"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."
Edgar Allan Poe
"My parents didn't give me a name until about a month after I was born."
I thought she was kidding. "Really? What did they call you until then?"
"I'm serious. They referred to me as baby until my dad called me his jewel and then Tiffany came of it..."
That's the jist of the conversation. More flowed, but I was stuck on that idea. A baby with no name. Guess Tif truly fits her, her soul deserves to be admired. And it will soon enough.
All I could think was Holy Wow as she grinned slyly (see her grin below. How can one not be smitten by that?)
Today's theme is detachment and acceptance. Sorry for being so blunt, but the past few weeks have been truly eye opening. Let me digress a bit. Back in July, my inside guy sends me an email about a screening of a film that has no track record. No IMDb, no Baseline studio system, no reviews other than this little diddy that's buried on the internet due to a poorly advised screening of the film at the AFM. Note to all those who aspire, DO NOT SHOW YOUR FILMS AT THE AFM...it's a meat market and any random critic can walk in off the street and bash your film. One may suggest that getting a film made is the difficult part, but the truth is, it's all about distribution. But then again, locking up foreign isn't that hard either. Trust the Jack.
Anywho...the film. So, I get this tidbit about a film that's completely under the radar and I utilize my little black book to locate the writer/director's contact info. Blah blah blah, a month later I'm sitting in a bar that he just opened, The Griffin, which there's one he has in Vegas too.
Hours before I had been privy to a test screening of his latest film. Welcome to the Jungle which is a cerebral mind-fuck of a film that plays on the mythos of what happened to Michael Rockefeller and his disappearance in New Guinea; Cannibal Territory 1961. The film itself takes place in the present day and has some extraordinary performances. The production value's absolutely insane and the pending conclusion, well, people were walking out while covering their eyes in disgust. This film is going to be an instant cult classic. I bet my mother's soul, and she's a great woman. I feel like I'm in the film INTACTO as I wager my mother and Max Von Sydow is hiding amidst the shadows.
Back to the screening. After it was all said and done, for the first time, I was on the other side of the curtain hearing comments from the audience that Hollywood tends to disregard. The experience was insanely interesting. I was able to disconnect from the material and engage an unbiased group while setting aside my own thoughts. From this, my writing is going to take a different turn in approach to its final destination. I think this will be a good thing. It's so very easy to get swallowed by the industry jungle here. One must be able to disconnect from there work--
Easier said than done. I got a call this morning about a project I wrote a few years ago with acclaimed screenwriter David Aaron Cohen. It was a great experience and I learned more working with him than I did while attending the AFI. The script was called The Maddening. Hearing the news this morning about David's blessing and the material going out left me giddy as a kid for a brief moment but then reality sunk in...
"I need the title."
"What?"
I found myself explaining that I had titled another project with the existing title based on a story I wrote before collaborating with Cohen. Did that make any sense?
Laughter ensued as we agreed to certain concessions. And I have my title.
I will part the daily blog with a photo-op of my good buddy Ryan Rotten as he sums up my thoughts of the politics of Hollywood...
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