CURRENT NEWS

08.25.06
Three weeks and counting until cameras roll on Cowboy Smoke. It has been over a year in the making and now that we are so close to our start date it feels like a dream come true. Saturday, September 16 to be precise, I feel confident the shoot will run like a well oiled machine. Our Director of Photography, Steve Acevedo is gifted to say the least - check out his website at http://steveacevedo.com. We have a talented and competent cast, access to some amazing locations - check out location stills at http://www.cowboysmoke.com/productionnotes.html - it is going to be like Christmas day, New Years Eve, and the Fourth of July all rolled into one fun filled movie making month.

More good news, as you may or may not know, Quarter to Life was invited to the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival and the good peeps at the festival have finally given us a screening date and time. Drum roll please..... Quarter to Life will premiere at the ArchLight theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 6th at 5:15 pm. The 18 minute Comedy about four best friends and their botched trip to Mexico will screen last in a reel of four short films, so if you cannot be there at 5:15 don't worry, Quarter to Life will most likely not start until around 6pm. Hope to see you there!

One more thing, if you read the Austin Chronicle you are familiar with the Film News column written by Joe O'Connell. He gave us a shout out in this week's edition. Check it out at http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/column?oid=oid%3A397749.

08.10.06
GREAT NEWS
... Quarter to Life has been accepted by the 10TH ANNUAL LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL. If you recall, Quarter to Life was a feature length script that myself and actor pal Chad Mathews wrote back in 2004 while I was editing Wesley Cash. Early 2005 Chad and I decided to produce a short film to get the idea out there and see what people thought. The story is about four best friends, the four dead ends they call their lives, and what happens when one of the group attempts to break free and move to Chicago with his girlfriend before he has a breakdown. All I know at present is that the 15 minute short will be screened at the ArchLight theatre in Los Angeles so stay tuned for
screening dates and times.

CASTING CALL
... The first open casting call for Cowboy Smoke will be held on Saturday August 13th from 10-4 and Sunday August 14th from 1-3 at the Leo J. Welder Center for the Performing Arts. The theatre is located at 214 Main Street in Victoria, TX. To learn more about casting for the feature film Cowboy Smoke visit www.cowboysmoke.com. Shooting dates for the film are slated from September 18th through October 19th.

04.12.06
When I first started writing Cowboy Smoke I knew the topic of illegal immigration held some social significance... but I had no idea how hot the debate would become. I wanted to write about how and why people came to this country. The idea that the United States has positioned itself as a country where anyone can become a success and this is why illegal immigration has grown to be such a problem. Essentially, the grass is greener theory on steroids. My argument was that the United States represents the COWBOY and the idea that life can be better, just because you are in the USA being the SMOKE.

This was the theme that I wanted to write about, not knowing how significant the issue would become. Long story short, there is a possibility that we will begin shooting Cowboy Smoke in a month.

The party interested in financing the film wants us to produce this movie RIGHT NOW. They would like for us to be done with editing by the end of summer. Is that a possibility, we will see.

If you have not had a chance, take a look at the Cowboy Smoke website at
http://www.cowboysmoke.com

Sign up for the Cowboy Smoke newsletter at
http://www.cowboysmoke.com/newsletter.html

03.27.06
The official website for Cowboy Smoke is up and running and has production notes, location scouting photos, message boards, cast & crew information, even a video game. Check it out at http://www.cowboysmoke.com

While you are at the website do not forget to sign up for the Cowboy Smoke newsletter to receive weekly updates on the project.

A brief synopsis for Cowboy Smoke goes as follows: Joe is a suburban convenience store clerk with big dreams of becoming a cowboy so he packs his boots and relocates to South Texas to learn from the real deal. His idea of the mythic cowboy is quickly shattered however when he finds himself holed up in a town that survives on a human smuggling trade. A few nightmarish twist and turns and Joe is given the opportunity to live out his dream when a family of illegal Mexican immigrants facing certain death need his help.

I would like to say congratulations to Mike Henry and Kyle Fuller for there huge accomplishment in finishing Slam Planet. Slam Planet: War of the Words is a feature length documentary that follows rival slam poets from Austin and New York on their way to the National Poetry Slam. The doc, which I was lucky enough to work on as an assistant editor, recently had its world premiere at South By Southwest. Best of luck to Endeavor and Brett Etre Management in selling the film.

I am pleased to say that Quarter To Life was completed last weekend. Chad Mathews, who co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in the project, will begin mailing the eighteen minute short film off to festivals in the coming weeks. The story is about four friends, four dead ends, and what happens when one of the group attempts to break free before having a break down.

That is all for now.

02.04.06
Greetings from planet Texas.

If you dont know, now you know!
Wesley Cash had its US video release on January 24th. A few companies that the DVD can be purchased from are Amazon.com, Deep Discount DVD, Overstock.com, Barnes and Noble, and DVD Planet. It is also available for rent on Netflix.
Pretty cool.

To learn more about Wesley Cash you can go to

http://www.bandwagonfilms.com/wesleycash.htm
or
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439874/

Is that smoke on the horizon?
This past week I finished a rough draft for Cowboy Smoke, which is a project we hope to shoot this summer. The feature length script is about a suburban convenience store clerk who has seen one too many westerns. After packing his bags and relocating to South Texas to become a real cowboy, he is given the opportunity to live out his dream when a family of illegal Mexican immigrants facing certain death need his help.

Quarter till ?
Jonathan Case is wrapping up the score for Quarter To Life and has given us a finish date for sometime this weekend. Once the film has been completed we will begin submitting it to a number of film festivals.

That is all for now kids.