I Should Be Moving

I have a million and one things to do before the filming of my movie this weekend. And here I sit. But I have a good excuse: a butt-kicking sinus infection. One of the worst I've had.

My in-laws, God bless them, just picked Joey up and took him to their house to play with his cousins, then out for dinner. They said they'll bring him home around 7:30 (!). It's only 3:00 right now. I have hours to myself to get everything done for Saturday. Or...I can sleep.

So, how is a girl who has struggled to get her writing "out there" directing her own movie in two days? This past January my writing friend and I made a pact to take any writing opportunities that came our way. We agreed to pursue any small connection we might have in order to further our careers and make friends in the industry. The first thing I did was answer an ad on Craigslist for a writer in a sketch comedy group. The group only lasted a few months, but out of that I wrote seven decent comedy sketches.

When I joined the group, I invited a Director Guy that I had met a year previously at a screenwriting workshop. He had written a short screenplay and was also interested in directing. (Make those connections!) After a few weeks of comedy meetings, this guy invited my girlfriend (the one I made the pact with) to his house to give him feedback on his script. We gave him our ideas and it turned out he wanted us to write it for him. We did, and the film, Thanksgiving, was shot in April '09.

I joined Rochester Movie Makers in February and have met some wonderfully talented people. In March I entered a ten-page script into a screenwriting competition. I was reluctant to enter it, but glad I did when I placed second. That is the film being shot this weekend. I've had a ball sitting in on auditions, read-throughs, rehearsals and everything else involved in making a movie. I have the opportunity, because of Rochester Movie Makers (RMM), to learn anything I'm interested in about film making. I'm directing my film, The Drug Dealer, but I'm really still learning and watching over Director Guy's shoulder (who is my director of photography (dp) for this film).

A few weeks ago I was contacted by another member of RMM who said I was recommended to him to write a script for a film he wants to shoot in August. New Film Dude and I met at Spot coffee one night and I gave him about twenty film ideas. We picked one and brainstormed on it. I've written the first draft and am waiting for my film to finish being shot before rewriting it. He said I could be as much a part of making the movie as I'd like. At first I thought I'd just write it and maybe help out in some small way. But he asked if I'd be assistant director (ad) and I agreed.

All this because I made a pact to say Yes.