Looking Back, Moving Forward

Really quick: The webzine, Great Society, continues it's reposting of my four-part "Horror 101" series. Part 2, "The Moral Majority Massacre," is now live. It's a brief look at slasher films. Check it out.

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Yesterday was a good day for Women's Studies, which means I'm taking this week off from movie work. Okay. Actually, I probably won't, though between holiday parties, last minute X-Mas shopping, and a couple side jobs I've taken, when exactly I'll be giving the film attention between now and Christmas Day is something of a mystery.

It's funny, Women's Studies is still in a weird in-between phase that's half development and half pre-production. There's a cottage industry that publishes books about "How to Make Your Independent Film." And I'd be lying if I said I didn't own a handful of them. Really though, no matter what book, or even person for that matter, tells you "This is what it's like," each film is it's own beast.

At the beginning of 2006, Women's Studies was little more than an idea, just Cindy and I saying, "Hey. Let's do this." At years end, not only have we incorporated our production company, but we've taken some fairly large steps forward to getting this film ready to shoot. While a lot of this past year has been (and still is) about raising money, we've done a pretty good deal of "pre"-pre-production work. A marketing plan is in place. Some cast has been chosen. Design work is being drawn up. Equipment is being tested and selected. Recently, location scouting has begun.

I know I can be "Mr. Cliché" sometimes, but slow and steady wins the race. We live in a world of instant gratification, but the things worth doing take time, resolve, and patience . . . so much patience. While there have been moments where I've been immensely frustrated this year, in the end, barreling through and persevering has been worth it. Taking a rest at this point in time, I can look forward and see that I've still got quite a climb ahead of me. Yet I can also look back and marvel at how far I've climbed.

I haven't done this alone either. There's a wonderful support group of family, friends, cast, and crew that believe in this project as much as I do. It's nice to know that in my weaker moments, I have people that will harness me up and keep pulling me up the mountain. Cindy, who you'll remember is not only acting in but co-producing Women's Studies, especially deserves kudos. She does a lot of work that no one ever sees. Lots of people do, and we're moving towards a place where soon we'll be able to shine some light on them.

2007 is the year of production. The goal everyone is working towards is the day when we get Women's Studies up in front of the camera. Right now, we're continuing to break down the script which we hope to have completed soon. The next few months will see the productions staff finalizing designs, locking in schedules and locations, shooting test footage, and bringing on additional cast and crew.

It's going to be a wild ride and the pace will start to get faster and faster. Stay tuned. The best is yet to come.

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You won't want to miss next week's blog as for a little X-Mas present, we'll be publicly unveiling the first design work from Women's Studies; the "academy girl tattoo," created by our Art Director, Stephanie Petagno.