ITABALIO

...that stands for "I Took A Breath And Let It Out." My standard disclaimer for when I don't have so much to blog about.
...with the work on TA91 entering its final stages (sound, color, titles, ladida) I'm starting to have a little time to think about my next projects, which is an amazing luxury I never appreciated before. I did have this idea that making an indie feature would be all-consuming before I started it, but it's different when the whale actually up an consumes you. Little things like watching TV, evenings out with friends, and just time to reflect on bullpuckey are great treasures I'll try not to take for granted anymore.
...anyway, I started work on my casino screenplay again. I figure I should have a mainstream-entertainment piece of writing around, just in case, you know, the producing-everything-i-write-myself thing doesn't work out. The whole Cali casino scene is a delicious mix of a familiar cinematic gambling glam with a much dirtier urban subculture that no movie tv show or play has touched, AFAIK, so I figure it's pretty ripe for Hollywood acquisition at some point. I'm not sure when this poker-craze bubble is going to burst, but at our culture's currently level of frivolity there's no reason to think it'll be soon. That's the other plus about writing about something I know; there's no feeling of selling out nor of abusing the subject matter. The depravity is just as it is, and the gratuitous kung fu, sex and gunplay I'm adding is just to lighten the atmosphere. Also, I don't have to worry about libel or confidentiality, because the intricacies of the games and how they're played would be much too boring to have in a movie anyway, and the amusing insanity of the players is interchangeable enough that no single person would recognize themselves.
...so I'm gonna try to finish that soon, and maybe the zeitgeist wil work to my favor. After that or probably during that I'll be writing a new project to shoot. As much butt as TA91 ostensibly kicks, the next project is going to kick even more butt because of what I've learned about doing a microbudget DIY feature. Although it would be nice to have more money next time, I know now that it could be done for even less, with the right planning. It definitely could not be done in a casino though, so for now I'll have to keep those two stories separate.