Drawing Update

Well just so you all know what my lovely direction produced. My drawings may be rubbish but look at what a pro can do.

Arrived back and so tired

Well after a marathon 25 hour flight back, in which Geoffrey and I managed to miss our final leg from DC to LAX I got home and was rescued by 2 dear friends. This was a flight mess to endure, our second leg of the flight was from Vienna to DC, and first after asking the ticket lady to see if any exit rows were available she says no then moves us from the rather decent seats we had to terrible middle seats in a 4 person row. Which is astoundingly stupid to me since we only asked to be moved if there were any EXIT rows avail. Fine, we move on and decide to talk to the others at the gate, they promise us they will help but soon we learn that our plane has been delayed due to a "gas" leak. So, 1.5 hours later, we have new seats together 1 on asile one on window, she says we have exit row, we're set. WELL NO, by exit row she meant IN FRONT of exit row, which turns out to be the most horse crap seat on the plane. We were lucky enough, Langford and I that is, to fly 9.45 hours in seats that don't recline. I felt like a pious Calvinist and felt I should have flogged myself while we flew.

To make it better we land in DC and Geoffrey and I are sent to the lovely 45 min cue for Customs and miss our connecting flight, luckily though Langford made the connection because they sent him the right way. More importantly he was allowed back in the country. But the ordeal just went on and on. I am too tired now to continue, I want to wish you all a happy 4th of july and below is posted the photo I spoke of in the previous post where I am in traditional garb. Many more to come.

From Kazakstan!

Probably is a red flag word

Kazakh Dispatch Day 5 - Forgive the lack of post yesterday as we spent all day in the opera house with no internet for our final pitch. Langford once more gets credit for the post title as we have learned that here in Kazakhstan, Probably means no. So if one says, The Cab will probably be here in 10 minutes we know it will not etc. However I must say that yesterday was the best day of the whole festival. We have to give the organizers credit, they threw an international festival together in 6 months and that they even got it together is a feat in its self.

The closing ceremonies were well done and in good taste and our fine collegue Geoffrey took the prize for his fine script and it seems that they will be developing his script into a film quite soon. So you heard it here first, Apollo 18 will be a franchise soon.


We'll be leaving at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow to make our way back to LA in a Marathon 20 hour flight with 2 hour stop overs in between making our day incredibly long. I must say in all honesty, and this is the first time I have said this in 2 years, never mind in digital ink, I can't wait to be back in LA. Its a place with much more opportinitues for me right now, its funny to have come half way across the globe to have meetings with people who live  and work 15 min away from you but in the confines of a new land, fish out of water if you will, the bonds you make are real and unique.


Overall I hope this festival becomes a yearly event, it is one of the most amazing prizes in all of the industry, to get a production deal with the possibility of actually seeing your film on the screen in the next 2 years simply by applying to a festival is unheard of and also an amazing way to find talent. So for that I applaud them.

So in this case, I hope that Probably actually means yes.

Now for more sleep...

The Drawings Look Like That Of A Serial Killer

Kazakh Dispatch - Day 3, Ok so we have been given the opportunity to work with a great Russian storyboard artist. Now, for all my non film friends, a storyboard artist is essentially an illustrator who's "Whole Job" it is, is to visualize via drawings and sketches all of the planned shots of a film to allow all departments on a film to properly prepare for a shoot. I had originally sent over my descriptions for the big action scene at the end of the film to the Artist in Moscow, but apparently due to translation reasons the Artist was not sure what I wanted, so I opted to try and draw the stuff out myself. 2 words on that: Bad, Idea. As my dear comrade Langford, the witty Brit who's also from UCLA and part of this lovely endeavor pointed out: "Oh god man, the drawings look like that of a serial killer, I mean what is that?"
So all I will publicly humiliate myself by posting some of the most egregious of the drawings to see if you all make heads or tails of them.

I mean come on? Is this not absolutely clear

a work of modern art?

Especially classy is the lack of scanner so I had to take photos from Photobooth












Today we did visit the top of the spire which gives you a great view of this intricately planned city, and then we went to get us some souvenirs. Which was really a trip to a mall but wait till you see the photos you will all thing we were in a hut in the dessert somewhere. 

Anyway, tomorrow is the big pitch day, I do hope to have a bit better concept art to support my pitch and then we will see what happens. All in all the best part of this trip has been the relationships created with dear Langford, our other" AFI Guy" Geoffrey, and our French contestant Emmanuelle.


Over and out

You are connected to Dolf Lungdren's Macbook Air

So, Day 2 Kazakh Dispatch - I write from my hotel room at the King Hotel Astana, not the Rixos Hotel (where I am pictured above) which we spent most of our day. The Rixos is where the "VIPs" are housed including, the infamous Dolf (of which this post is dedicated), Hillary Sawnk, and Harvey Wienstien. We stayed at the Rixos for most of the day working with our stories and spying who else was on our network other than Dolf. I did manage to snap a photo with the fine Ms. Swank, and Dolf did a wonderfully cheesy opening at the ceremony last night in which he got on stage with 4 cronies in tuxedos holding wood broads and he chopped them in half and did some fancy karate movie on each of the poor young offenders. It all made for a fabulous show that included a live orchestra in full Kazakh garb. The festival has been a bit of a "storied' affair if you will, but we're making the most of it.

We've decided that tomorrow will be a day to take on the town which has approximately 4 sights to see, and 1 of which is a spa at the Rixos.  This city is still completely under construction and is quite reminicint of Vegas, where its totally barren landscape then suddenly incredibly gaudy gold sky scrapers which jut out of the vast open plains. The streets are all newly paved and the driving is reckless. What we have yet to figure out is where the people live, we suppose somewhere in the big high rises but this is a city that is being built to hold millions upon millions and we doubt more than 1 million live here. Its like a sim city experiment project but in real life.

Signing off for now and leaving you with the key image

From Vienna

Live blogging here from the museum quarrier platz after a ridiculos flight over we climbed 356 stairs to the top of the cathedral. Just talking shop seems like our fest is quite legit. We're in search of coffee and food but we're planted on silly pink couches and enjoying the sun more to come

The Festival Gets Hollywood Cred in The Hollywood Reporter

Well Today we made it to the First page of The Hollywood Reporter in this little blurb which was much cooler in the print version than in the online version. But who am I to complain, guess I got to catch up on the Twilight Series.

Our Little Moment in the sun (or ink, if you will):
The festival is also running a screenplay competition, with the winner receiving a cash prize as well as a chance to develop their script with Bekmambetov’s production company, Bazelevs.

The Kazakh Dispatch - Intro

As a finalist of the Astana International Film Festival I will get to Pitch the screenplay I optioned for a panel of Judges in Astana Kazakhstan. All expenses paid! So the first order of buisness getting there! Below is my gnarly flight schedule:

Dear finalist of the AAIFF Screenplay competition.

We are happy to present the schedule for the Astana Festival, which will help you plan your visit. We hope you will enjoy Kazakhstan and take part in all main events of the program.

SERVICE        FROM                TO                     DEPART  ARRIVE
-------------- ------------------- --------------------- -------- -------
AUSTRIAN - OS 7998
SAT 26JUN      LOS ANGELES CA      NEW YORK NY            0610     1439
NON STOP       INTL                JOHN F KENNEDY
               EQUIPMENT:BOEING 757-200/300
 UA 0084       FLIGHT OPERATED BY UA UNITED AIRLINES
               RESERVATION CONFIRMED - M ECONOMY
 
 
AUSTRIAN - OS 88
SAT 26JUN      NEW YORK NY         VIENNA AT              1750     0835
NON STOP       JOHN F KENNEDY      VIENNA INTL                     27JUN
               EQUIPMENT:BOEING 777-200/200ER
               RESERVATION CONFIRMED - M ECONOMY
 
 
AUSTRIAN - OS 697
SUN 27JUN      VIENNA AT           ASTANA KZ              2025     0540
NON STOP       VIENNA INTL                                         28JUN
               EQUIPMENT:AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200
               RESERVATION CONFIRMED - M ECONOMY
 
 
AUSTRIAN - OS 698
SAT 03JUL      ASTANA KZ           VIENNA AT              0710     0905
NON STOP                           VIENNA INTL
               EQUIPMENT:AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200
               RESERVATION CONFIRMED - Y ECONOMY
 
 
AUSTRIAN - OS 93
SAT 03JUL      VIENNA AT           WASHINGTON DC          1130     1515
NON STOP       VIENNA INTL         DULLES INTL
               EQUIPMENT:BOEING 767-300/300ER
               RESERVATION CONFIRMED - Y ECONOMY
 
 
AUSTRIAN - OS 7867
SAT 03JUL      WASHINGTON DC       LOS ANGELES CA         1725     1939
NON STOP       DULLES INTL         INTL
               EQUIPMENT:BOEING 777-200/300
 UA 0967       FLIGHT OPERATED BY UA UNITED AIRLINES
               RESERVATION CONFIRMED - Y ECONOMY