Austin Film Festival 2010

My short film Eulogy Maker, had it's premier at Austin Film Festival this past weekend and what a great screening! At times I thought I was going to fall over dead from nerves, but it was overall thrilling and wonderful. Most of the time I was just thinking "Wow, that's my beautiful little film up there."

Thanks to everyone for who came out to see it. I'm so happy it did well and was so well received.

THANKS!

Next up Orlando Film Festival!!

Eulogy Maker World Premier!!

Eulogy Maker is having its World Premier at Austin Film Festival, Saturday, 3pm at the Arbor Theater and on Sunday at 5:30 at the Hideout!! It's in the Family Series Showcase, so all of the short films are family friendly. Bring the kids, but get their at least 30 minutes before the screening to make sure everyone gets a seat. These thing can sell out!!

See you soon!!! (I'm so excited!!)

CANCERPANTS

CANCERPANTS: At the crossroads of life & breast cancer, a woman becomes a warrior.

Recently, I got my results from my scans/blood work, and thankfully(!), I continue to be in remission from cancer (7 months)!!! With this in mind, I ask my friends to consider lending financial support to help offset post-production expenses for CANCERPANTS, a doc that my friend Nevie is making. It is real and brave and expresses many things I felt in my own journey with cancer.

Thanks everyone for being so awesome !

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1559662955/cancerpants-at-the-crossroads-of-life-and-breast-c

AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL

I am very happy to announce that Eulogy Maker has been accepted into Austin Film Festival!! How wonderful that my little film will be having it’s world premier, at such a prestigious film festival and in my home town too!

You can catch it at the Arbor 3pm on Saturday October 23rd and at the Hideout 5:30pm on Sunday October 24th.

These days I’ve been focused on writing and submitting my short film Eulogy Maker to film festivals, but I am also an actress and a few weeks ago, I was cast as Mrs. Schnabel the Home Ec teacher in ABC’s, My Generation. If you’re unfamiliar with the premise of the show, it’s “an hour long comedy-drama and mockumentary that follows the lives of members of a Texas high school 10-years after they graduated. The fresh new series catches up with a group of young adults whose lives were being filmed for a documentary just before their high school graduation from Greenbelt High School in Austin, Texas in 2000. They realize their dreams didn’t turn out as planned. Takes place in present day with flashbacks from their high school days and years leading up to the present.”
Tonight is the premier of the show and even though I’m not in the pilot, I’m trying hard not to be nervous. I mean, it’s out of my hands, but still, I’m hoping it rocks!
Anyway, I just wanted to post that this shoot was great. I’ve been lucky that almost every job I’ve been on, the cast, crew and director have been pretty nice, but this set was beyond nice. Everyone was super friendly, supportive and really fun. The whole atmosphere was positive and enthusiastic. I loved that Jamie King who plays Jackie Vachs, was fun, easy and gracious to work with in our scene. Then while in hair and make up we talked about her work on these incredible PSA on cancer awareness and my own struggles with cancer. I loved that Sebastian Sozzi, who plays The Falcon, was super fun in our scene with changing things up (and I really appreciated that he invited me to sit at his table for lunch, so I didn’t have to stand there and feel like a dork). And I have to say that I completely loved the director Stephen Fay. He is the nicest, coolest, actor’s director and I would be thrilled to work for him again, anytime and anywhere!
Keeping my fingers crossed that this show will be around for a long time and that my Texas actors and crew friends will get to work on this series!

Busy with FIlm, TV and Kids

It’s been kinda busy. Actually, very busy and I haven’t had much time to blog about what’s going on with acting, film making, parenting and life in general. What gives? Well, I spent too much time playing and procrastinating this summer, and fell behind in getting the kids ready for school. Then I had to hurry and get my short film Eulogy Maker submitted to several more film festivals before their deadlines shot up in price (do not miss the early bird entry date!), then I dropped everything to audition for the new ABC show My Generation. Then I got a call back for the show, but I didn’t hear anything more about it and got back to the kids and their school needs. Then I got the call that I had been cast! Which made me very super fantastically happy.
So it’s been kinda busy. And soon, I’ll post something about how it all went on the My Generation set and what’s going on with my new film Eulogy Maker!!

Nerves

There is a moment before I get on set, where I really wrestle with my nerves. My heart pounds and I think things like, “What are you doing? You don’t want to be here! You hate pressure. You're going to forget all your lines! You're going to screw up and embarrass you acting coach and fellow actors and yourself and your friends and family and… “
Then I think very loudly in my head. “SHUT UP!!” I want to be here more than just about anything in the world, I deserve to be here. And I love this! This is what I do.” And I have this calming feeling and I know it will be alright.
I know I am ready.

Every Night

Every night, once I’ve closed my eyes to sleep, I start telling myself a story. It’s usually one or two that I’ve been sorting out during the day or from previous weeks. For the most part, I just let it bubble up from my subconscious. I try not to analyze things like shot angles, color palettes, costumes, lighting, etc., because it’s already there in the story and if I work too hard thinking about it, I’m taken out of it. So I drift into a different world, where the characters from my imagination, seem to desperately want to tell me something important. Something that is pivotal in their lives. They lead me into dreams, they have adventures, and they become real. As real as you and me.
One day I will bring them and their story to life for everyone to see, and I hope I will tell it truthfully, and beautifully, and I will not disappoint them.

Summer Time

Summer Time

Two weeks left of summer. Two little, they-will-fly-by-in-a-heartbeat, weeks. As usual, there wasn’t enough time from the end of one school year, to the beginning of the next school year, to hurry up and relax. (But “not enough time” is a daily problem, so I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s a seasonal problem.)
I did get a few things done this summer though, which I’m very happy about – I finished the application for the Texas Film Makers Fund and hopefully I’ll get some grant money. I wrapped up my short film Eulogy Maker and it’s now been submitted to 14 film festivals and counting (hence the need for some grant money!), I took the kids to Europe and showed them some sights and visited with special friends whom I love dearly. I worked on the house and we finally replaced our truck that had been totaled.

Which leaves me now with only two weeks left of summer, a craving for Nutella crapes, missing my German friends, need to hurry for back-to-school supplies/clothes/etc., for the kids, and the realization that I didn’t finish any of my scripts.

So I didn’t get to relax, but let’s face it - for me, relaxing is stressful. Which means it’s been a great summer!!

kinda getting a little tired

I don’t mean to sound like I’m complaining, but I’m getting tired of not quite being done with the film. It’s getting so that I cringe when someone asks me how it’s going and I reply that it’s almost done, and then I realize I told them the same thing a 3 months ago. This film making stuff is so complicated and it takes so loooong. Don’t get me wrong - I love writing, the excitement of getting ready for the shoot , the thrill of being on set, seeing it put together in editing and then finally having it come together in post with music, sound mixing and color correction. But I’m really getting tired of it taking week after week, month after month, to get done. Of course this is what happens when you don’t have studio money, and your thankful for any and everything that people will do. (I am so very thankful!!!)
Please, oh please little film, please be done soon. Please be done in time for me to submit it to the Austin Film Festival. Please be done, so that I can finally stop worrying about it and thinking about it and hoping it will turn out as beautiful as I know it can be. And most importantly, please be done so I can start this crazy, exciting process all over again!!