Old Projects

Here are a couple of pieces I did for The Megan Mullally Show web site that were never put up for various reasons.






This one was put up because it was very show-centric.




Hope you enjoyed them.

Thanks Faceless Readers

I know there are people out there who I know personally that read this. I also know that there are people I don’t know who read this. It’s what happens when you toss stuff out into the bolgosphere (I have no idea how it’s spelled. I’m just using my own twisted logic).

But over the past few days, my podcast (Film Geek Primer) has been getting traffic from the link (in the sidebar) and I just want to say thanks to anybody who checks it out. We’re not making a dime off this thing (yet) and it’s really more a labor of love. We really enjoy doing it and hope people really enjoy watching it. It’s not perfect, but with a budget of zero dollars, it’s not total crap either.

I’m always looking to improve and I appreciate creative criticism. When you’re deeply involved you miss certain things. I know Schu isn’t always that clear because he’s over the phone and I’m working on that, you’ll see how much more improved it is in the next couple of episodes.

They’ll only get better as we get more creative and start pushing the limits of what we think we can do. That’s what life is all about. Push those limits, baby!

So drop me an email either from here or the website and let me know what you think. Even a scathing review is more helpful than silence.

So thank you I really am grateful that people are checking it out. And to our Canadian, Chinese and Malaysian viewers…what’s the weather like over there?

Just an Update

I’ve been lazy and not keeping up to date with this blog. My apologies to anyone who is in desperate need of reading material.

I’ve been working nonstop on the new podcast because it’s so much damn fun. We’ve got two episodes up, two in the can and scripts for two more that are going to be shot this weekend.

All of us who are working on it are having a blast and it’s become quite the creative community that we’re forming to try to make a better show each week.

As for me, life moves on. I’m hoping that a job will come along soon, but my Unemployment just kicked in so I’ll have money for the next few months, which takes a lot of weight off.

Nikki and I have stopped seeing each other because she has gotten to the point where she wants a relationship and it’s something that I just can’t handle at this point in time. We’ll probably go back to being friends in the near future, but right now our emotions are just a little too sensitive to talk to each other. It’s too bad really. I think she’s a great person and I enjoy spending time with her. The emotions just aren’t there though and I’d rather not be in a relationship with her than be in a lie. It’s no good for either of us and I want her to find someone that could reciprocate. Oh, well.

So, what’s next for me? Well, I’m just doing the show, keeping my skills sharp, smoking again (awful), and moving forward.

That’s really all there is at this time. Sorry I couldn’t supply any juicier information, but it’s really just me and the show right now.

John: Year One

That’s right folks, one year ago today I was on the road in my U-Haul blazing my trail down to Los Angeles. It’s been an interesting ride since then and a very educational one as well. I’ve learned a little bit about myself and a little bit about the industry in which I wish to serve. There have been some bumps along the way and there have been some major highs as well.

So how should I celebrate this occasion? Hmm, what could I do to make it special. Not just for me, but you my fellow readers as well?


I’ll tell you what. Let’s make today a turning point. A new endeavor that we can go on together. That sounds like it could be fun, no?

Well folks, today I am happy to announce the launching of a new podcast. It has been put together by: Myself, Gabe, Aaron and Schu. We’ve spanned two states to get this sucker together and today on the anniversary of my landing in Los Angeles we launch.

This is a video podcast called Film Geek Primer and it’s just that, a show that teaches you how to be a film geek.

So,

CHECK OUT THE SHOW!

We’ve got four episodes in the can, are shooting new ones on a weekly basis, and will be putting up a new one each week. We have a place on MySpace, so add us to your friends list. We need all the help we can get.

We’ll also be available through itunes and other pod feeds, so keep your eyes open.

The object is to create a community so a forum and a wiki are being set up to create an environment that everyone can play around with and help us build a great film geek database.

We’ll also be taking polls on what shows we should make and you will be able to vote in our upcoming “Geek Fights”. Fun stuff. So if you like movies and enjoy a bunch of guys making fools of their own existence, be sure to book mark the site and watch it weekly or subscribe through other sources.

One year and I’ve accomplished something. Not bad. Lets see what will happen over the next 12 months and see if something fun comes out of it, or will I fall into that spiral of shame and cast my soul into the vortex.

(That’s my cliffhanger!)

Cheers y’all and here’s to another year of growth and… uh, growth.

Lost In Translation

So about a month ago I responded to this add on Craig’s List. A woman was looking for someone to run lines with. I responded for the hell of it and got a phone call about an hour later. Her Name is Eriko and we chatted for a bit. She’s from Japan and her English is decent, but she needs time to process what you’re saying so it is best to speak slow…not an easy job for someone with a machine gun mouth. I’m not as bad as a Scorsese or the guy from the Micro Machine adds, but I’m pretty rapid fire.

So we finish our conversation and she asks me to call her back on Sunday, I call back, get nothing but a busy signal for the few times I try and give up. Move on.

This afternoon I get a phone call from her to ask if I could meet for coffee and see if I, "can be of use to her". So I go to Starbucks to meet her and she’s pretty damned stunning. We are talking for a few minutes and I can see that there is a bit of a communications problem. My assignment: Help her work through a couple of questions she has to Ask Halle Berry for some interview an the local Japanese station. She has to get to another meeting, but wants to meet later this evening to go over them.

She callsa little while later to say her meeting is running late and will call me back. I take this as the Japanese polite thing where they can’t tell you “Thanks, but no thanks”. Whatever, I’ve got movies to watch.

Around 9:30 I get a call from her and she asks for some help on a question she needs to ask Ms. Berry. So I am trying to explain to her that the question she is asking does not sound polite and needs some rephrasing, but she keeps telling me that I did not understand what she wanted.

Here’s the question she wrote:

“I read when you moved to Los Angeles you lived in a shelter, what were you thinking?”

Now I understood what she was trying to ask. She wanted to know what was going on in Halle’s head as she was experiencing the situation of living in a shelter. Not, “You idiot, why would you stay in a shelter?” But my attempts to explain this just frustrated her. She kept saying, “I’m from Japan.” Yeah, honey, got it, no road map needed. I worked on talking slow and carefully explained that the way she had phrased it was rude. Rudeness is something the Japanese understand. They cut off fingers and jump off rooftops because of the whole respect thing, so rude should be right up her ally.

So finally she says that she would really like to work with me and when a script comes in, she’ll give me a call so I can help her learn her lines and “explain” what is going on. This situation though needs someone who will simply phrase the question and that’ll be it. No problem. I got a free coffee out of it and hung out with a hot Japanese girl for a bit. I wasn’t doing anything important and there were worse things I could have done with my time.

On a whim I decide to look her up on line and see what results I get. Come to find out this chic was a fucking superstar in Japan who has come to America to make it big. She was the Britney Spears of Japan and was in a ton of television and even had a cartoon about her.

So now three things run through my brain. First, I bet almost every teenage guy in Japan would have castrated himself to sit where I sat today. Second. I’m not sure anymore if her issue was a language barrier or much like Ms. Spears, the poor thing just ain’t that bright. The third and one I find most noggin numbing, maybe she really did want to know what the hell was Halle thinking about staying in a shelter. There are a ton of decent hotels around after all.

The English-speaking world may never know.

Friggin’ Frustratin’

So the new project that is being worked on is a video blog. It’s fun stuff and I think adds something new to the program and not just more redundant info. We have two episodes shot and completed and begin working on the next three today. It’s a lot of fun and very exciting.

Here’s the frustration, the intro. See, I usually put an intro together first just to get my blood pumping and help sell the idea to the people I want involved in it. I usually use a piece of music by a band that fits the atmosphere of what the show is going to be like. So I put it all together and it does it’s job. Everyone gets excited and we start putting the show together.

Now the problem was trying to get permission to use the song. Since we’re going to make money off of this sucker, we need permission to use the song. So I decide to be the pro and start emailing around to find out how we get permission. I know that they are going to want money, but I cross fingers and pray that I can make them understand we are doing this for zero dollars and could we swing some sort of deal.

The answer is a “No” and if we get some money in the future for licensing, give them a buzz. Yeah, sure we will, no problem.

I have spent the past few days hmming and hawing over what to do. I’ve gone to all these sites where you can buy a piece of music for 20 bucks but they are pretty generic and well… pretty much suck. Plus I’m so attached to the original intro that it’s hard for me to think outside of it and look for something new. Our original really pinpointed who was involved with the show and our basic role. So I’m trying to let go and be open to find a piece of music that is usable, but so far no go.

Hence the friggin’ frustration. I want to launch on April 7th in honor of my one-year anniversary of being in Los Angeles. Hopefully an answer will be discovered and we can launch on time.

Grrrrrrr.