Dave J

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Girl: "Do you have this movie that had a trailer on Mean Girls? I can't remember if it was called The Perfect Score or Stealing the SAT..."
Clerk: "Well, which would theoretically be the more dramatic title?"
Girl: "The Perfect Score."
Clerk: "Right. And we don't have it. Sorry."

So I'm quitting my job at the end of July. Three days later, I get my degree, and hopefully a job search in July will reap some rewards. I've never had to use networked contacts before, so that should be an interesting. I am quietly confident. My last class is Creative Writing 1, and should be a great way to go out. Maybe I'll write the Great American Blog.

When not reading contemporary Arabic feminist literature for a current class, I've been trying to read through a copy of Story Sense that Jeff loaned me without setting it on fire. Correct formatting is important to learn, but the book's core is vile Hollywood factory processed garbage in which Lumet's The Verdict is somehow God's gift to the movies, and anything that has a depressing ending (or even ambiguous) IS A DISASTER THAT SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED BECAUSE IT NEVER WORKS. And by works, that means makes millions of dollars. Also never make a foreign film, 'cause they all suck, and if they didn't, they'd follow a clear three act crisis-resolution pattern and be written in English.

But I am grateful to the book for at least sparking interior dialog on what exactly I expect from anything I write or actually make, and concepts of actual sustainable independent production. The most popular indie narrative is "I maxed out all these credit cards for $50k, and that funded my movie." New bankruptcy laws shoved through the Bush administration mean that could haunt you for the rest of your life if--as many thousands of projects do--your supposedly great film doesn't recoup costs, not to mention that college debt is burden enough for a young couple.

So what is sustainable? If I shoot digital and edit on a laptop, that's "free". But I love that real film look, as does anyone with working eyes. What about crew? Currently most of our short skits have been done with two or three people; Jeff, myself and sometimes Eli, and that's it. Could two people actually be enough to create a full length film? What about actors? We've always had non-professionals (aka friends), because people in the drama department annoyed me. At some point that would probably have to change, if graduating past the skit. But maybe not, if I have enough friends and acquaintances to fill in the roles. Who knows?

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