Tribeca

I didn't even know we had submitted until I found out we were finalists. Go figure.

My filmmaking team (director - Van Pham, Producer - Kase Chong, co-producer - Teresa Hsu, and co-producer Henry Priest) and I (for "Beyond the Mat") were recently accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival All Access program, which is designed to give filmmaker's of color an opportunity to take meetings with a myriad of executives, production companies, financiers, agents and managers - who might be interested in co-producing or financing the project and just meeting with us as filmmakers they may like to work with.

So with that's said here's the press release and a link to "indie wire" which just posted about the program participants.

http://www.indiewire.com/ots/2007/03/tribeca_07_32_p.html

In other news my comic book stories will be published later this year in the now retitled Popgun Anthology from Image Comics. My artist on one of the stories recently dropped out so now I'm on the hunt for someone to pick up the reigns.

I'm still writing the Bhangra film and almost done with a first draft, the rough draft was handed in about three weeks ago.

I'm still developing around 12 projects as a co-producer (some of which I will write) with my partner Kase Chong and producer Teresa Hsu on another, respectively.

Other than that things are running rather smoothly as the clock ticks away until this guy gets on his first flight to New York.


--- from indiewire---

For its fourth year, the Tribeca Film Institute's Tribeca All Access program will showcase 32 projects by people of color. TAA matches African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander filmmakers with potential investors in a series of one-on-one meetings and other events during the annual Tribeca Film Festival (April 25 - May 6, 2007). Two filmmakers and one screenwriter in the TAA Program are competing for the Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award which include cash prizes.

"Tribeca All Access is now a recognized incubator for U.S.-based writing and directing talent," said Tribeca's Jane Rosenthal, in a statement. "We are very proud to present this platform to celebrate a multiplicity of filmmaking voices."

NARRATIVE

Amreeka
A Palestinian woman and her son arrive in the suburbs of Chicago to escape a life of oppression, only to face the fallout from America's war on Iraq.
Writer/Director - Cherien Dabis
Producer - Christina Piovesan

Artificial Dissemination
Two teenagers with the same sperm donor father and a rare form of dyslexia begin a journey, after receiving a mysterious message from someone claiming to have a cure.
Directors - Tze Chun, Sheila Dvorak
Screenwriter - Sheila Dvorak

Beyond the Mat
Two wrestlers put their friendship on the line for the sport they love, setting one of them on a journey to self-discovery that brings him one step closer to manhood.
Director - Van M. Pham
Screenwriter - Erik Martinez
Producer - Kase Chong

The Castle
A couple moves into their new Manhattan apartment only to be haunted by its hidden past, which they soon discover is linked to their future.
Writer/Director - Buboo Kakati

Celamy
A moving tale of friendship between a young girl and her imaginary friend, as told from the point-of-view of the imaginary friend.
Writer/Directors - Joe Turner Lin, Julie Anne Meerschwam

Cougars on Three
One woman battles her own selfishness and her father--the temperamental coach of her pro football team--to win her teammates' support and a spot on the field.
Screenwriter - Tanisha White

The Flicker's Dance
Confined to his house because of his illness, a boy refuses to give up his love of the outdoors and unexpectedly changes the lives of those around him.
Writer/Director - Priyanka Kumar
Cast: Joe Mantegna, William Mapother, Ione Skye

Four
As the rest of America celebrates Fourth of July, two couples discover the limits of desire and the possibilities of transcendence. Based on the play by Christopher Shinn.
Writer/Director - Joshua Sanchez
Producer - Gill Holland

Fruit of the Tree
The inspiring true story of Dr. James Cameron, who survived a lynching and turned his anger into a force for forgiveness, remembrance and healing.
Screenwriters - Aaron Greer, Fran Kaplan
Producers - Fran Kaplan, Tony Ferraro, Brad Pruitt

Hannah Henri
A neurotic lesbian committed to playing the field has a change of heart when she meets Hannah Henri, a woman who embodies everything she ever wanted.
Writer/Director - Akiva Penaloza

Hyung's Overture
The eldest son of a Korean immigrant family gives up his career to manage the family's convenience store, so that his brother may fulfill his potential as a
world-class violinist.
Screenwriter - Young Il Kim
Producers - Teddy Zee and Jonathan Kim

Last Road Home
When a dying man flees his suburban home to live out his final days in paradise, his estranged son is charged with the task of bringing him home before time runs out.
Screenwriter - Roberto Marinas

Money Matters
A troubled inner city teen struggles to come to terms with her mother's difficult past while carving out an identity of her own.
Writer/Director - Ryan Richmond
Producer - Sam Pollard

The Papaya Factory
Fourteen-year-old Lucy Alvarez faces an unexpected challenge when a class rival decides to go head-to-head with her Quinceanera party, by throwing an all-out Sweet Sixteen party.
Writer/Director - Anna Margarita Albelo
Producer - Jamin O'Brien

Rain for Kabul
The lives of a celebrated journalist working on a story of detainee prison abuse and an American aid worker in Kabul collide when one of them goes missing.
Screenwriter - Soo Hugh

Relocation
A young gay man navigates cultural conflicts when his family visits the city from the reservation for his college graduation.
Writer/Director - Bennie Klain

The Sisterhood of Night
When a twelve-year-old girl exposes a secret society of junior high school girls a small New Jersey town is plunged into controversy.
Director - Caryn Waechter
Screenwriter - Marilyn Fu

Speedy
The unauthorized biography of a corpse: based on a true story of a dead man who became famous after having been kept in a closet for sixty years.
Writer/Director - Natacha Feola

Supermacho
A geeky drummer struggles to hold his band together after a new job arresting shoplifters awakens his inner machismo.
Writer/Director - Aldo Velasco
Producer - Jasmine Jaisinghani

The Vitruvian Man
When a worldwide blackout causes panic and chaos, a young couple finds themselves deeply entrenched in the heart of the mystery that triggered the situation.
Writer/Director - Rooth Tang
Producer - Emily Wang

Waste
A widowed NYC sanitation worker must negotiate his relationship with his son after he becomes a key figure in a Sanitation strike.
Director - Ben Rehki
Screenwriters - John Campo, Ben Rekhi

DOCUMENTARY

Adopted: The New American Family
An intimate look at the evolving notion of "family" in America, through the stories of two families coping with the complexities of trans-racial adoption.
Director/Producer - Barb Lee
Producers - Molly Fowler, Nancy Parsons

Bronx Burning
A look at the tragic events and misguided policies that led to the destruction of a borough, and the residents who chose to stay and re-claim their neighborhoods.
Director - Edwin Pagan
Producer - Bienvenida Matias

Eventual Salvation
After almost 40 years of civil ward and turmoil, an 80-year-old grandmother returns to Monrovia, Liberia to rebuild her life and community.
Director/Producer - Dee Rees
Producer - Nekisa Cooper

Fanaticos
An up-close-and-personal look at the die-hard fans behind Chivas USA, the Los Angeles-based offshoot of the wildly popular professional Mexican soccer team.
Director/Producer - Mylene Moreno

The Foolishness of God: Desmond Tutu and Forgiveness
An in depth examination of Desmond Tutu's life and work with a focus on his controversial message of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Director - Karen Hayes
Producer - Darin Kuhlmann

Living in Silence: Toraichi Kono
The untold story of the man who was personal valet and confidant to Charlie Chaplin, before facing charges of espionage on the eve of World War II.
Director - Philip Chung
Producers - Clyde Kusatsu, Timothy Lounibuos, Nancy Yuen

The Making of 'The Boys in the Band'
An in-depth look at the creation of the ground breaking play and film that dramatized the complex experience of being a gay man in the 1950s, long before the Stonewall riots and gay pride parades.
Director/Producer - Crayton Robey
Executive Producer - John Hadity

Monica & David
Two adults with Down Syndrome embark on a new life as a married couple amidst much love and some trepidation from their friends and family.
Director/Producer - Ali Codina
Producer - Paola Gutierrez-Ortiz

Parachute Kids
A personal perspective on this controversial immigration practice where Taiwanese teenagers are sent to American to pursue a coveted education.
Producer/Director - S. Leo Chang

Samba
For a group of young dancers and drummers, preparing for the carnaval is the only escape from the violence and crime that dominate the gritty streets of the favelas.
Director - Jessica Sanders
Executive Producer - Lawrence Bender

Ultimate Christian Wrestling
A group of disenchanted former pro-wrestlers find a new way to combine their passion with ministry.
Directors/Producers - Jae-Ho Chang, Tara Autovino

I Am Joaquin

I Am Joaquin

by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales

Yo soy Joaquín,
perdido en un mundo de confusión:
I am Joaquín, lost in a world of confusion,
caught up in the whirl of a gringo society,
confused by the rules, scorned by attitudes,
suppressed by manipulation, and destroyed by modern society.
My fathers have lost the economic battle
and won the struggle of cultural survival.
And now! I must choose between the paradox of
victory of the spirit, despite physical hunger,
or to exist in the grasp of American social neurosis,
sterilization of the soul and a full stomach.
Yes, I have come a long way to nowhere,
unwillingly dragged by that monstrous, technical,
industrial giant called Progress and Anglo success....
I look at myself.
I watch my brothers.
I shed tears of sorrow. I sow seeds of hate.
I withdraw to the safety within the circle of life --
MY OWN PEOPLE
I am Cuauhtémoc, proud and noble,
leader of men, king of an empire civilized
beyond the dreams of the gachupín Cortés,
who also is the blood, the image of myself.
I am the Maya prince.
I am Nezahualcóyotl, great leader of the Chichimecas.
I am the sword and flame of Cortes the despot
And I am the eagle and serpent of the Aztec civilization.
I owned the land as far as the eye
could see under the Crown of Spain,
and I toiled on my Earth and gave my Indian sweat and blood
for the Spanish master who ruled with tyranny over man and
beast and all that he could trample
But...THE GROUND WAS MINE.
I was both tyrant and slave.
As the Christian church took its place in God's name,
to take and use my virgin strength and trusting faith,
the priests, both good and bad, took--
but gave a lasting truth that Spaniard Indian Mestizo
were all God's children.
And from these words grew men who prayed and fought
for their own worth as human beings, for that
GOLDEN MOMENT of FREEDOM.
I was part in blood and spirit of that courageous village priest
Hidalgo who in the year eighteen hundred and ten
rang the bell of independence and gave out that lasting cry--
El Grito de Dolores
"Que mueran los gachupines y que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe...."
I sentenced him who was me I excommunicated him, my blood.
I drove him from the pulpit to lead a bloody revolution for him and me....
I killed him.
His head, which is mine and of all those
who have come this way,
I placed on that fortress wall
to wait for independence. Morelos! Matamoros! Guerrero!
all companeros in the act, STOOD AGAINST THAT WALL OF INFAMY
to feel the hot gouge of lead which my hands made.
I died with them ... I lived with them .... I lived to see our country free.
Free from Spanish rule in eighteen-hundred-twenty-one.
Mexico was free??
The crown was gone but all its parasites remained,
and ruled, and taught, with gun and flame and mystic power.
I worked, I sweated, I bled, I prayed,
and waited silently for life to begin again.
I fought and died for Don Benito Juarez, guardian of the Constitution.
I was he on dusty roads on barren land as he protected his archives
as Moses did his sacraments.
He held his Mexico in his hand on
the most desolate and remote ground which was his country.
And this giant little Zapotec gave not one palm's breadth
of his country's land to kings or monarchs or presidents of foriegn powers.
I am Joaquin.
I rode with Pancho Villa,
crude and warm, a tornado at full strength,
nourished and inspired by the passion and the fire of all his earthy people.
I am Emiliano Zapata.
"This land, this earth is OURS."
The villages, the mountains, the streams
belong to Zapatistas.
Our life or yours is the only trade for soft brown earth and maize.
All of which is our reward,
a creed that formed a constitution
for all who dare live free!
"This land is ours . . .
Father, I give it back to you.
Mexico must be free. . . ."
I ride with revolutionists
against myself.
I am the Rurales,
coarse and brutal,
I am the mountian Indian,
superior over all.
The thundering hoof beats are my horses. The chattering machine guns
are death to all of me:
Yaqui
Tarahumara
Chamala
Zapotec
Mestizo
Español.
I have been the bloody revolution,
The victor,
The vanquished.
I have killed
And been killed.
I am the despots Díaz
And Huerta
And the apostle of democracy,
Francisco Madero.
I am
The black-shawled
Faithfulwomen
Who die with me
Or live
Depending on the time and place.
I am faithful, humble Juan Diego,
The Virgin of Guadalupe,
Tonantzín, Aztec goddess, too.
I rode the mountains of San Joaquín.
I rode east and north
As far as the Rocky Mountains,
And
All men feared the guns of
Joaquín Murrieta.
I killed those men who dared
To steal my mine,
Who raped and killed my love
My wife.
Then I killed to stay alive.
I was Elfego Baca,
living my nine lives fully.
I was the Espinoza brothers
of the Valle de San Luis.
All were added to the number of heads that in the name of civilization
were placed on the wall of independence, heads of brave men
who died for cause or principle, good or bad.
Hidalgo! Zapata!
Murrieta! Espinozas!
Are but a few.
They dared to face
The force of tyranny
Of men who rule by deception and hypocrisy.
I stand here looking back,
And now I see the present,
And still I am a campesino,
I am the fat political coyote–
I,
Of the same name,
Joaquín,
In a country that has wiped out
All my history,
Stifled all my pride,
In a country that has placed a
Different weight of indignity upon my age-old burdened back.
Inferiority is the new load . . . .
The Indian has endured and still
Emerged the winner,
The Mestizo must yet overcome,
And the gachupín will just ignore.
I look at myself
And see part of me
Who rejects my father and my mother
And dissolves into the melting pot
To disappear in shame.
I sometimes
Sell my brother out
And reclaim him
For my own when society gives me
Token leadership
In society's own name.
I am Joaquín,
Who bleeds in many ways.
The altars of Moctezuma
I stained a bloody red.
My back of Indian slavery
Was stripped crimson
From the whips of masters
Who would lose their blood so pure
When revolution made them pay,
Standing against the walls of retribution.
Blood has flowed from me on every battlefield between
campesino, hacendado,
slave and master and revolution.
I jumped from the tower of Chapultepec
into the sea of fame–
my country's flag
my burial shroud–
with Los Niños,
whose pride and courage
could not surrender
with indignity
their country's flag
to strangers . . . in their land.
Now I bleed in some smelly cell from club or gun or tyranny.
I bleed as the vicious gloves of hunger
Cut my face and eyes,
As I fight my way from stinking barrios
To the glamour of the ring
And lights of fame
Or mutilated sorrow.
My blood runs pure on the ice-caked
Hills of the Alaskan isles,
On the corpse-strewn beach of Normandy,
The foreign land of Korea
And now Vietnam.
Here I stand
Before the court of justice,
Guilty
For all the glory of my Raza
To be sentenced to despair.
Here I stand,
Poor in money,
Arrogant with pride,
Bold with machismo,
Rich in courage
And
Wealthy in spirit and faith.
My knees are caked with mud.
My hands calloused from the hoe. I have made the Anglo rich,
Yet
Equality is but a word–
The Treaty of Hidalgo has been broken
And is but another threacherous promise.
My land is lost
And stolen,
My culture has been raped.
I lengthen the line at the welfare door
And fill the jails with crime.
These then are the rewards
This society has
For sons of chiefs
And kings
And bloody revolutionists,
Who gave a foreign people
All their skills and ingenuity
To pave the way with brains and blood
For those hordes of gold-starved strangers,
Who
Changed our language
And plagiarized our deeds
As feats of valor
Of their own.
They frowned upon our way of life
and took what they could use.
Our art, our literature, our music, they ignored–
so they left the real things of value
and grabbed at their own destruction
by their greed and avarice.
They overlooked that cleansing fountain of
nature and brotherhood
which is Joaquín.
The art of our great señores,
Diego Rivera,
Siqueiros,
Orozco, is but another act of revolution for
the salvation of mankind.
Mariachi music, the heart and soul
of the people of the earth,
the life of the child,
and the happiness of love.
The corridos tell the tales
of life and death,
of tradition,
legends old and new, of joy
of passion and sorrow
of the people–who I am.
I am in the eyes of woman,
sheltered beneath
her shawl of black,
deep and sorrowful eyes
that bear the pain of sons long buried or dying,
dead on the battlefield or on the barbed wire of social strife.
Her rosary she prays and fingers endlessly
like the family working down a row of beets
to turn around and work and work.
There is no end.
Her eyes a mirror of all the warmth
and all the love for me,
and I am her
and she is me.
We face life together in sorrow,
anger, joy, faith and wishful
thoughts.
I shed the tears of anguish
as I see my children disappear
behind the shroud of mediocrity,
never to look back to remember me.
I am Joaquín.
I must fight
and win this struggle
for my sons, and they
must know from me
who I am.
Part of the blood that runs deep in me
could not be vanquished by the Moors.
I defeated them after five hundred years,
and I have endured.
Part of the blood that is mine
has labored endlessly four hundred
years under the heel of lustful
Europeans.
I am still here!

I have endured in the rugged mountains
Of our country
I have survived the toils and slavery of the fields.
I have existed
In the barrios of the city
In the suburbs of bigotry
In the mines of social snobbery
In the prisons of dejection
In the muck of exploitation
And
In the fierce heat of racial hatred.
And now the trumpet sounds,
The music of the people stirs the
Revolution.
Like a sleeping giant it slowly
Rears its head
To the sound of
Tramping feet
Clamoring voices
Mariachi strains
Fiery tequila explosions
The smell of chile verde and
Soft brown eyes of expectation for a
Better life.
And in all the fertile farmlands,
the barren plains,
the mountain villages,
smoke-smeared cities,
we start to MOVE.
La raza!
Méjicano!
Español!
Latino!
Chicano!
Or whatever I call myself,
I look the same
I feel the same
I cry
And
Sing the same.
I am the masses of my people and
I refuse to be absorbed.
I am Joaquín.
The odds are great
But my spirit is strong,
My faith unbreakable,
My blood is pure.
I am Aztec prince and Christian Christ.
I SHALL ENDURE!
I WILL ENDURE!

Nuevo Year

Things are progressing nicely in the realm of Erik's writing endeavors.

"We Can Be Heroes" is slated to go into production after Kirk completes production on Five Venoms is complete. WCBH is something Kirk and I have been working on (with Rod Sokal) for some time now, currently Terrence Chang is set to produce. It will be an exciting action film in the vein of Desperado with a Hong Kong style twist.

For those of you curious about the state of "Beyond the Mat," the wrestling movie I've been working on for some time now (17 drafts later), the producers are currently aiming for a April/May start date. They're meeting with financiers continuously and are making progress every day. More as this develops.

My co-writing work on Sabina Shamdasani's feature debut, "American Bhangra", is coming along nicely as well. We just wrapped up the 24 page treatment and have moved on to the scripting phase. With any luck we'll have a working draft ready by mid Feb.

I am also developing a Sci-Fi epic with Kase Chong and Nick Sherman (potentially). The treatment is at 15 pages and growing. If Nick comes aboard, like I hope, we will be writing and hopefully finishing the script by March!

"Californio: The Ballad of Joaquin Murrieta" was recently optioned by an independent producer recently. The producer is very excited and passionate about the script and hopes to team with some big name Latino filmmakers to get it done. I wish I could say more but doing so would be premature.

"Los Coyotes", my human trafficking story/treatment, is waiting in the wings over at Treasure Entertainment. With any luck I'll be writing the script soon (and getting paid to do so).

In non-film writing news. My short comic "Everybody's Hero" was recently accepted to be included in the Low Orbit Vol. 2 anthology from Image Comics, which spotlights rising talent (Vol. 1 will be in stands Jan. 24.). As soon as I am paired with an artist we'll be getting to work and getting the story ready for inclusion in the book. There is also a very strong chance that I will have a second story published in the anthology, but that, my friends, is currently tentative.

On to producing, yes I've started this too...

I've teamed with Beyond the Mat producer Kase Chong in developing two projects which I will co-produce with him. The first is horror project set against the political climate during the fall of the Berlin wall, the second is an Action/comedy being developed with a fellow Chapman Grad. Both scripts should be ready in March.

I am also circling another project by Chapman grad. Ingrid Sundberg, which I hope to kick into pre-production later this year.

And in between it all I'm finding time for a life, hanging out with friends, discovering new places in LA, movies, family and fun.

2007 is going to be a great year, I look forward to sharing it with you all!

Children of Men

Quite possibly the best movie of the year. 'Nuff said.

Realidad o Sueno

There should a little squiggly line (like this ~) over n in "Sueno." The word translates to "dream," with the former being reality. My life seems to be existing in a convergence of the two, most of it good. Great even. I'm feeling rather blase about it all, to be honest. My career is progressing very nicely. It's slow going, sure, but I can't really complain. Hard work is starting to pay off across the board. Hell, I even have my first IMDB credit for a film that probably won't see the light of day any time soon - damn that development hell.

Beyond the Mat is rolling forward; full blown pre-production looms on the horizon as I finished the 17th(!) draft a few weeks ago. Financing is falling into place finally, 6 months later than we we're hoping for but the production is looking good. A start date is being planned for Jan./Feb. at this point.

The Indian film I've been working on, co-writing with my collaborator on Californio, is moving along at a snail's pace. The treatment should be done this month and the first draft of the script should be completed no later than 4 weeks after that.

"We Can Be Heroes" is inching closer as well, tentatively slated to film next Summer. My work on that script has actually scored me the opportunity to do a rewrite on a Hong Kong Martial Arts film, which will be filmed in Chinese and English, right after Chinese New Year. Some sites have announced it as a rumor, but it should go through pending actor contracts and the like.

Am I thoroughly excited and elated by all this writing work? Well, yeah. Does it feel real? No, not really. I actually feel kind of underwhelmed by it all. Slightly jaded attitude aside, I just want to see these things happen. Like any writer who puts an enormous amount of time and effort into his endeavors, I want results.

The comic book is stagnant right now. My co-writer is overwhelmed with projects, as am I, but it'll get done.

Plus, if things keep on track, next year I'll be producing a film that my friend Ingrid wrote.

In due time, I know.

The onslaught

In brief...

Beyond the Mat. Received its first bit of financing. Sweet. More to come soon. Starting the 14th draft and getting paid to do, it even better.

American Bhangra. Starting a new project revolving around bhangra music and dance set in college, with a colorful cast of characters. Getting paid to write it. Indie rates aren't too shabby.

We Can Be Heroes. Terence Chang has come aboard to produce. Progress is being made, financing coming together, cast being sought. Pay day looming. Awesome.

When the Sleeper Wakes. Issues 3-5 being outlined. On the search for an artist. Sam Raimi's company interested in seeing the book once it's been completed. Cool.

Los Coyotes. Five actors/actresses attached. Management team is going after a lead and a director. Pitching starts very soon.

Future projects with Beyond the Mat producers being discussed with me as a writer and possibly even coming on in a producer capacity.

I'm off...

Nerd Prom

My visit to Comic-Con.

Yours truly quoted in USA Today

DVDs put viewer in director's seat

By Mike Snider, USA TODAY

Even as new high definition home video discs arrive to replace DVDs, some new DVDs show signs of evolution.

Final Destination 3 and Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman, both out today, give viewers unprecedented control over the story line.

At several points, viewers must choose between two paths. Depending on the choices, the movies play out differently.

FILM IS IN YOUR HANDS: Play God on 'Final 3' DVD

In Final Destination 3 (New Line Home Entertainment, $30), some characters have different fatal outcomes, and several can survive the mayhem. Among the 11 unique story paths in The Abominable Snowman (Goldhil Entertainment, $20), an animated tale of three children searching for their explorer uncle, some have "very bad endings and some very good endings," says Michelle Crames, a co-producer. "This is new for kids entertainment."

Two more interactive Choose Your Adventure DVDs, The Lost Jewels and Mystery of the Maya, are planned for 2007.

Interactivity was among the most touted features of DVD when it arrived in 1997, but only a few obscure releases have allowed viewers to affect the story line. New Line Home Entertainment says Final Destination 3 is the first interactive movie to be created with the collaboration of a major studio's theatrical and DVD production teams.

"I have a feeling that we may see more interactivity on certain titles, sometimes even as just a gimmick," says Erik Martinez of DVDTown.com. "This could be a very good thing for studios."

Other interactive DVDs:

•What the Bleep!? Down the Rabbit Hole Quantum Edition (Fox, $29, out today). The three-disc set includes an expanded "quantum mode" of the 2004 film that produces a different movie each time.

•Livin' It Up with The Bratz ($20, Aug. 1) from Goldhil, the same studio responsible for the Choose Your Adventure series. The fashion dolls branch off into different scenes.

•A Nightmare on Elm Street Special Edition ($27, Sept. 26) is the 11th in New Line's infinifilm series that lets viewers opt to see additional features along with the film. "The infinifilm mode allows you to see all the special features in scene-specific context," New Line's Mike Mulvihill says.

New Line approached director James Wong before filming Final Destination 3 about the idea of alternate story lines. The studio allotted an extra $750,000 to the $25 million film budget.

"The hope is the audience will respond to this in a way to encourage us to do this again," Mulvihill says.

###

Plus a link to the article on their website:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2006-07-24-dvd-interactivity_x.htm

Sometimes you have to roll a hard six...

I finished my draft of "We Can Be Heroes" for Kirk on Thursday night/Friday morning. Apparently his agent really likes the script now and is much more confident in sending it out to people. I am too after the fiasco that was the previous draft - when you have Mexican characters speaking in Italian = not a good thing. Still, a few production companies and producers have expressed interest in the project based off of Kirk's pitch. So now the waiting game. Anxiety is kicking into over drive but I have yet to start bouncing off the walls.

Oh and if that wasn't enough The Weinstein Company has expressed interest in our previous project "Blood Bond". They requested a PDF copy of the script that they could print off and send to the higher ups. This was Friday as well, so again, a waiting game. Crossing fingers.

Plus a good friend of mine has managed to convince the producer of this TV show she script sups for to read a sample of my work, cause it just so happens that they're looking to fill a spot and need someone with quick turn around abilities. Ahem, that would be me.

I did, after all, right a completely new draft of "WCBH" in less than two weeks.

Oh oh AND... a friend of mine from Grad. school wants to shoot a feature next year, and is looking for a writer to pen her script and (gasp) she's willing to pay. I'm meeting with her today.

As a distraction I'm getting sucked in by the genius (madness) that is R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet". Also, I've been exploring some really cool L.A. eateries and bars lately, too. It's nice to finally be able to explore L.A. a little more. I'm loving the hell out of it.

I'm getting business cards, 'cause, you know I want to be all "legit" and shit.

So... I'm really, really, really in need of an agent, because if any of these deal go through (including my treatment - human trafficking script/treatment, my wrestling movie and Californio), I want to make sure I don't get in the a$$. Thus, I'm making a list, checking it twice, of all the people who I know who might have connections/referrals to agents. Working up a query letter and then sending that puppy out.

I will put as many cliche phrases and the like in this blog as I want, cause I don't want them in my scripts.

I need an agent. I need an agent. I need an agent. I will find an agent. I will find an agent. I will sign with an agent!

Oh and the Beyond the Mat webiste.

I don't mean to neglect you

Thought I'd take a second and give one of my lovely monstrous updates for all two of the people who visit.

The last few months have been decent. I've been focusing heavily on my writing and working on getting a few projects off the ground. I've been reworking my thesis screenplay (Los Coyotes - human trafficking story) into a much better treatment. To make a long story short, five recognizable Latino actors have signed letters of intent to be in the film based on the treatment alone. Pretty cool, eh? The treatment is also going out this week to some VERY cool actors for the leads, as soon as we have one or two of them, we're pitching to a whole slate of production co's and studios, in hopes that they might actually pay my brown ass to write the script for them.

Okay so that's one project. "Beyond the Mat" (my high school wrestling movie) is progressing along nicely. I finished the 13th (?!) draft two weeks ago. The producers are FINALLY going out to contacts for financing, trying to raise money, etc. There has been some dissatisfaction in certain areas that has been frustrating for some of us, but we're trying to band together and overcome these obstacles - which I'm certain we will. Any other kind of attitude would mean certain death for the project (that's for all of you f#$*ing naysayers - think positive bitches!).

So that's number two. Kirk, the Hong Kong director I sometimes write for, has lined up something promising. I call him "Hong Kong director" cause some of the other monikers I came up with might get me in trouble. We wrote a script called "We Can Be Heroes" (like the David Bowie song) a few years ago. At the time it was a crap script, but it had a lot of potential. Seriously. Well, he's been pitching the story around and managed to pique the interest of this superstar Chinese actor, who, if we attach, we could use to pre-sell the film in Asia and raise more than half our budget. Interestingly, he used my knowledge of Hong Kong cinema (ironic, cause he always says I know more about the subject than HE does) to pitch the idea with a new slant. It's now something of "Fight Club" meets "A History of Violence" with a Hong Kong twist, with a healthy dash of "Scream" like deconstructing of the genre (i.e. action films). So, I rewrote the treatment; I'm rewriting the script now (I F&*KING hate dialogue, grrrrrr) and should have a new draft done by mid to late next week. Whew!!! But there's also the case that Kirk is now entering "negotiations" with two U.S. production companies who are interested in the script, oddly enough, based on the previous draft. The whole thing has my head spinning, but in a good way.

AND (hehe) A friend of mine (also the producer of the wrestling movie) is trying to get me a writing job on a new TV show she is script sup on. The producer has agreed to read my stuff and meet with me. WHOA!

Plus, I'm working on a comic book with a friend of mine from undergrad. First two issues are in the bag. I have an artist that's interested in illustrating the book but I haven't heard from my co-writer in like month. But it will get done and it will get published.

I'm also trying to find a producer for the western I co-wrote with Nick (Californio: The Ballad of Joaquin Murrieta), which we have some actors attached to.

Plus writing reviews for DVDtown.com

Plus trying to sustain something of a life between it all. If it wasn't for my friend Teresa, plus Ingrid and Russell forcing me out of the house every now and again, I'd be something of a cave dweller.

I'm off to see Superman Returns tonight

Peace out and much love. Until next time, I remain--

El Rey de los Chingones!

Bullshit!

"Bullshitting is not exactly lying, and bullshit remains bullshit whether it's true or false. The difference lies in the bullshitter's complete disregard for whether what they're saying corresponds to facts in the physical world: they don't reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose themselves to it. They pay no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."

One step closer

PRELIMINARY investment trailer of "Beyond the Mat".

http://www.myspace.com/beyondthemat

Highly Recommended Viewing

Kingdom of Heaven: The Director's Cut
From my review...The misfire that was the theatrical cut of “Kingdom of Heaven” has been meticulously corrected and refined here to create a more complete and rousing epic film. Scott has created an inspiring work of allegory; one of his best films to date, which is now smarter, richer, and bigger.

Still no word

Haven't heard anything from the producer interested in Los Coyotes, which means we're hitting up a few other interested production companies.

Financing for Beyond the Mat is taking its sweet ass time, but it seems we will have the first 1/4 of the budget sometime this summer.

Californio has hit an impasse, so Nick and I are going on the hunt to attach a producer. With the release of Brad Pitt's Jesse James movie later this year and Ed Norton coming out with a modern day western (Down in the Valley), plus the success of Deadwood - the genre seems to be on a slow up swing. Now, if we can beat the other Murrieta project out of the gates there just might be hope. So if any of ya'll no anyone who might be interested in producing a Mexican-American Braveheart in the old west, shoot me a line.

In the mean time enjoy some reviews:

Bee Season
Tristan & Isolde
The Family Stone
American Dad: Vol. One

Like molasses

...this is how things move in this town. That's what my friend from undergrad/temporary manager told me over the phone on Monday. I've known Mark (not Amazing Joy Buzzards Mark, but Treasure Entertainment Mark) since my first year at UCSB, 1998. The first short film I ever worked on was a crappy western we co-wrote, he produced and other assorted friends helped put together.

Back in December, Mark called me with a potential job offer. He asked me to come up with a few pitches that fell into the criteria of being "Latino" themed, music driven, urban stories. Once I had something rough we'd meet in January, I'd pitch him my ideas and we'd take those ideas, develop a treatment and then pitch to a legit producer (i.e. with money) who wanted stories/scripts/ideas in the "Latin" arena. I pitched Mark and his partner my human trafficking idea. They loved it. A Mexican-American Goodfellas - their words.

Roughly two months and 18 pages later, the treatment was ready to go. We set up a conference call with the producer who was in Spain and about and hour later, he asked how quickly I could get the script written, given the treatment I said 6-8 weeks. To say the meeting went well, would be an understatement. He loved the idea, wanted to get right on it. Getting him to pay for me to write, just take a look at the blog title.

Mark is trying to work out the details for me, get me an upfront/option on the treatment, a nice payday for the first draft, rewrites and polishes - a decent step deal. So, right now I'm just playing the waiting game to see how serious this producer is. He wants this script, he's going to have to pay me to write it.

But if this falls through Mark is setting up meetings with two very interested producers, one who works at one of the major studios.

I need an agent.

Little by little

Rumblings happening, slowly but surely. If everything works out, I'll have some really great news very soon.

DVDtown.com

In addition to my illustrious up and coming career as a scribe for the screen I have been known to dabble in the occasional movie/DVD review department. Five years off and on as a freelance critic/columnist for the Bakersfield Californian and now, nearly ten years after I started with them, I have spent nearly a year with DVDtown.com. Free DVDs for a consistent thousand word plus write up, yeah it was hard for me to say yes to this one.

And for the heck of it some of my reviews.

A History of Violence
Smallville: Season Four
Domino
High Tension
Veronica Mars: Season One
Ultimate Avengers: The Movie

In the mean time

My good friend Ingrid and I went to the Creative Screenwriting screening of "Brick," which was a pretty good overall, considering it was the writer/director's first film. It took a while for me to become invested in the film, especially during the first act, but after that I was hooked into the world - which was great, clever fun. It had moments of greatness and moments of not-so-greatness, but all in all I was pleased. The first time I heard anything about the film was a few months ago at the first screenwriting gathering, with Fun Joel, Warren and Bill over at DISContent.

Heading to Wizard World Los Angeles this Saturday with my hermano, should be a fun time.

Writing is what it is at the moment. Still working on the Coyotes treatment. Working on a revision and the third act now. I'll hopefully have something finished early next week. Once that's in the bag, I'll be pitching shortly after.

Working on issue 2 of WTSW with Mark Smith. Taking a little longer than I wanted but, a combination of things (having a tooth pulled and a little bit of slacking) have put me behind. I'm aiming to have something to shoot back over to Mark by next week.

Off I go.

There goes crazy

Quickly.

I'm knee deep in writing, finishing up my new Coyotes treatment and pitching it to a producer in less than two weeks.

The 11th Draft of Beyond the Mat is done; heading up to Bakersfield for the state wrestling tournament for research/promotion/investors, etc.

Still no word on Californio.

Blood Bond is now being looked at over at Touchstone.

WTSW (comic) is being chipped away at, plus a marvelous opportunity might present itself if the planets align themselves just right.

I'm off to go bang my head against a wall.

Breaking it down

My year got off to a shitty start. I'll admit it, it blew. It sucked in so many ways, I won't go into the boorish details. I will, admit, however, that I let it happen. I let things slip through my fingers when I should have focused on work and dove right in. Maybe one of these days I'll actually listen to my friends and my own advice.

But I'm back on track. No damage has been done to the career track. Though I was afraid that if I let things continue on the way they were any longer, there would be hell to pay - my ass on a lovely little platter.

Here's how everything is breaking down:

Beyond the Mat. Mine again. After meeting with the other writer, the director decided that the other writer couldn't really bring anything new to the script and that working with me was in his best interest. I made myself a damn good commodity to the project. Not to mention, when you get advice from a professional screenwriter (working on a high profile sequel) that says your writer is doing damn good work and that the script itself is pretty good, too, you tend to listen.

And they're thinking about filming in my hometown. Draft 11 is in the works.

Blood Bond. The script is at Hyde Park, doing what, I don't know. I think it's fermenting on a shelf in their offices. Kirk is in Taiwan. That's all I really know about that subject.

Californio: The Ballad of Joaquin Murrieta. No news yet. After a little trouble getting things in order with the release form they finally received it about a week and half after the script. We're crossing our fingers, waiting to hear something. If worse comes to worse, we're considering trying to get it off the ground ourselves.

Coyotes. The new treatment is about halfway finished, roughly eight pages. I should be getting notes back from Mark at Treasure to see what our next couple of moves are.

When the Sleeper Wakes. A comic book I've been fiddling around with as a collaboration with Mark Andrew Smith, who writes The Amazing Joy Buzzards over at Image Comics. First issue is in the can, working on the second right now, next three issues are in a rough outline form. We'll be finding an artist soon.

Linda. She's a bad ass assassin/bounty hunter; pure pulpy, Hong Kong style fun. Two features in the can, I'm brainstorming a new idea for a comic book. My meeting with Mark Smith put me in the right frame of mind to get this off the ground.

Future Projects. Nick and I will be cooking up some new screenplay projects very soon.

Dvdtown.com reviews are piling up.

Writing needs to be done... and in all honesty I'm looking for more.

It's good to be back.