Weekend relief in Mid Week -Stillman Style!

Just returned from a lovely couple days, the first was spent with Clay in Iowa, the second in Galena with Jim! What more could I ask for?

Our first trip to visit Clay in his apartment and he has done a super job of putting it all together. He gets along with his roommate, did the decorating, has next to nothing to eat in the fridge, & is very happy. Of course I fixed the freezer situation, lots of burgers & steak now!

Had a great dinner with him, good conversation about dreams, hope & aspirations, wandered around town & then back to the Sheraton which is 1 street over from his place. Convenience was great with the Sheraton, BUT...most expensive hotel in Iowa, by far, (though only ranked as 3.5 stars), had to pay add'l to park, $10.00 to use their wireless in your room (free in the lobby ) & another $30.00 if you wanted to have a nightcap in the lounge! Sorry Sheraton, the bed may be wonderful, but the add ons are ridiculous! Never again!

Then, on to Galena, & the Stillman Inn. It's owned by a wonderful couple, Dave & Bernadine. They bought it 10 years ago, & have put all their love into it & it shows. So personable, they make you feel so welcome without being overbearing. Actually Dave does most of the "guest stuff", poor Bernadine does the clean up, but it works! They have 8 rooms, all decorated in the old style, the home was built in 1858 & added on to several times over the years.

Many rooms have both a fireplace & BIG jacuzzi tub, 4 poster beds, all have private baths, fridge, coffee, robes...just beautiful! Grab a bottle of water on your way out to the shops, an ice cream bar or chocolate chip cookie when you get back for a snack! You can walk to town, but it's so quiet! It's right across the street from General Grant's house, just think, he most likely walked those same halls at one time!

On our way home we stopped at the "Wedding Chapel" in Elizabeth, some guys were working inside so we popped in to look....How sad, it has been sold & is being turned into a restaurant! Not only the, but the new name will be "The Holy Mackeral". That stinks! I can understand, perhaps it didn't make enough money, maybe a restaurant is the way to go, but there is no respect in the name, I find it rather degrading & insulting. Of course it is only a building, but still.....

Ahhhh, well, now back to focus on work at hand, pulling together the team for the 168 Film Project. Time to get down to it! More on that later!

See you round town!

Commercial Contest-$10,000 prize-Microsoft!

Microsoft is in need of talented Filmmakers, Actors & Digital Artists
Filmmakers, Actors and other creatives are wanted now for Microsoft’s Real Life Tools campaign.

Spark your creative juices by producing original videos and print ads for Microsoft. Top entries will be paid $10,000 (Contest ends November 20th, 2009).

Join the Zooppa community by clicking the link below and start building your reel for more campaigns and contests for cash prizes!
http://zooppa.com/signup

Zooppa is an active community of aspiring independent filmmakers, graphic designers & digital artists who have the opportunity to create ads for the world’s top brands.

Over $500,000 has been awarded to Zooppa members for their work.

Tieing up loose ends...

Busy, busy, and suddenly a screeching halt! Well, not really a halt, but I have gone from having no breathing room to being able to do the things I have let go, and that's not such a bad thing!

Wrapped: True Tale Monsters, Opportunity Jones, The Discarded
Filming "Zero Count" tomorrow, back to work on the Ambassadors series in a couple weeks, audition today for Chicago Area Lecet, on the horizon, WNOL (When No One's Listening) filming in the Caimens, and Finding Josef, springtime in Poland.

Lucky me, my friend Craig Sunderlin was able to get a clip from a film we worked on almost 2 years ago, great to have fresh material to update the reel! Plus, scenes from The Discarded, I'll get something posted, but takes me a while! I do make a rather nasty stepmother, why do I get cast in these roles? Hmmmmm, but I like it!

Then on non-acting days, installing blinds, fixing roofs, leaking skylight, garbage disposer & door knobs. Lovely! But actually, I really enjoy doing these things so not so bad to have a "slow down" spot! I've really hit a slow down time with the blog posts, but will do my best to stay on top of things now.

Now, truth be told, I kind of got knocked up side the head when I posted my opinion on a "controversial" matter on FB! Took the wind right out of my sails! It took some time to get used to the idea of posting my thoughts, opinions, goings on etc, and to get such a negative response stunk! But hey, toughen up, right? If this is the way to communicate, I'll just have to deal!

So to brighten up this post, check out the Monster Ballad site: atruetaleballadofmonsters.weebly.com Lots of behind the scene photos, info about the project, fun stuff!

PS. My "friend" in the photo at the start of this blog, was just looking for some treats in my car! And was in no hurry to leave even when Jim tried to shoo him out! I don't have a problem with that, but I didn't appreciate the teeth marks in my door frame the day when the window wasn't opened wide enough for him to get in! The one is the video is just very cute!

Monster Ballad.....It's a wrap!

Peek a boo! This is one of the scenes from the beginning of the film & is a really nice affect. The way this whole thing has come together is just great! All personalities meshed, it was just a great experience, weather not withstanding!


So apart from some rain & really cold weather, it all came together wonderfully. The start was a bit shaky as several shots were missed (rain et all) but by day 5, back on track!

So this is not just a sweet film about a little girl & her fears, it really goes much deeper than that, as was shared by Maiko the writer/director. Chelsea (Anna) is a little girl with no self esteem but a special necklace which holds a secret. Sarah (Francine) has a troubled past but eventually finds a kindred soul in Chelsea. We all learned about opening up & the wonderful transformation that can take place when we allow it.

The next step is the clay-mation which will add such a special layer to the film. I was thoroughly enthralled by Ross Creen, in addition to playing one of my monster friends, he is playing the music, what a gifted artist!

We won't be abel to see the final project until spring when Maiko has completed it, but I am anticipating at least a short clip to put on my reel. Now let's see, do you use the one where I am ripping into Chelsea for thinking life's unfair, or Sarah's look into her own hurt past.

So this has been a great project, some very late days into nights, but one that I feel so glad to have been a part of. If more folks were making films like this one, the world would be a better place to live in!

Monster Ballad, A True Tale

There is no possible way 10 days have gone since my last post! Someone must be messing with the calendar on this computer! Must be since I've posted photos & notes from Monster Ballad that I think I've been on my blog. So, here I am, somee downtime between scenes. It's 9:00 & I think we just have on scene left.....I hope!

Great setups today, the last scene was sleeping with a quick day break, but the one prior to that was done in reverse. Very cool effect, paper is falling down, but when the film is run in reverse, it appears to be flying up & looks like I am walking into the scene & sitting down, rather than getting up & walking backwards!

This group is the best, kids from Columbia and they are so professional, organized & really know what they are doing! This is a senior Thesis project so it won't be completed until spring, but hopefully I will be able to get a scene to post or at least add on to my demo.

Just got my 5 minute warning, Later!