Back @ Good Ole USC

Been a few years. Still a great place.

Natural

History. Trip to USC, sidebar @ the museum.

"Get Some," @ the Egyptian Theatre July 13th, 7:30pm

just in -- short flick i wrote @ USC has it's U.S. premiere next week via American Cinematheque!!

details:

'Come celebrate a wide variety of comedy, drama, animation and live-action shorts from Los Angeles-based directors @ The Egyptian Theatre. Included is one of the last USC financed films shot on 16mm -GET SOME directed by Christine Berg. We would love to see you there as this is our official U.S. premiere!'

you oughta check it out.

toss back a few drinks and say hello.

tix can be purchased here:

http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/local-shorts

'Get Some' getting some, again!

well I just found out the short film I wrote "Get Some," was purchased from USC for programming in Italy.

we're talking Vatican City;

San Marino;

Monte Carlo;

Capodistria;

Malta;

and the Swiss who speak-ah the Italiano.

gotta thank Christine Berg (director)/Gerard McMurray (producer).

-- exceptional talents

gonna be some great exposure.

GET SOME

screenplay: Mandia

director: Berg

out on the road

it's 15 degrees and there appears to be semen stains on the bedspread.

here @ the red roof inn, in victorville, ca.

but that's to be expected.

gotta great deal on the cheap.

ellroy's on the bed beside me.

and i can hear cars zoom by, chugging up the 15north.

headed to vegas, probably.

the room has two beds and big ole fridge that CLICKS rythmically.

a chair is wedged against the door.

a pistol lies loaded and ready.

just ready.

because the crowd here ain't exactly... refined.

matter of fact i've gathered many folks here are dopers and/or booze hounds.

just a feeling.

nevertheless, i'm here; writing -- oddly unperturbed by the ruckus caused by these tweekers.

that's good, yep.

got my template.

an outline.

notes.

and more notes.

-- gleaned from USC and those wunderkinds.

and Sid Field's book.

and Final Draft staged and ready.

but there's something else.

have you ever been to Griffith Park under a clear night sky?

up high, overlooking Los Angeles.

and the City of Angels shimmers with a million points of light?

well...that's what her eye's look like.

"get some," first look 2010

just got word "get some," will screen

@ the University of Southern California's

FIRST LOOK 2010.

details below.

hope to see you there!

and vote for "get some."

pretty please...

'Cast, Crew, Friends, and Family,

You are invited to the screening of Get Some at USC's yearly film festival First Look 2010.

The screening starts at 5PM with Get Some followed by more USC shorts. All audience members will vote for their favorite film. We hope you plan to attend and support all the hard work by the cast and crew.

If we win the audience award we will screen at the Directors Guild of America. You must stay and watch all the shorts for your vote to count....from 5pm until the end.

After the screening there will be a reception with food and beverages.

We hope to see you all there and are grateful for your support!'

2009-2010 Nicholson Award Recipient!

hot damn, what a month. the gods of war have definitely been on my side. 

just found out i was awarded the Jack Nicholson Award for excellence in Screenwriting from USC. 

always nice to get some recognition. a spark of inspiration. a pat on the back and smile on the face.  if you're interested, you can read a portion of the script here.  

hopefully i don't get killed in some random act of violence anytime soon, i'd like to enjoy this for at least a day or two. 

but until then, Semper Fi/Do or Die!

uniforms

took out my old uniform and the creases were still there. 

hadn't ironed them, or starched them, just took them right out of the closet to check for some old rank insignias.

and they were there.

the creases, not the chevrons.

so i folded them up and stacked them on my shelf, next to Joyce and Bukowski. 

then i started to write. 

began the regimen: 

blast the ipod; skim through unfinished work that looks conducive to the screenplay i'm working on, and smoke a padron.

but it wasn't happening. the words weren't coming and i wasn't writing.

went outside.

watering the tomatoes and such. - a new approach.

but i wandered back in, the sun beating down mercilously.

sought out the uniform.

as the orchestra was lightly tapping away, i came closer.  right up to the faded thread and gleaming buttons. 

yes, they had faded well. the greens now pastels and the browns and blacks very muted. 

aged.

several small tears from field operations - these were my greens, never seeing combat. 

Africa and Hawaii and Singapore, yes.

Iraq, no. never Iraq.

i put my uniform to my face.

inhale deep: crisp canvas and a hint of starch.

in the mirror i can see myself and something tells me to put them on. 

not a voice or command, just something. 

so i do.

they don't fit well. they hang on my gaunt body, two sizes too big.

as if a different man wore this uniform.

not me, chris.

and that's what's so funny.

because i find myself in the same situation as i did before.

a different man.

pre-enlistment civilian fuck.

devolved.

unemployed and broke.

ahh, with a fine accouterment: 50K in debt.

now this is what happens when you buy into the myth of college. get your degree, bust yer ass to graduate with honors, and guess what?

you get a nice piece of parchment to hang on your wall that says you have a bachelors degree. 

so what's next?

teach? 

finish up my masters?

finally to be greeted by the real world with 100,000 dollars worth of debt and usc 'connections?'

that's just not smart.

so i put the old uniform away, nice and neat and put on my new one.

my v-neck and sweats.

then i had a drink and deleted every single email from usc - suddenly the boot raised from my neck.

and now i'm writing. 

the premiere!

so it came and went. 

months of hard work. 

late nights - many a morning peeking over the hill, and yesterday it all came together. 

"get some," premiered @ Norris Theater.

and i thought it was pretty damn good. in fact, one of the better productions of something i've written. kudos to the cast and crew for pulling it together. 

i'll see about uploading part of the movie, but USC's fairly protective of their "property." and seeing they shelled out some 13k on the project, they own it. hopefully we'll be submitting it to the festival circuits.  oh, and can't forget the friends who came by and checked it - thanks!

here's some pix from the event - care of Andy Lebrune. 

enjoy...

(barnesy...the virgin)

(praying to the gods)

(on stage w/cast & crew)

(to a packed crowd)

(tension building: me, johnson, mike, leslie and brian)

(trying to maintain)

(flowers for one of the teach's)

(kudos all around)

(john watson [director of "Tank Girl," and many other films] - head honcho of student productions)

(christine berg- director honcho)

less than a week

and the summers here. strange to be saying that @ nearly 30 years of age. like a kid waiting for the final bell. 

besides collaborating on "get some," this semester was a disaster. cliched kitchen sink drama injected with procedurals (think "House). most outa my control. a few, self-inflicted. pure ignorance. lesson learned.

so i'm sitting in the backyard, the tortoise is munching carrots, the sun; warm, the breeze; stiff, and i've got around 300 buckaroos to my name. almost $50,000 in debt. and the car is running on empty. but the first of the month is coming. VA Disability. 40%. direct deposit. thank God.

recently contemplated abandoning USC outright. just finish this semester and adios. but i've realized that'd be stupid. an even bigger waste of cash. 

so i'll take my semester off. heal, get healthy and resume. back to the grind, so to speak.

to be honest, a Masters Degree doesn't mean too much to me. just another piece of paper to hang on my grandfather's wall. another placard on heavy gauge paper in a $10 frame. 

maybe i'll find Jesus in the meantime...

(((((hello?)))))

"get some," @ Eileen L. Norris Cinema Theatre

not sure if i ever posted the exact location of "get some's" premiere. 

the venue - USC's  Norris Theatre.

click this for more info:

http://web-app.usc.edu/venues/?id=31

hope to see you there!