Going Away Soon

Going to Dallas for a couple of days for business. I'm actually flying home a day earlier than everybody else. Usually they keep me around an extra day even if there's no computer auction to help out, but to tell the truth I don't like doing the other shit.

So on the one hand, a smaller paycheck. On the other hand, don't gotta do shit I hate.

Then I'll be back for a couple of days and off to Cancun.

I'm gonna try VERY hard to not think about how much work awaits me on my return. At the point I get back I gotta kick Ttory 2 into overdrive.

• Completely cast two segments.
• Start overseeing the FX so I don't have any disasters on this one like the first one
• Go out location scouting. In the woods, and on the eastern shore where I'm gonna have to film a couple of scenes.
• Buy all the props.
• Do a ton of equipment tests. 
• Make sure my shooting scripts are rock solid.

I think those are the main things. Obviously as we get closer I'll have to do all the menial shit like buy snacks/water/bug spray and shit. Honestly, I'm not dragging a cooler into the woods on this one. Will have it in the car and tell people to grab what they want and carry them to the set. Just have enough to last til the break, and we can go back and get more.

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I haven't turned on my edit computer in over a month. It's kinda weird.
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My KVM switch is fucked. I used to have a 2-computer switch, but then when I had 3 computers hooked up I had to get the 4 computer(they don't make 3's that I know of).

But this one is doing REALLY weird shit where one computer's mouse or keyboard just stops working. I have to unplug the USB plug to that computer, wait a moment for Windows to beep that something's changed, then plug it back in.

That USED to be the fix.

Now the one computer, if it loses keyboard, LOSES it. Period. And then, oddly, none of the other USB ports work on that computer anymore until I reboot it. Looking at the Device Manager always shows 2 exclamation points under Human Interface Device.

It got so bad and was happening so often that now I just have my two internet computers hooked up to separate mice and keyboards. It's a hassle.

I should just completely abandon the old computer, but I still do a lot of shit there. (there's still some stuff on this new computer that doesn't work the same way, and I'm not real enthused about that)
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Note to self:
Fucking love this song. Really digging a lot of synth that's coming along. The hook on this thing that starts at 22 seconds is SO catchy, and then there's Sax later. I wanna make a movie to put it in.
https://soundcloud.com/official-bronson/its-time-to-groove

The News

So the DVDs came in. Always fun. Flashes me back to the time my first film HH came out. It's pretty much the last thrill in making movies. The thrills, in case you're counting, are:

1. Finishing it.
2. Seeing It Up On The Big Screen
3. Holding your movie in a dvd or blu ray case. (or at one time a VHS sleeve)

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I used the opportunity of pimping the movie on some web sites and also forced myself to pull the trigger on Ttory2 by informing these web sites. So now if I don't do it I'll look like an asshole, and that puts pressure on me.

I have breakdowns on all 3 of the segments I've written. Shooting scripts on two of the three(but not shot lists, cuz I gotta go find the exact locations).

Am starting to reach out to specific people to see if they're interested in parts.

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No spoilers, but Bates' Motel is pretty phenomenal. There was a point where I was like "What are they doing? This isn't going to work with the way Psycho the movie starts...and then the show revealed that THEY'VE clearly thought about this stuff and how the audience would react, and they're playing us. It's pretty great.

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Got a lawyer. Fuck this dude's insurance company if they think I'm gonna bend over on this one.

My neck is off and on pain. Some days not bad, other days super sore.

But my chiropractors took an x-ray of my lower back and were pretty shocked to find out that my last disc is pretty much fucked. Almost no pad between it and the disc above it. And worse yet, bone spurs coming off the disc--one of them pretty much looks like a fang hanging off of my disc.

They used words like severe degeneration and they said the word "arthritis" a bunch, which is weird because they weren't talking about my grandma.

They were kind of shocked that I'm not in pain WAY more often. I guess they don't realize my tolerance for pain is extreme. I get my fillings without any novacaine or painkiller at the dentist. No shit.

My record was four fillings in one day with no painkiller. I was in high school.

Maybe I'll tell ya about why I do that later. And hey, happy 4-20.

Did you see this actual picture tweeted from an actual police force? (They said they'd set up a trap for all the people partaking in 4-20.

See, even the cops think this whole thing is ridiculous. Good to see they have a cool sense of humor.

Happy 'Nother Made Up Holiday

Gots news, but can't share it yet. Gonna let it hit the sites soon though.

Pain. Not as much fun as you might think.

Okay. Going on two weeks and my neck still hurts bad. I really don't get it.

Started going to a chiropractor to see what they could do. So far, it ain't working.

Finished the bullshit that is taxes. Am now officially close-to-broke again. And between the pain in my neck, and today's heat that reminded me slightly that it's gonna be 20 degrees hotter when we shoot Ttory 2...I'm not feeling like doing it at the moment.

I WAS like 95% I was gonna do it, now it's like 50%.

Even if it went back to 95%, I'm not sure how I'm gonna pay for it. It was gonna be tight if I had the same budget as the first flick, and it was looking pretty tough...but now I gotta do it for LESS?

I am not sure it's possible without a lot of people helping for free, and even if they were willing to, I'm not sure I'm willing to ask anymore.

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Blazed through a lot of TV lately.
The Fall - how is Gillian Anderson still this hot? It's got some stuff I didn't buy the part where a wife lets her husband stay home with the hot babysitter after she catches him pulling out beers for both of them, but it's a pretty good UK series with a believable serial killer. Final episode(it's three seasons, 6 episodes each season) was pretty amazing too.

The Flash was good again, and DC Legends was still fun. Supergirl's a bit of a guilty pleasure.

Colony season 2 was good again. The Walking Dead continued to suck. Stan Vs. Evil was okay, but nowhere near as good as Ash Vs. Army of Darkness. Goldbergs has continued to be an amazingly-fun show that brings back memories. The Last Man on Earth is a great show that I hold off on watching for times I'm really bummed.

Started watching this season's Bates Motel, which continues its stellar run. New season of Broadchurch started, and I'd thought it was over.

It's Always Sunny was hit or miss. Naked and Afraid is awesome, though they're starting to make it too easy for the contestants to make it 21 days. (they're essentially giving them 4 tools, when it used to be 2)

Started Riverdale, which is another fun show. Written/show-run by the guy who wrote the remake of The Town That Dreaded Sundown. He used to write comics.

The new season of Homeland is good. I'd been thinking of dropping the show, but now I'm back in.

This is but a small sampling of what I'm watching. I clearly watch WAY too many shows.

March Wasn't Done Sucking

That is what March basically did to me, and April seems to want its turn.

Went to an auction the other night. I'm pulling into the turn lane to get off of a highway, and people to the left of me are waiting for a gap in the traffic to pull out.

This guy in a huge Toyota Tundra--it looks like this, in case you were wondering:

This is a huge truck. He must have been looking left, and wanted to beat traffic, because he accelerated directly into my side. There was a huge crash and my car was pushed sideways into the road.

I got out. I was shaking with adrenaline, but I didn't feel hurt. I got the guy's info, his insurance, all that shit.

About two hours later my neck really started aching. I'm thinking...great. Just what I need.

It only got worse as the night went on. I didn't go to sleep. Took the kid to school and called the doctor's. Went in for an exam, and they sent me for xrays. They said the pain could last for a week(it has), and that other things could pain me later. (so far, nothing but small back twinges here and there)

But the worst part is this:

This is my car. I literally can't open the driver's door. It's wedged shut. And the insurance company can't get me in to get an estimate for a week. So all week I have to crawl over the passenger side, over my stick shift, to get in the driver's seat.

Which isn't helping my neck situation, I can tell you that.

And everyone I talked to said--they're going to total my car. See, this car is old. It's a piece of shit. That's why I like it. I don't care at all about it. As long as it drives, I don't care if someone scratches it, or dents it. Whatever.

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That all happened on Wednesday, March 29th.

Today I went in to get the estimate. The guy said he thought it was gonna be totaled. I said if that happens, I'm suing. I told him--see if you can get an estimate low enough to fix it. I don't give a shit about it being perfect. Just fix it so I can open the door, and make it so it doesn't look terrible.

He gave it a shot. His estimate left out all the bells and whistles, but the on-site body fixers say they can't do it for his estimate, as a result of not being able to see inside. If they open it up and there's rust INSIDE, the way there is on that panel, then they can't do it for the money he's promised.

The insurance guys tells me he can just cut me the check, and I can take it to some other body shop to see if they'll do the repair. To be honest, the amount he offered is slightly above what I think the car is actually worth outright.

Problem is, that ain't shit.

So do I take that money and go put a downpayment on a new car, and then have car payments? Or do I throw that money into this car, knowing it probably doesn't have that much life left to it?

Fuck.

Also, started doing taxes tonight. What a fucking joke they are. Not only am I doing last year's taxes, but they want me to pay quarterly estimated taxes for 2017.

HOW?

How the fuck can I guess how much I'm going to make in a year, when I have no idea how many people are going to view/buy my movies? I don't know whether Ttory2 will come out this year. I don't know how much I'm going to spend(which lowers my taxes with expenses).

It's fucking ludicrous.

And don't get me started on this bullshit self-employment tax.

Fuck man. This year is bullshit already.