A Doc and Mystery

Editing a documentary is pretty much what I expected it to be. Josh and I just built a 8 minute preview piece that includes two full stories and little tidbits from the supporting cast. This piece is going to a graphics house first to get some better titles and motion graphics, then it will be going to a possible buyer on Wednesday or Thursday. This 'buyer' is associated with Jerry Weintrab (the producer of the 'Oceans' movies).
Hopes are that he will either buy the doc himself (that would be nice) or he'll take it around Hollywood and get it sold to another studio/distribution company. Worst case scenario is he doesn't do either one of those options but instead says he will conditionally buy/sell it based on what he thinks of the final cut of the feature. This is worst case (but not a bad option, either) because that would force our current group of producers to be even more in a rush to get the doc done.
Josh and I have already agreed to get it done by August 10th. Tapes were done digitizing just 2 weeks ago -- meaning that the entire feature needs to be turned around in just 2 months. This is no small feat -- especially for a documentary where there isn't a script (yet). I'm confident we'll get it done in the alloted time, but a normal doc would be given 3-6 months to assemble and another 2-3 months to finish (including color correction, sound mix, graphics, printing to final format).
Anyways, we'll know more about the destiny of this film in a couple of weeks when Weintrab's guy gets back to our producers. Look for the film on cable TV or theaters between September and the Superbowl (that's my prediction).

On a different note, I spoke with Sonja a couple of nights ago. I'm glad we got to talk. (Sonja and I dated from Summer '02 - Summer '06). Some interesting things came up in the conversation: She asked me about last August when I left for LA -- which forced me to think about it a little bit.
I was soooo ready to get out of Dodge last summer that I left in a reckless manner. I was not running from people or places but from expectations and plans. Up until Turkey, I didn't have any mystery in my life -- everything was more or less expected and thought out. Dan Piippo opened up my mind to mystery and the 'unknown' and suddenly moving to Los Angeles was an adventure I had to take. I wasn't moving b/c I was following my dreams or because I was courageous (although the journey would coincidentally include both my dreams and courage). I was moving out of the expected into mystery (physically and spiritually as it were -- spiritually b/c my view of God changed more to thinking of God as wonderful and mysterious as opposed to "I know God personally and He has a wonderful plan for my life"). When Sonja and others wished me well on my journey (or tried to), I was much more excited about my lack of expectations than anything (would I be well as everyone wished?... I didn't know and that was glorious!).

Sonja and I talked about our feelings for each other as well. Without being gushy, I still like Sonja and would like a chance to date her in a non-long-distance setting. She feels the same way, which is way cool. The only problem: She just completed year 1 (of 3) of graduate school in Chicago. I don't know what's going to happen, obviously, but best case is that she moves out here to finish graduate school or after she's done with school in Chicago. Other-case scenario is she never moves out here and nothing happens with us.

A life of mystery has it's perks.

-Peace Out.

Do you ever have an injury that won't heal? My ankle has been bummin' for the past month or so and it doesn't seem to be fully healing. Just when it starts to feel good I tweak it again and I move backwards a couple of days in the healing process. It's like, 'Yeah, it hurts, but it doesn't hurt enough to go to the doctor, and it doesn't feel good enough to be able to do normal activities'. I think it's slowly getting better but I'm getting a little impatient.

There are some things in my life right now that seem to mirror my obvious physical defect: I just quit my job and left behind some really great people. It sucks to even think about them because I get sad. I mean, I'm not going to cry over it but it's not something I want to think about all the time either. The point is it kinda hurts. I spent 40-55 hours a week with those people for the past 9 months...

But just as with my ankle, life keeps on moving. I don't really have time to stop and think about how much I'll miss the Flyer gang. There may be times every once in a while where I tweak a memory of Flyer and it brings back pain. But I know that I will slowly heal and adjust.

Sometimes I wonder, though...
Would my ankle heal faster if I didn't walk on it for a week? What if I got crutches and made a dedicated effort to not use it for one week? I bet it would heal fast! Of course, I'm too proud to go to the doctor and get crutches. Maybe more important than my ankle is my heart and soul: What if I took a day and just really appreciated the people I'll be missing at Flyer. I could send them each cards and 'thank you' notes for all the help they've given me. I'm sure that would give me a much greater sense of closure and confidence as I move forward. And just as with my ankle, I would heal and move on much faster if I'd let the pain take me off my feet.

I think life is moving , though. Right now I don't have time to take a week off my feet or a day to write cards to people at Flyer. I'm moving in a positive direction for my career and that's great. I hope there's time in the future where I can appreciate everyone I've met and take some time off my feet to let old injuries heal. Where's the balance?

-C