blurgh.

I think I am going to be on a case for 6 days. Of course, I got called back for a spot that shoots day after tomorrow, but I can’t even try to get out of jury duty until I find out if I get the spot or not, so there will be some creative timing issues tomorrow. Then I have a 7:30am meeting I have to call into. Then I have all this video stuff that I need to edit but I need to do reshoots so I can’t really do what I want to do, plus I have to reschedule some interviews that I was supposed to shoot tomorrow thanks to jury duty...

I don’t actually mind going. I went awhile ago and it was a good experience and I think it’s important, it’s just funny how crappy the timing is. I am extremely frustrated right now.

But all is not bad. I had a great time reconnecting with friends this weekend, plus I was able to get a quick visit this morning before I had to run to jury duty with Maggie and Emily. I had met Maggie with her sister and her friend on a train to Cinque Terra back in 2001, and, through a long series of coincidences in Chicago, was able to introduce her to my good friend Emily, from New York, who had moved the Windy City. They are close friends now, which makes me very happy.

I am also prepping for a series of meetings that I am very much looking forward to. I can’t say anything more, but suffice to say, should things go well, life will be suddenly very, very different. And awesome. We’ll see.

So it all balances out. Still, people who schedule 7:30am conference calls are insane.

Whew...what a difference 18 months or so makes. I am sitting in the juror’s waiting room in downtown LA, getting ready for what should be a very long day. Last time I did jury duty, I was in the Criminal Court building, right in the middle of downtown, which was pretty cool; there were plenty of places to walk to for food, and it was just kind of fun to be downtown. Today, however, I am on the edge of downtown and it’s a wasteland. This building is a fortress--really narrow windows and just awful feeling. Everything that was wrong with government buildings built in the late 50s and 60s. Well, at least they have wireless, which they did not have last time I was here.

I have been incredibly busy. I am filming a bunch of interviews for work and basically creating an internal video podcast for my business group (jeez, that sounded corporate). Of course, I am trying to do too much with it--the main feature story is a 70s style talk show, complete with me doing some strange European accent as I discuss things with our senior vice president, kitschy music, “man on the street” question and answer segments, etc. I am enjoying the filming and directing, but the actual production, the editing, is a challenge. It’s just amazing all the things you have to keep straight. I can see why people are always doing pickups and reshoots; I have an answer to a question that’s really good, but at the end of his sentence, he looks down and laughs...I just am not sure I can use the footage, so now I have to reshoot it. It’s really frustrating, but it is creatively frustrating, so I am learning and these experiences should make future videos a lot better. While I thought I had everything pretty well scripted out, when you are in the heat of production, it’s easy to forget things. I guess that’s why you have script supervisors, right? They keep the production team focused on the task at hand.

It’s all a bit intimidating--I have basically been asked to suddenly produce a web channel and while I have lots of opinions and ideas on how to make a successful show, making it is a challenge. But so far, it’s mostly been technical issues, and technical issues can be overcome and solved. I think by the time I get my third or fourth show out, I will have figured out my groove.

Had kind of a cool weekend. The writing staff at ifanboy.com did the the Pick of the Week podcast---it was the first time that none of the original hosts/creators did the show---and it was a blast. Of course, we had some technical issues so we ended up having to tape the show twice, one way too early in the morning and then, later, we found out that there were some problems, so we had to all meet up on Skype at 9:30 that night and redo it. It was a better show, of course.

The good thing about jury duty is it forces you to completely disconnect from your normal routine. Like, I can’t to work, to auditions, the gym, the comic book store...I can’t really do anything but deal with this moment today. And write. And read.

I have the opportunity to send my scripts to one of the hottest writer/producers in Hollywood. He’s a really, really nice guy, totally down to earth, and I really respect (and enjoy) his work. So, now-- I have a connection. I just need to finish this damn script and pitch it.

time to get to work...again!

Tags: acting, directing, working