Ben and Mena Trott are the amazing people who wrote Moveable Type, the blogging software that has allowed me to take what’s in my head and share it with the world.
Mena is also one hell of an artist, as illustrated by these pictures from their recent trip to Tokyo Disneyland.
The Book of Days
In October of last year, I worked on a movie which was code-named Boise. This movie carries a very important distinction in my career history: it’s the first lead I’ve had in ages, and it’s the first movie I’ve done since deciding to focus more on writing and my family than acting and the hollow pursuit of fame. It was very strange, but not unwelcome, when I dug my actor pants out from under the bed and put them back on. Initially, they weren’t very comfortable, but they did feel familiar, and when I got used to them again, I decided that I’d never be able to fully take them off — I feel incredibly naked without them.
Wow. That was an extended metaphor from hell.
Anyway, I was really happy with the work I did. My satisfaction on the set, was matched by the joy and satisfaction I took in writing about my experiences on the set each day. Everyone who reads this lame website has been so supportive, and ridden the violent ups and downs with me for so long . . . I felt like something good had finally happened, and I really enjoyed sharing those experiences with you. (If you want to relive it, follow that link, and click the >> to get to the next day’s entry.)
Tomorrow night, the movie will air on the PAX network, and we get to see if the work I did on the set translates to the screen.
Before one of my projects is released, I’m always apprehensive — I feel unsure about how the music is going to play, how the director cut the scenes together, things like that. I also feel apprehensive about my performance. Will the audience see what I intended? Will I get caught “acting?” I don’t feel all that apprehensive about this project, which is surprising and rewarding. I feel very confident in the work I did on the day. I’m sure I’ll find things in my performance that I don’t like, and I bet many of the things I find will be found only by me. Some people say that I’m ripping myself off when I do that, but if I don’t look for those flaws, I never improve.
My gut feeling on this film is that it’s going to be pretty good. It’s not going to be spectacular –there’s some badly written courtroom drama in the middle, where I think it really slows down — but I think audiences will enjoy it.
They’re calling it The Book of Days. Check your local listings for details.
Not I, Robot?
I just found out that the director for I, Robot “didn’t respond to any” of the tapes he saw, including mine.
In the mysterious Hollywood lexicon, this can mean a number of things, but it usually comes down to one of the following:
- My interpretation of this character and his vision don’t match up.
- I don’t physically look like what he has in his mind.
These are both very valid, and totally understandable reasons . . . but it doesn’t make me feel any less sad. It’s frustrating to hear “the director didn’t respond to you,” because it’s so nebulous. It’s like being told, “You’re not getting this job. Why? Because. Next!” It also has a sort of negative feeling to it, doesn’t it? It doesn’t help that I have heard “the director didn’t respond” without any real elaboration countless times in my career .
I was very happy with my audition. I wouldn’t change a single thing about it. I know that I could have done a great job with this character, and I would have been really good in this movie.
Whle I didn’t sit in my living room for days, not eating and agonizing over getting this part, I was genuinely excited about the opportunities it presented. Working with Will Smith and Alex Proyas, and getting to play a robot would have been awesome.
Thanks for all the support, everyone.
The journey continues . . .
weekend.
Spent the weekend playing front yard touch football and whiffle ball with the kids. Tried very hard to care about the Superbowl, but I just couldn’t do it.
Played so much Vice City my thumbs hurt, and I dreamed that I was Tommy Vercetti last night. Very lucid, very strange.
Did lots of work in the garden — it’s been in the 80s here for over a week, so we decided to take advantage of the warm while we had the chance.
Wasted almost 18 hours trying to do several computer things. None of them work. Stupid computers.
Haven’t heard anything about the auditions.
