get darker with the impending storm.
For Frank, he and his wife had their truck packed and ready to go just in case. They'd be listening to the radio to see where the hurricane was going to make landfall. They weren't terribly worried since their home sat on top of a little hill so that even in the unlikely event that the Pearl River crested its banks, they should be affected at all.
In the meantime, Hurricane Katrina started to flatten as it approached land. Instead of going quickly and narrowly across a small area of land, it broadened. Its winds swirling counter clockwise meant that it started to bring waves counter clockwise from the west, built them up as they swept east, and turned them loose on the coast east of New Orleans.
In New Orleans, many people with the means evacuated. But for the poor and the needy, buses were to be made available... except that the bus drivers had already been evacuated. Everyone hunkered down for the storm and waited.
The Pearl River started to crest its banks and began flooding the relatively flat bayou country of Mississippi east of New Orleans even before Katrina made land fall. Giants waves were being pushed ashore and before they had a chance to recede back into the ocean, other waves rose on their backs and pushed even further inland.
For Frank, by the time it was obvious that they should leave there was already a foot of water on the ground. The only thing to do was wait it out and hope for the best.
For Lee, the only thing was to help his wife up into the attic and hope for the best.
New Orleans, other than the hurricane remained relatively unaffected - the winds knocked down trees and power lines. The rain battered houses. The swelling seas sloshed over the levees in a few places and beat the heck out of the roadway over Lake Pontchatrain, but for the most part, Katrina left New Orleans unscathed.
The water continued to rise along the Pearl River. It rose 5 feet. Then 10 feet. Then 15 feet and it showed no signs of abating. Buildings were torn from their foundations. Cars and trucks disappeared. Wildlife was killed. Less fortunate people drowned and were never seen again. It continued to rise. 20 feet. 25 feet.
Frank made it to his roof and managed to untie a boat that had become tangled in the trees. He and his wife huddled in a boat while Hurricane Katrina lashed them. Somewhere nearby, Dallas was swept from her home naked. She climbed up a tree and managed to save ten dogs. Lee and Phyllis prayed for rescue as the water crested just six inches below their attic.
When the water receded, almost the entire town of Pearlington, MS was gone. Churches, Post Offices, homes, businesses, people... almost nothing remained.
In New Orleans, those left behind clamored for help while those outside of the city clamored to be let back in. But the city remained locked down in both directions.
Two days after Katrina hit, the levees broke and New Orleans flooded. Most people who had homes in the lower class neighborhoods lost everything. Those left behind had nowhere to go. Shelters were overcrowded and unprepared. Chaos reigned and television images burned.
Pearlington was as silent as a grave. There were no cameras there because there were no people there to use them.
My tent was on the site of the former Post Office - just a long stone's throw from the Pearlington river. Down the street, a tall fire building - newly restored - and about the size of a small warehouse stood watch over the area. At a point some 26 feet up, there is a red line on the warehouse to indicate where the river crested.
Pearlington had never experienced flooding before - certainly never enough to concern its residents. Since 2005, its been flooded three times. And each time, a little more of the community washes away.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Letting it all sink in
Its been quite a time over the last week or so. A new President, a miraculous plane crash, and an entire week spent rebuilding homes and lives in Pearlington, MS. I have so many images and thoughts floating through my head right now that I literally don't know where to begin. So, I thought that instead of talking about the bright things of the past week, I'd lay some background details on you so that you can understand some of these new wonderful thoughts in context.
For the past several months I've been dealing with a new law that's been taking effect since November. Ostensibly its supposed to be a children's product safety law designed to prevent the sort of lead contamination we have seen in toys in the past. Unfortunately, the law is extremely broad in its approach and also extremely vague in its interpretation. The end result is that while the law says one thing, retailers are being forced to interpret it another way leaving manufacturers with lots of bald spots on their heads from where they're pulling out hair on an almost daily basis.
This has been an extremely stressful few months. In addition to the self-inflicted school finals and final projects, I have also been working extremely hard to finish my film. On top of that, I have been given more responsibility at the USF scoring table due to the worsening condition of my Uncle. With the economy in the toilet and bad news on television on a nearly continual basis, in addition to everything else, I was really feeling the stress to the point that it was starting to effect my health.
Its hard going to school for a semester. It not only throws off your relaxation schedule (I'd like to occasionally have a weekend off, for instance) but it reeks havoc on things like your diet, exercise, and stress relief. Throw on top of that the stress of doing projects and taking tests and going to school is not really for the faint of heart. Really, the young need only apply.
But I was handling it well... if it hadn't been for everything else. In the week before I left for Pearlington, I had to tell myself to calm down and think of things besides work on many occasions when I felt my heart beginning to race and my blood pressure begin to rise to extremely dangerous levels. I really worried for my health and my life and the thought of spending an entire week at hard labor seriously gave me pause.
Ultimately, however, I decided that if I didn't get away from my current life for a week I would probably have a heart attack. I made a vow with myself to turn all my problems over to God for a week and just do His work.
You have NO IDEA how good a vow that turned out to be. I didn't call work. I didn't think about my movie or future projects. I never checked a basketball score. I shut out the rest of the world and just lived in community with Christians for a week doing His work. I built a roof. I played cards. I joked. I sang. I sat around a campfire for warmth. I slept on the floor. I walked everywhere. And for one week, all of my problems became His.
It sank down into the 20's most nights. The floor was hard and the heat didn't always work. Standing around and climbing ladders all day, only to be broken up by long walks to a tool shed, or heartbreaking conversations with homeowners, combined with a lot of shivering when an icy wind cut across the lot, made for long, hard days. But I returned home destressed, rested, replenished, and inspired.
There are so many things I need to tell, but first, I wanted you to understand where they were coming from. It was a hard week, but it was a vacation compared to real life.
And now, back to the grind...
For the past several months I've been dealing with a new law that's been taking effect since November. Ostensibly its supposed to be a children's product safety law designed to prevent the sort of lead contamination we have seen in toys in the past. Unfortunately, the law is extremely broad in its approach and also extremely vague in its interpretation. The end result is that while the law says one thing, retailers are being forced to interpret it another way leaving manufacturers with lots of bald spots on their heads from where they're pulling out hair on an almost daily basis.
This has been an extremely stressful few months. In addition to the self-inflicted school finals and final projects, I have also been working extremely hard to finish my film. On top of that, I have been given more responsibility at the USF scoring table due to the worsening condition of my Uncle. With the economy in the toilet and bad news on television on a nearly continual basis, in addition to everything else, I was really feeling the stress to the point that it was starting to effect my health.
Its hard going to school for a semester. It not only throws off your relaxation schedule (I'd like to occasionally have a weekend off, for instance) but it reeks havoc on things like your diet, exercise, and stress relief. Throw on top of that the stress of doing projects and taking tests and going to school is not really for the faint of heart. Really, the young need only apply.
But I was handling it well... if it hadn't been for everything else. In the week before I left for Pearlington, I had to tell myself to calm down and think of things besides work on many occasions when I felt my heart beginning to race and my blood pressure begin to rise to extremely dangerous levels. I really worried for my health and my life and the thought of spending an entire week at hard labor seriously gave me pause.
Ultimately, however, I decided that if I didn't get away from my current life for a week I would probably have a heart attack. I made a vow with myself to turn all my problems over to God for a week and just do His work.
You have NO IDEA how good a vow that turned out to be. I didn't call work. I didn't think about my movie or future projects. I never checked a basketball score. I shut out the rest of the world and just lived in community with Christians for a week doing His work. I built a roof. I played cards. I joked. I sang. I sat around a campfire for warmth. I slept on the floor. I walked everywhere. And for one week, all of my problems became His.
It sank down into the 20's most nights. The floor was hard and the heat didn't always work. Standing around and climbing ladders all day, only to be broken up by long walks to a tool shed, or heartbreaking conversations with homeowners, combined with a lot of shivering when an icy wind cut across the lot, made for long, hard days. But I returned home destressed, rested, replenished, and inspired.
There are so many things I need to tell, but first, I wanted you to understand where they were coming from. It was a hard week, but it was a vacation compared to real life.
And now, back to the grind...
Friday, January 09, 2009
Old Man River...
As of Monday, Jan. 12th, I'll be in Pearlington, MS for one week chasing gators, dodging mosquitoes, and helping people rebuild (still) from Hurricane Katrina. I shall return on the 20th.
Until then, have a good week and try to survive until I get back.
Until then, have a good week and try to survive until I get back.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Commentary: Intelligence in the White House
I, for one, am happy with Obama's choice for CIA Director in Leon Panetta. In fact, I'd say that the best asset of Panneta is exactly the one thing that rankles the "Intelligence" community so much - the fact that he's an outsider.
When I was in Naval Intelligence the community was a series of fiefdoms where there was a lot of duplication of effort - the idea being that you could never have enough eyes on any given situation. The CIA looked at the entire world. The DIA did so as well. The DEA had their guys. The FBI had their people. NSA did their thing. And nobody listened to anybody else. The CIA guys were convinced they were right and didn't need to be questioned by DIA guys and vice versa.
But despite all that rigamarole, in general the intelligence was good because the person in the White House knew all about the system and how to glean the best intelligence from the community (Bush Senior used to be the head of the CIA). Clinton didn't have a clue about intelligence matters, but did the next best thing - he ignored them as much as possible. "W", on the other hand, had some very manipulative bastards running his intelligence gathering. With the same information sources his father had so effectively used, W's people managed to massage the intelligence to get it to say whatever they wanted. WMD's in Iraq? Sure. And they're an imminent threat too!
The Intel Community with an "expert" in charge managed to completely miss 9-11, and followed that up by getting us into a war in Iraq with faulty intelligence. And yet, the naysayers are demanding of Obama that someone from the Community be put in charge of it.
No, I like Obama's decision because while Panetta won't be an expert on Intel matters, as former Chief of Staff he also won't be so easily manipulated. He should be able to sift through Intel issues and figure out what's good, what's bad, and what smells like last year's fish. He'll be above the in-fighting and ought to be able to bring some much needed, outside, reform to the Community - instead of the lip-service that's been paid to the idea of Intel reform since 9-11.
The Head of the CIA doesn't create the intelligence, so that part of our capabilities will not be affected, but he does decide how that intelligence gets disseminated. And for that, I think its good to have someone who can smell politics a mile away in charge.
When I was in Naval Intelligence the community was a series of fiefdoms where there was a lot of duplication of effort - the idea being that you could never have enough eyes on any given situation. The CIA looked at the entire world. The DIA did so as well. The DEA had their guys. The FBI had their people. NSA did their thing. And nobody listened to anybody else. The CIA guys were convinced they were right and didn't need to be questioned by DIA guys and vice versa.
But despite all that rigamarole, in general the intelligence was good because the person in the White House knew all about the system and how to glean the best intelligence from the community (Bush Senior used to be the head of the CIA). Clinton didn't have a clue about intelligence matters, but did the next best thing - he ignored them as much as possible. "W", on the other hand, had some very manipulative bastards running his intelligence gathering. With the same information sources his father had so effectively used, W's people managed to massage the intelligence to get it to say whatever they wanted. WMD's in Iraq? Sure. And they're an imminent threat too!
The Intel Community with an "expert" in charge managed to completely miss 9-11, and followed that up by getting us into a war in Iraq with faulty intelligence. And yet, the naysayers are demanding of Obama that someone from the Community be put in charge of it.
No, I like Obama's decision because while Panetta won't be an expert on Intel matters, as former Chief of Staff he also won't be so easily manipulated. He should be able to sift through Intel issues and figure out what's good, what's bad, and what smells like last year's fish. He'll be above the in-fighting and ought to be able to bring some much needed, outside, reform to the Community - instead of the lip-service that's been paid to the idea of Intel reform since 9-11.
The Head of the CIA doesn't create the intelligence, so that part of our capabilities will not be affected, but he does decide how that intelligence gets disseminated. And for that, I think its good to have someone who can smell politics a mile away in charge.
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