THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY

Dear Friends,

Lots of press this week on Zach Braff’s kickstarter (If you want to support a film by an actors from a GREAT NBC show, definitely also take a look at 30 Rock’s Keith Powell’s here! http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/my-name-is-david ) Zach made an interesting point, he was so close to getting some films off the ground and they’d fall apart in the last minute. I didn’t give to Zach’s film (I did give to Keith’s) but what Zach said got me thinking, so many great projects we get to look at in this business…and yet some suddenly fall apart, sometimes at the very last minute! I started thinking about a few of mine:

L33T: Loved loved love this one, was going to be directed by the good sir Sean Ashanti…a wonderful uplifting story about a college guy confined to a wheelchair and why he’s no different from anyone else. Great little piece, this one came undone the morning of filming in New York! Too bad really, I would love to see this one get made someday.

I’m A Fool: Ahh this one, originally I was adapting this old serial (which starred James Dean and Natalie Wood and was narrated by Ronald Reagan) into a modern day piece, the story was James Dean was a farmhand, charmed Natalie Wood by pretending to be something he wasn’t, and she fell for it and him…this one was originally designed for JJ Garvine after “13th Grade” but sort of crashed and burned when everyone got set up with other things and projects in the Post-13 era.

World Class Fad: This one! The most recent! All film days set up, and we sort of fell apart because of my own other writing project, one of the producers on this was Mauro Giuffrida…and I handed my script for a film called “Suhani” to him, and “Suhani” not only got the greenlight faster, it got made, and I saw a rough cut last week and it was beautiful! Let’s hope WCF is in hibernation and not completely dead. I think it could really be a wonderful film.

Pleased To Meet Me: attention aspiring screenwriters! What you’re about to read is what NOT to do. This was a full length feature, the first real one I actually marketed. This one had some life, this one REALLY kicked up some dust in Los Angeles and in New York and had some producers looking at it. Here’s where it how it all went downhill. Every producer, every actor, every interested party had feedback. And me, right on the heels of a film that didn’t do so well (but should have), a TV show where I didn’t have a whole lot to do, this was my first foray into developing my own material, so I was enthusiastic and eager to keep everyone happy. So I took the feedback, ALL OF THE FEEDBACK, every single suggestion, every little idea, in an effort to get this piece made. Little by little, PLEASED got bloated….it got HUGE (not popularity wise, size wise), it got diluted, it became…something it wasn’t. My over-eagerness at being SO close to getting this film made, I tried to be everything to everyone. A lesson, not only in writing, but in life, don’t do that, doing this watered everything down, diluted what the script was, took the teeth out of it, ended up having 7 endings, just became a bloated mess where the spirit of the piece wasn’t there anymore. It died on the vine. It’s ok to get feedback and some of it may make sense, but don’t do what a “younger version” of Tim did here, remember, feedback is feedback, it’s not gospel.

Life Won’t Wait: A tv show! Folks trying to resurrect door to door sales in this new modern crazy world. Had a major network interested, that was a REALLY good time, complete with a few parties and some congratulatory calls on it. Then our wonderful network contact who loved this show, changed jobs and took this from one network, to another network which hated it. Then other shows with similar formatting started sprouting up, so a pretty solid script ended up getting outdated pretty quickly….went into turnaround (studio talk nice way for DEATH OF YOUR PROJECT) and soon died right after (in “studio” talk and “real” talk). That was a good one. I do remember one line where a character said “All I eat for lunch is candy in milk” which was based on a real thing I heard an actual doctor say one time. Don’t anyone take nutrition advice from that doctor.

So many more, some fell apart or just ended up not working out and this happens a lot to everyone all over this business. Darran Aronfosky who directed the wonderful WRESTLER, his original film “THE FOUNTAIN” fell apart and lost Brad Pitt from the cast and had to regroup with a smaller budget, Steven Soderbergh’s vision of MONEYBALL fell apart a week before filming was supposed to get started, we’re even seeing a lot of that happening right now with Natalie Portman’s film “Jane Got A Gun” seems , lost a director, has lost some key castmembers including Bradley Cooper which was announced this morning that he was leaving the cast. I know the feeling, and wish the “JANE” film all the best as it attempts to regroup and get back on track.

Anyway, I think the key here, with any project, high profile, low profile, is when these things fall apart, don’t take it personally, just like in life, sometimes a very nice sweater will fall apart if even a little thread comes loose. The key is to not let something falling apart make you bitter, make you resentful, it just opens your eyes up to the GOOD things that get made, the fun projects coming up. I still have LIFE WON’T WAIT in my file cabinet, I sometimes think about re writing PLEASED TO MEET ME from scratch. Never give up, always be looking forward, and keep your heads up. I bet I’m forgetting SO many other projects I should be telling stories about! Just learn from them, worst case, take the best lines from the ones you still have the rights to, add them to the new things you’re working on or thinking about! Because sometimes….you just never know.

Take care and be good,
Tim

THE BEAUTIFUL 617

Me, like everyone, is watching these tragic events in Boston unfold with such a heavy heavy heart. Why? Who? What? All questions all probably going through our heads, par for the course with something so senseless. However, something we’re already seeing, a natural balance to things is already occurring, something that can at least restore at least some faith in humanity.

The goodness.

I was in New York City a week after the 9/11 attacks, and “the goodness” in people was already in full swing, Penn Station with signs “Love to New York from Israel” “New York, we love you stay strong, Love, England” etc etc, random strangers hugging, comforting, and in New York City traffic, of all places, no one was honking at each other, no one was yelling, not a single solitary middle finger went up. It was the goodness, the natural inclination we all have to help and counteract these senseless horrid actions.

We’re seeing it now in Boston, we saw marathon runners continue to finish the marathon, and continue running right to the hospital to help, to donate, to volunteer, it’s already starting, it’ll continue, and it’ll continue from all of us. I bet right now, as we hear these horrific details, thinking “I wish there was something I could do”, that initial gut instinct, that’s the natural goodness coming out…run with it, make some calls, see what you can do. I have an appointment at 8pm to give blood, because right now (and most times), I know nothing, and no words I could string together will give the people of Boston back what they’ve lost. So I’m just doing what I can. Boston is a strong beautiful city, and they’ll be back and even stronger, but right now, in this time of need, they have our love and support and goodness and the entire world rooting for them. Stay strong Boston, stay together.

"The Card Attached Would Say 'THANK YOU FOR BEING A FRIEND'"-Golden Girls

 Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Recently I thought of my first break in this business. It was a role as a medic on “Homicide: Life on the Street” In Baltimore Maryland in the late 90’s. That feeling was complete bliss, that that hope, that buzz, that feeling…that this role could be something special, and propel me on to bigger and better things.

 That perfect day of filming ended such a warm feeling, and a month later… with a huge crowd around my television, waiting to cheer me on…there was that cold feeling, when I realized that my scene was COMPLETELY cut out of the show.

I imagine that evening would have been enough to retire any young actor from showbiz. Yet I still held a promise, a hope. I felt that the promise of a better moment may still be ahead of me.

Bob Hawk indirectly had something to do with that moment.

After my wholesome acting debut was lay cold and unwatched on the cutting room floor, I’d continued to audition, get small parts here there and everywhere, forgettable things with character names like “boy” “Soldier #1” “Brother” and my personal favorite “Tomato #1”. At one point, in NYC (after an audition where my sole task was to pretend I was jumping up and down in slow motion on an invisible trampoline...and apparently failed at it) I stopped at a New York City bookstore and read a piece on Edward Burns which to paraphrase, essentially said to make my own path, develop and write my own roles, give myself my own breaks.

Around that same time, I’d purchased the CHASING AMY dvd, where, I was tremendously inspired, not only by the film itself, the filmmaker commentary track, where Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck talked about how to make a low budget film, wearing your own clothes, grabbing a film shot wherever you could, to create your own material and film it to the best of your ability.

This all coincided with the end of a contract I had on a soap opera, and this was where I started to respond to what these influences have taught me to go my own way, to develop my own material and, no matter what, to get it out there. I realized around this time, that one man was instrumental in getting these influences into my life, which has inspired me and continues to inspire me to keep going forward, in a business with such great highs and such low lows. That man is Bob Hawk.

So imagine the joy that I felt when the opportunity came along to work with such amazing filmmakers, to be able to actually tell BOB’S story, I felt, I owed it to Bob, who’s been a source of such inspiration to me, to be able to pay it back, to be able to include such great personalities in this film, to be able to film with Kevin Smith and Ed Burns, to hear them, very successful filmmakers, tell very similar stories like the one I’ve told above. I’m so proud of this project so far, and I’m so excited for the world to see it. More importantly, my hope for this wonderful piece of filmmaking, is to inspire others, I hope people will see this, hear Bob’s story, listen to Ed,Kevin and so many other testimonials, that this film generates a new generation of hungry filmmakers, with original ideas to chase their dreams, and make their films, which, again in turn, may inspire even more filmmakers.

All of this can start right here, with “Film Hawk” With that said, we’ve been raising funds, and raising funds through the community online and by word of mouth, rather than what I normally do, and that’s beg, cry and plead with the producers and money people who can make films happen….. and I’m very humbled and very proud to say that we’ve been able to pull this thing off as of recently. The film is fully funded, and I didn't have to sell my soul, do any imaginary trampoline jumping or think about the offer of portraying "Tomato" to do it. 

So with that, I so very very humbly thank you. This isn’t a “thank you” to just anyone who’s donated funds….because indie film is FAR more than that.

To get a little story like this out there, you ALL have helped. If you’ve stopped in this site, if you’ve read the tweets, the updates, if you’ve spread the word or even thought of telling someone about it... you’ve done an incredible service to a small little film. I’m blown away, I’m humbled, and I’m thankful. We won’t let you down, we have all hands on deck here, and we’re 100% committed to making a wonderful film, a film that will do this story justice. Thank you all, thank you for all of your support and thank you for your time reading this.

Please take care, be good and stay true to your dreams.

xoxoxo,

Tim

STEVEN ON A MONDAY

Hey Friends! Funny how some things work, I woke up at 2am with this insane thought. Made my way deep into the labs, tried to get it on paper and it ended up being STEVEN ON A MONDAY. It's a wild turn from what I normally do, dark, blurry, sort of twisted, basically, a lot of our thoughts at 2am when we should all be sleeping. I'll re read this in a few days, fingers crossed we have a good one here! Take care and sleep well, Tim

BOB A.K.A BOB

For the last few months I’ve been working on a project that’s near and dear, a documentary/bio pic on the great Bob Hawk.

Bob Hawk and Ed Burns, NYC

Bob Hawk is a legend in the film world, he’s found, discovered and/or helped so many filmmakers, Kevin Smith, Edward Burns, Joe Carnahan, Rob Epstein etc etc, and he’s been a mainstay at major film festivals like Sundance and Berlin, and was mentioned in the excellent book “Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes” (a great and inspiring bit of backstory for anyone who is interested in how the process of getting films made for little to no money goes).

So imagine how much fun it was for me, on a chilly New York day a couple of years ago, to be able to sit down and have lunch with him. I was in New York for an agent meeting about my TV pilot, and JJ Garvine and Tai Parquet were up there as well, as they were on their “Keeping The Peace” tour, and that evening's stop was a hugely successful and packed screening at the legendary Maysles Theater in Harlem.  Bob had been a consultant on “Keeping The Peace” as well as “13th Grade” which was the last “official” time I’d worked with JJ and Tai (there may have been some group writing and an uncredited cameo in each other's projects here and there), so we met for lunch to talk about what we were doing and it ended up being a hugely inspiring afternoon. What struck me, right off the bat, is that Bob Hawk talks about movies, he loves the filmmaking process so much, that the way he’d speak so fondly of filmmakers, reminded me of the way a proud parent would speak of their children. So much love, when talking about seeing “CLERKS” for the first time, so much love when he met Ed Burns on his first (unreleased) short film “Hey Sco”. This wasn’t the “filmmaking business” for Bob, this was “filmmaking life”, and after lunch, Tai, JJ and me headed out into the streets on New York City, inspired and fired up, the same way a bunch of 8 year olds would be after seeing professional wrestling for the first time (though I didn’t body slam anyone, at least, I don’t think I did) and as we roamed around the village in NYC we bantered about, sort of like this:

“Bob has some great stories” 

“he sure does, AMAZING stories” 

“We should get these stories down on film, so they can inspire folks as much as we’re inspired right now”

And there it was. The idea, in a very very early incarnation, hatched that very moment. What did it for us, is while filming, how much the “family” vibe was there throughout filming, the way Bob spoke so fondy of filmmakers and filmmaking, the way we all traveled together, filming took place in Sundance, New York, Baltimore, and it was a real family vibe, from the subject matter, to the on and off camera camaraderie we all had…I mean, there were times on set, where I’d look up and there’s Daps Reinert, JJ, Tai, Ed Burns, Kevin Smith, I mean, this was just a HUGE combined IMBD page I was looking at, and all along, the inspiration and the stories were always there “Man Kevin’s story is amazing” “Ed Burns was filming McMullen WHILE working for Entertainment Tonight as a go-for?”

Bob Hawk, Kevin Smith and the gang. Red Bank NJ

There are so many musician friends who talk about a “moment” where they were so inspired, they HAD to go record something, some “A HA!” moment, and my dream of this film is to do the same for filmmaking, if even one person, watches this film and is so inspired they go out and buy a camera afterword, I’ll be a happy guy.

What’s making this film even more special, is that the “family” vibe that it’s had since that very first lunch….is now being extended, to all of you. What we’re doing here, is the directors of the film, JJ and Tai are extending this to everyone, through a kickstarter campaign, an effort to raise funds to finish the project, to get the project on the road, to get the project in front of your eyes, so that everyone can see what we’ve been working on over the last year, it’s a chance for anyone and everyone to get involved, if even a little bit, to be in the credits, to be thanked, to get your well deserved “shout outs” on social media, it’s a chance to be in on this family vibe, and every little bit helps. Here’s a link to the kickstarter campaign, you may see some familiar faces there and the video is entertaining as can be (narrated by the man who gave us BERZERKER, Mr Kevin Smith).

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/354715508/film-hawk-a-documentary-on-bob-hawk

So with that, here’s a little more details on “Film Hawk” and believe me, I know what it’s like to barely have enough money for a tuna fish sandwich, so don’t feel even the slightest pressure to give, but please definitely share the link and this story. 

So, that’s the story, that’s what we’ve been working on, a fun, invigorating,inspiring little film, that hopefully everyone enjoys and can take something from. I really can’t wait for you all to see this. All the best,Tim