What’s new in Jim’s world?

Well, for those of you who care (and even for those of you who don’t), here’s the latest:

Item 1: The web-series is almost done shooting. We had some rain delays, an extra day or two tacked on due to scheduling and location conflicts, but right now it looks as if we’re down to just one more day of principal photography (giving us a total of seven days). It’s been a fun shoot, the actors, the director and crew have all done a bang-up job, and I’m quite pleased with what we’ve got in the can. I’m hoping we can start posting these first seven episodes by late spring. I’ll keep ya posted on a “grand premier” date.

Item 2: Last week my manager sent a producer (one I’ve worked for previously) a recently-completed thriller script of mine. The producer read it...then got back to us. Though he said he liked it well enough (insisting it was something he would’ve been interested in a year ago), he made it clear that the releasing company he now works with is looking for "different" material. Um, OK, so what kind of material are they looking for? Well, it seems even the releasing company isn’t sure what they’re looking for, as requirements change for them virtually on a monthly basis! Well, whatever. One producer down, a few more to go.

Item 3: Earlier this month I had a meeting down in San Diego with a guy who was looking to hire a screenwriter for a true-life story. In fact, it was his true-life story. (You old-school, hardcore skateboarding fans would definitely know who this fella is. He was HUGE back in the 70s and 80s.) Anyway, I sat with this gentleman (now in his late-40s) for about an hour and tossed around some ideas. He seemed to really like my "take" on things. Then we shook hands and went our separate ways. Maybe something will come of this meeting; then again, maybe not...but hey, San Diego sure was nice!

Item 4: I was at a tuxedo rental store in Beverly Hills last week, picking up a tuxedo for the wedding of one of my best friends. I was just about to leave when a gentleman (who had just completed a fitting) asked if I was getting married. "Nope. Been there, done that. My best friend is the one on the chopping block this time." For some really odd reason, the gentleman then asked what I did for a living. I told him that I was a screenwriter. His face lit up. I then spent the next 45 minutes listening as he pitched this rather interesting (though not necessarily commercial) story he’d like to see turned into a movie. We traded some ideas, and I schooled him a bit on how the film industry works (he was a real estate developer). He seemed pretty excited about it all. Then I gave him my card, the contact information for my manager...and I walked out the door with my tux. It’s now more than a week later and we have yet to hear anything from the guy. To be honest, I didn’t actually think he’d get in touch, but ya kinda gotta wonder why he’d go to all the trouble about telling me this story, then all the bla bla bla about he’d "really like to move forward on this!" In Hollywood, talk is cheap. Actually picking up a phone an making a call and making things happen...well, that’s another story.

Item 5: My thriller project up in Canada (which has been in the works for at least a few years now) seems to be inching closer to full financing (yawn). If the financing doesn’t come through by the time the option expires in early May, I’m hoping the producers decide to renew. Based on recent conversations they’ve had with my rep, I’m thinking they will. Then again, this is the film business we’re talking about. We’ll see.

Item 6: Another producer is currently trying to get financial backing for one of my scripts. Unfortunately, with the economy the way it’s been, money is awfully tight, and getting movies made is even more difficult than usual. (Yup, it’s pretty bleak out there, folks. This crazy economy has even managed to sideline the El Salvador project I wrote last year. Well, at least I got paid in full on that one!) But I got word a few days ago that this producer has a potential backer who might read the script if we can pitch it to him in a brief written synopsis. Ugh, I hate writing those things. Anyone who knows me knows it’s easier for me to write a full-length screenplay than it is to write a one-page synopsis. Well, I guess I’ll just have to buckle down and do it. UPDATE: I wrote the synopsis in two days. The potential backer seemed to like it well enough to request a script, which went out today.

And finally, only in Hollywood...

My buddy Craig and I hit a few west side watering holes last night. Our final stop (at 12:15 in the morning) was at a bar in Beverly Hills. As we pulled into the valet parking garage, I noticed a young guy and girl sitting cozily on a couch; both were quietly checking their Blackberries. Then I realized the guy wasn’t a guy. Nope, it was Samantha Ronson...and the attractive girl with her was Lindsay Lohan. Now, this is Beverly Hills and you tend to see this sort of thing all the time, so that’s not what I found interesting. No, what I found interesting was that it was Craig and I, Samantha and Lindsay, a couple of parking attendants...and not a single crazed paparazzi with a camera. Not one! Hmm, I guess they’d been there earlier and had their fill of picture-taking. Or maybe paparazzos don’t work past midnight?