Ten Days from Dallas

Of course I go to LA and then get cast in a horror feature in Dallas. And probably a short, along with a standup show. And also the writer/director I worked with for a pilot last year of course sends me two pilot scripts, and of course I have notes on them that he thinks are good, and potentially wants to bring me on with credits and compensation. I guess as a producer? Or consultant? Who knows.

I have finally figured out how to streamline podcast recording in a car. The trick? Print out the stuff I read. I know, rocket science. Literally just walk a couple blocks to a fedex to print out a couple pages, and then I don't have to worry about my laptop running out of batteries (as it did on Monday).

My professional standup comedian friend tells me that my standup footage from a couple months ago is festival worthy. The festival I am interested in needs three minutes, so I asked which three minutes, and she said maybe the first three, but I cannot go wrong. Downside to that is that I have punched up those first three minutes since then. It should be both longer and better now.

I met with an actor who wanted to work with me on a web series to later try to make into a pilot. A big warning sign with him was that he wanted to emphasize loyalty, saying that he wanted to pitch me to a director but I should decline so he keeps the role. This weirded me out, and I instead just asked and found that I cannot work the dates suggested. Then I went to his apartment. He began to read his draft of this comedy idea, and I realized that he is a terrible writer. So I suggested that we focus on the beats of the story (parts of which sound okay), and we stormed some brain. I came up with lots of bits for it that I liked (and which I am pretty confident could play well). Days later, he texted me, saying that he wanted to finish up writing so he could start casting. This is of course another red flag. Good rapid-pace comedy takes time to write. I told him that when I am finished with my current projects, I will try to find a day to get inspired and write a second draft of his script.

I have to be more disciplined. I need to edit and memorize my standup, because I am a few weeks away from doing 15 minutes. I have plenty of material, but I am such a perfectionist about it. Like, I have one bit that I think will be incredible, but it requires choreography and voice acting, in addition to memorizing the text. Gotta do it though.

Also, giving script notes is fun. It feels like some of what I should be doing.