Hicksville

Don’t get me wrong. I love West Texas. The people are fabulous, the economy is booming, and the cost of living simply can’t be beat. I have a job that brings in a steady paycheck that lets me have more fun sometimes than one man should possibly be allowed to have.

Still, I wish I had the cash flow to open a theatre out here because the ones we have serve as a constant reminder that, in a very real way, I still reside in Hicksville.

Take last night, for example. The wife and I decided we wanted to go see King Kong. I had just finished officiating a friends wedding so we rushed home to check out the movie times online. Low and behold, there were no movie times posted! Get with the times, people! You mean to tell me that I can see what’s playing in Big Spring, but I can’t find any listings for the Hollywood Permian Palace in Odessa? We wound up checking the times the old fashioned way—by calling in.

Wait! It gets worse.

When we arrive at the theatre the line is crawling right out the front door and, since the so-called Permian Palace is in a mall, I had to park somewhere near Imperial. I dropped the wife off at the entrance and made my pilgrimage to join her in due haste. I was amazed to discover that only ONE person was selling tickets. They have enough accommodations for four, but apparently they’re so cheap they only wanted to pay ONE person to sell tickets. The busiest box office weekend since summer, and they only had ONE person selling tickets.

At long last we got our turn only to discover that the screening we wanted to catch was already sold out. And they didn’t even have the decency our courtesy to post a sign notifying us this was the case.

Yeah, I love West Texas, but do our theatres have to be so discourteous and behind the times?

Where Has The Bull Been?

A funny thing happened on the way to my blog…

I became screenwriter. No more is this notion fleeting fancy (a hobby as some might contend); it’s a reality. I sold an option on one of my screenplays several months ago to another filmmaker here in the Permian Basin and since that time my life has been much akin to a good old-fashioned West Texas dust-devil. Closing that deal opened a door of opportunity. The producer invited the wife and I to merge our fledgling production company with his and the end result is El Jefe Media, Inc. We now do web design, web hosting, instructional and training videos, commercials, weddings, special events, and (of course) we’ll be shooting our first feature film this fall. Check us out!

Last night we offered a part to a very wealthy and important person in these parts. We didn’t do it because we wanted some of his money (although that wouldn’t be too bad either). On the contrary, we offered him the part because the character was loosely based on him in the first place. It’s not a leading role, but certainly one that will get him back out there in the public eye, where he hasn’t been for a very long time.

Next step: finding a lead actress.

The film is entitled Coffee, Tea, or Me. It’s set in a truck stop in barren West Texas and the lead character is a female waitress whose nickname is “Me.” The story has lots of colorful characters (much like the fellow we offered the part to last night.) and takes place over the course of one very pivotal day. There are four primary female roles up for grabs, including the lead, and one leading African-American male. We plan to start casting these after the first of the year. We’ll fill out the rest of the cast with interesting characters we know from around here that fit the bill.

Eventually, our media group will also have a full-fledged on-line movie magazine. We hope to have the rolled out by the end of 2006.

More great news—Shari Hamrick has agreed to be the president of The Basin Film Society. Shari has over fifteen years experience in the film industry as a production assistant, production coordinator, location coordinator, and producer. Check out her IMDb page! As you can see, it makes mine look pretty sparse. Her primary agenda as our president will be to form our non-profit status.

Which is great news for The Desert Reel Film Festival. We’ve been in limbo ever since ArtWalk folded last year, sans tax shelter. Once Shari manages to get our non-profit status up and running, The Basin Film Society will be able to oversee the festival.

Festival dates for The Desert Reel Film Festival have been moved to November 2-5, 2006.

It’s going to be a life-changing, fantastic year!

Angst on Paper

When I was a freshman in high school I remember writing a short story about kid that was injured during a big football game. It was the first time I had really put a story on paper and I was very excited about it so I gave it to my parents to read. I'll never forget my mother's reaction.

"Please tell me you're not going to turn this in," she said curtly.

We proceeded to argue the merits of my story, which was laced with some minor league profanity and contained a scene of a young couple parking. She doesn't remember this moment at all; neither does my father for that matter, but their initial reaction of shock and dismay probably set my writing career back a full decade.

That and a wretched girl named Emily... and a neurotic one named Jennifer... but I digress.

When people who know me read something I've written, they most frequently respond in a similar manner. Obviously there's a proverbial dark side lurking inside me and it tends to throw people aback when they compare it to the kind of life I actually now lead. This is something I've never really been able to explain to myself, much less to anyone else, but it all comes back to this--almost everything I write has a distinct element of truth.

Sometimes the stories are based on situations and events that happened to me, other times the characters are based on people I know, and more often than not, those characters become all too vividly real.

It's interesting to me when people say, "Okay, but that scene right there could never really happen." Invariably they say it in regards to something that really did.

This is something I've wrestled with for years, knowing fully well that if any of my material actually finds its way to film, there will probably be serious repercussions, including the shock and awe of family and friends and perhaps a good old-fashioned excommunication by my religious peers.

The fact that my wife has come on board has made all the difference in my life. In fact, that's probably why I married her. I gave here some of my stuff to read and sat back patiently awaiting her reaction. I even gave her time to process it and all that the changes it could mean to her life if she stayed with me when some of my stuff finally made it to film.

You have to understand something here--this was no small decision. First, she realized that I actually had talent and that my future as a writer was much more than a pipe dream. Perhaps it was inevitable. Second, she came to see all the possible ramifications of my success. And third, she decided that was something she could live with.

Having somebody that believes in you (and there's more out there than just my wife these days) is imperative in this business because talent doesn't pay the bills.

I keep a journal (I recommend that every aspiring filmmaker, storyteller, and writer keep one) and as I was looking back on my goals for 2005 I realize that I had achieved 60% of them. Now that makes 2005 a banner year and the turning point in my career. I sold an option on a screeplay, formed a production company, and we're moving ahead with our plans to shoot it in the fall of 2006.

As I look ahead to what it will mean when this film is complete, I more frightened of success than I am failure. If it succeeds, it will open up a whole new can of worms (so to speak) that I'm not too sure I'm ready to deal with just yet. My life had changed so drastically it bears little resemblance to the people I've known and the places I have been. But my writing comes from those dark days, and so, there will be many that didn't know me when that will react with shock and dismay.

To them, I apologize in advance. Sorry to disappoint.