November Angry

Here’s the deal.  I’m sitting in a Shreveport Hotel on Humpday of week three.  I don’t have time to play Journal catch up.  But I need to play journal catch up for posterity’s sake.  It’s a bit-o-OCD I simply cannot ignore.  So, I’m gonna attempt to catch up over the next week then stay current.  Fingers crossed.

(Tuesday of week four.  I’m sitting at a pic-nic table next to the Red River with stand-in’s Nathan, Todd and Michelle.  I’m an odd bird.  First to admit it.  I love movie stars but I adore character actors.  I love big movie explosions but I also love stand-ins.  While Patrick is the general and Millennium Summit are the nations providing weaponry, none of it would be possible without the crew and this crew is fantastic.  Stand-ins included.  while Nic and Amber and Bill are in costumes and make-up, the stand-ins…stand.  They stand in the wind or the rain or the blazing sun.  They stand while Brian lights them.  While Patrick blocks them.  While Dave visualizes the camera movement.  Meanwhile, I stand back.  I stand back and I watch this process daily and it’s like a dance to me.  It flows and there’s music and I adore every moment of it.    Needless to say, I did not hit my goal of catching up over the next week.  But I shant give up.  I will adapt.  I will overcome.  I will improvise.  Victory will be mine so sayeth me.  Now I will now re-read, tweak and hopefully post this).

November of 09 was the celebration of me.  The birth of me.  A glorious orgasm of happiness that was my being pooped into the world.

The above pic was created in November by my good friend, Dave Allcock, an amazing storyboard artist and exquisit British git.

On the 1^st, I was introduced to Kerri Grisham via Betsy Rue (MBV3D) and Harry Manfredini (original F13 score).  Kerri approached me about writing an Australian content thriller.  I was and still am intrigued.

Nov 3

Patrick got an email from an actress raving about Drive Angry.  “…holy shit Drive Angry is the best script I’ve ever read!!!!”  Reading this email back then did not hurt my feelings.  Reading it just now did not hurt either.  I might use it as my wallpaper.  (45 seconds later)  I’m using it as my wallpaper.

I made the trip to LA to meet with Javier Gutierrez to discuss his take on Monkey’s Paw.  Javier was crazy excited.  Reminded me of my pre-jaded years.  I did have concerns that RKO and Javier combined wanted more work than what would normally fall under the title of a polish.  I asked one of my agents to call and just make sure we were all on the same page.

Also meet face to face with Kerri to discuss her Australian project.  Loved it.

We got word that the Drive Angry Contracts were complete so I swung by the office of the lawdogs to sign papers.  Later I discovered that I had illegally parked in Beverly Hills and got a 200 dollar ticket.    You know that Randy Newman song, “I Love LA”?  Yeah.  I don’t sing that song.  Ever.

Nov 5

FJ DeSanto and I started talks with lawyers about our Wildstorm Comics deal.  Insurgents is a six issue story of awesome but more on that later.  Or at Comicon.

Meanwhile, the powers that be behind Monkey’s Paw got a little freaked out by my “rewrite vs. polish” debate instigated by the agents and as a result re-sent the original “commencement letter” as a reminder that I had been paid to start.  All fine and dandy but that still did not end the debate over how much they expected me to write and how much I was willing to write.

Nov 6

Old friend Ludon Lee of the Alien Pig Farm digital online comic, had previously set a meeting to discuss Wolfbane at New Regency.  After much hot air absolutely nothing came of it.

Nathan Amondson, Drive Angry’s Production Designer, sends the very first email with pics of what will later become Laura’s Motel, a major location in the Drive Angry story.

I’ll come back to this in more detail but if I take a moment to skip to the present, Nathan  is a force of nature and as far as Patrick and I are concerned, has become a friend and teammate for life.  But as I said, more on that later.

Nov 7

We turn in the official rewrite for Drive Angry.  It was a contractual rewrite.  The sell or our script included a rewrite and a polish and Millennium’s lawyer wrote both of those “due dates” into the contract.  So, we fulfilled the contract.

As it turned out, this caused some drama.  Go figger.  Normally you get heat when you don’t meet a contractual date.  We got heat for meeting it.

I chuckle as I look back.  You essentially had two players, neither of which trusted the other.  Patrick and I figured if we didn’t turn in the draft by the due date they would call foul and penalize us.  They were annoyed that we didn’t give them a head’s up so they could give us notes.

(As I sit here in the AD’s trailer stealing internet and look back I I can’t help but laugh.  Looking back the whole debate was kind of silly considering we have now done multiple production drafts to address all manner of issues from location to tweaking for specific actors.  The fact that everyone was two parts freaked out over this first rewrite is frankly goofy but I suppose understandable in the alpha dog world of Hollywood.)

Nov 9

Had a call with Zanne at RKO about Monkey’s Paw.  Discussed the ongoing “rewrite vs polish”.  Discussed my concern that we should be focusing on just the notes that give us a commercial movie rather than an indy feel.  Zanne and I were in agreement.

Nov 11

I browse an email thread between lawyers.  We had still not been paid commencement for H3D.  This meant we had still not been paid to start writing a script we had completed in September.  It’s a familiar story.

Nov 14

Flew to Shreveport for the Drive Angry location scout.  Patrick, Brian and I hit Target to stock up on food.

That night I get Javier’s notes for Monkey’s Paw.  Most were visual.  One included moving the movie from Arizona to Louisiana.  Ironic.  Considering I was reading Javier’s notes while in a Louisiana hotel on a movie scout for a movie Patrick and I had written for Arizona but had moved to Louisiana as a make-it or break-it deal with Millennium…ironic indeed.  Thing is, I understood Millennium’s reasons.  And even if I didn’t, they were forking over the money.  Money talks.  But Javier wanted to make the move for visual reasons.  Had nothing to do with story.  And nothing to do with production.  Thus, I responded with stubborn resolve.  Kevin joined the conversation but only long enough to say he was a bit under the weather and would get back with us.

Nov 15

Malek gave us a heads up that TWC would be hearing new H3D takes.  He didn’t have to.  Was just showing us mutual respect.  Sadly a rarity in our business.  Malek truly is a class act.   Therefore the script that Malek and Matt Stein as well as everyone on our team loved…the script Bob never read…was being shelved because… Sorry.  I don’t have that answer.

Over the next few days we got the full tour of Shreveport and Bossier.  We split our time between Millennium execs Rene Besson and John Thompson.  Thompson, as it turns out, used to live in Pacific Grove, and ran with Allen Speigel, my neighbor and friend.  Small world.

During our stay we find most of what will later become the major locations in our movie.

Today, in fact, we just wrapped one of those locations.  Perhaps one of the most interesting locations I have ever and perhaps will ever shoot.  A location found, not by our locations department (who would later quit us) but by our good friend and fifth Beatle, Nathan Amondson.

Pictured above, Patrick, Rene (Millennium exec and Drive Angry Producer), Brian (DP), John (Millennium exec), Nathan (Production Design) and Christina (locations).

Nov 19,

The return to Monterey.  I missed my little girl.

While home I sent out emails as had reached the point of fed up with my leaking website and its assorted ailments.  I sought a professional website exorcist.

Nov 20

Patrick and I got a check for Drive Angry.  First real check of 09.  Melanie and I wept with relief.  You think I’m kidding.  Don’t look at me that way.  I know you been there.  Hollywood is feast or famine.  And within 48hrs we again changed sides.  They did not, however, pay for the rewrite, which we delivered on the 6^th (due the 8^th by their contract).  Paid faster than most though which is certainly worth noting.

Later that day I hand in a rewrite of Heavenly Sword, the Direct to DVD movie based on the video game of the same name.

Nov 21

I survive another year.

Nov 25

We learn that Kevin at RKO had pneumonia but was finally better.  He responds to my and Javier’s note banter.  But rather than end the debate we end up with three possible visions.  Looking back it sit here and LOL to myself.   Is nothing ever easy?

Nov 28

So, the internet world knew that TWC was looking for new takes on H3D.  We were being spammed with emails and facebooks.  Of course, Malek had already given us the heads up but we didn’t want to broadcast that, we didn’t want to broadcast anything until we were paid.

Nov 30

I read an email thread concerning the hiring of the crew for Drive Angry.  With Millennium we would get to make our movie. Millennium would not give us “creative notes” as long as we worked within the time and money given.  But that freedom would come at a financial price.  Everyone would work for less.  No debate.

Would they really give us creative control?  The rumor mill certainly supported that.  Would they be cheap with cast and crew?  The rumor mill supported that too.  BUT, they were offering to make our movie at a time when no one else was offering and at a time when few making any movies at all.

Whatever happened Patrick and I, as well as our trusted team, would as always: adapt, overcome and improvise.  Riesner once told me, “You only need one “Dirty Harry” to build a life and a career.  Drive Angry is our Dirty Harry.

At 3pm I sent the following email to agents and lawyers:

“Hope you all had good turkey as bad turkey is a leading cause of zombie outbreaks.  How do things look on the Weinstein front?  Will they pay or are we going to war?”

Four hours later Patrick sent the following to our agents and lawyers.

“Hello…?  Bueller?  Bueller?     Does anyone now if we’re getting paid on H3D or if we’re going to war with the Weinstein Co?  I hope you’ve all had wonderful weekends and are recovered from much food and family.  When last we left the saga of the Weinstein/Dimension Films… today was drop-dead day.  I was hoping that didn’t mean us.”

At 10pm we send an email to Nancy Nayor having chosen auditions sides for Piper, the Accountant and Jonah.

And that brings us to the end of November.