As much as I’d like to tell you I’ve been hunting dinosaurs in a time-travelling adventure safari, or opening an ostrich ranch on the outskirts of Jackson, Wyoming, or even promoting a new line of products for PETA’s new angry women’s clear skin cosmetics without the use of animal fat department, I have actually been leading a rather sedate life of writing and editing, which is rather how I like it at the moment.
Work on 13 Months of Sunshine has ramped up since we made the decision to try and make Sundance. By make I mean “attempt not to get banned from every future festival due to an overwhelmingly negative response to the film.” Which means that much work remains to be done on it before it is ready to be consumed as an entertainment product. Editing still continues, but we’re nearing the end of the bulk of the scenes. Much of what’s left is montage or minor scenes that did not comprise entire tapes, so that work will be winding down somewhat within the next two weeks. We’ve started sound work, or will today. This is going to be the most arduous task, I fear, because so much of it will have to be replaced with dialogue recorded in a studio.
Then there is the score composition. People have expressed interest in working on the film, but so far no solid contacts. All in all, it’s going to be a rough two weeks ahead. We have until September 15 to get a rough cut completed and sent to the Sundance acceptance committee. It doesn’t have to have all the bells and whistles of a Frigidaire or anything, but it should at least resemble something close to a film type product. We aim high, we do.
My self-imposed August deadline approaches quickly for the completion of the second volume of The Cold Goodbye. Oh, I’ll finish it. I’ve been ramping up for the ending, building, building, building for so long it feels like now writing is so much easier. I think it’s the downward slide toward freedom. I’m trying not to let it suck. Naturally, once I finish it up and have some edits out of the way, I’ll be posting the new volume online for sale, as well as a brand new version of the entire two-volume set in one conveniently bound book. With new cover art, no less!
And finally, I recently completed a comedy script that I’m in edits on, trying to achieve Official Draft #3, which doesn’t sound all that impressive, but I’ve had a number of people read it so far who have liked it, thought it might be worth shopping around to agencies.
So many irons in the fire. Trying to keep this baby stoked. Good things are coming. But I apologize for the lack of updates the last two days. Computer problems and deadlines kept me at bay. At least that’s the current excuse. I’ll definitely have some good things for you next week, including hosting of the 52 Storyblogging Carnival, a new story, a review of the coffee trade documentary Black Gold, and wildly funny stories of my time with the Pygmies in the African Congo. Crazy stuff. Until then, have a great weekend.