Slow Moving

I guess it hasn't been too long since I last made a post . All aspects of production are going slow, but work is getting done, and that's the important part. All the small delays and unpredictability that has occurred is what I expected, considering everyone involved in this production has a job and life in the "real world". Some time in the coming weeks I will post a blog called, "Meet the Cast", just so you know exactly who's who among the small, but controlled chaos that is Nicotine.

Over the last few days I've met with various actors to play the roles of John, Courtney and Elizabeth. At times it's tough to pinpoint exactly who should play the character, sometimes it's not. It's one part of the filmmaking process that is exhilarating, but equally terrifying. The choices all come from the gut, which I'm learning to use more often than not. Everyone I've met with understands acting; those small tiny idiosyncratic moments that ultimately add up to give dimension and originality to a character. When I tell actors that every character is important, I am giving absolute truth. Part of Paul's underlying view on life and what happens in his future is based off of a belief that every detail, every small accident that happened was not an accident. Yet, don't look for the story to be about that. There are moments in life that can be seen as coincidences, or perhaps they're not? Every "writer" writes from personal beliefs, and this is all me. I will never be able to back it up with any solid proof, but that's the frustratingly fun part of it, because it doesn't come from a religious place or a near death experience, it just comes from the gut. Besides, I prefer the unexplainable far more than scientific proof. It opens your mind -- which is almost a contradiction to believing there is a purpose behind all movements we make on this earth -- but it allows creativity to flow and for one to be more involved with the particular subject of conversation.

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Yesterday was a good day. Rudy, Jeff and myself ran through a scene that involves some intense back and forth dialog. We started with just working on the scene that takes place in the office -- Scene 31, Pages 37 - 43 -- but then shifted gears and started from the very beginning of the entire sequence; all the way from the elevator, walking down the hall and entering the apartment and eventually landing in the office. 

Rudy and Jeff need little direction, which is refreshing in some sense. I'm sort of there to answer questions and offer suggestions and give feedback for sure, but it's sometimes better to see what instinctually comes out. I'm also working with actors that like to withhold information from me, just so the entire moment to moment action is never dull, always fresh. The negative side, and it's all my fault, is that I become so giddy watching the actors at work, that I'm sitting back in my chair with my hands covering my giant smile. This all happens out of the sheer excitement of seeing this scene come to life, plus Rudy and Jeff really frightened me during the rehearsal. I thought they were literally going to kill each-other. 

Tonight we'll work on the scenes between Paul and Burke. Earl, who will play Burke, the bowling alley owner, has come up with a great history for why Burke is the way he is. This is what I love about actors.